Team Fishel gets the Job Done for Cox Communications

The Irvine office has enjoyed a long relationship with Cox Communications. When Cox wanted to expand their fiber network into Orange County, they turned to Team Fishel to help make it happen.

The project officially kicked off in November 2009. This left only 60-days to install 25,000-feet of fiber optic cable and over 40,000-feet of coax. All of the cable and conduit was to be installed by directional drilling, a total of over 22,000-feet. To meet the tight production demands, Sergio Linares, a 22-year field-seasoned veteran, was assigned to head up the project.

"We immediately deployed four drill crews as soon as we were given the green light to start. We needed to get as much production in the ground as quickly as possible," says Mark Brady, Area Manager. "We had a total of 3 directional drill crews on the project at the same time."

According to Brady, any project of this magnitude includes a fair amount of risk. The majority of work occurred in the street within the business district of the City of Tustin. This high-traffic area created additional safety concerns for Teammates. "Even with appropriate signage and flaggers, you can't always depend on drivers to pay attention."

"Aside from meeting our aggressive production goals, our biggest challenge was avoiding utility cuts with the drill," said Greg Copeland. "With the short time frame to complete this project, we had to preplan the job and execute on our plan every day."

As the project progressed, it became apparent that the City had located many of the waterlines incorrectly. The crews spent additional time pre-fielding, potholing, and working with the City to correctly identify the locations to avoid any job damages.

According to Scott Bernat, Construction Coordinator with Cox Communications, the project had to be completed by the end of the 2009 budget year.

"We were very satisfied with the flexibility Team Fishel showed in meeting this tight deadline," said Bernat. "This project was a total team effort and the crews did an outstanding job for Cox Communications."