INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
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Judging the safety of your
cabling standards
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is also potentially more stringent than the
containment that is holding it.
erhaps one of the most overlooked
elements of Information Technology
is also one of the most under-
appreciated. How well your cabling
infrastructure performs has a massive impact
on the speed of your network and your
ability to please your customers. We spoke to
industry experts asking for their opinions on
two cabling topics.
Furthermore, in the UK and some other
countries, there are local electrical
regulations. Those in the UK dictate how
a cable is installed to prevent a premature
collapse in the event of fire.
NARENDER VASANDANI, RCDD,
TECHNICAL MANAGER MIDDLE EAST
AND INDIA AT SIEMON
How can the safety standards of
cabling infrastructure be judged?
OSAMA ABED, TECHNICAL MANAGER
(GULF, MIDDLE EAST, EAST AND SOUTH
AFRICA), NEXANS CABLING SOLUTIONS
Safety is a top priority in the IT industry and in
structure cabling. Safety needs to be ensured
in two parts that require careful consideration
by the installers. Part one is the safety of
products themselves, where each component
of the structured cabling products has special
considerations for the safety.
For example, cables jackets should be LSZH
(Low Smoke Zero Halogen) instead of the
conventional PVC plastic cable jackets, since
LSZH is safe to humans in case of fire while
PVC is toxic. Nexans has ensured that all
cabling solutions and cables used for indoor
operation, including copper and fibre optics
cables and patch cords, have LSZH jackets to
ensure human safety in case of fires.
The second part is the safety of operation.
In copper cables, for example, and since the
majority of new installations utilise different
grades of Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
technologies, it is very important to test the
components of the copper cabling solution
and ensure that they are designed to
prevent accidental exposure of people to PoE
powers to avoid the risk of electrical shocks.
This is accomplished by implementing robust
www.intelligentcio.com
Osama Abed, Technical Manager (Gulf,
Middle East, East and South Africa), Nexans
Cabling Solutions
insulation in the components, in addition
to providing certain grounding techniques,
which are incorporated in the components’
design to ensure that these products are
grounded correctly to prevent the electrical
hazards and other issues that can result from
improper grounding.
PAUL CAVE, TECHNICAL PRE-SALES
MANAGER, EXCEL
This is very much down to local and regional
regulation and codes. One example in
Europe focuses on cables that became part
of the revised CPR, Construction Products
Regulation, which goes much further than
the IEC 60332–1 flammability rating. Now
there are a number of different additional
requirements to consider, because it
is legally binding and enforceable, the
data cable has a new reaction to fire
classification that it has to adhere to. It is
not only more stringent than before, but it
On-the-job safety, whether for the
independent cabling contractor or for the
cabling technician working for an enterprise,
must be an integral part of everyday routine.
Although cabling installers are responsible
for observing general construction safety
standards like all other workers, their main
areas of concern will be electrical and low-
voltage safety.
A KEY TO
EFFECTIVE SAFETY
PROGRAMMES IS
WORKER TRAINING.
Electrical safety is a major concern of the
National Electrical Code (NEC), which is
published by the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA). The NEC accomplishes
this purpose, not by outlining specific safety
procedures, but by describing safe and
effective equipment and procedures.
A key to effective safety programmes is
worker training. One has to make sure that
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