If you want a job done right, don’t send the boss

After decades of working in IT, you learn to be exceedingly wary. Always be prepared for anything. Always test and verify the work. And never take it for granted that other individuals have the same work ethic as you do, even if they’re the boss.

Several years ago, our team was tasked with completely rewiring a newly acquired property next to one of the company’s remote offices. The location was hours away from our headquarters, but thankfully the time factor to complete the work was reasonable. Our boss set up a schedule: Every week, a team of two or more would depart for the location and spend a few days running wire and making connections. The work would be completed in stages and over the course of several weeks.

[ Get a $50 American Express gift cheque if we publish your IT story. Send it to offtherecord@infoworld.com. | For your daily dose of workplace shenanigans, follow Off the Record on Twitter. | For a quick, smart take on the news you’ll be talking about, check out InfoWorld TechBrief — subscribe today. ]

The first week was spent running Cat5 and phone lines into the cubicles and verifying the connections. Because of the distance between the buildings, we opted to use fiber cable, so the second week was dedicated to connecting the two buildings and making sure all was protected from outside hazards.

During week three of renovations, my boss and another tech were preparing to go to the location to install ends on the fiber and put them into a rack-mount fiber optic patch panel. This cable was especially sturdy, as it had a weather-resistant sheath over the normal insulation. It wouldn’t be an easy task, but not as tough as it was in the past, when a fiber connection had required carefully stripping the cable to the glass wire carrying the signal. We’d also needed to meticulously polish the ends of each fiber with three grades of extremely fine sandpaper to assure no cracks or blemishes would impair the signal. Each connection had taken about an hour to complete.

Connections made quicker

Thanks to technological advances and increased deployment of fiber, the time to make a connection had been drastically reduced, for which I was grateful. For instance, a cleaver tool was available that almost consistently produced a perfect cut that required no polishing. Verifying the connection was much easier; after the ends were installed, one end of the run was connected to a handheld microscope while someone at the other end shined an indirect light into the fiber. The light was transmitted to the microscope, and any blemishes or cracks would be evident. If any existed, the connection end would be severed and a new one reinstalled.

For this project, the cable contained six fibers, of which we would technically need only two with ends: one to transmit, and one to receive. I’d learned the hard way over the years that even with all the advances, problems still arose and it was always a good idea to have a backup plan. I’d also noticed that my boss, who was 30 years younger, was not very careful about details. I advised him and the other tech to install ends on a second pair of wires as a precaution in case something went wrong with the first ones; my boss agreed it was a good idea.

When the team returned, they reported connectivity between the buildings and were ready to have workstations installed.

The following week I drew the short straw to travel, and since it was “just a few workstations to install,” I was dispatched alone. I often get mocked as I load a company van for a job, since I pack all my tools plus spares for almost any contingency. This trip was no exception.

A nasty surprise

When I arrived at the location, I was dismayed to see both rack-mounted fiber optic patch panels laying on the floor at either end. My first thought was to let them stay; if it was good enough for them, it was fine with me. But it looked sloppy, so I decided to mount them in the racks.

I succesfully mounted the panel in the warehouse rack, then proceeded to the office building to do the same. Making sure I had sufficient slack, I picked up the panel and lifted it to the correct height — then something hit my leg. I looked down, and there was the fiber cable lying on the floor, no ends attached whatsoever. My boss and the other techie probably had achieved connectivity when they tried it, but they hadn’t done the job thoroughly or securely. Needless to say, I was fuming.

The cable should have been secured inside the panel by the Kevlar cords that run the length of the cable to add strength — but it hadn’t been. Even if the Kevlar had not been secured, the fiber shouldn’t have been pulled out of the connection ends when I raised the panel. Also, if they had installed ends on a second pair of wires, which we might not have needed after all, I could have used them. But they did not have a spare pair ready to go, despite what we’d agreed to.

As I realized how much supposedly completed work was ahead of me, my frustration intensified. Though fiber splicing has become so much “easier” over the years, they had failed at that. It’s not rocket science, but please be meticulous.

I tried to put it out of my mind and spent the next several hours redoing connections. It was tedious work, as I had to duct tape a light source to the warehouse rack while I used the handheld microscope to view the fiber end, then reversed the process. Eventually, the connections were properly secured in both panels.

I finished installing the workstations and returned to headquarters. My boss asked me how it went, and I tried to tactfully find a way to describe the mess I’d found. He shrugged it off, saying it was a good thing I was able to fix it.

Frustrations aside, I was glad that I’d loaded the van with all my tools. I had the equipment on hand even though the situation was unexpected. I just wish that I’d packed an additional tech.

Send your own IT tale of managing IT, personal bloopers, supporting users, or dealing with bureaucratic nonsense to offtherecord@infoworld.com. If we publish it, you’ll receive a $50 American Express gift cheque.

This story, “If you want a job done right, don’t send the boss,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more crazy-but-true stories in the anonymous Off the Record blog at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.