Wednesday, 22. February 2012, 19:09
 

Our Technology Sets Global Standards

Lighting poles, masts, signalling equipment, traffic signs - vertically mounted systems can be found everywhere. In Germany alone, there are more than 25 million poles and masts. At crossings, on roads and in streets, and on company premises. And, theoretically, any pole can eventually collapse if not replaced in time.

But how do you know which pole to replace and when? By knocking against it? Shaking it? Inspecting it with a magnifying glass? For brothers Oliver and Mathias Roch, these considerations established the basis for a new key technology in the mid-nineties:

Roch stability testing comprises tests, documentation, and evaluation. And with a level of reliability you can fully trust.

Today, with its patented, unique testing method, Roch Services GmbH, headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, is setting global standards in the area of stability testing for vertically mounted systems. Roch Services GmbH is a test laboratory accredited under DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and certified in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001.

In conjunction with an analysis of the force-displacement graph, stability testing with the Roch method meets all of the requirements pertaining to the duty to ensure road safety, and defines the technological state of the art worldwide. The Roch ?Infrastrukturprojekt Straßenbeleuchtung 2000? (Infrastructure Project: Street Lighting 2000) study on the structural stability of pole systems, which is representative on a Germany-wide scale, found that 3.3% of all poles pose a hazard.

 

Hidden Hazards

Aggressive environmental factors such as soil humidity, stray currents, dog urine, and vibration stress caused by wind and vehicles affect the service life of poles and their foundations.
For example, poles can be damaged by corrosion and fine hairline cracks, foundations are subject to decay, rot, and erosion.
There is also the risk that combined damage can worsen the situation. All of these effects are not necessarily visible, and without timely replacement, it will inevitably happen: The pole will collapse.

Conventional testing methods used up to now, such as ultrasound, basic static load tests, or simple hammer blows, are not capable of fully meeting the requirements for stability testing, and thus do not ensure safety. Compiling all relevant data is the only way to reach clear conclusions about the structural stability of a pole with regard to its fixation in the ground and its material condition. This applies to all vertically mounted systems, regardless of their nature and type.