Safety Measures When Terminating Fibre Optic Cables

Fibre optics is becoming more and more common to use in many different areas. It's very possible you have many systems using fibre optics in your home, whether it is for lighting or the internet. Sometimes, you might have to repair or get rid of fibre optic cables to optimise your systems. If you are unsure, you should contact a licensed electrician, but if you want to handle this on your own, there are some things you should think about. Fibre optic cables are not items you usually consider to be dangerous pieces of equipment. However, when terminating fibre optic cables, there are some safety precautions you should take before attempting.

Protect your eyes

The most important thing when terminating fibre optics is to protect your eyes. As you must peel the cable to terminate it, the fibres could separate and create splinters that could penetrate your skin as well as getting into your eyes. Wear protective gloves and glasses that also offer protection on the side of our face and not just the front of your eyes. Also, make sure you don't look directly into the end of the cable to see if it's still glowing. The light could damage your eyes permanently. Instead, use a mirror that you direct the cable to that you can look in to see if it's still glowing.

Choose your workspace and operate with care

Work on a dark surface to easily spot pieces of glass and fibres. Make sure you clean the surface thoroughly both before you start working and after. You should also make sure you don't ingest any food or drink by your workspace. Pieces of glass could end up in the food or drink and cause internal bleeding after being ingested. You should also make sure to wash your hands before eating anything after conducting the termination, even if you've been wearing gloves for the same reason.

Gather debris with tape

To make sure you don't have to touch any pieces of the dismantled cable, you should also make sure you gather the leftover pieces continuously while you're working. The easiest way to do this without you having to buy any expensive cleaning products is to use electrical tape. Put the tape on an assigned area with the sticky side up where you then dispose of the pieces that are being created while terminating your fibre optic cable. This will keep all the small pieces retained and also makes clean up easier as you can just pick up the mat of tape and throw it away.

For more information, contact your local data cabling service.