Johannesburg, 27 Mar 2018
Being able to quickly and accurately identify cables and components in a data centre, for instance, can make any repair or maintenance work that much quicker and more effective. Properly identified wires, cables and components give you an immediate insight into how an installation works and how it's connected. The safety and security implications are clear, not to mention the time saved on trying to figure out where each cable goes.
There are multiple reasons for clearly labelling cables and components. Not only will it enable you to immediately recognise what needs checking during troubleshooting, you can clearly mark parts for upcoming upgrades, trace the history and supplier of a component or cable, and know how long each item has been installed for, and you can also add safety warnings or precautions to items that require them.
Karen Lambrechts, EMEA Senior Product Marketing Manager Wire ID at Brady, says labelling and identification of cables and electronic components needn't be complicated, the trick is to ask the right questions ahead of time. These are the four key questions that will help any business decide what kind of marker or label is best suited for their purpose:
1. Is there an industry specification that must be met?
2. What environment will the labels be exposed to?
3. Are you marking the wires before or after termination?
4. What is the gauge of wire you are marking?
The answers to these questions will help you to decide what type of label is required, which will determine the label printer you may need. A decent label printer will be easy to use, require minimal formatting or programming, and will be able to print reliable, industrial grade labels that stay attached and remain legible in your environment. A qwerty keyboard and large screen will make it easier to avoid typographical errors. The ability to print assorted sizes of labels on a single device will also be useful.
There are five basic types of labels that you can use to identify cables and components:
* Wrap around labels - these are ideal for marking cables and wires of various diameters.
* Cable flags are ideal for getting larger amounts of data (such as barcodes) on small diameter wire and cables.
* Cable tags are great to identify thicker cables or bundles of cables, and can be fastened with cable ties.
* Sleeves are a flexible identification solution that can be moved along a cable until heat shrunk into position. Sleeves need to be applied before cable termination.
* Slide-on labels are rigid carrier and insert cable identification solutions that can easily be updated by replacing the insert.
Choosing the right labelling solution for your specific application enables you to make repairs and carry out installation updates and upgrades faster, in a safer, more secure way and with a reduced risk of human error. It provides improved visibility into all of your cabling and component installations while ensuring compliance with standards or company policies.
Finally, accurate and up-to-date labelling means that any installer or maintenance professional is able to work on the site, not only the person who knows which cable goes where.
Lambrechts says: "Businesses need to consider how much time or money they stand to lose while someone is trying to trace an unidentied faulty cable, wire or component so that they can get vital machinery, production lines, servers and services back on line."
To read more about how to choose the right cable and component labels for your business, click here to download the Identify any Cable and Component guide.
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