Conduit Labeled Hl
Fairy Dawdy
I'm trying to use airtable to organize some wire and cable take-off quantities and routing for a large scale construction project. The main entities (tables) are wire/cable, conduit, and pull/junction boxes. The boxes are like the nodes, the conduit link nodes together, and the wire runs through the conduit and boxes from an origin box to a terminal box. There may be many levels of branching. Possible that there is some spider-webbing as opposed to just straight branching but not positive yet (rare if so).
I have the table setup so that there is a record of conduits, with an "origin" and "destination field each linking to the table of pullboxes. This link defines the end points, or nodes, of the conduit IE Conduit #1 goes from Pullbox A to Pullbox B. Conduit #2 goes from Pullbox A to Pullbox C, Conduit #3 goes from Pullbox B to Pullbox D, Conduit #4 goes from Pullbox D to Pullbox E, etc etc. Always going to be one pullbox on either end of a conduit (1-1 conduit beginning/end points to a pullbox)
The pullbox table would have a list of all pullboxes (nodes) and could be and each box would be flagged if it was in fact an origin box (wires start there IE a power drop point) or a terminal box (the piece of equipment the wires go to at the end of a run).
The wire table would have a list of all the different wires on the project, and then be linked to the conduits they run through. This should be relationship then also already define which pullboxes they pass through, as the pullboxes are defined as each end of the conduit the wires were assigned to. Wires will start at one or more origin boxes and then group up going into conduits (many wires per conduit) but might branch at pullboxes). For the example above, Wires #1-5 might go from PB A to PB B through Conduit #1 and Wires #6-10 would go from PB A to PB C through Conduit #2. When Wires #1-5 get to PB B, Wires #1-3 could go to PB D through conduit #3 while wires #4-5 go somewhere else.
I currently have this setup linking conduit ends to pullboxes, wires to conduits, and then the conduits are also linked to themselves defining parent-child relationships on the conduit routing (IE Conduit #1 feeds in Box B which has Conduit #2 exiting PB B, therefore Conduit #1 is the parent conduit of Conduit #2 and possible others).
I have this basic working in the org chart extension, the caveat being that I want to label both the connecting lines of the chart (which would be the conduits) and the nodes of the chart (pullbox, what would usually be like the employee name). Basically I want the node (pull box) to just say the record Name and maybe 1-2 attributes from the record (IE Pullbox #1, 30x24, Concrete; Pullbox #2, 12x18, Metallic) AND then the connecting lines to be labeled with the conduit record names and attributes (IE line between PB #1 and PB #2 would be labeled Conduit #1 4" PVC Wires #1-5). The point is to show schematically how everything connects and then what the branching route specifically of the wires is, as they need to be organized and pulled through together (talking many hundreds of conducts of varying sizes and tens or hundreds of separate systems/branches).
Alternatively in a table format rather than a graphical format, if anyone can think of a way to get the conduits to be stated in order of the pull within a lookup or something similar (IE wire #1 gets pulled through Conduit #1 then Conduit #2 then Conduit #7) with the caveat that unfortunately the conduits are not always in numerical order and the names are more complex, so using alphabetical/numerical sorting would not help, that could work too.
EDIT: added a screen cap of the org chart extension. This shows records in "Conduits" as nodes, and the secondary field is a count of the # of wires in the conduit. The relationship field is the "Parent Conduit" field. This correctly shows the spread, but actually what I want is the boxes to be records from "Pull Boxes" and the nodes in this screenshot to be the lines between boxes (labeled as they are). The current nodes show what is actually the physical line (a conduit) that would connect two nodes (pull boxes).
Labeling electrical conduits is an important part of any new equipment installation. Equally important is keeping the labels on the conduits in good shape so they can be easily read. There are many reasons why these types of labels are such a good idea, not the least of which is the convenience they offer if something goes wrong.
While labeling a conduit may seem like a simple and almost unimportant task, that is not the case. Electrical conduits carry deadly amounts of electricity. When people access the conduits for maintenance or other reasons, the information on the labels can save lives. In addition, having equipment like this properly labeled can dramatically speed up the troubleshooting of problems since the technical team will be able to quickly determine where they need to go to find the issue.
The ASME A13.1 standard from ANSI is the most important standard related to labeling electrical conduits. It establishes a common system that can be used in almost any environment. While this set of standards applies to many types of piping systems, it is also used for electrical conduits.
As with all ANSI standards, this standard is not legally mandatory. Despite this, most companies follow this standard because it has been proven to be very effective. It also makes it much easier (and therefore more affordable) when a company brings in a third-party contractor to work on the wiring system.
Following a common standard will ensure people working on the electrical system know what to look for. In addition to making their jobs easier, it will also make it significantly safer for everyone involved.
The main standards for labeling electrical conduits are based on the size of the conduit itself. Similar to pipe marking strategies, the goal is to make sure the conduit labels can be seen and read as easily as possible. For smaller wiring jobs, this can present some challenges. The following are standards from ANSI for some common conduit sizes:
Unlike most types of label standards, electrical conduits don't have set requirements. Most of the time people use white labels with black text because it is easy to see. In some scenarios, however, using colors or white text on a black background might be better. Evaluating the location where the conduits will be placed and choosing the color options that are the most visible is the best way to get the needed results.
For very small electrical conduits, the standard practice is to use labeling that is as large as will fit. Some very small conduits can have tags applied rather than labels. These tags are tied or wrapped around the conduit. While not ideal for most situations, this is something to be aware of. This can also apply when running single wires through an area rather than through a normal conduit. The important thing to remember here is that having labels in place will help no matter the situation.
The most important part of any label is the text printed on it. Whether buying electrical conduit labels or printing them in-house, it is essential to ensure all the needed information is contained on the label so that when the conduits are accessed or worked on, the technicians know exactly what they are doing.
Since there is a limited amount of space on a label, not everything that might be useful will fit. With this in mind, companies must choose what to include and what to leave off. The following are some important types of information that should be included when possible:
If necessary, it can be a good idea to apply multiple labels to a single conduit. Placing them right next to each other will allow additional information to be provided. Putting the most important information on the label that is placed closest to the end of the conduit (or nearest to an access panel) is the best practice.
The official standards do not specify anything about the quality of the labels used, so it is up to each facility to decide on its own. Low-quality labeling solutions can fade or fall off over time, which makes them essentially useless. Long-lasting label solutions are very important because the labels typically won't need to be read for years since electrical wiring often doesn't have problems that frequently.
One great option is to choose heat shrink labeling. These labels can be printed off either by a third party printer or using a good quality industrial label printer. Once printed, they are applied to the conduit and shrunk down using a heat gun. Once done, the label appears to become one with the conduit itself. The labeling is very durable and long lasting, which makes it a great option.
More commonly, companies use their industrial label printer to create custom labels that will stick to the conduit. This is a very economical way to get exactly what you need, when you need it. Most electrical conduits will need to be labeled with detailed information that is specific to one company, which means generic labels won't often meet the requirements.
Having the ability to print off custom labels on site is a good option. In addition to being able to get the exact text needed, a facility that uses this option will be able to immediately print off new labels when they are required. If a new conduit is being installed, there will be no delay in getting the labeling done. If a conduit label is damaged, a new one can be printed to replace it right away.
As mentioned above, some facilities will use tags on smaller electrical conduits. This is a good solution to have available, but it should not be the first choice. Tags that dangle off the conduit can get pulled off much more easily than a label. In addition, if there are multiple conduits in an area, the tags can get tangled, and it can be confusing to see which tag applies to which conduit.
Once the labeling of electrical conduits is completed, a plan needs to be put in place for maintaining them. If a label becomes damaged or gets too dirty to read, then it won't serve its purpose. For conduits that are easily accessible, their cleaning and maintenance can be handled as part of the normal routine for the cleaning staff.
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