The preferred method for repairing, performing maintenance or modifying work on a pressurized live pipeline is hot tapping and line plugging. These technologies make it possible for pipeline operators and owners to locate, isolate and bypass entire sections of pipe. This allows projects to be completed without the need of shutting down the system or losing product.

So what is line plugging? Pipeline plugging is the way to safely isolate and bypass an entire section of pipeline to enable work to be done on a pressurized system without having to shut down the line under operating conditions.

There are several reasons isolation of the line may be required:

• Repairing a ruptured line 
• Isolating a plant unit or compressor station
• Replacing/Installing a new line valve
• Repairing damaged sections of pipe because of corrosion and/or external damage
• Any line that requires modification due to the tie-in of new sections of pipeline, nearby road work, pipeline rerouting or plant alterations.

Pipe isolation is achieved by inserting a plugging head through a hot tapped fitting with a temporary valve assembly while the line is under pressure. After that’s been put in place, the pressure in the isolated area is relieved through an equalization fitting.
Upon completion of the modification or repair, the line is equalized and the plugging head and other equipment is removed. 
Some of the industries served by this method include: transmission pipelines, gas and/or water distribution lines,  gas processing plants, refineries, subsea pipelines, petrochemical plants, offshore production and/or processing platforms and more. 
Professional Piping Services, Inc. takes pride in offering the best of all areas of pipeline care.. They have been in business over 30 years and employee staff who are OSHA trained and well educated in the various types of piping as well as the many applications of cleaning that are available. Contact them today toll free at 800-780-6098 or locally in the Tampa Bay Florida area at 813-994-0032 to discuss all your piping needs.

There are many technologies used to help maintain the United States' two million plus miles of pipelines. Perhaps the most critical of these devices is the one who shares its name with a dirty farm animal - the pig. 

These Pipeline PIGs range in size from just a few inches up to being as wide as a fully grown tree by seven feet tall - or however big they need to be to fit securely and snugly inside a pipe.  They are made from gel, plastic, metal or foam. Some PIGs are simple scrapers, while others are adorned with scrubbing wire brushes and are affectionately known as ‘porcupine’ PIGs. The more sophisticated group of  PIGs are known as ‘smart’ PIGs due to the fact they carry instruments that gather data and images from inside the pipeline, giving operators the opportunity to visually pinpoint trouble spots. 

All types of debris can build up in a pipeline. Corrosion is simply a fact of life when it comes to pipelines. Everything from natural gas to salt water to sand left from the fabrication or installation of the pipe to bacteria can corrode the metal pipe.  

Regular pigging is just good business. By the time a problem is apparent with a pipeline there is normally already damage involved, increasing the risk of environmental and safety issues as well as jeopardizing the pipeline integrity. Unfortunately, many operators wait and resort to pigging when an issue with the pipe becomes apparent.

Regularly scheduled smart pigging as part of your maintenance program is ideal. The Association of Oil Pipe Lines did a five-year study back in the early 2000’s which showed that pipeline segments tested with smart pigs had an approximately 50 percent drop in the number of overall spills. That’s a significant savings in money from extra man hours spent to repair to loss of production due to downtime.

Make pigging part of your routine maintenance. Contact the experts at Professional Piping Services at 800-780-6098 to talk about what’s the right plan of action for your pipelines. 

Certified Underground Utility Contractor
License Number CU-C055717

Professional Piping Services, a licensed Underground Utility Contractor, specializes  in the use of poly pigs though they are not limited to this method. Working with engineers and utility personnel, they help diagnose problems with inline piping systems then recommend the best course of action to rectify it.  

Some of the advantages offered are:

• They are led by founder and General Manager, Roger Cimbora Sr, who has been in the construction piping industry since 1957 and in the pipe cleaning business for over 40 years.
  
• Most systems remain online and in service while being cleaned and restored.
  
• Pre-Project system and site inspection and evaluation is always provided 
  
• System preparation is done with minimal disruption of service and containment of system contents can be readily accomplished.
  
• They provide cost saving and practical alternatives to replacing serviceable systems that will function at or near peak if cleaned and/or restored
  
• And much more including project proven technology, documentation provided, working with the requirements of the designers, operational staff and engineers and utilizing extensively experienced and trained field crews.
  

Professional Piping Services is prepared to solve your inline piping system issues in the most cost effective and efficient manner.  Contact them today to discuss all of your piping service needs!

Certified Underground Utility Contractor
License Number CU-C055717
800-780-6098
813-994-0032

Do you want or need to know where your pipes are or if they are vertical or horizontal? Professional Piping Services can help. They have a project proven method to provide you an accurate location of subaqueous and underground piping systems, whether they be in a suspected or known location.

In an early post on this section of the blog, I hinted at a device called "Sherlock Pig". It's time I finally delve a little deeper into that subject.

Technology has evolved to achieve a way to solve some perplexing and longtime headaches in the piping industry. That is, how to locate, confirm and pinpoint the whereabouts of piping that may or may not be where the as imagined or drawings indicate that they may be. Companies can now accurately detect or locate piping , taking the guesswork or worry out of being “close”, or having the piping found the hard way by close encounter of a misplaced excavation. Professional Piping services can locate piping down, up and sideways. They have the ability to accurately find your piping even if the signaling or tracing wire on your directional bore can’t be found or is broken.

Currently any piping laid horizontally and any non-metallic piping laid vertically can be located.

This is achieved using a tracking pig, a trans-pipe device carrying a transmitter. We call this device "Sherlock Pig".

Have issues where you need to know or find the placement of your piping system? Contact the experts in the field. Professional Piping Services has been solving inline piping problems for over 31 years. Their location service offers the advantages of non obstructive  service, no excavations, service for all types of piping, documented and extensively trained field crews, mature and knowledgeable supervision and can provide and coordinate project technology with the requirements of engineers, operations staff and designers. Call Professional Piping Services today at 800-780-6098 to talk about how they can assist you.

On one of my other blogs, I was feeling playful and wrote a few poems about professional Pipe Cleaning. I'll spare this audience that experience, unless you care to click through.

Instead, let me just talk once again about the expertise and experience that Roger M Cimbora, Sr. and his company, Professional Piping Services, Inc, The Piping Cleaning Specialists, bring to your jobsite.

If you are the responsible party for a piping system, I trust you already know the importance of maintaining the proper flow rate, and how keeping the walls of your pipes clean helps to maintain their optimum flow. You've probably heard of Poly Pigs before, too. I won't likely present any new information to such professionals.

What I can do, is assure you that Mr. Cimbora and company have been in this business for literally decades. Over those years, they have cleaned miles upon miles of pipe and re-mapped systems using their "Sherlock Pig" smart inline system.  Mr. Cimbora is known in the industry as one whose input and expertise are welcome on any project. When your industrial piping system is in need of cleaning, whether you're already experiencing reduced flow, or you're staying ahead of the game and running a routine cleaning, PPSI is the company for you!

What is a Force Main System?

In the various blogs the I write, I've mentioned that Pipeline Pigging is the preferred method to clean Force Main Systems, but I skipped the part where I explain just what a Force Main Systems actually is.

I checked the EPA website to make sure my explanation of this topic was fairly on-point.

Force Main Piping Systems transport wastewater away from a pump or pneumatic ejector, under pressure, toward a discharge point.  The power equipment is located at a lift station and provides the energy to move the wastewater through the piping system.

A  Force Main System includes Pipes, Valves, Pressure Surge Controls and, usually Force Main Cleaning Apertures. 

Force Main Systems are constructed with a variety of materials and in various diameters of pipe. Wastewater content is the main determining factor for piping material and  the required flow rate is the key to choosing the diameter and wall thickness. Corrosion resistance will be among the variables considered, as will operating pressure and trench conditions.

Some facilities aerate the wastewater and chlorinate it at the lift station. This helps control odor and limits corrosion. Pressure surge control devices mitigate system damage, especially during system startup and shut-down. These are often automatic cone or ball valves.

Force Main System cleaning is often accomplished using Inline Pipe Pigging. (Sometimes called Poly Pigging because the Pig is a Poly Urethane device) Pig insertion facilities  (launchers) are often included in the lift station and a retrieval station is placed at the discharge point. Longer Force Main Systems may include multiple launch and retrieval points throughout their course, allowing easier access for cleaning.

When might a Force Main System be needed?

Besides a Force Main System, a piping system engineer may consider a gravity driven system. If the processing center is at a lower elevation than the source, this generally works fine, but if you reverse it, you need a Force Main System to combat gravity and lift the wastewater. Force mains can also be used to reduce costs because they can generally be constructed in shallower trenches and use smaller diameter pipes.

Force Main System reliability duty life are similar to that of gravity lines. Pipeline reliability may be reduced by excessive pressure surges,  corrosion, or lack of proper maintenance. Pipeline Pigging for cleaning and inspection should play a significant role in that routine maintenance schedule.

​I've spoken before in this blog about Professional Piping Services, Inc. being a Licensed Underground Utility Contractor, but I never defined the term for those who might not be familiar.

With a little more precision: ROGER MICHAEL CIMBORA, the owner of  Professional Piping Services, Inc. is a Florida Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor with License CU-C055717.

I was writing about this on another blog and typed "let me dig a little deeper" then realized it was a horrible (or excellent) pun.
Let the digging begin!

Because Professional Piping Services, Inc. operates in Florida, my text references Florida only.

Before I could share this information with you, I had educate myself a little and found my way to the website of Contractor Campus where an individual can enroll to learn the profession of contracting.

Contractor Campus explained that a Florida Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor limits their services to constructing, installing, and repairing piping systems. This can be on public property or private. The service can include excavation of the area or other methods such as directional drilling, auger boring, trenchless tech and others. They may service systems which 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. The Contractor Campus website goes into more detail than this web developer understands. (I may have told you before, my client is the piping system professional, not me!)

Piping system which are an integral part of a fire suppression system require another license.

In order to receive a Certified Underground Utility Contractor’s license, Florida requires certain experience and education. The document referenced in my research gave 5 possibilities:

1. Earn a 4 year degree in a construction related field from an accredited college and have one year of proven experience in the proper category.
2. Work one year as a foreman and at have least 3 years accredited college-level courses.
3. Work in the field for one year, another year as a foreman, and 2 years in accredited college-level courses
4. Two years as a worker, 1 as a foreman, and 1 year of accredited college-level courses.
5. Work four years in the field of which at least a year was as a foreman.

Mr. Cimbora has been in the industry for over 6 decades! He has written many papers on the topic and been involved in educating new generations of contractors.

If your project calls for a Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor, trust Roger Cimbora of Professional Piping Services, Inc.

I think I've mentioned before that I am a web developer, not a Pipe System Specialist. My client, Professional Piping Services, Inc., sent me the picture above as a good way to illustrate what they do and why they do it. 

When you're ready to have your pipes taken care of, and get some of that much needed relief, contact my client, Professional Piping Services, Inc. They'll evaluate your current situation and determine the best way to restore your pipes to maximum flow capacity, and minimizing energy consumption, downtime and system wear and tear. They'll consider various Poly Pig options as well as High Pressure Water Jet cleaning. If your system is poorly mapped, a common issue, then a "Sherlock Pig" can be used to identify and re-map the entire system.

Give them a call: 800-780-6098

Riverview Florida is experiencing rapid growth. There is an influx of homes and businesses in the area. Of course, this influx includes people and people need water. We need lots and lots of water.

Much of that water also has to be carried away for treatment or disposal.

In other posts, I've mentioned the importance of pre-commission cleaning of any piping system. The new developments in the area would be well advised to have their virgin pipes cleaned to ensure the best outcome for all their customers.

Riverview is also an aging community with some aging pipes to go with it. It just might be time to have some of that old piped pigged to 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 Riverview is handled properly.