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September/October 2022
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THE DAVEY BULLETIN
WORKING CLOSE TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Davey Resource Group (DRG) Canada worked with their
client, Northwest Territories Power Corporation, to do
patrolling and consenting work in Fort Resolution and Fort
Smith, Northwest Territories.
"We are really excited, because it's the first time DRG
Canada has worked in the Northwest Territories," said Ryan
St. Pierre, manager.
DRG Canada is inspecting the vegetation around utility
lines and obtaining property owner permissions to work
on behalf of the client. DRG concenters assessed the
utility lines. This area is mostly boreal forest and
sparsely populated.
"Line clearance is crucial because these communities
are very remote. The biggest challenge is just the
lack of facilities," said Luke Oliver, manager, UVM,
DRG Canada. "Even trying to print documents is a
challenge. Preparation is one of the most important
aspects of planning a project that is this remote."
BARROW, ALASKA
In the U.S., Davey Resource Group's Utility Asset
Management Field Inventory Services team completed
a three-month comprehensive inventory of Barrow
Utilities and Electric Cooperative's distribution system
in Barrow, Alaska.
"You wouldn't think a far-off place like Barrow would
need this type of service, but they do," said Tommy
Maloney, senior project developer, DRG. "It's a unique
place. It's the first time I've had a utility client tell me
that they will have folks to go with our employees
as a safety precaution for polar bears."
PERSEVERANCE
The inventory was a visual pole-by-pole inspection of all
the client's assets to build a connectivity model. The poles,
meters and underground devices were GPS located and the
data was uploaded into a GIS system.
"Once that connectivity model is completed, the client has
a good network of where all their facilities are, how the
electricity flows and how everyone receives their power,"
Maloney said. "The purpose of this comprehensive
inventory is to help the client with the infrastructure, outage
management and engineering analysis to do predictions and
manage the grid."
Jack Schwartz, GIS field technician, maps a pole (right) as part of the inventory.
One of the challenges of the inventory was coordinating an ideal time to
complete the inventory. They had to consider the snow melt, the terrain, the
freezing and thawing of the permafrost and the amount of daylight. Above left,
Humberto Andrade-Goeken poses with a sign in Barrow, Alaska. Below, an
example of the landscape in the area where Davey worked.
