Technical Sessions
Sunday, 29 September
PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINARS (choose one)
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
“Fundamentals of Passive Optical LAN” –
Two-day Seminar (Sunday and Monday)
Matt Miller – AECOM – Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Chad Hines – ITConnect Inc. –
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Thomas Ruvarac – Association for Passive
Optical LAN – New York, New York, USA
12 CECs This two-day seminar will provide an
overview of the value, architecture, design and
powering considerations for a passive optical LAN
technology. Specific focus will be given to system
components, benefits, design methodologies, power
survivability using AC and DC methods, planning and
commissioning of electronics, infrastructure testing,
and closeout package deliverables.
Please note: You must attend both days of the
“Fundamentals of Passive Optical LAN” seminar in
order to receive CECs for this pre-conference seminar.
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
“AV Like Paint by Numbers”
Eric J. Marshall, RCDD, NTS, TECH – E.R.I.C. Co
Low Voltage Services – Modesto, California, USA
6 CECs Just like paint by numbers you create a picture
using 4-5 colors placed in the correct areas. During
this seminar we will look at the 5 steps involved in
designing, installing and commissioning AV systems.
Additionally, we will do an interactive time and have
discussion about how to take a project from concept to
completion. Lastly, we will discuss how designers and
contractors can take their knowledge of IT and move
into the AV realm. Examples of specific systems will
be shared using generic blocks.
8:30 a.m.–noon
“Achieving Scale as a Technology Designer,
Integrator or Contractor”
Gene Conway, RCDD – Tricomm Services Corp. –
Moorestown, New Jersey, USA
3 CECs Technology contracting, design and integration
is labor intensive. As new opportunities present
themselves, owners interested in growth need to scale
up. This implies additional talent, support assets and
an associated increase in overhead cost. There is an
implied linear relationship between additional work
and additional resources. This seminar will present
attendees with a variety of strategies for leveraging
existing resources to achieve revenue scale without
requiring a linear match in overhead cost.
“Are You Ready to Deal With the Rapidly
Changing Demands of Today’s Modern
Data Center?”
Seán Adam – AFL – Westford,
Massachusetts, USA
Doug Baker – AFL – Duncan, South Carolina, USA
Lucas Mays – AFL – Duncan, South Carolina, USA
Maury Wood – AFL – Westford,
Massachusetts, USA
3 CECs 5G, WiFi6, Densification, Datafication, IoT
– beside being the buzz words of the day and in most
of the industry headlines we read, at the heart of all
of them is Today’s Modern Data Center. The driving
demand for data and speed translates directly into
a high-density, optically based infrastructure. And
with that comes challenges. From dealing with cables
that have 100s to 1000s of fibers, to ultra-dense
connectors, to splicing and interconnecting where
loss-budgets are increasingly tighter, understanding
what to choose and why and how to efficiently and
effectively install and maintain is key to success.
This seminar is focused on guiding you in choosing
the right optical cable infrastructure, managing the
volume of fibers and connectors, and achieving
the lowest attenuation through correct splicing,
cleaning and inspection practices.
1–4:30 p.m.
“Infrastructure-Grade PoE – Strategies for
a Trouble-Free PoE Installation for 2020
and Beyond”
Dr. George Zimmerman – CME Consulting, Inc. –
Manhattan Beach, California, USA
Jason Potterf – Cisco – Austin, Texas, USA
3 CECs Are you concerned about installing the new
PoE standards? Is PoE getting harder or easier to
install in the 2020 NEC? Do you wonder how to
recognize standards-compliant PoE devices? Will
I get burned by cable heating? This seminar, from
leaders in the PoE applications and standardization
world, will explore PoE from its origins to the
latest high-power PoE. Attendees will learn how
to recognize standards-compliant PoE devices and
with examples from the real world, they will learn
approaches to help keep installations simple,
inspectable and to the latest in the NEC.
“Automating Infrastructure Documentation
with Microsoft Visio”
David Cuthbertson – Square Mile Systems –
Poulton, Gloucestershire – United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
3 CECs So much money and time is wasted
because it is often normal practice to reverse
engineer existing infrastructure as there is no
trusted documentation. These site surveys,
workshops and audits are repeated because any
gathered data is often out of date the day after – so
even more wasted effort! As most have a limited
understanding of what common tools such as
Visio can do out of the box - the opportunity for
individual and team productivity improvement is
huge with just a few hours of awareness. In this
presentation we’ll cover practical steps and tips
on how to get out of spread sheet chaos and
diagram overload, using a combination of
standardization, processes and Visio automation
techniques. Examples will cover cabling, floor plans,
racks, networks, storage and others. The issues
we’ll cover will impact infrastructure planning,
proposals, project build documentation, capacity
management, fault finding, risk management
and change control/audit.
Monday, 30 September
PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINARS
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
“Fundamentals of Passive Optical LAN” –
Day 2 of 2 (See Sunday Day 1 of 2 for details)
8:30 a.m. – noon
“How to Insure Reliable, High QoE Video-
Streaming Applications in LANs”
Russ Gundrum – Telecom Problem Solvers, LLC –
Kingwood, Texas, USA
3 CECs There is important, new information concerning
the issues affecting the performance and reliability of
high-speed ICT wireline networks, especially with video
streaming applications. You need to know what
can make them not work so well and be able to quickly
identify and correct potential IPTV service-
affecting problems. Attendees will learn how certain
mysterious things can occur to cause malfunctions to
critical network circuit operations and even equipment
damages. A breakthrough computer networking
technology will be discussed as the solution you’ve
always wanted, instead of thinking that optical fiber
cables are the only way to achieve successful results.
“Fiber’s Role in Smart Buildings – Considera-
tions for Deployment and Testing”
Jim Davis – Fluke Networks –
Everett, Washington, USA
Rodney Casteel, RCDD, DCDC, NTS, OSP –
CommScope – Shakopee, Minnesota, USA
Rob Gilberti – AFL – Duncan, South Carolina, USA
Romain Tursi – EXFO – Quebec, Quebec, Canada
Tyler Vander Ploeg, RCDD – VIAVI Solutions –
Bothell, Washington, USA
3 CECs An extremely interesting presentation team
made up of four leading test equipment manufacturers
and the Chair of the FOTC. During this seminar the
FOTC will examine the role of fiber for Smart Building
automation to support applications such as IoT, 5G and
edge data centers. We will look at fiber and connector
choices as well as testing considerations. This seminar
offers a mix of panel style discussion and small group
activities providing an opportunity for discussion.
“Eliminating the Confusion from Seismic Codes
and Standards Plus Design and Installation
Instruction”
Daniel Duggan – nVent CADDY –
Solon, Ohio, USA
Olivier Braquet – nVent CADDY –
Solon, Ohio, USA
3 CECs This seminar will focus on the earthquake
protection requirements of laws, codes and standards
in the U.S. and internationally for telecommunications
equipment with the goal of demonstrating their
relationship, to correct misunderstandings about these
requirements, while concentrating on the actual written
requirements. Among the U.S. legal and code requirements
to be discussed are: The Earthquake Hazards
Reduction Act, including Public Laws and Executive
Orders, Federal Agencies (FEMA/NIST) charged with
Visit bicsi.org/fall for full conference schedule and details.
/fall