OCG Services
Getting the job done right the first time.
Planning
"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
OCG prides ourselves on our ability to initiate, develop and maintain a plan through the entire lifecycle of a project. Planning does not just occur at the onset of the project; rather, it's a continual effort that focuses on the requirements of the now while looking toward the future to ensure that predetermined and well thought out steps are taken when risks materialize as issues.
Alternative Designs
Some people require the basics while others want all the bells and whistles. By providing alternative designs, we show our clients the pros and cons of the various alternatives to their projects. OCG's alternative designs are based upon findings from the our detailed needs assessments, and include elements such as performance, cost and schedule. For radio systems, radio coverage performance is without question the biggest driving factor and is what the end users expect the most from their new system. OCG provides detailed coverage analyses in all alternative designs, but we also provide Radio Coverage Workshops for our clients and perform real-time what-if scenarios to allow us to reach a consensus on number of sites and the level of in-building radio coverage required.
Contract Negotiations
After a vendor is selected, OCG assists our clients with contract negotiations to ensure that the vendor's proposal includes only the items that the client desires. This may include the addition of items or de-scoping of proposed items that may not provide adequate value for its cost. Vendors may price items differently and what may be a low cost option for one vendor may be very expensive from the next. During contract negotiations, competitive pricing from similar OCG projects are compared to ensure that our client is receiving the a fair price for their project.
Site Inspections
Lightning or power problems? No problem.
OCG staff is experienced with both EIA/TIA standards as well as industry guidelines such as Motorola R56. OCG will review the installation of grounding and lightning protection systems for conformance with industry standards and guidelines and will provide a detailed report of findings. OCG will provide recommendations for steps to take to improve the lightning protection and power systems. If desired, OCG can perform detailed engineering designs and develop scopes of work for bidding.
Business Case Development
A good idea does not make a project unless someone agrees to do it. Consultants are often engaged at the outset to help develop a business plan to transform an idea into a project. OCG works closely with our clients to identify the stakeholders and their needs, to identify the deficiencies of the current systems, to develop the requirements and define the benefits of the new system, to estimate the project costs, and to project the lifecycle schedule.
Detailed Designs
With an alternative selected, OCG develops a detailed system design that considers various elements such as system redundancy and disaster recovery options, interoperability, backhaul connectivity, communications facilities, power, features and functionality, project budgets, procurement and implementation schedules, etc.
OCG presents the detailed design to stakeholders at group workshops to achieve buy-in before moving to the procurement phase.
Implementation Oversight
During the implementation phase of the project, OCG offers our client multiple options for levels of support.
OCG's "light" option is for clients with existing technical staff and project managers that need a third party consultant to participate in project teleconferences, system staging testing and system acceptance testing.
OCG's "medium" option provides the same services but includes closer oversight and handles most of the technical related items, which is ideal for clients without strong technical staff or staff without adequate time to participate in the project.
Finally, OCG's "heavy" option provides full project management and technical oversight thereby assuming almost all project management and oversight responsibilities for the client. This is often done for very time-critical projects with a full-time dedicated resource.
Cellular Tower Reviews
When a cellular carrier wants to construct a new tower to fill in coverage or capacity holes, OCG is available to assist you to ensure that the proposed tower is required and that no alternative tower is available that could meet the needs of the carrier. OCG reviews the coverage analyses submitted by the carrier and compares them to analyses we perform ourselves. OCG also searches local and national databases for antenna support structures within the close proximity of the proposed tower and determines if any existing tower may be suitable for the carrier.
OCG also provides expert witness testimony at planning and zoning commission meetings to assist in the permitting decisions.
Needs Assessment
For OCG projects, operational requirements drive technology requirements, not the other way around. We start by performing comprehensive needs assessment that is focused on the needs of the end users. We accomplish this through the development of detailed questionnaires and interviews with the , users and stakeholders in both individual settings as well as in group settings. The individual sessions are important to aid those users and stakeholders who are less inclined to speak up in a group setting whereas the group meetings allow users and stakeholders to share their thoughts and concerns with others in a group setting..
Through this very important process, OCG develops a clear understanding of what is required to meet the needs of our clients.
Procurement Support
Depending upon the detailed design, OCG will develop either a competitive, vendor-neutral Request for Proposals or a Scope of Work for a sole-source procurement. For competitive procurements, OCG also assists with the developing the proposal response requirements and evaluation criteria, assists at the pre-proposal conference and responds to vendors questions during the proposal development period.
Upon receipt of proposals, OCG performs a detailed review of each technical proposal based upon objective criteria. After the the evaluation of technical proposals, OCG reviews the price proposals in a similar manner. OCG is often asked to provide a recommendation, although some procurements seek only technical advice, with the scoring performed by the agency's selection committee.
Tower Management
OCG actively markets our clients' tower site assets to add commercial carriers for revenue generation. OCG reaches out to the primary carriers and provides technical and leasing information, processes co-location applications, and manages the revenue stream for our clients.
Project Management
Project management is an OCG function in every project. OCG prides ourselves on the fact that 80% of our staff are Project Management Professionals (PMP) certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI is a world renown not for profit association that established strict criteria for project management certifications. Besides the many years of project management experience, each of our PMPs have over 50 hours of classroom training and 30 hours of continuing education.