In order to design the equipment, owner and inventor Jason LaValley of LaValley Industries called on his experience as a horizontal drilling jobsite foreman and labourer who personally had to load and unload drill pipe.

Mr LaValley says “I lived with the hazards of moving pipe using slings and cables. I knew I had to come up with a machine to do the dangerous work and keep hands, arms and legs – including my own – out of the danger zone. Once the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) DECKHAND attachment was up and running, and filling the potential we had seen for it, others in the pipeline industry were asking us to develop this same handling system for pipeline work.

“We came up with two more options – the interchangeable utility arms and the pipe handling arms. We came to the attention of PipeLine Machinery (PLM) and the rest is making history.”

PLM Senior Vice President Tony Fernandez also notes the importance of the equipment. “Precision movement of pipe, until now, necessitated putting ground crew in close proximity to moving pipe in order to line it up, stabilise it, and sometimes to clear it of snow or mud debris,” he says.

“Using the DECKHAND is safer because it can pick up with stability, even when pipe is covered in dirt, snow or ice, and in extreme weather conditions. The ground crew doesn’t have to climb on top of a slippery pipe stack to clean it.”

How it works

The pipe-handling system consists of the main head, which mounts onto most excavators much like any other tool, by using a quick-attach function. The excavator’s hydraulics and electrical systems are connected to the DECKHAND using quick couplers.

Three formats of interchangeable grab arms are available to fit onto the main head. The directional drilling arm is designed for moving and placing pipe casing on the drill deck. The utility arm is designed for moving multiple pipe sizes in yard facilities, and the pipeline arm is designed for stringing operations, moving pipe from train, to truck, to stockpile, to right-of-way.

Specially designed pipe-protection pads on the pipe and utility grab arms ensure that pipe coatings are not compromised. The DECKHAND units have pressure-sensing controls linked in the cab of the excavator. The operator can set and monitor the pressure according to any particular pipe design for any type of coating or wall thickness. This ensures that the integrity of the pipe is retained throughout the lifting process.

Demonstrating success

At a recent industry demonstration in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the DECKHAND system – complete with 36 inch pipeline arms – was put through its paces demonstrating its pipe stringing capabilities in front of a number of pipeline owners and mainline contractors.

Moving pipe from truck deck to ground stack, Mr LaValley operated the DECKHAND to demonstrate the positive retention of the grab arms, the ability to rotate the pipe 360 degrees, precision placement with the shift function allowing for 5.5 inches of side-to-side manoeuvring, and the tilt function providing the versatility to handle pipe in multiple working angles.

Spectra Construction Superintendent Fred Siwak was at the demonstration. “We were impressed with the DECKHAND operation and the unique design of the grab arms that allows for the secure hold of the pipe without damaging it in any way. Mr LaValley showed us some extreme holds at vertical and high elevation that graphically demonstrated the control this system has on the pipe,” he said.

The DECKHAND in practice

The DECKHAND Directional Drilling Arm was used on a project tasked with drilling under the Missouri River.

Central Trenching Inc pipe-handling technician Curt Curtis said “We had to add a tail string on the project. We had a DECKHAND in Nebraska on one side of the river and another one in South Dakota on the other side of the river.

“This system is the best new product for rig safety I’ve seen in a long time. It easily cut two and a half weeks off our total project timeline”.