Patrick von Hagen, there are many different facets to panel building. How important is cable management from the perspective of an electrical panel builder?
Quite simply, we wouldn’t be in business if we didn’t have the best cable management practices. It is crucial for two essential reasons. One is to protect the cable itself, which in turn determines whether the electrical panel operates reliably over its lifetime. This also protects and ensures operation of dependent equipment and installations. And secondly, good cable management in electrical panels is about safety.
When you say safety, do you mean a safe installation?
Yes, the safety of the installation, of course. But what I’m really getting at is safety for the people who work around our panels and in installations. Many people forget that an electrical panel is also a workplace.
You recently began sourcing all your cable management solutions from HellermannTyton. What role did safety considerations play in the decision?
A crucial one, but as I mentioned earlier, in general, our two primary aims are to protect the cable, and to protect those whose health and safety might be in danger because cable is not properly ducted and protected. These were the main reasons why we chose HellermannTyton as our source.
Could you spell out for us what this means in practice?
Let’s take ducting and the issue of EHS. If wiring duct for an electrical panel has sharp edges or burrs, it's going to damage the cable directly, and in the long term that will lead to dangers that directly affect personnel during and after installation. But those who work on panels are also exposed to the ducting edges, which in some cases can cause immediate injury. Panel builders are working with ducts all day. They're putting their fingers inside them, running their hands along them. Any burrs or sharp edges are going to cause injury, and that means downtime, health issues and ultimately higher costs.
Were there any specific products that influenced your decision to change to HellermannTyton?
Actually, the quality and a space-saving range of solutions – like the wiring duct – strongly influenced the decision. As panel builders, we look for completeness in a range – dimensions, suitability for the application, and a wide choice of products. If we can source all products and sizes we need from one company, we can build better, more efficiently and more safely, and we require less space, because the solution is perfect for the size and use. That said, in practical terms, that meant knowing we have a reliable partner in sourcing all the ducts we need from one company, or, say, various corrugated tubing and holders that keep things really tight and snug. Then there’s the braided sleeving – the list goes on, but these are products we use in large quantities, and we know they’re high-quality and suitable for the application. But it also goes beyond the products themselves, although these obviously must be absolutely top-class. We like the way you’ve bundled your expertise into a special team for electrical panel building.
You’re referring to our Team Protection?
Yes, the team itself, because we talk to your team quite a lot and they give us lots of helpful tips. But you’ve also bundled resources, so we don’t have to look around in different places to find the knowledge we’re seeking. Like the products themselves, we find what we need from one provider and all in one place. That saves time and streamlines our processes. In short, we can draw on your expertise and it helps us build better electrical panels. We’re very happy with our business relationship.
Patrick von Hagen, thank you for talking to us.
