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National Electrical Definitions

NFPA Glossary of Terms

International Building Code Chapter 2: Definitions

International Electrotechnical Commission: Electropedia

Because electrotechnology changes continually, definitions (vocabulary) in its best practice literature changes continually; not unlike any language on earth that adapts to the moment and place.

The changes reflect changes in technology or changes in how the technology works in practice; even how the manufacturers create adaptations to field conditions by combining functions.   Any smart electrical component has a digital language embedded in it, for example.

Consider the 2023 National Electrical Code.  Apart from many others the NEC will contain a major change to Article 100 (Definitions); the subject of elevated debate over the past three years.

When we refer “language” we must distinguish between formal language, informal language, colloquial language and dialect which may differ the language spoken, language written at the office and language used on the job site.  “Terms of art”

2026 National Electrical Code | CMP-1 Second Draft Report 

FREE ACCESS: 2020 National Electrical Code (NFPA 70)

2023 NEC Public Input Report CMP-1 (868 pages)

2023 NEC Second Draft Public Comment Report (914 pages)

Are these terms (or, “terms of art”) best understood in context (upstream articles in Chapters 4 through 8) — or should they be adjudicated by the 14 Principals of Code Making Panel 1?   The answer will arrive in the fullness of time.   Many changes to the National Electrical Code require more than one cycle to stabilize.

Code Making Panel 1 has always been the heaviest of all NEC panels.  As explained n our ABOUT, the University of Michigan held a vote in CMP-1 for 20+ years (11 revision cycles) before moving to the healthcare facilities committee for the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.  Standards Michigan continues its involvement on behalf of the US education facility industry — the second largest building construction market.  There is no other pure user-interest voice on any technical committee; although in some cases consulting companies are retained for special purposes.

To serve the purpose of making NFPA 70 more “useable” we respect the Standards Council decision to make this change if it contributes to the viability of the NFPA business model.  We get to say this because no other trade association comes close to having as enduring and as strong a voice:  NFPA stands above all other US-based SDO’s in fairness and consideration of its constituency.  The electrical safety community in the United States is a mighty tough crowd.

If the change does not work, or work well enough, nothing should prohibit reversing the trend toward “re-centralizing” — or “de-centralizing” the definitions.

Public comment on the First Draft of the 2026 Edition will be received until August 28, 2024. 

Technical Committees meet during the last half of October to respond to public comment on the First Draft of the 2026 National Electrical Code. 

Electrical Contractor: Round 1 of the 2023 NEC: A summary of proposed changes (Mark Earley, July 15, 2021)

Electrical Contractor: 2023 Code Article and Definition Revisions: Accepting (NEC) change, part 2 (Mark Earley, March 15, 2022)

Integrated Planning Glossary

§

Attendees of the SCUP 2025 North Atlantic Symposium sit on the Commons in Columbia Business School and smile.

The Society of College and University Planning was founded in 1965 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor during an informal gathering of campus planners frustrated with the lack of professional exchange in their emerging field. Rapid postwar enrollment growth and massive campus expansion projects had created urgent needs for long-range physical planning, yet few institutions had dedicated planners or shared knowledge.
A small group, led by University of Michigan planners George J. Bruha and Frederick W Mayer met in Ann Arbor to discuss common challenges facing other State of Michigan settlements; joined by Stanford, Ohio State and the University of Illinois. They decided to create a formal organization to foster collaboration, research, and professional development. In 1966, with Michigan’s support, SCUP was officially established as a nonprofit with its first office on the Ann Arbor campus. Its founding principle—integrated planning linking academics, finances, and facilities—remains central today.

Integrated Planning Glossary


Early operations benefited from administrative support (aegis) provided by the University of Michigan, including office space and resources in Ann Arbor. This arrangement persisted until a financial crisis in the late 1970s (1976–1980), during which SCUP relocated to New York.

The decoupling—marking full operational and administrative independence from the University of Michigan—occurred in 1980, when SCUP returned to Ann Arbor as a self-sustaining nonprofit headquartered at a separate location –1330 Eisenhower Place — less than a mile walk from Standards Michigan‘s front door at 455 East Eisenhower.

* Of the 220 ANSI Accredited Standards Developers, the State of Michigan ranks 3rd in the ranking of U.S. states with the most ANSI-accredited standards developers (ASDs) headquartered there; behind the Regulatory Hegemons of California and ChicagoLand and excluding the expected cluster foxtrot of non-profits domiciled in the Washington-New York Deep State Megalopolis.  Much of Michigan’s presence in the private consensus standards space originates from its industrial ascendency through most of the 1900’s.

Words Matter

‘If you trust government, 

you obviously failed history class.’

Senator John Needly Kennedy (Senator, Louisiana)

How the language of climate change has changed

Readings:

Politics and the English Language

Political linguistics: How language shapes politics

The Left and the Right Speak Different Languages—Literally

A Psycholinguistic Study of Political Rhetoric of Fear

The Real Climate Crisis

The USDA is now censoring its staff on the use of “climate change”

1984

Gallery: Other Ways of Knowing Climate Change

Standard Language

Lingua Franca

Glossary: Education

The Guy Who Over-Pronounces Foreign Words

International Building Code Definitions: Chapter 2

“The Tower of Babel” 1563 | Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Widely accepted definitions (sometimes “terms of art”) are critical in building codes because they ensure clarity, consistency, and precision in communication among architects, engineers, contractors, and regulators.  Ambiguity or misinterpretation of terms like “load-bearing capacity,” “fire resistance,”  “egress” or “grounding and bonding”  could lead to design flaws, construction errors, or inadequate safety measures, risking lives and property.
“Standardized” definitions — by nature unstable — create a shared language that transcends local practices or jargon, enabling uniform application and enforcement across jurisdictions.  Today at the usual hour we explore the nature and the status of the operational language that supports our raison d’être of making educational settlements safer, simpler, lower-cost and longer-lasting.  

 

2021 IBC Chapter 2: Definitions

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Group B Documents

Complete Monograph (2650 pages) | Note our proposal on Page 754

Standards Curricula Program

NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program.

How to Apply | Awardees 2012-2025 | News Items

NIST Headquarters (Click on image)

 

NIST continues its Standards Curriculum program through the Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program (SCO CD CAP), formerly known as the Standards Services Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program.  This ongoing initiative, started in 2012 (initially as Education Challenge Grants), funds U.S. colleges and universities to develop and integrate undergraduate and/or graduate-level curricula on documentary standards, standards development, and standardization into courses, modules, seminars, and learning resources.  The University of Michigan is a past recipient of a standards education award through this program.

The most recent funding round was for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25):

  • The Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was released on January 14, 2025.
  • Applications were due by April 14, 2025.
  • NIST anticipated awarding up to 8 grants, each up to $100,000, with project periods of up to 3 years (potentially extending into 2027–2028).

Projects funded under FY25 involve curriculum development and implementation that may continue into 2026 and beyond, including required workshops.

As of early 2026, no new Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been announced for FY2026. The program has historically issued funding rounds annually or near-annually, with recent awards in prior years (e.g., 2024 awards totaling over $1.1 million to 8 universities). However, due to proposed budget reductions for NIST in FY2026, future rounds may be impacted or delayed.

2024 Update: NIST Awards Funding to 8 Universities to Advance Standards Education

The Standards Coordination Office of the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducts standards-related programs, and provides knowledge and services that strengthen the U.S. economy and improve the quality of life.  Its goal is to equip U.S. industry with the standards-related tools and information necessary to effectively compete in the global marketplace. 

Every year it awards grants to colleges and universities through its Standards Services Curricula Cooperative Agreement Program  to provide financial assistance to support curriculum development for the undergraduate and/or graduate level. These cooperative agreements support the integration of standards and standardization information and content into seminars, courses, and learning resources. The recipients will work with NIST to strengthen education and learning about standards and standardization. 

The 2019 grant cycle will require application submissions before April 30, 2019 (contingent upon normal operation of the Department of Commerce).  Specifics about the deadline will be posted on the NIST and ANSI websites.  We will pass on those specifics as soon as they are known.

The winners of the 2018 grant cycle are Bowling Green State University, Michigan State University,  Oklahoma State University, and Texas A&M University. (Click here)

The University of Michigan received an award during last year’s grant cycle (2017).   An overview of the curriculum — human factors in automotive standards  — is linked below:

NIST Standards Curricula INTRO Presentation _ University of Michigan Paul Green

Information about applying for the next grant cycle is available at this link (Click here) and also by communicating with Ms. Mary Jo DiBernardo (301-975-5503; maryjo.dibernardo@nist.gov)

LEARN MORE:

Click here for link to the previous year announcement.

Technical Requirements for Weighing & Measuring Devices

Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

 

Conan O’Brian

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Charlie Kirk (August 12, 2025): “Has U.S. President Donald Trump gone too far?”

Timon of Athens

Swing State Pronunciation

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Design Standard Readability

Fry readability formula

How Consistent Are the Best-Known Readability Equations in Estimating the Readability of Design Standards?

Shixiang Zhou & Heejin Jeong
Industrial and Operations Engineering Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Transportation Research Institute Driver Interface Group
Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

 

Abstract.  Research problem: Readability equations are widely used to compute how well readers will be able to understand written materials. Those equations were usually developed for nontechnical materials, namely, textbooks for elementary, middle, and high schools. This study examines to what extent computerized readability predictions are consistent for highly technical material – selected Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and International Standards Organization (ISO) Recommended Practices and Standards relating to driver interfaces. Literature review: A review of original sources of readability equations revealed a lack of specific criteria in counting various punctuation and text elements, leading to inconsistent readability scores. Few studies on the reliability of readability equations have identified this problem, and even fewer have systematically investigated the extent of the problem and the reasons why it occurs.  Research questions:

(1) Do the most commonly used equations give identical readability scores?
(2) How do the scores for each readability equation vary with readability tools?
(3) If there are differences between readability tools, why do they occur?
(4) How does the score vary with the length of passage examined?

Method: Passages of varying lengths from 12 selected SAE and ISO Recommended Practices and Standards were examined using five readability equations (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index, SMOG Index, Coleman-Liau Index, and Automated Readability Index) implemented five ways (four online readability tools and Microsoft Word 2013 for Windows). In addition, short test passages of text were used to understand how different readability tools counted text elements, such as words and sentences. Results and conclusions: The mean readability scores of the passages from those 12 SAE and ISO Recommended Practices and Standards ranged from the 10th grade reading level to about 15th. The mean grade reading levels computed across the websites were: Flesch-Kincaid 12.8, Gunning Fog 15.1 SMOG 12.6, Coleman-Liau 13.7, and Automated Readability Index 12.3. Readability score estimates became more consistent as the length of the passage examined increased, with no noteworthy improvements beyond 900 words. Among the five readability tools, scores typically differed by two grade levels, but the scores should have been the same. These differences were due to how compound and hyphenated words, slashes, numbers, abbreviations and acronyms, and URLs were counted, as well other punctuation and text elements. These differences occurred because the sources for these equations often did not specify how to score various punctuation and text elements. Of the tools examined, the authors recommend Microsoft Word 2013 for Windows if the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is required.

 

“Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Randall Thompson’s “Frostiana” is a choral cycle based on the poems of Robert Frost. The cycle consists of settings for mixed chorus and piano, and it was premiered in 1959. “Frostiana” was commissioned to celebrate the bicentennial of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, and it features seven of Frost’s poems set to music by Thompson.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is one of the poems included in the “Frostiana” cycle. The composition captures the reflective and contemplative mood of Frost’s poem, where the narrator pauses to admire the beauty of a snowy evening in a quiet forest. Randall Thompson’s musical setting adds another layer to Frost’s words, enhancing the emotional impact of the poem.

Thompson’s approach in “Frostiana” is characterized by its accessibility and tonal clarity. His settings aim to convey the meaning and atmosphere of Frost’s poetry through the expressive power of choral music. The entire “Frostiana” cycle is a celebration of both Thompson’s skill as a composer and Frost’s enduring contribution to American literature.

Acoustics

 

 

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