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Long equipment lead times have become a familiar challenge for telecom project managers. A project can be well into construction before the team receives an anticipated ship date, only to learn that a critical piece of equipment is 30, 40 or even more than 52 weeks away.
Those delays affect the project schedule and planned capital spending. Across a large portfolio of projects, that disrupts annual budgets and broader financial planning.
So, what can project managers do about it?
Equipment lead times should be part of the conversation during planning and design.
Once the team has a general idea of the equipment being considered, a call to the manufacturer’s sales representative can provide a ballpark lead time. You don’t necessarily need a completed design first. A preferred manufacturer or shortlist, approximate capacity, and general equipment configuration may be enough to start the conversation.
That information gives the project team a data point to consider while the design, budget, and schedule are still being developed.
Of course, “call your representative” only works if a project manager knows who to call.
Many project managers won’t. Manufacturers may have different representatives assigned to end users, engineers, and contractors, and the person closest to a particular project may not be the client’s national account contact.
That’s where a design team, like WB, can help. Engineers and contractors often already have relationships with the appropriate manufacturer representatives and can make those calls on the client’s behalf.
Getting an answer early gives the project team something else that’s valuable: time to consider the alternatives.
The instinct may be to simply switch manufacturers. That’s one possibility, but it isn’t the only one. Depending on the facility’s requirements, there may be opportunities to specify a different type or size of equipment that is experiencing lower demand.
That’s particularly relevant as data center development increases demand for certain mechanical and electrical products. Not every telecom facility needs to specify the same equipment that hyperscale facilities are buying. In some cases, selecting equipment from a different product category or production line may help the project avoid the most congested queues.
For examples, view our equipment lead-time comparison, which highlights alternative equipment options and current lead times.
One specification change will not eliminate every long lead time, but project teams can be proactive by asking about equipment availability during design, while there’s still time to account for it in the project schedule or evaluate alternatives.
If you’d like to start that conversation or learn more about addressing long equipment lead times in telecom facilities, I’d be happy to chat. Email me at ebjorndal@wbengineering.com.
