Data and electrical services provider Whitestar Solutions has doubled productivity since replacing its existing cable certifier fleet with LanTEK IV testers from TREND Networks.
Formed in 2000, Whitestar Solutions, based in Hemel Hempstead, UK, specialises in delivering projects within the education sector, including schools, colleges, and universities nationwide. The data cabling projects generally need to be turned around quickly during the 6-week summer holiday period. This is often challenging, as the equivalent of three to four months’ work can be required in this short timeframe.
In 2020, the company’s fleet of testers were due for renewal. On finding a superior and more cost-effective solution in LanTEK IV cable certifiers, Whitestar Solutions opted to update its fleet by partnering with TREND Networks over its previous supplier.
“The first job we used the LanTEK for was for London Business School,” says Gavin Atkins, Project Supervisor for Whitestar Solutions.” There were over 4000 data points to be installed, but with LanTEK on our side and helping us through, the job ran smoothly and was a complete success.”
LanTEK IV is easy to use, with a responsive touchscreen and simple user interface. Moreover, it saves significant amounts of time, as it enables the user to test and save a Cat6A link in just 7 seconds.
“We now have the LanTEK certifier, capable of testing within 7 seconds, which is twice as quick as anything we have ever had before. That means our productivity on site has literally doubled overnight,” says John English, Managing Director for Whitestar Solutions.
Gavin Atkins continues: “When you’re testing thousands of data points, every second counts and that combined with the VisiLINQ reduces the time spent on any job.”
VisiLINQ Permanent Link Adapters enable technicians to work smarter, not harder. They make it possible to initiate testing and view the results, all without needing to carry or touch the tester. Users simply press the VisiLINQ test button and wait for the coloured light to indicate the result.
“When you’re testing in a noisy environment you can see the green light flash and, without having to waste time looking down at the screen, you know that it has passed and you can go on to the next project,” says Gavin.
Another productivity boosting feature which has benefitted Whitestar Solutions is the TREND AnyWARE Cloud, the fastest cloud test management system in the world. Project Managers can also pre-configure all project information in the TREND AnyWARE Cloud for Field Technicians to download, helping improve accuracy.
“Before the cloud, our engineers would be responsible for inputting their own test IDs, which on occasion, a mistake could happen,” explains John English. “One digit out, could mean that a 1000 test project would need to be manually changed in the office, which would add time to the project.”
The TREND AnyWARE Cloud also allows real time collaboration between Project Managers and Field Technicians, making test reports quicker to produce.
John continues: “With our previous supplier, when it came to issuing test results, we either had to send the testers back to the office, or the engineers saved test results to the USB stick, both of which were very time consuming from an admin point of view. But now with LanTEK, the results are seamlessly synced to the cloud and our project managers can issue test reports to the clients on the day the project is completed.”
Even if Whitestar Solutions’ technicians do not have access to Wi-Fi, they can easily connect the LanTEK cable certifier to their phone. This means that wherever they are working in the country, they can transfer the test results to the office for sign off with minimal fuss.
“Working in the education sector, time and speed are of the essence. With our previous supplier, when we had a tester go in for calibration, we could sometimes be a tester down for one to two weeks,” says John English. “With TREND, the tester goes in one day, and we’ve got a loan unit the next. Downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.”
TREND Networks also provides a lifetime support promise, to offer calibration and repair for the LanTEK IV cable certifier for as long as it is in use.
Technical support is also available globally, with a two-hour response time promise, to further help maximise productivity.
“Our previous supplier wanted the large investment all in one go, whereas with TREND Networks they were buying into our beliefs, which was building a partnership and providing that financial flexibility,” says John English. “We are planning to grow over the next three to five years and we’re confident that we can depend on TREND Networks to come on that journey with us.”
Find out more about LanTEK IV cable certifiers here
For more information on how TREND Networks and Whitestar Solutions have worked together, watch a video here
