Osmose

Founded in 1934, Osmose is the market-leading provider of critical inspection, mobile contact voltage detection, maintenance and restoration services for electric transmission, distribution and telecommunications utilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Osmose safeguards over 8 million electric utility and telecom grid structures each year. Headquartered near Atlanta, Georgia, the company employs over 4,000 people. Osmose’s field technicians, professional engineers, wood scientists, and corrosion experts utilize their expertise to identify and solve issues to make utility infrastructure safer, longer lasting and more resilient while lowering the total cost of ownership.

About Power Survey

Osmose’s Power Survey™ was the first (and remains the only) mobile scanning system designed to detect contact voltage faults. Mobile electric field detection is the most sensitive and accurate non-invasive testing method available to locate faults in underground distribution systems. Since the launch of Power Survey services in 2006, our highly-trained crews have identified over 250,000 utility cable and system faults – more than all other organizations on earth combined. These findings have enabled dramatic improvements in asset management, CO2 reduction, energy efficiency, and safety for utility customers and the public.

Advanced Technology Detects Hidden Hazards

Public objects like streetlights, traffic signals, playground equipment and fences—even concrete—can become energized and dangerous. Osmose’s Power Survey helps utilities manage this risk by scanning all essential underground assets and identifying problem areas, which can then be eliminated.

Power Survey was the first (and remains the only) mobile scanning system designed to detect contact voltage faults. Mobile electric field detection is the most sensitive and accurate non-invasive testing method available to locate faults in underground distribution systems. Osmose’s Power Survey system is an industry benchmark that remains unequaled in sensitivity and performance.

Benefits of the Power Survey Process

Osmose can provide a Power Survey scan to help improve the performance of a utility system:

• Public and Employee Safety – The Power Survey process measurably impacts safety by scanning for contact voltage, reducing the number of dangerous underground events like manhole explosions or energized structures.
• Company Liability – Power Survey’s groundbreaking technology is sensitive enough to pinpoint even the most minute system faults so utility workers can correct issues before they impact the public, reducing liability situations.
• System Energy Efficiency – Power Survey proactively identifies high impedance faults, saving utilities money and lowering costs for consumers. Losses for utilities in large cities can exceed 10 GWh annually.

Power Survey Supports Better Decisions

Osmose’s Power Survey technology has performed accurate, real time, reliable electric field testing in more than 75 U.S. cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Our technicians are highly trained and certified to perform consistent testing and troubleshooting procedures. Our detailed dashboards provide customers with up-to-date status reports delivered to their desktop via a web interface or to their mobile device via a custom dashboard interface.

By addressing unseen risks at scale, Power Survey helps utilities safeguard their grid infrastructure and the customers and communities they serve.

How Power Survey Works

During the survey process, Osmose’s truck-mounted Power Survey MAAV technology scans the target area to detect low-level electric fields emanating from structures that have been energized due to an underground fault. It simultaneously detects voltage on all surfaces in an area: streetlights, manholes, fences, roadways and sidewalks.

During the field measurement process, alerts from the MAAV are investigated using handheld measurement equipment. Route coverage data is collected automatically, and a “qualified reference” is used for the voltage and harmonic content measurements for each structure. Osmose provides relevant data via a 24/7 dispatch center, stand-alone or integrated into existing GIS and work management systems.

• All data and photos of the energized object and qualified reference are recorded and presented in event reports.
• Event reports are delivered in real time.