Henkels & McCoy Compact Directional
Drilling in California for Verizon FTTP
The fiber optic market really started
to pick up steam again over the last year and a half. This
resurgence of activity has generated a lot of excitement
in the trenchless construction industry. Last mile
fiber-to-the-home projects are popping up all over the
country, in big cities and rural communities. While
some of the work occurs as new construction, a majority
is occurring in established neighborhoods.
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Verizon is one of the world's leading
providers of high-growth communications services. Verizon
companies combined are the largest providers of wire line
and wireless communications in the United States, operating
in one of the most challenging and competitive markets. Verizon
has committed itself to providing its customers with advanced,
integrated network solutions that will help meet their
current and future network needs on a global basis. To
accomplish that goal, they are pushing fiber-to-the-premises
(FTTP) services. The company began implementing its
FTTP program in early 2002. Since then the program
continues to expand and now includes projects in most Verizon
service areas including a large-scale program in Southern
California. The project consists of two types of
installations greenfield and overlay. Greenfield
installations occur with new construction, installing fiber
optic cable from the start. Overlay installations
occur in established neighborhoods.
Henkels and McCoy, (H&M) Blue
Bell, PA was contracted to tackle the conduit installation
work for the Verizon FTTP program in Southern California. With
restoration costs accounting for a large portion of each
project Henkels & McCoy crews are utilizing trenchless
technology as often as possible. For many of the
installations, H&M crews and sub contractors are using Grundodrill
4X compact directional drills from trenchless equipment
manufacturer TT Technologies, Aurora, Ill.
Contractor
Background
Henkels & McCoy, founded in 1923 by John B. Henkels,
Jr., started with tree trimming, landscaping. The Great
Depression nearly drove the company to ruin, but a hurricane
in New England in 1938 proved to be the turning point in
the
company’s history. While the storm was still
blowing its
way through the Northeast, Henkels & McCoy rallied, recruiting teams of linemen to send to the area. Just
hours after the winds subsided, Henkels & McCoy crews
arrived to restore utility services.
Today, Henkels & McCoy is one
of the largest privately held engineering, network development
and construction firms serving the communications, information
technology and utility industries in the United States. They
offer one of the largest networks of qualified individuals
available in the industry through over 80 permanent offices
and operation facilities strategically located across the
nation and selected international markets.
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H&M director of underground construction & telecom
services DeRoy “Butch” Silveous detailed the
company’s ties to the telecommunications industry. He
said, “Over the years, we have established ourselves
as a trusted resource for operating telephone companies.
We serve this market through the design, engineering and
installation of local loop infrastructure and equipment.
At present, we work for the ten largest operating telephone
companies in the United States as well as many of the smaller,
leading independents. We are specialists in the route design
and placement of long-haul fiber optic cable, having installed
thousands of miles for long-distance, interexchange, and
carriers' carriers.
Henkels & McCoy offers total engineering,
design, layout, installation, service, and maintenance
of fiber optic cable and support devices. Our capabilities
include inside and outside plant construction for multi-mode
LAN fiber systems as well as long-haul single mode systems
and optical ground wire.
We have successfully built fiber optic
backbone supporting multiple communication services under
one sheath. Working with telecommunications companies,
we have installed thousands of miles of fiber optic cable.”
With that level of experience in utility
construction comes a keen insight into what construction
techniques work and which ones don’t for specific
applications. In the case of the conduit installation
in California, it is compact directional drilling that
receives a great deal of emphasis.
Directional
Drilling Capabilities
According to TT Technologies Directional Drilling Specialist
Paul Rogers, the development of smaller drills has been
going on for several years. He said, “I think
some of people in the industry saw this coming or at least
hoped it would come eventually. Those equipment manufacturers
that anticipated it really got a head start on everyone
and the equipment shows it. It is easier to use,
more capable and more reliable.
With some compact drills offering
as much as 9,800 lbs. of thrust and pullback, the machines
are able to accomplish a wide range of installation tasks. Henkels
and McCoy crews are using the Grundodrill
4X to install 1 1/4-inch to 2-inch diameter polyethylene
conduit for underground fiber optic cable installations
at lengths up to 500 feet. ”
According to Silveous, the compact
directional drill is actually part of a logical progression
in terms of the equipment they have used in the past. He
said, “Using compact directional drilling applications
to install conduits and cabling is a more logical and cost
effective method of installation. It is less intrusive
in terms of the environment you are working in and is small
enough to use where larger
units are not an option. It is quicker then conventional
open trench methods, faster then using pneumatic piercing
tools and requires less clean up. It is an essential
piece of equipment and is used everyday”.
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Rogers said, “These mini-drills
work well in residential or commercial areas. They’re
lightweight. They can be transported on a trailer
pulled by a Cone-ton truck and require minimal crews to
operate. The 4X’s special steel track with
bonded rubber pads offers excellent traction and durability
while minimizing potential damage to concrete and turf,
which is important in residential settings.
Plus the units are very easy to operate. The
computerized Smart Vice system simplifies the drilling
process by automating the drills vice cycling operations. The
operator has single push button control of the function. That
helps improve efficiency and speeds up drill times. The
vice is also self-centering, reducing wear and tear. The operator can return to manual control with the flip
of a switch. The whole system is very user friendly.”
Project
Scope
For the Verizon project in Southern California, Henkels & McCoy
crews are installing 1 1/4-inch and 2-inch diameter conduit
to house fiber optic cable. According to Silveous,
a typical project includes thousands of feet of conduit
installation. He said, “The projects are let
in various sizes with 20,000 feet of conduit installation
being a typical project. Of that about 16,000 feet
is easement with another 4,000 feet of street crossings. The
allotted time on a project like this is about 6 to 8 weeks
so we really need to keep things moving. Which includes
placing the fiber, splicing and testing the fiber after
the conduit is installed.”
In addition to the amount of duct
that needs to be installed, H&M crews are also faced
with approximately 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of concrete
removal and replacement, as well as 4,500 square feet of
asphalt removal and replacement per project. To mitigate
for impact of restoration, H&M crews utilize trenchless
technology as much as possible.
Rogers said, “This is a perfect
arena to highlight the capabilities of the compact directional
drill. The unit was specifically designed for this
type of work. And the Henkels & McCoy crews are
really getting a lot out of their drills. The drills
are being used everyday and have successfully installed
tens of thousands of feet of conduit to date.”
According to Silveous, the trenchless
aspect cannot be overlooked. He said, “If you
can imagine a manicured, gated ‘Home Owners Association,’ where
the customer has designed a new fiber conduit system behind
the curb, under sidewalks, driveways, through landscaped
front lawns, under trees and bushes, with home owners demanding
their lawns be left immaculate; add a customer who wanted
the work done yesterday…you will soon learn the
benefits of trenchless technology.”
Jim Schill
Technical Writer
Mankato, MN
Last Mile,
2006
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