Civil site construction is a process that all telecommunications companies must go through in order to install new telecommunications sites or upgrade existing infrastructure. By understanding the different aspects of civil site construction, you can minimize potential problems and ensure your project is completed on time and within budget. There are numerous regulatory hurdles to overcome, as well as careful planning required to ensure that the work is completed quickly and without incident. Let’s take a look at some of the key aspects of civil site construction, and we’ll outline some of the challenges that telecom companies face during this process.

What Is Civil Site Construction?

Civil site construction is a process that is used to prepare a site for the construction of a building or other infrastructure. This process includes raw land construction, as well as the installation of utilities and other support structures. Civil site construction is necessary an important step in any telecom construction project, and it is critical that it be done correctly to ensure the success of a project.

Pre-Construction: Performing a full site analysis prior to any sort of construction is the best way to get a full picture of the newly purchased plot of raw land. This also starts the planning process to create a scope of work including engineering, noting layouts, required space, proper permitting, and any demolition or removal of existing landscape or structures.

Raw Land Construction: Now that the preconstruction phase is complete, proper permits have been acquired, and the scope of work has been determined, site preparation can now begin. It is in this stage that any grading, access road creation, and removal of any structures, debris, trees, etc. takes place to prepare for construction.

Foundation Creation: This is the time when concrete foundations for the telecom shelter, generator pad, and entrance can be prepped and poured. It is important in this step to determine where the conduit will be coming into the shelter and tape or block it off to ensure no concrete accidentally gets into the conduit.

Logistics and Shelter Placement: A project manager should have already scheduled for shelter and equipment delivery. Getting a shelter delivered is a very carefully orchestrated event. A project manager has to line up the delivery of the shelter with the arrival of the crane on-site so that the shelter offload can happen on time with no delays. Once the shelter, generator, and other equipment are placed it is time to get everything installed and wired up.

Electrical and Standby Power Installation: The site will need electrical and grounding to be done before it is operational. This is important and required to maintain safety for technicians and anyone else who may be on site. All of the electrical is serving both the AC and DC power equipment inside and outside of the telecom shelter.

An electrical meter is then placed on-site with a ground ring to anticipate any unwanted power surge or static build-up at the project site. An optional ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch) can also be installed alongside the generator on the outside of the shelter so backup power can be switched on automatically in case of an outage.

Maintenance Plan: The site is now up and operational, the last things that need to happen are site grading and landscaping, and close outs. This is where reseeding, rock, and fencing will be placed to finish out the site. This is also the point where any close out photos will be taken of the site for documentation.

The last and final step is to ensure the network is protected by creating and executing a short and long-term maintenance plan for all the site equipment and shelter. While most telecom shelters are constructed of precast concrete and designed to last for decades, most major companies fail to consider or plan for scheduled maintenance. The shelter, its components, stand-by power, and the civil site itself, all require scheduled servicing and maintenance to keep the network up and running efficiently, ensuring the building and equipment exceed their average lifespan.

Laying the Groundwork for Success

Construction of a telecom civil site is a multi-step process that can be complicated. But have no fear, CellSite Solutions has the expertise and skillset to help you through every step of the process, from paperwork to construction and installation. We have worked on hundreds of telecom sites across North America and are ready to put our knowledge and experience to work for you. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with your next telecom civil site construction project.