Engineers Identify Collaboration as the Key to Successful Cable Installation

Construction projects, from infrastructure upgrades to new building constructions, are everywhere, with cable-in-conduit installation being a vital component. Whether underground for electrical or communications systems or within large commercial or industrial buildings, cable is essential for connecting the world.

With the surge in projects, challenges arise for planning engineers and installers who play key roles in ensuring safe, damage-free cable installation. Despite complexities like cable pull distance, conduit bends, and differing perspectives on what is possible with cable installation, both camps desire achieving the best outcomes.

To better understand this dynamic between planning engineers and installers, Polywater® sat down with a group of industry professionals to gather insights about the challenges they face surrounding cable-in-conduit installation. Some common themes emerged from the discussion. One subject in particular kept resurfacing throughout the various conversations: Collaboration is essential for success.

Essentially, as cable system designs grow in complexity, and the factors surrounding their installation become more demanding, tolerances for error tighten. The need for effective communication and teamwork among stakeholders has never been more paramount. This article identifies the challenges that planning engineers and installers encounter and how they can foster a collaborative environment to ensure the success of cable installation projects. The main challenge themes that were identified by the industry professionals we spoke with include:

• The complexity of modern cable installation projects
• The amount of new projects to meet demand for more power from the grid and access to reliable broadband
• Maintaining a consistent, ample workforce that is skilled and experienced
• Navigating the need to make earlier decisions on materials due to extended manufacturing lead times

The Complex Landscape of Modern Cable Systems

Installing cable into conduit today requires a different approach than it did 50 years ago. Over time, installation techniques and operational standards have evolved. While the basic idea of putting cable into conduit is the same, everything surrounding that process has advanced. The materials used for cable and conduit, pulling equipment, as well as engineered cable lubricants, have greatly improved the process of cable installation.

Today, industry professionals are taking the installation of cable over greater distances and with close to zero splices. They are trying to accomplish this with more efficiency due to shorter timelines and with a shortage of qualified labor. The focus is on finding better ways to do things while leveraging past experience.

Yet, the cable systems of today are far from straightforward. The integration of new installations into existing, often older infrastructure (brownfield projects), adds layers of complexity that demand careful planning and coordination. The intricacies of interfacing with existing systems requires precise calculations and considerations, with even minor errors potentially leading to significant issues.

Adding to this complexity is the increased use of “pre-built” systems, where components are fabricated off-site and assembled in the field. These systems leave little room for error, as tolerances are incredibly tight. A slight misalignment or miscalculation can cascade into larger problems, necessitating rework or adjustments that delay project timelines and increase costs. While engineering teams utilize powerful software to model the design of systems, there are realities that emerge from the field that can usurp any clear strategy for success.

This contrast between theory and reality places the achievement of optimal project outcomes squarely upon the dialogue between planning teams and construction teams. In most cases, this dialogue requires detailed communication and real-time problem solving throughout the project stages.

Meeting the Rising Demand of Technology

Technology, by design, grows economies and expands business capabilities. We are living in a unique era where there is no conceivable end to our technological advancements. Yet, the challenge lies in creating the infrastructure at the same pace to meet our increasing technological achievements.

During the height of the global pandemic, where people were implementing stay at home practices, significant numbers of the global workforce and students needed to work remotely. This required video-driven platforms for better communication, collaboration, and learning. Additionally, while people were confined to their homes, they sought a means for entertainment. This created more demand for emerging streaming video services and on-demand entertainment like massive multiplayer online gaming. All of this required an increase in power generation and the transmission of high-quality data. Utility and telecommunications companies are still at work today expanding their networks and grids to keep pace with these emergent demands.

Electrification and the AI Boom

Two other major technological trends have power utility and telecommunications companies, as well as the commercial, industrial, and transportation markets, under pressure to meet consumer demands: The boom of the electric vehicle market and the explosion of AI generated tools. Both trends add to the already swollen stresses for more power from the grid and access to reliable broadband.

Meeting demand has put into motion the construction of more data centers and electric vehicle charging stations. In some cases, these are all-new (greenfield) projects, but more often it is the case that these projects need to integrate with existing infrastructure. This adds complication to an already complex underground landscape.

“Right now, the scale and speed of mission-critical projects that we are working on is tremendous. With the AI boom we are looking at projects with 2 to 3 times the density and half the construction time frames,” states Joseph Kerfoot, Director for Engineering – Analytics for Rosendin Electric. “Just in the past six months, my demand from day to day has tripled. This is unusual.”

Because these projects often come with shorter lead times, necessitating swift and precise execution is imperative. “One of the challenges we are seeing with all of the data centers popping up is that people have decided they need more power. However, we can’t get a bigger feeder or double the footprint of the duct bank. The solution is to double or triple the voltage. So, we’re moving from 12.47 kV to 34.5 kV, 750KCMIL conductors. The result is that many of these engineers doing the initial designs on these medium voltage systems do not account for the jam ratio when moving to a cable with a thicker insulation and pulling them through existing 6-inch conduits. We then must go through the process of recalculating the pull plan and look at which direction to pull from so that we don’t end up with a potential jam or damage to the cable. Especially in the 90-degree bends,” explains Kerfoot.

When demand is high and timelines are shorter, speed and accuracy are crucial in determining the feasibility of the cable pull. Especially when resources are stretched thin. But this brings up another key challenge: Having enough qualified, skilled workers to fulfill mounting project workloads.

The Shifting Workforce and the Knowledge Gaps

When you consider major infrastructure project timelines, the duration of the design phase alone could last 2-3 years, while the construction phase could last about 5-10 years. These longer-timeframe projects are well-planned by means of human capital, with many voices and hands involved.

“It’s rare for anyone to stay on a project for 8-10 years,” remarked Brian, an electrical engineer at a company focused on transportation infrastructure design. “It’s also rare to have people stay at a company for that same time frame. So for many long duration projects, it’s unlikely the same engineer who works on the schematic design will also see it all the way through construction.”

Despite every effort for companies to maintain continuity across the timespan of a long-term construction project, communication and knowledge gaps are inevitable. This is especially true when there’s significant personnel turnover due to various reasons such as key members transitioning to a new job, workers retiring, or the reallocation of teams due to competing project timelines.

Long-term projects, especially those exceeding three years, often experience significant personnel turnover, leading to a loss of continuity and institutional knowledge. This can create gaps between the initial engineering design and the realities faced by installation teams in the field.

“There are a lot of gaps specifically around the knowledge of coefficient of friction (COF),” asserts Lindsay Taylor, Group Business Development Manager for TEN Group of Australia. “Everyone has a preconceived idea about COF. When I am talking with these (engineering) groups, it’s understanding that it is an extremely important component of the cable hauling (pulling) equation, and yet it’s the least understood part. Everyone knows how to do it, but sometimes people do not understand the intricate mechanics of that part of cable hauling. This is where everything really drives from. You can have the biggest winch and best drum stand but if you don’t understand the part in the middle about cable hauling (COF) then can’t maximize or get the best out of the cable installation,” explained Taylor.

Knowledge Gaps Can Be a Safety Hazard

Issues can sometimes occur when there is a disconnect between what the engineering team has calculated for the cable pull plan and how contractors or installers in the field interpret the plan.

“It doesn’t matter what planning we put in place back at the office if that planning doesn’t make it all the way out to the field and get executed,” says Tim Lacoste, the director of quality management for NGI National Constructors.

Engineers design systems with certain specifications in mind and run calculations to determine feasibility of the cable pull. If installers are not aligned with that plan, it opens up the possibility for safety to become a risk factor. The cable installations in these newer projects are often medium or high voltage heavy cable. The cable routes usually have multiple bends that add to tension. If the installation site is not properly rigged to support the tensions and forces for that installation, this can be problematic.

“We had an issue, some years back, where our pull plan and ISO (isometric) drawing did not make it to the field office for some reason,” adds Lacoste. “Basically, the field team moved forward with the pull like they would have years prior. We were running a new process at the time and the field team did not know about our new process for calculating the cable pull plan. What happened was that some rigging gave way. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and nothing was hurt. It was a near miss for us. The whole mistake was simply due to a communication loss. So, collaboration is absolutely crucial.”

The effects of these knowledge and communication gaps can be mitigated by maintaining a connective element that will help with project efficiency and minimize potential setbacks. One way this can be supported is with a software solution that provides multi-user access to a project plan. This can help with enhanced standards and practices for project and file management, as well as record keeping.

The Imperative of Early Material Decisions and Extended Lead Times

With the global supply chain challenges in a post-pandemic economy, manufacturing lead times for cables and related construction materials have lengthened. This is partially due to meeting pent-up demand during the pandemic but also due to the sharp increase of construction projects flooding the pipeline. This situation has forced project owners and distributors to make crucial material decisions much earlier in the project development process.

A change in process can have implications on the overall project but specifically impacts the design side of the equation. Design engineers, in some respects, are forced to put the cart before the horse, having to think through the specifics of conduit routes and their relationship to other structural components. This ultimately puts more pressure on engineering teams to accurately think through the feasibility of project components, like cable, much earlier so that owners can stake their claim on materials that need to be manufactured.

In some ways, this can be a blessing and not a curse, as it forces decisive decision making early in the project development stage and eliminates some potential unknown factors down the road.

A Path Forward: How New Tools Can Mitigate Challenges and Facilitate Collaboration

It’s clear that the complexity of modern cable-in-conduit installation projects demands a new approach to overcome the mounting pressures on engineering professionals and cable installers. This requires innovative tactics to challenge previous perceptions around i) the limitations of cable pulls, ii) what can and cannot be accomplished, iii) using tools and methods that provide data to make better, iv) more informed decisions, and v) tools that facilitate the desire for improved collaboration. One such tool that is used by engineering professionals and cable installers around the globe is the Polywater® Pull-Planner™ cable installation software.

Estimate Cable Pulling Tension, Sidewall Pressure, and Coefficient of Friction Faster

Prior to software solutions like the Pull-Planner, cable pulling calculations were done by hand. The Pull-Planner makes calculations of cable pulling tension and sidewall pressure around bends much faster and more accurately. It uses industry standards to calculate maximum pulling tension and conduit fill. Tension estimates are useful in designing conduit systems and planning cable pulls. Such planning can save time and money by minimizing splices, vaults, and pulling set-ups/rigging, etc., while ensuring installation tensions that will not damage cable.

“As engineers, we sometimes work with conservative rules of thumb which helps us locate preliminary pull points without calculating each and every pull point during each phase of the design process. So, I see us using the Polywater Pull-Planner in specific instances during preliminary design as well as during final design to limit pull points. You don’t want to have a manhole every 400 feet which might be a rule of thumb, you want to spread those out further. In terribly dense and complex underground infrastructure, like in New York City for example, the Pull-Planner can help influence design to make even longer cable pulls with multiple bends which help us eliminate any extraneous system components,” says Brian, electrical engineer.

Recently, Polywater has relaunched their Pull-Planner software under its latest iteration, 5.0. This all-new version retains all the reliable calculations on which industry professionals have relied but is entirely rebuilt from the ground up on a new powerful platform.

Pull-Planner is cloud based and is project focused. This means that a user can access the software from any device via a web browser, and project team members within a company can access the project and collaborate on pull calculations.

The Types of Collaboration Needed to Overcome Modern Cable Installation Challenges

Tools, such as the new Pull-Planner, facilitate better communication between engineers and installers. One way this occurs is by creating transparency of the actual field data. Initially, engineering teams can run calculations based on the default optimal condition settings within the software. Engineers can model the plan using the various inputs such as the materials of the cable jacket and conduit, the lubricant being used, the conduit segment lengths and orientations, the direction of the pull, etc. Using these inputs, they can output a report of the predicated tensions and sidewall pressures that can be shared with the network owner and installation team. Then, when the cable is being pulled, installers can record the data from dynamometers or tensiometers and share that information back to the engineering team once the pull is completed. These actual tension readings will allow back-calculation of the realized coefficient of friction (COF) from the field tensions.

“I would like to complete the communication loop by having our General Foreman provide us with the readings of what the actual pull (tension) measurements from the field were,” expresses Joseph Kerfoot. “The Polywater Pull-Planner gives us the opportunity to enter that data back into the pull plan and back-check or back-calculate to see what the difference is between our predicted calculations and the actual field data. This would help us optimize our designs, or potentially allow us to pull cable further and potentially eliminate extraneous vaults, if our actual field tensions were lower.”

In this way, collaboration means being transparent by sharing knowledge and data to improve the cable installation process and maximize potential for cable installation. Transparent collaboration fosters the creation of better predictive models of real field tensions and COFs.

The benefits of this type of collaboration are not limited to the design phase of the construction process. The Pull-Planner can provides visibility to all stakeholders on the value of real data and the importance of cable pull planning through a data-driven scientific approach. This translates into potential business advantages like speeding up the feasibility testing. Or the ability to make quicker, more informed decisions about equipment, rigging, materials, etc., which can positively impact safety of the cable and of installers. Or even give the company the confidence to be able to push the limits or distance of an installation—confidently knowing that cable tensions will be well below manufacturers limits. A company that can plan faster, with more accuracy, can maximize resources and do more with less.

“It goes beyond design and into the field of cable installation, so that customers are informed about the entire project,” declares Lindsay Taylor of TEN Group. “(Pull-Planner) is a piece of the puzzle that allows contractors to make better decisions for the project around equipment. It can, and it does.”

Conclusion

To overcome the major challenges surrounding cable-in-conduit installation, as identified by the industry professionals we spoke with, collaboration must be at the heart of the strategy. All parties—owners, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers—must employ tactics that facilitate clear communication across stakeholders of construction project. The implementation of software solutions, like the Polywater Pull-Planner, address this need and more. It fosters open collaboration that improves project planning and unlocks the pathway to predictive cable tensions. It also creates bridges between planners and installers and functions as a steward of continuity within companies when workforce changes occur within the duration of a project lifetime.

As the cable installation industry continues to evolve, the importance of collaboration cannot be overstated. Ultimately, collaboration is not just a strategy for success—it’s a necessity in an increasingly interconnected and complex world.

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