How RJ Power Standardised Cable Identification Across UK Projects

RJ Power is a national electrical infrastructure contractor delivering complex commercial and critical environment projects across the UK. As part of the Ipsum Group, the company operates from offices in London, the North, Midlands, South, and Salisbury, routinely mobilising teams across multiple live and new-build sites simultaneously.

At this scale, cable identification is not a minor administrative concern. Dense containment runs, fast-moving installation programmes, and stringent client handover requirements all depend on labels that are accurate, legible, and durable from day one. When labelling is inconsistent or unclear, the consequences show up as rework, compliance queries, and delays at handover - none of which a fast-paced contractor can afford.

RJ Power needed a labelling approach that could be standardised across project teams, carried easily between sites, and trusted to meet LSZH compliance requirements wherever the project landed.

Across its national portfolio, RJ Power encountered a set of recurring labelling problems that traditional approaches could not reliably solve. The core issues were:

• Inconsistency across teams. Without a single standard solution, labelling quality varied between project teams and sites, creating problems at client handover and during maintenance.
• Speed under pressure. Fast-paced installation programmes left little room for off-site label preparation. Engineers needed to produce accurate, printed labels on demand, without waiting for deliveries or specialist support.
• Live environment constraints. Retrofit and live-site installations required flexible identification methods that did not rely on applying labels before cable termination.
• LSZH compliance. Projects in commercial buildings, transport infrastructure, and critical environments required Low Smoke Zero Halogen materials as standard, ruling out conventional label types.
• Site portability. A solution that worked in a single depot was not useful across a dispersed national operation. The labelling system needed to travel.

Taken together, these pressures made the case for a single, standardised labelling platform that engineers could rely on regardless of which site they were working on.

RJ Power adopted the Fox-in-a-Box® thermal transfer printer and software package from Silver Fox® as its standard labelling solution across all projects. The system was selected for its combination of industrial print quality, ease of use, and a compact, portable design that could move between sites in a standard vehicle.

The Fox-in-a-Box® system was paired with two label types chosen to cover the full range of installation scenarios RJ Power encounters:

Together, these three components gave RJ Power a complete cable-marking strategy that could be deployed identically across every project team and every site in its national portfolio.

The Fox-in-a-Box® system was rolled out to project teams working across RJ Power's UK programme. Because the printer is designed to operate independently of fixed infrastructure, deployment was straightforward: units were assigned to project teams and transported in site vehicles alongside standard equipment.

Engineers could produce labels directly on site, exactly when needed, without coordinating with an off-site print facility or waiting for pre-printed batches to arrive. On programmes where scope changes or last-minute cable additions are routine, this on-demand capability removed a persistent source of delay.

The standardised approach also had an important effect on team behaviour. With one recognised system in use across all projects, engineers knew exactly what materials to specify, how to operate the printer, and what the output should look like. Variation was removed at source.

Since standardising on the Silver Fox® system, RJ Power has seen consistent, practical improvements across its projects in four areas.

Faster label production. On-site printing means labels are available when work is happening, not hours or days later. Engineers no longer wait on pre-printed batches or off-site support.

Consistent identification standards. Using a single printer, software platform, and label specification across all teams has removed the variability that previously created problems at client handover. Every installation now looks and reads the same way.

Reduced rework from unclear labelling. Clear, thermally printed labels eliminate the identification errors associated with handwritten or inconsistently produced markers. Less rework means faster programme delivery.

Greater flexibility across installation types. The combination of Legend™ LSZH Heatshrink for permanent installations and Fox-Flo® tie-on markers for live and retrofit environments means RJ Power's engineers have the right label type for every situation, without needing to source different systems from different suppliers.

From a client-facing perspective, the improved consistency also strengthens handover documentation quality, giving clients greater confidence in the accuracy of the as-installed record.