I don’t think we disagree that much here. The fundamental part is that people have to know how to use it (and then do so).
If the person who understands the spreadsheet system leaves, now someone has to figure that out. Spreadsheets are basically free form entry so the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th person to come along and do something different than the 1st person did. I may not want to send every splicer for Vetro’s training, but I have the option. If the person who understood the spreadsheets is gone, then we have to reverse engineer whatever the heck that person was doing. The one feature on a spreadsheet that might sell it for me is that you can put comments and notes on any cell, so if something is ever weird or unclear you could type up an explanation as a sticky note that pops up when you click the cell. I wish every piece of software would let you do that. From: Chuck McCown <ch...@go-mtc.com> Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2022 1:34 PM To: dmmoff...@gmail.com; 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' <af@af.afmug.com>; 'Josh Luthman' <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Splice Documentation The fancy expensive software looks nice, but it is a bear to learn and keep up in my experience. You have to have someone get the training and then when they leave the company nobody knows how to use it. I have been through this several times. If you can get the record maint being done by the splicers then it works and splicers can easily learn spreadsheet documentation. But do you really want to send your splicers to Mapcom for a week to learn the system? From: dmmoff...@gmail.com <mailto:dmmoff...@gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, July 7, 2022 11:31 AM To: 'AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group' ; 'Josh Luthman' Cc: 'Chuck McCown' Subject: RE: [AFMUG] Splice Documentation Whatever you do works best if the people know how to use it and keep it up to date. There are definitely people paying for fiber mapping software who then only have partial data in it which they then mingle with institutional memory and personal knowledge, which is only slightly better than no documentation. I guess the problem I see with a spreadsheet specifically is that the person filling in the data has to know what to put in, and the person reading it has to know what all of your notations mean. When I tried the spreadsheet method as a complete noob it was had to know exactly how to structure it and what I should put in the cells. If you buy the software then someone else has built the scaffolding for you. The trick then is getting everyone to put the data in and keep it up to date. And to be clear, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the spreadsheet method, I’m saying it probably works for you because you have practice at it, and maybe you’re building upon a history of working with paper cable books in a 3-ring binder. For a complete neophyte, it might be just as well to learn a software package. -Adam From: AF <af-boun...@af.afmug.com <mailto:af-boun...@af.afmug.com> > On Behalf Of Chuck McCown via AF Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2022 10:25 AM To: Josh Luthman <j...@imaginenetworksllc.com <mailto:j...@imaginenetworksllc.com> >; AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <af@af.afmug.com <mailto:af@af.afmug.com> > Cc: Chuck McCown <ch...@go-mtc.com <mailto:ch...@go-mtc.com> > Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Splice Documentation I can document a case in an email: 144 Route 0 1-48 -> 1-48 Route C 144 Route 0 49-60 –> 1-12 Route D 144 Route 0 61-132 0-> 1-72 Route B 144 Route 0 133-144 –> 1-12 Route A From: Josh Luthman Sent: Thursday, July 7, 2022 8:14 AM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Cc: Chuck McCown Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Splice Documentation That doesn't tell you how to do a case at all? On Wed, Jul 6, 2022 at 5:38 PM Chuck McCown via AF <af@af.afmug.com <mailto:af@af.afmug.com> > wrote: Here is a page from mine. I have a patch panel in my Central office connected to my 576 strand cable. Kinda the MDF in copper telecom terminology. Strand 397 on the patch panel and of the 576 strand cable is spliced to strand 253 of my 432 strand cable at my 00 hand hole. (can’t see the 00 on this sheet) Then it runs down the road on the SR36 route to the Canyon Road hand hole. In that handhole there is a splitter connected to strand 253 of the 432. The 32nd output of that splitter is connected to the 32nd strand of the Canyon Road 48 strand cable and serves a customer named Ben Garrard. And I can tell you all of this detail by just a glance at this single page of my cable book. And it is free... From: Jason McKemie Sent: Wednesday, July 6, 2022 1:18 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: [AFMUG] Splice Documentation Revisiting this. I've been trying to find something besides spreadsheets to document splices / splice cases, but cannot find anything that isn't an all-inclusive package with a matching monthly fee. Does anyone know of anything out there that works for this? I've been trying to use spreadsheets, but find them extraordinarily cumbersome. I'm starting to think some graphing paper and a pencil might be the only option. I don't really need mapping, but something that involves mapping/GIS/splice documentation may be useful as well. Thanks. _____ -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com <mailto:AF@af.afmug.com> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com -- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com <mailto:AF@af.afmug.com> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
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