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41 Virgil Klenzendorf, of Deere & Co., Moline, 111., said a big application for plastic pipe would be in water serv- ice. He said his company is develop- ing equipment to,go behind its trac- tors to put pipe in the ground at lower cost. He said equipment will be de- signed and built to meet all needs of the contractors. He said cable laying equipment has been adapted by some contractors to laying plastic pipe. New Code Is Stricter In discussions on the new B31.8 code, contractors felt that under strict- er code it will cost more to lay pipe, and contractors might have to consid- er going into the x-ray business. Con- tractors; are interested in doing a better job under an improved code, but will have to be paid more for their work, one contractor declared. L. R. Sharp said the new gas safety law will create problems of inspec- tion and maintenance and make a lot of paper work and generally make costs higher. He said inspection will have to be improved under the pro- posed law, and indicated there has been room for improvement in this area. R. C. Stewart said that the trend today is for gas companies to do their own inspection, maintenance and re- pair work and farm out all new con- struction to contractors. He believed that in the future more old pipe will be replaced rather than repaired. Regarding thin wall pipe, Mr. Stewart felt this has made it harder for company and contractor welders, but they have learned to live with it. The use of wire welding has been most helpful on thin wall pipe, he said, and this view was also expressed by Edwin Gabrielse. On plastic pipe, Mr. Stewart said the problem of locating it after it was laid, can be solved by attaching a copper wire to the pipe. A warning metallic tape can be used also. Mr. Sharp said his company has done nothing to make it possible to1 locate plastic pipe after burial. Battelle In- stitute was said to be testing a fiber? glas wrap for plastic pipe, and it was suggested that a wire, could be in- cluded in the wrap. Safety Pays Off John Wold described his company's safety program which has proved very successful. An essential is to have a stable work force, he said, and his company requires all employees to take a physical examination. Those found to have physical impairments are then given lighter work loads. He said safety meetings are held about every six weeks for supervisory employees, and safety dinners are /given at which awards are made. Tickets to baseball games are also given for good suggestions. Safety rules are printed in Spanish as well as English. He said insurance safety advisors provide help in the program also. Ed Gabrielse said his company gives 30- to 45-minute safety instruc- tions to all crews on the proper use of equipment on every job, and on company safety rules. He hoped the association would soon provide as- sistance on safety programs and pos- sibly hire a safety advisor for mem- bers. In a discussion on joint trenching, where utilities join forces to place Pipeline and Underground Utilities Construction A X\ Here are the new officers of Na- tional Assn, of Pipe Coating Appli- cators which held its convention in Las Vegas concurrently with DC A. They are Brownie Brunkow, presi- dent, Fred Vallejo, Vice-President; and L. B. Brashier, Secretary-Treas- urer. electric:, water Or sewer lines in a trench with a gas line, contractors said equipment is available to make a shelf trench with a bucket trench- er. One ^contractor said he had done a lot of this work, and had one job with 24 different pipes and cables in one trench. New housing develop- ments lend themselves to joint trench- ing, with telephone, electric, water, sewer and gas lines often laid in one trench. Mr. Stewart expressed the view that telephone and electric lines ought to go in one trench and gas lines in another. A duab utility company man said setting all lines in the ground together is the best method on new construc- tion, providing a better and safer job. He said plastic pipe eliminates the need for cathodic protection. He said high powered electric lines will be going underground more and more in the future. In discussing equipment needs, Don Miller said a rubber tired tractor boom with high capacity is something contractors could use. 'Present booms for such tractors do not have suf- ficient lifting capacity, he declared. Ed Gabrielse said welding was his biggest problem and felt that longer pipe lengths might help. He said au- tomatic or semi-automatic welding equipment would help solve this prob- lem. Mr. Stewart felt that the new Dress- er Posi-Hold coupling, which elim- inates the welded joint, might help the welding problem. It is now made in 4- and 6-inch sizes, and a joint can be completed in about 3 minutes. Mr. Klenzendorf, of Deere & Co., said tractor design is now featuring extra safety items such as hand rails, steps, padded operator areas, etc.