On Fiber Optic Communications

Eight Questions for Choosing Fiber Installation Training

-A Guide to Maximum Return From Your Training Investment

Eric R. Pearson, CFOS/T/C/S/I

President

Pearson Technologies

Introduction

Fiber optic communication products are complex and subtle. Because of these characteristics, training is essential for successful installation and use. In addition, installation training is a cost-effective investment, since the properly-chosen training program will more than pay for itself in three aspects: reduced material and labor costs and in improved reliability.

Three frequent comments from trainees support this view of cost effectiveness: ”we wish had attended a training program before we used fiber”; they were certain that “all the important questions were not asked prior to installing fiber”; and “we could have saved money by attending a training program prior to using fiber”. In one case, a client stated: “this training cost was lower than that of hiring an outside installation firm.”

To maximize your return from a training investment, we present eight questions (Table 1) and answers.

Table 1: Eight Questions

1. What Specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Do I Need?

2. What Depth of Training Do I Need?

3. How Much Hands-On Training Do I Need and How Long Will the Training Be?

4. Does the Trainer Have Significant Experience?

5. Do I Receive Detailed Notes/Documentation of the Program?

6. What is the Equipment to Student Ratio?

7. What are the Options for Choosing a Training Organization?

8. What is the Structure of the Program?

Question 1: what specific knowledge, skills, abilities do I need?

This answer is relatively simple: your activities after training determine the specific training you choose. After all, those activities are the reason for training. Fiber installation includes the activities in Table 2.

Table 2: Fiber Installation Activities

Cable installation

Cable end preparation

Splicing

Connector installation

Connector inspection And evaluation

Insertion loss testing

OTDR testing

Determination of acceptance values

I suggest one addition: if you are to install connectors, include splicing in the training. Requiring splicing may not be obvious. However, splice training is necessary, as ‘splice on’ connectors (SOCs) are preferred over connectors that require field polishing. Three factors result in this preference: reduced optical power loss; increased yield (or percent good); and reduced total installed cost.

Each of these activities in Table 1 requires different knowledge, skills, abilities, equipment, operating procedures, and sensitivities. By matching your intended activities to those in programs under consideration, you maximize your benefit from training.

Question 2: What level of knowledge, skills, and abilities do I need?

To answer this question, consider the cost of technicians having insufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). In my experience, technicians with insufficient KSAs have consistently significantly increased in total installed cost. Avoidance of increased cost due to insufficient KSAs leads you to choose one of three levels of training: introductory, advanced, and certification. I present a brief description of the benefits of each level.

In introductory programs, technicians begin to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in various activities (Table 2) required to successfully install a fiber system. ‘Successfully’ means achieving the three goals of installation: low optical power loss, low installation cost, and high reliability.

In advanced training programs, technicians spend one to three days focused on a developing advanced KSAs in a reduced number of activities. Advanced KSAs enable technicians to perform installation with minimal supervision, the first of two advantages.

A second advantage is reduced installation cost. The purpose of advanced training is ‘moving the technician up the learning curve’ through repetitions. ‘Climbing the learning curve’ under the guidance of an experienced trainer is less expensive, and less frustrating, than doing so during field installation, otherwise known as on-the-job (OJT) training.

Repetitions have four benefits: development of automatic installation actions, known as ‘muscle memory’ in the military; improved consistency of completing the installation steps; increased reliability of installed fiber; and rapid recognition and correction of causes of deficient results. During advanced connector, testing, and splicing training, I have observed trainees achieving yields of 95-100%, the level at which professional installers operate.

When advanced training includes certification, technicians spend two to five days per set of activities developing advanced KSAs, the first of six benefits. Five additional benefits are: KSAs that include subtleties; mastery of the KSAs included in certification examinations; ability to perform installation with minimal or no supervision; reduction in installation times; and capability to train other installers.

Managers and supervisors receive a sixth benefit: increased confidence in the technician’s KSAs. Certification, such as that from the Fiber Optic Association (FOA), represents independent confirmation that the technician has achieved the KSAs deemed essential by the Association’s examination developers, who have several hundred man-years of experience. The Fiber Optic Association states:

“The FOA is an international non-profit educational association that is chartered to promote professionalism in fiber optics through education, certification and standards…FOA certifications are recognized by the US Department of Labor and in most countries around the world…The goal of the FOA is to assure employers that an FOA-certified technician is highly qualified for working in the field of fiber optics; someone you can hire with confidence.”

Developing KSAs always has a cost, which can be significant. Question 2 translates to: how do you choose to incur the cost of KSA development? From highest to lowest installation cost, the answer is within this spectrum: no training in advance, OJT basic training, basic certification, advanced training, advanced certification. Your answer to this question “how do you choose” determines the level of KSAs you select.

Question 3: How much hands-on training do I need and how long will the training be?

The answer to amount of hands-on training depends upon four factors: existing skills of the technician; amount of supervision after training; future training to be performed by the technician; and amount of hands-on time during training. I present the benefits of increased hands-on training.

A technician who has reasonable dexterity and ability to learn will benefit from the hands-on activities in basic training. From the hands-on activities in advanced training, the technician increases the depth of his KSAs, ‘climbs the learning curve’, avoids errors, and reduces total installation cost through such avoidance.

If there will be minimal supervision after training, or if the supervisor of the technician has limited KSAs in fiber installation, advanced hands-on training will increase the supervisor’s confidence in the technician.

If the technician is to train other technicians, advanced training with advanced certification develops the KSAs to provide the comprehensive training essential to successful installation by other technicians.

As is obvious, increased program length increases development of KSAs. While it might be desirable to include increased lecture and hands-on activities in reduced time, there is a limit to how much trainees can absorb and retain. Above this limit, which I call “saturation,” retention reduces. In addition, increased KSA development requires repetition, which both takes time and increases retention.

Observations/Recommendations

Based on the considerations in this question, 31 years of training and more than 500 deliveries, we have learned that development of KSAs is achievable with the following hands-on percentages and program durations (Table 3). This table contains our recommended answers to Question 3.

Table 3: Fiber Installation Program Durations and Hands-On Percentages

Program	FiberPro™ 1	FiberPro™ 2	FiberPro™ 3	FiberPro™ 4	FiberPro™ 8
Focus =	Introduction	Connectors	Testing	Field Splicing	PON design & Installation
Develop Basic KSAs
Develop Advanced KSAs					Splicing & Testing
% hands-on	50-70	80	80	85	70
Duration	28 hours	14 hours	21 hours	28 hours	40
With Certification	35 hours	21 hours	28 hours	35 hours	48-56
Certification(s)	CFOT	CFOS/C	CFOS/T	CFOS/S	CFOT, CFOS/H, CFOS/S, CFOS/T

Question 4: does the instructor have significant experience?

The short version of the answer is: trainees will not learn professional KSAs from a trainer who is a dilettante or novice in either installation or training: trainees benefit most from an instructor who has significant experience in both. The first type of experience is in the activities in which he is training (i.e. connector installation, splicing, testing). His extensive experience in hands-on activities develops an understanding of how and at what steps errors occur. With this understanding, he presents instructions to include both precise instructions and explanation of the consequences of failing to follow the instructions.

The second type of experience is in training. From significant training experience, a trainer develops the ability to present material concisely and clearly so that almost everyone understands. In addition, such a trainer knows how to include in his presentation, the answers to the most-common questions. Such inclusion results in logical flow of information and instructions.

The answer to Question 4 is not fixed. Your choice of training results from a comparison of the answers to this question from the training organizations being considered.

Question 5: Do I receive detailed notes?

Trainees benefit from detailed program notes In three ways: retention of the training concepts and procedures; use of notes by others in the organization, when they are unable to attend training prior to field activities; improved comprehension during training. With extensive notes technicians experience improved comprehension by sitting back, relaxing, and focusing on understanding instead of taking notes to capture the information. In fiber, this a significant benefit, since much of the information will be completely new to most technicians. The answer to Question 5 is not fixed. Your choice of training results from a comparison of the answers to this question from the training organizations being considered.

Question 6: What is the equipment to student ratio?

For installation training, the percentage of time spent in hands-on activities is important. More important is the actual time trainees spend in training. Maximizing time spent in hands-on training requires minimizing time waiting for shared equipment.

31 years of training and over 500 deliveries has taught us that the following equipment description achieves the goal of KSA development. Each trainee has the individual tools he needs. Pairs of trainees share tools that can be shared without waiting more than a minute or two. When the team approach improves the learning activity, teams of 2 to 4 use the same tools without waiting. Figures 1 and 2 present two examples of training tools supplied. The answer to Question 6 is not fixed. Your choice of training results from a comparison of the answers to this question from the training organizations being considered.


No-Polish Connector Tools Supplied	Polish Connector Tools Supplied

Question 7: What Type of Training Organization Should I Choose?

Training organizations can be organized into one of three types:

· Manufacturers and distributors of fiber products

· Fiber optic consulting, training, and installation organizations

· Marketers of training programs for various technologies

Each of these types has advantages.

Type 1: Manufacturer & Distributor Training

The primary motivation of manufacturers and distributors is to promote their products. This motivation may mean that the training cost can be less than that from other organization types. Manufacturers and distributors create training programs around their products. This is to be expected and is advantageous, if you intend to standardize on these products. A second advantage is that the instructions for use of such products will be well developed and will work when followed. If you expect to use products from various manufacturers, training provided by manufacturers or distributors may be too narrowly focused to be of long-term value.

Type 2: Consulting, Installation, and Training Organizations

Training from such organizations has four advantages: generic training applicable to a range of products; comparisons of products; increased depth of field and training experience; training that includes improvements to the procedures developed manufacturers and/or tools recommended by manufacturers.

Type 3: Training Marketing Organizations

Training offered by organizations that market training, such as University of Maryland, and Global Knowledge Networks, can be as valuable as the previous two types. The most important factor is the experience of the trainer. In order to obtain the most for your training investment, carefully review the experience of the trainer. The greater the depth and breadth of the trainer’s experience, the more successful and effective the training will be.

Depending on the answers to the eight questions in this article, any one of these three types of organizations can provide training appropriate to your requirements. The answer to Question 7 is not fixed. Your choice of training results from a comparison of the answers to this question from the training organizations being considered.

Question 8: How is the Program Designed?

In addition to the previous seven questions, you can ask a set of questions about the program design. These questions are designed to reveal how the program design supports the goal of developing KSAs and certification, if certification is one of the goals.

Table 4: Questions on Program Design

How much of time is hands-on training?

What is the structure of the program?

What is the strategy of program design?

How does design maximize development of KSAs?

How do the notes maximize development of KSAs?

Who will benefit from training?

What are the prerequisites?

Can the program be customized?

The answer to Question 8 is not fixed. Your choice of training results from a comparison of the answers to this question from the training organizations being considered.

In Conclusion

Choosing a fiber optic training program is not extremely complicated. Neither is it as simple as choosing fresh fruit. By listening carefully to the answers to these eight questions and comparing those answers from the organizations being considered, you identify a training organization and program that best-suits your needs and provides the highest return for your investment!

This is a shortened version of a detailed article on this subject. The full article will be available at: www.ptnowire.com/free_resources.html.

Pearson Technologies Inc. incorporates the benefits described herein in its training programs. Mr. Eric R. Pearson is President of Pearson Technologies (www.ptnowire.com), a fiber optic specialist with 41 years of providing practical, hands-on, training, consulting, and technical support to attorneys and insurance companies. The Fiber Optic Association has approved Pearson Technologies to provide both basic and advanced certification.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,