Ken's Korner

The latest TIA Standard for Telecommunications Bonding and Grounding (TIA-607-D) was released in July 2019. After a quick review there appears to be only a few revisions to the standard as it relates to bonding components and design requirements for telecommunications equipment ground bonding. Following are some areas where minor revisions were made: 6.3.5 Sizing the Secondary Bonding Conductor (SBC...

Data Center Frontier shared a paper by Sunbird Software - 7 Best Practices for Simplifying Data Center Cable Management. The paper is presenting the benefits of utilizing a DCIM system in a data center, and while the paper is a quick and easy read, some of the pro tips caught my attention especially as it relates to power distribution cables...

We're Not Playing Reverse Roulette I read an article that described the process of pursuing cost savings by substituting cheaper product components as a form of reverse roulette. When you play regular roulette, you know how much you are spending (the cost to play the game), but your winnings are unknown. In reverse roulette, you know how much you’ll win...

You'd think that all copper wire is created the same. Right? Wrong! Recently our regular source for a less common gauge wire used in special applications couldn't meet the quantity needed for a new project, forcing us to buy wire from a secondary source. While the new wire met all the requirements to be considered an adequate substitute, it was...

Improving Data Center Performance and The Need for Ground Bonding Telecommunications Equipment Itascapoint Advisory Services is a professional services firm specializing in data center and cloud technologies. It was hired to design a pair of data centers for a large financial institution that had been experiencing equipment failure and performance problems. Itascapoint performed an evaluation and found that inconsistent ground bonding...

"Thermoplastic insulation may stiffen at temperatures lower than -10°C (+14° F). NEC 402.3" Wire manufacturers recommend exercising caution when unspooling wire in freezing temperatures. Because copper wire memory is more prevalent in colder temperatures, installing cables when the temperature is too cold can damage the conductors PVC jacket during installation. Following are a few thoughts on preparing branch circuit power...

“Do what you do best, and outsource the rest” --Peter F. Drucker Outsourcing:  A practice used to reduce costs by transferring portions of work to outside suppliers rather than completing it internally. The goal of outsourcing is to: Lower costs Increase innovation Support increased demand Contribute to efficiency Maintain a skilled workforce.   The advantages of outsourcing are: Less staffing...

“The process of construction continues to evolve.  We simply couldn’t have achieved the deadline without prefabrication. The results are real, and it was, without a doubt, a major contributor to the success of this project. Prefabrication made construction faster, safer and more predictable.” Maja Rosenquist, vice president and general manager Mortenson Construction.   What are some of the benefits of...

I was getting caught up on the news when I came across the following two articles. What do they have in common? Recycling and fraud. 5 Indicted in Alleged $80 Million California Recycling Fraud KC, Blue Springs Men Indicted in $388,000 Scrap Metal Scheme Semi filled with empty cans The first article dealt with a California recycling firm that was...

“The greatest threat we’re facing is the race for talent.” That was the topic of discussion at the most recent Data Center World Conference.  Joe Kava, Google’s VP of Data Centers addressed the reality of an older homogeneous workforce that was approaching retirement age. Many of the people who build and operate data centers are skilled trade workers, and as...