Serial numbers on individual cables?

[davesparks]

If a roadie catches his hand on the cable ties as he coils the cable he'll rip it off.
If it slips along the cable at all it will get snagged when the cable is pulled through a FOH duct or over a fly rail.
If it gets caught in the lid of a dip trap it will damage it, or when it gets dragged through a dip trap it'll get snagged.

We're not talking about cables which are being installed here, depending on the size of the show they could be going in and out of venues every day.

 

[DNS1]

Blimey, sorry to start a big row about this one...

Cheers to Rockingit and Davesparks who clearly know the industry and the way it works!

Discussed things with the guys I'm working for today and we've started numbering each cable to make sure there's no complaints. Apparently paint pen on the plug/socket is a good way... Can see this working well with those horrible 15A plugs and sockets with the rough surface, but reckon it will wear off pretty quickly on a nice new shiny 16A attachment... Only time will tell for this company!

 

[davesparks]

You are right it does wear off, but it should last a while and it does depend on the particular brand of the plugs n sockets.

As I said earlier a dump type label and a bit of clear AT7 Dancefloor tape (the stuff that is like 2" insulating tape) works well for existing cables.
Clear heatshrink is the best thing though and you should get in the habit of putting it on when you make up your cables.

We don't include serial numbers on any of out cables, but then they are almost exclusively for internal use or wet hire.
Every cable does get the company logo and a coloured band to identify length (and CSA sometimes) under clear heatshrink.