atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring Service Loops

Heck, Noisy, that's easy. Those are the ones that are going to fail, and they're trying to tell you to replace them now! Everybody knows that! Kinda like "Green Side Up" when you're putting down turf, or "The nails that come out of the nail pouch pointed the wrong way are for the other side of whatever you are nailing together"! John C.

The service loop is where some really stupid mistakes happen. Comical stuff. Last summer we were doing a cabling job with about 150 drops and each cable was labeled at the service loop with a number (at the very end of the cable). We left for a 30 minute lunch. Another tech showed up from my company and cut off all the numbers.

Worse - pulled a 12-strand MM fiber that was preterminated on both ends. Before I could say 'stop' the tech working with me cut off the ends, all beautifully terminated. I hung those off my rear view mirror in my van for a long time.

Yet another time, a contractor came in and cut off all my cabling above the ceiling tile because it looked messy and they wanted to impress the new owners.

How did you fix that problem?

Jack

We charged the customer for all new cable and labor and left it up to them to get reimbursed by the other contractor. They paid, don't know if they were ever reimbursed. Documented everything.

Documented everything

I have gotten more and more in the habit of taking digital pictures of our finished work just for the above reasons - service loop or no service loop

Yes, you have to do it. Then when someone destroys your work there is proof that it was done correctly. Our contracts also say that the customer is responsible for replacement of properly installed cabling that is intentionally or negligently cut/removed by someone else. Not sure it would ever hold up, but worth a try.

The real danger is when another contractor is to demo out the old cable and our work gets started before they complete their cutting and yanking.

I try when possible to use a different color cable than is currently in the building if demo is going to be happening after new cable runs begin. If not feesible I make sure what brand cable is being used, and get a different one for the new, so the demo crew can sign off on being informed which color, and or brand the new cable is before they come on site. I ask the demo scope include not removing any of the brand, or color cable I am installing. If I am doing the demo, I use the same method.

where i work the HVAC crew once cut a hole in a concrete floor severing 40 cables and landing the chunk of concrete on the riser. they paid

Noisycow, that's great that you got the owner to do it properly, and that he paid for it. Thumbs up on the documentation and contractual obligations.

zapatogrande - I've recently started taking pictures of work we do for the same reasons.

aarenot - good idea of using different colors than the existing wire.

Jack

I still think my best idea is to have all incoming cables go through a cable path that circles the MDF to the other side thus creating a cable path service loop which can be reterminated skipping the loop around if extra cable is required. This horizontal service loop eliminates the need to create the vertical service loop which is always ugly even at its best practice to implement. Only a trained eye is going to even notice there is a service loop because it is horizontal.