Services

Project Management

Our Project Managers average over 20+ years of experience in all facets of Broadband infrastructure and network design, implementation and construction. Each can provide the firsthand knowledge necessary to bring a project to successful completion through every phase; from initial concept to full turn-key implementation and testing. Project Management is “Key” when designing a project of any size. We offer a variety of services to keep client projects on track and to minimize any cost overruns and/or schedule delays. TDC2’s experienced staff will assist and oversee the project implementation to ensure that proper supervision, reporting, construction equipment and logistics management, licenses, safety procedures, consumable supplies, materials, and other incidental items that are required to complete the project in accordance with the provided contract documents or scope. Our staff is experienced with Rural Utility Service (RUS), National Electric Safety Code (NESC) and many other standards of construction. We cater to clients with a high demand for performance and provide a speed to market that most engineering companies can’t deliver by providing a diversified team to meet the highest quality expectations. We scale our efforts to meet our client’s most aggressive schedules without loss of quality or attention to detail. We also will provide daily and weekly reporting and will handle any issues with the project as they arise during the construction activities and most importantly track your bottom line. Our staff provides the level of professionalism required to effectively handle and customer or landowner complaints, modifications to the planned design, as well properly recording the facilities placement on redlines.

Outside Plant Design, Engineering, & Planning

We offer a full range of Outside Plant (OSP) Design, Engineering, and Planning services from initial design through completion of construction, contract closeout and as-built drawings of final records.
These services include:
o Initial Design & Feasibility Studies
o Overall Strategic Network Design & Long Term Planning
o Middle Mile Long Haul Fiber Routes
o Last Mile Fiber to the Home/Business/Cell site
o Migration from Copper to Fiber
o Building Entrance Links (BEL)
o Small Cell and Digital Antenna Systems (DAS)
o State and Local relocation projects (Highway, Bridge, etc.)

Field Staking, Public and Private Right-of-Way, Easements, and Permitting.

Our staff is experienced with field staking / field survey to RUS & DOT standards, utilizing survey grade Trimble field units. We carefully analyze the client expectations and the necessary permitting requirements and develop a pre-staking plan that is reviewed with our client prior to deploying our field teams to gather the route specific information that is necessary to prepare permit applications and create CADD construction drawings. We specialize in complex permitting environments including those within multi-jurisdictional areas, metropolitan areas with high levels of congestion, navigable waterways, protected areas such as National Forests and Wetlands, special access areas with strict Home Owner’s / Property Owner’s Association covenants, Gated Communities, Office Parks and many others. We carefully coordinate with our clients to ensure that our field staff presents the best possible appearance and professionalism as appropriate for each market. With our experienced team, we can tackle any size project and provide the quality and assurance to meet your most exacting requirements.

Environmental Studies & Compliance

There are often special circumstances associated with the placement of fiber optic cable. Whether it be navigating through National Forests or Wetlands, avoiding State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) sites, or accommodating protected plants and/or wildlife, we have staff with the expertise to review, research and provide environmental reporting as necessary to procure permits and obtain compliance with all local, state and federal authorities.

Computer Aided Design & Drafting (CADD)

With over a 120 years combined experience in Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD), TDC2’s CADD department utilizes Bentley (Microstation – MSJ & V8i), AutoDesk (AutoCAD Map), and Esri (ArcGIS) products, and the various formats used within each product. Our team of multidisciplinary drafters and designers have the ability to create:

o Route and profile drawings required for permitting with numerous government agencies
o Unitized construction drawings
o As-Built/As-Constructed record drawings
o Mapped Georeferenced/Geodatabase

To achieve all requirements, TDC2 works closely with our clients and any standards they may use to ensure a complete drawing product. If our client does not have internal standards, our in-house standards are utilized. Also, we are familiar with RUS standards. In addition to general drawings, we also have the ability for photogrammetry and LiDAR.

Business-As-Usual Engineering

TDC2 routinely works with our existing clients on recurring budget year business as usual type projects. We maintain records and knowledge of our client’s networks and bring value to short and long term planning activities to ensure that incremental network upgrades, modifications and expansions are done in a timely and cost efficient manner and leverage existing investments to the greatest and most practical extent. A sample of this type of work is below:

o Existing adds, moves or changes
o Cutover of live services
o Active & Passive Node addition and/or consolidation
o Fiber Route Extensions
o Technology Upgrades

OSP Construction

We maintain our own crews and numerous regional subcontractors who are all experienced with performing OSP construction services to RUS standards. We work closely with our clients to understand their route plans, budgets, priorities and timelines and then provide the proper quantity and mix of construction crews to meet, and often exceed, their needs. Our services include, but are not limited to the following:

o Full Service Aerial, Buried and Underground Cable and Conduit Placement
o Site Preparation, Ground Resistivity Testing, Installation of Power & Grounding Systems
o Installation of Active & Passive Cabinet, Hut and Pole Mounted Network Elements

OSP Field Inspection, Testing and Reporting

We offer full service field inspection of construction services and have on staff experienced Resident Engineers and Qualified Inspectors for each type of construction (aerial, buried or underground). We are very familiar with RUS quality standards and all associated progress reports, Contractor Units Placed (CUP) sheets, subcontractor forms and various reports. We provide daily and weekly reporting at the level desired by our clients via in-person meetings, conference calls and email progress updates. We carefully coordinate efforts between our staff, our client’s staff, as well as, any and all contractors to make sure progress is made as efficiently and cost effectively as possible, regardless of how many crews are operating simultaneously. We will handle any issues with the project as they arise during construction activities, and most importantly, we will track your bottom line. Our staff provides the level of professionalism required to effectively handle any conflicts with existing utilities, customer or landowner complaints, modifications to the planned design, and properly record the facilities placement on redlines and as-built drawings. We also are experienced with the various industry standard and RUS standard fiber testing procedures and provide these services as requested by our clients.

Pole Load Analysis (PLA)

• Using O-Calc software we analyze pole structures made of wood, steel, composite, or concrete to simulate various weather scenarios, including hurricane-force winds or winter ice storms to help pole owners understand which poles are at risk during extreme weather.
• We analyze the pole to see if it can withstand any new proposed attachments without overloading its capabilities and recommend what pole class is required to meet load requirements.

Circuit inspections

• Our inspection crews are trained to inspect the electrical grid for abnormalities and know how and what needs to be done to repair damaged equipment and conductors.
• We will coordinate with the owner and create an action priority list from highest level to lowest levels so the owner can easily assess and correct the issues.
• Visually inspect transformers for damage, leaking oil, improper installation, dangerous conditions, blown arrestors, heated up or discolored terminations.
• Visually inspect URD risers and conduits, terminators, lightning arrestors, and bond wire connections.
• Visually inspect conductors and reporting if there are any frayed or broken strands that need to be spliced or repaired. Verifying conductors are attached properly to insulators with preforms or tie wire.
• Checking for conductors that may have been touching during high winds that need to be re- sagged. Reporting any leaning poles that is causing excessive sag in the conductors and causing the primary phases to collide.
• Visually inspect and report tree interference within the electrical power grid.
• Use thermal imaging inspecting overhead electrical lines. We offer a superior inspection service including data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting. Proactive thermo-graphic inspections are a crucial component of a utility’s asset management program. They help identify and mitigate malfunctioning equipment and issues contributing to line loss before more major service interruptions occur. Utility asset managers understand that equipment failures and service interruptions are much more costly than having a preventive maintenance plan that includes proactive inspections. Over time, changes in weather, load characteristics, changes in materials, and overall equipment condition will put added strain on the most vulnerable points in the electrical system. The heat signature of failing components and equipment is easily observed with an infrared (IR) sensor yet are normally invisible to the naked eye. Thermo-graphic inspections are a cost-effective solution for utilities to fill the gaps left by visual-only inspections.
• Licensed drone operators to inspect pole tops and electrical equipment in inaccessible areas.
• Leave door hangers and notify customers that we need to schedule access for electrical grid inspection in or around private property.

Quality Assurance

• Evaluate the overall quality of work, including the correct installations, attention to detail, neatness, and proper construction techniques according to owner’s standards and requirements.
• Check the quality and condition of materials and components used on the project to identify any defects, damage, or discrepancies that do not align with the owner’s expectations.
• Ensure that the completed work adheres to the owner’s safety regulations, such as proper wiring, electrical safety measures, structural integrity, and NESC standards.

Storm damage assessment

• TDC2 takes safety seriously and takes precautions not to interfere with the owner’s power restoration procedures.
• Our inspectors are OHSA certified and have CPR training. We can easily transition from circuit inspectors to electrical damage assessment crews.
• Our crews consist of Linemen and inspection personnel trained in electrical safety. We are experienced in assessing electrical infrastructure after severe weather damages the electric power grid.
• We visually assess the damage from a safe distance using cameras and drones. We evaluate the damaged equipment involved, the location, and the time frame it would take to repair the site.
• We can use the owner’s maps or create our own maps using Google Earth that reflect the pole locations, transformers, conductors, down trees, or any other electrical apparatus that needs repairs.

Pole audits

• Regular 3–10-year pole inspections need to be carried out for every pole by a qualified inspector. (Lineman and personnel with electrical inspection experience).
• We visually inspect the pole’s hardware and conductors for damage.
• Report bond wires that are broken, damaged or missing.
• Check the poles for rotten around the base of the pole, sounding the pole with a hammer checking for decay. We take special interest in major road crossings, freeways, and highways.
• We check for communication cable violations, proper guying of cable strain, cable clearances from power, cable ground clearances following NESC and CNP regulations.
• Visually inspect dead end poles, anchors, guy wire and insulated guy strain conditions.
• We have licensed drone operators that can see top of poles for rotten or identify extensive damage caused by woodpeckers.
• Leave door hangers and notify customers that we need to schedule access for electrical grid inspection in or around private property.