Alternatively, the general contractor could do the work using their own excavator. They have a CAT 349F L with a Long Reach Boom, (Belgium Sourced) with a 80 in. wide General Duty High Capacity bucket. The contractor has no trench box and the side slopes of the trench will have to be at a 1:1 slope to the bottom of the trench in order to be safe. The bottom of the trench will be 6.6 feet wide (due to size of bucket). Without the trench box, the contractor estimates it will take 10 minutes to lay a joint of pipe. Could the job be completed more quickly with the CAT 349F L