Breaking Out Pipe
During this process, the tongs and cathead are used to break out the pipe. Either the rotary table or kelly spinner is used to spin the drill string or kelly to unscrew it from the drill pipe joint.
The diagram to the right demonstrates the Hazard Zone and Tong Swing Radius. It is an illustration placed on the drilling floor and is a circular area marking a tong swing radius of four feet from the hole center, adjacent to the mousehole. In red, from the hole center and above in the upper quarter of the circle, is an arc marked as the hazardous area. All other areas are marked in yellow for caution.
- Only tong operators stand in the tong swing area.
- All other personnel are outside. No one should stand in the red zone.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-2. What is the distance of the tong swing radius from the center hole?
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