Hi
Rather than take the questions one at a time, I'll attempt to explain the skill-sets of different engineers and encompass your queries within the post.
You say you are getting a 'PSTN Engineer' on Monday. That is what we refer to as a 'Network Engineering visit', as opposed to a 'Broadband Engineering visit'. As such, the ECBT (Estimated come back time) will probably be less than the 2hours allocated to Broadband jobs. However, these timelines are only a guide as to how long historically, and as an average, a 'Noisy LTOK' type fault will take. Anything over this ECBT and the engineer will then be 'inefficient'. TBH, the eventual 'Clear-code' the engineer uses when closing the job, is what our performance system (i-POP) actually looks at and generates the stats from. Slightly off at a tangent, I know, but time is precious on tasks and I just want to make you aware that he/she won't want to be subject to the whole sordid tale, just make them aware in a potted format of whats gone on and what advice you've been given from engineers. My major concern is that you have a 'Network Engineering visit', so unless he's 1)Broadband trained and 2)Willing ........ he won't entertain anything you have to say about speeds, attenuation etc etc. Not because he's being awkward, but because he's not there to work on the DSL part of the circuit, just the PSTN (Telephone-speech).
The skill sets then. The lowest single skill (IMO) is the Frames Engineer. He's the guy in the exchange running 'Jumper wires' connecting up telephony and DSL and putting them through to the Bar/Pair (Fuses) that feed the Cabinet that in turn feeds the EU's premises.
Now then, with a 'Noisy LTOK' type fault, there is an extremely high chance of just getting a CAL/OMI engineer. Customer Apparatus and Line/ One Man Installer. This is really a very basic skill which sees them only working from the top of the telegraph pole into the EU's premises. So if there's a fault on the underground cables, they will have to either 'further' the job to an engineer with the right skills, or try a 'D-side pair change' from PCP to the Telegraph Pole.
If your premises are fed via an underground feed, rather than overhead, there's a chance you may get a CSE Engineer (Customer Services Engineer). This animal is trained to work on all parts of the plant and as such sticks with the job unless he too has to 'further' the task for a reason, such as safety, no line plant, traffic lights etc etc.
FJ. This is a Faultsman Jointer and basically he works on only the underground plant.
The cream of the crop are CSE with Broadband/Fibre skilled engineers (well, I would say that
), who, even though they are attending on a 'Network' visit, will sometimes and with time permitting, carry out DSL checks as well, in order to alleviate the EU's worries that the line may still be faulty. It really is down to who the engineer is and the relevant skill-set he has.
I do know that Broadband/FTTC repair is tagged to the CAL/OMI queues in 'Works Manager'. This is the machine that automatically 'Pins' the work out to engineers. Myself and others have argued that only CSE's should be upskilled to BB/FTTC, as we do get underground faults from time to time. As time goes by though, more and more CSE's are getting this training and IMO, giving a better service to ISP's and their EU's. Just to add my own personal bitter point, the 'cream of the crop' engineers do all the jobs above, including the Frames, and get paid exactly the same as the Frames Engineer. Ridiculous state of affairs that even Frames Engineers agree with,
As we know, you're getting a 'Network' visit, so a lot of your Broadband questions won't be getting answered I'm afraid. What I would personally do though if it was me attending on this 'Network' visit (so no Broadband faulting techniques), is to go straight to site. Strip the socket down so I'm effectively connecting straight onto the pair of wires coming from outside. Then my first job would be to perform a PQT (Pair Quality Test) which is a high-end test that can unfortunately still not see a 'HR'. Also bear in mind not all engineers can do a PQT. I would then spend 10 mins listening on 17070 (Quiet Line Test). If noise is heard, or not, I would then proceed to attach a TDR meter and try to find a 'HR'. If one doesn't present itself, I would then ring the PSTN number with the TDR meter still attatched and continue looking for HR's. The higher AC voltages that ringing generates, sometimes shows the 'HR' when it's in its infancy so to speak. For info ... TDR is always best when testing back towards a voltage, rather than on a 'dead' pair.
If that still doesn't show anything, I would then head to the Cabinet and disconnect the D-side and perform a 'Leg Balance' test. This does as it says on the tin. It measures each leg seperately and will always give an accurate reading no matter how small the 'HR'. Along with this, I would perform other tests such as looking for 'Battery' or 'Earth' contact faults, that a low-end test like 'Eclipse', 'RAT' and 'TAMS' can't see. There could for instance be 3/4/5 V of 'Battery Contact' on your line and 'Eclipse' will still give a 'LTOK' result. If everything passes and the line is quiet at the Cabinet, there's not much else I could actually do.
If it was a Broadband Engineering Visit, I would do all the above plus run a DSL test and look for errors etc etc.
Regarding 'Network Records' that you ask about. All engineers have them on their Laptops, but as I've said earlier it rather depends on the engineer as to whether he can use them or not. In my experience, CAL/OMI engineers don't know how to use them but there are exceptions to the rule. FJ's and CSE's will definitely know how to use them.
I hope this answers some of your questions, and apologies if I've missed something. Your queries about DSLAM's, Lift & Shift etc ,are fruitless however because of the type of task you say has been built against your premises. Me persoanlly, I would have rather you had a 'Broadband Engineering Visit' from a CSE. That way everything is encompassed within the skill-set. Lets not panic just yet though, as you may get a great engineer who does indeed find a fault of some kind and then it's happy days again. Best of luck Paul.