Navigating Low-Voltage Challenges: From Project Management to Career Growth

Chuck explores the complex dynamics between electricians and low-voltage specialists while discussing how to choose between fiber optics and copper cabling in various project scenarios.

• Explaining to customers that specialists are best for specialized work, using the analogy of not going to a podiatrist for a root canal
• Fiber offers more bandwidth, EMI immunity, and longer distances but isn't always necessary and costs more
• Effective project management requires planning, scheduling, resource optimization, and regular quality inspection
• Getting as much information upfront for estimates leads to more accurate pricing and fewer change orders
• Continuous learning and networking with industry professionals is vital for career advancement in ICT
• Future trends to watch include AI applications in project management, smart building technologies, and evolving industry standards

Live after hours with your favorite RCDD every Wednesday at 6 PM Eastern - bring your questions and join the conversation!

Chapters

• 0:00 Show Introduction & After Hours Welcome
• 1:41 ICT Acronym Challenge
• 2:59 Electricians vs. Low-Voltage Specialists
• 4:04 Fiber vs. Copper Benefits Discussion
• 5:35 Effective Project Management Strategies
• 9:18 Creating Accurate Low-Voltage Estimates
• 15:01 Starting and Advancing Your ICT Career
• 18:53 Handling Poor Leadership & Future Trends
• 21:47 Show Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects, hosted by Chuck Bowser, rcdd. We're here to empower installers, designers and industry pros with the tips, stories and best practices you need to stay ahead. From copper to fiber, standards to innovation, this is the show that keeps you plugged into success. So grab your tools, turn up the volume and let's talk cabling. Let's Talk Cabling, your source for low-voltage expertise and connection and connection.

Speaker 2: 0:44

Wednesday night, 6 pm, eastern Standard Time. You know that can only mean one thing Live after hours with Chuck Bowser, rcdd Big C Technician. Your favorite RCDD. You know I'm your favorite, don't even try to pretend like I'm not. Okay. Your favorite rcd wednesday night, 6 pm. Always do the live after hours. Always answer questions on the spot.

Speaker 2: 1:11

I got a bunch of questions in the queue. Had one just come in just a few minutes ago on the tiktok feed over there. But before we get started, let's start off with what are you drinking? It's after hours, so I am drinking a zevia soda. Zevia. So tell me in the chat box what are you drinking? It's after hours, so I am drinking a Zevia soda. Zevia soda. Tell me in the chat box what are you drinking. If you know me, I'm addicted to those Zevia sodas. I love them. Love them. Sean's in his house. Howdy Sean.

Speaker 2: 1:39

Acronym challenge. Random and random as can be. Let's just pick one out of here. Oh, hold on, I got to put on my reading glasses so I can read these stupid things. I always forget that part. Yes, so let's do this one. Oh, I haven't done this one in a while. I-c-t, i-c-t.

Speaker 2: 1:56

What does that acronym mean? You know our industry loves acronyms. Loves acronyms Strawberry, guava, kabocha, very cool, very cool, I love kabochas. So what does the acronym ICT mean? Ict?

Speaker 2: 2:12

While you're writing and typing that in, did you see last week's episode? I did an episode on a PoE extender outdoor rated PoE extender from PoE Texas. It was really really cool. Kalen's in the house. He says what's up? Infocomm sent you a link. Yes, I saw that. When is it? I gotta go, but check that out. Armor cats drinking iced tea. Excellent information communication technologies 10 000 points to sean. Good job, my friend. Good job, good job. So let's go ahead and get started with this show. Let's go.

Speaker 2: 2:44

The questions. I want to answer this one first. When One that came in from the TikTok feed while I was waiting it's from Armour Cat and he says how do you explain to the customer that an electrician is not the best choice for low voltage? My answer is probably going to shock you. That's not always the case. There are some good electricians out there doing some good quality low voltage work. I will agree that there are some electricians out there doing some bad low voltage work. So my advice would be to explain to the customer that when you want to have a root canal done. You don't go to a podiatrist, you go to the specialist. And that done. You don't go to a podiatrist, you go to the specialist, right. And that's how I would explain it to them. Say, look, electricians are good with high voltage, with stuff like that, but when it comes to the nuances of high-performance data cabling, it's best left to those who have been trained and certified in that. So probably not the answer you were expecting there.

Speaker 2: 3:47

So the next question comes from Twitter and I can't remember the guy's name, but he says Chuck, we were thinking about integrating fiber optics in more of our projects. What are some of the main benefits of fiber over copper, and when should we consider making that switch? Okay, so fiber is not always the answer. I've said that more than one occasion. It's not always the answer. Fiber does offer more bandwidth more bandwidth, in fact. The single-mode fiber has unlimited bandwidth. We don't know how much bandwidth that that can handle. I feel like I answered this question last week. We don't know how much bandwidth that that can handle. I feel like I answered this question last week. I don't know. And fiber is immune to EMI electromagnetic interference. Copper-based cabling is susceptible to EMI and RFI. Fiber can go longer distances, right, and fiber is going to suit them best for future proofing. The problem you're going to run into with trying to do more fiber is it's going to cost more, and so now you got to talk to the customers and see if they're willing to pay that extra.

Speaker 2: 4:56

You didn't mention, you just said, more fiber in some of your projects. You didn't say if it meant more fiber for, like, the backbone, or fiber to the desktop or a centralized fiber optics system. You didn't give me that kind of a detail but in most scenarios typically we're going to be running fiber for the backbones, for the data backbones, copper for the voice backbones, sometimes fiber for the voice backbones and usually copper to the horizontal for the dropout on the floor and usually copper to the horizontal for the dropout on the floor. Very few people are doing fiber to the desktop because you have to buy a transceiver or you have to have a NIC card that's capable for fiber.

Speaker 2: 5:32

Next question comes from LinkedIn. It says managing low-voltage projects can be tough. From my experience, from your experience, how does an effective project management make the difference in the outcome of these installations? Huge difference, huge, huge, huge difference. Number one somebody who's well-versed in project management is going to be really good at planning and scheduling, planning and scheduling, scheduling, planning and scheduling. Here's the thing with projects as soon as you plan it, that plan goes to you know what, in a handbasket from the minute you start doing the work, because site conditions change, there's hiccups in the distribution system, your main tech or project foreman can't get off another job site. But if you put a plan in place and maybe even alternate a backup plan, that's going to help it. And again, it goes with communicating with the customer. Let them know hey, in fact, a good estimator, you should have that project plan and schedule in the estimate. And it doesn't take that long to create a simple Gantt chart that says look, on days 1 to 5, we're pulling cable. On days 8 to 9, we're putting in the support system. Days 10 through 15, we're terminating the faceplates and we're terminating the building out of the closet. If you set that expectation now the customer knows look, if we do something that changes this expectation, there's a potential change order there.

Speaker 2: 7:13

Also, make sure that you optimize your resource allocation throughout that project. Think about okay, are you going to need the fiber optic team? Because a lot of companies they have people who just do copper and a few fiber specialists. What's their schedule like? When are they going to be able to come out to do the work? Will that impact the schedule? Will you be able to get the specialized tools, the lifts and stuff like that? Make sure that you coordinate that and get that stuff all lined up before you do it. And you want to mitigate those risks, because every project you're basically herding a bunch of cats. You're basically hurting a bunch of cats. You're hurting a bunch of cats because, even though you might have a plan, it's going to go crazy as soon as you start doing the work. And then probably the biggest thing is managing your quality. Managing your quality it is a good project manager.

Speaker 2: 8:02

Depending on the size of the project and if you're dedicated to that project or not, you should be doing QA inspections on your project. Now, if it's one of those projects where you're doing work, where you're a project manager and you're doing many projects and you only get to a job site once a month or once a week I mean because you're going to other jobs Every time you go there do a QA inspection. If you're a dedicated project manager, I would do probably two QAs a week, 10% of the work. So if they did 100 jacks, I would look at 10 of them. If they pulled 65 drops, I would look at 7 drops, 8 drops. Make sure they were run right. If I find any deficiencies, then I would look at an additional 10.

Speaker 2: 8:51

Ed the old tech guy's in the house. Ed, how you doing, my friend, if you're not subscribing to Ed the old tech guy, you need to go check out his channel. He's got a great channel. Jason's in the house. He says good afternoon, I finally made it. Rcdd here. Fellow RCDD. Yes, yes, thank you, fellow RCDD. Glad to have you in the room.

Speaker 2: 9:08

Next question came from Facebook, says Chuck. When I'm putting together estimates for low voltage projects, what are some of the key factors I should always consider to avoid surprises? Number one Try to get as much information up front as you can before you start doing the estimate. I always used to tell customers look, the more information you give me now, the cheaper I can make your price in the long run. You got to make sure that the more information I have, the more accurate my bid is going to be, the less chance you're going to have of change orders Of all the projects I've done in my career, I've only maybe had a half a dozen or so actually go exactly the way planned both scheduling and materials and it just happens that way.

Speaker 2: 9:55

Right, somebody wants to know do you price per drop? Okay? So are you talking about giving the customer price per drop or are you doing a price per drop analysis on your estimate to make sure you're within your? Because if you estimate enough projects, you know how much it costs to install a drop and what your market will bear for your stuff. There's always a good thing.

Speaker 2: 10:22

Now, if you're asking me if a customer wants me to price per drop, I would give them a base price. Here's the price to do the job and here's a price per drop to add or delete. Because here's the thing there's always startup cost and close down cost, and you got to spread that across the drops. If you only have two drops, that startup cost and the teardown cost is a lot more it's gonna make the price per drop go up. If you have more drops, that price will go down because you're spreading across more drops, right? So? So make sure that you understand that. So I always didn't like the price per drop, but I would put it in there as an add on for the base work and I say, look, the price per drop. But I would put it in there as an add-on for the base work and I say, look, the price per drop is based on we're doing a minimum of X amount of drops and then from there up it'll be a price per drop change. I never price the entire job as a price per drop.

Speaker 2: 11:22

So, getting back to the estimating question, avoiding surprises, make sure that you have accurate calculation for your material and your labor cost. So there's a couple different ways you can do this. Some people use spreadsheets, some people use estimating software, some people still use pen and paper, believe it or not, and I get it, I get it. But especially if you're using spreadsheets, which is probably the most common make sure none of the formulas got messed up. Make sure that it's still being used correctly. Make sure you have everybody, the correct labor rate in for that fact right, so that all kind of stuff will come into play.

Speaker 2: 11:54

Also, make sure that you assess the complexity of the project right. And what are the site-specific conditions? Are you going in to do work in an existing office space? Well, it's going to take a little bit longer because you've got to work over top of people. If you're working at a new construction site and they don't have the freight elevators in yet, you might have to add some time to that because you're going to have to haul the material up to the 17th floor or the 7th floor. That all takes time. That all adds to the project floor. That all takes time. That all adds to the project. Is it just one job with 25 cables or is there 25 cables plus a fiber backbone, plus a trunk and branch cable, tv type system or HDMI over, you know, over twisted pair? That all adds to the complexity, right, you got to watch out for that. And you also need to make sure a lot of people miss this one. Use your historical data. You've done projects in the past. Make sure that you know. Okay, on average, if we have a cable that's 150 feet long, we know that it's going to take us x amount of time to pull it, terminate and test it in these conditions and always keep a running log of what that is. So that way you can put in the right labor factors.

Speaker 2: 13:05

Ed, the old tech guy asks how do you compete with underbidders of lost customers? To some guys that do terrible work? That is a great question, ed the old tech guy. So my advice there is maybe not just don't just provide your price, and when they select the wrong person and they want you to come back to fix that other person's work, just let them know your price is going to be X amount more. I've always bid against competitors, but I've always bid against other competitors who are the same size companies. I never, because we're always doing larger projects. So I never had a mom and pop come out and price against us.

Speaker 2: 13:48

And every once in a blue moon you will find somebody misses something in a bid and that should tell the customer that's not going to be a good quality. In fact, a lot of estimates what they'll do is if they solicit to a bid meeting and they have five contractors that are giving them price, ten contractors that are giving them price, a lot of times they will throw out the highest price, throw out the lowest price, because they figured the highest price, they over-engineered the lowest price, they missed something, and you'll find the other prices are usually within a couple percentage points of each other, usually no more than 10%, and that's where the project really lies. So if the other competitor's pricing is cheaper because they're poor quality, don't fall into the trap of talking bad about that other contractor because that's just going to make it look like sour grapes to the customer. The customer doesn't know that. You've got quality workers and workmanship and a great track history. They just know that two companies are pricing a bit and one's cheaper than the other. You've got quality workers and workmanship and a great track history. They just know that two companies are pricing a bid and one's cheaper than the other. So always veer away from talking bad about other contractors. Just let the customer know look, you'll be there if anything goes wrong.

Speaker 2: 15:04

Armourcat wants to know in TikTok do you charge for estimates 99% of the time? No, I don't. There are some people who do charge for estimates. It kind of depends on the estimate. We did a design build one time for a very large government entity and we did charge it for that estimate because it literally took a team of estimators when I say team, five estimators a month and a half to do the bid, because it was multiple buildings, multiple different types of lands, copper, fiber, all kinds of stuff and that kind of stuff. We did charge for it, but most of the time we don't, but there are contractors out there who will charge for the estimates and then what they'll do is they'll deduct that off of the estimate when they do that, when you give them the work. So there you go. Pre-bid RFIs, sean says, and it's usually linear feet in our bids, and equipment Excel magic with co-pilot AI to review as-built formulas. I'm going to have to talk to you more about that, sean. I'm interested in hearing about that, because when I used to do estimates and spreadsheets, we didn't have AI. We didn't have AI to double-check everything. So there you go.

Speaker 2: 16:18

This question comes from Instagram. It says Chuck, I'm starting out in the ICT field and I'm eager to advance my career. What advice would you give me to someone trying to make it in this industry? Okay, number one be a continuous learner. Always learn. There's lots of free resources out there. Cable Installation and Maintenance Magazine is one of them. Subscribe to it, read it, watch their webcasts. Go to the manufacturer's trainings. Foa has free fiber training. There's some good fiber videos on YouTube.

Speaker 2: 16:51

Then try to get as much hands-on as possible Because, see, we as technicians, we're great at putting our hands on stuff and learning stuff. We are tactile learners. So always try to balance it and I always just say the perfect mix is 60% hands-on, 40% theory, because if you do anything other than that, you lose the students right, they're all the RCDDs in the house. And then also make sure you network with other industry professionals and just ask them. If you know somebody who's got an RCDD, ask them what was that experience like, what did they do, how did they qualify for it? See if it's got an RCDD. Ask them what was that experience like, what did they do, how did it qualify for? See if it's something you want to do, even if not the RCDD, it might be the Bixi Tech or it might be the Installer, copper, installer, fiber. If you know somebody who's got that, talk to them. If you don't know somebody who has that, get on LinkedIn. Linkedin, yes, it's a great resource for that kind of stuff. Do a search for someone in your area. It'll list you. Some people Send them a friend request, say look, hey, I'd like to talk to you about your certification. How did you get it? What was the process you get? Was it hard, was it easy At? What road did you take? Just don't be afraid to talk to people and stay updated on emerging trends and technological advancements.

Speaker 2: 18:08

I did that show on Monday about the outside plant POE extender. That's a relatively new product that POE Texas just came out with. So I had them on the show. We talked about it Because, you never know, you may not use that OSP POE extender for a year and a half, but at least you've read it, heard about it, so that way when a customer does ask you now you've got that going around in the back of your head. Kaylin says off the church, talk to you about Infocom later. Okay, kaylin, talk to you then.

Speaker 2: 18:38

Man, this one comes from Twitter. It says I've had some challenges with leadership at my current job. Raise your hand if you're one of those who has had a problem with your leadership. Right, and it's affecting my team. What strategies would you suggest for dealing with poor company leadership in our field? Okay, this is a tough one. This is a tough one because I've worked for good leaders, I've worked for average leaders. I've worked for some poor leaders, right. Right, I need to see if that POE extender is TAA compliant. That's a great question, daryl. I'll have to ask him that. And just look up, it's the outside plant POE extender made by POE of Texas. So here's my thing Start documenting the issues you have.

Speaker 2: 19:25

You're not documenting the issues to build a case, you're just documenting the issues. So when you sit down and you communicate through proper channels, the issues that you have, your points, don't get lost. Okay, document, document, document. Go to your boss, say, hey, look, there's some reservations, there's some issues I have, and go in there with an open attitude to listen to their input, because you might go in and say, look, hey, we're doing this wrong, we're doing that wrong, but they may be doing it that way because they might have a contract with a customer that says they have to do it that way, or it might be just one of those scenarios where they didn't think it through and because you're the boots on the ground and you're seeing it firsthand, you might have a clear thing on it. But make sure that you open mind when you sit down and have that conversation and then also try to seek constructive feedback. You should have a mentor. You should have a mentor. I'm sorry, you should just have one period. Bixie has a mentoring program. Get on LinkedIn. You can find a mentoring program and they can help you with that as well too.

Speaker 2: 20:31

Next question comes from LinkedIn. Looking ahead, what emerging trends should the ICT industry and professionals keep an eye on to stay ahead of the curve? Well, ai I know a lot of people say, well, chuck, we pull cable. Ai is not going to pull cable. But you know I know a lot of people say, well, chuck, we pull cable. Ai is not going to pull cable. But you know what AI will help project managers, ai will help estimators, so it will do that. So, stay current with that. Know how to use it. Don't be behind the ball when everybody else is using it to help them with their bids and stuff, and you're just now trying to learn that.

Speaker 2: 21:05

System AI big, big, huge thing. Also, smart building technologies that's another big one coming down. Well, it's here. It's been around. In fact, we started talking about smart building technologies on that last episode with POE Texas. A lot of people think about POE for cameras and Wi-Fi, but he started talking about window tint and shades and stuff like that, and that's another potential avenue that you can go through to make more money as a technician, more money as a company. Also, make sure you stay current with the current standards. They're always changing them, always changing them, and make sure that you always upskill, always, always upskill.

Speaker 1: 21:47

Thanks for listening to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with your crew. Got questions or ideas for the show? Chuck wants to hear from you. Stay connected, stay informed and always aim for excellence. Until next time, keep those cables clean, your standards high and your future bright. Let's Talk Cabling empowering the industry, one connection at a time.