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Finding the right cabinet: nameplates, photos and other ways

Controllers usually live in cabinets and panels in plant rooms, ceilings, risers and corners of workshops. When something stops, someone has to find the right one quickly.

The nameplate

Most cabinets carry a small label or nameplate on the door or the frame. It often holds a name or a number that was given to the cabinet when it was installed. When you are standing in front of a cabinet, that label is the best clue to what is inside, so make a note of it exactly as written.

Photos

A photo does what a description cannot. A good set is:

• The cabinet itself, close enough that the label can be read.
• The surroundings, so a stranger can recognise the corridor, the room or the stairwell.
• The route, if the cabinet is hard to reach, such as a door that is easy to miss.

Photos can be added to the place in your tree, so they are there exactly when someone needs them.

Other ways to recognise a cabinet

• Floor plans and drawings. If the site has them, they often mark where panels are.
• Labels on cables. A tag on a cable going into a cabinet can point you to the right one.
• The people who look after the site. A maintenance person often knows every cabinet by heart. Ask, and write down what they say.
• Landmarks in words. "Behind the stairwell door, second floor" is a perfectly good note.

A note on safety

Cabinets can contain live electrical parts. Photograph the outside, and leave opening a cabinet to people who are authorised to do so.