Why audit per construction
A plant brochure lists every cable the town makes. What matters is whether this plant runs the lines for your construction, tests it in its own lab and keeps records you can trace to a drum number. Many plants buy in insulated cores, armouring or even finished cable from neighbours and relabel it; that is not always wrong, but you need to know. The desk therefore audits against your exact construction and standard, and repeats the relevant parts when the construction changes. An audit is not a certificate: it reduces risk, and the result is reported to you as findings, not as a pass stamp.
The checklist
| Area | What is checked | Evidence collected |
|---|---|---|
| Production lines | Drawing, stranding, extrusion, cross-linking, cabling, armouring and sheathing lines for the construction; capacity and current load | Line photos with nameplates, equipment list, schedule screenshot |
| Test lab | Conductor resistance bridge, high-voltage set, spark tester, thickness and diameter measurement, partial discharge room for MV, OTDR for fibre | Calibration records, sample test sheet from a recent drum |
| Compound sources | XLPE, PVC, LSZH and PE compound suppliers and grades; incoming inspection | Compound datasheets, purchase records, batch labels |
| Copper and aluminium | Rod source, incoming resistance checks, how copper is booked against orders | Rod certificates, incoming test log |
| Records | Routine test records traceable to drum number, process cards, nonconformance log | Three recent drum records end to end |
| Certificate scope | Which constructions, sizes and standards each certificate actually covers | Certificate copies matched to the public database |
| Drum ledger | Drum stock, drum types, how lengths and drum numbers are assigned | Ledger extract, drum yard photos |
| Marking control | Who sets the sheath print text, how metre marks are calibrated, how private label text is approved | Print approval sheet, metre mark check record |
Lines and lab: does the plant make it?
The quickest test is to ask to see the line running your construction, or the last batch made on it. A plant claiming medium voltage cable should show a triple extrusion head and a continuous vulcanisation or cross-linking line, plus a screened room for partial discharge tests to IEC 60885-3. A fibre cable plant should show colouring, secondary coating and stranding lines and an OTDR bench. If the lab cannot run conductor resistance and voltage tests on the day, routine tests per drum are unlikely to be real.
Materials: compound and copper
Compound and copper are where cost is taken out quietly. The desk records which compound grades are used for insulation and sheath, and whether LSZH compound has a test report for IEC 61034 and IEC 60754 on the finished cable, not just the pellet. For copper, we look at rod sources and incoming resistance checks, because a conductor that misses the IEC 60228 limit is usually a conductor with less copper in it. The undersized conductor risk article explains why this matters.
Records, certificates and marking
We pick three recent drums and follow each from process card to routine test sheet to drum tag. Gaps there predict gaps on your order. Certificates are matched line by line to the certifier's public database: a UL listing, TUV certificate or BASEC approval held by the partner plant covers specific constructions and sizes, and a certificate for one cable says nothing about another. Marking control matters for private label work: the plant should have a written approval step for sheath print and a calibrated metre counter. See compliance and certifications and verifying cable certificates.
Red flags that end a shortlist
- The plant cannot show your construction on a line or in a recent batch record, and will not say who makes it.
- Routine test sheets look identical across drums, with the same resistance figure to the last digit.
- Certificate copies do not match the certifier's public database, or cover a different size range or construction.
- Insulation thickness on a cut sample sits below the spec sheet value, or the conductor fails a resistance check against IEC 60228.
- Sheath print text is changed by the line operator without a written approval step.
- The drum yard holds no drums of the size your lengths need, and no drum supplier has been booked.
One red flag is a question for the plant; two usually mean the desk moves to the next partner plant in the cluster before you spend money on samples.
What you receive
- A short audit note per plant: findings, photos, open points and whether the construction is made in-house.
- A shortlist of two or three partner plants with the reasons for each.
- Questions to settle in the spec sheet before a sample or trial drum is made.
Audits run as part of the sourcing process. Send your construction and quantities through the quote form to start.