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Editor's Note
Cast Your
Vote for the EC&M Product of the Year!
Would you like to help pick the prestigious EC&M
Product of the Year winner and qualify for a chance to win $100? If
you're an EC&M subscriber, make your vote count by visiting the
2009 EC&M Product
of the Year Poll. To review the products, click on the links for
each of the 29 category winners to read a brief description and view a
photo. Once you're finished with your review, enter your contact
information, choose your favorite product from the drop-down menu, and
click submit.
Your selection will help us identify the 2009 EC&M Product of
the Year Platinum, Gold, and Silver award winners. As an added
incentive, three lucky voters will be randomly selected to receive a
$100 gift check.
The voting poll
will remain open through 5 p.m. on June 19, 2009. Only one vote per
EC&M subscriber, please. Any votes received from manufacturers,
PR firms, or non-EC&M readers will be discarded.
ADVERTISEMENT
AEMC®'s Clamp-On Ground Resistance Testers Models 3711 &
3731
AEMC® Instruments clamp-on ground
resistance testers measure ground rod and small-system grid resistance
without the use of auxiliary ground rods. Both meters measure ground
resistance from 0.01 ohms to 1200 ohms without disconnecting the rod
under test. They also measure ground leakage current from 1mA to 30Arms.
The large jaw (1.25") accommodates ground conductors up to 1000MCM.
Model 3731 includes both an alarm function and a memory function, which
will store up to 99 field measurements. www.aemc.com
Coming Up in EC&M
Top 50
Electrical Contractors
Based on results of a survey exclusive to EC&M,
the August cover story will chronicle the successes and challenges
EC&M's Top 50 electrical contractors experienced throughout 2008.
The report will reveal the strategies of the top players with the
highest sales, highlighting particular accomplishments. In addition, the
article will track hot and cool markets and the cutting-edge
technologies and processes the firms introduced into their work
practices last year, as well as those on the verge of changing the
landscape of project delivery and installation in the future.If your
electrical firm has what it takes to make the Top 50 list (the cutoff
for total design revenue for last year was $1.0 million) and would like
to participate, contact Staff Writer Beck Ireland by phone at (913)
967-1806 or e-mail at beck.ireland@penton.com. Past
participants can expect to receive the survey at the beginning of June.
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Customers needing electrical repairs are calling Mister Sparky right
now. So should you. To learn how you can dominate your marketplace, call
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www.thankyoumistersparky.com/ez.
Around the Circuit
Architecture
Billings Index Points to Possible Economic Improvement
After an eight-point jump in March, the Architecture
Billings Index (ABI) fell less than a full point in April. As a leading
economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the
approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and
construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA),
Washington, D.C., reported the April ABI rating was 42.8, down from the
43.7 mark in March. This was the first time since August and September
2008 that the index was above 40 for consecutive months. However, the
score still indicates an overall decline in demand for design services
(any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects
inquiry score was 56.8.To read more on this story, visit
EC&M’s Web
site.
Construction
Employment Declines in April
Construction employment fell by 110,000 jobs in April,
with losses spread throughout the sector, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the past six months, job losses have
averaged 120,000 per month, compared with 46,000 per month from December
2007 through October 2008.To read more on this story, visit
EC&M’s Web
site.
Industrial
Controls Shipments Plunge During First Quarter
The Primary Industrial Controls Index, measured by
Rosslyn, Va.-based NEMA, experienced its largest quarter-to-quarter
decline on record, contracting more than 23% in the first quarter of
2009 versus the fourth quarter of 2008. On a year-over-year basis, the
index showed a very rapid downward movement, dropping 30.5% compared to
the first quarter of 2008. Inflation-adjusted shipments of industrial
control equipment have fallen to their lowest level since 1991.
Conditions in the broader industrial controls market, as measured by the
Primary Industrial Controls and Adjustable Speed Drives Index, were also
weak, but slightly less so, as this metric slipped 19.6% from the prior
quarter and more than 26% on a year-over-year basis.To read more on
this story, visit EC&M’s Web
site.
HPBCCC Provides
Input to Congress on High-Performance Federal Buildings
The High Performance Building Congressional Caucus
Coalition (HPBCCC) has issued a report that focuses on federal buildings
as principal targets to incorporate characteristics of high-performance
buildings. The report, "Producing High-Performance Federal Buildings,"
was delivered to members of Congress as a guide for upcoming
legislation.To read more on this story, visit EC&M’s Web
site.
Project Watch
Electrical Service
and Lighting in Pennsylvania
Brighton Township, Beaver County, Pa., is soliciting
bids for electrical service for restroom, storage facility, and parking
lot lighting at the Two Mile Park Baseball Field. Scope of work includes
providing all necessary labor, equipment, and materials in connection
with the installation of 200A electrical service and lighting for
split-face block building and lighting for parking lot. Bids are due at
10 a.m. EST on June 8. For more information, visit the Beaver County
Times & Allegheny Times Web
site and scroll down to the "Invitation for Bids for the "Two Mile
Park Baseball Field Contract C."
Cathodic Protection
System in New York
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is
accepting bids for cathodic protection system repairs at the John F.
Kennedy International Airport, Queens, N.Y. The work under this contract
consists generally of cathodic protection system repairs, including test
stations, reference electrodes, anode ground beds, and rectifiers. The
deadline for bids is 2:30 p.m. EST on June 9. For questions, contact
Jessamma Vatakencherry by phone at (212) 435-3953 or by e-mail at jvataken@panynj.gov.
Web Exclusives
Business Brief
PowerSecure, Wake Forest, N.C., has been awarded
approximately $6 million of new business from several major grocery
chains for its state-of-the-art green EfficientLights light-emitting
diode (LED) lighting technology. The new technology is expected to
reduce the stores' refrigerated case-lighting energy use by 70% and
reduce the carbon footprint by approximately 80 thousand lb of carbon
emissions annually per store. For more Business Briefs, visit the
EC&M Web
site.
From the Forensic Files
of NIOSH
Failure to enact established lockout/tagout procedures
proves fatal to an electrician at a California newspaper recycling
factory. Read the full incident report on the EC&M Web
site.
26TH Annual
IALD Award Recipients Announced
On May 6, the winners of the 26th Annual International
Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) International Lighting Design
Awards were announced at a presentation in New York. Read about the
honorees on the EC&M Web
site.
Eye on Safety
Power Plant
Worker in Arc Flash Incident
On May 19, a worker at the Apex Power Plant in North Las
Vegas was seriously burned when a generator he was working on arced. He
suffered flash burns on 20% of his body, mostly on his upper torso. The
North Las Vegas Fire Department, along with Clark County and the City of
Las Vegas Fire Departments, responded to the rescue call, which came
from Apex around 8:30 a.m. In addition, both ground and air ambulances
responded to the scene.
Shows & Events
Enroll In
EC&M University's Online Arc Flash Courses
Need Arc Flash prevention training and continuing
education, but don't have a travel budget? That's no problem.
EC&M University’s e-Training Center is the answer! Just link to
these live, online training courses directly from your computer. Each
course will be presented in a concise and easy-to-understand manner by
an industry acknowledged expert.
- Arc Flash Testing Updates
June 16, 2009
- Arc Flash Hazard Mitigation Case Studies
June 25,
2009
For more information, go to www.ecmuniversity.com. To
register online, go to www.acteva.com/go/ecmuniversity.
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