Risks of Not Properly Managing Pole and Conduit Inventory

Whether you're managing utility poles, underground utilities, or both, you need to keep careful track of your assets, but how do you track data effectively on that much inventory? It's not like a warehouse, wherein you check inventory once a year and write the number in a little box. Keeping track of utility and map-based asset management is a continuing process, and if you don't stay on top of it, the result could be disastrous. Here are some of the risks of not properly managing pole/conduit inventory.

Penalties

With joint use of utility poles and conduit, you need to keep track not only of your own inventory, but that of every company you're partnered with. All of their attachments and equipment need to have the proper permits, licenses, and other essential paperwork. These sorts of things can easily slip through the cracks, leaving you with illegal attachments. If discovered, these illegal attachments and/or equipment could incur penalties, for which you, as the owner, are responsible.

Damage

Inspection of your underground facilities allows you to know where conduit is available for leasing and where it is damaged and cannot be occupied.

The Solution

In order to avoid these dangers, you need to find a way of managing your utility pole and conduit inventory properly. You need comprehensive data on each individual pole or conduit, who's using it, and more. So how do you do it? Employ an inventory management software system. It can help you catalog all of your assets, organizing the data and making it easy to access and easy to track. You can then take that raw data and turn it into useful information in a variety of different contexts.

An inventory management software system allows you to see at a glance what attachments are on what poles and whether or not the proper paperwork has been filed for them. That way, you can see to it that all permits and licenses are squared away before incurring penalties. It can also show you which assets have been recently serviced or inspected and which need to be, as well as send you automatic reminders for each pole or underground facility. With regular inspection, you can keep your assets well-maintained and avoid the problems that come with damaged inventory.

By helping you avoid these and other costs, proper inventory management can save you a lot of money. But it can also bring in NEW revenue streams! By helping you organize your assets and renters, making them easier to keep track of, inventory management software enables you to increase your inventory, as well as the number of renters you take on. Proper inventory management helps you avoid risks, make more money, and generally simplify your life. It's something no utility pole or conduit owner should be without.