August 2007

Cover Story

Spin-Offs

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Beck Ireland, Staff Writer

At first glance, Kay-R Electric, Syracuse, N.Y., seems like a typical electrical contracting firm. The company specializes in electrical construction...

Features

Addressing Arc Flash Concerns Through Smart Design

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bill Woods P.E., Integrated Engineering Solutions

Every so often, the electrical industry is able to add to our understanding of what makes a safe, well-designed electrical system. This knowledge can...

From the Front Lines

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Beck Ireland, Staff Writer

There's a common saying electrical contractors have about electrical inspectors: Arguing with an inspector about the Code is like wrestling with a pig...

Putting the Web to Work

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Tom Zind, Freelance Writer

With a half-century under its belt, Malko Electric Co., Morton Grove, Ill., takes rightful pride in its long list of accomplishments. But it's not just...

The Power of the R⁵ Business Model

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bradley Dawson, LTV Dynamics

In today's business climate, strategic planning has become an annual administrative exercise for upper management. Every year, business owners brush off...

Rethinking Electrical Safety

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Bennie Kennedy, Square D/Schneider Electric

When an electrical accident occurs, hindsight is always 20/20. More often than not, upon investigation and re-evaluation, investigators find multiple...

Wiring 911

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Burton Klein, P.E., Burton Klein Associates

What does an electrician working in a health care facility either as an employee or as a contractor need to know so that he doesn't jeopardize the safety...

National Electrical Code

Article 230: Services Part 1

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mike Holt, NEC Consultant

Article 230, which consists of seven parts, provides the installation requirements for service conductors and equipment. Parts II, III, and IV address...

What's Wrong Here?

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Joe Tedesco, NEC Columnist

How well do you know the Code? Think you can spot violations the original installer either ignored or couldn't identify? Here's your chance to moonlight...

Illustrated Catastrophes

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Joe Tedesco, NEC Columnist

As usual, never consider the following commentary associated with these photos as a formal interpretation of the National Electrical Code (NEC). Without...

Stumped by the Code?

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Mike Holt, NEC Consultant

All questions and answers are based on the 2005 NEC. Q. Are there any restrictions on the length of outside conductor (without overcurrent protection)...

Industry Viewpoint

Police Power

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Michael Eby, Editor-in-Chief

In support of our editorial theme this month (i.e., testing & maintenance), I thought a more personal view on this topic was in order. My wife and I recently...

Forensic Casebook

The Case of the Conveyor Catastrophe

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Andrew Paris, P.E., Anderson Engineering

The night in question couldn't have been more normal at the baked goods plant. Throughout the day, sheets of dough wind through a twisting maze of machinery...

Market Watch

From the Forensic Files of NIOSH

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Lack of communication and disregard for proper work procedures resulted in the electrocution of a licensed journeyman electrician employed by a Kentucky...

Printed and Organic Lighting Market to Top Almost $3 Billion by 2012

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Owing to higher energy efficiencies and the ability to create novel lighting products, the adoption of solid-state lighting (SSL), such as organic light-emitting...

North American Industrial Spending Index Experiences 40% Growth

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Compared to 2006, the June 2007 value of active industrial projects in North America is up 40.21%, continuing a three-month trend of increasing growth,...

Letters to the Editor

Gen-Set Article Generates Reader Feedback

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Your article in the April issue, Top Nine Reasons Generators Fail to Start, had quite a bit of excellent information on gen-set maintenance. Unfortunately,...

Product of the Month

OTDR Module Makes Fiber Cable Testing a Snap

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Stefanie Kure, Senior Associate Editor

It's no secret that electrical technicians are always looking for ways to maximize efficiency and profits by shortening labor hours on a job site. When...

Lighting & Control

Digital Dimming with DALI

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Rick Miller, RNM Engineering, Inc., and Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

In any dimming system, the ballasts and controllers must be able to speak the same language. In the case of digital dimming systems, this language is...

Inside PQ

Observations on Supplemental Grounding and Bonding: Part 2

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By William Bush, Panduit

In Part 1 of this article (July 2007), we described (per the Emerald Book and ANSI J-STD-07-A) supplemental grounding and bonding from the grounding electrode...

Construction Watch

Projected Construction Employment Numbers Not in Sync

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

One of the most intriguing empirical puzzles brought about by recent U.S. economic conditions is the apparent disconnect between measures of output and...

ASA Sets Code of Ethics for Construction Subcontractors

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

In response to the corporate scandals of the 1990s, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 began requiring public companies to disclose whether they have adopted...

Industry's First PV Installation Textbook Unveiled

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for the Electrical Industry (NJATC) a joint program of the International Brotherhood of Electrical...

Market Insider

Manufacturing Facilities Market Poised for Continued Growth

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Stefanie Kure, Senior Associate Editor

Thanks to an increasingly competitive global market and a stronger-than-anticipated U.S. economy, the outlook for manufacturing construction spending...

Short Circuits

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The Power of Darkness As an electrical designer at a NASA center, I once got a phone call from a user who had contracted for a turnkey installation of...