Horizontal directional drilling is a trenchless drilling method used in areas where you can’t make any major civil disturbances. A wide open space away from people is a great spot for trenchless drilling, but the side of a roadway is the place for HDD.
That said, a trenchless drilling job site isn’t your average construction site because you’re working near roadways and pedestrians. So how can you keep crew members and everyone near the job site safe and secure? Here’s how you can establish a safe HDD job site.
Make sure everyone is familiar with the operator’s manual
Everyone who will be working on the job site needs to be familiar with the operator’s manual of the equipment your team will be using. Whether your team is operating a horizontal directional drill, an excavator, or a vacuum excavation system, they need to be familiar with the manual.
This is true whether you’re outsourcing your underground drilling services or using in-house contractors. The operator’s manual for the HDD equipment contains valuable information on personal protection requirements, safety precautions, and proper machine operations. Everyone involved in the job needs to know the correct operating procedures.
Conduct pre-bore planning
When you’re preparing for the job, you need to make sure that all utility lines in the area have been marked. If you’re not sure whether the utility lines have been marked, you can call the specific company to make sure.
You also want to ensure that you have emergency phone numbers for your utility companies. This goes for emergency services, foremen, and co-workers.
Get these numbers before you start working on the job. When you have these numbers, you’ll be able to reduce the time it takes to notify the people you need to notify if something goes wrong on the job site.
Stay tuned for Part 2 on how to create a safe and secure HDD job site where we’ll go into detail on potholing and setting up the job site itself.
Looking for Texas underground drilling services?
Horizontal directional drilling is considered the safest, most efficient, and most cost-effective method for highway bores. It’s a good idea to hire a professional underground drilling service so you can properly establish a safe HDD job site.
If you’re looking for Texas underground boring services for your project, American Directional Boring has the Texas HDD contractors you need. To learn more about our underground drilling services in Texas, contact American Directional Boring today.
