The National Electrical Code dictates the type of
electrical materials and devices that must be used
in order to assure the safe operation of electrical
systems. Although the subjective guideline that
“materials shall be installed in a neat and
workmanlike manner” appears several times in the
Code, how those materials are to be installed is
never specified. In other words, an installation of
superior quality and another that is just barely
adequate can both “meet code.”
This lack of benchmarks for determining quality led
NECA to obtain certification from the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a
standards-developing organization. (Unlike in other
nations where government agencies issue most or all
of the standards that regulate safety and commerce,
the great majority of standards used in this country
are written by industry trade associations and
technical societies. ANSI coordinates and manages
the U.S. voluntary standards system by providing an
approval process which guarantees that all documents
approved as ANSI standards represent a broad
consensus of affected interests.) With this
certification in hand, NECA has been busy
spearheading the development of quality standards
for electrical construction and voice-data-video
installations since 1997.
Organized as a series of installation manuals for
electrical products and systems, the National
Electrical Installation Standards™ are primarily
intended to be referenced by consulting engineers in
bid documents and specifications. They address such
topics as symbols for electrical construction
drawings, steel conduits, fiber optic cables,
switchboards, motor control centers, generator sets,
indoor commercial lighting systems, exterior
lighting, and industrial lighting systems,
panelboards, aluminum building wire and cable,
busways, motors, wiring devices, hazardous
(classified) locations, industrial heat tracing,
telecommunications, and temporary power systems for
construction sites.
These installation standards are not just NECA
publications. They are often developed in
conjunction with other expert groups, including the
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America,
the Aluminum Association, BICSI (the
telecommunications installers association), the
Electrical Generating Systems Association, the Fiber
Optic Association, the National Electrical
Manufacturing Association, and the Steel Tube
Institute. Co-development improves their technical
accuracy and promotes wider acceptance. In addition,
submitting NEIS to the ANSI approval process enables
all interested parties to have a say in their
development.
Although the NEIS were originally proposed for
voluntary use, they are being adopted for regulatory
use in some areas at the behest of building code
officials. Electrical inspectors are also leading
the demand for NEIS to be referenced in bid
documents and specifications because they provide
more information than the National Electrical Code
on how to deal with particular circumstances and
special procedures. Electrical contractors and
electrical workers appreciate NEIS for their
educational value, but when NEIS are referenced by
consulting engineers, these voluntary standards gain
mandatory muscle and become an important resource
for code officials as well.
Thousands of code officials, engineers, and others
have been turned on to the value of NEIS by the NECA
chapters that distribute them to local
decision-makers. The installation manuals have also
become “best sellers” in many technical bookstores.
To find out why, visit the special website at
http://www.NECA-NEIS.org. |
