# Utility Pole Wire and Insulator Count Checklist

> Count conductors and insulators on a utility pole from photos. The checklist says what to count and what to leave out.

## What this checklist is for

Utility pole inspections often include photos of each pole. Inspectors use the photos to make an inventory of the equipment on each pole. Counts from photos often differ between people. Conductors (the power wires) overlap, thin conductors are hard to see against the sky, and people count communication cables as power lines. This checklist gives fixed rules for what to count and what to leave out. Then each pole gets the same count method, and you can compare the records over time.

Take every photo from the ground. Treat every conductor and every cable as energized. A count from photos never requires anyone to go near the pole.

OSHA has a rule for unqualified persons near overhead lines, [29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3)](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.333). An unqualified person is a person without training for electrical hazards. The rule tells them to keep at least 10 feet (305 cm) from lines up to 50 kV to ground. The distance also applies to any conductive object that they handle, and it is larger for higher voltages.

## Know the parts of the pole

Power companies and telecom companies can share one pole. On a shared pole, the power conductors are at the top, in the supply space. The communication cables for phone, cable TV and fiber are lower, in the communication space. A safety zone separates the two spaces. [Tacoma Power's joint-use pole clearance standard](https://www.mytpu.org/wp-content/uploads/C-OH-9000-Clearance-Reqs-Joint-Poles-231213.pdf) shows this layout.

Learn these parts before you count:

- Primary conductors are the main power wires at the top of the pole. They often sit on a crossarm, which is the horizontal arm near the top.
- Many distribution poles also carry a neutral conductor below the primary conductors. Some poles also carry secondary conductors, which are low-voltage wires that go to buildings.
- Insulators are porcelain, glass or polymer parts. They hold a conductor and keep it away from the pole or the crossarm.
- Pin insulators sit on top of a crossarm. Post insulators attach to the pole or the arm and often point to the side.
- Suspension insulators are a string of discs or one long unit. They often hold a line that ends at the pole. People call this point a dead-end.
- Guy wires, ground wires, transformers, cutouts, arresters and streetlights are not conductors or line insulators. A guy wire runs at an angle from the pole to the ground. A ground wire runs straight down the pole. Cutouts and arresters are protection devices.

## The checklist

1. Make one record for each pole. Write down the pole ID or tag, the location, the date and the file name of each photo.
2. Make sure that the photos show the full top of the pole. Photos from two sides are better. A conductor behind the pole is easy to miss from one side. Write down each part that the pole, a tree or glare hides.
3. Count each primary conductor once, at the point where it attaches to the pole. Do not count it once for each span, which is the length of line between two poles. If a conductor passes over the pole and continues, count it once. If a conductor ends at the pole, write "dead-end" next to the count. If a conductor attaches on both sides with separate insulators, record both attachments.
4. Count the neutral and secondary conductors in separate columns. Do not add them to the primary count, unless your inventory rules require it. Write the rule that you used at the top of the sheet.
5. Do not count communication cables as conductors. These cables are below the safety zone. They are often bundled and hang from a support strand. Write the number of cables in a separate column.
6. Do not count guy wires or ground wires.
7. Count the insulators by type: pin, post, suspension and other. Count a suspension string as one unit. If you can see the discs, write the number of discs.
8. Compare the conductor count with the insulator count. Each primary conductor normally sits on at least one insulator. If you count more conductors than insulators, look at the photos again. An insulator can be hidden, or the conductor does not attach at this pole.
9. Write down other equipment in the notes column. Transformers, cutouts, arresters, switches and streetlights do not go in the insulator count.
10. Write down what you cannot see. For example, write "1 conductor possibly behind the pole". This note is more useful than a confident wrong number.

## How to record the result

Use one row for each pole:

| Pole ID | Photos | Primary conductors | Neutral | Secondary | Pin | Post | Suspension | Other insulators | Communication cables (not counted) | Not visible | Counted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |

Write the count rules at the top of the sheet. For example, write what counts as one conductor and whether the count includes the neutral. If the counts for one pole differ between two inspections, the rules tell you the cause. Either the pole changed, or the count method changed.

## Use this checklist with Claude or ChatGPT

You can attach the photos of one pole to Claude or ChatGPT, together with the checklist below. Ask the AI tool to say where each counted item is in the photo. Then you can compare its work with the photo.

```text
You are helping me count equipment on one utility pole from photos. All photos show the same pole.

Rules:
1. Count primary power conductors where they attach to the pole. A wire that passes over the pole and continues counts once. Mark dead-ends.
2. Count the neutral and secondary wires separately from the primary conductors.
3. Do not count communication cables (lower on the pole, below the safety zone). Report how many you see in a separate line.
4. Do not count guy wires, ground wires, transformers, cutouts, arresters or streetlights as conductors or line insulators.
5. Count insulators by type: pin, post, suspension, other. Count a suspension string as one unit.
6. Compare the conductor count with the insulator count and explain any mismatch.

Output:
- A table: item, count, and where each counted item is in the photo (for example "top crossarm, left end").
- For each rule, one or two lines on how you applied it.
- Everything you could not see or could not decide, and why.
- Your confidence in each count: high, medium or low.

Photos:
[attach the photos of one pole]
```

Before you use the result:

- Count a sample of poles by hand. Counts from photos often contain errors, from people and from AI. AI tools can miss thin or overlapping conductors, count one conductor two times, or give a confident number for a hidden part.
- If the AI count differs from the last inspection, count that pole again by hand.
- Use the count for inventory only. Only qualified utility staff can make decisions about work on or near energized equipment.
- Crop or blur house numbers, license plates and people before you upload the photos. Field photos often show them. Also read your workspace's data settings and the rules of your company for field photos.

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