Standards and Quality Control

Which standards we follow

Before a tender or a purchase, customers usually ask which documents the structures are designed and checked to. Below are the main standards we rely on in calculation, design and inspection, with links to the articles where each is explained in more detail.

Standards change, so we check the edition in force (for DBN and PUE, as amended) during design. Being listed here does not mean a product is certified: the requirements of a specific order are fixed by the design and the contract.

How to read the PUE: “shall”, “as a rule”, “is permitted”, “is recommended”

In the Rules for the Arrangement of Electrical Installations (PUE), 2026 edition, the strength of a requirement depends on the word it is written with (cl. 1.1.16). “Shall”, “is required”, “is necessary”, “must”, “is allowed”, “is prohibited” and their derivatives mark provisions that are binding. Where the text says “usually”, “mainly” or “as a rule”, the requirement prevails, but a departure from it has to be justified. “Is permitted” marks an exception, a forced solution under cramped conditions or limited supplies of equipment and materials. “Is recommended” means one of the better solutions, though not a mandatory one.

Values given with “from” and “to” are read as inclusive (cl. 1.1.18). “Not less than” means the smallest value and “not more than” the largest, and when rational values are chosen, operating and installation experience and the requirements of electrical and fire safety have to be taken into account (cl. 1.1.17).

The Rules cover general-purpose electrical installations: alternating current up to 750 kV and direct current up to 1.5 kV. They are applied when designing new construction, reconstruction, technical re-equipment and major repair. In existing installations built to the rules that were in force when they were created, the new provisions may not be applied (cl. 1.1.1).

PUE (2026 edition), cl. 1.1.19, separately requires electrical equipment and materials used in installations to comply with technical regulations, DBN, DSTU and other relevant valid documents, or with technical specifications approved in the established manner; for foreign-made products, conformity documents have to be issued under Ukrainian law. This is a requirement for the installation as a whole: what is confirmed for a particular order is set by the design and the contract.

For poles, lines, earthing and lighting, these are the chapters to open first:

This is a pointer, not a replacement for the text of the Rules: the designer takes the final values for a specific site from the current text.

What we inspect in production

Checks are spread over the whole manufacturing cycle rather than limited to looking at the finished product:

• incoming metal inspection: steel grade, thickness and dimensions against the batch documents, surface condition, marking;
• inspection of dimensions and geometry on parts and on the assembled product: length, diameters, holes, perpendicularity of flanges to the shaft axis;
• welds: visual inspection of all welds and ultrasonic testing for internal defects; the welding is done by qualified welders;
• zinc coating: thickness measured on the product, continuity and appearance inspected.

We do not carry out X-ray inspection of welds. If the design requires it, tell us at the enquiry stage. More in the article Quality Control of Steel Structures.

Zinc coating

The main corrosion protection is hot-dip galvanising in our own bath of 13,000 × 1,600 × 3,200 mm to DSTU EN ISO 1461:2024. For lighting poles the minimum mean coating thickness under ISO 1461 is at least 55 µm for a 3 mm wall and at least 70 µm for a 4 mm wall.

What can go wrong and how defects are put right is covered in Zinc Coating Thickness, Hot-dip Galvanising Defects and Zinc Coating Defects. Many problems are built in at the design stage, so we recommend Designing for Hot-dip Galvanising.

Documents, warranty and acceptance

Documents. Together with the products we supply a passport, an operating manual and accompanying documentation. State the documents you need in your enquiry so that we can agree the list before manufacture starts.

Warranty. The warranty period for our products is 2 years.

What to check on acceptance:

• completeness and marking of the products, compliance with the order;
• dimensions and fixing holes against the drawing, in particular the flanges and anchor holes;
• zinc coating: continuity and appearance, coating thickness on the product;
• welds: visual check of the external signs;
• presence and completeness of the documents.

How to order and what to send for a calculation is in How to Order Poles and Masts.