Complete a pole inspection route in a bushfire risk area

What is going on

The Creswick feeder CRK-04 inspection route, work order WO-26-4360, has 72 poles remaining and must be complete before the fire danger period. You are working under vicinity authority VA-26-0871 held by the Overhead Distribution Manager, with Riley Chen assisting. Three priority one defects have already been found on the route, including a condemned pole at 119. The route runs along the Creswick to Clunes Road with roadside poles, a section through paddocks with a pole surrounded by long grass, and one pole with a wasp nest reported by the previous inspector. The client requires every pole recorded in the register, with residual strength calculated for every wood pole tested.

Your brief

Inspect and test the allocated poles to the pole inspection procedure, working safely near live apparatus and on the roadside, record every pole in the asset inspection register with findings, residual strength and defect priority, report any priority one defect to the network controller before leaving the site, and tag and raise work orders for condemned poles.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the pole and overhead asset inspection procedure and the network safety rules policy, and confirm the safe approach distances for inspectors on 22 kV and low voltage apparatus.
• Complete the tailgate briefing and job risk assessment for the day with Riley, covering roadside traffic management, the wasp nest pole, long grass, snakes and the fire danger rating.
• Confirm on the access and permit register that vicinity authority VA-26-0871 is current and that you and Riley are working under it, and record the check on the work order.
• Inspect each pole above ground with binoculars and the inspection camera, then excavate, sound, probe and drill test where required, and measure the remaining sound wood.
• Calculate the residual strength for each wood pole using the client's method and classify each defect with the client's priority codes.
• Record every pole in the asset inspection register, including poles with no defect, with the inspection date, findings, residual strength, treatment and priority.
• Phone the network controller for any priority one defect before leaving the site, record the report in the register with the status Reported to controller, and tag any condemned pole.
• Update work order WO-26-4360 with the poles completed, hours worked and the work orders raised for defects.

What someone in this role would produce

• Completed tailgate briefing and job risk assessment
• Asset inspection register entries for every pole inspected
• Record of any priority one report to the controller
• Updated work order with progress and hours