FROM THE INDUSTRY
and flexible enough to be understood by teams that are trained to execute a wide range of tasks. For example, providing tools which enable teams to work online and offline from anywhere, without interruption, or enable them to capture field data easily and accurately can make a notable impact to how they are able to support rural deployments. Operators such as Alncom have found this approach very fruitful for their business. Their team of designers and multiskilled field engineers use purpose built fibre network management software to streamline planning and construction processes, optimise rural fibre deployments, and operate in remote, offline locations with access to network data on mobile devices. Their technology strategy is tightly linked with the training and management of multiskilled office and field teams to ensure the network is implemented quickly and efficiently. As a result, their field engineers are able to connect homes and businesses with a single site visit. Underpinning operations with a robust digital strategy When it comes to bridging the rural connectivity divide, ensuring that teams are multi-skilled and that they have the right tools to support them are two incredibly important factors, but they should be considered as part of a broader digital strategy to truly be successful.
Prioritising connected systems, and one source of truth that is accessible from anywhere enables everyone within teams to have the same accurate view of a network, and also provides the foundation for more efficient processes. It is far easier and more effective for teams - especially multi-skilled teams - to use automated planning and design tools, or create new digital workflows for any network process if they have access to any information they need pertaining to the issue they are facing and are assured that it is accurate. With the nature of projects and efforts related to expanding connectivity in rural areas being unpredictable and often challenging, creating a digital strategy that prioritises this foundation at the core is key to ensuring that teams, and field workers specifically, are set-up for any outcome.
time, as many operators can’t afford to make multiple field visits. Some of the most resilient rural network operators are ensuring that their teams are hybrid workers rather than vertically specialised. This requires providing field workers with comprehensive training programmes from the start of their careers, and making sure that it involves upskilling across a broad set of areas. Working to build continual cross-collaboration between veteran team members and people newer to the industry creates a culture of knowledge sharing which means that everyone collectively learns from every experience, old and new, and is better equipped to deal with any task. Central to this is also supporting team members with tools that don’t require intensive training to understand and are easy-to-use from initial adoption.
Arming field crews for success
www.iqgeo.com
While building teams of multi-skilled workers is an important step, ensuring that they are set-up for success when they’re in the field is just as critical. Taking disconnected CAD drawings, spreadsheets, and other paper documents can be inefficient in an urban environment if a field worker goes to fix an issue and the information they have doesn’t help them with that particular problem. This scenario in a rural environment holds even more risk of time and effort being wasted. Teams must be supported by tools that are not only built with mobility at their core, but easy
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Volume 46 No.3 September 2024
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