KEC INTERNATIONAL LTD

OPGW EHS Management System

2/12/2013

Prepared by: Sinchu Mohan Reviewed & Approved by: Ajay Shankar Pandey
 OPGW EHS Management System

History of Revisions

Chapter/Clause no. & Reason for revision

Revision No. Revision issue date
Text affected

0 2nd Dec 2013 First Issue

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 OPGW EHS Management System

PURPOSE:

To provide EHS guideline to all OPGW work concern.

Scope and Application:

This document covers all the activities usually performed by KEC for on-site installation of
OPGW cables, including transport, installation, Process, etc. Activities of all personnel having
access to the work place including suppliers and visitors. The facilities at the work place
provided by the organization.

Survey of the line:

Prior planning for installation of the OPGW cable is performed by monitoring the line, taking
into account the following parameters:

Length of each drum:

The OPGW drum lengths are determined based on the following considerations: position of the
tension towers, tower access, distance between supports and crossing with other lines, roads,
railways, routes, services and other obstacles.

Splices:

The position of the splices depends on the maximum available length of OPGW, on the position
of the towers and the tower access.

Transport and storage of the drums:

 In the case of wooden drums, the nuts on the bolts must be tightened prior to further
transport and beginning installation work.

 Drums may only be transported when standing upright and well secured.

 Drums may only be unloaded using a suitable crane or floor conveying vehicle. When
unloading by crane, ensure use of appropriate hoisting gear or full-floating axle with
cross beam.

 It is not permitted to tip, discharge or roll the drum un braked over sloping surfaces.

 Full drums may only be rolled and stored in an upright position on a solid, level ground.

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 The drum must be secured against rolling away. The ground wire must not touch the
ground.

 The rolling direction of the drum is indicated by an arrow.

 The casing may only be removed after the drum has been installed in the drum support.

The following procedures are recommended to prevent the cable from suffering damage during
handling, transport and storage:

a) The drums should always be transported in vertical position with the cable ends fixed to
prevent cable from slackening. All of the staves and safeguards should be maintained until the
drums are situated for immediate installation.

b) After the transport, the drums should be inspected to verify that they have not been damaged
and that none of the staves or safeguards is broken.

c) The drums should never, in any case, be thrown from the lorry during unloading, or moved by
uncontrolled rolling.

d) Loading and unloading are performed so that the drum remains in vertical position and the
sides of the drum are not damaged.

e) The drums can be moved by rolling a short distance ensuring that there are no objects that
may damage the staves. The direction the drum turns should follow the instruction of the mark
on the drum.

f) In any case the drum should not be stored horizontally.

g) The ends of the cable should be sealed to prevent water penetration.

h) The drums should be stored on flooring that is strong enough to avoid sinking.

i) The drums should be stored to facilitate handling and loading, and should be located on a
safe place where they will not be damaged.

Laying the OPGW

 The OPGW cable must not be damaged during the course of its installation.

 The cable laying equipment installed along the path of the OPGW must be such that the
cable cannot come into contact with ground or other obstacles during the pulling
process.

 Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure this, e.g. protective planks, protective
scaffolds, cable carriers, 2 or 3 cable systems or other protective measures.

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 There must be sufficient observation personnel along the path of the cable to control
critical points during the cable laying process.

 Ensure excellent communication is provided between the braking machine operators,

cable winch operators and observers by means of walkie-talkies.

 The tensile loads which occur during the cable laying process must not exceed 20% RTS
(Rated Tensile Strain) nor the minimum bending radius

 Full drums may only be rolled and stored in an upright position on a solid, level ground.
The drum must be secured against rolling away. The ground wire must not touch the
ground.

 The rolling direction of the drum is indicated by an arrow.

 The casing may only be removed after the drum has been installed in the drum support.

 The inner cable end must be released from the cable drum before beginning the cable
laying process to prevent buckling during unwinding.

 In the case of wooden drums, the bolt nuts must be retightened before beginning the
cable laying process.

A. Procedure

The “ Self–Propelled Traction Machine Method “is a construction method for stringing OPGW
cables in overhead transmission lines with totally energized circuits. The method uses a self-
propelled carrier/traction machine, which slides over the ground wire to be replaced (Fig.1)

1) The self-propelled carrier can be operated by radio remote control and it can also use a video
camera for cable inspection. The self-propelled carrier pulls a high tensile strength specially
insulated wire, highly resistant to mechanical impact loads and to electric tracking and positions
several pulleys (Fig. 2), every 15 to 20 meters away from each other.

Fig. 1 - Self-propelled Carrier Fig. 2 – Double Pulleys Once the rope is tensed in one reel length
and the pulleys are positioned, the existing ground wire is loosed. By tensing the rope, the
pulleys turn 180º, inverting the position of both rope and existing ground wire. The rope then
stays on top of the existing ground wire.

Next, the OPGW is connected to the ground wire and the latter is pulled with the puller. During
the pulling, reinforcements are made on the ground wire repairs with repairs rods. This pulling

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lasts approximately 2 hours and requires electricians/fitters placed at the towers at the ends of
the reel and at three or four intermediate towers. Finally follows the regulation and clamping of
the OPGW cable.

Fig. 1 - Self-propelled Carrier Fig. 2 – Pulley block

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Fig. shows the system composed by the Pulley Blocks / reversible single wheels and the
supporting rope once the traction machine completes its trip.

B. Equipment for Live line Installation

Traction Machine, supporting rollers/Pulley Blocks, Supporting / guide ropes, pulling ropes, and
etc. Installation process involves retrofitting fitting of existing earth wire with OPGW with out
shutting down the line as followings

1. The existing earth wire is using as a path way on which the retrofitting activity is carried out.

2. A traction machine is used to pull a system of supporting rollers along with existing earth
wire using ‘Guide Rope ‘.

3. The traction machine also carries a pulling rope, which is then used as a pilot to pull the
OPGW.

4. Existing earth wire is released and the OPGW is simultaneously tensioned and replace the
earth on the cross arm

5. Earth Wire is then recovery back by recovery machine followed by the rollers and rope.

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C. Preparation

Before locating the carrier and stringing the rope and the OPGW, it is necessary to prepare the
local, placing the materials and tools on a bag located next to the tower foot. There shall be an
area isolated by fence to prevent unauthorized people from accessing the work site (Fig. 3). The
puller, the tensioner and the drum stand shall be located in the appropriate positions.

To have an effective communication system, a radio shall be placed on the puller, on the
tensioner and into the vehicles. Additionally, portable radios shall be used by the work team
and the linemen/fitter who will remain on the towers during the OPGW stringing.

Drum:

The drum is placed at the selected site (with the space required for its location) so that the
cable outlet is on the upper part and aligned with the planned laying direction. The drum must
be located at a distance of 2 or 3 metres from the tensioner. The lifting components usually
used are hydraulic/mechanical jacks and a bar with the suitable dimensions inserted in the
central opening of the drum. The drum must be located at a height of 10 to 15 cm from the
ground.

Puller and Tensioner:

Either the puller and the tensioner must be placed at a minimum distance from the tower equal
or greater than 2 times the height of the tower. The tensioner as well as the puller should be
placed aligned with the conductors. The maximum acceptable deviation angle is 30°. If it is not
possible to achieve this angle, the puller and/or the tensioner are placed close to the following
tower, using an additional pulling cable of the required length. 90° or less re tracking of the
optic cable is not allowed. In the tensioner, the first groove the cable will pass through must be
perpendicular to the axis of the drum. The tensioner must be equipped with a dynamometer.
Its reels must be protected with material that does not damage the outer layer of the OPGW
cable. The puller must also be equipped with a dynamometer with automatic disconnection in
case of over tension on the cable. The pulling cable should be joined to the OPGW cable by a
swivel and a pulling grip. The minimum diameter of the reels (where the OPGW is to be coiled)
used during the installation should be at least 80 times the diameter of the OPGW cable. For
example, the tensioner reels for a 15 millimetre cable should have a diameter of approximately
1.2 metres. Either the braking device or the puller has to be suitably connected to the ground
by a system of moveable rollers. This also applies to the OPGW cable and the pulling cable, if it
is a metal one.

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Pulleys:

The tower pulleys should have a minimum diameter of at least 0.8 metres in the following
cases:

The pulley groove should be protected with neoprene or other similar material. In case of sharp
angles, the pulley must be placed so that the cable always passes through the centre of the
groove. If the angles are greater than 45°, dual pulley system must be in order to increase the
bending radius during the installation.

Fig. - Curve Pulley Block Application Fig. - Single Pulley Block

Fig. 3 – Puller and Work Site

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Fig. – Puller Fig. – Tensioner

D. Steps

The installation method consists of the following six steps

1) Step 1 – Deploying the pulleys

2) Step 2 – Tensioning the rope

3) Step 3 – Stringing the OPGW cable

4) Step 4 – Tensioning the OPGW cable

5) Step 5 – Removing the rope and pulleys

6) Step 6 – Clamping and Sagging the OPGW

E. Advantages

The advantages of this method are:

�Low mechanical tension in the OPGW cable required during the installation.

�Minimizing of installation sag.

�Clearance between ground wire, phase conductors and OPGW can be kept in safety distances.

�The overload due to the carrier, pulleys, rope and OPGW cable does not affect the existing
ground wire since the load is distributed along the ground wire by the pulleys.

�This method is the safest and most productive, particularly for EHVTL, for example,400kV and
750kV.

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Tools

The tools & equipment to compose an OPGW stringing team with energized line, it shall be
ensured that T&P is tested and is in healthy condition.

Notes: 1 – always try to carrying a set spare of equipment for emergency situation.

F. Supervision and support team:

Supervisor plans team’s activities and coordinates all services. The general field works person in
charge orients and follows stringing services and the supervisor/engineer/manager inspects
tasks. The supervisor designated by KEC is responsible for compliance with the general safety
and hygiene standards for the requirements stipulated by customer, if any

G. Environment, Health & Safety

Environment

Withdrawal of special waste (toxic and dangerous) If any type of special waste such as oil,
grease, solvents, saturation of gloves or rags, etc. are produced during cable installation,
proceed as follows:

Place in heavy-duty carboys or steel drums, indicating what type of waste it is.
Such waste must not be abandoned, mixed with other waste, or sent to the dumping ground.
If there are excess materials or waste such as aluminium, optic fibre, plastic, wood, iron, etc.,
whenever possible, this should be sent to an authorized recycler or a controlled dumping
ground.
Regardless of the amount, the waste should never be abandoned. Moreover, the area should
be cleaned when the work is finished.

Safety:

Safety is paramount in the Carrier Method and every task is performed after a thorough risk
analysis.

The following safety measures are taken:

� Grounding of all equipment: o Puller and tensioner must be positioned on a metallic

grounding mesh for voltage equalization.

� Grounding are made in the existing ground wire and OPGW using sliding devices installed in
the single pulley block (Figure), tensioner (Figure) and puller.

� Utilization of proven quality tools, No imitations or experimental tooling is allowed.

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�A factor greatly hindering security is rain. No stringing takes place when the rain is light, or
when relative humidity of the air is too high. Individual protection equipment deserves special
attention.

�Basically, the following type of equipment is used: insulated gloves, insulated sleeves, helmets
and goggles. Conductive clothes and boots are worn in structure with high electromagnetic
induction, particularly at 220 kV 400kV, 765 kV, etc

Another important safety measure regards the compliance with regulating standards of
medicine and labor security, usually issued (as per standard). They are followed strictly and
usually encompass:

1) Standards for previous inspection and service orders;

2) Standard for itinerary and programming of the region’s, such as: hospitals, fire departments,
police departments and forestall services

3) Standard for the constitution and regulations (legal requirement) of internal commissions for
accident prevention;

4) Standard for individual protection equipment;

5) Standard for medical examinations;

6) Standard for environmental risks;

7) Standard for electricity services;

It shall be emphasized that the work of OPGW stringing is only initiated after the evaluation of
the local conditions and the complexity of the services.

The following safety regulations and protective measures must be ensure before beginning the
installation work and observed throughout.

 Installation may only be carried out by personnel properly trained for the job
 The supervisor must instruct personnel. The training must be documented.
 The prescribed personal protective clothing and equipment must be worn.
 It is recommended to wear protective suits (overhead lines) against the effects of
irritating currents.
 Also observe safety regulations applicable in the country of deployment.
 Work must cease immediately at the onset of snowfall, fog, rain, thunderstorms,
darkness or winds > 30 km/h and the site secured.
 The use of walkie-talkies is obligatory. Their functionality must be verified before use.
 Work must be stopped should one or more walkie-talkies fail to function properly.

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Requirements regarding avoiding the effects of electromagnetic field:

Health and life protection of the staff during works related to the installation of OPGW on the
power transmission lines is the most important matter of all regarding live line working.
Workers working on the live line shall be protected against effects of electromagnetic field, and
danger of accidental voltage recovery one the line. This is ensured by installing adequate
earthing system in working zone, utilization of correct work methods as well as personal
protective equipment.

On the wires, which are being installed or devices used as well as on the ropes used for wire
pulling electric charge may appear as a result of one or more factors as:

1. Electromagnetic inductance from live conductors on the line, where works are being
executed or adjacent lines,
2. Electrostatic charge on wires or pilot rope as a result of atmospheric conditions or from
live high voltage power transmission overhead lines AC and DC,
3. Accidental contact of the wire, which is being installed to the live wires of the line,
4. Faulty operations, thereby on the line voltage surges occur,
5. Lightning strike to the installed wire or device as well as any other part of the
installation arrangement.

Hazards resulting from lighting strike, OPGW wire contact with live conductor are dangerous
temporarily and well known however hazards resulting from electromagnetic induction are
permanent and occur continuously during live line work, their nature is not yet fully recognized.
Subdue of the voltages and current induction is possible using different types of earth
grounding. Level of extension of the temporary earth grounding depends on the assessment of
the electrical hazard. For installations of new OPGW wires on the remote areas from the live
power lines and in when storm is unlikely to occur only minimal requirements needs to be
applied for the earth grounding. This minimum means that all devices in working are of the
puller and tensioners are galvanically connected and earth grounded. Moreover sliding earthing
devices have to be applied on the pulling and tensioning devices. Workers on account of
electric charge resulting from electromagnetic conjunction shall wear protective clothing,
current conductive, where all parts are connected especially, including shoes.

Safety distances / Minimum Clearance for working (As per PGCIL )

Voltage Level Clearance for work Clearance for tool

66kV 0.5 m 0.9 m
132kV 1.1 m 1.5 m
220kV 2.0 m 2.9 m
400kV 3.0 m 3.5 m

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Dry- Band Arcing:

When the local dry zone is formed on the wet rope, the arc is occurred near the grounded
points due to the potential difference along the rope. Dry - band arcing of ropes in live line
installation is normally occurred when the surface resistance of the rope becomes over due to
the rain or surrounding moisture at night.

Generally, the rope itself has high insulation resistance of 10Ω to endure the electrical stress
along the rope but the insulation resistance can be dramatically decreased to 10 5Ω in rainy day.
At this lower resistance, the surface of rope is locally dried due to the leakage current so that
the tracking can be occurred. If this situation is continued, the insulation rope can be burnt out
and be disconnected. This can result in trip of power line.

There fore it is advised not to perform the installation work in the rainy condition and all
equipment including insulation rope should be withdrawn from existing ground wire.

H: Safe Practices

By Pulley block with earthing disk

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Grounding Pull up material inside the Tower

Fix pulley blocks with ratchet belts into the tower, and Working at height with proper protection
align pulley blocks

Pull up pulling machine and position it on the existing Install double pulley blocks with setting rope
ground wire

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Setting up the cable laying equipment and protecting

Join the eye on the cable stocking grip to the twist stop on the pulling cable

Twist stop in accordance with the OPGW cable diameter and installation load.

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Drum support or cable drum transport vehicle with mechanical or hydraulic brake which acts on
the axle. (The brake must not act directly on the OPGW cable.)

I. Pre - Employment Medical Check- Up

Contractor shall ensure no worker will be allowed at site without pre employment medical
checkup and they shall arrange for medical check up (with the help of KEC) of all employees
before employment and shall ensure that no person with any of the following diseases is
employed by him at the KEC site.

 Epilepsy
 Colour blindness/Night blindness
 Deafness
 Eye-sight of the employees in the following category shall be examined every six
months.
 Erection/Stringing fitters
 LMV/HMV drivers

J. First Aid

Contractor shall provide or maintained ( If First Aid Box Provided by KEC) first aid equipment at
the site as per Sec 36 of Building and other Construction workers act 1996. The Contractor shall
ensure at least two of his employees are trained and certified First aiders

K. Disclosure of Hazard:

Contractor shall inform his employees about the hidden & visible Hazards associated with their
jobs. Such information shall be displayed on boards near the work, in a language understood by
his employees. He shall also provide training for safe working procedures to be followed to
avoid these hazards.

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L. Reporting of Accident / Near Miss/ Dangerous Occurrences.

CONTRACTOR shall ensure that an immediate oral report is made to Company Representative
in case of all:

 Fatal Injuries
 Injuries requiring medical attention which result in lost time
 First aid cases or minor injuries
 Damage, in any amount to KEC’s equipment or property
 Fires
 Damage to Contractors property

M. House Keeping:

Contractor shall ensure to maintain good housekeeping at site

A. Lumber with protruding nails shall be bent / removed and properly stacked.

B. All surplus earth and debris are removed/disposed off from the working areas to officially
designated dumpsites if required.

N. Training

Training is one of the main parts of the Carrier Method.

All members of the team that installed the OPGW participate in previous training to the Carrier
Method.

From time to time recycling takes place. Additionally, technical auditing by independent experts
occurs during task performances to assess incurred vices and risks.

Training is established in two phases:

1) Theoretical training

First aid, task sequence, procedures regarding climbing towers and moving about towers,
methodologies to draw up materials, making of knots in ropes, height tasks, security distances,
drawing and machine speed.

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2) Practical training

Methodology simulation using de-energized lines and real application (energized line), in low
speed.

One of the greatest concerns of the method regards human safety so the training emphasizes
this aspect on a constant basis. One of the most important points discussed in the method is
tower climbing, due to induced voltage, particularly in 345 kV and above. Climbing takes place
in pre-determined locations in the tower. It is worth highlighting that 80% of the services are
conducted at the top of the towers, where conductors are energized. The method does not
admit tools falling from the top of the towers. Another crucial factor concerns the integration
with the methods and practices of the clients. Only after a previous assessment has been made
of regional characteristics, access maps, types of towers and their mechanical loading can the
methodology be adapted to each case and type of line.

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