False Alarm Reduction

A ward of the hospital at Scutari where Florence Nightingale worked and helped to restructure the modern hospital | William Simpson (1823-1899)

We find cord sets at the center of a great deal of action in electrical safety standards in the United States and globally in standards action administered by the International Electrotechnical Commission.  In the proposed changes to the method in which the lengths of cord sets are measured it is noteworthy that the proposal has been submitted by the only global electrical product manufacturer – Grenoble, France-based Schneider Electric — the only remaining stand-alone publicly traded electrical product manufacturer in the world.  As such, Schneider has an informed point of view about the value chain of utilization voltage devices; cord sets being the most common manner in which human beings interact with electrical energy.

Featuring DMX512, RDM, DALI, RDMnet, Art-Net, sACN, LLRP and ESTA and ANSI standards – this year's PlugFest is guaranteed to deliver! Happening 26-28 Feb. Book your ticket now: https://t.co/fsWBP3tJLM pic.twitter.com/0A7gFUFkyy

— PLASA (@PlasaOnline) January 7, 2019

The proposed changes simply have to do with how the lengths of cord sets are measured though, in some applications (such as in clinical delivery settings), we find cord sets — particularly how they inform the placement of 120 VAC power outlets — at the center of surprising technical debate.  First, let’s have a look at scope of UL 817 Standard for Cord Sets and Power Supply Cords :

1.1 This standard specifies the requirements for cord sets and power-supply cords employing molded-on or assembled-on fittings, rated 600 V maximum, and intended for use in non-hazardous locations in accordance with the National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70.

1.2 This Standard also specifies the requirements for molded-on general-use attachment plugs and cord connectors.

1.3 This Standard also specifies the requirements for hospital grade attachment plugs and cord connectors.

1.4 This Standard also specifies the requirements for cord restraint devices.

1.5 These requirements do not cover cord sets intended for temporary outdoor use – not to exceed 90 days – with outdoor equipment, Christmas-tree, and other seasonal decorative-lighting outfits. Such devices are covered by the Standard for Outdoor Seasonal-Use Cord-Connected Wiring Devices, UL 2438.

The proposed changes to the length measurement, the subject of the commenting opportunity, is linked below:

CLICK HERE for proposed revisions to UL 817 | Pages 30-33

Though the redline mentions the seasonal use power cord class of product, it is not clear whether the measurement methodology applies to hospital grade power cord product — the subject of the UL 60601-1 suite, Part 1: General Requirements for Safety    Getting this clarified may be the subject of a public comment.*

Comments are due February 3rd.

You may send comments (with copy to psa@ansi.org) to: Linda Phinney, (510) 319-4297, Linda.L.Phinney@ul.com.   We will also refer this to the agenda of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets 4 times monthly in European and American time zones.  The next online teleconferences are scheduled for January 15th and is open to the public.

Issue: [19-4]

Category: Architectural, Electrical,  Structural, Facility Asset Managemet

Contact: Mike Anthony, Matt Dozier, Jim Harvey

* Power cords used with North American medical equipment must be hospital-grade. The plug makes the cord hospital-grade, nothing else. The colors of the plugs or the cable jacket are preference only, and are not part of the standard. Most commonly, you will notice solid gray cordsets and occasionally clear-blue male plugs. However, it is the construction of the male that determines if your power cord is approved for use in hospitals.

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Power Cords

UL White Book

Click on image for more information

Some follow up on the 2018 International Electrotechnical Commission(IEC) academic faculty paper competition concluded last month at the IEC General Meeting in Busan, Korea.  which was jointly sponsored the the IEC and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

The topics covered by the winning papers are summarized below:

New Rules for Standard-Setting and New Roles of Standardization Bodies in the era of IoT  (Yonsei University  & University of Glasgow).  The authors outline how so-called ‘standard-clashes’ are no longer between those in the same industry but instead between different industry sectors. They provide case studies in the areas of electrical vehicle charging and connected car communication systems.

Recommendations for a ‘smart’ system Single Sign-on  (Aachen University) An outline of the difficulty of standardization for ‘smart’ systems such as smart cities and proposed the establishment of a ‘smart’ system single sign-on.

Recommendations for electrical measurement data management standards in the oil and gas industries (American Bureau of Shipping)

Recommendations for synthetic index to measure the degree of standardization in a given country (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid)

Identification of knowledge and technology flows between standard making communities and how they can be used to indicate industry changes  (Korea Electronics Technology Institute)

Detailed coverage is available in the link below:

IEC IEEE KATS Challenge Award winners

As always, we work to translate these blue-key conceptions into meaningful results at the workpoint in order to lower the #TotalCostofOwnership of the emergent #SmartCampus.  In the United States alone, the education facilities industry spends $300 billion — the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States.  Campuses are cities-within-cities and perfect study units for cities of the future.

We host a dedicated work session every month to review the blistering pace of international standards action.  The next session is scheduled for January 17th, 11 AM Eastern time.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.  For an advance draft agenda, please send a request to bella@standardsmichigan.com.  We also collaborate closely with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets online 4 times per month and are open to everyone.  The next meetings are January 29th 15:00 in Europe and 3:00 PM Eastern time in the Americas.

Issue: [Various]

Category: Academics, Electrical, Telecommunications, #SmartCampus, Informatics, Information, International, Public Policy, Telecommunications, US Department of Commerce

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Robert G. Arno, Neal Dowling, Jim Harvey, Mike Hiler, Christel Hunter

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9TH IEC Young Professionals Workshop

The IEC, together with IEEE and the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), awarded five prizes to the winners of the best academic publications submitted to the IEC – IEEE – KATS Challenge: https://t.co/n9feoLFDNm pic.twitter.com/gEcT20VR91

— IEC (@IECStandards) November 24, 2018

Last Update: October 12, 2018

(Original post: January 27, 2018)

Seoul National University

Link to related post on ISO Educational organization management systems led by South Korea

“Hudson River Waterfront” | Colin Campbell Cooper (1913)

With about one hundred technical committees administered by accredited standards developers globally, the stream of standards action in the building energy conservation space is one of the fastest-moving; and a space that demonstrates remarkable adaption.  As the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States the education facility industry is on the receiving end of prescriptive and performance requirements produced by these technical committees that are enforced by state agencies and/or sustainability consortia.

Now comes three more candidate revisions to another fast-moving standard — ASHRAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings — co-developed (and significantly re-branded recently) by four different organizations that are accessible at the link below:

Public Review Draft Standards / Online Comment Database

To paraphrase some of the issues in play:

Addendum a: The first public review draft added Climate Zones 4A and 4B to those required to meet heat island mitigation criteria in Section 5.3.5.3 for roofs. In response to the first public review, two additional exceptions were added.

Addendum m: This addendum adds new provisions to enable right-sized tubing for efficient delivery of water through hot water distribution systems. The new requirement balances health, energy and plumbing code intents with energy and water efficiency strategies. The addendum is based in part on research by the California Energy Commission on the energy implications of hot water supply. The volume of water in a pipe is the primary determinant of how long a user must wait for hot water to be delivered at a fixture. This has significant implications for both energy use to heat the water and the volume of water wasted before delivery. Similar provisions are currently included in the IECC and the IgCC.

[Comment: This addendum for “right-sized” piping resembles proposals we have made in previous revisions of ASHRAE 90.1; though there are counter-arguments that involve Legionella mitigation]

Addendum n: This addendum clarifies the indoor environmental quality requirements for composite wood and related materials, by adding the recent USEPA’s regulation on composite wood products, requiring that products be certified as meeting the requirements of CARB or USEPA as being manufactured either with ultra-lowemitting formaldehyde resins or no added formaldehyde resins and updating the language on lab certification to make it consistent with the language already in the 189.1-2017 for the other building material categories in Section 8.4.2.

Comments are due January 20th.

We welcome real-time discussion on these and other energy conservation proposals any day at 11 AM Eastern time.   Our next Mechanical Engineering monthly teleconference is scheduled for January 14th, 11 AM.   Use the login credentials at the upper right of our homepage.

Note that the ASHRAE Winter Conference will be hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, January 12-16, 2019.  Since many ASHRAE consensus document technical committees meet during ASHRAE conferences we encourage our colleagues in the education industry to attend.  (CLICK HERE for more information)

St. Norbert College

Issue: [Various]

Category: Mechanical, Electrical, Energy, Facility Asset Management, US Department of Energy

Colleagues:  Eric Albert, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel

Standards Georgia

Posted October 8, 2018

“New York from Brooklyn” | Colin Campbell Cooper (1910)

With about one hundred technical committees administered by accredited standards developers globally, the stream of standards action in the building energy conservation space is one of the fastest-moving.  As the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States the education facility industry is on the receiving end of prescriptive and performance requirements produced by these technical committees that are enforced by state agencies or sustainability consortia.

At the moment, the four-partner collaboration of the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE), the International Code Council (ICC). the United States Green Building  Council (USGBC) and the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) opens the proposals of its technical committees to public review in 30 to 90 day intervals according to ANSI’s Continuous Maintenance process.  Keep in mind that ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES/ICC Standard 189.1-2017 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings is not necessarily a safety document but it deserves our attention because it is referenced into ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 — Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings which is incorporated by reference into many local, state and national energy conservation laws.

Little Big Horn College

Now comes two more candidate revisions that are accessible at the link below:

Public Review Draft Standards / Online Comment Database

Note that Addendum j and Addendum k are the First Public Review of candidate changes that are significant renewable energy concepts.

Comments are due October 22nd.

We welcome real-time discussion on these and other energy conservation proposals any day at 11 AM Eastern time.   Our next Mechanical Engineering monthly teleconference is scheduled for November 19th, 11 AM.  Even though the deadline for commenting on the proposals listed here will have passed, there is another batch of addenda open for public comment right behind it which we will identify in separate posts.

Use the login credentials at the upper right of our homepage.

Issue: [Various]

Category: Mechanical, Electrical, Energy, Facility Asset Management, US Department of Energy

Colleagues:  Eric Albert, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel

Posted August 1, 2018

Grand Valley State University

ASHRAE is an ANSI-accredited continuous-maintenance standards developer (a significant tributary in what we call the regulatory product development “stream”).   Technical committees developing continuous maintenance regulatory products release public review documents in 30-to-90 day intervals.  The technical committee writing ASHRAE 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings has released the following redlines for public review:

Addendum f

This addendum replaces the current definition of “construction documents,” which references Standard 90.1, with a definition that is consistent with the 2015 International Green Construction Code. The Standard 90.1 definition does not address building sites or land development which are included in the scope of Standard 189.1.

Addendum g

This addendum replaces the current defined term of “design professional” from Standard 90.1 with “registered design professional,” which is consistent with the terms used in the 2015 International Green Construction Code. Standard 189.1 addresses subject matter for which the traditional titles of architect and engineer, used in the Standard 90.1 definition) do not necessarily align with typical requirements of authorities having jurisdiction. For example, it is common for jurisdictions to have tiered requirements for designer qualifications, often permitting licensed master tradespeople to design certain projects within their respective discipline. The proposed definition also better accommodates specialty design categories such as onsite wastewater system designer, irrigation system designer, landscape designer and soil scientist.

Addendum h

This addendum clarifies that it is the alternate on-site sources of water or municipally reclaimed water are not required to be “acceptable” because it is given that anything not disallowed by an AHJ is acceptable.

All addenda may be found in their entirety at the link below:

ASHRAE Online Standards Actions & Public Review Drafts

Comments are due August 8th.

Technical committees developing ASHRAE codes and standards typically meet face-to-face twice a year at ASHRAE Conferences; the next one in Atlanta, Georgia January 14-16 2019.   We encourage education facility professionals in within driving distance of this conference to attend the ASHRAE technical standards meetings.   Ahead of these conferences we will also host a dedicated markup session for mechanical engineering standards on July 24th, 11:00 AM during which time we will examine and markup documents released for public review by ASHRAE, ASME, AWWA, IAMPO and other organizations developing documents that determine #TotalCostofOwnership of education facilities.

Issue: [Various], ASHRAE

Category: Mechanical, Electrical, Energy, Facility Asset Management, US Department of Energy

Colleagues: Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel

Link to ANSI Announcement:  ANSI Standards Action (PDF Pages 42-24).

Somerset Community College

“The Ideal City” | Fra Carnevale (1480)

NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code is a consensus document we identify as a “regulatory product” because is widely incorporated by reference into public safety legislation.   In most jurisdictions it provides a foundation for safety management by elected and appointed public safety official many of whom participate on its technical committees.  Its application is accomplished by a certified cadre of technicians and legions of installation, inspection, testing and maintenance contractors who are also public safety officials who are also on NFPA 72 technical committees.

NFPA 72 has set the standard of care for fire safety signaling in the so-called “intelligent building” zietgest for decades now.  Fire alarm signaling systems have become integrated into many other building systems such as access, environmental air and mass notification.   The integration — and requisite interoperability with consumer products (i.e. hand-held “apps”) — will become no less complex as the emergent #SmartCampus roll outs with the Internet of Things (IoT).   Many non-profit organizations — some of them accredited standards developers; some of them open-source standards developers; some of them neither — are competing for a part of the IoT revenue stream that results from, a) setting the standard, b) educating others about the standard, c) enforcing the standard and, d) sometimes litigating the failure to comply with the standard.

Our advocacy in NFPA 72 dates back to the early 2000’s when the original University of Michigan advocacy enterprise began collaborating with education facility trade associations, government agencies and other user interests.   There are hundreds of fire alarm shops, and thousands of licensed fire alarm technicians in the education facility industry.  We found that managers of this corp of experts needed leadership in supporting in reconciling the competing requirements of safety in economy.   Leadership, in our view, required sustained advocacy that resulted in an increase in safety and a decrease in cost that could be visible on technical shop operating and management budgets.

We were persuasive in making several changes to NFPA 72; most of them subtle editorial clarifications that made NFPA 72 user to use.  Others are not so subtle:

• Requirement for single-reset in multiple fire alarm system buildings
• Rationalizing qualifications of fire alarm system inspection, testing & maintenance personnel
• Clarification of terminology for fire alarm control panel backup power sources

We were not persuasive was in rolling back some of the prescriptive requirements for inspection, testing and maintenance (IT&M) in Chapter 14.  We believe that 15-pages of prescriptive inspection, testing and maintenance tables in Chapter 14 is an area where the user-interest in the education facilities industry should focus its effort to lower its costs.   There are many other locations on the emergent #SmartCampus where the the risk management dollar should be spent.

So, after a one-revision cycle hiatus, the IT&M tables of Chapter 14 is where we will resume our “battle” with almost every interest group that benefits financially from prescriptive IT&M.  As in previous cycles, we will advocate scalable, risk-informed, reliability-centered performance standards that can be accepted by public safety officials.   We will also need data.

Comments are due June 26, 2019

You may begin keying in public input for the 2020 edition independently at the link below:

NFPA 72 Public Input

You will need to set up a (free) NFPA document access account.

Alternatively, you are welcomed to click in to any of our daily teleconferences at 11 AM Eastern time or you  click in to our next Fire Protection Monthly teleconference — January 24th, 11 AM Eastern time — during which time we sweep through the entire constellation of fire protection codes and standards developed by at least 20 other US-based standards developing organizations as well as fire safety standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

Issue: [7-5] [10-16] [11-42] [15-213] [18-90]

Category: Fire Safety, Public Safety

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Josh Elvove, Joe DeRosier

LEARN MORE:

Link to legacy workspace: Fire Protection for the Education Facilities Industry

NFPA 72 | Class N: Use of campus IP infrastructure for signaling

Issue: [15-213]