Dedicated to the success and professional development of
independent electrical contractors

download .pdf version

Estate Planning & Business Succession Planning

Electrical Safety Has History

In the last 100 years the methods used in electrical contracting have changed very little, the basic principles still apply. What has changed our business? Safety. Employee safety and client/homeowner safety. The NEC has provided that all important standard for safe and affordable distribution of electricity in our homes and business.

Ensuring your customers are afforded the protection that the NEC can provide is very important. There should be no compromise due to a difficult circuit or problem load. It’s our duty to find the problem and restore the circuit to a safe state. The complexity of the electrical distribution system (residential or otherwise) has come a long way since the NEC was first adopted in 1897. There has been an increasing demand for electricity fueled by the invention of electrical products to make our lives easier and safer. The increase has resulted in the call for new products and solutions that help for safer installations. This in turn has created more work for electricians and electrical contractors and at the same time more business for manufacturers of these products. While the increased use of electricity has made our lives better it has resulted in more exposure to shock and greater hazards for fire. For that reason, the NEC is updated every three years to improve work practices and to utilize new devices to make our jobs, homes and lives safer.

Unfortunately, electricity can have devastating effects when miss-applied. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), electrical problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, 2,300 injuries and $868 million in property losses, in an average year. In fact, did you know?

· Home electrical wiring such as old wire insulation causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances.

· Most electrical fires result from problems with “fixed wiring” such as faulty electrical receptacles and old wiring.

· Problems with cords and plugs, such as extension and appliance cords, also cause many home electrical fires.

· Many avoidable electrical fires can be traced to misuse of electric cords, such as overloading circuits, poor maintenance and running the cords under rugs or in high traffic areas.

The NEC is working hard to reduce statistics like these and if you review some of the changes over time, you’ll agree that our homes and places of work are much safer than they were years ago. Take for instance, a look back in time when the first electrical power in homes was used for electric lights. The wiring method used back then was called knob and tube. Knobs made of porcelain were nailed on walls and rafters to support the wire. Tubes of porcelain were used as insulators.

The NFPA process encourages public participation in the development of its codes and standards. All NFPA codes and standards (are revised and updated every three to five years in Revision Cycles that begin twice each year and that normally take approximately two years to complete.

The process contains five basic steps leading to issuance of an NFPA Committee Document:

Step 1: Call for Proposals: Proposed new Document or new edition of an existing Document is entered into one of two yearly revision cycles, and a Call for Proposals is published.

Step 2: Report on Proposals (ROP): Committee or Panel meets to act on Proposals, to develop its own Proposals, and to prepare its Report. Committee votes by written ballot to approve its actions on the Proposals. If approval is not obtained, the Report returns to Committee. If approved, the Report on Proposals (ROP) is published for public review and comment.

Step 3: Report on Comments (ROC): Committee or Panel meets to act on Public Comments, to develop its own Comments, and to prepare its report.  Committee votes by written ballot to approve its actions on the Comments. If approval is not obtained, the Report returns to Committee.  If approved, the Report on Comments (ROC) is published for public review.

Step 4: Association Technical Meeting: “Notices of intent to make a motion” are filed and reviewed. NFPA membership meets each June at the Association Technical Meeting and acts on Technical Committee Reports (ROP and ROC) for Documents with “certified amending motions.” Technical Committee(s) and Panel(s) vote on any amendments to the Technical Committee Reports made by the NFPA membership at the Association Technical Meeting.

Step 5: Standards Council Issuance: Notification of intent to file an appeal to the Standards Council on Association action must be filed within 20 days of the Association Technical Meeting. Standards Council decides, based on all evidence, whether or not to issue the Document or to take other action.

Safety Training 

The Independent Electrical Contractors Association will be offering:

First Aid/CPR OSHA Compliance Class

Monday March 22nd

at the IEC Building, 1810 Plantside Drive

Starting at 7:30 a.m.