Pigging Technician

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Pigging Technician supports the safe preparation, launching, tracking, receiving, recovery, inspection, and documentation of pipeline pigs used for cleaning, product displacement, dewatering, batching, gauging, and other approved pipeline-maintenance activities. The position assists with job planning, equipment setup, valve and closure verification, pressure monitoring, material handling, waste containment, and site restoration while working under the direction of qualified supervision and the pipeline owner or operator.

This field-based position works at pipeline facilities, compressor and pump stations, tank batteries, rights-of-way, customer locations, and remote oilfield sites. The Pigging Technician must understand stored-energy, pressure, line-of-fire, hazardous-material, H2S, flammable-vapor, and environmental-release hazards. The employee must follow written procedures, customer requirements, lockout or isolation controls, and stop-work expectations and must never operate valves, open closures, or enter a hazardous area without authorization and verification that required conditions have been met.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Job Planning and Site Preparation

• Review work orders, job scopes, pipeline information, site-specific procedures, pigging plans, maps, product information, safety data sheets, customer requirements, permits, and emergency contacts before work begins.
• Participate in pre-job meetings, job hazard analyses, tailgate discussions, line-of-fire reviews, energy-control verification, journey planning, and emergency-response planning.
• Confirm the assigned pipeline, launcher and receiver locations, product or service, expected pressures, pig type, travel direction, estimated run time, communication method, access route, and individual responsibilities.
• Inspect the work area for pressure, H2S, flammable atmosphere, traffic, ignition sources, overhead and underground utilities, weather, wildlife, unstable surfaces, spill exposure, and simultaneous operations.
• Establish work zones, barricades, signs, lighting, grounding or bonding, fire protection, gas monitoring, spill containment, and exclusion areas as required by the approved plan.
• Verify tools, personal protective equipment, respiratory protection, monitoring equipment, containment materials, and emergency supplies are available and serviceable before starting work.

Pigging Equipment Preparation

• Select, inspect, measure, assemble, clean, and prepare approved pigs, cups, discs, brushes, magnets, gauging plates, transmitters, batteries, seals, and accessories according to the job plan and manufacturer guidance.
• Confirm pig dimensions, configuration, orientation, compatibility, identification, condition, and intended purpose before loading or launching.
• Inspect launchers, receivers, closures, hinges, locking mechanisms, seals, vents, drains, gauges, indicators, traps, hoses, fittings, containment systems, and related equipment from a safe position.
• Assist with positioning hoses, tanks, vacuum equipment, filtration equipment, catch pans, absorbents, tools, lifting devices, and waste containers to control fluids and debris.
• Use approved lifting, rigging, and material-handling practices when moving pigs, closure components, hoses, tools, liquids, and debris; keep hands and body parts clear of pinch points and suspended loads.
• Report damaged, incompatible, missing, or questionable equipment and do not use equipment that cannot be verified as safe and suitable for the assignment.

Launching Tracking and Receiving Operations

• Support qualified personnel during isolation, depressurization, draining, venting, purging, pressure verification, closure opening, pig loading, closure securing, repressurization, launching, receiving, and return-to-service activities.
• Verify required authorizations, valve lineups, pressure readings, zero-energy indications, atmospheric tests, and closure conditions through the approved procedure before advancing to the next step.
• Operate valves, vents, drains, closures, pumps, compressors, or other pipeline equipment only when trained, qualified, specifically authorized, and directed by the pipeline owner or designated person in charge.
• Maintain clear communication with the person in charge, control room, customer representatives, tracking personnel, and team members using approved radios, phones, hand signals, or check-in intervals.
• Monitor available pressure, flow, differential pressure, pig signals, indicators, tracking devices, expected travel time, and other operating information and promptly report unusual conditions.
• Track pig movement from designated safe locations using approved transmitters, receivers, geophones, passage indicators, or other methods and document confirmed passage times and locations.
• Remain outside identified line-of-fire and exclusion zones during pressurization, launching, pig arrival, venting, draining, closure operation, and any condition involving stored energy.
• Stop work and notify supervision when the pig does not launch or arrive as expected, pressure behaves abnormally, communication is lost, equipment leaks, or conditions differ from the approved plan.

Pig Recovery Cleaning and Inspection

• Verify the receiver is isolated, depressurized, drained, vented, tested, and confirmed safe by authorized personnel before approaching or assisting with closure opening.
• Assist with removing pigs and collected material using approved tools and handling methods while controlling residual pressure, liquids, vapors, scale, solids, wax, chemicals, and potentially pyrophoric material.
• Inspect recovered pigs, cups, discs, brushes, magnets, gauging plates, transmitters, seals, and debris for wear, damage, deformation, metal loss indicators, unusual deposits, or evidence of pipeline restrictions.
• Measure and document pig condition, gauging-plate deformation, debris volume, recovered liquids, run time, passage information, and other required observations.
• Clean and decontaminate pigs, tools, hoses, monitoring equipment, work surfaces, and reusable containment equipment in approved areas using required personal protective equipment.
• Package, label, stage, and transfer recovered liquids, solids, debris, contaminated absorbents, and disposable protective equipment according to customer, environmental, and waste-handling requirements.

Environmental Protection and Site Restoration

• Use secondary containment, drip pans, liners, berms, plugs, absorbents, hoses, tanks, and vacuum equipment to prevent or control releases during venting, draining, pig recovery, and cleanup.
• Monitor containment capacity and transfer operations continuously when assigned and prevent overfilling, incompatible mixing, uncontrolled discharge, and tracking contamination outside the work area.
• Immediately stop the source when safe, protect drains and waterways, contain released material, and report spills, leaks, odors, stained soil, or environmental concerns through required channels.
• Segregate and manage waste streams according to their known or suspected contents and do not dispose of liquids, solids, chemicals, or contaminated materials without authorization.
• Restore the work area by removing equipment, markings, waste, temporary containment, and debris and by leaving access routes and customer property in an orderly condition.

Equipment Inspection and Maintenance

• Inspect tools, pigging components, hoses, fittings, gauges, detectors, tracking equipment, radios, fire extinguishers, lifting devices, spill kits, and assigned vehicles before and after use.
• Perform authorized cleaning, lubrication, battery replacement, minor adjustment, and preventive maintenance according to company and manufacturer requirements.
• Maintain equipment inventories and notify supervision when supplies, replacement parts, calibration, testing, certification, repair, or specialized service are needed.
• Tag, isolate, and report defective or damaged equipment and do not return it to service until it has been evaluated and released by an authorized person.
• Maintain assigned vehicles, trailers, storage areas, tools, and equipment in a clean, secure, organized, and serviceable condition.

Documentation and Communication

• Complete job tickets, field logs, pressure and time records, pig-tracking records, inspection forms, equipment checklists, waste records, photographs, customer documentation, and daily reports accurately and promptly.
• Record pig identification, type, configuration, launch and receive times, tracking confirmations, operating observations, recovered material, equipment condition, delays, deviations, and required follow-up.
• Communicate job status, hazards, operating changes, equipment concerns, suspected stuck pigs, environmental conditions, and customer requests to supervision without delay.
• Protect confidential pipeline, customer, facility, security, operating, and company information and use approved systems for its storage and transmission.

Safety and Emergency Responsibilities

• Follow company, customer, site, pipeline-operator, and job-specific safety requirements and exercise stop-work authority whenever pressure status, isolation, atmosphere, equipment condition, communication, or work scope is unsafe or unclear.
• Wear required flame-resistant clothing, head, eye, hand, foot, hearing, respiratory, chemical, fall, and high-visibility protection appropriate to the task and exposure.
• Continuously recognize stored energy, unexpected pressure, closure failure, projectile, pinch-point, line-of-fire, H2S, oxygen deficiency, flammable vapor, chemical, static electricity, ignition, hot surface, and vehicle hazards.
• Use gas-detection equipment as trained, obey alarms, remain upwind when conditions require, and follow site-specific evacuation and muster procedures.
• Immediately report injuries, near misses, leaks, spills, fires, pressure events, equipment failures, suspected stuck pigs, property damage, and unsafe conditions.
• Support emergency shutdown, evacuation, isolation, spill response, first aid, scene control, and incident documentation only within individual training and assigned responsibility.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or GED required.
• One or more years of pipeline, oil and gas, environmental, industrial, mechanical, field-service, or comparable experience; equivalent technical training may be considered.
• Basic knowledge of mechanical equipment, hand and power tools, pressure hazards, valves, hoses, fittings, and safe material-handling practices.
• Ability to read and follow written procedures, job plans, safety data sheets, equipment instructions, maps, labels, forms, and customer requirements.
• Ability to perform basic measurements and calculations and to record times, pressures, dimensions, quantities, and field observations accurately.
• Ability to work safely around crude oil, produced water, natural gas, chemicals, scale, wax, sludge, and other pipeline contents while using required protective equipment.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record consistent with company requirements.
• Ability to complete company-provided and customer-required training, qualification, medical evaluation, respiratory fit testing, and site-access requirements.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Two or more years of pipeline pigging, pipeline maintenance, hydrostatic testing, flowback, mechanical, vacuum, environmental, or related oilfield experience.
• Experience with pipeline launchers and receivers, conventional cleaning pigs, batching pigs, gauging pigs, transmitters, tracking equipment, pumps, tanks, vacuum units, and containment systems.
• Knowledge of pipeline isolation, depressurization, lockout or tagout, gas testing, pressure verification, line-of-fire controls, and spill-prevention practices.
• Current H2S, first aid and CPR, respiratory protection, confined-space awareness, lockout or tagout, defensive-driving, rigging, or other job-relevant training.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Recognize changing pressure, flow, equipment, atmospheric, environmental, and site conditions and stop work before proceeding outside the approved plan.
• Follow step-by-step procedures without bypassing verification points or assuming that a line, vessel, trap, hose, or closure is depressurized or safe.
• Maintain situational awareness and remain clear of closures, vents, drains, valve stems, hoses, unsecured components, suspended loads, moving equipment, and other line-of-fire exposures.
• Communicate clearly by radio and in person, confirm critical instructions, maintain reliable check-ins, and escalate uncertainty promptly.
• Work independently when assigned while maintaining coordination with the crew, customer, control room, and supervision.
• Demonstrate dependable attendance, attention to detail, sound judgment, teamwork, professional conduct, and care of customer and company property.

PHYSICAL AND WORK ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

This position performs field work at pipeline facilities, rights-of-way, roadsides, wellsites, industrial locations, customer facilities, and remote areas throughout the company's service territory.

• Frequently stand, walk, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, reach, twist, push, pull, grip, and perform repetitive hand and arm movements for extended periods.
• Frequently lift or carry up to approximately 50 pounds and use team lifting or mechanical assistance for heavier or awkward pigs, hoses, tools, covers, and equipment.
• Work on uneven, muddy, rocky, gravel, sloped, elevated, roadside, or restricted-access surfaces around pressurized systems, vehicles, moving equipment, pipelines, tanks, and industrial operations.
• Work outdoors in heat, cold, wind, dust, rain, storms, noise, vibration, odors, insects, wildlife, and changing weather while wearing required personal protective equipment.
• Work around hydrocarbons, produced fluids, chemicals, vapors, scale, wax, sludge, contaminated materials, and other substances encountered during pipeline operations.
• Drive frequently to remote assignments and work early mornings, extended shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, on-call periods, emergency call-outs, and irregular schedules as business needs require.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position has no supervisory responsibilities. The Pigging Technician may provide task-specific information to other employees but does not direct pipeline operations, authorize procedural deviations, or manage employees unless formally designated.

DISCLAIMER

This job description summarizes the position's general duties and requirements and is not exhaustive. Management may modify duties or assign additional responsibilities to meet business, legal, safety, customer, and operational needs. Employment remains subject to applicable company policies and requirements.

Standard Safety & Supply is an Equal Opportunity Employer.