Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Solutions for Cable Management

  • By Clint Strong
  • 08/01/15

Many universities and colleges recognize the growing need to provide their students and faculty access to technology throughout the campus. However, many historic campuses date back to the mid-1850s, with many of the current academic and administrative buildings having been built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Due to the age of much of the infrastructure most universities are ill equipped to conveniently bring power, data and A/V access to where it is needed for today’s technology.

Finding the solution needed to bring power, data and A/V access and cable management to every classroom, library and office can be a daunting task, and often core drilling is seen as the only option. Core drilling involves drilling holes in the concrete floor slab, installing conduits through these holes and routing them beneath the floor slab to the new poke-through device. With trenching, a portion of the concrete floor slab is saw-cut and removed. Conduits and electrical devices are put in place and the floor slab is then patched with new concrete. Many are discovering, though, that the costs of core drilling and trenching are too expensive. According to a recent RSMeans study, avoiding core drilling or trenching and using an alternative method can save 50 percent or more.

The growing need for retrofitting campuses is unabated and institutions must think beyond solutions invented nearly a century ago. The keys to success are to effectively and affordably bring power, data and telecommunications from the wall to wherever it is needed while having the flexibility to adjust and grow as technology continues to evolve.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Clint Strong, CEO of Connectrac® (www.connectrac.com), is the company’s founder and a licensed architect. Connectrac is the new standard in modular, bringing cable management in all interior applications, supplanting expensive core drilling with its floor-based wireway. Contact Clint at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.