What factors have been incorporated into Shakespeares pole ratings?
None. A Shakespeare Composite Structures pole of Class 1 through Class 6 is exactly the same in strength as ANSI 05.1 requires of a wood pole. I.E., a Class 1 pole has a cantilever strength of 4500 lbs., and so on down the line. An important difference, however, is that the physical dimensions of the various species of wood poles were derived from the average strength of the species, and all samples will not make it to the strength level of that class (hence the very conservative overload factors for wood poles). All of our utility poles are designed to meet their class strength rating as a minimum, not an average. In addition, the strength of engineered composite poles does not change over time, so the “Strength Compensation Factor” is unity, instead of 0.65 for wood poles. The Required Load Rating for a Pole equals the Design Load times the Overload Factor, divided by the Strength Compensation Factor (Ref: Tables 253-1 and 261-1A, NESC – 2007 National Electric Safety Code). See the f
