Fleming College, CATT Create Four-Day HDD Field Course
January 12, 2017
Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT) and Fleming College will offer a new hands-on four-day field course entitled “Horizontal Directional Drilling: Design to Construction” starting in June 2017.
The demand for pipe and utilities installation using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) has been increasing rapidly because of the need to replace aging underground water and wastewater pipelines and the growth in telecommunications and energy (gas and electric) sectors. CATT’s annual surveys show an acute shortage of adequately trained trenchless professionals. The ready availability of trained professionals is crucial to expand the HDD market and to control costs and to deliver successful projects on time.
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Over the past 10 years CATT has developed and delivered very successful short courses that cover the HDD process, drill fluids, equipment, project planning, bore path and pipe design, and quality assurance and quality control. CATT has also been involved with the development of industry leading design tools: BOREAID; PPI-BOREAID and PPI-PACE. Fleming college has been providing training in drilling on their state-of-the-art HDD equipment that includes dill rig, service truck with fluid mixing system, tracking system, and downhole tools.
“The new CATT-Fleming College HDD course will integrate classroom study and field practice,” explained Dr. Mark Knight, executive director of CATT. “The classroom lectures will provide details on surface and subsurface investigations, drilling fluids, project planning, design, construction and QA/QC, whereas field training component will include subsurface investigations, drill fluid testing, and installation of underground pipe using state-of-the-art HDD equipment.”
The students will learn how to take into account the surface and subsurface information for project planning, design, drill fluids and tool selection, as well as, how to operate the HDD equipment and monitor critical parameters (alignment, fluid pressures, pull loads) during pipe installation.
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“We have a very unique training program in drilling at the Fleming College,” says Eva Rees, Fleming College manager of continuing education and training. “By joining forces with CATT, the course has been expanded to include HDD design along with construction.” The new course will be attractive to broader audience that includes engineers, technologists, technicians, construction inspectors, and drill rig operators.
For further details, contact Tracy Flinders at 705-324-9144 ext. 3295 or email tracy.flinders@flemingcollege.ca or CATT at 519-888-4770 or email alice.seviora@uwaterloo.ca