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7 Fiber Construction Best Practices to Connect Customers Faster
MATERIAL PLANNING
7 FIBER CONSTRUCTION
BEST PRACTICES TO BEAT
COMPETITORS TO MARKET
Finding operational efficiencies in your fiber construction is not just for winter downtime or when you wrap up a current fiber network project. Improving your fiber construction planning and fiber materials management should be an ongoing process if you want to reap the most benefits like stretching your budget, finishing more jobs, and connecting more customers faster and ahead of competitors. Start planning for last-mile success wherever you are in your project by following these 7 best practices for fiber network construction outlined in our Fiber Construction Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle.
What is the Fiber Construction Planning Cycle?
PLAN – Determine your fiber network design and identify project objectives and materials.
DO – Buy fiber materials and buy, rent, or lease fiber equipment.
CHECK – Evaluate if your fiber construction is going as planned.
ACT – Make any necessary adjustments to complete fiber construction as planned.
→PLAN
Determine your fiber network design and identify project objectives and materials.
1. Create detailed fiber network designs
Starting with a comprehensive fiber network design can keep your crew better organized during fiber construction and help you develop an accurate Bill of Materials (BOM) to keep projects in motion with the right materials. For example, splicing diagrams that show fiber routes and splitter locations offers greater materials management efficiency.
Despite proper planning, construction projects often have unpredictable cash flows which could delay material procurement. Bridge loans are designed to provide quick access to funds, preventing project setbacks. If you’re in need of more funding to get your project started or ensure smooth project progression, connect with a Millennium funding expert to discuss bridge loans.
2. Review and strengthen your fiber construction oversight
Reliable field data is also your lifeline for sticking to a budget and meeting deadlines. Review your oversight goals, including site visits and inspections based on planned project milestones, your expectations for on-site progress reports from crews, and the KPIs and KPI benchmarks you’ll be tracking. Many construction project managers find project management software dashboards useful for tracking construction data. Project dashboards are most effective at tracking field data when you can get real-time app data back from field crews.
3. Establish you fiber project material requirements
Setting material requirements can help you reduce long-term costs. When developing network designs, plan for scalability when possible because it can make your future network upgrades and growth more affordable. Sometimes the initial investment in materials like Dura-Line FuturePath MicroDucts that allow for multiple pathways during an initial installation is a cost-effective solution for high-growth residential or business areas. Get more guidance on forward-thinking fiber network design in this article: “5 Tips for Future-Proofing Your Fiber Network.”
→DO
Buy fiber project materials and buy, rent, or lease fiber equipment.
4. Set your fiber project milestones and deadlines
Outline everything that needs to be accomplished in your fiber project and determine tasks from milestones. You can distinguish milestones by crucial moments that move a project forward, and they often need stakeholder review and approval before moving to the next phase. Setting realistic milestones from the beginning can keep your crew motivated, especially if they are shared with your team and are reasonably achievable in the timeframe you set. Our Millennium Infrastructure Fund experts can also help you set critical milestones that align project success with funding opportunities.
No matter how organized your fiber projects are from the start, you can’t predict equipment breakdowns or a new opportunity that requires extra equipment that you don’t have enough cash reserves to purchase. You can rely on ready-to-ship fiber equipment from Millennium Rentals and Leasing and equipment training that gets your crews scaled quickly and using equipment efficiently.
5. Find a partner you can trust to build your business
Choosing a dependable partner and supplier for your broadband projects is critical to project success. Creating scorecards is one method of tracking supplier performance to help you choose your preferred partners. It’s also beneficial to consider shared values and which partner collaborates with you to find the customizable. Working with a dedicated project advocate that can support you with end-to-end broadband solutions can save you significant time and effort, not only on materials purchases but your entire project.
Millennium can work with you to determine personalized materials solutions that streamline your materials purchasing like staging materials and bunding SKUs you regularly order to win you back more time for other tasks. Read how UTOPIA Fiber streamlined materials management by working with Millennium.
→CHECK
Evaluate whether your fiber project is going as planned. Find and remove any bottlenecks that are keeping your crew from operating efficiently.
6. Be mindful of the impact of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA)
The U.S. government has not made significant exceptions to its BABA Act ruling that broadband hardware must be American-made, but it has released some clarifications. Some suppliers, including CommScope, Corning, and Adtran are already pivoting to comply with BABA restrictions. Other companies may follow suit and ramp up domestic production, but you’ll need to watch out for the influx of materials purchasing from BEAD projects and potential supply bottlenecks. Millennium has partnerships with BABA-compliant manufacturers and can assist you in selecting BABA materials.
In a March, 2023 press release,
CommScope announced its expanded manufacturing capacity for fiber cables and introduced its new HeliARC fiber cables designed specifically for rural builds.
In August, 2023, the company completed its $5 million investment that expanded its Huntsville, Alabama telecommunications equipment plant to ramp up U.S. materials production (Huntsville
Business Journal, 2023).
→ACT
Make any necessary adjustments to complete your fiber project as planned.
7. Strengthen your inventory management plan
Pandemic supply chain issues revealed the limitations of just-in-time inventories; however, keeping lots of inventory on hand can be expensive. Taking on extra inventory isn’t necessary if you can work with a local fiber materials supplier that can send you shipments on time. With local warehouses around the U.S, Millennium has been able to provide materials and logistical planning support that helped customers avoid supply chain disruptions during the pandemic through local demand forecasting and project coordination with clients.
Get inventory help from Millennium, including
– Timed shipments
– Bulk purchasing options
– Customized product bundles for easy reordering
– Same or next day delivery options to meet emergencies
– Financing options
Future-Focused Network Owners from
Coast to Coast Look to Millennium For:
- Feasibility Studies & Network Design Plans
- Financing & Grants
- Project Resource Management
- Material Supply & Logistical Planning
- Equipment Leasing & Rentals
