Reference · Glossary · 13 Terms
Glossary: F
Outside plant terms that start with F, in plain language, with links to the OSP map and the operations steps.
FDH
Also Called: Fiber Distribution Hub · Cabinet
Fiber distribution hub. A cabinet that holds splitters and connects feeder fibers to distribution fibers.
- On the Map: Fiber Distribution Hub
- SOP Step: SPL-11 Testing and Acceptance
- See Also: Splitter, Feeder, Distribution
Feeder
Also Called: Feeder Fiber
Fiber from the central office or hub out to cabinets or splice points, where it meets distribution fiber.
- See Also: Distribution, Backbone
Fiber Color Code
Also Called: TIA-598 Color Code · Color Code
The TIA-598 twelve-color sequence for fibers and tubes: blue, orange, green, brown, slate, white, red, black, yellow, violet, rose, aqua. Positions past twelve repeat the colors with a tracer.
- On the Map: Buffer Tubes and Color Code
- SOP Steps: SPL-01 Job Preparation, SPL-05 Fiber Identification and Routing
- See Also: Buffer Tube, Tracer
Fiber Shards
Also Called: Fiber Scraps · Shard Container
Bare glass scraps left by stripping and cleaving. They pierce skin and eyes, so collect every one in a labeled shard container, per the employer's safety program.
- SOP Step: SPL-02 Safety for Splicing
- See Also: Cleave
Figure-8
Also Called: Figure Eight
Laying cable in a figure-8 pattern at an intermediate point so it can be pulled onward without twisting. Aerial slack is stored the same way, in a figure-8 between two snowshoes. Also a cable with a built-in messenger.
Flash Test
Also Called: Pressure Test
A pressure test of a sealed closure through its test valve, per the manufacturer, to prove the seals hold.
- SOP Step: SPL-10 Closure Sealing, Grounding and Mounting
- See Also: Grommet, Splice Closure
Flowerpot
Also Called: Grade-Level Box
A small grade-level enclosure for drop terminals or drop splices, named for its shape.
- On the Map: Flowerpot
- SOP Step: UG-09 Handholes, Vaults and Pedestals
- See Also: Pedestal, Buried Drop
Footage Marks
Also Called: Sequential Marks
Sequential length marks printed on the cable or pull tape jacket. Recording them at each enclosure documents how much cable is where.
- SOP Steps: UG-11 Cable Placement Underground, UG-13 Documentation and Closeout
- See Also: Mule Tape, As-Built
Foreign Plant
Also Called: Foreign Utilities · Existing Communications
Facilities owned by another company, such as another provider's buried cable, marked in APWA orange like your own.
- On the Map: Existing Communications
- SOP Step: UG-04 Potholing (Daylighting)
- See Also: APWA Color Code
Frac-Out
Also Called: Inadvertent Return · IR
An inadvertent return: drilling fluid escaping to the surface, a pothole, a structure or a waterway away from the pits. Stop, contain it and follow the inadvertent-return plan the permit or owner requires.
- On the Map: Drilling Fluid and Recovery
- SOP Steps: UG-05 Bore Planning and Rig Setup, UG-06 Pilot Bore and Tracking
- See Also: Drilling Fluid
Framing
Also Called: Pole Framing
Installing the hardware on a pole that will carry the strand: through-bolt, strand clamp, extension arms, bonds and dead-end or guy hardware.
- SOP Step: AE-05 Framing Poles
- See Also: Through-Bolt, Strand Clamp, Attachment Height
Fusion Splice
Also Called: Splice
A permanent joint made by melting two fiber ends together with an electric arc.
- SOP Step: SPL-07 Fusion Splicing (Single Fiber)
- See Also: Fusion Splicer, Protection Sleeve, Splice Loss Estimate
Fusion Splicer
Also Called: Splicer
The machine that aligns two fibers and joins them with an electric arc. Core-alignment splicers align on the fiber cores.
- On the Map: Splicing Workstation
- SOP Steps: SPL-01 Job Preparation, SPL-07 Fusion Splicing (Single Fiber)
- See Also: Fusion Splice, Arc Check