POLE INTEGRITY AUDIT
While wood poles are subject to stringent standards of treatment, inspection and emplacement, over time their anti-decay treatment dissipates and they begin to deteriorate. If not properly inspected, maintained or replaced, they will become a hazard to both the Utility and the Public.
The National Electrical Safety Code and
Utility standards often stipulate a timeline of when poles should to be
inspected. Periodic and thorough
inspections of wooden poles following, NESC code guidelines, is vital for
maximizing pole life. The information
provided can prove vital in determining the condition of the structure or to
ascertain if it is due for repair, modification or upgrade and to determine what
maintenance/repair procedures are required.
QRS Integrity Inspections
provide this important information to the Client. Inspectors look for potential problems with the electrical services,
guy wires, animal guards, structural damage to the pole from outside sources,
and wood decay issues with the pole. The
most common problem found is groundline decay.
Groundline decay can be brought about by
three main sources: Bacterial decomposition, Fungal
growth, and colonization of Wood boring Insects.
Inspection
An initial visual inspection will be made on all poles from the ground line
to the poletop to determine the overall condition of the pole. This visual inspection will include a review
of the pole structure itself and of any attachments to the pole for conditions
that might jeopardize reliability and/or may be in need of replacement, repair
or minor follow-up. After the visual inspection, the pole inspector will perform
a sounding and may do further testing of the pole if they suspect internal
deterioration or decay is present.
Utilities acknowledge that a modest increase in service life can cause a major improvement in their bottom line. Modest management improvements can also produce significant capital expenditure benefits.
It is relatively easy to see that from a customer satisfaction point of view, it is better to prevent a service outage from a structure failure, than to respond to a service outage. The difficulty is in knowing which poles should have priority for treatment or maintenance.
INTEGRITY INSPECTION BY QRS = THE SOLUTION
For additional information contact: info@poleinventory.com