September 2015 Vol. 70 No. 9
Features
HDD Advisor™ Effectively Matches Job Components Before The Bore
A critical element in every horizontal directional drilling (HDD) installation is correctly matching drill rig, drill pipe and downhole tools to soil conditions – failing to do so can lower productivity, cause unnecessary wear on tools and equipment and could mean the difference between success or an aborted bore.
The HDD Advisor is an intuitive, web-based tool that helps select the right downhole components for Ditch Witch and Vermeer® HDD equipment for the soil conditions of a job.
The advisor tool is free and can be accessed by computer, tablet or smart phone from the office or the field.
“There’s nothing in the industry like the HDD Advisor,” said Jaime Wines, director of parts sales and marketing. “There are many websites in the industry that provide information about available drill pipe and downhole tooling, but the HDD Advisor is the only tool available that builds a drill string configuration based off thread compatibility, and saves the information for future reference. Drill strings can be saved by crew name, job, soil conditions or by other descriptive names.”
HDD Advisor is programmed to show standard manufacturer HDD tooling recommendations, and data are updated regularly.
To get started, the user simply accesses HDD Advisor using a device’s browser (www.hddadvisor.com), selects a drill model and compatible drill pipe in designated boxes and clicks “SUBMIT.”
Building the job
Step by step, a drill string is assembled, starting with a saver sub or SaverLok® system. As tool options are selected, HDD Advisor recognizes threads for compatible parts and automatically adds other components required by the tool options chosen.
The user can pull up detailed information and photos for each part to help make the right selection. When the drill string is complete, it can be saved for sharing and future reference. Drilling companies are using HDD Advisor to select drill string configurations for existing equipment or upcoming jobs, ensuring the correct tooling for the application is on site when needed, or use the information when a new drill unit is purchased to make tooling replacement easier in the future. Information can be printed or e-mailed.
Sharing drill string components with the local Ditch Witch dealership can simplify ordering replacement components.
Historically, identifying the proper tooling was difficult, time-consuming and cumbersome, Wines said.
“The new HDD Advisor gives operators and dealers an intuitive tooling-product roadmap, and quickly recommends configurations and solutions based on a few questions,” she concluded. “We’re getting positive feedback from users who say the tool is helpful, especially being able to file and reference drill strings by application. HDD Adviser is another way we are showing our customers that we understand time is money and that, ‘We’re in this together.’ ”
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