Construction, Maintenance, and Testing

An engineer should anticipate construction loads imposed on substation structures and ensure that proper construction methods and quality materials are used to prevent excessive stresses during construction. The engineer should consider the accessibility of equipment for maintenance and operation. Elevated locations on the structure that require workers to move from one location to another require fall protection devices such as safety cables or attachment points designed and installed for worker fall restraint. Full-scale structural proof tests are rarely performed on substation structures supporting wires. It is not typically cost-effective to perform a full-scale test, because substation structures, unlike transmission structures, are not fabricated in large quantities. Full-scale testing should be considered if a particular substation structure is a standard design and will be used multiple times or if the structure uses a unique structural system not typical of current practice.