In an event such as tech•ed, managing data cables is in itself, a job which could challenge the best of logistical minds.  There are over 1,200 Cat5e UTP cables to install or over 8,200m to lay down, plug into switches, test, secure to desks & stage plinths and of course plug into computers at the other end. Don’t forget the task of recollecting them all at the other end in a manner that doesn’t result in the biggest bunch of copper and plastic spaghetti in the world.

To help with the taming of this cable mammoth, a colour coding system is used to make what would normally be a challenging task just that little easier.  With experience, we’ve established the best combination of lengths. The colours were chosen based on what are standard available colours without the need for excessive custom makes :

• Grey Cables : 2m
• Yellow Cables : 3m
• Green Cables : 5m
• Orange Cables : 8m
• White Cables : 10m
• Purple Cables : 15m
• Blue Cables : 20m and over

The result is cable installers and the technology team can quickly identify the appropriate cable. It hasn’t always been like this. Before we had a colour coding system for the lengths we had a huge wastage issue with excess length. So much a number of years ago we reduced the cabling costs by 30%.

What happens to all of the cables after the event? You would appreciate the cost involved when replacing cables, not to mention the environmental impact. To maximise integrity, cables are used for no more than 2 events and so costs are amortised. If cables have been in trafficable areas, such as where trolleys and feet run over them, they are replaced after each event.  At the end of the event, the task of recollecting, rolling and sorting patch leads is job that may leave you chrysophobic, but the method of colour for length has made our “Where does that cable go” jigsaw easier to piece together.

The week started with an integration meeting. A group of us from across  the project (logistics, construction, technology, catering) lock ourselves away for half a day. We review each task from the moment the first person sets foot at the venue to the moment the last truck departs at the conclusion of the event. It’s a mind bending job, but on a project like this with literally hundreds of people making things happen, it’s an important milestone to have this integration meeting. You can imagine we always uncover a few issues where the schedules haven’t matched up entirely during the previous months of decisions. The document, with over 1,000 line items, then undergoes updates by everyone and then we come together to do it all again later this week.

Last week ended with another important milestone for the technology team. We locked down the technology requirements / change requests on Friday night. While the project owners signed off the statement of requirements months ago, we obviously have a period where we need to cater for changes to the needs of the various event owners and Exhibitors. This week it’s all about our documentation, training crew, preparing final briefs and this Thursday we send the first shipment of technology gear from Sydney to for the venue.

Maybe I should step back a bit, back to November last year. Or further back.

So, this is my 10th Tech Ed as Technology Project Manager. Honestly I have the coolest job on the project (Kleefie always said he did). My role is to work across the business owners, sponsors, venue and technical guys where anything technology is involved. Pulling a truck load of bits together into some type of plan. That is under the watchful eye of Jorke as the technology lead for the project and David Connors as the Engineering lead.

We have a structured 5 phases approach to the delivery of large scale event technology. Long before you get to know about the good stuff like mini notebooks (possibly the coolest take away ever. So much so it has other Tech Ed events around the world wishing they had the idea first), we conduct a feasibility phase. Various Microsofties, the event agency team and the Engineering team comes together to look at how the project could work be at the proposed venue. We don’t work with a load of detail at that stage, but we look for the obvious pitfalls around timing, location, connectivity etc. This phase brings with it long brainstorming sessions and usually lots of research tasks. That in turn means I and a swag of others spend ages writing reports on the if, but, and may etc. All necessary stages for the business guys to make the big decisions. Once the decision is done setting dates, locations etc in stone we start the longer road of understanding what the business folks need the technology to deliver.

So, no Jorke I’m not going to be the International Man of Mystery and neither are the rest of the team. Stay tuned and over the next few weeks we will share more of what’s going on.

- DavidH