Reference

Glossary of directional drilling and fiber construction terms

If a contractor uses a word you have to look up mid-meeting, that is on the contractor. Here they all are.

This glossary defines the terms used in directional drilling, fiber construction and outside plant work, including horizontal directional drilling, bore path, pullback, reaming, strand and lash, make-ready, frac-out, tracer wire, handholes, vaults and as-built documentation.

Aerial Cable Construction: Placement of communications cable on utility poles rather than underground. Crews install messenger strand between poles, then lash fiber or coaxial cable to that strand, adding down guys, anchors and grounding as required. Aerial construction avoids excavation but depends on pole capacity and attachment permission.; Aerial Cable Construction Strand and Lash Pole Attachment Support
As-Built Documentation: The record of what was actually installed, as opposed to what was designed. As-builts capture final route alignment, depths, footages, splice locations, handhole and vault positions, conduit counts and field changes, usually as redlined prints or GIS data delivered at project closeout.; As-Built Documentation Daily Production Reporting
Bore Path: The planned three dimensional route a directional drill follows underground, defined by entry point, exit point, depth profile and horizontal alignment. The path is designed to clear existing utilities, maintain cover under roadways and stay within the bend radius the product conduit tolerates.; Bore Path Planning Directional Drilling Utility Crossings
Closeout Package: The document set delivered when a construction segment is accepted. A typical package includes as-built drawings, splice and fiber test results (OTDR traces and loss reports), footage and material reconciliation, permit signoffs, restoration photos and locate tickets, giving the owner a complete record of the plant.; As-Built Documentation Daily Production Reporting
Conduit Installation: Placement of empty pipe, usually HDPE duct, that will later carry fiber or copper. Conduit is installed by directional bore, plow or open trench, then proved with a mandrel, marked with tracer wire and terminated in handholes or vaults for future cable placement.; Conduit Installation HDPE Conduit Placement Conduit Verification
Directional Drilling: A trenchless method that installs conduit or cable along a steerable underground path. A drill rig advances a pilot bore from a surface entry point, the bore is reamed to size, and product is pulled back through the hole, leaving pavement, landscaping and existing utilities undisturbed.; Directional Drilling Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)Road Crossings
Drill Fluid: The bentonite and water mixture pumped through the drill string during a bore. Drill fluid cuts and suspends soil, cools the bit, stabilizes the borehole wall and lubricates the pullback. Mix design is adjusted for sand, clay or rock, and returns are contained and disposed of properly.; Directional Drilling Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Emergency Service Restoration: Unscheduled repair work to return a damaged network to service, typically after a dig-in, vehicle strike or storm. Crews mobilize with splice and construction capability, locate the fault, place temporary or permanent cable, splice and test, then return later for permanent restoration of the site.; Emergency Service Restoration Outage Restoration Rapid Mobilization
Fiber Blowing: Installing fiber optic cable into conduit using compressed air instead of pulling tension. A jetting machine drives the cable forward while high volume airflow carries it along the duct, allowing long continuous runs around bends with very low tensile load on the cable. Also called jetting.; Fiber Blowing Conduit Installation
Fiber Pulling: Installing cable through conduit with a pull line and winch. A rope is placed by rodder or pull tape, attached to the cable with a pulling eye and swivel, and drawn through while lubricant and figure eight staging keep tension below the cable rated maximum.; Fiber Pulling Conduit Installation
Fiber Splicing: Joining two optical fibers so light passes with minimal loss. Fusion splicing aligns the cleaved fiber ends and welds them with an electric arc, producing a permanent low loss joint; mechanical splicing holds the ends in alignment instead. Splices are protected in sleeves and housed in enclosures.; Fiber Splicing & Installation Fusion Splicing Splice Enclosure Installation
Frac-Out: An inadvertent return, where pressurized drilling fluid escapes the borehole and surfaces through weak soil, a fracture or an existing bore. Frac-outs are managed by controlling annular pressure, maintaining proper depth and fluid viscosity, and containing and cleaning up any release before work continues.; Directional Drilling Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Handhole: A small below grade enclosure, usually polymer concrete, that provides access to conduit and cable without excavation. Handholes house slack coils, splice cases and duct terminations, are rated by load class for pedestrian or traffic areas, and carry a bolted lid marked for communications.; Handhole Placement Vault Placement Conduit Installation
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD): A trenchless installation method performed in three stages: a steerable pilot bore tracked by a locating system, one or more reaming passes to enlarge the hole, and pullback of conduit or cable. HDD crosses roads, driveways, waterways and utility corridors without open cut excavation.; Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)Directional Drilling Road Crossings
Innerduct: Smaller diameter duct placed inside a larger conduit to subdivide it into separate cable pathways. Innerduct is supplied as single tubes or as multi cell fabric duct, keeps cables separated for future placement and reduces pulling friction. Each cell is typically color coded and recorded in as-builts.; Multi-Duct Installation Conduit Installation Fiber Pulling
Maintenance of Traffic (MOT): The temporary traffic control plan and field setup that keeps vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians moving safely past a work zone. MOT covers signs, cones, channelizing devices, flagging, lane closures and detours, and in Florida follows FDOT standards and the conditions written into the roadway permit.; Road Crossings Directional Drilling
Make-Ready Support: Work performed on existing utility poles so a new attachment can be added safely and to code. Make-ready includes pole loading analysis, rearranging existing communications attachments, adding guys and anchors, correcting clearances, and pole replacement when loading or height is inadequate. It usually precedes aerial construction.; Make-Ready Support Pole Attachment Support Aerial Cable Construction
Messenger Strand: The galvanized steel support wire strung between poles that carries the weight of aerial cable. Strand is sized by strength class, tensioned to published sag tables, dead ended at terminal poles, bonded and grounded, and serves as the base that fiber or coaxial cable is lashed to.; Messenger Strand Installation Strand and Lash Aerial Cable Construction
OTDR: Optical Time Domain Reflectometer, a test instrument that sends light pulses down a fiber and measures backscatter and reflections to map the span. An OTDR trace shows distance to each splice, connector, bend or break along with its loss, and is standard evidence in fiber acceptance testing.; Fiber Splicing & Installation Fusion Splicing Locate and Repair
Outside Plant (OSP): All telecommunications infrastructure located outside the central office or headend: aerial and underground cable, conduit, poles, strand, handholes, vaults, cabinets, splice enclosures and pedestals. OSP construction covers the physical route from the network hub to the customer premises, including backbone and distribution plant.; Outside Plant Construction Full OSP Packages Backbone Construction
Overlash: Adding a new cable to an existing aerial run by lashing it to the strand alongside the cable already there, instead of installing new strand. Overlashing is faster and cheaper but increases wind and ice loading, so pole loading and clearances must be verified before the work is approved.; Overlash Strand and Lash Make-Ready Support
Potholing: Exposing a buried utility to confirm its exact depth and position before drilling or trenching near it, usually with vacuum excavation or careful hand digging. Potholing verifies the paint marks from a locate ticket, gives the drill operator a positive visual reference, and prevents damage at crossings.; Utility Crossings Bore Path Planning Directional Drilling
Pullback: The final stage of a directional bore, where conduit or cable is attached behind the reamer and drawn back through the enlarged hole to the entry pit. Pullback uses a swivel to prevent product rotation, and pulling force is monitored so the conduit tensile limit is not exceeded.; Pullback Operations Reaming Services Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Reaming: Enlarging a completed pilot bore to the diameter needed for the product line. A reamer is pulled back through the hole, mixing cuttings with drilling fluid and conditioning the borehole wall. Large or difficult bores are reamed in successive passes to control pressure and cuttings removal.; Reaming Services Pullback Operations Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
Slack Storage: Extra cable length coiled and secured at planned points so fiber can later be spliced, repaired or relocated without pulling in new cable. Slack is stored on snowshoes or brackets aerially and coiled in handholes or vaults underground, with quantity and location recorded in the as-built record.; Aerial Fiber Placement Handhole Placement As-Built Documentation
Strand and Lash: The standard aerial build method: install and tension messenger strand between poles, then run a lashing machine along it to wrap stainless steel or galvanized lashing wire around the strand and cable together. The result is a supported cable run with proper sag, clearance and bonding.; Strand and Lash Messenger Strand Installation Aerial Cable Construction
Sunshine 811: Florida's one call notification center for underground utility locates. Excavators must notify Sunshine 811 before digging, and the ticket goes to member utility operators who mark their facilities. State law requires at least two full business days notice, and tickets expire and must be renewed on continuing work.; Directional Drilling Utility Crossings
Tracer Wire: Insulated copper or copper clad wire installed with nonmetallic conduit so the line can be located electronically after burial. A locator induces a tone on the wire and the operator traces it from the surface. Tracer wire must be continuous, tested for continuity and accessible at handholes.; Tracer Wire Installation Conduit Installation Conduit Verification
Trenchless Construction: Any method that installs underground utilities without continuous open excavation, including horizontal directional drilling, pipe ramming, auger boring and pipe bursting. Trenchless work protects pavement, mature landscaping and existing utilities, shortens lane closures, and is often the only approach a permitting agency will allow under a roadway.; Trenchless Boring Directional Drilling Road Crossings
Vault: A large below grade structure, usually precast concrete with a traffic rated lid, that houses splice cases, slack coils and duct terminations at backbone points. Vaults are sized for personnel entry, set on compacted base with drainage, and used where cable counts or access needs exceed handhole capacity.; Vault Placement Handhole Placement Backbone Construction

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