S 2.20 Monitoring of existing connections

Initiation responsibility: Head of IT, Building Services Manager

Implementation responsibility: Building Services Manager, Planner

All distributors and duct boxes for the cabling must be visually inspected (spot checks at a minimum) at regular intervals. Attention must be paid to the following aspects:

• traces of attempts to open locked distributors by force,
• up-to-date information provided in the documentation placed in the distributors,
• correspondence of actual line assignments and strap connections with the information provided in the documentation,
• integrity of the short-circuits and grounding of non-required circuits, and
• inadmissible installations or modifications.

A functional check can be performed in addition to the purely visual inspection. In this case, the necessity of existing connections is to be reviewed, and the connections must be checked for compliance with the technical parameters. For connections located in areas without access protection, it is recommended to perform this check in two cases:

• in the case of lines which are very seldom used and where manipulations are not detected at once, and
• in the case of lines over which sensitive information is transmitted frequently and regularly.

All irregularities found during a visual inspection or functional check must be documented immediately, and the organisational unit responsible must be informed immediately so that the necessary measures can be initiated in a timely manner. It is also important not only to eliminate the irregularities found, but also to determine their cause.

Review questions:

• Are distributors and duct boxes for the cabling checked regularly?
• Are any irregularities found when checking the cabling documented and eliminated and is their cause determined?