Make Ready Work

Before an Internet Service Provider (or any company) can add a new attachment or line to a utility pole, the existing attachments may need to be moved around so that the pole can be made ready to handle a new attachment or line. This is known as 'Make Ready Work.' The reason Make Ready Work is necessary is that, under Federal Law, to prevent the risk of outages or other issues, lines on utility poles must be spaced a certain distance apart from each other based on how many lines are on the pole. Under federal guidelines, Make Ready Work must occur sequentially, meaning that attachments can only be moved in the order with which they were originally placed on the line.This process can create massive delays, as well as other large disruptions in high traffic areas, such as alongside major roadways. In addition, the make ready work can take months, or even years, to complete as every company involved must send out their own approved contractor to move only their respective attachment. Each contractor must also schedule their work to not conflict with other contractors performing Make Ready Work, as well as taking into account other local factors, such as weather, traffic, and maintenance work (such as road paving). These factors must be considered as the United States primarily uses aerial work platforms to perform Make Ready Work.