In the face of advanced technology and copper cabling's unwavering position in the marketplace, taking installation methods to a new level provides benefits for all.

The cabling industry is buzzing with the current development of the TIA/EIA Augmented Category 6 standard for 10 Gigabit Ethernet transmission over copper cabling. With the new standard maintaining copper cabling's unwavering position in the marketplace, the good news is that installers can expect to be pulling cable for many years to come.

While the cable continues to undergo significant technological improvements, the method of installing that cable has changed little over the past 40 years. With advanced network speeds, proper material handling (the installation of cable) is more critical than ever to ensure network performance, flexibility, and life span. End users, installers, and manufacturers alike can benefit from cable installation systems (CIS) that save time and money while improving the overall installation process for network performance and manageability.

Tried and true no more

With improvements in cabling technology, awareness of the importance of proper cabling installation has increased, and industry standards have addressed critical issues such as bend radius and tensile load ratings. Despite these significant specifications, the actual method of pulling cable from the telecommunications room (TR) to the workstation has remained virtually the same since the days of plain old telephone systems.

In most network cabling installations, installers set up cable spools or boxes outside the TR to prepare for pulling cables to workstation outlets and backfeeding into the TR for termination at the patch panel. A jet line (pull string) is tied to a bundle of cables and to a second lagging jet line, and installers positioned at the workstation and 90-degree turns pull the cables into the ceiling and through the pathway. Makeshift entry points that support cables as they enter the pathway can unfortunately become points of friction that stress cable over time. Furthermore, while cables are being pulled, most of the tension is placed on the outside cables of the bundle, which can further stress those cables.

As the cabling bundle is pulled through the pathway, it twists along with the lagging jet line, causing friction and difficulty for subsequent pulls. After several pulls, cable lubricant can ease friction, but more often than not, the time-consuming process of running a new jet line is required. For many years, this tried-and-true method has been successful for pulling cable. However, today's advanced cables that carry enormous amounts of information at higher speeds are becoming increasingly sensitive to how they are handled and installed.

The 10GBASE-T (IEEE 802.3an) and TIA/EIA Augmented Category 6 standards currently under development have identified Alien Near-end Crosstalk (ANEXT) as the significant parameter limiting 10 Gigabit Ethernet performance over a 100-meter copper channel. ANEXT, caused by signals coupling between adjacent copper cables and connecting hardware, is increased by the tendency of cables to absorb signals from neighboring cables in close proximity. To avoid ANEXT, standards will likely recommend installing Augmented Category 6 cabling loosely and randomly within pathways versus tight, twisted bundles.

"On one hand, we are dealing with higher speed cable that requires more care in the installation process. On the other, we can't sacrifice quality and efficiency of our work," says Hal Kern, vice president, Powercom (www.powercom.com), New Rochelle, NY. "It's become obvious that installation methods need to change to continue providing the best service to our customers and trouble-free installation of next generation cables."

A recipe for waste and risk

In addition to possible performance degradation, today's cable installation methods can impact material waste and abandoned cable, which ultimately affect the bottom line of both installers and end users.

"While skilled crews work hard to manage cable quantities, sometimes there is not enough cable remaining in a box or on a spool for the next pull, and often that remaining cable is discarded," says Greg Bramham, vice president of sales and marketing for Beast Cabling Systems (www.thebeast.us). When budgeting a job, installers build in about 10-15% waste, but these numbers are not always realistic. Upon viewing final testing results, installers are often shocked to discover the amount of cable installed versus the amount bid and purchased. Even the best installers end up with between 17% and 25% waste. At approximately $0.30 to $0.50 per foot of cable, that waste ends up costing between $50 and $125 thousand for someone installing one million feet of cable per year.

How does this happen? Cables that do not meet performance specifications are often removed and added to the waste. Furthermore, when crews backfeed cable into the TR, they almost always add 10 to 15 feet to ensure that they do not come up short. In a TR with 600 terminations, that can result in up to 9,000 feet of waste. "With legacy installation methods, it's natural for installers to take the conservative approach. They would rather be a mile too long than an inch too short," says Powercom's Kern.

Today's installation methods can also create the potential for abandoned cable and expensive moves, adds, and changes (MACs). MACs follow virtually every network installation, and if cables are twisted in the pathway, reusing or removing them can be a costly time-consuming process. The hassle of removing the twisted cable, as well as end user concerns of damaging other cables in the pathway, often leads to cables simply being cut and left as abandoned.

The labor of labeling

Proper labeling of a cabling infrastructure results in a professional installation and minimizes confusion by confirming which cable is connected to which workstation. While the TIA/EIA 606A Administration Standard for Telecommunications Infrastructure addresses final labeling of the infrastructure, few guidelines exist for the rough-in labeling (coding) process.

Some installers write rough-in codes directly onto both ends of the cable jacket with a marker, which leaves room for human error, and the codes often become smudged. Others will use preprinted sheets of labels, which can easily get lost or damaged at the job site. Portable label makers are effective but time consuming, and they can easily run out of batteries or malfunction. When that happens, many installers revert back to writing rough-in labels onto the cable jacket.

The accuracy of rough-in labeling has a direct result on the final quality of and time needed to complete the final labeling scheme. Inaccurate rough-in codes can require having to identify cables with a tone and probe and reroute cables in the TR. "If we pull 1000 cables, and two are labeled incorrectly, we don't have a two-cable problems, we have a 1000-cable problem," says James Barger, RCDD, manager technical services, Allison Smith Company, Atlanta, GA. "We don't know which two cables are wrong, and it ends up being a combination of hunt, peck, and hope." In worse case scenarios, inaccurate rough-in codes result in inaccurate final labeling, which impacts the end user, or in complete cable removal, which yields more material waste.

New answers to old problems

The combination of inadequate network performance, material waste, abandoned cable, and problematic labeling end up increasing overall investment costs. However, the use of a comprehensive cable installation system (CIS) that addresses each aspect of the cabling installation process can provide the following benefits for lower investment costs:

• Uncomplicated set up and economical management of material
• Fast, easy, and accurate identification and labeling
• Proper and effective pulling of cables into the pathway
• Better ultimate arrangement of cables in the pathway
  

Uncomplicated set up and economical management of material

A CIS can save labor by facilitating the set up of larger spools of cable, eliminating the need for makeshift assembly of jack stands and ladders. Because a CIS holds enough cable for an entire day of installation, less time is spent reloading. The use of larger spools also drastically reduces waste. Most crews waste approximately 100 feet of cable per spool, regardless of the size of the spool. Therefore, a crew using ten 1,000-foot spools will waste 1,000 feet of cable while crews using four 2,500-foot spools will only waste 400 feet. That's a 60% reduction in cable waste.

A CIS provides additional waste savings by calculating length as cable is pulled off the spool, facilitating the tracking of how much has been used and how much to is needed for back feeding into the TR. "With a CIS, our installers can now meter every cable off the reel, and they send a lot less cable to the dumpster," says Powercom's Kern.

Fast, easy, and accurate identification and labeling

A CIS provides a consistent working location to maintain separation and organization of each cable pulled through the pathway and back to the TR, and it offers a system for easily and properly identifying and labeling cables. This reduces errors associated with the cumbersome task of sorting through disorganized cables and current rough-in labeling processes, thus providing the foundation for a fully and properly labeled infrastructure. "We typically have three crew members roughing-in the cable, and while one installer is labeling, the other two just wait," says Barger. "Speeding up the labeling process with our CIS has reduced labor time of three installers, not just one."

Proper and effective pulling of cables into the pathway

A CIS reduces twisting cable, damaged cable, friction, and broken lead strings during installation by providing equal tension on every cable and by maintaining a natural separation of cables as they are pulled into the pathway. The end result is better quality installations that reduce stress on the cable, kinks, and jacket burn that can ultimately degrade network performance. By reducing twisting and maintaining separation of cables, subsequent pulls are easier and faster and jet line replacement reduced.

"It used to be a case of babysitting every little cable to make sure we didn't over strain it, over pack it, twist it, or kink it in any way," says Frank Bisbee, president, Communication Planning Corp. (www.communicationplanning.com), Jacksonville, Fla. "A CIS allows us to now pull the cables in flat without twisting, which really helps us achieve the craft intensive requirements of today's cabling."

Better ultimate arrangement of cables in the pathway

Instead of tight, twisted bundles, a CIS maintains a natural separation of cables in the pathway, making it easier to identify and remove specific cables if needed. This reduces the cost of MACs and the tendency to leave abandoned cables sitting in the pathway. In addition, the natural separation of cables is imperative for maintaining ANEXT performance of tomorrow's Augmented Category 6 cables for 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

A benefit for all

While copper cabling's unwavering position in the marketplace is good news for installers, it's important to understand the issues surrounding today's cabling installation methods and recognize that tomorrow's advanced cabling can benefit from a new approach. "The margin for error has gotten smaller and smaller," says Bisbee. "If you're not using a CIS that supports the installation correctly, you're doomed to spend much more time and labor trying to fix problems that can occur using legacy installation methods."

If cable manufacturers embraced and implemented CIS into their training programs, it could help them guarantee proper installation and maximum performance. This is especially important with 10 Gigabit Ethernet copper cabling. "Cabling manufacturers are faced with material cost increases, and their pricing strategy includes raising the cost of Category 5e cabling to drive buyers to Category 6," says Bisbee. "As they're trying to get customers to swallow higher prices, they should consider ancillary systems like CIS to improve installation and sweeten the value statement."

Across the entire cabling industry, the ultimate goal is to provide a flexible, durable, and long-lasting asset to the customer. "If we can holistically manage the installation process with a CIS that ensures performance, consistency, accuracy, and labor and material savings, that's our best chance for satisfying the needs of the customer in a cost-effective, efficient manner," says Bramham, Beast Cabling Systems. "The abundance of opportunities facing installers today is exciting, and installers can use CIS to set themselves apart from the competition." As the industry becomes educated on the benefits of a CIS - better network performance, labor savings, and overall reduced investment costs - end users may eventually specify CIS in their bidding process.

"Due to diverse environments, ceiling heights, and other external factors, the process of roughing in cable is the most unpredictable aspect of any cabling installation, making it virtually impossible to determine how many man hours it will take. Our CIS brings stability and standardization to that extremely variable process for more repeatable results, which is good news for everybody," says Barger. "I believe we're in a transition, and more people will start using a CIS. I don't know how long it will take - maybe 3 years, maybe 5 - but I believe at some point, using a CIS will simply be the way it's done."

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Betsy Ziobron is a freelance writer covering the cabling industry. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .