Recently, 50 installation engineers attended a 2-day training session organized by Umeme at its headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. The purpose of the training was to demonstrate the benefits of applying a Polesaver sleeve to wooden utility poles.
Peter Williams, Director of Global Business Development for Polesaver UK, commenced the two-day event with a formal presentation which educated the delegates about the threats of ground-line decay on wooden poles, and how this threat can be prevented. Simply by applying a Polesaver sleeve to the pole at the correct place, ground-rot and core-rot can be eliminated, resulting in the pole having a significantly extended service life. The classroom session ended with an informative questions and answers session.
The following day, all of the installation engineers took part in a practical exercise of applying the sleeves to poles in Umeme’s pole yard.
They were taught the safety principles of working with LPG gas bottles and the safe use of gas torches. This was followed by a practical demonstration on how to correctly apply Polesaver sleeves to poles. During the course of the day, each delegate was given the opportunity of applying several sleeves to poles.
Polesaver’s Director Peter Williams assessed their level of competence. At the end of the day, everyone, without exception, had achieved the standard necessary to apply Polesaver sleeves correctly. Certificates of competence were presented to each participant.
Umeme’s project manager, Mr. Dan Tumuhimbise, announced to the team that he was delighted with the level of success they had achieved after only one day’s training.
He said, that using Polesaver sleeves aligned extremely well with Umeme’s core values of Safety, Customer Service, and Innovation.
Furthermore, he said that Umeme are always looking for better ways to do things, and, by adopting Polesaver sleeves, this clearly shows that Umeme are embracing new technology. Wooden utility poles with Polesaver applied will be safer, and the electrical networks they support will be more reliable, thus leading to better customer service.
Mr. PJ McGarrigle, Umeme’s Network Asset Manager, addressed the engineers at the end of the day. He explained that, currently, some poles in Uganda are lasting only a very short time (typically, between 2 and 5 years). He said that this was unsustainable and, therefore, something had to be done. By adopting Polesaver sleeves as standard fitment on all future pole installations, it will ensure that Umeme’s wooden utility pole network will last for many, many years and thus prove to be excellent value for money, as well as offering a safer and more reliable network.
Mr. Kevin Bwire, Network Asset Information Manager, said that the RFID technology incorporated into the Polesaver sleeves, would enable Umeme to map out and manage its pole network successfully. The RFID technology enables companies to identify the exact GPS location of each pole in its network. Also, additional information can be assigned to the company’s database, for example, date of installation, who supplied the pole, type of preservative used and schedule of future inspections.
Photographs of the pole can also be uploaded to the company’s asset tracking database, to enable engineers to track the condition of each pole in its network.
Mr. Dan Tumuhimbise said that Umeme intended to start the national roll-out of Polesaver with effect from 26th June 2017. From this date onward, all poles erected by Umeme will have a Polesaver sleeve applied.
Peter Williams of Polesaver, added that he was impressed with the overall enthusiasm, dedication, and pride the Umeme installation team had demonstrated during the two-day training program. He said that he was very confident that the roll-out program would be an ‘unprecedented success’.
Are you looking to use Polesaver Rot-Guard sleeves? Contact us to learn about how we can train your staff.
