A Combined Initiative of:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does W.I.R.E. Services own a helicopter?
A. No - W.I.R.E. Services contracts locally owned helicopters and typically uses the same helicopter providers that are already working for the utility.

Q. Will W.I.R.E. Services get LiDAR hits on all of the cables on my transmission line, including underbuilt cables?
A. Yes - W.I.R.E. Services uses a Q560 waveform laser which generates 240,000 laser pulses per second.  Using this type of laser, W.I.R.E. Services has seen as many as 8 returns per pulse resulting in a very dense point cloud.  Also, the helicopter does not fly directly above the transmission line in order to eliminate the “shadow” effect of the primary conductors on the underbuilt conductors.

Q. Does W.I.R.E. Services perform their own engineering?
A. Yes - W.I.R.E. Services has an experienced team of engineers and technologist that have backgrounds in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Survey Engineering. All engineering is done in house. Our extensive utility experience gives us an advantage over the typical LiDAR company who generally subcontracts out the transmission line modeling and analysis portion of the work. We have trained our LiDAR team on the data collection and processing methods depending on what type of project we are working on. The style of survey depends whether it’s a new corridor, and existing transmission line or a wide area project.  We also provide new transmission line design services based on both LiDAR and conventional surveys.

Q. How much does it cost?
A. There are many variables that contribute to the total cost.  W.I.R.E Services customizes the requirements of each project to meet the needs of the client, since they tend to differ from one client to the next.  To obtain an estimate for your specific requirements, please contact Luke Chaput, Manager of Business Development.