E.S.M. studied the safety features on high voltage transmission towers for the prevention of unauthorised access (i.e. climbing) of the structures. The study included a detailed review of current designs and assessment of the relative vulnerability of assets in the Client network using a risk-based methodology.
E.S.M. reviewed Client design manuals and legacy designs by assessing them against the requirements of applicable state legislation and Australian standards. The outcomes of this review led to E.S.M. creating Requirements Specifications and subsequent Preliminary Designs for anti-climb devices and safety signage for use on transmission towers. These designs were incorporated into Client design standards and retrofitted across the network, with priority determined by the vulnerability assessment. This work provided the Client with a design standard for safety features with traceability to meeting the requirements of legislation and standards.
The E.S.M. study established a risk-based methodology to assess the relative vulnerability of individual transmission towers to unauthorised access. The methodology used criteria from standards combined with results of analyses of Client defect and incident data to establish the observed patterns of unauthorised access records and extrapolate this across the wider network.
E.S.M. used this vulnerability methodology to undertake an extensive exercise to assess the vulnerability of all transmission tower assets in the Client’s network. This exercise provided the Client with defensible data to plan and prioritise upgrade works where appropriate or justify existing safety measures where the vulnerability to unauthorised access was relatively low.