The Importance of Cable Management

Cable management is key to optimizing an office, industrial, institutional or business workspace by keeping cords organized, functional and neat. It ensures that cables and wires are contained in a manner that allows efficient and effective workflows. It keeps cables secure, tucked away from equipment and prevents them from tangling.

With effective cable management, you can improve safety and reduce clutter in workspaces while also enhancing the performance of computer networks. Keep reading to understand exactly what cable management means and the benefits it can accrue to your business. 

What Is Cable Management?

Cable management refers to the organizational practice of harnessing cables and wires into single and easy-to-manage bundles. It ensures the cables are identifiable and prevents them from sprawling, shifting and moving around all over the floor. It also helps to maintain basic functionality and optimal performance while allowing room for easy maintenance and troubleshooting of the systems they connect to.  

There are many types of cable management systems you can use to organize your workspaces to keep cables out of the way and protect them from damage. Common examples of cable management devices include cable clips, ties, retractors and protectors. 

Benefits of Cable Management

Cable management offers numerous visual and functional benefits for many types of workspaces. The following are some of the top benefits of effective cable management.

1. Enhances Workspace Aesthetics

The main advantage of cable management is that it eliminates clutter resulting from tangled wires and cables. As a result, you have a clean and neat workspace that’s easy and convenient to work on. Cable management also ensures there’s ample space on the desk to enable an ergonomic working environment. 

Additionally, a workspace is generally cleaner when cables are secured because dust and dirt have fewer places to stick to. It’s also easier to clean around the workspace when cables are securely tucked away. An organized and aesthetic workspace appeals to more customers and clients because it shows that your business is professional and organized.

2. Provides Access for Easy Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Well-organized, tagged and marked cables make it easier for maintenance personnel to identify cable issues and resolve them promptly. Proper cable management also reduces the amount of handling necessary to isolate the right cable. Too much handling can cause kinks and other issues that might impede the cable’s function or use. It also makes system or network troubleshooting faster and easier because cable testing is usually one of the first tasks in diagnosing issues. 

Routine system and network maintenance tasks are also more efficient where there are no piled or tangled cables to dig through. Besides, better cable management reduces wear and tear, increasing their longevity and reducing the amount of time spent conducting maintenance, repairs and replacements.

3. Improves Computer Performance 

Good airflow is among the key factors that affect a computer’s performance and life span. Ideally, a computer should be able to dissipate the heat it produces while running through fans that direct it outside from the rear. This is a critical process because when computers get too hot, they reduce performance to prevent damaging the processor.

When cables are mismanaged, they risk blocking the vents through which the heat is dissipated, making the computer overheat. The overheating causes a drop in the performance of components such as the processor and graphics card, slowing down the computer. In networking systems, too much heat causes termination points to expand, dropping network speeds.

Cable management ensures sufficient airflow that, in turn, enables all components to run optimally without having to drop performance. Good airflow around your computer systems and networks also brings about cost savings for the business by enhancing energy efficiency. This is possible thanks to reduced heat resistance, which typically drives up power bills.

4. Eliminates Safety Hazards

When cables and cords hang around the back of the equipment and pile up on the floor, they pose many safety risks for everyone with access to the space. For starters, they are slip-and-fall hazards that may cause employees to injure themselves and ultimately lead to unprecedented lawsuits. Tripping over cabling may also lead to significant losses when they bring down the computer or rip the cables apart.

Furthermore, tangled cables may make it more difficult to evacuate a building in case of a fire emergency. Unmanaged cables may also be a hazard in the workplace because they are subject to constant wear and tear. This may cause them to fray, exposing some wires and increasing the risk of heat damage to electronic equipment in case of spikes or power surges. 

You can use cable management systems such as floor cords to secure foot-snagging cables to the floor and cable protectors to prevent sagging and tangling. This way, you protect the cables from constant abrasion and prevent them from being safety hazards.

5. Boosts Productivity 

Securing cables may increase productivity in a workplace by eliminating overheating of computer systems, which causes subsequent performance drops and hinders productivity. Tangled cables also detract from productivity when people trip over cables, causing them to come undone, shutting down networks or causing devices to crash. 

You can enhance productivity more by color-coding cables based on their uses and bundling them together to make it easier for workers to identify, access and handle. Bundling cables can have a positive effect on employee morale because they need less time figuring out which cables they need. It also helps to reduce downtime caused by processor performance drops or workplace accidents resulting from loose cabling.

Cable management also makes it easier to move things without upsetting the rest of the devices around it. Whether you need to move a machine for servicing or pack up all your gear to transfer to a different space, cable management makes this transition much more efficient. 

Get Effective Cable Management From Jonathan Engineered Solutions

The best cable management systems ensure safety in the workplace, improve productivity and make maintenance and troubleshooting easier while ensuring the workspace remains visually appealing. Jonathan Engineered Solution is a reliable supplier of numerous effective cable management systems to help optimize work environments.

We offer heavy-duty 1U and 2U cable protectors that can be used for various applications across different industries. Our ruggedized protectors are available in varying lengths and heights to suit your unique needs. To implement effective cable management, find a local representative or contact us online today if you have any further questions.