An EC&M Tradition
A decade ago, the EC&M Product of the Year competition was established to honor excellence in new product development for the electrical industry. The prestigious Platinum award showcases the most innovative product of the past year and recognizes inventive products that allow electrical design professionals, installers, and maintenance personnel to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
This year's contest pulled in almost 100 submissions — representing almost every major product category offered to the electrical design, construction, and maintenance markets. The quality level and diversity of the entries made it difficult for voters to zero in on just a single item, which once again led to a neck-in-neck final vote tally — with just a few votes separating the Platinum, Gold, and Silver award winners.
Product of the Year
For Electricians by Electricians
This year's platinum winner in the 2010 Product of the Year competition comes from the conduit fittings category and proves that a simple device can prevail in a high-tech world. The Electrical Bypass is a patented, disposable device designed to provide electrical and communications contractors with an easier way to install conductors with multiple junction boxes when using conventional snake/wiring methods. In addition, the product also allows users to use a mouse and string setup to blow or vacuum a line from beginning to end of the conduit.
"When you're pushing a conventional metal snake through, typically you would have to stop at every box," says Jim Sullivan, a master electrician, who, with his brother Frank, invented the device and co-founded The Electrical Bypass Co., Pittsfield, Mass. "When using the bypass, the wiring passes from one end to the other without getting stuck. That's particularly helpful if you're up in the air doing a row of 30 lights."
The invention of the Electrical Bypass came about through necessity. As experienced electricians, the Sullivan brothers experienced the delays that came from pushing conductors through multiple junction boxes. "This was a problem we needed to solve," says Sullivan. "Now, you can push a snake from one end to the other without having to stop at each box, and then it just tears out of the way at the end."
To use the labor-saving device, install conduit and as many junction boxes as needed to complete the line. Then, simply insert The Electrical Bypass into junction boxes. "We suggest you put the bypasses in as you're installing the boxes, and then you don't need to get back to that box," says Sullivan. Tie on your wires and pull the wiring straight through to the desired box. You can then tear out the bypass at its perforated rip strips to access the wiring, and the job is complete.
In addition to saving time and labor, the use of the device eliminates the need for an additional scissor lift. "With the bypass in there, the snake doesn't get stuck, so you don't have to have someone else there to move the staging over to feed it through," explains Sullivan, who estimates that a project with two conduit runs with 20 box installations can result in the savings of 4 hr or more. "A two-person job just became a one-person job in parts."
The Electrical Bypass is manufactured in the United States and is available in various sizes (including ½ in., ¾ in., and 1 in.) and is packaged in bags of 20. "Really, it's just a simple product, but electricians always appreciate something that works," says Sullivan.
For more information, visit www.electricalbypass.com/.
Gold Award
The first runner-up in this year's Product of the Year competition comes from the computers and software category. Simutech Multimedia, Inc.'s Troubleshooting Skills Series V4 software is a simulation-based troubleshooting training system that helps users develop skills for troubleshooting a variety of electrical circuits and equipment. From basic electrical circuits to control and motor circuits, the series teaches a proven troubleshooting process, providing “hands-on” training on a range of realistic electrical simulations. According to the company, each component in the simulation is designed to work like a real one.
Silver Award
The second runner-up in this year's competition is Eaton Corp.'s Arc-Resistant Low-Voltage Switchgear. This ANSI Type 2 arc-resistant, low-voltage switchgear protects operating and maintenance personnel from dangerous arcing faults by redirecting or channeling the arc energy out the top of the switchgear, regardless of the origination location of the arc. With a floor to ceiling height of 10 ft, the switchgear also features a flap system on its rear ventilation openings that remain open under normal operating conditions but closed during an arcing event to prevent dangerous gases from escaping.
Voting Winners
EC&M would like to congratulate the following three readers who each won $100 for voting in this year's competition:
- Will Kidd Jr., electrical contractor, Kidd Electric Co., Washington, D.C.
- Jim Kulchisky, principal engineer, High Time Industries, Ltd., Calgary, Canada
- Eric Branning, electrician/project manager, Engineered Systems, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.
The EC&M editorial team randomly selected these names from the list of voters who cast their vote via our online poll.
The 2009 platinum award winner confirms the adage that sometimes two are better than one. 
Proving the age-old adage that good things come in small packages, the 
