Abstract
The Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) industry in North America has experienced a tremendous rate of growth within the last decade. However, the development of acceptable operating standards and quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) procedures significantly lags behind the current utilization level of HDD. This gap is now considered to be one of the main obstacles for wider acceptance of HDD by the engineering community in North America. This paper describes various risks and quality-related problems in HDD practice. Recent efforts to promote and regulate quality project delivery in HDD projects are outlined. Thereafter, quality control and quality assurance are defined in the context of HDD. It is recommended that a universally recognized standard such as ISO 9000 be adopted as the basis for an industry-wide quality management system. Examples of how to customize selected ISO 9000 clauses to meet the directional drilling industry's QC/QA needs are given. Additionally, a new approach for QC during HDD installation is described and its merits discussed.
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