The Fraser Health Authority IT team requested upgraded network switches to bring the room into compliance with their current standards. The room provided voice and network connectivity for surgical theaters, recovery areas, and associated offices therefore any downtime would have to be minimized and carefully planned. Backbone fibre optic cables, which fed three other communication rooms in the building, were terminated in this room.

The SBDL-01A closet, located in the surgical wing of Surrey Memorial Hospital was out of space. Four racks, arranged in a “U” configuration, contained network switches & patch panels, telephone panels, and diagnostic imaging network equipment. Most of the patch panels were “low density” meaning that 16 cables terminated in each 3U (5.25”) panel, using a large amount of rack “real estate”. Although there was some documentation on site, there were 3 different labeling schemes and a number of misidentified or unidentified cables.

Solution:

• AxisTechl Services started with a complete audit of the room, locating both ends of every cable and documenting all connections in a master spreadsheet
• The existing racks were moved to provide room for a Gigabix field (wall terminations) and a new rack
• New network switches were installed and wired to the Gigabix field
• PBX (voice) connections were reconfigured to allow for migration to the Gigabix field
• A schedule was created so that six horizontal (workstation) cables at a time could be migrated to the Gigabix field
• Affected users were notified before each (six cable) cutover
• Every connection was tested for C5E compliance, labeled and checked for correct operation before moving onto the next set of six
• During a planned major outage the backbone fiber optic cables were consolidated into new Belden fiber manager cartridges, labeled according to FHA standards, and reconnected
• The new Gigagix wall field now accommodates 864 cables and the single rack is at half capacity with adequate room for another rack
• Project was completed in three months