A fibre installation company starts small. Two gangs, one splice-machine, a truck with cable-drums, and a promise to light up a few lanes by the next quarter. Then the orders grow. A second contract brings forty more lanes. A restoration tender brings fibre-cuts at 2 am. The owner is on the road all day, hiring helpers by phone and paying them from a notebook.
This is the point to set HR in order. This piece suggests the first things to build, in the order that tends to pay off. It is written for the owner or operations head of a firm that lays, splices and connects fibre for ISPs, builders or telecom customers.
First, name the crew roles and what each can do
- Gang-leader: reads the route-survey, plans the day, handles the municipal permit papers and answers to the site engineer.
- Splicer: runs the splice-machine and cleaver, reads the OTDR trace, closes the joint-closure and logs splice-loss.
- Trench and duct helper: digs, lays duct, pulls drop-cable, restores the road-cutting.
- Pole-climber: works aerial runs at height with a harness.
- Install technician: visits customer premises, fits the ONT, tests with a power-meter and patch-cord, and explains the service.
- Field-engineer or supervisor: signs off routes, checks safety, handles fault-tickets.
Draft a single sheet for every role: duties, tools, safety rules, and what the next step up requires. See how the fibre installation companies page sets out these roles and the recruitment notes for filling them.
Second, safety before speed
Fibre work carries real risk. Trenches collapse. Poles are slippery in the monsoon. Roadside work meets traffic. Ladders fall. A helper with a week's experience should never be sent alone to a pole. Build a first-week plan: tools, harness fitting, trench rules, traffic cones, first aid, and who to call. Mark each item as seen, practised and signed off.
Keep a log of who has been briefed on what, and refresh briefings each season. The workplace health and safety page for fibre installers gives a useful starting point.
Third, an order of work for the first sixty days
- 1
Week one: roles and a skill ladder
Write the role sheets. Add a ladder: helper, assistant splicer, splicer, senior splicer or gang-leader. Define one practical test for each step, such as ten clean splices with loss within your own limit.
- 2
Weeks two and three: safety record
Brief each field person on height, trench and traffic rules. Log it. Issue harnesses, helmets and reflective vests against signature.
- 3
Weeks three and four: attendance and site log
Record daily route, start and finish time, crew names and vehicle. Add a line for night restoration work, so extra hours are visible and paid.
- 4
Weeks four to six: pay structure
Fix a base for each role plus a variable part tied to install-visits closed, fault-ticket closure within the agreed time, and repeat-visit rate. Avoid pure piece-rate, which rewards haste.
- 5
Weeks six to eight: monthly review
Meet each gang-leader to look at splice-loss, repeat visits and attendance. Choose one change to make the next month.
Track what the field does
Date and crew name:
Route or lane and customer batch:
Team members present (leader, splicer, helpers, climber):
Start and finish time, including any night work:
Safety briefing done today (yes or no) and by whom:
Joints closed and fibre-cuts attended:
Install-visits completed and tickets closed:
Repeat visits or splice-loss problems found:
Tools or drums short:
Leader signature and engineer check:The gang-leader fills the log before he leaves the lane. The field-engineer reviews it each morning. The owner reads the weekly summary. Over a month, the log shows which routes are slow, which gangs repeat visits and who works the most night restoration.
Subcontracted gangs and the monsoon
Many firms run some gangs through a local gang-leader who brings his own diggers. Treat these crews as part of the plan. Hold the same safety briefing, the same crew log and the same splice-loss check, whoever pays the helpers. Keep a list of each gang-leader, the lanes he holds and his harness count. When the monsoon sets in, trenches fill, poles turn slick and drop-cable runs sag. Pause aerial work on wet days, move crews to indoor ODF and patch-cord tasks, and reset targets for the season. A pay plan that ignores rain pushes crews onto wet poles.
Next steps
Once roles, safety, logs and pay are in place, look at training and performance. The learning and development process page shows how skill checks and refreshers can be arranged, and the hub for telecom and field technology services describes the other pressures common to this trade. If you want to talk through your own crews, send a note through requirements.
