Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Specialist

Directional boring is used for installing infrastructure such as telecommunications and power cable conduits, water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, oil lines, product pipelines and environmental remediation casings. It is used for crossing waterways, roadways, shore approaches, congested areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and areas where other methods are costlier. It is used instead of other techniques to provide less traffic disruption, lower cost, deeper and/or longer installation, no access pit, shorter completion times, directional capabilities, and environmental safety.

The technique has extensive use in urban areas for developing subsurface utilities as it helps in avoiding extensive open cut trenches. The use however necessitates that the operator must have the complete information about the existing utilities so that he can plan his whole alignment to avoid damaging those utilities. Since uncontrolled drilling can lead to such damages different agencies/government authorities owning the urban 'right-of-way' or the utilities have formed their rules for safe work execution. For standardization of the techniques different trenchless technology promoting organizations have developed guidelines for this technique.