Why is it important to have high installation standards?

As a leading solution and service provider in IT and networking here in New Zealand, NEC New Zealand’s Field Services team are committed to quality, reliability, and value.

At the heart of what we do are high installation standards.

Working with a wide range of customers, from major telecommunications providers to consumers, we pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality when it comes to our installation standards.

Supported by our Project Management Team and Technical Assistance Service Centre (TASC), we deliver 24/7 fault and emergency response services from Kerikeri to Invercargill.

But why are high installation standards so important?

We spoke to Alan Goodfellow​, Field Services Operations Manager here at NEC New Zealand to get the lowdown.

How to deliver high installation standards

With over 20 years in the Field Services sector, Alan knows a thing or two about delivering high installation standards.

When we caught up with Alan, he was clear about the key basic ingredient for delivering high installation standards, “Underpinning everything you require to deliver high installation standards is quality. Whether that’s the materials or the workmanship, investing in high quality will save you money over time.”

But what else do businesses need to focus on?

Installation

Whilst it seems like the obvious thing to say, following strict installation processes is important if you wish to maintain high standards.

“it’s important to follow manufacturer guidelines”, says Alan. “Every manufacturer does things in a slightly different way so it’s important to pay attention to the guidelines to avoid any problems later down the line.”

These problems can include incorrect earth connections which will cause issues with all the equipment being installed.

According to Alan, there are other basic rules that should be followed as well, “All equipment being installed needs to be earthquake proof, no matter where it is being installed.” In addition, make sure you are following best practices when it comes to the installation of fibre cables, “Using cable ties on fibre cables will compress the cables. Velcro should always be used.”

NEC New Zealand has a robust training programme in place for all Field Service Engineers and Alan oversees the programme to ensure NEC New Zealand continues to deliver the highest possible standards of installation throughout the country. A big part of the training programme is about teaching new team members about the expectation levels at NEC, “Cleanliness is important. As our engineers go about their work, it’s important to keep the space clean and tidy so there is no contamination of existing equipment.”

Maintenance

As well as installation of IT and networking infrastructure, NEC New Zealand is also responsible for the maintenance of equipment for some of New Zealand’s largest organisations including Spark NZ, Skinny, NZ Post, and NZ Police.

High installation standards are crucial when it comes to the ongoing maintenance of ICT and networking equipment, “It’s crucial that access points are kept clear during the installation process and throughout the lifetime of the equipment,” says Alan.

“Routine maintenance is part of parcel of any installation job and it’s important that we not only make the maintenance work as straight forward as possible, but that we also reduce the amount of maintenance required.”

When equipment is installed correctly, maintenance routines can be followed as per the manufacturer recommendations, “Dust filters can become problematic when equipment is installed incorrectly and require changing on a more frequent basis. Following installation guidelines can really help to reduce the impact on the equipment and make the maintenance much more straight forward.”

Environment

When carrying out any installation task, it’s important to consider and understand the environment. One of the major issues when installing ICT and networking equipment is overheating. When high installation standards are not maintained, this can lead to major issues.

“Part of our in-house training programme focusses on understanding the installation environment. Every situation presents a different environment, however it’s our job to install the equipment in such a way that airflow is at its optimum.”

Alan goes on to say that when done to a high standard, “the equipment is cooled, and the output is not heating other equipment.”

Faults

Inevitably faults do happen. Even when high installation standards are in place, no installation is infallible to faults. The key to maintaining a high installation standard is ensuring that faulty equipment is easy to swap out, “It’s important that equipment has no obstructions to the hardware,” says Alan.

Another key element of high-quality installation is the simple process of labelling. All equipment and cables should be individually labelled, “Some installers don’t label the equipment which can be the cause of delays when it comes to fault finding and can lead to outages if the wrong cable is removed.”

As part of their training, all Field Service Engineers are required to carry out detailed labelling of equipment and cables, making it much easier to identify and fix faults that occur.

Records

It’s important to keep an up-to-date record of all installations, maintenance work and fault fixing. That way, it makes future installations less problematic and ensures that future growth is easy to achieve.

“When records are not kept up-to-date, it can cause delays in fault resolution,” says Alan. “We want to set a benchmark for other contractors to follow and up-to-date record keeping is an essential part of us delivering high installation standards which hopefully encourages other contractors to follow suit.”

“We don’t just want to meet industry standards. We aspire to exceed them. The same goes for customer expectations.”

Why NEC?

NEC supply, install and maintain technology for large New Zealand organisations requiring critical-performance ICT infrastructure. NEC Field Services support the delivery of solutions in planning, design, and installation of a range of telecommunication, network, biometric and ICT services. Supported by NEC’s TASC team, available 24/7 fault and emergency response service, NEC Field Services can be deployed to most rural areas of New Zealand, as well as all main centres.

NEC’s Project Management Office together with our Service Delivery Managers, enable end to end solutions with the engagement of NEC’s Field Services. NEC’s expertise in both legacy and the latest network equipment provides both the experience and capability required to tackle any project.

If you would like to talk to one of the team today, fill out our contact form and one of the team will be in touch.