Money in the Bank

The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation (Governing Body of the TDLR) recently voted to reduce 21 licensing and regulation fees in 8 of the TDLR programs. The reductions of fees are expected to exceed $ 1,300,000 annually.

TDLR’s Executive Director, William Kuntz said “We perform an annual review of our licensing fees to ensure that each program covers only the cost of operating it.

Before the lower fees can become effective, TDLR’s rules will have to be amended. Adjustment of rules involving 8 programs will take some time, but TDLR staff will begin modifying the rules immediately.

Proposed Fee Reductions for 360institute Students:

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Air Conditioning Contractor Initial - From $130 to $115
Air Conditioning Contractor Renewal - From $80 to $65

Electricians

Electrical Contractor - From $125 to $115
Electrical Sign Contractor - From $125 to $115
Master Electrician - From $65 to $50
Master Sign Electrician - From $65 to $50
Journeyman Electrician - From $40 to $35
Journeyman Sign Electrician - From $40 to $35

For more information on the proposed fee changes visit the TDLR’s press release.

New CE Courses Available!

There are some new additions to the 360institute website.

First, we have added another state to our expanding Water and Waste Water Continuing Education division! WW operators in Tennessee now have 16 hours of Continuing Education courses to choose from to fulfill CE requirements. Imagine fulfilling all of your CE requirements online, at your pace, when it is convenient for you! Visit the Tennessee Wastewater page for more info.

We also have just added a new course for Washington Electricians! Now available is the WAC-RCW course that has been approved by Washington State. We now have 12 hours of 100% online CE courses available for you! Visit our Washington Electricians page for more info.

If you are in need of Electrician, Contractor, Engineer or Wastewater CE, and we don’t yet offer it in your state yet, let us know! It is our top priority to make sure you get the CE that you need!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We here at 360institute are all getting ready for the holidays and all the turkey and trimmings that come with it. Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to eat the meals that we are so fortunate to get. So for this Thanksgiving, we and the rest of the family here at 360training decided to try and help those in need.

For two weeks we had a food drive at our Austin, TX office and we collected over 1,700 pounds of food!! Monday we took our collection of food to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas; they told us the food we collected amounted to 1,375 meals. We feel pretty great about that!

Now to thank you great, loyal blog readers I wanted to offer a blog only special Thanksgiving discount!! You can use this discount on any of the 360institute courses. Just enter THANKS07 in the discount code field for a 10% discount off of any course you want. The discount ends November 31st so make sure enroll soon. Just our way of saying Thanks!!

Technology for Electricians

I admit that I am no expert in electricity, but I have learned a lot from reading certain trade magazines in an effort to keep up with what is going on in the industry. One magazine that I just discovered, that most of you are already aware of, is EC&M. In case you don’t know, it is the technical authority for 140,000+ electrical professionals.

In this month’s issue I was particularly interested in how much technology was featured. With the record gains in sales due to new construction, the workforce has been spread pretty thin. It is not so surprising then that companies are looking towards new technologies that will help to make employees more efficient and save time and money. In the article “Record Gains Bring Labor Pains,” the author speaks of how automation is helping companies keep up with the new demand. Technology has helped them to remotely monitor their sites and to track maintenance. In “The Changing Face of CPM,” the author wrote about software tools that help relieve contractors of the tedious tasks like bookkeeping, taxes, and estimating.

So it seems to me that all of the technology mentioned in this month’s issue points to ways to make life easier for the electrical contractor. This is how I see 360institute fitting in. With online Electrician CE, we make it easy for electricians and contractors to get their CE when it is most convenient to them. This helps to decrease time taken off of work, which helps productivity.

How has technology helped you in your working life? Have you found that technology saves you time, which helps you to be more efficient? If it does, how do you spend your free time? More work or play?

2008 National Electrical Code (NEC) News

I found an interesting article on the Electrical Wholesaling website about new rules in the 2008 NEC promoting the use of arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs). Industry standards bodies have been promoting the use of AFCIs because they reduce the risk of fire caused by electrical sources. NEMA has even launched a whole website devoted to the use of AFCIs www.AFCISafety.org.

There has been some resistance to the use of AFCIs mainly because of the added cost and the potential for nuisance tripping. But NEMA is arguing that the extra cost is minimal especially compared to the potential loss of life and property using a GFCI. I agree with NEMA. With AFCIs only adding $15 to $20 to the cost of a standard circuit breaker, it seems completely worth the extra expense to have a safer home.

As for the problem with nuisance tripping, AFCI technology has vastly improved since they were first introduced in the late 1990s. Potential nuisance tripping isn’t a good enough reason to not use AFCIs anymore. What are your thoughts on AFCIs? Do you feel it is worth the added expense? And have you visited the AFCISafety site yet?

Attention Utah Electricians!!

The renewal period for all Utah Electricians is approaching! All licensees must complete their required Continuing Education and renew their license by Nov. 30th, 2008.

The Utah Division of Professional Licensing does allow online continuing education. Individuals may take the full 16 hours online, 8 of which must be on the National Electrical Code. Go to 360institute.com and enroll in our online courses today. Enroll in our 16 hr Package and save from taking off several days to complete and a lot less money with the same quality education.

For more information on license renewal or questions concerning with your license you can contact the Utah Division of Professional Licensing at (866) 275-3675 or email them at doplweb@utah.gov.

How much do you know About Electrical Safety?

Most people in the electrical/construction fields feel pretty sure of themselves when it comes to electrical safety. However in the past 10 to 15 years significant revisions, additions, and rules have been made to the electrical safety standards.

The changes can apply to electrical hazards of shock or electrocution, arc-flash and arc-blast. The NFPA 70 E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace is one of the most helpful standards that is constantly updated to address changes for safety in the workplace. Most importantly the standard also identifies the flash protection boundary that must be established in order to protect employees from the arc-flash hazard. The NFPA provides direction for determining the level of the electrical hazards and the means to protect employees from them.

To find out more about electrical safety you can visit the latest issue of Professional Safety Magazine or the National Fire Protection Association.

Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Programs are unfortunately over looked…

Everyone has heard to make sure there is no available power when working on anything electrical, however most people tend not to fully check before beginning work. This simple mistake causes thousands of death each year. Workers can be seriously injured or even killed because they simply do not follow safety procedures.

Dr. Isabel Perry has written a great little article of LOTO programs that would be a great ‘Toolbox’ for any Safety Manager or just as a reminder for your employees. Dr. Perry is a renowned safety instructor and speaking, she has her own business The Safety Doctor (www.thesafetydoctor.com) and travels the country doing safety training and seminars.

The article covers such items as securing equipment, performing lockout/tagout, restarting the equipment, and sources of energy. To find the entire article please go to the following link http://www.thesafetydoctor.com/article11.htm.

Remember avoiding serious injuries in the workplace can be as simple as taking the time to be aware of your surroundings!!

What’s the difference between codes and standards?

Most people in the electrical industry know there are thousands of codes and standards which they need to go by, but how many actually know the difference and how they get created and changed?

The NFPA codes and standards are developed and periodically reviewed by more than 5,000 volunteer committee members with a wide range of professional expertise, this is to ensure their adaptability, relevance, and understanding.

What is a code and what is a standard?

According to the NFPA:

• Code – A standard that is an extensive compilation of provisions covering broad subject matter or that is suitable for adoption into law independently of other codes and standards.


• Standard – A document, the main text of which contains only mandatory provisions using the word "shall" to indicate requirements and which is in a form generally suitable for mandatory reference by another standard or code or for adoption into law. Non- mandatory provisions shall be located in an appendix, footnote, or fine-print note and are not to be considered a part of the requirements of a standard.

So where do all these codes and standards come from? Any individual can submit a request for a project to develop a new code or standard. The Standards Council reviews all requests and, if appropriate, the Council directs that a notice be published in a variety of publications, including NFPA’s membership newsletter, NFPA News. This notice asks for:

• comments on the proposed project


• information on organizations that may be involved in the subject matter


• a listing of available resource material


• an indication of who is willing to participate in the project if it is approved.

Then the process goes through five more steps:

• The Call for Proposals


• Report on Proposals (ROP)


• Report on Comments (ROC)


• The Technical Report Session of the NFPA Annual Meeting


• Standards Council Consideration and Issuance

If the proposed code or standard makes it pass all of the above mentioned guidelines then the Standards Council will issue it and make it a full on code , then recognized by the NFPA.

For more information on the code process please visit, www.nfpa.org