IEC 62491:2008

Industrial systems, installations and equipment and industrial products –

Labelling of cables and cores

I. Introduction
a. Scope
i. Provides rules and guidelines for labelling of cables and
cores/conductors used in industrial installations, equipment, and
products to maintain a clear relation between the technical
documentation and the actual equipment and for other purposes
ii. Methods that will be discussed
1. use of colored cables and designated cores;
2. additional identification labelling;
3. additional connection labelling; and
4. additional signal labelling
iii. Exceptions
1. Physical design of the labels
2. Material to be used
3. Cable manufacturers’ product bound marking of cables and
cores
b. Rules
i. General Requirements
1. Cables and cores shall be recognizable at each end.
2. It shall be possible to relate cables and cores to the technical
documentation either by:
a. The designation and marking provided by the cable
manufacturer (Method A)
i. Colored insulation of the single cores
ii. Differently colored insulation of the cable cores
iii. Differently numbered cable cores
b. An additional labelling
i. Should be based on one or more of the
following:
1. Identifier
2. Connection
3. Signal carried
II. Labelling proper
a. Identification labelling (Method R)
i. Purpose – to show the identifier of the cable or core as a
constituent of the system of which it is a part
ii. Does not provide any information on the connection (found in
associated documentation, in accordance with IEC 61082-1)
iii. Preferred identifier is a reference designation in accordance with
IEC 81346-1
b. Connection labelling
 i. Purpose – to show, by means of the terminal designation, the
identifier, the identifier of the terminal to which the cable or core is
connected
ii. Preferred terminal identifier is a terminal designation in accordance
with IEC 61666
iii. Local-end connection labelling (Method CL)
1. Each core end shall be labelled with the designation of the
terminal to which it is connected
a. This permits the core to be removed and reconnected
to the terminal without having to refer to a connection
table or connection diagram
2. Cables and cable cores inside a unit may be marked with the
single-level reference designation of the terminal only,
omitting the reference designation of the unit of which it is a
constituent (Figure)
iv. Remote-end connection labelling (Method CR)
1. Each cable or core end shall be labelled with the designation
of the terminal to which the other end of the cable or core is
connected
2. Cables and cable cores inside a unit may be marked with the
single-level reference designation of the terminal only,
omitting the reference designation of the unit of which it is a
constituent (Figure)
3. If the core connects different units, complete reference
designations of the remote end terminals shall be shown
(Figure)
v. Both-end connection labelling (Method CB)
1. Each cable or core end shall be marked with the terminal
designation of the local-end as well as the remote-end
terminal to which the core is connected (Figure)
vi. Signal labelling (Method S)
1. Purpose – to show the identifier(s) of the carried signal(s)
[considered as supplementary labelling]
2. Preferred signal identifier is a signal designation in
accordance with IEC 61175
3. Follows the structure below (in accordance with IEC 61175):
a. Reference designation; signal name: variant
(additional information)
4. Labelling of cables for certain designated conductors
a. used as part of the signal designation for constant-
level power supplies, and should be used for signal
labelling of corresponding cables or cores if required
(Table, Figure)
vii. Composite labelling
1. Shall consist of the combination of two or more labels like an
identification labelling and a connection labelling
 2. The connection labelling might be local-end, remote-end or
both-end (Figure)
c. Arrangement of additional labelling
i. Shall be placed at the ends of cables or cores and, where
necessary for reasons of clarity, at visible points along their length
(Figure)
d. Relative positions of the labelling
i. Shall be arranged in the following order, starting with the local end
connection labelling closest to the local terminal:
1. local-end connection / identification / signal / remote-end
connection
2. local-end connection
identification
signal
remote-end connection
e. Characters to be used
i. Information used for labelling shall correspond to the information
presented in related documentation, normally prepared in
accordance with IEC 61082-1.
1. Characters restricted to the characters in the ISO/IEC 646 7-
bit character set, basic code table
f. Conformance to this standard
i. Shall be expressed by stating the method of labelling applied
(Table)
III. Examples of labelling
a. Identification method (Method R)
b. Local-end connection labelling method (Method CL)
c. Both-end connection labelling method (Method CB)
d. Attachment of additional information (page number)
e. Signal labelling (Method S)
f. Composite labelling (Method R + S)
g. Use of cable colors (Method A)
IV. Advantages
a. Easier identification of signals and connections across different
engineering disciplines and departments such as:
i. Process engineering
ii. Software engineering
iii. Electrical engineering
iv. Mechanical/Fluid engineering
v. Control engineering
b. Reduce the time it takes to locate an eventual error in the testing, service
and maintenance phases
c. Ensure correct connection core/s and the terminal/s when replacing
components that are placed close to each other