NAED Eastern Region Conference, Marco Island, Florida, November 12-15
FOX Business News Anchor
Stuart Varney to Give Keynote Presentation
The National Association of
Electrical Distributors (NAED) announces that registration is open for the 2008
Eastern Region Conference. The conference will take place November 12-15, at
the Marco Island Marriott Resort Golf Club and Spa in Marco Island, Fla. The
theme for this conference is “Expanding Our Horizons.”
This year’s conference features
keynote presenter FOX Business News Anchor, Economist, and Correspondent Stuart Varney. Trained at the London
School of Economics, Varney offers his wide-ranging expertise, evaluating
political administrations and their effects on the economy. During the keynote,
he will discuss his belief that the era of wealth creation has ended, and that
wealth re-distribution is the coming trend. Varney will explain what this shift
in American financial culture means for your organization, and how it can be
used to benefit business and individual wealth. Plus, just one week after the
presidential election, Varney will comment on the impact our new president may
have on the nation.
NAED’s
education sessions will include:
·
New Market Opportunities in Energy
Efficiency by Jerry
Yudelson – Principle, Yudelson Associates
·
Non-traditional Markets for
Renewable Energy Sources by Fred Paris – Independent Contractor
·
How to Limit Your Value-Added
Service Liability Exposure by Bernd Heinze – President and CEO, Sequent
Insurance Group
·
The Evolving Sales Force by Michael Marks –
Partner, Indian River Consulting Group
·
Panel: Reaping the Rewards of NAED’s
Supply Chain Scorecard Moderated by Bethany Sullivan – President,
Profitability Analytics Unlimited
·
How to Improve Your Trading Partner
Relationships Through IDEA by Bob Gaylord –
President, IDEA
To ensure that NAED members are
getting the value they should out of their membership, there will be a special
session entitled Maximize Your NAED Benefits with Proven Implementation Strategies
by John Kiso, educational program manager, NAED. The conference also will
include a Women in Industry luncheon on Converting
Change to Dollars, and numerous opportunities to build your professional
network.
Visit http://www.naed.org/meetings/eastern/index.htm
to register. The early bird registration deadline is September 24. For more
information, contact the NAED Conference Department at (888) 791-2512.
NAED is the trade association for the $70+
billion electrical distribution industry. Through networking, education,
research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical distributors increase
profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership operates in approximately
4,400 locations internationally.
*********************************
NAED Announces 2008-2009 Research in Action Webinar Series Schedule
The
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) is offering ongoing
Research in Action Webinars to help NAED member companies remain competitive
and profitable in multiple market sectors. These online seminars offer live
participation dates and the option of launching archives of the presentations
through the NAED Learning Center (NLC). These Webinars share key findings from
the most recent research studies funded by the NAED Education & Research
Foundation's Channel Advantage Partnership (CAP) endowment.
The
Webinars are offered at no additional charge to NAED member businesses. This
year's Webinar schedule includes two series based on current CAP projects and
an ongoing series of TED Magazine articles covering topics on green building
and energy markets.
The
Research in Action series schedule is:
Service
Liability in Electrical Distribution: Risks and Protections
This
Webinar series provides background information to raise awareness as well as
heighten the intellectual capital of NAED members about liability exposures
from the value-added services they provide. Specifically, it makes recommendations
about adequate protections electrical distributors can put into place to manage
and mitigate service liability exposures.
1. Service
Liabilities: the New Frontier of Legal Exposure (October 1, 2008, 2:00 p.m.
EST) – Providing specialty services to customers is part of the core business
of NAED member companies. This Webinar offers an overview of the CAP study,
entitled Service Liability in Electrical Distribution: Risks and Protections.
It examines risk and legal exposures from statutes, court cases, and
contractual liabilities, and helps distributors ensure they have adequate
protections in place to manage risks and exposures.
2. The
Added Services Distributors Provide and the Liability Exposures those Services
Create (November 5, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EST) – In today's increasingly competitive
business world, providing specialty services gives distributors validity in the
marketplace. However, in today's increasingly litigious environment,
distributors could lose more than just their competitive edge if they are not
adequately protected from the liability exposures that come with providing a
service package. This Webinar reviews the various services NAED members offer
in the channel and identifies the risks associated with each. It ends with
specific recommended measures to prevent liability on: training; energy audits;
kitting; engineering services and support; staging products; consigned
inventory; lamp recycling; and panel building.
3. Hybrid
Services: Where the Sale of Products and Services Merge (January 14, 2009, 2:00
p.m. EST) – Distributors assume an expanding scope of liability as they become
a hybrid of both product seller and service provider. Their exposure to both
liability and financial risk is altered in this emerging model. In addition to the
product liability they always assumed, there is a new service liability
exposure with the administration of value-added services. This Webinar
discusses the nature of hybrid services generally, identifies the liabilities
associated with the provision of hybrid services, and recommends protections to
implement when providing hybrid services.
4.
Exposures of Providing Training Services to Customers (March 4, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
EST) – The training services we provide will give you many benefits! Believe it
or not, this type of claim can increase a distributor's liability exposure.
This Webinar explains how by differentiating the liabilities between providing
training on products a distributor sells and those it does not sell, reviewing
the issue of using employees versus third-parties to provide training, and
explaining the duty of requisite and due care. In addition, the Webinar
discusses how distributors can use experts to develop consistent and uniform
templates and training modules, and makes recommendations for addressing
training liability exposures.
5. Risk
Management Tools to Mitigate Service Liability Exposures (April 8, 2009, 2:00
p.m. EST) – For a business, exposure to risk could lead to disaster.
Unfortunately, too many electrical distributors are not well informed about the
liability exposures coming from providing value-added services, even as this
becomes an increasing part of their core business. Luckily, distributors can
safeguard their business and increase its success rate by having an effective
risk management policy in place. This Webinar helps distributors identify risks
before they occur by examining best practices to use when managing service
liability exposures. It discusses how to design a risk management model to
evaluate the risks of providing a service before determining whether or not to
afford the service, and reviews insurance protections available to distributors
in their own insurance portfolio or that of an out-sourced service provider.
Green Goes
Mainstream: How to Profit from the Green
Building Revolution
This
Webinar series examines the state of energy markets and how distributors can
profit from them. It helps NAED members understand the energy efficiency
retrofit market and the technologies that will be most in demand in coming
years. Specifically, it outlines the business opportunities NAED members should
seize; shows how to make the business case for investments in energy efficiency
products and services; identifies technologies used in green building
renovation projects and commercial energy conservation retrofits; and makes
recommendations on how electrical distributors need to position themselves to
take advantage of identified business opportunities.
1. Today's
Energy Efficiency Market: An Overview (October 22, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EST) –
Energy efficiency may be the farthest-reaching, least-polluting, and
fastest-growing U.S.
energy success story of the past few decades. However, it's also the most
invisible, the least understood, and in serious danger of missing out on needed
future investments. To help NAED members seize the energy market's growth
opportunities, this Webinar presents an overview of major findings from the
Channel Advantage Partnership's recent study entitled, Green Goes Mainstream:
How to Profit from the Green Building Revolution. The Webinar focuses on the
energy market's driving and inhibiting forces, its projected growth, and also
looks at new construction vs. renovation/remodels.
2. Trends
in Energy Efficient Investments Through 2012 (October 29, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EST)
– The electrical distribution industry is facing tougher competition, which
increases the demand to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures.
However, distributors and manufacturers are not undertaking obvious
cost-efficient measures at the rate one would expect. This Webinar explains why
by looking more closely at barriers to energy efficiency, like building codes
and split incentives. In addition, it discusses the energy market's driving
forces—legislative mandates, tax and rebate incentives—and outlines the scope
of potential benefits future investments might yield.
3. Energy
Market Entry Strategies (December 10, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EST) – With accelerated
market transformation and rapid growth in efficiency investments, total investments
in more energy efficiency technologies could increase the energy market by
hundreds of billions of dollars annually in the next two decades. This Webinar
presents tactical strategies NAED companies can implement to take advantage of
the growth opportunities. Specifically, it discusses how to properly educate
and incentivize your salespeople, identifies buildings and facilities managers
should go after, and looks at electrical distributors' potential competitors.
4. Making
the Business Case for Efficiency Upgrades (February 11, 2009, 2:00 p.m. EST) –
With growing demand from customers and increasing legislative mandates for
energy efficient buildings, making investment decisions regarding energy
efficiency improvements has become a matter of vital importance. This Webinar
reviews analysis methods companies should employ when making energy efficiency
investment decisions. It discusses energy cost trends, life-cycle cost
analysis, financial and tax incentives, utility incentives, legislative
mandates, and other driving forces.
Hot Energy Trends
In
partnership with TED Magazine, CAP began sponsoring in July 2008 a 12-month
Green Column on business opportunities in green building and energy efficiency
markets, with a focus on commercial and institutional construction. This
Webinar series features key topics identified by the articles as hot energy
market opportunities for electrical distributors.
1. Greening
Data Centers (January 7, 2009, 2:00 p.m. EST) – Data centers and server farms
are placing an ever increasing demand on our limited energy supplies. In fact,
the average data center is 40 times more energy intensive than an office
building. This Webinar highlights energy efficiency and renewable power
generation innovations in this growing industry. Specifically, it looks at a
company reaping the benefits of saving approximately $3,000 a month in utility
bills by building a highly efficient data center.
2. The
Solar Power Revolution (March 18, 2009, 2:00 p.m. EST) – Is solar power really
the next big thing in the energy world or will it remain just a niche player?
This Webinar examines the market and capital trends around solar power. It
discusses the growth in solar power and the driving forces behind it, as well
as the technology developments and economics of solar power. In addition, it
reviews who in the industry are specifying systems, the role of system
integrators in large commercial projects, and opportunities for electrical
sales (panels, inverters, meters, etc.).
3.
Corporate Sustainability – Walking the Talk (May 13, 2009, 2:00 p.m. EST) –
Today's business world doesn't look like it did 20 years ago. Corporations are
operating in the "Information Age," encountering greener resource
technologies in an increasingly globalized marketplace. They face the challenge
of adapting to these changes and that of public opinion. This Webinar discusses
these timely issues by exploring the pros and cons of "going green."
Specifically, it offers examples of good corporate sustainability programs for
small and medium-sized enterprises, walks you through how to become a
sustainable company from baby steps to giant leaps, suggests ways to publicize
your efforts both internally and externally, and presents the business case for
sustainability planning.
For more
information on the Research in Action Webinars, go to naed.org or contact the
NAED Customer Service at (888) 791-2512 or customerservice@naed.org.
NAED is the
trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry.
Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps
electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED's
membership represents approximately 4,400 locations internationally.
*********************************
NAED Co-Sponsors University of Industrial Distribution (UID) December 2-5, 2008 in Indianapolis
Premier “Sell-Out” Training Event
Offers 25 Courses Tailored to Industrial Distribution
The
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) is joining with over 30
other distribution trade associations to sponsor the 2008 University of Industrial
Distribution (UID), December 2-5 in Indianapolis. This is the second offering of
this popular four-day workshop this year. The UID programs have sold out weeks
prior to the early bird registration deadline the past four years.
UID
is a concentrated educational program focused on the unique needs of the
industrial wholesale distribution industry. The 2008 UID offers a catalog of 25
courses taught by 17 faculty members who are recognized leaders in their
fields. Topics covered include sales, marketing, management, inventory, branch
operations, and much more.
UID
is held in cooperation with Indiana University and Purdue University.
Attendees who complete the four-day program will receive three continuing
education units (CEUs), which can be applied toward the Professional
Certificate in Industrial Distribution from Purdue.
Some
of the 2008 UID courses being offered at the December program are:
·
Differentiating Your Distribution Company – A Winning Strategy by William R. McCleave, Jr.,
Ph.D.
·
Leadership and Delegation for Distribution Managers by Peter A. Land
·
Creating Competitive Advantage Through Total Cost Savings by Tim Underhill
·
How to Make Technology Pay Off in the Sales Arena with Steve Epner
Three
instructors familiar to NAED members return for the December program:
·
Al D. Bates, Ph.D., president of the Profit Planning Group and administrator of NAED’s
Performance Analysis Report (PAR). His UID sessions include: Profit Myths In
Wholesale Distribution and Improving the Distributor’s Bottom Line.
·
J. Michael Marks, principal with the Indian River Consulting Group, and author of the
NAED Education & Research Foundation study on the residential construction
market. His UID sessions include: Marketing Strategies, Pricing
Strategies, Creating Channel
Alignment, and New Product Development and Product Introduction
Strategies.
·
Kathryne A. Newton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Industrial Technology at Purdue University.
Newton helped
author NAED’s “Maximize Your Profit Power” course and is frequently published
in academic and trade journals. Her UID session is: Personnel Productivity
Improvement.
-Since
1993, the UID has trained more than 5,000 distributor and manufacturing
professionals. The program is ideal for a wide range of employees, from branch
managers to purchasing, inventory, sales, and operations personnel.
To
learn more about the December UID go to www.univid.org.
Click
here to register online. The past five UID programs have sold out weeks
prior to the early bird registration deadline. NAED members are encouraged to
register as soon as possible to assure a reservation. The deadline for the
Early Registration Discount fee is November 1, if space is still available. The
December session can accommodate 250 attendees.
Members
should mention their affiliation with NAED to receive a discounted registration
fee. Contact John Kiso, NAED educational program manager, for additional
information at (888) 791-2512 or via e-mail at jkiso@naed.org.
NAED is the trade
association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry. Through
networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps electrical
distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s membership
operates in approximately 4,400 locations internationally.
*********************************
TED Launches New Online Products and Services Guide
Dear NAED associate members and suppliers:
Through TED Magazine, NAED has recently partnered with MultiView, Inc.,
an Irving, Texas-based publisher of digital buyer's guides and search engines
specifically for associations, to launch the TedMag.com Products &
Services Guide.
The guide is targeted to the more than 25,000 electrical distributor readers of
TED Magazine, representing more than 1,000 electrical distribution
companies in North America who collectively
sell more than $70 Billion of electrical products annually.
This new business tool is available from the home pages of the entire family of
NAED websites—NAED.org, TedMag.com, NAEDTechnologyInformer.com, and from within
the NAED Learning Center.
It's a unique online resource that enables users to search for
industry-specific products they need from suppliers like you. Which is why, at
an NAED member and/or TED advertiser, your basic information is already
included in the directory.
All industry suppliers can participate in the guide and can also purchase an
enhanced listing that will be online year-round. An enhanced listing features:
- Your company's logo
- Contact information
- Company description
- A direct link to your company
Web site
- And a specified e-mail address
generator
Your
listing can be grouped into categories of your choice to enable efficient
browsing and searching by TedMag readers.
With traditional online search engine results, you're one in a million. But
searching through the TedMag Products & Services Guide presents
relevant search results for pre-qualified, committed buyers. It has been
created specifically for the purchasers of your product or service. So if
you're not represented prominently, you're missing out on an excellent
revenue-generating opportunity.
Here is a direct link to the directory search page: http://guide.tedmag.com.
Starting this week, representatives from MultiView will begin calling NAED
industry partners to confirm your company's listing information and discuss
listing opportunities in the directory.
If you have any questions regarding the directory, please contact the customer
service staff at MultiView, 972-402-7070. And, as always, if you have any
questions about a TED Magazine product, please call me directly at
314-991-9000.
As always, we appreciate your support,
Michael Martin
Associate Publisher
TED Magazine
www.TedMag.com
*********************************
TED Magazine Names 2008 “Best of the Best” Marketing Awards
Dakota Supply Group & Federal Signal Industrial Systems
Achieve Highest Distinction as Overall Winners
TED Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of
Electrical Distributors (NAED), announces the 2008 winners of its Best of the Best Marketing Awards Competition.
Each year, TED Magazine recognizes the industry’s
top marketing initiatives with the Best of the Best Award competition. TED presents these honors to
distributors and manufacturers in 12 categories including direct promotion,
print advertising, and Web site development. Companies compete with those of
similar sales volume in each category. This year’s awards represent the finest
marketing efforts in the electrical industry for campaigns occurring in 2007.
The 2008 competition acknowledged
the achievements of the electrical industry with 45 awards and 14 honorable
mentions selected from a record 448 total entries submitted. The awards were
presented on August 12, 2008 at the Wyndham Hotel, Chicago, Ill.,
during NAED’s 2008 AdVenture Sales & Marketing Conference.
Of the awards presented, one
distributor and one supplier were selected to represent the overall best
marketing practices of the electrical industry.
Best of the Best Overall Winners:
·
Distributor: Dakota Supply Group, Fargo, N.D. The company earned a Best of the
Best individual award in Brand Awareness for its DSG Kids Club – a club
designed to educate kids about trade professions. Dakota Supply Group also
received an honorable mention in the Integrated Marketing Promotion category.
Supplier: Federal Signal Industrial Systems, University
Park, Ill. The company received individual Best of the Best awards in the Integrated Marketing
Campaign and Product Launch categories. Federal Signal’s contest entries
focused on its new LED Hazardous Location product line and marketing through
its “Bright” campaign.
The 2008 Best of the Best Award
winners are:
BRAND AWARENESS:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Dakota Supply Group, “DSG Kids Club”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Gexpro, “New Gexpro Brand Awareness”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Columbia Lighting, “CreateChange Initiative”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Philips Lighting, “Simplicity Is Changing a Lamp to Make a Difference in the World”
DIGITAL CAMPAIGN:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Springfield Electric Supply, “Connections”
Monthly Newsletter
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Southwire, “Touch & Show Marketing”
DIRECT PROMOTION:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Western Extralite, “Sample Mailings”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Summit Electric Supply, “Get Revved Up”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Service Wire, “2008 Find the Logo Direct Mail Campaign”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Southwire, “Immediate & Feeder MC ‘Dinner on US’”
EVENTS:
·
Distributor
under $25 million – Laconia Electric Supply, “Octobertech 2007”
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – K/E Electric Supply, “May First Order of the Day Promotion”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Alexander Lighting, (A division of North Coast Electric), “Alexander Lighting,
Bellevue-Grand Opening Celebration”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Columbia Lighting, “2007 CreateChange Roadshow”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Hubbell Lighting, “Hubbell Lighting Grand Opening Press Event”
INTEGRATED PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN:
·
Distributor
under $25 million – Gross Electric, “Lifestyle
Center Promotional
Campaign”
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – United Electric Supply, “Come for the Job…Stay for YOUR Future!”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Graybar, “Graybar’s ‘Got It’ Program”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Federal Signal Industrial Systems, “Hazardous Location LED Signals
w/XLT”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Advance, “Advance to Adventure”
LITERATURE/SELLING TOOLS:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Granite City Electric Supply, “GCE Sales Delivers More than Donuts”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Stuart C. Irby Company, “Irby Utility Services”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Wiremold/Legrand, “Open House”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Hubbell Wiring Device-Kellems, “SystemOne Selector Wheel”
MERCHANDISING:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Springfield Electric Supply, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Counter Makeover”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Rexel,
“Merchandising Guide”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Universal Lighting Technologies, “Paint the Town Blue”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Thomas & Betts, “Innovative Floor Box”
PRINT CAMPAIGN:
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Graybar, “Comm/Data Marketing Campaign”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – EiKO,
“EiKO Certified Green”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – GE Consumer & Industrial, “ecomagination”
PRODUCT LAUNCH:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – BJ Electric Supply, “Made for the Trade”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Federal Signal Industrial Systems, “Hazardous Location LED Signals
w/XLT”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – OSRAM SYLVANIA, “Consumer Luminaires”
PUBLICATIONS:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Wiedenbach-Brown, “ENLIGHTEN – The
Journal for Lighting
Decision Makers”
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Capital Lighting & Supply, “Capital Now”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Progress Lighting, “LIGHT!”
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – Cape Electrical Supply, “Currents”
In-House Coffee Shop and Meeting Facility
·
Distributor
over $200 million – Summit Electric Supply, “Summit Supports National
Guard Unit in Baghdad”
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Philips Lighting, “Simplicity Is Opening Doors to New Possibilities While
Saving Energy”
WEB SITES:
·
Distributor
$25-200 million – United Electric Supply, “www.unitedelectricjobs.com”
·
Supplier
under $250 million – Watt Stopper/Legrand, “Energy-Efficient
Lighting Controls Stop Energy Waste” Web site redesign
·
Supplier
over $250 million – Lutron Electronics, “Light Greener,
Light Better” Energy Savings Web site
TED Magazine is providing extended coverage of
the 2008 competition both online at www.tedmag.com and in a special
supplement with its August print issue. Print resolution photos of award
winners can be obtained by calling Editor Michael Martin at (888) 791-2512.
Details on next year’s “Best of the Best” contest will be released in October.
For additional contest information, contact Sheila Logan at slogan@naed.org
or (888) 791-2512.
NAED
is the trade association for the $70+ billion electrical distribution industry.
Through networking, education, research, and benchmarking, NAED helps
electrical distributors increase profitability and improve the channel. NAED’s
membership operates in approximately 4,400 locations internationally.
###
Photo Caption: Overall Best of the Best award
winners (from left): Arne Breikjern, Marketing Manager, Dakota Supply
Group, Fargo, N.D.
and Robert Patnaude, Director of Marketing, Federal Signal Industrial Systems, University Park, Ill.
NEMA
NEMA Publishes SB 50-2008 Emergency Communications Audio Intelligibility Applications Guide
The
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published SB 50-2008 Emergency Communications Audio
Intelligibility Applications Guide.
According
to Jeff Brooks, a member of the Signaling Protection and Communication Section
that prepared this guide, it provides an overview of issues and general
recommendations.
“This
publication assists specifiers, emergency voice system designers, and
authorities having jurisdiction who are not experts in acoustics with the
concepts used to enhance intelligibility and it provides a better understanding
of the factors affecting the intelligibility of these systems," Brooks
said.
"In
the past, the fire alarm industry primarily focused concern on audibility
requirements, assuming that if the sound was loud enough it would be
sufficiently intelligible. Today,
emergency voice communications systems are extensively used to provide building
occupants information and instructions during all types of building
emergencies. Consequently, intelligibility of these paging systems has become a
vital concern. These messages contain essential safety information that must be
clearly understood by the building occupants.”
This is a
new NEMA publication that draws on Tyco’s Fire
Alarm Audio Applications Guide as its primary source material.
The
contents and scope of may be viewed, and a hard copy or electronic copy
purchased for $66, by visiting NEMA’s Web site at http://www.nema.org/stds/sb50.cfm,
or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956
(international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or on the Web at global.ihs.com.
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and
residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold
worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA
also has offices in Beijing, Săo
Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.org
*********************************
DOE Secretary Bodman Endorses NEMA Initiative to Make Buildings Energy Efficient Through Lighting Renovation
Secretary
of Energy Samuel W. Bodman has invited
industry leaders to become full participants in a national effort to make our
buildings more energy efficient, the National Electrical Manufacturers
Association announced today. American owners and operators of commercial,
industrial, and institutional structures can reduce energy consumption by 30
percent by renovating lighting and other building systems. In an open letter to industry, Secretary
Bodman noted that current tax deductions “provide financial incentives up to
$0.60 per square foot for reducing new and existing building lighting energy
use by 25 percent to 50 percent.” He added that he was pleased to support the
efforts announced by NEMA and its members to dramatically alter the energy
footprint related to lighting in the 70 billion square feet of existing
buildings, as well as new construction.
Responding
to Secretary Bodman’s previous challenge to NEMA to commit to a national
building energy efficiency campaign, NEMA recently announced the “enLIGHTen AMERICA”
initiative, a campaign which will promote the advantages of lighting system
renovation. According to NEMA, building owners and operators can realize a 50
percent return on investment, reduced operating expenses, improved
productivity, and increased asset value. Some building owners could save as
much as $600,000 per year on electric bills.
To assist
building owners and operators in establishing a lighting renovation project,
NEMA has established a website with information and savings-calculation tools:
www.nemasavesenergy.org. A copy of the
“enLIGHTen AMERICA”
brochure, Your Buildings Are Wasting Bushels of Money, and a copy of Secretary
Bodman’s letter, are also available at the site.
NEMA is the trade association of choice for
the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded in 1926 and headquartered near Washington, D.C.,
its approximately 450 member companies manufacture products used in the
generation, transmission and distribution, control, and end-use of electricity.
These products are used in utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial,
institutional, and residential applications. Domestic production of electrical
products sold worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters
in Rosslyn, Virginia,
NEMA also has offices in Beijing, Săo Paulo, and Mexico
City.
www.nema.org
*********************************
NEMA Calls on Congress to Pass Energy Tax Legislation
Today, the
National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s (NEMA) President and CEO, Evan
Gaddis, sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership voicing NEMA’s
support for comprehensive energy tax extension legislation. This year, Congress has been unable to agree
on any energy tax legislation that can be sent to the President for his
statutory signature.
On December
31, 2008, many current tax provisions, which are being used by millions of
individuals and companies, will expire.
In the letter sent to Congressional leadership, Mr. Gaddis outlines the
need to extend these provisions and emphasized several incentives that should
be included in legislation. These provisions are the need to extend the energy
efficient commercial building tax deduction, a transitional tax credit to
encourage investment in energy-efficient electric motors, and a decrease in the
depreciable life to 15 years of qualifying Smart Meters and Smart Grid technologies
installed by a utility.
“For
Congress to pass truly comprehensive and effective legislation, these
provisions need to be included. These
incentives aid NEMA’s members, which is especially critical in lagging U.S. economy.”
Mr. Gaddis states. “Congress needs to come together, put partisanship aside,
and pass meaningful legislation now.”
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and
residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold
worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA
also has offices in Beijing, Săo
Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.org
*********************************
NEMA Publishes ANSI C18.3M, Part 1-2008 for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries—General and Specifications
The
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI C18.3M,
Part 1-2008 for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries—General and
Specifications. This standard applies to portable lithium primary cells and
batteries, including lithium/carbon monofluoride, lithium/manganese dioxide,
and lithium/iron disulfide.
ANSI C18.3M
Part 1 contains general requirements and information, such as scope, applicable
definitions, general descriptions of battery dimensions, terminal requirements,
marking requirements, general design conditions, and test conditions. Section 2 features specification sheets for
various types of cells and batteries.
Safety requirements are covered in ANSI C18.3M, Part 2 for Portable
Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries—Safety Standard, a separate document.
This
updated version includes new standardized battery types 24LF (AAA 1.5V
lithium), 5047 (CRV3 3.0V lithium), and 5048 (Prismatic 3.0V lithium) as well
as a reformat of the lithium coin specification sheets.
According
to Marc Boolish, a member of the American National Standards Committee C18 on
Portable Cells and Batteries that processed and approved the submittal, this
publication ensures the electrical and physical interchangeability of products
from different manufacturers; minimizes proliferation of cell and battery
types; defines a standard of performance and provides guidance for its
assessment; and provides guidance to consumers, manufacturers, and designers.
“This is
achieved by specifying nomenclature, dimensions, polarity, terminals, marking,
test conditions, and procedures,” Boolish said. “It also recognizes the work of
the International Electrotechnical Commission in establishing worldwide
standard requirements for portable lithium primary batteries.
The
contents and scope of ANSI C18.3M, Part 1-2007 may be viewed, or a hardcopy or
electronic copy purchased for $75 by visiting NEMA’s website at http://www.nema.org/stds/c18-3m1.cfm
, or by contacting IHS at (800) 854-7179 (within the U.S.), (303) 397-7956
(international), (303) 397-2740 (fax).
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately
450 member companies
manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and distribution,
control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in utility,
medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential
applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold worldwide exceeds
$120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn,
Virginia, NEMA also has offices in Beijing, Săo Paulo, and Mexico City.
###
NEMA.
Setting Standards for Excellence
Visit our
website at www.nema.org
*********************************
NEMA Publishes Guide for Proper Use of Smoke Detectors in Duct Applications
The
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published Guide for
Proper Use of Smoke Detectors in Duct Applications. It was produced by the
Signaling Protection and Communication Section.
This
edition reflects improved detector technology and associated sensor placement
in ducts resulting in improved detector performance and resultant fire/smoke
capabilities in buildings. Duct-mounted sensors are designed to provide a
specific type of fire protection that cannot be duplicated by any other type of
system. This technical guide addresses this fact as well as new methods of
detecting smoke in ducts.
The
contents and forward of Guide for Proper Use of Smoke Detectors in Duct
Applications may be viewed, and a hard copy or electronic copy purchased for
$40, by visiting NEMA’s Web site at
http://www.nema.org/stds/ductapplications.cfm, or by contacting IHS at
800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956 (international), 303-397-2740
(fax), or on the Web at global.ihs.com.
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and
residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold
worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA
also has offices in Beijing, Săo
Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.org
*********************************
NEMA Publishes LE 6-2008 Procedure for Determining Target Efficacy Ratings for Commercial, Industrial, and Residential Luminaires
The
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published LE 6-2008 Procedure
for Determining Target Efficacy Ratings for Commercial, Industrial, and
Residential Luminaires, which was developed by the Luminaire Section, in
close cooperation with the Lamp and Ballast Sections of the NEMA Lighting
Systems Division.
According
to Cheryl English, a member of the Luminaire Section, this standards
publication provides a procedure for the determination of the target efficacy
rating (TER) for luminaires under laboratory test conditions and describes
categories or types of products used in common indoor and outdoor lighting
applications. It does not apply to luminaires for specialized applications,
such as products intended to be aimed, accent luminaires, rough or
hazardous-use luminaires, or emergency lighting. It is recommended to be used
only as a guide to help in the selection of luminaires since TER does not
address application characteristics such as color, uniformity, glare, or other
important considerations.
“This
standard addresses the concern of balance between energy efficiency and
lighting effectiveness in measurable terms,” English said. “Because the most
efficient luminaire may not distribute the light in the most useful direction
for the task, the new TER metric defined in NEMA LE-6 includes criteria related
to the optical control.”
By
establishing a rating for lumens delivered to a task (or target), TER allows
planners and designers to compare solutions in terms of their overall energy
and lighting effectiveness. TER is intended to be a metric, among many other
considerations, to evaluate the energy effectiveness of a lighting
installation. TER and LE-6 allow for the first time a method to evaluate the
effectiveness of light delivered to common visual task locations.
“Using TER
provides more useful information about the lumens delivered to a visual task
for each watt consumed. The inclusion of optical control is a significant step
forward in terms of evaluating the energy effectiveness of lighting equipment,”
English said.
NEMA LE
6-2008 supersedes the NEMA LE5, LE5A and LE5B standards for Luminaire Efficacy
Ratings (LER).
An
electronic copy of LE6-2008 may be downloaded at no charge or a hard copy may
be purchased for $53 by visiting NEMA’s Web site at www.nema.org/stds/le6.cfm
, or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956
(international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or on the Web at global.ihs.com.
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and
residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold
worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA
also has offices in Beijing, Săo
Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.
*********************************
NEMA Publishes SB 40-2008 Communications Systems for Life Safety in Schools
The
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published SB 40-2008 Communications Systems for Life Safety in Schools. This new
standard covers the application, installation, location, performance, and
maintenance of school communications systems and their components. It
establishes minimum required levels of performance, extent of redundancy, and
quality of installation, but does not limit the methods by which these
requirements are to be achieved.
According
to Bob Boyer, a member of the 3SB Committee that prepared the publication,
educational facilities from elementary schools to university campuses present
unique design challenges for life-safety communications systems.
“Communications Systems for Life Safety in
Schools identifies minimum levels of performance, redundancy and
installation requirements designed to assist designers, specifiers, and school
administrators plan and maintain life-safety communication systems,” Boyer
said. “The standard applies to single-building schools, multi-building
campuses, and multi-school districts.”
The
contents and scope of may be viewed, and a hard copy or electronic copy
purchased for $66, by visiting NEMA’s Web site at http://www.nema.org/stds/sb40.cfm,
or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956
(international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or on the Web at global.ihs.com.
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and
residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold
worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA
also has offices in Beijing, Săo
Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.org
*********************************
NEMA to Participate in GridWeek 2008
NEMA
endorses and is a Silver Sponsor of GridWeek, a major conference highlighting
advanced technologies for the electric grid. GridWeek will be held in Washington D.C.
during the week of September 22-25, 2008.
NEMA staff
members will participate in NIST Domain Expert Working Group Meetings on
Friday, which will discuss the Institute’s implementation of its Smart Grid
Interoperability Framework. NEMA staff member John Caskey will speak on
Wednesday afternoon about Smart Grid standards and NEMA’s participation in
Smart Grid development. NEMA will also hold a meeting of its Smart Grid
Advisory Panel on Monday afternoon.
“NEMA is
leading the drive to modernize the nation’s electricity infrastructure,” said
NEMA President Evan Gaddis. “Carbon reduction and energy security are critical
policy goals that require a robust and advanced transmission grid. Our
companies have the technologies to make it happen.”
The NEMA
Smart Grid Advisory Panel was established to provide technical and policy
guidance for transmission and smart grid legislation, regulation, and standards
activities. NEMA has played an active role in shaping energy efficiency and
transmission grid legislation in both Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 and continues to work with agencies and
other stakeholders in the implementation of measures from both acts.
NEMA is the
trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded
in 1926 and headquartered near Washington,
D.C., its approximately 450
member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and
distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in
utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential
applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold worldwide exceeds
$120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn,
Virginia, NEMA also has offices in Beijing, Săo Paulo, and Mexico City.
www.nema.org
SCTE
SCTE FOUNDATION SET TO LAUNCH 2008 GIVING CAMPAIGN
The SCTE Foundation, which helps members of the
Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) achieve their professional
development goals and dreams through grants and scholarships, announces today
that it will conduct the inaugural SCTE Foundation Giving Campaign October 1
through December 31, 2008.
The 2008 Giving Campaign is chaired by Marwan
Fawaz, chief technology officer and executive vice president of Charter
Communications, and carries the theme, “Fueling Cable’s Future.” The SCTE
Foundation seeks to raise $15,000 with this three-month effort.
The SCTE Foundation was established by the SCTE
Board of Directors in 2005 and began issuing grants in 2006. The Foundation has
helped numerous SCTE members by distributing grants totaling more than $80,000.
The Foundation’s primary purpose is to provide expanded educational
opportunities for SCTE members to assist them in advancing their careers.
Recipients have applied their grants toward a
variety of educational purposes related to cable telecommunications technology,
including online courses, master’s degrees, and attendance at industry events,
such as SCTE Cable-Tec Expo®.
Further information about the 2008 Giving
Campaign will be available in October on the Foundation’s website, where
individuals also will be able to transact their donations electronically.
www.scte.com
*********************************
TIMEFRAME CHANGES FOR SCTE BOARD ELECTION PROCESS
The Society of Cable Telecommunications
Engineers (SCTE) announces today that the timing of the SCTE Board of Directors
Election process is shifting with the 2009 election.
The annual election process traditionally has
run from August through June. Accustomed to voting starting in January each
year, the voters, who are SCTE members, won’t begin casting ballots until next
May for the 2009 election.
The SCTE Board of Directors includes 12 Regional
Directors, four Directors-At-Large, and one Director-At-Large Canada. Board
members are elected to two-year terms. Each year approximately half of the
board’s terms expire.
For Election 2009, the call for nominations will
begin in mid-December of this year and conclude in early February of next year.
The candidate slate will be posted to the SCTE website, www.scte.org, in early April. Voting
will begin in mid-May and conclude toward the end of June. Election results
will be announced no later than mid-August. The newly elected board members
will take office in October at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo® 2009.
This shift was necessary due to the
industry-wide consolidation of trade shows that takes effect in 2009, which has
moved Expo—where newly elected board members take office each year—from its
traditional June timeframe to the fall as part of Cable Connection-Fall. Expo
’09 is set for Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28–30 in Denver. Expo is SCTE’s flagship event.
The 2008–’09 SCTE Board of Directors is
displayed at www.scte.org in the About Us section
of the website.
*********************************
INAUGURAL SCTE CANADIAN SUMMIT SLATED FOR FEBRUARY
The Society of Cable Telecommunications
Engineers (SCTE) is pleased to announce today a brand-new annual professional
development opportunity—the SCTE Canadian Summit. The event is set to debut
Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 3–4, 2009, in Toronto.
SCTE Canadian Summit 2009 is designed to facilitate
an exchange of technical information for Canadian engineering professionals to
help them maximize opportunities and overcome challenges specific to the cable
telecommunications industry in Canada
both now and in the near future.
The first year of the Summit will feature technical exhibits and
workshops, general sessions, and networking opportunities—all designed toward
the effective integration of new technologies into existing cable
infrastructures to streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction.
SCTE Board of Directors member Dermot J.
O’Carroll, who is the SCTE Director-at-Large Canada, will serve as the chair of
the 2009 Summit.
O’Carroll, who, as an SCTE Board member, represents SCTE’s Canadian members, is
senior vice president, network engineering and operations with Rogers Cable
Communications in Toronto.
www.scte.org.
*********************************
SCTE FOUNDATION PROVIDES MAJOR GRANT TO DANA KRING
The SCTE Foundation is pleased to announce today
that it recently awarded a major grant to Society of Cable Telecommunications
Engineers (SCTE) member Dana Kring of Comcast Cable Communications.
Kring, of Strasburg,
Colo., is a business operations
analyst II. He will apply the major grant toward earning his MBA in global
enterprise management from Jones
International University
in Centennial, Colo. Kring has been an SCTE member since 1996.
The SCTE Foundation was established by the SCTE
Board of Directors in 2005 and began issuing grants in 2006. The Foundation has
helped numerous SCTE members by distributing grants totaling more than $80,000.
The SCTE Foundation’s primary purpose is to provide expanded educational
opportunities for SCTE members to assist them in accomplishing their
professional development goals and dreams.
The SCTE Foundation Board of Directors recently
approved Kring’s application for a major grant following preliminary approvals
by the Foundation’s Major Grants Subcommittee and the Foundation’s Awards Committee.
Complete details about the SCTE Foundation,
including the grant and scholarship application, are available at www.scte.org
TIA
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Urges EPA to Exempt Telephony Products From Inapplicable Rules
ENERGY STAR® Standby
Usage Requirements Should Not Apply to Devices That Are Never in Standby Mode,
Says TIA
The
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leader in advocacy,
standards development, business development and intelligence for the
information and communications technology (ICT) industry, today urged the EPA
to clarify that new ENERGY STAR® Telephony “No-Load” rules are
inapplicable and irrelevant to telephony products such as cordless telephones,
answering machines, and combination cordless phones and answering machines.
TIA called
upon the EPA to adopt its own proposal to ensure that external power supply
(EPS) units used with ENERGY STAR®-qualified telephony products
would not be required to meet ENERGY STAR® energy consumption
requirements of 0.3 or 0.5 watts when in standby or “No-Load” mode (No-Load
requirements). Most telephony products
use EPS converting AC to DC electrical voltage with a nameplate power that is
typically rated between 4 to 7 watts.
Thus, the EPS used with many telephony products will not meet the
No-Load requirements.
However,
TIA noted, the new EPA requirements do not take into account the fact that
cordless telephones, answering systems, and combination units are never in
standby/No-Load mode. Such products
continuously monitor telephone networks for incoming telephone calls and/or
monitor radio links to cordless handsets.
Thus, TIA argued, the EPS No-Load requirements currently imposed are
inapplicable to cordless phones, answering machines, and combination cordless
phones and answering machines. TIA
stated that the EPA must and will clarify, through its proposal, that the
No-Load requirements cannot be applied to cordless phones, answering machines,
and combination cordless phones and answering machines.
“TIA
applauds the EPA for proposing a policy that will appropriately eliminate the
ENERGY STAR® No-Load requirements for cordless phones, answering
machines, and combination cordless phones and answering machines,” said
Danielle Coffey, TIA Vice President of Government Affairs. “Our members, many of whom manufacture these
products, should not be burdened by EPA regulations which, when applicable, are
of great benefit, but are inapplicable to many of our members’ products and are
therefore of no benefit. The EPA’s
proposal strikes the important balance of protecting resources and applying
regulations only when appropriate from a technology standpoint,” Coffey added.
For more
information, please contact Patrick Sullivan at psullivan@tiaonline.org.
About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information
and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development,
advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and
world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. With roots dating back to 1924,
TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless,
information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications.
Members’ products and services empower voice, video and data communications in
every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public
safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and
entertainment.
TIA co-owns
SUPERCOMM
(formerly NXTcomm), the ICT industry tradeshow that showcases the
business and technology solutions enabled by advanced broadband services and
applications; is
accredited by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI); serves as the secretariat for the
Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2); holds Board of Director
positions on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) TELECOM and USITO
Boards; and hosts the USA pavilions in ITU trade fairs worldwide.
More than
1,100 subject matter experts and other industry leaders participate in TIA’s
70+ standards committees and TIA has produced more than 3,000 standards
documents. From mobile and personal communications systems to fiber optics and
cabling infrastructure, from vehicular telematics and terrestrial mobile
multimedia to healthcare ICT, TIA’s engineering committees work to formulate
positions and prepare international standards and reports for use by industry
and government.
In
government affairs and international trade, hundreds of experts are at the
table helping to foster and promote initiatives on behalf of the industry –
projects such as advancing global broadband deployment across wireline,
wireless and cable platforms; advocating advanced spectrum management;
encouraging policies to enable information access for persons with
disabilities; seeking allocation of additional spectrum to advance wireless
services and public safety; facilitating market opportunities by promoting
full, fair and open trade and competition in international markets; and
ensuring that the U.S. communications sector continues to be a leader in
advanced research.
On the
environmental front, TIA’s EIATRACK subscription-based web service, on the Web
at eiatrack.com,
enables companies to track up-to-date information on environmental regulations
around the world. TIA’s e-cyclingcentral.com service lists
recycling centers for electronics in every state of the U.S. Finally,
TIA standards have fostered green practices and TIA is continuing to work on
ways to reduce carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency within the ICT
industry.
TIA’s Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent,
ANDA Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam
Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar,
Henkels & McCoy, ILS Technology, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft,
Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., Panasonic
Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric
Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Verari Systems,
Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation. Advisors to the
Board include FAL Associates, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.
TIA
membership enhances the ability of companies to prepare for the future of
communications. TIA brings people and businesses together by helping the
industry overcome technical and political barriers to communications. Visit tiaonline.org for details.
*********************************
Nokia Siemens Networks, ILS Technology Join Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Board
ILS Technology’s Fred Yentz and
Nokia Siemens’ Susan Schramm Confirmed at August Meeting
At its
August meeting, the Board of Directors for the Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA), the leader in advocacy, standards development, business
development and intelligence for the information and communications technology
(ICT) industry, unanimously confirmed two new Board members:
·
Fred Yentz, CEO of ILS Technology
·
Susan Schramm, Head of Marketing, North
America, Nokia Siemens Networks
“It’s no
secret that the industry we represent is hypercompetitive,” said TIA President
Grant Seiffert. “TIA is an association that understands business, and operates
with a business philosophy. As we focus on the challenges ahead – meeting the
demands for services in expanding markets – the insight and experience of
industry leaders like Fred and Susan will help TIA lead the ICT industry as it
grows in new directions. We’re grateful for their service.”
At the
meeting, the Board also heard two keynote addresses:
·
Andrew Fanara,
Manager of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Product
Specifications Development Team, discussed the EPA’s current activities
relating to energy efficiency as well as future directions
·
Catherine Avgiris, Comcast Cable’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Voice
Services, spoke about ComCast’s unique competitive challenges in increasing
market share for its cable, entertainment and communications products
and services.
The TIA
Board renewed its commitment to pursuing environmental initiatives, through EIATRACK,
TIA’s global environmental regulatory compliance tracking service, and through e-cyclingcentral.org,
TIA’s free Web database of environmental recycling locations in the United States.
The Board reconfirmed its support for TIA to take a leading role on
environmental issues as a standards development organization.
About TIA
Currently in its 84th year, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry
through standards development, advocacy, business opportunities, market
intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. TIA enhances the
business environment for thousands of companies and individuals whose focus is
broadband development and deployment (including wireless and landline
infrastructure and services), information technology (IT) for commercial or
residential application, Internet Protocol (IP) hardware, software and content solutions,
and the convergence of voice, video and data (“triple play”) applications and
evolution.
TIA co-owns
NXTcomm,
the tradeshow serving the ICT industry; is accredited by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI); serves as the secretariat for the Third
Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2); holds Board of Director positions on
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) TELECOM and USITO Boards; and
hosts the USA pavilions in ITU trade fairs worldwide.
More than
1,100 subject matter experts and other industry leaders participate in TIA’s
70+ standards committees and TIA has produced more than 1,150 standards
documents. From mobile and personal communications systems to fiber optics and
cabling infrastructure, from vehicular telematics and terrestrial mobile
multimedia to healthcare ICT, TIA’s engineering committees work to formulate
positions and prepare international standards and reports for use by industry
and government.
In
government affairs and international trade, hundreds of experts are at the
table helping to advance and advocate initiatives on behalf of the industry –
projects such as advancing global broadband deployment across wireline,
wireless and cable platforms; advocating advanced spectrum management;
encouraging policies to enable information access for persons with
disabilities; seeking allocation of additional spectrum to advance wireless
services and public safety; facilitating market opportunities by promoting
full, fair and open trade and competition in international markets; and
ensuring that the U.S. communications sector continues to be a leader in
advanced research.
On the
environmental front, TIA’s EIATRACK subscription-based web service, on the Web
at www.eiatrack.com,
enables companies to determine up-to-date information on environmental
compliance of their products in various regions around the world.
TIA’s
Board of Directors
includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA
Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam
Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar,
Henkels & McCoy, Intel Corporation, ILS Technology, LGE, Microsoft,
Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., Panasonic
Computer Solutions Co., Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric
Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Verari
Systems, Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation.
Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, Orca Systems and Telcordia
Technologies.
TIA membership enhances the ability of
companies to prepare for the future of communications. TIA brings people
and businesses together by helping the industry overcome technical and
political barriers to communications. Visit www.tiaonline.org
for details.
USBGC
U.S. Green Building Council Announces Recipients of $2 Million
Green Building Research Grants Selected Proposals Represent Diverse
Academic, Non-profit and Private Entities
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced the recipients of its
2008 Green Building Research Fund grants. The Green Building Research
Fund was created to spur research that will advance sustainable building practices
and encourage market transformation. The USGBC committed $2 million to the
program, while the Research Fund is generating $1,150,825 in matching funds and
leveraging additional activities and partnerships. A quarter of the fund
is dedicated to research on occupant impacts in K-12 schools.
“We’ve identified an enormous need for green building research,” said Rick
Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of USGBC. “The research
grants are part of USGBC’s commitment to better understand what is working and
what more can be done, which will inform USGBC’s programs and the entire
building industry.”
Continued Fedrizzi,” The selected proposals drive knowledge, policies, tools
and technologies and inspire corresponding industry and government-wide action.”
USGBC’s Research Committee, in its role as the grant selection panel, reviewed
216 pre-proposals and 38 full proposals, spanning a broad range of topics,
including K-12 school facility research. The highly competitive field was
narrowed down to 13 final selections.
“The portfolio of research projects address a range of critical environmental
needs in the building industry, encompass diverse approaches and proposed
outcomes, and are well distributed geographically across the U.S.,” said Gail
Brager, Chair of USGBC’s Research Committee.
The selected proposals excelled due to the quality of topic, methodology and
expected impact. Research topics covered each of the five categories of
environmental performance that are addressed within the LEED green building
certification system. Grants ranging from $90,000 to $250,000 were
awarded to the 13 research teams.
The research projects selected for
funding include:
• A Green Roof Energy Calculator
• An Open Source Searchable Database to Assess the Impact of
Environmental Strategies on Outcomes in Healthcare Facilities
• Design for Reuse Primer
• Development and Implementation of a New Protocol for
Testing the Ability of Building Materials to Passively Reduce Indoor Ozone and
Its Reaction Products
• HVAC Control Algorithms for Mixed-Mode Buildings
• Improvement of Porous Pavement System for on-site
Stormwater Management
• Integrated Building Water Management (IBWM) Modeling - A
Proposed Tool for LEED Assessment & Education
• Investigating Opportunities for Improving Building
Performance Through Simulation of Occupant and Operator Behavior
• Multi-Variate Study of Stormwater BMPs
• Quantifying the Impact of Daylight and Electric Lighting on
Student Alertness, Performance, and Well-being in K-12 Schools
• The Evaluation of Green School Building Attributes and
Their Effect On the Health and Performance of Students and Teachers in NY State
• Transportation Energy Intensity Index
• Using a New Application of Existing Monitoring Technology
to Quantify the Relationship between Classroom Ventilation and Student
Performance
To see the list of grant recipients and research abstracts, download the
recipient list (http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=4698).
Visit the GBRF Web page (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1875)
for additional information and periodic updates.
The grant program was announced in February 2008 in response to the USGBC’s
Research Committee’s findings published in Green Building Research Funding: An
Assessment of Current Activity in the United States
(http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=77#usgbc_publications) that
indicate that applied research and development fall alarmingly short of what is
needed to meet the challenges of a building sector that has a profound impact
on people and the environment.
About USGBC
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose
vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes
corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit
organizations. Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more
than 17,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED®
green building certification systems, an expansive educational offering, the
industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo
(www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and
organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.
*********************************
USGB in the NEWS
Serving
Architects, Consultants in Everything Green Become Mainstays
New York
Times, August 27, 2008
On a recent
Friday, when the rest of the staff of the architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle
was out of the office enjoying a beautiful August day, about 25 people sat in a
windowless room learning about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification process.
Conducting
the seminar was Lauren Yarmuth of YRG Sustainable Consultants, one of a growing
cadre of consultants who specialize in helping developers, architects and
sometimes tenants gain an official stamp of approval from the United States
Green Building Council through its LEED certification program - the undisputed
calling card of environmental bragging rights.
That some two dozen
architecture professionals - including a partner in the firm - were getting
daylong instruction is indicative of the growing importance of sustainable
design, especially as local and state governments are increasingly requiring
LEED certification of public projects. Read more.
New Yorkers
Go Green To Save Green In Tough Times
amNew York, August 29, 2008
You won't
need a windmill, an array of solar panels, or a roof shaped like a biodome.
In fact, it
can be difficult to distinguish between a green home and a conventional one,
but there's one key difference you will notice: More money in the bank.
With fuel
costs rising and the city's economy in meltdown, more New Yorkers are taking
simple steps to make their homes environmentally friendly.
"The
idea of green is probably something you can't see from the outside," said
Nate Kredich, vice president of residential market development for the Green
Building Council.
Kredich
says what distinguishes a green home is it's high quality, with better windows,
insulation and energy efficient appliances.
Read more.
The
Thinkers: PNC's Saulson Finds It's Easy Being Green
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 25, 2008
Ten years
ago, Gary Saulson's life was transformed by a telephone conversation and a leap
of faith.
Mr.
Saulson, PNC's director of corporate real estate, had already started to watch
the banking company's new Downtown operations hub, Firstside Center,
rise from the ground when he got a call from Rebecca Flora of the Green
Building Alliance.
The
alliance's mission is to promote energy-efficient, environmentally friendly
buildings, and Ms. Flora wanted Firstside to become such a structure.
Mr. Saulson
was skeptical. "My vision of a green building at that point was dirt
floors and straw walls and people walking around in Birkenstocks, and I don't
know if they were singing Kumbaya but they might have been."
Still, he
agreed to set up a meeting with Ms. Flora, and before that session was done,
"I had committed to making Firstside a green building, even though it was
well under construction.
"I had
absolutely no idea what I'd committed to. I knew I had committed to doing the
right thing, but that's as far as it went." Read more.
Toyota Dealerships Reaping Benefits of
Going Green
The Dallas Morning News,
August 23, 2008
Pat Lobb
knows exactly what it means to be green - $8,000 a month.
That's what
he says he saves monthly on his electric bill at Pat Lobb Toyota and Scion in McKinney, the first new-car dealership in the U.S. to be
certified as a green building.
And while
the car business might seem an odd advocate of environmentalism, North Texas
has more green car dealerships - three Toyota
stores - than any region in the U.S.
Moreover, the number of eco-dealers is growing nationally, many of them
motivated by what they see here.
"As
other dealers saw what Pat had done, it just made sense for them to
follow," said George Irving, retail development manager for Toyota Motor
Sales.
Mr. Lobb's
dealership was certified by the U.S. Green Building Council two years ago. One
of the newest Toyota
facilities in the area, Toyota of Rockwall, is the first dealership in the
country to be certified "gold" by the building council. Mr. Lobb's
was built to a slightly lower "silver" standard.
"Now
that I've done the gold, got the green, I look back and say I would have beat
myself senseless if I hadn't done this," said Steve Jackson, owner-general
manager of the Rockwall dealership. Read more.
*********************************
Registration Now Open for U.S. Green Building Council’s Annual Greenbuild Conference
This year’s show commences on Boston
for the world’s largest green building conference and expo
If you are a reporter covering green building, residential construction, real
estate, energy or human health, chances are you’ve encountered LEED along the
way. Itching to learn more? Join over 25,000 attendees at the U.S.
Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual conference and exhibition, which will
be held from November 19-21, 2008 in Boston.
Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green
building, and is the recent recipient of Tradeshow Week’s “Fastest 50,”
honoring the fifty-fastest growing shows in North America.
This year, over 25,000 attendees will attend, eager to learn more about the
LEED® green building certification, the nationally accepted system for green
buildings, developed by the USGBC as a tool to build healthy, energy efficient,
resource-friendly structures.
This year’s show will explore "Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global
Sustainability,” with Boston
serving as the ideal backdrop. The city, home to innovations that have
far-reaching impact, will be the location for a variety of educational
sessions, full- and half-day LEED workshops, exciting speakers, special events
and building tours.
Each year at Greenbuild, one of the highlights is the assortment of master and
keynote speakers, comprised of internationally renowned industry experts and
influential leaders. This year, world-renowned leader Archbishop Desmond
Tutu takes to the stage as the opening Keynote speaker. A Nobel Peace Laureate,
Bishop Tutu is led a crusade for social justice and racial conciliation in South Africa as
then-General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Today, he is
revered worldwide as a “moral voice” seeking to end poverty and human rights
abuses. Tutu’s opening keynote address will take place Wednesday, November 19,
8:00-10:00 am.
Closing Keynote Speakers include:
• E.O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus and
Honorary Curator of Entomology at the Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
• Janine Benyus, Co-founder and Principal, Biomimicry Guild
Master Speakers:
• Paul Anastas, Director, Center for Green Chemistry and
Green Engineering, Yale University
• Stefan Behnisch, Principal, Behnisch, Behnisch &
Partners
• Carol Browner, Principal, The Albright Group, and former
EPA Administrator
• Majora Carter, Executive Director, Sustainable South Bronx
• Howard Frumkin, Director, The National Center for
Environmental Health, CDC
• Van Jones, President and Founder, Green For All
• Bill McKibben, Environmentalist and Author
• Leith Sharp, Director, Harvard Green Campus Initiative
(HGCI)
A variety of workshops and educational sessions will be offered throughout the
show related to green building, and for the first time, this year’s selection
of over 100 educational sessions will also include programs that have been
approved through the USGBC Education Provider Program.
Workshops
LEED 2009: Implementation for Building Design and Construction
• Designed for contractors, building owners, design team
members, , and other stakeholders involved in the design and construction of
commercial buildings.
Solving the Green Cleaning Puzzle
• Geared towards cleaning industry professionals who want to
learn how to design and implement a green cleaning program.
Commissioning for LEED Projects
• For those who want to learn the building commissioning
process required by LEED, including cost / benefit and the commission¬ing
agent’s role in LEED design and documentation.
Understanding LEED Project Costs and Returns
• Geared towards all audiences interested in learning more
about building environmentally sound projects at a reason¬able cost, building
life-cycle and construction costs, and LEED project case studies.
Educational Sessions
A Policy Perspective - Green Legislation and Its Influence in the Public,
Private, and Non-Profit Sectors
Greening the Trades of Tomorrow
Measuring Green Building Performance through Research and Innovative Tools
Fostering a Community of Environmental Stewards by Using Real-Time Display of
Building Performance Data
Green Schools: Two programs Create Sustainable Standards
Greening our Historic Legacy: Sustainability and Preservation Standards
LEEDing Internationally: Sustainability in the World Market
Navigating Green Labels and Certifications
Visit the Greenbuild Web site for an interactive and comprehensive listing of
all on and off site educational sessions and master speakers:
https://register.greenbuildexpo.org/scheduler/eventguide/publicScheduleByType.jsp
This year the Greenbuild exhibit hall will be held in the Boston Convention and
Exhibition Center, which will house over 1,300
booths featuring the newest and best products, technologies and services.
New to this year’s show is Green Homebuilder's Day, a day of programming and
panels of industry experts dedicated to various residential green building
topics. Green Homebuilder’s Day will take place on Thursday, November 20 and
will feature a variety of educational tracks and speakers, including Kevin
O'Connor, host of This Old House. For more information about this event, visit:
http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Program/green_homebuilders.html
Known as “America’s Walking City,”
the Boston
cityscape is dotted with vibrant neighborhoods, historical sites and LEED
certified buildings. Currently, there are 19 LEED certified and 118
registered buildings in the city. Full and half-day tours of many of Boston’s most celebrated
buildings, including many LEED certified projects, will take place throughout
the event, and will be complimentary to press. http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Events/GreenBuildingTours.html
Greenbuild is presented annually by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a
nonprofit organization composed of more than 16,700 member organizations
ranging from private companies to nonprofits, educational institutions, and
government agencies, all working to transform the building industry. Since its
founding in 1993, USGBC has been at the forefront of green building,
introducing the nationally used LEED® green building certification system in
2000 and launching the Greenbuild Conference in 2002. Visit the
Greenbuild Web site: www.greenbuildexpo.org
.
Registration
Greenbuild has undergone some changes in preparation for this year’s show. In
order to make the Greenbuild experience as enjoyable and seamless as possible,
we’ve undergone a transformation. Some of the changes you’ll find at this
year’s show include:
• Self-service kiosks for session and conference registration
(located in the press room)
• Ticketless entry to events – your name badge is all you
need
• More room! 50% more exhibit space (over 300,000 square
feet), additional educational session space, and more registration counters
Registration for members of the press is complimentary, and includes access to
all 100+ educational and break-out sessions; Keynote presentations; the master
speaker series’ and green building tours.
To learn more about press registration at Greenbuild 2007, visit
www.greenbuildexpo.org/Press
To register as a working press member, visit http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB2275S9LQCWJ
About USGBC
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose
vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership
includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other
nonprofit organizations. Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, the Council has grown
to more than 16,500 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family
of LEED® green building certification systems, an expansive educational
offering, the industry’s popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo
(www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing
groups. www.usgbc.org
Article Contributions
BICSI NEWS
Take Control of Your Future
Edward J.
Donelan,
RCDD, NTS,
TLT
edonelan@bicsi.org
As an
information transport systems (ITS) professional, you face difficult challenges
every day. You work hard to please your clients and help them solve their
business needs. This requires access to cutting-edge ideas, current
information, and high-quality resources to be familiar with all of the
available resources for your clients. Your BICSI membership entitles you to a
wide variety of benefits and special offers that range from business services
that save you time and money to publications and programs that can help advance
your career.
Customer Service
Member
benefits in any association are great tools to help you get ahead and save
money. However, the one piece that is just as important as the actual benefits
is the level of customer service you receive. Great experiences start with
great customer service. No one understands that better than I do. As President
of BICSI I believe your first member benefit is the outstanding level of
customer service that you receive. Our customer service team goes through
weekly training sessions to ensure that everyone they come in contact with,
whether it’s over the telephone or face-to-face, receives the utmost attention
and care, thus making your BICSI experience a great one. It doesn’t end with
the customer service team—everyone at BICSI is driven by this same success formula.
Great benefits plus great customer service equals a great BICSI experience.
Education
Whether
through open enrollment courses or technical reference manuals, BICSI is
constantly expanding access to educational resources. Open enrollment courses,
suitcase courses, BICSI CONNECT, authorized training facilities (ATFs) and
authorized design training providers (ADTPs) offer members the opportunity to
advance their knowledge and gain new skills. With the BICSI Book with
Confidence Guarantee, members attending open enrollment courses will be covered
for any added expenses if a course cancels less than 30 days from the start
date.
BICSI
reference manuals serve as a detailed reference and study guide for the BICSI
credentialing exams. In addition, BICSI is an ANSI-approved standards-making
body and, through ITS industry subject matter experts, can produce its own
standards. BICSI also offers members access to sample request for proposals
(RFPs).
Knowledge Sharing and Networking
Not only
does BICSI produce a complete library of reference manuals, BICSI also gives
its members access to industry news and association updates through several
routes including the award-winning magazine, BICSI News. Community UPLINK, a
monthly e-newsletter, provides members with the need-to-know information
directly to
their
inbox.
The Forums
Community, BICSI’s newest addition to its services, facilitates knowledge
sharing between BICSI members, staff and end users. Furthermore, BICSI members
can rest assured that their opinions are being heard by the Board of Directors.
Local representation, including Region Directors and Country Chairs help bring
not only local, but also global needs to BICSI. Through this process, BICSI
Best Practices are also global best practices and can be used by all members
alike.
Events
Stay
updated on local BICSI news while meeting other ITS professionals and learning
about the latest trends, products and solutions. BICSI conferences, region
meetings, breakfast clubs and the European pub clubs offer members the
opportunity to meet and network with other local professionals. With innovative
and forward-looking speakers and vendors, these events are not only a member
advantage, but also a benefit to the entire ITS industry.
Professional Services
In addition
to the array of educational services, BICSI works hard to provide its members
with numerous professional services such as continuing education transcript
tracking, health insurance discounts and member and credential holder search
engines.
In the
recent months, BICSI has also created several new relation-ships with other
companies to provide its members with an Affinity Discount Program that can be
accessed through BICSI Main Street.
ITS-Jobs.com,
a service provided by BICSI, is your source for industry career postings.
Whether searching for a new job to advance in your career, or recruiting talent
to your company, ITS-Jobs.com is the place to explore.
BICSI also
has an outstanding charitable outreach program called BICSI Cares. With the
generosity of BICSI members, BICSI Cares has donated well over $1 million to
children’s charities. With the help of conference attendee donations, BICSI
Cares Bears and annual golf outings, BICSI members have proven their dedication
to helping these noteworthy causes.
Industry Affiliations
BICSI has
worked hard to create a working relationship with both InfoComm and the
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). As part of the InfoComm and
BICSI relationship, BICSI members can now participate in InfoComm International
curriculum program at member pricing. In early 2008, BICSI announced the launch
of a renewed collaboration agreement with TIA in an ongoing effort to reach out
and deploy new business systems that will benefit ITS industry professionals.
BICSI is also an authorized General Services Administration (GSA) contract
holder, and holds representation in both the National Electrical Code® (NEC ®)
and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Above, I
have described to you some of the most important benefits your membership
entitles you to. I believe that you would agree with me, that when you compare
the value of the investment you have made by joining BICSI, and measure the
return on investment, you have made a very good decision. When you join BICSI
you gain access to a collection of professional resources that enhance your
knowledge and increase your skills. Take control of your future by becoming and
staying a current and active BICSI member—a decision that very well could
determine your destiny! Thank you for your membership and thank you for
allowing us the opportunity to be of service to you.
BICSI News September/October 2008. Reprinted with permission.
*********************************
The Evolution of Structured Cabling Standards
Standards
remain important for meeting user needs and the changing market for structured
cabling. By Herb Congdon
In the
early 1990s, when the data communications market really started taking off, the
lack of a unifying standard proved problematic. There were a proliferation of
proprietary solutions from companies with no way to ensure performance and no
guarantee of interoperability. The lack of standardization hindered the ability
of this industry to both meet the needs of users and to grow as a market.
ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A,
Commercial Building Telecommunications Standard was first ratified in 1991, and
its publication revolutionized the industry. Its purpose was to specify a
structured cabling system that would provide a minimum level of performance,
support a multi-vendor environment, provide direction for the design of
telecommunications equipment and cabling products, and establish performance
and technical criteria for various types of cable and connecting hardware. The
goal was to specify a structured cabling system with a projected usable life of
at least 10 years.
The
Commercial Building Telecommunications Standard is, like all standards,
voluntary. However, end users and network designers like to have a
standards-compliant structured cabling system; it provides a known quantity
that they can count on and it helps to ensure that they have a system that is
robust and reliable. That is why changes to this document and other related
documents generate so much interest.
Currently
TIA-TR-42 is on the verge of releasing TIA-568-C, the third generation of this
standard. The evolution of this standard provides an interesting perspective
into the development and implementation of solutions that network designers
employ to meet the ever-increasing demands on their local area networks (LANs).
Who Develops Standards?
Most
standards in the telecommunications industry are voluntary and consensus based.
The two primary organizations that develop standards for this industry are the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Inc.® (IEEE®), which focuses on the Ethernet applications, and the
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which focuses on the passive
network to support applications like Ethernet.
TIA is
accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop
voluntary industry standards for a wide variety of telecommunications products.
The TIA-568 standard is developed by the User Premises Equipment Division under
the auspices of the TR-42 Engineering Committee. This committee comprises representatives
from manufacturers, service providers, consultants and end users, including the
government. Participation in the Engineering Committee can be as a TIA member
company or as an individual. Participation is open to all companies who wish to
contribute to the development of industry standards.
Standards
projects and technical documents at TIA are formulated according to the
guidelines established by ANSI and the association’s engineering manual. Any
potential project is initiated by a technical contribution to one of the
engineering committees or subcommittees from an individual or company
requesting the creation of a new standard or technical document in a particular
area of technology.
What is the Process for Developing a
Standard?
The time to
develop a new standard depends on many factors and can take a few months to
many years (the TR-42.9 subcommittee, for example, has been working in excess
of 10 years on an industrial cabling standard). Once a project has been
approved, contributions are reviewed in subcommittee, draft documents are
created, then balloted to remove or resolve contentious issues. When there is
consensus that the document is ready for publication, the subcommittee can
release the document.
How Long are Standards Valid?
Standards
are living documents, and must constantly be revised to reflect emerging market
needs. ANSI mandates a maximum five-year lifespan for standards, after which
they must be revised, re-affirmed or withdrawn. During that lifespan, many
addenda may be added to keep the document growing with advances in technology.
These addenda may then be incorporated into the new revision of the standard.
For example, since
the
ratification of TIA-568-B in 2001, there have been six addenda to 568-B.1, ten
addenda to 568-B.2 and one addendum to 568-B.3. A standard may be withdrawn at
any time by the responsible engineering committee.
How has TIA-568 Changed Since its
Inception?
When
TIA-568-A was ratified, copper cabling—mostly category 3 and category 5
unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)—was used almost exclusively throughout building
LANs in North America. This meant that the
standard was based on the characteristics of these media in hierarchical star
architectures. It was at this time that specific distance limitations, such as
100 meters in the horizontal, came into being as benchmarks for media
performance and structured cabling design. Since then, several new applications
and grades of media have been introduced into the market and users have started
to deploy them. Multimode optical fiber, for example, evolved as an accepted
media through addenda and revisions to TIA-568.
o
1995:
TSB-72 introduced “Centralized Fiber Optic Guidelines.”
o
2001:
TIA-568-B.1 incorporated centralized cabling
into the standard.
o
2005:
TIA 569-B and 568-B.1, Addendum 5 were added to support the use of
telecommunications enclosures (TEs) that enable optical fiber to be used for
zone cabling.
Similar
addenda were added and revisions were completed as new applications (such as
Gigabit Ethernet) and new grades of cabling (such as category 6 and 850
nanometer [nm] laser-optimized 50-micron fiber) became available.
Also, over
the years, specialized cabling standards documents were published to address
the specific needs of networks that were not office-oriented. The data center
standard (TIA-942) is a good example.
What’s New in TIA-568-C?
The new
Commercial Building Telecommunications Standard gives users and network
designers more standards compliant solutions—new media choices are included
along with their appropriate installation and testing procedures. However, in
addition to the technical updates, 568-C reflects a new organizational
structure that is designed to simplify and streamline future standards
processes by reducing duplicated information, and establishing a common
foundation for future documents.
The
standard is comprised of four documents:
1. TIA-568-C.0 Generic Telecommunications
Cabling (targeted to users/designers/installers). This document houses most
information common to structured cabling in one place and becomes the
foundation for future standards. This is where minimum requirements for generic
telecommunications cabling are specified such as cabling architecture, what
applications the cabling is intended to support and over what distances, and
other general requirements. The document thus serves two purposes—as a
“default” standard for structured
cabling in locations that are not office-oriented or covered by another
standard, and as a foundation for future standards that can now focus on
exceptions and allowances for that location rather than having to reconstruct
all the generic information.
Status: The
1st default ballot closed in May 2008. Comments were resolved during a June
meeting. A second default ballot has been issued and may allow for publication
in the August/September time frame.
2. TIA-586-C.1 Commercial Building
(targeted to users/designers/installers).This document specifies the
requirements for telecommunications cabling within and between commercial
(office-oriented) buildings. This document builds on 568-C.0 and focuses on the
requirements and guidance for office-oriented buildings. There are some
technical changes to the information in 568-B.1 that are reflected in this
document. These include the addition of:
o
Category
6 balanced twisted-pair cabling.
o
Augmented
category 6 twisted-pair cabling.
o
850
nm laser-optimized 50/125 µm mm optical fiber.
o
Telecommunications
enclosures (TEs).
o
Centralized
cabling.
o
A
recommendation to select 850 nm laser-optimized 50/125 µm as the multimode optical fiber for commercial
buildings.
Some
information was also removed:
o
150-ohm
shielded twisted-pair (STP) cabling.
o
Category
5 cabling.
o
50-ohm
and 75-ohm coaxial cabling.
o
Balanced
twisted-pair cabling performance and test requirements (these will be in the
ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 document).
Status: The
1st default ballot closed in May 2008. Comment resolution was completed in
June. The standard is out for its 2nd default ballot, and a third default
ballot in the August timeframe is possible. This may allow publication as early
as September, or maybe in October.
3. TIA-568-C.2 Copper Cabling Components
(targeted to manufacturers). This standard includes component and cabling
specifications for copper cabling,
including testing requirements. The document incorporates category 3, category
5e, category 6 and category 6A.
Status: The
first committee ballot closed in March. A second committee (30-day) ballot was
issued and plans to review comments at an interim August meeting are in place.
The timeline for this document shows publication in mid-2009.
4. TIA-568-C.3 Optical Cabling Components
(targeted to manufacturers). This document addresses component and cabling
specifications for optical fiber cabling. The standard now includes all three
types of multimode fiber (82.5 µm, 50 µm and 850 nm laser-optimized 50 µm). The
addition of array connectors is particularly noteworthy.
Status:
This document has been released for publication.
That’s Not All, Folks
In addition
to the changes to TIA-568, there is continued effort to refine other documents
to address the installation needs of specific types of end use applications.
ANSI/TIA/EIA-942
Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers, which was released
in 2005, recognizes that the needs of the data center and storage area network
require different guidelines than commercial building LANs. A recent addendum
on coaxial cabling was released for specific data center applications. A new
project to address subjects such as temperature and humidity guidelines was
started in June.
The TR-42.9
Industrial Cabling subcommittee continues to work on an Industrial Cabling
Standard (to be TIA-1005). This standard, which will have been 11 years in the
making, looks specifically at industrial applications and their unique
challenges—very long cabling runs, excessive radio frequency
interference/electromagnetic interference (RFI/EMI), and exposure to extreme
temperature variations, vibrations, dirt, gases and liquids. The standard is
currently out for default ballot and may be published in October 2008.
Another
vertical market that is attracting interest is multi-tenant/multi-dwelling
units (MTU/MDU). TR-42.2, TR-42.12 and TR-42.13 are looking at the challenges
facing this emerging application with an eye toward defining the optical
infrastructure for both MDU residential (apartments, townhouses and
condominiums) and MTU commercial properties included mixed-use builds and
extending the reach of singlemode optical fiber services. This may become a standards
development project in October.
Thinking Healthy and Green
TIA has
established the TR-49 Engineering Committee for Healthcare Communications
Technology. TR-42 had already been
working on a project to develop
a Technical
Services Bulletin (TSB) for a Healthcare Facility Cabling. The task group is
creating a draft now that the new TIA-568-C.0 document is nearly complete.
To
successfully complete such a project, TR-42 is soliciting contributions from
experienced experts on what makes health care facility cabling different from
commercial building cabling.
TIA,
recognizing the widespread and widely defined “green initiative,” has taken
steps to establish a knowledge and document base to address this subject.
Another new engineering committee will be established for this effort. In the
meantime, engineering committees such as TR-42 are collecting ideas and
submitting contributions to TIA for consideration.
Fine Tuning the Structure of the
Structured Cabling System Committees
In addition
to re-issuing the major standard for commercial building structured cabling,
the engineering committee that produces the work has also undergone some
restructuring. In February 2008, the TIA FO-4, Committee on Fiber Optics,
Engineering Committee merged into the TIA TR-42, User Premises
Telecommunications Cabling Infrastructure, Engineering Committee. While there will be little short-term impact
on the responsibilities and activities of these committees and their
subcommittees, there are some longer-term benefits expected.
From an
administrative perspective, the TIA’s Technical Committee saw an opportunity to
bolster the FO-4 Engineering Committee, which was addressing standards
development in new areas such as the MDU market.
The growth
of optical fiber in customer-owned networks, such as commercial buildings and
data centers, and the recognized absence of optical fiber component and testing
expertise meant that the TIA-TR-42 Engineering Committee was a likely partner
for FO-4. In February 2007, the two engineering committees started co-locating
their meetings and hosting joint leadership meetings. During the year it became
apparent that there were multiple synergistic benefits to be realized from the
merger, such as:
o
Balancing
the component and testing expertise for balanced twisted-pair cabling in
TR-42.7 with component and testing expertise for optical fiber cabling in
TR-42.8.
o
Incorporating
optical fiber into new and existing common and premise standards.
o
Capitalizing
on new applications that are based on optical fiber.
o
Halfway
through 2008, the effects of the merger of these committees are very positive.
With more resources and expertise, TR-42 is well positioned making sure that
the standards that the industry depends upon can keep up with emerging markets
and technologies.
It Takes an Industry
Standards
development works best with balanced input from all segments of the industry
and the TR-42 Engineering Committee counts on contributions, comments and
constructive criticism to produce effective, useful and competent documents.
Working closely with members of BICSI, end-users and manufacturers has been an
effective way to achieve those goals. Your participation and input are welcome
and often necessary. Feel free to speak up and be part of the success.
BICSI News September/October 2008. Reprinted with permission.
*********************************
Optical Fiber in the Data Center
Specification
of lower loss cables and connectors and optical fiber rated for longer
distances offer design flexibility. By David Mazzarese
For network
managers, installers and consultants, all eyes are on the data center. In
businesses, educational and health facilities, and government organizations,
this critical facility is at the hub of an explosion in bandwidth demand. The
drivers behind this growth include the tremendous popularity of video and other
high-bandwidth content on the Internet, the growing interest in
videoconferencing, greater demand for data storage and recordkeeping, and the
rise in supercomputing applications.
This trend
is expected to continue, in part because of government data warehousing
legislation and recommendations for the medical and financial industries, along
with the need for redundancy to protect against catastrophic loss. As a result,
data centers and storage area networks (SANs) are expected to see further
upgrades to higher networking speeds of 40 and 100 Gigabits per second (Gb/s),
depending on the application.
Optical
fiber is the transmission medium of choice for these networks, due to its low
loss and high bandwidth, small size, and low power consumption and generation
of heat. In this article, optical fiber choices available to the data center
user will be reviewed and the evolution of standards that will determine which
solutions are being defined by the industry as the most effective and
cost-efficient will be discussed.
Network Architectures and Protocols
Today’s
enterprise networks are increasingly taking advantage of 10 Gb/s-capable
multimode optical fiber for backbone cabling in order to support 1 Gb/s-capable
copper or optical fiber horizontal links. Traditional hierarchal star
architecture is still used predominantly, but there are increased deployments
of fiber-to-the-enclosure (FTTE) architecture that extend the high-performance
capability of optical fiber much closer to the workstation.
In the data
center, where much of the information traveling over the local area network
(LAN) is processed and stored, systems are becoming predominately optical fiber
in order to keep up with the amount of information that needs to be managed.
Data
centers typically consist of a SAN and a bank of servers that control the
information traveling over the network. Data centers are connected to the LAN
through an intranet and to the World Wide Web through the Internet. With more
data being processed both internally and externally, the data center needs to
be able to handle ever-increasing data rates.
Switches
and servers in the data center typically use Ethernet as their communications
protocol. Currently, 10 Gb/s (or “10G”) is the fastest Ethernet speed that has
been standardized (IEEE 802.3ae for optical fiber, published in 2002, and IEEE
802.3an for copper, published in 2006). However, the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers Inc.® (IEEE®) is already working on standards for the
next Ethernet speeds, 40G and 100G. These IEEE standards identify transceiver
port types, and the requirements and characteristics of the physical layer.
In the SAN
portion of the data center, Fibre Channel is the predominant protocol
used. Heavily focused on optical fiber,
Fibre Channel uses “Base2” speeds, doubling with each new generation (2GFC,
4GFC, 8GFC, etc.). Current efforts are focusing on 16GFC for the next Base2 speed.
Fibre
Channel also uses a “Base10” protocol for inter-switch links and core
connections. 10GFC was published on the heels of 10G and includes virtually the
same 850-nm serial vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) solution for
10 Gb/s up to 300 meters (m [984 feet (ft)]) on 50 µm laser-optimized multimode
optical fiber (also called OM3 optical fiber). Looking ahead, Fibre Channel is
working on 20GFC and already has sights set on 40GFC as the next Base10 speed.
Multimode Optical Fiber Offers
Better Performance, Lower Costs
Several
transmission media are available for use in the data center. These include
various performance grades, or “categories,” of copper cabling, and different
types and performance grades of optical fiber.
Copper
cabling has long been considered the least expensive option for data center
applications, but its performance is limited in terms of transmission capacity
and reach. For example, looking ahead at 40G and 100G transmission speeds, it
is expected that copper will only be able to handle these speeds for very short
distances, on the order of 10 m (33 ft) or so. It is too early to tell what
makeup or type of copper cable will be necessary for these speeds.
Historically, as transmission speeds increase, copper-based systems become more
complex and costly.
On the
optical fiber side, users have a choice between singlemode and multimode
optical fiber. Singlemode optical fiber
has very high bandwidth that can be transmitted long distances, but the
optoelectronics required to do so are quite a bit more expensive than multimode
(on the order of 25–30 percent higher).
Even if you only need to go a few hundred meters, as with data centers,
you still need the more expensive optical fibers if you were to use singlemode.
There are
two types of multi-mode optical fiber—62.5 µm and 50 µm, named because of their
core sizes and various performance grades—listed here in increasing order of
reach and performance capability: OM1 62.5 µm, and OM2, OM3, and soon to be OM4
50 µm.
Again using
the 40 and 100G example, optical fiber is needed to transmit greater than 10 m
(33 ft). Fortunately, distances of 100–200 m (328-656 ft) or more are expected
to be achievable using existing, standards-based OM3 multimode optical fiber
(also known as laser-optimized 50 µm) and soon-to-be-standardized OM4 multimode
optical fiber (extended-length laser-optimized 50 µm).
Why is
optical fiber more expensive for singlemode than multimode? Two factors come
into play–the wavelength of operation and, more significantly, the size of the
optical fiber cores where the light is carried. The material used for the laser
to achieve long wavelength (1310 nm, 1550 nm) transmission is more expensive
than that for 850 nm short wavelength lasers. But more importantly, the
transceivers used with singlemode optical fibers require significantly tighter
alignment tolerances in order to couple, or capture, the light into its tiny (9
micron) core. Not only is high-precision transceiver packaging required, but
also tighter tolerance connectors and careful cable installation and
termination practices are necessary. All this adds considerable cost as
compared with multimode optical fiber for data center applications.
So for
shorter reach premises applications like a data center, multimode optical fiber
can easily provide the needed bandwidth (supporting up to 10 Gb/s or more
serially and 40 and 100 Gb/s in parallel arrays) well into the future at much
lower expense than singlemode optical fiber.
Differential Mode Delay
(DMD)-Controlled Optical Fiber Helps Ensure Performance
Today,
approximately 70 percent of the multimode optical fiber installed in the data
center is OM3 or OM4 optical fiber. These laser optimized optical fibers,
designed for 850 nm transmission using VCSELs as a light source, all feature a
differential mode delay (DMD)-controlled core that helps ensure 10 Gb/s support
with low-cost 850 nm serial applications up to their rated distances. Even
though these optical fibers are intended for high performance applications,
they can still support 1 Gb/s operation, and
their
50-micron core size couples sufficient power from light emitting diode (LED)
sources to support legacy protocols like Token Ring, fiber distributed data
interface (FDDI), Ethernet and Fast Ethernet, and slower Fibre Channel speeds
for virtually all in-building networks.
OM3 is the
most widely deployed laser-optimized multimode optical fiber, providing 10 Gb/s
trans-mission with low cost 850 nm serial applications for distances up to 300
m (984 ft). For longer distances (e.g., large building backbones, medium-length
campus backbones) and more sensitive power budget applications (e.g., data
center equipment inter-connects), OM4 optical fiber with specifications that
are significantly tighter than the current standards for OM3 are often deployed.
OM4 optical
fiber, which can support 10 Gb/s Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and OIF applications
to 550 m (1804 ft) using the same low-cost 850 nm VCSELs, is expected to become
standardized in the industry through work currently being conducted in several
international bodies including the TIA TR42.12 and IEC SC86A WG1. The key to
the performance of these optical fibers is a manufacturing process that
produces an optical fiber with almost no DMD and 4700 MHz-km of effective modal
bandwidth (EMB), more than double the IEEE® requirement for 10 Gb/s 300 m (984
ft) support.
Cassette-Based Solutions
To better
manage the growth and increasing number of ports in a data center,
pre-terminated multi-fiber trunk cables and multi-point optical (MPO)
connectors are being used. For example, this will allow 12 optical fibers to be
terminated with one mated pair of connectors. These pre-term assemblies provide
ease of installation, space savings, and greatly simplify the connectivity
portion of the network.
In one
commonly used architecture, 12 optical fiber cables with MPO connectors are run
between cassettes that then fan out to individual optical fiber ports. This
architecture simplifies installation but could result in more connections than
usual in a given optical link between the transmitter and receiver.
Furthermore, multi-fiber MPO connectors typically exhibit higher connection or
insertion loss than single-fiber connectors.
In these
cases, multimode optical fiber again is the better choice for transmission
media compared to singlemode. First, the larger core of a multimode optical
fiber makes it easier to align their cores at a connection point, making them
less sensitive to connection loss. Second, using a higher bandwidth optical
fiber such as OM4 over a distance less than what it is rated for (typically 550
m [1804 ft] at 10G) provides additional channel insertion loss (ChIL) margin,
or “headroom,” to accommodate the additional, higher loss connectors. Finally,
the additional headroom can translate to more safety margin, providing
additional immunity from installation challenges (e.g., cable routing,
termination), link degradation from moves, adds, or changes (MACs), or from
aging of electronics.
Power Consumption and Cooling
Considerations
One of the
greatest challenges with today’s data centers is minimizing costs associated
with power consumption and cooling. The more power that is consumed, the higher
the cost and more heat generated. This requires more cooling, which adds even
more cost. The comparatively low power requirements of optical networks give
them a big advantage over copper.
For
example, a 10G BASE-T transceiver in a copper system uses about 6 watts (W) of power. The comparable 10G BASE-SR
optical transceiver uses less than 1 W to transmit the same signal. Thus, each
optical connection saves about 5 W of power. Data centers vary in size, but if
10,000 connections at 5 W each were considered, that is 50 kW less
power—significant savings from using less power-hungry optical technology.
Furthermore,
the power used by these transmitters is dissipated as heat, which must then be
removed from the room in order to keep the electronics cool. Typical air
conditioning has an energy efficiency rating of around 10, meaning that it
takes 10 W of power to remove one W of heat. Removing the 50 kW of power
described above would require about 500 kW of energy! The energy costs of
cooling are 10 times the energy of operating the transceivers themselves. That
is a total of 550 extra kW of power needed to operate a 10,000 port,
copper-based data center.
Looking Ahead to Higher Speeds
As
mentioned previously, IEEE® is currently developing new standards for higher
speed transmission, 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s, in data centers and other high
performance computing (HPC) applications. The IEEE 802.3ba task force is
working to develop these 40G and 100G standards simultaneously (40 Gb/s will
support the server market, while100 Gb/s is needed for core switching and
routing applications, network aggregation, and high performance computing).
For shorter
reach data center and equipment interconnects, IEEE 802.3ba is focusing on a
physical medium dependent (PMD) solution that takes advantage of parallel
optical fiber technology (which is already being used in current platforms such
as InfiniBand), thereby helping to keep costs as low as possible. Parallel
optical fibers entails simultaneous transmission of one 10 Gb/s signal on each
of 4 or 10 optical fibers (for 40G and 100G, respectively). Arrayed
transceivers using 4 or 10 VCSELs and detectors, as appropriate, will aggregate
each
10 Gb/s
signal.
To further
balance cost with performance, the task force is working to leverage proven
technology, media and network management practices. In fact, they will likely
relax component performance specifications in some cases in order to help
reduce overall cost. An example is the VCSEL light sources for shorter reach
applications using multimode optical fiber. The 802.3ba is considering a
relaxation of the spectral width of these sources from 0.45 nm (the current
10GbE requirement) to 0.65 nm. This limits the distance of such a link (due to
chromatic dispersion effects) to 100 m (328 ft) using OM3 optical fiber.
For some
data centers and other applications that may require support beyond 100 m (328
ft), an ad hoc group within IEEE® is studying how this could be accomplished in
a cost-effective manner. It might make use of better performing transceivers,
or of an OM4 grade of optical fiber, or a combination of the two.
Handling “Delay Skew”
Any
discussion of a parallel transmission approach will include a topic called
“delay skew,” which is being addressed by the IEEE® task force. Delay skew is
the difference in signal arrival time from one lane, or optical fiber, to the
next. Skew can be affected by differences in the physical lengths of each
optical fiber within the cable, and by any difference in speed that the light
signal travels down one optical fiber compared to adjacent optical fibers.
Delay skew
will not be a hindrance to parallel transmission over any cable design, as it
will be compensated for effectively within the transceiver circuitry. In fact,
proven techniques for skew compensation in copper cabling and other parallel
optical fiber applications are already well established.
The new
standard for 40 and 100 Gb/s transmission will include procedures for
compensating for skew, ensuring that industry-recognized cable designs such as
loose tube, tight buffer, and ribbon cable all can be accommodated, and the
full performance range of current, industry-standard OM3 multimode optical
fibers can be used.
Exceeding the Standards for Higher
Performance
Data center
designers are likely to agree that the lowest cost solution for 10 Gb/s
deployment will contain a significant amount of OM3 optical fiber, and as the
systems migrate to higher speeds of 40-100 Gb/s, laser optimized 50/125
multimode optical fiber can provide the lowest cost and most reliable solution
as compared to copper cable or singlemode optical fiber.
Once
settled on the optical fiber type for their data center network, the user must
be sure that the optical fiber products they specify can provide the
performance and reliability needed. This is especially critical in 10G
applications at 850 nm, since loss budgets for these systems are lower than
previous applications. As briefly mentioned earlier in this article, you may
want your network to have extra power “headroom” to accommodate additional
connections and higher loss connectors, and to improve overall reliability.
There are
two ways to achieve greater power headroom (also known as power margin): first,
by reducing ChIL, the end-to-end loss resulting from all connections and
splices in the link, plus the attenuation of the cable itself; second, by using
a higher bandwidth optical fiber to reduce intersymbol interference (ISI),
which occurs when bits of data run together.
Because
network downtime can be very expensive, reliability is a key consideration for
high performance networks. For greater flexibility in network design and,
ultimately, greater reliability, follow these strategies:
· Specify lower loss cables and
connectors, which provide more power margin.
· Specify an optical fiber rated for a
longer distance than what it will be used.
· Do not assume that all products that
meet a particular standard are equal; it is possible to find higher performing
products that exceed the standards.
All of this
is especially true in demanding data center applications. The most
cost-effective solution is OM3 optical fibers that have been designed and
manufactured specifically for laser transmission, and have performance
characteristics that exceed the standards. They are available in various
performance grades, and should feature a DMD-controlled core that helps ensure
10 Gb/s support with low-cost 850 nm serial applications up to their rated
distances.
BICSI News September/October 2008. Reprinted with permission.
BUILDINGGREEN.COM
Current Stories from Environmental Building News
BuildingGreen
publishes information in outlets such as Environmental Building News (EBN) and
BuildingGreen Suite that cover the most pressing issues in environmentally
sensitive design and construction with a clear approach to all sides of an
issue, keeping our readers informed on building for sustainability. This email
brings you, as a news editor or website owner interested in sustainable design,
links to breaking stories currently posted in the free area of
www.BuildingGreen.com.
We
encourage you to post these summaries and links on your website. However,
please DO NOT post full articles without direct permission from Jim Newman at
BuildingGreen, LLC.
When
posting the summaries and links below on your website(s), please make it clear
that the stories are coming from Environmental Building News and that the full
article is available at www.BuildingGreen.com. Please include this byline:
"From
Environmental Building News, www.BuildingGreen.com."
BuildingGreen
LLC owns the copyrights to all material contained in this email and to the full
written articles. All rights are reserved except those explicitly granted
herein. Contact Jim Newman at BuildingGreen LLC, Jim@BuildingGreen.com with
questions or for additional information.
All
materials Copyright BuildingGreen, LLC 2008.
*********************************
Free Energy Modeling in Google SketchUp Nadav Malin
Integrated
Environmental Solutions (IES) has launched a plug-in for Google SketchUp that
delivers energy and carbon footprint simulations to inform early-stage design
decisions. The free plug-in provides results without any additional software
requirements, although owners of IES's Virtual Environment package or its
VE-Toolkits can perform additional analyses, such as daylight or airflow
modeling. The plug-in provides functionality from SketchUp that IES previously
offered only from Autodesk's Revit Architecture and Revit MEP, including
documentation for the LEED daylighting credit.
Link to the
full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/9/3/Free-Energy-Modeling-in-Google-SketchUp/
Vapor Retarders and Air Barriers:
Managing Moisture in Building Envelopes Backpage Primer from Environmental
Building News
Moisture
from air can get into a wall cavity through air leaks or, in smaller
quantities, by diffusing through a permeable material such as drywall. Many
people think in terms of vapor barriers addressing both of these problems, but
there are two distinct functions: preventing air leakage, accomplished with an
air barrier; and controlling moisture diffusion, which calls for a vapor
retarder.
Preventing
condensation inside the assembly is not always as straightforward as installing
a vapor retarder on the warm side of the wall, however. Many regions see
significant heating as well as cooling needs; the warm side of the wall changes
in different seasons. Also, common building materials, such as plywood,
function as vapor retarders, even if they were not installed for that purpose.
Link to the
full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/8/28/Vapor-Retarders-and-Air-Barriers-Managing-Moisture-in-Building-Envelopes/
*********************************
D.C. Requires Building Owners to Report Energy Use
Washington, D.C. was among the early cities to
require privately owned buildings to meet LEED standards. Now, it is requiring the city government as well as private building owners to benchmark their buildings using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool and to submit performance data to the City, which will then publish it for the public.
Link to the
full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/8/28/D-C-Requires-Building-Owners-to-Report-Energy-Use/
*********************************
Sustainable Design Leaders Explore Their Profession Nadav Malin
In late
July, sustainable design directors and coordinators from 46 architecture and
design firms gathered in Colorado
Springs to compare notes and share best practices.
Several designers from around the country spearheaded the event after they
realized that: (1) they have been trying to figure out what their job entails,
so there must be others with the same question; and (2) fleeting conversations
in the halls at Greenbuild were not satisfying their hunger for sharing ideas.
Link to the
full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/8/28/Sustainable-Design-Leaders-Explore-Their-Profession/
*********************************
The Challenge of Creating Living Buildings
Allyson
Wendt
The Living
Building Challenge was launched in 2006 by the Cascadia Region Green Building
Council, a chapter of both the U.S. Green Building Council and the Canada Green
Building Council. A stringent certification system, the Living Building
Challenge consists of 16 prerequisites -- there are no optional credits. No
buildings have yet achieved certification, in part because the Challenge
requires buildings to be operational for at least a year before being
certified.
"We
knew this was going to be much more frustrating and much more time consuming
than any other options," said Skip Backus about pursuing Living Building
certification for the new building at Omega. Designed by BNIM, the 6,200 square
foot building should be completed by October 2008.
Link to the
full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/8/28/The-Challenge-of-Creating-Living-Buildings/
BuildingGreen,
LLC is publisher of the nation's oldest publication on sustainable design and
construction and the leading national directory of green building products. For
more information on BuildingGreen and its resources on environmentally
responsible design and construction, visit www.BuildingGreen.com, email
Info@buildinggreen.com, or call 800-861-0954 (outside the U.S. and Canada, call 802-257-7300).
BuildingGreen is a socially responsible company based in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Contact
Information
email:
Jim@buildinggreen.com
phone:
617-699-7323
web:
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CARLINI
Why don’t we have aggressive network marketing like “faster network speeds or your money back” in the United States
British
Telecom is the major network carrier in Great Britain. It has a service
that will come out and fine tune your computer’s connection in order to squeeze
out a faster speed for you.
For a fee of
about $160, they will come out and set up a connection they guarantee will give
you 0.5 Mbps more than what you have. If they can’t, you get your money back.
They seem to be pretty confident about their services. In the U.S., we have
network services, but we have no speed guarantees.
Oh, wait.
We do have speed guarantees, but the tariffs for dial-up lines have never been
updated. The guaranteed speeds are so slow you would never get any money back.
The last time I looked, guaranteed data speed on a dial-up line was 4,800 bits
per second.
That’s 4.8
Kbps, which was considered a decent speed in 1979.
Though we
talk about upgrading our network infrastructure in the U.S., we don’t
seem to be pushing as much as we should. Shouldn’t we have raised the bar a
long time ago? Instead of “discovering the Internet” with Bill Curtis, maybe
the commercials from the phone companies need to “discover speed” and how to
sell it to customers.
The
ShamWow! of Network Services
If you’ve
ever seen the commercials from ShamWow! (the “miracle towel”), you know its
hype and its claims. It also seems to attract your interest into buying some
towels.
Maybe this
is what some of the network carriers need to do in order to get more people
attracted to their network services. Marketing new network services was never a
strong suit of the phone companies. Maybe they need to get some tips from
British Telecom as well as the ShamWow! guy.
To those
who would argue that the phone companies really do have great marketing, how
many of you bought ISDN from the late 1980s? Projections for ISDN by “all the
experts” were that most Fortune 500 companies would have it in by the late
1980s and all residences would have it in by the early 1990s. That never
happened.
Maybe
network carriers like AT&T and Qwest need to show some definitive examples
of how they can move information faster instead of trying to protect their
stagecoach-era copper networks. Just like soaking up water with a “miracle
towel,” the network carriers need to show what high speeds can do for people
downloading large files and videos.
Fighting
Utopia, Providing Less
Qwest has
been cited for restricting competition and trying to keep consumers locked into
slow speeds delivered by their copper-based networks.
An article
followed up by many comments shows the lack of motivation for Qwest to offer
something competitive. Instead, Qwest roadblocks progress with lawsuits and
requests for restrictions while claiming the company is protecting the
consumer.
When you
look at the comparisons in the charts, Qwest comes up short and expensive.
The
comparison gets even more one-sided when you compare higher-speed services.
Qwest’s
president says: “Why provide a Rolls-Royce when a Chevrolet will do?”
A Rolls is
about 10 times the cost of a loaded Chevrolet and provides a lot more. Using
his own analogy, the price of Qwest should then be one-tenth of the
competition. Based on his executive expertise and perception of the market, we
should be seeing Qwest service prices drop down to this:
While the
Qwest monthly cost is one-tenth the price, the Mstar upstream speed is 50 times
faster than the Qwest upstream speed. That’s well beyond a Rolls-Royce
comparison.
Where do
they get these executives? Let’s see the Qwest president put his network
services where his mouth is. Try $5.95 a month with no ups and no extras. That
might be a more fair price for services that don’t compare in speed as well as
symmetrical upstream speeds.
Gimmick
For Customers?
Should we
also have the same “money-back deals” in the U.S.? While we have different tiers
of network services we can buy, do we have any real money-back guarantees if
you don’t get what you’ve bought?
There are
several speed tests you can use to
measure what you’re getting with your connection speed. The incumbent phone
companies have failed to get out of their tired strategy of “we will sell no
technology before we think it’s time”.
Instead of
spending tens of millions of dollars on lobbyists and lawsuits to impede the
progress of other alternative carriers and protect their stagecoach-era copper
infrastructure, they should pour more money into network upgrades and provide
speeds that keep us in a competitive edge instead of a non-competitive rut.
Carlinism: There needs to be real competition
to get network speeds up and costs down in the United States.
James
Carlini will be speaking at the University Club of Chicago on Sept. 30, 2008.
His topic will be “Beyond the Veolia Study: Intelligent Infrastructure”: All
members are invited to hear Carlini’s presentation on this important study,
which is a timely and important topic to Chicago
in connection with the Olympics. A continental breakfast will be served at 7:45
a.m. and remarks begin at 8 a.m. You can reserve your spot online here.
Check
out Carlini’s blog at CarlinisComments.com.
James
Carlini is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University.
He is also president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be
reached at james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or
773-370-1888.
Click here for
Carlini’s full biography.
Copyright
2008 Jim Carlini
To be removed from this Mailing, please contact the sender.
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Comcast, Other Bandwidth Providers Plan to Limit Monthly Downloads
Comcast is
planning to limit the amount you can download for any given month. Others are
planning to do the same.
More than
two years ago, I focused on the issue of making sure you got your money’s worth
on network speeds. I talked about seeing a network speedometer so you could
always know how much speed you were getting.
My focus
was to question the accuracy of service the average was buying. Would you pay
for a gallon of gas if the pump was only pumping out three quarts and
registering a gallon? No way.
Some
thought that idea was ridiculous while others thought it would be useful to see
what exactly you were getting for what you paid. Are you getting that extra
speed you’re buying? Is it constant? A lot of questions could be easily
answered. From the perspective of the carriers, perhaps they would be answered
too easily.
Some of the
cable companies are now going in a different direction with ideas of metering
usage to limit capacities of how much you can download per month. We could
start to see a meter or icon appear on our screens looking like this:
This was
first discussed as “consumption-based billing” at Time Warner in the early part
of 2008. Others are looking at this as a way to limit downloads as well. At
some companies, charges for going over capacity can range from $1.25 to $4 a
gigabyte. If you’re over by 10 gigabytes, you could incur a $40 “extra charge”.
Comcast
Plans to Limit Customers
Starting on
Oct. 1, 2008, Comcast is putting into effect a policy that limits the amount of
usage of capacity.
As pointed
out above, the idea of limiting the amount you can download isn’t unique to
Comcast. Other cable companies are looking at this as well. Comcast doesn’t
think it’s limiting the residential consumer too much. In the company’s
amendment to its acceptable use policy (AUP), Comcast defines what 250
gigabytes of monthly bandwidth can accommodate:
250
gigabytes a month is an extremely large amount of data. [It’s] much more than a
typical residential customer uses on a monthly basis. The median monthly data
usage by our residential customers is [currently] approximately 2 to 3
gigabytes.
To put 250
gigabytes of monthly usage in perspective, a customer would have to do any one
of the following:
Send 50
million e-mails (at 0.05 kilobytes per e-mail) Download 62,500 songs (at 4
megabytes per song) Download 125 standard-definition movies (at 2 gigabytes per
movie) Upload 25,000 high-resolution digital photos (at 10 megabytes per photo)
For the
most part, that’s more than what a vast majority of people would use in a
month. Comparing it with the proposed limits by other companies, it’s
substantially more generous.
Some other
cable companies are looking at 30 to 60 gigabytes per month as the threshold.
Will that
average usage grow for the average user? In Japan, NTT has set 900 gigabytes as
the threshold number for uploads before extra charges are incurred. What new
applications that could be potential bandwidth hogs might be on the horizon?
Does Japan
know something we don’t?
Should
Consumption Be a Real-Time Meter?
Will the
cable companies send some type of warning so you don’t incur an overcharge? It
could look like this:
How
reliable are these “metering” capabilities? Has anyone set any standards of how
and what this metering should look like? What about accuracy? That was one of
the big problems with electrical utilities decades ago. Their metering
equipment wasn’t accurate. There are still utilities that have faulty measuring
devices and consumers have to question their accuracy.
In the case
of Time Warner, Frontier, Comcast and all the rest; who’s going to ascertain
that their “digital capacity meters” are accurate? Will it be the FCC? Even the
utilities that have been around for decades (if not more than a century) still
have billing problems due to inaccurate readings and billing calculations.
You might
see something like this if you go over your monthly gigabyte limit:
These are
questions that should be answered before policies and procedures get put in
place that impact the average user and their monthly bill.
Carlinism:
Improving critical infrastructure needs a bipartisan effort rather than
bipartisan apathy.
James
Carlini will be speaking at the University Club of Chicago on Sept. 30, 2008.
His topic will be “Beyond the Veolia Study: Intelligent Infrastructure”: All
members are invited to hear Carlini’s presentation on this important study,
which is a timely and important topic to Chicago
in connection with the Olympics. A continental breakfast will be served at 7:45
a.m. and remarks begin at 8 a.m. You can reserve your spot online here.
Check out
Carlini’s blog at CarlinisComments.com.
James
Carlini is an adjunct professor at Northwestern
University. He is also
president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be reached at
james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or 773-370-1888.
Click here
for Carlini’s full biography.
*********************************
Nicholas G. Carr: Is IT a Competitive Advantage or Necessity?
Published
on 9/17/2008 at www.MidwestBusiness.com where you always read REAL perspectives
Carlini’s
Comments, MidwestBusiness.com’s oldest column, runs every Wednesday. Its
mission is to offer the common man’s view on business and technology issues
while questioning the leadership and visions of “pseudo” experts.
If you
don’t understand that IT has become inextricably linked into the core business
of most industries, then you don’t understand IT.
I had the
opportunity last week to sit in on a traveling book presentation from Nicholas
G. Carr. He’s a former Harvard Business Review editor.
Carr wrote
the book “Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of
Competitive Advantage”. His latest book is called “The Big Switch: Rewiring the
World From Edison to Google”.
Can IT Be a Utility?
I listened
to Carr talk about the concept of IT moving toward a more “utility approach”
for service (like electricity). While his argument is weak since electricity is
a commodity, an organization’s IT has a lot of embedded intellectual property
in it that is unique and critical.
That can’t
be commoditized or entrusted to a third-party service offering. Though there
certainly are some non-essential applications that could be outsourced from a
corporation, the point that Carr makes is that IT is not part of the core
business. I disagree.
Has Carr
ever been involved in large-scale systems and application integration within a
competitive environment let alone mission-critical systems where the life and
death of the whole organization and/or its customers is balanced on real-time
capabilities?
Carr cited
the explosion of more companies utilizing computers over the last 30 years and
tried to make the case that IT would eventually parallel the evolution of
electricity. The market would pursue giving up the IT department to turn to an
outside, utility-provided IT service.
What he
didn’t observe is that IT is no longer a competitive advantage. Instead, it’s a
competitive necessity if you want to compete today. That’s why there has been
such an explosion of implementing computers.
Everyone is
trying to contend with others with sophisticated warehousing programs,
computer-aided manufacturing and other specialized applications and customer
service databases. Computers and all the related software applications are what
you need to be a player in just about any industry.
No Universal Solution
We were
very fortunate to have some discourse in the question-and-answer period after
his presentation. I pointed out that all these “universal solutions” to
organizational issues never turn out to be universally accepted let alone
universally implemented.
Whatever
your core business, the fact is it’s intertwined with your information
technology networks. It can’t easily be outsourced without a loss of security
as well as management control. Can’t think of an example? Let me give you the
one I gave Carr.
The Chicago
Mercantile Exchange (CME) has a proprietary electronic trading platform that it
built in order to compete with other exchanges. The CME didn’t outsource this
strategic application. The CME also wouldn’t entrust a third party to run
systems that have hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of transactions
running on them.
This
capability has made the CME the leader in that industry and has given them a
competitive advantage over other exchanges from the intellectual property they
developed. The electronic trading platform is part of their core business.
If you have
driven your systems to a point where you have some type of competitive
advantage over the rest of the market (like the CME), would you entrust a third
party to maintain that advantage for you? I would never advise my clients to do
that.
Carr’s
response was that it will take 10 to 25 years for organizations to accept the
“utility” concept. He made the reference that people didn’t trust banks at
first and then entrusted them with their money.
I pointed
out that banks are not infallible. Just look at the $200 billion bailout of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I didn’t mention the spinout of others like Citibank, Washington
Mutual and IndyMac Bank. In light of the financial implosion on Wall Street, it
was a poor analogy for him to use.
IT is a Strategic Direction
If you’re
not using IT strategically, then maybe you should step down as a CEO because
you’re still living in a 1950s framework of corporate strategy.
If your CIO
or CTO isn’t focused on harnessing new capabilities to expand and create new
markets using IT networks and if instead they’re just trying to reduce IT
budgets to get a yearly bonus, it’s time to replace them.
Universal
cost cutting is not an executive skill. It also shouldn’t be “incented” in
executive pay packages. Executives should be focused on expanding markets. They
shouldn’t focus on low-level cost cutting that at best is a clerk- or
analyst-level job.
Hire
someone who understands how to apply technology to the core business.
Not everything
is focused on cost cutting. You have to spend money to make money. Some CEOs,
CIOs and CTOs think they can outsource their company’s applications without
sacrificing control and ownership. Are there executives like that still out
there? Yes.
Successful
corporations have had second thoughts about outsourcing critical applications.
You don’t give away intellectual property or entrust a third party with that
intellectual property if you think it’s vital to your business.
Do you
think a casino that manages a very complex database of gamblers (including what
they spend when they come to Las Vegas)
would entrust that database to a third party that could potentially be hacked
into?
What about
all the databases of supposedly secure companies that have been hacked into for
people’s credit card numbers? Do you think a third party would do a better job?
That is Carr’s premise.
What if
they don’t? What should the damages be? Would the third party be indemnified to
not being liable for economic damages? If that were the case, why would anyone
in the world give away the strategic intelligence of their business to a third
party that wouldn’t be held economically responsible if that information was
corrupted or stolen?
Not Everyone Drank the Kool-Aid
While I
commend Carr for writing the book to stimulate discourse on this topic, I don’t
agree with his premise.
You can’t
commoditize intellectual property that is unique, strategic and critical to one
organization and put it out to a “utility” that may or may not be able to
protect or enhance it. If a CEO thinks this is the way to go, then he or she
should go the way of the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and without any
severance package).
Is there a
market for a “utility” type of capability for certain applications? Of course,
but it’s far from being a universal solution. Any organization that has built a
sophisticated platform of mission-critical applications should understand what
they have and should be very cautious to even consider handing that off to any
third-party service provider.
As I was
walking out of the seminar, a president of a local software company rode down
the elevator with me. He said: “It’s nice to see that not everyone drank the
Kool-Aid.”
Carlinism:
The further away someone is from working on actual implementations, the more
easy it is for them to suggest solutions that don’t work.
James
Carlini will be speaking at the University Club of Chicago on Sept. 30, 2008.
His topic will be “Beyond the Veolia Study: Intelligent Infrastructure”: All
members are invited to hear Carlini’s presentation on this important study,
which is a timely and important topic to Chicago
in connection with the Olympics. A continental breakfast will be served at 7:45
a.m. and remarks begin at 8 a.m. You can reserve your spot online here.
Check out
Carlini’s blog at CarlinisComments.com.
James
Carlini is an adjunct professor at Northwestern
University. He is also
president of Carlini & Associates. Carlini can be reached at
james.carlini@sbcglobal.net or 773-370-1888.
Click here
for Carlini’s full biography.
Electrical Contracting Magazine
Showing NECA’s True Colors: Shades of Green
While NECA
2008 Chicago
will address some basic and familiar issues, the focus is on groundbreaking new
technologies and trends. So at our trade show and other educational offerings
in October, you can count on the attending electrical industry experts to show
electrical contractors how to succeed in green construction.
The event
also will show a larger public, which includes influential decision-makers and
potential customers, just what the National Electrical Contractors Association
is doing to promote electrical contractors’ success in this growing market—and
why.
The fact
that participation in sustainable, energy-efficient construction promises
bottom-line benefits is already apparent. The economists at McGraw-Hill
Construction say the market for environmentally friendly buildings will account
for between $12 billion and $20 billion this year alone. That’s up to 10
percent of the total construction market, and the figure is expected to double
within five years.
As the 2008
“Profile of the Electrical Contractor” revealed in the July issue of Electrical
Contractor, last year almost half of all electrical contractors (46 percent)
worked on projects that included green/sustainable building elements, and this
type of work provided, on average, 9 percent of total revenue. There’s no doubt
the percentages will be higher in the next profile.
Additional
research found that NECA-member contractors are currently addressing the green
marketplace challenge in three ways:
1. Working on projects that use
alternate forms of energy and the technologies necessary for safe installation
and harvesting renewable power (solar, wind, etc.)
2. Working
on projects that retrofit and improve existing systems to boost efficiency (performing
energy audits, installing efficient automation controls, etc.)
3. Working
on projects that use new building techniques to improve efficiency in new construction,
such as design/build and building information modeling, and contribute to the
achievement of Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design certification
The
performance of this type of work is not only made -possible but also necessary
because, as NECA president-elect Rex Ferry said at our association’s Energy
Solutions Summit, “We’re at a crossroads where the rising costs of energy and
the emerging technologies to actually do something about those costs have met.”
Read a recap in NECA Notes, starting on page 263.
Ferry also
said, “It takes less money to save one kilowatt--hour than it does to produce
one kilowatt-hour.” That’s an important consideration because electricity runs
our homes and businesses and is crucial to America’s economy and security.
Unfortunately, several trends are converging that threaten to break down our
access to affordable, reliable electric power.
More than
30 years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, fears of such a breakdown were reawakened
by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and they exist today due to war in
the Middle East, concerns over the expansion of greenhouse gases and
environmental damage, worries about the adequacy of America’s power
infrastructure, and escalating costs. In fact, worldwide increases in
consumption, coupled with unregulated market speculation on energy futures, and
limits on generation capacity—a consequence of deteriorating
infrastructure—have created an economic and political situation that
necessitates systematic action.
That’s why
NECA supports a national policy premised on energy independence. Our efforts include
working with legislative and regulatory bodies and other relevant entities to
help improve electric reliability and infrastructure investment, maintain the
diversity of all available fuel resources (including nuclear), enhance energy
efficiency, and increase use of renewable energy sources (including but not
limited to solar, wind and biomass). However, NECA recognizes the move toward
domestic energy independence must be driven by electrical contractors who construct
and maintain the infrastructure to generate, transmit and distribute the
electrical power our nation relies upon.
Expanding
our services within the green construction field makes us shrewd business
owners. Contributing to the nation’s economic stability and security makes us
heroes.
President’s
Desk by milner irvin
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Contractors Moving Data
Data center cabling management
The data
center market continues to grow, and there are ample opportunities for
electrical work within a data center. One of the obvious and ongoing concerns
within a data center is heat, which greatly affects a data center’s operations
and energy costs.
“The amount
of heat generated by data center equipment and the corresponding energy load
expended on cooling the active equipment is a growing concern for IT and
facilities managers,” said Bradford Eaton, product marketing manager,
Wiremold/Legrand. That concern is further fueled by budget constraints and
mounting energy costs.
“As port
densities increase and the consolidation of blade servers becomes more
prevalent, the heat generated in equipment racks will simultaneously increase.
Managing this heat effectively with proper airflow is a cornerstone of
energy-efficient design,” Eaton said.
Today’s
data center has faster servers, more equipment and a focus on virtualization.
These trends also are increasing needs for better cable management. Many
contractors have worked in that area. Those with experience are well aware that
data centers can easily turn into cabling nightmares based on infrastructure
alone, and they are a hotbed of various kinds of wiring and cabling.
Designing right is key
Data
centers depend on proper design for infrastructure and operational needs.
“The right
connectivity infrastructure is essential,” Eaton said. “It’s the thread that
holds together the fabrics of the data center, turning islands of hardware into
a seamless tool strategic to business success. It needs to support high data
rates to 10 gigabits per second, provide easy management, and be capable of
remaining flexible enough to allow easy configuration and provisioning for
optimal delivery of applications and services.”
There are
data center specific systems, offered by companies such as Cooper B-Line, Hubbell Premise Wiring,
Legrand North America (Cablofil/Legrand, Ortronics/Legrand, Wiremold/Legrand),
Leviton Network Solutions, Panduit and Snake Tray. These systems contribute to
sustainable data centers by providing cable management solutions and advanced
racking solutions to help facilitate cooling efficiency and reduce network down
time, as power and cooling issues remain big issues within such power-intensive
environments.
Specific
solutions include a wire mesh cable tray that allows for overhead or under
floor cable routing and enables better airflow than solid conduit. This
particular option is relevant since aiding and enhancing airflow is crucial to
cooling concerns. Some companies that make this type of product include, but
are not limited to, Cablofil, Panduit and Snake Tray.
Another
solution is overhead cable pathway racks, which, according to Eaton, “provide
cable management and an innovative mounting method for … rack-mount copper and
fiber panels and cabinets, freeing up valuable rack space and facilitating
better airflow.”
The type of
enclosure also can assist with the management of cabling. For example, Wiremold/Legrand
offers integrated zone cabling enclosures that save space and increase
flexibility by providing connectivity within raised floor applications.
Leviton
Network Solutions offers adaptable, easy-to-install cable management products
that include Versi-Duct slotted duct, Spectro-Link fiber raceway, and frame and
rack solutions.
Another
solution is to put the cabling under the floor. Under-floor systems, such as
Snake Tray’s Snake
Canyon line, assist with
existing access floors. This modular cable tray system instantly integrates
with the existing structural elements of the access floor, regardless of which
raised floor model was installed.
Contractors’ knowledge is important
Since data
centers are high-density installations that usually require a variety of
interdependent products to support the cabling infrastructure, contractors
should look for a supplier that offers a full range of cable management
solutions. This, in turn, helps contractors in providing the most relevant
solution for each individual project.
“Racks of
servers and storage, handling petabytes of data, fulfill mission-critical needs
by providing instantaneous access to information,” Eaton said. “The
complexities of modern data centers and storage networks create challenges in
topology, throughput, data integrity, enhanced security, redundancy and environmental
controls.”
There seems
to be no end in sight in terms of data centers and their growing popularity. As
more businesses across virtually all markets find their data and communication
needs rising, they are turning to data centers to help funnel and support such
activity.
“The future
will see skyrocketing data transfers, a seemingly unquenchable thirst for
bandwidth, and the need to support new services,” Eaton said. “Creating a
resilient, agile data center requires robust, reliable user-to-server,
server-to-server, and server-to-storage connections.”
Many
manufacturers are addressing cable management solutions. Be sure
to do your research before taking a
data center job.
systems BY
jennifer leah stong-michas
STONG-MICHAS,
a freelance writer, lives in central Pennsylvania.
She can be reached at JenLeahS@msn.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
A Perfect Storm Is Building
A perfect
storm is heading for the building industry. Energy prices continue to rise due
to worldwide demand that increases both the cost of construction and building
operation for owners and developers. The public is becoming increasingly
concerned about the environment and global warming and demanding that both the
private and public sectors act to reduce greenhouse gases. In addition, the United States
produces only a fraction of the energy it uses on a daily basis, obtaining much
of its needed energy from foreign suppliers. This energy deficit is raising
concerns about national security and adversely impacting the U.S. economy.
Each of
these issues has been around for decades, but only recently have all three
converged and been seen as interrelated. For the first time, business leaders,
environmental activists, government officials and the general public are aligned
and focused on finding an integrated solution to energy, environmental and
economic issues. This perfect storm will provide a great deal of opportunity
for electrical contractors prepared to aid in recovery efforts.
Building energy use
According
to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (EIA), commercial
and residential buildings consume about 40 percent of the energy used in the United States,
and annual energy usage is expected to increase in coming decades despite
efforts to conserve.
In
comparison, the U.S.
industrial and transportation sectors each only accounted for about 30 percent
of the U.S.
annual energy usage. Similarly, according to the EIA, commercial and residential
buildings also account for about 40 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions, which also is greater than either the industrial or transportation
sectors. Therefore, there is a lot to be gained by reducing building energy use
in the country or by supplanting traditional fossil-fueled electricity production
with greener technologies, such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind generation.
The need to
rein in building energy use is driving many federal, state and local
governments to adopt increasingly stringent energy codes. Building owners more
often are challenging their design and construction teams to produce
high-performance buildings that exceed the minimum energy requirements.
A number of
professional, industry and trade organizations in the building industry are
promoting sustainable design and construction practices including the reduction
of fossil fuels used to construct and operate buildings with the goal of
achieving “carbon neutral” buildings in the coming decades. Since electrical
energy use in buildings often can range from 65 to 100 percent of a building’s
total energy supply, depending on geographic location and space heating, the
electrical contractor will be in the eye of this perfect storm as it develops.
Zero-energy buildings
Many in the
construction industry envision the future to be zero-energy buildings (ZEBs). A
ZEB is a building that is completely energy self-sufficient, producing all the
energy it needs internally. It does not need to be connected to the local
utility’s distribution system. Currently, PV is seen as the most promising distributed
generation technology for ZEBs because PV uses sunlight to produce electricity,
conversion efficiencies are increasing, manufacturing costs are decreasing and
utility energy prices are increasing. These trends are making PV both green and
economical. Unfortunately, PV only produces energy when the sun is shining, and
a ZEB must be able to store electric energy for use at night and on cloudy days
when the PV array is not producing. Reliable low-cost energy storage is an
obstacle that will need to be overcome before ZEBs become a viable alternative
in locations where electric utility service is readily available. However, some
recent strides have been made.
Net
zero-energy buildings (net ZEBs) will probably be implemented first in states
where a net metering provision allows building owners to provide energy to the
utility when their PV array is producing more than needed and pull energy from
the utility when the building load exceeds the capability of the PV array. The
utility only bills the owner for the difference between the amount of
electricity used by the building and what was produced and delivered by the PV
array to the utility distribution system. With net ZEBs, the amount of energy
produced annually by the PV array meets or exceeds the annual building energy
need, even though there is an exchange based on when the electric energy is
produced by the PV array and needed by the building. The utility distribution
system in effect serves as the energy storage device for a net ZEB.
Building system integration
The kind of
building performance breakthroughs needed to substantially reduce building
energy use and associated greenhouse gases in the near term, and ultimately
achieve ZEBs in the long term, requires building system integration. The
traditional view of a building as a collection of loosely related systems that
are individually optimized during the design and construction process typically
results in a building that performs less optimally as a whole. In contrast,
high-performance buildings require that individual building systems, such as
the building envelope, power generation and distribution, artificial and
natural lighting, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other building
functions be treated as subsystems and that the building be the system to be
optimized.
Integration
and interoperability are popular terms in today’s building industry. These reflect the reality
that, in a modern building, the operation of each system affects all other
systems.
For
instance, about 30 percent of the energy used by commercial buildings is used
for artificial lighting. Increasing the amount of glass on the building’s
exterior will increase the amount of natural light entering perimeter spaces
and should reduce the need for artificial lighting. However, increasing the
amount of glass and the amount of light entering the space will impact the HVAC
system load, which needs to be taken into account.
Similarly,
in order to ensure adequate light levels and quality, a lighting control system
needs to be installed that will adjust the artificial light levels based on the
natural light entering the space. Furthermore, occupancy sensors placed in a
space to reduce energy use by turning off lights when spaces are unoccupied
also can be used to reduce HVAC energy by turning down variable-air-volume
boxes if the air distribution system has been zoned to do so.
The goal of
building system integration is to optimize the building’s overall operation in
order to provide a healthier and more productive environment for occupants as
well as to increase the efficiency of building operations. The realization of
this goal requires the integration of key building systems, using a building
control system.
The
electrical contractor can be involved in the installation of individual control
system components, such as the raceway system, layout and installation of
proprietary control systems, or the design and installation of
open-architecture control systems. Electrical contractors often install control
systems that deal with a particular building function, such as lighting, data
and communications, fire alarm, or security. These individual systems usually
are integrated together with the HVAC system controls and other building
systems by the building management system. However, with open architectural
control systems, the EC can become the system integrator if it has the ability
to design, install and program the control system. Building system integration
represents an important future market for electrical contractors.
CSI Division 25/Integrated
Automation
The growing
importance of building system integration is illustrated by the inclusion of
Division 25 in the 2004 edition of the Construction Specifications Institute’s
(CSI) Master-Format. CSI MasterFormat serves as the basis for most
specifications in the United
States, and Division 25 specifies the
integrated automation (IA) system that ties together all of the subsystems represented
by MasterFormat Facilities Subgroup along with Division 11/Equipment and
Division 14/Conveying Systems. The Facilities Subgroup includes Division
21/Fire Suppression, Division 22/Plumbing, Division 23/HVAC, Division
26/Electrical, Division 27/Communications, and Division 28/Electronic Safety
& Security. Division 11 covers equipment that serve a unique function in a
building, such as food service, laboratory or athletic equipment. Conveying
systems, such as elevators and escalators, are covered in Division 14.
The figure
at left illustrates the relationship between CSI Division 25 and all of these
other divisions. From the figure, it can be seen that the function of the IA
system is to bring all of these individual building systems together in order
to optimize building performance. All the hardware and software needed to implement
an IA system are specified in CSI Division 25. This includes conductors and
raceways; network equipment, such as servers and hubs; instrumentation and
terminal devices, which interface directly with building equipment or through
system-specific devices specified elsewhere; gateways, which establish a
communications link between the IA system and other stand-alone building
systems; and control sequences that describe how the IA system is to operate.
The EC’s role
High-performance
buildings require that buildings be designed, constructed and operated as a
single integrated system rather than a collection of loosely related,
independent systems that are individually optimized as done in the past. The
design and installation of building control systems is the key to reduced energy
consumption and operating costs over the life of the building. Building owners
need help designing, installing and maintaining these building control systems.
The electrical contractor should be aware of this converging storm and begin to
prepare to move in and tackle the challenges. 
This
article is the result of a research project investigating the emerging
integrated building systems market that was sponsored by ELECTRI International
Inc. The author would like to thank EI for its support.
by dr. thomas
e. glavinich
GLAVINICH
is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural
Engineering at the University
of Kansas. He can be
reached at 785.864.3435 or tglavinich@ku.edu.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Just Passin’ Through
Sponsored claims and the Severin
Doctrine
When a
subcontractor is not paid, the first questions asked are, “Who is a friend? Who
is an enemy?” Do you sue everyone, or do you join forces? The subcontractor’s
decision can have long-range consequences. For the purposes of this article,
the payment issue involves unresolved changes, extras and other claims, and it
does not involve the collection of undisputed contract earnings.
The problem
of suing the owner
There is an
ancient concept in the law known as “privity.” Even the word is archaic. There
is horizontal privity, privity of blood, privity of estate and vertiale
privity. Then, there is privity of contract.
Privity of
contract means there is an agreement connecting two people or companies. The project
owner signs an agreement with the general contractor, and by doing so, there is
a privity of contract created between those two entities. Similarly, the
subcontractor is in privity with the general but not with the owner.
Maintaining
this old concept in a modern world has proven difficult for the courts. There
was a time when you could not sue someone for purely financial losses unless
there was privity with the party who harmed you. Personal injury and property
damage claims were treated separately as torts.
Major
changes have eroded this concept. But generally, a subcontractor on a construction
project cannot sue the owner directly for unpaid costs. Strictly speaking, even
mechanic’s liens are not claims against the owner, they are against the
property. This rule applies even where the owner ordered a change or caused a
job disruption and knew the financial impact it would have on the
subcontractor.
The avenue
of relief is for the subcontractor to sue the general, and then the general
brings in the owner. This procedure is clumsy and may cause the general to
raise its own defenses to your claims. After all, the general does not want to
be liable for owner-caused problems.
The pass-through claim
The general
contractor may be willing to help the subcontractor pass its claims through to
the owner in the general’s name. The claim then becomes the general
contractor’s, and the privity problem is solved. However, there is a long line
of authority that the general cannot pursue the subcontractor’s claims unless
and until the general acknowledges liability for them.
A number of
techniques have been used to get around this dilemma. The idea is to make the
general contractor liable to the subcontractor and yet not liable at the same
time. One of the early concoctions was the “Mary Carter” agreement, named after
the Mary Carter paint company (Booth v. Mary Carter Paint Co., Fla. App. 1967).
There are variations, but the common theme is to have the general contractor
pay a part of the subcontractor’s claim, and then pursue the owner for the full
value.
The first
amount recovered would be kept by the general contractor to reimburse it for
the “advance” and, beyond that, recovery would be shared on some percentage
basis. This formula has particular value where the general contractor has its
own claims against the owner and does not want the sub claiming it was the
general’s fault. The general contractor would rather present a united front
against the owner.
Mary Carter
agreements are not acceptable in all jurisdictions, according to John E.
Benedict’s “It’s A Mistake to Tolerate the Mary Carter Agreement,” 87 Columbia
L. Rev. 368 (1987).
The Severin Doctrine
Named after
the case Severin v. United States,
99 Ct.
Cl. 435 (1943), this “doctrine” is applied fairly regularly in federal
government contracts. The Severin Doctrine is actually a limitation on
pass-through claims: the general may only “sponsor” the sub’s claims if the
general itself is not the culpable party. In broader terms, the government will
not be liable on the sub’s pass-through claims if the general would have
defense to the claims.
This
limitation was recently applied to defeat a sub’s delay claim, as the
government showed the general contractor had a “no damages for delay” clause in
its agreement with the subcontractor. The general could not be liable for the
costs of delay to the sub and, therefore, could not act as a sponsor of those
barred claims to the government.
In like
manner, the general cannot sponsor a subcontractor’s claim for breach of
contract by the general. To use Severin, the claim must be couched as one for
an “equitable adjustment,” a term of art in government contract law.
The liquidating agreement
Whether
called a liquidating, liquidation or consolidation agreement, the concept is
the sub releases the general from liability, and in exchange, the general
agrees to pursue the claims on the sub’s behalf. The terms of such an agreement
must be carefully drafted.
It is not
uncommon to have a liquidating agreement built into the terms of the
subcontract. For example, there are clauses that provide that any claims arising
from owner fault may be pursued only through the general contractor, and
recovery is limited to whatever the general obtains. Where this type of clause
appears, there often is a second part stating that claims against the general
not caused by the owner will go to court or arbitration.
The concept
of a split disputes clause was discussed here some years ago (Electrical-
Contractor, December 2002). Suffice it to say that the subcontractor is faced
with a choice and a dilemma: it must decide early in the disputes process
whether it wants to go after the general, join with it against the owner, or do
both.
A note of
caution with liquidating agreements: The subcontractor should make certain that
it has some authority or influence over the owner/general’s settlement of
claims. Without this authority, the general is relatively free in entering into
a settlement that might disappoint the sub.
A second
note of caution is to make certain that the agreement addresses the potential
for back charges and counterclaims by the owner.
Subcontractor claims against a state
There is no
general rule. State governments will raise the defense of sovereign immunity
for claims by any party not in privity with it. Each state’s law must be
consulted to determine the viability of sponsored or pass-through claims.
Conclusion
The idea of
a passing through claims can be very attractive. There is the benefit of
joining forces and, by doing so, resolving potential cross claims among some of
the parties. There also can be a reduction of costs by avoiding duplication of
efforts.
The
subcontractor will need to know all of the pertinent terms of the owner/general
contractor agreement that could limit or eliminate certain claims. Legal advice
should be sought before you bind yourself to Severin.
legal BY
gerard w. ittig
ITTIG, of
Ittig & Ittig, P.C., in Washington,
D.C., specializes in construction
law. He can be contacted at 202.387.5508, USBuildlaw@aol.com or www.ittig-ittig.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Cloak-and-Dagger Cabling
Fiber in security applications
Security is
on the minds of many corporate network administrators. They worry about hackers
and botnets taking over their computers to send out spam, denial of service
attacks on their Web servers, wireless interlopers accessing their corporate
networks, and whatever other cyberthreats have been discovered in the last week
or so that are likely to cause problems in systems.
But
consider the plight of the network or facility manager of a utility with
extensive communications and control systems on its power plants or power grid,
a petroleum refinery or chemical plant, an airport filled with automated
baggage control and surveillance systems, or any large government or military
facility.
Some of
these facilities may have systems that allow monitoring and control from remote
locations. In addition, most need their networks to run nonstop to fulfill
their mission. As a result, the network users and many others can be considered
targets of various nefarious types who intend to inflict physical damage and to
hack networks. Because of this, facilities require maximum network security.
Firewalls
and special wireless routers provide some protection to the network, as do
encryption and constant password changes. Of course, simply not allowing direct
Internet access to critical networks negates most online threats, so the
Internet-connected corporate network must not be linked to critical control
networks. A recent Government Accounting Office survey of the largest public
power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), found the TVA’s
Internet-linked corporate network was attached to systems used for controlling
power production and distribution. The network had security weaknesses that
could be used by attackers to manipulate or destroy control systems.
Even the
corporate network may contain information that could compromise the security of
control systems, such as system schematics, parts lists or operation manuals.
Therefore, access must be controlled, perhaps even segmented with various
levels of access. Besides log-ins and passwords, more systems are now using biometric
systems (face recognition, fingerprints
or iris scans) for access.
Any
facility’s network administrator needs to consider the security of the physical
cable plant supporting the networks and systems and to defend them against
online attacks. Damage to almost any part of the cable plant or failure of its
power sources can cause outages. Determined crooks can possibly access the
network and attach taps, even on fiber networks. So to fully protect a network,
one must be concerned with protecting the physical network, as well.
The
applications of fiber optics for security systems has been discussed previously
in ELECTRICAL- CONTRACTOR (September 2007) in the context of how fiber optics
can be used with surveillance cameras, security alarms and even as intrusion
sensors. But if one is using fiber in a security-oriented system, the
protection of the fiber optic cabling is important to the overall security of
the network. How does one secure the fiber optic cabling and network itself?
There are
several scenarios to consider. First, how does one prevent damage to the fiber
optic cabling system or create the quickest recovery scenario? Can one prevent
tapping fiber or detect it if someone tries to tap it? And are there ways to
secure transmissions in case it is tapped? Sound like cloak-and-dagger stuff?
It is, since these are issues considered for creating a truly secure military
or government network. But many of these issues also are important for corporate
networks where the networks are expected to run 24/7 and be secure against
hacker attacks.
Design for security
To create a
secure system, it is necessary to start thinking about where the cable plant
and networking equipment are exposed and vulnerable. Right off, one should
avoid aerial cables, which can be damaged by high winds, falling trees, vehicle
accidents, fires and other accidental damage as well as “target practice,” one
of the leading causes of damage to aerial cables in remote areas. Cable should
ideally be underground outside buildings and placed in metallic conduit indoors.
Splice closures should be secured in locked facilities or permanently buried in
secure enclosures.
The telco
in one country requires all outside plant underground cables be placed in
metallic conduit imbedded in about 1 foot of concrete to prevent the cable
being dug up by thieves who would steal copper cables to sell as scrap.
Unfortunately, the thieves were not able to distinguish fiber from copper, so
they destroyed fiber cables thinking they had salvage value. With the price of
copper approaching $4 per pound, the same problem now exists in the United States.
Thieves are not generally smart enough to know which cables are copper or fiber
or even which are power or communications.
Any cable
entrances into buildings need to be secured. Again, run the cable in metallic
conduit if possible, not in open cable trays or under floors, and use
heavy-duty locked boxes whenever the cable is run outside secure rooms. The
cable should not be in the open until it reaches a secured facility where it
will be connected to the communications equipment. This is a common requirement
in most airports and government facilities, and it provides protection from
accidental damage as well as security breaches.
If your
basic concern is just to prevent damage by workers on other projects around
your fiber optic cables, the biggest deterrent is making it obvious this is
fiber optic cable. Colored jackets, yellow for single-mode, orange for 62.5/125
multimode or aqua for 50/125 multimode, will draw attention to the fact that
this is fiber cable, as will placing “FIBER OPTIC” tags like those used by-
telcos- on the cable at regular spaces, as is done in outside plant cables. An
even better solution that can speed up installation is to install fiber optic
innerduct—a corrugated innerduct available with a pull tape—along the route of
the cable. The fiber cable can then be installed extra fast and will be
identified and protected better than any other solution other than metallic
conduit. A third option is to specify indoor armored cable, which has
corrugated armor under a National Electrical Code-rated jacket.
The next
step is to plan for redundancy. Install a backup cabling link, secured as
described above, but run in a different path. If something happens to one
cable, the second cable will likely not be damaged if it is physically
separated. I knew someone who investigated a near-catastrophe at a nuclear
power plant some years back. The controls were triple-redundant, but all cables
ran through the same conduit. So when fire got into the conduit, all system
communications and control was lost, and disaster was narrowly averted.
Telcos and
the Internet use a mesh network in which there are multiple communications
paths from point to point, minimizing the likelihood of a loss of
communications. This can be done both outside and inside the buildings. In
extreme cases, the continuity of metallic conduit can be monitored to detect
any attempts at intrusion.
Needless to
say, high-reliability systems require high-reliability electronics and power. Battery backup and perhaps an emergency generator system
are needed for each facility, and, of course, those systems need to be secured
like all the other equipment. Colocation with the transmission electronics is advised
for backup power systems, or the connecting wiring also should be secured in
metallic conduit. Once fuel cells become cost-effective, they will be a top
choice for backup power and can be colocated with the equipment.
Outdoor
facilities, such as transformer substations or refineries, need extensive
monitoring, using closed-circuit television cameras and intrusion alarms,
usually connected on fiber, which should be secured as described above. One can
even get fiber optic intrusion systems, which weave fiber through fences or
bury it in gravel, which will detect and even locate problems, although the
costs are too high for all but the most critical applications.
Is tapping fiber a threat?
It is
certainly easier to access today’s high-speed networks electronically than
physically. The days of using a pickup coil near a phone line to listen in are
long gone. The government recognized this fact as soon as digital
communications became commonplace, and the result was the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), adopted in 1994. CALEA originally
applied to standard phone lines but required digital circuits to have ports
where (under court order, of course) law enforcement agencies could access a
particular phone line and record any activity. CALEA has been amended numerous
times to include broadband data, wireless and voice over Internet protocol
services.
The Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) covered similar surveillance by the
National Security Agency on calls to and from overseas destinations. But last
year, it became public knowledge that some government agencies had, perhaps
outside these two laws, gained access to carriers’ long distance networks and
had placed taps directly on the fibers themselves, bypassing the electronic
ports (and perhaps the court orders) required by CALEA and FISA.
How easy is
it to tap fiber like this and pull off surveillance data? It’s not hard to put
a bend in the fiber and attach a detector to pick up light, which is routinely
done to locate particular fibers by test instruments called fiber identifiers.
But when data is being transmitted at billions of bits per second, carrying thousands
of phone conversations or millions of data packets, finding what you want is
like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. If you really worry about
tapping, encrypting data is a good deterrent, as is transmitting random data
(such as the contents of an encyclopedia) interspersed with real data.
Protecting
communications equipment and networks involves both securing unauthorized access
from online connections over the Internet or wireless devices and providing
physical security to the communications equipment and cable plant. This may
require cooperation of diverse groups within an organization as well as significant
expenditures for construction. Only by surveying the entire network and
determining the vulnerability of each part can you develop a reasonable plan
and budget.
by jim
hayes
HAYES is a
VDV writer and educator and the president of The Fiber Optic Association. Find
him at www.jimhayes.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Somewhere over the Internet ...
Using IP
for IBS
Internet
Protocol (IP) is growing in popularity as a method for integrating building
systems. First of all, it is a way of interconnecting every building system.
According to Rawlson King of the Continental Automated Buildings Association
(CABA), “The idea behind IP-based systems is that all devices should be able to
be accessible regardless of function. CCTV, access control, intrusion
detection, fire alarms, fire suppression, lighting controls and HVAC can all be
integrated in IP-based systems.” In a CABA presentation originally given at the
Intelligent Building Summit in 2006 in Toronto,
there was a comprehensive listing of building systems that can be monitored
and/or controlled through an IP-based system.
What does
IP offer that is unique? First, once these building systems become nodes on a
building’s IP network, they can all be programmed to interact in a variety of
ways. The IP building network essentially is a network of networks. Each
subsystem can be managed by its own controller or network of controllers, while
the IP network can take care of conversations between them.
“IP is such
a common networking protocol that almost every business in the Western world
has an IP network,” said Denis Du Bois, editor of the online magazine Energy
Priorities. “A trend in computing is a service-oriented architecture, or SOA.
The basic concept is to connect intelligent devices to a network and enable
those devices to serve their data to any other device that requests it. … Once
a device is enabled for Web services, its functions and data are exposed and
available on demand. Other systems can poll the data as needed for analysis and
send commands back to the devices over the IP network. An HVAC controller might
check with a motion detection subsystem to determine which rooms are occupied,
then program changes on the thermostats in the empty rooms.”
These
building systems can then be monitored, controlled or configured from any
Internet-connected computer.
In theory,
at least, this should be an ideal way to integrate building systems, but as
with any theory, implementing it is the hard part.
An obvious
application, for example, would be CCTV. If the surveillance cameras are linked
through the Internet, you can view your office, factory or home from anywhere
in the world. Premises monitoring using digital CCTV and DVRs is one of the
applications of IP-based systems. It provides an ideal means to see what’s
happening on your premises from a local or a remote location. A number of
companies are producing IP-compatible cameras and DVRs. Since the Internet is
already designed for large and rapid data flows, it is a natural for security
video.
But there
are advantages to having all of the other building systems running on an IP
network, too. The interactions between the various subsystems can be programmed
from a central computer that can access every one of them. Because each IP
device, including subsystem controllers, has a unique address, any device can
be called up through any computer with an Internet connection.
There are
at least two levels of expertise required to set up such a system of systems.
The integration level runs on the building’s internal IT network, usually
Ethernet. This requires expertise in IT systems. However, IT technicians will
most likely not be certified in setting up the HVAC or fire alarm systems, so
different specialists will have to work together. Common to all of these
systems and sub-systems is the electrical contractor, who must provide the
power and wiring for it all. In fact, the soon-to-be-expanded capabilities of
power over Ethernet (PoE) will enhance the ability to use Ethernet cables to
distribute usable power for various devices, such as cameras and door access
controls. Running these cables, which combine power distribution and IT data,
will require the knowledge of both electricians and IT technicians.
There are
two different approaches to installing IP control systems. For new
installations, the simplest approach is to build all of the systems with
IP--compatible devices. For already existing “legacy” systems, there needs to
be a way of connecting the various control loops to the facility’s intranet.
Johnson Controls, for example, makes available a central controller for tying
together the devices and subsystems with its Metasys Network Engine, which is
“capable of communicating directly to multiple field bus open protocols,
including BACnet, LonTalk and N2Open,” said Terry Hoffman, director BAS
marketing, Johnson Controls.
A major
advantage of IP-based integration is that, once subsystems are accessible,
their interactions can be modified as conditions change, as information on the
various systems is gathered, as technology evolves, and as new integration
software becomes available. The various building systems become, in effect, a
living entity. There is no need to run new wiring or physically alter existing
system components to tune their interactions. To my mind, this is the most
important quality of IP integration. It will grow because it enables existing
building systems to grow.
BY edward
brown
BROWN is an
electrical engineer, technical writer and editor. He serves as managing editor
for Security + Life Safety Systems magazine. For many years, he designed
high-power electronics systems for industry, research laboratories and
government. Reach him at ebeditor@gmail.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Spaghetti Factory; Keep cables from becoming a tangled mess
Anyone who
has spent time in the world of telecommunications cabling has seen the
“spaghetti mess.” Competent cabling contractors build high-quality and
well-installed networks consistent with industry management standards. But then
entropy attacks, and disorganization conquers, transforming well-constructed
telecommunications rooms into disheveled and disorganized messes.
Intentional
and effective management of information technology (IT) racks is, ultimately,
the only solution. But seeing both a need and a commercial opportunity, some
manufacturers have designed solutions that can help prevent or even roll back
such messes.
Patchcords
Sometimes
the best ideas are the simplest. Messy IT rooms or not, wouldn’t it be great if
contractors or IT staff members never had to pull and tug their way along
patchcords to find the other ends?
That is the
intent of the PatchSee patchcords, which have two plastic optical fibers (POFs)
running throughout the length of each cord. The POFs are bent back 180 degrees
inside the two RJ45 connector boots, so they face the user when a cord is
installed in a patch panel. The system is completed by a handheld blinking
light source (like a small flashlight) that fits over the boot of a PatchSee
cord without detaching it from the patch panel. When the user turns on the
light source, the POFs become two small, blinking luminous dots, which reveal
the other end of the patchcord.
“With no
further high-tech adjustments other than changing to PatchSee patchcords, [IT
managers] get handling-labor savings, reduced patchcord inventory requirements,
shorter network down times, and no need for identifying labels,” said Ken Eben,
marketing/sales manager for Mitsubishi International, the North American supplier
of the PatchSee system.
Intelligent patch systems
Intelligent
patching solutions have a significantly higher level of functionality, but they
come with a correspondingly higher cost. Similar to the PatchSee solution, an
intelligent patching system provides visual assistance to on-site technicians,
but it is more than just blinking lights on patch panels.
“It is a
utility to provide system traceability from point-to-point and end-to-end,”
said Michael Pula, MNS technical marketing manager at Panduit.
These
systems provide extensive system-mapping capabilities, from user outlets and
the equipment installed there, all the way back to switches and servers. They
also automatically recognize and record moves, adds and changes any time
someone plugs in or unplugs a patchcord, end-user device (e.g., computer, voice
over Internet protocol phone) or other IP addressable network device.
Likewise,
intelligent patching systems can predict and preauthorize rack changes. For
example, when an IT manager authorizes changes to the physical network, he or
she will pre-enter those changes into the intelligent patching system’s
software. When the on-site technician enters the IT space and logs into the
network there, the system guides him or her through those changes, using
ordered blinking lights on the patch panels that correspond with the preprinted
directions. To know what to do next, all the technician needs to do is look for
the next blinking indicator light. Then, on completion, the system software can
generate a report, documenting each move, regardless of whether or not it was
preauthorized. In addition, an IT manager can remotely implement changes to the
network from across a room or across a continent.
Worth the cost?
While the
cost of an intelligent patch panel is significantly higher than that of a
similar-count passive panel (by thousands of dollars), the increased control
that such systems provide is, in the right situations, worth the cost. They
have proven invaluable for many large enterprise systems, mission-critical
systems, and systems spread over multiple locations.
“In modern
networks, it’s all about risk management,” Pula said. “Intelligent patching systems
anticipate and reduce potential risk to a network.”
These
systems are becoming more compact, as well, thus requiring less rack space to
implement. The best example may be the new Panduit PanView iQ system.
“This
system is unique in that it consolidates all active management hardware into
intelligent patch panels, which require no additional rack space,” Pula said.
Telecommunications
contractors can expect intelligent patching systems to find more marketplace
adoption. And while clients may perform the IT functions on those devices,
contractors should be generally familiar with functionalities to effectively
serve those clients. They also should be prepared for manufacturers requiring
contractors to acquire specialized certifications to prevent the spaghetti
bowls of the future.
BY russ
munyan
MUNYAN is a
freelance writer in the Kansas City,
Kan., area, specializing in
business writing and telecommunications. He can be reached at www.russwrites.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
*********************************
GPS Equipment Management Systems
Using a
satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) to track motor vehicles is
nothing new. Trucking companies have been doing it for years. Many organizations,
including electrical contractors, routinely use GPS technology to monitor
planned travel routes, travel speeds, hours of use, stop reports, idle time and
maintenance alerts.
Not so
widely known is that a GPS also can be used to manage other assets, including
con-struc-tion equipment, such as mobile lifts, loader-backhoes, trenchers,
excavators and skid-steer loaders.
“Benefits
of GPS are not limited to over- the-road vehicles,” said Cliff Henley, chief
executive officer of Fleet Management Solutions
Inc. (FMS).
For
example, a machine can be equipped with sensors to monitor its primary power
source and separate onboard engines and motors; fluid levels; oil and hydraulic
fluid pressures; operating temperatures, including high-temperature alerts; and
other functions. For equipment that remains on a job site over the course of a
project, the system can immediately notify the owner if it leaves prescribed
boundaries, a valuable theft-recovery tool.
For those
who have not investigated the capabilities and costs of GPS units recently,
there have been significant changes in technology over past the few years.
Today, owners of construction equipment have several options to consider.
Daniel Lee,
vice president, sales, for FleetBoss Global Positioning Solutions, cites four
basic categories of systems:
•
Live/active systems that are Internet- or software-based
• Passive
systems without monitoring fees that can download to a supervisor’s laptop
• Hybrid
systems that combine active and passive data into one database
•
Self-powered GPS devices with 20- to 30-day battery lives that are capable of
tracking indoors using both cellular general packet radio service (GPRS) and
GPS technology.
Lee said
FleetBoss offers a portfolio of products, including each of these GPS fleet
management categories.
“Active
systems use a cellular component transmitting on a GPRS and [global system for
mobile communications] network,” Lee said. “The cellular components are self
contained in the hardware. There is no cell phone.”
Henley said a typical FMS satellite-based system includes a GPS
receiver, satellite modem, antenna and access to FMS FleetCentral.
“Our
systems,” Henley said, “offer multiple analog
and digital inputs/outputs for added features, such as in-cab, two-way text and
e-mail messaging, display terminals or remote vehicle diagnostics. Data is transferred
from the vehicle, machine or other asset through Orbcomm or Iridium satellites
to an FMS Network Operation
Center and from there to
FMS FleetCentral where it is immediately available to clients who log on
through a secure Internet connection to manage their fleets.
Properly
used, Henley said, equipment operation and
diagnostic information will make routine maintenance more efficient, and
breakdown alerts will enable faster repairs—benefits that can boost overall profitability.
The GPS helps identify under- and overused equipment, so it can be redeployed
for improved efficiency and productivity. Records of precise hours of operation
translate into more accurate billing.
Qualcomm
Enterprise Services (QES) offers GPS equipment and subscription services for
both vehicles and construction equipment.
“In general
construction, the use of satellite monitoring is increasing greatly for several
reasons,” said Bert Gillespie, QES director of sales. “OEMs of GPS products and
services are stepping up their efforts to make the technology available at the
time of purchase of a new machine as well as implementing value-added programs
through their dealerships to make it an easier implementation process.
Contractors are beginning to see the value for their businesses in the areas of
asset protection, utilization and location.”
Gillespie
said acceptance of the use of mobile asset management technology has not been
as rapid as in other markets.
“However,”
he said, “we believe that adoption in the electrical market will increase
significantly in the coming years as businesses better understand the value of
implementing mobile information systems in terms of increased productivity,
reduced costs and improved customer service.”
Lee said
construction organizations use GPS devices in a number of ways, including
monitoring asset location, security and maintenance.
Although
tracking machine locations are not comparable to tracking over-the-road vehicles,
Lee said an organization can own hundreds of equipment pieces that may be
scattered over numerous job sites.
“Often,”
Lee said, “there is the need to locate a specific piece of equipment, either
from an office or in the field, and that is a standard GPS benefit. Satellite
mapping can pinpoint asset location within 100 meters. New to the industry is
GPS hardware capable of tracking an asset inside a building or warehouse.”
Assets can
be secured using the standard GPS “geofence” feature.
“An
invisible border can be drawn around a job site, known as a geofence,” Lee
said. “When the asset containing the traffic device leaves the geofence border,
the asset can alert organization management via e-mail or cellular text
message.”
GPS units
can track and report important engine equipment operating functions and report
them back to the office to monitor maintenance schedule requirements.
“Select GPS
hardware devices are equipped with inputs and outputs capable of measuring ignition
on/off, fluid flow rates, doors open/close, etc.,” he said. “Remote shutdown of
any powered equipment can also occur using any computer with Internet access.”
Gillespie
said Qualcomm’s services employ a mobile terminal with GPS hardware that mounts
on vehicles or equipment. Usage and location information is retrieved from
equipment and converted into actionable information. Data is accessed through
an easy-to-use, Web-based application from any computer anytime or integrated
into existing back-end business software systems. For trucks and vehicles,
there is a dashboard display.
Qualcomm
offers two systems for equipment. One is for large machines. The other is for
smaller, less expensive equipment in a mixed fleet.
“Maintenance
profiles allow customers to specify the intervals at which equipment is due for
specified types of maintenance,” Gillespie said. “Multiple maintenance profiles
allow customers to specify a service interval, and add different types of
service to be performed at different multiples of that interval.”
So, what
does it cost to initiate and operate a GPS?
Costs, said
Lee, vary with the type of system and vehicle hardware, installation and number
of inputs/outputs, and whether installation is hired or done with organization
personnel, power source used, memory capacity of equipment and monitoring
requirements.
“For a
professional, Internet-based system, costs range from $400 to over $1,000 per
asset for hardware,” Lee said. “The range in price is attributed to device type
(self-contained battery versus power by vehicle) and features (data collection,
data transfer, data interpretation). The only other startup cost could include
an optional environmental container to host the hardware.”
Lee
provided two examples of operational costs:
•
Monitoring inputs and alerts that report every two minutes from devices powered
by the asset would cost $1,700
per month.
• For 50
pieces of equipment with devices also powered from the unit to report location
and monitor secured geofences with outdoor-indoor monitoring would cost $60 per
month per asset or $3,000 per month.
The bottom line
Lee asked,
“Would you pay $35 to $60 per month to secure an asset worth $25,000? Or
$60,000? Or much more?”
Qualcomm
has a solution and price point for any size fleet, Gillespie said.
Henley advised those who previously ruled out fleet management
because of startup costs to evaluate today’s systems, which employ new
technology.
“Satellite
hardware pricing has dropped by as much as 50 percent over the past two years,
as have monthly subscription, communication, hosting and satellite air time
costs. Those reduced costs have improved what was already a very attractive
return on investment for customers,” Henley
said.
Manufacturers
and marketers of GPS asset management systems emphasize that their products
apply to small- and medium-sized companies as well as large corporations and
government agencies that own and operate equipment. Henley
said FMS has clients ranging in size from a few to thousands of assets.
No matter
how big or small a fleet size, before construction equipment owners can
evaluate costs and benefits of a fleet management program, they must consider
important factors such as whether to monitor their entire fleet inventory or
just a portion of it. In addition, they must decide what categories of
equipment will be monitored. Some GPS users restrict monitoring to construction
equipment with replacement values higher than a defined dollar amount.
With several brands of GPS with various
options available, careful evaluation is necessary to determine which one best
fits an organization’s needs.
Qualcomm’s
Gillespie suggested considerations that should be addressed before making a decision
include how the system will benefit an organization’s operation and
productivity, how simple the system is to operate and how much training will be
required, what mapping software is used by the system, capabilities for
downloading reports, warranty coverage, and service options.
A good
approach is to narrow choices down to those that appear to best fit an organization’s
need and budget. Then request a demonstration and proposal from each.
by jeff
griffin
GRIFFIN, a construction and tools writer from Oklahoma City, can be reached at 405.748.5256
or up-front@cox.net.
Reprinted
with full permission of Electrical Contractor Magazine www.ecmag.com
Cabling Installation & Maintenance Magazine
Latest Technologies Mean Rethinking Cable Management
High-capacity cables are
transmitting more data than ever, but selecting an optimized cable-management
system is key to making these cables work for your business.
As the
information technology (IT) age moves well into the new millennium, the amount
of data that companies handle is continuously increasing, making it challenging
for IT departments to keep cable networks up-to-date, running smoothly, and
sufficient for their companies’ needs. Many businesses using Category 5e cables
are finding their systems overloaded and experiencing major delays.
Since the
advent of higher-capacity cables designed to better handle increased data
transmission, Category 5e is no longer the most commonly requested for new
cabling installations. Many of the 19-inch racks currently found in
telecommunications rooms, however, were designed with Category 5e in mind,
making it challenging for IT professionals to integrate the latest,
larger-diameter and higher-capacity cables.
Now is the
time for IT professionals to rethink cable management—taking present and future
cabling into consideration. Analyzing why cabling standards are evolving and
how storage area networks (SANs) have changed data communications is the first
step, followed by looking at existing and emerging cable-management solutions
to determine the one best designed to meet your business’s needs.
Keeping pace with change
The 568
series of cabling standards from the Telecommunications Industry
Association/Electronics Industries Alliance (TIA/EIA) date back nearly 20 years
and include the original 568 as well as the 568-A and 568-B standards—as well
as the 568-C standard currently in development. The original TIA/EIA-568
brought the industry interoperability, standard cable minimum performance,
standardized terminations, and standardized topologies. This development took
the industry from using a series of proprietary cabling systems to universally
open networks for simpler integration and increased usability.
Now, the
technology behind these standards is quickly evolving. The emergence of 10- or
even 100-Gbit/sec Ethernet has reshaped data transmission. With IT
convergence—including voice, video, data, access control, and security
requirements—the industry is now demanding faster operating speeds while
processing more information. To accommodate these increasing data-transmission
requirements, higher-capacity cables, such as Category 6 and 6A, were developed
to deliver robust, efficient, data communications.
As
cable-transmission performance has changed, so have other physical components
that TIA/EIA does not always directly address, including size, construction,
and termination means. Higher-performance cable size and installation
requirements, along with increased equipment densities, have strained current
cable pathways and hindered cable management in open frame racks and cabinets.
Fewer racks but more jacks
High-capacity
cables are larger in size to accommodate greater amounts of data, making them
challenging to successfully install into existing cable-management systems.
They require more data rack space, but many companies are trying to fit these
new varieties into their existing racks—housed within increasingly dense
network spaces.
Until
recently, a single network server had a sole application and ran for only the
amount of time needed to perform that application—sometimes less than an hour a
day. The introduction of SANs and server virtualization driven by high-density
network switches has altered this arrangement and now includes all servers in
the handling of all networks. SANs and server virtualization improve network
efficiency by allowing for shared servers, with a network switch controlling
data traffic and communicating necessary information to each connected server
and storage unit. The result is fewer servers and increased network
performance—saving businesses significant time, space and cost.
As the
number of individual servers is reduced, however, switches are becoming larger
and heavier, with a greater number of ports and much higher cable densities
than previous-generation technologies. Plus, while fewer servers are required,
their more-compact design has increased the number of units installed per rack.
Additional electronic equipment has followed suit, with routers, hubs, and
network appliances all consuming a smaller footprint by being installed closer
together.
The result
is fewer data racks but more terminations and jacks within that given area,
considering cabling must be provided in front of, behind, and between all
rack-mounted equipment.
Given these
changes, cable installation has become a more sensitive procedure, as companies
are striving to reduce installation costs while increasing the effectiveness of
their cable networks. IT professionals
are running wider, higher-capacity cables to a significantly larger number of
ports within a more restricted space. This increased cable density makes
installation increasingly difficult and can hinder cable performance, since the
space restriction can prohibit IT professionals from maintaining the correct
cable bend radius.
In
addition, as departments continue to grow and equipment is updated, moves, adds
and changes (MACs) occur more frequently. The crowded state of data racks has
made even small alterations time-consuming and labor-intensive projects,
costing businesses much of the resources otherwise saved by SANs and
increasingly efficient technology.
Weighing solutions
To keep up
with industry’s frequent equipment and cabling changes, cable management can
currently be configured using one of several arrangements. One is a cable
pathway, which is available in several designs (such as ladder rack or basket)
and allows cables to be run horizontally. Open frame racks (2- and 4-post
styles) are also available, as are several types of floor-standing or
wall-mount data communications cabinets that are designed to make the most
efficient use of limited network space.
While many
of today’s cable-management systems can accommodate high-capacity cables, the
extra space consumed results in lower fill capacities, generating the need for
additional cable managers and, therefore, additional space—already at a premium
in most data closets. Furthermore, a new cable size dictates a new bend radius;
if existing data racks do not support the correct bend radius, cables can be
damaged and their performance compromised. With these data racks, the time and
labor required to update a cable network can easily add up to more than
companies are willing to pay.
Cable-management
systems must become far more sophisticated and versatile, and vertical and
horizontal cable managers need several key changes to keep up with industry
trends. For example, every new rack must be optimized to effectively replace
multiple racks within a network area, meaning that capacity must be significantly
increased. In addition, as cables increase in size and more electronic
components are installed, a greater number of cables will be needed. Racks must
be durable enough to physically support these increases while maintaining the
correct bend radius so network performance is not hindered.
Additionally,
cable-management systems need deep “fingers” for optimal rack-space use and to
deliver the bend radius required for Category 5e and higher-capacity cables.
These supportive fingers provide larger tie-down areas and sturdy end posts to
keep heavy cable bundles in place and prevent cable damage while optimizing
performance. Plus, a system with rounded finger edges will further minimize
cable twisting, nicking, and over-stretching during installation.
Because
electronic components can be installed in many ways and wired from numerous
directions, the ideal solution is a cable management system that features
bi-directional hinging and can transition between horizontal and vertical
arrangements. Also, to optimize time and space despite the increasing amount of
cabling, the cable management system should be lightweight and flexible to
facilitate quick cable insertion and feature easily opened doors with positive
engagement to expedite and simplify MACs.
Additional
features, such as pass-through holes for increased wiring flexibility, a cable
tie-down bar for rear bundle-support, and a simplified system-mounting
configuration—with tool-less, snap-in installation—will further enhance cable
network organization and reduce labor expenses.
Maximizing space, minimizing cost
To best
reap the benefits provided by high-capacity cables and accommodate new
technology and increased data transmission—all within tight IT department
budgets and space constraints—cable management must be cost-effective,
time-efficient, adaptable to support upcoming cable trends as well as existing
networks, and comply with TIA/EIA standards. This can be accomplished by
selecting a data rack and cable managers that establish the correct cable bend
radius, have high fill-capacities and deep “fingers” to hold wider cables, and
offer sufficient accessibility to cabling—even when the rack is fully populated
When paired
with sturdy yet flexible construction, these data racks will allow IT departments
to maximize space while minimizing labor and costs.
BRIAN
MORDICK is senior product manager for datacom with Hoffman
(www.hoffmanonline.com).
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling INstallation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com
*********************************
The Right Tools For Accurate Fiber-Optic Testing
Despite its reputation as a
high-powered, highly accurate measurement device, the OTDR has never been
required via standard to test fiber links in the premises.
It’s common
for the customer of a fiber-optic cable installation to require documentation
of test results before accepting the job and paying for the work. This
obviously leads to certain but often conflicting requirements for the
contractor. Testing takes time, so completing all of them in the minimum time
means more profit. Testing, however, needs to be done carefully to ensure the
measurements are accurate (see author’s note at the end of the article)--and
that can take time. Accurate testing will ensure that no good cables are
rejected and no bad ones missed, so the contractor will not have to repair what
are really good cables and get callbacks on bad ones.
Lots of
time, and cost, can be saved if the contractor and installers know the proper
measurements that need to be made, understand how to make those measurements
correctly, have the proper tools, keep them in good condition, have them
calibrated regularly, and know how to use them efficiently. The contractor must
also convey to the customer that what is being done is in line with industry
convention and standards. Learning the background and the issues concerned with
making accurate measurements can save lots of problems—and lots of money.
Industry
committees spend massive amounts of time and energy developing standards that
ensure accurate testing. But those standards are generally written for
manufacturers, not users. So, the task of translating “standardese” – the
language they are written in – into understandable English is left to the
manufacturers, and to technical educators writing articles like this one.
This
tutorial will give you insight into what tests are required, what problems are
inherent in testing multimode fiber, how measurement techniques differ, and how
to interpret the results of testing and document them.
How to test premises cables
In premises
cabling systems designed for use with LAN backbones, fiber-to-the-desk,
closed-circuit television, industrial control signals, etc., there are three tests
that may be done: connection verification, insertion loss, and optical
time-domain reflection. All cables should be tested for continuity with a
visual fault locator or fiber tracer, and the connections verified.
In my
experience, many fiber-optic cabling problems are caused by poor documentation
or confirmation of connections. Since each link consists of two fibers, one
fiber must connect a transmitter to a receiver and the other the complementary
pair. Documentation and markings should allow these connections to be made
simply. This is easily confirmed with a visual light source coupled into the
fiber.
The
measurement needed for confirming the quality of the installation is the
optical loss or insertion loss of each of the fibers in the cable. Loss
measurements are made end-to-end on the permanently installed cable plant--the
equivalent of the unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) permanent link. Industry
standards call for making that measurement with a test source and optical power
meter, sometimes called an optical loss test set (OLTS) and reference test
cables.
Proposals
have been made to also allow testing installed cable with just an optical
time-domain reflectometer (OTDR), but no accepted standard today requires this.
TIA-568 (both the B version and the soon-to-be-published C version) follows the
industry convention, requiring insertion loss testing (called Tier 1 testing in
TIA-568) and permits OTDR testing also (Tier 2) to provide additional
information, but does not allow OTDR-only testing in lieu of insertion-loss
testing.
OTDR
testing of premises cable plants instead of insertion-loss testing causes much
confusion among contractors and customers. Hardly a week goes by that I do not
get a call regarding this issue. Misinterpretations of these requirements have
led to some unhappy instances in my experience, including misreading OTDRs
causing the removal and discarding of $100,000 worth of good cable and the
retesting of 1,100 cables of 12 fibers each, as well as several instances of
customers returning OTDRs to the
distributors who sold them the units.
There are
five industry-standard ways to test premises fiber optic cable–three for
insertion loss and two for OTDRs–depending on how you use reference test cables
for your setup. Insertion-loss testing can use one, two, or three reference
cables to set the “zero dB loss” reference for testing, and each way gives a
different loss. Generally, standards prefer the one-reference-cable loss
method, but it requires that the test equipment use the same fiber-optic
connector types as the cables under test. If the cable has different connectors
than the test equipment (e.g., LCs on the cable and SCs on the tester), it may
be necessary to use a two or three cable reference, which will give a lower
loss since connector loss is included in the reference and will be subtracted
from the total loss measurement.
Any of the
three methods are acceptable, as long as the method is documented. Be careful,
however, since most network link losses assume a one cable reference, which can
affect the acceptance of the cable.
OTDRs
always require a launch cable for the instrument to settle down after
reflections from the high-powered test pulse overloads the instrument. OTDRs
have traditionally been used with long-distance networks where only a launch
cable is used, but this method does not measure the loss of the connector on
the far end. Adding a cable at the far end allows measuring the loss of the
entire cable, but negates the big advantage of the OTDR—that it makes measurements
from only one end of the cable.
Multimode fiber measurements
All these
test methods have serious issues with accurately testing multimode cable. In
the 25 or so years I have been involved with fiber-optic standards, making
accurate loss measurements on multimode fiber has been a constant and confusing
subject of discussion within the standards committees. We tried to understand
how light travels in multimode cable plants and how components like connectors
affect the way that light travels. Then we tried to understand how the losses
of fiber, connectors, and splices were affected by the methods used for
testing.
I’m going
to explain (hopefully, in understandable terms) how this works, how it affects
your measurements, and how you can try to control test conditions to enhance
your test accuracy. It’s going to take some careful reading on your part, but
when we’re finished, you are going to be more knowledgeable, faster, and
richer. I promise!
How light travels in multimode fiber
The most
important component affecting loss in a multimode cable plant is the source
coupling light into the fiber. Light sources may be light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) or lasers. Lasers may be VCSELs (vertical cavity surface-emitting
lasers) or Fabry-Perot lasers (telecom style). Each of these emits light in a
different pattern, with LEDs having the broadest beam, F-P lasers a very narrow
beam, and VCSELs in between. The light coupled from the source is transmitted
in a multimode fiber in many rays or “modes;” hence, the name multimode.
A laser
couples light only into modes that travel near the center of the fiber while a
LED couples light into practically all the modes. Look closely and you can see
the modes near the center of the fiber core (lower-order modes) travel shorter
paths than the modes near the edges of the core (higher-order modes.) The
shorter path of the lower-order modes means that they travel through less glass
and suffer less loss than the ones traveling in the outside of the core. That
means a laser suffers less attenuation (loss per unit length, in dB/km) in the
same multimode fiber than a LED.
Furthermore,
as light travels down the fiber, the attenuation changes. The light in the
outside modes is attenuated, leaving mostly light in the modes near the center.
At a kilometer from a LED source, the light in the outer modes is mostly
attenuated and the light carried in the fiber looks more like the light
launched from a laser. This means the attenuation at that point is less than at
the beginning because it’s only in lower-order modes.
So, what is
the loss of the fiber? The manufacturer’s spec for fiber is around 3 dB/km at
850 nm and 1 dB/km at 1300 nm, for a test using a calibrated source that is
much closer to the launch of a laser source than a LED. The difference in the
attenuation coefficient of a fiber tested with a laser or LED can be 1 to 2
dB/km. With a LED source, the first hundred meters of fiber – representative of
a premises network – may have an attenuation of over 4 dB/km.
The same
factors hold for connector and spice loss. Most of the loss in connectors is
due to misalignment of the two fibers, and the higher-order modes are much more
likely to be lost at a connector than lower-order modes. A connector coupled to
a LED source with a short cable could have a loss of 0.5 dB while if it were
coupled to a laser source, or were 1 km away, could have a loss of 0.3 dB.
By now, I
suspect your head is swimming. If you still have your wits about you, you may
want to know how any standards body can solve this issue. The answer is how
everything is solved: Compromise. Create a standard launch condition that is
more than a laser but less than a LED, which today is appropriate, since it’s
more like the VCSELs used in today’s Gigabit and faster multimode links.
Manufacturers
use special lensed sources in their labs that can precisely control the launch
conditions. The way to approximate this launch for field testing is to use a
LED source and a mode modifier—usually a few turns of the reference launch
cable around a cylindrical mandrel that filters out the higher-order modes. The
mandrel size must be chosen according to the fiber and cable type being used.
These devices are available from many test equipment manufacturers.
It’s highly
recommended that you use this standard source method, as it will produce more
consistent test results and provide better reproducibility if you ever have to
retest. And the losses measured are going to be lower, so you are less likely
to fail good cables.
Even so,
the uncertainty of the measurement is likely to be several tenths of a dB. The
uncertainty comes from the coupling of your reference cables to the fiber under
test, which includes the quality of the terminations on the reference cables,
how clean they are, and how many times they have been used, since they degrade
with use.
So, why aren’t OTDRs used?
Some people
think everybody uses OTDRs for fiber-optic testing, but that’s only for outside
plant (OSP) applications. Most OSP installations involve splicing singlemode
fiber to get longer runs, and the OTDR allows verifying the quality of the
splice. But when that link is finished, it must still be tested for insertion
loss with a light source, power meter, and reference cables--just like premises
cables.
Insertion
loss and OTDR testing use different methods. Insertion loss tests just the
fiber that will be used, with a source on one end and a detector on the other.
So, tested insertion loss should be close to what the communications link
actually will see. OTDRs, however, make an indirect measurement, based on fiber
scattering--the major source of loss of a fiber. It sends a very powerful pulse
down the fiber, and some of the scattering comes back toward the instrument
where it is measured and stored. As the test pulse moves down the fiber, it
takes a “snapshot” of the fiber illuminated by the test pulse from which
information about the fiber may be implied.
Everything
the OTDR learns about the fiber depends on the amount of light scattered back
toward it and how the instrument is set up for the test. This “backscatter” is
a function of the materials in the fiber and the diameter of the core. Joints
between two dissimilar fibers that have different backscatter coefficients will
not allow one-way measurements--one way the loss is too high, the other way too
low (perhaps even a “gainer” where the change in backscatter is more than the
loss of the connection).
The second
problem with OTDRs on multimode fiber is the laser source. As mentioned above,
lasers couple light narrowly into multimode fiber and will measure lower
attenuation and connector- or splice-loss than recommended by standards on the
outward-bound test pulse. But scattered light probably overfills the fiber,
even more than a LED on the return. To date, we are unaware of anyone who has
modeled this and can provide guidance on the expected test results from an
OTDR.
In
addition, there are problems in premises applications with OTDR distance
resolution. Light travels about 1 meter in 5 nanoseconds. The width of the test
pulse is usually 10 to 30 ns and the minimum resolution of the OTDR is about
three times that, or 2 to 6 meters. Highly reflective events, like multimode
connectors in premises cabling, cause instrument overload and lengthen the
instrument’s minimum resolution. Only a few specialized OTDRs have the
resolution needed for premises cabling.
OTDRs are
complicated instruments. Before the OTDR is used to make a measurement, you
have to set all these parameters correctly: range, wavelength, pulse width,
number of averages, index of refraction of the fiber, and the measurement
method (usually two types for each measurement.) OTDR manufacturers should
teach you how to set up the OTDR properly and how to interpret the rather
complicated display. But few customers are willing to invest the day or two
necessary to learn how to use the instrument properly. So, manufacturers create
an “autotest” function, like a Cat 6 certifier that tests the fiber and gives
you a pass/fail result. Every debacle I have seen in OTDR testing resulted from
inadequately trained personnel using autotest.
Unfortunately,
because of their indirect measurement technique, OTDRs do not easily correlate
with insertion loss tests, and that’s why they are not allowed by industry
standards to be used alone. Some users claim to have been able to control modal
power in multimode fiber and get correlation between OTDRs and insertion-loss
tests. But results are hard to duplicate. The FOA did a comprehensive
comparison test using special mode conditioners and were unable to get
correlation. In fact, some of our tests gave divergent results between two
different OTDRs.
If a user
considers the OTDR test to be a “qualitative” rather than “quantitative” test,
and knows how to interpret the OTDR trace properly, he or she can determine if
connectors and splices are properly installed and if any damage has been done
to the cable during installation. But if the user does not have the experience
and knowledge to do a proper analysis, the device only causes problems.
Testing efficiently and accurately
The
contractor and the user should agree on what documentation and testing are
required before the project is started. Documentation should include the layout
of the cabling, types and numbers of fiber in each cable, connection diagrams,
and insertion-loss test results. That agreement should be part of the bid and
the contract. If the customer wants OTDR data, they should be quizzed on why
they want it and be made to understand that OTDR testing is time-consuming and
expensive (like the instrument itself).
Before
beginning the installation, the contractor should calculate a loss budget for
each link based on the length of the link and the number of connections. This
confirms the equipment will operate over that link. Then, the expected loss
will be known to allow a pass/fail decision by the person doing the testing.
The contractor should have the proper test equipment, and installers using the
equipment should be familiar with its use.
When
terminating cables, each cable should be tested with a source and power meter
using high-quality reference cables. The accuracy of the measurements depends
on having properly operating test equipment, high-quality reference cables with
a mandrel wrap, cleaning all connections before every measurement, and using a
consistent measurement technique.
Reference
cables should be tested with the same test equipment each day and cleaned
carefully before each measurement. This also provides good practice for the
installers using the equipment. All installers using the test equipment should
be familiar with using the mandrel wrap on the launch cables.
Because the
light source and power meter insertion loss test requires an instrument at each
end of the cable, two installers working together will speed up the process. A
visual tracer can be used to identify the next fiber to test, making
communication easier and cheaper than using cell phones.
Data should
be recorded in a spreadsheet alongside the loss-budget calculation used for
pass/fail criteria so the contractor and customer can verify the installation.
Troubleshoot high-loss links that fail testing by testing “single ended” with
only a launch cable. Bad connections will show up as high loss when connected
to the launch cable but not when connected directly to a power meter. So,
reversing the cable test direction will usually find bad connectors.
(Author’s
note: You know what I mean when I say “accurate” – that the measurement made
gives a value close to the “real” value. Standards people prefer we refer to
the “uncertainty” of the measurement because it’s practically impossible to
know what the real value is, but it is possible to determine how much error is
likely in any given measurement. With apologies to those people, I’m going to
use the term “accurate” because we use it more commonly.)
JIM HAYES
is president of The Fiber Optic Association, Inc. (www.thefoa.org), the
professional society of fiber optics. Originally educated as a
physicist/astronomer, he co-founded fiber-optic test equipment company Fotec in
1981, which was sold to Fluke Networks in 2001. Jim has been training fiber
optic technicians for more than 25 years, and is the author of three
fiber-optic textbooks and numerous technical articles. Additional information
on installing and testing fiber optic networks is available on the FOA “Tech
Topics” website: www.thefoa.org/tech/index.html
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Installation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com
*********************************
Online Resources Outside The Mainstream
Every once
in awhile, I’ll be at a trade-show booth or in a training class of some kind,
and I’ll actually try to use one of the tools that are very familiar to you.
Sometimes, it’s a punchdown tool; other times, it’s one of those
fiber-termination tools that is so easy to use anyone can do it in under a
minute. Well, anyone but me.
OK, I don’t
want this to turn into some confession about my total lack of skill using hand
tools. What I’d like to focus on are some of the tools that, in all likelihood,
you and I both use with some level of proficiency. Specifically, some Web sites
have found their way to the top of my list of favorites. Our industry has its
obvious Web resources, including the sites for this and other magazines serving
your information needs, trade associations, interest groups like The Green Grid
and the like. I’m sure you use some of these sites on a pretty regular basis.
But there are some others that might not be so obvious. In case you’re not
familiar with them, please allow me this opportunity to introduce you to them
with a brief description of each. Disclaimer of sorts: Please know that Cabling Installation & Maintenance
has no business affiliation, formal or informal, with the producers of these
sites:
rsjtechnical.com – A bountiful resource on
hazardous-substance-reduction initiatives, such as RoHS (Restriction on
Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment), and
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals).
high-tech.lbl.gov/datacenters.html – The page of the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory site that is most closely related to energy efficiency in
data centers. It summarizes the LBNL’s research into IT energy consumption.
nyquistcapital.com – They do a much better job of
summarizing who they are than I could, so this is directly from their site:
“Nyquist Capital provides actionable and quantitative insight into the
networking and communication component, equipment, and carrier marketplace.” I
first learned of the site through Cabling
Installation & Maintenance’s sister product, Lightwave, which picked up on Nyquist’s report last fall that
Google had decided it was dissatisfied enough with the 10-Gbit Ethernet
networking gear available on the market that it would build its own. That story
got my attention and I have been a regular visitor ever since.
So, now
let’s hear it. What do you think of the sites on this brief list? Which of your
favorite useful sites did I fail to list here?
Some time
ago, I used this space to tell the story of a colleague who asked, “When I get
onto the Internet, where am I going?” Hopefully he has figured it out by now.
As for me, well, not only do I know where I’m going. Now you know, too.
Patrick McLaughlin
Chief Editor
patrick@pennwell.com
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling INstallation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com
*********************************
IP surveillance evolving toward standardization
While analytics have not yet lived
up to their promise, strides are being made to standardize communication among
devices and in situation management.
For the
past few years in the network-video arena, the technology of analytics has held
promise as the next evolutionary step. The Web site videoanalytics.net defines
the technology by saying it “consists of algorithms that detect movement or
changes in live or recorded video to see whether the movement or changes mean a
possible threat is about to occur or occurring. These algorithms work by
examining each pixel of the video and putting together all the pixel changes.
If many pixels are changing in one area and that area is moving in a direction,
the software considers this to be motion. Depending on the policies and alerts
you have set up, you will be notified of this motion or other actions can be
automatically taken by the software such as motion tracking, which follows the
motion until it is no longer detected.”
The
technological development and ultimate deployment of analytics, however, has
fallen far short of the promise and hype applied to it over the past couple of
years. In a recent report, the Australian Customs Service (www.customs.gov.au)
noted several benefits of analytics, including cost-efficiency for hardware as
well as the cost of monitoring staff. That same report also considered
analytics’ limitations, stating, “Video analytics is still very much a pioneering
field and there could be a few decades of research and development before
intelligent cameras can perform human-like analysis. Recognition of subtle
suspicious movements by a person in a crowd or discrimination between
terrorists and other people from a kilometre away, are some common current
misconceptions regarding video analytics abilities. Also, facial recognition is
an ongoing research field and is difficult to carry out with confidence,
especially when it is easy to fool with disguises. A very good
unobstructed view of a person's face is needed for facial recognition.”
The report
adds, “While motion detection is the most common application of video
analytics, few of the intelligent video products achieve low false alarm rates
(a maximum of 20 false alarms per night). A false alarm rate beyond this
can lead to security staff ignoring the alarm or having video analytics
switched off all together. It is also possible to defeat motion detection
by very slow movement through the detection zone.”
The report
concluded, in part, “Security consultants, clients, and end users should
understand that the technical functionalities are highly dependent on
environmental variables and that the analytical algorithms do not contain
artificial-intelligence program structures. Therefore,
there should be no expectation that a CCTV system incorporating video analytics
will replicate human perception or learn from previous detection events to
reduce false alarm rates. The technology, at this stage of its
development, should be seen as a motion detector, based on searches for video
image changes, which can be adapted to suit specific applications.”
Technology
forges ahead
While analytics still has some strides to make before it
provides the practical functionality many had anticipated or hoped for, the
overall capabilities of Internet Protocol (IP)-based video cameras and
surveillance systems have continued to evolve and develop. Furthermore, the
marketplace in which these systems are designed, built, and deployed is a dynamic
one, marked by collaborations and partnerships among vendors.
Two months ago, IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com)
downgraded its forecast for the U.S.
network-video surveillance market this year. In an overall positive-toned
release, the researcher stated that network-video surveillance is one of the
fastest growing markets in the security industry, with the overall market for
cameras, video servers, and network-video recorders having grown by 45% last
year. After a slow start this year, though, it is unlikely the market will
repeat that growth rate, IMS stated.
“In spite of the stagnant economy, the U.S. market for
network-video surveillance products is still growing strongly, albeit at a
reduced rate from 2007,” says IMS senior research director Simon Harris. “We
anticipate that the market will grow well above 30% in 2008 and may even top
40%, particularly if the economy picks up in the second half of the year.”
Ray Mauritsson, president of IP-camera market leader Axis
Communications (www.axis.com), commented, “We have seen signals from the
market, e.g. from the retail trade in Europe but particularly in the U.S., where
major retail chains have chosen not to expand as planned. As approximately 25%
of all video installations are performed within that segment, we have drawn the
conclusion that the pace of the technology shift from analog to digital network
video has slowed down.”
A growth rate of 30% is a boon by just about any
standards, and activity in the IP-security industry is steady. Axis’ Mauritsson
reference to the “shift from analog to digital network video,” is particularly
relevant, as many users who deploy this burgeoning-while-fledgling technology
find themselves without a true plug-and-play end-to-end system. As a result,
several partnerships and collaborations have developed in the industry, while
merger-and-acquisition activity has emerged as well.
Partnerships
aplenty
For example, Vicon Industries (www.vicon-cctv.com) and
Verint Systems (www.verint.com) just weeks ago announced a partnership under
which Vicon’s camera dome will incorporate Verint’s encoding technology in the
Nextiva S2800e IP pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) camera.
“We have witnessed the preference for SurveyorVFT domes
in demanding, high-profile installations for many years, both in cases where
our own ViconNet software is used, as well as in situations where other
manufacturers’ software is controlling the system,” states Bret McGown, Vicon’s
vice president of sales and marketing. “Our new partnership with Verint will
make our domes available to the growing sector of the marketplace that is
requiring direct IP connectivity from their cameras and, as in this case,
working in an open platform environment.”
The partnership between the two companies is hardly
unique. This past spring, ioimage (www.ioimage.com) and Orsus (www.orsus.com)
announced a partnership to jointly bring analytics and situation-management
solutions to the market. Through the partnership, Orsus’ Situator product
supports intelligent video encoders and IP cameras from ioimage. (See sidebar
for detail on situation management systems.)
“The physical security information management systems
market has been experiencing significant growth and, as a result, we recognize
the importance of providing open solutions to systems integrators and end
users,” says Dvir Doron, vice president of marketing with ioimage. “In working
with Orsus, we leveraged our open architecture and rapid integration approach
to offer the market an integrated video analytics platform designed for simplicity
in installation and use.”
Earlier this year, Pelco (www.pelco.com) partnered with
DSX Access Systems (www.dsxinc.com) to provide integration of Pelco’s digital
video recording systems and IP video management software with DSX
access-control systems. The technology collaboration yields a system that
records, stores, and retrieves video-based intrusion and access-control events.
In other activity, Bosch Security Systems
(www.boschsecurity.us) has partnered with NetApp (www.netapp.com) in a
co-branding campaign that pairs Bosch’s CCTV portfolio of products with
NetApp’s storage devices.
“The market is continuing to mature in its understanding
of IP video system architectures, resulting in a substantial uptick in the
adoption of Bosch’s approach for recording video—streaming video direct to a
RAID array or storage area network and eliminating network video recorders,”
explains Johan Jubbega, vice president of global video systems and products
with Bosch. “The partnership with NetApp will increase the options we offer our
customers by adding proven technology.”
Earlier in the year, Bosch acquired Canadian company
Extreme CCTV Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of active infrared illuminators,
integrated day/night cameras with active illumination, and hardened imaging
products for use in extreme environments. Extreme CCTV also had a hand in
analytics, developing license-plate capture and recognition technology.
Open
architecture and interoperability
These collaborations hint at what is an ever-present reality
for network-video professionals today: the lack of interoperability among
devices. A few efforts are underway to address this issue, including
Panasonic’s (www.panasonic.com) launching of the Panasonic Solution Developer
Network (PSDN). PSDN allows program members to obtain open-interface protocols,
software and development tools, and technical information to allow them to
efficiently integrate Panasonic surveillance cameras, video recorders, and
system components—digital and analog. Panasonic recently added more than 20
participants to the program in a six-month period, including Verint, Vicon, and
Honeywell.
“As the security industry increasingly demands
interoperability, we’ve been able to establish relationships with an expanding
number of partners to deliver the integrated solutions that today’s customers
are demanding,” says Mike Maddox, system sales engineer and program manager for
PSDN. “The ‘Open Infrastructure’ initiative is an integral component of our
business plan to provide comprehensive systems solutions employing core
Panasonic video-surveillance technologies and products.”
In May, Axis, Bosch, and Sony (www.sony.net) announced
they will cooperate to create an open forum aimed at developing a standard for
the interface of network video products. A joint release issued by the three
companies stated, “Currently, there is no global standard defining how network
video products such as cameras, video encoders, and video management systems
should communicate with each other. The new standard is expected to comprise
interfaces for specifications such as video streaming, device discovery, and
intelligence metadata. The framework of the standard, incorporating the key
elements of network video product interoperability, will be released in October
2008 at the Security show in Essen,
Germany.”
Executives from each company were quoted at the time of
the announcement. Said Axis’ Mauritsson, “An open standard will make it even
easier for integrators and end users to benefit from the many possibilities offered
by IP-based video surveillance technology.”
Bosch executive vice president Gert van Iperen stated,
“This cooperation represents a great leap forward in establishing an
international open forum focusing on network video surveillance. For
manufacturers of network video hardware and software, the forum and its
standard will be an efficient way to ensure product interoperability.”
Yoshinori Onoue, senior vice president for Sony,
commented, “We entered this discussion based on our common belief that an open
standard will provide great benefits for users and everyone involved in the
security industry.”
Analytics and
situation management
When ioimage and Orsus teamed up earlier this year, they
combined analytics and situation-management capabilities. But what exactly is
situation management? Rafi Bhonker, vice president of marketing with Orsus,
explains:
“Situation management glues together functions, logic,
and the application layer that these functions provide. To use an analogy, a
situation-management system joins these functions the way that cabling connects
devices together.”
In a typical example of situation management, someone
forces open a door, which creates an alert. Says Bhonker, “If you have one
system, which notifies you of a forced-door alert, someone can investigate.
Personnel sitting remotely will see an alarm, which could be false; however, if
you are able to connect this access-control alert to a volume detector, or
perhaps some other video-motion detector or analytics system that knows a door
was forced, you can apply some logic. If it was simply a door force, which
happens 10 or 20 times a day many places, but nothing else was alerted, it can
be logged. If two or three alerts go together, you have a completely different
situation that requires a higher-level response.”
A situation management system, then, is an overlay to the
existing security systems in place, including those with analytics. SMS
software packages may provide their highest degree of value when users program
certain responses to certain triggers. Bhonker explains such a setup can
provide “not just an awareness of what happened, but also what needs to be
done. Users can program the system so in the case of a certain event, the
system takes any number of actions—messages, notifications, camera popups,
providing a checklist of things the operator needs to do in the control room,
automatically sending a checklist to the first responder’s handheld. Most users
are not thinking in these terms today. They are thinking about cameras, and
analytics perhaps, but not necessarily about automating them.” —PM
PATRICK McLAUGHLIN is chief editor of Cabling Installation & Maintenance.
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling INstallation & Maintenance www.cablinginstall.com
Cabling Networking Systems Magazine
Another way to pay
With so many
options available, what's the compelling reason to pay via one's mobile phone?
By Trevor
Marshall
By the time you read this,
MasterCard Canada
and Bell Mobility should be in the midst of a four-month test that could
eventually give Canadians the ability to pay for purchases with their mobile
phone. The question I have to ask is do we really need it?
The mobile industry and
those who watch it have been excited about this type of device-enabled commerce
since Industry Canada
awarded digital PCS (Personal Communications Services) licences in the
mid-1990s.
Coincidentally, that is
about the same time that the debit card was gaining real traction as a payment
option in this country.
The debit card (or bank
card) gave Canadians an important choice for secure payments: We could use a
credit card to buy something with money we did not yet have OR use a debit card
to buy something with money that we already did.
Either option offers
advantages over using cash or cheques such as authentication, security,
creating a paper trail of the purchase and so on.
More recently, contactless
payment systems have rolled into the market. MasterCardís PayPass is one of
these. So are the various systems found at gas stations: Esso's Speedpass and
Shell's easyPAY.
These systems use
near-field communications and RFIDenabled cards or key fobs. In a nutshell, it
is "tap-and-go" payment: Touch your key fob or wallet to a sensor and
you are done. Paying this way speeds up the process in most instances by
eliminating the need to find the card and then type in a code or sign a
receipt.
So what is new?
Now, the payment folks and
the mobile squad want to move contactless payment to our mobiles. Beyond the
geek factor, I am at a loss to understand the advantages of this.
I suppose someone who does
not need to carry keys or cards will welcome the ability to add m-payments to
their phone, but how many of us can get through daily life without keys and
cards?
Yes, there is some added
security in that the PayPass application can be password protected so that a
lost or stolen phone cannot be used to purchase goods.
However, debit cards
already have pass codes, so they already offer a comparable level of security.
What is more, password protection would eliminate the convenience of tap-and-go
commerce. So what is new? More to explore.
And that is really too bad,
because Canadians actually could enjoy many benefits from a payment system that
uses the phone to authenticate transactions in which the card is NOT present.
These types of transactions happen all the time on the Internet.
Canadians love shopping on
the Internet. Today, I can buy goods by typing in my card number, expiry and in
some cases a three or four digit security code that is found on the card
itself. That is a process any thief with card in hand can follow, too. But what
if MasterCard has linked my wireless number to my account? MasterCard could
automatically generate a message sent to my mobile, asking for a PIN to
authenticate the transaction. Someone stealing my card and my phone would still
not be able to use the card to buy stuff online.
And if someone attempted to
use information from a legitimate transaction to commit fraud (a process known
as skimming) the request for a PIN would alert me to the fact that something
was not right.
Perhaps this is the
direction in which card issuers and wireless networks would like to evolve the
current payment system, and the current test of contactless payments using
mobile phones is a first step.
If so, then it is a great
idea but there is more to explore. Keep going, and I will be the first in line
to sign up for the authentication service when it hits the market.
But if what were about to
see is simply another way to pay -- a substitution of the physical device used
-- then it is time to return to the idea lab. Canadians already enjoy the
convenience of debit and credit cards, contactless key fobs, cash and cheques.
Unlike a phone, these will
not die if we forget to plug them in and they will never ring in the middle of
a transaction.
In the meantime, the best
payment-related use for our mobile phones may be to store the emergency numbers
of our various card issuers in case our wallet or purse is lost or stolen.
Trevor Marshall is a
Toronto-based reporter, writer and observer of the Canadian wireless industry.
He can be reached (on his mobile) at 416-878-7730 or trevor@words-tm.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Networking Systems www.cnsmmagazine.com
*********************************
Why BICSI makes sense
The
challenge for many in the ITS industry is to find sources of information which
are useful, reliable, current and affordable.
By Richard
Smith
As BICSI's Canadian region
director (an elected, volunteer position), I strive to improve all BICSI
members' careers as well as the entire information transport systems (ITS)
infrastructure industry.
With the aid of the staff
at BICSI headquarters in Tampa,
Fla., I am able to provide
information to those who choose careers in designing, installing and
maintaining ITS infrastructure in many different ways -- BICSI conferences,
region meetings and breakfast clubs; on BICSI's Web site, www.bicsi.org; and through numerous magazine
articles such as this one.
BICSI was formed in 1974 to
help the blossoming ITS industry develop manufacturer-independent and
vendor-neutral documents that provided guidance related to codes, standards and
best practices.
Today, with the rapid pace
of technological change, BICSI is looked to by professionals around the world
who are seeking up-to-date information that helps them provide safe, reliable
ITS installations.
Because of the number of
resources needed to identify and update internal technical documents, even
large service providers look to BICSI for current technical information.
There are numerous
reference manuals that focus on LAN, Wireless and Security, including the
1,900-page Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual.
These manuals are updated
extensively on a two-to-three-year cycle to reflect the newest information in
the industry. Besides being recognized as world-class technical documents, they
are the basis for BICSI's professional accreditations such as the Registered
Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD).
Recently, BICSI has
broadened its focus beyond only producing reference documents and has started
writing standards that focus on various ITS subjects and entire institutions.
With this, BICSI has again taken initiative to aid its members with technical
information that improves productivity and profitability.
BICSI's technical staff,
along with a myriad of subject matter experts (SMEs), are currently working on
these standards:
ANSI/BICSI -001 K -12 ANSI/BICSI -002 Data Centre
ANSI/NECA/BICSI -607
Bonding Grounding (Earthing)
ANSI/BICSI -003 International Cabling Standard ANSI/BICSI -004 Post
Secondary
ANSI/BICSI -005 Home
Technology Reference Manual ANSI/BICSI -006 Healthcare ANSI/BICSI -007
Industrial
The challenge for many in
the ITS industry is to find sources of information which are useful, reliable,
current and affordable.
Unfortunately, technical
information quickly becomes outdated. Rather than having an in-house
administrative assistant and part-time librarian keeping technical documents
up-to-date, a better option is to become a BICSI member.
For US$150 a year, BICSI
provides you with access to information specific to your ITS infrastructure
market information needs. When purchasing BICSI and many non- BICSI standards,
BICSI members get discounts which far exceed the cost of membership.
Essentially, professionals
working in the ITS industry want to provide customers with the best possible
service at a mutually beneficial cost. To this point consider:
It is unwise to pay too
much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a
little money--that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose
everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it
was bought to do.
The common law of
business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot -- it cannot be
done.
If you deal with the
lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do
that you will have enough to pay for something better. -- Author, poet and
artist John Ruskin (1819 -1900)
Whether you are purchasing
or providing ITS labour and material, based on my 33 years in the ITS industry,
I firmly believe that BICSI offers you and your business true value and
unbiased technical information that is second to none.
I encourage you to give
headquarters a call at (813) 979- 1991 or visit BICSI's Web site, www.bicsi.org, and register as a member. It
just might be the best business decision related to training you will ever
make.
Richard Smith is the
Canadian Region Director of BICSI and the manager of Aliant Cabling Solutions
in Moncton, N.
B. He can be reached at rsmith@bicsi.org.
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Networking Systems www.cnsmmagazine.com
*********************************
OTDR CHRONICLES
A critical
tool in the certification process, it is the only instrument that allows
technicians to perform Tier 2 certification -- a must in today's testing
continuum.
By David
Green
As the use of fiber in
premise networks continues to grow, so do the requirements for fiber testing
and certification. With the increased usage of fiber networks, there is more
demand on technicians and installers to offer certification services.
In today's competitive
environment, it is important that contractors develop a test strategy based
upon the requirements set by the consultant, system designer or network owner
and their own resources, equipment and tolerance for risk. This demands tools
that are easy to use and capable of delivering test results and reports in an
easy-to-understand format.
A critical tool in the
certification process is the Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR). It is
the only instrument that allows technicians to perform Tier 2 certification --
a must in today's testing continuum.
Tier 1 certification, which
is performed using an Optical Loss Test Set (OLTS) is a mainstay for testing
fiber optic cabling. An OLTS tests for loss budgets on the fiber link. (An
Optical Loss Test Set 1 certification is described in standards such as
Telecommunications Industry Association's TSB140 bulletin entitled
"Additional Guidelines for Field- Testing Length, Loss and Polarity of
Optical Fiber Cabling Systems.")
Tier 2 certification is
necessary for proving the cabling and connections were done correctly. This
goes beyond overall loss budgets to look more specifically at loss budgets for
individual splices and connectors. Because OLTS products cannot test at this
level, standards organizations are recommending "Extended" or
"Tier 2" fiber certification.
OTDRs certify the
performance of new fiber links and detect problems with existing fiber links.
An OTDR measures optical fiber characteristics; presents a graphical plot of
reflected optical power along a fiber; and provides a table listing optical
event characteristics discovered in a fiber.
Measurements include total
loss, segment, length, as well as characterization of events in the fiber
including breaks, connections, splices and tight bends. An OTDR can also
measure overall fiber optical return loss and the reflectance of connectors.
An important advantage of
an OTDR is its ability to perform single-ended testing and troubleshooting.
This means it is needed at only one end of the fiber to run the test. An OTDR
can also identify and characterize loss and reflectivity of events not detected
by other types of fiber test equipment.
This ability to pinpoint
the distance to a fault means you can quickly find their location and make
rapid repairs. Some OTDRs include other useful troubleshooting capabilities,
such as end-face inspection or a power meter.
An OTDR works by using
special pulsed laser diodes to transmit high- power light pulses into a fiber.
As the pulses travel down the fiber, most of the light travels in that
direction. High-gain light detectors measure any light that is reflected from
each pulse.
The OTDR uses these
measurements to detect events in the fiber that reduce or reflect the power in
the source pulse.
For example, a small
fraction of the pulse light is scattered in a different direction due to the
normal structure of fiber and small defects in the glass. This phenomenon of
light scattered by impurities in the fiber is called Rayleigh backscattering. A
certain amount of backscatter is expected based on a fiber's attenuation
coefficient specification.
When a pulse of light meets
connections, breaks, cracks, splices, sharp bends or the end of the fiber, it
reflects due to the change in the refractive index.
These reflections are
called Fresnel (pronounced frA-NEL) reflections. The amount of light reflected
(not including the backscatter) relative to the source pulse is the called
reflectance.
It is expressed in units of
dB and is usually expressed as a negative value for passive optics, with values
closer to 0 representing larger reflectance, poorer connections and greater
losses.
OTDRs display trace results
by plotting reflected and backscattered light versus distance along the fiber
as shown in figure 1 on p. 22. The Y axis represents power level and the X axis
shows distance. When you read the plot from left to right, the backscatter
values decrease because the loss increases as the distance increases.
OTDR traces have several
common characteristics. Most traces begin with an initial input pulse that is a
result of a Fresnel reflection occurring at the connection to the OTDR.
Following this pulse, the OTDR trace is a curve sloping downward and
interrupted by gradual shifts. The gradual decline results from backscattering
as light travels along the fiber. This decline may be interrupted by sharp
shifts that represent a deviation of the trace in the upward or downward
direction.
Loss events appear as a
step down on the plot. These shifts or point defects are usually caused by
connectors, splices or breaks. The end of the fiber can be identified by a
large spike after which the trace drops dramatically down the Y axis. Finally,
the output pulse at the end of the OTDR trace results from reflection occurring
at the output of the fiber-end face.
An OTDR trace is valuable
because it makes it possible to certify that the workmanship and quality of the
installation meets the design and warranty specifications for current and
future applications. For example, common requirements are that the loss
associated with a splice should be no larger than 0.3 dB and that associated
with a connector should be no more than 0.75 dB.
While these event losses
are completely invisible to an OLTS, the performance of each splice and
connector can be measured with an OTDR. If they do not meet specification, they
can be corrected during the installation process before the network is live.
Many contractors perform Tier 2 certification as preventative maintenance and
to document their workmanship on a completed installation.
Another recent development
in fiber optic testing is the availability of OTDR modules for copper cable
analyzers. OTDR modules greatly simplify the task of performing Tier 2 testing
of fiber links.
Anyone familiar with copper
certification can now easily perform Tier 2 fiber certification because they
see a familiar user interface, commands, and diagnostics. This shortens the
learning curve and extends the value of the existing copper tester.
Choosing the right OTDR for
the job is critical. A variety of OTDRs are available, each claiming high
performance, fast testing, and ease of use. However, OTDR specifications,
interpretation, and measurement methods can be inconsistent. Informed buyers
must not only understand OTDR specifications, but also what is important for
their intended application.
Following are some
guidelines on selecting an OTDR:
• Understand the primary
use -- Contractors performing extended certification will want a simple,
easy-to-use OTDR that has the same user interface as their other fiber and
copper certification testers. Features such as test limits, report generation,
and efficiency are very important. Network owners performing maintenance and
troubleshooting on the other hand will want an OTDR that has multiple functions
for keeping the network running and performing moves, adds, changes. In
particular, since the fiber lengths in premises' fiber networks and data
centers are short (and they include patch cords), it is essential to choose an
OTDR with short "dead zones."
• Understand your user
-- If only the most experienced technicians or installer will use the OTDR,
a complex unit is appropriate. If a wider range of people will be using it,
choose one that is easier to learn and operate.
• Factor in productivity
needs -- The time that it takes to operate an OTDR varies from instrument
to instrument. An OTDR may meet performance specifications and be less
expensive, but not deliver the expected return on investment once it is put
into use. The tester should not waste a technician's time on complicated set-up
and operation. During critical troubleshooting, you do not want to have users
waste time trying to remember how to make the OTDR work or to set it up
correctly.
• Consider the design
and ease-of-use -- Ensure that the device has specifications for shock,
vibration and drop testing. Handle it to see if it is easy to handle and carry.
Also confirm the modularity to ensure that you can upgrade the unit as
technology evolves. Take the unit for a "test drive" to make sure the
buttons and menus are easy to navigate; as well as to determined which processes
are automated vs. manual (e. g. event analysis, test parameter selection,
etc.).
As fiber network speeds
increase, more extensive cable testing is required. Specifications for new
installations demand extended fiber certification in addition to insertion loss
testing order to ensure the quality of the cabling infrastructure. And many
technicians need a quick, accurate way to troubleshoot problems and get a
complete picture of the network that they maintain.
Choosing the right OTDR for
your needs is important. Some OTDRs are optimized for contractors performing
certification testing.
Others are great for
network engineers and technicians maintaining fiber cabling on corporate
campuses and in enterprise datacenters. And many OTDRs are designed only for
testing long-distance optical fibers, which makes them a poor match for testing
and troubleshooting premises fiber networks.
Therefore it is important
to perform the research into available options so you can make an informed
decision on the OTDR that's right for your needs.
David Green is Director of
Marketing for Fluke's AmPac Region, including Canada,
Australia and Latin America, and has been involved in technical
support, sales and marketing of various technologies for communications,
automation, testing and troubleshooting of industrial and commercial systems
for over 30 years.
Editor's note: This article is the first in a
two-part series on OTDR tools and practices. The next will provide an overview
of advanced OTDR analysis.
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Networking Systems www.cnsmmagazine.com
*********************************
Cat6A's time has Arrived
It might
have taken five years to come up with the standards, but for copper proponents
the wait was worth it. The technology behind it ensures that copper-based
structured cabling is good for at least 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and likely beyond.
By Perry
Greenbaum
At first glance, one would
say that augmented Category 6 (Cat6A) cabling might have a lot of strikes
against it. For one, the TIA TR 42 engineering committee had a huge technical
problem to overcome in developing and ratifying a standard for a 10-Gigabit
copper solution.
The technical problem
centers on what electrical engineers call alien crosstalk, a coupling
interference or noise that comes from adjacent cables that ultimately affects a
system's performance. Resolving such problems might greatly explains why it
took five years to write the standard, now known as TIA 568 B. 2-10.
The standard for Category
6A, which the engineering committee ratified on February 8, represents the most
advanced set of network cabling requirements specified up to 500 MHz. Category
6A is fully backward compatible with all the previous categories, including Category
6, Category 5e and Category 5.
"It is the most
demanding stringent spec in the industry," says Paul Kish, director of
systems and standards at Belden in St
Laurent, Que. and also one of the engineers who sat on
TIA TR 42 committee. "It's not just another generation of cabling. There
is a lot of technology behind it."
The specification itself is
a massive 136 pages in length, replete with 32 diagrams of test configurations,
57 tables of test specs and 35 drawings of special test fixtures required to make
proper measurements and conduct required tests. In addition, Cat 6A requires
new test equipment, defined as a Level IIIe tester, priced between $6,500 and
8,000 plus several test adapters each at around $400.
That being the case, one
would hope that there is a solid business case for companies to upgrade to Cat
6A cabling.
Much of it rests with the
anticipated need for speed and reliability that the old cable categories just
cannot handle. The basic drive behind Cat 6A is the desire to support 10 Gbps
(informally called 10G or 10 Gig in the trade) to the desk over the standard
100 metres. Although the current Cat 6 standard will support it up to 55
metres, this is not suitable for most organizations.
One of the key questions is
whether companies ought to go about installing Cat 6A cables now, or wait until
prices drop, as they invariably do when supply is greater than demand. The
problem being that if companies wait too long, competitors might get the edge
with faster, more efficient operations.
"That's always the
dilemma, since cabling is strategic to your business needs," says Richard
Smith, Canadian region director of BICSI and manager at Bell Aliant Cabling
Solutions in Moncton, N. B. "The decision ultimately comes down to the
type of business that you are operating in, and where your business is headed
in the short-to mid-term. Do not spend the money if you are not going to see
the return on investment."
Many analysts predict that
structured cabling is ready to enter a substantial period of growth within the
next five years. For example, Frank Murawski of FTM Consulting in Hummelstown, Pa.,
says that the worldwide market for structured cabling will grow from US $15.3
billion in 2008 at an annual compound rate of 13.7% to US $29.1 billion by
2013.
Much of the growth is
expected to take place with fiber, where Murawski predicts that in 2013, fiber
will account for 60.1% of the total structured cabling systems market.
If applications are the
chief driving force behind Cat 6A, the main users of such high-speed copper
cable are data centres and Internet server farms, most of them operating for
financial-services firms.
These centres, which are
often tucked away in secret secure locations, process transactions like debit,
credit card and online transactions for banks, credit card companies and
brokerage and insurance firms.
Given the continuing and
increasing use of consumer debit and credit cards, one can easily see how a
data centre can likely process billions of transactions per year.
To speed things up and shorten
the time for each transaction requires both an efficient network and reliable
communications between servers, while consuming less energy, which is a growing
concern.
Such industry requirement
easily explains the growing trend to 10 Gig in the data centre and the
increased reliance on server virtualization as a means to speed up processes.
"You need very quick communications between servers," says Kish, who points out many
studies show that "doing it that way increases the efficiency of the
network by 80%."
Others agree on the power
of virtualization. "Virtualization for data centres is one of the driving
forces for 10-Gigabit Ethernet," says George Zimmerman, chief technology
officer for Solareflare Communications in Irvine,
Calif., a silicon vendor of
Ethernet products that enable the adoption of 10 Gigabit for data centres and
enterprise networks. "Virtualization and storage are driving 10G. The
virtualization application makes companies run at 70% or 80% capacity in data
centres. It allows a virtual data centres to operate more efficiently. And
since many of these data centres have been using copper solutions, they will
likely stick with copper." For one, copper allows ad-hoc upgrades, when
needed, something that cannot easily be done with a fiber solution.
Thus, with Cat 6A, Storage
over Ethernet links can now replace fiber channel over Ethernet.
Future of Cat 7 &
Cat7A
The Cat 7 standard had been
created to allow 10- Gigabit Ethernet over 100 metres of copper. The cable
contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards.
Cat 7 can be terminated in
RJ-45 compatible GG45 electrical connectors, which incorporate the RJ-45
standard, and a new type of connection to enable a smoother migration to the
new standard.
When combined with GG-45
connectors, Cat 7 is rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz, which
is greater than Cat 6A.
While there might not be
any significant current uses for such bandwidth in the typical office, it will
likely become more important if trends toward the use of high-speed and
highbandwidth video take place.
In short, convergence will
(finally) be a reality. Two video applications, in particular, come to mind as
very real possibilities: video-phones and video on demand at the desktop. Such
high-speed and high-bandwidth applications might drive the need for a Cat 7 or
Cat 7A solution for businesses.
One anticipated area of
growth is employee training, where trainers would deliver lectures and training
material via video straight to the desktop (see sidebar, Beyond Cat 6A).
To be sure, things are
moving forward for a 100-Gig copper solution. A test at Penn State University
last year showed that it was possible to transport 100 Gigabits per second over
70 metres of Cat 7 cable (ISO/IEC11801: 2002 category 7/class F). They are
looking to extend the range to 100 metres using a cable manufactured by Nexans.
"We have examined the possibility of sending digital data at a rate of 100
Gigabits per second over 100 meters of Category-7 copper cable," said
Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss endowed chair professor of electrical
engineering. "These are the current, new generation of Ethernet
cables." This technology may be available in early 2013.
Yet, not everyone agrees
that there is a need for a 10-Gig copper solution, let alone a 40-or 100-Gig
copper pipe. "There is no real business case for Cat 6A," says Jim
Hayes, founder of the Structured Cabling Association in Fallbrook, Calif.
"LAN backbones have
already become a fiber-optic stronghold and upgrades to 10G Ethernet can be
done by just swapping out the electronics at most companies. New cabling
systems are using laser-optimized OM3 fiber, the perfect media for 10G Ethernet
and perhaps even 40G and 100G when they become available."
That reasoning, Hayes says,
essentially leaves server connections as the only available market for Cat 6A,
and even then, that could well be served 10Gbase-CX4, which although limited to
15 m, is adequate for most server connections.
Other concerns relate to
the cable's size. The diameter of a Cat 6A is 0.31-inches versus 0.22 inches
for Cat 6, a 40% increase. That is a significant difference in bulk,
particularly when you are running hundreds or even thousands of feet of cable
for an installation.
As well, optical makers
such as Corning Cable Systems point out the following: A typical plenum Cat 6A
UTP cable weighs 46 lbs per 1,000 ft of cable. The accumulated weight of Cat 6A
cabling alone to serve a 108-circuit, 200-ft length, 10G installation will be
about 1,000 lbs, compared to 40 lbs for the same length of a 216-fiberoptical
cable.
The 25-times greater weight
of Cat 6A cables, the company argues, "will require additional hardware
costs to support the load, and may contribute to cable strain relief issues in
hardware, as well as compression issues in trays and conduits." Corning does not mention,
however, the greater cost of optical fiber over copper -- up to four times more
in some cases. As well, fiber is still trickier to handle and install than
copper.
Even so, Hayes focuses less
on large data centres and server farms and more on everyday business users,
typically those who operate small to medium sized businesses. For Hayes and
other like-minded individuals, it is all about mobility and convenience and
wireless fits that need exceptionally well.
"The network of the
future is certainly not recabling every couple of years with another UTP
upgrade. If 10G needs to be delivered to the desk, it's probably going to be on
fiber," Hayes predicts, "not just for the bandwidth, but also for the
lower power consumption. But I'm betting on more mobile applications, with a
backbone of fiber connecting wireless access points."
Zimmerman of Solareflare
could not disagree more. "I see wired and wireless networks
co-existing," he says. "In terms of reliability and security, the
wired network is the main infrastructure and the wireless network is more of a
convenience network." That being said, it might well be that there is room
for both copper and fiber in today's business environment. Kish of Belden makes
his strongest point on the staying power of structured copper cables like Cat
6A.
For the newer applications
that will require higher bandwidth and greater speeds, whether that is VoIP,
video on demand or video-phones, companies will have to seriously consider the
merits of Cat 6A cabling solutions as they either expand or upgrade their
networks and look at the whole issue of convergence.
"If you consider some
of the technology that's built in, "it's quite impressive," Belden's Kish says. "It's the
most reliable cabling system that you can put in."
Fair enough. Copper has
many advantages, says Steven Foster, marketing manager at The Siemon Company, a
maker of network cabling in Watertown,
Conn: "Copper cabling is
straightforward, reliable and almost universal," he says. "It's
flexible and can be laid rapidly, effective for nearly all applications. It
comes in several varieties, designated by their performance category rating.
The sheer functionality and cost-effectiveness of copper cabling mean it will
be the system of choice for a long time to come."
That being the case, it
looks as if Cat 6A will be a winner, leading the way to future improvements in
structured cabling, when, one day in the future, 100G installations become the
industry norm.
Simply put, one should be
cautious about predicting copper's demise. Copper is here to stay.
Perry Greenbaum is a
Montreal-based freelance writer. He can be reached at pjgreenbaum@gmail.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Networking Systems www.cnsmmagazine.com
*********************************
Editor's Desk
Time
for ICT to step up to the plate
By Paul
Barker
In March, corporate
heavyweights Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Research in Motion and Bell Canada
Enterprises each announced support of a plan by Quebec-based PROMPT Inc. to
develop a carbon-neutral Internet.
In June, HP Labs announced
that it will focus its sustainability research on three major projects --
reducing the carbon footprint of data centres by 75%, replacing copper wires
with laser light beams and developing a series of software and services tools
to measure and manage environmental impacts such as carbon emissions and total
energy usage.
That same month, IBM Corp.
signed an agreement with gigaCENTER Services Corp. that will see the two build
a $75 million 46,000 square metre green data centre in Kelowna, B. C. IBM also
released details of a new service called the IT Carbon Strategy Study, which it
said will allow companies starting out on their "green
transformation" to identify the most rapid areas of reduction in IT carbon
emissions. The company estimates that a significant reduction in carbon
footprint can be achieved in "often overlooked areas such as desktop
systems, networking components, server rooms and printers."
All of this activity is
good news to Bill St. Arnaud, chief research officer of Canarie Inc.
Responsible for the coordination and implementation of Canada's next generation
optical Internet initiative called CA*net4, he spoke about the need for the ICT
industry to initiate change (see story p. 6) at the recent 2008 Canadian
Telecom Summit in Toronto.
In presentations, St.
Arnaud points out that the ICT industry and research community have a
collective responsibility to help address the problem of global warming. He
adds that "this is a community that is used to rapid changes and has many
of the most innovative people in both academia and business."
To that end, "research
and education networks and CIOs could play a critical leadership role in
deploying new network and cyber infrastructures that eliminate their carbon
footprints."
A study released on June 20
entitled Smart 2020: enabling the low carbon economy in the information age,
concludes that transformation in the way people and businesses use
technology could reduce annual man-made global emissions by 15% by 2020 and
deliver energy efficiency savings to global businesses of over US$800 billion.
Written by The Climate
Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, the independent findings
reveals that while ICT's own sector footprint of 2% of global emissions will
almost double by 2020, its "unique ability to monitor and maximize energy
efficiency both within and outside of its owner sector could cut CO2 emissions
by up to five times this amount.
This represents a saving of
7.8 Giga-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GTCO2E), which the report says is
greater than the current annual emissions of either the U. S. or China. Organizations supporting the
report include GeSI member companies Bell Canada, British Telecommunications
plc (BT), Cisco Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks, HP, Intel and Microsoft.
"PCs, mobile phones
and the Web have transformed the way we all live and do business," said
Steve Howard, CEO of the Climate Group. "Global warning and soaring energy
prices mean that rethinking how every home and business uses technology to cut
unnecessary costs and carbon is critical to our environment and economy.
"Supported by innovative
government policy, ICT can unlock the clean green industrial revolution we need
to tackle climate change and usher in a new era of low carbon prosperity."
Reprinted
with full permission of Cabling Networking Systems www.cnsmmagazine.com
Communications News Magazine
Not Very Social
Fifteen
years ago, they were called bulletin boards. Judged by today’s technologies,
they were pretty clunky. You typed questions or information in a few fields and
waited (and hoped) for a response. They were the Internet’s first “social
networks.”
Today, of
course, when the topic of social networks comes up, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube
and LinkedIn come to mind. Social networks, however, can take on different
shapes than these more consumer-oriented sites–as intranets, for example.
Intranets
are fairly simple to set up and maintain. In fact, some leading free blogging
programs offer most of the bells and whistles to set up highly interactive
information-sharing applications that can improve employee productivity and
idea implementation.
Forrester Research estimates that social networking
will be a huge priority for organizations, part of a $4.6 billion Web 2.0
industry by 2013, with social networks making up nearly $2 billion of that
amount. How much of that, however, will involve consumer social networking
sites versus intranet social networking?
Forrester
predicts there will be a lot of intra-company networking tools (e.g., corporate
directories or internal forums), as well as more interactive varieties of
technical support. (At Communications News, we are currently setting up
such an intranet.) The biggest adopters of social networking are expected to be
large companies; smaller businesses, meanwhile, are more skeptical.
While
intranets seem to be a logical adaptation of social networking, allowing
employees unfettered access to consumer social networking sites does not seem
to be as big a concern among enterprises as one would think, given the security
and productivity issues involved. According to an evaluation of businesses
using Barracuda Networks’ Web Filters product, only 50 percent of organizations
are blocking MySpace or Facebook.
Of those
organizations that do block these sites, 70 percent do so for virus or spyware
prevention; 52 percent restrict Web surfing due to employee productivity drain.
This year, however, 65 percent of businesses surveyed by Barracuda say they
will restrict Web surfing, up 23 percent. Companies also cite bandwidth
concerns (36 percent) and liability issues (28 percent) as additional reasons
to cut into employee Web surfing.
“If
someone’s spending too much time online or addicted to playing Scrabble with
somebody on Facebook, then he might not be doing his job,” says Paul Wood, senior
security analyst at MessageLabs.
Many
companies have started using consumer social networking sites to reach
customers and market their products. There seems to be far too many, however,
who are waiting for bad things to happen before they implement Web surfing
controls. Much the same way they did regarding network security and customer
data protection. And much the same way they did before blocking porn. After
all, these aren’t bulletin boards we’re talking about.
by Ken
Anderberg
Publisher/Editor
Communications
News
kanderberg@comnews.com
Reprinted
with full permission of Communications News Magazine www.comnews.com
*********************************
The Biggest Threat: End-Users
Education, processes and technology
can help alleviate insider security issues.
Savvy
administrators recognize that because end-users are privy to an organization’s
sensitive data, they represent a significant risk factor. Security pros,
however, continue to struggle with mitigating this threat. While no single
solution exists, there are steps organizations can take to ensure that
corporate policies are effectively enforced and insider threats are
neutralized.
Organizations
can protect themselves against malicious and accidental employee actions
through the combination of people, processes and technology. They should
clearly define and publicize policies, automate policy enforcement, and provide
detailed auditing and reporting. Here are some fundamental steps that
organizations can take:
First,
accept that employees are not security experts and will always engage in risky
behavior. They will open unsolicited attachments, browse a wide assortment of
Web sites, click on links in e-mails and instant messages, utilize outdated and
unpatched versions of software, and plug in personal devices or removable media
without understanding (or caring) about the potential impact of these
decisions. Consequently, relying on end-users to rapidly install the latest
patches is leaving a lot to chance.
In a
perfect world, written corporate policy would be enough to dictate employees’
interactions with technology. While a policy is an important step, the reality
is that even the most stringent policies need a solution to support and enforce
them. Trying to force policies where the employees are responsible has proven
ineffective.
The second
step is to provide a way to develop and enforce policy that enables users to
focus on their task at hand, but also reduces the risk of their day-to-day
decisions when they interact with technology. This includes understanding which
employees need access to specific applications, devices and data. Also, enforce
policies that give users access only to what is required in order to
successfully complete their job function, and ensure that the applications in
use are up to date with the latest patches.
By
enforcing application and device control, organizations can flexibly control
execution of specific files or removable devices to the user level. This takes
the decisions away from the users and enables them to be focused on the job at
hand.
Also, by
enforcing mandatory baselines for critical patches and configurations,
organizations can automate the remediation process throughout the enterprise
and not have to rely on their users. This ensures proper security
configurations are maintained. Employing technology that automates the
enforcement of acceptable resource use–while preventing and reporting
unacceptable use that could put the enterprise at risk–is a flexible, yet
secure approach.
A third
step is to ensure that policies are publicized throughout the organization and
enforced as transparently as possible so as not to impede end-user
productivity. Without proper explanation, end-user understanding and buy-in of
these policies, they will be viewed as a hindrance to productivity and users
will find a way to get around them.
Engaging in
security training and publicizing corporate policies are key steps to finding a
balance between security and user productivity. Communication is important in
educating users and preventing disruption in employee productivity. Explaining
why a policy exists is a key success factor. Once end-users know the what and
why, they are usually more than willing to help.
The final
step requires the CIO and others within the IT department to have access to a
continuous report of the organization’s environment, what policies are working
and which ones are not, and adjust policies accordingly. Automated auditing and
reporting functions give security personnel the flexibility to conditionally
allow certain devices, applications or configurations, while still maintaining
visibility into user activity. For example, if an organization allows only accounting
personnel access to specific finance-focused applications, it needs to know if
a developer was attempting to gain access to these applications. Either there
is malicious intent, or there is a legitimate need.
From a
best-practices perspective, policy compliance should be reviewed on a regular
basis, as organizational needs may change and user activities might highlight a
policy loophole. This includes continuous surveillance of the enterprise
environment and user activities, and using the gathered information to update
policy as necessary.
by
Mike Wittig
Mike Wittig is president and chief technology officer of
Lumension Security, Scottsdale,
Ariz.
Reprinted
with full permission of Communications News Magazine www.comnews.com
*********************************
Fiber Plays Video Security Role
Media conversion connects
surveillance networks utilizing copper-based cabling.
Whether the
cabling is coax for traditional analog cameras or unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
for newer IP-based cameras, copper cabling poses several issues that could
limit the design or physical reach of a video security network. Integrating
fiber-optic cabling into these networks can address many of these issues.
Whether
organizations are monitoring employees, identifying corporate visitors,
tracking hazardous work areas or guarding against intruders, theft
and vandalism, most
organizations see the benefits of an effective video security system. As these
networks grow, transmission distance issues can arise, causing the need for
additional equipment.
Analog-based
systems transmitting video signals over coax cabling have provided good
performance and acceptable images at distances up to 750 feet. Beyond that
distance, equipment such as signal conditioning and/or signal amplification and
surge protection devices are needed to prevent the loss of high-frequency
information.
As security
professionals have migrated to the newer IP-based technology, they have had to
face more challenges. Even though IP-based systems are growing in popularity,
their transmissions are limited to distances even shorter than their analog
equivalents. IP-based security networks work within the standards of an
Ethernet network, meaning the maximum transmission distance on UTP cable is
limited to 100 meters or 328 feet. At that point, the signal must be
regenerated and retimed with a network device such as an Ethernet switch.
Requirements for these additional devices in either an analog or an IP-based
network may increase the cost of the system considerably.
In addition
to the limited transmission distance, both coaxial and UTP cables are
susceptible to noise or electrical interference caused by high voltages and
ground loop faults, both of which can lead again to quality degradation of the
video signal. Also, the security of the video network as a whole can be
jeopardized by the ease of tapping into the copper cable and stealing or
copying the video stream. These issues have led security professionals to look for
alternative cabling methods.
Easier installation with fiber
Security
and surveillance networks are in a position to take advantage of the benefits
offered by fiber-optic cabling. These include extended transmission distances,
protection from noise and interference, higher bandwidth capacity, and improved
reliability and transmission performance.
Fiber is
also smaller in size and offers stronger tensile strength, allowing for easier
installation. Transmission distances of an IP video network on optical fiber
cable can be up to 6,562 feet on multimode fiber and even farther on singlemode
fiber, while distances are only slightly shorter for an analog video system.
Using a fiber infrastructure in either an analog or IP-based video system will
offer greater transmission distances than what can be achieved on coax and UTP.
Many
corporate LAN environments will already have fiber in place in the backbone
cabling between buildings in a campus area network or in the vertical risers of
a multistory office building. To access this fiber, security professionals will
face new equipment challenges. Since most analog cameras support coax cable
with a BNC interface and IP cameras support UTP cable with an RJ-45 interface,
how are users expected to connect fiber-optic cabling to these cameras? The
answer is in the use of media converters.
Media
converters are commonly used in today’s LANs to transparently connect one type
of media, or cabling, to another. Since data travels differently on copper than
it does on fiber, a media converter changes the electrical signal coming into
the device on UTP cable to an optical signal that can be transmitted out of the
device over fiber cable.
Media
converters are also available to support a variety of other communication
environments, including analog video. Most analog video copper-to-fiber
converters are small and can attach directly to a camera. They do require a
source of power, however, and typically accept the same power as the cameras
(usually 24 VDC), so there is no requirement for an additional external power
supply.
Specific
analog converters are available for the one-way video communication of a fixed
camera, while other converters support the two-way communication of a
pan/tilt/zoom camera. Two-way communication is needed so the camera can
transmit the video signals and receive serial data from the pan-tilt-zoom
controller.
Generally,
media converters are used in pairs so another analog converter would be
installed on the other end of the fiber, providing connectivity at the central
monitoring location. This element is an essential piece in any security or
surveillance system.
Standard
Ethernet media converters can be used to integrate fiber into an IP-based video
network. Combined with the emergence of power-over-Ethernet (PoE) technology,
media converters can provide new methods for powering IP cameras, even cameras
located at the far end of a fiber run.
the role of poe devices
Common PoE
devices include PoE injectors, PoE splitters and PoE Ethernet switches. PoE injectors
are copper-to-copper devices with a data-in port and a data-out port, which
inserts the power on the UTP cable. A PoE switch acts like a traditional
Ethernet switch, but it will sense if a port is connected to a PoE-enabled
device and insert power on as as-needed based.
While PoE
is only supported on UTP cable, devices like PoE media converters can not only
extend the reach of a network by providing an interface between copper devices
and fiber cable, but they can also act like a PoE injector. Locating a PoE
converter at the far end of a fiber run gives a network extended reach, and
this remotely located PoE converter can also inject power onto the UTP cable.
While the
PoE converter itself needs to be located near a power source, the IP camera connected
to the PoE media converter can be located and powered up to 100 meters away
from the converter. A company could locate the PoE converter and its power
source inside a building, while the IP camera may need to be located outside
the building, far from a power source. Eliminating the need for an external
power source simplifies the installation of IP cameras and can be performed by
a low-voltage installer or technician, saving the cost of hiring an electrician
to install a new wall outlet in potentially unique locations.
For those
with external devices like a security camera mounted on top of a pole in a
parking lot, there may be power at the base of the pole but not at the top. The
PoE media converter could be located at the base of the pole; the power source
could provide power to the PoE converter while the converter could send power
up the pole to the camera. In this application, only the UTP cable would be
routed up the pole. Without PoE, both a network cable and a power cable would
have to be routed up the pole.
These
outdoor applications would also benefit from industrialized or hardened media
converters. Office-grade media converters in outdoor installations may have
issues dealing with the wider swing in operating temperatures experienced in these
applications.
by Curt
Carlson
Curt
Carlson is product manager at Transition Networks, Minnetonka, Minn.
Reprinted
with full permission of Communications News Magazine www.comnews.com
*********************************
Utility bills key to greener IT
Increasing cost of electricity puts
pressure on IT departments to conserve.
Due
to the steady increase in the cost of electricity over the last few years, many
organizations have begun to focus on reducing energy use. When looking for ways
to lower the utility bill, the spotlight often shines on the company energy
hog: the IT department. The prevalence of computing equipment in most
enterprises makes the IT department a major source of power consumption.
Every
organization that wants to cut costs looks at reducing power consumption. The
energy costs tied to computers, servers, cooling systems, switches and storage
systems consume a large percentage of the IT budget. For every dollar spent on
computer hardware, a company typically spends 50 cents on energy-related costs
each year, according to research firm IDC. By 2010, 71 cents of every IT dollar
will be devoted to powering and cooling IT equipment.
IT
executives say they are concerned about energy efficiency, however, many are
not aware of how much energy their IT operations use–even though this
information is fundamental in energy-reduction efforts. CDW’s Energy
Efficient Information Technology (E2IT) Report, based on a survey of 778
information technology professionals, indicates that almost half of IT
organizations in business, government and education do not know exactly how
much energy they use.
Typically,
those who manage technology have little, if any, interaction with those who pay
the utility bills. “The first step in reducing energy consumption is to know
what you are spending, yet more than 40 percent of technology professionals say
they don’t see their organization’s energy bill,” says Mark Gambill, vice
president of CDW.
IT executives with
information about their energy consumption are more likely to implement
energy-reduction measures, Gambill says. When someone in the IT department
receives reports, authorizes payments, or otherwise has responsibility for the
amount and cost of energy used in the organization’s IT operations, they are
more likely to develop strategies to manage power demand and energy
consumption.
When
IT organizations have access to information about their energy use and take
steps to manage their energy consumption, substantial savings are
possible. CDW’s E2IT report found that 39 percent of IT professionals
whose organizations implemented energy-management initiatives have reduced
their total IT energy costs by as much as 40 percent annually.
“As
energy costs continue to escalate, IT organizations are faced with choices
regarding how to increase the energy efficiency of their data centers and
network infrastructures. These choices range from slow, steady improvements to
quick, bold strokes,” says Mark Panico president of Ortronics/Legrand.
Organizations
have successfully reduced IT energy costs by employing measures such as:
„
buying
equipment with low-power/low-wattage processors;
„
deploying
ENERGY STAR 4.0 qualifying devices;
„
training
employees or using software to shut down equipment when it is not in use;
„
implementing
server consolidation, optimization and virtualization;
„
improving
airflow; and
„
making
full use of power management tools.
“There is
no silver bullet,” says Gambill. “Organizations that are successful at reducing
IT energy costs take ownership of their energy bill and advocate efficiency
improvements throughout IT operations.”
Every
organization can benefit from energy efficiency. Analyst Greg Schulz, founder
of The StorageIO Group, says solving power issues makes sense from both
economic and environmental standpoints. “It’s fairly simple,” says Schulz. “You use power more wisely, and you save
money.”
by Denise DiRamio,
Associate
Editor
Communications
News
ddiramio@comnews.com
Reprinted
with full permission of Communications News Magazine www.comnews.com
Security + Life Safety Systems
By Jennifer
Leah Stong-Michas
Identify Yourself : Overcoming the Fear of Biometrics
Visitors to
Walt Disney World, whether veterans or first-timers, have their fingerprints
scanned as a security precaution upon entry. Some worried visitor’s faces
indicate how fearful so many of us have become about our personal and private
information.
This fear
is not unsubstantiated, as we are bombarded with edicts and procedures to
protect our identities. We have been conditioned to believe that the taking of
our fingerprints is a violation of privacy, usually reserved for criminals.
Due to the
availability of advanced biometrics and their decreasing cost, this solution is
becoming much more viable and is making its way into some unexpected places.
Fingerprinting is being used in some schools, where students have their
fingerprints scanned to pay for lunch. In some businesses, employees clock in
and out of work using the fingerprint in lieu of punching a time card or keying
in a PIN, and the government uses multiple forms of biometrics to track
employees.
From a
management perspective—either as the user or provider—this type of technology
needs to be explained in the most comprehensive and understandable manner
possible. Don’t keep information close to your vest. The hurdle is not the
technology itself—it is advanced, reliable and easy to use—rather it is fear
and misconception.
While some
security initiatives are best kept confidential, in order to work, biometrics
should be explained to the average user to help alleviate fears associated with
it. When you ask for and gather a relative stranger’s personal information,
things need to be approached and handled very carefully.
Some people
do not fully understand the purpose of fingerprinting at, for example, a school
or theme park. Remember that the data points housed within the system cannot be
translated into a true fingerprint. They are not that detailed. Law enforcement
and FBI fingerprinting uses extremely intricate systems. Commercial versions
are not the same.
These do
not grab a full fingerprint. Instead, they take advanced digital photos of the
fingerprint and tag a mathematical template to that image so every time the
same finger is scanned, it compares the two for similarities. In fact, they do
not grab enough information to be used as a concrete identifier. They act more
as an excluder, looking at a few data points on a person’s finger and matching
those to the base records to ensure the person is who they say they are.
Most venues
where the technology has been incorporated have done so to make their
operations safer and more secure. Most fingerprint-scanning solutions consist
only of scanners and software that act as the keeper of the telemetry
information. The information is not shared much beyond that. How is scanning
your fingerprint to enter Disney World any different from entering your Social
Security number online to apply for a credit card or using a thumbprint reader
to access your laptop? When you subtract emotional reactions, the two really
aren’t that different. They are both bits of personal data being housed in a computing
environment.
Explaining
the technology and how the information is only stored locally, not shared, can
be a first step in helping alleviate fear and doubt. Being aware of the real
fear that exists is key to helping make things better for everyone.
So, the
next time you need to be fingerprinted, remember not all fingerprinting is
alike. In terms of access and ID control, these sample scans will not identify
even the most sought-after fugitive. It’s just not so advanced and integrated
yet. In fact, Allan Goulbourne, applications engineer with Texas Instruments,
said the same fears plague the RFID market.
“I wish we
could do what people think we can do,” he said.
It seems
all forms of tracking and identification technology instill some fear in the general
public. Those of us using, promoting, installing and touting such systems need
to take the role of educator. That is the only way people will start to realize
just what these systems can and, more importantly, cannot do.
STONG-MICHAS,
a freelance writer, lives in central Pennsylvania.
She can be reached at JenLeahS@msn.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Security + Life Safety Systems Magazine – www.ecmag.com
*********************************
An Untapped Opportunity Museum Security System Installations
There are
an estimated 17,500 museums in the United States. Approximately 21
percent are small museums with operating budgets of $150,000 or less, and 9
percent are large museums with operating budgets of $9 million or more. Our
country’s most well-known museum complex, the Smithsonian Institution, had a
fiscal 2006 appropriation of $516.57 million.
The
American Association of Museums (AAM) reports that approximately 25 percent of
general museums, natural history/anthropology museums, science/technology
center museums and more than half of history museums have no security at all.
Obviously,
the professional contractor has an opportunity to enter this market niche and
provide quality security system installations.
But for the
contractor to make an impact, he must be aware of the codes and standards that
make up the “standards of care” for the industry.
The
proposed Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties—Museums,
Libraries, and Places of Worship, NFPA 909-2009 edition, will be available soon
and provides valuable information and requirements that should be used when
marketing to museums. Chapter 8 of the code discusses the security protection
plan and requires that a vulnerability assessment be conducted, examines the
cultural resource property’s vulnerability to foreseeable crimes; losses
through the deliberate actions of third parties, staff members or visitors;
breaches in security caused by natural disasters; or from other conditions or
physical situations with the potential to cause damage or loss.
The code
also requires that the vulnerability assessment include an evaluation of the
threat of terrorist activity that has the potential to directly or indirectly
affect the cultural resource property.
And where
the vulnerability assessment indicates the need for an electronic premises
security system, NFPA 909 requires that the system be designed by a qualified
person. NFPA also publishes the Standard for the Installation of Electronic
Premises Security Systems, NFPA 731-2006, which NFPA 909 requires to be
followed for all installations in museums, libraries and places of worship.
NFPA
731-2006 is an installation standard that establishes the “minimum requirements
for application, installation, performance, testing and maintenance of physical
security systems and components.” The standard is similar in structure to NFPA
72, The National Fire Alarm Code. NFPA 731 also requires that “installation of
all wiring, cable, and equipment be in accordance with NFPA 70, the National
Electrical Code.”
Another
security document available from NFPA is the Guide for Premises Security
(730-2006). It addresses the application of security principles based on
occupancies, but because it is a guide, it is “a document that is advisory or
informative in nature and contains only non-mandatory provisions.”
NFPA 730
uses the application of security principles based on occupancy type to reduce
security vulnerabilities to life and property. It is the new national standard
of care for premises security for public access facilities, such as museums.
It is
important for the contractor to understand that not all public access
facilities have identical security vulnerabilities, so there is no set of
one-size-fits-all security countermeasures.
Groups of
such facilities do, however, experience many common security issues. Many of
these issues, as well as examples of effective mitigation/countermeasure
techniques, are provided in NFPA 730 through a “tool-box” approach and provide
valuable assistance and guidance to contractors and facility security planners
when combined with a proven performance-based risk assessment methodology: the
security vulnerability assessment (SVA). Accordingly, the professional
contractor should encourage all facilities to conduct an SVA to determine the
security countermeasures appropriate for their particular organization and
potential threats.
NFPA 730 is
based on three principles:
- Developing a security plan to
ensure that security measures and personnel respond in an integrated and
effective way to mitigate the effects of an adversarial event in a manner
that is appropriate for that particular organization or facility
- Implementing effective
countermeasures specific to public access facility, “soft target,”
occupancy types to measurably reduce security vulnerabilities
- Conducting an SVA, the core of
any security plan
An SVA is a
powerful technique for assessing the current status of an organization’s threat
exposures, security measures and preparedness. The SVA described in Chapter 5
of NFPA 730-2006 uses a systematic and methodical process to examine an
organization’s vulnerabilities, ways an adversary might exploit those
vulnerabilities, and aids in the development and implementation of effective
countermeasures.
The guide
discusses other considerations essential for protection of occupants,
recognizing that adequate security is more than a matter of installing
electronic security equipment. NFPA 730, since it is the national standard of
care for premises security, is a significant step toward the implementation of
meaningful practices for necessary security features in public access buildings
nationwide.
Private
sector security should be based on a comprehensive asset protection program
that includes the protection of an organization’s people, property and
information through development and implementation of a comprehensive security
plan and the cooperation and support of top management.
A security
plan should be developed to ensure that security measures and personnel respond
in an integrated and effective way to mitigate the effects of an adversarial
event in a manner that is appropriate for that particular organization or
facility (Chapter 10).
The SVA is
a systematic risk assessment technique for:
- Assessing the current status of
an organization’s threat exposures, security features and preparedness
- Examining ways an adversary
might exploit an organization’s security vulnerabilities
- Developing countermeasures to
mitigate adversarial events
Strengthening security and life safety
layers of protection
The
seven-step SVA process consists of the following:
1.
Formation of a multidisciplined team
2.
Organization/facility characterization
3. Threat
assessment
4. Threat
vulnerability analysis
5.
Countermeasure development
6. Assess
risk reduction
7. Document
findings/track implementation
Most museum
directors are unaware of any of these documents. Knowing this, a professional
contractor could purchase copies of NFPA-909, NFPA 730 and NFPA 731 and present
them to local museum officials as part of a sales effort to penetrate this
market. At the same time, the contractor can assist with the SVA to determine
which electronic systems will enhance the security of the institution. Since so
many museums have no security at all, a premises security system will provide
the least expensive option to improve that situation.
Of course,
the challenge for any contractor is to study the codes, standards and the guide
so that he will be conversant in the tools available and will know the
protection requirements that a museum should follow.
Another
challenge is to take advantage of the training provided by the various
manufacturers of electronic premises security systems and attend trade shows to
view the current state-of-the-art technology.
There are a
number of organizations that have training materials or offer seminars. The
educational offerings of the American Society of Industrial Security, ASIS
International, can be found on its Web site, www.asisonline.org. And a source
directly related to museum educational and other material of interest is the
AAM, www.aam-us.org.
Professional
contractors have an opportunity to enter into an untapped market. With a little
homework and extra effort, you can become the museum security system specialist
in your market area.
by wayne d. moore
MOORE, a
licensed fire protection engineer, frequent speaker and an expert in the life
safety field, is a co-editor of the current National Fire Alarm Code Handbook. Moore is a principal with Hughes Associates Inc. at the Warwick, R.I.,
office.
Reprinted
with full permission of Security + Life Safety Systems Magazine – www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Making the Switch ;Branching out Brings new revenue
A paradigm
shift into Information technology (IT)
and IT-based systems has bred a new area of systems work for contractors. While
most ECs still count straight electrical work as their primary source of
business, other systems work has crept up in volume and is becoming a vital
revenue stream.
Today’s
world is heavily centered on various forms of voice and data communications.
Though all IT reverts back to, and most definitely requires, electrical power
to operate, IT has taken center stage as one of the primary catalysts for new
business and opportunities in contracting.
This speaks
to the importance of integrated systems within the built environment. The voice
network is no longer simply a line brought in and maintained by the phone
company. Voice systems are complex entities unto themselves and are integrated
into other systems, such as fire, alarm, access control and even data-based
systems. All these systems—though individually important and critical—are, to
some extent, dependent on one another.
Because of
this continuing shift in the marketplace, this column will focus more on
systems that once were considered fringe systems for typical contractors. But
as most of us know, contractors have done a good job of incorporating these
other systems into their daily repertoire of standard work. The future focus of
this column will be to explore and examine some areas where contractors may not
feel they are a natural fit, even though they truly are.
This
includes technologies and solutions, such as IP-based storage, data centers,
automation, virtualization, servers, etc. In fact, even technologically driven,
newer versions of older systems such as voice over Internet protocol, security,
access control and networking could be considered part of this category, since
they generally are becoming integrated systems.
Overall,
these technologies that go beyond the basics of electrical power are becoming
essential parts of a contractor’s business. The best thing about this trend is,
regardless of which other system is being discussed, they all have one thing in
common: They need power as the backbone for operations.
Perhaps
this is all coming full circle. Contractors found their way when electricity
was the primary system contained within any given building. From there, the
contracting industry changed and adapted to include voice communications. From
there, data communications was born. Once again, contractors evolved, and now
most provide electrical, voice and data systems work on a routine basis. Now it
is time to move to the next level, which is where contractors learn to take all
their base knowledge and use it to move outside their core competency zone and
start delving more into other systems work.
In the same
manner contractors found their way into specialized areas such as fire alarm
and access control on a sporadic basis, these other technologies are starting
to move into daily business life. The key, moving forward, is recognizing all
the potential available opportunities. It also is important to understand that
even some of the most obscure technologies still need—you guessed it—some form
of power, voice and/or data connectivity for intended operations. As simple as
it may sound, that is the key contractors have to unlocking the doors to all of
these additional opportunities.
The best
defense against difficult economic times is to continue to have a good offense.
Contractors must stay on top of as many potential opportunities as possible,
even those that may seem out of character for a traditional EC. Just remember
that not too long ago, voice communications came with the same “it’s a new
technology” stigma, and now, it is just an everyday part of an EC’s world.
by Jennifer
Leah Stong-Michas
STONG-MICHAS,
a freelance writer, lives in central Pennsylvania.
She can be reached at JenLeahS@msn.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Security + Life Safety Systems Magazine – www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Cresting the Wave; The proliferation of surveillance
As security
technology proliferates to meet the growing demand in public places, those in
the security industry have a choice to make: Face the opportunity to keep up
with the explosion of technology coming into the market, or fall out of the
business entirely.
Mark
Visbal, director of research and technology for the Security Industry
Association sees the industry as cresting a giant wave.
“We’d
better be ready to start paddling,” he said, or the IT industry will step in
and take over.
Digital
cameras are proliferating in public places, but their users suffer from
bandwidth shortages, making it difficult to upload what they record. That is
about to change with more bandwidth generated from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). The overall increase in bandwidth and development of more
bandwidth-efficient technology are expected to cause a rush for Internet protocol-based
cameras. In the meantime, vendors are finding ways for cameras to accomplish
storage without overburdening the bandwidth.
Access
control has been in a holding pattern for several years as the market watched
IP updates. This year, however, the industry may be moving forward, as the
mandated Internet protocol 6 took effect on June 30. The shift to protocol 6
begins in the government sector, with the commercial world following behind.
This means government agencies and commercial users must buy hardware that is
protocol 6-compliant or have a migration plan to move the system to the new
protocol.
“The next
three to five years are going to be very interesting,” Visbal said. “Either the
security industry will drive these changes and survive, or the IT industry will
absorb it. We’re at the beginning of a crossroads, and either we will come out
strong, or we won’t be here anymore.”
New
technologies are offering options business owners have been seeking for years:
the ability to automatically locate and identify risks in a large public place,
for example.
Automated patrolling
The vast
quantity of surveillance cameras and the images they record are beginning to
overwhelm security operators. With dozens or even hundreds of cameras operating
in a public space or dispersed throughout a community, operators are simply
unprepared to keep up with the volume. That is where technology must provide
some solutions.
SYColeman
Praetorian Surveillance Solutions, Chantilly,
Va., provides one such
technology. Praetorian sells surveillance technology that integrates multiple
sensors into a single 3-D display. The company’s Common Operating Picture
offers three capabilities: Video Flashlight, Hawk and VisionAlert.
With the
integrated system, operators can look at one display and see a 3-D view of the
area, provided by Video Flashlight, while alarms flash automatically, letting
operators respond before an incident has already passed. Video Flashlight
combines multiple video surveillance data feeds into a single-screen display.
This enables operators to virtually patrol security areas using their mouse
pads to travel throughout the 3-D environment. End-users can navigate indoors
to outdoors and even review recorded video from different perspectives in a
matter of seconds, said Mark Redlinger, Praetorian chief operating officer.
The Hawk
feature enables a central control workstation to receive surveillance
information from remote sites, and VisionAlert provides alarm configurations
and detection of motion, breach, loiter and left-behind objects.
“The
advances in technology are permitting us to go from a soda straw view to a view
with full spatial awareness,” Redlinger said. In his scenario, security
personnel can easily pull up records of an incident that happened in a specific
place, then follow the perpetrator throughout a large public area. They also
can communicate with the security guard, attempting to apprehend that
individual, through a PDA device the guard carries. With Praetorian, the image
of the person can be viewed on the guard’s PDA screen, so he knows who he is
looking for.
The system
also has become easier for installers. Praetorian makes it possible for the
contractor to bring up a virtual image of what a camera would see from any
specific location before the camera is installed. In this way, he can
demonstrate to the customer just where cameras are needed and collaborate with
them on the best location for each, potentially saving the customer money on
redundant cameras and saving time in adjusting cameras after they are
installed.
The most
important element of this technology, Redlinger said, is its open architecture.
“If a
customer buys the product today, and someone comes along with a new camera
later, we can bring it into the system,” he said.
He calls this
future-proofing the technology, since new hardware will be able to integrate
with an investment the end-user has already made.
Virtual pat down
For a very
different application, Orlando, Fla.-based imaging company Brijot’s BIS-WDS Gen
2 system uses millimeter waves for object detection. It can be deployed in
public places, such as airports or high-security transportation hubs, to locate
weapons long before they enter a crowded area. The system can search for and
locate potential threats on an individual quickly and discretely from a
distance. Security screeners can be automatically alerted and then pinpoint
concealed objects without physical searches.
The system
is composed of a real-time radiometric scanner that images electromagnetic
millimeter wave energy, an integrated full-motion video system, on-board
computer and video-detection engine. The passive radiometric scanner can detect
concealed objects by distinguishing between the millimeter wave energy
naturally emitted by the human body and the energy of the concealed objects,
even when they’re hidden beneath clothing. Concealed items, such as explosives,
weapons, contraband or stolen items, are shown as a black area in front of the
blue human form. The system works best in places where a security screening
system is already in place, such as airports, said Nancy Noriega, Brijot senior
director of marketing and public relations.
“It’s what
we call the most polite way to pat someone down,” Noriega said. It can be set
to capture an item hidden against a person’s body by detecting where the
person’s body energy is blocked. There are 150 systems deployed and others
being piloted, she said, in locations such as airports and retail
establishments to capture theft or weapons.
Access control and sprinkler systems
For access
control, The SDC Entry Check, from SDC Security, Westlake Village, Calif.,
includes a variety of stand-alone digital keypad readers, proximity card
readers and PC- based network card access control systems, from the most basic
to the most sophisticated computer-management applications. This access system
can be installed indoors or outdoors to be used with digital keypads or
proximity card readers, either as a stand-alone system or PC-based.
Computer-based access control enables the end-user to set access parameters;
provide photo ID; and monitor, audit and control individual and group
accessibility in real-time throughout a facility.
Then there
are sprinkler systems. Members of Congress are being asked to sign a bill in
the U.S. House of Representatives that would accelerate depreciation for
installing fire sprinkling systems from 39 years to five years. If passed, the
bill could spur an increase in fire sprinkler installations, which security
installers and contractors often monitor for tampering and water flow.
Exiting
Escape-route
signage has evolved in the past decades from a basic light to sophisticated
visual and audible alarm systems. Some fire alarm systems have a sounder built
into the detector base. Such sounders usually are located on the ceiling of the
protected area. The specifications of other fire alarm systems require the use
of wall-mounted sounders. Such sounders are stand-alone units and do not
incorporate detectors. Most sounders are powered directly off the communication
lines and, as a result, the power available is small.
Directional
sounders, on the other hand, offer an improvement over visual-based emergency
way-finding aids, such as emergency lighting and photoluminescent guidance
strips, which can be difficult to see in smoke-filled environments. Directional
sound devices, such as ExitPoint by System Sensor, St. Charles. Ill., leads people to exits using sound.
All these
technologies are offering automation where physical security needs support.
That automation can be expected to revolutionize security in public places in
the next few years and can add retrofit construction dollars in the pockets of
electrical contractors.
by claire
swedberg
SWEDBERG is
a freelance writer based in western Washington.
She can be reached at claire_swedberg@msn.com.
Reprinted
with full permission of Security + Life Safety Systems Magazine – www.ecmag.com
*********************************
Wireless Communication
Long-range
radio reporting Wire has been the de facto standard in signaling since the
early 1800s when it was first used in telegraphy to carry information on enemy
troop movements in Europe.
“Bavarian
minister Montgelas called in local scientists to develop an optical telegraph,
envisioning an apparatus like the semaphore system. But they fashioned
something entirely different: a system to telegraph enemy positions using
electricity flowing through wires,” writes William Greer, author of “A History
of Alarm Security,” published by the National Burglar & Fire Alarm
Association.
War often
becomes the mother of invention. In this case, it meant the difference between
life and death.
Since then,
the technology that drives communications has advanced as society’s needs have
changed. For example, since the central station concept was first developed in
the 1800s (see sidebar), mobile forms of communication have made alarm
monitoring easier and faster to deploy. Given our fascination with wireless
gadgets, it’s likely soon that radio will become the predominant method of
signal transport from alarm system to central monitoring station.
Whether the
application involves backup or primary reporting, radio-based systems are a
viable means of communications, and their use is growing each day.
Abandoning traditional POTS
The alarm
industry has a long and successful relationship with the telephone wire, and
it’s still the most used signaling method, although wireless reporting is
growing quickly.
“The most
common form of communications for burglar [and fire] alarm systems is a
telephone line. Most modern alarm panels have a built-in digital communicator
for this type of communication,” write Charles Aulner and Bryan McLane, authors
of “Low Voltage Systems Design & Installation,” published by National
Training Center (NTC) of Las Vegas.
The digital
alarm communicator transmitters (DACT) contained in modern alarm panels are
specifically designed for plain old telephone service (POTS), which is part of
the public telephone switched network (PTSN). A DACT is the portion of a
control panel that handles communications with the central monitoring station
and transmits and receives data.
Other means
of signal transmission usage, such as cellular and the Internet, have affected
the alarm business. For example, an increasing number of home and business
owners are turning to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). This often is
accomplished using a broadband connection, such as digital subscriber line
(DSL) and data over cable.
Because
traditional alarm panels are designed for POTS-based communication, problems
have arisen when clients switch from conventional POTS/PTSN to DSL or data over
cable. In this case, the DACT is unable to consistently connect with the central
station receiver. The result is less than reliable operation.
Redundancy by radio
The
disappearing telephone wire can be replaced by using long-range radio
technology. Not only will radio address these issues, but it can be used to
redundantly back up POTS/PTSN.
The fact
is, where there is a hard-line telephone wire, metallic or fiber, there’s the
propensity for communication disruption. Common failures include unintended
mechanical failure and deliberate sabotage.
In the life
safety arena, alarm technicians often make use of radio technology as a backup
signal path to a hardwire cable. This is done to satisfy Section 8.6.3.2.1.4 of
the National Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72, 2007 edition.
NFPA 72
calls for two or more paths for alarm and trouble signals. One way for that is
to use a single telephone circuit with a backup radio system. Possible
selections for the backup include cellular and traditional private or public
long-range radio. The code also mentions others. For a list of the criteria for
acceptable backup signaling methods, refer to NFPA 72, Section 8.6.4.
Often, the
same radio technology some installers use for backup communications also can be
used in lieu of a cable. Fire and burglar alarm systems often are monitored
this way.
Public or private?
There are
two basic types of long-range radio systems available today: public and
private.
“Public
radio networks provide all receiving and control hardware for the network and
charge network users a fee to use the service,” write Aulner and McLane.
“Service is usually offered in multiple geographic areas and allows alarm
signals to be retransmitted to anywhere in the country. Private radio networks
are typically local networks owned and operated by local companies to provide
local wireless monitoring to their local customers.”
AlarmNet by
Honeywell, IntelliNet by AES, Keltron’s Life Safety Alarm Monitoring, AlarmLink
and Bosch’s Safecom all are examples of private networks. Uplink by Numerex,
DSC’s GSM transceivers, Telguard Digital by Telular Corp. and DMP’s Digital
Alarm Radio all are examples of public radio networks.
A typical
private long-range radio system consists of a single--point transceiver mounted
on a tower. When the area of coverage exceeds the capability of a tower,
repeaters are positioned throughout the intended areas of coverage.
The central
tower typically receives radio telemetry signals from single- and bidirectional
ancillary radio reporting units connected to burglar and fire alarm systems.
Repeaters extend the reach of the main antenna. The frequencies used are
allocated to a local entity that, in turn, includes the lease for the radio
service as part of a monthly monitoring and service fee to individual alarm
owners.
Public
radio-based long-range radio systems differ. These networks usually are quite
extensive, and they support more than just alarm telemetry data. The commonly
used cellular network is a good example because some stretch across the entire United States.
In other cases, the owner of the cellular network may just cover regions or
entire states.
Benefits of mesh technology
Traditional
long-range radio has worked fine for many decades, but mesh networks extend the
reach of the central station in an affordable manner.
Traditional
long-range radio requires the use of expensive repeaters. Instead of spending a
ton of money on repeaters, alarm companies can build their own network over
time by installing an interactive network that centers on subscriber
transceiver units that, themselves, act like repeaters.
“Mesh
technology is a multinodal technology where, from an AES standpoint, the brains
are in the transceivers that make up each of the nodes that make up the
network,” said John Milliron, national sales manager for AES Corp. of Peabody,
Mass. “Each transceiver in a network has the ability to optimize itself to most
efficiently bring back the information they’re responsible for transporting to
the receiver.”
Each
subscriber transceiver in a mesh-type network is capable of routing information
in multiple directions using multiple subscriber units. Because each subscriber
unit also acts as a repeater, the central receiver can get data through any
number of subscriber units. In a private or cell-based system, when the one
cell/repeater tower goes down, the data from the subscriber unit that depends
on it for communication will not reach the central station.
Keltron
Corp. of Waltham, Mass., also offers a long-range radio system
that uses mesh technology.
“The mesh
network that is created is constantly monitored for optimal performance and
reliability,” said Keltron CEO David Wilbourn. “Distributed intelligence and
dynamically evaluated transmission paths ensure that the system always uses the
most reliable path to the central receiver.”
Keltron’s
mesh technology is widely used in the institutional marketplace, such as
colleges, universities and government.
“Large
multibuilding facilities choose the Keltron active network radio system because
it leverages their existing investment in fire alarm control panels, enables them
to choose nearly any brand of equipment, eliminates expensive telephone or
direct wiring, and is highly scalable for future expansion,” said Steve
Sargent, Keltron director of sales.
Keltron can
decipher alarm signals from anyone’s fire alarm panel. These signals are then
forwarded to the central station for action, using a common communications
format.
Both
Keltron and AES systems operate on the distributed intelligence concept where
every subscriber unit has the capacity to route signals from other interactive
subscriber units to a main radio receiver at a centralized location. Not only
does this eliminate the need for expensive towers every 20 to 50 miles (near
line of site), but it also eliminates the need for maintenance and other
ongoing costs typical of a multiple-repeater system.
NFPA 72,
Section 8.6.3.4, lists the requirements for two-way radio frequency (RF)
multiplex systems. Since both of these mesh-type networks qualify for Type 4
classification under Section 8.6.3.4.4.1, alarm companies that use them do need
POTS. Type 4 systems must be situated so they are in constant and ready contact
with at least two RF receiving sites. The system also must contain two
transmitters that have the ability to either supervise all RF transmitters
on-site or dispersed throughout the site among all the other RF transmitters.
Failure of any RF unit must be reported to the supervising station.
Each
subscriber unit knows exactly where it resides within the network by listening
to all radio traffic on the network. Each node is able to determine its
relative position in the network, routing signals in the best way possible, for
clarity and redundancy. Wireless long-range radio just may be the way to go.
by allan b.
colombo
Colombo is a 32-year veteran in the security
and life safety markets. He currently is director with FireNetOnline.com and a
nationally recognized trade journalist located in East Canton, Ohio.
Reprinted
with full permission of Security + Life Safety Systems Magazine – www.ecmag.com
TED Magazine
Editor's Desk
Time
for ICT to step up to the plate
By Paul
Barker
In March, corporate
heavyweights Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Research in Motion and Bell Canada
Enterprises each announced support of a plan by Quebec-based PROMPT Inc. to
develop a carbon-neutral Internet.
In June, HP Labs announced
that it will focus its sustainability research on three major projects --
reducing the carbon footprint of data centres by 75%, replacing copper wires
with laser light beams and developing a series of software and services tools
to measure and manage environmental impacts such as carbon emissions and total
energy usage.
That same month, IBM Corp.
signed an agreement with gigaCENTER Services Corp. that will see the two build
a $75 million 46,000 square metre green data centre in Kelowna, B. C. IBM also
released details of a new service called the IT Carbon Strategy Study, which it
said will allow companies starting out on their "green
transformation" to identify the most rapid areas of reduction in IT carbon
emissions. The company estimates that a significant reduction in carbon
footprint can be achieved in "often overlooked areas such as desktop
systems, networking components, server rooms and printers."
All of this activity is
good news to Bill St. Arnaud, chief research officer of Canarie Inc.
Responsible for the coordination and implementation of Canada's next generation
optical Internet initiative called CA*net4, he spoke about the need for the ICT
industry to initiate change (see story p. 6) at the recent 2008 Canadian
Telecom Summit in Toronto.
In presentations, St.
Arnaud points out that the ICT industry and research community have a
collective responsibility to help address the problem of global warming. He
adds that "this is a community that is used to rapid changes and has many
of the most innovative people in both academia and business."
To that end, "research
and education networks and CIOs could play a critical leadership role in
deploying new network and cyber infrastructures that eliminate their carbon
footprints."
A study released on June 20
entitled Smart 2020: enabling the low carbon economy in the information age,
concludes that transformation in the way people and businesses use
technology could reduce annual man-made global emissions by 15% by 2020 and
deliver energy efficiency savings to global businesses of over US$800 billion.
Written by The Climate
Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, the independent findings
reveals that while ICT's own sector footprint of 2% of global emissions will
almost double by 2020, its "unique ability to monitor and maximize energy
efficiency both within and outside of its owner sector could cut CO2 emissions
by up to five times this amount.
This represents a saving of
7.8 Giga-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GTCO2E), which the report says is
greater than the current annual emissions of either the U. S. or China. Organizations supporting the
report include GeSI member companies Bell Canada, British Telecommunications
plc (BT), Cisco Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks, HP, Intel and Microsoft.
"PCs, mobile phones
and the Web have transformed the way we all live and do business," said
Steve Howard, CEO of the Climate Group. "Global warning and soaring energy
prices mean that rethinking how every home and business uses technology to cut
unnecessary costs and carbon is critical to our environment and economy.
"Supported by
innovative government policy, ICT can unlock the clean green industrial
revolution we need to tackle climate change and usher in a new era of low
carbon prosperity."
Reprinted
with full permission of The Electrical Distributor Magazine www.tedmag.com
*********************************
Focus on the future
By Tom
Naber
Have you
spent much time thinking about what your company will be doing in 10 years? If
not, you’re probably like a lot of people today—you can only seem to find time
to think about today; the future is just too far off to worry about. However,
in doing so, there’s a good chance that you’re putting yourself at a permanent
disadvantage for the next five or 10 years.
Take the
American auto industry, for instance. In 1994, in an article entitled
“Competing for the Future” published in the Harvard Business Review, Gary Hamel
and C.K. Prahalad explained why American automakers are having problems today.
(Remember, at that time, American automakers were struggling to compete with
relatively new Japanese automakers like Toyota
and Honda that were beginning to dominate the American auto market.)
According
to Hamel and Prahalad, “Detroit
automakers are catching up with Japanese rivals on quality and cost. Supplier
networks have been reconstituted, product-development processes redesigned, and
manufacturing processes reengineered.” The article went on to note the basic
flaw in Detroit’s
thinking: “Catching up is not enough. In a survey taken at the end of the
1980s, nearly 80% of U.S.
managers polled believed that quality would be a fundamental source of
competitive advantage in the year 2000, but barely half of the Japanese agreed.
Their primary goal was to create new products and businesses.”
The
Japanese understood that competitive advantages would be different in the
future. Detroit
was playing catch-up, trying to copy what the Japanese automakers had already
mastered and, in the process, forgot to think about innovating and developing
new and desirable products for the future. Read today’s newspaper and you’ll
find that while their products may be made better, the companies are barely
surviving. People aren’t excited to buy their cars.
Preparing
for the future should be an ongoing commitment for any company. One thing that
NAED’s Eastern Regional Council is doing to help prepare for the future is putting
together a report on what the electrical distributor of the future will look
like—so as to ensure that distributor companies are changing and innovating
with the times. The Council recognizes that the business climate of today will
probably be completely different tomorrow. With energy price increases,
employee shortages, global competition, and incredible technology changes, any
company that is not thinking about and adapting to those changes probably won’t
be in business tomorrow.
Naber is president of NAED and
publisher of “TED” magazine. Reach him at 314-812-5312 or tnaber@naed.org.
Reprinted
with full permission of The Electrical Distributor Magazine www.tedmag.com
*********************************
This is your team
By Tom
Naber
This is
your team,” Coach Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) admonishes the student
body in the movie Hoosiers. “These six individuals have made the choice to
sacrifice, put themselves on the line 23 nights in the next four months to
represent you. This is your team.” This scene from the movie is particularly
relevant when considering the current group of political candidates running for
state and national office this year. No matter what party they support, in
listening to people talk about their political preferences, it seems that while
they definitely don’t like the other party’s candidate, some don’t even like
their own party’s candidate either. Still, just like Coach Dale’s high school
basketball players, the group of candidates named on the ballot on election day
are the ones that showed up to play.
This may
seem like an odd way to start a reflection on getting more involved in the
upcoming election, but think about it: The next five to 10 years are going to
be critical for the country and for this industry. The people getting sent to
state legislatures and to Washington, D.C. are going to be working on key
issues impacting the energy, electricity, utility infrastructure, recycling,
and other issues that will, in turn, impact the electrical industry. And while
the channel can play a very important role in helping make the United States
more successful and energy efficient, political leaders are going to be hearing
from lots of different groups with lots of different opinions that don’t make
much sense from your perspective. These people don’t live and breathe
electricity, energy, and distribution—but we do. Therefore, it is critical not
only to know how your candidates stand on issues, but also to make sure they
know your stand on them, too. Educating candidates is as much a part of the
election process as voting.
Fortunately,
the electrical industry has access to NEMA’s political team in Washington, D.C.
Kyle Pitzer, vice president of government relations for NEMA, and his staff are
constantly working to educate both national and state legislators on electrical
and energy issues. Check out the NEMA PAC—it’s a good first step in getting
involved. Educate yourself on candidates and elected officials and then educate
them on issues important to this industry. Unlike the movie Hoosiers, in
politics, a star player won’t be showing up halfway through the season to pull
the team together and win the championship. We are stuck with the people on the
ballot, so it’s essential we work with what we have.
Naber is president of NAED and
publisher of “TED” magazine. Reach him at 314-812-5312 or tnaber@naed.org.
Reprinted
with full permission of The Electrical Distributor Magazine www.tedmag.com
*********************************
Use the news to get noticed
Word on industry change can help
sales
By Ken Wax
Want to
stand out in the eyes of your customers? Want to be seen as an expert—a
resource to be treasured? There’s a way—and it’s not only easy, but also
(almost) free: Change happens in this business, often by government decree, and
by knowing just a little more about those changes, a business can be very
helpful to its customers. Consider this example direct from today’s news:
Popular reflector
lamps have been outlawed. In the June issue, TED magazine ran a concise
explanation of what’s covered and substitutions available (see page 11 of the
issue). With that knowledge alone, distributor salespeople have a great, free
sales tool to differentiate their companies and help customers. Here’s how to
use it:
Want to
reconnect with old customers, or ones who haven’t had time lately? Changes give
salespeople a solid reason to reach out: “Hi, I’m just calling because of
changes in the law, outlawing some products that may affect you. If you’d like,
I can give you a short update on what it affects and what substitutions make
sense.”
Do you
think a customer who cares about this topic will ignore this, even if it’s left
as a voice mail? Of course not. He or she will want to benefit from your
knowledge. Plus, the initiative and knowledge about such things will be
appreciated. You’ve found a way to be a big help. Score.
But
watch—it does even more. Even to customers who may not care much about this area,
the company will still get credit for being on top of the business and eager to
be of help. So it helps even in situations when this topic isn’t a priority.
Double score.
Change is
also a good way to crack a new account. It’s a simple, compelling offer: The
salesperson comes in with an overview of some change that’s likely to matter to
the potential customer. It’s an offer that’s hard to refuse and a good reason
to justify a meeting with a salesperson. It also says that the company knows
the business. As an added bonus, it may raise the question in that person’s
mind: “Why hasn’t my current distributor treated me like this?”
But that’s
not all. Change can be used another way: Stand out at the counter. Want to
impress every customer day in and day out? It will cost about $1. Put up a sign
that reads: “The government has outlawed popular reflector lamps—ask us about
which ones and substitutions that make sense.”
This will
really be appreciated by those customers who care about reflector lamps—but it
will also convey a strong message to every customer: These people know the
business and are on top of things.
The message
here is not just for reflector lamps—one can probably find a significant
industry change every month—it’s about changes a distributor knows about, but
its customers don’t (yet).
So, each
month, ask someone to identify the news that most affects customers. Then arm
the sales staff with those articles. Insist they read them—quiz them if need
be. Then assign them to use the news when calling on customers. Ask for
feedback, and see what happens.
Wax helps sales organizations across
the country. Reach him at kwax@kenwax.com
Reprinted
with full permission of The Electrical Distributor Magazine www.tedmag.com
REMEMBER TO RECYCLE, REDUCE AND REUSE
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