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NESC & NEC Cross-Code Correlation

Statement from NARUC During its Summer 2018 Committee Meetings

IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee

Draft Proposals for the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code

Representative State Level Service Quality Standards

MI Power Grid


Relevant Research


PROCESS, PROCEDURES & SCHEDULE

2025-2026 NESC Revision Schedule

Mike Anthony is ID Number 469 | Proposal period closes 11:59 PM US Pacific Time | May 15

Meeting Notes in red

Loss of electric power and internet service happens more frequently and poses at least an equal — if not greater threat — to public safety.  So why does neither the National Electrical Code or the National Electrical Safety Code integrate reliability into their core requirements?  Reliability requirements appear in a network of related documents, either referenced, or incorporated by reference; sometimes automatically, sometimes not.

NESC Main Committee Membership: Page xii

Apart from the IEEE as the accredited standards developer, there are no “pure non-government user-interests” on this committee; although ANSI’s Essential Requirements for balance of interests provides highly nuanced interpretation.  The Classifications on Page xiii represents due diligence on meeting balance of interest requirements.

In our case, we are one of many large universities that usually own district energy plants that both generate and purchase generate electric power (as sometimes provide var support to utilities when necessary; as during the August 2003 North American outage).  For University of Michigan, for example, has about 20 service points at 4.8 – 120 kV.  Its Central Power Plant is the largest cogeneration plant on the DTE system.

Contents: Page xxviii | PDF Page 29

Absence of internet service is at least as much a hazard, and more frequent, than downed wires.   Is there a standards solution?  Consideration of interoperability of internet service power supported on utility poles  should track in the next revision.

No mention of any reliability related IEEE reliability standards in the present edition.  Why is this?

Section 2: Definitions of Special Terms | PDF Page 46

In the 2023 Handbook, the term “reliability” shows up 34 times.

availability (from Bob Arno’s IEEE 3006-series and IEEE 493 Gold Book revision)

reliability (Bob Arno)

utility (PDF Page 57)

communication | PDF Page 47

list of terms defined in the 2023 National Electrical Code that are new and relevant to this revision: (Article 100 NEC)

Bonding jumper, system and supply

Survivability of communication network signaling

Fiber optic cable mounted on common poles with a medium voltage overhead line standardizing procedure

municipal broadband network, digital subscriber line, surveillance cameras

wireless communication system

010. Purpose | PDF Page 40

Looks like improvement since last edition.  Suggest explicit Informational Note, as in the NEC, using “reliability” and referring to other agencies.  “Abnormal events” could be tighter and refer to other standards for abnormal, steady-state events.   The clarification of purpose is welcomed although a great deal remains uncovered by other best practice literature; though that can be repaired in this edition.

Legacy of shared circuit path standards. Should provisions be made for municipal surveillance, traffic and vehicle control infrastructure.  What would that look like?

011. Scope | Covered PDF Page 40

3. Utility facilities and functions of utilities that either (a) generate energy by conversion from
some other form of energy such as, but not limited to, fossil fuel, chemical, electrochemical,
nuclear, solar, mechanical, wind or hydraulic or communication signals, or accept energy or
communication signals from another entity, or (b) provide that energy or communication
signals through a delivery point to another entity.

5. Utility facilities and functions on the line side of the service point supplied by underground or
overhead conductors maintained and/or installed under exclusive control of utilities located on
public or private property in accordance with legally established easements or rights-of-way,
contracts, other agreements (written or by conditions of service), or as authorized by a
regulating or controlling body.
NOTE: Agreements to locate utility facilities on property may be required where easements are either
(a) not obtainable (such as locating utility facilities on existing rights-of-way of railroads or other entities,
military bases, federal lands, Native American reservations, lands controlled by a port authority, or other
governmental agency), or (b) not necessary (such as locating facilities necessary for requested service to a
site).

012. General Rules | Covered PDF Page 42

For all particulars not specified, but within the scope of these rules, as stated in Rule 011A, design,
construction, operation, and maintenance should be done in accordance with accepted good practice
for the given local conditions known at the time by those responsible for the communication or
supply lines and equipment

General purpose clause could use some work since no definition of “accepted good practice”.  Refer to IEEE bibliography.

 

Section 2: Definition of special terms | PDF Page 46

Recommendations elsewhere should track here.

 The word “installation” appears 256 times and is generally understood in context by experts.  Suggest borrow from NEC to clarify our concern for including co-linear/communication circuits. 

conduit.  exclusive control, lines, photovoltaic, NEC interactive. qualified

Section 3: Reference

NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®). [Rules 011B4 NOTE, 099C NOTE 1, and 127

IEEE Std 4™-1995, IEEE Standard Techniques for High-Voltage Testing. [Table 410-2 and Table 410-3]
IEEE Std 516™-2009, IEEE Guide for Maintenance Methods on Energized Power-Lines. [Rules 441A4
NOTE 2, 446B1, and 446D3 NOTE, and Table 441-5, Footnote 4]
IEEE Std 1427™-2006, IEEE Guide for Recommended Electrical Clearances and Insulation Levels in
Air-Insulated Electrical Power Substations. [Rule 124A1 NOTE, Table 124-1, 176 NOTE, and 177 NOTE]
IEEE Std 1584™-2002, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. [Table 410-1,
Footnotes 1, 3, 6, and 14]
IEEE Std C62.82.1™-2010, IEEE Standard for Insulation Coordination—Definitions, Principles, and Rules.
[Table 124-1 Footnote 5]

Add references to Gold Book, 1386, etc. IEC since multinationals conform.

 

Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Overhead Electric Supply and Communication Line | PDF Page 111

Has anyone confirmed that these tables match NEC Table 495.24 lately?  If it helps: there were no meaningful changes in the 2023 NEC in Article 495, the high voltage article

Section 11. Protective arrangements in electric supply stations | PDF Page 77

A safety sign shall be displayed on or beside the door or gate at each entrance. For fenced or
walled electric supply stations without roofs, a safety sign shall be displayed on each exterior
side of the fenced or wall enclosure. Where the station is entirely enclosed by walls and roof, a
safety sign is required only at ground level entrances. Where entrance is gained through
sequential doors, the safety sign should be located at the inner door position.  (A clarification but no change.  See Standards Michigan 2017 proposals)

Recommend that all oil-filled cans be removed and services upgraded through energy regulations with new kVA ratings

Section 12: Installation and maintenance of equipment

093. Grounding conductor and means of connection

Fences
The grounding conductor for fences required to be effectively grounded by other parts of this
Code shall meet the requirements of Rule 093C5 or shall be steel wire not smaller than Stl WG
No. 5.

D. Guarding and protection | PDF Page 67

124. Guarding live parts| PDF Page 85

Propose roofs required for exterior installations

Part 2. Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Overhead Electric Supply and Communication Line | Page 72

Section 22. Relations between various classes of lines and equipment | Page 80

222. Joint use of structures | Page 82

Where the practice of joint use is mutually agreed upon by the affected utilities, facilities shall be subject to the appropriate grade of construction specified in Section 24. Joint use of structures should be
considered for circuits along highways, roads, streets, and alleys. The choice between joint use of structures and separate lines shall be determined through cooperative consideration with other joint
users of all the factors involved, including the character of circuits, worker safety, the total number and weight of conductors, tree conditions, number and location of branches and service drops, structure
conflicts, availability of right-of-way, etc.

Reliability considerations for sustaining internet service when power supply is absent. 

Par2 Section 20 Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Overhead Electric Supply and Communication Line | PDF Page 111

Has anyone confirmed that these tables match NEC Table 495.24 lately?

Part 3. Safety Rules for the Installation and Maintenance of Underground Electric Supply and Communication Lines | Page 220

Renewable energy for internet access

311. Installation and maintenance

A. Persons responsible for underground facilities shall be able to indicate the location of their facilities.
B. Reasonable advance notice should be given to owners or operators of other proximate facilities that
may be adversely affected by new construction or changes in existing facilities.
C. For emergency installations, supply and communication cables may be laid directly on grade if the
cables do not unreasonably obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic and either:

1. The cables are covered, enclosed, or otherwise protected, or
2. The locations of the cables are conspicuous.
Supply cables operating above 600 V shall meet either Rule 230C or 350B.
NOTE: See Rules 014B2 and 230A2d.

Part 4. Work Rules for the Operation of Electric Supply and Communications Lines and Equipment | PDF Page 289

When and why was the term “Work” added to the title of this section?   

Core text for the definition of wireless communication system reliability

 


Appendix E Bibliography| PDF Page 355

 

 

 

Index | PDF Page 398

 


The word “reliability” appears only three times.  Should it track in the NESC or should it track in individual state requirements.  So neither the NEC nor the NESC couples closely with power and communication reliability; despite the enormity and speed of research.

 

Electrical Meter Center Manufacturing

* See Footnote below

Underwriters Laboratories Standard for Safety for Panelboards (UL 67) articulates product specifications for a central feature of all building power chains.   Panelboards are first entry of electrical energy in a residence, for example; and are found everywhere in education and healthcare facilities classified as commercial, industrial and institutional occupancies.  Panelboards divide the power chain into subsidiary circuits, while providing a protective fuse or circuit breaker for each circuit in a common enclosure.  Some panelboards — such as those classified as service entrances for residences — have main breakers positioned ahead of all downstream branch circuit breakers that must meet rigorous current interruption requirements.

Panelboards are continually improving and therefore the matrix of safety standards are revised continually; notably there installation safety requirements in the National Electrical Code.  The redline is available at two places on the internet; linked below:

ANSI Standards Action | Pages 42-43

Comments are due November 3rd.  You may send comments (with optional copy to [email protected]).   It is best to set up your own (free) account at the link below:

UL’s Collaborative Standards Development System (You will need to set up an account)

You may also find the correlating section of the most recent update of the National Electrical Code — Section 230.71(B) — at the link below:

Michigan Electrical Code 2023

The most significant change to the NEC that now appears in its 2020 revision requires that each service disconnecting means and its associated overcurrent devices be located within a separate compartment; to wit:

“…Each compartment shall be constructed to prevent inadvertent contact with live parts such that with the service disconnect in that compartment in the off position, no ungrounded uninsulated live part is exposed to inadvertent contact by persons while servicing any field connected load terminal, including a neutral load terminal, a branch circuit equipment grounding terminal, or the neutral disconnect link. Exposure to inadvertent contact is determined by use of the probe illustrated in Figure 6.1. lf restriction to the compartment is dependent on the installation of field installed service conductors, conductors sized in accordance with 12.1.10 shall be installed in the terminals when determining exposure to inadvertent contact. All live parts including the connector bodies and pressure screws shall be evaluated…”

Proposals of this nature, in this section and elsewhere in related sections, have appeared in proposed changes to the NEC for many revision cycles.  You can sample the specifics in the links below:

Article 230 of the NEC has always been a lively “promontory” in leading practice discovery because service panels — where meters are located — are usually the locus of the maximum amount of energy entering a building.  In most new installations, this change will not be visible because its effect will be in product specification for buildings that require meter banks; most likely stand-alone student residence facilities.   In legacy residential installations, however, this change may expand the scope of electrical rehabilitation projects.

We generally place product standards action in the lower tier of our priority list but because this is likely to raise the cost of the product — and to inform insurance underwriting criteria — we take special note of it.  There will legions of NEC trainers that will sweep through the land for the next 3 years to explain in more detail.  Advocacy activity we may contemplate for the 2023 NEC, if any, will be coordinated with the experts in the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets online 4 times monthly in the Americas and Europe.  Our electrical power teleconferences are hosted on the same day.   See our CALENDAR for the next meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [19-143]

Category: Electrical, Energy

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Glenn Keates, Jose Meijer

*The change to UL 67 deals specifically with the manufacture (and ultimately, specification) of meter centers.   There are no images to show what product classes are effected so we keep things light with another historical image tracking the evolution of the electrical power industry.   For more information you may use the search term “meter center” to find various manufacturer product offerings.

 

Campus Day Care

“The concentration of a small child at play
is analogous to the concentration of the artist at work.”

Today at the usual hour we review a selection of global building codes and standards that guide best practice for safety, accessibility, and functionality for day care facilities; with special interest in the possibilities for co-locating square footage into the (typically) lavish unused space in higher education facilities. 

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

International Building Code

    • Governs overall building construction, fire safety, occupancy classification, and egress requirements for daycare centers.

International Fire Code

    • Regulates fire prevention measures, emergency exits, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and evacuation protocols for daycare centers.

National Fire Protection Association

    • NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code: Addresses occupancy classification, means of egress, fire safety, and emergency planning.
    • NFPA 5000 – Building Construction and Safety Code: Provides fire protection and structural safety guidelines.

Americans with Disabilities Act

    • Requires daycare centers to be accessible for children and parents with disabilities, covering entrances, bathrooms, play areas, and signage.

European Norms – CEN Standards

    • EN 1176 – Playground Equipment and Safety Requirements: Covers safety standards for daycare playgrounds and outdoor spaces.
    • EN 16890 – Safety Requirements for Mattresses in Children’s Products.

British Standards (BS) for Early Years Facilities

    • BS 8300: Accessibility requirements for childcare facilities.
    • BS 9999: Fire safety guidance for daycare and educational buildings.

Australian Building Code & National Construction Code

    • Covers fire safety, structural integrity, ventilation, and child safety measures for daycare centers.

ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety Management

    • Establishes safety requirements for employees working in daycare facilities, ensuring a safe environment for both children and staff.

Canadian Building Code & Fire Code (NBC & NFC)

    • Provides structural, fire safety, and child safety guidelines for daycare centers in Canada.

“Kindergarten” 1885 Johann Sperl

Preschool Children in the Dome

Early Childhood Development Centers

The University of Notre Dame and St. Mary’s plan construction next year on a new on-site facility to provide child care for faculty, staff and students with children between the ages of 6 weeks and 3 years old.  Growing out of the recommendations of a faculty and staff committee charged with looking at child care assistance opportunities, the new facility will open in summer 2025 and be operated by KinderCare, the nation’s largest child care and early education provider.

The center will be located on the north edge of campus near White Field, adjacent to Beichner Hall and The Landings at Notre Dame apartments.

The Early Childhood Development Centers at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College will continue to offer early childhood programs for children age 2 through kindergarten and will work in collaboration with KinderCare.

“We welcome KinderCare to the Notre Dame campus. Infant care is greatly needed in our community, and we are pleased that the University continues to support families’ needs for quality early childhood care and education. We look forward to continuing our mission to provide the community with high-quality accredited preschool and kindergarten programs at our two ECDC campus sites,”

— Kari Alford, Executive Director.

Standards Indiana


The De-Population Bomb

Brickwork

“American Bricklayer” 1904 | Alice Ruggles

 

Life Safety Code

The Life Safety Code addresses those construction, protection, and occupancy features necessary to minimize danger to life from the effects of fire, including smoke, heat, and toxic gases created during a fire.   It is widely incorporated by reference into public safety statutes; typically coupled with the consensus products of the International Code Council.   It is a mighty document — one of the NFPA’s leading titles — so we deal with it in pieces; consulting it for decisions to be made for the following:

(1) Determination of the occupancy classification in Chapters 12 through 42.

(2) Determination of whether a building or structure is new or existing.

(3) Determination of the occupant load.

(4) Determination of the hazard of contents.

There are emergent issues — such as active shooter response, integration of life and fire safety systems on the internet of small things — and recurrent issues such as excessive rehabilitation and conformity criteria and the ever-expanding requirements for sprinklers and portable fire extinguishers with which to reckon.  It is never easy telling a safety professional paid to make a market for his product or service that it is impossible to be alive and safe.  It is even harder telling the dean of a department how much it will cost to bring the square-footage under his stewardship up to the current code.

The 2021 edition is the current edition and is accessible below:

NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Free Public Access

Public input on the 2027 Revision will be received until June 4, 2024.  Public comment on the First Draft of the 2027 Revision will be received until June 3, 2025.

 

Since the Life Safety Code is one of the most “living” of living documents — the International Building Code and the National Electric Code also move continuously — we can start anywhere and anytime and still make meaningful contributions to it.   We have been advocating in this document since the 2003 edition in which we submitted proposals for changes such as:

• A student residence facility life safety crosswalk between NFPA 101 and the International Building Code

• Refinements to Chapters 14 and 15 covering education facilities (with particular attention to door technologies)

• Identification of an ingress path for rescue and recovery personnel toward electric service equipment installations.

• Risk-informed requirement for installation of grab bars in bathing areas

• Modification of the 90-minute emergency lighting requirements rule for small buildings and for fixed interval testing

• Modification of emergency illumination fixed interval testing

• Table 7.3.1 Occupant Load revisions

• Harmonization of egress path width with European building codes

There are others.  It is typically difficult to make changes to stabilized standard though some of the concepts were integrated by the committee into other parts of the NFPA 101 in unexpected, though productive, ways.  Example transcripts of proposed 2023 revisions to the education facility chapter is linked below:

Chapter 14 Public Input Report: New Educational Occupancies

Educational and Day Care Occupancies: Second Draft Public Comments with Responses Report

Since NFPA 101 is so vast in its implications we list a few of the sections we track, and can drill into further, according to client interest:

Chapter 3: Definitions

Chapter 7: Means of Egress

Chapter 12: New Assembly Occupancies

Chapter 13: Existing Assembly Occupancies

Chapter 16 Public Input Report: New Day-Care Facilities

Chapter 17 Public Input Report: Existing Day Care Facilities

Chapter 18 Public Input Report: New Health Care Facilities

Chapter 19 Public Input Report: Existing Health Care Facilities

Chapter 28: Public Input Report: New Hotels and Dormitories

Chapter 29: Public Input Report: Existing Hotels and Dormitories

Chapter 43: Building Rehabilitation

Annex A: Explanatory Material

As always we encourage front-line staff, facility managers, subject matter experts and trade associations to participate directly in the NFPA code development process (CLICK HERE to get started)

NFPA 101 is a cross-cutting title so we maintain it on the agenda of our several colloquia —Housing, Prometheus, Security and Pathways colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [18-90]

Category: Fire Safety, Public Safety

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

More

ARCHIVE / Life Safety Code 2003 – 2018

 


Fire and Life Safety in Stadiums

Day Care

2024 Complete Change Monograph (2658 Pages)

2025 ICC Leadership Week + Hearings Committee Action Hearings – Group B #1 | April 26 – May 6 | Orlando, Florida

Link to April Committee Action Hearing Videos

“Kindergarten” c. 1885 / Johann Sperl

Safety and sustainability for any facility begins with an understanding of who shall occupy the built environment and how.  University settings, with mixed-use phenomenon arising spontaneously and temporarily, often present challenges.   Educational communities are a convergent settings for families; day care facilities among them.  First principles regarding occupancy classifications for day care facilities appear in Section 308 of the International Building Code, Institutional Group I; linked below:

2018 International Building Code Section 308 Institutional Group I-4 (Superseded in some jurisdictions)

The ICC Institutional Group I-4 classification includes buildings and structures occupied by more than five persons of any age who received custodial care for fewer than 24 hours per day by persons other than parents or guardian, relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, and in a place other than the home of the person cared far.  This group includes both adult and child day care.

We maintain focus on child day care.  Many educational communities operate child day care enterprises for both academic study and/or as auxiliary (university employee benefit) enterprises.

Princeton University Child Care Center

Each of the International Code Council code development groups fetch back to a shared understanding of the nature of the facility; character of its occupants and prospective usage patterns.

The 2024 revision of the International Building code is in production now.   Ahead of the formal, market release of the Group A tranche of titles you can sample the safety concepts in play during this revision with an examination of the documents linked below:

2019 GROUP B PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES ALBUQUERQUE COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS

2019 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS ON THE 2018 EDITIONS OF THE GROUP B INTERNATIONAL CODES

Search on the terms “day care” and “daycare” in the link at the top of this page to get a sample of the prevailing concepts; use of such facilities as storm shelters, for example.

“The Country School” | Winslow Homer

We encourage our safety and sustainability colleagues to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process.   We slice horizontally through the disciplinary silos (“incumbent verticals”) created by hundreds of consensus product developers every week and we can say, upon considerable authority that the ICC consensus product development environment is one of the best in the world.  Privately developed standards (for use by public agencies) is a far better way to discover and promulgate leading practice than originating technical specifics from legislative bodies.   CLICK HERE to get started.  Contact Kimberly Paarlberg ([email protected]) for more information.

There are competitor consensus products in this space — Chapter 18 Day-Care Occupancies in NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code, for example; a title we maintain the standing agenda of our Model Building Code teleconferences.   It is developed from a different pool of expertise under a different due process regime.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [18-166]

Category: Architectural, Healthcare Facilities, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben

Recent concepts in play in transcripts:

  • Tempered water for public hand-washing facilities
  • Walking surfaces
  • Exit signage for non-resident, non-English speaking children
  • Fire rating of corridors 
  • Bathing privacy concepts
  • Water heater controls and monitoring; mixing valves

LEARN MORE:

cdpACCESS Hearing Video Streaming Service

 

Evensong “Melody in F”

Evensong services are typically held in cathedrals, collegiate chapels, and large parish churches, where choral music plays a prominent role. These services often feature the singing of psalms, choral anthems, hymns, and other sacred music.  The Evensong tradition holds a significant place in Western civilization due to its historical and cultural importance. It has provided a space for prayer, reflection, and worship for centuries, connecting individuals with their faith and providing a sense of spiritual solace.

The beauty and solemnity of the music performed during Evensong services have also contributed to the development of Western sacred music, with composers creating choral works specifically for these occasions.

Polska

History of Western Civilization Told Through the Acoustics of its Worship Spaces

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