'Cowboy Contractors' Still A Threat To HDD

摘要

New and emerging technologies are at risk from being improperly used, and few things can slow the acceptance of an innovation faster than bungled projects. Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) was just coming into its own in the mid-'90s when telecommunications companies and contractors recognized the key role it could play in completing the long-haul routes that would be the backbone of the information highway. At the time, construction was carried out at a frantic pace to meet often-unrealistic completion deadlines. Small contracting companies with little or no experience in directional drilling became HDD subcontracting specialists, and many proceeded to make a mess of their efforts to install underground duct for fiber optic cable, hitting existing utilities about as fast as they could launch a pilot bore.