The trenchless sector is continually being refined and developed. Improvements cover both large and small diameters, longer drives, greater accuracy, faster and curve driving, different soil conditions and the ability to work deeper into water tables.

There are many variants of Pipe jacking, during which the product pipe is forced into the ground by hydraulic cylinders mounted horizontal in a launch shaft. The run is completed when the pipe string reaches an exit shaft. Both shafts are used later as service access points.

The various systems for new installation can be broadly categorised into:-

• Pipe Jacking in which the spoil and water is removed by pumping as slurry.
• Guided Auger Boring where the spoil is removed by an auger through a steel casing. Specially designed pipes are then hydraulically jacked in by the machine.
• Pipe Bursting where the existing pipeline is forced into the pipeline bedding by the means of an expanding hydraulic cone controlled from the surface. The new pipe pushes the expanding head through the pipeline which is being replaced.
• Pipe Eating where the existing pipe line is ground using a cutting head and the fragments of the pipeline are removed by augers through the new incoming pipe
• Slip Lining where the pipes are winched through an existing pipe system and the voids between new system and old system are filled with grout.