Utility Services

RECORE provides innovative, non-invasive pole inspection services utilizing ultrasonic technology. Our clients include a range of distribution utilities from investor owned utilities, to cooperatives, to municipal systems. Lean on our industry leading insight to manage your pole assets through our detailed analysis of the status and life expectancy of your assets.

WHAT WE DO
Inform utilities the status of their wood infrastructure to ensure safety to the public as well as the future life of in-service assets. We take a pole inspection program and transition the client to an asset management program creating planning opportunities for allocating cost in lieu of reactive replacements.

Non-Destructive Testing

Leveraging technology to perform standardized testing without damaging an in service asset. “Seeing” inside a wood pole seems impossible until sending an ultrasonic sound wave through the pole and creating a visual graphic. Wood poles are traditionally inspected using sound and bore method. Sound captured by the human ear and boring with a drill while reviewing the shavings by the human eye. The boring portion of the inspection creates a pathway for contaminates to gain entry into the core of the pole.

DATA Driven

Analyzing the sound waves injected at the ground line of a pole provides scientific results as to the integrity of the wood pole. These results provide a baseline for future testing of the pole allowing a trend analysis to be developed for the entire fleet of assets. Traditional testing allows subjectivity and human error to determine a poles capability to perform, while analytical results are accurate and repeatable using technology.

Value Focused

Cost associated with replacing existing plant poles is expensive, especially in areas of flat or declining growth. allocating resources to areas with poor reliability and rapid growth are better utilized to operate a more efficient system. Developing a partnership to manage a fleet of wood poles is our goal to allow a utility staff to focus efforts elsewhere. Traditional testing's subjectivity can result in large windows of error, driving utility cost up by replacing poles remaining life availability.

The Technology

Ultrasonic waves pass through a wood pole at the ground line allowing the inspector to determine below-ground health without the hefty costs of digging. The tool set utilizes ultrasonic waves which pass through the pole, measuring time-of-flight in microseconds. The integrated Bluetooth technology syncs automatically with the inspectors tablet, uploading all pole data to the cloud. This allows for more accurate auditing data and a shorter average inspection time.

The Inspection Process

Technology Advantage

Ultrasonic pole testing technology has been used to inspect hundreds of thousands of poles. This process uses time of flight of ultrasound to determine if there are inconsistencies on the inside of a pole. A medical grade tomography image is created from the readings allowing the inspector to conduct targeted additional testing.

Process Excellence

Our process enables the technology to find the poles in question by not damaging the poles that are good to excellent condition.

Every pole is exposed to a unique environment once it has been installed. These local conditions affect each pole in a unique way, so we believe that an auditable, standards based process is as important as technology for a successful, robust management program. Our technology applications track and report on key metrics surrounding our process including audit details such as inspector GPS location.

The results are comparable with a partial excavate plus sound & bore. Once a pole is identified to have an anomaly within the pole our inspector will bore into the area of concern for an in depth analysis to determine the extent of damage.

Engineering Services

RECORE offers a wide variety of highly skilled engineering services to assist your utility operations with system mapping and analysis, load management, asset health. Rely on our expertise and years of experience to solve all of your needs related to asset management of your utility system.

GPS Asset Mapping & Validation

Allow our industry leading asset mapping and validation capabilities to give you confidence that all of your remote equipment is accounted for accurately. Knowing what you have and where it is is the foundation for implementing an effective management and maintenance program. Operations and accounting departments are benefitted by accurate inventories with precise locations of all equipment for asset performance, regulatory compliance, safety inspections, and risk management.

Pole Loading Analysis

A pole loading analysis is typically used when attaching new cables or equipment to an existing pole or when you determine that new lines are necessary to support your customer base. RECORE and our parent company have over 80 years of industry experience in managing pole loading. Let our expert engineering staff design your asset infrastructure or lean on us to reaffirm that your portfolio assets are prepared to support your operations well into the future. We will identify potential load issues, offer solutions on proposed builds, and bring load countering options to the table.

Joint Use Audits

RECORE utilizes field data surveys to provide you an accurate picture of the attachments and third party loads on your pole assets. We understand that managing third party attachments, both authorized and unauthorized, can be a convoluted and daunting process. Let us use our expertise and experience to change this for your organization.