CABLES
MITIGATING RISK
ELAND CABLES
HOW TO IDENTIFY A SUBSTANDARD
OR NON-COMPLIANT CABLE
If you’re looking for a list of things that
as a specifier or electrical engineer you
can quickly cross off against then you’re
going to be disappointed. The truth is,
you’re lucky if you can spot substandard
cable just by looking at it – and it probably
means it’s a pretty major defect. But don’t
let that stop you reading as there are
measures you can take to mitigate the risk.
For a cable to be substandard cable or
non-compliant cable it can have a wide
range of problems, all of which can have
potentially damaging effects on both the
short-term and long-term operational
viability of your project. The cable
conductor may have a reduced copper
content; the minimum or mean thickness
of the insulation may not meet the
required measurement; the braid coverage
may be reduced – and that’s before you
start to think about whether it meets the
requirements of the RoHS Directive, the
Low Voltage Directive, CE marking, CPR
compliance… There’s any number of issues
to consider.
So what can you do? If you can’t be
sure you can see it just by looking, we
recommend considering the following:
Where are you buying the cable from?
It sounds obvious, but are you buying
from a legitimate source? A trusted cable
supplier who can provide the evidence
of batch traceability and compliance
certification. Whilst next-day delivery
and stock availability are vital parts of the
service, so is having a knowledgeable and
trusted point of contact and a set of QA
protocols they follow that you can rely on.
Has it been independently tested?
Choosing a supplier you trust means also
putting your trust in their supply chain.
Manufacturers conduct their own pre-
despatch testing but with high quality
cables manufactured throughout Europe,
the Middle East, India and China that
may feel like a leap of faith even if they
are reliably compliant. What provides the
added assurance is independent testing.
Does your chosen supplier offer that?
Look out for ISO 170205 accreditation – it’s
the highest standard for laboratories and
certifies the impartiality and accuracy of
the results they produce.
Does it hold a third-party accreditation?
There are a number of well-respected
third-party accreditations for cables,
including BASEC, LPCB, and the BSI
Kitemark. It’s worth remembering that
no one body accredits all types of cable
and their testing protocols will differ, but
a cable holding a third-party mark can
provide valuable additional assurances. As
a business, our portfolio includes cables
holding BASEC and LPCB approval but we
also hold the BSI Cable Testing Verification
Kitemark, an intensive and rigorous
programme of testing that quality marks
specific reels and drums rather than across
product ranges.
So really, procuring and installing quality,
compliant cable (and avoiding the risk
of substandard cable) is straightforward
enough – it’s all about making sure
someone else is doing the checking!
To find out more, visit
www.elandcables.com
Issue 40 PECM
67