Dr Deuar commenced a consultancy contract with the largest Utility Company in Queensland, the Southeast Queensland Electricity Board (presently Energex). He was commissioned to examine their pole safety and pole maintenance by using his expertise in structural testing of tall concrete and steel buildings.
The problem to be addressed was twofold: -1. There was public disquiet about pole failures in service AND2. A large proportion of perfectly good poles were being replaced in a wasteful system of pole replacement.
Many years later, through several evolutions of the basic technology, a fully developed and sophisticated DEUAR MPT system is now available which can radically improve the management of pole assets. It addresses Safety as well as Economy.
- The DEUAR MPT system inspects poles in live-line situations.
- It reports on their suitability for use by using a physical strength test that offers a Pass/Fail result. (Pole grading).
- Those poles that pass are warranted safe in normal use for a period of 3 to 10 years after pole testing.
- No pole that has been tested and passed by the Deuar MPT has subsequently failed in service; no claim has yet been made on the warranty offered by Deuar Pty Ltd, despite the obvious incentive to do so.
- Deuar Pty knows of no other pole test that offers such a guarantee of confidence in its findings.
The savings with this system of pole asset management are considerable and are front-loaded. This is because most satisfactory poles, which would otherwise be condemned, are identified with the initial testing or pole inspection.
Additionally, all poles tested using Deuar MPT can be reliably described as safe for use in the network afterwards, subject to the limits of the Deuar Warranty.