Protecting Poles
The strength of the grid depends a great deal on the quality and resiliency of wooden structures to keep the lights on and people safe.
Pole owners go to a ton of trouble to make sure that the right trees are prepared the right way and are built using the right standards to keep anything from going wrong.
All that work and those poles can still be compromised by termites and rot.
Pole Inspections Process
Part of building and maintaining a strong grid is ensuring the integrity of poles within that grid.
Pole owners are required to inspect their poles at regular intervals to make sure they haven’t been damaged by insects, elements, car accidents, etc.
Inspection requirements vary by state. In Pennsylvania, utilities have to inspect their poles at least once every 10-12 years. (There are some exceptions based on treatment and pole class.)
Every pole within a utility’s footprint must get drilled, and each year a random sampling is identified for inspection. Some utilities use a data-driven model to identify what poles are more likely to be compromised to prioritize potential hazards.
Different utilities may use different inspection routines, but boring is one of the easiest and most common ways to check for rot. Using pressure-sensitive drills, inspectors drill into the pole at several different heights and average the readings for more accurate results.
Engineers use the inspection data to filter out failing poles and try to fix the problem poles with trusses or fiber wrapping. If the pole continues to fail, it’s marked for replacement.
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The Tensions of Testing
While it’s a pretty extensive process, it’s incredibly important to make sure the grid isn’t compromised—one faulty pole can bring down half a dozen poles in a hurricane.
Unfortunately, there are some areas of pretty significant tension within the process:
Improving Inspections
While some of these tensions are an inherent part of inspections (there will always be thousands of poles that need to be checked), there are ways we can improve the process to minimize pain and frustration.
Better pole inspections aren’t just about double-checking to make sure assets are protected. It’s about creating a better grid all around. Ongoing asset management and maintenance are just as important as guaranteeing safety within the make ready process.
Thanks for reading! We’re building out Katapult Pro to address problems like inspections to build a better grid. For more information about our pole inspections solutions contact us at hello@katapultengineering.com!