Utility Pole Services
Comprehensive Approach to Utility Pole Maintenance
Koppers manufactures quality utility poles and services them throughout their life. Koppers Utility Services performs a variety of inspections on your poles — the more rigorous the inspection program, the more accurate Remaining Pole Strength can be measured.
Our inspection findings determine how best to apply the range of chemical treatments to extend the life of a pole. Here’s how we service poles from placement until removal and disposal.
Inspections
Visual
The first step in any maintenance program is a visual inspection where the inspector visually checks for any signs of damage, defect, decay, or danger to the pole or pole attachments.
Sounding
Sounding a pole with a hammer allows an inspector to listen for potential decay pockets or internal voids.
Boring
Drilling into a pole to complete a boring inspection can alert an inspector to possible internal defects based on the resistance of the drill and look and feel of the wood shavings extracted during the process.
Partial Excavation
Checking for decay below groundline with a partial excavation, where one or more quadrants of the pole is excavated, visually inspected, and bored.
Full Excavation
The most thorough inspection method, a full excavation involves excavating around the entire circumference of the pole, shaving off all decayed wood, and applying any needed treatments.
Remedial Treatments
Groundline
The exterior application of chemical pastes or bandages below groundline can preserve poles when decay is found.
Fumigants
Protect your healthy poles by proactively treating them with an internal fumigant.
Internal Treatments
Stop further internal decay, treat insect attacks, and fill internal voids with a variety of internal treatments available.
Additional Services
Joint Use Assessment
Know what’s on your poles with an accurate inventory of all pole attachments.
Overhead NESC Compliance Inspections
Ensure your system is compliant with the National Electric Safety Code.
Pole Painting
Restore your decorative light and traffic signal poles to like new condition with a new coat of paint.
Storm Response
We deploy our teams after a major storm event to check and document the state of your pole infrastructure.
Third-Party Audits
We design an audit to assess the quality of previous maintenance work.
Custom services available upon request.
