How Much Time Should You Invest in Testing?

Buying materials, training employees, building cables, correcting defects, packaging, shipping, budgeting, lunch, and more can fill the time of a cable/harness shop so quickly that some important tasks can get lost and forgotten. With approaching deadlines, backups, and all sorts of other stressful situations, manufacturers will look to save time and money in every area possible. But at what point does value get cut?

If manufactures think cutting testing will save time, they may not understand the test process or they may underestimate the impact testing has on cable production.

Understanding the Test Process

The test process begins with the cable specs. Manufacturers need to make sure the cable being built matches the specifications for that cable. Each component, voltage level, and connection should match the instructions. The only way to know for sure that the cable matches the specs is through testing.

Testing doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. An automated tester can analyze a cable in seconds as opposed to a hand tester that can take hours depending on the type of cable. Once the test specifications are entered into the automated tester, the tester can perform a quick test of the cable, checking for secure connections and other potential problems. Some testers can perform advanced testing such as high voltage testing.

With automated testers, testing does not have to take up a substantial amount of time. But the consequences of not testing can cause greater stress if the cable has a defect.

Impact of Testing on Cable Production

With so much involved in cable production, it can be easy to let certain tasks slip. Testing can feel unnecessary when every cable passes the test. A dangerous confidence can develop inside a shop where all cables pass tests. Testing begins to feel unnecessary and time wasting. Soon the cables may start to ship without having a final test to grant assurance that the cable will function.

Cirris created a form manufacturers can fill out to learn just how much a defect would cost. Manufacturers that want to understand the importance of testing may find the results on the form useful. How much would a shop lose if a defect was found after a cable shipped or while a cable powered the end product?

Click the link below to learn about the real costs of cable testing.

Take the Time

Testing takes as much time as you invest. For smaller cables, you can run a quick continuity test and know in less than a second if the cable is good or not. For harnesses, test as you go using guided assembly technologies from Cirris or by testing smaller pieces of the harness before connecting all the wires.

The more time you invest in testing, the less time invested in worrying about defects, mistakes, and error.

Further Reading:

Are you using the wrong test method?