Unpacking the ICT World: From Accelerated Ethernet Cable Termination to Project Management Insights

But you know we always start off every Thursday night with what are you drinking ? Tonight I am drinking water . Oh , that feels so good . I broke it two the couple days ago and I had to have it extracted . What was remaining extracted ? Had it done yesterday ? Ow , I'm still in a lot of pain . So this is just water today .

Tell us in the comment box what are you drinking ? Remember it's after hours . You can do adult beverages , but Chuck is drinking water because it still has to do a bone graft , and all nine yards . It was not fun , not fun at all . So let's move on . You know , as you know , the platform is free . It will always remain free .

But if you would like to support the platform , make sure you click on this QR code right here where you can buy me a cup of coffee . You can schedule a 15 minute one on one call with me after hours , of course , or you can just send a gift , help pay for the podcast .

We are trying to educate , encourage and enrich the lives of people in the ICT industry . So there you go . And I think I'm getting sick on top of that . So there you go . Now let's talk about the acronym challenge . So the acronym challenge this week is going to be pretty simple L-E-D , l-e-d . What does that acronym mean ?

And I picked that acronym because we got some fiber questions that I'm going to be answering Some fiber questions . What does L-E-D mean ? Come on , put your answers in the chat box , let's see . There it is . There it is Light emitting diodes . Carlos , how you doing ? My friend and Carlos is also drinking a Jack and Coke . There you go .

So yes , it stands for light emitting diode . Absolutely , I remember how to turn that stupid thing off . Now . Oh , there we go , bing . So you know I'm on TikTok . You know I'm on Instagram . You know I'm on Facebook . I did a post yesterday I'm starting a new series .

It's going to go across Instagram , tiktok and Facebook and I even kind of gave a teaser video . I had it covered with a black cloth and I said what am I getting into ? And I kind of lifted up the corner just a tiny little bit , because he's just a tiny little bit and people were all kind of people guessing as to what I'm doing . I'm biting the bullet .

I know I've been making fun of the Milwaukee Packout people for the last oh , I don't know three years . But I really need to invest in organization for my stuff . But I don't know if I'm willing to join the fanboy crew and go Milwaukee , so I'm looking for alternatives . So I bought a Milwaukee and a Climb Modbox .

So I'm going to be doing videos over the next couple of weeks . I'm going to put weight in them and pull them across sandy surfaces . I'm going to pull them up steps . I'm going to talk to them about their warranty . I'm going to talk to people who own them .

I'm going to put them in water and bury them and see if any of the water leaks in , to see which one's best and which one ever passes , which everyone wins . I'm going to build up that system from that one .

I'm not sure what I'll do with the other one , but you know , hey , if you have any feedback on the , on either the Modbox or the Packout , you put that in the in the comments comments below , so that way we can kind of have this going on . Let's talk about why . Am I not on truth so sure ? Well , first off , I don't know what truth social is .

I'm not a social media king , despite what some people think . What is truth social ? What is that ? And why should I add yet another platform to broadcast my stuff on ? Let me know in the chat box . I'm open to it , but I gotta see some return in my investment in my time . That's my big thing . That's my big thing

. Last week's show . We talked about fiber cleaning . Fiber cleaning I got a couple great episodes in the pipeline , so make sure that you stay tuned to those right . Lots of them . But on top of that , there were a couple of questions from last week's show that I did not get to .

It's people typed in while I was answering those other questions that were submitted to me . So I'm gonna answer those questions first and then I'll answer the questions that were submitted this week . If you have questions , if you have questions on Facebook or LinkedIn or wherever , put them in the comments below .

If you have questions in the TikTok feed , put your questions in there as well . Again , questions about copper and fiber cabling installation certification , design , estimation , project management several project management questions this week . So this one came from Paul Tirmie on LinkedIn last week . Paul , I am absolutely sorry that I missed your question last week .

So he says give me some tips and tricks to make it not take forever to terminate some ethernet cables . Okay , so here we go . Here's some tips for you . Number one use quality tools . Use quality tools .

I've lost so much time , from doll raisers to cheap punch tools to cheap crimping tools that I've forced myself to work through them because I didn't wanna go out and buy a new one . Buy a good quality tool .

A good quality tool is gonna cost you some money , but it's going to last forever and it's also going to make a significant difference when it comes to the accuracy of your termination and the speed of your termination . So that's the first one . Buy a quality tool . The second one is preparation . Preparation . Right , that's easy .

A lot of technicians don't really think about it , but if you just spend just five minutes five minutes thinking about what , you're gonna make your job easier .

For example , when I was a technician going around doing work and stuff , if we were on termination day , we would literally go around I don't know 2550 , 100 , 200 , 500 faceplates , determinate and put on faceplates .

So what I did was I would just take a piece of cardboard from the job site somewhere , I would tape it off and I would have all my faceplates in one organizer , all my screws in the next and my voice jacks , my data jacks , whatever , and then I could literally just .

It took me 15 , 20 minutes to set up in the beginning of the day , but when I was going around doing the jacks it sped up my time . You could do the same thing with your tools . Lay out your tools in an organized manner to help minimize the time spent searching for things . That's why I'm doing the whole .

I'm buying the whole toolbox thing for the farm because I spend so much time looking for tools that I sit down in the wrong place . I just need to get back to being organized again , like I was when a technician I waste so much time .

Another tip for becoming faster at Ethernet is to develop a standardized process and then stick to that process , because two things it's gonna help you two ways . One , it's gonna speed up what you're doing because it becomes also muscle memory at that point .

But also , if you miss a step Unconscious , your mind goes well , wait a minute , something wasn't right there . So it helps you easily find Things that you did wrong . Right , cable management .

I know some people don't like to talk about this , but if you properly manage your cables both before and after termination Right , it's gonna make your terminating easier , especially if you're doing it behind the racks . All right , turning behind the racks . If you dress them out and have them all laid out ready for you , it can make you terminate a lot faster .

And here's one that's not going to be popular with . A lot of people use Preterminated cables . When you can pre-terminate cables that can be patched chords it could be fiber trunks , copper trunks Because then all you got to do is pull it and then plug it in . The beautiful thing about Pre-terminated assemblies are they're come .

They come from the factory pre-terminate and pre-tested , which reduces the time that you need for doing field termination . I still recommend that you test pre-terminate cable assemblies after you install it , just to make sure that you didn't mess up anything during the process . All right , so use pre-terminate cables .

Now another tip when you use pre-terminate cable assemblies , measure three times .

Three times because it's better to be ten feet too long , then ten inches too short , especially when it comes to pre-terminate fiber trunk assembly , pre-terminated copper trunk assemblies , because you can always do an extra loop underneath the floor , an extra loop in the slack box , mount on the wall for that fiber .

You're not going to stretch that bundle cables ten more inches . Next thing is label cables . Guy , this , this one , always starts an argument on the internet every single time . Label after I'm done . Then you got a tone , everything right . Label up front again . It's that whole . Invest five minutes up front For benefit on the backside .

Label both ends of that cable come up with . The best thing to do is use the the way . Label the cables away . The standard says it do , because if you really invest the time to learn it , it's pretty easy .

It's pretty easy and that's going to make it easier , not only when you go to terminate the cables but also if you ever have to go back in troubleshoot any cables because it's going to be labeled correctly . Right . Label correctly . Test continuously is another one .

So if you do a larger project let's say you do an , I don't know 100 jack , 100 face plates , 200 face plates , 300 face plates at the end of each day randomly look at 10% of the ones that you did Because you'd be surprised how sometimes you will get out of your groove and do things wrong .

If you find something wrong on those ten , go look at another ten . Right , it's a preemptive strike . Now , it doesn't have to be a full blown certification test , it can be just a simple continuity test . But that helps you identify the issues ahead of time Instead of waiting till the project's done . And now you got to go back and look at every single jack .

Right , stay organized , keep a tidy workplace , you know . Dispose of your scraps and trash promptly . Keep all the stuff that clutter from slowing you down a Lot of times . A new construction site if I'm terminating jacks and stuff After I shipped off the jacket , I would just take that jacket and just put it inside the wall , in the cavity of the wall .

Right , that saves you from , at the end of the day , having to go around and clean up everything . Right , it saves a lot . And If you practice and you train that's another tip practice and train , that's gonna help you improve your process . You know , consider using mock-ups .

Right , it doesn't only take one or two times , especially if you're learning a new Component or new project . And then , last tip I have for you is to stay informed about the latest termination techniques , because our industry Changes all the time . There's always new tools coming out to to do things and the cable changes .

Right now , the cable manufacturers are going through a process where a lot of them are removing the rip cords right , that changes the process from the way that you're supposed to do it to do what you're going to do it . So you might want to be using cable strips , cable snips , cable strippers or or snips .

Some people call them scissors , but they're not scissors . They're not scissors , right , just remember this . Speed is important . Speed absolutely is important , but what's more important speed is accuracy . Accuracy is more important . Kyle Sanders from YouTube asked me last week can cat5e and cat6 both do 1 gigabit links ? Yes , they can .

And how much does that transmission drop off when you go past 300 feet ? I think they really meant 295 feet , because that's the maximum length for cat5e and cat6 per the standards . So Ethernet signals will experience signal degradation as you start going longer with your run lengths . It's just a natural process . That degradation can lead to reduced transmission speeds .

It can produce latency . Just remember , there's a reason . The standards say the maximum length for cat5e or cat6 is 100 meters , because if you do , if you kept it to 295 feet or 100 meters . I'm sorry . It's going to work 99.9999999% of the time . I'd rather do that than deal with having to come up with something when you start going beyond that 295 feet .

Yes , it might work . Yes , it might work , but the signal is going to start being degraded and that's going to cause you problems . Now , to what extent ? Because I think that's really what the gist of your question is to what extent does that signal loss actually happen ? And then , in general , it's going to drop off .

But there's a lot of factors you need to consider . You need to consider First one is the signal loss itself . Now the signal gets weaker as it goes down the cable . That's called insertion loss , that's what people used to call them attenuation .

And again , the longer the cable , that's going to give you an increase in bit error rates and also that means that the transmitter is going to work twice as hard because they're going to have to , it's going to have to rebroadcast that packet again . So , the reduced data rate when you start going beyond that 295 feet , it's going to drop below that one gig .

Now the key thing here is what kind of equipment do you have hanging off of it ? Do you have premier , the best of the best network equipment , or did you go buy the cheapest stuff off of Amazon ?

Because the cheapest stuff off Amazon , while it will do one gig , when you start asking it to go beyond that , that's what's going to start giving you some problems . So if it's a good equipment , bad equipment .

And again , like I said , the longer the cable , the longer it's going to take the signal to get from one end to the other Because , remember , it only has about 570 nanoseconds to get from the transmitter to receiver and back before the transmitter starts thinking it's losing that . So the longer the link , the harder , the more it's going to cause problems

. And then also interference , right Interference . That cable is it running J-hooks down the middle of a warehouse where there's nothing near it ? Well , that's probably going to be able to go further .

If it's in a hallway in a hospital where it's jam-packed and it's going through , you know , near fluorescent light fixture stuff , that's not going to be able to go as far past that 295 feet . And another thing that's going to impact that is how well you install that cable , how well you protected that cable .

Did you keep that cable from getting kinked , crushed or stepped on during the installation process . Because the closer you keep that cable to the condition it was in when it was manufactured , the better chances you have of going past that 295 .

But when you could go past that 295 , if you're testing it with a certifier it's going to fail because of that length . Some manufacturers won't accept test results that have failed anywhere . Some will accept a failed cable length as long as all the other tests pass . So you got to know that . And what is it ?

And if you're not submitting for a manufacturer warranty , if you're just submitting the test results to the customer , you better prep them . Let them know in advance because that run length that they want to do is past that 295 , that that test will fail . That test will fail there .

So Kyle also asked in another question can I explain the difference between multi-mode and single-mode fiber specifically in differences of transmission ? So multi-mode fiber and single-mode fiber are the two types of fiber that we install . Multi-mode has five different types OM1 through OM5 . Single-mode has two types OS1A and OS2 . Now what are the differences ?

There's a couple different ways these are different . Let's first start talking about the core diameter . So multi-mode fiber the core , which is where the photons are going down are generally are going to be 50 or 62.5 microns . This is big enough to allow multiple modes of light to go down that same time , so it can support those multiple modes .

A single mode , the core , is between 8 and 11 micron and it can only support one mode of light going it down at a time . So it's only one load . But that one load allows for a more focused or more directed signal path . Let's talk about light dissipation . Multi-mode fiber suffers from modal dispersion .

Now , modal dispersion is where the different modes of light because remember , we have multiple modes , that's what's called multi-mode . You might hear called stepped index fiber .

So we have multiple modes of fiber going down the cable so they're going to get there at different lengths because of their varied paths , because one's bouncing , the other's going straight , so they'll get there at different times .

Well , there's a signal in each one of those modes and now if the signal is getting there at three different times , if it gets too far apart , then the equipment has a hard time putting that signal back together again . Single mode has much lower modal dispersion because it's only doing one mode of light .

So that significantly reduces the amount of modal dispersion and allows us for longer transmissions and higher data rates . And higher data rates . As a matter of fact , a single mode fiber can go up to 50 miles 50 miles Multi-mode cannot . So bandwidth is another one .

So multi-mode fiber has a lower bandwidth compared to single mode , which means it can only support the slower data rates at the shorter distances . But multi-mode fiber is , when you look at the whole entire package the fiber , the connectors , maybe even the transceivers it's going to be cheaper than single mode .

Single mode does have higher bandwidth so it can transmit more data at higher speeds over longer distances . So it's kind of a it's a balancing act . It's a balancing act . So you got to figure okay , what's more important , my budget or my data rates ? Or another important consideration too is what about future proofing ?

Single mode is better for single for future proofing because it's more resilient . Light sources are different between multi-mode and single mode . So multi-mode is typically going to use your LED light sources , light emitting diodes , which is why the Yakrim this week . Some of the multi-mode also use Vixels , vertical cavity service emitting lasers .

Now those emit a broader range of wavelengths , which gives multi-mode a little bit of a boost . Single mode typically uses a laser diode , some type of a laser light source , right , a single mode light source . So it's a much narrow brain , not much man , much narrow beam which allows it to have more wavelength , more strength and go more distances .

Which is the next one , right ? Multi-mode fiber is going to be suitable for your short distances , like , for example , floors within a building , right , data center to a floor , pbx room to a floor , and they're commonly used for applications up to a few kilometers .

It's kind of really all depends on what the transmission is that they're doing , right , really all depends . Single mode fiber is ideally suited for long-haul stuff where you're connecting together buildings , connecting together cities , connecting together countries . Right , including the undersea cables because , remember , you can go that 50 feet without having to be repeated .

Here's a homework assignment for you Go , look at a YouTube video or Google . What does the undersea fire optic cable looks like ? You'll be amazed . You'll be amazed so that single mode fiber can transmit over much greater distances than that multi-mode can . So that's another . And then , finally , the cause .

I already said earlier multi-mode is generally less expensive than single mode . When you factor in the light sources and the transceivers , single mode is going to be more expensive , and that those are the differences between multi-mode , single mode , outside of the parameters that you said for me .

In reality , I'm going to ask the customer what's more important , your budget or your network ? Because sometimes you're gonna tell you the budget's more important . It's happened . The next question this one comes from John and it says what are the key phases in project management lifecycle for an ICT project . They're the same as any other project .

You have initiation , you have planning , execution , monitoring , control and then closing . It has the same phases . There are different activities that happen in different phases , but in the ICT industry that basically means for as far as project initiation .

For us generally in the PMP world , initiation is thinking about the project , getting the budget for the project , but in the ICT world , a lot of times that's already been done . So for us , initiation is gonna be deciding on is this gonna be a project that we wanna pursue ? Is this going to be cost efficient ? Is this fit within our vertical markets ?

And then the planning is actual planning for the project . When do we need to ship the materials ? When do we need to have this crucible side ? What testers do we need to need special equipment and doing a schedule right , executing can be executing that project . Monitoring and controlling is where a lot of PMs fall down .

Because you gotta monitor your labor budget , you gotta monitor your material budget , you have to monitor your schedule right and you have to also monitor your crews . And if you develop that detailed project plan , that's gonna help you deliver that project more efficiently and under budget .

Next question this one how do you handle scope changes in an ICT project and why is that important ? So every project changes , the scope changes every project . I read a stat somewhere I don't remember the numbers , I'm not even gonna try to quote it , but it was a huge number a number of projects that actually have some form of scope change .

So there's a lot . Every time you change the scope , the first thing as a project manager is you need to ask is number one how does this impact my schedule ? Number two can I do it with my current crew that's on site ? Those are the two biggest questions right out of the gate , because you have to manage that scope , because it is what's gonna happen .

The customers are famous famous for adding scope to the work but not giving you extra time on the schedule . So now you're compressing the schedule . Your schedules have been based on the scope work that they gave you and you already said it's gonna take us this long . Now they want you to do 10% more , but in the same timeframe .

Well , that means something's gotta change . Either the schedule's gotta change or the crew's gotta work overtime that's a change order or you gotta bring on more people . More people means more resources , more truck and tools . That impacts the job , impacts the project timeline . So the key thing is is make sure that you have some type of formal process .

Don't do any scope of change without signing off on a change order . Have them sign a change order . The change order should be complete . It should address the cost , the schedule , all that stuff . So that way it's all about communications . So that way the customer understands that they're changing that process . It's gonna cause problems .

The next question is what role does risk management play in ICT project management ? A big role , a big role . You gotta think about all the things that can go wrong on a project and identify them up early , because if you identify a potential risk problem , like maybe a potential labor shortage for example , the actors , the actors' guild they just went on strike .

So if I was working on a project to do a film , they do project management too . And I know there's an impending labor strike . You should have thought about that during the planning stages to figure out what you can do to mitigate that risk , because part of this is for risk management .

First you have to identify that risk and there's gonna be more than one risk on the job and then you have to assess how that risk is going to impact your job , because everyone impacts differently One might impact more schedule , another might impact material management , right .

And then , once you got that assessment done , you really need to look at okay , I gotta prioritize my risks which one's most likely to happen , which one I'm most likely to have to deal with , and then develop the strategies to fix or address those issues .

That's gonna be key , again , thinking about ahead of time , while it may never happen , it puts you one step up on that journey and then that way , if it does , it's gonna make you more able to adapt and monitor the changing atmosphere Right To proactive manage those risks . So risk management has a huge , huge play .

Okay , then the next question is my last project manager question how do you ensure effective communications among stakeholders in an ICT project ? So stakeholders , for those of you who may not talk the PM lingo , you have internal and external stakeholders .

An internal stakeholder would be somebody within the company , like , for example , your boss , would be an internal stakeholder . The person who runs the warehouse that gets you the materials would be an internal stakeholder . The person who processes time sheets , the HR person that's an internal stakeholder .

External stakeholders would be like the GC on the construction site Distribution right . So those are all stakeholders . So the answer to your question is how to have make sure you have , how do you ensure that you have good communication projects ?

First thing is come up with a communications plan , come up with a computer , identify the people who need to know the information when they need to know it . All right , sometimes , as a project manager , you're gonna be required to write a weekly project report . What do they want on that project report ? Do they wanna know what work was done ?

Do they wanna know what challenges were encountered ? Do they wanna know potential change orders ? Do they wanna know counts ? We pulled X amount of cables , we terminated X amount of cables , we tested X amount of cables . What do they want to know and who needs to know that information ?

A customer may wanna know a lot more on a project report than an internal stakeholder like your boss . Your boss is probably just gonna wanna brief one or two paragraphs , if that , if that they don't necessarily care , just tell them . And we pulled 10% of the cables this week . Okay , they're just gonna keep an eye on that and then have regular meetings .

Right , again , you kick out that weekly report . But it's also good to just sit down and talk to the customer .

Sit down , go to the GC meetings , go to the GC meetings , sit down with them and that way , and when they start talking about oh well , the painters are gonna be in your area , so on Friday , okay , well then I need to tell my techs get some plastic and cover up the face plates that are in the wall , so that way things don't happen .

Communication is so important that it's number two on my project list , and so project number two is communicate , communicate , communicate . Yes , alrighty . So let me see here , jim Parsons , in the house , how you doing , mr Jim , the bigger the Milwaukee Tower makes it , so you might as well do the chores instead of the regular ones .

Okay , well , I haven't decided if I'm going that route yet . I'm looking between them and Modbox , although somebody also recommended I need to look at Toughbox , and I can't think of the other one , can't remember who . It is right , so it's Donald Trump's platform . It's like Twitter or Instagram . Oh , you're talking about the truth , social Okay , gotcha , gotcha .

I'm not sure what you're asking me there , because Net 100 was a company that competed against all the time when I lived in the DC area . But I haven't been in the DC area in a long time , so I'm not sure what you're asking me there . Right , Did something change with Net 100 ? I don't know . I don't know . All right .

So we captured up all of our questions and look at that word 631 , 631, . So it is time to go ahead and complete this . Let me check them out . More questions there you go . All right , everybody , until next time . Remember knowledge is power .