Hire structured-cabling technicians

Cable puller, technician, or lead

A pulling crew needs routes, materials, labels, and someone directing the work. A termination technician needs experience with the cable and hardware in your package. A test technician needs to explain the results and deal with failures. A lead needs to plan those assignments and check the work before reporting completion.

Titles such as Cable Tech I, II, and III mean different things at different companies. Put the independent duties beside the title. Don't make applicants guess whether “Tech II” means terminating outlets or running a crew.

Include the buildings and work conditions. An office fit-out, school retrofit, and operating data center bring different access and scheduling problems. For the last of those, use the data-center cabling guide.

Copper test reports and cable labels

Ask the candidate to walk through a redacted copper test report and cable schedule. Which work did they do? How did they keep cable identifiers, outlets, patch-panel ports, and results in agreement?

Give them a failed or misidentified result in a fictional package. Ask what they'd investigate and how the correction would be recorded. Find out whether they can interpret the test or have only collected files for someone else to review.

For a pulling hire, ask about route changes, labels, and reporting damaged or missing materials. For fiber work, assess the assigned splicing and test duties separately.

Cabling foremen and crew planning

How many people did they direct? How did they divide areas and know which were ready for termination or tests? What did they do when pathways were incomplete or another trade still occupied the work area?

Ask how progress reached the project manager. Completed outlets, failed tests, and open questions are useful information. Reporting only how many people were on site doesn't tell the office when the package will finish.

Credentials and company training

If your contract requires a BICSI installer credential, state the credential and verify it. Ask about the work the person has performed with it. A credential, a technician level, and a foreman assignment aren't interchangeable.

Describe the training and supervision available for someone moving from pulling to termination or testing. Be clear about what they must already handle on the first assignment.

Cabling duties and working terms

Include cable types, pathways, termination and test duties, buildings, reporting location, lead, crew size, tools, pay range, benefits, start time, night work, duration, and travel expenses.

Post the cabling opening. Design, estimating, and project responsibility have separate guides for telecom designers, low-voltage estimators, and project managers.