Longtime Lineworker Helms New Inspection Facility

Even if you’re wearing ear protection rated for a firing range, the mighty crack of a 12-strand rope snapping under 34,670 pounds of pressure is enough to make you flinch.

But not Vann Smith.

“It’s just like a little .22 going off,” he said.

As the operator of TVA’s state-of-the-art rope inspection facility in Crossville, Tennessee, Smith is used to the sound.

It goes along with his unique skill set.

He can detect the slightest flaw in a rope just by running his gloved hand over it, and he knows how to deftly weave splices out of 28 strands.

Some days, you’ll find him riding out across the Valley to conduct field repairs that restore damaged rope to its original strength.

But his pride and joy? The new inspection facility outfitted with a machine that tests the strength of rope.

It's the brainchild of TVA’s veteran lineworkers and transmission construction crews, who submitted the winning idea in an innovation contest open to TVA Transmission employees.

The facility opened in September, which means Smith no longer has to drive to Salisbury, North Carolina, to test rope strength at a factory.

And TVA’s rope trucks are no longer tied up in long out-of-state inspections.

For a team that works steadily to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of the ropes program, it’s a new era.

“This gives us the capability to test on-site and get results immediately, instead of having to travel somebody out of the Valley to have this testing done,” transmission lines supervisor Cody Young said.

“It’s expensive if you get it done inside the Valley, and if you’ve got to ship it somewhere the turnaround time is usually very slow.”

TVA lineworker Vann Smith prepares to break a section of rope on the new strength-testing machine, which can apply up to 80,000 pounds of pressure.

Like Fishing

TVA’s Transmission team maintains more than 700,000 feet of rope for operations around the Valley region.

The crews call it pulling rope, or wire-stringing rope. It comes in various sizes and strengths, all stored on huge reels that can hold lengths of 18,000 feet or more.

Lineworkers use the rope to hoist conductor, the wire that transmits electricity.

To string conductor wire along transmission towers or poles, lineworkers guide a rope into position and attach it to the end of the conductor. Then they use the rope to pull the conductor into place.

Along the way, the rope takes a beating.

Sharp equipment and rocks can create nicks or cuts, and high-voltage infrastructure can cause burns on rope fibers.

“Rope gets torn up for a thousand different reasons,” Smith said.

Over time, even sun and rain can take a toll.

The number of pulls – and the weight of each pull – can also affect the rope’s condition.

It’s like fishing, Smith said – if you fish with 8-pound test, your line will wear out faster catching 6- or 7-pounders than 1-pounders.

Smith and lineworker Brett West use a motorized takeup reel and a system of guides to pull this rope from the four-reel trailer through the inspection facility.

‘Max Life’

On a warm weekday at the new facility, lineworker Brett West held a section of smooth green rope alongside a fuzzy specimen bleached nearly white.

“You can see how frayed it gets over time,” West said, comparing the two pieces. “You can see the wear.”

As he helped Smith inspect four reels of rope used by his crew, West explained that the white and green samples came from the same reel.

Rope toward the center of the reel doesn’t get used as often – only for extremely long pulls – so it stays in good shape. The outer ends, however, bear the brunt of heavy use.

The two men swapped out the inside and outside ends of the rope to equalize wear and tear, and they cut off old, weakened rope. Smith also repaired several dozen damaged areas on each reel.

This maintenance isn't just about safety. It’s about dollars, too.

A basic reel, which can last five to 15 years, costs about $50,000, while larger, stronger rope costs considerably more.

“As long as we maintain it properly and watch over it, we should get the max life out of it,” Smith said.

These two samples come from the same reel of rope, showing the effects of use and weathering.

Safer Strands

A 26-year lineworker at TVA, Smith began his rope journey in 2022. He studied ropemaking and repair at Yale Cordage, a North Carolina manufacturer that supplies TVA.

All day long, for weeks, he practiced making splices, as well as eyes for attaching the end of a rope to rigging or other equipment.

The training gave him the skill not just to repair rope, but to inspect it by feel.

He began conducting regular annual inspections and maintaining detailed documentation on every foot of TVA’s rope.

Transmission managers, meanwhile, purchased an AI-based machine to enhance Smith’s manual inspections. They also assembled a team from across the region to compare notes on best practices for rope use and maintenance.

But this loud new machine in Crossville is the icing on the cake.

It allows TVA to do its own strength testing on sections of rope, about 40 feet at a time.

On one reel from West’s crew, an unused end of the rope broke under 44,690 pounds of pressure, but the heavily used end broke at just 17,010 pounds of pressure.

Once Smith and West discarded 500 feet of rope from the weaker end, a follow-up test showed it breaking at 32,810 pounds of pressure.

TVA standards say all rope must be able handle at least five times the weight of the load it’s pulling.

“That rope is a critical safety factor,” transmission lines supervisor Billy Swann said. “It’s carrying a lot of load. That’s why it’s important to maintain it and inspect it.

“We saw an opportunity to bring this in-house and do our own inspections and testing,” Swann said. “We’re looking forward at emerging technologies, trying to continuously improve our processes and procedures.”

Smith repairs rope by hand, making splices and the eyes used to attach ropes to rigging or other equipment.

‘Tickled to Death’

The rope-testing facility has been a case study in teamwork.

Construction foreman Travis Terry helped research the equipment and his three fellow foremen backed the in-house program.

Young put together a presentation and made the winning pitch at the innovation contest.

“I was talking to the guys in the field and they brought it up,” Young said. “The kudos go to them for the idea.”

It was easy to make the case for the new facility and testing equipment.

“We use the rope all the time and it takes quite a bit of abuse out there in the field,” Young said.

The new testing improves safety, saves time and money, and enables TVA to perform strength tests on electrical conductor, too, which helps determine when older conductor needs to be replaced.

As for Smith, he didn’t imagine himself as a rope guru when he started as a lineworker apprentice in the 1990s.

But today, he’s loving the role.

“It’s a great opportunity that came my way,” he said. “I was asked and I was tickled to death to do it.

“I enjoy it because it’s a lot of responsibility. I feel I can do a lot of people a lot of good. I take a lot of pride in it.”

Photo Gallery

Rope is pulled into the facility, where it gets inspected manually by Smith and also scanned by an AI-based machine.

Guides steer the rope into an entrance window in the wall of the Crossville, Tennessee, inspection facility.

On the far side of the building, West operates the motorized takeup machine. A piece of orange tape marks a damaged spot Smith will later repair.

Smith fashions an eye in a sample of rope he’s readying for a strength test.

This sample of rope broke under nearly 35,000 pounds of pressure.

West adjusts the AI-based rope inspection machine.

When he’s inspecting rope, Smith keeps orange tape handy to label spots that need repair. 

The rope program ensures TVA crews always have strong, safe, reliable rope to maintain transmission infrastructure. 

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: Smith can feel any damaged sections in rope as it runs through his gloved hand.