Trenchless pipelaying has offered us many advantages such as speed, efficiency, cost savings, and less disruption. But when it comes to safety, no method is perfect. There are a bunch of hazards that must be controlled and eliminated to ensure the safety of the workers and the general public.
There is a whole list of precautions the industrial construction companies and trenchless pipe repair horizontal drilling contractors must follow.
Let’s have a look at some of the most crucial ones:
• The first step in preventing damage is to contact the dig safe call center to locate the existing utilities.
• Before starting the drilling, always check the area near the drill path at least twice. You might come across a utility that wasn’t spotted by the locator before. Other than this, look for sewer vent covers, meters, shaft risers, utility structure, and storm drain outlets. Some states don’t require the office proprietors to be the member of the call system. Because of that, the sewer and water pipelines are neglected since they are not marked beforehand.
• Track the drill head to make sure it remains on course. Use tracking devices for this purpose which use the electromagnetic fields for identifying and tracking the penetrating head. Don’t forget to check the sources of obstruction before starting the work. Experts recommend walking the planned drill path using a drill operator. The tracking receiver should be on but not the transmitter. Look for variations in the signal strength and watch out for any unusual marks or reading in the location.
• Before drilling, the laborers must be trained to play their errands. They must be equipped with the right security gear. Their hardware and gears must be examined to make sure they are in a great working condition.
• When making a parallel drill path, take extra care. You never know the pipelines have valves or tees protruding into the drill path.
• Workers could be exposed to a number of hazards. It is best to discuss these hazards during the training. Employees should not use pipe wrenches for separating the string at any cost. They should use special tools instead.
• When incorrect or unexpected readings are encountered, stop the process right away and cross check all information again to identify the problem. Sometimes, there could be a fault in the equipment too.
• Workers can also get struck by moving machines and vehicles if they are not careful. Make sure your workers don’t cross the roadway. If they must, instruct them to wear highly visible clothes. They must stay away from the rotating drill or shaft. They must be prohibited from standing in the receiving pit area or the area from where the drill is to exit. Nobody should be allowed to touch the equipment when the drill is being pushed into the ground.
Before initiating the directional bore drilling or installation, organizations are obliged to perform risk appraisal by using the data available to them. This is pertinent to the health of the safety of the employees as well as the general public.