Fibre Optic and Data Cabling for a New Office Building at Chelmsford County High School for Girls

The Challenge

The former Site Manager’s House was built as a home, not an office. It had none of the communications or electrical infrastructure that staff, printers and phones need.

The new offices sit in a separate building from the main school, so they needed a fast, reliable connection back to the main server room.

Key challenges included:

• Linking the detached building to the main site network
• Providing enough data points for users across two floors
• Installing containment for power and data with a tidy, professional finish
• Delivering new power for office equipment and future growth
• Coordinating the fibre installation with underground ducting installed by another contractor

The Solution

Scotech designed and installed the building’s network infrastructure, from the fibre link to each desk outlet.

OM4 Fibre Link Between Buildings

A new OM4 fibre optic cable was installed between the main building server room and the converted office building. It runs through newly installed underground ducting, which protects it between the two buildings.

The fibre was terminated in the existing server room cabinet and in a new communications cabinet in the office building. This creates a dedicated backbone for current and future network demands.

Communications Cabinet

A new 6U, 600mm deep communications cabinet was installed in a first-floor communications cupboard. It is the distribution point for all network services in the building.

Category 6 Structured Cabling

24 Category 6 data outlets were installed across both floors, providing structured data cabling for:

• Workstations
• Printers
• VoIP telephones
• Other IP-enabled equipment

Every cable was neatly routed, terminated, labelled and tested.

Cable Containment

Basket tray was installed between the new cabinet position and the existing floor-standing cabinet in the main server room. It supports the fibre and network cabling, with spare capacity for future expansion.

Three-compartment dado trunking was fitted around the perimeter walls on both floors, with separate compartments for:

• Data cabling
• Power cabling
• Future services

Electrical Services

Two new electrical circuits were installed, one for each floor. They supply 24 twin power sockets positioned to suit the workstation layouts.

Planning and Installation

The fibre route depended on underground ducting installed by another contractor, so Scotech coordinated the fibre installation with that work.

Inside the building, the cabinet position, cable routes and outlet locations were planned around the new office layout on both floors. The dado trunking keeps power and data segregated in line with best practice, while giving the rooms a clean finish. It is the same approach we take for office refurbishment cabling.

Testing and Quality Assurance

All structured cabling was terminated, labelled and tested before handover.

Quality assurance included:

• Testing of the OM4 fibre link between the two buildings
• Testing of all 24 Category 6 data outlets
• Labelling of outlets and cabling for future maintenance
• Testing and commissioning of the electrical installation in line with current regulations

The Results

• Fast connection to the main site: the OM4 fibre link gives the new offices a high-bandwidth connection to the school network.
• Data points where they are needed: 24 Cat6 outlets serve workstations, printers and phones across both floors.
• Central network management: a dedicated communications cabinet keeps the building’s network equipment in one place.
• Room to grow: basket tray and three-compartment dado trunking leave spare capacity for future services.
• Power to match: 24 twin sockets on two dedicated circuits support day-to-day office use.
• Ready on handover: network and electrical systems were fully tested and commissioned.

Outcome

The former Site Manager’s House is now a working office building, connected to the rest of the school by its own fibre link.

With structured cabling, containment and power installed together, the building has a tidy, practical infrastructure that can take on more users and services without major new work. Read more about our work in education.