TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION FAILURES: CAUSES, REMEDIAL MEASURES AND AVOIDANCE

The trenchless technology industry continues to be an emerging industry. Every day utility staff member and consulting engineers are informed of new products to reduce sewer collection system repair costs. These products must be demonstrated under actual field conditions before they are recommended for use. The products must often undergo a development process to refine installation techniques before they are considered reliable repair alternatives that can be specified. Even established technologies that have been in use for many years can fail when not specified for the proper application or properly installed.Different parties are involved in every sanitary sewer rehabilitation project: utilities, engineers, contractors, material manufactures, and inspectors. Each party has a different role and goal, but each party must perform his part successfully in order to have a successful repair. In all phases of a typical rehabilitation project, preliminary investigation, design, bidding, construction and warranty period mistakes can be made, which lead to eventual defects in or even the failure of the final product. The trenchless technology selection and application can lead to defects and failures when some of the following situations occur: sanitary sewer problem misdiagnosis, inadequate technology selection, poor design and inadequate specifications, improper installation, or inadequate inspection.This paper addresses some of the most common trenchless technology application failures experienced in South Florida. It focuses on what caused the failures, how to avoid them in the future, and how they were remediated.