Big projects rarely fall apart because of one massive mistake. It’s usually a bunch of small decisions that add up.

So, what would you do if you carefully planned your network layout around official blueprints, but production decided to change the timeline and start using the building before it was even finished? Would you stick to the original plan? Or would you scramble to rig a temporary solution?

In the following story, one IT support specialist encounters this situation while designing a network for a warehouse. Here’s the full scoop.

Just a minor problem with timing

It was decided that one of the manufacturing plants I was supporting would be expanded with a big new warehouse, new shipping offices, new employee breakrooms, automatic boxing, auto printing, a huge palletizer, etc.

I requested a set of the plans as CAD drawings (I did CAD way, way back, adequate, just not speedy) and got them.

So based on what I asked and was told, I laid out where I want network IDFs (Intermediate Distribution Frames) to make sure I could cover everything. I asked a bunch of people and a ton of “What Ifs.”

No problem, laid it out and submitted it for the contractors.

The production team had different ideas.

Well, as it turned out, production decided to turn up the production line and use the new shipping docks before the warehouse was completed – they’d just use one corner.

Uh, ..ok..

The kicker to this was that the storage area I planned to use and had quoted to install my IDF was pushed to the back burner, to be framed at all, much less finished.

Oh, and the contractor couldn’t install the fiber quickly enough.

They needed a lot more network.

We ended up wall-mounting an IDF about 90m from an existing IDF, so we strung copper CAT5 and got enough drops and Wi-Fi APs running to make production happy.

All’s well that ends well – as it turned out, there was a LOT more network required than production had told me.

The “temp” IDF became permanent, and TWO additional IDF’s were added to support the docks and shipping offices, all eventually on fiber.

It all got straightened out, but it took time.

For what it’s worth, I never saw a full project scope on the project, and the general contractor was changed halfway through.

There were about 6 different equipment-specific PLC contractors, and the internal “project manager” was a recently graduated quasi-IE (a kid up against an experienced contractor who knew every trick).

Eventually, it was smoothed out, but what a struggle.

Yikes! This whole process sounds like a headache.

Let’s check out if the people over at Reddit can relate to what happened.

Well, this is sad.

Interesting point.

This person can relate.

Here’s someone who’s happy he saw it through.

What a giant mess!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.