J.D.Hair&Associates,Inc. Consulting Engineers SAMPLE ********************PROJECT OWNER******************** **** River Crossing West Siphon Horizontal Directional Drilling Operations SPOT CHECK REPORT DATE: Monday, July 19, 2004 TIME: 4:30 p.m. ACTIVITY Estimate remaining schedule for the west siphon installation REFERENCES ATTACHMENTS FINDINGS Based on a review of swabbing and pullback operations associated with the installation of the east siphon, the expected durations for swabbing and pullback operations on the west siphon are as follows: Rig up for swab pass: 2 to 3 hours Complete swab pass 8 to 12 hours Rig up for pullback: 4 to 6 hours Complete pullback: 44 to 48 hours The duration ranges presented above are based on operations being competed with minimal problems. Issues such as failing to complete the swab pass on the first attempt, getting stuck during pullback, and major equipment downtime are not included. Therefore, while the lower end of each estimated duration should be considered an absolute best case, the upper end is by no means a worst case. Rather, I would consider the upper end of each estimated duration to be the anticipated case. *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* currently lacks 21 joints (through the till) to complete the 58-inch prereaming pass. Assuming that they can get the new rotary motor installed by around 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, they could conceivably complete the final preream at noon, begin the swab pass at 2:00 p.m., and complete the swab pass at 10:00 p.m. I d consider that to be the absolute best case, and also fairly unrealistic. However, if *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* should somehow meet that schedule, they would start rigging up for pullback at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday and could possibly begin pullback by around 11:00 a.m. A best case estimate of 44 hours would have them completing pullback at 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning with 11 hours to spare if HDD operations are to cease by 6:00 p.m. Using the anticipated case durations presented above adds 11 more hours, resulting in pullback being completed at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Bear in mind however that my anticipated durations do not include any contingency for the rig breaking down or the pull section getting stuck. In short, if the swab pass begins by 2:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon it is conceivable that pullback could be completed by 6:00 p.m. Friday night. However, even then, there are plenty of things that could happen to push the completion Report Number: SCFR0719-1
of pullback beyond 6:00 p.m. Friday. If pullback is only partially completed as of 6:00 p.m. on Friday, *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* will have to continue working into the weekend. Should they be forced to shut down in the middle of pullback for much longer that the duration of a weld (around 6 hours), it is likely that the pull section will get stuck. At that point, they would basically have three options: (1) use the pneumatic hammer to advance the pull section forward (if possible), (2) use the hammer to retract the pull section from the hole (if possible) and make another attempt, or (3) start the west siphon installation over with a new pilot hole. All three of these options represent a significantly greater impact to the local residents than if *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* were simply allowed to continue pullback operations until the installation is complete. RECOMMENDED ACTION The *PROJECT OWNER* will need to make a critical decision by tomorrow afternoon based upon *THE HDD CONTRACTOR S* progress to that point. *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* should either be given permission to work whatever hours are required through the completion of pullback operations, or they should be informed that they will be forced to shut down at 6:00 p.m. Friday night (or whatever time is the absolute latest that will be permitted) regardless of where they may be in the pullback operation. If they are behind the best case schedule presented herein and will be forced to shut down on Friday evening, it would be better to delay the swab pass until Monday morning. If that should happen, *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* may decide to perform a swab pass before the weekend just to keep the hole open, however, they would then need to then run a second swab pass just before pullback. I cannot stress enough that shutting down for the weekend in the middle of pullback operations is a recipe for disaster. Report Number: SCFR0719-1
J.D.Hair&Associates,Inc. Consulting Engineers SAMPLE ********************PROJECT OWNER******************** **** River Crossing West Siphon Horizontal Directional Drilling Operations SPOT CHECK REPORT DATE: Saturday, July 31, 2004 TIME: 2:10 p.m. ACTIVITY Document condition of pullback assembly and 42-inch casing upon completion of pullback REFERENCES ATTACHMENTS 1. Photograph PHFR0731-08 Reamer, swivel, and leading edge of dummy joint after surfacing in pit 2. Photograph PHFR0731-13 Side view of 48-inch hole opener and swivel after being broken out 3. Photograph PHFR0731-14 Rear view of swivel showing missing rear plate 4. Photograph PHFR0731-17 Leading edge of pull section upon completion of pullback FINDINGS The attached photographs document the condition of the pullback assembly and the 42-inch pull section upon completion of pullback. The 48-inch hole opener appeared to be in good condition with little visible wear. The cutters and hard surfacing were both in good shape. The swivel initially appeared to be in good condition, but upon closer inspection it was noticed that its rear plate was missing obviously lost downhole at some point during pullback. The bearings in the swivel were shot and it would only turn freely if there was no tensile load on it. When under tension it was essentially locked up, which sheds some light on why the rotary stalled out so easily as *THE HDD CONTRACTOR* pulled the last segment of 42-inch casing. The dummy joint and the 42-inch pull section both appeared to be in good condition. There appeared to be some minor scratches/scarring on the dummy joint, but no apparent dents. The pull section appeared to have only light scratches. RECOMMENDED ACTION Inspect the condition of the pull section in more detail upon pumping down the mud level in the entry pit. Considering that the installed pipe is only a casing, any scratches or scarring to the exterior of the pipe shouldn t really matter as long as the pull section is not dented.
Photograph PHFR0731-08 Reamer, swivel, and leading edge of dummy joint after surfacing in pit Photograph PHFR0731-13 Side view of 48-inch hole opener and swivel after being broken out
Photograph PHFR0731-14 Rear view of swivel showing missing rear plate Photograph PHFR0731-17 Leading edge of pull section upon completion of pullback