ECS recently completed a cabling re-vamp for a national cold storage facility. The re-vamp included replacing a hodgepodge of old cable from Cat 3, 5 and 5e to all new Category 6, with new patch panels and a more uniform labeling scheme to allow the customer’s IT staff to quickly and effectively maintain a complete data and voice network.
Part of the cable installation was replacing the connectors on cabling for the warehouse Wireless Access Points. Being a cold storage facility, those WAPs were used for the forklift drivers/pickers as they race around the refrigerated warehouse with scanners and electronic pick lists.
The cable was originally installed by a maintenance crew and was, to speak plainly, not installed to code. In fact, the cable was poorly anchored and the terminations were not to spec. Huge “loops of cable were left at the ends and were left blowing back and forth with the powerful fans near the ceiling. The customer complained of intermittent connection loss of those WAPs, making it difficult for the pickers to be affective.
ECS used a 26’ scissor lift to access the WAPs, correct the service loop size, re-anchor the cable, re-terminate the cable, and test for performance. The technicians were not only able to bring the cable to code; they were able to maximize the performance of the cable as well.
All of this while in a very cold environment, sometimes at 30 degrees below freezing. The installation took some time to complete, with the technicians being in the freezer for about twenty minutes, then out for about twenty minutes to re-heat appendages!
The customer was very pleased with the outcome and now has a cabling system they can depend on. Wet or damp; high in the air or beneath the ground; hot or cold ECS will create the solution.
(Article by Charles Bressler – ECS Account Manager)