Osmose University Webinars - Underground Vaults: Extending the Life Cycle through Inspection & Rehabilitation Technologies

Our webinars are eligible for IEEE PDH credit. To qualify, you must attend the webinar live and complete the IEEE evaluation we will provide following the event.

There are hundreds of thousands of aging utility vaults in North America, ranging from new to some 100+ years old. Although underground electric distribution systems are protected from the risks that affect overhead systems, such as vegetation, extreme weather events, and wildfires, underground vaults have their own set of environmental risks that are left unchecked and unmitigated, which can lead to public safety exposure, power outages, and even catastrophic explosions.

Learn how electric utilities are adopting proactive measures, such as robust inspections and risk mitigations ranging from low-level repairs to full structural restoration, to address these critical assets in underground distribution networks.

During the session, you will learn:

The drivers leading to an increased focus on vault safety and reliability.
Understanding and mitigating critical safety risks in underground structures, such as contact voltage, high thermal components, and failing concrete, among others.
How drone technology can play a role in the inspection of high-risk-of-entry vaults.
Innovative in-place restoration methodologies to extend the life of vaults by decades.
Value of a new digital information state to utilities from underground vault inspections.

About the Presenter:

Ben Lanz - Sr. Director, Industry & External Affairs

With over 30 years in the electric power and energy industry, Ben Lanz is responsible for Osmose technical outreach and education efforts and is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of the Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative (PDI2.org), a nonprofit dedicated to disseminating grid investment best practices. He is a senior member of IEEE PES and ICC, and a voting member of DEIS, IAS, ACP, CIGRE & NETA. He has chaired IEEE technical committees associated with power system reliability, protection, and testing, has published over 100 papers, articles and technical conference contributions on the subjects of power system reliability, asset management, design, work practices, longevity and diagnostics, and is a regular guest speaker at numerous conferences and seminars.