Skanska has, on behalf of Telia Skanova, laid 1,250 km of backbone fibre from Örebro to Luleå. The Backbone North cable increases the capacity and security of the transport network to the north—a must for Facebook's large datacentres in Luleå. Trimble's smart app Novapoint GO has been used to streamline and ensure the quality of the construction work.
“It has taken two years to lay the 125-mile-long cable,” says Martin Omberg, project engineer and district economist at Skanska in Östersund.
Colloquially known as the "Facebook cable", the Backbone North cable passes through 26 municipalities. The stretch runs through varying terrain and differing ground conditions such as forest, mountain ranges and waterways. Telia has prioritized high security for the cable, so there are no parts above ground. Most of it is buried along roads, but it has also gone under waterways
Close dialogue required
“The project was challenging in several ways. It required careful planning and continuous dialogue with Telia, various landowners, county administrations and the Swedish Transport Administration.”
“One of the challenges was to communicate obstacles, errors and the need for adjustments throughout production. Quick decisions were necessary to keep up the pace of production,” Martin says.
Novapoint GO for control and monitoring
“We have benefited greatly from Novapoint GO,” he continues. Trimble’s app is developed for construction managers and production personnel who do the monitoring, documentation and control outside of the facility.”
“For quality assurance, the entire route must be continuously documented with pictures. Documenting things with a smartphone camera is something anyone can do, but without a tool like Novapoint GO you don't know exactly where along the route the picture was taken. If, for example, we took 100 pictures along a section, 99 of them would be in a cable shaft that looks the same.”
