Mobile Live-Line Tool Certification Services: Tested, Cleaned, Waxed, and Certified While You Sleep

Keeping your lineworkers safe is priority number one, while also keeping your company running efficiently. Industrial Inspection & Analysis Lifting Services understands this, which is why we are one of the few service leaders invested in and offering mobile live-line testing labs for your convenience. IIA has made this a priority because doing so means continued success for our customers and another opportunity for IIA’s experts to connect in the field and provide exceptional and story-worthy service.

IIA’s mobile live-line tools testing lab has been customized with safety requirements and efficiency in mind and offers complete testing and certification programs for the utility industry. IIA’s mobile testing protocols meet the current guidelines of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 978 and are in compliance with current OSHA rules and regulations set forth in 29 CFR Part 1910.

The Department of Labor specifies that live line tools (hot sticks) that are used for primary employee protection shall be removed from service every two years for cleaning and testing. Complying with this regulatory standard as well as with standards regarding Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) tools, non-FRP tools (wood) requiring wet and dry tests, respectively is not only time-consuming but typically delays workflow.

Without IIA’s mobile testing services, the cumbersome and painstaking task of labeling all live-line equipment, packing and placing it on a pallet, then shipping it out and waiting for it to be tested, certified and returned is the standard. Further, upon return of tested equipment, all of the tools must then be unpacked, reorganized, and again put away.

IIA Lifting Services solves all of these problems by bringing our mobile lab directly to your site. Also, if preferred, IIA will conduct all testing after hours so as not to disrupt the daily workflow. Our proficient inspectors arrive onsite and ready to connect with your facility personnel and answer any questions before beginning testing procedures. All equipment will be carefully taken from its storage location, laid out, and the inspection process commences.

Hot sticks, which are one of the most important tools that line-workers use to hold and push against power lines while working, offer workers an insulated section to safely work close to a power line. When these tools are dirty, little to no insulation is offered, which means they are unsafe.

To ensure safety, IIA’s professionals conduct a thorough cleaning of the hot sticks, after which the sticks are fully dried and completely waxed. The wax provides insulation and prevents moisture from entering the stick. After conducting these steps, the tool is then tested and if the tool passes, it is then certified.

Under regulation, hot sticks have either a “pass” or “fail” rating. If, upon first inspection, our team receives a “fail” rating, we then reclean, rewax, and retest. If the tool fails again, we attempt to discover the issue, which is typically a crack within the fiberglass or that moisture has entered and been trapped within the stick. Either of these discoveries means the failed tool must be taken out of service, as it is unsafe and does not meet OSHA standards.

It is not only hot sticks our experts inspect with our unconventional mobile live-line tools testing lab. We also test and certify all mechanical jumpers, grounding cables, cover ups, and blankets.

Our inspections and testing can include:

• Rack Testing
• Hand Held Hot Stick Testing
• Testing Methodologies Requiring Laboratory Equipment
• Examination
• Cleaning
• Waxing or Silicone Wiping
• Wet Testing at 75,000 V/Foot
• Dry Testing at 50,000 V/Foot

During the testing process, our field experts take care to properly label and document everything to ensure a complete record is kept for certification and regulation purposes.

Industrial Inspection & Analysis Lifting Services is committed to the success of our customers, and our mobile live-line testing capabilities is one more way we are providing efficient and effective testing services to our customers. Take the downtime, headache, and time-consuming tasks out of live-line tool testing and certification by calling on IIA’s Mobile Lab Services to come to you and take care of all your live-line testing and certification needs.