- December 19, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Jack Lyons, Northeast Field Representative, NEMA
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Protection Research Foundation sponsored a meeting of the Electrical Safety Research Advisory Committee (ESRAC) during the Second Draft meetings for the National Electrical Code® (NEC) in San Diego, California, in October. NEMA is represented by Vince Baclawski, senior technical director, and Jack Lyons, Northeast field representative.
Casey Grant, director of the foundation, and Donny Cook, advisory committee chair, opened the
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- December 16, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Discussion about the future of NEMA was followed by lawn bowling. Pictured (from the left): Mike Pessina, Lutron; Dave Nord, Hubbell; Jack Nehlig, Phoenix Contact; Mark Wingate and Jeanette Wingate, Maxivolt; Gerald Connolly, Legrand; Deb and John Caskey, NEMA; and Patrick Hope, NEMA.
The 2018 Industry Future Forum, held on November 14 in conjunction with the Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, dove into a single topic: Standards and the future of
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- December 14, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
John Hindman, Tooling U-SME’s director of learning and performance improvement, led a discussion of NEMA’s Youth Apprenticeship Program.
In a full-day workshop, NEMA launched its Workforce Development Workshop to address one of the most broadly faced threats to the electroindustry—the skills gap.
NEMA created two resources, the Industry Promotion Toolkit and Industrial Maintenance Pre-apprenticeship Program, to recruit and train the future workforce while helping our Members promote the electroindustry as a vibrant and
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- December 13, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Karen Willis, Industry Director, NEMA
With a movement toward systems in NEMA product scopes, a recent working lunch involving the Transportation Management Systems Section and the Lighting Systems Division paved the way for collaborative work projects. Among the topics they discussed were:
Standards development needs for harmonized communications;
State, city, and county procurement guidelines for secure roadway lighting; and
Lighting’s potential role in the autonomous vehicle industry.
They also discussed how they are particularly poised to
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- December 12, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
In 2018, NEMA formed the Transportation Systems Division to broaden its role in the movement of goods and people in safe, cyber-secure, and efficient ways. Member companies are well positioned to play a leading role in the electrification of America’s transportation system, which accounts for 25 percent of total U.S. energy use.
The Division is planning government advocacy and technical activities for 2019. To learn more, contact Steve Griffith, industry director for
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- December 11, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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The NEMA Lamp Index for general service (A-line) lamps has taken on a new look. When the A-line Lamp Index was first developed and published in 2012, it was designed to measure the shift in general service (A-line) lamp technology as a result of the implementation of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA-2007), which required manufacturers to replace traditional incandescent lamp technology with halogen incandescent lamp technology that consumed 28% less energy. At the time, the only
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- December 10, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
In a provoking breakfast keynote, Paul Wellener, vice chairman and leader of U.S. Industrial Products & Construction, Deloitte Consulting, proclaimed that the jobs are here, but asked, “Where are the people?”
Drawing on the 2018 Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute skills gap and future of work study, Mr. Wellener addressed how the nature of work is changing and what manufacturing jobs will be like in the digital era. He pointed out how
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- December 9, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Bryan Mulligan introduced a panel on the Future of Connected Transportation. The panelists, who explained how real-time data can improve safety and mobility on the road, represented the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Panasonic USA, and the Ford Motor Company. The companies collaborated on a connected vehicle platform to save lives along the 90-mile stretch of I-70 from Golden to Vail.
Standards, Mr. Mulligan predicted and panelists agreed, will play an essential
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- December 8, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Reid Wilson, Correspondent for The Hill Newspaper
Noting a nearly 50 percent record turnout in a midterm election, Reid Wilson of The Hill summarized that there was more interest in Election Night 2018 than in the Watergate scandal, and that the election was not about the economy—it was all about President Trump.
Tracing a wide variety of statistics based on exit polls, general demographics, and surveys, Mr. Wilson analyzed TV viewership, voter turnout,
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- December 7, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Don Leavens used a scenario approach to analyze current conditions in the electroindustry.
Employing a scenario approach in his annual economic outlook, NEMA Vice President and Chief Economist Don Leavens, PhD, analyzed the economic growth impact of monetary policy, investments, productivity, and trade.
He explained that the first scenario, dubbed “Recession,” is based on the assumption that rising interest rates expose an overextended commercial real estate market causing real estate values to slide
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- December 6, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Where is our industry heading? What new technologies are on the horizon? What challenges will the future bring? If you have answers to these questions, we want to hear from you. If you have an idea for a Strategic Initiative, let us know.
Through December 31, 2018, NEMA is collecting proposals for forward-looking, cross-cutting, challenge-solving, and opportunity-seizing 2020 Strategic Initiatives. These innovative programs and projects prepare NEMA Members for emerging opportunities and
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- December 5, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Daniel Majano, Program and Digital Marketing Manager, ESFI
Electricity and electrical products play fundamental roles in how we do business. If not used or maintained appropriately, they can pose serious risks. Over the last ten years, more than 30,000 workers have been injured in workplace electrical accidents.
While electrical hazards are not the leading cause of on-the-job injuries and accidents, they are disproportionately fatal and costly. They not only disrupt the lives of
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- December 3, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Photo caption | NEMA’s Transportation Division, guests, and staff visited Capitol Hill September 26. They included (from the left) Robert Le Sueur, Sensys Networks; Craig Updyke, NEMA; Bryan Mulligan, Applied Information; Jan Bergstrom, Miovision; Joseph Dudich, Eberle Design; Steve Griffith, NEMA; Philip Squair, NEMA. Not pictured are Asaf Nagler, ABB; Jason Morrison, Daktronics; and Eric Raamot, Econolite. Photo by Capitol Police Department
Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs
Members and
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- December 2, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.
As I wrap up my time as Chairman of the Board of Governors, I am proud to report that NEMA remains relevant, engaged, and fiscally sound. Our collective accomplishments are outlined in NEMA by the Numbers, which I urge everyone to review. It portrays how, through our industry-wide work, NEMA provides its Members with a competitive advantage.
Let me share a few highlights.
Standards & Technical Expertise: Standards, code adoption, and
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- November 30, 2018
- Bill Green
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As the United Kingdom proceeds with plans for its departure from the European Union in March 2019, U.S. electroindustry manufacturers may wonder about relevance for their business. In 2017, U.S. shipments of NEMA scope products to the U.K. were valued at approximately $1 billion.
U.S. and U.K. trade officials have met several times over the past 18 months, most recently in early November, to prepare for possible negotiations on a trade agreement. So far, each government has published a guide to
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- November 28, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Kirk Anderson, Industry Director, Industrial Products and Systems Division, NEMA
If you ask my children if they would like another scoop of ice cream, they will scream, “more, more,” only to find they have stomachaches later. So it is with increasing energy-efficiency levels.
Over the last 30 years, the motor industry has increased efficiency for the typical 5 hp motor from 85 percent to more than 90 percent. Yet regulators and some energy
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- November 26, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November 2018 issue of electroindustry.
All 18 code-making panels updating the National Electrical Code® (NEC), which is published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) with input from organizations that include NEMA, met and reviewed 3,730 public inputs in January 2018. These meetings resulted in 1,406 changes (first revisions). Some of the first revisions could significantly advance electrical safety in the built environment; they will now go through NFPA’s process.
Pertinent revisions include:
Ground Fault Protection
Section 210.8(A) in
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- November 23, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Ann Brandstadter, Manager, Standards Publications and Marketing, NEMA
ANSI C119.6-2018 American National Standard for Electric Connectors—Non-Sealed, Multiport Connector Systems Rated 600 V or Less for Aluminum and Copper Conductors applies to aluminum-to-aluminum, aluminum-to-copper, and copper-to-copper conductors for above-grade electric utility applications. This revision includes spreadsheet files, which can be used to collect current cycle test data, calculate connector stability, generate graphs of the data, and print the data to provide test results
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- November 21, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Andre Smit, Engineering Manager, Siemens Industry, Inc., Suraj Chanda, Application Engineer, Siemens Industry, Inc., Alexandr Stinskiy, PhD, Application Engineer, Siemens Industry, Inc., and Farel Becker, Product Manager, Siemens Industry, Inc.
Many utilities are looking for better and improved ways to optimize distribution feeder automation by exploring cellular communication services.
Distribution feeder automation systems provide many different types of solutions. The primary reliability improvement functions provided by these systems include fault locate, isolate and
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- November 19, 2018
- NEMA Communications
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This piece was originally published in the November 2018 issue of electroindustry.
Jeff Fleeman, Chief Operating Officer, Grid Assurance
Jeff Fleeman, Grid Assurance COO, is responsible for the development of the company's inventory, warehousing, and logistics. He is also with American Electric Power, one of the founding members of Grid Assurance.
The Importance of Building a U.S. Strategic Transformer Reserve
Ensuring that the electrical grid is secure is nothing new, but with increased threats and risks like physical assaults, natural disasters, and cyber attacks, the question
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