Organization Techniques

DamianInRochester

Lifetime Supporting Member
DamianInRochester
Join Date
Jan 2011
Location
Rochester NY
Posts
1,292
I'm sure many/most of you guys are in the same boat. Over the years you've collected countless cables, adapters, dongles, etc. for each and everthing you have programmed and serviced. Custom comm cables you built for that oddball HMI you programmed 10 years ago, that PCMCIA card to talk to that old controller that never seemes to die, or that hard drive you saved out of your laptop (5 laptops ago) that still has an installation of Win3.11 on it.

How do you guys keep this stuff organized and keep track of it? My office looks like something out of a frankenstein movie. I resorted to using clear zip lock freezer bags to keep my cables from snarling together.
 
I use ziplock bags for my "current" cables that I travel with. The rest get coiled up with zip ties and have labels that say what hardware they are used for.

I do have a hook on the wall for custom cabels I just use for testing and the such. These just dangle and I have gotten good with the snatch and shake routine to get one cable off without dumping the rest in the floor
 
It always seems like the week after I part with something, sure enough someone calls asking me to help them out with whatever it is. Not sure which law of nature this one is, but it seems to rank up there with Murphy's.

When do guys get to the point where you are start getting willing to part with your old software?

A couple weeks ago I took every floppy and CD I had and copied them all on to a massive hard drive. Then I chucked all the CDs and disks. That really cut down a lot of clutter in its own right. It was kind of like a trip down memory lane. It shocked me to realize how many I only ended up using once ever. Often some silly, obscure thing the end user was mandating at the time. Each one of those came with their own learning curve.
 
DamianInRochester said:
It always seems like the week after I part with something, sure enough someone calls asking me to help them out with whatever it is. Not sure which law of nature this one is, but it seems to rank up there with Murphy's.

When do guys get to the point where you are start getting willing to part with your old software?

A couple weeks ago I took every floppy and CD I had and copied them all on to a massive hard drive. Then I chucked all the CDs and disks. That really cut down a lot of clutter in its own right. It was kind of like a trip down memory lane. It shocked me to realize how many I only ended up using once ever. Often some silly, obscure thing the end user was mandating at the time. Each one of those came with their own learning curve.
Click to expand...

Software I never get rid of. Like you I have it copied and stored to an external hard drive. Cables I will toss after a few years if i have not picked it up. Actually if the zip tie has turn colors I say by- by or hack it up and make a new cable out of it for something I am doing now. Actually that is how most of my cables meet their end.

LOL... while looking in my cable drawer I noticed I still have one of the old 25 Pin PIC boxes... I have had a USB version for almost a decade now... I just can not bring myself to get rid of that beast.
 
DamianInRochester said:
How do you guys keep this stuff organized and keep track of it? My office looks like something out of a frankenstein movie. I resorted to using clear zip lock freezer bags to keep my cables from snarling together.
Click to expand...
Gallon sized zip-locks and in a file cabinet filled with hanging files, most are properly labeled.
 
I also do as RussB but on the labels I use these http://www.smead.com/Director.asp?NodeID=529 you can pick them up at office max and they work great.

I have a company cable number system that I came up with and each cable set has it's own cable number in excel with a explanation of what it is and all details. There is a folder for the cables on my network drive and there is a folder for each cable number in this is all the software drivers and manuals and notes for the cable.
 
The Plc Kid said:
I also do as RussB but on the labels I use these http://www.smead.com/Director.asp?NodeID=529 you can pick them up at office max and they work great.

I have a company cable number system that I came up with and each cable set has it's own cable number in excel with a explanation of what it is and all details. There is a folder for the cables on my network drive and there is a folder for each cable number in this is all the software drivers and manuals and notes for the cable.
Click to expand...

PLCKid, your one organized dude! Thanks for the tip on the labels.
 

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