The company started a new plant at Dharwad. In this new site, the IT department undertook to install and implement state-of-the-art technology to cater to the company’s growth path in the coming years. The IT team worked on a migration plan to transition its legacy cabling network and consequently charted out superior network requirements to provide for a reliable and high-speed network environment in the factory which would connect and run the main office, design studio, manufacturing units, shops etc.
The Project
Admin Building, TCF Shop, BIW Shop, Engine Shop, Paint Shop, Oil & Paint Store, LCV Shop, and Frame Line are the main constructions in the campus; apart from these more than 20 small individual buildings.
A server room was planned in the TCF Shop, which was directly connect to all the main locations through fiber backbone. The small buildings were also connected through fiber either from the Admin Building or from the Oil & Paint Stores. Accordingly, they designed the location of Hub Rooms calculating the maximum work area utilization as per telecommunication standards.
The IT team decided that to design a network on this scale they had to meet the following criteria:
- A scalable and reliable network.
- Optimised bandwidth connectivity for the smooth functioning of the system, several customized and complex computer applications, CCTV operations and voice communications.
- Green environment sustainability and energy savings.
- Lowest total cost of ownership.
- Automated processes for administration and security.
In short, a redundant, fail-proof system had to be developed, along with a cabling system that would enable future upgrades. This seemed to be a challenge, as the campus infrastructure was already established and functioning on its full strength. Full-scale production was on and many hurdles seemed imminent. It was very important that this task be carried out in a very short time frame without affecting the normal functioning of the production processes.
Galaxy was chosen after careful assessment of its product portfolio. Galaxy worked with the company and the installation company to ensure a seamless execution of the project, throughout which they were able to achieve 100% network uptime. This consultative approach is a good example of how the company prefers to work with its customers.
Project Plan / Schedule
A detailed project schedule had been prepared in coordination with the company’s IT Team including deliveries, implementation, testing, commissioning, and handover of the project. The first phase was scheduled for 6 months, which included Admin office, TCF Shop, Engine Shop, BIW Shop, and Entry/Exit gates. Full project was completed in one and a half years.
- Installation: Total 7000 meters overhead pathways was installed for entire project and used more than 20000 meters 12 core SM fiber cable with more than 1500 fiber splices. Along with this, 2000 Data nodes were installed, for installing 80000 meters approx. CAT 6 data cable used. Other than this, 50 NW Racks (42U, 32U, 15U, 9U) were installed in entire campus. For Active part, mounting, patching, Labeling of 78 switches installed out of which 4 nos C 4510 Series Cores switches were used at TCF, BIW & Engine Shops; 12 nos C 3750 Series switches were used at all main locations and C 2960 Series Edge switches all over.
- Delivery Schedule: All the materials were delivered at site as per the delivery schedule so that the progress of work never affected.
- Manpower: Galaxy deployed a team of 8 skilled technicians under a site supervisor for the project. The supervisor was responsible for arranging daily work permits, ensuring safety procedures and all communication/coordination within the plant authorities. A team of other 6 skilled employees were also deployed for the installation of Pathways; hence it was completely mechanical fabrication works including welding, fitting, threading etc.
- Safety: The site is practicing strict safety measures especially for overhead works. Compulsory safety harnesses were allotted to all team members including safety shoes, jackets, helmets, gloves, safety belts etc. Even it was difficult to get permission in the productive areas, we managed to complete the works during non-productive hours.
- Work Procedure:Galaxy complete the pathways first in all the shops; hence, it was the pre-requisite for cabling inside the shop floors. Meanwhile the fiber backbone cabling for the campus outside the shops was in progress. Client’s Civil Engineering team provided the raceways and Chambers by digging for backbone cabling.
- Testing & Commissioning: End to end Fiber cores and Copper UTP nodes were tested with Fluke DTX Cable Analyzer before connecting to the computers and other equipment’s. All the Fiber and copper were successfully passed in the tests and the reports were generated in the testing equipment. In the end, IT In-charge of the manufacturing company concluded: “We were impressed by Galaxy’s close attention to detail and efficiency to roll out our network to time and to budget. It is good to know that they are just a phone call away when we require assistance. We are confident that we have invested in an infrastructure that will ensure that we can maintain our reputation as a leading automobile manufacturing company in India.” He further added, “This has been a lengthy installation using the latest technology products. We have been very pleased with the levels of service and support that we have received from Galaxy and the installed performance of the cabling solution, which has been tested and warranted for best performance.”