Peter Kinsey, Consultant for Pipeline Safety.

Consulting to Petrochemical, Oil, Gas & Construction Industries World Wide.

Dictionary of Pipeliner's Terms

A Dolly A trailer converter dolly that is towed from a single hitch located on the centerline of the towing unit.

A Train A combination of vehicles composed of a tractor, a semitrailer and either an A Dolly and a semitrailer or a full trailer attached to the lead semitrailer in a like manner as if an A Dolly were used.

AC (Athey) wagon A tracked towing trailer

Axle Group Any number of consecutive axles on a vehicle through which weight is intended to be equally distributed.

Axle Spread The longitudinal distance between the extreme axle centers of the axle group.

Axle Weight The total weight transmitted to the highway by the axle or axle group.

B Train A combination of vehicles composed of a tractor, a semitrailer, followed by another semitrailer attached to the first semitrailer by the means of a fifth wheel mounted on the rear of the first semitrailer.

Back End Those crews behind the welding crew

Backfill The dirt/sand material used to cover the pipe in the ditch

Bead The root pass of the weld

Beaver tail The extreme rear sloped, fabricated steel portion of a lowbed trailer used to facilitate a tractor mounting the trailer from the rear

Bell hole A widened and sloped section of the ditch where welders will work when doing a tie in

Bender Machine for bending pipe

Berm A dyke of earth material formed to contain fluid, such as fuel, in case of a spill or leak, or to diver water on a slope in the prevention of erosion.

Blacktop Tar sealed road

Bladder Sack like container for storing water, diesel or other liquids

Blasting mats Large mats fabricated of tires secured tightly together with bolts and chains. Used to prevent projectiles of rock (flyrock) from becoming airborne out of the blasting site.

Blow down Releasing air or water pressure through valves at a test head, after testing a section of pipe

Bone Yard Lay down area for equipment adjacent to the pipeline area, usually either at kick Off or the end of the line.

Boom Pipeline sideboom tractor

Boxing a sag Squaring off the R.O.W. at a creek/river crossing

Breakers On hillsides and inclined slopes, the placement of sand bags or spraying of foam to surround the pipe, as a dam, to the top of the ditch, to prevent water flow and subsequent erosion around the pipe. Water breakers are berms built at an angle across the ROW to divert ground water and prevent ROW erosion.

Buckles A deformity in the pipe resulting in an inward protruding bend, often caused by ditch rock, bending mistakes…

Buddy system An arrangement by which two workers work together to ensure the health and safety of each other.

Buffing Grinding the pipe with a wire brush

Bug The automatic welding machine that welds inside or outside the pipe on a track

C Dolly A trailer converter dolly, with a frame rigid in the horizontal plane that is towed from two hitches located in a horizontal transverse line on the towing unit, that precludes any rotation in the horizontal plane about the hitch points.

C Train A combination of vehicles composed of a tractor, a semitrailer, followed by another semitrailer attached to the first semitrailer by the means of a C Dolly.

CAD welding Welding test lead wire on the pipe and casing

Calipers A type of tongs designed specifically for and used for lifting pipe - faster

than hooking and unhooking slings

Cap The top pass of the weld

Carry back On setup and pipegang, the distance the pipe section is brought back to a "start stake" to ensure that after the pipe section is lowered in, it will overlap the following section, necessitating the removal of a "pup". The start stake is placed by the engineering crew to ensure a sufficient overlap.

Chainage The accumulated length of the pipeline from Kickoff marked in kilometers and meters

Charge Any explosive which is loaded, placed or fixed and which may or may not contain a primer

Cheater A length of pipe used to lengthen the handle of another tool for the purpose of increasing leverage and power

Cherry Picker Truck mounted crane

Choker A wire rope or synthetic sling used to encircle the pipe by passing one end through a loop in the other end thereby providing an attachment which can pull laterally as well as vertically

Choking pipe Wood skids, wedges or rock material used to stop pipe from rolling on a flat surface

Clam Excavating equipment

Clamps A circular clamp that is hinged in half to facilitate encircling the pipe. Control the ends of two pipe joints or sections during tie in welding

Coating The paint, plastic or dope the bare steel of the pipe is covered with from the factory or that is applied on the "Coating" crew

Cold-wrapping Applying tape type coatings that do not require the application of heat

Combination A bend incorporating a sidebend and a sag or overbend

Coming-in-side The upstream side of a section or tie in.

Coupons Sections of cut pipe, used for practicing welding

Cradle Roller slings for lowering in pipe

Cradles A lifting device through which the pipe slides, fitted with multiple padded rollers and wheels, used on Lower-in that rolls along a section while supporting it. Used to lower the pipe into the ditch

Crotch A cradle of skids which prohibits sideways movement of the pipe

Crumbing the ditch Ahead of Lower-in removing material from the ditch that might damage the coating or cause a buckle in the pipe.

Cutting bit The business/cutting end of a road bore or directional drilling auger

Danger Zone A location within 6 meters of a piece of heavy equipment

Daylighting Exposing a utility that was previously buried

Deadman tractor A tractor used as an anchor for a pipe section (such as on lowering-in) or when winching equipment on steep slopes

Detonating chord A flexible chord containing high explosives which may be used to detonate other explosive materials

Diapers Sorbent pads used to soak up oil spills

Ditch line Centerline of ditch, marked by red stakes, stones or markers along the right of way

Ditchside The side of the right of way on the opposite side of the ditchline from the workside, where the spoil pile is placed

Dog it Stop heavy equipment operation

Dogleg An irregularity in a straight line - in a pipe section, lay of the right of way etc.

Donut Internal brace used in bending operation when end of pipe is near the die. Used to prevent egging of pipe

Downstream The direction the product will flow when in the pipeline is in service

Dozer Caterpillar tractor with a blade for pushing dirt or sand

Dragup To quit or resign

Dragup Tank A large tank built into the deck of a welders rig

Drawbar Structural member of a sled, full trailer, pony trailer or trailer converter dolly that includes a device for the purpose of coupling with a trailer hitch, fifth wheel or hook on a sling

Drill pattern Predetermined pattern and spacing of bore holes for loading explosives on blasting crew

Egging Pipe becoming out of round, during bending process

Eye balling Judging by sight rather than using an instrument

Fill line Small inch light wall pipe 6-10 inches diameter used to carry water from a water source to a fill point, during testing operations

Fill point A test point used to fill a pipe section with water for testing

Final Tie Ins The crew that welds together or ties in, after test, the tested sections to complete a continuous pipeline.

Flume pipe Pipe used in ditches to control the flow of water

Flyrock Rock projectiles ejected skyward from a blasting zone

Foreign line A pipeline that crosses the centerline of the new pipeline under construction

Front End Those crews ahead of and including the welding crew

Going-out-side The downstream side of a section or tie in

Goose Internal hydraulically operated internal clamp used by pipegang welding crew

Goose Internal clamp on front end welding crew

Grousers Horizontal lugs on tracks of tracked equipment

Hammer wrench Large wrench with square end designed to be struck by a sledge hammer. Used on Final Tie In crew when tightening flanges on valves

Hand Pipeline worker

Headache Rack Strong (reinforced steel) barrier mounted on the back of the cab of a truck to prevent the load sliding forward and breaching the rear cabin

wall injuring the driver

Heating coils Electrical coils, used on the coating crew that are hinged to enable encircling and heat the pipe

Heavy wall pipe Mainline pipe with a thicker wall thickness than line pipe

High boy A conventional truck trailer with deck approximately 5 foot off the ground

High-low When the pipe and weld is slightly out of true

Hoarding Plastic over a wood frame used at a test point to maintain temperature of exposed test section

Hoe Rock Hammer Backhoe fitted with rock hammer

Holiday Hole or gap in pipeline coating

Hot Dope Old method of coating pipe with hot melted tar like substance

Hot Pass Second weld layer

Hot-wrapping Applying tape type coatings that require the application of heat

Hotpass The filler pass of the weld

Hustle skids The work involved in the loading/unloading of skids, building cradles to support the pipe etc.

Jeep (Holiday detector) Electrical device used to detect abnormalities/holidays in pipeline coating

Joint A length of pipe

Kick Off Where the work starts on a pipeline project. The work site at the very beginning of a pipeline mainline or looping project.

Kilometer post A post indicating the kilometer chainage from kickoff

Lathe A stake, sharpened on one end, driven into the ground and used to mark centerline of ditch, chainage, or other purpose

Line pipe The mainline pipeline pipe

Load line hook The hook that supports the weight

Loop A parallel section of pipeline

Looping Work on a section of pipeline that parallels an existing pipeline system.

Loose end The free, open end of a longer section of pipe

Low Boy/Low Bed A low slung trailer used to haul heavy equipment

M-Scope An electronic device used to locate buried facilities: pipelines, powerlines etc.

Mandrel Internal, maneuverable die inside the pipe used in bending operation

Mormon Board Backfilling implement

MSDS Sheets Material Safety Data Sheets - Sheets providing the worker with information of hazardous products so he may protect himself

Mud board A wooden elevated (4-5 inches) platform for welders to lie on when welding under the pipe

Nightcap Caps made out of material, plastic, wood etc to fit over and close off the end of the pipe to prevent entry of foreign material

Overbend A bend in the pipe that is convex - low on the ends and high in the middle

P.I. Change in the direction of the right of way centerline, usually identified by a stake/lathe with the chainage written on it

Padding Selected finer material placed in the ditch, beneath, beside and on top of the pipe to prevent damage to the pipe or coating by rocks. Usually 8" is required under the pipe and 12" beside and on top of the pipe.

Pass A weld once around pipe

Pig Internal pipeline cleaning or inspection device

Pig Catcher A device for receiving a pig

Powder man The worker on a blasting crew whose job is to load explosives in the bore holes

Pulling head A heavy reinforced end cap for a pipe section with a towing eye, for sustained lateral pulling of that section, used on road bores and river/creek sections

Pup Short length of pipe

Quad Welding machines mounted on a tractor

Reach Rod Long rod with wheel on end which is used to control the mandrel inside the pipe when bending pipe

Reach Rod

Reamer A cutting head that increases the bore hole size

Ripper A vertical earth/rock cutting blade mounted on the back of a dozer

River weights Circular concrete weights attached to the pipe when pipe is laid under water or in wet swampy areas.

Roach A berm (mound of earth) over the pipeline

Rolling Seams Rotating pipe in a sling to locate the longitudinal factory seam at a desired position for pipe bending

ROW Pipeline night-of-way

Rubber boot seal The seal between the casing and pipe on either ends of a road/river bore

Safety Fuse A flexible chord containing black powder which burns internally and is used to initiate a plain detonator

Sag A bend in the pipe that is concave - high on the ends and low in the middle

Set in tractor The tractor on the front-end pipegang crew that picks up each succeeding joint and sets it into the welding clamps

Setup The phase of pipe handling which immediately follows bending. This crew positions the pipe advantageously for the welding crew to ensure minimum required handling by the front-end pipegang crew. It is also laid out as per carry back and other stakes left by the engineering crew

Sho-Fly Access road to pipeline construction ROW

Shoot a bend To calculate the degrees of a bend with a transit

Shotrock Blasted shards of rock

Sidebend A bend in the pipe that directs the pipe to one side or the other

Silk screen Fine mesh plastic screening used to filter sediment out of flowing water for environmental purposes

Skid Wooden support used to build supports for the pipe

Slider A simple type of skid support for pipe joints/sections

Sling Looped wire rope or synthetic line used for lifting pipe

Sneaky A manned internal pipe repair vehicle A pipeline construction project

Sourman Equipment with used to yoyo a drag bucket at a river crossing

Spacers Devices strapped/bolted to the pipe to prevent it being damaged by the metal casing when the pipe is inserted into the casing. Used on road or river bores

Spiral Pipe Pipe with a spiral factory welded seam

Splitter A length of safety fuse which notches at 50 millimeter (two inch) intervals and is used to ignite safety fuses

Spoil pile The excavated ditch material

Spoons Long handled (12-15 foot) shovels used ahead of lower-in cradles to remove rock from the centerline of the ditch, under the pipe, which could cause buckles, when regulations prohibit workers entering unsafe ditch.

Spotter A worker designated to identify the appropriate location on the right of way to drop a load, park a vehicle etc. to a driver or operator

Spread A pipeline construction project

Spread Man Construction Superintendent

Spudding Intentional penetration as in "spudding' pipe in a bender

Squeeze iron Iron from squeeze pump to test head

Stabber Employee who helps line-up pipe for welding

Stemming The material placed in the open end of a loaded hole which confines the explosive gases

Stemming piles Loaded bags of stemming material used in blasting

Stinger Welding rod and holder

Straw Boss Crew foreman's lead worker

Stringing The crew that moves the pipe from the pipeyard to the right of way and positions the joints along the right of way parallel to but sufficient distance from the ditchline

Swabbing Using a ring of pipe cut to a slightly smaller diameter than the line pipe with an outer layer of soft rubber which is pulled through a joint of pipe to clean out the inside of the pipe

Swamp mats Heavily constructed pads of wood used to support equipment in swampy areas

Tack Rig Welding tractor

Tag line length of rope attached to a suspended load which is used to control swinging motion in the load

Tail chain Chain on the end of a equipment winch line

Tamping Compressing of explosives into a hole usually by means of a rod designed for that purpose

Test head A short section of pipe with a convex end cap and valves, welded to the end of a section. Used in the filling of pipe and controlling pressure during testing operations.

Test point A location in a pipe section chosen to be used as a work site for testing operations, where the welders have left two loose ends.

To the house Going home after shift

Torpedoes/Moles/Rockets Underground earth piercing tools

Tow cat Tractor used to pull any equipment or vehicles stuck on the right of way.

Upstream The direction from which the product will come from when in service

Utility Any pipeline, buried or overhead powerline, fiber optic cable, sewer etc.

Wobble A strike. Workers collectively refuse to go to work in support of some demand

Workside The side of the right of way on which the equipment and vehicular traffic move

Yoyo Using bucket on a drag line to get ditch depth at a river crossing

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