NTT Blog

Fiber Optic Training for Industrial Workers

When you’re looking for training for your employees, you want to be sure it emphasizes safety. Some of the best practices for safe handling of fiber optics materials are these:

• Protect eyes from fiber optic fibers.
• Wear safety glasses with side shields when terminating fiber.
• Avoid touching eyes when working with bare fiber. Wash hands after handling
• Always work on a dark surface, so that you have contrast between the fiber and the surface.
• Avoid looking at the end of a fiber to see if it is in operation. Anyone who looks at the end of the fiber and sees red light may have overloaded the receptors in the retina, and could have eye damage.
• Fiber that penetrates the skin should be removed, as the body cannot dissolve glass. Removing fiber splinters is painful.
• No eating or drinking should take place in an area where fiber is being handled.
• All fiber should be disposed of carefully.
• Don’t allow smoking in the work area, as smoke and ashes can coat the fiber and cause a fire hazard.
• Keep a fiber optic safety hazard kit nearby, with safety goggles, alcohol wipe, fiber disposal can, tweezers, and a dark-colored working mat.

Fiber Optics Training

A seminar on fiber optics, leading to certification as a fiber optics technician, may be one of the best options for your employees. Trainings are available from career schools for those who work with IT systems, communication systems, instrumentation and control systems, and wireless and phone systems. Consider providing training for persons with the following job titles:

• IT technician
• Instrumentation technician
• Maintenance technician
• Fire alarm contractor
• Electrician
• Building engineer
• Plant and facility maintenance technicians

You will likely want a course or seminar that covers the following:

• Basics of fiber optics — components of systems, optical transmitters, LEDs and lasers, bandwidth, modal and chromatic dispersion, spectral width, attenuation and loss
• Installation of fiber optics
• Efficient installation techniques
• How to install, test, and certify fiber optic networks.
• Inspections, building, connections and testing
• Safe handling of fiber optics materials

Other topics the training should cover for the potential technician are these:

• Buffer types
• Fiber optic cable construction (including core, cladding, buffer jacket
• Outer jacket (strength, member types, applications)
• Specification sheets
• Various types of fiber optic cables, applications
• Tensile strength and bend radius
• Micro, macro bends
• Standards and fiber cable specifications
• Cable handling techniques

If you think your employees could benefit from fiber optics training, contact NTT Training and ask about the three-day Fiber Optics Training seminar, with the option to take the CFOT (Certified Fiber Optic Technician) exam after successful completion of the course.

For more information about National Technology Transfer or any of our programs click here: http://www.nttinc.com or http://www.nttinc.com/seminar-list-catalog/.