It’s expected that installing optical fiber cables would require different tools than copper communications cables or electrical cables. How familiar are you with some of the specialized tools used in fiber optics?

When designing, building, testing or operating a fiber optic network, is “close enough” good enough?

The 2021 edition of NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace was recently released and is available at www.nfpa.org/70e. Each approved revision and update to NFPA 70E standards supersedes all previous editions. Are you up to date?

How well do you understand the latest NFPA 72 requirements for fire alarm pathway class designations? Take this quiz to test your knowledge.

Section 110.12 requires equipment to be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner, but it never tells users how to accomplish that. Good workmanship is often in the eyes of the beholder and is directly related to the training and experience of the installer.

Many aspects of a fiber optic project concern a manager, but the ultimate issue is the “deliverables”—the final information that must be provided to prove the project is complete and installation was done properly. How familiar are you with the deliverables of a fiber optic installation project?

The coronavirus pandemic has forced training to move completely online and instructors are using technology to deliver necessary programs to keep employees safe. OSHA publication 2254 covers training requirements applicable to the construction industry.

Many recommendations and preventive measures are being implemented to keep the workforce safe and protect employees and the public from the coronavirus. A lot of these carry over into our personal lives.

This quiz gives you a chance to see how well you understand the layout and usage of NFPA 72, 2019 edition. Good luck!

The National Electrical Code includes requirements to ground electrical systems. It also contains information regarding electrical systems that are prohibited from being grounded and those systems that are permitted to be—but not required to be—grounded. If an electrical system is grounded as a requirement or by choice, all the rules related to grounded systems must be applied.

The construction of a fiber optic cable plant is a complicated process that often involves heavy equipment, rights of way and avoiding other utilities. How well do you know the processes involved in fiber optic cable plant construction?

How do you determine whether an electrical contractor’s safety program is a success? Test yourself on some of the key indicators.

A lot has changed in NFPA 72 regarding fire alarm systems monitoring in the last two code cycles. Here is a chance to review your knowledge of the changes.

While May is recognized as Electrical Safety Month, everyone should always practice safety when working with or around electrical circuits and equipment. Ensure proper ground prongs are in place and not removed from attachment plugs. Don’t swim around docks and marinas where electrical shock hazards could be present in the water. Test your safety know-how.

In my last quiz, I challenged your knowledge on fiber optic testing. Fiber optic test results are usually expressed in decibels (dB), a term that can be very confusing. Do you understand decibels, and do you know how to interpret test data expressed in decibels?

Proper material selection has never been more critical for electrical needs with power over ethernet installations increasing and fire alarm cabling protecting life and property. You also need to know how to install safely.

Ensuring proper selection, use and implementation of personal protective equipment (PPE) safeguards workers as a last line of defense—following elimination, substitution, engineering controls and administrative controls according to the hierarchy of risk control methods. How familiar are you with the details of PPE?

Outside plant fiber optic networks are getting faster. Upgrading older cable plants to higher speeds or testing new installations to ensure they can support future needs requires testing fibers more extensively—a process called fiber characterization. How well do you understand it?

Do you think the requirements for inspecting and testing fire alarms and fire sprinklers are the same? Do you know the different requirements between NFPA 25 and NFPA 72?

Article 770 and Chapter 8 of the National Electrical Code apply to fiber optic cables and communications systems. Chapter 8 covers communications systems and is not subject to the requirements of Chapters 1 through 7, except where they are referenced in Chapter 8.