NEMA Currents Blog

EPA Regulation of Nanomaterials Needs to be Standards Based

This Industry Week article on proposed EPA regulation on nanomaterials has me thinking that the reporting and possible testing requirements will be premature and as a result, will be too onerous for small companies already struggling to stay afloat. This is because these companies and the EPA do not...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 8:29 AM by Leibowitz, Mike

Filed under: Safety and Standardization, Nanotechnology, safety

Toyota Should Take a Lesson from Burner Controls Industry

The sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles may be due to software issues; if this is the case then there are valuable lessons for all standards developers. So many products now incorporate electronic controls, yet many have not been evaluated to determine what happens when a failure occurs. For mechanical...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 2:25 PM by winstanleyg

Filed under: Smart Grid, Safety and Standardization, Solid State

New Push to Protect Children from Battery Ingestion

CBS' "The Early Show" featured a segment this morning on a topic near and dear to the hearts of some NEMA members: ingestion of button cell batteries by children. NEMA represents the manufacturers of dry-cell batteries, including button cell batteries that are found in such products as...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 6:00 AM by golds

Filed under: Safety and Standardization

To NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Means of Egress Panel: Listen up!

When it comes to the illuminance requirements for exit signs, all exit signs need to be evaluated on a level playing field. It's not as though smoke or fire near a doorway will choose to ease up because the exit sign above the door won't be bright enough for people to see. Not to mention, ambient...

Published Fri, Feb 02 2010 6:16 AM by Leibowitz, Mike

Filed under: Safety and Standardization, photoluminescent, sign, safety, PL, luminescent, photo luminescent photoluminescent PL Exit Signs Signage safety, LED

Tamper-Resistant Receptacle Requirements in 2008 NEC Adopted in 29 States

With 30 states having completed adoption processes for the 2008 National Electrical Code® (NEC), support for section 406.11, which requires tamper-resistant receptacles to be installed in new homes, has been overwhelmingly positive. Twenty-nine of the 30 states have adopted the 2008 NEC with the...

Published Wed, Aug 08 2009 10:20 AM by Moldoveanu, Andrei

Filed under: Electrical Safety, Safety and Standardization, electricity, Tamper Resistant Receptacles, 2008 NEC, Indiana

SAE Should Adopt Trinational Cable Tie Requirements

The SAE AE-8C2 Committee , which is responsible for maintaining SAE AS 23190, Straps, clamps and mounting hardware: Plastic and metal for cable harness tying and support , should strongly consider adoption of the trinational cable tie requirements in the soon-to-be-approved North American adoption of...

Published Tue, Jun 06 2009 11:42 AM by Leibowitz, Mike

Filed under: Safety and Standardization

Investigators call Soldier’s electrocution “negligent homicide”

The death of a soldier electrocuted while showering at a military facility in Iraq a year ago may be changed from accidental death to negligent homicide. Army criminal investigators say that KBR, the largest US contractor in Iraq, may have failed to have qualified electricians and plumbers undertaking...

Published Mon, Jan 01 2009 8:33 AM by Gerard Winstanley

Filed under: Electrical Safety, Building Codes, Safety and Standardization, Standardization

Nanotech Start-ups: Can Other People Build It?

I read an excellent article from the October 3, 2008 edition of the N.Y. Times Magazine about the world of budding renewable energy companies and the role and function of venture capital companies in supporting them in their efforts to commercialize products. The article provided four basic questions...

Published Thu, Oct 10 2008 10:57 AM by Leibowitz, Mike

Filed under: Smart Grid, renewable energy, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Safety and Standardization, wind

Of Clocks and Teakettles...

Last week Cosmologist Stephen Hawkins unveiled the spectacular new Corpus Christi clock at Cambridge University. The clock has no hands but uses rotating rings and flashing blue LED lights to indicate the time. The mechanism is entirely mechanical and the fantastical insect or Chronophage (time eater...

Published Wed, Oct 10 2008 3:03 PM by Gerard Winstanley

Filed under: Safety and Standardization

IEEE Standards Board Approves Project to Develop Copycat Standard?

From the "What could they have been thinking?" desk. On December 7, 2005, the IEEE Standards Board approved a Project Approval Request (PAR) for a new project to develop a standard for "Ground Rod Electrode, Clamp & Coupling Specification" ( http://standards.ieee.org/board/nes...

Published Tue, Sep 09 2008 2:14 PM by Baclawski, Vince

Filed under: Safety and Standardization

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EPA Regulation of Nanomaterials Needs to be Standards Based

Toyota Should Take a Lesson from Burner Controls Industry

New Push to Protect Children from Battery Ingestion

To NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Means of Egress Panel: Listen up!

Tamper-Resistant Receptacle Requirements in 2008 NEC Adopted in 29 States

SAE Should Adopt Trinational Cable Tie Requirements

Investigators call Soldier’s electrocution “negligent homicide”

Nanotech Start-ups: Can Other People Build It?

Of Clocks and Teakettles...

IEEE Standards Board Approves Project to Develop Copycat Standard?