AT&T Waiver Process

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AT&T Waiver Process

Brad [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Why the Waiver Process?AT&T Inc is comprised of former legacy companies. These companies followed legacy practices that differ from the current One AT&T set of standards.AT&T GES recognizes that a justifiable need may exist that may merit a deviation from the standard.The purpose of a waiver request is to initiate a review of deviations of engineering and installation standards for a specific job application, by the authorized SME.No work outside of current AT&T Standards may be performed without a formal waiver. Failure to comply with the waiver process will result in a quality audit finding. After a job has been completed it is not eligible for waiver consideration and any audit finding must be resolved with AQA. AQA will not recognize a waiver obtained after the job has been completed!


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Minimum Requirements on all Waiver Requests Failure to provide these requirements delays the process and extends the cycle time of the job.1. The name of the AT&T individual who is the OTV/SAV interface for the order (MEI, PM etc). ATTUID if

known2. The CLLI code for the office in question, including the address of the location.3. The local GNFO contact name and phone number for the individual you are working with on the

item. This applies to multi-CLLI requests.4. A detailed description of the issue in question, and the standard reference for the variance. Use of

photos, sketches, copies of floor plans and other visual aids is strongly encouraged, however visual information is not a substitute for the written description. Only the written description is retained in the waiver system data base. Visual aids should be included in the job folder.

5. All OTV/SAVs are required to supply their contact information and company name.6. The order number or any other specific order identification information to assist in tracking and

identification.All requests are required before the job start, when possible. If not, then during the installation when an issue arises but prior to any work affected by the issue is preformed (example: cable rack issue must be resolved before running cables on the affected racks). Similar to Ask Yourself.


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Submit the request

All requests for a waiver shall be sent to the waiver request email address [email protected]. Include the AT&T Engineer or AT&T Project Manager as an addressee. Upon receipt, AT&T personnel will input the formal request, as is, into the GEOLink system.The GEOLink Waiver System will assign a unique tracking number to each request, send the request to the appropriate SME and start the clock for time to resolve.



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Target Response Time

CablingDS0/DS1/DS3 cablingNetwork InfrastructureTransport/FiberVariance to drawings

AC PowerDC PowerBuilding InfrastructureGrounding SyncFire stopping

2 Business Days 5 Business Days


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Waiver status-Approved, Denied, DismissedAfter careful consideration, the SME will respond with either an approval, denial or dismissal. All approvals are subject to adherence to conditions described in the SME Comments section. Non-compliance to these conditions voids the approval.It is important to read the SME comments section for Dismissed and Denied waivers for SME instructions and guidance. Note: If a wavier request is denied and if the AT&T engineer can develop a compelling business case, they may seek Executive Director level approval to accept network reliability risk for the request. This Risk Acceptance must be agreed to by the GNO ED responsible for the affected office. This will be documented in the waiver system.


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Blanket waivers

The only blanket waivers are those which explicitly describe “BLANKET WAIVER” in the SME Comments. A waiver that has been approved for one order number may not be used to cover additional orders, even if the issue is similar. Blanket waivers are not granted for any “capacity” type issues. Blanket waivers are generally granted for existing conditions that AT&T intends to grandfather (bare ground systems, low aux bar systems, etc)


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Frequently Observed Errors• AT&T Engineer not copied on the email request• Poor waiver description• Standard reference not provided• AT&T Engineer not provided (only regular AT&T employees can submit

requests)• Wrong or missing order number• Wrong RR/FIC location• Not providing COLD confirmation (email) of office configuration, thermal and

cable management, floor plans. The waiver description should include part numbers/supplier (OEM) details of substituted parts. (Variance to drawing)

• Always send requests for status to [email protected] If an error is found in the waiver description section of the request it can be corrected, with SME consent. If it is any other place, on the form, the waiver will be voided and replaced with a new waiver



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We learn from waiver data and make improvementsThe SMEs learn from OTV/SAV first person accounts of actual office conditions and the challenges they present in achieving compliance to the standards. Along with input from AQA and GNFO/ATS field observations, the SMEs improve the language in the standards to address what they have learned.We add waiver types to better direct and focus the waiver request and improve data collection.Engineering Implementation uses waiver data to focus on efficiently correcting existing offices conditions to prepare for future growth.


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Waiver Process DataThe numbers and types (2008-2010) (Growth)2008 – 2254 Waivers83% Apr/7% Den/10% Dis

2009 – 4032 Waivers84% Apr/8% Den/8% Dis

2010 – 5701 Waivers81% Apr/7% Den/12% Dis

• Cabling – 553• DC – 267• D&P – 66• DS0/1/3 – 167• Grounding – 58• Ntwk Infr – 440• Fiber – 612• AC – 4

• Cabling – 1262• DC – 406• D&P – 50• DS0/1/3 – 180• Grounding – 45• Ntwk Infr - 827• Fiber – 1063• AC – 4• Bldg Infr – 6• VSD – 82 (2Q intro)• Fire Stopping – 1 (3Q intro)• Sync – 2 (4Q intro)

• Cabling – 1142• DC – 612• D&P – 91• DS0/1/3 – 157• Grounding – 60• Ntwk Infr – 868• Fiber – 1514• AC – 70• Bldg Infr – 73• VSD – 892• Fire Stopping – 47• Sync – 27


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Response Time PerformanceResponse Times (2008-2010)

2008 2009 2010

Met 2 Day Target95%

Met 5 Day Target94%

Met 2 Day Target94%

Met 5 Day Target90%

Met 2 Day Target90%

Met 5 Day Target94%


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So, what have you done for me lately

• Cabling – 150• DC – 150• D&P – 16• DS0/1/3 – 24• Grounding – 11• Ntwk Infr – 222• Fiber – 403• AC – 16• Bldg Infr – 15• VSD – 892• Fire Stopping – 22• Sync – 10

Met 2 Day Target89%

Met 5 Day Target94%

1Q 2011 – 1282 Waivers79% Apr/8% Den/13% Dis Response Time


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Final ThoughtsSolutions to problems shall always be sought that fall within current AT&T Standards. When this is not possible a formal waiver shall be requested. Formal waivers insure all parties are aware of specific issues and conditions within the network and understand the impact of these items.Contact AT&T GES Network Standards Support; Frank Fernandez, Don Norris and Brad Berry at [email protected] for assistance. NON-STANDARD WORK SHALL NOT BE PREFORMED WITHOUT A FORMAL APPROVED WAIVER FROM AT&T.


Documents

AT&T Waiver Process