Utility Solutions, Inc. launched the industry’s first underground insulated cap holder last month. The patent-pending URD Cap Stand attaches to the lip of underground pad mount transformers and switchgear to securely hold insulated caps. This is another lineman invention for USI and is being targeted as an underground safety tool.“If this tool keeps one person from getting injured, then I will have felt like I did a good thing,” said Patrick Naylor, inventor of the URD Cap Stand..
Patrick has been a lineman for 15 years and is a crew leader for a large utility in Charleston, South Carolina. Insulated caps are designed to protect bushings on underground padmount transformers. They have a grease-covered probe on the inside and need to stay clean and dry.
“I have seen both journeyman and apprentices struggle to keep caps off the ground”, Patrick says. “They often end up rolling around in the dirt and grass and eventually someone has to get inside the danger zone and hold the cap. We needed a solution.”
Patrick built his first prototype in the summer of 2019. The URD Cap Stand™ allows a worker to use a shotgun stick to store insulated caps on the front lip of padgear.
“This idea just fit a segment we were already trying to expand,” said Aaron Wood, Marketing Director for USI. “Most of our products improve safety and Patrick’s idea fit well into our underground category.”
The machined URD Cap Stand™ is made from a high-visibility yellow polymer that cradles the lip of padgear. Adjustable legs can adapt to any size lip up to 2 inches thick. Smooth plastic arms securely hold insulating caps up to 38kV. The URD Cap Stand™ will have 2 models, a Single Cap and a Dual Cap holder. They are available now, more information is online at www.utilitysolutionsinc.com.
