In 2008, Hurricane Gustav slammed into Louisiana, destroying more than 300 of the 3,200 power poles in the quaint city of Plaquemine in Iberville Parish.

“I walked around with a FEMA representative after the storm and tried to describe where the poles used to be and what was on them,” said Frank Mott, assistant director of utilities, City of Plaquemine Utilities Department. “Before cutting us a check, however, FEMA wanted proof of what existed before the storm, and we didn't have that. We were relying on memory to know what used to be there.”

As a result, Plaquemine's Utility Department deployed a computerized utility pole asset identification program, which assigns each pole its own number. Utility workers went around the community attaching durable tags to every pole.

The pole tags, manufactured by William Frick & Co., are made from co-extruded polyethylene with maximum resistance to ultraviolet rays. Each character is black engraved on orange or yellow. The tags are also available in yellow characters on a black background, white on red or in custom colors.

In addition to marking every utility pole with an ID tag, linemen enter the number of the pole into a computer along with the pole's GPS location, photograph and an itemization of every wire, transformer, bell, bolt, light and other asset attached to the pole.

With the new system, when Plaquemine utility customers call to report loss of service or a streetlight out, they can provide the dispatcher with the pole's exact location by citing its number. Plaquemine's linemen can then call up that specific pole on their laptops and obtain not only a photograph of the pole but a list of all the pole's attached assets — including manufacturer serial numbers. The system also lets the linemen know which vendors' wires run on the pole, its GPS location, when the pole was installed and other relevant information.

Mott believes the new system saves the city time and money. Linemen used to have to drive out and locate the pole, see what assets it supports, drive back to the utility's yard to pick up the replacement parts, and then drive back to the job site. Linemen now go to the utility's yard and pick up all the parts they're likely to need for a repair before heading out to the pole.

Other benefits include customer service and efficiency. Customers get their power restored faster, and linemen working the poles can have damage calculations sent to FEMA in days instead of weeks or months. Plus, customers and the police are using the Frick pole markers to call in the location of incidents, streetlights that need to be replaced and for other location-related reasons.

Mott believes the most significant benefit is the improvement in safety. “Now the linemen know precisely which pole they're going to work on. By feeding that number into the computer before handling the lines, they are assured they're killing the right circuit. This significantly raises confidence in our safety procedures.”

Learn more at www.fricknet.com.