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Are Touchless Locates Right For You?
- 1. Are Touchless Locates Right For You? Jeffrey Sadler, CET ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 2. Touchless vs. Traditional Locates Access OSP to connect transmitter Remotely activate locate signal ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 3. Remote locate activation • Technician dials-in, follows voice prompts to initiate the locate signal • The locate signal is picked up by standard receiver, up to 60 miles away
- 4. Reduce maintenance costs Touchless locates •Fast – Double locates per day •Secure – Less OSP exposure, risk of connection errors •Easy – Fewer marking errors and cable cuts •Safe – Less traffic controls and confined space ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 5. By the minute… Direct-connect locate Touchless locate Transmitter connection 15 Barricades, traffic control, permits, etc 15 Security issues 105 Total minutes: 16 30 Total minutes: 15 15 Transmitter/ground take down Cable locating & marking 30 Cable locating & marking 1 TBD Ground return path setup Dial, select line and locate signal frequency Cost calculation: 1.75 hours x $100.00/hour Cost calculation: .25 hours x $100.00/hour Cost per locate: Cost per locate: $175.00 $25.00 Approximately 80% saving on touchless method. System is paid for after 88 cable locates. ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 6. By the mile… Fiber Optic Cable Installation Cost & Testing – $35,400 per mile FOC Locating & Monitoring Equipment Installation – $515 per mile (minimum 62 miles) Percentage of Fiber Optic Cable Installation – Approximately 2% per mile ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 7. Cable Locating – Long-Haul Network ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 8. Cable Locating – Branch Network ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 9. Preparing the Outside Plant Migration from Traditional Grounding Methods to Sheath Grounding Units ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 10. Real-world scenario Highly-diverse metro setting •250 miles of buried cable •>250 below-grade splices Retro-fit cost = technician salary ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 11. Ralph Adair Minnesota Department of Transportation Getting to and from connection points and back to the required locate area for a direct-connection locate was very timeconsuming – especially on limited-access freeways. With the full deployment of Norscan’s system, we gained the equivalent of 1 to 1.5 FTE. ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 12. Cable monitoring • A cost-effective way to remain proactive in your network management approach • Avoid costly damage and downtime Induced AC Wet Splices Lightning Strikes Rodent Damage Cable Cuts ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 13. Is it right for you? Calculate your ROI •How many locates per day / week? •Cost per locate? ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
- 14. Questions? Contact us at www.norscan.com ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified
Editor's Notes
- Touchless locating is very different than traditional methods. Currently, you’re sending out a technician who has to physically access your outside plant. So this technician may be going down into a manhole – which likely means closing a roadway and following strict safety measures – or perhaps he is opening up a pedestal. Either way, this person must connect a transmitter at the splice point. Then he has to leave the transmitter and go to the locate area, do the marking, and go back to disconnect the transmitter. Hopefully this all goes well and everything is correctly connected when he moves on to the next locate. In a touchless locate, technicians remotely activate tone using a cell phone so they never have to physically access your outside plant to locate buried cables.
- This is the touchless locate process: Technicians initiate the tone on your cables by calling the centralized transmitter, using any phone Then they simply follow voice prompts to initiate the signal, which is picked up by any standard receiver up to 60 miles away.
- Here’s how touchless locates will reduce your maintenance costs: FAST: Technicians using a touchless method can perform at least twice as many locates so (as described in the previous slide) your cost per locate is much less SECURE: There’s no need for a technician to access the outside plant so your cable isn’t vulnerable every time a locate is performed EASY: It’s highly accurate and easy to use, which means fewer errors and fewer high-cost cable cuts SAFE: With no need to access the outside plant, there is no risk of danger controlling traffic or entering confined spaces These last three points are especially important because, in addition to reducing costs, they to prevent damage– which means fewer service interruptions.
- Let’s break it down…if everything goes well, we’re looking at nearly two hours to perform a below-grade locate on a roadway. At $100 per hour for the technician alone, the cost is about $175. Apply that same rate to a touchless locate, which takes roughly 15 minutes, and the cost per locate is $25. It takes less time so it costs less –80% less. Notes from original slide: Emergency Repair Costs that didn’t need to be spent = $25,000 24/7 Monitoring Equipment that was invested in = $13,000 Savings = $12,000
- Now all of the technical people in the audience want to know HOW it works…
- In this retro-fit installation, the system paid for itself (in technician salary alone) in the first year. A touchless cable locating system was recently implemented in a highly-diverse metro setting with 250 miles of buried fiber optic cable. The network, which had more than 250 below-grade splices, required two full-time technicians to keep pace with locate demand. The cost to retro-fit it with Norscan’s cable locating system was approximately equal to the annual cost of staffing one full-time technician – which is what was required after the installation. With faster, easier locates, one technician could fulfill locate needs.
- The technology is proven effective in a variety of installations….in this example, the customer gained an amount equal to between one and one-and-a-half full-time equivalent. Note: this installation included monitoring. Many cable and telecommunications companies, such as AT&T and Telus, are using touchless locates.
- When installing a centralized locating system for touchless locates, the addition of monitoring equipment provides added protection for your network at a marginal cost. Whether it’s a wet splice or lightning strike, damage to your outside plant occurs. Cable monitoring equipment provides you with real-time information on the integrity of your outside plant, allowing you to remain proactive in your network management approach. Alarms notify you when problems are mounting, allowing you to fix that minor issue before it turns into a major costly repair.