Your Business

Nov 2019

What are the most important components of your safety program?

NECA’s Academy of Electrical Contracting honors leaders in the industry. To tap their experience and knowledge, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR posed a question to some members. Here are their answers. Our No. 1 component is our safety...

Nov 2019

Mistakes and Realizations

Stephen Carr

I have been laid off a few times during my career as an estimator. Each time, I moved on to the next job without much thought. As a young estimator, I believed it was the way of the industry. I was constantly getting...

Nov 2019

That New Tool Smell

Susan Bloom

When the job calls for precision, efficiency and safety, technology typically comes to the rescue. Here are some new pieces of cool technology designed to make electrical contractors more productive and profitable. 360-degree...

Nov 2019

The Law of Empty Promises

Gerard W. Ittig

Some time ago, I started a list of “lies” that I have heard repeated to me. I am now up to #67. Among the items on the list are: No. 33: “I am trying to be reasonable.” No. 59: “I am not trying to tell you how to do your job....

Nov 2019

Dust Control

Jeff Griffin

many tools electricians use, such as rotary hammers, demo hammers, drills, saws, grinders and more, create dust, which is distracting and can be unhealthy. Occupational Safety and Health Administration now mandates control of...

DeWalt rotary hammer with dust control www.dewalt.com

Nov 2019

Here a Watt, There a Watt

Richard P. Bingham

last month, I wrote about the high electric demand on the utility system during summer and some of its effects. Demand-side management (DSM) is the phrase utilities use for ways to reduce the electrical demand of a facility...

One of 10 retrofit LEDs that failed within eight months of installation.

Nov 2019

Following Blackouts, California and PG&E Battle it Out

William Atkinson

Following the unprecedented power blackout by PG&E during the week of Oct. 7 that affected almost 800,000 homes and businesses, up to a total of 2 million people in the state, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)...

Oct 2019

Winners Beat Out 58,000 Competitors to Take Home Big Bucks in Ideal National Championship

Holly Sauer

It was an incredibly tough competition in this year’s Ideal National Championship, held Nov. 7–9, but the winners took home big bucks for their trouble. Qualifying rounds across the country drew one of the largest pools of...

Oct 2019

Congressmen Announce Bill to Require VA to Educate Veterans on Apprenticeships

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

On Nov. 7, Donald Norcross and Andy Kim, two U.S. Democratic Congressmen from New Jersey, announced the Bringing Registered Apprenticeships to Veterans Education (BRAVE) Act, which if enacted, would ensure that all...

Congressmen Norcross and Kim speak about the BRAVE act.

Oct 2019

Simulated Cybersecurity Attack Exercises Gaining in Importance and Frequency

William Atkinson

While the U.S. electric sector has so far been able to keep hackers from actually disrupting operations, experts say that it is only a matter of time. Adding to the concern is that, according to Argonne National Laboratory,...