Rules written by many hands
A cabling job meets a pile of numbers: BS EN 50173, BS 7671, IEEE 802.3. Each is a standard, a set of rules agreed by experts.
Following them makes work safe, makes it fit with other people's work, and lets the next installer understand it. You need to know which standard answers which question.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Standard | an agreed set of rules for how work is done |
| BS | a British Standard |
| EN | a European Norm |
| IEC | a world body that writes electrical standards |
| ISO | a world body that writes standards on many subjects |
| IEEE | a body of engineers that writes the Ethernet standard |
| TIA | a trade body that writes cabling standards used worldwide |
| IET | the UK engineers' body that writes the wiring rules |
| Generic cabling | cabling built to serve many uses, not one device |
| Ethernet | the common way to join wired devices in an office |
| Bonding and earthing | joining metal parts to earth so they cannot become live |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can say what each main cabling standard covers and who writes it.
Starter: standards you have met
Have a go
Starter: standards you have met
3 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
European and British standards
| Standard | What it covers |
|---|---|
| BS EN 50173 (a family) | Design of general-purpose cabling for each kind of building |
| BS EN 50174 (a family) | How to plan and fit cabling, with quality checks, inside and outside buildings |
| BS EN 50310 | Earthing and bonding for IT kit in buildings |
| BS EN 60825 | Safe use of lasers, including fibre systems |
| BS 6701 | Fitting and looking after telecoms kit and its cabling |
| BS 7671 | The IET wiring rules for electrics in the UK |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
International and industry standards
| Standard | Written by | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| IEEE 802.3 series | IEEE | Ethernet |
| IEEE 802.16 | IEEE | WiMAX, a wide wireless link |
| IEC 60364 | IEC | Electrical work in buildings, worldwide |
| TIA/EIA 568 | TIA and EIA | Cable categories, wiring and the tests that prove them |
| ISO/IEC 11801 | ISO and IEC | General-purpose cabling for customer buildings, with cable classes |
| EN 50173 | CENELEC | The European standard for general-purpose cabling |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: standards
Have a go
Check: standards
5 questionsHave a go: your answers are marked here and then forgotten. Sign in if you would like your score kept, and to pick up where you left off.Sign in to keep your score
Your answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.