- With a possible exception
of some very big ideas
and a few core beliefs,
nothing keeps Americans
connected to each
other like pipes.
We simply wouldn't have
a country without them,
or a means to transport
the essential stuff of life
from point A to point B.
I refer in no particular order
to oil, water, natural gas,
raw sewage, and of course, beer.
Let's talk about oil.
Every single day, 62
million barrels of petroleum
flows through a vast series
of interconnected pipes.
Without pipes and pipelines,
there is no energy,
there's no energy policy,
there's no electric grid,
there's no indoor pluming.
Copper, steel, brass,
iron, concrete, aluminum,
plastic, PVC, whatever;
pipes are our nation's
circulatory system.
And tonight, we're gonna
meet a few of the people
who build them, skilled
workers whose job
is to keep us all
connected and to show us
"How America Works."
Since their early
introduction in the mid-1800s,
pipelines have played a
critical role in connecting
every corner of
these United States.
And believe me, we have laid
some serious pipes since then.
So much, in fact, that the
United States is now home
to the largest pipeline
network in the world,
which channels everyday
essentials beneath our feet
and throughout our lives.
They're the reason
for running water,
the interstates for oil and
gas, and the great movers of,
well, our movements.
But keeping up with the
needs of a growing nation
requires near
constant expansion,
and never more so
than right now.
Thanks to new construction
and growing developments
across the country,
America will need to bury
another 20,000 miles of
pipeline this year alone.
And it's on companies
like Kinder Morgan,
along with contractors like
LouTex to make that happen.
Here in western Alabama,
nearly 100 of their personnel
are working day-in and
day-out to haul, weld,
and bury a further
three miles of pipe.
Pipe that will bring
natural gas to some 20,000
new homes and businesses.
But with those now
nearing completion,
workers here have
just under a week
to get this pipeline in place.
And to stay on schedule, they'll
need to bury no less than
1,000 feet of it
each and every day.
It's the kind of pace that
would make most pipeliners
drop their shovels and
walk off into the hills.
But not guys like Stringing
Crew Foreman Jerred Harvey
whose sole responsibility
is to make sure
there's plenty of
pipe to work with.
- Let's lay it.
This stringing crew
brings in all the pipe
and sets it down and gets
it ready for the bending
and the pipe crane
to come through.
It's a never ending
battle every day.
- He's not kidding, you know.
Don't worry, you'll see.
But if Jerred and his fellow
pipeliners do everything
just right, here's how the
overall process should go.
First, bulldozers are sent in
to clear a path for the pipe.
Then, guys like Jerred
will truck in and offload
a string of pipe
sections, three at a time.
After that, bending crews
will pass through to,
you guessed it, bend any of
the pipes that need to fit
the lay of the landscape.
From there, welders will join
the sections before the pipe
can finally be lowered
into a ditch and buried.
And that is how our
pipelines go to ground.
But first thing's first
- [Jerred] All right, we
got another truck coming in.
We're gonna throw
skids under the pipe,
set it on the ground.
- [Mike] For that, Jerred
will use a piece of machinery
custom tailored for moving
large sections of pipe,
one that relies
mainly on suction.
- This is a Vacuworx vacuum.
It pulls a suction on it,
holds it with about 30 pounds
of vacuum and that piece of
pipe weighs around 16,000 pounds
and I've picked up a
lot heavier with 'em.
Line me up end-to-end
down there.
Skids down.
- [Mike] Once the last of
these pipes are in place,
Jerred's team will move to
their next location of the day.
But as one of his colleagues
is about to point out,
they may first have to
handle some traffic control.
- (beeps) No.
Ugh, it's just a
little tight right here
and we gotta try to
get this truck out.
Sometimes it's hard to back
up steerable axle trailers.
- [Mike] Complicating
matters more is the fact
that this tight squeeze is
bordered by active pipelines
that are already underground,
and if run over
could take on damage.
- We've got three other
gas lines running over here
and that truck's
about 30,000 pounds
and they don't want
'em driving on it.
You think you can get
turned around up here
in that wide spot?
- Without getting on
these lines over here?
Okay.
Go ahead and open them gaps.
(truck engine rumbling)
All the way out.
Oh, yeah, he got it.
Looks good.
All right, that's all
we gonna put in here.
Let's go over to the pond dam
and grab your daddy's truck.
- [Mike] While Jerred and
his men make their way
to the next location,
further back down the line,
crews are already hard at
work welding, hoisting,
and lowering pipe
into the ground.
But before any of
that can happen,
some of these 80-foot
sections will need to be bent,
and that is where Bending Crew
Boss Ramon Espinoza comes in.
- The bending crew is
one of the first ones
that get out there in the field.
In this crew, I have, I
think about six people.
My job is to relay
the job tasks to them
and make sure they do it right.
- [Mike] It's a tedious
process with little margin
for error, but the
concept is simple enough.
Basically, Ramon and his men
need to ensure that these pipes
match the slopes of the
surrounding terrain.
And as Ramon has come to learn,
there's no shortage of those.
- You can see the ground,
how it dips down
a little bit here.
That would be a sag,
trying to work its way up.
And then you'll obviously
pair it up with an over bend.
Over bend means you're over
bending over a obstacle,
and sag, you're sagging it down.
- [Mike] For the moment,
Ramon will need to give
his latest pipe a
three degree sag,
but first, they'll have to
take a few measurements.
(spray paint can hissing)
- It's really important
to have the measurements
exactly how they are
because any foot less,
it could get us off of balance.
This will be your end
of the joint pipe,
which is right there.
And that flag right there,
that will be your bend.
So, you just bring
it to the pipe.
- [Mike] And with that, it's
time for this pipe to get bent.
A process that requires a
side boom for transport,
a bending machine for,
take a wild guess,
and as always,
Ramon for guidance.
- Six.
Those marks, they are
to show the bender
that he has six pulls of half
degrees to make his degrees.
So that's the reason
why we put six lines
so he can know in two
lines he'll have a degree.
- [Mike] And with those
six lines, now bent,
this pipe should have
the three degree angle
Ramon and the boys
were looking for.
But there's only
one way to be sure.
- As you see right now,
what he has in his
hand is a protractor.
He's gonna check the degrees out
to make sure he has three sag.
Good job.
Well, he has the three sag.
See that sag right here?
Starts right here.
You can almost see
it from far away.
- [Mike] Once these sections
of pipe are put back in place,
they'll wait for the next
crew to align them together
via side boom.
Then, they'll finally
be ready for this guy,
Master Welder Dylan Thomas,
whose goal today will be
joining some three sections
before quitting time.
All with the help
of his partner Lee,
and more importantly, his
custom built welding truck.
- [Dylan] It is 100% mine,
so all my time and money
goes into that rig, making
sure it's up-to-date,
making sure all the
maintenance is good
so it keeps me on the job.
- [Mike] As for this job
- [Dylan] You got
your temp stick?
- [Mike] The guys will preheat
the pipe to 200 degrees,
which should prevent
any unwanted cracking.
Then, they'll team up
with some fellow welders
to knock this joint
out in tandem.
- This pipe is so big,
you need a partner.
And also if you
weld on this side,
you're putting too much
heat stress on this side
and this side's still cold.
You could crack that side out.
- [Welder] Y'all ready?
- [Dylan] You ready, Mr. Mike?
- [Welder] Yup, go ahead.
(sparks crackling)
- [Mike] An experienced
operator like Dylan can create
about 16 feet of weld per day,
but since this pipe will
be moving natural gas,
every inch of these welds
must be absolutely airtight.
- Now that we got it
all the way capped out,
we're gonna look at it
real good and make sure
there's no visible holes
or anything with the weld,
and then we're done with it.
We'll go to the next one
and do it all over again.
- [Mike] But not just yet,
because upon close inspection
it seems there's still
a little patchwork
to be done here.
- [Dylan] And we do
have one little pinhole,
so I'm about to go
ahead and grind it out
and just fix it real quick.
(grinder whirring)
Come on, Lee, buff it.
- You done broke my (beep)?
(light dramatic music)
(light music)
- [Mike] It's hard to comprehend
just how much pipeline
it takes to bring everyday
essentials into American homes.
So here's just how
much pipeline it takes:
more than five million miles.
It's enough to wrap
around the sun, twice.
And with new developments
popping up across the country,
that number is
steadily on the rise.
Take, for example, the
new pipeline Kinder
Morgan and LouTex
are installing in
western Alabama,
one that's due for
completion within the week.
To make that deadline,
they'll need to lay a whopping
1,000 feet of pipe per day.
And already-
- [Dylan] You done
broke my (beep)?
- [Mike] A dead grinder
is threatening to put
the whole operation
behind schedule,
but that doesn't mean
welder Dylan Thomas here
is going gentle into
that good night.
- So since the grinder's
not working off the box
but it's working good
off the weld machine,
it narrows it down
to three issues.
It could be in this plug,
this plug, or inside this box.
I'm gonna take this plug apart
and if this plug's bad in there,
there'll be a big old
burnt spot in there.
And if it's bad, I'm gonna
have to leave the job
and go buy another plug.
- [Mike] Fortunately for Dylan,
it may not have to come
to that; not yet, anyway.
- See I'm looking for
these wires right here
and there shows no
burnt spots in there.
Everything looks good.
So, all that looks good.
So that's not the problem.
The next thing I wanna
check is actually inside
this rear step box.
A wire could have came loose.
Okay, so here's the
problem right here.
This wire has come loose
into this plug right here.
So we'll just put that wire
back in and tighten it back up
and hopefully that
should be the problem.
Plug it in, we'll
see if it works.
(grinder whirring)
We're good to go.
- [Mike] With the
grinder back in business,
Dylan and Lee can finally
clean up the joint,
patch a small
pinhole and wave in
Kinder Morgan's welding
inspector for what they hope
will be a quick sign-off.
But as Dylan knows all too well,
inspectors like Mark
here are as thorough
as they are unforgiving.
- For any pipeline job,
it's kind of like baseball,
three strikes and you're out.
So they try to give you
a little bit of lenience,
but if you make three strikes
in a one job, you're runoff.
- What I'm looking for
is to see if there's
any kind of physical defects,
either undercut or a
pinhole on the outside.
Yeah, Dylan, everything
looks good to go.
- [Dylan] Yes, sir.
- We'll see you at the next one.
- [Dylan] Yes, sir.
- Good luck, buddy.
- Yes, sir.
- [Mike] While Dylan
heads for his next job,
further up the line, another
team is leading the charge
for the whole operation.
After all, you can't
bring in trucks, pipes,
or really anything without
first clearing a path.
Also known as a right of way.
And since it's all
hands on deck today,
the man heading that up will be
LouTex's Co-Owner Mike Harvey.
- [Mike] As a third
generation pipeliner,
Mike knows his way around the
bulldozer better than most,
which makes him the ideal
choice for clearing this section
of right of way
by mid-afternoon.
- [Mike] Well it's
not all repetition
because from time-to-time,
Mike does come up against
the odd roadblock.
And by the look of it,
he may well have spotted
his first one of the day.
- Hm, well that's as far
as I can go right there.
We got a wetland right there
we aren't able to cross.
If y'all can see that
stake right there,
it's got that blue
and white ribbon.
That's a boundary
for our wetland.
Means we can't go
past it right now.
- [Mike] But as Mike
knows from experience,
there's almost
always a workaround.
And after a little scouting,
he just might have found one.
- Like they've got a
wetland drain here.
It's got a little bit of
drain water running to it,
so we're gonna have to be
able a bridge across it.
- [Mike] While Mike heads off
for some bridge
building materials,
just down the line, Stringing
Crew Foreman Jerred Harvey,
that's Mike's son, by the way,
is already starting to
catch up to his old man.
- We've moved to a new location
and we've got about 2,500
foot of pipe we've gotta bring
and put down in here.
Hopefully we can
get across this dam,
and get everything put down.
- [Mike] But before Jerred
and his team can get started,
word from on high brings some
unexpected complications.
- I just got a call
from the inspection team
and the safety team, says,
we can't go across that dam
with those loaded
pipe trucks today.
- What the hell?
- [Mike] Yep, it was thought
that using this existing
two track would be no problem,
but apparently the
crew safety inspectors
don't see it that way.
- We have to understand that
it's more about the control
of the load than
it is the weight.
The pond dam should
hold up fine either way,
but who's to say one
80-foot stringing trailer
might not slip off this dam?
We have no way to control it.
- [Jerred] Yeah.
- So, sorry to be the
bearer of bad news.
That's kind of
what it looks like.
- [Jerred] Mm.
- [Mike] It's far from ideal,
but Jerred does have
permission to use
the more stable track
hoe on the road.
Even so, that's gonna
slow his whole operation
down to a crawl.
- [Jerred] We gotta
unload 'em here
and then track every
single joint across.
It's a half a mile in and
a half a mile out tracking.
So, it takes a little while.
- [Mike] So much for
catching up to dad.
Now, Jerred's main
concern is ensuring
that no one catches up to him.
- We've got probably 50,
60 people running behind us
that's doing the bending,
engineering, pipe gain, ditch.
So if I get behind, then
everybody falls behind.
So the whole thing
is just (beep).
Every bit of it.
- [Mike] Between
oil and natural gas,
pipelines pump a lot of energy
into our everyday lives.
Almost all of it, really,
but they save a good
bit of energy too.
Seriously, to match the daily
output of just one pipeline,
just one, you'd need more
than 700 tanker trucks
running 'round the clock.
For all our pipelines,
make that 90,000 trucks.
That's the kind of flow
that America relies on
to function as it should.
But with housing booms
and other developments
springing up across the country,
the need for new pipeline
is at an all-time high.
Take, for example, the one
Kinder Morgan and LouTex
are building in western Alabama.
One that when finished
will supply some 20,000
homes and businesses
with natural gas.
And with just under a week
to complete the project,
they'll have to bury a full
1,000 feet of pipeline per day.
Unfortunately for him-
- [Jerred] I need all these
vehicles outta the way.
I gotta get this
truck outta here.
- [Mike] Stringing Crew
Foreman Jerred Harvey
has hit a bottleneck that could
ripple delays down the line.
- Inspection's worried that
the steerable axle trailers
could run off of the pond
dam and the trucks turn over
and end up in the pond.
So we were having to tote
every single joint in
to the kick off and
string 'em out one by one
instead of being able to
unload off the trucks.
It slows it down a lot.
- [Mike] At this pace,
Jerred already knows that he
and his team will be working
well into the evening.
But apparently-
- What the hell's wrong
with this piece of junk now?
- [Mike] The hits
just keep on coming.
- [Jerred] Trying to figure
out why this thing won't crank.
It won't pull a suction.
Ain't nothing working right.
- [Mike] It could take hours
to diagnose a faulty vacuum
like this one; time
Jerred doesn't have.
So, he'll have to resort
to the lesser of two evils.
- I guess I'm gonna call
and get a new one on the way
and swap it out.
I'm already behind and
we gotta get stuff done.
I'll just get another one here.
- [Mike] While Jerred heads
for the nearest phone,
not far down the pipeline,
Bending Crew Boss Ramon
Espinoza and his men
are already starting
to close in.
And with the latest of
their jobs now complete,
it's once again time
to make some moves.
- What we are gonna do is
pretty much just hook up
to that side boom right there,
hook the bending machine
up to the side boom
and go on to the next location.
- [Mike] But as Ramon
knows from experience,
you can't just plunk a
rig like theirs anywhere
and get to bending.
No, first, he and his man
will have to make sure
it's perfectly level.
- As far as bending the
pipe if it's not leveled,
your degrees on that pipe are
gonna be different because
that machine'll be leaning
off to one side or the other.
- [Mike] To keep
that from happening,
Ramon's team uses wooden skids,
which should be big enough to
balance the bending machine.
- That machine is heavy.
So, we might put two skids
because they'll end up sinking,
just to have that support on it.
If it's leaning off to the
right hand side, left hand side,
I won't know until I
put this level on it.
We should be good.
- [Mike] With everything set up,
Ramon can finally put
eyes on the next section
in need of some bending,
but by the look
of the landscape,
this one's gonna be a doozy.
- This is a pretty steep creek,
so we're expecting
a big bend here.
It's gonna take us quite
a while just for the fact
that it's real steep
and it's a bigger bend
than just a normal
one or two degrees.
- [Mike] While Ramon
and his men brace
for some serious bending,
back up at the leading
end of the project,
LouTex's Co-Owner Mike Harvey
has a creek of his own to cross,
but since the idea here is to
pave the way for semi-trucks
and other heavy haulers,
he's swapped his dozer
for a 60-ton excavator.
And is now going about the
business of building a bridge.
- [Mike] It's not the most
complicated of designs,
but these wooden mats will
save Mike precious resources
that a full-on
reroute would cost.
- [Mike] And at this point,
Mike's not moving around
much of anything,
including some vegetation
in need of clearing.
(chainsaw whirring)
- [Mike] And with the offending
stumps cut outta the way,
Mike can finally lay
the last of his mats.
- [Mike] But the work
does not stop there.
(phone ringing)
- [Mike] Hello?
- [Coworker] Hey, Mike.
We're gonna need somebody to
go up to the lay down yard
and do some topsoiling.
When do y'all think
y'all can get there?
- Give me about five minutes
and I'll be through with this.
- [Coworker] Okay, sounds good.
Thanks now.
- All right, thanks.
- [Mike] For most of us,
pipelines are simply a means of
moving any number of
commodities from place to place.
But for the three million or
so Americans who build them,
they're also a way
of making ends meet.
And these days, what, with
all the new developments
breaking ground, there are a
lot of opportunities out there.
That's because just
one pipeline project
can create more
than 40,000 jobs,
paying a collective $2
billion to its employees.
But as the good people
of Kinder Morgan
and LouTex can attest, it's
not exactly easy money.
Here in western Alabama,
they're racing like mad
to get another 1,000 feet
of pipeline in the
ground by days end.
But to pull that off,
Co-Owner Mike Harvey here
still has some dozing to do,
not to clear new
right of way so much,
but rather to smooth
out this existing patch.
- [Mike] Equally
important for the trucks
that pass through here, is
avoiding tire punctures.
Something that this
left over tree stump
could cause in a flash.
So, while he's here, Mike
will smooth that out too.
- [Mike] And with
that outta the way,
all that's left are a
few finishing touches.
- [Mike] While Mike puts
his bulldozer to bed,
not far away,
another heavy machine
is just getting warmed up
because to move all this pipe
around the job site,
LouTex relies on a fleet
of three side-loaders.
And few men can run
one of those better
than operator Andy James.
- Our biggest role
is handling the pipe.
Just the up and
down, the in and out.
With a side boom, you
can only do one thing,
and that's pick up and let down.
- [Mike] That may not
sound all that exciting,
but picking up and
putting down pipe
is a huge part of
the process here.
Like when crewmen need
to join sections of it
for the welders to come,
that's when guys like Andy
lend some much needed support.
- Each man on either side
has got a spacing tool
to get the spacing just
right for the welders.
I just kind of hang
out and wait and watch
if they need me to
pick up or down.
- [Mike] In this case it
appears that won't be necessary.
And with this
section now secured-
- [Andy] Here we go.
- [Mike] It's time to
move on to the next.
- [Andy] I just ease back slow,
trying to line myself
up the best I can.
They'll give me some
hand signals as I go
of what I need to do now.
Slow and easy.
- [Mike] And as crewman on
the ground guide this pipe
into position, it's
once again time for Andy
to go on aggressive standby.
- Now that it's in the clamps,
just like the last one,
they'll preheat it,
and they'll use their spacing
wedges to get the right gap
for the welders
coming behind them.
Once they get enough weld in
it, well we can let it down.
I'll go get another one.
The process will repeat.
- [Mike] Meanwhile,
further up ahead,
things have gotten a
little less routine
for Bending Crew
Boss Ramon Espinoza,
who will typically bend sections
between two and three degrees.
But with a steep creek crossing
in this pipeline's path,
they're gonna have
to up that angle
to a slightly more
complicated 17 degrees.
- [Ramon] This is one of our
biggest bends, like I said,
we have pipe g*ng
right behind our back.
So it's really important
to get this done
so we can keep them working.
(engine rumbling)
- [Mike] But to bend
pipe, you need pressure,
and for some reason Ramon
doesn't seem to be getting any.
(light dramatic music)
- It's not building any air.
All the valves are open.
I'm gonna go on
to the other side,
check it out up top to
see if something's wrong.
There it is.
So if you hear it,
it's building up air.
- [Mike] Even so, it's
still not as much air
as Ramon will need.
- No?
It's not supposed to be
acting like that though.
(light dramatic music)
- [Mike] It's hard to say just
where our country would be
without its various pipelines.
But one could argue that
there might not be a country
at all, not ours anyway.
That's because in the
height of World w*r II,
Allied forces look to the US
for a full 85% of their fuel.
And at the time the only
means of moving raw petroleum
to refineries in the
northeast was via tanker ship.
Well it didn't take long
for n*zi strategists
to figure that out.
And by 1942, a barrage
of U-boat attacks
had cut our supply
line by more than half,
not nearly enough to
support the w*r effort.
And so, the United
States started digging
and created a pipeline
running all the way from Texas
to New York City.
And by 1943, the Allies
were finally back on track.
Fast forward 80 years and
the pipelines crisscrossing
our nation are still
every bit as impactful
as they were then.
But getting them
into the ground,
that hasn't gotten much easier.
Just ask Bending Crew
Boss Ramon Espinoza,
who to run this section of
natural gas pipe across a creek,
will first need to
bend it by 17 degrees.
Unfortunately, for
he and his team-
- [Mike] An issue
somewhere in the works
is robbing them of the air
pressure they need to do it.
- But it has enough air to go.
So that's why you can
hear it open up and close,
but now it doesn't
(air hissing)
See how it just
opens up and closes?
It has enough pressure.
- [Mike] But as Ramon's
esteemed colleague
is quick to demonstrate,
the problem might just
be a kink in the hose.
(air hissing)
- Got it to work.
(soft rock music)
- [Mike] And with that, it's
time to get back to bending.
But when creating an
angle of this degree,
Ramon must also keep
his head on a swivel.
- Where it gets dangerous there
is simply the fact that you're
making a 17 degree bend.
You keep on pushing
it back as you bend it
and it just keeps on
going up to the air.
It could slip off the
belt and actually,
you know if there's anybody
beside it, it will crush him.
- [Mike] Lucky for Ramon,
this side boom seems to be
holding on just fine.
And with the last
of the bends made,
all that's left now is to
take some final measurements.
- He's trying to figure out
if he has 17 degree bend.
So, you got it?
Chad?
- [Mike] Guess we'll
take that as a yes.
Anyway, about a mile back,
Side Boom Operator Andy James
has turned his focus from
lining up pipe for welding,
to putting it into the ground.
- Got a call that ditch
crew was about ready
to start lowering in.
So we broke our side boom down
and had to do a haul around,
reassembled it.
Now, we're here,
ready to lower in.
- [Mike] Well, almost ready.
First, Andy will need to
give his lowering equipment
a quick once over.
- We got our cradle hooked up.
You gotta make sure that
your wheels are clean,
make sure they're rolling.
Check your cables, make
sure there's not any burrs
or make sure all your
bolts are in place.
Everything looks good.
- [Mike] In all, the job of
lowering this stretch of pipe
will be up to four
heavy machines.
And doing it right will take
some close coordination.
- What'll happen is actually
this track hoe right here,
he'll pick up the end and we'll
set everybody in sequences.
Next track hoe, and
he'll roll 'em on.
Second tractor in
line'll roll 'em on.
The pipe just slides through
and it stays continuous
and once we get to the other
end we just roll 'em all.
- [Mike] It sounds
straightforward enough
but there's a lot of
nuance to a job like this.
Like making sure the
full weight of the pipe
is evenly distributed
across all four rigs.
And judging by Andy's demeanor-
- We ain't trying to win a race.
- [Mike] That's not happening
as well as it could.
- We already know Tyrell
is gonna finish first.
- [Mike] Put enough weight
on it and Andy knows
his side boom could topple
straight into this ditch.
So when the choreography
doesn't improve,
neither does Andy's mood.
- (whistles) Yo!
Hey!
Ain't nothing changed.
We can't get no further.
We can't get no closer.
Everybody gotta stay
the same distance.
Y'all about to put this
whole (beep) in the ditch.
Where's Stanley at?
This is apparently more they
can (beep) handle down here.
- [Mike] Guess we'll
check back later.
In the meantime, things seem
to be going a little smoother
for welder Dylan Thomas
and his partner Lee,
who having just completed
their final joint of the day,
just need Kinder Morgan's
resident inspector
to give 'em the sign off.
- All right, Lee, get it ready
to roll up and everything.
See if the inspector likes it.
We'll call it a day.
- [Dylan] I hope so.
If you like it, I ain't
gotta weld on it no more.
(light dramatic music)
- Looks all right.
- All righty.
- [Mike] Unfortunately
for Dylan,
Inspector Mark has spotted
another weld further back
that does not look so good.
- About eight welds back.
- Okay.
- X-ray found some slag
about three o'clock.
- [Dylan] Yes, sir.
- Sorry you can't go home yet.
- [Dylan] Roll it up, Lee.
- [Mike] Even though
the weld wasn't Dylan's,
as the only welder left on site,
he'll have to get it squared
away before clocking out.
After all, he knows as
well as anyone that a leak
in the pipeline
can spell disaster.
- A defect in the weld could
result in when we hydro it up
and pressure it up, it
could blow the weld out,
it could just hurt the
integrity of the pipe,
throughout a couple of years,
it may start
leaking natural gas.
And we don't need anything
like that happening.
So we're gonna grind into it,
clean it all out and put
some clean weld in it.
(light dramatic music)
- [Mike] Well it's been a
long one for the pipeliners
of Kinder Morgan and LouTex,
who in western Alabama have
been struggling to complete
another 1,000 feet of
natural gas line by days end.
Thanks to their
collective efforts,
that goal is slowly
becoming a reality.
But before Dylan Thomas
and his partner Lee
can call it quits,
they'll first need to
clean up a faulty weld
left by one of their colleagues;
lest at rupture, leak or
otherwise cause problems.
First, though, they'll
need to find the fault.
- So they're saying
it's inside the fillers,
so that's gonna be
pretty deep in there.
But instead of taking a
grinder straight to it,
I personally like to
sand that cap down flat,
that way that grinder
don't start jumping.
So let's smooth this up.
- [Mike] A jumpy grinder
has a way of creating dings,
nicks and gashes that Dylan
would also have to fix.
But a smooth surface
should make the grinding
more manageable.
- Now that I got that
sanded down flat,
we're gonna take a grinder
and start grinding into it
and see if we can't find
anything inside this weld.
(grinder whirring)
There was a two inch
slag line right there
on this edge right here.
We grinded it all the way out.
Now we're gonna put
some new weld in it.
- [Mike] And since this
weld will be Dylan's,
he'll also need to sign his
work when he's finished.
- And we should be good to go.
Well, that's all for me today.
We capped a bunch of pipe.
Got a lot done today.
Now it's time for me Lee
to go drink some cold beer
at the camper.
(soft rock music)
- [Mike] Dylan may be headed
out for the afternoon,
but further back
on the pipeline,
Stringing Crew
Foreman Jerred Harvey
has a long way to go yet.
(hammer tapping)
- (beep) Love this (beep).
All day, I just wanna struggle
all day on everything.
- [Mike] In all fairness,
it has been a bit of a day,
which started when Jerred was
told he could only move pipes
across this dam via track hoe,
a major delay all its own.
But now, he can't even do that.
- We had some sort of
a mechanical failure.
Our vacuum won't spin now.
We gotta hurry up
and get this fixed
'cause I got six more
trucks I gotta get unloaded.
Now we are at least two
or three hours behind.
- [Mike] But with a new
vacuum now on the scene,
Jerred's fortunes may
finally be taking a turn
for the better.
- Come on with it, baby.
(hammer tapping)
All right.
All right, we got the the
pivot pin swapped over now.
So we're fixing the
hook these lines up
and get it outta this tray.
- [Mike] And with
that, all that remains
are a few finishing touches.
- (sighs) We're gonna
put this shoe back on
and get this truck outta here.
We can start getting
pipe unloaded again.
Where's your hammer?
Where's your hammer?
Hit that some for me, will ya?
Just start it, hit it.
Send her home.
(hammer tapping)
(truck engine rumbling)
Ah, here he comes, y'all.
The truck's coming.
Go ahead.
- [Mike] While Jerred and his
crew return to placing pipe,
further back on the line,
tensions are running even higher
for Side Boom Operator Andy
James and his colleagues,
whose final job today is
to get this section of pipe
lowered into a ditch.
- (whistles) Yo!
Hey!
- [Mike] But despite
his best efforts-
- Everybody gotta stay
the same distance.
- [Mike] They haven't gotten
off to the greatest of starts.
- Y'all about to put this
whole (beep) in the ditch.
Where's Stanley at?
- [Mike] It was right
about here that we decided
Andy might appreciate a
little time to himself.
After all, when you're
moving a length of pipe
worth half a million dollars,
making a TV show is far
from the top priority.
- [Mike] But after
a quick consultation
with the aforementioned Stanley,
it appears that everyone is
finally on the same page,
and our friend Andy
is back in the saddle.
- [Andy] You got it, hit it.
We kind of had a little
miscommunication,
maybe our equipment got
spread out a little too far.
Basically what that means is
each one's trying to carry
more weight than it can.
So, we kind of had to
back up and readjust,
and start a new plan.
- [Mike] With everyone
now working in unison,
that new plan comes
together in no time,
and another section of
pipeline is ready to be buried.
- We got it dialed in to
where everybody needed to be.
I'd say it went real
smooth, you know?
Now that we got it dialed in,
we're ready to go
for the next one.
- And with that, Andy
and his fellow coworkers
power on into the evening,
stopping at nothing to
complete today's goal
of 1,000 new feet of line.
And though once finished,
the fruits of their labor
will stay out of sight
and largely out of mind,
the services that
these pipelines provide
will be no less essential to
making life as we know it,
well, life as we know it.
So the next time you run
a faucet or light a stove
or fill up your car
or flush a toilet,
take a moment to
appreciate the pipeliners
who made all that possible
because they are among the most
essential undercurrents
of "How America Works."
A couple of years ago, somebody
gave me this piece of pipe,
and I'm very fond of it,
in part because it has
my picture on the side.
It also has a quote
attributed to me.
It says, "Not all knowledge
comes from college."
I stand by that quote
because it's true.
It's also true that over
three million Americans
are making a pretty good living
in the pipeline
industry right now.
Many of whom did not
attend a four year school.
They simply got the training
they needed to get to work.
There are tens of thousands
of open positions today
in the pipeline industry,
many of which provide
a straight path
to a six figure career.
If you think I'm going
to suggest you explore
those opportunities,
you are correct.
You'll find them at
mikeroweworks.org/haw.
Not pipe dreams,
real opportunities to
make a great living.
Check 'em out.
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03x05 - Pipelines
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Showcasing the many individuals who work around the clock to keep America's infrastructure in working order.
Showcasing the many individuals who work around the clock to keep America's infrastructure in working order.