Cable it right

Engineering and Quality Director of Prysmian Cables Sandy Mennie urges the market how important it is now more than ever to not skimp on quality when it comes to buying cable in the current market.

 

Following on from the recent recall debacle for Infinity and Olsent cables, and the surrounding media publicity, Prysmian and the Australian Cablemakers Association (ACA) continue to raise awareness about the dangers of poor quality cables across Australian and New Zealand.

 

It’s common knowledge that New Zealand conditions can be harsher than other places so it would make sense that when buying cables that they are manufactured and tested to Kiwi standards. Yet it seems that businesses are more concerned with their bottom line than the safety of their customers, causing a myriad of problems later down the track.

 

“It’s hard to point the finger at anyone - unfortunately the problem lies with the fact that the industry is self-regulated, there are no requirements for independent verification and approval that products sold in the local market actually comply with New Zealand Standards.” Sandy says. A further problem lies in the fact that even defective cables can ‘look’ ok yet prove to be quite dangerous when connected to an electrical network.

 

The ACA is currently lobbying the various regulatory bodies to improve customer protection and safety while holding quality compliance as one of its cornerstones – Prysmian fully supports this approach and encourages the elimination of poor quality, potentially dangerous, cables in the market.

 

“Implementing regulations within this industry is an arduous process – but till some reforms come in - players in the market can rest assured knowing that Prysmian stands behind all of their cable products with complete confidence and our customers can too.”