Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1476549
October/November/December 2022 I 47 The ICT companies are up against an irrefutable fact—a shortage of high-quality talent. the project's creation. Tester and splicer setups can be applied beforehand and easily deployed to field teams as part of the workflow. Technicians access to pre-loaded designs, scope requirements, and step-by-step work instructions via their mobile devices, provide assurance that the right work is occurring every step of the way. This additional layer of installation support and instant feedback has the potential of significantly reducing the risk of errors or omissions. The digital history is initiated by scanning a barcode or RFID tag that the manufacturer has placed on a cable or component. This creates a digital fingerprint that promptly crosslinks to manufacturer specification sheets, reference drawings, builds, and shipping details. The dig- ital fingerprint can also provide access to manufacturing test data, such as optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) traces, fiber end-face inspection results, and quality assurance (QA) inspection information, thereby creating a vital link and transparency between the manufacturer, ICT installer, and end-user customer. Scanning the barcode or RFID tag at the time that a cable reel or component is delivered to site also serves to validate shipments for deployment projects. Real-time management of material receipts can be facilitated, elimi- nating inefficiencies due to lost paper shipping receipts or incomplete bills of lading. In the event of missing material, the ability to geotag where an item was last scanned means one has a better idea of where it is. Many fiber deployment specifications require incoming reel inspections and testing. The manufac- turer data available via the digital fingerprint allows for easy setup of incoming inspection test equipment by accessing the specified parameters. Upon test com- pletion, the inspection test results are then automatically added to the digital fingerprint. This enables real-time comparison of incoming test results to the manufac- turer's test results, quickly identifying cable that may have been damaged or otherwise compromised during handling and transport. This provides environmental sustainability benefits as well, as the amount of paper (e.g., shipping receipts, manufacturer test, QA data) is significantly reduced. The intelligent build solution houses a powerful workflow management suite, incorporating many elements found in popular construction and field management platforms. During the planning phase, site design documenta- tion, technical guidelines, specifications, requirement checklists, and pre-construction photos are collected to create highly customizable project and implementation roadmaps, making the planning process highly effective. Network design files containing computer-aided design (CAD) or geographic information system (GIS) data drive Enabled with integrated project management capabilities, one has visibility to progress across all sites and scope elements via easily interpreted map and graphic views. A project management dashboard provides visibility into a project via real-time data collection, eliminating the need to chase contractors and technicians for updates. For example, workflow tracking provides feedback on progress and performance of field splicing teams. In the event of scope changes, engineers or project man- agers can modify the task list and test plan remotely through a portal. This instantly updates the work instructions for technicians in the field. Adding new events is easy. The old infrastructure setup is paired with the new infrastructure requirements, facilitating a clean change management process.