Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor

I've mentioned in this blog that Professional Piping Services, Inc. is a Licensed Underground Utility Contractor, but I don't think I ever defined that term for those who are not familiar with it.

To be more precise, CIMBORA, ROGER MICHAEL, the owner of  Professional Piping Services, Inc. holds Florida License CU-C055717 as a Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor.

It seems mostly self explanatory, but let me dig a little deeper. I promise you, that was an accidental pun.

I'll focus on Florida, considering that's where Professional Piping Services, Inc. operates.

In order to share this information with you, I had to learn a bit more myself, so I found myself on the site of Contractor Campus where a person can enroll to learn and become a contractor.

They wrote that a Florida Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor is a contractor limiting their services to constructing, installing, and repairing piping systems. This can be on public or private property. The service can be performed by excavating the area or other means such as directional drilling, auger boring, trenchless tech and others. The systems they service can include sanitary sewers, water distribution systems, storm sewers and the continuation of utility lines from the main system all the way to a customer's meter or individual sewer access. The Contractor Campus goes into more detail than this web developer understands. (Did I tell you before? My client is the piping system professional, not me!)

If the piping system is an integral part of a fire suppression system, another license is required.

In order to obtain a Certified Underground Utility Contractor’s license, certain experience and education must be obtained. The document I referenced gave 5 possibilities:

1. Four-year degree from an accredited college, studying a construction-related field. Plus one year of proven experience in the proper category.
2. One year of foreman experience and at least 3 years accredited college-level courses.
3. One year as a worker, one year as a foreman, and two years in accredited college-level courses
4. Two years as a worker, one year as a foreman, and one year of accredited college-level courses.
5. Four years as a worker or foreman of which at least a year was as a foreman.

Mr. Cimbora has over 6 decades of piping industry experience and has written many scholarly papers on the topic and been involved in educating new generations of contractors.

If your project requires a Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor, Roger Cimbora of Professional Piping Services, Inc. is your go-to guy!





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Who is Professional Piping Services, Inc.

Just who is my client, Professional Piping Services, Inc., anyway?

Professional Piping Services, Inc. is a licensed Underground Utility Contractor located in Wesley Chapel, Florida.. (License Number CU-C055717)

PPSI, Inc. specializes in piping system cleaning and pipeline rehabilitation and have cleaned well over 20 million (20,000,000) feet of dirty, and therefore malfunctioning, piping, here in the U.S.A as well as Canada. PPSI, Inc. has been in business in Florida since 1985 servicing private industry, amusement parks, counties, cities, the military and large and small municipalities.

PPSI, Inc. specializes in the use of Poly Pigs. (Look at the whimsical images on their site!) They are not, however, limited to these. They'll work with engineers and utility personnel to diagnose the problems a pipeline is experiencing and suggest the best solutions.

Their founder, Roger M. Cimbora, Sr., has been in the business for decades! With this experience, he has led PPSI, Inc. to become the innovation leader in pipeline rehabilitation!

Here are some advantages offered by PPSI's service:

• Most systems can remain in service while being cleaned.
• Miles of pipe, including diameter changes, can be done in one session.
• In many application, inline valves can be navigated by the cleaning pig, even some butterfly valves.
• The site is always inspected and evaluated prior to service.
• Tracking and GPS re-mapping is possible.
• Clean pipes generally save energy!
• System prep generally causes very little disruption and system contents can be contained.
• Saves HUGE amounts of time and money that would have been spent excavating and replacing "bad" pipe that was only "bad" because it was dirty.

Professional Piping Services, Inc., to whom I've reffered as "PPSI, Inc" for brevity, is ready to help you keep your pipeline flowing at maximum capacity. Give them a call at  800-780-6098

What's the deal with Restricted Flow?

Probably the most obvious reason to have your pipes cleaned is when restricted flow has been noticed.

If the product carried by your pipes leaves any sludge or gunk behind, it builds up on the interior of the pipe and, before you know it, you’re trying to push a 36" pipe’s load through a 12" or less opening.

This is a severe problem for both Gravity flow systems and force flow systems. With a gravity system, you'll find a buildup and possibly a nasty overflow of your holding system. On a pumped system, the equipment will have to work harder, burn more fuel or electricity and possibly wear out faster.

To cut down on the strain on your equipment, and relieve some of the stress on your budget, have your industrial pipes professionally cleaned by an experienced Pipe Pigging Service like Professional Piping Service, Inc.

My client, Mr. Cimbora, has been in this industry for over 60 years! Gained the experience to recognize piping problems and implement the correct solution.

Let PPSI send a pig through your pipes!
(Learn what a pipe pig is, in my earlier posts.)

Pipe System Cleaning in Riverview Florida

Riverview Florida is growing fast! This influx of homes and businesses, off course, includes people and people need water, and lots of it.

Of course, a considerable portion of that water has to be carried away for treatment and re-use.

In other posts and other blogs, I've written about the importance of pre-commission cleaning of a new piping system. The new developments in the Riverview and Southshore area would be well advised to have their freshly lain pipes cleaned to ensure the a clean start for all their customers.

Storm water and wastewater pipes need to be prepared and maintained as well.

Parts of Riverview are aging and therefore have some aging pipes as well. Having some of that old piped pigged at this point could restore maximum flow and ensure the quality of the product in question. (Tap water).

Professional Piping Services, Incwww.professionalpiping.com/. has the knowledge, experience and equipment to ensure your project in RiverviewFlorida or Southshore is handled properly.

Factors to consider for cleaning potable water systems

Today I'm going to revisit a topic that has come up in the various places that I write about my client, Professional Piping Services Inc. That topic is the factors to consider when evaluating potable water systems for cleaning.

Potable Water Cleaning Process Factors

Depending on the individual situation, potable water pipe cleaning is often performed in 8 to 10 hour cycles, with the system disinfected and restored to potable use at the end of each shutdown period. The cleaning process provides for immediate restoration of service if the need should arise, as might be the case for fire protection. An important part of the cleaning process for potable water systems is advanced notification of all consumers with instructions on how to manage and work through this temporary disruption of service.

Quite a length of pipe can be cleaned very quickly, heavily influenced by the reliability of mapping of the piping system, the initial interior conditions and the size & age of pipe(s). It is not uncommon to clean a whole mile of pipe in one cycle. It is recommended, but not required, to begin cleaning the piping system on the supply side allowing water that has just been put through the costly treatment process is carried through clean pipes into the remaining system.

After a thorough cleaning, a potable water system should not be expected to become soiled again. Today's quality standards at water treatment facilities leave little to nothing to soil the interior of the piping system. On the other hand, allowing clean potable water to leave the plant and enter poorly maintained aging pipe that's already contaminated with lime, silt or other deposits presents an inferior product to the end users in homes, restaurants and other businesses.

A frequent side benefit of having your potable water system cleaned is that the mapping of the system will be updated with the accurate location of lost valves and mystery connections. Locations, diameters and other details can be recorded for later use.

My client, Professional Piping Services, Inc, is a Certified Underground Utility Contractor with License Number CU-C055717

Summary:

1. Provide advanced notification to all consumers
2. A section of the system may be offline for 8 to 10 hours
3. The system is restored to potable use at the end of each session
4. Accurate mapping influences the length of pipe processed in each session
5. Start at the source, whenever possible
6. This should be a once and done operation in modern potable systems, as modern standards prevent re-contamination.
7. There is a side benefit of having the system re-mapped, aiding in future maintenance and expansion projects.

Pre-commission Pigging

One might think it unnecessary to clean a brand new piping system, but think about the fact that cleaning the system prior to use will effectively remove debris, lost tools, wildlife, lumber and other things you wouldn't imagine could have made their way into your system during construction.

The initial pipe pigging will also answer the first question that would be asked if the new system isn't pumping correctly "Is there an obstruction in the pipes?"

Foreign objects are a threat to pump impellers, valve seats and other inline components. Pigging removes that threat.

Because the cleaning process removes the air from the system, it allows for an effective hydrostatic test.

Pigging wastes less water than traditional flush methods and avoids creating a lake of waste at the end of the system. We certainly don't need more cleanup tasks added to our routine!

For systems that require disinfection or other inline treatment, organic material, chlorine and other contaminants are removed from the system and the treatment process is ensured full contact with and saturation of the interior pipe surfaces and all the fittings.

The system gets a good test run, checking all the valves, confirming flow patterns, and allowing for tests of blow offs, drains, vacuum breakers, air releases, so that the operator will have confidence in their operation. Years of experience with a variety of systems has proven that this is not a light consideration.

For these reason, and more, plus the fact that it adds very little to the bottom line cost of the project, pre-commission pipe pigging is highly recommended.

Contact Professional Piping Service, Inc. for more details.

Certified Underground Utility Contractor

License Number CU-C055717

Another Look at Pipe Pigging

Another Look at Pipe Pigging

Although the technology of the hardware of pipeline pigs has been fairly static, the way they are put to use changes quickly.

Just running a poly pig through a pipe and declaring it "clean" is nonsense! When you send an inline inspection tool through the piping system, you expect that your your pig has reduced or eliminated lift off, allowing a more accurate result from magnetic flux leakage inspection. One also expects the pipeline's efficiency to be greatly improved after thorough pigging.

To get the best cleaning and ensure the system's peak condition, it is a must to enlist the services of a qualified pipeline-cleaning service company such as Professional Piping Services, Inc.

The first mechanical pigs were pretty rustic devices thrown together from bailed fabric and barbed wire. The have matured into today's polyurethane (PU or just "Poly") marvels. Each manufacturer will select their own types and ratios of pre-polymers and curing agents that combine to create the castable product with various foam densities, abrasion resistance, elasticities and other variables that impact effectiveness and durability in a given application.

What kinds of Pigs are available?

The kinds of pigs, and the applications they can be used for, are as varied as the piping industry itself. Generally, pigs are are made in sizes with a 1.5 length to diameter ratio. Keeping your bends, or ells, to a minimum of 1.5D is therefore important for them to be easily piggable. Tandem pigs can be used to navigate the tighter ells, if retrofitting an existing system is not an option.

In addition to Poly Foam or PU pigs, steel mandrel discs and cups can be used for certain applications.

The Polly foam types are generally made to match the Outside Diameter of the pipe and can navigate tight radius ells, miter bends, "T" intersections, multi-diameter piping systems and reduced port valves. Polly Foam Pigs sometimes incorporate wire strip brushes for more thorough cleaning, a nose pull rope to assist in propulsion, transmitter cavity to install varoius instruments, making it a smart pig, and other accessories as may be required.

When using an ILI, it may be required to provide data before the ILI tool is introduced into the system. This data can be captured using a caliper pig to identify welds, taps, valve, bends, wall thickness and more.

A smart pig was mentioned before, but let me explain. A smart pig (also know as Sherlock Pig) helps re-map the entire system. A pipeline's construction doesn't always match the original plan, so the documents may not provide an accurate picture of the final system. The smart pig can identify lost branches and valves, changes in diameter, and can even specify depth in earth or water.

There is much more to this topic than the author can address at this time. When you need help with your piping system, don't trust me, trust my client, Professional Piping Services, Inc.

The author of this article has referenced source(s) from the internet including an article from pgjonline.com. The client for whom this is written is much more knowledgeable about the topic than the author. Any inaccuracy or error should be attributed to the author, and not the Poly Pig Specialists themselves, or the referenced article(s).