Ideas That Work: Anchoring Solutions, Fishing With Chains and an Unusual Vise

• Your Business

Every month, we pick the top Ideas That Work submitted by you, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR readers. These ideas can't be found in any code or guidebook and are only learned or devised through years of experience and thinking, "There's got to be a better way to do this!" Please remember, the ideas presented in this article are for consideration only. Before using such ideas, make sure codes and safety standards have been fully adhered to. Now, without further ado, here are this issue's Ideas That Work!

Six Tactics to Maximize the Purchasing Function, Tactic 5

Barry Olson

• Your Business

This article is the fourth in a series of six tactics in which the electrical contractor can maximize purchasing power and profitability though procurement. Click here for part four. My last few tactics have dealt with various psychological and social behavioral hacks, which can work either in your favor or against it. This tactic is no different, but it is one of the most powerful tools I can suggest for you. It is based on a well-researched social behavior phenomenon called anchoring, and here is how it works:

Designing Safety

Michael Johnston

• Codes & Standards

In the electrical industry, a new method of protecting workers from arc energy is gaining popularity: prevention through design. Simply speaking, the design and installation of equipment or systems incorporates inherent safety features that protect workers from serious arc-flash injuries or death. The 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC) added Section 240.87, Non-instantaneous Trip, achieving safety measures through a reduction of arc energy on the load side of all circuit breakers that were not equipped with an instantaneous trip function (non-instantaneous trip types).


Cool Tools: Knockout Tools

Jeff Griffin

• Your Business

Knockout tools are widely accepted as the best method of punching conduit-size holes in steel electrical panels, boxes and other steel surfaces. While hole saws and step bits on conventional drills and carbide cutters also can cut metal, none can produce a hole as precisely and cleanly as a knockout tool.
 Basic knockout tool components are punch and die, draw stud and the mechanism to pull the stud—a hand wrench, a hand-powered hydraulic pump or electrically powered hydraulics. 


The Rising Sun

Darlene Bremer

• Systems

The outlook for solar-power project deployment continues to brighten, creating opportunities for electrical contractors. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Washington, D.C., 2014 was a banner year for U.S. photovoltaic (PV) projects. In 2014, 6,201 megawatts (MW) of solar PV were installed, an increase of 30 percent over 2013.


Diversity on the Rise

Claire Swedberg

• Your Business

Activity on construction sites may look about the same as it did 10 years ago, but changes are underway when it comes to company diversity.
 According to business analysts, diversity affects the electrical industry and the economy as a whole. Many customers—especially large companies and government entities—require (or offer) benefits if a percentage of contractors are majority-owned by an ethnic minority, woman, veteran or disadvantaged enterprise. Such companies are now securing projects where, in the past, they would have had a hard time competing against more established firms. 


Pay Attention

Wayne D. Moore

• Systems

I often think how lucky we are to work in a profession in which we save lives. It can also make us a good living if we pay attention. Do you pay attention?
 The technology and process of designing and installing fire alarm and detection systems changes frequently. Often, the manufacturer’s engineers discover new ways to approach a product design that will more reliably operate a fire alarm system control unit, detection device or notification appliance or new methods to decrease the installation time for a new system.


Navigating the World of Connectivity

Deborah L. O'Mara

• Systems

Global positioning systems (GPS) and radio frequency identification (RFID) are receiving renewed attention for security, operations management and logistical applications, bringing new sources of revenue to installing contractors and additional benefits to their customers.


Everyone Is A Suspect

Denise Norberg-Johnson

• Your Business

Frank Abagnale, the con artist who Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed in the movie “Catch Me If You Can,” is now a security consultant who advises clients on how to avoid becoming victims of fraud. His advice is simple: if you make it easy for someone to steal from you, it will probably happen.


Overhead and Underground

William Atkinson

• Systems

When it comes to both overhead and underground distribution and transmission lines, all may not be as it seems. That is, while there has been a distinct trend toward the installation of more underground distribution lines, there are a number of factors that dictate the continued use of (and even new installation of) overhead lines.