IS TEO (Technology Engineering and Operations) and RESO (Real Estate Strategy and Operations) partnered to kick off a project related to intermediate distribution frame (IDF) closets in our facilities. The goal of this project is to create a system standard for management of IDF space to include technical requirements, space use, maintenance agreements, power supply, ownership, and regulatory compliance. The project team objective is to deliver a plan for audit, clean-up, and ongoing management.
What is an IDF closet?
IDF closets, which are centrally located within buildings, connect and manage the cabling for network and telecommunications between internal locations. Cables are connected via IDFs to provide network connectivity in each location. Business demands sometimes mean we sacrifice standardization for speed, so, historically, these closets have also been used for storage and were often not well-organized. There are an estimated 2,500 IDF closet spaces throughout both our acute and non-acute facilities.
“Reliability starts with standardization. In the last year, we have identified high risk technology deployments in infrastructure and are addressing them directly via hardware upgrades. This effort would not be possible without the support and partnership of RESO. I am looking forward to continuing this effort in partnership with our valued partners.”
Mike King, vice president, Network Services
What did the project team do?
A team of leaders from across several business lines created an enterprise standard, which included standardizing the cable design. The intent of this standard ensures that closets are kept clean and organized to make it easy to find connections when remediation is needed. This results in faster resolution times for our caregivers and the delivery of care to our patients.
The ultimate goal is for property management and regulatory compliance to move to transition oversight to local Facility Engineering teams. The project team has collaborated to update our technical standards for IDF spaces, and has created a tool to inventory and audit all existing spaces across the system.
An RFP was issued to five vendors in partnership with REH (Resource Engineering & Hospitality) using their Scout RFP platform. The RFP includes inventory, audit, and clean-up of existing IDF closets and spaces across the system.
“As both of our teams focus on maintaining critical services in our ministries, efforts like the IDF project are a great example of partnering together to correct current deficiencies and define accountability for regulatory, quality and safety requirements going forward.”
Susan Gillespie, exec. director, real estate operations
Next steps
The project team plans to review and score the vendor responses due to be submitted March 26, 2021. With budget approval, the awarded vendor will complete a full inventory and audit of all IDF spaces. Additionally, a plan will be developed and implemented for clean-up, upgrade, and maintenance. Once the IDF closets and spaces are to standard, the oversight and maintenance of these spaces will transition to Facility Engineering. Ongoing audit and inventory will be maintained in the new work order system. A small team will maintain governance of IDF standards and ongoing use as our facilities, regulatory requirements, and technology needs continue to evolve.