AE Aerial AE-03 Step 3 of 12
Make-Ready Execution and Coordination
Sequence and coordinate power, attacher and pole work, then verify every pole with photos before framing starts.
Crew
- Project Manager
- Make-Ready Coordinator
- Qualified Electrical Crew (Power Owner)
- Existing Attachers' Crews
- Foreman
Hazards
- Contact with Energized Facilities
- Work in the Supply Space by Unqualified Workers
- Falls from Poles and Lifts
- Traffic
Purpose
Get every pole ready for the new attachment and verify it before framing starts. Make-ready is work done by other people on their own facilities, so your schedule depends on coordination. Framing a section while moves are still pending leaves your crew working around other attachers and risks attaching at a height that no longer works.
When to Do It
- After the owner approves the make-ready estimate and it is paid (AE-01).
- After make-ready is engineered pole by pole (AE-02 Field Survey and Make-Ready Engineering).
- Next step: AE-04 Site Safety and Traffic Control for Aerial Work, then framing.
Roles
- Project manager: owns the schedule and escalates delays through the owner’s process.
- Make-ready coordinator: posts and tracks notices and confirms completion pole by pole.
- Qualified electrical crew: does all work in the supply space. This is the power owner’s crew or a contractor qualified and approved for that work.
- Existing attachers’ crews: move or transfer their own facilities per the notices, unless one-touch make-ready applies.
- Foreman: walks or photo-checks each pole before the crew frames it.
Equipment and Materials
- Make-ready list and drawings by pole.
- Access to the owner’s process and the joint-use notification system.
- Camera.
- Pole status tracking log.
Safety
Procedure
- Sequence the make-ready for each section.
- Power work in the supply space by qualified electrical crews.
- Moves and transfers by existing communication attachers per the notices.
- Pole replacements, then transfers of every attachment to the new pole.
- Coordinate through the owner’s process and the joint-use notification system (for example the National Joint Utilities Notification System (NJUNS)).
- Post a notice for each move, and watch for each party to close its ticket.
- Use one-touch make-ready with an approved contractor for simple make-ready where the rules allow it.
- Confirm the work is classified as simple under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or state rules that apply.
- Use a contractor that meets 47 CFR 1.1412(b) or the state rules. Where the pole owner keeps an approved list, pick from it. Where it does not, or no listed contractor is available within a reasonable time, the new attacher may choose its own qualified contractor and must certify to the pole owner that it meets the minimum qualifications in 47 CFR 1.1412(c).
- Give the pole owner and every existing attacher written notice before the work, at least 15 days ahead, with the date and time, the work, and the contractor’s name. Let them be present.
- Notify the pole owner and existing attachers within 15 days after make-ready is complete on each pole. That notice gives them at least 90 days from receipt to inspect the work.
- Stop and notify the pole owner and every affected attacher at once if simple work turns out to be complex, or if the work damages equipment or causes an outage (47 CFR 1.1411(k)(4)). State rules can set different notices and timelines.
- Verify completion pole by pole with photos before you schedule your attachment.
- Check heights in the communication space against the design.
- Confirm old poles are topped or removed per the owner’s process and all attachments have transferred.
- Update the pole status log, and release only verified sections to the framing crew.
Hold Points
Records to Keep
- Notices and ticket numbers for every move, with close dates.
- Before and after photos of every pole.
- The pole status log showing make-ready complete for each pole.
- One-touch make-ready notices sent, before and after the work, with dates, plus any inspection reports or damage claims from the pole owner and other attachers.
- Correspondence on delays and escalations.
Common Mistakes
- Attaching while other moves are pending. Your strand ends up in the way, or the space you designed for is gone.
- Anyone without electrical qualification working in the supply space. This is how people get killed. Stop the work.
- Closing a pole on the word of a phone call. Verify with photos or a field check.
- Forgetting transfers after a pole replacement, leaving attachments on the old pole.
Standards and References
- Owner construction standards and each attachment agreement.
47 CFR 1.1401 and followingor state make-ready rules, including one-touch make-ready.NJUNSor the owner’s notification system.29 CFR 1910.268for telecommunications work near power.- OSHA 29 CFR Part 1926 for construction work, which 29 CFR 1910.268 excludes (1910.268(a)(2)(i)). Your employer’s safety program says how to comply.
- The Pole Loading Primer for the forces, NESC loading ideas and make-ready results behind the analysis.
On the Map
- Utility Pole: each pole is verified on its own before the section is released.
- Communication Space: where existing attachers move so the new attachment fits at the designed height.
- Communication Worker Safety Zone: the separation that power work and rearrangements must restore.
Related Tools
Not applicable: no FAHMY tool covers make-ready coordination.
AE-03 · Field Checklist
Checklist
0/6items ticked
Tick each procedure step and hold point as the crew completes it. Ticks stay on this device only. They are a personal aid, not a hold-point release or a project record; follow the owner’s sign-off process.
OSP Map · Pole Detail
On the Map
- Utility PoleWood, steel or concrete pole that carries power at the top and communication attachments below it.
- Communication SpacePole section below the safety zone for telecom attachments, spaced per the owner’s standard.
- Communication Worker Safety ZoneRequired separation between supply facilities and communication attachments (NESC, owner spec).