HELP!! Cable responsibilities for fiber

I am a Wire Dawg currently working at a QA base and need to get some information and firsthand knowledge on fiber connections. I need to know where the responsibility of cable maintenance ends for fiber optic, or at least a reference to where I can find this information. I always thought that cable maintenance’s responsibilities end at the back of a fiber box and whoever's equipment was being installed took over from there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the cable shop doesn't own, or take responsibility for the box itself. Once the fiber has been tested and is in place, the path of light is determined by the end user (I.E. network management or circuit actions). Even our contract states that any work past the fiber box cannot be done by the contractor for this very reason. By path I mean end equipment to end equipment. For example, if a new router or switch or whatever the network shop uses needs to be installed in a new building, then the network people would find path from their servers to the new building. Even if a network connection runs through 5 different legs of fiber, the path is still determined by the network shop. If this is not true please let me know. We are having some pretty heated discussions about who maintains connections between the fiber boxes, and ultimately who maintains the records of said fiber paths. We have no records management system like TMS, so we literally have no records of anything except, of course, building to building buried fiber(I.E. building X has 24 strands of single mode fiber connected to building Y). Wouldn’t it make sense that the network shop keep records of which router or switch is in which building and what path it takes for its connection to the server? After all, it is their equipment. On a side note, why would 5 Wire Dawgs be in a Cable/Telephone QA shop and then have no access to cable maintenance expertise? Anyway, thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

where i am at we have kinda the same issue, we are a cable shop but tech control puts in switches and what not, some of the folks are not that handy with fiber. If they have a problem we let them shoot the fiber, if they say that the fiber somehow died, we go out to shoot it ourselves. What we have told them is this 1. You shoot the path to verify its not the patch cords or end equipment 2. if its not your issues DO NOT BY ANY MEANS TOUCH THE BACK OF THE BOX THAT IS OUR WORLD. We take care to the back of the patch panel. But still we have issues with them not testing patch cords. K.I.S.S start with the little things, move to the fiber, unless someone has cut it, run it over, or a bomb hit it, it shouldnt just stop hope this helps at one point someone just needs to stand up and take responsiblity and make other understand CABLE DAWGS- The Backbone of Comm

I'm an associate project engineer with the University of California, and a retired AF wiredawg (cable maintenance and EI). Here at the University, we treat OSP fiber in the same manner as we treat OSP copper. Our cable technician is responsible for the connection from the fiber enclosure in our Network Operations Center (NOC) to the Building Distribution Frame, the same way he is responsible from the field side of the copper MDF protector to the building entrance protector. He also maintains our plant-in-place cable records. Our NOC personnel is responsible for the fiber connections from the fiber enclosure at both ends of the cable to the network electronics. They are responsible for establishing a fiber connection from the switch in the NOC to the switch in the building (no matter how many cross-connects may exist). This responsibility also includes documenting all fibers in all OSP cables (fibers in-use and dark fibers) in every cable, and keeping these computerized records up to date. If the NOC cannot establish a working connection from end to end, and the problem appears to be in the OSP cable, then our cable technician will trouble-shoot and repair as required.

Okay were do we start cable guys bring the cable into the building terminate and walk away. This is why keeping good updated records will save you from issues like this cable maintains CSIR prints cable counts and things like that. As far as whatever comes out of the front of the box if this is a millitary job with GI's doing the work TECH CONTROL is in charge of that realm not cable guys we simply bring it to you set it up and every now and then splice it back together when contracters cut the damn thing!!!

Thanks so much for the information.

That was a good discussion. I wish we had more like these.

Mike, How many of us have ever heard this one from a contractor before? "But the cable wasnt marked! There were no flags and no paint there, it was 2 feet to the left!!" haha, (insert contractor blame here).