The second annual Cabling Innovators Awards presentation ceremony was held September 12 at the BICSI Fall Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, TX. In total 18 Silver Level Awards, 8 Gold Level Awards, and 4 Platinum Level Awards were distributed.
The awards program was launched in 2015 to recognize innovative products and systems as well as their uses and applications. The Cabling Innovators Awards program is intended to recognize ingenuity and innovation where it is found in the value chain of cabling-system design, installation and administration.
Participants in the program were invited to self-nominate their products, systems, programs or projects. A judging panel comprising industry professionals screened the entries and determined their level of innovation.
Following is a description of each award level and a rundown of the products, systems, and projects that were honored at each level.
Silver—Honorees recognized at the Silver level demonstrated that their innovation has resulted in marked improvement over previous methods, approaches, or product system and use.
CablExpress—Patch panel and fiber breakout system that provides port replication for Brocade’s DCX FC16-64 blades.
CenterPoint Energy—Deployed Panduit’s converged infrastructure solution to unify information and communication technology physical infrastructure to ensure business continuity and a robust design capable of lasting 30 years or longer.
Chatsworth Products Inc.—eConnect power distribution units with Secure Array and Click Secure locking outlets, which result in significant energy savings.
Colvin Industries—UniPath is an assembly designed to eliminate the need for numerous individual installations of cable supports for open-air cabling.
CommScope—Supplied 250 miles of Category 6 cable and 100 miles of singlemode fiber-optic cable, as well as 12,500 terminations, to the Daytona Rising project, which redeveloped Daytona International Speedway.
Comtran Cable—Qualified a MIL-DTL-24643/59 network communications cable for Navy Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Comtran used resources from its sister companies including RSCC, RSCC A&D, Marmon I&T Group, Gendon Polymers and two NRTL Labs.
Comtrend—PG-9172PoE combines powerline networking and Power over Ethernet, allowing installers to connect a remote device such as a security camera or wireless access point to a power source and networking from the closest electrical outlet.
CyrusOne—Deployed the Active Control feature of Panduit’s SynapSense SynapSoft Software to achieve a more-cost-effective, energy-efficient data center.
D-Tools—The System Integrator 2016 software package offers new functionality, features and enhancements that help streamline operations and increase profitability.
Hyperline Systems—Hyperline’s new concept in product packaging includes a colored picture of the cable on the box’s exterior. Having the color visible on the box minimizes the risk of unintentionally segregating the boxes, anywhere from the factory to the jobsite.
OFS—LaserWave Flex Wideband Multimode Fiber is a 50-micron laser-optimized fiber designed to help meet the demanding requirements of today’s OM4 networks as well as next-generation, short-wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) applications.
Siemon—ConvergeIT Cabling Solutions for the Digital Ceiling were deployed at the Mobile, AL public school system. The deployment resulted in significant capital and operational savings, better user experiences, improved productivity and overall better sustainability.
Tekcell.com—Tekcell's innovative Visual CableBuilder (VCB) allows network professionals to quickly and easily create and order bespoke fiber cables with 100-percent accuracy in mere seconds. Click. Ship. Build.
Transition Networks—Transition’s networking integration solutions and configuration services for developing intelligent camera-based parking guidance systems have been deployed at facilities including those operated by New York City-based Park Assist.
Tripp Lite—The 3-Phase Rack ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) combines the speed of solid-state switching with the efficiency of electromechanical relay switching. The solution delivers high reliability, high efficiency and cost savings in high-density, clustered server environments.
Trunktie—The Trunktie device allows cabling-plant administrators as well as technicians to label unused patch ports. In doing so, professionals can leave notes for customers, vendors, or even oneself.
Viavi Solutions—The SmartClass Fiber OLTS-85 and 85P optical loss test sets combine industry-standard Tier-1 fiber certification with advanced endface inspection. The tools allow installers and technicians to meet the requirements of structured cabling standards without unnecessarily spending valuable time.
Wiremaid Products Corp.—Cable-Mgr Pro-10 Series cable tray enables one-tool installation and can dramatically reduce installation time in the field. This reduced-installation-time characteristic was critical for Power Design’s installation project at its newly expanded corporate headquarters.
Gold—Organizations were honored with Gold level awards by demonstrating an innovation that is considered excellent, and whose benefits are clear, making a substantial improvement over previous methods employed, approaches taken, or products and systems used.
Brother Mobile Solutions—The LabelLink Cable Labeling App, offered by Brother Mobile and Fluke Networks, manages the test and labeling processes, results and assets. The solution bridges the gap between the office, where the project originates, and the jobsite, where the project data are needed in the testers and labeling tools.
Fluke Networks—LinkWare Live with Asset Tracking helps contractors, installers and project managers track and manage their testers and maximize the return on this investment. LinkWare Live’s asset tracking and management capability is based on Google WiFi location services; it tracks device locations as well as tracking and reporting software version, and calibration and status reports.
Fluke Networks—The introduction of SmartLoop Technology makes OptiFiber Pro the first OTDR that comes standard with the ability to test two separate fiber links in both directions from one end in a single test. SmartLoop provides instant bidirectional averaged results as required by TIA-568.3-D, reducing the time required for testing by 50 percent or more.
Global insurance and financial services firm—This Fortune 100 company turned to Panduit’s small-gauge harnesses for space and speed. Large cable bundles in the company’s intermediate crossconnect had become congested over time. Panduit’s 28-AWG switch harnesses provided a solution; the customer used 6-foot lengths of these Category 6 patching harnesses, whose quick-connect feature connects six ports at a time.
Leviton Network Solutions—The Atlas-X1 Connector Platform is a U.S.-manufactured tool-less, icon-ready platform that accommodates shielded and unshielded cabling, covering performance levels from Category 5e to Category 8. Available in shuttered and non-shuttered versions, the platform has been deployed in several universities—including California State University, Monterey Bay—as well as data centers, medical centers and other mission-critical networks.
Pentair—The Caddy Rod Lock Threaded Rod Mounting System allows contractors to prefabricate complex assemblies at ground level or offsite, then easily lift and lock them into place by pushing the threaded rod supports into the Caddy Rod Lock device. The system’s push-to-install design reduces the installation time of threaded rod support structures when compared to conventional fasteners.
Purdue University—The university undertook an ambitious project to provide 100-percent student coverage in residence halls and to move beyond 100-percent coverage in academic buildings. The project included installation of 1,300 access points, bringing the campus total to 8,600. The use of Panduit’s 28-AWG patch cords allowed the university to use existing surface raceway in residence hall rooms; in academic buildings new Category 6A cabling was installed to access points.
Viavi Solutions—The FiberChek Probe Microscope delivers an all-in-one handheld solution for fiber technicians. The autonomous device includes live image viewing, auto-focus, auto-center, pass/fail analysis and the ability to store and recall results. The FiberChek Probe Microscope pairs with mobile devices, laptops and other Viavi instruments via WiFi, Bluetooth and USB.
Platinum—The four honorees receiving Platinum Level Awards demonstrated superb innovation that is characterized by a groundbreaking approach to meeting a need, or a groundbreaking level of performance, efficiency, or ease of use.
AFL Test and Inspection Division—FlexScan Complete Kits bundle the company’s pocket-sized FlexScan OTDR with integrated Optical Light Source, Optical Power Meter and Visual Fault Locator, together with its FOCIS Flex autofocusing, self-contained connector inspection probe, OFI-BI Optical Fiber Identifier for bend-insensitive fiber and cleaning supplies in a soft carry case.
Belden Inc.—REVConnect, which stands for “Reliable, Easy-to-use, and Versatile,” enables an installer to learn just one process, and use just one tool, to perform any connectorization from Category 5e to Category 6A shielded or unshielded jacks, as well as Category 6A field-mountable plugs. REVConnect has been shown to support 100W Power over Ethernet devices such as LCD monitors and pan/tilt/zoom security cameras.
EXFO Inc.—The TestFlow Process Automation and Analytics Solution digitizes and automates field construction and testing of fiber-optic networks, ensuring that work performed by technicians is labeled and tracked 100 percent of the time, without the need for post-processing bookkeeping, unnecessary processing, or manual collection of results. The technology also standardizes all tasks and tests to provide national workforce conformity to quality construction and testing processes. TestFlow also centralizes and analyzes all field and test results into a unified set of dashboards for convenient verification and tracking focused on job performance, status, efficiency and quality.
Superior Essex—PowerWise Category 5e+ 4PPoE cable was installed at Launch Fishers, a 52,000-square-foot building whose occupants use co-working office space. Specifically, 10,000 feet of the 22-AWG cable were used to connect from Cisco 3850 switches to LED lights. PowerWise Cat 5e+ delivers the 60W of power necessary to support LED lights with 98-percent power efficiency while also supporting 1-Gbit/sec speeds.