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Horizontal directional drilling uses a drill bit and a positive displacement mud motor (controlled mechanically and hydraulically from a drill rig) to drill (or bore) through soils and rock. Drill fluid is pumped through drill pipe from the surface to the mud motor where the mud motor converts hydraulic energy into rotary energy and spins the drill bit. The location of the bit is measured with sensors and the data is transmitted to the surface via a hardwired electrical connection or an electromagnetic signal (or combination of the two). The cuttings are transported in the open borehole from the bit to the surface in the drill fluid flow after it has exited the mud motor and drill bit.

Pipe jacking (PJ) is a trenchless technology method for installing a prefabricated pipe through the ground from a drive shaft to a reception shaft. The pipe is propelled by jacks located in the drive shaft. The jacking force is transmitted through the pipe to the face of the PJ excavation. The spoil is transported out of the jacking pipe and shaft manually or mechanically. Both the excavation and spoil removal processes require workers to be inside the pipe during the jacking operation.

Microtunneling is a method of installing pipes below the ground, by jacking the pipe behind a remotely-controlled, steerable, guided, articulated microtunnell boring machine (MTBM). The MTBM, which is connected to and followed by the pipe being installed, ensures that soils being excavated are fully controlled with the rate of advancement of the machine at all times.