Reinhart & Associates, Inc. (R&A) performs nondestructive examination (NDE) of poles either in the field or in the shop using visual testing (VT), dry magnetic particle testing (MT), and ultrasonic testing (UT).  The UT includes 45-degree, 70-degree, and straight beam testing.  The examination area is the pole to plate weldment.  R&A specialists have tested more than 1,000 poles since November 2010 when a pole catastrophically failed after being installed for a few days.  The forensic analysis revealed that the failed pole had preexisting weldment toe cracking prior to the galvanizing process.  Therefore, the NDE is performed after welding and after galvanizing.