DEPARTMENT: OPERATION & MAINTENANCE / FAULT MANAGEMENT TEAM

THE PROBLEM:

When outages are reported to a telecom operator’s support center, quick and effective action is crucial, especially for priority customers (such as hospitals) or business customers with strict service-level agreements (SLAs). In order to resolve network errors efficiently, back-office and field technicians must operate at peak efficiency. This requires reliable support from network systems in order to help them perform their tasks swiftly.

Fault management begins with a thorough network analysis in order to understand the issue at hand. Tools such as GIS views, up-to-date schematics, and splicing diagrams are essential, as fault resolution often occurs at the fiber-port level. Unfortunately, most fiber management systems cannot provide a complete, up-to-date view at this level. As a result, teams often juggle multiple systems and datasets, which complicates their work and increases response times.

HOW DFG iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ SOLVES THE PROBLEM:

iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ addresses these challenges by offering a comprehensive, real-time view of the network at the fiber-port level, integrating both physical and logical network inventories. Each strand and light-path is color-coded based on its service occupancy, making it easier to prioritize repairs. For example, when a fault occurs in a splice closure, iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ helps determine which fiber paths need immediate attention and which can be addressed later without affecting critical customers. The schematic content from DFG’s iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ is dynamically linked to corresponding network elements in the GIS view, reducing the time and effort required to inform and deploy field crews.

In the iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ application, users begin by selecting the affected network segment from the GIS view. DFG iNTERACTIVE SCHEMATICS™ then generates an interactive, color-coded schematic reflecting service occupancy and fault details. By clicking on network elements, such as splices or ports, users can view connections and prioritize repairs based on service impact. This streamlined view enables fault management teams to quickly assess issues and prepare instructions for field crews, reducing response times and minimizing service disruptions.

“Addressing this problem was crucial because resolving faults quickly and accurately is critical for telecom operators, especially when high-priority customers rely on their services. Fault management teams were struggling to navigate multiple systems in order to understand network issues, slowing down response times and impacting service quality. We eliminated this complexity by providing a unified, real-time view of the network, allowing technicians to make informed decisions faster.”

“Previously, we had to interact with multiple systems—using a GIS portal, CAD drawings for schematics and splicing diagrams, and a separate database for service data. Now, everything is integrated into a single view, and the interactivity is a game-changer. An up-to-date splicing diagram is created immediately for the selected cable object, from the customer’s premises to the central office. With occupancy data labelled on the fibers, field technicians can prioritize repairs more effectively.”

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS AND BENEFITS:

• A reduction in customer downtime resulting in improved service SLAs;
• Increased customer retention;
• Resource optimization due to more accurate records and a reduction in repair time;
• Reliable priority-setting for critical customers, such as hospitals, police, and airports;
• Cost-savings through fewer false or falsely prioritized crew deployments.