Test & Measurement

Electrical Forensics: The Case of the Secondary School Fault

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:29:00 +0000

By Christopher B. Shiver, P.E., Chris Shiver, P.E. LLC

Electrical contractor’s failure to verify integrity of cable insulation results in arc flash event, injury, and litigation

Shermco Industries' James R. White Appointed Principal Member of NFPA Code Making Panel 13

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:10:00 +0000

James R. White, training director for Shermco Industries, has been appointed to be the Principal member of NFPA Code Making Panel 13 of the National Electrical Code

Testing and Troubleshooting Power Distribution Wiring Systems

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:10:00 +0000

By Jim Boyd, National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC)

Online training helps provide essential safety requirements for working with energized power distribution systems

Testing Flood-Damaged Electrical Equipment

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:08:00 +0000

By Don Genutis, EA Technology

Proper testing assures long-term reliability of flooded equipment following natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy

Majority of Seattle’s Large Buildings Now Tracking and Reporting Energy Use

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:36:00 +0000

The city now has 2011 energy data on more than 87% of commercial and multifamily buildings 50,000 sq ft or larger

IEEE Announces Call to Revise Guide for Induction Machinery Maintenance Testing and Failure Analysis

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:22:00 +0000

The IEEE P1415 Working Group announces a call for participation to review and revise IEEE 1415-2006, “Guide for Induction Machinery Maintenance Testing and Failure Analysis”

Taking Care of Transformers, Part 6

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:10:00 +0000

Schedule the frequency of routine testing based on the criticality of the transformer. Despite the name, it isn't actually testing. You want to collect certain data and compare to the baseline data from acceptance testing and trend data points over time, watching for the trendline to change.

Collect data in engineering units. Rather than have a checkbox for "OK" next to temperature, record the actual temperature. This permits trending and prevents several problems.

Collect the following data.

All types of transformer units:

DC Testing of Circuit Breakers

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:20:00 +0000

By James R. White, Shermco Industries, Inc.

So you have power circuit breakers at your facility, and they seem to be just fine, sitting there quietly doing their job. What you may not realize is that even though your circuit breakers are apparently working well, behind the scenes these critical devices could be on the brink of failure.

NEMA Publishes American National Standard for Test Methods for Composite Insulators

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:52:00 +0000

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI C29.11-2012, "American National Standard for Composite Insulators—Test Methods"

Troubleshooting Small-Scale Photovoltaic (PV) Systems

Tue, 01 May 2012 19:52:00 +0000

By Bill Kaszeta, PVRI

Electrical contractors can gain confidence and experience with photovoltaic (PV) systems by performing basic troubleshooting practices on string inverter-based equipment