Polishing Up Practices to Produce Professional Installations

What distinguishes a truly professional security system installation from all the others? The answer is craftsmanship practiced by an experienced tradesman. These days, it seems like I see fewer and fewer of what I would call professionally installed systems.

Recently, I saw a residential installation with the system cabling being fed through the back of the main control panel. Normally, this would not raise any suspicion. However, after taking a closer look, I noticed all of the terminated wires in the panel were short and as tight as a banjo string. On further investigation, I removed the panel from the wall only to reveal that the previous installer had balled all the cables in a big “bird’s nest” behind the panel and hidden it in the wall. Arrgh!!

This was a good example of how not to install. If any of you are interested in seeing this horrible installation along with some others, go to the Web site http://members.cox.net/alarman/links.htm. Thanks to Jack Stevens, owner of Safe and Sound Co. of Spring Valley, Calif., for sharing some photos in this installation horror gallery.

Who is at fault for this phenomenon? Sadly, there are many factors that cause poor installations; some of which include lack of time, leadership, resources and training. Compounding the problem, we have apprentices learning from others who already do a poor job at installing systems.

To help address this growing concern, I thought it would be good to look at some ways you can improve the quality of our system installations.

Planning the Installation
Planning is the first and most important step to a professional installation. A list should be drafted of everyone who will be involved in the project. According to page 106 of Herrick & McKim’s “Telecommunications Wiring” (Prentice Hall Co, N.J.), this could include:

  • The architect who is designing the building
  • Managers from different departments who will be involved in equipment operation and integration
  • A data communication engineer for design of network connectivity and performance
  • The facilities engineer/security director who will determine location of equipment, cabling ducts, tunnels, open conduits, etc.
  • Technical support personnel that will be performing the installation
  • Outside consultants and vendors to assist in equipment-specific design and installation suggestions (also a good training resource)

Additionally, don’t forget to consult with the local electrical inspector or AHJ with reference to any electrical and life-safety issues. Make sure the scope of work has been defined, including, in detail, work to be provided by any subcontractors or agents.

Good and accurate drawings of the installation should be prepared. A greater number of jurisdictions now require security system plans be submitted when applying for permits. Larger project plans may include many sections, such as floor, riser, detailed equipment views (see diagram on page 24 of October issue) and cabling charts.

Don’t Be Lazy With Labeling
Many of us rely on the hand marking of cable sleeves (Tip: Mark at both the end and at least a foot up on the cable sleeve on newly pulled cable. If you only mark at the end, it is too easy to strip the jacket and accidentally remove label marking when installing.). However, one of the best equipment investments a professional installer can make is in a good label maker. A truly professional installation is clearly marked with a printed label that conforms to locations on charts and plans.

Get in the habit of having a wiring and equipment label designating such things as floor, room, panel and device/port number. On larger installations, you may additionally indicate riser/backbone and building numbers. The labeling standard TIA/EIA-606-A provides a good labeling structure that you may either be required to comply with or adapt as your label-wiring template.

A typical 606-compliant labeling example would be the cable label “2A-B01,” in which 2 is the floor, A is the equipment room, B is the panel and 01 is the device/port.

Orderly Placement Within Panels
A properly planned installation will typically have many cables going from each alarm sensor to a control cabinet in what is referred as a “home run” installation. The key challenge to making your installation professional is to arrange the equipment and cabinet cabling so it is easy to access and identify. There are two panel equipment configurations. One is the rack configuration, which allows for many boards to be placed side-by-side in a manufacturer-supplied rack. This is good for limited space in the equipment room.

Another technique is a “tile”-mount configuration, in which the boards are placed flat in a larger generic cabinet. This allows for cabling to be more open and easier to access and service.

A good trick to help with cable placement, more formally known as wire management, is to use plastic slotted ducting such as that provided by Panduit Corp. (www.panduit.com). This ducting will provide a path for cable placement in the cabinets.

Options with this type of ducting include an internal divider for separating 24V power cables and sensitive data cables; ducts with multilevel holes vs. slots, which allow for more specific distribution; and snap-on covers for further protection, isolation and identification. (Tip: Create a cover for your slotted ducting by flipping a separate piece of slotted ducting and pushing it over the finished and filled duct.)

Keeping Cabling Clean
I would like to wrap things up with some suggestions on bundling and security cabling assemblies.

There is always a fine line between making sure cabling in a panel or rack is secure and neat, and making it accessible for future changes caused by additions and service calls. While many of us use latching-type nylon cable ties, these can be a problem when having to remove and replace during rewiring. Today, we see an increase in the use of Velcro(r)-type reusable ties.

A little while back, I ran across a handy new type of reusable tie-wrap called the Mille-Tie(r). These ties are made out of a soft, molded rubber-loop construction that allows for some unique, reusable strapping applications. They come in plenum and other special colors and configurations. (Tip: Make sure you use plenum-rated tie-wraps when working in an above-ceiling plenum area.) Be sure to take a close look at the demos at www.millepede.com.

Another method to secure cabling with a removable device is the special tabs that can be used with some of Panduit’s slotted duct lines. These tabs slip into the duct slots and go over the cabling in the duct. They can be temporarily removed for adding more cable and then replaced in the slots to re-secure the cabling in the duct. Don’t you just love those simple, but handy, ideas?

 

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