June 2016, Vol. 71 No. 6

By Rita Tubb, Executive Editor Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began work in September 2014 to replace two aging natural gas pipelines that cross Cache Creek near the town of Capay, CA. In September 2015, The HDD Company completed two horizontal directional drills (HDD) on the project, replacing the ..

Underground Equipment Maintenance: 3rd In A Series Owners and operators of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) equipment recognize the importance of keeping equipment in good operating condition. Well- maintained drill rigs perform better, are more productive, less likely to break down and mainta..

To say that we are in confusing economic times would be an understatement, not only for the United States but the world in its entirety. The U.S. market confusions result primarily from a mix of political uncertainty, lackluster economic growth and performance, and the collapse of the oil and gas in..

It’s well-documented that the construction industry is facing a severe labor crisis. Due to the strength of several core markets requiring dramatic increases in workforce, the underground utility infrastructure market is desperately seeking new skilled employees, particularly horizontal directional ..

The Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University is launching another specialty school this summer – the TTC Utility Investigations School (UIS). TTC teamed with the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI) to provide an intensive fiv..

If the attendance and tone of the speakers at the 12th annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference, held March 22, serves as a harbinger of what lies ahead for the energy business, things are starting to look up. About 350 participants filled the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Houston’s Galleria District to h..

By NASSCO Members Marilyn Shepard, NASSCO Master Trainer, International Training & Rehab Technologies Laurie Perkins, NASSCO Trainer, Senior Associate, Wright-Pierce When NASSCO’s Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (PACP®) was developed with the Water Resource Centre (WRc) in Swindon,..

Bobcat Company and its parent organization, Doosan, completed $12 million in renovations on its engineering and factory facilities in Gwinner, ND., earlier this year. Both projects are part of an ongoing investment to enhance work environments, accommodate growth, drive innovation and improve operat..

The ever-innovative Vacuworx announced the introduction of a completely portable design for its new vacuum lifting system. With a rechargeable battery boasting an 8-hour runtime, rugged lightweight construction and up to 2,200-pound lift capacity, the new PS 1 Portable Vacuum Lifting System from Vac..

HammerHead Same Path Gas Line Slitting Technology is a tooling system for replacing natural gas distribution pipe that cannot be replaced by traditional bursting methods. The tooling is designed for use with HammerHead’s line of cable winches. HammerHead Trenchless Equipment, a Charles Machine Work..

Case Construction Equipment has released the 4-in-1 Systemgard Fluid Analysis Kit – a preventative maintenance tool providing a picture of fluid and internal system conditions without the need for users to dissemble the machine. The kit monitors system cleanliness and filtration efficiency, which a..

by Chantel Green, Associate Editor More than eight months have passed since the drinking water source in Flint, MI, was switched back to the Great Lakes, after a detrimental extended use of the Flint River – a decision that poisoned city residents, brought criminal charges against city and state of..

Eight heavy-hitters in the water and utility industries collaborated with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop the Effective Utility Management (EUM) Report entitled, Taking the Next Step: Findings of the EUM Review Steering Group, which was announced at the National Wa..

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ (AEM) new Sewer Cleaner Leadership Group is one of approximately a dozen created in response to the association members’ needs for executive-level, product-specific groups dedicated to the resolution of technical, regulatory, legislative or market-related ..

The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) in DeKalb County, GA, will issue up to four design-build contracts, by late summer 2016. Each contract holds an approximate value of $50 million and will be used for rehabilitation and improvements of sanitary sewers throughout the county’s system to redu..

A Senate committee passed a bill authorizing a new $100 million fund for cities like Flint, MI, which have drinking water emergencies on April 29. The bill also fully funds $70 million (i.e. no separate appropriation is needed) for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Fin..

by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief Since the inception of horizontal directional drilling (HDD), a dearth of training programs has resulted in on-the-job, on-the-fly training by contractors. While such training is not necessarily a bad thing, during the first golden age of telecom construction it ..