OHI/OSP/FOC/LAYING/METHOD

OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

FOC LAYING, SPLICING, TERMINATION & TESTING

A Submitted with offer Durairaj Govindraj

Rev Description Prepared Approved Date

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

INDEX

1 SCOPE............................................................................................................................3

2 APPLICABILITY.........................................................................................................3

3 DRUM HANDLING......................................................................................................4

4 HANDLING OF CABLE..............................................................................................5

5 MATERIALS.................................................................................................................6

6 EQUIPMENT & TOOLS.............................................................................................6

7 PRE-INSTALLATION TESTS....................................................................................7

8 FOC INSTALLATION.................................................................................................7

9. INSTALLATION TESTS.............................................................................................9

10 CABLE SPLICING.......................................................................................................9

11 FOC TERMINATIONS................................................................................................9

13 QUALITY RECORDS................................................................................................10

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

1 SCOPE

This procedure describes the methods, materials and resources (except the supply of
Fiber Optic Cable) which OHI Telecommunications intend to employ for installation
of the Fiber Optic Cable.

2 APPLICABILITY

This document applies mainly for laying the Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable

The FOC to be supplied shall be suitable for installation through ducts.

The methodology described herein applies for installation of a single Fiber Optic cable
through the 50mm HDPE ducts.

The duct installation should be completed before cable installation.

It is assumed that the duct will be installed with requisite number of drop pits (duct
openings) to facilitate cable installation based on the cable drum length actually
supplied and the maximum permissible pulling tension specified by the cable
manufacturer.

For this purpose, a Drum Allocation Plan and Splice Position List shall be prepared in
advance before starting the duct installation.

OHI Telecommunications will be pleased to help in preparing this Drum Allocation

Plan and Splice Position List based on the following details:

 Name of the Cable manufacturer

 Drum Numbers

 Actual drum lengths supplied

 Cable diameter

 Cable weight

 Maximum drum weight

 Drum dimensions

 Factory Acceptance Test Reports

 Maximum permissible pulling tension

 Minimum cable bending radius

 Cable route diagrams with termination details.

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

3 DRUM HANDLING
The handling and storage of Fiber Optic Cables is critical in all aspects of the project
right from transportation to completion of installation.
Following guidelines are to be strictly followed while handling the cable drums

 Each drum shall be checked on delivery to site for apparent damages

 The cable drums shall be stored on a flat and firm surface.

 A crane or forklift shall be used for lifting and placing the drums in
position
 Cable drums shall not be stacked on top of each other
 Cable drums shall always be handled on their flanges.
 Never carry the Cable drums on their sides, as this may cause tangling of
the cable.
 The drums shall be placed in a vertical position resting on their battens and
never on their flanges.
 Cable drums shall be placed in rows, with marked flanges to the same side
and at intervals to allow adequate access for testing, loading and transport.
 As drums will be of varying length, drums of same lengths shall be stored
together in the same row.
 When placing drums on uneven or sloping ground, take necessary
precaution against rolling. Ensure appropriate stopping devices are
available.
 When drums are stored for a considerable time, it is advisable to keep them
off a damp surface to avoid damage to the wooden drum by rodents or
decay.
 The cable drums shall not be subjected to extreme heat and exposed to
direct sunlight. Wooden battens shall be maintained in position to prevent
direct sunlight.
 In the event of battens being removed for inspection or testing purpose,
they are to be replaced immediately.
 Avoid the use of nails on cable drums, as flange thickness may vary.
 The drum battens shall be removed only at the site and at the time of
laying.
 At location always roll the drum in the direction of the arrow. Never roll in
the opposite direction, as this will loosen the cable wind
 The drums shall not be rolled off the truck
 Never use hooks directly through the flange holes as this may cause
damage to the drums.
 Always lift drums using a bar through the flange holes.

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

 Always check the weight of the drum to ensure the lifting device has the
required capacity.
 Never overload a lifting device in weight or reach or a combination of both.
 Always lower the drums gently onto the ground or transport tray. Never
drop drums. Avoid impact, which may damage the drums.
 Each drum shall be secured to the truck by a continuous chain running
through its central hole.
 The drums shall be restrained from rolling on or off the truck. This shall be
ensured by placing wooden wedges or similar blocks under them on either
sides of the point of contact.
 Drums returned to the store with balance cable must be stored in a separate
area. The length of the cable remaining on the drum must be clearly
indicated by paint on the flange of the drum.
 All empty drums shall be removed from the site as and when they become
empty and returned to store for disposal.

4 HANDLING OF CABLE
 When handling Fiber Optic Cable certain precautions are to be followed.
 It needs to be handled appropriately to ensure the long-term life of the
cable.
 The cable shall not be dragged along the ground or trench as this may cause
abrasion and damage to the outer sheath and may result in kinks in the
cable, if it gets stuck in debris, rock or similar.
 Always ensure that there are enough people available to hold the cable so
that it does not drag along the ground.
 No traffic of whatever nature shall be permitted to cross over the cables.
 No construction plant, trucks or even light vehicles shall be allowed to
drive over the cable.
 Personnel shall not be permitted to step on the cables.
 When the cable is being uncoiled, care shall be taken to ensure that the
coils left on the drum do not cross over one another.
 Cutting of Fiber Optic cable is normally not allowed.
 Where it is absolutely necessary to cut the cable at terminations, both ends
of the cut cables shall be sealed with temporary end caps in order to keep
moisture and dirt away from the fibers and prevent the filling compound
escaping.
 The end caps are of the heat shrink type specially formulated for sealing
applications for all commonly used cables.
 The size of the heat shrink end-cap shall be suitable for the cable to be
used.

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

5 MATERIALS
 8 core Single Mode FOC (to be supplied to OHI Telecommunications)
 Cable end caps
 PVC Tapes
 Duct Seals
 Cable lubricants
 Traffic Warning Board
 Traffic warning Tapes
 Prefabricated Hand-holes with complete accessories.
 FOC Splice Case with complete accessories
 FOC Patch Panels with complete accessories
 Splice trays, splice protection sleeves
 Splice organizers
 Patch cords, pig tails, coupler plates etc
 Fiber cleaning items

6 EQUIPMENT & TOOLS

 4WD Hiab
 4 WD Pick-up
 Wooden mandrel
 FOC pulling winch
 FOC Drum Jack & spindle.
 Swivels
 Cable socks (pulling sleeve)
 Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR)
 Light Source & Power Meter
 Fusion Splicing Machine
 Fiber Clever and stripper
 Splicing vehicle
 Optical Talk set
 Fiber identifier

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

7 PRE-INSTALLATION TESTS
Pre-installation test shall be performed
 in the cable drums after the drums are delivered at the site.
 to ensure that fiber cables received from the manufacturer conform to
specifications (length, attenuation etc.) and are not damaged during transportation.
 with OTDR either at 1310nm or 1550nm.
 on all fibers but in one direction only.
The results - the fiber length (km) and the fiber loss (dB/km) - are measured directly
from OTDR.
The results are recorded in the appropriate test sheet and compared with the Factory
Test reports.

8 FOC INSTALLATION
Setting up:
4WD Hiab crane fitted with a drum frame and spindle or Jacks and spindle shall be
used for cable installation.
The spindle must be equipped with two cones and two collars. The cones are
pushed into the space between the spindle hole and the spindle, and the collars
which have locking screws, keep the cones in place. This arrangement prevents the
drum from sliding along the spindle.
Decide whether the cable can be pulled in one stage or more than one stage.
If bends are to be negotiated in the duct, feed the cable into the duct near the bend
and pull the cable at the far end away from the bend.
Cable drum set-up location and the direction of pulling are decided and the drum is
either loaded in drum frame and spindle or in Cable Jacks & spindle.
The cable jacks shall be on level and firm surface and restrained from moving
while the cable is being pulled.
The drum should be rotated in the direction of the arrow indicated on the drum
flange.
At least 300 mm clearance shall be maintained between the bottom of the cable
drum and the ground surface during cable pulling.
The cable should leave the drum from top.
Cable rollers and guides at the duct entrance should be placed so as to avoid injury
to the cable while pulling
At the pulling end, the winch shall be set up. It may be power operated or manual
operated. In both cases, it should be fitted with a dynamometer to monitor cable
pulling tension.
Before cable pulling, the conduit is to be tested using a suitable mandrel whose
diameter is slightly less than the conduit internal diameter

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

Attach the mandrel with the draw wire inside the conduit. Attach another draw
wire at the other end of the mandrel. Pull the mandrel to the other end to confirm
that the duct is suitable cable installation.
With the help of the draw wire pull the winch rope through the duct.
A suitable cable swivel is used to prevent twisting of the cable
Secure the cable grip to the cable end.
Connect the swivel between the cable grip and the cable pulling rope with two “D”
shackles.
Check all connections to make sure they are secured
Cable Pulling:
Establish communication between the winch operator and the drum rotating team.
Flag signals (Red & Green) may be used for stopping and starting the cable pulling
operations.
The pulling tension should be uniform through out and jerking the cable while
pulling should be avoided.
The winch operator is to keep a constant vigil on the pulling tension applied to the
cable so that it does not exceed the recommended tensile load specified by the
cable manufacturer.
In the case of power winch, the maximum pulling can be pre-set so that winch
automatically stops just below the permitted maximum pulling tension.
Generally the Fiber optic cables can be pulled for a reasonably straight duct run of
1000 meters without running the risk of damaging the cable.
When the pulling distance is more than 1000 meters, the cable should be guided
manually at intermediate drop pits (duct openings).
Drop pits should also be provided at sharp bends in the duct run
A non-petroleum based cable lubricant (Graphite or Talcum Powder as a paste
with water) may be used to minimize the hauling tension.
After FOC installation, the conduit shall be sealed with suitable sealing plugs.
These plugs will assure protection against both water and dust inlet and can be
easily removed in case of necessity.
Figure Eighting:
Cutting the cable to facilitate convenient cable installation is not allowed. Cutting
of cable will introduce additional joints, which will lead to increase of Link Loss.
This can be avoided by preparing the Drum Allocation Plan and Splice Position
List as mentioned earlier.
It may not be possible to pull the entire drum length of cable from one joint
location to the next joint location in a single stretch. In this case the cable is to be
pulled in more than one stage.
The drum is kept at an intermediate drop pit (duct opening) and the cable is first
pulled towards any one joint location.

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OHI Telecommunications Co. LLC

The remaining cable on the drum is taken off the drum and coiled on the ground in
a large “figure eight” formation. Observing all the safety precautions.
When the cable is coiled and kept on the ground, care must be taken to ensure that
the ground is free of sharp rocks or obstacles, which can damage the cable. It is
preferred that the ground is level and that an area of 20m by 10m is available.
The end of the cable is taken off the drum and pulled through the duct in the
opposite direction toward the next joint location.
9. INSTALLATION TESTS
Installation tests should be performed
 to ensure that the cable is not damaged during placement
 before splicing
 with OTDR either at 1310nm or 1550nm.
 on all fibers but in one direction only.
The results - the fiber length (km) and the fiber loss (dB/km) - are measured directly
from OTDR.
The results are recorded in the appropriate test sheet and compared with the Pre
Installation test results.
10 CABLE SPLICING
 FOC Joints will be located in Prefabricated Hand-holes. The size of the Hand-hole
shall be 800x1600x1280mm (WxLxD). The frame & covers shall be made of
heavy-duty cast iron. The size of the cover shall be 800x800 and two such covers
will be used.
 A minimum length of 15 shall be kept at both ends of the cables to be jointed.
Initially these surplus cables shall be kept inside the hand-hole in a figure-eight
formation. After jointing, the two cables shall be coiled together with an internal
diameter not less than 800 mm. The coil and the Joint shall be fixed to the side-
wall of the hand-hole as per standard practice.
 Care should be taken to ensure that when the cable is coiled the minimum-bending
radius specified by the cable manufacturer is maintained.
 Cables shall be clearly labeled upon entry to the hand-hole with the destination of
each cable. Marking shall be permanent which will not deteriorate during the
lifetime of the system.
 Fiber optic splices shall be made in areas where temperature, humidity and
cleanliness can be controlled. It requires a splicing vehicle equipped with a
workstation that will allow environmental control. A dedicated vehicle shall be
used for this purpose. The workstation of the vehicle shall equipped with an A/C
powered by a Generator.
11 FOC TERMINATIONS
At termination points, at least 15 meters of surplus cable will be left in a coil
before the cable enters the termination modules. The surplus cable shall be
protected as per approved procedure.

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Inside buildings the cables shall be run in trucking or on cable racks, in line with
the standard practice for the type of building. This shall permit easy access and
present a tidy appearance and provide protection from accidental disturbance or
damage.
 Cables shall be clearly labeled upon entry into the shelter with the destination of
each cable. Marking shall be permanent which will not deteriorate during the
lifetime of the system.
 FOC shall be terminated in the wall mounted patch panels at remote locations
where only two cables are to be terminated.
 For terminating more than two Cables, rack mounted patch panels may be used.
12 PRE COMMISIONING TESTS
Splice loss measurements shall be performed
 to determine the quality of cable splices and cable terminations (attenuation,
location etc.)
 after terminating the fibers at both ends
 with OTDR at 1310nm and 1550nm.
 from two directions (A - B & B-A)
The average of these two measurements will give the actual Splice Loss (dB).
The measurements are recorded in the appropriate test sheet.

Insertion loss measurements shall be performed

 to determine the total optical loss of the FOC Link including connectors
 to determine whether the FOC link is suitable for commissioning
 with Laser Source and Power meter at 1310nm and 1550nm
 from two directions (A - B & B-A)
The average of these two measurements will give the actual Insertion Loss
(dB). The measurements are recorded in the appropriate test sheet.

13 QUALITY RECORDS
 An up to date cable drum traceability record shall be kept to identify where each
drum length has been installed.

 Records of continuity tests shall be maintained. These shall be traceable to

number of optical fibers, cable drum number, chainage, dates of installation and
testing etc.

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