Electrical Apparatus
The Magazine of Electrical &
Electronic Application & Maintenance

July 2004 Columns and Departments

Items in columns and departments from the July 2004 issue, Vol. 57, no. 7, © 2004 Barks Publications, Inc. See also  July 2004 Table of Contents and Previous issues 

• Editor's Comment Perspective on current and upcoming issues.  In this issue: Spirited responses to our May 2004 article about forklift trucks' safety ... Wholesale price increases make bumps on recovery road ... The U. S. stubbornly clings to inches and pounds ... ... by Horace B. Barks, Executive Editor

• Let's Solve Your Problem The longest-running and one of our most popular features, Let's Solve Your Problem answers real questions posed by people in plants and service shops around the U.S. and abroad. Selected Q&A's from this column are available in our popular Let's Solve Your Problem books. This month's problems include: Must motors in imported machinery meet EPACT? ... What life span for motor capacitors? ... What causes starter failure if not cables or transients? ... Problems with small bolted-on motor feet ... What governs V-belt drive center distance? ... Phase unbalance: Does motor connetion matter? ... How to keep components cool inside an enclosure ...   Edited by the EA staff 

You are invited to send questions to this department. Your identity will be kept confidential, but we ask that you include your name, affiliation, postal (not e-mail) address, and telephone number. If you'd like a pre-publication reply, enclose a stamped envelope and we'll try to respond promptly. We cannot provide personal consultation or supply winding data.

• Electrical Manager ...A potpourri of news and features, selected and edited for maintenance and service managers. In this issue:  Smile, damn it! ... What makes a good sales person ... Promoting healthy lifestyles...

  "Electrical Manager" is a copyrighted feature of Electrical Apparatus.  Any kind of reproduction, including electronic transmission, without permission of Barks Publications is illegal and is prohibited. 

• Letters  In this issue  - "'An historic,' or 'A historic'?," from Mark Bishop, AccuWInd, Hamden, Connecticut ... Remembering Fran Powers, from Richard P. Reece, C.A. Industrial Publicity, Berlin Heights, Ohio ... Forklifts and the International Truck Association, from ITA Executive Director William J. Montwieler, Washington D.C. ... Kind words from Fran Cluff, Abitibi Consolidated Corp, Taylor, Arizona, and Edmund Glueck, Bodine Electric Co., Evanston, Illinois...

Electrical Apparatus invites letters, 250 words maximum. All letters, including e-mail, must include name, company, title or position, phone number, city, state or province, and country. We may edit your letter for clarity and space.— Editor

• Trade associations,  professional societies and government activities  News of non-profit  government, and other organizations serving the electrical mechanical industries.  This issue: U. S. associations seek opportunities in China:  Shanlin Wen named director of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association ... Members of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute meet with the China Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association ... A panel on China business to be held by the Gasket Fabricators Association ...  New safety standard for construction sites - announced by the American Society of Safety Engineers ... National Manufacturing Week gears up for 2005 show ... National Association of Electrical Distributors recognize industry leaders Ted C. Treadway of Treadway Electric Co., Terry Burkholder of Dauphin Electric Supply Co, Robert Smith of Pass & Seymour/Legrand, James J. Strenk of Allied Tube and Conduit, R. Jack Justilian of Maurice Electrical Supply Co, Inc., Richard Gross of Gross Electric and Marc Lessans of Commerce Electric Supply Inc.  ... NAED's new board of directors and chairman Pete de Steiger of Raymond de Steiger, Inc. ... Refrigeration Service Engineers Society plans annual conference   ... Edited by the EA staff

  Note:  the 2004 EMBR lists contact information for more than 140 associations ... Update or add your listing to the 2005 EMBR.

• Business briefs  In this issue:  Baldor partners with Chinese motor maker Tech-Full Industry Co., Ltd. ... Eator Corp completes purchase of Invensys PLC's Powerware Corp ... Metering supplier Brooks Meter Devices Co buys disconnect line of Electrical Sales Engineering ... MagneTek receives Danish monitoring orders from NESA A/S and Louis Poulsen A/S ... 3-D Service earns safety nod from AK Steel ... California Pubnlic Employees' Retirement System faults Emerson Electric Co ... New England distributor Granite Electric Supply Co opens new store in Warwick RI ... Eaton Corp named Power Quality Co of the Year by Frost & Sullivan ...   Financial briefs  Superior Essex, Inc. New sales reps  Electrical tape manufacturer Plymouth names Tracy Hall & Associates and Glen Associates as sales representatives  ...Edited by Kevin Jones

• Calendar Briefs - Upcoming trade shows, symposia, and events, from September  2004 through June  2005... Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff 

• Trilingual summary For our international readers, each month one featured topic is presented in French, Spanish and German. This month: "The fine art of load testing d-c motors?" - They still have their place, especially with small pulleys and high speeds .. by Richard L. Nailen, P.E., E.A. Engineering Editor

• New Books Recently published books, reviewed by our editors.  See also Books for the Plant and Shop from Barks Books, including titles from the editors of Electrical Apparatus, including our latest new book, Let's Solve Your Problem - Volume III.

• Accounting for management  This issue: Judging management by its numbers    How to base evaluation on figures that don't lie  By William H. Wiersema, CPA, EA Contributing Editor and author of the recently published book, Steps to a Successful Service Shop.

• Safety and health in the workplace This month - Protecting employees against low-voltage shock -- Beware the hazards of not showing low voltage the same respect as high voltage  By Richard B. Elsberry, EA Contributing Editor

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• Names and Faces ... In this issue, pictured left to right except as noted: Jim O'Hargan (and, not pictured, Tim Copeland and Renee Junell) of Rexel... R. S. Boreham Jr. of Baldor ... (not pictured - Phyllis Eisen, of the National Association of Manufacturer's Center for Workforce Success) ... Roger L. Brauer and Paul G. Specht of the American Society of Safety Engineers ... Edward Hunter (and, not pictured, Brett Kunun and Randy Landgrebe) of Harrington Hoists.. and Bill Elliott, of Elliott Electric Supply ...Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff

• Deaths  - Obituaries of industry people.   In this issue - (at left) Harry Lumb, British native who established Brook Motors, running Brook operations in Chicago until the company was acquired by Hawker Siddeley and closed itsU.S. Operations.  Mr. Lumb then continued as a representive of Brook Motors and several other manufactures as Harry Lumb and Associates, in Irvine, California .... and (at right) William Kline, shop manager at Mader Electric Motors in North Fort Myers, Florida ...

• Training Briefs Announcements of workshops, seminars and instructional materials, and our Training Index, listing program topics featured in Training Briefs in the past year.    In this issue: Thermography from the Electrical Apparatus Service Association - www.easa.com ... Electrical contracting from the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of the organized electrical construction industry - www.njatc.org/nti.htm ... Cold spray technology from The Thermal Spray Society of ASM International  - www.asminiternational.org/events ... Motor/generator rewinding from Jarsco Engineering Corp - jaoliver003@aol.com  ... Overcurrent protection from Cooper Bussman - www.bussman.com ... Safety seminars from Behavioral Science Technology - www.bstsolutions.com/leadingwithsafety.htm   ...Edited by Sarah E. Wittliff 

  Producers of workshops, seminars, and instructional materials are encouraged to mail announcements to Training Briefs Editor, Electrical Apparatus. There is no charge.

• Standards briefs  In this issue: UL standards accessible online from Underwriters Laboratories ... U. S. Department of Commerce calls for collaboration across government and with U.S. industry ... International Electrotechnical Commission brings joint international standard ... International Electrotechnical Commission issues motor rating and performance copies ... International Organization for Standardization publishes bearing vibration fundamentals ... Guide for apparatus in combustible dust  by the International Electrotechnical Commission ... Breaker and transfer switch standards updated by Underwriters Laboratories .. Revision of circuit interrupter standard by the American National Standards Institute ...  Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• Web briefs ...  Selected websites for the electromechanical specialist, annotated with details of especially valuable content   In this issue ---Gerald Newton's Home Page - www.electrician.com ... Hydraulic Institute - www.pumps.org ... Electrical Safety Foundation International - www.electrical-safety.com ... Kirk Key Interlock Co - www.kirkkey.com ... Superior Interlock Corp - www.superiorinterlock.com ... Alpha Wire Co - www.alphawire.com ... American Power Conversion - www.apcc.com ... National Wire and Cable Corp - www.nationalwire.com ... Airguard - www.airguard.com ... Balance Technology, Inc. - www.balancetechnology.com ... TWI PRess, Inc. - www.maintenanceresources.com  .Edited by the Electrical Apparatus staff. 

• Product briefs Photos and announcements of new products ... In this issue, measuring equipment from Protek Test and Measurement ... Controls from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories ... Test Instruments from B&K Precision Corp, Ideal Industries, AEMC Instruments, Fluke Corp, and Megger ... Power transmission from Falk Corp ... Enclosures from Orion Fans  ...Edited by the EA Staff.

Mail announcements of new products and literature to Editorial Department, Electrical Apparatus (page 2). No faxes, e-mail, electronic submissions (CD-ROM's, etc.) or follow-up calls, please. There is no charge for publication, which does not constitute endorsement, nor can we verify product claims.

• EA reader at ease  ... Stories featuring unusual or interesting avocational interests of our readers. In this issue ..  Lynda Butek, facilities manager at Brithinee Electric, serves as a docent member of the living history team at the Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, where she illuminates the past of Southern California for guests of the museum.  By Joseph S. Hoff, EA Special Features Editor.

  Do you know someone working in the electrical aftermarket with a hobby or interest that could be featured in "EA reader at ease"? Tell us who they are, what they do, and how we can contact them to find out more about their special passions. Send your suggestions to Electrical Apparatus, 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, III. 60611; (312) 321-9440; Fax (312) 321-1288; e-mail eamagazine@barks.com .

• Direct and Current Breaking news of interest to the industry, from The Editors of Electrical Apparatus. In this issue: Failure to revive Iraq's electricity is exacerbating the occupation's problems ... a new National Electricity General Plan will be highlighted in Indonesia ... Employers have legal obligations re: jobs held by reservists on active duty ... Smith College graduates the first all-women class of engineers ... By 202 the world will require 40% more energy ... Self-employment in the United States increases with age .. ... .. by the Editors

• Literature Announcements of guides, catalogs, brochures, product specifications and other literature.    Edited by the EA staff

  Mail announcements of new products and literature to Editorial Department, Electrical Apparatus (page 2). No faxes, e-mail, electronic submissions (CD-ROM's, etc.) or follow-up calls, please. There is no charge for publication, which does not constitute endorsement, nor can we verify product claims.

• Automation briefs  - the latest in products for electronics and systems applications ... Edited by David P. Tryling 

• Say It Right ... The popular column about language in the workplace.... by Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor

• Electropix  Photographs of people, places, equipment and more ...

• Utility Briefs   .. Edited by Kevin Jones

• EMBR update  - changes to the Electromechanical Bench Reference 2004, the annual buyers' guide that readers received with their January 2003 Electrical Apparatus.  Following publication of the directory, corrections and additions appear in subsequent issues of the magazine. 

• Braintrainers  Puzzles you and your colleagues can solve for fun and, if your answers are correct, for recognition in Electrical Apparatus. by Lillian Nielsen, Special Correspondent 

• Question of the month

• Classified Advertising Equipment, jobs, businesses, business opportunities and services.

• Cy's Super Service, Motorhead and Generatorhead Comic strips featuring characters from our favorite cartoonists. 

• Advertising Index  An easy to use reference to the advertisements in Electrical Apparatus magazine.