Cable Labelling
Fitting a permanent marker matching the name on the diagram to both ends of every core. Labelling lengthens the installation time somewhat but saves hours in every fault search afterwards. It removes the need to trace a single core through a harness from end to end.
In a good labelling system every core carries a single identifier and that same identifier appears on the wiring diagram, on the terminal block and at both ends of the cable. That way you know which end you are pulling without measuring.
- Durability: handwritten tape becomes unreadable over time. Printed heat-shrink labels, engraved rings or number rings last longer outdoors.
- Both-ends rule: if the label is fitted at one end only, it loses its function in a repair where the harness is cut in the middle.
- Content: the core number or the function name is written; a colour description such as "red" is not enough because a harness contains many cores of the same colour.
- Diagram agreement: the labels must match the diagram exactly; a connection changed in the field must also be recorded on the diagram.
Multi-function crane remote control and lift kit installations contain dozens of cores. Finding a single broken core in an unlabelled harness turns a job that takes a few minutes in a labelled harness into hours.
The context in which this term is used: Installation, redundancy and field continuity