D3

FIELD PROCEDURES FOR

INSPECTION AND PREVENTION OF DAMAGE TO TRANSCO

PLANT OPERATING AT PRESSURES UP TO 7 bar

APRIL 1993

J323 ( Rev 11/97 )

Name : ..................................................
District : ...............................................
FOREWORD CONTENTS

These Transco Field Procedures are for on-site inspection of plant

operating at pressures up to 7 bar. Liaison with other Utilities, Page
etc., by the Engineer is covered in G10 'Notes for Guidance on
Prevention of Damage to Transco Distribution Plant'. Avoiding 1. INTRODUCTION 3
damage to pipelines operating at transmission pressures is covered
2. EQUIPMENT 3
by SSW2 'Code of Practice for safe working in the vicinity of
Transco transmission pipelines and associated installations 3. DETAILS OF ACTIVITIES 3
operating at pressures in excess of 7 bar'.
Compliance with this specification does not confer immunity from 3.1 General 3
prosecution for breach of statutory or other legal obligations.
3.2 Excavations and sites 3

DISCLAIMER 3.3 Gas escapes 4

This specification is provided for use by Transco and such of its 3.4 Location of Transco plant 4
contractors as are obliged by the terms of their contracts to comply
with this specification. Where this specification is used by any 3.5 Protection of Transco plant 5
other party it is the responsibility of that party to ensure that the
specification is correctly applied. 3.6 Determination of pipework affected
by excavation 6

3.7 Support of trench walls 7

3.8 Backfill 10

3.9 Avoiding damage during and after

reinstatement 11

3.10 Recording of visits 11

Inspection and Prevention of Damage -1-

-2- Inspection and Prevention of Damage
FIELD PROCEDURES FOR INSPECTION AND
PREVENTION OF DAMAGE TO TRANSCO PLANT
OPERATING AT PRESSURES UP TO 7 bar
1. INTRODUCTION
• These Field Procedures are intended to help you to prevent
damage to Transco plant operating at pressures up to 7 bar.
• Brief details of the activities in which you will be involved
are as follows:
- visiting and inspecting all notified work sites and also
other excavations and works found;
- giving advice and taking action to safeguard persons
and property in the event of a gas escape being found;
- giving simple information regarding the location and
protection of Transco plant to third parties;
- recording and making simple reports on all visits
made;
- noting and reporting signs of ground movement, or
abnormal loadings that could affect Transco plant.
2. EQUIPMENT
• The following basic equipment should enable you to carry
out your work:
- maps, road/street index and appropriate plans of
Transco plant;
- gas detection instrument;
- pipe and cable location equipment;
- measuring tape;
Inspection and Prevention of Damage
- standard safety and protection leaflets;
- two-way radio;
- fire extinguisher;
- notebook, forms, leaflets, etc.
3. DETAILS OF ACTIVITIES
3.1 General
• You will protect Transco plant either:
- on site by advice, information and action and/or
- by reporting back to your Engineer or his
representative for further assistance.
• You should establish and maintain contact with other
Public Utilities, Local Authorities, Undertakings and Civil
Engineering Contractors, thus enabling regular
observations of their activities to be made in all
circumstances where Transco plant is likely to be
endangered or future access impeded.
• You should hand to the person in charge of any works the
safety and protection pamphlets on your first visit to each
site.
• You should notify your Engineer or his representative who
will notify Transmission if you suspect that their plant may
be at risk from works.
3.2 Excavations and sites
• You must distinguish between two types of work:
- works that have been notified to Transco, and
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 - works which have not been notified.
• You may be required to provide a full time monitoring
service on sites where continuous excavating and work near
Transco plant is being carried out.
• In addition to the notified works, there are many holes dug
without Transco being told. You should keep a sharp look
out for these works and visit each site. There are also other
actions and conditions that can affect, possibly endanger or
impede access to Transco plant. They should be watched out
for, inspected and appropriate action taken on site, recorded
and reported back to your Engineer or his representative.
• Be on the look out for things like:
- buildings being erected over/adjacent to Transco
plant;
- damaged fencing/buildings and installations belonging
to Transco;
- signs of settlement at or adjacent to patches in the
road: during the course of your duties you should
inspect and record any signs of road cracking,
subsidence and slippage. Also, the route of abnormal
sized vehicles and/or the site where abnormal loadings
have taken place, or are taking place, e.g. sites where
lorries run over the footpath, verge. These reports
should be presented to your Engineer or his
representative for action and recording;
- marker posts indicating Transco plant, road boxes and
covers, etc., damaged or buried by resurfacing or
reinstatement works;
- water main breakage causing wash-out of subsoil;
- concrete around gas mains, particularly cast iron.
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3.3 Gas escapes
• A gas escape, no matter how notified to you or found by
you, must have immediate priority over all your other work
and must be treated as an emergency. In dealing with
emergencies, you must first take action to safeguard life
and property. You must notify the escape to your
appropriate local office in accordance with your District
emergency procedures without delay.
• You should then check the concentration of gas and the
area affected if you are provided with a gas detection
instrument to enable you to do this. You have a duty to
continue monitoring the area affected by gas and to advise
persons 'at risk' until the leak is secured or you are relieved.
• The above instructions are complementary to procedures
for dealing with gas escapes.
3.4 Location of Transco plant
• You will be required to carry out a location and marking
service for Contractors and Utilities, advising them of the
position of Transco plant, both mains and services.
• You should check the location of Transco plant both by
measurement and by location equipment whenever
possible. All map or sketch discrepancies as found on site
should be reported back to your Engineer or his
representative. You are provided with maps and location
equipment to carry out this duty.
• If a service pipe is not shown on Transco records, do not
assume that it is dead or that it does not belong to Transco.
Always ensure that:
- any unrecorded service is traced back to a point
outside the property boundary;
Inspection and Prevention of Damage
 - the service pipe is dead and physically isolated before
allowing further work on the service.
If further action is necessary, contact your Engineer or his
representative for guidance. Further action may include
isolation of the service at the main. Make sure that you
report back to your Engineer the routes of all non-domestic
gas services found to be unrecorded to allow them to be
entered on Transco records.
If a main is not shown on Transco records, do not assume
that it is dead or that it does not belong to Transco. Contact
your Engineer or his representative for guidance.
• As well as providing this location service, it is essential that
you locate and ascertain the position of all Transco plant
near to all excavation works.
• It is important that Transco plant near to excavations is
found because it may be in danger even though it is not
going to be exposed.
3.5 Protection of Transco plant
• Your prime objective is to ensure that third party works are
executed in a proper and workmanlike manner so they do
not endanger the safety of Transco plant. You must stress
that Transco plant can cause danger if damaged. The
following typical operations are likely to put Transco plant
at considerable risk:
- mechanical excavation;
- pile driving;
- blasting;
- large diameter moling;
Inspection and Prevention of Damage
- pipe splitting;
- tunnel construction;
- deep excavations;
- reduction of cover, even if temporary;
- seismic/soil surveys;
- welding/hot works;
- buildings being erected over or near to Transco plant;
- landscaping/tree planting.
• Explosives should not be used within 30 m, and piling or
boring should not be carried out within 15 m of any
Transco plant without the written consent of Transco.
• You must point out the location of Transco plant and advise
that hand digging is essential to locate the precise position
of plant: you should press this point most strongly.
• If you are in any doubt about the records or pipe locations,
you should not agree to any mechanical excavations in the
area until the Transco plant has been located by hand
digging.
• Only after location of the Transco plant by hand digging
will you agree to any mechanical excavations being used.
You should not agree to and should strongly resist
mechanical excavation taking place within 0.5 m of
Transco plant. When you are giving advice regarding the
use of mechanical excavation, you should take into
consideration the hazards that can be caused if the plant
becomes damaged.
In very special cases, the 0.5 m minimum distance may be
varied by your Engineer or his representative.
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• Take special precautions to prevent damage to pressure known as the Model Consultative Procedure. Informing
regulating and gas storage facilities and associated control your Engineer or his representative of Transco plant at risk
systems. Where excavations are to be made within 10 m of from such works will ensure the appropriate procedures are
the perimeter of a pressure reduction station, governor applied.
installation or within a holder station, tell the person in
• The examples illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 show when the
charge of the site about suitable precautions and in
pipe may be at risk.
particular the consequences of damage to impulse lines.
Where necessary, make sure he has the assistance of a
person competent to exercise control of the plant.
3.6.2 Excavations crossing buried pipe
• Make a careful check of all Transco plant exposed and
• There are two conditions where pipes crossed by
ascertain if any damage has been caused to the protective
excavations are considered to be potentially at risk and
coating. Any damage found must be reported for repair.
where you must report back to your Engineer or his
When Transco plant has been exposed, welding or other hot representative for consideration of any protective action,
works involving naked flames should be carried out in close i.e.:
proximity to the Transco plant only if great care is taken to
- where the excavation exposing the pipe is more than
avoid damage to plastics gas pipes or to the protective
1.5 m deep from the surface;
coatings of other gas pipes.
- where the length of pipe exposed and underdug by an
excavation less than 1.5 m deep is more than the
3.6 Determination of pipework affected by excavation following dimension:
3.6.1 General
• There are two situations which are particularly hazardous:
- where the pipe bed is removed;
and
- where the pipe is in the vicinity of a trench wall.
• All trench walls move no matter how well they are
• Pipes of smaller diameters are more vulnerable to damage
supported.
during site operations, and the above critical lengths have
• Transco has reached agreement with the Water Industry, been chosen to reflect this fact.
defining arrangements for replacing or providing protection
for certain plant ahead of deep excavation works. This is
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FIGURE 1 - Plan view of excavation exposing buried
FIGURE 2 - Parallel pipes not exposed
pipe
3.7 Support of trench walls
3.6.3 Parallel pipes not exposed
• All trench walls will move, no matter how well they are
• There are two conditions where pipes running parallel to an
supported. It is important that this movement is limited as
excavation are considered to be potentially at risk and you
there is a danger to Transco plant from ground movement
must report back to your Engineer or his representative for
associated with excavations.
consideration of any protective action, i.e.:
• When trenching is being carried out near to Transco plant,
- where trenches deeper than 1.2 m are within 8 m of
you must stress that the vertical sides of excavations of
mains;
more than 1.2 m deep should be supported. Trenches less
- where trenches are shallower than 1.2 m and the than 1.2 m deep in mobile soils or running sand should also
distance from the edge of the trench to the adjacent be supported. You should ensure that trench wall supports
main (D) is less than the depth of the trench (H). are inserted as soon as possible after the excavation has
been completed. See Figures 3a) to 3d) inclusive.
• The distance of the main from trench wall may have to be
found by using your pipe and cable locator and by referring
to District records.

Inspection and Prevention of Damage -7-

• Steel piling/poling boards, and trench jacks/struts are
interchangeable, except that a timber pad should be
interposed between trench jacks and piling.
If steel piling is driven into the ground, the lower walling
and struts may be omitted.
FIGURE 3 - Methods of supporting trench walls
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• Water present in the ground or due to weather conditions
can cause serious movement problems on trench walls, and
increases the need for good standards of support. Where
pumping is taking place, you should examine the discharge
water and if it contains a high soils content you should
report the fact to your Engineer or his representative.
Inspection and Prevention of Damage
 FIGURE 3 - (Continued)

Inspection and Prevention of Damage -9-

3.8 Backfill
• You should check and make sure all trenches are carefully
backfilled and well consolidated to the standards defined in
the HAUC* 'Specification for the reinstatement of openings
in highways'.
* Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee.

Not only should the excavations be carefully watched, but it

is also vital that backfill and consolidation works comply
with the required standards. See Figure 4.
• Backfill material should be selected and no stones, bricks or
lumps of concrete should be in the material over or under
the pipework. Particular care must be taken to ensure that
the backfill material is firmly compacted around and beneath
mains and services. Backfilling of a trench so as to cause
variation in the support provided to pipelines is not
acceptable. Examples of unacceptable pipe support
conditions are illustrated in Figure 5.

FIGURE 4 - Backfill required standards

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 highways' should be reported to your Engineer or his
representative.
• You should not agree to large heavy lorries, cranes, etc.,
passing over pipework unless temporary roadways are
constructed. Additionally, no undue loads such as spoil
heaps, lighting columns, traffic lights, road signs or
telephone boxes should be allowed over plant.
• You should also be on the lookout for works that might
obstruct access to Transco plant. No other Utilities' plant
should be allowed to be laid above and parallel to our
plant: they should cross at right angles. Additionally, other
Utilities' plant should not be laid so as to make access for
maintenance difficult.
3.10 Recording of visits
• Details of each visit must be noted directly after each site
visit, although only simple notes will be required. You will
be provided with a notebook in which to enter the
information required.
• You should enter the following information as a minimum:
- date and time of visit;
- exact location of works or ground movement
(including measurements if necessary);
FIGURE 5 - Backfill conditions
- name of person or persons contacted;
3.9 Avoiding damage during and after reinstatement - condition of site and works.
• No power consolidation should take place until 300 mm of
soft fill above the pipe has been hand rammed.
Consolidation which does not comply with the practices laid
down in the HAUC 'Specification for the reinstatement of

Inspection and Prevention of Damage - 11 -