New service enhancements help local authorities and infrastructure asset managers reduce risk, improve efficiency, and make more confident, data-driven decisions about street lighting infrastructure.
Kiwa CMT has further enhanced its specialist testing and inspection service for illuminated assets, helping local authorities, highways and infrastructure managers, contractors, developers, asset owners, operators and consultants, maintain safe, compliant, and efficiently managed lighting infrastructure.
With millions of lighting assets across the UK, effective testing and inspection is essential to public safety, regulatory compliance, and responsible asset management. Kiwa CMT’s holistic service brings structural testing, electrical inspection and testing, and asset data collection together to provide a clearer picture of asset details and condition and support informed maintenance and investment decisions.
The service includes non-destructive structural assessment of lighting columns, including the detection of below-ground corrosion and assessment of hot-swaged joints. Electrical testing supports legally required periodic inspection and testing in accordance with BS 7671 and relevant health and safety requirements. Data collection can also include inventory validation, GPS positioning, and condition surveys for highway infrastructure.
Enhanced RLS™ system strengthens testing certainty.
Kiwa CMT’s proprietary RLS™ system has also been enhanced, further strengthening its non-destructive approach to assessing lighting column condition.
The technology provides a cost-effective assessment of below-ground corrosion and estimates the percentage loss of section within the censored zone on the root section of the column. This enables assets to be classified on a scale, supporting decisions on whether a column requires replacement or can remain in service subject to periodic re-testing.
The dry-coupled testing system can assess columns efficiently without the need for intrusive investigation. This helps asset managers obtain meaningful condition information while minimising disruption to the infrastructure and surrounding environment.
The new RLS instruments have been manufactured using updated technology that automatically captures test results and can transfer data remotely. The new instruments are handheld which can be used with minimum disruption to the public and without opening the column door.
The instruments meet our UKAS accreditation requirements for the ‘Relative Loss of Section’ (RLS) structural testing of lighting columns.
Results can also be uploaded electronically into a client’s asset inventory, helping eliminate manual data handling and making inspection information more readily available for ongoing asset management.
Better data. More confident decisions.
For infrastructure managers, testing is about more than identifying individual defects. Reliable, consistent condition data is critical to understanding asset risk, prioritising interventions and planning future maintenance and replacement programmes.
Kiwa CMT’s enhanced service is designed to turn inspection results into actionable asset intelligence. By combining structural and electrical testing with accurate asset data, clients can develop a more complete understanding of their lighting infrastructure and make decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.
With electrical inspection of lighting assets required at prescribed intervals and structural testing typically undertaken every two to five years depending on asset condition and risk, a planned testing programme can help asset owners identify emerging issues before they become more costly or disruptive problems.
The Kiwa CMT approach supports risk-based asset management and aligns with relevant industry guidance, including the Institution of Lighting Professionals’ Guidance Note 22/19 (GN22), as well as BS 7671 requirements for electrical safety. Kiwa CMT’s UKAS-accredited services provide additional assurance for organisations responsible for the safety, compliance, and performance of lighting infrastructure.
Stephen Spensley at Kiwa CMT, says: “Our enhanced testing and inspection service gives asset owners the information they need to make confident decisions about their lighting infrastructure.
“By combining robust testing technology with high-quality asset data, we can help clients identify risk, prioritise maintenance and replacement, demonstrate compliance and improve operational efficiency.
“The latest enhancements to our RLS™ system further strengthen the certainty and value we can provide. For organisations responsible for large and often ageing lighting inventories, having reliable condition information is critical to managing risk and making the best use of available resources.”
For more information about Kiwa CMT’s testing and inspection services for illuminated assets, visit https://www.kiwa.com/gb/en-gb/services/testing/testing-and-inspection-of-illuminated-assets/
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