Dr Deuar commenced
a consultancy contract with the largest Utility Company in
Queensland, the Southeast Queensland Electricity Board (presently
Energex). He was commissioned to examine their pole safety
and pole maintenance by using his expertise in structural
testing of tall concrete and steel buildings.
The problem to be addressed was
twofold: -
1. There was public disquiet about pole
failures in service
AND
2. A large proportion of perfectly good
poles were being replaced in a wasteful system of pole replacement.
Many
years later, through several evolutions of the basic technology,
a fully developed and sophisticated DEUAR MPT system is
now available which can radically improve the management
of pole assets. It addresses Safety as well as Economy.
-
The DEUAR MPT system inspects poles in live-line situations.
-
It reports on their suitability for use by using a physical
strength test that offers a Pass/Fail result. (Pole
grading).
-
Those poles that pass are warranted safe in normal use
for a period of 3 to 10 years after pole testing.
-
No pole that has been tested and passed by the Deuar MPT
has subsequently failed in service; no claim has yet been
made on the warranty offered by Deuar Pty Ltd, despite
the obvious incentive to do so.
-
Deuar Pty knows of no other pole test that offers such
a guarantee of confidence in its findings.
The savings with this system of pole asset
management are considerable and are front-loaded. This is
because most satisfactory poles, which would otherwise be
condemned, are identified with the initial testing or pole
inspection.
Additionally,
all poles tested using Deuar MPT can be reliably described
as safe for use in the network afterwards, subject to the
limits of the Deuar Warranty.
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