Product Improvement of the Month

Object Birth Certificate

When a new service location has been installed, and the ONT is activated for the first time, the installer should test and document the new fiber connection’s quality. With the new Object Birth Certificate functionality in COS Business Engine, this task is automated, thereby saving manual work and eliminating the risk of human error.

The system saves relevant information automatically as part of the installation work order process, and the stored data can later be used for comparison if there is a problem with a service location.

Diagnostic Data from ONT Saved During Installation 

When the ONT is connected to the service location in the COS Business Engine installation workflow, diagnostics information for the installed ONT is automatically retrieved and stored. This is done through the COS Zero Touch Provisioning integration with the hardware vendor EMS (Element Management System). The diagnostics information includes

• OLT/ONT status
• light levels
• active alarms and more

(Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the ONT is documented as installed at that specific address by scanning the ONT QR-code?)

Speed Test Step to Verify and Document Upload and Download Speeds

If there is a service order waiting, the service will be automatically activated by COS Business Engine as soon as the ONT has been installed and turned on. Now the installer can run a speed test as a mandatory step in the work order process. It can be run against the ONT or any wifi gateway installed as part of the installation process. Speed test results are also saved within COS Business Engine.

Screenshot showing the COS installer portal and the step where the installer is required to run a speedtest once the installation has been completed and the service has been automatically provisioned by COS Business Engine.

Benefits – Improved Operation and Support Capabilities

The benefit of storing the performance data in the system is likely obvious. If there are problems with the service location, it’s easy for the person troubleshooting to go back and compare current values to the original values from when the ONT was initially installed and the service first activated. 

Moreover, when a support ticket is created, a diagnostics snapshot is automatically retrieved and stored, including a link to the support ticket. This gives the support representative a unique edge in troubleshooting as they can review what the status was at the time the ticket was created and the customer experienced the problems. Perhaps to ONT was down due to a power issue, but is up and running again when the support rep is working on the ticket. 

All stored diagnostics and speed tests for the service location are listed on the Object page.

 

It is also possible to manually store diagnostics snapshots at any time from the admin interface and give them a descriptive name. 

 

Summary

Being able to see and compare historical diagnostics and speed tests is a great tool when troubleshooting and finding out if the problem was pre-existing or new or if the issue has already been resolved at the time of troubleshooting. As COS Systems documents this history automatically, you save time and eliminate the risk of human error such as with staff forgetting to document properly. Moreover,  this functionality reduces the need for training of new staff and the time it takes for new staff to be up and running.