In August 2020, our Team performed damage assessment services due to an Iowan derecho. A 13-person crew, led by a project manager with six two-person teams, dispersed throughout three areas in the state where the storm caused extensive damage to the Client’s infrastructure in Ames, Marshalltown, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Damage assessors were on site as the storm arrived and immediately began to assess after the storm passed. Teams assigned to substations inspected every piece of equipment on each circuit and entered materials into the Client’s software management system for a Bill of Materials created a point-by-point design for destroyed areas, and sighted and staked off “future” new-build facilities.

The Team was on site for 14 days with zero safety incidents and is still performing the Client’s post-storm services.

In 2017, Mi-Tech’s Storm Services Team was on-site for Hurricane Irma in the lower Florida Keys. Five two-person teams assisted Keys Energy in restoration efforts in September when Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 10th. Our crews arrived in Paducah, KY, the day before the storm, where they staged until they could travel to Key West. Mi-Tech was responsible for the Keys Energy service area from Big Coppit East to the Seven Mile Bridge.

Initial assessment efforts centered on providing maps and material lists to construction crews to quickly restore customers’ power. Our Team inspected the main feeders first, followed by taps and services. The assessment focused mainly on broken or damaged property units such as poles, framing, and transformers. Major safety concerns were also immediately addressed at this time.

Subsequent assessments consisted of pole-for-pole inspections. Following initial construction, specific items needed attention as crews simply focused on getting power restored. These items included damaged/leaking transformers, loose/broken bolts, cracked insulators, broken/loose tie wires, broken/loose down guys, ensuring the utilization of compression splices versus auto-tension splices, and identifying customers who could receive power but were still without power. Our Team provided maps and material lists to the Client to dispatch crews accordingly.

It was deemed necessary by local government agencies to conduct a third assessment that centered on making sure street lights were in working condition. Mi-Tech retained two teams to inspect and identify the working condition of approximately 4,000 street lights in the Keys Energy system. The Team performed this audit at night, delivering real-time updates via Cartopac data collection software to order lights and mast arms and promptly install them. In real-time, GIS mapping was also available for the Client to dispatch repair crews to the proper locations and use that data to stock trucks with appropriate materials for those repairs.

Mi-Tech’s total stay on the project was six weeks, with zero injuries and safety incidents.