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Many people think installing electrical whips in a mission critical space is a trivial task.  At TechSite, we disagree.  We feel it is important to take every task done in your mission critical space seriously.  With that in mind, below are some guidelines to use when installing power whips in your mission critical space.

  1. Have clean boots.
  2. Make sure to be careful pulling whips under the floor. When pulling the whips a long way, be sure to open tiles in order to make sure the new whips being pulled in are not dragging against other plug ins or fiber lines.
  3. Run the new whips under existing whips when possible. Piling new whips on top of existing whips every time can lead to a mess.  It is easier and faster to just put the new whips on top although it is neater in the long run to run them under the existing whips, when possible.
  4. Run the new whips parallel with the floor. Do not cut diagonal across the floor just to make it easier.
  5. If the PDU has pre-punched knockouts, be careful when taking the knockout out. Do not just try to force it. There have been instances when breakers have been tripped from the PDU being jolted from someone trying too hard to get the knockouts out.
  6. When putting the whips into the PDU, always go to the back knockouts first to not block the front. This will help in the long run to make it easier to reach the needed equipment.
  7. Always tape up the wires when putting in the PDU and dressing them up in the panel.
  8. Always ring or Meg out the wires before turning them on to verify that there are no shorts before turning on the breaker. This is very important because if the trip settings are not set properly, it could trip a main not just the branch circuit breaker.
  9. Always turn on the whips one at a time to verify labeling. We have seen guys install all the whips and turn them all on at one time and check voltage. This may be quicker, but does not allow the verification of labeling.
  10. When labeling, always put the PDU, panel, circuit and location on the box. Putting the location on each label allows others to know which whip is designated for that location.
  11. Always clean up completely.