| 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 | |
| Access trail | Temporary road cut to allow equipment access to water for testing the pipeline | |
| 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 working along the pipeline corridor behind the welding crew | |
| Back slope | Slope of bar ditch farthest from the road | |
| Backfill | The dirt/sand material used to cover the pipe in the ditch | |
| Bar ditch | The drainage ditch adjacent to public roads | |
| Bead | The root pass of the weld | |
| Beaver tail | The extreme rear sloped, fabricated steel portion of a low bed 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 | |
| Bevel | The angled cut at the end of a joint of pipe | |
| Bird cage | The shape wire rope takes when forced into compression. The outer strands form a cage and at times displace the core | |
| top | Tar sealed road | |
| Bladder | Sack like container for storing water, diesel or other liquids | |
| Blanket | An insulated blanket that encircles the pipe and is used to cover a weld so it cools slowly. | |
| Blasting mats | Large mats fabricated of tires secured tightly together with bolts and chains. Used to prevent projectiles of rock (fly rock) from becoming airborne out of the blasting site. | |
| Block valve | A full throated mainline valve designed to stop the flow of gas or oil that when open will allow passage of a pipeline pig. | |
| 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. | |
| Bone yard | Equipment storage location | |
| Boom | Pipeline side boom tractor | |
| Boom hand | Side boom operator | |
| Boom line | The cable which is used to change the angle of the boom | |
| Bore | The diameter of the engine cylinder. Also diameter of any hole, e.g. the hole into which a bushing is placed | |
| Boring approach | Excavation that the backhoe has to make to put the boring machine in position to bore under a road or railway | |
| Boxing a sag | Squaring off the R.O.W. at a creek/river crossing | |
| Break joint | The last joint in a section | |
| Break over point | The point in a section of pipe, at which, when it is picked up, the weight of the free end will be great enough to cause the pipe to bend at the point at which the lift is being made. | |
| 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 | |
| Bronc | New pipeline worker - greenhorn | |
| Brush hog | An attachment to a farm tractor, that is used to chop or cut brush | |
| Buckle | A deformity in the pipe where the pipe wall has collapsed inward due to excessive pressure such as excessive point loading during a lift, dropping pipe onto a rock, or improper bending procedure. | |
| 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 | |
| Bunks | Planks set across the deck of a stringing trailer fitted with chocks, designed to keep the pipe from rolling off the trailer. | |
| 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. | |
| Cabling | On a side boom tractor, twisting the hook block beyond a one half revolution (180°) relative to the head sheaves | |
| 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 pipe gang, 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. | |
| Casing | Larger pipe that the carrier pipe is put through to protect it | |
| Cat bar | A one inch diameter steel bar 16" long, tapered on one end. Standard equipment for a side boom operator | |
| Catch off | The side boom on lowering in whose function is to assist the cradle tractors at places where difficulties are encountered. | |
| 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 | |
| Chase water out | Displacing water with dirt to force it out of the ditch | |
| 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 | |
| Chocker | Cable with a loop on each end used to rig loads | |
| Chocker belt | A specialized pipe lifting appurtenance, designed to prevent pipe rolling during hoisting, commonly used in pipeline construction | |
| Chocking pipe | Wood skids, wedges or rock material used to stop pipe from rolling on a flat surface | |
| 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 | |
| Clam | Excavating equipment with a free swinging bucket | |
| 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 dope | A tar like substance used for repairing jeeps, breaks in the pipe coating | |
| Cold-wrapping | Applying tape type coatings that do not require the application of heat | |
| Combination | A bend incorporating a side bend and a sag or over bend | |
| Come along | A hand operated mechanical device which uses a chain or cable for lifting or pulling | |
| Coming-in-side | The upstream side of a section or tie in. | |
| Concrete warning pad | Pad placed over a pipeline to warn anyone who might dig in the area | |
| Cork | A specialized bar welded onto the grousers for addition traction on ice and frost. | |
| Coupons | Sections of cut pipe, used for practicing welding | |
| Cradle | Roller slings for lowering in pipe | |
| Cradle | Sling equipped with rollers designed to lift pipe while travelling | |
| Cradle tractor | Side boom used to carry pipe cradle | |
| 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 | |
| Crazy carpet | Fiber material used on wetland to build a construction access road | |
| Cross over | Ditch centerline moves to other side of the right of way | |
| Cross spooling | Cable which has been unevenly laid on a winch drum, with subsequent potential damage to cable | |
| Crotch | A cradle of skids which prohibits sideways movement of the pipe | |
| Crotch | Skids supports constructed in a manner to prevent pipe from rolling | |
| Crotch pipe | To prevent pipe from rolling | |
| Crowning | A lifting practice where two side booms brace their booms against each other at the crown of the booms, one on each side of a lifting point. | |
| Crumbing the ditch | Ahead of Lower-in removing material from the ditch that might damage the coating or cause a buckle in the pipe. | |
| Cut stake | Stake which indicated the required depth of a cut | |
| Cutting bit | The business/cutting end of a road bore or directional drilling auger | |
| Cycle equipment | Gradual increase in the movement of components to allow the hydraulic oil to warm up | |
| Cycle time | Time it takes to move the bucket out of the ditch and back in again | |
| Danger Zone | A location within 6 meters of a piece of heavy equipment | |
| Daylight pipe | Excavate and remove soil away from the pipe so that it is visible | |
| Day lighting | Exposing a utility that was previously buried | |
| Dead man | The end of a cable that is held in a secure and stationary position | |
| Dead weights | Mechanical device using weights to determine if a section of pipe being tested under pressure, is maintaining pressure. | |
| Deadman tractor | A tractor used as an anchor for a pipe section (such as on lowering-in) or when winching equipment on steep slopes | |
| Deck logs | Piling logs for removal | |
| 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 spill | |
| Ditch line | Centerline of ditch, marked by red stakes, stones or markers along the right of way | |
| Ditch spill | Material removed from the ditch | |
| Ditching machine | Machine which cuts a ditch using a turning wheel with scoops and/or cutting teeth | |
| Ditch side | The side of the right of way on the opposite side of the ditch line from the work side, where the spoil pile is placed | |
| Dog | On the side boom tractor, a coarse cog clutch used to engage draw works winch to draw works drive train | |
| Dog in | Dog clutch engaged | |
| Dog it | Dog it Stop heavy equipment operation | |
| Dog out | dog clutch disengaged | |
| 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 | |
| Dope pot | Heating type container to turn hard dope into liquid so it can be spread on the pipe | |
| Dope, hot | Liquid, tar like substance for coating pipe to protect it. | |
| 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 | |
| Drag section | Section of pipe used at road or swamp crossings | |
| Drag up | To quit or resign | |
| Drag up | To quit or resign | |
| Drag up 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 | |
| Draw works | A gear train from input to output | |
| Dress | To place topsoil on slopes or grades to match the original contours | |
| Drill pattern | Predetermined pattern and spacing of bore holes for loading explosives on blasting crew | |
| Drive sprocket | Toothed sprocket that transfers power from the drive motor to the track on heavy equipment | |
| Duff soil | Organic material found in wooded areas | |
| Easement | Land used as right of way | |
| Egging | Pipe becoming out of round, during bending process | |
| Eye balling | Judging by sight rather than using an instrument | |
| False fill | Loose dirt on the ditch line | |
| Field tile | Buried drainage tiles | |
| 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 operation | |
| Fill point | A test point used to fill a pipe section with water for testing | |
| Filter cloth | Cloth laid in the ditch to filter sediment caused during the work in the ditch. | |
| Final Tie Ins | The crew that welds together or ties in, after test, the tested sections to complete a continuous pipeline. | |
| Fine material | Soil which contains only very small rocks (i.e. not big enough to damage pipe covering), and contains no frozen lumps of dirt | |
| Flared out | Extra edge on the side of a ramp which allows vehicles to turn in from the road. | |
| Flash | Painful burn to the conjunctiva of the eyes, caused by exposure to the welding arc radiation | |
| Float | A trailer or transport equipment | |
| Floating pipe | Pipe that is physically floating on the water | |
| Flume Pipe | Pipe used in ditches to control the flow of water | |
| Fly rock | Rock projectiles ejected skyward from a blasting zone | |
| Foreign line | A pipeline that crosses the centerline of a new pipeline under construction | |
| Freeze down | When tracks are frozen to the ground | |
| Front End | Those crews working along the pipeline corridor ahead of and including the welding crew | |
| Going-out-side | The downstream side of a section, tie in, road bore etc. | |
| Goose | Internal clamp on front end welding crew | |
| Grade | Preparation of right of way surface to ensure work area is level | |
| Grade shot | Measurement of elevation for depth of ditch or level of grade on right of way | |
| Green sticks | Plastic sticks to repair damage to pipe coating | |
| Grousers | Horizontal lugs on the track pads of tracked equipment | |
| Grub stumps | Freeing stumps from the ground for removal | |
| Gunnite | Concrete coating on a pipe section | |
| Hammer Wrench | Large wrench with square end designed to be struck by a sledge hammer. Use on final tie in crew when tightening flanges on valves | |
| Hand | Pipeline worker | |
| Hanging pipe | Any pipe in a ditch under which there is no support | |
| Headache Rack | Strong (reinforced steel) barrier mounted on the back of athe cab of a truck to prevent the load sliding forward and breaching the rear cabin wall injuring the driver | |
| Heat number | A number printed on the inside of a joint of pipe by the manufacturer identifying from which production run the pipe came | |
| 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 | |
| Heel of the blade | The end of the dozer blade that is angled back closest to the tractor | |
| High boy | A conventional truck trailer with deck approximately 5 foot off the ground | |
| High spot | Section at the bottom of the ditch which is higher than the required depth, usually comprised of a rock or stone material which requires blasting | |
| High-low | When the pipe and weld is slightly out of true alignment where the welding kerf does not line up 100% | |
| Hoarding | Plastic sheeting 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 | |
| Hoosier spring | On the side boom tractor, the return spring on the boom brake lever, which prevents accidental release of the boom brake | |
| Hot bend | A short radius bend prepared at the pipe mill | |
| Hot Dope | Old method of coating pipe with hot melted tar like substance | |
| Hot line stakes | Stakes which are marked a specific color to identify an underground pressurized pipeline, in proximity to the work | |
| Hot Pass | Second weld pass/layer | |
| Hot tap machine | Machine which is used to drill and tap into a hot line | |
| Hot Tie in | To weld a new pipeline into a pipeline that is already in service | |
| Hotline | A buried pressurized pipeline | |
| Hotline ramp | Earth ramp built over a hot line to allow safe passage of heavy equipment. | |
| Hot pass | The filler pass of the weld | |
| Hot-wrapping | Applying tape type coatings that require the application of heat | |
| House | The pipeline yard and offices | |
| Hustle skids | The work involved in the loading / unloading of skids, building cradles to support the pipe etc. | |
| Idler sprocket | Smooth sprocket at the end of the side boom under carriage which turns the track back towards the drive sprocket | |
| Jeep ( Holiday detector) | Electrical device used to detect abnormalities/holidays/damage in the pipeline coating | |
| Jib | An extension attached to the main boom, to provide added boom length for lifting specified loads | |
| Joint | A single length of pipe as delivered from the pipe manufacturer | |
| Jump hour | An extra hour of pay that is unearned but considered deserved by the foreman | |
| Jungle | A thrown together lunch | |
| Keeper pin | A device for ensuring the security of an attachment pin, such as the boom base pin on a side boom tractor | |
| Key way | Notch dug out of the side of a ditch to allow work to be performed or equipment or sand/foam breakers installed | |
| 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 | |
| Lap | Mark pipe where it is to be cut | |
| Latch spring | On a side boom tractor, the spring used to keep the brake lever locked | |
| 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 | |
| Line up clamps (external) | External mechanical clamps used to align two joints of pipe in preparation for welding | |
| Link seals | A rubber chain inserted between the carrier pipe and the casing to keep the water out | |
| Live boom | A boom that is operated by a boom hoist mechanism that will unwind unrestricted | |
| Load line | Cable from the side boom draw works that is hooked to a load | |
| Load line hook | The hook that supports the weight | |
| Load ratings | Side boom lift capacity rating established by the manufacturer | |
| Loaded hole | Any hole in which there is blasting material | |
| Loaded line | Pipeline under pressure | |
| Long corner | The corner of an angled blade farthest away from the tractor | |
| Loop | A parallel section of pipeline | |
| Loop | Section of pipeline, normally between valves | |
| 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, which has not been connected | |
| Low Boy / Low Bed | A low slung trailer used to haul heavy equipment | |
| Magic carpet | Heavy felt cloth, on top of which soil and/or gravel is place, used on soft ground to build an access road to support vehicles and equipment | |
| Mandrel | Internal, maneuverable support clamp inside the pipe used in bending operation to prevent buckling | |
| Marlin spike | Tapered steel pin used as a tool for splitting/opening wire rope strands | |
| Master clutch | On standard transmission tractors, the main clutch to make everything work, different from the tail end clutch. | |
| Master switch | A switch between the battery and all other components | |
| Mormon Board | Backfilling attachment to a Linkbelt crawler crane, designed for and uniquely suited for pulling in backfill. Most commonly used in swampy areas where dozers cannot work near the ditch or in areas where a hot line is located under the spoil pile. | |
| M-Scope | An electronic device used to locate buried facilities: pipelines, power lines etc. | |
| 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 | |
| Non rotating cable | A wire rope cable especially designed to prevent unwinding | |
| Oilfield trailer | A heavy duty high boy trailer with a live roller at the rear of the trailer | |
| Operating pressure | The pressure that the pump delivers, determined by the main circuit relief valves | |
| Ossie padder | Machine used for sand padding pipe | |
| Over bend | 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 | |
| P.I. stake | Point of intersection stake, located on a side bend to indicate the degree of bend required for the ditch | |
| 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 the pipe | |
| Pig | Internal pipeline cleaning or inspection device | |
| Pig Catcher | A device for receiving a pig | |
| Pillows | Polyurethane pads placed under the pipe | |
| Pinion gear | Gears which direct power from the pup engine to the main engine | |
| Pipe layer | Caterpillar term for the Side boom tractor | |
| Pipe gang | The front end mainline welding crew, including the welders, equipment operators and laborers. | |
| Plug | Dirt which is temporarily pushed into a ditch to allow the passing of vehicles, wildlife etc | |
| Plug out | Technique to remove dirt, a temporary plug, from a point where two sections of ditch meet . | |
| Point of blade | Corner of an angled blade farthest away from the tractor | |
| Poor boy | A scaled down pipeline work crew | |
| Powder man | The worker on a blasting crew whose job is to load explosives in the bore holes | |
| Power take off | A direct drive, friction clutch, fluid coupling, or hydrostatic auxiliary power driving source provided by the prime mover | |
| Prep Machine | (End Preparation or pipe facing machine) A portable lathe that machines the end of a joint of pipe to the specifications required for the particular welding process to be used. | |
| Pull | A bending term referring to that segment of pipe that has been subjected to bending machine pressure | |
| 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 | |
| Pup engine | An auxiliary engine used for starting the main engine | |
| Pup joint | Short length of pipe cut off the end of a section, at the overlap of two loose ends | |
| Push out | Extra work area where spill is stored off the right of way | |
| Quad | Welding machines mounted on a tractor | |
| R.O.W. | Pipeline right of way or corridor | |
| Ramp | Level pile of dirt place over a bar ditch, rails etc to allow equipment to cross over without causing damage | |
| Rated capacity | The loads (breaking strength and safe working load) which a new wire rope or wire rope sling may handle, under given operating conditions and at an designated design factor | |
| Reach rod | Length of 3/4" pipe, often with a wheel on end, extending from the internal line-up clamps to the end of the pipe, for the purpose of supplying air to the clamps, which is used to control the mandrel inside the pipe when bending pipe | |
| Reamer | A cutting head that increases the bore hole size | |
| Rig | Hook cables/slings to a load for lifting | |
| Rigging | Any lifting appurtenances between the load and the hoisting equipment | |
| Rip rap | A corduroy road formed by laying down branches and trees over soft ground to support vehicles or equipment | |
| Ripper | A vertical earth/rock cutting blade mounted on the back of a dozer | |
| Riser | Pipe that comes above ground at a valve | |
| River weights | Circular concrete weights attached to the pipe when the pipe is laid under water or in wet lands and swampy areas. | |
| Roach | A berm (mound of earth) over the pipeline or a pile of snow placed, before freeze up, on the ditch line to prevent freezing of the ground. | |
| Road section insulators | Neoprene bands which are placed at intervals on a drag section intended for a road bore to ensure separation between carrier pipe and casing | |
| Rock shield | Plastic or fiber sheets used to cover the pipe to protect it from rocks | |
| Rod pail | Bucket or pail for used welding rod stubs | |
| Rolling Seams | Rotating pipe in a sling to locate the longitudinal factory seam at a desired position for pipe bending | |
| Roping pipe | On lowering in the pipe is "roped in" | |
| Rubber boot seal | The seal between the casing and pipe on either ends of a road/river bore | |
| Run off | To be fired/terminated from employment | |
| Safe Working Load | The Safe Working Load (S.W.L.) is equivalent to the catalogue breaking strength divided by the factor of safety. | |
| Safety factor | In a wire rope, it is the ratio of the breaking strength to the safe working load, normally a factor of five. | |
| Safety Fuse | A flexible chord containing powder which burns internally and is used to initiate a plain detonator | |
| Safety Lever | A lock-out of the controls which, when engaged, prevents the starting of the engine. | |
| Sag | A bend in the pipe that is concave - high on the ends and low in the middle | |
| Sauerman | Equipment with used to yoyo a drag bucket at a river crossing, for excavation on the river bottom | |
| Seam | A factory weld on the pipe when it is rolled - can be spiral or straight | |
| Section | Two or more pipe joints welded together | |
| Seize | To make secure by binding at the end of a wire rope or strand with seizing wire | |
| Set in tractor | The tractor on the front-end pipe gang 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 pipe gang crew. It is also laid out as per carry back and other stakes left by the engineering crew | |
| Shackle | Clevis, u-shaped rigging device with a pin across the end | |
| Shade | Back filling with fine soil, which is the initial covering of the pipe to protect it from rocks. | |
| Sharp shooter | A long and narrow spade/shovel, used for cleaning mud, snow and ice out of the tracks of tracked equipment | |
| Sheave | A grooved pulley for wire rope | |
| Shock loading | Additional load imposed on a machine and rigging due to excessive deceleration of the load, by breaking the load too abruptly or other cause with similar effect | |
| Shoofly | Access road to pipeline construction ROW from the nearby existing public or private road. Can be a road along the pipeline corridor built to bypass an obstacle such as a river, steep slope etc. | |
| Shoot a bend | To calculate the degrees of a bend with a transit | |
| Shot rock | Broken rock fragments following a blast | |
| Shrink sleeve | A field joint coating comprised of a polyethylene tube which shrinks to the pipe when heated | |
| Side bend | A bend in the pipe that directs the pipe to one side or the other | |
| Side boom | A pipe layer tractor | |
| Signals | Hand signal communication for directing operations | |
| Silk screen | Fine mesh plastic screening used to filter sediment out of flowing water to comply with environmental requirements | |
| Skid | Wooden timbers (usually 4"x6"x4") used to build supports for the pipe | |
| Slick track | A crawler tractor with "street pads" (triple grousers) so that it can work on a paved street without damaging the road surface | |
| Slider | A simple type of skid support for pipe joints/sections that can be adjusted in height by sliding the top skids up or down the inclined plane formed by two skids | |
| Sling | Looped wire rope or packaged synthetic line or webbing used for lifting pipe | |
| Slush | Mixture of water, soil and rock | |
| Snag | Broken tree or branch sticking out of the ground | |
| Snatch block | A single sheave with hook attached | |
| Sneaky | A manned internal pipe repair or inspection vehicle - motorized buggy. | |
| Soft plug | A crossing over the ditch that has been back filled without the pipe | |
| 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 | |
| Spacing tool | Welder's / fitter's tool used to maintain a uniform space between pipe bevels when lining up pipe for welding | |
| Spaghetti | Small inch pipe | |
| Spill/Spoil pile | The excavated ditch material | |
| Spill/Spoil side | Side of the right of way opposite the work area, where top soil and spill from work area/ditch is stored | |
| Spiral Pipe | Pipe with a spiral factory welded seam | |
| Splicing | To join two wire or synthetic ropes by interweaving the strands | |
| Split | Push soil to both sides | |
| Splitter | A length of blasting safety fuse which notches at 50 millimeter (two inch) intervals and is used to ignite safety fuses | |
| Spooled cable | Cable which has been evenly laid on a winch drum | |
| 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 | |
| Spot | To locate equipment in a specific area | |
| Spotter | A worker designated to work with a driver or operator to identify the appropriate location on the right of way to drop a load, park a vehicle etc. | |
| Spread | The equipment and personnel that comprise a pipeline construction project | |
| Spread Man | Construction Superintendent | |
| Spudding | Intentional penetration as in "spudding" pipe into a bending machine | |
| Squeeze iron | Pipe from squeeze pump to test head | |
| Squeeze pump | High pressure pump used to pressure up pipe for test | |
| Squeeze water | Forcing water out of a ditch by displacing it with dirt | |
| Stabber | Employee who helps line-up pipe for welding | |
| Stability | The ability of a mobile machine to resist tipping | |
| Start joint | First joint set up for welding a section | |
| Start stake | Engineering stake which indicates the start of the pipe section | |
| Station site | Location of compressors | |
| Stemming | During blasting, the material placed in the open end of a loaded hole which confines the explosive gas | |
| Stemming piles | Loaded bags of stemming material used in blasting | |
| Steward | A representative of the union, dispatched to the job site that deals with the contract, working rules and regulations | |
| Stick | Portion of the excavator arm between the bucket and the boom | |
| Stick welding | Hand held welding rod | |
| Stinger | Welding rod and holder | |
| Strand | Part of a cable made up of wires | |
| Straw boss | Crew foreman's lead worker | |
| Street pads | Triple grouser pads - "Street Pads" | |
| Stringer bead | Welder's term: The first welding pass welders make on joining two pieces of pipe together | |
| Stringing | The crew that moves the pipe from the pipe yard to the right of way and positions the pipe joints along the right of way in a staggered formation, parallel to but sufficient distance from the ditch line | |
| Stringing hook | A hook that fits into the end of the pipe for lifting pipe | |
| Stringing truck | Truck which transports pipe joints along the right of way to their approximate installation positions | |
| Stripping | Clearing off topsoil | |
| Strong back | Lifting unit that transfers weight from a center point horizontally - e.g. weight hooks | |
| Structural Strength | The ability of the machine and it's components to withstand the stresses imposed by applied loads | |
| Sump pit | Where mud from river or creek is stored | |
| 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 | |
| Swage fitting | A 100% efficient cable and fitting. Fitting into which wire rope can be inserted and then permanently attached by cold pressing (swaging) the shank that enclosed the rope. | |
| Swamp / Bog mats | Heavily constructed pads of timber, bolted together and used to support equipment in soft ground, wet lands and swampy areas | |
| Swamp weights | Saddle concrete weights designed to sit on the pipe and keep it from floating | |
| Swamper | The laborer assigned to act as an operator's helper | |
| Swing | Rotation of the superstructure for movement of loads in a horizontal direction about the axis of rotation | |
| Swing brake | Friction brake which prevents the boom from swinging | |
| Swing lock | Safety pin used to prevent movement of the boom during transportation | |
| Tack rig | Front end welding tractor | |
| Tackle | An assembly of ropes and sheaves arranged for hoisting, lowering and pulling | |
| Tag line | A 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's winch line | |
| Tail clutch | Side boom clutch used to transfer power to draw works transmission | |
| Tail swing | Clearance distance from center of rotation to maximum rear extension of revolving superstructure | |
| Tamping | Compressing of explosives into a hole usually by means of a rod designed for that purpose | |
| Tensioner | Piston which keeps tension on the tracks of heavy equipment, adjusted by adding grease | |
| 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 head | 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. | |
| Test lead | Wires attached between the buried pipe and above ground test lead post, for the purpose of monitoring pipeline coating integrity | |
| Test point | A location of two loose ends in a pipe section where one test section ends and the next starts | |
| Test section | A specific length of the pipeline which will be pressure tested independent of other test sections, chosen by consideration of several factors: availability of water, elevation… | |
| Thimbles | Grooved rings of thin metal used to fit in a spliced loop in a rope as protection from chafing and crushing. | |
| Thin wall | Pipe with less than 3/8" thickness | |
| Throat | The throat of the ditch is the inside of a sag (bend). | |
| Tie in | The place in the pipe installation where lowering in is bypassed, leaving loose ends to be welded, such as at roads, creeks and railways. | |
| Tipping | The point of machine equilibrium | |
| 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. | |
| Tractor | The crawler portion of the side boom | |
| Tractor driver | The person who runs or operates the side boom tractor | |
| Transition piece | A short joint of heavy wall pipe machined on the inside at one end. It's purpose is to enable welding of heavy wall pipe to line pipe | |
| Travel | The function of the machine moving from one location to another | |
| Turnaround | A pipe joint that needs to be turned end for end before welding or a widened spot on the right of way used in turning equipment around | |
| Two blocking | When the hook block or headache ball comes in contact with the head sheaves | |
| Two tone | Grade cut on two elevations along the right of way, to minimize the amount of spill cut from a side slope | |
| Upstream | The direction from which the product pumped will come from when in service | |
| Utility | Any pipeline, buried or overhead power line, fiber optic cable, sewer, water line, communications cable etc. | |
| Virgin soil | Undisturbed soil | |
| Walk | To move a tractor with load or section of pipe suspended | |
| Warrington | A type of strand in a wire rope cable | |
| Water breaker | A line of raised soil placed across the face of a slope to slow water down and minimize erosion | |
| Wedge socket | A steel wire rope attachment where the rope end is secured | |
| Winch truck | A flatbed truck with a winch and "A" frame poles used for light hauling, also called a "gin truck" | |
| Wire rope sling | An assembly fabricated from wire rope which connects the load to the lifting device | |
| Wobble | A strike. Workers collectively refuse to go to work in support of some demand | |
| Work area | That side of the right of way, opposite the spill pile, where all working machinery is located | |
| 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 | |
| Yup stick | A measuring stick used to measure the depth of the ditch | |