Cable management is something many people don’t give enough thought to when it comes to running a business successfully. The main focus of a business owner is to get the required network up and running and to start doing business as soon as possible. In that case, proper wiring gets overlooked.
Bad cable management can have a negative impact on business operations in the long run. To prevent such situations, it is highly recommended to put cables in proper order from the beginning. Before getting into details about poor cabling, it is essential to know what cable management actually is.
Proper Cable Management & Its Importance
The term ‘Cable Management’ basically means the proper management of electrical or optical cables. Managing wiring and related tasks are essential while setting up an office. It helps to maintain and change the cables very easily.
Good cable management makes the cables easier to use for the staff/employees. Tangled or unorganized cables can create sparks, which sometimes can lead to fire, which is always a risk to the life of the worker.
Cable management is also very important when it comes to troubleshooting. Well, aligned cables are very helpful for fast and efficient troubleshooting.
Not only for commercial purposes, but bad cabling is also responsible for various hazards in residential cases.
Poor Cable Management : Is it affecting Performance?
Good cable management not only makes your wires look organized, but it also helps to boost the performance of your work too.
In cases like pc-build, it will make your cabinet look cleaner, and sometimes it also saves you from unwanted troubles such as tangled cables. Tangled cables, also known as ‘Cable Spaghetti’, can be a serious pain in the head while repairing or changing a PC part.
Plus, it is needless to say that when fixing something takes a lot of time, then it is apparent that it’s gonna impact workflow. Bad cabling is one of the many reasons to delay the fixing time of desktop computers or other electrical hazards.
How Bad Cabling Affecting Airflow?
Bad cable Management really affects air flow. If you have arranged the cables like a spider web, there will be no space for the air to flow, and your cables can get seriously damaged by this.
is important to mention that initially, the performance would not get worse due to affected air flow. However, in the long run, your PC’s processor would get damaged due to bad cooling, and it will eventually degrade the performance.
Tying your cables in an organized manner (like Zip-tied) will help the air to flow through the cables, which will keep you away from any unnecessary troubles.
Why does proper cable management matter?
Poor Cable Management can make your awesome pc look like a mess. Good cable management always helps to keep the temperature of your pc a little low. So if you can keep down the temperature a little low for free, why not do that?
However, if you are using a modern and well-ventilated cabinet, it should not make much impact on your PC’s performance. But, yes, it’s going to make you spend a few bucks more.
To some extent, a CPU cooler can also keep your PC safe from being extremely hot, as it is keeping the radiator cool. However, the CPU cooler is not responsible to keep your PC’s graphics or video card safe.
On the other hand, one cannot simply ignore the hazards that happen due to improper wiring. Let’s see what terrible hazards can happen because of poor cable management.
Hazards Cause due to Bad Cable Management
· A workplace is supposed to have a professional ambiance where people get to work peacefully. Creating a professional yet positive atmosphere is limited to completing the work on time; many other things like having a neat and clean workstation are also necessary.
· A clean workplace is appealing to both your employees and clients. This is because tangled wires covered with dust is not a pleasant sight, plus it can seriously make people sick who are allergic to dust.
· As mentioned earlier, both workflow and network performance can slow down if any problem occurs in any machine. It will be hard for the technicians to look for the fault in a major cable trap.
· For PC gamers, the graphics card is one of the necessities. If the PC gets heated then its parts are definitely going to get affected. Intake fan can be helpful to keep the PC cool.
The graphics card gets cool air from the side of the intake fan. Still, the gaming experience can get affected if the cables are not properly managed. This is because the cables will cause a hindrance which will affect the airflow.
· Electrical shock can even cause death or major injuries. Due to improper handling of cables, the cables get damaged easily. Damaged cables can cause accidents due to electrical shock.
· Messy wires can make people trip and fall, which might cause serious damage to their health.
· Well maintained cables result in a faster connection. If you are getting a slow or loose connection, then it might be the fault of bad cabling.
· If the cabling is not well maintained, even in your house, then it can cause disaster for your children or even for yourself.
Fixing Cable Management Issues
You can get only five things correct. It won’t create a mess while managing cables. Here are the Techniques :
Hiding rather than positioning the Plug and Cords: It might be easier to plug and switch on the PC with the nearest outlet possible, but that is not the solution. Think about positioning the surge protector at first, then choose the power outlet.
1. One of the best ways to place the surge protector is under your desk. In this way, all the cables can get routed behind the desktop and not anything else.
2. If under the desk doesn’t seem appropriate for you, as you might use a standing or glass desk, placing the surge protector between the desk and the wall can be another option.
3. Or, getting a box and placing the surge protector in it can solve all the other problems.
Hiding the wires from the desktop can make your workstation a neat and clean one.
Tying-up the wires: well, this doesn’t mean that you need to tie-up all the wires and create a nuisance. There are plenty of useful things available in the market to manage your cables. Reusable cable ties, cable clips, cord identifiers, “cordies”, cable zipper sleeve organizers are some of the popular choices to get your job done and make your desk neat and clean.
Make the Cable Length short: The desk will not look messy with so many cables if it positioned neatly. Shortening the cable length can save some space on your table. There are some DIY methods like “Cablebone” & “loop,” which are truly going to help you in cable management.
Identifying Cables: Cable management not only means that one needs to put the cables in zip ties and then leave it like it there. Undoubtedly the usage of zip ties can keep you out of the mess.
Still, after arranging all the cables, it is necessary to classify those. This process is essential because the purpose of each cable is different. That’s why labeling or marking those wires is important because it would get easier to identify them later when needed.
The process is simple. Bread clips can be a good option to mark the cables. Though bread clips might not work in case of thick wires, you can give it a try. Other than that, using duct tape can solve the issue. Get colored duct tapes, and write on it after wrapping the cables with the tape.
Gather Unused Cables in a place: Phone’s charger, USB cables, earphones might not get used all the time, but they still can make your workplace look messy. Plus, those wires have got a tendency to get tangled all the time.
A clean desk or workplace doesn’t have such cluttered items. It is important to position the cables in the right place and find those easily when needed.
You can buy all-purpose silicon putty online to make cord holders keep all your unused cables in the right place.
Using Modular Power Supply: Loose unused cables dangling from the non-modular power supply is a dreadful thing. It would be better if you can connect the cables that are being used and leave the rest. A modular power supply can help you in such case. In this way you can save both space and time while managing wires.
Conclusion
Following the processes which are mentioned above can fix the wiring problem. It is true that de-cluttering is hectic and seems like a never-ending job. However keep in mind that your efforts will be worthy as your desk, or work-place is going to look wonderful. Plus, your house would be clean and safe for both your children and you.
