What Is the Current Status of Air Pressure Management?

Over the years there have been a number of changes in the management of air pressure systems. In order to be successful today, air pressure managers need to know the quality of the cable pressurization system and what it costs to maintain that particular level of quality. With this information they can make intelligent decisions regarding where to dispatch technicians and, just as importantly, where not to dispatch them.

Keeping track of the labor hours spent on cable maintenance per sheath mile of cable is a key cost analysis control. It may take some effort initially to obtain sheath mileage data, but once this information is known maintenance tasks can be evaluated to determine labor hour efficiency. When this information is compared with a rating of the quality of the system, effective management decisions can be made.

How Is Monitoring Being Improved ?

New instrumentation and computer programs, such as the PressureMAP Management Analysis Program, have simplified cable maintenance and given management much greater control over dispatching and labor hours. This software program obtains monitoring device data from office monitors, analyzes it, and provides valuable management and maintenance reports.

One of PressureMAP's most valuable tools is its "high five" report. In the past managers would have to manually pour over pages and pages of monitoring system printouts each morning in order to determine where to dispatch technicians. PressureMAP eliminates this function by carefully analyzing pressure and flow conditions and prioritizing the five most important leak locating tasks in each office. This capability frees up management time and eliminates the stress and confusion of "on-the-spot" dispatching.

PressureMAP also provides an early warning alarm system wherein damaged cable problems can be detected before conductors get wet. Alarms are received from office monitors, evaluated to determine if they need immediate response, automatically verified if determined to be of alarm status, and distributed to assigned centers or personnel for immediate response. This type of reactive capability is a vast improvement from the monitoring systems of old, where an alarm status represented a drop below or a step above a programmed device threshold.

PressureMAP's System Quality Index (SQI) uses pressure readings and air flow rates per sheath mile of cable to provide an accurate measurement of the status of a system—both by office and by route. The standard SQI rating is between 80 and 85. Indexes above the optimum represent excessive maintenance ("goldplating"). Low indexes are the result of one or more factors: too few labor hours being spent in an office/route, inadequate/inaccurate engineering, poor dispatching, and/or a lack of proper leak locating skills.

But what's even more important for today's telephone operations is the software's proactive capabilities. Not only does PressureMAP identify system-threatening conditions and dispatch technicians accordingly, it also offers the tools to systematically improve the cable pressurization system. This proactive function helps eliminate expensive after-hour alarm response time and makes it possible to schedule key maintenance activities. To use an earlier analogy, this is the difference between making needed repairs to your roof at your convenience, or having to do the work in the pouring rain.

Summary

The reasons behind cable pressurization are basically easy to understand. The primary goal of pressurization is to protect the cables from water damage and keep cable pressures above the minimum standards established for the various cable environments. When cable pressure is low, it's typically the result of low delivery pressure or actual cable leaks.

Monitoring devices in the central office and field help make it possible to identify both types of problems and determine the cause of low cable pressure. In the case of cable leaks, air flow analysis makes it possible to prioritize which leaks are doing the most damage to the system. With a knowledge of Optimum Air Usage, you can easily distinguish between a good flow and a bad flow. And once you know this, air flow leak locating techniques can be used to help locate the large, system-damaging leaks.

Air pressure design is an important factor in the success of an air pressure operation. Certain designs, such as dual feed, offer better cable protection than others. An air pipe system is one of the best means for providing dual feed protection to cables, but it is not cost effective for every type of air pressure operation. For this reason, there are alternative dual feed design systems available which provide many of the same protection and monitoring capabilities of the more expensive systems.

Improvements in air pressure monitoring have made it easier to analyze system conditions and perform important management and maintenance functions. These software programs offer greater tools and controls for today's cable pressurization managers and maintenance technicians. They emphasize a proactive approach to cable maintenance while, at the same time, providing superior alarming and dispatching capabilities.

Cable pressurization is an important part of today's telephone operations. The technology being used in this field has evolved rapidly in the past decade, and improvements are continually being made. For more information on basic cable pressurization, system design components, proactive maintenance and alarming, please contact System Studies Incorporated (email:sales@airtalk.com; phone: 800-247-8255 or 831-475-5777).