Fiber Identification and Routing

Purpose

Put the right fiber in the right tray position, every time. A perfect splice on the wrong fiber is still a failed splice. It sends a customer’s light to the wrong place, and finding it later means re-entering the closure.

When to Do It

• After the cables are prepared (SPL-03) and any mid-span tubes are opened (SPL-04).
• Before you strip and cleave any fiber.
• Previous step: SPL-04 Mid-Span Access and Expressing Tubes. Next step: SPL-06 Fiber Preparation: Strip, Clean, Cleave.

Roles

• Lead splicer: identifies tubes and fibers and routes each group to its tray.
• Splicer helper: reads the matrix aloud, checks counts and applies labels.

Equipment and Materials

• The current splice matrix.
• Splice trays for the closure model.
• Tube and tray labels.
• Visual fault locator (VFL), to confirm a fiber where the owner allows.
• Good light: color errors start in shade and at dusk.

Safety

Procedure

Hold Points

Records to Keep

• Photo of each tray entry with the tube labels readable.
• Matrix marked with any color scheme differences you found.

Common Mistakes

• Reading colors in poor light. Slate, white, rose and aqua are easy to confuse in shade. Use a work light.
• Assuming every cable uses TIA-598. Check the owner’s scheme and the cable spec sheet.
• Skipping the count. A cable with a different fiber count than the matrix shows means the wrong cable or the wrong matrix.
• Unlabeled tubes at the tray. The next splicer has to guess. Label every tube.

Standards and References

• ANSI/TIA-598
• Cable manufacturer’s spec sheet for tracer marking above position 12.
• Owner color code and labeling standard, where it differs.

On the Map

• Buffer Tubes and Color Code: color-coded tubes identified with the TIA-598 sequence.
• Splice Tray: where each fiber group lands in matrix order.

Related Tools

• Fiber Color Locator: fiber number to tube and fiber color, or tube and fiber color to fiber number.