Over the years, our company has served the State of Michigan and performed several projects for them. We have done projects for several of their facilities over a long period time through our trusted partnership.
A Dedicated Partner for Many Projects
We have done projects for several of their facilities including:
- Cadillac Place
- Constitution Hall
- Canfield Family Independence Agency
- Hall of Justice
- House of Representatives
These various projects help demonstrate the diversity and range of expertise that WTC has to offer to its clients. It also demonstrates that our clients are satisfied with our work and are happy to come back to us again and again.
Cadillac Place
The General Motors World Headquarters Building is and has been one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Detroit skyline for nearly three quarters of a century. When GM decided to move into their new downtown location at the Renaissance Center it was not without reason. The GM headquarters building had become outdated badly and was in desperate need of renovation. The State of Michigan began the renovation of the newly titled Cadillac Place in September of 2000. The solution seemed simple. Completely gut the building to allow access for new Heating/Cooling, Plumbing, Electrical, and Communications systems. The most experienced project managers in the construction industry could not even fully predict the size and magnitude of this project.
The challenges involving the communications installation were as much with accessibility as they were with the shear volume of cable required for data and voice locations involved in the project. Space and Design issues were worked out on a floor, by floor basis with a project manager on site at all times for the course of the project. The demolition and reconstruction was done in several phases with each floor and sometimes even sections of floors having individual time lines and completion deadline requirements. While the building was beginning construction on some floors the completion of others was required, and WTC, despite the seemingly chaotic atmosphere at times, did not miss a single deadline, and remained under budget.
The number of Voice/Data cables installed was immense at over 13,300 locations totaling over 400 miles of wire. The fiber optic routes were designed with a redundant theme and all future requirements for additional locations were considered within the riser cable design. Set in a two closet per floor system, 36 IDF's contained 24 MM and 12 SM strands of fiber and 300 copper riser pairs per closet.
A New GM Location
The General Motors World Headquarters Building is and has been one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Detroit skyline for nearly three quarters of a century. When GM decided to move into their new downtown location at the Renaissance Center it was not without reason. The GM headquarters building had become outdated badly and was in desperate need of renovation. The State of Michigan began the renovation of the newly titled Cadillac Place in September of 2000. The solution seemed simple. Completely gut the building to allow access for new Heating/Cooling, Plumbing, Electrical, and Communications systems.
Over 400 Miles of Wire
The number of Voice/Data cables installed was immense at over 13,300 locations totaling over 400 miles of wire. The fiber optic routes were designed with a redundant theme and all future requirements for additional locations were considered within the riser cable design.
A Two Closet Per Floor System
Set in a two closet per floor system, 36 IDF's contained 24 MM and 12 SM strands of fiber and 300 copper riser pairs per closet. Here you see a voice cabling wall field with 110-300 distribution blocks. Each vertical column in this photo is capable of terminating up to 1200 riser and station cable pairs.
"I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for the impeccable work you and your company did on the House Office Building."
Constitution Hall
The State of Michigan's new Constitution Hall in Lansing MI was the type of smooth flowing project that all communications and construction firms wish for. WTC worked with Christman Construction, Inc. in providing a quality communications installation, while fulfilling all contractual timelines flawlessly.
The Seven story, 2-tower building wasn't completely without challenges however. The installation process for the riser cable was complex, due to the connectivity provided for the two closets per tower, in addition to connecting the towers themselves. WTC provided the cable and installation for a State of Michigan designed 36 strand MM ringed system throughout the building.
On a per floor average there were 200, one voice/one data locations. All communications provided at workstation locations were complete and functioned at the highest standards possible upon the buildings opening.
A Smooth Flowing Project
The State of Michigan's new Constitution Hall in Lansing was the type of smooth flowing project that all communications and construction firms wish for.
Many Components Working Together
Pictured here is one of the several IDF's spread throughout the building. Incoming feeds from the MDF are via fiber optic cables which are housed in the gray box at the top of the rack. Below are the Gigaspeed patch panels and finally the various switches and routers needed to manage this section of the network.
Ladder Rack Support
Pictured here is the voice distribution wall field in one of the IDF's. Ladder rack is used to manage and support the various cables in this room. Incoming voice feeds are supplied via an ARMM 100-pair cable.
Canfield Family Independence Agency
In April of 1998, the design team at WTC submitted a Design Win for the Canfield Family Independence Agency in Detroit. It offered some interesting as well as challenging engineering problems, with over 400 1 voice/2 data locations terminating in 1 central Telecommunications Closet. It all began with the design and installation of 300 feet of B-Line Center-rail. leading out from 5 equipment racks. The Western Tel-Com team coordinated directly with facilities management to insure that our design did not interfere with any HVAC or Electrical installation.
The building required over 300,000 feet of cable, sixteen 48 port patch panels, and totaled over 2,400 terminations. The project required over 150 hours of testing, with a report of individual results provided at completion. The inspection for the Systimax Certification was done in November of 1998. The 20 year Warranty certificate was presented to the Canfield FIA administrative supervisor on the day of the buildings grand opening.
Data Patch Panel Termination
While today's data cables are resilient and less prone to damage than predecessors, it is still of great importance that cables be managed, secured, and terminated properly. All WTC technicians are taught to manage cables effectively, working the cable into a natural flow right up to the point of termination. While many telecommunications companies are satisfied with simply meeting ASNI EIA/TIA standards for termination, WTC technicians are continuously prompted to achieve higher levels of skill culminating in not only a superior patch panel termination but also a more professional end result.
Multi-Rack Patch Panel System
As outlined in the State of Michigan Master Contract, WTC utilized color-coded cable installations for all State of Michigan projects. Here you can see a photo revealing the rear of a multi-rack system. The body of the incoming cables was supported by a ladder-rack, allowing for efficient distribution of station cables to their proper patch panels. Notice the smooth and symmetrical flow of the station cables as they are distributed down into the patch panel termination modules.
Voice Field
All of the 400 voice cables distributed throughout the building come back to this field of 110 termination blocks. The cables are managed using d-rings that are secured to the fire-treated plywood backer-board. Notice the blue color-coded marking strips in the 110 blocks. While certainly not an exciting feature, it is a powerful example of WTC's commitment to finishing a project to completion, and to meeting the exacting standards practiced by the State of Michigan Inspectors.
Multi-Rack Data System
This is a wider angle shot of the data rack system in the TC and gives a better view of the overall design utilized on this project. Notice that the end rack contains no patch panels at all. This end rack was installed to support a fiber termination shelf and other networking hardware that utilizes the patch panel system next to it. It should be noted that WTC was in no way responsible for the patch cord management on the front end of these patch panels.
"The project passed inspection easily and the quality of work was the best I have seen. Again and again, WTC came through in a pinch. WTC not only met my expectations they exceeded them."
Hall of Justice
The beautifully designed, new State of Michigan Hall of Justice building began construction in October of 2001. WTC is once again working with Christman Construction INC. on the building, which is set for completion in October of 2002. The new construction building is a half moon shaped designed incredibly pleasing to the eye.
It is a seven-floor structure that contains two IDF's per floor. Its riser system contains 12mm/6sm fiber optic cable provided from the MDF to each IDF with an identical cable connecting each of the floors two IDF's together. The station cabling will be provided at over 1000 locations and will consist of 4 Giga speed wires at each location, combining for a total of approximately 800,000 ft of cable throughout the building.
The building will carry a 20-year Warranty on all Labor and Material that should last longer than any of the technologies involved with the voice and data networks.
Beautifully Designed with a Half-Moon Shape
The beautifully designed, new State of Michigan Hall of Justice building began construction in October of 2001. The new construction building is a half moon shaped designed incredibly pleasing to the eye.
Over 800,000 Feet of Cable Throughout the Building
It is a seven-floor structure that contains two IDF's per floor. Its riser system contains 12mm/6sm fiber optic cable provided from the MDF to each IDF with an identical cable connecting each of the floors two IDF's together. The station cabling will be provided at over 1000 locations and will consist of 4 Giga speed wires at each location, combining for a total of approximately 800,000 ft of cable throughout the building.
House of Representatives Office Building
Immense, challenging, and progressive are only a few words that can describe the project at the Legislative Office Building, in Lansing, Michigan. The building consisted of two towers, one 14 stories and the other 11 stories high. The 1200 locations, were comprised of 3 Gigaspeed and 1 CAT5 cable. With approximately 1/4 of these in a zone topology, the design will be able to accommodate the buildings needs for the present, as well as, far into the 21st Century.
The 25 Telecommunications Closets were connected by 3200 pairs of Copper Riser Cable for voice applications. Approximately 900,000 feet of horizontal cable was installed, terminated and tested. The installation, which was held to stringent timelines and standards, was completed in October of 1999 and Systimax Certified in the same month.
Tele-Com Closet, Data Rack
Here you can see an example of a simpler data rack and patch panel system. This closet feeds a single floor in one tower of the building. The system was designed for optimal network control and management. At the time that this photo was taken there were no routers or servers installed and so the rack looks rather empty. Notice, however, that the patch panel retains ample space for future expansions of the network grid covered by this rack. Expandability is one feature that is almost always designed into a network cabling project.
Voice Distribution
Pictured here is a voice distribution field in one of the telecommunications closets. The station cables are terminated on 110 series termination blocks and pathed into the closet on suspended cable tray. The main voice feed is supplied by a 50 pair ARMM grounded and shielded cable, notice the large black splice case. Data network connectivity is achieved on a fiber optic pathway running throughout the building and feed from the main telecommunications closet. The overall build of this network installation ensures a high-speed and effective communications infrastructure for state legislators well into the twenty-first century.
Voice Distribution Interchange
The building infrastructure provided WTC techs with a challenge on this project. As part of a creative distribution design, WTC techs installed several of these ceiling access voice panels. This solution is an excellent example of the ingenuity displayed by WTC staff on a regular basis and is indicative of the creativity possessed by our teams.
