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Readings: The “30-30” Rule for Outdoor Athletic Events Lightning Hazard

Thunderstorm | Shelter (Building: 30/30 Rule)

The standards for delaying outdoor sports due to lightning are typically set by governing bodies such as sports leagues, associations, or organizations, as well as local weather authorities. These standards may vary depending on the specific sport, location, and level of play. However, some common guidelines for delaying outdoor sports due to lightning include:

  1. Lightning Detection Systems: Many sports facilities are equipped with lightning detection systems that can track lightning activity in the area. These systems use sensors to detect lightning strikes and provide real-time information on the proximity and severity of the lightning threat. When lightning is detected within a certain radius of the sports facility, it can trigger a delay or suspension of outdoor sports activities.
  2. Lightning Distance and Time Rules: A common rule of thumb used in outdoor sports is the “30-30” rule, which states that if the time between seeing lightning and hearing thunder is less than 30 seconds, outdoor activities should be suspended, and participants should seek shelter. The idea is that lightning can strike even when it is not raining, and thunder can indicate the proximity of lightning. Once the thunder is heard within 30 seconds of seeing lightning, the delay or suspension should be implemented.
  3. Local Weather Authority Guidelines: Local weather authorities, such as the National Weather Service in the United States, may issue severe weather warnings that include lightning information. Sports organizations may follow these guidelines and suspend outdoor sports activities when severe weather warnings, including lightning, are issued for the area.
  4. Sports-Specific Guidelines: Some sports may have specific guidelines for lightning delays or suspensions. For example, golf often follows a “Play Suspended” policy, where play is halted immediately when a siren or horn is sounded, and players are required to leave the course and seek shelter. Other sports may have specific rules regarding how long a delay should last, how players should be informed, and when play can resume.

It’s important to note that safety should always be the top priority when it comes to lightning and outdoor sports. Following established guidelines and seeking shelter when lightning is detected or severe weather warnings are issued can help protect participants from the dangers of lightning strikes.

Noteworthy: NFPA titles such as NFPA 780 and NFPA 70 Article 242 deal largely with wiring safety, informed by assuring a low-resistance path to earth (ground)

There are various lightning detection and monitoring devices available on the market that can help you stay safe during thunderstorms. Some of these devices can track the distance of lightning strikes and alert you when lightning is detected within a certain radius of your location. Some devices can also provide real-time updates on lightning strikes in your area, allowing you to make informed decisions about when to seek shelter.

Examples of such devices include personal lightning detectors, lightning alert systems, and weather stations that have lightning detection capabilities. It is important to note that these devices should not be solely relied upon for lightning safety and should be used in conjunction with other safety measures, such as seeking shelter indoors and avoiding open areas during thunderstorms.

National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security

Standards Mississippi

Open Commission Meeting

“The wireless age has brought us closer together,

yet we must work to ensure that it does not divide us.”

— Guglielmo Marconi



Maxwell equations: A complete description of electromagnetism and light


 

Net Neutrality & Education Settlements

Why Must the Electromagnetic Spectrum be Regulated?

 


Tentative Agenda

FCC Proposes to Modify Technical Rules for Digital FM Stations

Radio 400

Readings / Public Broadcasting Act

H.R. 3410 Prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio

H.R. 3392 Prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio

Broadband Access for Hospitals & Students

The FCC is the United States’ primary authority for communications laws, regulation and technological innovation. We provide a link to the August 3rd meeting during which time rules for Digital FM Radio and Non-Federal Spectrum Usage were discussed. Campus Security Radio, National Public Radio and Student Radio are central features of education community culture and safety and are typically available when the internet is not.

Fire Alarm & Signaling Code

“Prometheus Bound” | Thomas Cole (1847)

NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code is one of the core National Fire Protection Association titles widely incorporated by reference into public safety legislation.   NFPA 72 competes with titles of “similar” scope — International Fire Code — developed by the International Code Council.  We place air quotes around the word similar because there are gaps and overlaps depending upon whether or not each is adopted partially or whole cloth by the tens of thousands of jurisdictions that need both.

Our contact with NFPA 72 dates back to the early 2000’s when the original University of Michigan advocacy enterprise began challenging the prescriptive requirements for inspection, testing and maintenance (IT&M) in Chapter 14.  There are hundreds of fire alarm shops, and thousands of licensed fire alarm technicians in the education facility industry and the managers of this cadre of experts needed leadership in supporting their lower #TotalCostofOwnership agenda with “code-writing and vote-getting”.   There was no education industry trade association that was even interested, much less effective, in this space so we had to do “code writing and vote getting” ourselves (See ABOUT).

Code writing and vote getting means that you gather data, develop relationships with like minded user-interests, find agreement where you can, then write proposals and defend them at NFPA 72 technical committee meetings for 3 to 6 years.  Prevailing in the Sturm und Drang of code development for 3 to 6 years should be within the means of business units of colleges and universities that have been in existence for 100’s of years.  The real assets under the stewardship of these business units are among the most valuable real assets on earth.

Consider the standard of care for inspection, testing and maintenance.  Our cross-cutting experience in over 100 standards suites allows us to say with some authority that, at best the IT&M tables of NFPA 72 Chapter 14 present easily enforceable criteria for IT&M of fire alarm and signaling systems.  At worst, Chapter 14 is a solid example of market-making by incumbent interests as the US standards system allows.   Many of the IT&M requirements can be modified for a reliability, or risk-informed centered maintenance program but fire and security shops in the education industry are afraid to apply performance standards because of risk exposure.   This condition is made more difficult in large universities that have their own maintenance and enforcement staff.  The technicians see opportunities to reduce IT&M frequencies — thereby saving costs for the academic unit facility managers — the enforcement/compliance/conformity/risk management professionals prohibit the application of performance standards.  They want prescriptive standards for bright line criteria to make their work easier to measure.

While we have historically focused on Chapter 14 we have since expanded our interest into communication technologies within buildings since technicians and public safety personnel depend upon them.  Content in Annex G — Guidelines for Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings and Campuses — is a solid starting point and reflects of our presence when the guidance first appeared in the 2016 Edition.  We shall start with a review of the most recent transcript of the NFPA Technical Committee on Testing and Maintenance of Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems

NFPA 72 First Draft Meeting (A2024)

Public Emergency Reporting Systems (SIG-PRS) First Draft

Public comment of the First Draft of the 2025 Edition is receivable until May 31, 2023.   As always, we encourage direct participation in the NFPA process by workpoint experts with experience, data and even strong opinions about shortcomings and waste in this discipline.  You may key in your proposals on the NFPA public input facility linked below:

https://www.nfpa.org/login

You will need to set up a (free) NFPA TerraView account.   Alternatively, you may join us any day at 11 AM US Eastern time or during our Prometheus or Radio colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the online meeting.

Issue: [15-213]

Category: Fire Safety & Security, #SmartCampus, Informatics

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Joe DeRosier, Josh Elvove, Jim Harvey, Marcelo Hirschler


More

2013 NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (357 pages)

TIA-222 Standard For Towers And Antenna Supporting Structures

 

Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings

 

ARCHIVE / NFPA 72

National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security

 

Sports Equipment & Surfaces

Student Membership | @ASTMStudentFans

“The National Game” 1889 Arthur Streeton

 

 

 

Sport is the bloom and glow of a perfect health.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Sport programs, facilities and equipment support one of the most visible and emotionally engaging enterprises in the education communities.   These programs are central to the brand identity of the community and last, but not least, physical activity keeps our young people healthy in body and mind.

ASTM International is one of the first names among the 300-odd ANSI accredited standards setting organizations whose due processes discover and promulgate the standard of care for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of the facilities that support these enterprises.   The parent committee is linked below:

ASTM Committee F08 on Sports Equipment, Playing Surfaces, and Facilities

While ASTM bibliography is largely product-oriented, there are many titles that set the standard of care for sport enterprises and the accessories to these enterprises.  To identify a few:

ASTM 1487-17 Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use

ASTM F1774  Standard Specification for Climbing and Mountaineering Carabiners

ASTM F2060-00(2011) Standard Guide for Maintaining Cool Season Turfgrasses on Athletic Fields

ASTM F1703-13 Standard Guide for Skating and Ice Hockey Playing Facilities

ASTM F1953-10 Standard Guide for Construction and Maintenance of Grass Tennis Courts

ASTM F1081-09(2015) Standard Specification for Competition Wrestling Mats

ASTM F2950-14 Standard Safety and Performance Specification for Soccer Goals

ASTM F2461-16e1 Standard Practice for Manufacture, Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of Aquatic Play Equipment

When the General Requirements of an athletic facility construction project indicates: “Conform to all applicable standards” then, in the case of an sport facility, the ASTM title is likely the document that defines the standard of care from a product standpoint.  Interoperability of the products in a sport setting are quite another matter.

At the international level, we track action in ISO/TC 83 Sports and other recreational facilities and equipment administered globally by the Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.   ASTM International is ANSI’s Technical Advisory Group for  this committee.

University of Maine

The ASTM standards development process depends heavily on face-to-face meetings — typically two times per year – in different parts of the United States.   The benefit of this arrangement lies in the quality of discussion among subject matter experts that results produced from face-to-face discussion.  The price to pay for this quality, however, lies in the cost of attendance for the user-interest in the education industry.   Relatively few subject matter experts directly employed by a school district, college or university who are charged with lowering #TotalCostofOwnership can attend the meetings.   Many of the subject matter experts who are in attendance at the ASTM meetings from the education industry tend to be faculty who are retained by manufacturers, insurance, testing laboratories, conformity and compliance interests.  (See our discussion of Incumbent Interests)

That much said, ASTM welcomes subject matter experts on its technical committees (Click here)  We encourage participation by end users from the education industry — many of them in the middle of athletic facility management organization charts.   The parent committee meets twice a year; after which we usually find public review redlines developed during those meetings to hit our radar.  The link to the schedule of face-to-face meetings appears below:

F08 Meetings

Note that the August 2020 cancelled but the November 2020 meeting still appears on the schedule.  It is likely that much of the committee work will be done online.

We are required to review draft ASTM consensus products with some care — owing to copyright restrictions — so we do it interactively online during teleconferences devoted to Sport.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [7-7] [10-32] [13-165] [20-156] 

Category: Sport, Management, Risk Management

Contact: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, George Reiher, Richard Robben

Synthetic Turf Guidelines

 

Fine Arts 300

Public Input on the 2029 Edition will be received until January 6, 2027

Comments on the Second Draft of NFPA 909 — Cultural Resource Property Protection — will be received until 3 October 2024


“Wir haben Kunst, damit wir nicht

an der Wahrheit zugrunde gehen”

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Not every student is passionate about Graph Algorithms, Green Policy or coding the Internet of Things but wants to devote their energy and talent to making the world a better place by making the world a more beautiful place.  Spaces for the “creatives” among them are elevated risk spaces.   Today we examine the literature for designing, building and maintaining these occupancies in the safest and most sustainable way; among them the spaces for textile research and fashion design; usually co-mingled with drawing, painting, and textile creation space.

The garment industry is multi-disciplinary and is larger than the energy industry.  It contributes to the standard for civilization; even though subtly so.   For this reason, starting 2023, we will break down our coverage of the literature that supports the fashion industry from the fine arts domain in separate colloquia every quarter.

Fine Arts 200.   Exploration of best practice for spaces used for various forms of creative expression that are appreciated for their artistic or aesthetic value, often involving skills and techniques that require specialized training and expertise. 

    • Painting: The application of pigment to a surface, such as canvas or paper, to create images or visual compositions using techniques like oil, acrylic, watercolor, or tempera.
    • Sculpture: The creation of three-dimensional artworks by shaping and manipulating materials such as stone, wood, metal, or clay.
    • Drawing: The use of lines, marks, or other materials to create images or representations on paper, canvas, or other surfaces.
    • Printmaking: The creation of multiple copies of an image from a master plate or block, using techniques like engraving, etching, lithography, or screen printing.
    • Photography: The use of a camera to capture and create visual images, often through techniques such as exposure, composition, and processing.
    • Architecture: The design and construction of buildings and structures, involving artistic elements such as form, space, materials, and aesthetics.
    • Ceramics: The creation of pottery or ceramic objects using techniques like wheel throwing, hand-building, or glazing.
    • Mixed media: The combination of different artistic materials or techniques in a single artwork, such as collage, assemblage, or installations.
    • Conceptual art: The creation of artworks that prioritize ideas, concepts, and intellectual or philosophical aspects over traditional aesthetic or material considerations.

Fashion 300.  Best practice literature for the spaces needed for the creation of artworks using textiles and fibers, such as weaving, quilting, or embroidery.  Research and teaching spaces in this domain; at the foundation of the garment industry — one of the largest sectors in the economy in any nation — present surprising challenges

See our CALENDAR for a schedule of those session.

Fine Arts 200

US-based standards developers with a footprint in the fine arts domain:

ASTM International

Committee D13 on Textiles Celebrates a Century

International Code Council

2021 International Building Code: Section 305 Educational Group E

Underwriters Laboratories

Lorem ipsum (product testing: kiln heat specifications, fabric and paint flammability, wet and dry fire extinguishing systems, etc.)

National Fire Protection Association

Art, Design & Fashion Studios

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Leveraging User-Provided Noisy Labels for Fashion Understanding

Fuzzy Logic in Personalized Garment Design

Institutional Guidelines

St. Louis Community College

Federal Regulations & Recommendations

Environmental Health and Safety in the Arts Guide for K-12 School, Colleges and Artisans

Global standard developers:  (partial list)

Eurocodes

Illumination Art

Textiles

Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act

Open to everyone.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Mas-fhìor do: Goireasan Spòrs

 

“The only true sport is that which arises spontaneously

from the heart and the blood.”

— Alistair MacLean

The University of Stirling has produced several famous athletes over the years. Here are a few examples:

Duncan Scott: Duncan Scott is a Scottish swimmer who graduated from the University of Stirling in 2018. He has won numerous medals at major international competitions, including the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.

Andy Murray: While Andy Murray did not technically graduate from the University of Stirling, he did attend the university for a brief period in the early 2000s. Murray is a famous Scottish tennis player who has won multiple Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal.

Ross Murdoch: Ross Murdoch is a Scottish swimmer who graduated from the University of Stirling in 2016. He has won multiple medals at major international competitions, including the Commonwealth Games.

Robbie Renwick: Robbie Renwick is a Scottish swimmer who graduated from the University of Stirling in 2009. He has won multiple medals at major international competitions, including the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.

 

University of Stirling

Sports, Recreational Facilities & Equipment

Maths and Sport

 

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