Life prediction of aging wood poles and subsequent inspection practice – a case study Available to Purchase

Present methods of establishing inspection and maintenance programs for wood poles are prescriptive in nature and do not consider the life data of poles in a particular region. In this paper, a methodology is discussed for estimating the useful life of older poles having survived a certain number of years, using life data analysis. A procedure is presented to establish the timing of the next inspection of older poles based on the current acceptable replacement rate.