Talking cleats: Vital components of cable management
04Jan
posted by: Richard Shaw, Ellis Patents
Who would have thought that something as simple looking as a cable cleat could cause so much debate? Yet, despite both European and International standards regulating their use, their role in electrical installations is still not fully understood – something Richard Shaw, Managing Director of Ellis Patents, felt he could help to clear up.
Cable cleats explained
For an electrical installation to be deemed safe, cables need to be restrained in a manner that can withstand the forces they generate, including those generated during a short circuit. This is the job that cable cleats are specifically designed to do.
Take them away, and the dangers posed by a short circuit are plentiful – costly damage to cables and cable management systems, plus the risk to life posed by incorrectly or poorly restrained live cables.
It’s important to bear in mind that it’s not just the use of a cable cleat that is vital, but the use of a correctly specified cable cleat – all an underspecified product would do in a short circuit situation would be to add to the shrapnel.
The key issue surrounding cable cleats is that their importance has been severely underestimated. Therefore, instead of being treated as a vital element of any cable management installation, they are too frequently lumped in with the electrical sundries.
Read the full article in the January issue of PBSI
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