Hours: 7    CEUs: .7 (PDHs: 7)                                       Certificate of Completion awarded

Who Should Attend: Appropriate for all personnel working in (or for) distribution electric utilities

Pre-requisite: Attendees should possess a basic understanding of distribution power. UTS PLDS series completion recommended.

This course aims to instruct line designers and engineering support personnel on the process of evaluating the mechanical characteristics of overhead electric utility lines in order to formulate design guidelines and provide consolidated pole, crossarm and pole top component data and tables.  Students should be prepared to perform basic and algebraic math operations, as well as, having a working knowledge of line design and electric utility operations. The course is intended as a follow up to the PLDS certification or as a stand-alone course for engineering staff tasked with providing designers with information needed to create designs consistent with the PLDS method. Seminar outline provided.

• Principals of Structure Mechanics

• The PLDS Process (how poles, equipment, soil conditions and construction practices affect the design and outcome)

• Critical Buckling Axial Ratings (PCR) (how pole class, construction grade, structure orientation type and unbraced column are accounted for in the PCR equation)

• Ultimate Resisting Moment Ratings (URM) (how wood species, pole class and pole setting depth are accounted for in the URM equation)

• Pole Wind Moment (MP) (how NESC Loading, equipment, pole size/class and setting depth affect wind loading on the pole)

• Pole Framing and Adders (determining standards for pole attachments and calculations based on spacing)

• Evaluating NESC strength of pole top components