Pulling Cable

[Servamatic]

I am curious as to the way different people install cabling.

How do you identify your cables.

4 questions;

Do you label your cable as you pull it in, or do you pull it in and ring out to identify?

Why do you do it the way you do?

What is the biggest advantage of your method as far as you are concerned?

Have you tried it both ways?

This should be almost as good as 66 vs. 110.

Thanks,

Richard S. Anderson, RCDD

http://www.servamatic.net

 

[skip555]

i pull then identify

I have tried both ways and it seems faster this way

I usally am doing small jobs though I had one last weekend where we did 30 drops thats about the size I usally work with

 

[TouchToneTommy]

I like to pull first and identify after terminating. However, you don't have the jacks at the station side going in some type of readily identifible sequence, although at the blocks or patch panel, of course, it starts at 1 in the upper left corner and goes up to whatever the last cable number is. When you try to make some type of system, with floor/room/wall/jack number combinations, they will get messed up the FIRST time you add another cable.

Now I know that this is "against the standards" which say you need to attach a permanant label to each side of the cable, identifying the floor/room/etc. and all that. Frankly, for small installations, under 200 drops, I don't "care", and neither has any client. They have saved a lot on the labor of sorting the cables out at the backboard, and the cables are neatly combed out, so it is not a mess. When they add on, it's just another drop numbered 1 more than the last one.

Lets see what develops!

 

[franklin97355]

Pull then identify. That way the labeling is clean and crisp and the option to move a wire to a different outlet is easier. For me it is also easier to dress the wires up and then label. I do group my cables in small bundles so it's not too bad finding the right wires.

 

[daronwilson]

Wow, I almost always label and then pull. I usually start with a floor plan even it if is hand drawn that shows where all the drops go. Normally we label the wire with a sharpie pen, at least a couple times near the end. We usually label the box or spool, and pull them to the specific locations. The permanent label comes after the wire is in place, and is put on in addition to the sharpie mark.

Normally we are pulling phone and data at the same time. It seems to be easier (yes, I have tried it both ways) to label as we place it. It just makes sense to me to know the order the wires go in when I'm laying them down. Normally the phone ends up on 110's and the data on a patchrack. Another factor is the size of crew involved, if I pre-label, I can have a crew terminating as soon as it hits the jacks, and if we go in order, they can be laying the wire down at the patchrack end as well. Otherwise, we need to wait until it is all pulled in if we want some logical order. And of course, I hate to see a jack that has Voice-28 and Data-42 or something simply because the guy just punched them all down then toned them.

Good Luck!

It is only my opinion, based on my experience and education...I am always willing to learn, educate me!
Daron J. Wilson, RCDD
daron.wilson@lhmorris.com

 

[NPPC]

I have found that the best way to pull cable is to use numbered tape flags. We use grey 3M vinyl electrical tape and always write the number twice on each flag with a genuine Sharpie marker. We also number our boxes of cable so once our pull is done we can identify each cable and flag that end as well. We pull this way so we do not have to tone out each cable later and this saves overall time, especially when we have around 99 or more cables pulled into the closet. We have tried pulling and then toning out later and that just creates too many problems.

 

[mikeydidit]

We number the box and then write that number on the cable in most cases. We seldom have a large number of pulls at one time (over 30.) This seems to be the most efficient way in our situation. On larger projects we pull then tone them out.


Mikey

 

[jerryreeve]

I also tend to lable the cables then pull them but to help keep it a little more straingt during punching it down on the blocks I also bundle the cables together with electrical tape in bundles of 6 This makes it easier to find the cables when you are punching down since 66 blocks, 110 blocks etc and patch panels cable in increments of 6.

JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[nforeman]

I always number first, with a sharpie, first at 8" and again at 24". My cables always come out in a sequential numbering sequence. Most importantly though, I number up my map before i start. The time you save in testing in the end is well worth it in the beginning. Not to mention it looks nicer from a trades perspective. Remember anyone can just grab a ladder and pull some cable, doesn't mean it's done correctly. I use this method whether i'm pulling one cable or 1200, doesn't matter. After the cables are all pulled in, there is a little bit of work dressing the cables to make them look presentable, but I personnaly have it down pat where I don't loose my cool doing it. Then, as I terminate, if requested, I will use laser labels on both ends of cables. I have tried it both ways, and we went so far as to make it company policy to do it the way I suggested as we have found that there is less frustration, and when our customer calls to ask where the run is you can basically tell them where to go over the phone. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to write.

Neal Foreman
Project Manager
DAS Technical, Inc.
nforeman@dastechnical.com

 

[Sphoneman]

I have found to always labeled first. I have cleaned up others jobs & had to label after-what a unnecessary waste of time to have to tone newly installed cables.

I knew a guy that everyday he started with cable 1,2,3...
Well, I was sent to terminate. I had 15 1s,15 2s, 15 3s...
I asked him what the heck he did that for?
That's how he kept track of how many cables he pulled each day.

When installing a location it is much easier & quicker to be able to run down a line of offices or cubicles for testing & or phone placement.





Steve
tele-dataservices.com

 

[buitenhek]

We also label then pull, the 12D and 12V layout is easy to trace (years from now) and presents an organized professional appearance at the faceplate.

However, the pull-then-label method (12D and 148V) tends to be cheaper as far as installation manhours are concerned. I have seen the average pulling time for 2 cables drop from 1.2 hours (72 minutes) to less than 0.9 hours (54 minutes). However the test and document portion will go up from 3.5 minutes (per 2 cables) to over 8 minutes. Your net variance may be near 10 minutes per set. “Of course your actual numbers may vary…weasel clause”. Some previous threads have listed the tracing equipment needed (dual colored panel lights and toners). I am certain some experts can list exact thread links since they wrote them.

So if the bid is tight and the customer has not specified sequential numbering, consider the profit margin.
Regards,
Peter Buitenhek
Profit Developer.com

 

[moose79]

We always identify and then pull. I have tried both ways and it seems to be much faster even more so when there is a large number of cables to be pulled. Most of the jobs our compay does are larger jobs with cable numbers in the hunderds even thousands and to try and identify after pulling would be a nightmare.

 

[AvayaNovice]

The only thing I hate about labeling and pulling (labeling off of a plan that is, with the jacks in sequential order) is that as soon as you add one AFTER some have been pulled, it screws the entire scheme up.