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Image source: Siemon
COMMS + DATA
$ $ $
REDUCE TERMINATION TIME
AND IMPROVE PROFITABILITY
As a network cabling contractor, you need to keep an eye on product costs. When it comes to the cabling products you choose, you’re balancing your customer’s needs against what works for your bottom line.
I
t is important to remember that not every bottom line benefit can be measured in the product cost on the invoice. Sometimes, a product’s ability to make the contractor more efficient can outweigh the purchase price. One such example is termination speed. Labour costs are a major piece of a cabling project — an area where customers may look to cut their own costs. So, if contractors bid lower labour costs than their competition, they stand to win more business. Of course, they can’t just go in there and slash labour costs below the point of profitability. The key is driving labour efficiencies that give the breathing room to profitably bid lower labour costs — simply put, contractors need to be able to get it done faster. If contractors can do the job faster than their competitors, they can bid lower, win the job and still turn a decent profit. Let’s look at an example of a basic Cat 6 UTP job and how termination times impact profits. In this sample, we’re looking at a theoretical 1000-drop Cat 6 job. To make it easier, we’re just looking at the terminations, not pulling cable or testing — just terminating jacks. Obviously, this is a very simplified look at just one aspect of a project, but it does a good job of showing how the amount of time saved per jack can add up to significantly better profits and better chances of winning for you. Let’s start with actual termination times.
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Outlet A can be terminated in one minute, outlet B in two minutes and outlet C in three minutes. When it’s time to calculate a bid, you’re not going to base your labour estimate on the exact termination time — that would leave no margin for error and would be totally impractical in the real world. Actual termination time per outlet
Outlet A
Outlet B
Outlet C
60 seconds
120 seconds
180 seconds
Let’s say you add two minutes to the actual termination time for each outlet to calculate your bid estimate (as you can see in the table below). While you’re estimating a lower labour cost on the bid for outlet A than for B or C, you are in fact giving yourself more room between your actual termination time and your bid estimate. For outlet A, your bid estimate is 3x higher than your actual time. Outlet B cuts it to 2x and outlet C leaves just a 60% cushion. That extra room can have a real impact on your profitability.
Actual termination time per outlet Estimated termination time for bid
Outlet A
Outlet B
Outlet C
60 seconds
120 seconds
180 seconds
180 seconds
240 seconds
300 seconds
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 - ECD SOLUTIONS 21