FYI … The cleaning techniques of decades ago are not keeping up with requirements for improved network speed and performance.

* share this Tech Note ...

International Electronics Group Selects Sticklers®® Cleaners for “Best Practices”

Starting early in 2016, the Electronics Technicians Association International (“ETA”) will be featuring the Sticklers®® fiber optic cleaners in the very first edition of their new “best practices” technical bulletins (“BPB”) distributed to all their members. The reason for the BPB guides is to supplement other industry standards, such as those from ISO, IPC, and iNEMI. The ETA standards are to be a quick reference and practical guide to help the techs who need a fast answer. This publication will define the best practices for cleaning fiber optic connectors because so many electrical techs today are being tasked to handle fiber installations as well as electrical.

“As technology evolves, industry standards are not keeping up,” notes Sticklers®’ product manager …

“Standards can take five years or more to develop. That’s why these Best Practice Bulletins (BPB) are being developed: to fill the gaps. BPBs will be application-specific documents in an easy-to-understand format; a quick ‘how-to’ refresher on a smartphone that could mean the difference between success or failure.”

At Sticklers®, installation problems are a story heard every day. The cleaning techniques of decades ago are not meeting the requirements for improved network speed and performance. For example, the Sticklers® team just received this email from a client in New Zealand: “Fibre cleaning is a scorching topic in NZ currently. Connections to the Fibre-to-the-Home network [they] are building are increasing faster than they can handle. This is bringing lots of less-skilled labor into the workforce. It’s interesting that they are now starting to agree with many of the published figures about the percentage of faults being caused by dirty connectors. The good news is that they are promoting the Sticklers®® CleanClicker® cleaner as the recommended cleaning device… the High Volume Cleaning Kits include the CleanClicker® cleaners as a mandatory item for their contractors.”

ETA and this client are correct: provide technicians with the right tools and they will do a better job. That means faster, more reliable networks operating at lower costs. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.