Qwest Communications - CenturyLink



COE Installation Quality Bulletin

Installation Quality Bulletin Number: 06-01

To: All Installation Suppliers / Design Engineering Representatives / Quality Managers / Field Engineering Representatives / Central Office Operations Representatives

Date: Friday, February 03, 2006

From: QWEST Installation Quality Assurance

Subject: Central Office Fire Prevention Policy Review

Action Required:

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Description of Bulletin:

The purpose of this Quality Bulletin is to reiterate to all Qwest-approved installation Service Suppliers and internal groups of the proper adherence to standards and the appropriate process steps required to prevent fire hazards in the central office environment.

TP 77350 Iss. M Chapter 2, Par. 2.6 Fire Protection Policy

This Policy shall be reviewed in it’s entirety with respect to the Central Office Operations and Installation Supplier’s adherence to the following:

1. Central Office Operations (COO) shall maintain a zero or near-zero level of combustible materials in the Central Office equipment areas.

2. Combustible materials may be brought into the equipment areas only when necessary to perform work and will be removed from the area when the work is completed. Manuals, papers, computer printouts, drawings, circuit pack boxes, plastic parts bags or any other combustible material must not be stored or left in or around equipment. These items must be stored in metal cabinets, desks or lockers when not in use. Refer to Exhibit 1.

3. Nothing shall be placed on top of a unit of equipment to interfere with the airflow necessary for the cooling of that equipment.

4. All doors in an equipment room shall be kept closed at all times. Fire doors and internal security doors shall not be blocked open or have lock assemblies impeded or disabled.

5. COO personnel shall empty open trash receptacles located in an equipment area daily. Note: If this requirement is not followed by the COO the service supplier shall notify their local quality manager representative. Only closed metal trash receptacles are located in an equipment area. Refer to Exhibit 2.

6. All desks, work areas and computer workstations located in equipment areas shall be kept free of combustible materials. The best solution is to locate work areas outside of equipment rooms or to build a separate room for them. If this is not possible, the combustibles must be controlled. Manuals and other combustibles should be kept in closed metal cabinets. Circuit packs must be kept in anti-static packaging at all times and stored in closed metal lockers or cabinets. Refer to Exhibit 3.

2.6.2 Installation Activities

1. The Service Supplier shall maintain a near-zero level of combustible material in the Central Office Equipment areas during installation or removal activities. All equipment brought onto Qwest property shall be identified with the job BVAPP number, CLEC Billing Authority Number (BAN), Supplier name and a contact number for the Supplier.

2. Cardboard boxes and wooden crates containing equipment frames or units, or boxes of cable shall not be stored or staged in equipment areas. These items should be delivered to, stored, staged and uncrated or unpacked in a storage room separate from Central Office equipment areas. Items needed for daily work may be brought into the equipment rooms and shall be removed each day. If no storage room exists in the building, it may be necessary for the Service Supplier, Local Network Operations and Pack-n-Hold to arrange temporary storage outside of the Central Office building for uncrating and unpacking. No uncrating or unpacking shall be done in equipment areas at any time. Refer to Exhibit 4.

3. If no alternative area exists, uncrated bays or units of equipment (anti-static wrap may be left in place if required), uncrated cables, boxed circuit packs, boxes of numerous small miscellaneous parts or similar items needed for daily operation, may be stored in equipment rooms if all of the following criteria are met: Refer to Exhibit 5.

a. There is absolutely no alternative area or room in the building that can be used.

b. All items shall be placed on fire retardant floor protection (masonite).

c. Combustibles are kept to an absolute minimum and all flammables and trash shall be removed on a daily basis and maintained in this manner for the entire cycle of the job. As boxes are opened, the contents are to be removed, all packaging materials, plastic, bags, paper, etc. must be disposed of daily.

d. Area is not adjacent to heating units, registers or radiators.

e. Area does not create a safety hazard or block access to exits, doors, light switches or any other areas that need to remain accessible to personnel.

f. Area is maintained to the minimum size necessary for daily operation.

g. Small items are stored in closed metal, fire retardant, or plastic containers, or mobile “parts carts”.

h. All items will be removed from this area when no longer needed.

i. Small quantities of solvents and paints for use on the job shall be properly stored in their original, labeled containers.

j. This storage area is posted with a readable sign identifying the job BVAPP number, Supplier name and a contact number for the Supplier.

k. At no time shall flammable materials be staged or stored in Battery Rooms. Refer to Exhibit 6.

l. The use of fire retardant tarps to cover staged materials is not approved for use in Qwest Equipment Space without written permission of Qwest Risk Management. Note: This will only be granted on a case by case basis.

4. The storage area, the amount and the type of items stored and the duration of storage shall be addressed in the initial "General/Detailed" Method Of Procedure (MOP) for the job and approved at the discretion of the COO. The COO shall consider the risks involved as well as the costs associated with alternatives prior to approval.

5. The administrative area to be used by a Service Supplier shall be agreed upon with the COO and addressed in the "General/Detailed" MOP. This area should be located out of the equipment area if possible, with similar requirements as the equipment storage area. Documentation, drawings and other combustible administrative items needed for daily use must be removed from equipment areas daily or stored in metal containers.

2.6.2.6 This policy applies only to the time that the Service Supplier is actively performing work related to the specific job. If the Service Supplier temporarily closes down work for more than 48 hours while waiting for parts, to perform more critical work on another job or for any other reason, the storage and administrative areas must be cleared of all combustible material until work is restarted. The only exception to this requirement shall be if the supplier has approval from the COO facility manager. The supplier shall then record the agreement period in the job log (date, time etc.) (Also see Chapter 15, Para.15.2.2 for extended work delays of greater than 30 days.).

2.6.2.7 The COO personnel responsible for a Central Office shall report all violations of Qwest combustible policy to their management, and have the responsibility to shut down a job in progress if the Service Supplier does not comply. When the Supplier is again in compliance, the work may be restarted. If for any reason the COO shuts down a job do to this requirement they shall report that situation to the appropriate quality manager for that area.

2.6.2.8 During the acceptance of a job, the COO shall assure that the Service Supplier has left the area free of combustibles and has closed all cable holes. (refer to TP 77350 Chapter 4).

2.6.2.9 Adherence to this policy will allow the Service Supplier to perform work efficiently and maintain cost effectiveness while not placing Qwest at undue risk to the safety hazards, economic and service penalties associated with fires in the Central Office. The lack of adherence to this policy would necessitate a review of the Service Supplier’s contract for Central Office Installation work. It is the Service Supplier’s responsibility to adhere to this policy. If such an occurrence was to happen, the quality manager for that area shall be notified.

To assist the Service Supplier in complying with TP 77350, listed below is additional clarification of industry terminology provided by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) regarding the telecommunications facilities environment.and the proper handiling of combustible materials within that environment:

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National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

NFPA 76 Standard for the Fire Protection of Telecommunications Facilities (2005 Edition

3.4.12 Telecommunications Equipment Area. The area or enclosed room of a

telecommunications facility that contains telecommunications equipment.

3.6.8 Telecommunications Equipment. The wire, cable, and electrical/electronic equipment including signal-processing equipment, cable entrance equipment, power equipment, main distribution frame equipment, and standby engine equipment.

6.8.8 Limitation of Combustibles. Signal-processing equipment areas shall not be usedfor the storage of combustible materials or other equipment unrelated to the switching, transmission of voice, data, or video signals,and associated power systems.

6.12.8 Limitation of Combustibles

6.12.8.1 Standby engine areas shall not be used for the storage of combustible materials or other equipment not related to standby engine operations.

6.13 Technical Support Areas

6.13.1 General

6.13.1.1 Technical support areas shall be arranged to enhance the survivability of the adjacent telecommunications equipment areas in accordance with 6.13.1.2 through 6.13.2.2.

6.13.1.2 Small work areas shall be permitted within the signal-processing equipment, power, and main distribution frame areas if the following conditions are met:

(1) Case furniture, including desks, shall be constructed of non-combustible material

(e.g., metal). The construction can include a high, pressure laminate veneer on desk top.

(2) Any paper records, manuals, and drawings shall be stored in fully-enclosed non-

combustible cabinets or cases.

(3) Space dividers and system furniture panels and chairs with upholstered assemblies

shall exhibit a maximum rate of heat release not exceeding 80kW and a maximum

heat released not exceeding 25MJ within the first 10 minutes of test when tested in

accordance with one of the following:

(a) ASTM E 1537 or UL 1056

(b) UL 1056

(c) California Technical Bulletin 133

(4) Noncombustible containers are provided for combustible material.

(5) The amount of records within the area shall be kept to the absolute minimum

required for essential and efficient operation.

(6) Only records that are essential to the operations shall be permitted to be kept in the

area.

9.1 Housekeeping

9.1.1 Removal or Storage of Combustibles. Combustibles shall be removed daily or shall be stored appropriatel in protected storage rooms, noncombustible enclosed storage cabinets or bins, noncombustible covered refuse containers, or listed self-extinguishing-type trash receptacles

9.1.2 Limiting Other Combustibles

9.1.2.1 Combustible materials, such a s packing materials and office supplies, shall not be stored in areas exposing critical telecommunications equipment and related components unless these materials are located in noncombustible cabinets or are within nontelecommunications equipment areas provided with fire suppression systems.

9.1.2.2 Areas around the outside of the facility shall be free of combustibles.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. I’m installing some relay racks and shelves in a central office with minimal space for uncrating and storing. During this job, I’ll have cardboard boxes and other flammable packing material in close proximity to working equipment. What do you want me to do?

A. At Job Start, make a note on your General MOP indicating that you’ve observed that space for storage and uncrating is minimal and then do the following:

1. Provide an explanation of how you intend to keep the working environment free of

combustible material to minimize the risk of a fire hazard.

2. Alert the C.O. Operations representative responsible for signing the MOP to this

condition and ask them for advice on how they would secure the work area to keep it

free from fire risk. If they offer a solution, document it on a Job Log note and follow their lead as well as job conditions and space allow.

3. At the start and conclusion of each day’s work, follow through on each of the above

points to demonstrate compliance to stated procedures.

Q. The job I’m installing has supplier documentation in the form of technical manuals and paper specs and drawings. All of the metal filing cabinets available for storage of paper are already full. What should I do?

A. As soon as you become aware of this situation, notify your supervisor and/or contact the C.O. Operations representative for guidance. If no reasonable alternative is offered, secure the documentation as best you can as far away as practical from working equipment. Remember, we’re trying at every opportunity to maintain a “Near Zero Combustible” environment when it comes to minimizing the risk of a fire hazard.

Q. I’ve been working on a job for almost a week and now have been pulled off that job temporarily to assist another installer in another location. Can I leave my material out so that when I return I won’t have to waste time unpacking and reorganizing my workspace?

A. If the duration of time away from the current job will be greater than 48 hours, you will ensure that the vacated area is entirely cleaned up and secured from combustibles. Even if the time duration is less than 48 hours, the Service Supplier should obtain the approval and consent of the local C.O.Operations representative. TP 77350 Par. 2.6.2.6 is very specific on how to treat this circumstance.

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Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

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Exhibit 3

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Exhibit 4

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Exhibit 5

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Exhibit 6

2.6.3 Smoking is not permitted in Qwest facilities, and only within 25 feet of any building entrance. Used smoking materials shall not be brought into Qwest facilities.

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For any additional clarification with respect to the proper treatment of combustibles within the central office, please contact your supervisor or duly-authorized representative for information.

Qwest Installation Quality Assurance

Jeff Bostow

612-798-2460

mailto:Jeff.Bostow@

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Equipment and material staging should be done outside of the equipment area whenver possible. When this scenario is approved by Central Ofice Operations, the designated area should be maintained in a neat and orderly manner.

Under no circumstances shall paper, technical documentation, equipment manuals, etc. be left unprotected within a battery room.

An effort should be made to eliminate wood and other combustible materials as soon as practical (on a daily basis) from the central office equipment environment.

The building space dedicated to material staging, etc. should be neatly organized and free of trip and/or safety hazards.

All disposable equipment packing material, garbage and trash should be collected, segregated from working equipment and disposed of daily.

All equipment should be unpacked in an area away from working equipment designated for that specific purpose.

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