Advancing Exit-Side HDD Operations: Improving Safety & Precision through Mechanised Jointing Management

Abstract

Australia’s latest workplace safety figures from 2023 report 2 600 serious injury claims in the construction industry (194 claims in the electricity, gas, water, and waste services sector) due to being hit by moving objects—a mechanism that also caused 24 worker fatalities across all industries in 2023, accounting for 12 % of total occupational deaths. This category includes chain-wrench strikes that can occur in horizontal directional drilling (HDD) exit side operations. Despite industry progress, traditional methods of joint connection and breakout remains a high-risk task—placing workers in close proximity to rotating drill pipe and energized tooling. These exposures continue to contribute to serious injury claims and lost-time incidents across trenchless construction environments. This paper introduces a mechanised exit side jointing management technique that hydraulically clamps and torques joints while the operator remains inside the excavator cab. This technique eliminates worker exposure to rotating drill pipe and tooling during connection and breakout procedures. Over a decade of North American field use confirms an 8.3 % average production return on investment, but the primary benefit is safety: lowering risk, compensation costs, and project delays that impact both contractors and the broader community. We detail the control system, real-time torque verification, and a step-by-step deployment guide, offering contractors across Australia and New Zealand a pragmatic and transferable solution. Commercial tools such as TONGHAND® are referenced solely to illustrate implementation. The focus remains on the broader method and its role in advancing safer, more efficient trenchless practice. 1 No-Dig Down Under 2025 Advancing Exit-Side HDD Operations: Improving Safety & Precision through Mechanised Jointing Management Craig Larson, Jorge Prince

Techniques