Sustainability, smart cities, climate control - the demand for gentle methods to build modern infrastructures is greater today than ever before. We spoke to a proven expert and connoisseur of the industry about the global potential for trenchless technology. Jari Kaukonen was acting chairman of the Int. Society for Trenchless Technology ISTT until October 2022 and is a founding member of the Finnish society FISTT, which is hosted the Int NODIG in Helsinki last year.
Q: Mr Kaukonen, we like to say that there is no task in pipeline construction today that cannot be done without trenches. Do you agree with that? Is NODIG technology really that advanced?
A: Yes, I totally agree. I started in the trenchless trade in 1982 and after that I have seen the development in the field. Those days the discussion was about the capacity when rehabilitating the old mains. Quite soon the manufacturers introduced methods that made it possible to even enlarge the diameter of the existing pipe. That time there came to the market other methods too to keep the diameter almost the same as the old one. In Finland we have a very hard rock which was a good reason to say no to Nodig when planning a new installation. Now there is very good equipment also for hard rock. The main thing for the pipe and gable owners is to hire a qualified designer for to plan the execution of the work.
Q: The state of the art is one thing, the actual need is another. In which areas do you see the greatest need? Fibre optic expansion as the backbone of digitisation, for example, is obvious. Where do you see similarly great potential?
A: Yes, fibre optic expansion has been one main driver for the huge growth of HDD. Someone has said that we can use the mobile system instead of fibre optic to every house. I think it is vice versa. When we will build the 5G system that needs to expansion of fibre optic network and that means more HDD work for the contractors. In the future there will be globally more need for the good drinking water. We will have more areas with bad water quality. That means more and longer distribution watermains and I hope the use of trenchless is widely used when contracting the mains. The building of wind power is one issue where there is a need of contacting those to the network. In many cases those are far from urban areas and that is why the is a possibility to use trenchless in many cases because of not to spoil the nature where to build the cables. When reducing the use of the fossil energy we need to build new gas mains as well. What means when the Nordstream2 gas main is ready to use? Will that be in use or what happens because of the situation in Ukraine. Will that mean that we must ensure the energy distribution also more with different possibilities? That can also mean new possibilities.
Q: What about less developed regions and countries in the world? Can't NODIG even be a key to better living conditions here? Just think of the water supply.
A: Absolutely as I described above the distribution to the areas where the bad water quality is the problem. But also we have many places on the globe where is not sufficient sewer system. In many areas there is a sewer tank without a bottom and the well where the people take the drinking water besides each other’s. Many houses are close and without a deeper foundation. If we use the trenchless methods, the owners of the houses can use the houses without any investments to the foundation and not big issues to the daily life. By that way we can save many environmental aspects of the destroy. There are many excellent calculations made by GSTT about the environmental costs comparing the trenchless to open cut.
Q: Do you think that trenchless construction will one day be the rule and no longer the exception in pipeline construction? If so, what are the arguments in its favour?
A: Yes, that is the way we have to go. The Finnish Road administration called Väylä in Finnish have already decided to use the trenchless when constructing pipes and gables under the road. I am waiting more and more infrastructure owners to follow the Väylä when giving licences to build new pipes and gables to the areas that they own. Many authorities do not know about the possibilities we have to use the trenchless and I see that as the main reason when not insisting that the use of trenchless is the only acceptable method when building pipes and gables.
Q: How do the trenchless societies contribute to making trenchless technology more accepted and better known to clients and the general public?
A: As before said there is a lack of knowledge about the trenchless possibilities with the authorities but also with the infrastructure owners and general designers. There is a huge role of the national societies which are our affiliated societies to spread the information and push their members and others to local and international conferences and exhibitions where there is an excellent possibility to learn more about the use of trenchless methods. The affiliated societies must have good relations to the ministries and authorities for to share the possibilities of the use of trenchless. The methods for spreading the good news of trenchless are arranging conferences, exhibitions, and courses about the best practices etc. Areas where we do not have any affiliated society and people who are interested more about the trenchless can gather together contact us for to get help with establishing an affiliated society.
Q: Finland and other Scandinavian countries are seen as role models for sustainable development. This includes the spread of trenchless technology. Why is that and what can other countries learn from the Scandinavians in this respect?
A: I see many reasons together causing the fact. First, we have lived very close to the nature to see the change when spoiling some parts of it. We also have four different seasons in a year, and we can feel the difference for the nature too. We have been long quite rural country with an agriculture which has not been as easy as more southern countries. That means we have to develop our equipment suitable for our climate and that means maybe that we are used to innovative tools, that is why we have some highly skilled companies manufacturing tools for pipeline rehabilitation. We have also a winter which is not similar in central Europe and that means we have to innovate processes and tools for the cold installation and also in the houses when it is not a good weather conditions to work outside.
Q: To conclude, some personal information about you would certainly be interesting for the readers. You have been in the NOIDG industry for a good 40 years. In which functions and what were the milestones on your way?
A: Thanks for asking this. I made my first relining work in 1982 in Finland and since I have been active in trenchless business. First as a contractor since 2002 when I sold my company’s activities to a Finnish construction company called YIT. There I continued as a contractor until 2006 when I changed acting as a consultant in infrastructure first for FCG and then to WSP where I retired 2019. My clients wanted me to work for them since them too and I started on my own again then and will continue still with consulting clients. I joined individually to ISTT in London 1987 and been a member since then. I was elected to the ISTT board (ex esc) in 2014 and a vice chair 2016 and a chair in 2018 which position I will lhand over in Helsinki in October 2022 after being the second longest period as a chair in ISTT’s history. I have been a founding member of the Finnish society FiSTT in 1999 and been a member of the board in FiSTT from 1999 to 2021. So I can say my heart belongs to ttrenchless
Mr. Kaukonen. Thank you very much for this inspiring conversation. Let’s hope it will induce more players in the trade to spread the word beyond the industry to make trenchless construction a public interest.
Q: Mr Kaukonen, we like to say that there is no task in pipeline construction today that cannot be done without trenches. Do you agree with that? Is NODIG technology really that advanced?
A: Yes, I totally agree. I started in the trenchless trade in 1982 and after that I have seen the development in the field. Those days the discussion was about the capacity when rehabilitating the old mains. Quite soon the manufacturers introduced methods that made it possible to even enlarge the diameter of the existing pipe. That time there came to the market other methods too to keep the diameter almost the same as the old one. In Finland we have a very hard rock which was a good reason to say no to Nodig when planning a new installation. Now there is very good equipment also for hard rock. The main thing for the pipe and gable owners is to hire a qualified designer for to plan the execution of the work.
Q: The state of the art is one thing, the actual need is another. In which areas do you see the greatest need? Fibre optic expansion as the backbone of digitisation, for example, is obvious. Where do you see similarly great potential?
A: Yes, fibre optic expansion has been one main driver for the huge growth of HDD. Someone has said that we can use the mobile system instead of fibre optic to every house. I think it is vice versa. When we will build the 5G system that needs to expansion of fibre optic network and that means more HDD work for the contractors. In the future there will be globally more need for the good drinking water. We will have more areas with bad water quality. That means more and longer distribution watermains and I hope the use of trenchless is widely used when contracting the mains. The building of wind power is one issue where there is a need of contacting those to the network. In many cases those are far from urban areas and that is why the is a possibility to use trenchless in many cases because of not to spoil the nature where to build the cables. When reducing the use of the fossil energy we need to build new gas mains as well. What means when the Nordstream2 gas main is ready to use? Will that be in use or what happens because of the situation in Ukraine. Will that mean that we must ensure the energy distribution also more with different possibilities? That can also mean new possibilities.
Q: What about less developed regions and countries in the world? Can't NODIG even be a key to better living conditions here? Just think of the water supply.
A: Absolutely as I described above the distribution to the areas where the bad water quality is the problem. But also we have many places on the globe where is not sufficient sewer system. In many areas there is a sewer tank without a bottom and the well where the people take the drinking water besides each other’s. Many houses are close and without a deeper foundation. If we use the trenchless methods, the owners of the houses can use the houses without any investments to the foundation and not big issues to the daily life. By that way we can save many environmental aspects of the destroy. There are many excellent calculations made by GSTT about the environmental costs comparing the trenchless to open cut.
Q: Do you think that trenchless construction will one day be the rule and no longer the exception in pipeline construction? If so, what are the arguments in its favour?
A: Yes, that is the way we have to go. The Finnish Road administration called Väylä in Finnish have already decided to use the trenchless when constructing pipes and gables under the road. I am waiting more and more infrastructure owners to follow the Väylä when giving licences to build new pipes and gables to the areas that they own. Many authorities do not know about the possibilities we have to use the trenchless and I see that as the main reason when not insisting that the use of trenchless is the only acceptable method when building pipes and gables.
Q: How do the trenchless societies contribute to making trenchless technology more accepted and better known to clients and the general public?
A: As before said there is a lack of knowledge about the trenchless possibilities with the authorities but also with the infrastructure owners and general designers. There is a huge role of the national societies which are our affiliated societies to spread the information and push their members and others to local and international conferences and exhibitions where there is an excellent possibility to learn more about the use of trenchless methods. The affiliated societies must have good relations to the ministries and authorities for to share the possibilities of the use of trenchless. The methods for spreading the good news of trenchless are arranging conferences, exhibitions, and courses about the best practices etc. Areas where we do not have any affiliated society and people who are interested more about the trenchless can gather together contact us for to get help with establishing an affiliated society.
Q: Finland and other Scandinavian countries are seen as role models for sustainable development. This includes the spread of trenchless technology. Why is that and what can other countries learn from the Scandinavians in this respect?
A: I see many reasons together causing the fact. First, we have lived very close to the nature to see the change when spoiling some parts of it. We also have four different seasons in a year, and we can feel the difference for the nature too. We have been long quite rural country with an agriculture which has not been as easy as more southern countries. That means we have to develop our equipment suitable for our climate and that means maybe that we are used to innovative tools, that is why we have some highly skilled companies manufacturing tools for pipeline rehabilitation. We have also a winter which is not similar in central Europe and that means we have to innovate processes and tools for the cold installation and also in the houses when it is not a good weather conditions to work outside.
Q: To conclude, some personal information about you would certainly be interesting for the readers. You have been in the NOIDG industry for a good 40 years. In which functions and what were the milestones on your way?
A: Thanks for asking this. I made my first relining work in 1982 in Finland and since I have been active in trenchless business. First as a contractor since 2002 when I sold my company’s activities to a Finnish construction company called YIT. There I continued as a contractor until 2006 when I changed acting as a consultant in infrastructure first for FCG and then to WSP where I retired 2019. My clients wanted me to work for them since them too and I started on my own again then and will continue still with consulting clients. I joined individually to ISTT in London 1987 and been a member since then. I was elected to the ISTT board (ex esc) in 2014 and a vice chair 2016 and a chair in 2018 which position I will lhand over in Helsinki in October 2022 after being the second longest period as a chair in ISTT’s history. I have been a founding member of the Finnish society FiSTT in 1999 and been a member of the board in FiSTT from 1999 to 2021. So I can say my heart belongs to ttrenchless
Mr. Kaukonen. Thank you very much for this inspiring conversation. Let’s hope it will induce more players in the trade to spread the word beyond the industry to make trenchless construction a public interest.
