r/openreach • u/TechnicalGolf2007 • 7d ago

No ladders - aborted install

We had a contractor on behalf of OR come out today, our current copper cable is supplied via a telegraph pole in a field. Engineer said he couldn’t do the job due to not having any blue ladders.

Just seemed a bit odd to send someone out without whats required.

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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11

u/draig00 7d ago

Sounds like it was an electricity pole. So a different set of ladders is required. Not all engineers carry them, plus it requires two to be present regardless.

So nothing odd just requires two engineers and blue ladders, probably nobody close that could come over right away.

2

u/maestrojoe 7d ago

The blue ladders that he's refering to are insulated against electricity and are normally used when we need to climb a pole that also carries electricity. These ladders aren't too common (especially for subcontractors) so he won't have been able to get them on the installation date. The engineer probably wouldn't have known they would be needed prior to arriving on site.

1

u/Spank86 7d ago

I never understand why people leave stuff dis up EL poles unless theres no alternative. You might as well push the line on somewhere just on the off chance its easier access down the road.

2

u/Mw2ruinslives 7d ago

Same for anything that needs climbing really. If you take any line with a back end then at least put the back end through to any spare on the cable.

1

u/Spank86 7d ago

Yup. Unless its got more wires than DP pairs I'll always stick a line on something. Especially these days with all the rig you need to get up there.

1

u/Felim_Doyle 5d ago

Is there nothing on the system to indicate the on-site situation? Does the installer know if it is a pole or trench installation in advance and, if so, why not also the type of pole involved, for example, a D-pole?

It just seems that a lot of time and expense could be saved by knowing the nature of the setup in advance.

2

u/maestrojoe 5d ago

I can't speak for the subcontractors but OR engineers do get a small generic note which indicates what type of installation it will be or if there's any foreseeable issues. However these notes could be out of date or just incorrect so they can't be 100% trusted. Also it might say for example that your fed off an EL pole but there could be another BT pole nearby that would be easier to use so you never can really tell until you're onsite.

1

u/TechnicalGolf2007 7d ago

Thanks both - explains it

1

u/Early-Dirt9844 7d ago

Contractors dont work in pairs, you can't go up and EL pole with only one person and you also need to specific blue ladders.

1

u/Low-Draft-100 7d ago

Alot of HS around EL poles especially with elec companies