Download the FREE True Cost of Telco Damages worksheet HERE
The cost of cut or damaged communications cable can easily be underestimated when only repair costs are tracked and documented.
Improve your understanding of the real costs of a damage with this checklist based on insight from experienced professionals who have spent years working for communications companies.
What percent of hard and soft costs does your company collect? How do damages affect your brand?
Trackable Costs_______________
May or May Not Be Collected
○ External Collection Costs/Agency Commissions
○ Barricades / Traffic Control
○ Permits (city/county/state/provincial) to install replacement cables
○ Legal fees and litigation costs
○ Exposing the damage for repair
○ Materials used in repair
○ Restoration of the area
○ Actual cost of internal labor
○ Heavy Equipment used
○ Generator/Power Equipment
○ Food, lodging, travel expense
○ Emergency mobilization (Contractor/Locator)
Time
○ Damage site investigator
○ Collection efforts
○ Out of service complaints
○ Insurance resolution discussions
○ Overtime for unexpected increases in workloads
○ Employee time/travel for deposition and trial
Overlooked / Difficult to Track
○ Lost Customers
○ Customer loss of use (refunds/credits)
○ Resolution of customer complaints
○ Engineering / reengineering due to the cut
○ Establishing outage bridge to coordinate service interruption
○ Support staff (3-20) for outage bridge
○ Work load delays
○ Future failure points (Damage may weaken system and lead to future failure unattributed to 3rd party.)
○ Damage data capture and submission (software and /or manual)
○ Emergency One Call ticket notifications
○ Facility owner records updates
○ Reporting requirements (FAA, 911, PHMSA)
Soft Costs
○ Loss of brand confidence
○ Negative public feedback
○ Difficulty maintaining customer relationships, especial large businesses, with inconsistent services
Societal Costs
○ Loss of 911/emergency services
○ Businesses closing
○ Employee down time
○ Road closures/traffic delays
Watch for an article on this topic in the spring edition of the Damage Prevention Professional.