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Making Amendments

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

Sidebar: Selective Coordination Equipment Standards

One major concern in the debate over the selective coordination mandate in 2008 NEC is the lack of official safety standards for the equipment. “For almost all equipment in the electric industry, there are safety standards,” says Jim Degnan, P.E., principal, Sparling, Seattle. “The equipment is designed to meet requirements established by independent safety organizations, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). If it's so constructed, we can say that it's safe, or that it's going to perform as expected. UL has no criteria for what constitutes selective coordination.”

In the absence of a UL rating, says Degnan, each manufacturer can state what it construes to be selective coordination, and there are no standards between manufacturers as to what constitutes selective coordination. “Basically, the engineers have to take the manufacturer's word for it that something is selectively coordinated. This means that once an owner has invested in overcurrent protection by a single manufacturer, then that owner would be obligated to buy additional equipment by that manufacturer for it to continue to be selectively coordinated. Before, they could've bought equipment from any manufacturer, and the engineer could've applied some appropriate judgment to determine the degree of selective coordination that was likely to occur based on different manufacturers' equipment.”

Proponents of the selective coordination requirement in the 2008 NEC say it's only a matter of time before this concern is abolished. Proposal 13-135 has been called a “manufacturers' battle,” and that's how many think this matter of a lack of equipment standards will be solved. “This battle will be resolved when manufacturers start offering more products,” says James S. Nasby, CMP 13 principal for the 2005 and 2008 editions and engineering director, Master Control Systems, Inc., Lake Bluff, Ill. “Then, other manufacturers will be all over it.”

Sidebar: Voluntary Adoption

Through its field representatives, Rosslyn, Va.-based National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) tracks the adoption of the NEC by states and major local jurisdictions. The timing for adoption varies by state and municipality, and some jurisdictions adopt the NEC only after making amendments to the document. Therefore, electrical codes differ throughout the country and even within individual states.

Municipal jurisdictions may amend the latest edition of the NEC adopted by the states in which they are located. For example, Washington State operates under the 2005 NEC, but Seattle approved the 2005 Seattle Electrical Code on Sept. 19, 2005. However, the local jurisdiction may only require stricter requirements than the state mandates. “Local jurisdictions can take a harder line from what the state has adopted,” says Bill Eckroth, plan review supervisor, Department of Labor and Industries, State of Washington. “If we've adopted selective coordination but have modified it under rule, then that would be the minimum that would have to be met.”

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