Tray Organization and Labeling

Purpose

Leave splice trays that anyone can read and re-enter without damaging fibers. The next person in this closure may be you during an outage at night. Neat trays and clear labels turn a long hunt for the right fiber into a quick fix.

When to Do It

• As each tray is filled with splices (SPL-07 or SPL-08).
• Before the closure is sealed (SPL-10).
• Previous step: SPL-08 Ribbon (Mass Fusion) Splicing. Next step: SPL-10 Closure Sealing, Grounding and Mounting.

Roles

• Lead splicer: loops fibers, seats sleeves and closes tray covers.
• Splicer helper: prints and applies labels and checks them against the matrix.

Equipment and Materials

• Splice trays and covers for the closure model.
• Labels for trays, cables and the closure, in the owner’s format.
• Label printer or permanent marker rated for outdoor use.
• A copy of the splice matrix, if the owner requires one in the closure.

Safety

Procedure

Hold Points

Records to Keep

• Photo of each open tray with fibers and sleeves visible.
• Photo of the tray labels, cable labels and closure label.
• Matrix marked with the tray number for each fiber range.

Common Mistakes

• Fibers outside the routing guides. They get crushed by covers or the next tray. Keep every fiber in its guide.
• Unlabeled trays. The next splicer has to trace fibers by hand. Label every tray.
• Crossed fibers pinched under covers. Pinches cause macrobends that show up in testing. Fix crossings before closing.

Standards and References

• Telcordia GR-771
• Closure manufacturer’s instructions for tray routing and capacity.
• Owner labeling standard.

On the Map

• Splice Tray: holds protection sleeves and routes fibers within bend radius.
• Closure Interior: the tray stack, express basket and labels inside the closure.

Related Tools

Not applicable: no FAHMY tool covers tray organization.