The Rapid Impact Compaction for the soil improvement uses a hydraulic hammer mounted on an excavator. The hammer with a weight ranging from 5 up to 12 tons is dropped freely from a height of 1.2 m on a large circular foot. Impacts repeated at a rate ranging from 40 up to 90 blows per minute plunge the steel foot creating a crater.

The control system installed in the operator's cab allows for controlling the compaction process and recording the parameters such as impact energy or foot penetration. It can also be used to change the height from which the hammer is dropped.

The compaction in the RIC technology is usually preceded by creating a test plot where the compaction is performed for various spacing and rates of blows. Then, the local compaction of the improved soil is tested and the optimal grid spacing and the number of blows per one point is determined. Depending on the soils, the number of blows varies between 10 and 40 per one point.

RIC technique is performed at the surface of a terrain and it comprises of a heavy excavator which is equipped with a specially designed arm onto which the hammer is attached. Within the hammer, a 5 to 10 drop weight is hydraulically lifted till a required height after which the weight is dropped using a hydraulic acceleration. This whole process of lifting and dropping of the weight takes place with a frequency of 40 to 90 times a minute.

The bearing capacity of the soil is increased after it is treated.

Minimizes settlement to a greater extent and provides uniform support for a floor slab or foundation footing, while controlling vibrations to 2 inches per second within 30 feet of the drop point.

Rapid Impact Compaction consolidates the soil immediately instead of using a surcharge to consolidate the soil under a static weight.

Loose fills or soils can be consolidated immediately without the need to replace the soil.

When the soil is treated by Rapid impact compaction, the stiffness of the upper 10 feet of soil affects the lateral load capacity of a pile. By densifying the upper layers, the lateral load capacity is greatly increased.

The RIC system uses "controlled impact compaction" of the ground using a 9-ton hammer dropped from height between 0.3 m to 1.2 m onto a 1.5 m diameter steel patent foot delivering about 26,487 to 105,948 Joules of energy per drop. RIC can be used to densify loose soils down to a depth of about 4 m to 6m. RIC consists of an excavatormounted hydraulic pile-driving hammer striking a circular plate (patent foot) that rests on the ground. The tamper typically strikes the plate at a rate of 40 to 60 blows per minute.