Your Business

 

 

Articles in this section are intended to help electrical contractors grow and improve their businesses, from financial and legal advice to creating a service and maintenance department. You’ll find articles on estimating projects and more below. 

More than 174,000 workers in the electrical contracting industry—including the most-skilled electricians, linemen and technicians in the world—are covered by pension plans that are financed through contributions from them and their multiple employers, without costing taxpayers one cent.

When I started to write this article, it came out as a rant, which seemed unprofessional. Assuming I should be professional, I pared the rant down to a summary of the way I feel about the current state of engineering practices.

It was an online phenomenon that went viral.

The past two columns have covered issues related to your most important asset (and the most difficult one to measure): your employees.

More on Your Business

 
Maintaining Portable Electric Power Tools
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It is important that the right portable electric power tools be available when needed. However, this is of no value if the tools are not in good working order and able to effectively and safely perform the work.

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The Genie in the Bottle
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Since I began writing this column, I have addressed a broad array of issues in contract law. I wrote these articles to encourage you to learn more about your legal rights and obligations.

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Harmonics: Don’t Be Surprised...Be Prepared
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As non-linear loads proliferate in the industrial and commercial sectors, problems due to harmonic currents caused by these loads are becoming more common. However, the presence of harmonic currents is often not, in itself, a problem. The real problem may be some secondary effect they cause.

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Estimators, Distributors, Manufacturers: Divergent or Similar Goals?
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In the estimating process, quotations of specialized large-quantity lot, or project-specified materials will put the estimator in touch with the firm’s suppliers. Some contacts will also originate in the purchasing department.

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When It Comes to Power, Keep It Clean
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There are two worlds of overcurrent and overvoltage. The first is with AC power. The second is for twisted pair copper and the other lines, which are used in telephony and computer networks. It is the latter that we’ll cover here.

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Power Quality’s Impact on System Reliability
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Power quality is very important because of its direct impact on your customer’s business. It used to be that if the power was on, your customer was in business. Today, it isn’t a question of whether the power is on; rather, it is a question of whether the power provided meets the equipment’s needs.

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Energy Recap: What’s Ahead Now
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A civil war is shaping up over energy that may get nasty this summer, if supplies fall short of demand in several parts of the country, as is expected. The war is developing along two fronts.

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