For the November issue, EC&M will discuss rising materials prices. As the price of copper remains volatile and recent announcements of spikes in steel prices, how are electrical contractors coping with estimating and bidding? If you have experience with working with rising materials prices, contact Staff Writer Beck Ireland by phone at (913) 967-1806 or e-mail at beck.ireland@penton.com.
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According to Bernard M. Markstein, chief economist for Reed Construction Data (RCD), Norcross, Ga., the residential construction market continues to struggle from the effects of: - A sluggish economy, which is producing too few new jobs, adding to the unwillingness of households to undertake the major obligation of purchasing a home
- The negative effects of the overhang of the inventory of foreclosed homes and the resulting downward pressure on housing prices, adding to the inability/unwillingness of households to purchase a house
- Difficulty in obtaining financing (a mortgage for a household, credit for home builders) despite historically low interest rates
To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
Construction spending increased by 1.4% between July and August and was up 0.9% compared to August 2010, the Associated General Contractors of America reported recently in an analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data. Association officials noted that despite this month’s increases, public sector activity has declined even as private sector demand has steadily increased this year. "There is no doubt that declining public sector demand for construction is dragging down the entire construction industry," the association's CEO, Stephen Sandherr, said. “If it wasn’t for the modest increase in private sector demand, the hard hit construction industry would be in much worse shape this year." To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
FMI recently announced the release of its "Construction Outlook: Third Quarter 2011 Report." Overall, in FMI's latest forecast for construction put-in-place calls for 2% growth in 2011 and 6% for 2012 to $886.2 billion in total construction. In today’s economy that sounds like ambitious growth, but in constant 2006 dollars, that is only 3% growth for 2012 and a 1% drop in construction for 2011. To put it in perspective, in 2012 we will nearly return to 2003 levels of construction in current dollars, says the report.
To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
Rasheek Rifaat, chair, and Lorraine K. Padden, P.E, subgroup chair, invite volunteers, academics, industrial representatives, and other individuals to participate in the review and revision of IEEE P3004.8, "Draft Recommended Practice for Motor Protection in Industrial and Commercial Power Systems." This recommended practice covers the protection of motors used in industrial and commercial power systems. To read more on this story, visit EC&M's website.
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AEMC® introduces Dual Display Clamp-on Meters Models 670 & 675
AEMC®'s Models 670 and 675 are True RMS dual display clamp-on meters that provide RMS measurements for today's non-linear electrical environments. These meters are designed to measure and display amps and volts at the same time. The tapered and hooked jaw design facilitates maneuvering in crowded wiring and breaker panels, making it easy to select conductors. Visit: www.aemc.com.
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The City of Kaufman, Texas, is requesting bids for the construction of the wastewater treatment plant SCADA and ATS improvements. This project consists of electrical and SCADA improvements at the existing wastewater treatment plant. Bids must be delivered no later than 3 p.m. on November 8 to be accepted. For more information, visit www.kaufmantx.org.
The Alexandria City Public Schools Alexandria, Va., is soliciting proposals for cabling and maintenance. There are three sites that are administrative in nature and consist of a local area network (LAN), wireless networks, phone system, and a CATV system. All proposals are due at 2 p.m. EST on November 14. For more information, visit www.acps.k12.va.us.
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More than 50% of people surveyed in the service territories of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Southern Company would prefer to charge an electric vehicle at home, according to surveys conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The EPRI surveys also characterized consumers’ perceptions of electric vehicle ownership and their expectations of electric utilities and associated services To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
Recognizing the importance of a single international approach for DC fast charging, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen have agreed on the combined charging system as an international standardized approach to charge electric vehicles (EV) in Europe and the United States. The system is a combined charging approach integrating all charging scenarios into one vehicle inlet/charging connector and uses identical ways for the vehicle to communicate with the charging station. This allows electric vehicles from Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen can share the same fast charging stations.
To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. is underscoring its commitment to clients in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region by opening a permanent office in Dubai’s Internet City, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Syska Hennessy Group’s global presence is continuing to expand with the formation of Syska Hennessy Group MENA. The new entity is the result of a joint venture between SH Group, Inc., the parent company of Syska Hennessy Group and LZ Technologies Middle East FZ-LLC. To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
Energy efficiency aims to reduce energy consumption without deteriorating the level of service and therefore reduce economic, ecological and social costs. Professionals in this field are very familiar with the issue, but how do American citizens perceive energy efficiency? How do they go about saving energy in their households? Are they prepared to make sacrifices and change their habits? And how do they view energy efficiency, as compared with citizens in France, England and Germany? Rexel, a leading worldwide distributor of electrical supplies, called on Harris Interactive to ask a representative population from the United States, France, England, and Germany for their answers to these key questions. To read more on this story, visit the EC&M website.
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Introducing the Milwaukee® line of test and measurement products. Designed by Pros, with the performance you need and a price that makes adding it to your tool arsenal surprisingly affordable. Work faster. Better. Smarter. We're the only home improvement retailer who's got them. That's the power of The Home Depot.
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The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Candler Concrete Products, Inc. for 19 safety and health violations following an inspection of the company's Gainesville, Ga.-based plant, which was initiated under OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program for industries with high occupational injury and illness rates. Proposed penalties total $120,370. Six repeat safety violations with $45,830 in penalties involve failing to remove equipment blocking an exit route, mark signs at fire exit doors, correctly mark a door that could be mistaken for an exit door, provide lockout/tagout training to workers who perform maintenance on machinery and equipment, close an unused opening in an electrical panel, provide outer insulation to an electrical cord attached to a piece of machinery, and protect employees from electrical shock hazards. The company had been cited for these same violations following a March 2008 inspection. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by OSHA's Atlanta-East office, Tucker, Ga.
ISC Solutions will take place from November 2-3 in New York. Topics for education sessions presented at this year's event include CCTV system design, real-world integrations of unified platforms, and physical security information management (PSIM). For more information and to register, visit www.iscsolutions.com.
The 7x24 Exchange 2011 Fall Conference is scheduled for November 13-16 in Phoenix. Seminars to be presented at this year's event include "Greening of Your Data Center," "Understanding Battery Application in Today’s Datacenter," "Hidden Threats to Data Center Reliability," and "Enabling Energy Savings in Data Centers with Energy Star." For more information and to register, visit www.7x24exchange.org.
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