Fluke Networks introduces cloud-based cable certification

Fluke Networks has announced LinkWare Live, the first cloud-based service that enables contractors, cable installers and project managers using the Versiv family of certification testers to upload, manage, and analyse certification test results from cabling projects. LinkWare Live is free and available to all Versiv customers.

Source: Fluke Networks.

The service addresses a manual, error-prone results management process. Certification test results are stored in tester devices that frequently travel from one job site to another. These job sites can be far away from one another, as well as from headquarters, where the testers must be returned in order for the results to be analysed. Should the memory cards in the testers be erased by accident or fail, several days’ worth of work may have to be repeated, leading to costly transport costs, lowered profit margins and delayed payment.

According to recent Fluke Networks surveys of more than 1,000 cable installers (who had collectively installed approximately 1 million links in the previous month), poor test results management creates a significant drag on productivity and profitability:

· Eighty-three percent reported having one or more test results management issues in the month prior to the survey

· The average time contractors spent dealing with test result issues in a single month was 15.2 hours—nearly two full workdays, not including the hours required to get the test results back to the office for analysing and reporting

· Half of the respondents said it would be beneficial to access project status information from any location

LinkWare Live works with DSX-5000, OptiFiber Pro, and CertiFiber Pro certification testers to optimise project management by providing real-time access to testing results. By uploading tests to LinkWare Live regularly, project managers can save trips solely to collect results, prevent data loss and continuously track project progress. LinkWare Live also automatically organises test results by job, eliminating the painstaking task of manually combining files from multiple testers.

Using LinkWare Live, contractors can achieve greater project profitability; increase the potential for more project wins; and use its unique analytics and benchmarking to improve installation, certification and troubleshooting efforts out in the field.

“Our primary objective is to increase contractor profitability by helping streamline workflows,” said Jason Wilbur, VP and GM, Datacom Installation business unit at Fluke Networks. “LinkWare Live is the next step in the evolution of cable testing and certification, offering the industry’s first ‘anywhere, anytime’ visibility, ensuring every project is done right – the first time, on time.”