POINT OF VIEW
On the Subject of
Nomenclature…
he genesis for this article came
T from attending the closing lun-
cheon at the Toronto No-Dig
Conference and dining with just one of
those great people who come from all
facets of the industry. He is a seasoned
geotechnical engineer but is new to
the trenchless industry. It was a fasci-
nating conversation because it gave a
fresh perspective through a window
that can sometimes get blurred from
spending so much time in our industry.
The conversation revolved around the
various trenchless technologies in use
and the challenges with overlapping
and even confusing nomenclature.
When we engage our careers on a day-
to-day basis, it is sometimes difficult to
maintain a view of the bigger picture
because of all the minutia.To encapsulate
this article, a quote is highlighted from
one of my favorite movies, “Cool Hand
Luke.” The quote is from a dialogue
between the prison superintendent and
prisoner Luke, who had just been caught
after another escape. In this scene, the
prison superintendent tells the prisoners
and Luke,“What we’ve got here is a fail-
ure to communicate.”
This quote is so poignant in articulat-
ing the challenge associated with
explaining some of our technologies.At
the root of the challenge was the com-
mon terms jack and bore and pilot-tube
microtunneling. To expound on these
terms and hopefully articulate the chal-
lenge with the use of these terms, I
have asked two questions that deserve
deliberation. I might add that the prolif-
eration of the following vernacular is
most likely the result of the rapid devel-
opment of trenchless technologies
over the last 20 years.
What is jack and bore? Unfortunately
this term is still rampant in our indus-
try. There are many technologies that
jack pipe and that use some form of
boring. It is a little surprising that this
generic term is still pervasive. It has
been five years since the promulgation
of ASCE’s Manuals and Reports on
Engineering Practice No. 106,
Horizontal Auger Boring Projects,
2004.This is a very good reference and
66 TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY May 2009
although it has fostered significant
progress in application of the auger
boring technology, there is still a need
to get the word out that jack and bore
is an antiquated term. In my aforemen-
tioned lunch conversation, this subject
came up and, unfortunately, we both
have come across the use of jack and
bore on many a set of drawings in
recent times. As such, the industry real-
ly needs to continue to make a diligent
effort to educate those around us.
There is no clear solution to this “fail-
ure to communicate” and it is so rooted
in our profession as a whole that it is
difficult to change. Complicating the
matter of vernacular is that there are
still DOTs that have a specification
called jack and bore. DOTs are not
always behind as several have adopted
the Geotechnical Baseline Report con-
cept, which is state of the practice. It
may be a simple matter of continuing
to disseminate the information across
industry sectors. In this endeavor, we
must also be cognizant of the reality of
information saturation. The best
approach at this point is to continue
dissemination of information through
No-Dig and other technical forums, to
continue this message in industry jour-
nals, and encourage colleagues, owners
and contractors to attend NASTT’s
New Installation Methods Good
Practices Course.
The use of pilot-tube microtunneling
as a vernacular and as a technology has
become a mainstay in our industry. The
pilot tube concept was originally devel-
oped in Germany for 4- and 6-in. diame-
ter house connection pipe. From there
it has blossomed into a viable and cost-
effective means of installing small diam-
eter pipe (up to 24 in. in its early form in
the United States).There is hesitation to
label it “small diameter” because manu-
facturers are now coming out with
these systems for pipe larger than 48 in.
At the same time, other terms relating to
similar (or even the same) technology
have been disseminated including guid-
ed boring system, auger drills, pilot pipe
jacking and guided boring machine.
To start out, it is important to high-
By Don Del Nero, P.E., C.D.T.
light that several manufacturers have
developed cutting-edge technologies
around the concept of pilot-tube micro-
tunneling. To this, they deserve great
credit. It is a natural tendency to attempt
to set apart “your similar” technology
from someone else’s. That just makes
simple business sense.
Well, allow me to build my case that
we should consider standardizing the
vernacular associated with this tech-
nology. A case can be made that pilot-
tube microtunneling, although it has
similar elements to a microtunnel oper-
ation, is not truly a microtunnel. In
consideration of space that will be left
for another day. What we need to do is
to build a case around vernacular that
everyone can live with. In that light, the
term “piloted auger boring” seems to fit
the bill. This is rooted on the premise
that pilot-tube microtunneling has
more in common with auger boring
than it does with microtunneling. So,
why should we standardize this tech-
nology into a term that might be more
broadly utilized? For starters:
1. Marketing the product becomes
easier because folks are (or will
be) more familiar with the term
and enhancements or proprietary
aspects can be more easily
highlighted;
2. Owners don’t get the feeling they
are the guinea pig when a
technology is mobilized that
comes with a label they are not
familiar with;
3.There is a significant cost difference
between a microtunnel equipment
operation and a pilot-tube
microtunnel operation; and
4. Coming up to speed on the various
technologies becomes easier for
the newcomers; which we are
desperately in need of.
Admittedly, this one is a little more
complex, but it is at least worthy of
more dialogue.
Don Del Nero, P.E., C.D.T., is a global
tunnel specialist for CH2M HILL, based in
Atlanta.
www.trenchlessonline.com