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Reference > NEC Code Changes What's It All About?
Interpreting changes in the National Electrical Code® following each
three-year cycle can often be confusing. That’s why there are a number of
publications produced following each NEC cycle to help clarify the intent of the
changes and promote uniform interpretation. Since 1999, Thomas & Betts has
published a booklet on code changes with a little different approach. The
booklet, while describing significant changes of general interest, primarily
focuses on additions and amendments to the NEC that directly impact the
applications of the products T&B manufactures. According to George
Dauberger, T&B’s Director of Engineering Services, “this unique approach
provides our salesmen, our distributors, code enforcement authorities, and our
end-user customers with important information on new applications for our
products.” The booklet is distributed free of charge. Over 40,000 copies have
been distributed each NEC cycle since 1999. With nearly 4,000 proposals to change the NEC introduced each cycle, it is no
easy task to track those having potential impact through the NFPA code panel
process. Thomas & Betts has three code panel members on staff who represent
the National Electrical Manufacturer’s Association (NEMA) on code making panels
5 (grounding), 8 (raceway systems) and 19 (agricultural, mobile homes, RV and RV
parks, manufactured housing, marinas, and manufactured wiring systems). This
direct involvement in the NEC process provides T&B with unique perspectives
on many of the change proposals. Beginning at the Report on Proposal (ROP) stage of the NEC process, the
T&B staff identifies those proposals that could potentially lead to new
product concepts or impact the application of existing products. The proposals
are tracked through the process and eventually distilled into a summary of the
change and a brief impact statement. “We typically ask for an independent review
of our findings by noted code professionals in the industry before proceeding to
publication,” says George Dauberger. T&B’s Code Change booklet has provided a very useful training tool
enabling Thomas & Betts to share in the industry- wide effort to spread and
promote uniform enforcement of the NEC. Through the process of its development,
T&B has introduced many new product solutions and smoothed their acceptance
into the market. If you are interested in the T&B 2005 NEC Code Change Analysis, please
contact your local Irby branch. |
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