Grounding & Bonding // Customer Success

Global Management Consulting Company

Site Audit

Assessment

Remediation
The Single Most Cost-Effective Way to Protect Your People,
Tr a i n i n g
Your Equipment, and Ensure Business Continuity
Project
Ma n a g e m e n t

Annual
Certification
© 2008 Technical Consulting Group – All Rights Reserved. MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT PERMISSION
Customer Success – Global Management Consulting Company

At one of the world’s largest global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing
companies, network reliability is not just a customer service issue, it is vital for the success of the
company.

In an organization that does business with ultra-high performing companies around the globe, network
reliability is the lifeblood of the organization. If a consultant in the field or an employee cannot access
the network, the company loses more than billable hours or productivity – their very reputation is on
the line as a technology outsourcing leader each time one of their people accesses the network.

At the top of the organization’s current business strategy is market share expansion by helping their
customers improve their performance. Having provided direction for thousands of corporate and
government clients around the world, company strategists have long understood the special
characteristics that enable organizations to outperform their peers. At the top of this list is the
understanding of the increasing reliance on IT infrastructure to deliver solutions, and is quick to practice
what they preach by demanding high performance from their own network infrastructure.

The organization has adopted a multi-faceted approach to supporting the goals of the business, with
one hundred percent reliability as the goal, looking for every possible threat that could compromise
network performance. In this environment IT leaders must deal with, and be prepared for, everything
from a lightning strike to a terrorist attack and be ready to respond instantly to ensure business
continuity.

The company’s infrastructure teams have worked diligently to design and build the organization’s
network to meet the highest industry standards in equipment redundancy, power and cabling
requirements, surveillance systems, and disaster recovery planning. To accomplish this, the
organization maintains longstanding, top priority relationships with the best vendors in the industry.
The strategy is one of ‘proactive avoidance,’, “meaning IT leaders don’t wait for something to happen
and react, they constantly examine emerging best-practices to mitigate business risk and employ those
that are most effective.

In August of 2007 the company hosted a meeting with subject matter experts in the field power and
cabling to discuss ways to expand vendor relationships and strengthen the organization’s own network
infrastructure.

One of the vendors engaged in the discussion was Technology Consulting Group (TCG), who offered a
unique observation. TCG had discovered inadequate grounding and bonding of server racks and
network elements in several of the organizations’ server room sites.

TCG warned of the likelihood of existing network underperformance due to line noise, as well as the
potential for significant service interruptions caused by failing hardware that could have a dramatic
impact on customers. TCG also alerted the organization to the potential for equipment damage or
human injury due to the lack of electrostatic discharge protection, or in some cases best practices not
being followed during equipment repair or swap.
Customer Success – Global Management Consulting Company

IT leaders present in the meeting were shocked that there could be such significant and wide ranging
business exposure due to something so basic, and voiced concern regarding potential customer impact,
industry reputation, and safety issues and were anxious to remedy the situation immediately.

Before the meeting adjourned it was decided that TCG would perform a thorough audit to assess the
state of grounding and bonding in select US server room sites.

IT leaders still had questions as to the extent of the problem across the organization and voiced concern
at the prospect of trying to identify every improper ground or inadequate equipment bond, yet realized
the potential business risk and decided to move forward with the project.

Anxiety was quickly put to rest as TCG reassured IT leaders they could immediately bring the resources
necessary to audit all of the sites, as well as remedy every problem uncovered and bring the
organization up to standards.

In September 2007, TCG and IT leaders selected 38 US facilities to begin auditing, and by October of that
same year the site audits were underway. To ensure the highest level of quality and domain expertise,
TCG brought in network infrastructure engineers from global industry-leader Panduit to perform the site
audits.

Each site audit included a comprehensive visual inspection of the grounding and bonding systems
present in each telecommunications closet, server room, and/or data center, a volt/ohm meter test of
critical connection points in the grounding and bonding system of these areas, an assessment of
grounding and bonding system installation quality, an assessment of room environmental characteristics
(HVAC and lighting), and thorough documentation of all observations and test results.

By November, 2007 all physical audits had been completed and assessment reports from each site
began rolling in. With a solid plan that had been developed by TCG working with the organization’s IT
leadership group, TCG was able to take complete ownership of the process to meet all of the timing,
logistical and financial concerns of the company.

In December of 2007 TCG presented the site-by-site assessment reports along with a complete
remediation plan containing a comprehensive project timeline, bill of materials, and remediation
deployment schedule. What was most valuable to the IT leadership group was the level of detail and
comprehensiveness of the assessment report and remediation plans provided by TCG. These plans
identified all of the grounding and bonding problems with detailed photographs and diagrams and a
comprehensive plan to remedy what was found.

Once the remediation project was given final budget approval, it was decided to take a regional, phased
approach to fixing the grounding and bonding deficiencies. Phase I of the remediation included the
server rooms located in six select US cities.

Certified electricians from C.H. Reynolds Electric, Inc. were appointed to each location to deliver the
highest level of skill and quality of workmanship on every remediation activity.

When the certified electricians arrived at each of the six Phase I locations, several activities were
performed to ensure consistency and maximum completion of grounding and bonding at each site. The
site assessment reports were used as the guidelines on what needed to be addressed to ensure
optimum results.
Customer Success – Global Management Consulting Company

The major steps undertaken at each site were as follows:

1. Locating the Telecommunications Grounding Busbar (TGB) to make sure every closet had
one.
2. Validating that the TGB was connected to building steel.
3. Running a Telecommunications Bonding Backbone (TBB) from racks/cabinets to the TGB via
#4 cables.
4. Running #6 cables to racks/cabinets from the #4 cables
5. Installing terminated connectors and jumpers from equipment to universal grounding bar
in each rack/cabinets where possible. Where not possible, rack bonding screws were
used.
6. Installing an Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) kit with wrist straps in each rack/cabinets.

TCG was able to complete the Phase I remediation in just two months by bringing in all of the necessary
power and cabling products as well as industry-leading, certified electricians and network engineers to
properly implement solutions. TCG also delivered top-notch project management to handle every detail
and even aided in training the staff on industry best practices resulting in a comprehensive solution
unmatched by any vendor in the industry.

During the course of the Phase I remediation, the TCG team installed 11 telecommunications grounding
busbars, 74 telecommunications bonding backbones, 74 common bonding network kits, and 42
electrostatic discharge kits with 74 electrostatic discharge wrist straps. In addition, at each site
remediated, extra materials were stored to ensure continuity of proper bonding and grounding of future
equipment.

TCG targeted a single US site to perform pre- and post-remediation electrical continuity tests at various
points in the racks and cabinets of the server room. Tests prior to the remediation indicated
vulnerability in the server room as resistance levels between .3 and .5 ohms were measured. Post-
remediation tests found that resistance levels had been adjusted to less than .1 ohm throughout all
testing points indicating near perfect continuity, minimizing the detrimental effects of electrical surges
and transient voltages.

In addition, the comprehensive electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection that was put in place will reduce
equipment damage by 27% to 33% and help protect the client’s most valuable asset; its people.

Phase II of the remediation began in October 2008 and will be completed in January 2009 with Phase III
of the remediation scheduled to begin at the completion of Phase II and be completed by the end of
March 2009. Each phase will add selected sites to implement the remediation plans that were
developed from the site-by-site audits and outlined in the assessment reports.

As enterprise networks continue to evolve to handle a growing array of mission critical systems including
voice and data communications, power, computing, environmental control, security and even factory
automation, a reliable physical infrastructure is becoming more and more critical to the success of the
entire organization. In addition, data center operators are under increasing pressure to keep
operational costs under control, increase profitability and eliminate errors that can lead to failures.

The IT leadership group at this global consulting firm discovered that grounding and bonding is not
complicated, and in fact, is one of the most basic areas of spending where immediate return on
investment can be realized. By addressing baseline infrastructure requirements, the organization is
Customer Success – Global Management Consulting Company

building a solid foundation for future network expansion that deliver the reliability necessary to meet
future growth plans.

IT leaders believe they will save close to 30% of their network equipment budget by protecting their
equipment as well as gain the confidence of knowing they are reducing the risk to their IT staff and
supporting the strategic needs of the business.

What started as a simple meeting to discuss vendor relations ended up delivering a significant risk
management strategy for the organization. When asked what advice they had for others, IT leaders at
this global management consulting firm had an interesting take. They cautioned others not to believe
they have everything covered and to be willing to bring vendors into strategy discussions. Too often,
they warn, IT leaders get caught up focusing solely on meeting internal customer need or putting out
fires, and ignore strategic projects that could have a significant impact on moving the business forward.

You can’t be afraid to ask for advice from your vendor, they say, but also recognize the organization
must have a solid relationship based on years of trust – a vendor that is watching over the business like
it is their own. The only thing better, they add, is not having to ask at all. And, in this case, TCG was the
only vendor to alert the organization to the level of exposure and risk and deliver a comprehensive
grounding and bonding solution resulting in truly exceptional vendor-customer partnership.

ABOUT TECHNICAL CONSULTING GROUP

When it comes to business technology, getting from where you are to where you want to be requires
calculated guidance. On the road to success, one wrong turn can send your company in a dozen wrong
directions. Suddenly, technology is no longer solving problems—it’s creating them.

At TCG, we specialize in leading businesses down the path of technology. By providing customized, one-
source solutions for a full range of IT issues, we ensure that our clients get the most from technology,
instead of being held down by it.

HEADQUARTERS
714 S. Negley, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA
877.884.9671 phone 877.884.9671 fax
www.tcongrp.com