Electrical Shorts

Southwire Acquires Maxis

Southwire Company completed its acquisition of the assets of Maxis LLC."This acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to providing innovative solutions for contractors—a common goal shared by both companies. Additionally, it provides yet another research and development arm for Southwire," said Jack Carlson, Southwire's electrical division president. "Maxis realizes great ideas come from the jobsite, and this is where they have concentrated their efforts. This focus has made Maxis one of the most innovative companies in the industry, centered exclusively on contractor solutions."

"Being a part of Southwire gives us the opportunity to expand our sales force, operating as one team with the same dedication to quality, service, and solutions-based product development. We can now build on the strengths of both companies," said James Jarvis, president of Maxis.

"It's very important that we forge strong relationships with our distributors while concentrating on the needs of the contractor," said Winn Wise, Southwire's senior vice president, construction. "We must continually focus on what contractors think is important and on what truly delivers value. Our customers expect to grow and we must continue to offer them a compelling competitive advantage in the marketplace. With this acquisition, we expect a smooth transition for both current and future customers."

NEMA Publishes Recommendations for Solid-State Lighting Sub-Assembly Interfaces for Luminaires

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published LSD 45-2009 Recommendations for Solid-State Lighting Sub-Assembly Interfaces for Luminaires.

This new white paper, prepared by the NEMA Solid State Lighting Section, covers the design and construction of interconnects for solid-state lighting applications. It compiles the latest industry information regarding mechanical, electrical, and thermal connections and documents existing industry best practices.

'LSD 45-2009 is a breakthrough publication for solid-state lighting, a segment of the lighting industry that is gaining momentum and requires standardization," said Kevin Dowling, PhD, chair of the Solid State Lighting Section. 'NEMA’s Solid State Lighting section continues to be very involved with shaping the future of this technology, bringing industry experts together to create and encourage processes that benefit both consumers and manufacturers."

The document may be downloaded at no charge by visiting http://www.nema.org/stds/lsd45.cfm.

CFL Market Share Rises During Second Quarter

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s index for incandescent lamps registered a reading of 59.4 for the second quarter of 2009, which is essentially unchanged from the first three months of the year. However, the index decreased 11.8 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs) showed a similar fate, although declining by a less severe rate of 3.9 percent on a year-over-year basis. At the same time, the CFL index increased 3.8 percent versus the first quarter of 2009, climbing to 222.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Recent performance may indicate the indices might be at or near bottom given the relatively flat to moderate increases in growth.

OSHA Opens Record on Proposed Rule on Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced in the September 14 Federal Register that it is opening the record on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on electric power generation, transmission, and distribution and for electrical protective equipment. This limited opening seeks to obtain comments related to safe proximity between a worker and exposed electrical parts.

OSHA published a proposed rule to revise the general industry and construction standards for electric power generation, transmission, and distribution and for electrical protective equipment, such as insulating blankets, gloves and rubber sleeves. That proposal included revised minimum approach distances (MAD) to determine how close a worker or an object that the worker is holding can get to an electrical part. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers later made further corrections for calculating MAD and the current proposed rule includes those revisions.

"We want to incorporate the most accurate data for keeping workers at safe distances from dangerous electrical sources," said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. "Extending this rulemaking process will provide us with the information we need to provide the best possible protection for working men and women."

A public hearing will be held Oct. 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The agency will accept comments on the proposed rule until Oct. 15. Comments may be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov, the federal eRulemaking portal or faxed to the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648.

Indiana adopts 2008 NEC Code

The State of Indiana has adopted the 2008 NEC for other than one and two family dwellings.  The code will become effective August 26, 2009.  

The Indiana Electrical Advisory Committee recommended moving the adoption of the 2008 NEC forward with the safety provisions of AFCI and Tamper Resistant requirements. However, two safety proven provisions were completely omitted; AFCI protection in homes (210.12(b)) and Tamper Resistant Receptacles (406.11) protection for children. The State’s appointed building commission decided not to include these proven safety provisions from the NEC and allow the IRC Building Commission to re-consider those safety provisions to be added into the electrical requirements found in Indiana’s residential code.

Citizens of Indiana should contact their local Legislator to voice their concern for these added safety provisions that were deleted from the NEC to have them be added to IRC to make the homes of Indiana a safer place to live.

Chicago Ranks No. 1 In Green Buildings

Chicago now has more certified green buildings than any other city in the country, according to figures received from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council reports that 88 projects in Chicago have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Portland, Or. was next with 73 LEED buildings and Seattle third with 63. New York was 7th with 46 and Los Angeles 9th with 40. The only small city in the top ten was Grand Rapids, Mich., which ranked 8th with 44.

Among Chicago’s LEED-rated buildings are the McCormick Place West Building and the city’s new FBI Building.

Daley has been a vocal advocate of green architecture. Years ago, Chicago’s City Hall was outfitted with a lushly-planted green roof. Now, the city requires new public buildings to achieve LEED certification. In addition, public and private projects receiving city assistance must either have a green roof or pursue green building certification.

Stimulus Saves Construction Jobs: House Panel

The number of jobs created or saved by infrastructure projects funded by the U.S. economic stimulus plan increased by more than 50 percent in July from June, according to a report.

By the end of July, 77,470 jobs had been "created or sustained" by water, highway and public transportation projects, compared to slightly less than 50,000 jobs at the end of June, said the report from a House of Representatives committee.

A single state, Illinois, accounted for nearly a fifth of the total by creating or sustaining 15,388 jobs, according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Midwestern state could use the boost. Illinois had an unemployment rate of 10.4 percent in July, well above the national rate of 9.4 percent, according to the Labor Department.

The Associated General Contractors of America said on Monday that, while the states may be starting work, cities are lagging.

"It is difficult to understand why more communities aren't moving to put their stimulus funds to work while they are experiencing these kinds of job losses," Stephen Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The trade group analyzed city employment data and found that construction employment declined in 319 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas in July, while it increased in only 11 areas. The Labor Department reported in August that the construction industry shed 76,000 jobs in July.

According to a federal report on construction spending released on Tuesday, money put into public capital works dropped 0.7 percent that month.

Combo Dorm-Field House Built to Attain LEED Gold

North Central College, a small private school in Naperville, needed new dormitory space and a new field house. The existing field house track is a non-standard 11 laps to the mile, so the school couldn't hold indoor track meets there. The solution? Four stories of community and dormitory space surrounding a 62,000 sq.ft. field house with 50-ft. high walls and 180-ft. of clear span space from side to side.

The tightly insulated building should attain LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The structure incorporates a geo-exchange heat pump system and radiant floor heat, fire protection system and water-saving plumbing.

The walls of the structure are an R-20 sandwich of lightweight aggregate concrete, foam core and more concrete in the interior. The 6,000-psi panels are molded in a brick pattern and will be painted to look like brick. Dukane Precast, Naperville, Ill., cast all of the panels for the building in its shop, including floor panels containing PEX tubing for the radiant floor system.

For more details on the specialty installations visit: http://contractormag.com/green-contracting/combo-dorm-leed-gold-0909/