Second-year sellout endorses HDD industry’s desire to learn, grow

2016 HDD Academy a Resounding Success

2016 HDD AcademyThe 2016 HDD Academy, hosted by the Arizona State University Del E. Webb School of Construction and Benjamin Media Inc., Feb. 11-12, proved once again that that the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) industry is alive and growing.

The second annual conference – once again a sellout – brought  more than 120 drillers from across North America to the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, all with a thirst for gaining more knowledge about HDD and networking with some of the leading horizontal directional drilling experts and contractors in the world.

“We had an amazing turnout at the second annual HDD Academy. Dr. Sam Ariaratnam, ASU and the Academy sponsors are great to work with on this event, as we all collectively work toward advancing and growing the HDD market,” says Benjamin Media Inc. president Rob Krzys. “Through real-world scenarios from industry veterans, to brand new products geared toward today and tomorrows HDD workforce.”

2016 HDD AcademyOrganizers divided the 2016 HDD Academy into two technical session tracks and closing the academy was a third track focused on stakeholder breakout discussions.

Topics covered in the Pre-Construction, Design and Material Selection sessions were:  Geotechnical Site Investigation and HDD Design Process; Calculating Frac-Outs; HDD Design Considerations from a Contractor’s Perspective; Inspection of HDD Projects; Fusible PVC Pipe; Fusible PVC Installation Case Study; Productivity Tools for HDD; Properties of Restrained Joint Ductile Iron Pipe; Ductile Iron Pipe Installation Case Study; Estimating an HDD Project; and Damage Prevention Measures.

2016 HDD AcademyTopics covered in the Construction and Operations sessions were: Drill Fluid Design Testing of Drilling Fluid Properties; Environmental Considerations of Drilling Fluids; Drilling Fluid Disposal; Fundamentals of Fluids Recycling and Solids Control; Direct Pipe HDD Installations; Exit Side Tooling; Vacuum Excavation for HDD; Walkover Locating and Real-Time Fluid Pressure Monitoring; Non-Walkover Locating using TruTracker; and Non-Walkover Locating and Intercept Bores Using ParaTrack2.

Sponsors of the 2016 HDD Academy were, founding sponsors, Digital Control Inc., Ditch Witch, Herrenknecht Tunneling Systems, Underground Solutions Inc. and Vermeer, and first-time sponsors American Augers, BOS Solutions, and McLaughlin. Supporting associations were: AEM, DCA, PLCA, PLCA Canada, IPLOCA and Arizona Utility Contractors Association.
Plans are under way for the 2017 HDD Academy. For more information and updates, visit hddacademy.com.
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