The procedures listed below are required in order to reliably lead the fielder to obtain accurate and serviceable data with the IKE 4. These practices were designed to ensure the greatest success when implemented by the fielder.
Photo Measurement
- Take the image on the pole face
- i.e. directly facing where the attachment point is on the pole – facing the bolt/insulator
- Or… Shoot the attachment bolts from the “other” side of the attachment (where the through bolt exits the pole)
Where to measure on the photo:
Make height measurements on the exact attachment points.
Donts
In cases where wires are behind the pole (as shown in the picture below), measuring based on the visual wire instead of on the attachment bolt will result in perspective error (as shown below).
Distance
Best distance of taking IKEphoto is to fit the whole pole into the picture. Our camera calibration ensures that measurement at the edges of the photo is accurate.
Measurement
- How to label the measurements on the photo
In the form builder tool, Label Field is toggle for the field. When turned on, the value of the field will be used to label photo measurements.
Example of Label Field usage:
- Use an offset stick with a known/constant height
- 13’2” is a height substantial enough to eliminate half of the usable space at the base of the pole
- The offset stick must be flat (butted up) against the pole, attached with a bungee cord to avoid any space between the face of the pole and the stick
- If the base is obscured by heavy vegetation, the use of an offset stick will allow you to still use the calibrated IKEphoto to perform measurements in the back-office, as long as you include the tip of the offset stick to the tip of the pole in the image
Donts
Do not use a tapered cone as a base offset. The tip of the cone is not on the same plane as face of the pole, resulting in perspective error.
Tips
Take the image with the tip of the offset stick and the tip of the pole within the image
Tall pole requiring multiple IKEphotos. In cases where a pole is very tall and/or you can not get into a safe position to get the whole pole (base to top) in one single IKEphoto, you can take multiple IKEphotos for different sections of the pole (bottom, middle, top) and use base offset technique to get attachment measurements in IKE Office.
Laser
- The laser needs to be centered on the pole itself
- I.e. do not target the laser on any piece of equipment (riser) or other attachments
- Avoid targeting the laser on any reflective material on the pole
- Pay attention to the Distance Indicator below the target to ensure that you have the correct distance from the device to where the laser is hitting on the pole
- Moving the laser on and off the pole while paying attention to the distance indicator will ensure that you have a solid lock with the laser on the pole
- Zoom in and out of the image to make sure that the laser is locked onto the middle of the pole
- I.e. do not target the laser on any piece of equipment (riser) or other attachments
- Pole Lean – when taking an IKEphoto of a pole that has a large lean towards the tip, it’s important to take the image where you can see the entire lean of the pole
- Ensure that the target is centered on the middle of the pole, and use the vertical line to roll the IKE so that the line is in alignment with the lean of the pole towards the tip
- Brightness adjustments – if the image need to be lightened or darkened, use the brightness adjustment slider to change the brightness to ensure best picture quality.
Tip: make sure the brightness is such that the bottom of the pole is not too dark.
- The zoom controls are on the right side of the screen (slide-bar)
- It is important to make sure that your image is zoomed all the way out, when taking the IKEphoto
Span Heights
Appropriate condition for Height Tool:
The Height tool can produce accurate span height measurements when
- There is no environmental interference to the target. For example, there should not be vegetation around the wire. Ideally, the wire to be measured is in a clear sky backdrop.
- There is no large structures such as building in close proximity of the wire.
- The ground is free of obstacles including grass or snow. Concrete ground would be an ideal situation.
- Put a road cone (no reflective tape) at the ground – 90 degrees directly below the wire in order to push down any vegetation that may impede the measurement at ground level (i.e. grass)
- The arrows will direct you exactly 90 degrees below the wires – ideal if the surface is over concrete
- Try to eliminate any large angles
- It is best to stand perpendicular to the wire being measured
- Pay close attention to the Distance indicator to ensure that you are hitting the wire
- Point A is the wire, and Point B will be the Ground (90 degrees) below the wire
- The arrows directing you should disappear when you are directly below the wire (90 degrees below the wire)
- If they fail to disappear from the screen and the Target will not turn Green, shoot the Point B measurement at the base of the cone
- Point A is the wire, and Point B will be the Ground (90 degrees) below the wire
- If you are having issues using the tool to capture this data (i.e. heavy vegetation behind the wire where the laser is targeting objects in the background), select the pencil icon
- This will allow you to manually measure the midspan using a hotstick, and record that manual measurement in the IKE device (same applies for attachment heights)
Lead Length
There are 3 key aspects to successfully measuring anchors with IKE 4.
- Choose a common point on both of the poles to take the horizontal P2P distance
- The lower the better – pole tag to pole tag or bottom comm to bottom comm
- Shooting the measurements towards the base of the pole eliminates any lean factors when only targeting the tip of the pole
- The lower the better – pole tag to pole tag or bottom comm to bottom comm
16. Take the measurements as perpendicular to the wires as possible
17. Point A is always the pole that you are performing the inventory, Point B will be the other pole
18. Pay attention to the Distance indicator to ensure that the laser has a good reading on the pole
Guy Lead Length
Point A measurement will be the base of the pole, directly in the center to ensure that you have a valid target on the pole
- Point B measurement will be the point at which the anchor goes into the Ground
- If you’re having a hard time locking into the anchor at ground level, point the laser at the ground directly next to the anchor, where a solid surface will enable you to get a solid reading without locking into something in the background
21. Eliminate any large angles, so you can try to shoot the laser as dead on to the angle of the line as possible
Local Location vs. Target Location
- Local Point:
- Use when you can conveniently position the device at the exact location to be measured.
- Target Position:
- Use when the location is not easily accessible, such as behind a fence, across a creek, etc.
- Target position is calculated using GPS coordinate, laser distance reading, and compass reading. It is less accurate than Local Point.
- Importance of dissecting the pole from the top down
- Begin inventory at the pole, working your way outward
- Identify any branding information and pole/class birthmarks
- Record the Pole ID
- Take a GPS Location at the Pole
- If you are in an area with a lot of metallic interference you can use our local point tool to capture GPS data from where the device is positioned
- Once you select Start, the screen will indicate a 30-second countdown – when that countdown is completed, device readings will appear on the screen
- We also offer the capability to take GPS data using the laser from a safe distance using our Target Position tool (all found in the Location field)
- Target the laser on the pole itself and select the camera icon to take an image and reading of the GPS location where the laser is targeting
- Pay close attention to the distance indicator, ensuring that you have an accurate reading on the pole, rather than items in the fore/background
- Target the laser on the pole itself and select the camera icon to take an image and reading of the GPS location where the laser is targeting
- If you are in an area with a lot of metallic interference you can use our local point tool to capture GPS data from where the device is positioned
- Capture any Equipment data
- You can manually get a bearing reading of the equipment by standing with your back to the pole, and pointing the device in the direction that the equipment is facing off the pole
- When you open up one of the tools (i.e. attachment height), a bearing indicator will appear in the top left of the screen – this is the bearing that the device is pointing towards
- You can manually get a bearing reading of the equipment by standing with your back to the pole, and pointing the device in the direction that the equipment is facing off the pole
- Capture any Anchor data and down guys
- It is important to focus on the anchor that is highest/furthest away from the pole and move inward/downward
27. Capture any Ike Photos
- Record Span Lengths and Conductor information
- Conductor information and attributes will carry over to the next pole for Span 1 to eliminate the capture of similar data when working a lead of poles
- If the design changes drastically on the next pole, simply delete the Span data that carried over, and begin the inventory from scratch
- Back-office personnel have the ability to “Copy Existing Span” data from the fore/other span to the back span of the next pole
- This includes the span length and bearing, where 180 degrees will be added to reverse the angle of the span data
- Best practice is to always collect the back & fore span on your first pole, and only collect the fore/other span data moving forward when working on a lead of poles
- This includes the span length and bearing, where 180 degrees will be added to reverse the angle of the span data
- If there is an intersecting pole lead that connects with the lead of poles you are collecting, use of the span copy function will make things more efficient for field collection if you continue to work through the current lead of poles, and then begin inventory on the connecting intersecting lead
- Capture of the data is at a pole level, so when a lead has intersecting poles, capture this data under the Other Span for Span 2, 3, 4 etc.
- Any Service Drop to houses/building should be collected under the Building Span Type
- Conductor information and attributes will carry over to the next pole for Span 1 to eliminate the capture of similar data when working a lead of poles
- Complex poles need to be dissected in the same manner – top down – focus on one attachment at a time and one span at a time
- Spans are directional, where the wires are inventoried from one pole to the next under the Circuit
- Circuits are considered points of attachment, and wires associate the conductors to the same point of attachments
- The only time that multiple wires should be associated to the same Circuit are in situations where there are multiple wire types at the same POA
- Cross arms with multiple primary wire types would be an example
- The only time that multiple wires should be associated to the same Circuit are in situations where there are multiple wire types at the same POA
- Circuits are considered points of attachment, and wires associate the conductors to the same point of attachments
- Spans are directional, where the wires are inventoried from one pole to the next under the Circuit
- See table for Items that must be captured for input into SpidaCALC
| Steps Required | Required |
| Pole ID | N |
| Pole Length | Y |
| Pole Class | Y |
| Species | Y |
| Circumference | Y |
| IKEphoto | Y |
| Location (Target Position/Local Point) | Y |
| Span Length | Y |
| Span Type (Fore/Back/Other/Building) | Y |
| Circuit Construction | Y |
| Wire Type | Y |
| Wire Insulator | Y |
| Wire Quantity | Y |
| Wire Owner | N |
| Anchor Type | Y (if Guy present) |
| Anchor Length | Y (if Guy present) |
| Anchor Owner | N |
| Guy Size | Y (if Guy present) |
| Guy Owner | N |
| Equipment Type | Y (if Equipment present) |
| Equipment Orientation | Y (if Equipment present) |
| Equipment Quantity | Y (if Equipment present) |
| Equipment Owner | Y (if Equipment present) |