WOODEN POLE

SPECIFICATIONS
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 GENERAL............................................................................... 4
1.1. Application domain ............................................................. 4
1.2. Validity ........................................................................... 4
1.3. Normative References.......................................................... 4
2 CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODEN POLES ............................................ 5
2.1. SPECIES OF WOOD .............................................................. 5
2.2. MOISTURE CONTENT ............................................................ 6
2.3. SIZING OF WOODEN POLES..................................................... 6
2.4. Groundline for POLES .......................................................... 7
3 PRODUCTION OF WOODEN POLES .................................................. 8
3.1. DEFINITION ....................................................................... 8
3.2. SELECTION AND QUALITY OF WOOD TO BE FELLED ........................ 8
3.3. INDICATIONS FOR THE FELLING OF RAW TREES ............................ 9
3.4. RECEPTION OF RAW WOODEN POLES......................................... 9
3.5. MARKING OF POLES ............................................................ 10
3.5.1 Traceability marking on poles ................................................ 10
3.6. STORAGE OF SHAPED POLES .................................................. 11
4. TREATMENT OF WOODEN POLES .................................................. 12
4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO BE RESPECTED ........................... 12
4.2 PRODUCTS USED FOR TREATMENT ............................................. 12
4.3 TREATMENT PROCEDURE ........................................................ 14
4.4 VALIDATION OF THE TREATMENT .............................................. 15
4.5 RETENTION OF THE PRODUCTS AFTER TREATMENT ......................... 16

Safaricom Internal Page 2 of 21

5 QUALITY ASSURANCE OF WOODEN POLES ....................................... 16
5.1 Defects ............................................................................ 16
5.1.1 Knots.............................................................................. 17
5.1.2 straightness ...................................................................... 17
5.1.3 cracks on poles .................................................................. 17
5.1.4 Preservation of treated poles ................................................. 17
5.1.5 Certification of treated poles................................................. 18
5.2 Checklists ......................................................................... 19
6 TECHNICAL DATASHEET ............................................................ 20
6.1 MATURITY ......................................................................... 20
6.2 strength of POLEs ................................................................ 20
6.2.1 Loads and Force calculation .................................................. 20

Safaricom Internal Page 3 of 21

1 GENERAL
1.1. APPLICATION DOMAIN
This document is intended to define the methods of manufacture of wooden
poles cut in eucalyptus fields has for the construction of Telecom Cabling
networks. These poles will be used for hanging telecom (Fiber and copper
cables) with all necessary fixing accessories and other components.

1.2. VALIDITY
This standard is effective commencing from the date of approval by
Safaricom Ethiopia.

1.3. NORMATIVE REFERENCES

Reference to the following documents has been used for the drafting of this
specification:

➢ Technical specifications book for the implementation of wooden poles,

SONEL edition of November 1982.
➢ NFC 67100.
➢ The specifications of wood, UPDEA standard, June 1993. The
specifications of wooden poles: LPB - P 6.
➢ Safaricom Ke standard and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

Safaricom Internal Page 4 of 21

 2 CHARACTERISTICS OF WOODEN POLES
The characteristic requirements of poles to be used are presented as follows:

2.1. SPECIES OF WOOD

The type of wood to be used is of the “eucalyptus” with any of the
following species.
Table1: Species of wood

Standard or trade name Scientific names Other names

Iron Bark Eucalyptus paniculate Gum or Eucalyptus
Spotted Gum Eucalyptus citriodora Lemon Scented Gum or
(corymbia citiodara) Eucalyptus
or
Eucalyptus maculata
(corymbia maculata).
Tallow wood Eucalyptus microcorys Spotted Gum or eucalyptus blue gum

Blue gum Eucalyptus globulus. _

Regnans saligna gum Eucalyptus regnans Giant Gum (mountain ash)

Eucalyptus saligna Blue gum (Saligna gum)

Eucalyptus grandis River Red Gum

Safaricom Internal Page 5 of 21

 2.2. MOISTURE CONTENT
The average moisture content of individual poles shall not exceed 25% at the
time of treatment or at the time of measurement of any growth seasoning
defects.

2.3. SIZING OF WOODEN POLES

The following table gives the length of wooden poles to be used for the said
purpose with respect to their diameter and loading.

The length shall be measured between the extreme ends of a pole to the
nearest 10 mm. Tolerances of ±1% of the length of the pole can be accounted
on certain ordered length.

The diameters are only measured after the poles have been properly treated
and dried. (? Please preferably stick to the dimensions highlighted in Yellow)
Table2: Dimension and strength values of poles

Length Minimum Minimum diameter at Force required to cause a Fiber

(m) top theoretical ground line Stress of 55Mpa.
diameter (1.5 m from the butt)
(mm) (mm) *1KN=100daN≈100kg
Cantilever Midpoint
Loading kN loading kN
7 160 187.5 7.25 18.87
?180 207.5 9.83 26.00

8 160 192.5 6.52 17.02

180 212.5 8.77 23.35
9 160 197.5 6.02 15.63
180 217.5 8.04 21.35
10 180 222.5 7.52 19.80
200 242.5 9.73 26.17

Safaricom Internal Page 6 of 21

12 200 252.5 8.77 23.05
220 272.5 11.02 29.60
The diameter of a pole shall be measured at the top and at the mark
representing groundline and shall be as given in Table2 above.

The maximum difference between the major and minor axes at the top of
the pole shall not exceed 25 mm for all poles up to 125 mm top diameter and
35 mm for poles of larger top diameter.

The strength of eucalyptus poles is determined as provided in section 6 under

technical data sheet.

2.4. GROUNDLINE FOR POLES

The groundline or length-to-be-buried of the poles is indicated below.

(For case of Normal Soil)

Table3: Pole groundline from butt

Overall length of the pole Groundline from butt

(m) (m)
Up to and Including:

7.0 1.4
7.1 – 9.0 1.5
9.1 – 12.0 1.8

Safaricom Internal Page 7 of 21

3 PRODUCTION OF WOODEN POLES
3.1. DEFINITION
We call:

• Raw wooden poles: this is the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, cut to the
required dimensions for transformation.
• Fashioned wooden poles: these are raw wooden poles that have been cut
to required dimensions, and dried prior to treatment.
• Treated wooden poles: these are wooden poles that have been fashioned
and impregnated with treatment products and are ready for use.

3.2. SELECTION AND QUALITY OF WOOD TO BE FELLED

The eucalyptus trees that have been chosen to be felled for use as electric
power transmission line supports are supposed to show all the characteristics
of adult trees. In fact, adult wood is supposed to have as little sweet
substances which constitutes the diets of boring insects as possible, and
aqueous substances which are favorable for the growth of mold.

They are supposed to be healthy, with no traces of burns, mycosic

alterations or defects like punctures, chaps, scratches, etc.…., mechanical
wounds susceptible to compromise the strength of the support poles (depth
of the wounds greater than the thickness of the sapwood).

Spiral grain wood can only be accepted if the inclination of the threads does
not exceed 2cm per meter of the generator.

Wooden poles originating from forests that have witnessed forest fires are
automatically rejected.

Trees cut from classical eucalyptus forests instead of hybrid forests should be
mature enough.

Safaricom Internal Page 8 of 21

 3.3. INDICATIONS FOR THE FELLING OF RAW TREES
Under the conditions of guaranteed quality of the trees, they shall be felled
following inspections at the circumference at 0.5m from the base, and this is
not supposed to be less than 50cm.

As soon as the trees have been felled, their barks should be peeled to ease
evaporation and to prevent insect and mushroom attacks.

The poles should then be cut to the standard lengths + 0.5m so that cracked
ends can be eliminated in the future if need be.

3.4. RECEPTION OF RAW WOODEN POLES

The wooden poles are supposed to be clean and smooth according to the
quality or technical requirement.

Internal checks will then be done pole after pole to make sure the
dimensions, the rectitude, the quality of the wood, and the thickness of the
sapwood meet the requirements.

The poles that are wounded during transport will be rejected. Those that are
excessively cracked will be shortened or rejected.

A sample of 5% of the delivered poles will be subjected to hygrometric

measures. These poles will be classified into 3 categories.

• Category S (dry): humidity less than 30%

• Category F (fresh): humidity found between 30% and 50%
• Category H (humidity): humidity greater than 50%

The received poles will then be shaped.

Safaricom Internal Page 9 of 21

 3.5. MARKING OF POLES
The received raw poles will be marked onsite to ensure traceability.

3.5.1 TRACEABILITY MARKING ON POLES

For convenience in identification, markings on poles should be placed.

The labeling should be as follows:

• Town/City Name.
• Name of “SAFARICOM”.
• Serial Number of pole and Date.

The dimensions of the plate shall be 110 cm x 10cm with a thickness of 3mm.

The marking plate shall be placed at 3.5m from the butt of the pole. It
should be nailed at 4 corners.

Safaricom Internal Page 10 of 21

3.6. STORAGE OF SHAPED POLES
Throughout the park, the fashioned poles should be stored in 3 levels:

• Category H: wet wood with a moisture percentage greater than 50%(wet)

The poles are stacked in accordance with the requirements and dried
outdoors. The minimum duration required for drying these is 2months. When
the wooden poles have reached a moisture percentage lower to 50%, they
will be returned and classified in category F.

• Category F: wet wood with a moisture percentage lower than 50% and
greater than 30% (dry).
o The poles are also supposed to be piled and dried in open air, the
minimum duration for this is 1 month.
o When the wooden poles have reached a moisture percentage lower than
30%, they will be returned and classified under category S.
• Category S: wood with a moisture percentage lower to 30%(dry).

The fashioned poles must be thoroughly dried before treatment. piled in

accordance with the above-mentioned requirements, the poles must be
absolutely protected against bad weather conditions and as well as the sun.
Light roofs are ideal and are necessary and sufficient.

Under these conditions, the minimum duration for thorough drying is 2

weeks. After this period, a sample of 10% of the poles to be treated is taken
and the hygrometry measured.

The level of humidity of the poles to be treated should be less than 25%.

Safaricom Internal Page 11 of 21

4. TREATMENT OF WOODEN POLES
The treated wooden poles are supposed to have a minimum lifespan of 15 -
20 years. This will limit maintenance costs and permit the regrowth of trees,
with the objective of preventing the supply sources from drying up early.

4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO BE RESPECTED

The preservation products used for the treatment of trees should be
harmless both to man and the environment. The production or treatment
process should not emit any atmospheric pollutants.

The treated poles should all be odourless.

The treatment should be capable of increasing the longevity of the poles and
hence limit the felling of trees.

4.2 PRODUCTS USED FOR TREATMENT

For an experimental period, concentrated water-soluble products will be
adopted for use in the treatment of wooden poles.

The use of brown oils originating from carbon (coal) is strictly prohibited,
examples of these oils are organic solvents derived from petrol (creosotes).
The impurities present in these products are harmful both to the
environment and to people that are exposed to them.

The products accepted for use should contain substances that serve as
insecticides and fungicides and that can prevent insect infestation. These
are:

➢ Solutions based on water dispersible oils containing:

• Boric acid
• Copper hydrogen carbonate
• Tebuconazole

Safaricom Internal Page 12 of 21

• Propiconazole

Examples are: THANALITH, CELCURE, KORASIT KS2…

➢ Products based on water soluble salts such as:

• AS205
• CR03
• CUO.

Examples are: CCA, ACA, ACZA, and ACQ.

The mixture containing the different treatment products should be just

enough to permit the poles erected in tropical regions to have a lifespan of
15 - 20 years.

Safaricom Internal Page 13 of 21

4.3 TREATMENT PROCEDURE
The treatment of wooden poles will be done using the impregnation
procedure in the autoclave machine both in vacuum conditions and under
pressure.

The principle behind this procedure is to fill all the cavities of the wood with
treatment product. First, the wooden pole which has been made ready for
impregnation is ventilated under strong vacuum conditions, then the
treatment product is added (still under vacuum conditions) which under the
high-pressure conditions penetrates the wood.

The different stages in the treatment of wooden poles are as follows:

• Creation of a very strong vacuum in the autoclave to extract air from the
cavities found in the wooden structure and to leave space for the product.
• Following this, high pressure is produced to force the treatment product
into the cavities of the wooden poles.
• Next, the treatment product is impregnated into the wooden poles for at
least an hour.
• The autoclave is then brought back to atmospheric pressure and the
treatment product is evacuated from the autoclave into the reservoir.

Safaricom Internal Page 14 of 21

• A short vacuum is then finally created, the autoclave is ventilated and
finally the brought back to atmospheric conditions to evacuate the excess
product that was found at the surface of the wooden poles.
• The impregnation is validated by saturation of the product, viewed by
volume stagnation.

4.4 VALIDATION OF THE TREATMENT

The quality checks for the impregnation of the product into the wooden
poles will be done by extracting slices or taking cores at a distance 1.5m
from the base for a certain number of poles, according to the table below
for the verification of the depth of penetration and distribution of the
product in the pole (technic of verification using cuts).

Batch Production Percentage of Wooden Pole

(Number of Poles) 10% 8% 6% 4% 3% 2%
Batch 1 <1000
Batch 2 <3000
Batch 3 <5000
Batch 4 <7000
Batch 5 <10000
Batch 6 >10000
Good treatment implies that the product has completely and uniformly
penetrated the sapwood of the pole.

Each treated batch of poles should be accompanied by a report which brings

out the following elements:

• The concentration of the product

• The treatment duration
• The different levels in the reservoir before and after the treatment
• The details on the retention of oxides

Safaricom Internal Page 15 of 21

 • The humidity before treatment
• The pressure

The treatment checks for the verification of the treatment quality

(validation of the level of impregnation of the product into the wood) will be
done using spectrometers.

Poles that are not validated after the quality checks should be rejected and
sent back for treatment, this treatment only done after drying and checking
that the humidity or moisture is less than 25%.

4.5 RETENTION OF THE PRODUCTS AFTER TREATMENT

Treated wood, irrespective of its use, should be protected from bad
weather; Evaporation of the product in the sun or washing in the rain. The
wooden treated poles on removal from the autoclave should be stored for
48hours under a thin roof, then removed and classified with respect to their
height and classes. It is worth noting that the use of longitudinal beams or
other solutions that will prevent the treated wood from direct contact with
the floor is imperative.

5 QUALITY ASSURANCE OF WOODEN POLES

5.1 DEFECTS
Poles shall be generally of sound wood, free from decay, insect attack, rot
pockets and any damages caused by handling and processing that would affect
the strength of the pole. The growth and seasoning defects shall be limited to
the requirements as set out below.

Safaricom Internal Page 16 of 21

 5.1.1 KNOTS
The diameter of any single sound knot shall not exceed 1/6 of the
circumference and the sum of the diameters of all sound knots in any 500 mm
portion shall not exceed ¼ of the circumference at that average cross-section.

5.1.2 STRAIGHTNESS
Poles shall be free from crooks that deviate more than 75mm from straightness
in any 2.0m length.

5.1.3 CRACKS ON POLES

The cracks along the pole should not be more than 50cm long and the thickness
should be less than 5mm.

5.1.4 PRESERVATION OF TREATED POLES

The pole shall have a minimum sapwood thickness of 15mm as observed at each
end of pole.

Safaricom Internal Page 17 of 21

 5.1.5 CERTIFICATION OF TREATED POLES
Each batch of treated poles should have a datasheet which gives information
on the treatment process used for the wooden poles, the matriculation and
traceability, following delivery to the users. This datasheet is eligible for use
during conformity and other quality checks.

The commission in charge of certifying the quality of the wooden poles is

made up of:

• The representative of the department in charge of the Management

and Quality of wooden poles at the factory.
• LSP’s or Vendor’s representative from the quality and acceptance
section.
• Safaricom’s representative from the quality and acceptance section
(support)

The periodicity and organization of the inspections should be followed by the

issuing of a report.

The actions per sample of poles of in the batch treated by this commission
are summarized under the following points which can lead to the
certification of the batch or not:

• The quality of the essence and the straightness of the wooden poles.
• The dimensions of the poles
• The length of the poles
• Verification of the conformity of the process used to treat the batch of
poles under consideration.
• The time spent drying the poles before treatment.
• The chemical products used to treat the poles.
• The treatment process cycle.

Safaricom Internal Page 18 of 21

• Physical defects
• Retention or moisture content after treatment.
• Preservative chemical penetration.
• Placement of anti-crack metal plate and banding or strapping.

In case the commission certifies the batch after the inspection, the
guarantee will be applied from the year that the poles were treated; this
certification is the basis of the duration of guarantee of the poles.

In any case, the department in charge of the quality of produced wooden

poles are the LSP (Local Service Providers) to Safaricom or The Vendor of
Safaricom. They should make sure that the technical prescriptions or
standards are followed and met.

5.2 CHECKLISTS
• The LSP or Vendor should make a joint-quality check at the factory
before loading or out bounding the wooden poles and make the joint
sign off on the Checklist.

[Form: “Factory Quality Checklist”]

• The LSP or Vendor shall get a confirmation about the standard of the
pole on site from Safaricom’s site supervisor before pole erection.
[Form: “Onsite Checklist_Wooden
Pole Quality”]

Safaricom Internal Page 19 of 21

6 TECHNICAL DATASHEET
6.1 MATURITY
The felled trees should be mature enough and are not supposed to originate
from burnt forests. The ages of the poles will be determined by the thickness
of the sapwood.
Sapwood Maximum thickness (cm), corresponding to length:
7m – 8m 8m 9m – 10m 12m
2.8 – 2.9 2.9 3.0 – 3.1 3.2

NB: As soon as the trees are felled, their barks are supposed to be peeled.

6.2 STRENGTH OF POLES

6.2.1 LOADS AND FORCE CALCULATION

The ultimate average load (i.e., excluding the safety factors) for eucalyptus
poles may be obtained from Table1.

The loads given in Table1 are based on the following material properties for
eucalyptus wood:

• Mean ultimate bending strength 62.9 N/mm2.

• Mean modulus of elasticity 10646 N/mm2.

Hence the value of F can be calculated as follow.

𝛔∗𝐃
F=
𝟏𝟎.𝟐∗𝑳

Safaricom Internal Page 20 of 21

Where:

F is the force in Newtons required to cause a minimum fibre stress in

Cantilever loading of 62.9 MPa.

𝛔 is the minimum fibre stress, i.e., 55 MPa.

D is the minimum diameter in millimetres, of pole at the TGL (i.e., 1500 mm
from the butt end), based on the specified top.

L is the distance in millimetres, between the TGL and 100 mm from the top.

Safaricom Internal Page 21 of 21