14
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
January/February 2021
Like a chain, the strength of any electrical circuit is only
as good as its weakest link. That base principle is what
keeps the Davey crews on the PG&E Pole Test and Treat
account busy scouring the foothills and neighborhoods of
northern California.
Forty Davey employees working in two-person crews
are tasked each year with inspecting anywhere between
80,000 and 100,000 poles for PG&E. They're looking for
weak links – poles that might need repaired or replaced –
to support the client's mission of maintaining reliable
electric power for millions of customers.
"It's all ground inspection," said Sean Sornberger, operations
manager, Davey Tree Surgery Company. "There is no aerial
work involved in this."
Unlike a typical Davey utility account, there are no chainsaws.
There is no vegetation clearing. There are no bucket trucks.
Their equipment is primarily shovels and drill augers.
Jose Vazquez, supervisor, said their work inspecting wood
power poles starts with a visual inspection for defects,
followed by a sound inspection with a hammer. Next comes
hand digging, as poles are excavated to a depth of 20 inches
to check the base for decay. Finally, an intrusive inspection
is done using a bore and probe test, so crews can drill into
a pole to test its strength.
Each inspected pole is treated with wood preservatives,
back-filled by hand and tagged. All data on the pole's
strength tests gets reported to the client daily, Vazquez said.
For 2020, the PG&E Pole Test and Treat account achieved
an OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate of 0.0 with no
recordable incidents.
"It's a dedicated group of crews here," said John Audycki,
general foreman. "It's hard work. It's hard to find people
who want do this. Our number one safety item is poison
oak. Seasonally, we have rattlesnakes in the foothills. And
we're walking for miles each day, so slips, trips and falls,
and soft tissue injuries are a concern. Plus, these crews are
highly exposed to the sun and heat."
The average daily summer high temperature in their region
hovers around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
"It takes a special kind of person to do this work, much
like climbing a tree or working near a power line," Sornberger
said. "We are indebted to these crews for the hard work
they do."
DEDICATION, PERSEVERANCE BOLSTER SAFETY RECORD
FOR CALIFORNIA POLE TEST AND TREAT CREWS
SAFETY
Work on the PG&E Pole Test
and Treat account starts with
visual inspections (far right) and
is followed by sound inspection,
hand excavation (right), and a
bore and probe test.
