Our team inspects thousands of utility poles across the United States annually. We use advanced technology to analyze wood fibers quickly and quantitatively. We do not spend time digging around utility poles or hand drilling with non-calibrated equipment. Our micro resistance drills provide graph of pole structure belowground, allowing utility asset managers to make timely decisions on their infrastructure.
We also provide utility locating services and ground penetrating radar services.
We use proprietary databases and ArcGIS to map and inventory utility poles across the US. Our system allows infrastructure managers to access and identify poles, implement service tickets and view the results of our wood testing. This service available on a subscription basis, or the inventory data can be provided as a one-time purchase for implementation into your own GIS system.
Our specialized devices are non-destructive. The needle used during examination is 1.2 mm diameter, leaving behind a small, inconspicuous hole. This technology means fast and accurate measurements while minimizing impact to the observed area of utility poles, bridges, playgrounds and other wood structures. If you need objective, verifiable data – we can help.
We also inspect other wood structures. Click here to learn more.
Our utility inspection team inspected roughly 2,000 utility poles for the City of Newberry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. While inspecting we had time to talk with the yooper community there. It had been decades since the last inspection occurred (a visual and basal digging inspection). None of the utility poles were mapped or numbered.
For this project our team inspected the poles using our micro resistance drills. During our inspection we conducted an inventory of utility pole dimensions, attachments, transformers, and pole components, including kVA and phases. Each pole was logged in through our GPS software, allowing the City to examine individual poles, create service tickets, and visually examine our test results.
This project took approximately 6 weeks of work between two technicians.
In 2019, our team inspected two dozen very large utility poles along the Interstate 5 corridor in Tacoma Washington. These poles were luminaire poles with nearly 600 pounds of lights at 90 feet in height. All the poles were used to illuminate nightly construction on the I-5 by WSDOT and their subcontractors.
The poles were nearly 35 inches in diameter and all alongside a busy highway, making basal excavation inspection more difficult and dangerous. Our inspectors were able to quickly move through the highway corridor without lane closers in three days.
Each pole was inspected, mapped and rated for replacement priority.
