Existing Office/Industrial building – Expanding bandwidth and upgrading data infrastructure

A major company was looking to upgrade their existing data structured cable to accommodate greater bandwidth in their office/industrial building and needed to do so without incurring an outage. Part of the challenge was to install the fiber infrastructure with redundancy to all their Data Closets in an industrial environment without interfering with production.

We began by asking what their expectations of bandwidth were for the foreseeable future and what type of growth they anticipated for the number of data drops. We also inquired about their hours of operation, how many shifts were run in the plant and what were the key safety requirements.

Once we understood their needs, we were able to exceed their expectations in a number of areas.

Although the customer was looking to run at least one Gigabit to the desk top, we suggested installing Cat 6, rather than a cheaper grade of cable, Cat 5e. Since J.F. Telecom is a Certified Installer, we knew we could purchase Cat 6 from a cable manufacturer at a lower cost than the 5e cable. Not only did the customer get a better grade of cable at a lower price, we were also able to obtain a 25 Year Manufacturer Warranty due to our certified installer qualification. With the savings our customer acquired, they added additional data drops and it was still within their budget.

Due to our flexible work schedule, we were able to perform the work on the second shift, which enabled us to be more productive by not having to work around obstacles. Also, since their production was only at 50% on the second shift, we were able to schedule around production equipment that was not in use.

Thanks to J.F. Telecom being a Corning Fiber NPI (Network Preferred Installer) and by having an on-staff RCDD (Registered Communication Distribution Designer), we were able to offer a lower cost through manufacture special pricing than other competitors and save additional costs by not needing to outsource a designer. Also, with our knowledge of the industry, training and utilizing our own equipment, we saved installation costs by not using costly mechanical connectors – all fiber was fusion spliced to factory pigtails.

By meeting with the customer Safety Representative months in advance of starting the project we were proactive in getting our technicians the proper training and having the proper equipment for the job.

Key Results

The job came in two weeks ahead of schedule and 10% under budget. As a certified installer, we saved 10% on materials by using our manufacturer discount on cable, fiber and termination material. Also, as the word spread throughout their company, we are now doing work in three of their other plants and anticipate completely cabling another plant as we have become their preferred contractor.