Just imagine: A production plant comes to a standstill - for 48 hours. The reason? A single incorrectly routed cable in the control unit. What follows are production losses of hundreds of thousands of euros, desperate technicians and reputational damage that goes far beyond the immediate financial loss.
The true cost of a cable fault
Industrial plants are complex organisms in which every element fulfills a critical function. Electrical cabling in particular forms the nervous system - and this is where small errors can have serious consequences:
- Direct production lossesJust one day of downtime in medium-sized manufacturing companies often costs between 50,000 and 250,000 euros.
- Emergency repairsTechnicians at after-hours or weekend rates - often three times the regular costs.
- Consequential damageShort circuits can damage expensive control components.
- Delayed supply chainsDelivery deadlines are missed, contractual penalties are threatened.
A real-life documented case from the automotive industry shows that an incorrectly dimensioned cable led to sporadic failures on a production line. It took four weeks to identify the cause - the damage amounted to 2.8 million euros.
The most common cable problems
What can have such serious consequences often begins with simple mistakes:
- Insufficient dimensioning for actual load requirements
- Incorrect documentation of cable connections
- Poor shielding in high-interference environments
- Non-uniform labeling or color coding
Prevention instead of reaction
The good news is that with the right planning, these costly mistakes can be avoided:
- Professional electrical planningSophisticated planning with modern CAE systems such as EPLAN P8 creates clarity and significantly reduces sources of error.
- Continuous documentationUp-to-date circuit diagrams and centralized document management enable fast troubleshooting.
- Standardized proceduresUniform labeling standards and test protocols minimize the risk of errors.
- Preventive quality assuranceSystematic tests prior to commissioning identify weak points before production processes are jeopardized.
Benefit from experience
In our practice, we have seen time and again how structured electrical planning prevents expensive breakdowns. A medium-sized mechanical engineering company was able to reduce its fault rate by 78% through professional control cabinet planning and systematic cable documentation - that means annual savings in the six-figure range.
Investing in professional electrical planning and careful documentation is like taking out insurance: the outlay may seem high at first, but compared to the potential damage costs, it is minimal. The decisive factor here is not just the planning service itself, but also an understanding of the specific requirements of your systems.
The question is not whether you can afford professional electrical planning - but whether you can afford to do without it.
