• What is UL 508A certification?
• What is UL 508A Listing?
• 2 types of UL 508A industrial control panel listing labels
• Addition to the UL 508A standard – Manufacturer’s Technical Representative (MTR) program

The UL 508A Standard

What is UL 508A?

UL 508A is the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) reference standard for the construction of industrial control panels in the United States. Industrial control panels are defined by the National Electric Code (NEC) section 409.2 as “an assembly of two or more power circuit components, control circuit components, or any combination of power and control circuit components.”

Based on the safety rules recommended by the NEC, control panel manufacturers follow UL 508A for guidance in various areas of design and assembly. The standard also includes specifications to ensure that industrial control panels can endure environmental factors such as dust, moisture, temperature fluctuations, and corrosion.

Key Areas of UL 508A

The UL 508A standard is organized into sections; each addresses specific aspects of industrial control panel construction, marking, and performance. Key sections include:

• Electrical Safety: Control panel design guidelines to prevent various hazards, such as electrical shock, short circuits, overheating, arc flash, and fire hazards.
• Component Selection: Specific requirements for properly selecting and using electrical components within industrial control panels to ensure their safety and reliability. Addresses compatibility, listing and certification, suitability for intended use, and documentation. 
• Wiring Methods: Specifications for control panel wiring installation and routing to avoid electrical hazards, mechanical damage, interference, and crosstalk. Includes wire sizing and selection criteria, routing and bundling, termination, grounding and bonding, and identification and marking.
• Environmental Considerations: Guidelines for ensuring that industrial control panels can tolerate environmental factors and operate reliably in their intended application. Addresses areas such as enclosure type, gasketing and sealing, ventilation and cooling, temperature variations, and corrosion resistance.
• Marking and Labeling: Instructions for labeling control panels with appropriate information about the manufacturer, standards compliance, ratings, warnings, and instructions.
• Construction and Assembly: Specifications for control panel construction and assembly, including mounting of components, enclosure design, accessibility, and serviceability.
• Documentation: Criteria for required documentation related to the design, construction, and installation of industrial control panels. Drawings, schematics, component lists, and testing records may be included.
• Special Applications: Specific requirements and considerations for industrial control panels used in specialized or unusual applications that may pose unique challenges or hazards.

UL 508A Certification

What is UL 508A Certification?

UL 508A certification refers to the process industrial control panel manufacturers go through to obtain a UL Listing Mark on their panels. While the term UL 508A certification is used frequently, the official UL term is UL Listing.

UL 508A Listing

The UL 508A Listing Mark on an industrial control panel indicates that the panel has been independently evaluated and tested by a UL inspector and certified to comply with the standard. UL 508A Listing is important to the municipal inspection authority and the purchaser of the panel, indicating that the control panel meets recognized safety standards for electrical equipment used in industrial settings.

The UL 508A Listing covers panels operating from a voltage of 1000 volts or less.

Why Your Industrial Control Panel Should Be UL 508A Listed

There are many reasons to obtain a UL 508A Listing for your industrial control panels. Some include: ensuring compliance with globally recognized safety standards, increasing customer confidence in your products, maximizing market opportunities, facilitating inspection, and preventing panel rejection.

Types of UL 508A Control Panel Listing Labels

There are two types of UL Listing labels for industrial control panels:

1. Enclosed Industrial Control Panel
2. Open Industrial Control Panel

The two types differ primarily in their design and level of protection for electrical components.

Enclosed Industrial Control Panel

Industrial control panels can be installed in two ways: In an enclosure as “enclosed type” equipment, or arranged onto a mounting panel as “open type” equipment. The enclosed type listing label refers to a complete control panel assembly housed within a protective enclosure. The enclosure provides a barrier between the electrical components and the outside environment, protecting against hazards such as dust, moisture, and accidental contact. Enclosed panels commonly have doors or covers that permit access to the internal components while ensuring safety and adhering to applicable standards.

Open Industrial Control Panel

The Open Industrial Control Panel listing label refers to a control panel assembly where the electrical components are not housed within a protective enclosure. Instead, the components are exposed and accessible without any barrier. Open panels must be installed in an enclosure that is built into the machine or is available at the installation site.

UL 50 Electrical Enclosure Ratings

Type 1 – Indoor Use

Provides basic protection against contact with the enclosed equipment and against falling dirt

A UL 508A panel shop is able to build an industrial control enclosure but is limited to rating the enclosure at Type 1. 

Type 2 – Indoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, falling water or dirt, and dripping and light splashing of non-corrosive liquids

Type 3 – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, falling dirt, windblown dust, rain, sleet, and snow, and will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 3R – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, falling dirt, rain, sleet, and snow, and will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 3S – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, falling dirt, windblown dust, rain, sleet, and snow; external mechanisms remain operable while ice-laden

Type 4 – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, falling dirt, splashing water, windblown dust, rain, sleet and snow, hose-directed water, and corrosion; will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 4X – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with enclosed equipment, falling dirt, splashing water, windblown dust, rain, sleet and snow, hose-directed water, and corrosion; will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 5 – Indoor Use

Provides protection against contact with enclosed equipment, falling dirt, settling airborne dust, lint, fibers, and flyings, dripping and light splashing of non-corrosive liquids

Type 6 – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with enclosed equipment, falling dirt, rain, sleet, snow, hose-directed water, corrosion, and the entry of water during occasional temporary submersion at a limited depth; will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 6P – Indoor or Outdoor Use

Provides protection against contact with enclosed equipment, falling dirt, rain, sleet, snow, hose-directed water, corrosion, and the entry of water during prolonged submersion at a limited depth; will be undamaged by the formation of ice on the enclosure

Type 12 – Indoor Use (for enclosures without knockouts)

Provides protection against circulating dust, falling dirt, lint, fibers, flyings, dripping and light splashing of non-corrosive liquids, light splashing and seepage of oil and non-corrosive coolants

Type 12K – Indoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, dust, dirt, fiber flyings, dripping water, and external condensation of non-corrosive liquids

Type 13 – Indoor Use

Provides protection against contact with the enclosed equipment, lint, dust seepage, external condensation, and spraying of water, oil, and non-corrosive liquids

Addition to UL 508A – MTR Program

What is the Manufacturer’s Technical Representative (MTR) Program?

The MTR program relates to a provision added to the UL 508A Industrial Control Panel (ICP) Shop Program requiring UL 508A Listed panel manufacturers to maintain a certified manufacturer’s technical representative on staff. This requirement is designed to ensure there is at least one employee at each manufacturing location who can effectively interpret and accurately apply the requirements of UL 508A to control panel design and manufacturing.

MTR Certification Requirements

MTRs must complete a certification course, pass a certification exam, and recertify every three years.

How Does the MTR Program Help Me?

In order to receive authorization to apply the UL Listing Mark, panel manufacturers must complete mandatory training on the UL 508A Standard when they enter the UL Industrial Control Panel (ICP) Shop Program. However, after the initial training is completed, there are no ongoing requirements for training. Over time this means that as staff turnover and other events occur, panel manufacturers could be left with no staff formally trained on the UL 508A Standard. Methods for addressing this issue vary across manufacturers.

The MTR program is designed to ensure panel manufacturers maintain UL 508A-qualified staff.

If a customer’s engineering team is completing the company’s control panel design, customers may find the MTR course helpful as it can help eliminate mistakes that can delay manufacturing and drive unforeseen costs.

Conclusion

Based on the safety rules recommended by the NEC, industrial control panel manufacturers follow UL 508A for guidance in various areas of design and assembly, including proper component selection, calculation of short circuit current ratings, and wiring methods. The safety guidelines prevent various hazards such as electrical shock, short circuits, overheating, arc flash, and fire hazards. In addition, the standard includes specifications to ensure that industrial control panels can endure environmental factors such as dust, moisture, temperature fluctuations, and corrosion.

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There are key differences between the two categories related to the type of control panel orders the business is set up to service. This blog post examines these important distinctions.

The Key Differences Between a Control Panel Manufacturer and a Panel Shop

Industrial control panel manufacturers and panel shops primarily differ in the volume of control panels the company produces and in the supporting infrastructure in place to ensure quality for every panel. A control panel manufacturer typically produces high-volume orders of OEM panels regularly and has the required facilities, software, and processes to scale up to those volumes. A panel shop typically focuses on building smaller orders of unique custom control panels so the processes, facilities, and resources are set up accordingly. The specific differences between control panel manufacturers and panel shops can be broken down into the following 8 areas:

1. Software
2. Quality and consistency
3. Company culture
4. Efficiency
5. Processes
6. Facility
7. Delivery
8. Training

The sections below describe the differences in these 8 areas.

Software

Most control panel shops use generic off-the-shelf manufacturing software designed for custom panel builders. The software is effective for managing low-volume panel orders, but is not an integrated part of the panel-building process and is not designed to be scalable for high-volume production.

Manufacturing panels in high volume requires a control panel manufacturer to implement top-tier, customized manufacturing ERP software.

This software is an integrated part of the manufacturing process and ensures best practices are followed. It is designed to automate and streamline back-office tasks, increase productivity, and optimize job functions to enable scalability for large panel orders.

Quality/Consistency

Most panel shops depend on employees with many years of experience to ensure panel quality. Staff expertise in custom panel building enables quality to be consistent across low-volume panel orders. Any quality issues are usually addressed as they occur, with no formal quality management program in place. Because employee knowledge is the basis for quality and consistency, documentation on the panel building process is usually not formally maintained.

While this method of quality management often works well for panel shops, it is not feasible for control panel manufacturers. With typical order sizes of 500 or more panels, to meet customer quality standards manufacturers must have a proactive approach to quality control, a formal quality management system (QMS), and proven consistency across high-volume orders.

Control panel manufacturers ensure consistency by using workflows documented in the QMS. The same workflow is used to build each panel. Documentation on workflows and quality management is revision-controlled and maintained in the QMS.

Company Culture

Since most panel shops are small businesses with every aspect developed through the hard work of the owner, the company culture can reflect an attitude of “this is the way it has always been done” and a resistance to change.

Surviving and succeeding as a control panel manufacturer requires a company culture of continuous improvement to meet the requirements of the (typically larger) companies that outsource panel manufacturing work. The entire staff must be willing to proactively make changes that will optimize the manufacturing process by maximizing efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring quality and consistency.

Processes

Panel shops typically build a relatively low volume of custom control panels monthly. Accordingly, the processes are designed for a small number of units. If the shop handles both custom and low-volume OEM orders, the same process is often used to build both types of panels.

In contrast, control panel manufacturers produce a large number of panels per month. For this reason, processes are very important and must be scalable for manufacturing in volume. If the manufacturer builds both custom and OEM control panels, the processes are typically separate for custom and OEM panels to allow maximum efficiency for high-volume builds while enabling attention to the unique details of custom panels.

Efficiency

Most panel shops are small businesses that developed their panel-building process over many years and made improvements based on experience. For this reason, there is often hesitation about changing the process — a “we’ve always done it this way” mindset found in many small businesses. Because the focus is typically on small orders of custom panels (and likely also due to the mindset), Lean manufacturing principles to increase efficiency have not been implemented in most panel shops.   

On the other hand, control panel manufacturers must focus on maximizing efficiency to meet customer performance metrics, often implementing Lean manufacturing principles and hiring or training dedicated Lean resources. These staff members are responsible for making changes that increase efficiency.

Facility

The three main differences between a control panel manufacturer and a panel shop relative to the facility are:

1. The flexibility and scalability of the facility
2. The organization level of the work stations and inventory
3. The investment level in machinery and software

Most panel shops got their start building custom control panels; therefore, the facilities typically have set work stations designed for that purpose. The stations can be used for small orders of OEM panels, but cannot be reconfigured or expanded to increase production for high-volume OEM orders.

Because each custom panel job is different and the volume is low, each work station is arranged as it works best for that employee. Uniform organization and efficiency are not the focus. Inventory is usually arranged by the job. Due to the high variability of custom panel jobs, panel shops do not tend to invest heavily in machinery and software designed to increase efficiency and optimize production.

Control panel manufacturing facilities are designed to be reconfigurable as well as scalable to meet changing production needs. They typically have cell-based assembly, with stations on wheels for easy reconfiguration.

Because the facilities are designed for volume manufacturing, organization and efficiency are priorities in the production area as well as in inventory storage and retrieval. Control panel manufacturers often invest in high-end software and machinery that increases efficiency, reduces cost, and improves quality and consistency.

Delivery

Panel shops frequently track orders through a manual process, with order status updates provided through manual BOM lookup. On-time delivery can often be guaranteed for low-volume panel orders, but on-time performance history is usually not available for large panel orders.

If any parts listed on the BOM are unavailable, panel shops typically require customers to select alternate parts.

For control panel manufacturers, order tracking is usually handled by the manufacturing ERP software through automated BOM tracking. On-time delivery performance is tracked as one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in the quality control process.

In the case of unavailable parts, manufacturers with engineering expertise on staff can often propose part substitutions by researching parts that match the original part in form, fit, and function.

Training

Since panel shops normally focus on building custom control panels that are unique, each employee may perform a task differently in the way that works best for them. Knowledge of the panel-building process is maintained within the veteran staff members and passed along to new employees via informal on-the-job training. The pace of training must be based on the availability of experienced employees; therefore, getting new employees up to speed can be challenging and slow when the shop is busy.

For control panel manufacturers, maintaining efficiency across orders of 500 or more identical panels requires that each employee perform each task in the process in the same way. Documented workflows for each task are contained in the quality management system, and all employees are trained to perform the task according to the workflows. Employee training is completed through an online Learning Management System (housed on the QMS) which is accessible to all staff members. Onboarding can be completed quickly since the training is not dependent on the availability of other employees.

Panel Manufacturer or Panel Shop Chart

Check out this summary chart to review the crucial differences between a control panel manufacturer and a panel shop.

Conclusion

When evaluating fabricators as possible control panel manufacturing partners, it is important to identify whether the company is a control panel manufacturer or a panel shop. The two types of fabricators differ in eight crucial areas stemming from the type of panel orders the business is set up to service. Understanding these differences can help determine which category of fabricator best fits your manufacturing needs.

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1. Risk Management
2. Document Control
3. Change Management
4. Internal Audits
5. Nonconformance Handling

These 5 areas should be part of an established Quality Management System. This blog post describes what to look for in each area to assess an industrial control panel manufacturer’s process of quality.

Quality Doesn’t “Just Happen” in Control Panel Manufacturing

For customers assessing control panel manufacturers, all suppliers may seem similar. They are all control panel experts who build panels every day – so quality just happens, right?

Although it may seem that way, manufacturing large orders of 1,000 or more industrial control panels is very different from building orders of ten to twenty custom panels. For small custom orders, control panel shops can rely on veteran employees who review every detail of each panel to ensure quality. However, for orders of more than 30 panels, this type of review is no longer feasible.

So, if the experts can’t review every panel in large orders, how can quality be ensured for each panel? Achieving a process of quality for control panel manufacturing requires the development of a Quality Management System.

A Quality Management System Specifies the Entire Process

According to the American Society for Quality, a Quality Management System is “a formalized system that documents processes, procedures, and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives. A QMS helps coordinate and direct an organization’s activities to meet customer and regulatory requirements and improve its effectiveness and efficiency on a continuous basis.”

For a QMS to be effective, the manufacturer must develop written procedures and store them in an accessible location. In addition, manufacturers must complete regular internal audits to assess the effectiveness of each procedure. Records of each audit must be maintained.

For failures in any area of an audit, the responsible department must generate a Corrective Action Report describing the actions required to fix the problem. Employees must complete the Corrective Actions and update the original procedure, or create a new procedure. The manufacturer must test the new procedure to ensure it resolves the problem.

The Process of Quality for Control Panel Manufacturing: 5 Key Areas

To ensure consistent quality across large and highly variable orders, as part of their QMS suppliers must have a well-established internal process of quality in risk management, document control, change management, internal audits, and nonconformance handling.

These areas are especially important since many control panel manufacturers are smaller than the companies that outsource to them. To meet the manufacturing quality standards of large companies, control panel manufacturers must have documented and continuously improved processes in the form of a QMS. All employees must consistently follow the system.

Risk Management

In industrial control panel manufacturing, risk mitigation strategies become even more important as the volume of customer panels increases. The following sections describe five areas in which manufacturers can reduce risk in the control panel manufacturing process.

Work Standardization for Control Panel Manufacturing

Manufacturers can minimize risk by defining a standard panel manufacturing process and work, which allows them to easily identify and highlight exceptions in the process.

Elimination of Tribal Knowledge

Eliminating tribal knowledge, and ensuring that all employees are trained to perform a task in the same way improves consistency in industrial control panel manufacturing. It can also reduce risk by developing a team of employees with standard knowledge of the process.

Panel Manufacturing Quoting Method Consistency

Manufacturers can significantly reduce risk on the front end of the industrial control panel manufacturing process by using a consistent method for providing estimates. For example, the manufacturer can use software that allows reuse and produces very consistent output.

UL 508A/UL 698A Knowledge

A manufacturer with extensive knowledge of industrial control panel manufacturing standards reduces risk for customers by providing the ability to identify possible design or safety risks in the customer’s panels before manufacturing begins. Possible issues can be clarified with the appropriate application of standards.

Post-Production Job Review

Suppliers can reduce risk in panel manufacturing by using post-production processes and production management software. Post-production job review as part of the process can reduce risk by providing ongoing opportunities for improvement.

Consider the following when assessing a supplier’s level of risk management:

• What risk mitigation strategies does the supplier employ when manufacturing customer panels?
• Are the strategies part of a consistent process the supplier follows for every order?
• Does the supplier possess a level of technical knowledge about industry standards that allows them to help customers by identifying possible areas of risk in the customer’s design?

Document Control

Since a Quality Management System requires written documents and records, how should manufacturers create, organize, and manage these documents?

The supplier should have a clear, written procedure guiding the creation, organization, and storage of documents. The procedure should make it easy for all employees to find the information they need by facilitating consistent document numbering and storage as well as a consistent way of organizing information.

The following questions can help you assess a supplier’s Document Control system:

• Does the supplier have a written procedure outlining how to number, organize, and store documents?
• Do employees consistently follow the procedure for every document?
• Can any employee access the document storage system and easily find what they need?

Change Management

To manage and track customer requests to change a control panel order, it is important that the panel manufacturer has a controlled and scalable process to manage changes while still ensuring quality.

The supplier’s process becomes even more important if a customer needs to change an order that is already in process.

Since situations may arise that require changes to in-process orders, it is important to evaluate potential suppliers in this area. In-process changes may be beyond the scope of the manufacturing contract in place, so a supplier may not be obligated to make changes.

Therefore, it is important to understand the supplier’s customer service culture. Suppliers with a strong focus on customer service are more likely to go above and beyond to truly help a customer find a solution even in situations that are outside the scope of the contract.

Evaluate the following to assess a supplier’s process and customer service focus:

• Does the supplier use a well-defined, scalable process for every control panel order?
• Is customer service a core part of the culture at this company?

Internal Audits

Maintaining a process of quality in industrial control panel manufacturing requires a commitment to continuous improvement. Conducting regular internal audits is an important part of this commitment.

Consider the following questions to help you evaluate a supplier’s level of commitment:

• Is the supplier internally committed to continuous improvement as a company, or are improvements driven only by customer requests?
• Does the manufacturer evaluate their internal procedures and then take corrective action to make improvements?
• How often does the supplier perform these internal audits?
• How does the company make sure the improvements happen?

Nonconformance Handling

Nonconformances for control panel manufacturers are typically defined as any failure to meet customer specifications or documented internal processes.

Corrective Action Reports are investigations carried out internally to determine the source of a nonconformance.

Corrective Actions are reactions to a nonconformance, dictated by a corrective action report, and intended to fix the root cause and/or modify a process or processes so that the cause is monitored to prevent a reoccurrence.  

The questions below can help you evaluate a supplier’s commitment to addressing nonconformances:

• How does the supplier handle nonconformance?
• Is there a written policy, or does the supplier just “wing it” when nonconformances occur?
• Does everyone involved in panel manufacturing consistently follow the policy?
• Is there a nonconformance system or does the “system” consist of one person with a spreadsheet?
• Does the company follow up to make sure corrective actions happen?
• Does the company complete and log documentation showing that the department responsible corrected the problem and installed proper controls to prevent a reoccurrence?

Panel Manufacturing Quality Process: Conclusion

To ensure quality and consistency in the manufacturing of large volumes of industrial control panels, manufacturers must develop a quality process that the company regularly audits and improves. The presence of this process is a key area that differentiates control panel manufacturers from panel shops.

Consider assessing potential manufacturing partners based on their process of quality in risk management, document control, change management, internal audits, and nonconformance handling. Decide whether suppliers fit your outsourcing needs based on their assessment score.

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