31/01/2023
Recently our team from DIALOG Fitzroy Australia were asked to visit and inspect a large number of electrical transmission towers across Queensland. The project scope as defined by our client was as follows:
• complete a visual survey of each tower
• photograph the tower sign/number
• photograph any defects on and around the tower
• collect paint samples from each of the four tower legs (if paint existed on each leg) place samples in four separate plastic zip bags, attach bar coded label and write the tower number i.e. BS1235-STR-4250
• all samples were collated weekly and posted back to DIALOG Fitzroy office and logged
• once the samples were logged, they were taken to the laboratory for analysis and results emailed to Powerlink with a copy for info going to DIALOG Fitzroy
• attach two bar coded warning signs to each tower
• load all the above information into an App via tablets for viewing by the client specialists based in Brisbane
In total we inspected 11,351 towers and liaised with 2,900 landowners across the state of Queensland over a period of 11 months. We worked over 20,000 hours on this project with four crews of two persons and a site access coordinator working six days a week in the field on a four week on, one week off rotation plus admin and project management from the Brisbane office. On a typical day each crew could travel 75 to 250 kilometres, with the record for one day being 396 km.
A few interesting facts from this project include:
• 21,898 yellow warning signs attached to towers
• 41,500 plastic zip bags for sample collection – (few used for lunches)
• 31,135 paint samples taken
• 1.793 units of accommodation in 65 different locations throughout QLD
• 218,000 kilometers driven
• 3 windscreens replaced due to chips and cracks
• 6 flat tires
• 3 4WD vehicle required to be pulled out due to getting stuck
• approx 3,500 phone calls to landowners
With all this driving around, our crews were lucky enough to encounter a variety of Queensland’s wildlife:
• Camels
• Pigs
• Horses
• Dogs wanting rides in utes
• Wild dogs
• Dingoes
• Herds of goats along with their guard dogs
• Wedged tail eagles
• Flocks of hundreds of black and white cockatoos
• Emu’s
• Turtles
• and of course, snakes
This was an interesting and often difficult project requiring a tremendous amount of logistical planning. Unquestionably the DIALOG Fitzroy team performed exceptionally well and ticked so many boxes in regard to safety, quality, delivery and performance.
