Most entrepreneurs will understandably pay close attention to cost, performance, and marketing metrics when running a workplace. Their focus is homed in on nurturing a healthy cash flow and developing the business further.
However, these broad objectives can lead to oversights where the details of a workplace are concerned. Every responsible employer must maintain a safe working environment for their staff. In failing this, an onslaught of devastating ramifications for a company can soon follow.
Cable management is one such area that requires your close attention as an entrepreneur. After all, cables can be dangerous in many different contexts, so it’s essential to be vigilant and take these matters seriously. Underestimating the value and risk associated with your cables could place your firm in serious jeopardy.
Consequently, here are some tips to help you perfect your cable management approach.
Using Cable Glands
If you’re thinking of running any cables outdoors or in harsher environments, then you’ll need to invest in cable glands. These products will ensure your electrical currents run unimpeded.
These products secure the ends of cables that plug into your machines. They’re a crucial safeguard to have in place, protecting your cables from any exterior interference. Cable glands provide protection against things like corrosion, flammable gases, or moisture. Highly versatile in use, they’re an essential component of numerous workplaces.
Your electronics are likely crucial to your firm’s operations, so they need to be suitably maintained. Quality is important also, so extend your search to high-end products like these cable glands from Expert Electrical. They only stock the best and most reliable brands in the sector. Additionally, they have kits for internal and external uses, consumer units, and armoured and unarmoured cable types. Everything you need is here.
Erecting Signs
There’s no way to keep all cables tidy 100% of the time. If maintenance or building work is being carried out, for instance, then you can expect some chaos to ensue on this score.
Still, that doesn’t mean you should let your workers traipse through a workplace that resembles a warzone. Erecting the proper signage can be enough to cordon off areas and give workers plenty of notice about the trip hazards found nearby. You wouldn’t allow workers to walk across a wet floor, and you shouldn’t let them stumble over your cables either.
Of course, putting up signs might seem more like worker management than cable management. However, they could trip and then damage your cables in the process. Worker safety should be the priority, but ultimately, employees shouldn’t get the opportunity to damage company property either. Place some signs and prevent these incidents wherever necessary.
Remember What’s at Stake
Cable management can be a dull and dreary subject to talk or read about. Nobody would blame you for thinking this.
However, while some fleeting thoughts about all the tedium are permissible, you can’t let this affect how you orchestrate your cable management solutions. When your motivation wanes on this topic, it may be prudent to remind yourself of what’s at stake. Review the consequences of inaction here, and you’ll likely experience a second wind in your cable management efforts.
For example, if employees’ trip on a cable at work, your firm could be in direct violation of the Health and Safety at Work Act. From there, workers can consult solicitors who could feasibly find grounds to sue you, damaging your firm’s finances. Some of these incidents can be highly publicised, creating a point of no return for many companies as their reputation slides into the gutter.
Needless errors of judgment can have enormous consequences, so keep that in mind as you manage your firm. There’s no room for half measures anywhere else in your company, and the same principles should apply to your cable management solutions also.
Educating Employees
Hopefully, you’ve learnt something from reading our advice. However, it’s not a good idea to keep all of this information to yourself.
Instead, begin a dialogue with your employees about what you have read either here or elsewhere. After all, if they all work with machinery, then they’re responsible for cable management as well. Even computers require some maintenance work in this regard. Remember, standards need to be maintained company-wide to mitigate disasters.
Digital training courses can also cover electrical safety more comprehensively, with cable management often being a topic of its own therein. Perhaps signing your employees up for some extra learning could be a good use of their time? It may not be a popular decision, but if it keeps staff and the business safe, it’ll undoubtedly be worth the time.
The basics matter too. Many workers use computers and often complain that all their cables become entangled and messy. A simple solution is to first untangle the cables and then tie them together neatly and securely. An overhead knot should suffice. After that, no stray cables should snake away and cause problems. Inform some of your employees of these practices, and it could minimise annoyances and perhaps even prevent accidents.