Cable from the Mesquite distribution belt.

A conveyor system is a long, low electrical network: motor starters, photo eyes, scanners, controls and the cable tray that carries conductor from one end of the building to the other. When a line is reconfigured, the tray cable and control cable that connected the old layout come out with it.

Tray cable and conveyor control cable are the two families that dominate here. Both are multi-conductor, both are usually tagged at the panel end, and both are far easier to review when the panel schedule survives the change and somebody keeps it with the coil.

Every warehouse keeps spares. A conveyor installation leaves partial reels, a lighting upgrade leaves boxes of conductor, and a maintenance team keeps what it might need for a repair that never comes, on a shelf that nobody audits until the building changes hands. Then it leaves in a single afternoon.

Overstock is the cleanest lot a distribution building produces. It has usually been indoors, it often still has a tag, and it is usually stacked somewhere inconvenient, which is why it stays for years after the project that created it has been forgotten. The tag often survives when the paperwork does not.

• Pull everything from the racking before photographing, so the list matches the pile.
• Note the reel or box tag on each item rather than a general description.
• Separate lighting and control cable from power conductor.
• Say whether the material is on a mezzanine or the floor, since that decides the lift.

The classic building here is wide and shallow with a row of doors along one side and a truck court in front. Doors are plentiful, the dock height is standard, and a fifty-three-foot trailer can usually get to a door without a shunt or a spotter.

Trailer yards are less forgiving. Trailers dropped against a fence, a marshalling area and a gate that logs every movement all slow a collection down. Give the door number, the yard rules and the hours the gate is actually staffed rather than the hours it displays.

A palletised lot is reviewed as it stands: wrap count on each coil, tag where one exists, and weight for the total. Mixed pallets are normal and are not a reason to hold anything back, provided the contents are described as mixed and the heavy items are at the bottom.

If a pallet holds cable plus conduit fittings, strut or boxes, say so. The cable is what is reviewed, and knowing what else is on the pallet lets the load be planned rather than discovered at the dock with a forklift already waiting. A note taped to the pallet saves a phone call later.