INTERSTATE ELECTRICAL COMPLETES FIBER OPTIC CABLING PROJECT FOR HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

Interstate Electrical Services Corp. recently completed the installation of fourteen 72/72/24 composite fiber optic cables linking all 14 buildings on the Harvard Business School campus. The fast-paced project was completed in response to HBS's goal of upgrading their campus information technology network to best in class. The network initiative is part of a large scale infrastructure improvement program designed to provide advanced computer network services to students, faculty and staff of the HBS, and to provide systems redundancy to the entire campus.

The five-month, $775,000 project was completed in April, with most of the most intricate construction work taking place while school was in session. Coordination between Interstate’s Network Systems Group and the Harvard Business School staff was essential to successful completion. Sensitive issues relating to noise, dust and construction safety were addressed by scheduling after-hours work, so as not to disrupt the school schedule or inconvenience students.

Jim Brochu, Assistant Director of Facilities Operations for HBS, stated that the project had the potential for incredible disruption of the day-to-day activities at the Harvard Business School. "Interstate did a great job in understanding their role in doing what they had to do as discreetly as possible. It was an incredible task done very professionally. It was great to work with them," stated Jim Brochu, "It was a very smooth project."

Referred to internally at HBS as "Campus Wide Fiber Optic Cabling Backbone and Pathways", the project is a major upgrade to re-link and re-connect the buildings on campus, creating a new network hub that was formerly located in the Baker Library. The cabling provides a "loop" in the communications system forming a ring around the campus. The new network configuration will allow maximum flexibility for changes and expansion in network communications as needed. "The utilities and services at the Harvard Business School cannot fail," said Brochu. "These infrastructure improvements provide back-up so that services to students and faculty remain constant."

Interstate Network Systems laid a total of 16,000 feet of fiber. Three different fibers co-exist under the cable sheath, each type serving a different type of transmission. All fiber optic terminations are fusion spliced; the process results in a higher system capacity than traditional mechanical splicing. Interstate also installed 5,000 feet of four-inch EMT pipe, and 49,000 feet of 1.25-inch inner duct. The majority of the cabling was installed underground in an existing tunnel and manhole system.

In addition to serving as electrical contractor, Interstate was also the general contractor for the project, and managed project schedule, estimating, budget and labor, as well as completing all the coring, cutting, patching, and painting required. Despite the sensitive coordination and timing issues involved, the project was completed successfully within schedule and budget.

"Keeping everything up and running throughout the installation of all this new equipment was the outcome most important to the Harvard Business School staff," said Marc Trabucco, design & sales engineer for Interstate Network Systems. “We worked closely with Harvard’s facilities staff and kept them informed every step of the way, and that kind of team thinking made all the difference in the final result,” he concluded.

Contact:
Marc Trabucco
Interstate Electrical Services Corporation
Phone: (978) 947-8133
mtrabucco@interelec.com