Guidance note
NR/GN/TEL/30139
The Survey And Design Of Telecoms Cable And Route
Issue 1, 06 March 2010 · Cable route, survey & installation
Clause map — what each clause deals with
| 1 | Purpose | Guidance for surveying and designing telecoms cables and cable routes |
| 2 | Scope | What the guidance covers and who it is aimed at (principal contractor / project) |
| 3 | Definitions | Definitions and abbreviations (ATEH, BOP, GRC/GRP, SCT, UTX and so on) |
| 4 | Tools for Cable Route Survey | The kit a cable route surveyor should carry — measuring wheel, mandrel, gas detector, CAT scanner and so on |
| 5.1 | Survey | What the surveyor is expected to know and capture |
| 5.2 | Use of Survey Packages | Using approved video/track-survey packages instead of walking everything |
| 6 | Key Cable and Route Survey Aspects | The checklist of things to look at on a cable route survey — the section juniors should read first |
| 6.1 | AC Area | Surveying in AC areas — screening conductor and earth farms |
| 6.2 | Asbestos Cable Route | Asbestos cable route — what to do |
| 6.3 | Assessment of Concrete Troughing Damage | Assessing damaged concrete troughing and when it is replaced |
| 6.4 | Ballast Boards | Ballast boards — where to record them |
| 6.5 | Buried Troughing Route | Buried troughing route — why it is not reused and what to record |
| 6.6.1 | Light Coverage of Ballast or Vegetation | Light ballast/vegetation cover — lid tilting |
| 6.6.2 | Ballast Clearance | Classifying ballast clearance per metre |
| 6.6.3 | Vegetation Clearance | Classifying vegetation clearance per metre |
| 6.8 | Concrete Bases | Concrete bases for distribution cabinets and BOPs |
| 6.9 | Copper Cables | What to record when surveying copper cables, including length allowances |
| 6.10.1 | Under Road Crossings / Level Crossings | Under-road and level crossing ducts — assessing and renewing |
| 6.10.2 | Farm Crossings | Farm crossings |
| 6.10.3 | Under Track Crossing | Under-track crossings — checking existing UTX capacity, S-type UTXs, boring new ones |
| 6.10.4 | Foot Crossing Routes Including Hard Surfaced and Through Yard | Foot crossings, hard-surface and yard walkway routes |
| 6.11 | Deployment of DBS | DBS (direct buried) — withdrawn and not to be used |
| 6.12 | Deployment of DI-SAC | DI-SAC treated as a form of cable route — survey implications |
| 6.13 | Earthing for Lineside Cabinets | Earthing for lineside cabinets with active equipment |
| 6.14 | Earth Systems | Recording existing and proposed earth farms |
| 6.15 | Electrification | Recording the electrification type across the site |
| 6.16 | Equipment Rooms and Buildings | Surveying equipment rooms and buildings — manholes and duct capacity |
| 6.17 | Building Entry Point and Duct Seals | Building entry points and duct seals |
| 6.18 | Elevated Cable Route | Elevated cable route on walls and parapets |
| 6.19 | Fragile Cables | Known fragile cables — care when lifting lids |
| 6.21 | Joint Bays | Joint bays — siting outside the main route, closures |
| 6.22 | Lift and Re-lay or Re-alignment of Route | When a route is lifted and re-laid |
| 6.23 | Re-alignment of Route | Re-alignment without lifting |
| 6.24.1 | Surveying and Checking | Surveying manholes safely and what to check |
| 6.25 | New Cable Routes | When a new parallel route beats renovating the old one |
| 6.26 | Obsolete Cable Routes | Route types classed as obsolete |
| 6.27 | Optical Fibre | What to record when surveying optical fibre cables |
| 6.28 | Parallelism | Parallelism with feeders and grid lines — extra screening |
| 6.29 | Red / Green Zone Working | Red/green zone working and possession needs |
| 6.30 | Restricted Working | Surveying restricted areas — tunnels and cuttings — and recording the work needed inside them |
| 6.31 | Retaining Walls | When a retaining wall is needed for a manhole |
| 6.32 | Roads and Street Work Act | Street works and the NRSWA implications |
| 6.33 | Rodding Duct Routes | Rodding and proving duct routes |
| 6.34 | Route Obstructions | Recording route obstructions |
| 6.35 | Route Transitions | Route transitions between route types |
| 6.36 | Route Through Stations (Ducts) | Routes through station platforms — duct occupancy |
| 6.37 | Surplus, Scrap Material, Recovery and Disposal | Scrap and surplus — measuring and recording |
| 6.38 | T-Pieces | Where T-pieces are needed |
| 6.39 | Troughing Lids | Troughing lids — what defects to record |
| 6.40 | Troughing Route Support | Route support on slopes |
| 7.1 | General | What a design submission must be — the general rules |
| 7.2 | Content | The minimum contents list of a cable/route design submission |
| 7.3 | Title Page | Title page contents |
| 7.4 | Contents Page | Contents page |
| 7.6 | Design Assumptions | Design assumptions section |
| 7.7 | Location Maps and GPS Coordinates | Location maps and GPS coordinates |
| 7.8.2 | Signalling Infrastructure | Signalling infrastructure to show |
| 7.8.3 | Electrification Infrastructure | Electrification infrastructure to show |
| 7.8.4 | Existing Telecoms Infrastructure | Existing telecoms infrastructure to show |
| 7.8.5 | Existing or Proposed FTN & GSM-R Infrastructure (where applicable) | FTN and GSM-R infrastructure to show — nodes, BTS, joints, sheath gaps, UTXs |
| 7.8.6 | Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous items — grid lines, roads, chainage |
| 7.9 | Transmission Design Information (where applicable) | Transmission design information |
| 7.10 | PDR and Engineering Clearance (where applicable) | PDR and engineering clearance |
| 7.11 | Design Concessions (Non-compliancy and Derogation) | Design concessions — non-compliance and derogation |
| 7.12 | Survey Notes | Survey notes section |
| 7.13 | Photographs | Photographs section |
| 7.14 | Bill of Quantities | Bill of quantities — free issue vs contractor supply |
| 7.15 | Copper Details | Copper details — the schedules required |
| 7.15.1 | Copper Cable Schedule that identifies for each length of copper | Copper cable schedule — what each length must show |
| 7.16 | Fibre Cable Details | Fibre cable details — the main cable schedule |
| 7.17 | Fibre Splice Diagram | Fibre splice diagram — what it must show |
| 7.18 | Screening Conductor Details | Screening conductor schedule |
| 7.19 | Physical Diversity Requirements | Physical diversity diagrams per node |
| 7.20 | Structural Schedule | Structural schedule — walls, platforms |
| 7.22 | Designer's Risk Assessments | Designer's risk assessments |
| 7.23 | Tunnel Information (Cable Provision) | Tunnel information proforma — what the design submission must record for each tunnel (length, bores, existing route, cable provision) |
| Appendix A | Joint Bay Arrangements | Joint bay arrangement drawings |
| Appendix B | Example of Route Support (Previously | Example route support (ex DR/FTN(D&D)/052) |
| Appendix D | Tunnel Information | Tunnel information proforma |