Fluke Networks has unveiled LinkWare Live, the first cloud-based service that lets contractors, cable installers and project managers using the Versiv family of certification testers to upload, manage, and analyse certification test results from cabling projects—anytime, anywhere.

LinkWare Live works with DSX-5000, OptiFibre Pro, and CertiFibre Pro certification testers to optimise project management and safeguard contractor profitability by providing real-time access to testing results, extending support to technicians in the field, and eliminating costly truck rolls simply for tester transport back to the office. LinkWare Live is a free service available to all Versiv customers.

According to recent Fluke Networks surveys of more than 1,000 cable installers (who had collectively installed approximately 1 million links in the previous month), poor test results management creates a significant drag on productivity and profitability:

• eighty-three per cent reported having one or more test results management issues in the month prior to the survey
• the average time contractors spent dealing with test result issues in a single month was 15.2 hours—nearly two full workdays, not including the hours required to get the test results back to the office for analysing and reporting
• half of the respondents said it would be beneficial to access project status information from any location.

Project managers struggle with manual, error-prone results management processes
Collecting certification test results is a significant challenge because they are stored in testers that frequently move from one job site to another. These job sites can be hundreds of kilometres away from one another, as well as from headquarters. Accidentally erased or failed memory cards can negate several days’ worth of work, leading to costly truck rolls, lowered profit margins and delayed payment.

LinkWare Live saves time, reduces rework and improves profitability
By uploading tests to LinkWare Live regularly, project managers can save trips solely to collect results, prevent data loss and continuously track project progress. LinkWare Live also automatically organises test results by job, eliminating the painstaking task of manually combining files from multiple testers.

Managing test results through a cloud-based service offers significant advantages:

• increased productivity by no longer needing to manually transport testers from the field just to download test results
• reduced time spent categorising and compiling test results by automatically consolidating them into the correct job
• less rework by reducing the likelihood of losing test results when testers or memory cards are lost, stolen or erased
• faster troubleshooting by providing instant access to results from anywhere
• real-time visibility into project status from any location.

Using LinkWare Live, contractors can achieve greater project profitability; increase the potential for more project wins; and use its unique analytics and benchmarking to improve installation, certification and troubleshooting efforts out in the field.