DECEMBER 2011 - Electrical Business Magazine

from the editor
Get out and get training
What do all these
events have in
common? I didn’t
see you there.
Rather than wait until our January edition, I thought
now might be a good time to start thinking about
New Year resolutions. Judging by the title above,
you would think I’m referring to starting a new exercise
regimen for getting into better shape... you know, work
those muscles. And you’d be sort of correct.
No, the exercise regimen you should embark upon, in
fact, is to work the most important muscle: your brain.
Those of you regularly follow Electrical Business and
visit EBMag.com have a good sense of all the events
we attend all across Canada. And we try to get out to as
many events as possible because we feel it is our duty;
one of the ways in which we serve, and show solidarity
with, our electrical community.
We also go for the networking, and to learn about the
latest and greatest initiatives and ideas in the market...
information we then share with you.
And while we report live from these various events
via our Twitter feed (twitter.com/EBMag), and share
photos, videos and/or commentary afterward, it is simply
no substitute for being there.
Last month alone we attended: BCEA’s Electrix
Learning Expo; InfraMation infrared camera users’
conference; APPrO’s Power Networking Conference;
Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and NRCan’s
Energy 2011; Electro-Federation Canada’s E-Tech
Marketing Forum; and Construct Canada.
What do all these events have in common? I didn’ t
see you there.
While I cannot claim to know everybody, I can say
this: the events I attend are also attended by those I call
the “usual suspects”... progressive-thinking people and
organizations who understand the value derived from
being in the same room with their peers and learning
from both subject matter experts and each other.
The usual suspects understand this one simple
premise: knowledge is power. The more you know—the
more you work your brain—the better-equipped you
are to tackle both current and future market conditions.
You learn of tools and methodologies for running your
business better right now, and you learn of possible new
directions in which you can take your business tomorrow.
Please, do yourself a favour and check out our
Calendar listings—both here and online at EBMag.
com—and commit to attending at least one event next
year. Where possible, pre-pay for the event, as this will
help ensure you actually go... and then go with an open
mind, ready to absorb and learn from various subject
matter experts, as well as your peers. You won’t be sorry.
Some of the events of particular interest in the new
year include IEEE IAS’ Electrical Safety Workshop
in Daytona Beach and IEEE IAS’ Electrical Safety,
Technical, and Mega Projects Workshop in Edmonton.
And EB will be there!
Meantime, from all of us here at Electrical Business,
all the best for the New Year!
Cover photo courtesy
Tesla Motors.
Contents
DEPARTMENTS
4 Industry News
9 Personalities
11 Mind Your Safety
Empty chairs at the table
47 Calendar
48 It’s Your Business
Articulating business values
54 Products
58 Code File
Overhead powerlines and signs
58 The Code Conundrum
On the cover
and page 44
Opportunities in
electric vehicles
surge!
The auto industry is charging
ahead toward the electrification
of the automobile, which
means there’s going to be
a real surge in the need for
the installation of dedicated
chargers or, at the very least,
high-voltage circuits. And
that means new opportunities
for electrical suppliers and
contractors at all levels, and to
a multiplicity of customers.
12 Glen Cove parking structure shines with LEDs
(Case study) The city of Glen Cove, N.Y., now boasts a state-of-the-art
LED lighting upgrade in its Brewster Street parking garage, which has
dramatically reduced the city’s energy consumption and positioned the
town as a model of energy effi ciency and environmental responsibility.
13 The BlueBook 2012 Buyers’ Guide
Our comprehensive source guide for the electrical
and communications markets in Canada!
41 Power from the sun is coming into its own...
are you ready?
As professionals in the electrical industry, the best course of action is
to be prepared for the reality that solar brings to our field of operations.
Increasing our knowledge of applicable mandates and of the underlying
electronics is an appropriate response to our changing reality.
49 Protecting personnel from arc flash
with time-delay switching
(Case study) When a “non-approachable” arc flash situation was
discovered at the HQ of a major health insurer, the engineering fi rm hired
to assess and remedy the problem recommended the application of a
utility-grade device: a time-delay switch.
52 Pick the right tool storage option for the job
Jobsite storage equipment is as important as the tools that are used to
get the job done. The tools on the average contractor’s jobsite are valued
at thousands of dollars. Don’t you want to protect that investment?
The only comprehensive
BUYERS’ GUIDE for the
electrical and communications
markets in Canada
page 55
page 54
www.EBMag.com • December 2011 • 3