How To Reduce Labor Costs On Every Fire Alarm Project And Beyond … Guaranteed!

Is the wiring phase of your fire alarm installation killing your overall profit margin? Do your service technicians spend more time tracing out wires than they should?

If you answered yes to either one of these questions, then it’s all about to change for the better, but only if you follow this advice…

Every year new technological advances are made in our industry. Fire alarm systems just keep getting better. Cutting-edge, high-tech developments in firmware and windows-based programming software make it a snap these days to get a fire alarm system up and running in record time.

But what about one of the least respected areas of the installation; the wiring process?

What’s so important about the wiring/cabling process?
… After all, fire alarm cable installation is pretty basic, right?

Well, yes and no.

Please allow me to explain …

Although most commercial fire alarm cable contains many of the same elements, such as copper and fire-rated plenum jackets, there are significant differences in cable when it comes to usability and ease of installation.

So, rather than get into all the technical aspects of fire alarm cable components, we are going to address the wiring installation process. How the cable is distributed and the best methods utilized on fire alarm projects.

The “Set Up”
Something that needs to be taken into consideration is “how” installation personnel administer the wire. What we are talking about are the “tools” one uses in order to transport, stage, identify, and run the wire.

If you’ve been in this industry long enough, you’ve probably witnessed some really strange contraptions.

You’ve seen some desperate installers using everything from broom handles (ran between chairs), to conduit ran through milk crates, to rebar tied to grocery shopping carts… you name it.

It’s very funny (but sad) to see installers use such set-ups and get-ups. If asked, most will tell you, “hey, it works and besides, this is all I have to work with!”

In cases such as this, the alarm company is trying desperately to save money by not providing the necessary equipment and tools needed to help the installer on the project.

Bad move!

What they fail to understand is how much more productive their personnel would be if they only provided the “tools” available that will cut their setup time down to around fifty percent (or more).

These tools we’re referring to are called “labor-saving” tools or “labor-saving devices”.

The primary purpose of using labor-saving tools is so one can expedite work in a more efficient and timely manner. Because these tools help us use less exertion and are created for specific, intended purposes, they also have a tendency to be safer alternatives.

If your company’s goal is to get a job wired quickly and efficiently (without trading speed for safety), then labor-saving tools are the way to go.

Transporting cable from the work vehicle to the installation set up area
If you ask your installers, “how many rolls of wire can you carry from your truck to the set up area”, they will tell you one or two (maybe three), at best. Each thousand foot roll of 16 gauge wire weighs approximately 30-35 pounds and a roll of 14 gauge wire (on a wooden spool) can weight up to 45 pounds.

If wire-runs of five or six separate cables are required, this means your installer will have to make 3 trips to-and-from the work vehicle “before” he can set everything up for the wire pull.

Depending on how far the vehicle is parked from the job site this can take 20-30 minutes. That’s 20-30 minutes of valuable time wasted before even one strand of cable is pulled. If he or she has a helper on the job, you can cut this time in half, but this is still a big waste of time.

Once the wire is on site and in the proper location, your installer still has to set everything up. This is another 5-10 minutes gone by.

If you count the amount of time it takes an installer from the vehicle to the work area (and after taking a five minute break from all the strenuous leg work, it can add up to forty minutes (or more) “before” the process of running the wire takes place.

Depending on how much cable is left at the end of the day, the installer has to do this process all over again when he leaves the job site.

But there is a solution - a better way.

What if I told you that an installer could simply walk from his truck to the installation area and have everything already set up, staged and ready to go?

Is this possible?

Absolutely!

It’s called a “transportable rack system”
A transportable rack system is a dolly or hand-cart that is created to not only carry the cable, but it also supports the cable while it is being distributed at the job site. This is not only a great labor-saving tool, but a money-saver, as well.

Just imagine the money your company will save when your installer puts all of his energy into actually “installing” instead of being a delivery/set up person.

Color coding: Identifying fire alarm cable the easy way
Color-coded fire alarm cable is a great way of identifying different circuits. On some of our older projects we have used various colors for different circuits. Red would be used for slc (data/detection loop) circuits, blue for fire alarm speakers, green for indicating appliances (strobes and horns), violet for 24 volt power sources, etc.

Utilizing color-coded wires is a great way of identification, but more and more engineering/job specs require that fire alarm companies use red as their primary color so an installing company doesn’t accidentally match the colors of another (IT, telephone, and security) company’s cable.

It makes a lot of sense!

So what does one do in a situation such as this?

We found that you can still use red for your cable and still “color identify” your wires. This is done by using custom made cable that has a small pin stripe down the side of the cable.

These stripes come in a variety of different colors and can even be custom-tailored to meet your demands or the specifications of a particular fire alarm installation application.

Now, if your job specs allow, you can still use solid colors; just make sure you check your specs before ordering cable for the installation.

System-specific labeling for multi-tasking
Here’s another scenario for you. What if your company is multi-tasking? In other words, What if you are assigned to not only install the fire alarm system, but also installing the security cameras, access control and telephones all on the same project?

Here’s what you can do…

Have your cable labeled with the “system type” it is used for. The terminology for this labeling is called “System Specific Labeling”. Rather than run a string and make multiple pulls on the same run, simply pull the cable once and move on to the next area. While time is running out for other trades on the job, you’ll be way ahead of the game when using this method.

Sequential wire measurement markings
Another cost-saver is in knowing how much wire one has left on a spool.

When an installer begins to get low on wire, he or she has a tendency to grab a fresh spool rather than begin pulling the remainder because (as you know), fire and electrical codes require that you must make splices in a junction box.  Installing a junction box and creating new splices can be quite time-consuming, so most installers do their best to avoid this at all costs.

So what happens when your installer has left-over cable setting on the spool? Most times the he will either throw it in the dumpster or he keeps it and resells it as scrap metal. In a nutshell, this means that even more valuable profits are lost on the project.

When you have wire measurements listed on the jacket, your installer knows “exactly” how many feet are left on the spool of wire. There’s no guessing (or walking the wire out and rolling it back on onto the spool). It’s all been done for you by the wire/cable distributor.

FYI -  The markings are called “sequential foot markings”, so use this terminology when placing your order.

Let’s take this a step further…

If your cable manufacturer or distributor is up to snuff, they will have what is called ascending/descending sequential foot markings.

This means that one can tell how much wire has been already used or how much is left, either way.

In other words, if you have a one thousand foot roll and you’ve used eight hundred forty three feet, you should see a marking that reads 843/157, which means you have one hundred fifty seven feet left on the spool.

No math involved, no guessing. It’s all written out for you on the cable jacket.

I could go on for days on the advancements made for the cabling industry, but rather than do that, how about if I just give you our source for wiring and cable.

Would this be something your company might be interested in? And what if I told you that this source can provide you with everything I’ve mentioned and more?

If so, then you need to call Carolyn Marsh at Windy City Wire. You can visit Windy City’s website online if you’d like, but make sure you get set up through Carlyn Marsh before ordering.

Carolyn will get you the best deals and if you’re serious about having larger profit margins with your low-voltage installation business, she’ll even send you free samples of cable. When ordering make sure you mention that you heard about “Windy City Wire Cable &Technology Products” from this Houston Fire Safety’s website. She’ll know exactly what to do.

Here’s her telephone number: 1-800-379-1191 ext.  2861

Do yourself a huge favor and call Carolyn right now while you’re thinking about it.

Would you like to see some of these products in action or need more information not covered on this web post? Go to Windy City, take a look at their SmartWire Cable Management System, and watch some of their informative videos.

If you’re a smart and savvy business owner or purchasing agent, you’re going to get excited at the realization on how much money you’ll be saving your company.

Don’t just take my word for it … go see this innovative technology for yourself.

Oh, by the way, just in case you’re wondering, I don’t make a penny from endorsing Windy City.