Glossary

Pipeline construction terms, in plain English.

If you have run into a word on a pipeline project and nobody stopped to explain it, here you go. No jargon-dumping, just what it actually means.

EPC

Engineering, procurement, and construction. An EPC contractor handles all three under one contract, and on a pipeline job usually permitting too. More →

Design-build

A delivery method where one contractor both designs and builds the project, instead of the owner designing it first and then bidding it out. More →

Bid-build

The traditional method where the owner completes the design, sends out a bid package, and the contractor builds exactly what is drawn. More →

Spread

A complete pipeline construction operation working a section of right-of-way. Real capacity is measured in spreads and crews, not just mileage. More →

Transmission pipeline

The large-diameter, higher-pressure pipe that moves gas or liquids long distances, often cross-country. More →

Distribution pipeline

The smaller pipe that ties off the transmission system and carries product the shorter distances to where it is used. More →

HDD (horizontal directional drilling)

A trenchless method that bores a steerable path underground to install pipe under a road, river, or wetland, leaving the surface intact. More →

Hydrostatic testing

Filling a new pipeline with water and pressuring it above operating pressure to prove there are no leaks or flaws before it goes into service. More →

Stringing

Laying sections of pipe end to end along the trench line so they are staged and ready to be bent and welded. More →

Lowering-in

The stage where sidebooms lower the welded, coated pipeline as a continuous string into the open trench. More →

Right-of-way (ROW)

The corridor of land where the pipeline is built and maintained. It gets cleared and graded before construction and restored after. More →

Tie-in

Connecting a new section of pipe into an existing system or another section, often at a station. More →

Meter station

The facility that measures and regulates the gas moving through a pipeline. Building one takes piping, equipment, and civil work. More →

Concrete coating / weights

Mass added to pipe for buoyancy control, so it does not float out of the trench in wet or marshy ground. More →

Self-perform

When a contractor does the work with its own crews instead of subbing it out, which keeps control of quality and schedule in-house. More →

Signatory to four crafts

A union contractor with agreements across four trades, meaning trained, qualified people across the range of work a pipeline job needs. More →

Integrity management

The ongoing work of inspecting and assessing a pipeline to know its condition and fix issues before they become failures. More →

Gold Shovel Certified

A safety certification focused on damage prevention. It signals a contractor tracks and reports its safety performance against a real standard. More →