JULY 2012 HOTS DRAFT 7F - FINAL
Thursday, July 12, 2012
94 pages
34,351 words
HOTS - Draft 7F - FINAL
HEARD ON THE STREET
Monthly column on www.wireville.com
July 2012
July 2012 HOTS Table of Contents
Bisbee’s Buzz
Belden Announces New Line of Environmentally-Friendly Cables
Americans Increasingly Turn to Renewables for Power Needs
General Cable's Acquisitions On The Move
Can You Read This? If So, You Qualify For FREE Admission To The U.S.
Electrical Construction Industry’s Largest Show
6. ShoreTel’s Cloud Division Announces Mobile UC
7. Our appetite for Wireless (broadband) knows no limit. Demand for Wireless
Broadband Soars
8. ShoreTel Grows Market Share 19% - ShoreTel ranks third in the U.S.
telephony market.
9. WESCO International, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Conney Safety
Products
10. Smart home revenues to reach an estimated US$60 billion by 2017
11. Green Homes Continue to Grow Across the U.S.
12. NetZero Co-Founder Ron Burr Named Chief Revenue Officer of CallFire, as
Company Aims to Reshape Telecom
13. 2012 BICSI European Conference & Exhibition Concludes
14. Siemon Labs Testing Highlights Performance Risks of Low-Cost Generic
Fiber Optic Assemblies
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15. Cool Tools: Testers - ECMAG Article by Jeff Griffin
16. Fiber Optic cables installations shifting. Now we are seeing a huge
increase in the use of pre-terminated and patchcords
17. Don't Installers Know How To Test Fiber Optics? FOA Message
18. Cloud Control and the evolving Cloud Control Languages "CCL" – A Look
Into Our Future From AutomatedBuildings.com
19. How is Technology Transforming Your World? Getting Smart About It.
20. Nokia announced Thursday that it plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of
2013 and will shut down facilities in Germany, Finland and Canada.
21. How To Sell Energy Efficiency from tED magazine
22. WESCO International, Inc. Completes the Acquisition of Canadian-based
Trydor Industries
23. ACUTA Webinars - Open Doors To Enhanced Services – Two Upcoming
Opportunities
24. Trouble Shooting Fiber Optic Cabling Connections – a real life excerpt
25. 10 safety signs to identify during your plant walkthrough - BRADY
26. Swisscom Plans Fiber To The Street Expansion - from Lightwave
27. BOMA Benchmarking Report Shows Income Increases as Utility Expenses
Continue to Decrease
28. Connector Supplier gets New Managing Editor, Dan Heilman
29. Fluke Networks Announces First Auto Multi-Segment Analysis Capability
For Both Portable and Rack Mount 40 Gbps Stream-to-Disk Solutions –
Speeds Troubleshooting by Factor of Five
30. IDEAL Introduces New SignalTEK II as a Cost-Effective Solution to
Qualifying Network Bandwidth
31. ACUTA eNews June 2012
32. Pella Corporation Joins CABA Board of Directors
33. Manufacturers, Distributors, Software Providers, Equipment Makers, Fleet
Marketers – All Focused on Contractors . . . ALL IN ONE PLACE!!!
34. Megladon Announces New Product Release of Rack Mount Ultra Dense
CWDM Modules
35. ecoInsight Releases Energy Audit 2.1 for iPad - NAED Energy Audit
Solution
36. NECA/IBEW Team Strings The Wire For Wallenda’s Successful Historic
Walk Across Niagara Falls – That was amazing…
37. NEMA Joins Coalition for Current Safety Codes in Support of Advancing
Public Safety
38. NAED Releases Performance Benchmarks for Electrical Distributors
39. Automated Systems Design Celebrates 25 Years in Business
40. Afone Turns to Ekinops for Data Center Interconnection, Reliable Delivery
of Multiprotocol Services
41. Data Center Provider InfoRelay Chooses Ekinops to Interconnect
Washington, D.C., Area Facilities
42. FTTH Council to Host Learning Program at New England FiberFest
Exhibition
43. What You Learn In Vegas Doesn’t Have To Stay In Vegas! The NECA SHOW
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44. Datalink Deploys Virtual Data Center Infrastructure at Velocitor Solutions
45. TIA Files Comments on EPA ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for
Telephony Product Certification
46. More Than 1,600 Wireless Technorati Pack 2012 Connected World
Conference for Networking, Deal Making, and Thought Leadership
47. NECA NEWS – News from the National Electrical Contractors Association
48. NFPA - National Fire Protection Association in the news
49. CABA NEWSBRIEF – Continental Automated Buildings Association July 5,
2012
50. SECURITY PRODUCTS Hosts Numerous Powerful Webinars And They Are
Often Available For Months Afterwards.
51. BOMA INTERNATIONAL Honors Outstanding Member Of The Year - 2012
52. The Light Brigade® Launches New Fiber Optic Safety Training DVD
53. Dan Chancey, RPA, Honored with BOMA International Chair’s Award
54. Cyber Security Expert Winn Schwartau To Keynote Data Center World Fall
2012 = All National Disasters Begin at the Local Level
55. Ideal Industries Networks Hosts a Free CEDIA Webinar for Business and IT
Professionals
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Bisbee's Buzz
Teflon FEP is TOXIC? Visions for the future and drivers for the industry
DuPont www.dupont.com officials acknowledge that C-8 is a Carcinogen. C-8 is used in
the manufacture of Teflon® FEP, a major component in making billions of feet of
plenum rated (CMP) communications cable.
DuPont is making major changes and revving up the Teflon business. DuPont, no
longer the number one chemical maker in the United States, is moving away from its
traditional businesses, like textiles. Benlate related legal costs and settlements soared
into the billions. It seems like everything that has gone wrong was somebody else's fault
and the management team is irreproachable.
Teflon® FEP, once thought to be the safest material for communications cabling, is now
being scrutinized for sublethal toxic fumes that can incapacitate and overall product
toxicity/corrosivity. These issues, coupled with potential legal consequences for the C-8
situation, could have a major negative impact on the strategy to expand the Teflon®
business.
In the world of communications cabling, the NFPA 90A Committee www.nfpa.org may
be considering a new testing criterion for all cables used in air plenums. At this time it
appears that the only insulating material that can deliver the performance AND meet the
new fire testing criteria is FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene). Several industry experts
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have attacked the current NEC plenum code as commercially driven and not a step
towards improved safety.
The final decision will ultimately rest with the vote by the general membership of NFPA.
CMP-rated plenum cable made with DuPont Teflon ® FEP (due to limited supply and
increased demand) will result in more bloated prices - a safe prediction, even if copper
costs remains stable.
Toxicity testing is required to assure the public safety.
In any event, there are many factors at work to determine the future for DuPont and the
communications cabling industry.
Remember: Safety Is Too Important To Ignore.
But that's just my opinion...
Frank Bisbee - Editor
"HOTS - Heard On The Street" Monthly Column
www.wireville.com
frank@wireville.com
Visit www.communicationplanning.com - our home website
Belden Announces New Line of Environmentally-Friendly Cables
ST. LOUIS June 2012
Belden (NYSE:BDC), a global leader in signal transmission solutions for mission-critical
applications, announces new low smoke zero halogen (LSZH) jackets on some of its
most popular and reliable standard cables. The environmentally-friendly cables are an
extension of the company’s GreenChoice solutions for customers looking for green
alternatives to traditional products.
GreenChoice LSZH-jacketed cables are fully-recyclable, halogen-free and meet all
current environmental standards, including WEE, REACH, RoHS and Prop 65.
Halogen-free GreenChoice cables are non-toxic and can be deposited in landfills.
GreenChoice cables are particularly beneficial when installed in control and
instrumentation applications, computer and CAD/CAM equipment, power supplies,
audio, personal computers, POS and automotive – wherever humans or animals are in
close proximity to the cables and could be exposed to halogens.
Qualified for LEED Credits
The GreenChoice product line meets the requirements of LEED Pilot Credit 54 for up to
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2 LEED points per installation to help builders achieve the next level of LEED
certification. In addition, LEED certification may lead to tax breaks on the building
dependent on state law.
Off-the-Shelf and Meet Belden’s Exacting Standards
GreenChoice cable has the same robust electrical properties as its Belden Classics
counterparts and is manufactured to Belden’s exacting standards in an ISO 9001 North
American facility with the same 25-year warranty. GreenChoice cabling uses the same
AWM and UL rating systems as Belden Classic Cables.
Availability
All GreenChoice cabling is available off-the-shelf in 500 and 1000 ft. put-ups. Belden
also offers LSZH cables as standard products in its Shipboard product line. LSZH
jackets are also available on special order for most Belden classic cables.
For more information on Belden GreenChoice cables, see Belden’s Product Bulletin
#370, visit www.Belden.com or call 1-800-BELDEN-1 (1-800-235-3361).
Please visit our website for more information on compliance with environmental
initiatives.
About Belden
St. Louis-based Belden Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets cable, connectivity,
and networking products in markets including industrial automation, enterprise,
transportation, infrastructure, and consumer electronics. It has approximately 6,800
employees, and provides value for industrial automation, enterprise, education,
healthcare, entertainment and broadcast, sound and security, transportation,
infrastructure, consumer electronics, and other industries. Belden has manufacturing
capabilities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, and a market presence
in nearly every region of the world. Belden was founded in 1902, and today is a leader
with some of the strongest brands in the signal transmission industry. For more
information, visit www.Belden.com.
Americans Increasingly Turn to Renewables for Power Needs
by Rick Laezman
Published: June 2012
Despite the rhetoric, popular sentiment and public policies favoring green power, it may
be surprising to realize that alternative-energy industries are still the underdog in the
transformation of how we generate and consume power. The fact remains that
nontraditional sources still face a Herculean task in their quest to capture U.S. market
share and, in so doing, unseat fossil fuels as the primary source of energy.
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Success can be measured along the way as renewables make progress toward
overtaking fossil fuels.
According to data released recently by the U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA), renewables usage is growing at a rapid pace, and in the process, their total share
of national energy production is also expanding. The most recent issue of the EIA’s
Monthly Energy Review reveals that renewables usage grew by 27.12 percent in the
three years from Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2011. In contrast, total domestic energy
production increased by only 6.72 percent. More specifically, natural gas and crude oil
production grew by 13.66 percent and 14.27 percent, respectively. Nuclear power grew
by only 1.99 percent, and coal dropped by 7.16 percent.
Regarding total share of production, renewables accounted for 11.74 percent of
domestic energy production in 2011, an increase of almost 2 percent, from 9.85 percent
in 2009.
Hydropower accounted for the largest share of renewables at 34.62 percent of domestic
renewable production. However, other sources were adopted at a faster rate. Wind
power was the fastest growing renewable power source during the three-year time
frame, with an increase of 113.92 percent. The next fastest growing renewable sector
was biofuels, which went up by 46.58 percent. Solar-power use expanded by 28.09
percent.
Looking just at the electricity sector, the numbers are even more compelling. Within that
sector, nonhydro renewables usage grew by 54.6 percent.
Reprinted with permission from the ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine Published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Electrical
Contractor magazine reaches 85,300+ electrical contractors and more than 68,000
electrical contracting locations, more than any other industry publication. Contact: (301)
657-3110 / www.ecmag.com.
General Cable's Acquisitions On The Move
Recently, General Cable Corporation (BGC) entered into an agreement to acquire
majority stake in Procables S.A (Procables), a privately owned manufacturer of a broad
range of wire and cable products. The company will acquire 60% share in Procables for
$45 million and the remaining 40% share will be held by the Sredni Group. The
transaction is subjected to regulatory approval, with closure expected in the second half
of 2012.
Procables has two manufacturing facilities, one in Bagota and the other one in
Barranquilla. The products manufactured include low and medium voltage power
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cables, building wire, industrial, communications and bare aluminum conductors as well
as operating copper and aluminum rod mills. Procables generated revenue of $120
million in 2011.
General Cable is engaged in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and
distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy,
industrial, specialty and communications markets. This acquisition complements the
company's existing product portfolio and is expected to be accretive in the first full year
of operation.
General Cable will benefit from the strong regional commercial strategy and extensive
distribution network of Procables. This, combined with the technical and operational
expertise of General Cable, will help it to expand its product portfolio and the value
proposition to the Andean Region customers.
This is the second acquisition by the company during 2012. Earlier, General Cable
announced the acquisition of Alcan Cable, the wire and cable business of Rio Tinto plc
(RIO). The acquisition will be made at $185 million in cash. Alcan Cable serves the
energy and construction markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. It
employs approximately 1,050 associates in its aluminum cable manufacturing and
distribution facilities.
The combination of Alcan’s expertise provides manufacturing, logistics, and purchasing
synergy to the company’s North American businesses. Further, greenfield operation in
China is expanding, and Alcan’s presence in these markets provides additional
opportunity. The deal is expected to create shareholder value in the near term.
www.generalcable.com
Can You Read This? If So, You Qualify For FREE Admission
To The U.S. Electrical Construction Industry’s Largest Show
To be held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Las Vegas, The NECA Show offers professionals like you
education, product knowledge & answers to questions you’ve been itching to ask.
http://www.necaconvention.org/
FREE admission? Yes. If you are reading this edition of HOTS, you qualify.
Show dates/hours (at The Mandalay Bay):
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Sept. 30, Sun., 11:30am to 5:00pm
Oct. 1, Mon., 11:30am to 4:00pm
Oct. 2, Tue., 10:30am to 2:30pm
What’s available to you on the Show floor:
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The latest & greatest new products, new solutions, new ideas for use by
electrical contractors and other professionals in datacom, building systems, T&D, A/V,
and much more.
275-plus exhibiting entities, including familiar names – makers of products,
distributors, inventors, solutions providers, software vendors, and much more.
19 FREE Technical Sessions (held on the show floor) – Sessions on topics such
as electric vehicle charging, solar power, submetering, robotics, LEDs, lighting controls,
digital audio/visual, lightning protection, transformers, mobile computing & many more
Your FREE admission ticket (see below to sign up) gets you into all 3 days of
the Show, if you wish – and every one of the 19 Technical Sessions.
To register: http://bit.ly/NLjoce – click on “Invitation Code Registration” and enter code
HO12
http://www.necaconvention.org/
ShoreTel’s Cloud Division Announces Mobile UC
Integration with ShoreTel Mobility extends business voice and unified
communications applications to smartphones
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-ShoreTel®(SHOR), the leading provider of brilliantly simple premise and cloud-based
business phone system and communication solutions with fully integrated unified
communications (UC), today announced the release of ShoreTel Mobility for customers
of ShoreTel’s M5 cloud division. The solution extends the voice and unified
communications (UC) applications businesses love to the smartphone. The initial launch
will support iPhones and subsequent releases over the summer will add support for
other smartphone and tablet devices including Android and Blackberry. Users are able
to leverage a single converged device for both business and personal communications,
and access desk phone and UC capabilities on their iPhone without having to learn a
new interface.
In addition to offering users a dual persona, ensuring easy separation of personal and
business identities on a single mobile device, ShoreTel Mobility automatically and
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securely selects the best available network – Wi-Fi or cellular – without any action by
the user. The solution is available to ShoreTel’s Cloud Division clients for a monthly fee
per user.
“I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the ShoreTel Mobility application. I've
been wanting this for 4 years now and I'm glad that M5, as part of ShoreTel, will be one
of the first in the market. I have no doubt that true corporate mobility will improve
productivity for our remote and traveling employees,” said Derek Stewart, Finance and
Operations manager at Foursquare.
“The way people work has changed. Instead of fighting the trends of mobility and bringyour- own-device, we are empowering our clients to embrace them by extending our
cloud phone system capabilities to the device that users love the most – their own,” said
Dan Hoffman, ShoreTel Cloud Division President. “The solution represents a win-win,
giving our customers the ease of using the device that is already in their pocket and
giving the enterprise a way to reduce costs, while maintaining a consistent corporate
identity and caller experience.”
Users enjoy the following benefits:
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Identity – Business calls to and from any ShoreTel Mobility user are made using
their business phone number, not their personal mobile number. This means
corporate identity is maintained and the company, not the employee, owns the
contact relationship. Employees no longer need to reveal personal mobile phone
numbers and can instantly tell if an incoming call to the mobile device is personal
or work related.
Convenience – Users can leverage all of the benefits of the M5 cloud businessphone system that they enjoy when using a desk phone including: transferring
calls to other employees and utilizing four-digit dialing. Coaching tools such as
barge and whisper are available to management.
Metrics – Mobile calls are no longer omitted from the phone system’s business
intelligence. Records for business calls made to and from the mobile device are
included along with desk phone calls, giving management true visibility into
employee performance and the health of the business.
Network Flexibility - ShoreTel Mobility can significantly reduce direct dial and
international roaming charges on the smartphone by utilizing software that
switches networks automatically, intelligently and securely between wireless and
cellular for the best available coverage at any given moment.
For more information about ShoreTel Mobility in the cloud, the M5 Unified
Communications Suite, or other products, please visit www.m5.net.
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Our appetite for Wireless (broadband) knows no limit. Demand for Wireless
Broadband Soars
by Rick Laezman
Published: June 2012
You can never get too much of a good thing. That seems to be what Americans are
thinking when it comes to their wireless connectivity.
According to a recent survey from CTIA-The Wireless Association, Americans love
mobile devices, and they want more.
The semi-annual survey released in April revealed that U.S. wireless data traffic more
than doubled from 388 billion megabytes (MB) in 2010 to 866.7 billion MB in 2011. The
123 percent increase is attributable to a number of factors. Not surprisingly, the number
of active smartphones and wireless-enabled PDAs grew from 78.2 million to 111.5
million over the same period. According to the survey, almost 95 percent of these
devices are capable of transmitting wireless data.
CTIA noted that, to handle Americans’ demand for wireless data, mobile providers
continued to make significant investments in their infrastructure, from upgrading
networks from 3G to 4G to increasing the number of cell sites, improving coverage and
capacity. In 2011, they reported $25.3 billion in capital expenditures, a 2 percent
increase from the year before. With those investments driving the trend, 2011 was the
largest annual increase of operational cell sites, with 283,285 at year-end, an increase
of 30,299 from the year before.
Americans’ growing attachment to wireless devices beyond their cell phones, such as
tablets and e-readers, has also fed the demand for wireless data transmission. The
survey notes that wireless subscriber connections grew by 7 percent, from 311 million in
2010 to 331.6 million in 2011. More important, penetration reached more than 104
percent, confirming that many users had a subscription for more than one device.
Not only did the number of smartphones and wireless PDAs grow last year, but the
number of active data-capable devices, such as e-readers, also grew by 9 percent, from
270.5 million in 2010 to 295.1 million in 2011. The number of wireless-enabled tablets,
laptops and modems also grew by a whopping 49 percent from 13.6 million to 20.2
million. Minutes used also increased by 2 percent, from 2.241 trillion to 2.296 trillion.
Users also enjoyed a little bit of relief last year. As usage and the number of devices
rose, the average local monthly wireless bill declined. The average cost dropped by 21
cents, from $47.21 in 2010 to $47 in 2011.
Reprinted with permission from the ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine Published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Electrical
Contractor magazine reaches 85,300+ electrical contractors and more than 68,000
10
electrical contracting locations, more than any other industry publication. Contact: (301)
657-3110 / www.ecmag.com.
ShoreTel Grows Market Share 19% - ShoreTel ranks third in the U.S. telephony
market.
Synergy Research shows ShoreTel continues to make inroads into U.S. Telephony
market
ShoreTel®(NASDAQ; SHOR), the leading provider of brilliantly simple premise and
cloud-based business phone system and communication solutions with fully integrated
unified communications (UC), continues to gain market share despite an overall down
market, according to recent data published by Synergy Research Group. In its market
share summary report for the first quarter of 2012, Synergy found that ShoreTel is the
fastest-growing player in the U.S. enterprise IP telephony markets out of all leading
vendors in Q1 2012. SUNNYVALE, Calif.
According to the Synergy Research data, ShoreTel ranks third in the U.S. telephony
market. ShoreTel grew its U.S. enterprise IP telephony revenue market share from 6.5
percent in Q4’11 to 7.7 percent in Q1’12, resulting in market share growth of 19 percent.
In contrast, the Synergy report shows Avaya and Mitel both experienced declines in
market share of 9 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
“These continued market share gains reflect our company’s continued growth,” said
Peter Blackmore, ShoreTel CEO. “With over 22,000 enterprise customers worldwide
and product availability in 47 countries, our prior investments in the company’s sales
team, distribution, product development and branding have paid off, and we expect
them to drive significant long-term revenue growth and worldwide momentum.”
“In this economy, no one can afford to take a chance on big complicated systems, even
from brand name vendors,” said Allen Behnke, director of safety, security and telecom
for Green Bay Area Public School District. “We wanted a complete, straightforward,
easy-to-use reliable solution, and ShoreTel demonstrated how it was possible—
brilliantly simple became very evident.”
\“Accelerating worldwide revenue growth faster than Cisco, Avaya, Mitel or Microsoft,
ShoreTel is growing the quickest out of the leading Enterprise IP Telephony vendors at
a rolling 4 quarter average of 18.5%,” said Jeremy Duke, founder and chief analyst at
Synergy Research Group. “ShoreTel’s growth is even more pronounced when looking
at the U.S. market, where they are growing five times faster than their nearest
competitors.”
About ShoreTel, Inc.
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ShoreTel, Inc. (SHOR) brings unmatched flexibility, choice and value to brilliantly simple
business phones systems and unified communications (UC). With its award-winning
premise-based IP phone system with integrated unified communications, contact center
capabilities, and its proven hosted VoIP services, organizations of all sizes can select
the best option for their needs. ShoreTel’s ongoing mission is to eliminate costly
complexity and give customers the 24/7 freedom to leverage rich voice, video, data and
mobile unified communications capabilities they need. ShoreTel is based in Sunnyvale,
California, and has regional offices in Austin, Texas; Rochester and New York, N.Y.;
Chicago, Ill.; Maidenhead, United Kingdom; Sydney, Australia; and Singapore. For more
information, visit www.shoretel.com.
WESCO International, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Conney Safety Products
PITTSBURGH, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WESCO International, Inc. (WCC), a
leading provider of electrical, industrial, and communications MRO and OEM products,
construction materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistics services,
announced today that it, through its operating subsidiary WESCO Distribution, Inc., has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Conney Safety Products, LLC, a premier
distributor of MRO safety products headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Closing is
expected to occur in July 2012.
With revenues of approximately $85 million, the addition of Conney Safety Products is
expected to significantly strengthen WESCO's safety products and service portfolio and
enhance the company's e-commerce capabilities. Conney will function as a center of
excellence supporting the safety needs for WESCO's customers, including its Global
Accounts, Utility and Integrated Supply customers.
Mr. John J. Engel, WESCO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated: "The
addition of Conney to the WESCO team supports our One WESCO growth strategy and
expands our MRO supplier base, enabling us to bring additional safety products and
services to our customers. This acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings by at
least $0.10 per diluted share in the first year of operation."
Michael Wessner, Conney Safety Products' Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We
are pleased to become part of the WESCO team. Our companies have a similar culture
and operating philosophy that will enable us to continue to provide a superior level of
service to our customers, while pursuing new opportunities in an industry with significant
growth potential."
WESCO International, Inc. (WCC), a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company
headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of electrical, industrial,
and communications maintenance, repair and operating ("MRO") and original
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equipment manufacturers ("OEM") product, construction materials, and advanced
supply chain management and logistic services. 2011 annual sales were approximately
$6.1 billion. The Company employs approximately 7,300 people, maintains relationships
with over 18,000 suppliers, and serves over 65,000 active customers worldwide.
Customers include commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government
agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers and utilities. WESCO operates
eight fully automated distribution centers and approximately 400 full-service branches in
North America and international markets, providing a local presence for customers and
a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations.
www.wescodist.com
Smart home revenues to reach an estimated US$60 billion by 2017
A new report from Juniper Research has valued the ‘Smart Home’ market at $60 billion
by 2017, rising from $25 billion this year. The increase will be driven by strong growth
within the Smart Home Entertainment segment, along with contributions from other
segments including Smart Monitoring & Control and Smart Health.
The report ‘Smart Home Ecosystem: Connected Devices, Service Models & Revenues
2012-2017,’ noted that there are many definitions that can be attributed to the smart
home concept and these definitions have evolved over the years to include different
facets of connected life such as entertainment, control, security and health. “With the
role of broadband connectivity moving beyond its traditional use cases, new
applications and enhanced services have emerged such as connected TVs, home
automation systems and smart meters,” the research firm said.
“These new and improved applications, connected via broadband (mobile or fixed)
network systems, will increase the service revenue attributable to the area."
The new report observed that no stakeholders or individual members of the smart home
ecosystem can succeed in isolation and that operators, content providers and vendors
need to collaborate for a mutually beneficial business model.
Green Homes Continue to Grow Across the U.S.
LEED for Homes surpasses 20,000 certified home milestone
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Washington, DC - (June 13, 2012) - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today
announced that more than 20,000 homes across the U.S. have earned certification
through the LEED for Homes program. LEED for Homes is a national voluntary
certification system that provides guidance and verification that homes are designed
and built to be energy- and resource-efficient and healthy for occupants.
"There are green homes, and then there are LEED homes. This milestone is evidence
that the residential market is increasingly recognizing this fact," said Nate Kredich, Vice
President of Residential Market Development, USGBC. "LEED for Homes is moving the
residential market further and faster towards high-performing, healthy homes that save
residents money."
The collection of LEED-certified homes is as varied as the whole of the residential
market - from multi- to single-family, from market rate to affordable housing. Since the
launch of LEED for Homes in 2008, more than 20,000 residential units have certified
with nearly 79,000 additional units in the pipeline. Over half of all LEED-certified homes
are in the affordable housing category.
Recently-certified projects include:
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Eight LEED Platinum certified affordable homes in the Coconut Cove
development in Cape Coral, Florida, developed by Southwest Florida Affordable
Housing Choice Foundation, Inc. and built by Owen-Ames-Kimball Company
AMLI at Escena, the first two LEED Gold low-rise multifamily buildings in Texas,
built by AMLI Residential
KAPSARC Villa B-19 in Riyadh, one of the first LEED for Homes International
Pilot projects to certify - located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the LEED Silver home
is one of 191 single family production homes built by SK Engineering and
Construction as part of Phase I for KAPSARC
Green homes are expected to grow to between 29% to 38% of the residential
construction market by 2016, equating to $87-$114 billion, according to a 2012 McGraw
Hill Construction study. To learn more about LEED for Homes, visit
usgbc.org/LEED/Homes.
About the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a prosperous and
sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC
works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building
certification program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters
and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and advocacy in
support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities.
For more information, visit www.usgbc.org, on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn.
About LEED
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building program is the foremost
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program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings.
Nearly 46,000 projects are currently participating in the commercial and institutional
LEED rating systems, comprising 8.8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50
states and 120 countries. In addition, more than 20,000 residential units have been
certified under the LEED for Homes rating system, with nearly 80,000 more homes
registered.
By using less energy, LEED-certified spaces save money for families, businesses and
taxpayers; reduce carbon emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for
residents, workers and the larger community. Learn more at usgbc.org
NetZero Co-Founder Ron Burr Named Chief Revenue Officer of CallFire, as
Company Aims to Reshape Telecom
Internet Industry Pioneer Seeks to Capture Mind Share -- and Market Share -- in Cloud
Telephony
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 19, 2012) – In a move designed to raise its profile in the
telecom sector and further establish it as a leader in cloud telephony, CallFire
(www.callfire.com) announced that NetZero co-founder and former CEO Ron Burr has
joined the company’s executive team as Chief Revenue Officer.
A web telephony pioneer and serial entrepreneur, Burr will oversee sales and marketing
while expanding the range of clients served and building vendor, partner and investor
relationships, according to CallFire CEO and Co-Founder Dinesh Ravishanker.
CallFire provides a cloud-based enterprise VoIP platform that powers voice and text
messaging campaigns enabling businesses, government agencies and grassroots
organizations to instantly and affordably communicate with key audiences. Founded in
2007 by Ravishanker and a small group of talented computer science graduates from
the University of California, Irvine, the University of Southern California and Harvard
University, CallFire has achieved just under $10 million in sales, is profitable and has
attracted more than 50,000 users to date -- without venture funding.
“We are excited to welcome a leader of Ron Burr’s caliber to the CallFire executive
team,” Ravishanker said. “Ron’s extensive industry experience, knowledge and
relationships will be invaluable as CallFire builds both mind share and market share in
the burgeoning cloud telephony services marketplace.”
“Dinesh and the other co-founders of CallFire have proved they have what it takes to
thrive as a team during the many ups and downs of bootstrapping a company and
building a world-class technology platform,” Burr said. “They have the energy, the
passion, and the integrity it takes to transform this sector. I look forward to contributing
to that achievement.” An Internet industry pioneer, Burr founded NetZero and saw it
15
through early growth to its dominant position as one of the world’s largest Internet
Service Providers. In addition to holding eight Internet technology patents in online
advertising and market research, Burr was named one of the “25 Top Unsung Heroes of
the Net,” by Interactive Week, one of the “21 people leading us into the 21st Century” by
Response Magazine, and one of the “Top 50 IT executives at xSPs” by InfoWorld. He
joined WebVisible, a leading provider of local online marketing software and services,
as chief operating officer in 2009 and was elevated to CEO in 2010. Prior to that, he
was chief product officer for LRN, the leading application service provider for online
education and solutions enabling clients to manage enterprise-wide governance, ethics
and compliance processes. He also served as chief strategy officer of Jambo, a leading
pay-per-call Internet company targeting local business; CEO of Layer2 Networks; a
partner with international IT consulting firm IMPACT Software; a senior technology
consultant for IBM; and vice president of software engineering with Vault Corporation.
Burr also serves as advisor and Board member to several technology companies and
venture capital firms.
About CallFire
CallFire simplifies telephony, making sophisticated, expensive carrierclass telecom
capabilities available through an affordable, easy-to-use GUI and API platform. Any
business, from start-up to enterprise, can reach its customers on any device, over voice
or text, using CallFire’s massively scalable, cloud telecom platform. CallFire products
includeVoice API’s,
BusinessTextMessaging,VoiceBroadcast, LocalPhoneNumbers,CallTracking,IVR,Power
Dialingfor agents and more. Call analytics enable CallFire’s 50,000 users to reach
customers more often using textmarketing, virtualnumbers, autodialers and
mobilemessaging. To learn more, visit www.CallFire.com.
2012 BICSI European Conference & Exhibition Concludes
Brussels, Belgium, June 20, 2012—BICSI, the international association supporting the
information technology systems (ITS) industry with information, education and
knowledge assessment, concluded its 2012 BICSI European Conference & Exhibition
on Wednesday, June 13, at the Dolce La Hulpe Brussels Hotel in Brussels, Belgium.
The event brought together ITS industry professionals and exhibitors from all over the
world for three days of networking and knowledge sharing.
The European Conference included 13 technical presentations focused on topics such
as data center infrastructure improvement, transformative technologies in physical and
cyber security, data center design, AV system design, energy legislation affecting data
centers, new FTTE technologies, in-building cellular wireless, multimode fibers for future
enterprise networks, converged cabling and more.
Many delegates commented that the technical content of the 2012 BICSI European
16
Conference & Exhibition was superb, calling it one of the best European conferences to
date.
In addition to the technical sessions, delegates were able to enjoy Exhibit Hall hours,
where ITS vendors were available to speak with conference delegates about their latest
products and services. “We are pleased with the educational spirit and quality that we
experienced during the 2012 BICSI European Conference, said Rainer Stiehl, VP of
Marketing for Extron Europe. “We are committed to BICSI Europe and will be exhibiting
again in 2013.”
The conference also featured evening events after the closing of the Exhibit Hall on
Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s After Hours involved a presentation by Ray Keden,
RCDD, of ERICO International in San Leandro, California, USA. His presentation, titled,
“Gaining the Competitive Advantage with Non-Continuous Cable Supports,” offered
many BICSI credential holders the opportunity to earn an additional continuing
education credit (CEC). As an added bonus, the audience was also able to watch the
France vs. England game of the Euro 2012 championship via a simultaneous broadcast
on a second screen during Keden's presentation.
Tuesday’s Networking Reception highlighted the announcement of Gautier Humbert,
RCDD, as the European Member of the Year. The award is presented to a member of
the European Region who has made a significant contribution to BICSI and the ITS
industry as a whole throughout Europe. As the BICSI Eastern European Chair, Humbert
has overcome language and cultural barriers while managing to position BICSI as a
professional and proactive organization. He was also instrumental in the organization
and implementation of the first ever BICSI Romania Conference in 2011.
"Gautier's dedication and commitment to BICSI over the years has allowed for BICSI to
grow in Eastern Europe," said European Region Director Greg Sherry, RCDD, NTS,
WD. "He demonstrates all that is best in BICSI volunteers, and this award is well
deserved."
"The BICSI European Conference serves a number of very important functions," said
Jerry L. Bowman, RCDD, RTPM(i), NTS, CISSP, CPP, CDCDP, BICSI President. “It’s
easy to forget that Europe is a collection of countries with a wide variety of cultures and
challenges. This conference is much more than education, networking opportunities and
vendor exhibits—it is a unique opportunity to bring together this diverse European
community in one place. There is always a very high concentration of industry leaders
from the various countries, and it is simply a pleasure to see them all one place. We
also had a number of North American members at the conference this year, but I would
encourage even more members from North America to experience next year’s BICSI
European Conference at the Celtic Manor Resort, which is considered to be the
gateway to Wales.”
BICSI would like to extend a thank you to all of the sponsors of the 2012 BICSI
European Conference & Exhibition:
17
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Silver Conference & Exhibition Sponsor: DYMO Rhino Industrial Labeling Tools
Conference Totes Sponsor: MaxCell Fabric Innerduct
BICSI After Hours Sponsor: ERICO
BICSI would also like to thank Inside Networks; Industrial Ethernet Book;
Communication Solutions; Network Communications News; Datacentre Solutions
Europe; Datacentre Solutions UK; and Cabling and Wireless as its 2012 BICSI
European Conference & Exhibition Media Partners.
BICSI is a professional association supporting the information technology systems (ITS)
industry. ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data, electronic safety & security, project
management and audio & video technologies. It encompasses the design, integration
and installation of pathways, spaces, optical fiber- and copper-based distribution
systems, wireless-based systems and infrastructure that supports the transportation of
information and associated signaling between and among communications and
information gathering devices.
BICSI provides information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and
companies in the ITS industry. We serve more than 23,000 ITS professionals, including
designers, installers and technicians. These individuals provide the fundamental
infrastructure for telecommunications, audio/video, life safety and automation systems.
Through courses, conferences, publications and professional registration programs,
BICSI staff and volunteers assist ITS professionals in delivering critical products and
services, and offer opportunities for continual improvement and enhanced professional
stature. www.bicsi.org
Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, BICSI membership spans nearly 100 countries.
Siemon Labs Testing Highlights Performance Risks of Low-Cost Generic Fiber
Optic Assemblies
Including randomly selected fiber jumpers from both high-quality global brands and lowend generic suppliers, these benchmark tests show generic assemblies failing to meet
minimum performance levels on critical industry standard parameters.
June,12, 2012 - Watertown, CT, USASiemon, a leading global manufacturer of IT
network cabling and infrastructure systems, has released the results of comprehensive
benchmark testing on optical fiber assemblies. Performed by Siemon Labs, these tests
included randomly selected fiber jumpers from 5 well-known global brands, including
Siemon, as well as jumpers from 4 low-cost generic assembly houses. The results
clearly showed a significant performance gap between the global brands and the
18
generic products, with a significant number of generic assemblies failing to meet
minimum standards requirements across a range of performance-critical parameters.
To review the full test results, download the new Siemon whitepaper “A Closer Look at
Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies” at www.siemon.com/go/fiberjumper.
In terms of optical performance, Siemon Labs tested all assemblies for Insertion Loss
(IL) and Return Loss (RL). While all assemblies passed minimum IL requirements, 3
out of 4 generic suppliers had RL failures. “The optical performance results show how
substandard assemblies continue find their way into otherwise high-performance
networks,” explained Robert Carlson, Siemon’s Vice President of Global Marketing.
“While you may only field-test for IL, substandard RL performance will negatively impact
transmission and degrade overall channel performance – even if the assembly passes
IL field-testing.”
In addition to optical performance, the tests also covered standards-based requirements
for fiber end-face geometry, specifically fiber end-face radius of curvature, apex offset
and fiber height. These three critical mechanical characteristics of the fiber end-face
control the alignment and actual physical contact between fiber cores to ensure reliable
signal transmission. While only one global supplier assembly experienced an end-face
failure, none of the generic assemblies passed all three minimum requirements. The
generic brands fared even worse against Siemon’s more rigorous internal performance
requirements.
Standards-based visual inspections were also performed, and the results highlight the
potential performance impact of contamination and fiber core defects. Fiber core
fractures and contamination on ferrules, alignment sleeves or dust caps degrade IL and
RL performance, making test results completely unpredictable and causing
unnecessary problems such as wasted time in trouble-shooting test failures and false
passes that cause non-compliant channel performance on “day two.” With the
exception of Siemon assemblies, all samples exhibited some form of contamination and
failed visual inspection. After proper cleaning, 75% passed with some defects and 25%
failed even after cleaning.
While lab tests on optical parameters and connection attributes provide a very strong
indicator of an assembly’s overall quality and performance, it does not guarantee that
the assembly will survive in the real world. Siemon Labs performed mechanical
reliability testing against standards requirements for Cable Pull, Flex, Torsion and
Retention, parameters designed to ensure that assemblies can endure the mechanical
stresses of installation and maintenance in a real-world network and still deliver reliable,
long-term performance. These tests once again showed a large quality gap, with all
global brands indicating 100% passing results while not a single low-cost supplier made
it through without significant failures.
The full results of the Siemon Labs testing highlights the significant risks in specifying
low-cost generic fiber jumpers over well-known, quality global brands as well the
dangers in considering a passing IL field test as an indication of overall assembly
19
performance. Substandard RL, non-compliant end-face geometry and poor mechanical
reliability dramatically increase the likelihood that generic assemblies will degrade
overall network performance.
“Users make significant investments in fiber network equipment for its ability to deliver
high-bandwidth performance,” explained Carlson. “And that performance is choked by
cheap, substandard jumpers.”
Adding an example, Carlson continued, “A 24-port, 10GbE fiber switch costs about
$10,000. If an OM3 LC fiber jumper costs about $20 from a generic supplier and $25
from a high-quality global brand, you’d save a total of about $120 if you used generic
jumpers with that switch. Is $120 in jumper savings worth jeopardizing the
performance of a $10,000 piece of equipment? If you factor in potential downtime,
troubleshooting and replacement jumper costs, using anything less than the highest
quality jumpers makes no sense.
The full results of Siemon Lab’s fiber assembly testing are included in the new Siemon
whitepaper entitled: “A Closer Look at Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies”, available online
at http://www.siemon.com/go/fiberjumper
For a quick and easy overview of Siemon’s fiber assembly testing, check out the
infographic on Siemon’s Network Infrastructure blog:
http://blog.siemon.com/infrastructure/?p=664
Follow Siemon on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siemoncabling/
Join Siemon on Facebook: http://www.siemon.com/go/facebook
About Siemon
Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the manufacture and
innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. Headquartered
in Connecticut, USA, with global offices, manufacturing and service partners throughout
the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and
shielded twisted-pair) category 5e, category 6 (Class E), category 6A (Class EA) and
category 7/7A (Class F/FA), and multimode and singlemode optical fiber cabling systems
available. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, from patch cords to patch
panels, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards,
underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.
20
Cool Tools: Testers - ECMAG Article by Jeff Griffin
Be sure to study up
by Jeff Griffin
Published: June 2012
No alarm, surveillance or control system can be considered complete until tested to
confirm it meets industry standards and will perform to specifications.
Field-testing installed communications cabling is critical to ensure the proper operation
of security and life safety systems, said Dan Payerle, business unit manager at Ideal
Industries (www.idealindustries.com).
“Even the most experienced installer can make routine mistakes that are not obvious
through visual inspection and only become evident when tested,” Payerle said. “And
while rare, defective components can also find their way into an installation. Trying to
find a defective component that is the source of a performance problem without the
assistance of a field tester can lead to many hours of trial-and-error troubleshooting.”
Andre Rebelo, Extech (www.extech.com) global communications manager, emphasized
that there is no room for error when wiring and testing security and life safety systems.
“Without exaggeration,” Rebelo said, “people’s lives depend on a properly tested
configuration. Proper testing also means getting the job done right the first time. Missing
a fault in wiring or fiber can result in installations that run long as the task switches from
systematic testing to hunt-and-peck troubleshooting.”
A network is totally dependent on adequate cabling infrastructure for successful
performance, said Harley Lang, Fluke Networks (www.flukenetworks.com) product
marketing manager.
“Cabling is only as good as the quality of the installation practices and components,”
Lang said. “Unless it is certified with a cable tester, it cannot be known if a link or
channel will be able to support the demands of the network. Most network owners and
contractors own multiple types of tools and use them selectively for the tasks they
undertake.”
Ideal’s Payerle said most basic yet essential testing is for proper continuity and polarity.
For coaxial and twisted-pair cabling, a basic wire map tester will catch the vast majority
of problems associated with termination errors.
“When selecting a wire map tester, make sure that it includes a test for split pairs,” he
said. “The most inexpensive testers omit this critical function and will pass a cable that
in actuality will not operate above 10 Mbps, even though the installer expects the Cat 5e
or Cat 6 cabling to operate at 1,000 Mbps or more.
21
“For coaxial cabling used in video surveillance, it is important to test the loop resistance
of the runs to ensure good picture quality. It can be tested with a simple digital
multimeter using the ohms function. The loop resistance should be no more than 10–15
ohms. Test it by shorting the center conductor to the shield at one end of the cable and
measuring the resistance across the center conductor and shield at the other end. One
of the most typical causes of picture quality issues is the use of copper-clad steel
coaxial cable rather than 100 percent copper coaxial. Copper-clad steel is used in
CATV/satellite applications but should never be used for CCTV,” Payerle said.
Continuity and polarity tests ensure the fiber is not broken and that it is routed to the
intended location.
“Continuity testing is performed with a visual light source, which can be an LED [lightemitting diode], laser or even an incandescent flashlight with an adapter to hold a fiber
optic connector. After testing continuity, optical fibers should be tested for insertion loss
to make sure that there is no excessive power loss from bends or poor terminations,”
Payerle said.
The cost of testers varies widely based on functions and capabilities. Payerle
summarized testers and cost ranges for testers for the three primary types of cables
used in security, alarm and control systems.
Twisted-pair copper
A wire mapping tester with split-pair capability ($75–$300) is the minimum required test.
Additional features such as length and TDR capabilities and support for multiple
remotes can speed up troubleshooting. Wire mapping tests do not measure the
performance of the cabling; they only verify that continuity is correct.
To measure the performance of twisted-pair cabling, there are two classes of field
testers available. Qualifiers ($1,000–$1,500) work by performing a series of tests that
ensure the cabling will support the desired application, most commonly gigabit Ethernet.
Beyond qualifiers, certifiers ($5,000 and up) can be used to test all the electrical and
radio frequency (RF) characteristics of the cabling to verify that the installed
performance meets industry standards such as Cat 5e, 6 or 6a. Certifiers also are used
to providing warranty coverage that may be offered by the cable and connectivity
manufacturers.
Coaxial cable
Many twisted-pair wire mappers also include adapters to test coaxial cable for continuity
and length, Payerle said. For CCTV applications, a digital multimeter ($25–$300) is
essential to test loop resistance (less than 15 ohms) and port termination values (76–90
ohms). There also are specialty CCTV meters available ($400–$800) that test the
voltage level (measured in IRE units) coming from a camera, which is useful in
troubleshooting camera and cabling issues.
22
Fiber optics
Payerle classified the most basic tester as an LED continuity device ($25–100) that can
be used to check the continuity of short multimode cables. A step up is a visual fault
finder ($200–$350) that uses a powerful laser light source instead of an LED. The laser
injects more power, making the tether useful on both multimode and single-mode cables
at distances of several miles. Additionally, the laser light will shine through most plastic
buffer tubes, which helps the technician visually locate bends, kinks or breaks in
individual fibers.
An optical power meter and light source test kit ($500–$3,000) measures optical power
loss in a system.
“This is vital when testing that loss of the cabling system is matched to the electronics in
the optical network. Optical receivers operate within a certain range of power and an
optical test set is the only way to ensure proper operation of the system,” Payerle said.
Multipurpose testers
Most mid-range testers for twisted-pair cabling will have at least some capability to test
coaxial cabling by using adapters, he said. Performance qualifiers and certifiers usually
can test twisted-pair, coaxial and fiber optic cabling.
“A qualifier with fiber optic options can be had for about $2,000 and provides testing and
printed documentation to prove the performance of the installed cabling system,”
Payerle said. “Fully loaded certifiers with all the options for coax, multimode and singlemode fiber optic testing can cost $15,000 or more.”
GRIFFIN, a construction and tools writer from Oklahoma City, can be reached at upfront@cox.net.
Reprinted with permission from the ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine Published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Electrical
Contractor magazine reaches 85,300+ electrical contractors and more than 68,000
electrical contracting locations, more than any other industry publication. Contact: (301)
657-3110 / www.ecmag.com.
Fiber Optic cables installations shifting. Now we are seeing a huge increase in the
use of pre-terminated and patchcords
Pre- terminated fiber is a huge labor saver and a great way to insure quality
transmission. As a rule of thumb this old adage is only a half truth. Many cable
manufacturers are offering pre- terminated fiber cable, however they are reluctant to
disclose the connector fabricator that is being pre-terminated and or the test results on
the cable after it is connectorized. That situation may add up to a big bad surprise for
the contractor and the customer.
23
The law of HYPE. If they say that all the terminations are basically the same often
enough, will that make it true? That’s called Delusional marketing. Someone, probably a
political strategist cooked up the strategy that “Perception is everything.” Well when it
comes to the cold hard world of fiber optic cabling and performance, having the right
termination is “business critical”.
When it comes to Pre-terminated fiber or Fiber optic patchcords, one patented process
is distinctively superior.
HLC® Technology
Megladon's HLC (Hardened Lens Contact) technology is what sets our products apart
from others on the market today. Our patented technology produces the only durable,
high performance interconnect in the industry. Today's high speed networks demand
the highest quality connections to ensure reliable performance. Contamination,
scratches, and poor geometry degrade network performance and cause failures during
peak traffic. The industry needs a reference quality connection with durable mating
surfaces to improve network performance and reduce system failures. Their customers
demand it. Megladon's HLC SCRATCHGUARD® Patch Cords prevent maintenance
issues and traffic failures, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.
Features:
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Low Maintenance matings
Reference cable quality
Dust and scratch resistant
Extended lifespan
Withstands multiple matings
Easy Cleaning
Compatible with all existing connectors
Lowest signal loss in the marketplace
High quality components
Benefits:
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Repeatable network performance
Network reliability
Easy to install
Reduced network down time
Increased customer satisfaction
Saves time and money
HLC SCRATCHGUARD® Patch Cords Specifications
24
HLC passes the Scratch Test.
Fiber optic cables can be easily damaged when they're
misaligned while being inserted into test equipment or a hardware
port. Here is a side by side comparison of Megladon's patch cords
and a standard UPC cable. Each was given an identical amount
of error when inserted into a port. The HLC cable is undamaged.
Check the graphics in the white paper :
http://www.megladonmfg.com/hlc_technology2.html
INTRODUCTION – the Fiber Optic Technology Challenge of Connectivity &
Transmission
The basic transmission premise is the ability to transmit a signal at point A and receive
the same signal at point B. The transmission capability across a fiber far exceeds that of
a copper line. The use of fiber optic technology, however, is far more technical. In
today’s world, the fiber optic end-user is required to possess cleaning techniques,
maintenance procedures, handling and trouble-shooting skills to address interconnect
issues. It can seem, at times, the technology does not work. Achieving repeatability can
be a nightmare. Techniques and products need to be developed to alleviate the issues
that prevent the end-user’s success.
The techniques used to terminate and polish fiber optic assemblies and interconnects
have changed very little over the past ten years. Automated polishers and visual
inspection equipment have been introduced to aid in the repeatability of the
manufacturing process. Also, interferometers and end-face geometry criteria were
introduced to develop interconnect standards in the industry. These enhancements,
however, have not solved many of the obstacles that are inherent with the use of fiber
optic technology.
These obstacles are encountered by the end-user on a daily basis. They include endface scratching, dust and other airborne contaminants, films and residues, and
alignment issues. All of the mentioned obstacles lead to increased insertion loss, return
loss and performance degradation. At the system level, repeatability is compromised.
What works today may not work tomorrow. The industry needs a durable interconnect
that eases the use of fiber optic transmission.
®
MEGLADON’S HARDENED-LENS CONTACT (HLC ) TERMINATION PROCESS
The method of producing the HLC (lensed fiber ends via laser action) fiber optic
assembly offers many advantages, the most prominent of which are durability (longterm, repeated ease of use in real-world environments with consistent performance) and
manufacturing repeatability with reduced processing sensitivity.
The HLC assemblies produced provide a combined hardness (resistance to scratch and
dig) and surface roughness (typical 3 or more times) that exceeds that which can be
achieved with traditional polishing processes. In our HLC process, the end of the fiber
25
as well as the immediately surrounding epoxy and ferrule surface, go through a rapid
thermally driven and controlled recrystalization process that results in several wellknown and well-established benefits. The most important of these from the practical use
and durability aspects include the generation of an integral lens structure, surface
passivation, and the “healing” of micro-defects residing in the volume of the
materials below the surface.
BENEFITS OF USING A LENS STRUCTURE
The benefits of using a lens structure on the end of an optical waveguide such as a fiber
have been well known and publicized for more than 20 years as illustrated below in
Figure 1 from the “Designers Guide To Fiber Optics” by AMP Incorporated (1981).
While most splices and connectors in use today use strictly mechanical measures to
control and connect the propagation of light from one component or waveguide to
another, the lens approach is an optical approach which greatly reduces many of the
alignment and loss issues that are faced with the all mechanical approach to coupling
and alignment. However, until the development of the HLC structure which
automatically and routinely generates an appropriate lens that is an integral part of the
fiber termination itself, most uses of the pure optical coupling (lens) procedure were
rarely utilized because of the costs and complexities of implementation involved in
commercial applications.
BENEFITS OF PASSIVATION, REFLOW AND DEFECT HEALING
The benefits of passivation, reflow, and subsurface micro-defect healing via the use of a
rapid thermal process such as with a laser beam are also known and now established
within the micro-electronics arena. Likewise, laser annealing is now having a
tremendous impact in both the micro-machining and high energy/micro-optics arenas as
well.
In the HLC process, the end-face goes through a rapid melt and reflow process at the
surface, which acts to “harden”, smooth and passivate (reduce dangling bonds) the
surface. Tests conducted by Micro Photonics Inc. with a diamond micro-tip stylus [6]
have demonstrated that not only is the fiber itself harder or less prone to scratching than
a fiber end using standard polishing/finishing processes, but the surrounding epoxy and
ferrule surfaces were hardened as well. These tests alone, however, do not tell the
whole impact of the HLC process.
The same structures used in the scratch tests also show a surface smoothness that is
typically 3-6 or more times better than assemblies manufactured using a standard UPC
polishing procedure. These observations are even more striking in the surrounding
regions of the end surface including the epoxy and ferrule regions. Tests have also
been performed using ion etching of the surface that show a reduction of dangling
oxygen atoms by more than 10x over traditional preparation and polishing procedures.
DURABILITY
Now to the issue of durability and the enhancements offered by the HLC process. The
overwhelming issues within today’s fiber optics arena are termination and connectivity
26
or coupling from one component to another. Further examination reveals that
contamination and cleaning issues and implementation in other than clean room
environments primarily cause these issues.
The HLC process (US Patent 6,413,450 and others) addresses all of these issues headon and provides an INTEGRATED single step process that works reliably and
repeatedly within real-world environments. Contaminants of any type enjoy dangling
bonds and particularly those relating to the gaseous elements. Dangling bonds are a
stellar feature of groove or rough surface features and micro-features such as
dislocations, contaminants, cracks, etc. within the main body of a material and will tend
to migrate towards the surface over a period of time due to thermal variances.
Therefore, something other than a slow bake-out process or standard cleaning process
is required in order to provide a long term, and repeatable solution to practical
implementation and usage.
SUMMARY
Megladon’s Hardened-Lens Contact (HLC) termination process (US Patent 6,143,450
and others) provides the durable interconnect that the fiber optic industry is seeking.
The method of producing HLC (lensed fiber ends via laser action) fiber optic assemblies
offers many advantages over a conventional polishing/finishing process.
The process subjects the end-face to a rapid melt and reflow. The fiber as well as the
surrounding ceramic ferrule and epoxy regions becomes a hard, smooth surface that
resists scratching, films and residues, and the accumulation of airborne particles. The
process also prevents leaching of contaminants from below the surface. These benefits
provide a durable fiber optic end-face that is easy to clean and produces repeatable
results in a real world environment.
Another benefit is the integrated lens that is automatically formed during the termination
process. The lens is an optical approach that is well known and greatly reduces many of
the alignment and loss issues that are faced by the industry today.
Megladon’s HLC process provides end-face geometry characteristics with less than
50% of the tolerance of off-the-shelf UPC assemblies. The result is a reference grade
assembly that is compatible with all PC and UPC interconnects.
While the industry has continued to provide cost reductions based on more efficient
manufacturing methods, the real issues have not been addressed. Fiber optic
assemblies manufactured in Asia have become so inexpensive that they are considered
disposable. This is not what the majority of end-users require. They want something that
will work. Megladon listened to these end-users and developed a better assembly and
interconnect that provides real value to its customers.
Megladon Manufacturing Group, Ltd. was created as a subsidiary of Tyrex Group, Ltd.
on January 1, 2000 after spending three years as an incubated division. Megladon
became the first company to emerge from the Tyrex Partnering Program.
27
In 2000, STG 4Fronts, a technology incubator specializing in optical research and
development was created as a subsidiary of Megladon. With knowledge from and
relationships within the scientific community, this entity was created to provide
Megladon and the Fiber Products Group with intellectual property in the fiber optic
arena. The first project, the Hardened Lens Contact (HLC) for fiber optic patch cables
was a huge success. The project was completed within a tight budget and timeline. The
technology was patented and transferred to the Fiber Products Group for application
engineering, creation of manufacturing processes and marketing. The result was a core
technology with far-reaching effects in the fiber optic industry.
Today, Megladon promotes the same original culture that has made us successful over
the years. Megladon’s company culture is based upon the Tyrex Diamond Disciplines:
Economic Prosperity, Entrepreneurship, Employee Well-Being and Community
Citizenship. We believe all four aspects must be not only present, but in balance, in
order to succeed.
Our quest as part of the Tyrex Family is to become “special” as well as successful. This
includes a longevity factor that claims we are “Built to Last.” With our individual
commitments to our customers, vendors, communities and each other, Megladon is
building a strong foundation that will prove invaluable in the years ahead.
Quality is another integral piece of the Megladon company culture. We strive to
incorporate the highest level of quality in every transaction. This includes all
communications and tasks involving any customer, vendor, employee or community in
which we reside. This philosophy allows Megladon to ensure the quality of our products
and services are a result of our overall quality mentality.
Megladon Mfg. – your source for ScratchGuard HLC connectors & Patchcords
12317 Technology Blvd Suite 100 Austin, TX 78727
512-491-0006 Phone 512-583-0848 www.megladonmfg.com
For additional information on the expanding role of fiber optic cabling:
http://www.wireville.com/hots/hotsmay12.html#xx5
Don't Installers Know How To Test Fiber Optics? FOA Message
Several manufacturers have recently stated that their biggest problem with installers is
the do not know how to test fiber optic cable plants properly. It's a problem with both
conventional installations (pull cable, terminate and splice) as well as prefab systems
(made in factories and simply placed at the site.)
Here at FOA, most of the technical questions we get are about testing. A sample of
recent ones showed most of the problems related to OTDRs, generally either users not
knowing how to interpret the test results and relying on the auto test button when it gave
bad data. A new one showed up recently - a user at a government facility wrote into the
installation paperwork that the entire fiber optic cable plant was to be tested just with an
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OTDR, but the cables were only 50-200 feet long! Most OTDRs would never see cables
this short.
FOA is trying to make it easier to learn about the proper way to test fiber. Our new
standards on testing summarize what you need to do (or put in a contract) in one page.
We just added self-study programs on testing on our online self-study website, Fiber U
(http://fiberu.org). And we're always willing to help people with their questions.
Fiber optic testing is not difficult if you understand the basics. Not knowing that can be
very expensive, as some contractors we know have learned the hard way.
Fiber Optics Dominates Communications
Fiber optics has become the predominant communications medium, not just for
telephones, but also for cable television, security systems and computer networks. Even
wireless antennas are connected on fiber. Workers in all these fields are expected to
understand how fiber optics technology works and how it is used and, in many cases,
be competent in its installation. Training and certification in these areas has become
extremely important and The Fiber Optic Association is here to help.
What is The FOA?
The FOA is an international non-profit educational organization that is dedicated to
promoting professionalism in the field of fiber optics through education, certification and
standards. Founded in 1995 by a dozen prominent fiber optics trainers and industry
personnel, it has grown to now being involved in:
Providing technical information for everyone through our website, Guide, YouTube and
social media (LinkedIn and Facebook)
Setting standards for and administering technical certification programs
Evaluating and approving training schools
Developing textbooks, courses and training programs which are given to FOA-approved
schools for their use
Training and certifying instructors
Participating in industry standards activities and writing our own standards
Publishing email and online newsletters about technology and industry news
Promoting fiber optics applications and education through participation in industry
forums
To date (March, 2012), the FOA has approved about 250 training programs in more
than 30 countries, including technical high schools and colleges, professional training
organizations, major fiber optic manufacturers and companies offering employee
training programs. Over 37,000 techs have successfully completed requirements for
FOA certifications. FOA certifications are recognized by the US Department of Labor
and in most countries around the world.
FOA Guide: The World's Largest Compilation of Fiber Optic Information - Free
The FOA has worked since its inception to create a compilation of technical information
on fiber optics and premises cabling and make it available to everyone for free. While
29
there are thousands of pages of technical information on fiber optics on the web, most
of it is marketing-oriented, making it difficult to get unbiased information. The FOA can
call on its membership which includes some of the most experienced and qualified
people in the industry to create technical information that is indeed unbiased, technically
accurate and written in a fashion that is easily understood. The FOA Online Reference
Guide has become the largest and busiest technical website on fiber optics and
premises cabling and is available in printed and eBook formats. The FOA also has
many videos on YouTube including lectures on fiber optics and hands-on examples of
many standard practices.
FOA Certifications
The FOA recognizes the value of certification in today's job markets, where employers
evaluate potential employees by their certifications. By offering certifications that are
developed by a board of industry experts and are not affiliated with any particular
vendor or training organization, FOA provides an independent means for them to judge
potential employees.
FOA certifications are recognized by the US Department of Labor and in most countries
around the world.
The FOA has focused on helping teachers add certification programs on fiber optics and
premises cabling into their current curriculum. Fiber optics has been included in courses
as diverse as A+ and Cisco computer training and electrical apprenticeships. Some of
the companies that use FOA certification in their own training programs include Corning,
AFL, IBEW/NECA, CWA, NASA, FAA, Cisco, Daimler-Chrysler and Lockheed-Martin.
What Is The Value Of FOA Certification?
Certification means that someone gets a certificate, and there are many different
reasons they may receive one and from what kind of organization they get it from. The
value of a certification depends on its source.
Manufacturers often offer certification to customers, sometimes requiring it as part of an
affiliates program. Training focuses on the manufacturer's products and is given by
applications engineers or sales personnel. Standards for qualifying for a manufacturer's
certification vary, sometimes only requiring attendance at a short training course. Today
many large fiber optic manufacturers offer FOA certifications.
Some companies specialize in offering certifications; they are basically testing
companies that have specialists create certification exams in many different fields in
which they believe there is interest in such a product. They are not specialists in the
technologies for which they test. They may or may not create and sell training
curriculum. Instructor qualification and training also varies.
Professional societies often offer certifications in the technology of their interest. They
can call on experts in the technology to create complete programs focused on that
technology that ensure the certified members are highly knowledgeable and competent.
The FOA joins IEEE, ISA, SCTE and other professional societies in offering recognized
technical certifications.
30
As the international professional society for fiber optics and cabling, the FOA goal is to
improve the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of professionals in this technical field.
We are recognized as a non-profit educational organization. We set standards for
training, require instructors to be FOA-certified and only approve schools which meet
our high academic and professional standards. We invite experienced workers to join
the FOA directly but all must have proper credentials and pass the appropriate FOA
certification exams. FOA advisors are experienced (many have been in the fiber
business as long as fiber optics has been a business) and working in the field every
day, so FOA curriculum, reference materials and certification all are the most up to date
possible.
The goal of the FOA is to assure employers that an FOA-certified person is highly
qualified for working in the field of fiber optics; someone you can hire with confidence.
How Can The FOA Help You?
For Instructors, Schools and Training Organizations - The FOA offers a range of
services including instructor training and certification, technical and training materials
and support that leads to becoming an "FOA-Approved Training Organization." The
FOA lists all approved schools on the FOA website as a guide to students looking for
quality training.
The FOA "Train-The-Trainer" program leads to a certification required for all FOA fiber
optic instructors, the CFOS/I. This program prepares instructors for creating and
teaching hands-on courses for fiber optic technician training and lab courses for
university level programs. Instructors receive an extensive set of training materials for
both classroom and lab sessions.
For Students of FOA Approved Schools - FOA Certification Programs open up job
opportunities and assure customers of worker competence. Passing the various levels
of the FOA certification program will demonstrate a level of competence in the fiber
optics field to employers or customers, whether the worker is new to the industry or
looking to move up. FOA certified techs can join the FOA LinkedIn network.
For Everyone In The Industry The FOA website offers a monthly online newsletter
covering industry news and technology. The FOA Guide section offers an extensive
library of technical information and tutorials on fiber optics. Numerous links to other
relevant websites are included. And full information on the FOA and its programs are
available for everyone.
For More Information, check out the rest of The FOA website: www.TheFOA.org
Cloud Control and the evolving Cloud Control Languages "CCL" – A Look Into
Our Future From AutomatedBuildings.com
Much of my life was spent discovering the power of control languages in the newly
invented direct digital control systems. With these powerful languages I was able to do
31
what had never been done before, create relationships never imagined, and achieve
amazing solutions for both operations and energy reduction - it was the best of times.
For more than you would ever want to know about that view our Our Ongoing Open
Control Programming Language Discussions. I feel a sense of déjà vu in this month's
issue Cloud Control. The reach of the data, the speed of retrieval, the interaction with
anything and everything plus the ability to visualize large amounts of data quickly will
allow the kids today to do what has never been done before, create relationships never
imagined, and achieve amazing solutions for both operations and energy reduction - it is
the best of times. One of the advantages of spending five decades in an industry is the
ability to see history repeat itself. Building to Cloud to Building "B2C2B" will
revolutionize Building Control as the control languages of DDC did in the early 1980’s. It
will allow new relationships and interactions to be created with internet anywhereness
and everybuddyness {OK I just made that word up even Google cannot find it} but
allowing input from a greater audience. Early control languages opened the dialog to
only a few that understood the control languages, but Cloud Control Languages opens
the dialog to all stakeholders via web robots and online generated visualizations of
results. It is now clear the evolving Cloud Control Languages "CCL" and easy to use
robots will leapfrog augmenting existing control languages while greatly extending the
reach of the control strategies beyond the building. Concepts such as OpenADR,
interaction with time of day billing, real time weather reactions, analyzed input from
social media etc. will become the norm.
Last month’s well-read article spoke to this “the technology imbeds customer business
rules and objectives (energy, maintenance, comfort and sustainability) directly into the
suite of solutions. Through their automated technology they determine the optimal
operational balance that is unique to a facility.”
In this month's article Using G-Bots to Detect Defects Terry Casey describes using
Elemental Analysis, Rules Engines and Particularly G-Bots, a revolutionary Remote
Service Delivery Technology
From this article more insight to evolving cloud control; A Holistic Approach to Building
Operations Ideally, CEMS can integrate multi-vendor systems into one monitored
environment supported through a single platform from which users can control all of the
other systems. This vendor-agnostic capability to integrate and manage from a single
platform is the true value of today’s emerging CEMS offerings, as the approach allows
for legacy component integration as well.
I have got to admit I did not see this cloud connection with control coming; scan the
Code from the unit of equipment and immediately pull up the relevant information
required for maintenance, management and troubleshooting. In the future, DGLogik
envisions QR codes becoming an integral part of mobile BMS applications and will
continue to offer users this technology as a standard piece of the design toolkit.
We have many articles this month speaking to Cloud Control evolution.
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We have just updated our mission statement with this thought in mind, Who we are
connected to and the value they bring to our products and services defines who we are
and likely who we are to become. Our Mission - To Foster and be Part of all the
evolving Connection Communities. It is interesting to review our evolving mission since
1999.
As always this new issue is a nest of great articles, columns, reviews, new products,
interviews and of course the steady stream of news depicting our rapidly evolution and
journey to "Openness"
Welcome our newest sponsors:
ExactLogic - Providing BACnet performance products that are logically designed to be
exactly what you need.
Sontay - The 'Market Leader' for all Building Measurement and Control Peripherals.
Tell all our sponsors you saw their ads on the AutomatedBuildings.com web site and
thank them for supporting your free access to evolving Automated Building Industry
information. Click on their ads and view their valuable products and services. Please
review all Our Sponsors.
I am assembling a self-maintained global network of "Who is Who in building
automation". Presently my network includes over 3680 please join us.
Please join our Group on Linkedin with over 1340 others and interact with our magazine
and online resource in real time while sharing your thoughts with our editors and other
readers around the world.
The news just keeps flowing thru our web site and RSS feeds daily, and of course the
only way to truly find what you are looking for in the vast quantity of information on our
site is with our site search engine
http://www.automatedbuildings.com/search/sitesearch.htm
As always lots of new products, plus be sure to check our event calendar to see the
number of events we have in our future.
July issue www.AutomatedBuildings.com is now online
Send comments and suggestions to news@automatedbuildings.com
Ken Sinclair Publisher/Owner
www.AutomatedBuildings.com
sinclair@automatedbuildings.com
Phone 250-656-5378
33
How is Technology Transforming Your World? Getting Smart About It.
Do you want to be a winner? Education can increase your success rate dramatically.
In the new world of electrical work including telecom and datacom, getting the right
training is too important to ignore. In the changing electrical industry, there are a few
“best choices” to get that critical training. One of the best is Mike Holt.
There are thousands of successful contractors and installers who have benefited from
Mike Holt’s training. The resultant revenue for his students is easily in the billions. Mike
Holt training is part of a new wave. Emerging technologies are transforming our
business facilities into much more efficient systems. Integrated systems are the new
driving force that electrical and low-voltage contractors are discovering. Smart Grid,
Intelligent Buildings, Integrated Systems are already paying big dividends for the
consumers and the contractor. Mike Holt training can open the door to this dazzling set
of opportunities while obsolete practices dwindle and fade. EDUCATION is crucial in
order to seize the “brass ring”.
Mike Holt -The Man Behind The Name….
Mike Holt worked his way up through the electrical trade from an apprentice electrician
to a master electrician and electrical inspector. In 1973, Mike was certified as an
electrical instructor and in 1975 became an electrical contractor. From their inception,
Mike’s electrical classes were so successful, that by 1980 he stopped electrical
contracting to completely devote his time to electrical training. www.mikeholt.com
Mike did not complete high school due to circumstances and dropped out after
completing 11th grade. Realizing that success depends on one’s education, he
immediately attained his GED, and ten years later he attended the University of Miami’s
Graduate School for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Mike continues today
to stay current in all aspects of his education. Because of his education experiences, he
understands the needs of his students, and strongly encourages and motivates them to
continue their own education.
EDUCATOR
Mike is internationally recognized as one of America’s most knowledgeable electrical
trainers. He has touched the lives of many thousands of electricians, inspectors,
contractors and engineers. His dynamic and animated teaching style is relaxed, direct
and fun. Perhaps Mike’s best quality is his ability to motivate his students to become
successful.
He is devoted to providing quality training aids such as seminars, videos, books and
software that enhances job performance, personal confidence and career growth. The
quality that sets Mike apart from the others is his ability to motivate his students to
become successful. Mike’s experiences as an electrician, inspector and contractor help
34
him develop training programs that the electrician understands and enjoys. His ability to
take the intimidation out of learning is reflected in the success rate of his students.
CODE EXPERT
Mike has devoted his career to studying and understanding the National Electrical
Code, the foundation of the electrical industry. Researching the NEC all these years
and understanding its background has not only made Mike an expert, but it has earned
him the respect of his peers.
Companies and organizations across the United States and Mexico have used his
expertise in English and Spanish to help them pinpoint the exact meaning of the NEC.
In addition, his insight has been helpful in litigation problems, where the exact meaning
of the Code is necessary.
AUTHOR
Mike is a well-respected author and developer of software, books and video training
programs. He has mastered the art of explaining the complicated in a simple but direct
style. His ability to simplify technical concepts makes him one of America’s most sought
after speaker in the electrical trade. His extensive use of illustration in all of his training
programs makes learning fun. His articles have been seen in numerous magazines,
such as Electrical Construction & Maintenance (EC&M), CEE News, Electrical Design
and Installation (EDI), Electrical Contractor (EC), International Association of Electrical
Inspectors (IAEI News), The Electrical Distributor (TED) and Power Quality (PQ)
Magazine.
Since 1973, Mike has written or taught on practically every subject in the electrical
trade, from grounding and bonding, to estimating, to power quality and low voltage
systems.
TRAINER AND INDUSTRY EXPERT
Companies across the United States have utilized the services of Mike for in-house
training and expert advice. His unsurpassed speaking ability has encouraged
companies such as ATT, IBM, Boeing; associations such as NECA, IAEI, IBEW, ICBO;
and government agency such as Mexico, U.S. Navy, Grand Coulee Dam, etc. Mike’s
appeal lies in his ability to teach a variety of subjects to individuals that have different
degrees of expertise. He even has taught the NEC to the Navajo and Ute Indians, and
in Spanish in Mexico!
THE MAN
Mike resides in Central, Florida, is the father of seven children, and has many outside
interest and activities. In 1988 he became the National Barefoot Waterskiing Champion.
He has set five national records and in 1999 he again captured the National Barefoot
Waterskiing Championship. Mike enjoys motocross racing (YZ125), white water rafting,
racquetball, playing his guitar, and spending time with his family. His commitment to
God has helped him develop a lifestyle that places God first, then family, self and
career.
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Mike Holt
Mike@MikeHolt.com
About Mike Holt Enterprises
Mike Holt worked his way up through the electrical trade from apprentice electrician
through electrical contractor, to become one of the most recognized experts in the world
as it relates to electrical power installations. He was a Journeyman Electrician, Master
Electrician, and Electrical Contractor. In 1974, Mike realized there was a need for
quality electrical training and opened Mike Holt Enterprises.
Today, Mike Holt Enterprises is the leader in all aspects of electrical training. Mike and
his entire staff are dedicated to making the industry safer through training and state-ofthe-art products. Mike’s background as a struggling student, who dropped out of high
school and later went on to get his GED and eventually attend The University of Miami,
has helped him understand the needs of his students and the customers using his
products. As a result, he has set a standard that all products must be easy-tounderstand, focused on the essentials, and include lots of detailed illustrations to help
the materials come to life.
What sets Mike Holt Enterprises apart from other publishing companies is that from its
very beginning it was created to serve the needs of the electrical community exclusively.
Mike has always wanted to make sure that the focus was aimed at meeting the needs of
electrical professionals. His books are designed to make the electrical student not only
learn the material, but enjoy the process. His DVD programs bring electrical experts
from across the country into livings rooms and classrooms to discuss the various
aspects of each subject.
Mike has realized his vision over the last 30 years of creating a company that takes care
of its customers, provides high quality training, and continues to find ways to improve
the safety of the industry.
888.NEC.CODE (632.2633) 3604 Parkway Blvd, Ste 3, Leesburg Fl 34748
www.mikeholt.com
Nokia announced Thursday that it plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of 2013 and
will shut down facilities in Germany, Finland and Canada.
It’s the latest round of cuts for the Finnish smartphone manufacturer, which announced
more than 10,000 layoffs last year, the Associated Press noted. The company has
struggled to compete against smartphone makers such as Apple, Samsung and HTC,
losing its hold as the world’s top mobile phone producer in April. Nokia was still third —
behind Apple and Samsung — in tech analysis firm IDC’s May release. The company
36
still managed to grab 8.2 percent of the global market share, but it was a 50 percent
decrease from the same period last year.
The global market for tablet computers is also growing faster than expected, according
to a new research report.
A federal judge in Texas has rejected a legal challenge to Facebook and leading
investment banks over the company’s initial public stock offering.
The company has seen some success since Nokia and Microsoft struck their
partnership for smartphones last February and Nokia put its own Symbian system out to
pasture. The Nokia Lumia 900 was well-reviewed — particularly because the phone
took some colorful design chances — but sales weren’t strong enough to propel
Windows Phone and the handset into serious contention with the iPhone or Samsung’s
top-flight devices.
Nokia will have to move quickly to transition its phones over to Windows Phone and
hope that Microsoft’s operating system will manage to crack Apple and Google’s onetwo hold on the smartphone market.
In the meantime, the company said the latest round of layoffs “sharpens” its strategy.
“We are increasing our focus on the products and services that our consumers value
most while continuing to invest in the innovation that has always defined Nokia,” said
Stephen Elop, Nokia’s president and chief executive in a news release. “However, we
must re-shape our operating model and ensure that we create a structure that can
support our competitive ambitions.”
The company’s research and development department will be the first hit with layoffs,
likely because of the Windows transition. A report from Slashgear said that Nokia’s chief
financial officer Rick Simonson said that the company would also consider selling some
of its patents, but only “with the right price.”
With its tech pedigree, Nokia has assembled some important patents in its time —
something it proved when it hit HTC, Research in Motion and ViewSonic with a series of
patent suits in May.
In addition to announcing the layoffs Thursday, Nokia also cut its outlook for the third
time in a little over a year, saying that it expects to see larger losses. The smartphone
maker also announced it will sell its luxury Vertu brand, while picking up assets from the
mobile imaging company Scalado, which helps mobile phone manufacturers make
better camera phones.
How To Sell Energy Efficiency from tED magazine
By Bridget McCrea
37
Getting customers to look past their checkbooks and invest in energy efficient
equipment isn’t always easy
In a world where an increasing number of individuals and companies are preoccupied
with saving energy and making environmentally conscious choices, selling energy
efficiency to clients is surprisingly difficult. In fact, many companies are so focused on
the upfront costs of energy efficient-oriented installations and retrofits that they overlook
the long-term value of such investments.
“You really have to initiate a financial discussion first with these projects,” advises Doug
Borchers, vice president of sales and marketing at Dickman Supply in Sidney, Ohio.
The distributor started selling energy efficient options about four years ago and in 2011
opened a separate green energy solutions division. The good news is the over the last
four years the typical customer has awakened to the value of energy efficiency, says
Borchers. The bad news is that economic conditions and financial issues frequently
stand in the way of the customers’ “green” aspirations.
Cutting to the Chase
To break through barriers that prevent customers from investing in energy efficient
options, Borchers suggests a one-on-one discussion with the customer’s CFO,
controller, president, general manager, or “whomever is writing the checks for the
company.” Electrical distributors who ignore this step and instead work directly with
engineers will quickly find their RFPs shot down by the company’s decision makers,
says Borchers.
Another good strategy is to create a direct link between energy savings and ROI – a
comparison that no CFO can afford to ignore in today’s penny-pinching business
environment. Work terms like “payback period” into your energy efficiency upgrade bids
and highlight the amount of time it will take for the retrofit’s savings to kick in (especially
if the timeframe is impressive).
Be sure to relate those numbers to specific ROI percentages. For example, a project
with a three-year payback will deliver a 33% ROI, while one with a four-year timeline will
yield a 25% ROI. Such comparisons can go a long way in helping to convince nonengineering types of the value of energy efficient investments.
Borchers says other critical points to cover include the 5- and 10-year cash flow
paybacks on the project. “You really have to sharpen your pencil because this isn’t
traditional selling; you can’t just approach the engineering department and show them
your latest and greatest whiz-bang product,” he says. “It’s a financial discussion with a
decision maker. Initiate it any other way and you’ll just be wasting your time.”
An Educational Approach
Selling energy efficiency also requires an educational approach that the sale of
38
traditional electrical products doesn’t necessarily warrant. The customer that’s been
using compact fluorescent light bulbs across all of its locations without incidence for 25
years, for example, will need to be educated on the value of the more expensive, but
more energy-efficient and longer lasting, LED bulbs.
During those discussions, Borchers says sales reps should point out not only the energy
efficient qualities of the LEDs, but they should also educate the customer about
available utility rebates, upcoming product phase-outs, and other activities that could
impact their long-standing purchasing patterns.
“Start by getting the customers’ attention with the short paybacks on energy efficiency,”
says Borchers, and “then hit them with the other issues that they may have to deal with
– or rebates they won’t qualify for – if they don’t upgrade. Cover all of these bases and
you’ll have a much better chance of getting them onboard.”
--McCrea is a Florida-based writer who covers business, industrial, and educational
topics for a variety of magazines and journals. You can reach her at
bridgetmc@earthlink.net or visit her website at www.expertghostwriter.net
<http://www.expertghostwriter.net> .
© 2012 The Electrical Distributor. All rights reserved. www.tedmag.com
WESCO International, Inc. Completes the Acquisition of Canadian-based Trydor
Industries
PITTSBURGH, July 5, 2012 / WESCO International, Inc. (WCC), a leading provider of
electrical, industrial, and communications MRO and OEM products, construction
materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistics services, announced
today that WESCO Distribution, Inc., through its wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, has
completed the previously announced acquisition of Trydor Industries (Canada), Ltd.,
headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia. This acquisition is expected to be accretive
to earnings by at least $0.05 per diluted share in the first year of operation.
WESCO International, Inc. (WCC), a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company
headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of electrical, industrial,
and communications maintenance, repair and operating ("MRO") and original
equipment manufacturers ("OEM") product, construction materials, and advanced
supply chain management and logistic services. 2011 annual sales were approximately
$6.1 billion. The Company employs approximately 7,300 people, maintains relationships
with over 18,000 suppliers, and serves over 65,000 active customers worldwide.
Customers include commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government
39
agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers and utilities. WESCO operates
eight fully automated distribution centers and approximately 400 full-service branches in
North America and international markets, providing a local presence for customers and
a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations.
ACUTA Webinars - Open Doors To Enhanced Services – Two Upcoming
Opportunities
ACUTA has two upcoming webinars. Both are free to ACUTA members and highlight
interesting findings from recent surveys. (They do charge nonmembers $129.) Here’s a
brief explanation of each.

Wednesday, July 11, at 1:30 pm EDT: “What’s on the Radar for Higher Ed IT?” –
This webinar will cover the results of a survey on what technologies are important
now and whether they will become more or less important in the future. It also
provides insight on how campuses can prepare now for technologies that are up
and coming.

Monday, July 30, at 1:30 pm EDT: “ResNet Trends and Practices in Higher
Education” – Past President Joe Harrington will report on ACUTA”s first annual
State of ResNet Report in this webinar. This study sheds light on current diverse
practices, contributes to developing standard and augments the ResNet
knowledgebase, better equipping IT administrators to make decisions in the
future.
Plan now for the ACUTA Fall Seminar in Houston!
October 14-17, 2012
Track 1. Voice Communication Trends
Track 2. ICT Supporting the Campus--Facilities, Safety & Instruction
ACUTA - the Association for Information Communications Technology
Professionals in Higher Education, is an international non-profit educational
association serving colleges and universities. ACUTA represents over 1900 individuals
at more than 700 institutions of higher education with members ranging from small
schools and community colleges to the 50 largest U.S. institutions representing diverse
Carnegie classifications in all 50 states, Canada, New Zealand, and Slovenia. ACUTA
also has Corporate Affiliate members, representing all categories of information
communications technology vendors who serve the college/university market.
ACUTA
152 W. Zandale, Suite 200
Lexington, KY 40503-2486
40
Phone: 859/278-3338
www.acuta.org
Follow ACUTA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acuta
Trouble Shooting Fiber Optic Cabling Connections – a real life excerpt
Trouble Shooting Fiber Optic Cabling Connections = Obstacle:
“We are having trouble passing signal through some SC/UPC connectors.
We noticed that some of the problem connectors have a much stiffer
spring that holds the tip out. Using the UPS freight scale, some of
these problem connectors need 5 lbs pressure required to retract the
tip. Most others seem to only have about 2 lbs. Will an imbalance of
force between the connectors be a problem? Will 5 lbs of force unsnap
the connector?”
Expert Advice = Response:
You will see a decrease in performance when excess pressure is applied to the mated
pair. You can easily verify this by applying pressure on any two connectors in a mated
position while monitoring performance with a loss test set or OTDR. The resulting force
temporarily distorts one or both end faces causing dispersion and reflection or creates
bend loss/microfractures in the glass behind the ferrule.
There is a spring force standard but the spring in this case is not the issue. During the
termination process, it is important to prevent the Kevlar from contacting the epoxy.
When curing a connector, the epoxy initially becomes very thin and will wick up the
Kevlar forming a rock hard strength member. The 5lbs you are measuring is not the
spring force but the spring pushing against a strength member that will not move. In
many cases, the glass will break when the ferrule is depressed. In other cases the
mated pair may pass a loss test but if microfractures have occurred, they will propagate
over time like a crack in a windshield.
You are experiencing a sloppy termination process without good quality controls. Using
name brand products will always provide a more stable network preventing
troubleshooting cost. The hardware will never work better than the “light pipes” you use.
We use bend insensitive fiber for almost all of our customers to prevent bend loss and
our patented HLC termination process to minimize insertion loss and return loss. The
tempered end face also adds durability with a longer life span.
Editor’s note: All fiber optic termination hardware is not equal.
41
www.megladonmfg.com
10 safety signs to identify during your plant walkthrough - BRADY
By: Tom Campbell, BRADY Global Portfolio Manager, Safety & Compliance
Safety signs are a primary way to communicate important warnings and messages to
your employees, on-site contractors and other visitors. To make sure your facility has
the right safety signs placed in all necessary locations, it’s important to conduct visual
plant walkthroughs on a regular basis. A good methodology to facilitate these
walkthroughs is to reference a safety signage checklist that you’ve developed from your
various safety policies and procedures. Many organizations conduct these
walkthroughs on their own, while others hire an independent consultant or auditor.
Either way, this type of audit is an essential part of maintaining a safe workplace.
OSHA 1910.145, Specifications for Accident Prevention Signs and Tags, provides
standards and specifications to provide clear and concise messages. Other OSHA
regulations then apply these sign standards to the specific safety topics that each
addresses.
Effective plant walkthroughs can ensure that your facility has the necessary warning
signs to keep your plant safe and visual. Keep the following 10 types of signs in mind
when you are conducting this walkthrough. This list will help ensure that your facility has
the most relevant safety signs displayed in their proper locations and that they are
meeting OSHA regulations and clearly communicating the intended messages.
1) Exit/ Evacuation signs: OSHA requires visible emergency response exit and
evacuation routes. Any doorway or passage along egress routes that could be
confused for an exit must indicate its actual use. Every authorized exit sign must
be either constantly illuminated by a reliable light source, or be sufficiently selfluminating by use of photoluminescent (glow-in-the-dark) materials and be of
distinctive color.
These signs should further be placed in every location where the direction of
travel may not be obvious. Each sign must have the word “Exit” in plainly legible
letters not less than six inches high or less than three-fourths of an inch wide.
Examples:
 Exit sign (text only): leads employees to safety in case of an emergency.
 Exit sign (with arrow): should be placed as guide to nearest exit location.
2) Fire signs: OSHA requires signs that indicate the location of fire extinguishers
and fire hose cabinets so they are readily accessible in case of an emergency.
42
Walkthroughs can be used to ensure that all necessary signs are present and
can be conspicuously identified.
Examples:
 Fire extinguisher: identifies portable extinguishers.
 Fire alarm: identifies areas where fire alarms are present.
 Fire evacuation: guides individuals to use stairways or other routes during
fire.
3) Electrical Arc Flash Hazard signs: OSHA requires signs that indicate high
voltage areas in order to provide sufficient access and working space be
maintained around energized electric equipment.
Examples:
 Danger: High Voltage: identifies high voltage areas.
 Danger: Battery Charging Area: identifies areas in which batteries are
charging.
A newly revised NFPA standard, NFPA 70E-2012, mandates that arc flash labels
be placed on all electrical equipment, including switchboards, panel boards,
meter socket enclosures and motor control centers that would require
maintenance while energized. These labels must contain:
1) Nominal System Voltage
2) Arc Flash Boundary
3) One of the following:
a. Available incident energy and corresponding working distance
b. Minimum arc rating of clothing
c. Required level of PPE
4.) First Aid signs: OSHA requires that first aid supplies be identified and readily
available at all times in case of a medical emergency.
Examples:
 Eye wash: identifies areas that offer first aid solutions for instances when
eyes may be contaminated by foreign materials or substances
 Safety showers: identifies areas that offer first aid solutions for instances
when the body comes in contact with hazardous chemicals
 AED: identifies the location of Automated External Defibrillator in case of
an emergency situation.
 First aid stations: indicates stations that provide care or treatments before
regular medical aid can be obtained
5.) Flammable/Combustible signs: OSHA requires conspicuous warning labels be
placed on containers and areas that contain flammable or combustible liquids,
vapors or materials.
 Examples:
Danger- No Smoking, No Open Flames, No Sparks: identifies areas
where precautions should be taken against ignition of flammable vapors
and hydrogen gas.
43

Flammable: Keep Fire Away: identifies areas that could result in materials
combusting due to flammable reaction
6.) Personal Protection signs: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be
provided and used when a hazard capable of causing injury or impairment
through physical contact, absorption or inhalation. PPE signs, symbols and
accident prevention tags serve as a reminder of the requirements.
Examples:
 PPE signs: include reminders about appropriate and required eye
protection, hearing protection, foot protection and head protections. These
reminders include messages about wearing a hardhat, face shields, eye
protection, respirators and more.
7.) Hazardous Areas signs: OSHA requires “Caution” accident prevention signage
to warn against potential hazards and unsafe practices. Hazardous signs instruct
employees of area protocol.
Examples:
 Biohazard signs: used to identify equipment, rooms and materials which
contain, or are contaminated with, hazardous agents.
 Caution or Danger-Hot: helps identify areas with areas of extreme heat
and danger
 Hazardous waste storage signs: identify areas that require caution due to
the storage of hazardous waste.
 Radiation signs: offers messages for radiation danger, microwave warning
signs and other radioactive warning messages. OSHA 1910.97(a)(3)(i),
requires radiation areas to have radiation warning messages with
pictogram symbol of a red isosceles triangle above an inverted black
isosceles triangle, separated and outlined by an aluminum color border.
The warning message should appear in the upper triangle.
8.) Confined Spaces signs: warns employees of areas that require authorized
permits or specific instructions for entering into a potentially hazardous confined
space.
Examples:
 Danger- Confined Space: helps identify confined workspace areas. These
confined space signs include warnings for authorized or permit entry
areas. Confined space signs can also indicate specific instructions to
employees for space entry.
9.) Machines and Equipment signs: alerts of dangerous areas in operating areas
and machine use in order to warn and protect employees from hazards that
could cause personal injury or equipment failure.
Examples:
 Operation warnings: includes warnings of automatic start-ups, emergency
shut-downs and machine guard requirements
44

Pinch signs: identifies areas that require hands to be clear of in-use
equipment in order to avoid pinching, or worse.
10) Slips, Trips and Falls signs: identifies areas where there is a general need for
instructions and suggestions to maintain safety in aisles, passageways,
stairways and balconies of a facility.
Examples:
 Caution-Slippery Floor: helps warn of areas where individuals could easily
slip or fall due to slippery or wet surfaces
 Watch your step: indicates areas that may have uneven or irregular floors
Other facility areas where signage notifications are either required or commonly
identified according to industry best practices include utility and production feed pipes,
shock hazard locations, lockout/tagout and employee right-to-know signs.
Plant walkthroughs can help make sure that all areas in your facility provide proper
signage to communicate messages for emergency situations and to avoid accidents.
Signs may not need to be placed directly on the hazard, rather, in adjacent locations
that are most visible to those in proximity. This helps individuals identify key signal
words (danger, caution, warning, notice and biological hazard) and corresponding
safety symbols before they approach the hazardous area.
To determine if your facility has proper signage and warning devices, you should either
develop your comprehensive checklists and follow-through with qualified company
personnel, or utilize a third party expert consultant to conduct your facility signage
walkthroughs. As the result of their extensive experience conducting audits of this
nature with other clients, this expert may well be able to identify additional safety
signage and labeling needs that you would not have considered. Ultimately, do
whatever it takes to ensure that your facility is prepared for future OSHA audits and,
above all else, provides for a safe working environment for your employees.
Need more help identifying signs in your facility? Check out Brady’s additional
resources:
Facility Signage Walkthrough: Brady’s plant walkthrough that identifies facility labeling,
identification and signage in one service.
Facility Safety Signage Audit Service: Ensures the accuracy and completeness of a
facility’s safety signage and pipe marking needs.
Facility Slips, Trips and Falls Audit Service: Full assessment of facility including
itemized steps to minimize slips, trips and falls.
Tom Campbell is the global portfolio manager focused on Safety & Regulatory
Compliance Solutions for Brady Americas. For more information about signage or
facility plant walkthroughs, visit www.BradyID.com/signs
45
Brady Overview:
Brady Worldwide, Inc. is an international manufacturer and marketer of complete
solutions that identify and protect premises, products and people. Its products include
high-performance labels and signs, safety devices, printing systems and software, and
precision die-cut materials.
Swisscom Plans Fiber To The Street Expansion - from Lightwave
June 29, 2012
Lightwave Staff
Incumbent operator Swisscom is planning to provide homes and businesses outside the
major urban centers with ultra-high-speed internet connections using fiber to the street
(FTTS). At the end of 2013, Swisscom will start to roll out optical fiber to within a
distance of around 200 m from homes, bringing it significantly closer to the customer.
Swisscom has already connected 90 percent of the population to FTTC, and in 1998
began a long-term project to extend optical fiber to homes and businesses (FTTH). The
operator says it connects an average of one home or business to the fiber-optic network
every two minutes across 40 towns and municipalities. In collaboration with its partners,
Swisscom says it will have rolled out fiber to around a third of Swiss households by the
end of 2015.
Swisscom now plans to provide ultra-high-speed Internet and multimedia services to
areas that are not going to be connected to FTTH in the coming years. To do so,
Swisscom will extend optical fiber to a point close to the building, which it calls fiber to
the street (FTTS). The remaining distance to the homes will be covered by the existing
copper cables. This hybrid fiber-optic technology enables bandwidths of up to 100
megabits per second, and the operator anticipates that bandwidths of 400 Mbps and
more will become possible in the coming three to four years.
This summer, Swisscom will be launching three FTTS pilot tests in the municipalities of
Charrat (Valais), Grandfontaine (Jura) and Flerden (Grisons) and in November, the first
customers will be able to access services via the new technology. Swisscom will also
provide wholesale offers to other service providers over the new access technology to
support competition.
Swisscom says that its network will continue to rely on a mix of technologies, and is
testing alternative possibilities such as expansion of the fiber-optic network to the
building and improvements to the existing FTTC infrastructure. Mobile communications
technology is also being upgraded. Swisscom says it is investing around CHF 1.7 billion
($1.79 billion) in the expansion of Switzerland’s infrastructure in 2012 alone, some CHF
400 million more than in 2010.
46
Reprinted with permission from Lightwave (PennWell Publications)
www.lightwaveonline.com
BOMA Benchmarking Report Shows Income Increases as Utility Expenses
Continue to Decrease
2012 Experience Exchange Report hints at more sustained recovery for commercial
real estate.
To view this release online, visit
http://www.boma.org/Resources/news/pressroom/Pages/pr062012.aspx
(Washington, D.C – June 20, 2012) The Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA) International, in collaboration with research firm Kingsley Associates, today
released the 2012 Experience Exchange Report (EER). The report showed a 2.5
percent increase in private sector base rent income, which could indicate a more
sustained market recovery.
Despite increases in operating and fixed expenses, with standard operating expenses
up 1.3 in 2011 percent and operating plus fixed expenses up 4.2 percent in 2011, the
private sector saw modest increases in rental and total income of 2.7 percent and 1.7
percent, respectively. This is encouraging news after last year’s income numbers
dipped.
The EER findings also indicate that the number of square feet per office worker
decreased 2.9 percent last year, from 315 square feet per person in 2010 to 306 square
feet per person in 2011. This data is consistent with other industry trends showing
office space per worker is decreasing as organizations turn to more mobile work options
and open office floor plans.
“As the commercial real estate market makes its way back to normalcy, building owners
and managers are beginning to see income levels improving,” commented BOMA
International Chair Boyd R. Zoccola, executive vice president, Hokanson Companies
Inc. “The market is recovering but still tenuous. The EER numbers also indicate that
property professionals continue to operate their buildings as efficiently as possible,
making strong asset management more critical than ever.”
The Experience Exchange Report is commercial real estate’s premier income and
expense data benchmarking tool. It provides valuable insights into the performance of
more than 5,400 buildings, in 250 distinct markets, across 125 cities in The United
States and Canada. The EER allows users to conduct multi-year analysis of single
markets, and analysis of special use facilities such as medical office buildings, financial
buildings, agency managed, corporate facilities, and all-electric buildings.
47
Private-Sector Office Building Income Trends

Private Buildings in the U.S. saw a 2.5 percent increase in base rent from $21.61
per square foot (psf) in 2010 to $22.15 psf in 2011.

The average building’s rent abatements increased 14 percent, from $1.07 psf in
2010 to $1.22 psf in 2011.
Private-Sector Office Building Expense Trends
 Amortized tenant improvement costs in Private Buildings saw a 10 percent
increase, from $2.09 psf in 2010 to $2.30 psf in 2011, possibly indicating tenants
moving into new space or current tenants improving existing space.

Repair and maintenance costs saw a 2.7 percent increase, from $1.87 psf in
2010 to $1.92 psf in 2011.

Utility costs declined for the third consecutive year as BOMA members continued
to refine their asset management skills and eliminate unnecessary cost. Utilities
decreased 2.5 percent, from $2.38 psf in 2010 to $2.32 psf in 2011.
Now in its 92nd year, the EER continues to be the single most detailed and most
reputable source of benchmarking data representing the office building industry across
North America. In 2009 the EER transitioned to a new online format through the
collaboration with commercial real estate research firm Kingsley Associates. The online
format allows users to query data by market, submarket, building size, building type,
age of the building, ownership type and more. The data can be exported into charts,
PDFs and Excel files, allowing users to expedite analysis, build budgets faster and
easily create presentations. The 2012 EER encompasses income and expenses from
2011, reported voluntarily from industry practitioners, and is available now at
www.bomaeer.com.
About BOMA International
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an
international federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations.
Founded in 1907, its 16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion
square feet of commercial properties. BOMA International’s mission is to enhance the
human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through
advocacy, education, research, standards and information. On the Web
at www.boma.org.
48
Connector Supplier gets New Managing Editor, Dan Heilman
We’d like to introduce Dan Heilman as the new managing editor for Connector Supplier,
Cable Assembly Supplier, Interconnection World/Connector Specifier electronic
newsletters, and websites. Dan has been a professional writer and editor for more than
25 years, and has contributed to dozens of publications covering a wide range of
subjects. Most recently he was managing editor of a Minneapolis daily business
newspaper. Prior to that Dan was editor in chief of ComputerUser, a consumer
technology monthly.
How will Dan’s arrival impact the way you work with us? Dan, supported by Amy
Goetzman, who has edited the Bishop family of publications for more than six years, will
be able to devote time to enhanced content development; he’ll be able to reach out to
manufacturers and OEMs for timely news and complementary features; and he’ll work
with me on new editorial guides and other opportunities to support all connector
manufacturers, distributors, and cable assembly suppliers.
I’m looking forward to the many ways that we’ll be able to improve our communication
with the connector industry and advance the Bishop products by working with Dan and
Amy. Feel free to reach out and introduce yourselves to them. Dan can be reached at
dan@connectorsupplier.com or 651.226.7369; contact Amy at
amy@connectorsupplier.com.
Here’s to a great future!
Alice Tanghe, Managing Director, E-publications
Connector Supplier • Cable Assembly Supplier
Connector Buyers Guide • Connector Specifier • Product Showcase
A Division of Bishop & Associates Inc.
P: 763.559.3633 • atanghe@connectorsupplier.com .
Fluke Networks Announces First Auto Multi-Segment Analysis Capability For
Both Portable and Rack Mount 40 Gbps Stream-to-Disk Solutions – Speeds
Troubleshooting by Factor of Five
New version of Network Time Machine gives network professionals ability to analyze
multiple segments of high-performance links where and when they need it
CISCO LIVE, SAN DIEGO – June 12, 2012 - Fluke Networks today announced a new
version of Network Time MachineTM (NTM), the first packet analysis appliance that
provides automated multi-segment analysis (Auto MSA) capability for both portable and
rack mount solutions for up to 40 Gbps network traffic. Network professionals will now
have the flexibility to use both rack mount and portable versions, or even the Fluke
Networks OptiView® XG Network Analysis Tablet, to gather packet information across
49
multiple tiers within the data center or a distributed network. This delivers a complete
view of the transaction process and isolates points of failure nearly five times faster than
competing solutions.1
By 2015, server unit growth with 40 Gbps Ethernet interface is expected to grow by
more than 40 percent, which represents new challenges isolating packet delays and
losses across different network segments.2 “Both our enterprise and carrier customers
need to be able to troubleshoot high speed links whether they are in the data center or
out in the field,” said Mitsuru Onodera, executive officer for information and
communication technologies at Toyo Corporation. “Solutions like the new version of
Network Time Machine are key in helping enhance troubleshooting wherever it’s
needed.”
“The investments our customers are making in 40 Gbps pipelines are tremendous, and
they need to ensure they’re maximizing the investment,” said Daryle DeBalski, vice
president and general manager of Fluke Networks. “The newest version of Network
Time Machine demonstrates our continued commitment to keeping pace with the
technologies our customers are using and helping them drive value and performance
from their infrastructure.”
The new version of Network Time Machine can capture 20 Gbps stream-to-disk (Tolly
Group Certified3) and the portable version can capture 10 Gbps stream-to-disk, and will
be available in September. For more information, please visit Fluke Networks.
About Fluke Networks
Fluke Networks is the world-leading provider of network test and monitoring solutions to
speed the deployment and improve the performance of networks and applications.
Leading enterprises and service providers trust Fluke Networks’ products and expertise
to help solve today’s toughest issues and emerging challenges in WLAN security,
mobility, unified communications and datacenters. Based in Everett, Wash., the
company distributes products in more than 50 countries. For more information,
visit www.FlukeNetworks.com or call +1 (425) 446-4519.
1. Based on internal Fluke Networks research of competitive market solutions.
2. Cisco Market Need for 40 Gigabit Ethernet Report, 2012
3. The Tolly Group, 2012
IDEAL Introduces New SignalTEK II as a Cost-Effective Solution to Qualifying
Network Bandwidth
Cable installers save money by using a single multifunction tester for copper, fiber and
PoE
SAN DIEGO, CA, June 19, 2012 -- Using a full cable certifier isn't always the most
efficient choice when confirming if network cabling has been installed correctly,
especially in residential, small business and even industrial Ethernet environments that
don't require certification to EIA/TIA or ISO/IEC standards.
50
In those cases, the new IDEAL SignalTEK II multifunctional handheld cable and network
qualifier is a cost-effective alternative to certifiers. Perfect for small- to medium-sized
LANs, SignalTEK II will validate that copper or fiber cabling is capable of supporting
bandwidth-heavy Voice, Data, Video (VDV) and IP-based video surveillance
applications over 10/100 Megabit or Gigabit Ethernet. SignalTEK II then generates
documentation verifying network connectivity and job completion to initiate customer
payment.
"Being a multifunctional device for both fiber and copper, the SignalTEK II offers major
cost savings, as it eliminates the need to purchase separate testers for different media,"
explained Dan Payerle, business unit manager of IDEAL Industries Networks.
"SignalTEK II also troubleshoots throughput problems in existing installations so a
separate transmission tester isn't required - presenting more savings."
Qualifies IEEE 802.3ab Gigabit Standard
SignalTEK II is targeted at data cabling installers, IT administrators, systems integrators
and facilities managers who need to demonstrate that new and existing cabling
installations meet performance and reliability expectations. A bi-directional "pass/fail"
test of a network's links based on IEEE 802.3ab determines within seconds whether the
installed cable can support higher bandwidth applications such as VoIP or Gigabit
Ethernet without problems. Additional active network troubleshooting capabilities of PoE
and PoE+ maximize return on investment.
Tests Across Switches and Hubs
Qualification and troubleshooting can conveniently be performed either through hubs or
switches all the way to the server, streamlining qualification and maintenance
troubleshooting.
Qualifies Bandwidth & Cabling Capacity
According to Payerle, one of the unique capabilities of SignalTEK II is that it can qualify
and certify the correct installation of copper and fiber cabling to determine if it is capable
of supporting VDV and CCTV applications: "This unique capability is further enhanced
by enabling the operator to specify the load, number of PCs, VoIP phones or IP CCTV
camera, on the network and SignalTEK II then generates the equivalent load to ensure
the network's switch can handle the traffic without error."
Latest Testing Features for Modern Networks
With multiple network troubleshooting features including wiremap by pin with distance to
fault, cable tracing and verifying Ethernet connectivity, SignalTEK II is a highly versatile
and cost effective handheld tool. Capable of multiple performance testing, SignalTEK II
can be operated rapidly and with minimal user training giving the installer or network
administrator a high level of confidence and accuracy not found in other testers in the
price range.
SignalTEK II simplifies cable installations through its intuitive controls, auto test
functions, a virtual keyboard and a 2.8" backlit color screen. Novices will be able to fully
51
operate SignalTEK II within minutes of removing it from the box. The interface
minimizes training requirements while improving productivity in the field because routine
test can be completed in less time. Additionally, SignalTEK II is IPv6 and PoE+
compatible, ensuring a future-proof investment.
Rugged and Robust Design
For all its advanced technologies, SignalTEK II is not a fragile instrument. Its rubbermolded housing can withstand drops, making it perfect for the installer whose workplace
requires a rugged and robust tool. Plus, when RJ45 connections are damaged or
become worn due to spark erosion, an RJ45 insert can be exchanged in the field to
eliminate costly downtime, as there is no need to return the unit to an IDEAL service
center.
Where to Buy
SignalTeK II is available now through all major datacomm distributors. For more details,
visit http://www.idealindustries.com/wheretobuy/datacomm.jsp.
For more information about IDEAL Industries Networks SignalTEK II, visit
http://www.idealindustries.com/products/datacomm/testers/signaltek2.jsp
ACUTA eNews June 2012
We hope you will take a moment to look at the new format for the ACUTA eNews. Not
only is this issue filled to overflowing with news you can use, now you can view the
eNews by flipping through the pages magazine style. We hope you’ll find this new
format pleasing, easy-to-use, and maybe even exciting! www.webtorials.com.
Here are some of the articles in this issue:








Photo Gallery from the 2012 ACUTA Annual Conference
Meeting Member Needs with Excellence
What's on Your Desk?
IPv6 Transition: The Time Is (Finally) Here
Social Intelligence: Bringing Human Touch to the Online Workplace
Board Report
Annual Dues Reminders Mail July 2
Press Releases - Job Postings - RFIs/RFPs - Special Deals! - Corporate
Webinars - Info Links
Click to view on Windows/MAC - iPad/iPhone - Android tablets/phones
Adobe PDF version also available
52
ACUTA - the Association for Information Communications Technology
Professionals in Higher Education, is an international non-profit educational
association serving colleges and universities. ACUTA represents over 1900 individuals
at more than 700 institutions of higher education with members ranging from small
schools and community colleges to the 50 largest U.S. institutions representing diverse
Carnegie classifications in all 50 states, Canada, New Zealand, and Slovenia. ACUTA
also has Corporate Affiliate members, representing all categories of information
communications technology vendors who serve the college/university market.
ACUTA
152 W. Zandale, Suite 200
Lexington, KY 40503-2486
Phone: 859/278-3338
www.acuta.org
Follow ACUTA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acuta
Pella Corporation Joins CABA Board of Directors
June 19, 2012
The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) is pleased to announce that
Pella Corporation has joined its Board of Directors.
Pella Corporation is a leader in designing, testing, manufacturing and installing energyefficient windows and doors for new construction, remodeling and replacement needs
for residential, as well as light and heavy commercial applications in North America and
select countries overseas.
Pella's Senior Director of Advanced Engineering and Quality, Larry Ehlinger, represents
the company known for innovation on the CABA Board. Ehlinger oversees advanced
technology, quality, and business development at Pella.
"I am very pleased to welcome Larry Ehlinger and Pella Corporation to the CABA
Board," said Ronald J. Zimmer, CABA President & CEO. "Mr. Ehlinger's appointment
brings additional technology and business development expertise to our association."
Ehlinger joined Pella Corporation in October 2002 as Director of Manufacturing
Engineering, responsible for custom machine design and build, corporate process
engineering, and the company's continuous process improvement engineering.
Ehlinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1986 from
Iowa State University and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from
53
the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 2001.
"I am honored to serve on CABA's Board," said Ehlinger. "CABA equally advances
systems integration and automation in both commercial buildings and residential homes
markets. Joining the progressive leaders and industries actively involved in CABA helps
enhance the industry and drives innovation."
About CABA
The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) is a leading industry
association that promotes advanced technologies in homes and buildings in North
America. More information is available at http://www.caba.org/.
About Pella
As a family-owned and professionally managed privately-held company, Pella is known
for its 87-year history of making innovative products, providing quality service and
delivering on customer satisfaction. Headquartered in Pella, Iowa, the company is
committed to incorporating new technologies, increasing productivity and practicing
environmental stewardship to create satisfied customers.
Pella manufactures quality windows, patio doors and entry door systems sold through a
Direct Sales Network operating Pella Window & Door Showrooms across the United
States and Canada and select building materials retailers. For more information, call
888-847-3552 or visit http://www.pella.com. Follow Pella on Twitter.com at
@Pella_News, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pellawindowsanddoors and on
YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/pellawindowsanddoors.
Manufacturers, Distributors, Software Providers, Equipment Makers, Fleet
Marketers – All Focused on Contractors . . . ALL IN ONE PLACE!!!
THE PLACE:
Las Vegas, Sept. 30-Oct. 2 2012 - http://www.necaconvention.org/
EVENT:
The NECA Show (held in conjunction with The NECA
Convention)
WHO’S INVITED
(YOU)
NECA members are invited to The Convention
Electrical & datacom professionals are invited – FREE – to The
Show!
. . . Yes, HOTS reader – this means you!
EXHIBITORS
275-plus entities are already signed up, including leading
manufacturers (Schneider, Siemens) and distributors
(Anixter, Graybar, Rexel, WESCO) of electrical & datacom
54
products. See updated Exhibitor List: http://bit.ly/NLNhcD
WHAT’S
INCLUDED
(1) admission to Show floor Sun. Sept. 30, 11:30 to 5
(2) Show floor admission Mon., Oct. 1, 11:30 to 4
(3) Tues. Oct. 2 show floor admission: 10:30 to 2:30
(4) Free admission to 19 Technical Sessions (held on
the show floor).
SESSION TOPICS . . . include solar, EV charging, submetering + building
automation, Lighting Controls, lightning protection, LEDs
construction-specific mobile apps, Induction lighting,
digital A/V, jobsite productivity MC cable & much more!
WHAT TO DO NOW
A. Go to http://bit.ly/NLjoce
B. Click on “Invitation Code Registration”
C. To get all this for FREE – enter code HO12
http://www.necaconvention.org/
Megladon Announces New Product Release of Rack Mount Ultra Dense CWDM
Modules
Austin, Texas, June 11, 2012 – Megladon Manufacturing Group announced today an
addition to their WDM product family serving fiber optic cell backhaul and CATV
markets. The Ultra Dense CWDM modules preserve valuable rack space in head ends
while promoting extensive channel capability in a modular design for expansion.
The Ultra Dense CWDM modules are used to transmit multiple wavelengths down a
single fiber eliminating the need for multiple long haul trunk cables. The module houses
dual, bidirectional 1x8 CWDMs built on an LC connector foundation. This is
accomplished in a 2RU frame that can hold up to 19 modules. This provides a density of
38 1x8 CWDMs in 2RU of rack space.
Earlier CWDM modules utilized SC or SCAPC connectors which limited density
because of connector size. In these cases, a 4RU distribution panel would hold a
maximum of 12 1x8 CWDMs or a total of 108 SC ports. By incorporating the LC
connector, the port count is increased to 342 in one-half the size.
“We were presented with an obstacle faced by one of our long time customers. They
needed maximum channel count in a minimum amount of space.” stated John M
Culbert, President & Partner of Megladon. “We were able to design a solid product that
met their current needs, reduced cost and provided the ability to grow long term”.
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The HLC (Hardened Lens Contact) patch cable by Megladon is recommended for use in
these products. CWDMs are sensitive to optical return loss and the HLC products are
designed to provide minimum insertion loss and return loss enabling the network to
function in a reliable manner.
Megladon’s WDM product family includes WDM, CWDM and DWDM products that are
built to customer specifications. A variety of wavelengths, connector types and package
designs are available.
Megladon® Manufacturing Group Ltd., a subsidiary of TyRex Group Ltd.®, is
recognized as a leader in the fiber optic marketplace. Founded in 1997, Megladon made
it their mission to provide customers with fiber optic products that far exceed industry
standards. As technology innovators, Megladon created the HLC® (Hardened Lens
Contact) termination, which has changed the market and taken it to the next level. For
additional information on Megladon and their patented processes please visit the
company’s website at www.megladonmfg.com.
For additional information regarding Megladon’s variety of fiber optic products please
contact John Culbert at 512.615.4687 or by email at scratchguard@megladonmfg.com.
12317 Technology Blvd Suite 100 Austin, TX 78727 p 512-491-0006 f 512-5830848. tf 800-232-4810
www.megladonmfg.com
ecoInsight Releases Energy Audit 2.1 for iPad - NAED Energy Audit Solution
Updates give NAED Energy Audit Solution powered by ecoInsight new capabilities for
assessing motors and drive efficiency
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ATLANTA and ST. LOUIS … ecoInsight Inc., provider of energy-efficiency software
solutions to the lighting and electrical industry, has released Version 2.1 of its marketleading Energy Audit application for the iPad.
Available on the NAED Energy Audit Solution powered by ecoInsight, this new release
builds upon the industry-leading app for lighting audits with added functionality for
collecting motors and drives data during onsite audits.
The new version helps sales professionals, motors, drives and automation specialists,
and others in the electrical industry:
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
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Take and mark up photos during on-site facility walk-throughs;
Capture audio and text notes during important customer conversations;
Record motor and drive information in the field using customizable operating
profiles and field-based drive upgrade recommendations; and
Audit efficiently and effectively with enhanced functionality based on user
feedback.
“We are excited about ecoInsight’s release of the Motors and Drives iPad Audit
Module”, said Mike Brown, director of motion and drives marketing at Schneider
Electric, who beta tested the new version. “With its ability to collect data, pictures and
audio, this module will deliver significant time savings to energy professionals who need
to collect and analyze data on existing motors and drives systems.”
On track to generate more than $1 billion in lighting retrofit proposals this year,
ecoInsight has become an indispensable tool for thousands of lighting professionals.
Now, with functionality to record motors and drives data and effortlessly share this data
within their organization, ecoInsight users have another tool that helps them develop
energy efficiency upgrade proposals faster than ever.
“Over the last year, we experienced explosive adoption of our lighting audit solution,”
said Sean McCloskey, CEO of ecoInsight. “The productivity and sales gains our user
community is reporting as a result of our app is tremendous. With the additional
functionality the Motors and Drives Module brings, we are significantly extending our
value to our existing users and at the same time creating an iPad audit app for people
whose primary goal is upgrades to inefficient existing Motors and Drives.”
To date, nearly 1,100 subscribers from more than 170 members of the National
Electrical Distribution Association have taken advantage of the previous version of the
NAED Energy Audit Solution powered by ecoInsight to boost their efficient-lighting
proposals. The launch of version 2.1 expands auditing services for helping customers in
need of energy-efficient motors and drives.
“This powerful, technology tool gives our members a new, convenient way to collect,
process and evaluate complex motors and drives data exactly when and where they
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need it – in the field and on the jobsite,” said NAED President and CEO Tom Naber.
“We’re thrilled to be bringing these competitive capabilities to our members.”
To learn more or sign up for an overview webinar, visit www.ecoinsight.com or
www.naed.org/energyauditsolution/
About NAED
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. www.naed.org
About ecoInsight Inc.
ecoInsight provides mobile and on-demand applications to electrical and lighting
professionals in the growing energy efficiency market. ecoInsight reduces the time it
takes to plan energy efficiency projects by over 40 percent. ecoInsight’s applications
allow people to collect, analyze and collaborate on complex energy data, saving
significant time and money in developing energy efficiency proposals for customers. For
more information, please visit http://www.ecoInsight.com/.
NECA/IBEW Team Strings The Wire For Wallenda’s Successful Historic Walk
Across Niagara Falls – That was amazing…
As Nik Wallenda prepared for his historic tightrope walk across Niagara Falls on June
15, 2012, union craftsman working with O’Connell Electric completed the critical job of
stringing the wire that carried the daredevil across the raging waters of the tenth largest
waterfall in the world.
The Rochester, NY-based O’Connell Electric was selected for the job based on its
extensive experience stringing high tension wires, sometimes stretching for more than a
mile. Founded in 1911, the company, a member of the National Electrical Contractors
Association (NECA), is one of the nation's top-ranking contractors, covering every major
industry segment. The craftsmen tasked with the wirework were drawn from Local 1249
of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
At 1,800 feet in length, Wallenda’s cable across the falls weighs nearly seven tons – too
heavy for a helicopter to carry. Instead, a chopper first flew a lighter, high-tension wire
from one side of the gorge to the other. Once secured, the NECA/IBEW team attached
the heavier cable to one end to the lighter wire, then unspool the final cable with the
help of machinery. The final cable never touched the water.
Before the event, says Randy Fletcher of O’Connell Electric in an interview with WRZQ
of New York, "It'll take about 20 hours of prep time to be ready to pull the cable across,
then a good eight or nine hours to get the wire across, so you're talking two-and-a-half
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to three days to install it.” Huge anchors sunk deep into bedrock will anchor the rigging
on Terrapin Point of Goat Island on the US side of the falls and at a spot near Table
Rock on the Canadian side. The company has been planning the high-wire act for
nearly ten months. The union crews practiced by stringing a wire outside the Seneca
Niagara Casino, which Wallenda successfully crossed.
French-born Jean-François Gravelet was the first funambulist, or tightrope-walker, to
cross Niagara in 1859, but unlike the early daredevils who strung their lines more than
half-a-mile below the falls, Wallenda was the first to walk directly across the thunder and
spray of the plummeting water.
ABC devoted its entire prime-time schedule to the event, with three hours of coverage
beginning at 8:00 pm EST. The historic walk was sponsored in part by the National
Labor-Management Cooperation Committee (NLMCC), a joint organization of NECA
and the IBEW.
About NLMCC, NECA and IBEW
Through their joint marketing organization – the National Labor-Management
Cooperation Committee (NLMCC) of the organized electrical construction industry –
NECA and IBEW together work to:
•
Reach customers with accurate information about the industry;
•
Achieve better internal communication between labor and management; and
•
Support efforts to recruit and train outstanding apprentices and journeymen in
order to provide a skilled and reliable workforce.
NECA has provided over a century of service to the $130 billion electrical construction
industry that brings power, light and communication technology to buildings and
communities across the United States. NECA’s national office and 119 local chapters
advance the industry through advocacy, education, research and standards
development. www.necanet.org
With 725,000 members who work in a wide variety of fields – including construction,
utilities, telecommunications and manufacturing – IBEW is among the largest member
unions in the AFL-CIO. IBEW was founded in 1891.
More information can be found at www.NLMCC.com.
NEMA Joins Coalition for Current Safety Codes in Support of Advancing Public
Safety
ROSSLYN, Va., June 12, 2012—The National Electrical Manufacturers Association
(NEMA) joined the Coalition for Current Safety Codes (CCSC), a new coalition created
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by the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), which publishes the National Electrical Code® (NEC). The coalition will
advance public safety by advocating the timely adoption of current building,
sustainability, electrical, and life safety codes.
NEMA is already heavily involved in the code development process for ICC and NFPA
codes, and its field representative program has been a strong advocate of the timely
adoption and consistent enforcement of current edition safety codes.
“The timely adoption of the National Electrical Code and other safety codes is
fundamental to protecting the lay public who, without thinking, routinely uses electrical
products of all kinds,” said NEMA President and CEO Evan R. Gaddis.
“NEMA members automatically design safety into their products, but proper installation
of their products is also a critical element of personnel and property protection. Delayed
adoption of the NEC and other codes opens the door for installation errors, particularly
with new products. Delays also prevent the public from enjoying the safety benefits of
new technologies such as arc fault circuit interrupters and tamper proof receptacles.
NEMA urges local authorities to adopt the NEC and other safety codes in accordance
with the schedule recommended by fire and electrical safety professionals,” Gaddis
said.
NEMA’s point of contact for participation is Vince Baclawski, Senior Technical Director,
Codes and Standards. He can be reached at Vin_Baclawski@nema.org.
To learn more or join the coalition, visit its website at www.coalition4safety.org.
NEMA is the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers,
founded in 1926 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Its member companies
manufacture a diverse set of products including power transmission and distribution
equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems, and medical
diagnostic imaging systems. Worldwide annual sales of NEMA-scope products exceed
$120 billion. www.nema.org
NAED Releases Performance Benchmarks for Electrical Distributors
NAED Performance Analysis and Employee Compensation reports offer look at state of
today's electrical distribution industry
ST. LOUIS -- In a sign of economic uptick, sales for the typical electrical distributor
increased more than 16 percent between 2011 and 2010, according to new data from
the National Association of Electrical Distributors. The year-to-year change is double the
increase that occurred between 2010 and 2009.
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These numbers come as the association today released the 2012 NAED Performance
Analysis Report Highlights and the 2012 NAED Employee Compensation Report – two
leading benchmarks used by the industry to gauge distributor sales and business
performance, operational costs, and employee pay and benefits.
The typical distributor surveyed, based on median PAR figures, earned annual sales of
$62.6 million, achieved a gross margin of 21.1 percent, and experienced an inventoryturnover ratio of 4.3 in 2011.
The PAR also showed electrical distributor profit margins increased to a median of 3
percent in 2011 from lows of 2.4 percent in 2010 and 1.1 percent in 2009. Among the
top-performing 25 percent of “high profit” distributors, the 2011 profit margin was 6.4
percent, up nearly two percent from last year’s margin.
“Financial performance varied widely among the typical firm and high-profit firms in
2012,” wrote PAR author Al Bates of the Profit Planning Group. “Of greatest
consequence, the typical firm had a 8.7 percent pre-tax return on assets (profit before
taxes expressed as a percentage of total assets) while high-profit firms generated an
ROA of 19.8 percent.”
High-profit Distributors See Bigger Gains, Lower Costs
High-profit distributors, as determined on pretax ROA, earned annual sales of $81.8
million in 2011, a 20.2 percent change from the year prior, the PAR revealed.
In addition, high-profit distributors experienced lower operating costs than typical
distributors. The biggest divide between the two came in general and administrative
expenses: Such costs consumed 24.3 percent of the typical distributor’s gross margin;
by contrast, they took up 18.5 percent of a high-profit distributor’s margin.
Similarly, payroll expenses absorbed 11.5 percent of high-profit distributors sales, while
they made up 13.1 percent of the typical distributor’s sales.
Compensation Heads ‘Back to the Future’
As sales and margins increased in 2011, distributors renewed investments in employee
compensation and benefits. The Employee Compensation Report, which pulled data
from distributors in a broad range of industries, showed compensation up for top
management and outside sales forces at companies across the board. In fact, outside
sales compensation increased 8 percent, the report showed.
An increasing number of typical NAED distributors also gave employees merit raises in
2011. Last year, 48 percent of these distributors gave employees merit raises – up 9
percent since the last report in 2010.
“In distribution, compensation and benefits results in 2011 could be characterized as
going ‘back to the future,’” said the Profit Planning Group’s Bates, who also authored
the 2012 NAED Employee Compensation Report. “In 2011, the economy was far from
robust, but was a long way from moribund as well. As a result, overall compensation
and benefit programs moved back towards where they were in 2007.”
Health Benefits Continue Climb
As employee pay climbed in 2011, so too did health-insurance costs. For typical
distributors, the cross-section survey results showed:
 Annual family premiums increased nearly 30 percent between 2007 and 2011;
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
Employer-paid percentages fell to about 60 percent of total premiums, depending
on the type of plan, from 75 percent in 2007; and
 The annual deductible more than doubled between 2007 and 2011, while copays rose more slowly.
Other benefits like educational assistance and flexible scheduling remained popular,
especially with NAED’s electrical distributors. In fact, 58 percent of surveyed NAED
distributors offered employees educational assistance, compared to 42 percent of
cross-industry respondents.
Survey Methodologies
The 2012 NAED PAR Highlights is based on 2011 operational data provided by 132
NAED distributors surveyed by the Profit Planning Group on behalf of NAED between
January 2012 – April 2012. Participants received a free copy of the PAR Highlights,
featuring statistical breakouts by sales volume, customer emphasis and warehouse
sales.
Data from the biannual Employee Compensation Report came from 81 NAED members
in cooperation with 1,125 distributors from 26 other trade associations. The survey
results, compiled by the Profit Planning Group, are based on 2011 data gathered in
early 2012.
To purchase these reports, contact NAED Member Services at (888) 791-2512. NAED
will distribute next year's PAR surveys in January 2013. At that time, participating NAED
members may also opt for purchasing customized reports for their firms.
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. www.naed.org
Automated Systems Design Celebrates 25 Years in Business
Automated Systems Design (ASD) turns 25 and continues to grow stronger.
Atlanta, GA – Automated Systems Design (ASD), Inc. is celebrating 25 years in
business this month. Bob Eskew, CEO of ASD, founded the company in 1987, but it
was not an easy decision. In 1987, Eskew had a secure position with General Motors
(GM), and he had to decide if he was going to stay with GM or venture out on his own
and officially launch ASD.
“I had to make a decision,” recalls Eskew, “Stay with the cradle to grave security of GM
or venture out on my own. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, but also one
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of the best decisions. When I left GM to start ASD, my mom cried and the rest of my
family laughed. No one could understand why I would do such a crazy thing.”
Now 25 years later, ASD is a leading service provider and manufacturer of information
transport systems. In recent years ASD’s sales have topped $20,000,000. The company
has grown to include 35 associates and a network of more than 700 AASDIs
(Authorized ASD Installers). ASD is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, with an
additional office located in Hickory, North Carolina.
Over the years, ASD has earned numerous awards and recognition, including being
named a five-time Inc. 500/5000 company. ASD has also been named a two-time Top
Growth Company by the Entrex Private Company Index (PCI). In 2011, ASD was
named a Stevie Award finalist, and in 2012, ASD won the bronze Stevie Award for
Customer Service Department of the Year in the telecommunications category.
Over ten years ago, ASD began manufacturing structured cabling products. The
company now carries a full line of high-performance iCAT-ITS™ copper offerings,
including CAT 5E, CAT 6E, and 10-gigabit CAT 6a cables, as well as iGLO-ITS™ fiber
optic products. For more information about ASD, visit www.asd-usa.com.
About Automated Systems Design, Inc. (ASD®)
Automated Systems Design, Inc. (ASD®) offers the leading manufacturing,
management and maintenance of nationwide custom turnkey information transport
systems. Since 1987, ASD has remained committed to delivering cabling products that
promote and support industry standards. ASD provides solutions for national clients
seeking a single point of contact. Services include, voice and data cabling (structured
cabling), VoIP phone systems, security/access control, wired/wireless surveys and
systems, sound masking and paging, audio visual/digital signage, point of sale system
installs, 24/7 maintenance and data center build-outs. As a manufacturer and direct
seller of high-performance iCAT-ITS™ copper and iGLO-ITS™ fiber optic cabling and
products, ASD has streamlined the supply chain, saving customers up to 30 percent.
ASD offers a lifetime warranty on ASD services and products. All ASD services are
performed by a network of more than 12,000 trained and qualified AASDIs (Authorized
ASD Installers), pronounced “as-dees.” ASD is a five-time Inc. 500/5000 company. For
more information, visit www.asd-usa.com .
Afone Turns to Ekinops for Data Center Interconnection, Reliable Delivery of
Multiprotocol Services
PARIS, June 12, 2012 – Afone, a French-based provider of telecom services to
businesses, has deployed equipment from Ekinops, a leading supplier of nextgeneration optical transport equipment for service providers, to interconnect its data
centers and enhance its delivery of multiprotocol data services.
63
Afone focuses on telecom, payment, and security services for enterprises and retail
businesses, and also functions as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) for
enterprises and residential customers. It turned to Ekinops for a solution that would
provide flexible, cost-effective, and reliable data center interconnection transporting
SDH, Gigabit Ethernet, and Fibre Channel protocols.
The Ekinops 360 transport platform, with its T-Chip (Transport on a Chip) technology,
allows Afone to transport multiple protocols very efficiently, maximizing the use of fiber
infrastructure.
The Ekinops 360 provides industry-leading economic efficiencies unmatched by other
transport solutions in the market. In addition, the Ekinops 360 provides for a level of
reliability far exceeding similar solutions.
“Ekinops is the company best suited to meet our needs. The Ekinops 360 gives us the
flexibility we need to aggregate different protocols, it is economical and has the highest
reliability,” said Guillaume Rousseau, head of engineering at Afone. “Support is very
important to us and Ekinops promised and delivers superior support.”
“Today, the increasing migration to cloud-based services has elevated data centers to
paramount importance for service providers such as Afone,” said Rob Adams, vice
president of marketing for Ekinops. “The competitive cloud computing market requires
moving massive volumes of data among these centers, with the utmost reliability and
affordability.
”The Ekinops equipment that is now filling Afone’s needs does so cost-effectively
because of the unique Ekinops T-Chip technology. The T-Chip concentrates the
equipment’s transport intelligence into a highly compact and efficient design that
Ekinops can custom-program to meet the precise needs of the service provider
customer. This approach serves to reduce costs, footprint, ongoing power consumption,
and delivery times to customers.”
About Ekinops
Ekinops is a leading supplier of next generation optical transport equipment for
telecommunications service providers. The Ekinops 360 addresses Metro, Regional,
and Long-Haul applications with a single, highly-integrated platform. Ekinops is a
market-leading innovator in 100G transport with its unique all-in-1RU® approach that
truly optimizes optical networks. The Ekinops 360 system relies on the highlyprogrammable Ekinops T-Chip® (Transport-on-a-Chip) that enables fast, flexible and
cost-effective delivery of new services for high-speed transport. Using the Ekinops 360
carrier-grade system, operators can simply increase capacity of their networks –
CWDM, DWDM, Ethernet, ESCON, Fibre Channel, SONET/SDH, and uncompressed
video (HD-SDI, SD-SDI, ASI). Ekinops is headquartered in Lannion, France, and
Ekinops Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is incorporated in the USA. For more
information, visit Ekinops at www.ekinops.net.
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Data Center Provider InfoRelay Chooses Ekinops to Interconnect Washington,
D.C., Area Facilities
PARIS, June 27, 2012 – Data center and network solutions provider InfoRelay has
selected and deployed the Ekinops 360 optical transport platform to interconnect
multiple data centers and co-location facilities in the Washington, D.C., area, Ekinops
announced today.
The regional network includes InfoRelay’s latest data center, Dulles Exchange, in
Herndon, Virginia, which is being inaugurated Thursday with a grand opening
celebration.
Ekinops, a leading supplier of next generation optical transport equipment, is supplying
InfoRelay with its Ekinops 360 transport platform. InfoRelay will take advantage of
Ekinops’ ability to flexibly and efficiently aggregate multiple service types and rates over
fiber. The initial deployment will provide transport for Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel,
and 10G LAN services over a high-capacity fiber-optic infrastructure.
InfoRelay was looking for a solution to link its four data center operations in northern
Virginia, which are home to a large variety of network providers, federal clients, and
large enterprise customers. InfoRelay evaluated the Ekinops solution along with several
other manufacturers’ products and chose Ekinops following nearly a two-month trial.
“We needed a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective solution that supported all the
necessary protocols, such as Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, video, and SONET,”
explained Russell Weiss, president of InfoRelay. “We were also looking for a platform
that would allow us to provide lit services to those strategic customers of ours looking
for bandwidth between facilities. We found that Ekinops provided us with that flexibility
at the right price points and our trial confirmed that the Ekinops solution was the right
choice.”
InfoRelay, founded in 1995, provides on-demand data center and cloud hosting
services, guaranteeing 99.999 percent uptime with extremely low latency to almost
anywhere in the world. Its overall network capacity exceeds 200 Gbps of Internet
connectivity. Like its other facilities, InfoRelay’s new Dulles Exchange data center is
highly secure, diversely connected to multiple fiber networks, and has a highly
redundant infrastructure.
“With the advent of cloud computing, data centers are seeing a surge in capacity
requirements for interconnecting their facilities.” said Rob Adams, vice president of
global marketing for Ekinops. “They require a platform that is operationally simple and
extremely reliable, making our 360 platform the ideal choice.”
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The Ekinops 360 is Ekinops' flagship next-generation optical transport platform,
providing DWDM and CWDM (dense and coarse wavelength division multiplexing) on a
single platform for metro, regional, and long-haul applications. It handles service rates
from 100 Mbps to 100 Gbps. It offers a broad portfolio of services including
SONET/SDH, Fibre Channel, FICON, video, Ethernet, and Infiniband.
About Ekinops
Ekinops is a leading supplier of next generation optical transport equipment for
telecommunications service providers. The Ekinops 360 addresses Metro, Regional,
and Long-Haul applications with a single, highly-integrated platform. Ekinops is a
market-leading innovator in 100G transport with its unique all-in-1RU® approach that
truly optimizes optical networks. The Ekinops 360 system relies on the highlyprogrammable Ekinops T-Chip® (Transport-on-a-Chip) that enables fast, flexible and
cost-effective delivery of new services for high-speed transport. Using the Ekinops 360
carrier-grade system, operators can simply increase capacity of their networks –
CWDM, DWDM, Ethernet, ESCON, Fibre Channel, SONET/SDH, and uncompressed
video (HD-SDI, SD-SDI, ASI). Ekinops is headquartered in Lannion, France, and
Ekinops Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is incorporated in the USA. For more
information, visit Ekinops at www.ekinops.net.
About InfoRelay
InfoRelay Online Systems, Inc. delivers enterprise-level managed services and
wholesale data center services to thousands of clients, including Fortune 500
companies and Federal agencies. InfoRelay improves its clients’ efficiency and
profitability through the company’s array of reliable IT services. By demonstrating
unparalleled levels of responsiveness, concern, and overall service, InfoRelay
establishes a unique trusting relationship with each client, allowing InfoRelay to act as a
24x7x365 extension of its clients' IT departments. For more information, please visit
www.inforelay.com or call (703) 485-4600.
FTTH Council to Host Learning Program at New England FiberFest Exhibition
WESTFORD, Mass. - As fiber optic industry leaders gather here this week for the New
England Fiberoptic Council's FiberFest trade show, the FTTH Council Americas will host
a program of presentations and panel discussions on high-bandwidth, all-fiber
telecommunications networks, with a special focus on deployments in the New England
region.
The full-day workshop, with networking sessions to coincide with FiberFest exhibit
hours, is open to the public and will take place on Wednesday, June 13, at the Westford
Regency Inn & Conference Center. Admission is $150 and includes a continental
breakfast, a networking luncheon and a closing reception. More information, including
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online registration and an updated agenda, can be found on the workshop event
website, where attendees can complete their online registration in advance.
In addition to the FTTH Council's learning program, networking sessions will be
scheduled to coincide with exhibit hours for the FiberFest, which typically brings in
hundreds of people who have an interest in various optical technologies.
Featured speakers will include Matthew Polka, President of the American Cable
Association, and Monica Webb, Executive Committee Chair of WiredWest, a municipal
cooperative of 40 Massachusetts towns that is working with state and local
organizations to build a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network to serve residents. The event
will also include representatives from three New England telecom network operators
discussing their experiences in deploying fiber to the home systems, as well sessions
on FTTH market development, legislative and regulatory issues, and the newest optical
access technologies and fiber deployment approaches.
The FTTH Council estimates that more than 1,000 entities across the U.S. and Canada
- almost all of them small telephone companies, competitive broadband providers or
public utilities - are already providing services over FTTH networks, and that the vast
majority of them expect to grow their fiber footprint in the immediate future. The Council
estimates that FTTH networks are now available to one-fifth of U.S. households, with
more than eight million homes connected with end-to-end fiber.
Following the workshop, on June 14 and 15, the FTTH Council's partner The Light
Brigade in conducting a two-day exam preparatory course for the Certified Fiber to the
Home Professionals Program (CFHP) at the Westford Regency Inn. The course is
structured to certify competence in overall FTTH theory, terminology, topology,
equipment and system cost estimation. More information about the program can be
found on the FTTH Council's website.
About the Fiber-to-the-Home Council Americas
Now in its eleventh year, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit
association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet
and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic
connections - as well as companies that manufacture FTTH products and others
involved in planning and building FTTH networks. The Council works to create a
cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues
surrounding fiber to the home. Its mission is to accelerate deployment of all-fiber
access networks by demonstrating how fiber-enabled applications and solutions create
value for service providers and their customers, promote economic development and
enhance quality of life. The Council organizes North America's largest annual FTTH
event, the FTTH Conference & Expo, which will be held September 23 - 27, 2012 in
Dallas, Texas at the Hilton Anatole.
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What You Learn In Vegas Doesn’t Have To Stay In Vegas! The NECA Show
What’s up right now? – with



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Lighting controls.
EV charging stations.
Upgrading your solar business.
Submetering data & building automation.
Motors, Transformers, Lightning Protection.
Integrating Solar & EV.
LED Luminaires.
Where can you go to find out? Those topics are covered in just 9 of the 19 Technical
Workshops (there are 10 more!) . . . at The NECA Show, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Las
Vegas.
http://www.necaconvention.org/
And: If you are reading this edition of HOTS . . . YOU ARE INVITED. Free.
[And you can visit with, learn from, and ask questions of the 275-plus exhibitors, too –
same price!]
To register for FREE show admission (275+ exhibitors, all the technical workshops over
3 days): Go to http://bit.ly/Nlq96p – use code HO12
http://www.necaconvention.org/
Datalink Deploys Virtual Data Center Infrastructure at Velocitor Solutions
Datalink-Designed Solution Scales Economically, Speeds New SaaS Deployments
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., (DATE) – Datalink (NASDAQ: DTLK), a leading provider of data
center infrastructure and services, today announced the completion of a $1.1M unified
virtual data center (VDC) infrastructure deployment for Velocitor Solutions, a Charlotte,
N.C.-based mobile/wireless software as a service (SaaS) vendor serving
transportation/logistics, direct-store-delivery, field service and field sales customers. The
new data center environment will enable Velocitor to quickly add SaaS capacity for
company services ranging from mobile accounting to GPS vehicle tracking, help ensure
24x7 application availability, and support Velocitor’s internal staff.
"We had exploding demand for our SaaS offerings that caused our data center
environment to grow by 200% in just one year. We had to constantly deploy new server
and storage hardware at two locations to support new customers," said Rich Pacella,
President, Velocitor Solutions. "We turned to Datalink for guidance on how to streamline
68
our infrastructure to save time and money, position us for continued growth, and
optimize the customer experience."
Datalink served as strategic advisor on the project; designed and deployed compute,
network and storage components into a single, unified FlexPod™ architecture featuring
technologies from NetApp, Cisco, and VMware; and deployed site-to-site failover and
disaster recovery capabilities. FlexPod is a pre-tested, optimized and pre-validated data
center solution supported by Datalink as part of the company’s VDC migration strategy
for large and midmarket enterprises.
Datalink is also providing its OneCall SM Unified Support services to supplement original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) support programs and provide streamlined solutionlevel assessment and resolution. Leveraging the support services teams, best practices,
and data center expertise of OneCall, Datalink will assume ownership of each reported
incident, conduct initial triages, and resolve issues. Should incidents be escalated to
OEMs, Datalink will shepherd all incidents until a resolution is achieved.
“This project is a prime example of how Datalink is using its VDC expertise to help
customers take advantage of newer cloud-based data center technologies that can help
move their business forward,” said Paul Lidsky, Datalink President and CEO. “By
focusing on converged data center architectures that incorporate virtualization, private
cloud computing and advanced networking, we are enabling customers, like Velocitor,
to gain agility, efficiency, and performance that are critical to business success.”
The revenue of this project was recognized in the fourth quarter of 2011.
About Datalink
A complete data center solutions and services provider for Fortune 500 and mid-tier
enterprises, Datalink transforms data centers so they become more efficient,
manageable and responsive to changing business needs. Datalink helps leverage and
protect storage, server, and network investments with a focus on long-term value,
offering a full lifecycle of services, from consulting and design to implementation,
management and support. Datalink solutions span virtualization and consolidation, data
storage and protection, advanced networks, and business continuity. Each delivers
measurable performance gains and maximizes the business value of IT. For more
information, call 800.448.6314 or visit www.datalink.com.
About Velocitor Solutions
Velocitor Solutions is a leading software development firm specializing in the design,
development and deployment of mobile and wireless software solutions. Combining
comprehensive business process analysis and methodologies designed specifically for
mobile initiatives, Velocitor ensures its clients gain a significant return on their
technology investment. Through its software solutions, Velocitor has helped improve the
productivity, efficiency and customer service offerings for companies in a variety of
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industries with field forces ranging from 10 to over 4,000 mobile users. For more
information call 704-731-5380 or visit www.velsol.com.
TIA Files Comments on EPA ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for
Telephony Product Certification
Says Consumers Will Benefit if Program Continues to Implement ‘Realistic &
Achievable’ Standards
ARLINGTON, VA (June 29, 2012) - The Telecommunications Industry Association
(TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech
communications networks, today filed comments with the EPA in response to the draft
program requirements for telephony. In addition to making several technical
recommendations on applying the program to modern telephony, TIA commended the
program’s outreach to industry to ensure that the requirements of the ENERGY STAR
program evolve to reflect technology developments, while enabling companies to
innovate best-in-class technologies.
“TIA members have long been supporters and participants in the ENERGY STAR
program,” said TIA President Grant Seiffert. “As a Standards Development
Organization (SDO), TIA has seen first-hand how voluntary, market-driven standards
lead to innovation in our industry. ENERGY STAR has played a critical role in providing
incentives for the innovation of energy efficient technologies inways that mandates
cannot.”
The comments also stated that TIA members greatly value the ENERGY STAR
certification, and rely on this certification to market their products to retailers and
consumers.
To access the full comments, please visit here.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents manufacturers and
suppliers of global communications networks through standards development, policy
and advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and networking.
TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobilewireless, information
technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products
and services empower communications in every industry and market, including
healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military,
the environment, and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org for more details.
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More Than 1,600 Wireless Technorati Pack 2012 Connected World Conference for
Networking, Deal Making, and Thought Leadership
Chicago, Ill. June 26, 2012: Connected World magazine Editorial Director Peggy
Smedley summed up the essence of the 2012 Connected World Conference with her
keynote speech: It’s a connected life. This refers to the interconnected data that weaves
through our lives with ever-increasing ubiquity. The three-day conference attracted
more than 1,600 registered attendees including wireless executives, developers,
technologists, IT professionals, journalists, and futurists.
Nearly 50 exhibitors, including conference sponsors AT&T, Novatel Wireless, RACO
Wireless, Telit Wireless Solutions, and ThingWorx packed the hall, all demonstrating
their piece of the connected world.
The must-see Connected Car Pavilion gave attendees a firsthand glimpse into how
technology and automotive are merging, featuring tech-rich models from Audi, Cadillac,
Chrysler, Chevy, Jeep, and even luxury brand Porsche.
The Distracted Driving Pavilion allowed attendees to take a Safe Driving Pledge and
learn about new technologies from MiX Telematics, Voice Assist, and Global Mobile
Alert.
Three unique Hackathon sessions drew hackers from around the Chicagoland area
to develop one-of-a-kind M2M applications, using platforms offered by Exosite, ILS
Technology, and OSIsoft.
Highlights of the three-day conference included:
The Carrier Panel featuring Glenn Lurie, AT&T; Mansell Nelson, Rogers Wireless;
Wayne Ward, Sprint Nextel; Jeremy Korst, T-Mobile; and Janet Schijns, Verizon
Enterprise Solutions, moderated by Peggy Smedley, Connected World magazine. This
panel discussed the coming of LTE; debated the issue of spectrum limitations and the
idea that new and emerging markets demand even more from a highly robust data
network. Attendees learned which carriers are making strong commitments to 4G, which
are still supporting 2G, in addition to 3G and 4G, and which markets are ripe with
opportunity for M2M in the coming years.
Design and Cognitive Psychology Research on Distractive Driving at the
University of Kansas, a presentation by Gregory Thomas, Center for Design
Research, University of Kansas and Chelsie Hadlock, University of Kansas: The
KU Center for Design Research is engaged in designing a “smarter” automotive
dashboard console. The collaboration is between experts in engineering, design, and
cognitive science to develop a new class of “AID (Adaptive Information Displays)” that
71
can intelligently assess road and driver conditions and adjust the driver’s in-car
experience to anticipate their needs and demands for safety while recognizing that
driver attention is at a premium.
See a recap of sponsor and exhibitor announcements from the event at:
www.connectedworldmag.com/conference/index.php?q=Press-Release
Here’s What Attendees Had to Say Regarding the Event
“The Connected World Conference in Chicago was excellent,” said Michael Metcalf,
CEO and chairman, Voice Assist. “I was surprised by the number of key executives we
were able to meet within just a few days. We found a groundswell of support for our
hands free safe driving solution.”
“The Connected World Conference is such a beneficial show in the industry, and one
we would not miss,” said John Horn, president, RACO Wireless. “As an exhibitor, we
meet attendees on the show floor who are looking for new partners in their endeavors.
For attendees, the Exhibit Hall provides an array of the latest technologies, giving you
the opportunity to create an entire value chain in one location.”
“Connected World Conference is a great opportunity to continue to collaborate with the
key folks driving this exciting industry segment,” said Jeth Harbinson, vice president,
global sales and marketing, Cycle30. “We enjoyed our participation this year.”
About the Connected World Conference:
The 2012 Connected World Conference sets the stage for what’s next in M2M and
connected devices. Bringing together technology-conscious consumers and upwardly
mobile entrepreneurs with tech-minded professionals, it is the industry event for
individuals looking to either create or consume the latest emerging devices and
technologies. While uncovering the latest connected gadgets on the market today, see
what's in store for the next generation of the connected car, home health, fitness
devices, connected home, and how they will be used in our everyday lives.
www.connectedworldmag.com/conference
NECA NEWS – News from the National Electrical Contractors Association
WWW.NECANET.ORG
Baker Electric Achieves 400+ EV Charger Installation Milestone
07/08/2012
Baker Electric recently announced its 400th Electric Vehicle (EV) residential
charging station installation. As of the end of June 2012, the company's actual
total topped 417 residential installs, with another 143 commercial installations
completed.
72
more
NECA Contractor Tells the Truth about Apprenticeship Training
07/08/2012
A provision is a city ordinance that requires contractors working on city projects
to be a party to a state-sponsored apprenticeship program is coming under fire
from some people who claim the requirement is an "attempt to carve out a
protected enclave for organized labor." Susan Mailman, president of NECAmember Coghlin Electrical Contractors and Network Services, sets the record
straight with a powerful OP-ED piece.
more
Invitation to Pilot Test Basic Foremanship, Part 2
07/07/2012
more
Academy Fellows Get Education & Reinvigoration at 2012 Meeting
06/26/2012
more
NECA Contractors Earn Top Safety Honors
06/22/2012
NECA proudly salutes the dozens of member companies that earned our
association's top safety honors.
more
NECA Welcomes New Student Chapter at Alfred State College
06/22/2012
With the establishment a NECA Student Chapter at Alfred State College in New
York, there are now 26 of these groups in operation across the country to
encourage young people to consider careers in electrical contracting
management.
more
Announcing David L. Pogue, Keynote Speaker for 2012 Energy Forum
06/21/2012
The 2012 NECA Energy Forum will focus on the business realities of the energy
solutions market, and the Forum’s keynote speaker David L. Pogue certainly
knows the economic benefits of using green energy technologies.
more
Four Finalist Teams Selected for ELECTRI Green Energy Challenge
06/18/2012
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ELECTRI International’s annual student competition, The Green Energy
Challenge, has four finalist teams: Georgia Tech, Iowa State University,
University of Washington, and Youngstown State University.
more
NECA-IBEW Team Essential to Wallenda's Niagara Falls Highwire Walk
06/16/2012
The "tightrope" Nik Wallenda traversed on his historic walk across Niagara Falls
had been painstakingly installed by NECA-member firm O'Connell Electric,
relying on highly skilled linemen from IBEW Local 1249.
more
When Young Women and the World of Construction Meet, It's "MAGIC"
06/15/2012
The San Diego Chapter, NECA will participant in the MAGIC Camp hosted by the
National Association of Women in Construction to give high school girls the
opportunity to learn about the countless avenues of employment available to
women in the construction industry.
more
Readers Rank Electrical Contractor Magazine Highest
06/15/2012
An independent survey finds that most readers prefer NECA's Electrical
Contractor magazine over its competitors — and most prefer the print edition
over the web version.
more
Duke Study Suggests Union Membership Does a Body Good
06/14/2012
A new study conducted by the Sociology Department at Duke University finds
that more unionized American workers consider themselves healthy than do their
non-union counterparts, an indication that union membership is good for the body
as well as the paycheck.
more
Federal Contractors Fight Proposed Hiring Quota for Disabled
06/13/2012
Contractors and industry advocates are pushing back against a proposal by the
Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that would
require 7 percent of federal contractors' employees to be workers with
disabilities.
74
more
Solar-Savvy Eland Electric Honored for Environmental Stewardship
06/08/2012
NECA-member Eland Electric was recently honored with the Green Bay
(Wisconsin) Area Chamber of Commerce's Environmental Stewardship Award.
Company owner Rick Eland was the first certified Solar Installer in Wisconsin.
more
OSHA Publishes Questions & Answers on Cranes and Derricks Standard
06/07/2012
OSHA has issued a list of 52 frequently asked questions intended to clarify how
employers should interpret the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard.
more
Benefits of Safety for Electrical Industry Made Clear at 2012 NECA Safety Professionals
Conference
06/05/2012
NECA hosted its second annual Safety Professionals Conference in St. Louis,
May 20-23. The NSPC is the only conference exclusively focused on the skills,
processes and tools used by electrical construction safety pros.
more
Invitation to Pilot Test New Course on Basic Foremanship
06/02/2012
more
House Rejects Attempts to Limit Project Labor Agreements and Eliminate Davis-Bacon
06/02/2012
more
NECA Helps Develop New Business Information Modeling (BIM) Standard
05/26/2012
The first-ever consensus-based standard governing building information
modeling (BIM) for use in the United States includes a section on “Mechanical,
Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection Systems (MEP) Spatial Coordination
Requirements” that was developed by NECA, along with MCAA and SMACNA.
more
Want to See Your Success Story on ElectricTV?
05/25/2012
We recently alerted NECA chapter offices to an opportunity to funnel story ideas
on local NECA members to the ElectricTV.net team. We need to get customers
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on camera who can attest to the knowledge, skills, and abilities of IBEW
electricians, and the quality services they've received from NECA contractors.
more
Safety Risk Management Research Report and Evaluation Tool Now Available from
ELECTRI International
05/22/2012
A new study from ELECTRI International and companion digital tool has added
important cost-benefit information to the injury-prevention techniques line
contractors and workers can use.
more
Graybar Hosting Free Data Center Seminars
05/20/2012
NECA Premier Partner Graybar, Inc. will present "Planning for the Next
Generation Data Centers" in Portland, Oregon (June 5), Los Angeles (June 26),
Raleigh (July 17), Pittsburgh (July 24), and Austin (July 26). The half-day
seminars are FREE.
more
St. Louis Electrical Connection, Sachs Electric "Solarize" Busch Stadium
05/20/2012
The St. Louis Cardinals partnered with Microgrid Energy, the Electrical
Connection and Sachs Electric to add solar panels to Busch Stadium. The
installation will produce about 32,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy per year.
more
Project Labor Agreements Stricken from Federal Defense Construction Projects
05/18/2012
NECA expressed deep disappointment over the vote by the House of
Representatives to restrict the consideration of project labor agreements on
military construction projects
more
Tribute to Robert L. Higgins (1919-2012)
05/18/2012
Robert L. Higgins, NECA's executive vice president from 1965 through 1986,
passed away May 14, 2012. NECA celebrates his accomplished life and his
many contributions of lasting value to our association and industry.
more
76
NECA Contractors Speak Out for Multiemployer Pensions, Tax, Energy Issues
05/15/2012
Nearly 150 NECA members visited their elected representatives last week in a
series of over 200 meetings on Capitol Hill to voice their concerns on issues
affecting the electrical construction industry, including the urgent need for
multiemployer pension reform; permanent repeal of the estate tax, and incentives
for energy-efficiency investments.
more
Minority/Women-Owned NECA Members Earn "Diverse Supplier" Scholarships
05/11/2012
Utility holding company Ameren has awarded scholarships to enable leaders
from three of its suppliers — BRK Electric, Donco Electrical Construction, and
Miller Construction — to attend the Minority Executive Business Program at the
Tuck School at Dartmouth College. These minority/women-owned companies are
NECA-member firms.
more
New OSHA Safety Campaign Addresses Summer Heat Hazards
05/10/2012
OSHA has just announced the availability of new resources aimed at reducing
the number of illnesses and deaths caused by heat exposure this summer —
including a free application for mobile devices that enables workers and supervisors to
monitor the heat index at their work sites.
more
www.necanet.org
NFPA - National Fire Protection Association in the news
www.nfpa.org
07/02/2012 NFPA EuroCon 2012 fire and life safety conference slated for Amsterdam
07/02/2012 NFPA issues safety alert on SCBA facepiece lenses
06/27/2012 NFPA announces second Firewise photo contest
06/26/2012 Fire Protection Research Foundation releases report on effectiveness of
regulatory and planning tools for reducing wildfire risk
06/21/2012 Use of consumer fireworks dramatically increases risk of fire and injury
06/20/2012 Grant funds available for NFPA’s Electric Vehicle Safety Training
06/12/2012 NFPA's annual firefighter fatality report shows lowest number of on-duty
deaths for second consecutive year
77
06/12/2012 NFPA focuses on Having Two Ways Out during Fire Prevention Week in
October
06/08/2012 Special Achievement (1) and Committee Service (13) honored by NFPA
06/08/2012 NFPA recognizes individuals for accomplishments in fire and life safety with
awards presented at NFPA Conference & Expo
06/08/2012 NFPA re-elects officers and elects new members to the Board of Directors
06/06/2012 U.S. Forest Service, NFPA and Ad Council launch PSA campaign
encouraging Americans to adapt and prepare for wildland fires
06/05/2012 NFPA, ICC create coalition to advance public safety in the built environment
06/05/2012 NFPA Conference & Expo streams General Session live from Las Vegas
05/25/2012 Sparky the Fire Dog named Spokesdog for 2012 Hero Dog Awards
05/25/2012 Fire up the barbeque and not the house
05/25/2012 Metro Chiefs meet in Louisville
05/23/2012 Winners of 2012 William M. Carey and Ronald K. Mengel awards
announced
05/23/2012 NFPA celebrates 10th anniversary of 20 official Firewise communities
05/23/2012 NFPA Conference & Expo heats up at Mandalay Bay, June 11-14
05/14/2012 Tragic accident prompts national warning on electric safety
05/14/2012 Arizona wildfires raise concern for community safety
05/11/2012 NFPA Journal offers added digital version with latest edition
05/11/2012 NFPA launches campaign to recruit code enforcers to technical committees
05/03/2012 Cathy Prudhomme joins NFPA’s Firewise Communities Program
05/03/2012 John Caufield named new mid-Atlantic regional director for NFPA
05/02/2012 NFPA co-sponsors Harvard University program fellowship for four fire
officers
05/01/2012 Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in more than 46,000 home fires
www.nfpa.org
CABA NEWSBRIEF – Continental Automated Buildings Association July 5, 2012
CABA NewsBrief – Continental Automated Buildings Association July 5, 2012
www.caba.org
Home Systems

Smart home revenues to reach an estimated US$60 billion by 2017
A new report from Juniper Research has valued the ‘smart home’ market at $60 billion
78
by 2017, rising from $25 billion this year. The increase will be driven by strong growth
within the smart home entertainment segment, along with contributions from other
segments including smart monitoring & control and Smart Health. CNS Magazine (6/25)

Video: IBM aims to improve shopping with AR application
Research scientists at IBM have unveiled a first-of-a-kind augmented reality mobile
shopping app that will make it possible for consumers to pan store shelves and receive
personalized product information, recommendations and coupons while they browse
shopping aisles. IBM is a CABA member. InAVate (6/27)

Google aims at the home with Nexus Q streaming device
Google stepped up its home entertainment efforts Wednesday, unveiling its Nexus Q
streaming-media player to developers. The device, which will cost $299, links Android
wireless gadgets and the Google Play store with audio and video devices. One new
wrinkle: a social media feature that allows users to collaborate with friends to create
playlists. In connection with Nexus Q, Google will now allow users to buy films from its
Google Play store instead of just renting them. TV shows and magazines also are
available. PCWorld (6/27)

Exec: For next-gen TVs, it's what's inside that counts
The evolution of digital television will give rise to an array of platforms and services,
each sporting its own bells and whistles, but making sure consumers can enjoy these
new devices means building them on a reliable and cost-effective foundation. According
to Weili Dai, the co-founder of Marvell, her company is already doing its part with its
low-cost Armada 1500 chipset, which is less price-prohibitive than the Intel components
that Google used to power its first-generation ITV. GigaOm (7/2)

Report predicts mass transition to DTV through 2017
More than 8 in 10 TV households around the world will be connected to a digital
television within five years, according to a report from Digital TV Research that
estimates there will be more than 1.3 billion digital TV homes by 2017. Rapid TV News
(7/3)

Gaming consumers shifted buying habits online in Q1, report finds
Consumers are gradually transitioning away from purchasing new disc-based video
games and are funneling more dollars into game downloads, according to a report from
The NPD Group that found sales of digital content across alternative platforms rose
10% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012. Consumers spent $3.4 billion on gaming
during the quarter, according to NPD, with sales of new games on disc, used titles and
rentals accounting for just over half of revenues. Home Media Magazine (7/2)

Opinion: Hurdles slow wireless home automation, mHealth
Technology is enabling the creation of smart homes, but the jury is far from issuing a
unanimous verdict regarding the commercial potential of connected houses and related
in-home wireless applications. Fierce Broadband Wireless (7/1)
79

CEA sees a coming boom in TV sales
A boom in television sales could occur from 2015 through 2017 as consumers look to
replace models they bought in the mid-2000s, the Consumer Electronics Association's
Shawn DuBravac said this week. DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and senior research
director, said at CE Week that the forecast could be blunted if consumers opt to replace
aging vehicles at that time instead of TVs. TWICE (6/28)

Google TV brings Google Play into its fold
Owners of Google TV devices will soon be able to stream movies and TV shows from
Google Play and share that content on a variety of Android devices, the company
announced this week. Google said it would team up with NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures,
Disney and other TV studios for content. CNET (6/29)

Control4 delivers home automation starter kit for under $1000
Replacing a house full of switches and dials with a single remote seems a desirable
proposition, but less-than-intuitive setup processes and fees that run far into the
thousands make a disconnected home the only option for some. Like other home
automation system manufacturers, Control4 has a bounty of offerings that can run up
pricing into that out-of-reach range, but if you're looking to adjust audio and video in a
single room, the new Starter Kit should get you going for just shy of a grand, including
installation. Control4 is a CABA member. Engadget (6/28)

Z-Wave will make home automation more mainstream
After many years, promises and false starts, the lofty vision of home automation
technology is coming to fruition. Although it has gotten to where automation is almost a
bad word, often replaced with controls, there are a number of newer technologies and
associated products opening up exciting opportunities for security contractors willing to
give it a go. Security Sales & Integration Magazine (7/2)

Crestron Asia inks strategic alliance with O2K Technology Services
Crestron Asia recently announced at a press conference in Bangalore a strategic
alliance with O2K Technology Services to offer integrated building technology solutions
in India. O2K Technology also announced the creation of smart home division. PR Log
(7/1)

INSTEON launches iPhone-controlled LED light bulb
INSTEON claims to be first to market with a "networked remote control dimmable LED
light bulb". Compatible with any INSTEON remote control, the bulb can also be paired
with INSTEON's free iOS and Android app so that it can be turned on, off, or dimmed,
using most contemporary smartphones. Cambodia Herald (6/21)

Developers merge gaming, mobile health to make working out fun
With more than a billion people expected to use mobile-health technology by 2020, the
sky is the limit for application developers looking to capitalize on the trend -- as long as
they build products that engage consumers, says Eric Adams, senior editor of Men's
Health magazine, who moderated a recent panel discussion on the future of mobile
80
health. For panelist Megan Miller of Bonnier, this means ensuring that consumers have
fun while they're improving their health. Dealerscope (7/2)

GP510: the first dedicated ZigBee RF4CE chip for set-top box and gateway
GreenPeak Technologies, a leading ultra-low power RF communications semiconductor
company for the smart home, announces the general availability of its GP510
communication controller chip, supporting all communication between ZigBee RF4CE
enabled devices and the set-top box or gateway. The GP510 is GreenPeak’s answer to
the increasing market demand for making the set-top box the ZigBee RF4CE hub for
the home. GreenPeak Technologies is a CABA member. GreenPeak Technologies (7/5)
Large Building Automation

Worldwide intelligent lighting controls market to surpass $4.3 billion by
2020
Lighting accounts for about 25% of the commercial building sector's energy use.
Lighting controls offer significant potential for reducing that energy use, and new
technologies that have emerged in recent years have enabled a wide range of
innovative strategies, from room-level awareness of occupancy and daylight sensing to
building-wide coordination of a fully networked system. According to a new report from
Pike Research, the global market for intelligent lighting controls will enjoy steady and
robust growth over the rest of this decade, rising from $1.5 billion in 2012 to more than
$4.3 billion in 2020. FinWin (6/28)

BACnet International to collaborate with CABA on landmark research study
BACnet International has signed on as a sponsor of CABA'slandmark research study
“Intelligent Buildings and the Bid Specification Process.” In doing so, BACnet
International assists in reaching the objectives of the project, including greatly improving
the understanding of the market imperfections and inconsistencies that exist in
designing and implementing intelligent building projects, as well as making investment
decisions on intelligent technologies. PRWeb (6/28)

High turnout for Guangzhou Electrical Building Technology 2012 show
This year, the fair welcomed 26,147 visitors, a 148% increase from 2011. Of all visitors,
79% were domestic, while 21% came from overseas. Exhibition space also saw an
impressive increase of 50% at the show’s ninth edition. The 2012 show attracted 261
exhibitors across two dedicated halls totaling 15,000 sq meters. Building HK Journal
(7/2)

Cisco’s Toronto innovation center is a laboratory for green technology
Last week Cisco Systems cut the ribbon on its Toronto Innovation Center — a place
where developers and tech professionals can come together to integrate different
building technologies in order to produce more efficient and sustainable building
systems. Inhabitat (6/28)
81

Three lessons learned on the future of smart buildings from IBCon
Smart building technologies promise significant energy savings and efficiency
improvements for managing commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities. The
IBCon event illustrated three key messages that must be understood and clearly
communicated in order to promote widespread adoption of these technologies in the
commercial real estate industry. Energy Collective (6/20)

Smart glass market to reach $700 million a year
According to a new report from Pike Research, the market value for architectural and
transportation smart glass, which stands at $84 million today, will grow to $693 million
worldwide by 2020. Worldwide demand for smart glass will exceed 3 million square
meters annually by 2020. MRO (6/27)

More holistic approaches to building operations emerging
As demand for cost-effective energy and resource management continues to grow,
intelligent automated building solutions can help other industrial institutions to reduce
energy intensity, increase alternative energy sources, reduce operational costs and find
interoperable solutions that integrate with legacy equipment without having to invest
huge funds in new equipment. AutomatedBuildings.com (7/1)

Smart building scholar receives Fulbright funding
University of Houston engineering professor Driss Benhaddou is joining the esteemed
list of professionals to receive a Fulbright grant. The Fulbright Program, an international
educational exchange program, awards 7,500 grants annually to applicants with
excellence in academic achievement and demonstrated leadership in their careers.
Benhaddou focuses his research on ‘smart buildings,’ structures that can regulate their
own climate. Daily Cougar (6/21)

Chemical Industry Trade Association condemns U.S. Green Building
Council
American business leaders are speaking out in dismay over the American Chemistry
Council's recent political attacks on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED v4
(formerly known as LEED 2012) standard for offering a voluntary credit for avoiding
chemicals of concern. LEED is a voluntary standard that enables builders to work
toward goals of energy savings, less toxic materials, and other sustainable goals. Digital
Journal (7/2)

AirTight partners with Honeywell
AirTight is proud to announce their new alliance with Honeywell as a building controls
associate partner. The decision to partner with Honeywell was an easy one for us,” said
Greg Crumpton, President & Founder of AirTight. “Working with them will prove to be a
great move for us and more importantly, for our customers." AirTight (6/29)

Green construction moving into mainstream in Metro Vancouver
In the twelve years since Mountain Equipment Co-op built their first certified energy
efficient retail space, green construction has moved from a novelty to the mainstream.
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Under the City of Vancouver's Greenest City plan, all permits for redevelopment over
500 square feet are required to meet the LEED Gold standard. The City has been
providing incentives in the form of incorporating green building cost premiums into proforma analysis in rezoning process. Vancouver Sun (7/2)

Opinion: Greener buildings for greener bottom lines
According to data reported by IBM’s Smarter Buildings initiative, buildings will become
the largest consumer of global energy by 2025 if current usage trends continue, more
than the transportation and industrial sectors combined. Not only are buildings
consuming more and more electricity, emitting greater levels of carbon dioxide, and
wasting more water, fewer and fewer occupants are actually using energy efficiently in
their daily operations. While the trend’s negative impact on the environment is clear, the
impact on commercial building owners is a far more complex discussion. IBM is a CABA
member. BUILDINGS (6/28)
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New Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostat for commercial applications from
ecobee
The new EMS Si thermostat offering features for commercial customers has been
launched by ecobee. According to the company’s president and CEO, Stuart Lombard,
the EMS Si is the most cost effective centralized solution to monitor and control a
building's heating and cooling system, at a fraction of the price of a traditional building
automation system. Marketwatch (7/3)
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Power quality investment leads growing North American distribution
market
The global market for distribution automation equipment generated more than $11
billion in revenue during 2011, with forecast growth to more than $18 billion annually by
2017, according to IMS Research in a new report. Metering.com (6/21)
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Solar thermal scales new heights in China
Ask any six-year-old in a Chinese street, 'What's a solar water heater and what's it for?'
Without hesitation they will tell you: 'A solar water heater is on the roof of a building to
make hot water for the shower'. This story is told by Hongzhi Cheng, vice secretarygeneral of the Beijing-based Chinese Solar Thermal Industry Federation (CSTIF) and
head of The Sun's Vision, a company based in the city of Dezhou in Shandong
province. Renewable Energy World (6/27)
Member Press Releases
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QA Graphics Helps Engineers Prepare Construction Specs for Dashboards
QA Graphics, provider of the award-winning Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard®,
can provide standard dashboard specification details and prepare custom bid specs for
construction projects that require an interactive display to educate occupants about
sustainable building features.
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CABA Research Spotlight
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Smart Grid Challenges & Choices: Utility Executives’ Vision for the New
Decade
Steve Winter Associates and HR&A Advisors, in collaboration with Deutsche Bank and
Living Cities, analyzed 231 energy retrofit projects, including over 21,000 individual
units, in New York City. The report examined affordable housing consisting of four main
fuel and electricity comparative building types and the effectiveness of various energy
efficiency upgrades. Insights were developed in three key areas: 1. Pre- and postretrofit building performance trends; 2. Reliability of savings projections; and, 3. Framing
an approach to incorporate energy savings projections into underwriting. The report
provides a solid analysis and argument for the financial underwriting of energy efficiency
programs for multi-family buildings. Read the full report as published in CABA's Public
Research Library. Paid CABA membership provides you access to the world's largest
collection of connected home and intelligent building research: CABA Member
Research Library.
Education & Training
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Webinar: Smart Grid Impact on Intelligent Buildings
CoR Advisors will host a webinar in conjunction with the Continental Automated
Buildings Association, to highlight CABA's recently completed collaborative research
study that identified, defined and sized the main business opportunities presented by
the growth of smart grids in relation to intelligent buildings. CABA’s “Smart Grid Impact
on Intelligent Buildings” research study estimated that the North American smart grid
marketplace will reach $8 billion in revenue by 2013 and will exceed $10 billion by 2015.
The study found that the fastest growing components of the smart grid market are grid
applications, followed by: demand response and peak load management, building
energy management systems, and smart meters. Join us on July 20 at 12:30 pm ET for
a full report of the findings from this landmark CABA research project.
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Event: 2012 SmartGrid Canada Conference
The 2012 SmartGrid Canada Conference will turn the spotlight onto the electricity
consumer and on how utilities can engage them in the transformation of the electric
grid. In partnership with the IESO, the conference will explore how the human equation
will drive and shape the Canadian smart grid landscape. SmartGrid Canada is a CABA
member.
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Webinar: Economics of Green Buildings
This information-packed, 90-minute webinar, to be presented by Kelly Gearhart of the
Triple Green Building Group, LLC on July 11 at 1 pm ET, will explore how to: assess the
costs and benefits of green building; understand return on investment; and review
payback figures of green building design, construction and operations.
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CABA News
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CABA launches white paper initiative
The Continental Automated Buildings Association will begin publishing its own white
paper series focused on both connected homes and intelligent buildings. The white
papers will provide strong ROI analysis to quantify the benefits of implementing fully
converged technology through home and building automation, security and IT
infrastructure.
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San Diego, California is the place to be in October
This October, Qualcomm Incorporated rolls out the red carpet for CABA’s Digital Home
Forum on Thursday, October 11, 2012. The forum will bring together leading companies
involved in the integration of consumer electronics and other cutting-edge technology
throughout the home. After the CABA Connected Home Council meeting (CHC)
Meeting on Friday, October 12, 2012, you are invited to be a VIP Guest of Qualcomm,
at the Miramar Air Show. Save 15% off registration if you register prior to July 31, 2012
for the CABA Digital Home Forum at: http://www.caba.org/digital-home-forum. Make
sure you confirm your attendance at the CHC meeting and Miramar Air Show with Tony
Disipio at 613.686.1814 x228 or disipio@caba.org. Note: VIP seating at the air show is
limited to a first-come, first-serve basis.
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CABA and ClimateTalk Alliance sign cooperation agreement
The Continental Automated Buildings Association and ClimateTalk Alliance have signed
a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at information sharing and working in a
collaborative manner on intelligent home and intelligent building issues.

CABA continues to gain, maintain industry support
The Board of Directors of the Continental Automated Buildings Association would like to
thank and recognize the following CABA members that renewed their CABA Research
Subscription/Membership. Your continued support of CABA is greatly appreciated.
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CePORT, LLC (Member since 2005)
Global Cache (Member since 2007)
Siemens Industry, Inc. (Board member since 1992)
The CABA Board would also like to recognize the following new members that joined
since the last CABA NewsBrief:
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Comcast Cable (Board member)
Lumen Cache
STRIVA Business Solutions
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As CABA is an international not-for-profit industry association, this support enables
CABA to provide networking opportunities, research programs and information to the
industry in regards to the advancement of connected home and intelligent building
technologies.
For information about CABA Research Subscription/Memberships, please contact
George Grimes, CABA Business Development Manager at grimes@caba.org or
613.686.1814 x226. To view a listing of 300+ CABA members go to:
www.caba.org/members.
SECURITY PRODUCTS Hosts Numerous Powerful Webinars And They Are Often
Available For Months Afterwards.
Security Products magazine is a powerful publication that also offers many valuable
educational materials online. They are responsible for helping to save lives and
property. Check out this outfit.
www.1105media.com
http://security-today.com/Home.aspx
Currently offering:
Please join: EasyLobby and Security Products
Topic: How to Identify, Manage and Track Visitors Professionally and Securely
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Time: 2 PM (EST) 11 AM (PST)
Register Today at:
http://click.1105info.com/?qs=14425b2f8db7c8580c471d433b7248ec0f0b69ac985b153
65bac0d3f17dbd1ade990ba669e624c13
Overview:
EasyLobby Secure Visitor Management from HID Global allows you to manage visitors
more professionally and securely. Automate the entire process of registering a visitor,
printing a badge and capturing detailed information in seconds without typing.
Learn how to:
- Create watch lists to screen out unwanted visitors
- Allow employees to pre-register guests
- Integrate visitor management with access control to provide temporary card access for
guests
- Allow guests to self register at a kiosk or using an iPad or tablet
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- Set alerts so that you are notified about specific visitor behavior such as a guest who
has not checked out in the time expected
Speaker:
Howard Marson, Vice President and General Manager - HID Global, EasyLobby
Howard Marson served as CEO of EasyLobby since 2002 and became Vice President
and General Manager after the acquisition by HID Global in January 2012. During this
time he has developed numerous strategic partnerships with industry leading security
companies and has delivered major product upgrades each year to position EasyLobby
as the technology leader in the industry. Prior to EasyLobby he has served as a senior
executive in several technology companies and was also the founder and cofounder of
several companies. Howard graduated from MIT with a bachelor degree in management
and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management.
A Q&A session will be held during the last 15 minutes of the Webinar.
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Time: 2 PM (EST) 11 AM (PST)
www.1105media.com
Security Products Magazine Launched New Website: Security http://securitytoday.com/Home.aspx
DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2012 - Security Products magazine, the only integrated product
magazine reaching the entire security market, officially launched its new Security Today
website at security-today.com.
While the previous Security Products website showcased only the Security Products
print magazine, the new site was created to reflect the brand’s integrated media
platform in a dynamic way. "With the new look, Security Today promises to deliver the
same compelling content visitors expect from Security Products, but in a more exciting
package," said Sherleen Mahoney, Managing Editor for the site.
The Security Today home page has four main components: the slideshow,
communities, the Reaction Blog, and the ability to search for content by product or
market. The slideshow, which is updated weekly, highlights the most interesting and
relevant content in the industry. A daily news section next to the slideshow features the
most current industry news.
Below the slideshow and news items are the communities, each corresponding to the
Security Products branded e-newsletters. The communities give visitors a more in-depth
look at areas such as Dealers and Integrators, Government Security, Network-Centric
Security, Education Security, and more. The home page also includes Reaction Blog, in
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which Security Products editors and featured guest bloggers share their perspectives on
a range of compelling security topics and news.
About Security Products
Security Products and its brands are part of 1105 Media Inc.’s Security, Safety and
Environmental Protection Group. Besides the Security Today website, products include
print publications Network-Centric Security, Dealer Quarterly, Education Security, and
Government Security; webinars; and conferences and exhibitions such as GovSec,
GovSec West, Network- Centric Security, and Contingency Planning & Management.
About 1105 Media Inc.
1105 Media is a leading provider of integrated information and media in targeted B-to-B
markets, including specialized sectors of the information technology community;
industrial health, safety and compliance; security; environmental protection; and home
health care. 1105’s offerings span print and online magazines, journals and newsletters;
seminars, conferences and trade shows; training courseware; and Web-based services.
1105 Media is based in Chatsworth, Calif., with offices throughout the United States.
Visit 1105media.com.
BOMA INTERNATIONAL Honors Outstanding Member Of The Year - 2012
(Washington, D.C. —July 10, 2012) The Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA) International honored three of its members with the Regional Member of the
Year Award during the 2012 Every Building Conference & Expo, held in Seattle,
Washington June 24-26. The Regional Member of the Year Awards are given
annually to BOMA members who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment
and contribution to the association and to the real estate industry. www.boma.org
2012 recipients honored are:
Karisa Johnson, CPM, RPA, vice president, management services, Transwestern,
BOMA/Austin, for the Southwest Region Outstanding Member of the Year. Johnson
has been a BOMA member for nearly 15 years and serves BOMA at all levels. She is
a member of the Board of Directors of BOMA/Austin, is chair of the Program
Committee, and currently serves as chair of the Southwest Region The Outstanding
Building of the Year (TOBY®) program. She is also a member of BOMA
International’s Awards Committee and is a board member of Texas BOMA.
Cybele Thompson, RPA, FMA, CCIM, LEED AP, director, client services, Cushman
& Wakefield, BOMA/Greater Los Angeles and BOMA/San Diego , was named the
Pacific Southwest Region Outstanding Member of the Year. Thompson’s leadership,
integrity, dedication and passion to the industry and the association earned her
honors as BOMA/Greater Los Angeles’ Principal Member of the Year Award in 2011.
She currently serves on the board of directors for BOMA/Greater Los Angeles and is
past president of BOMA California and BOMA/San Diego.
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Luci Smith, RPA, FMA, senior property manager, EastGroup Properties,
BOMA/Orlando, was named Southern Region Outstanding Member of Year. An
immediate past president of BOMA/Orlando and member of several committees at
the state, regional and international levels, Smith is also a three-time recipient of the
TOBY Award and has won locally in 2008 and 2011 and internationally in 2009.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international
federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations. Founded in 1907, its
16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion square feet of commercial
properties. BOMA International’s mission is to enhance the human, intellectual and physical
assets of the commercial real estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards
and information..
BOMA International was founded as the National Association of Building Owners and
Managers. The association assumed its present name in 1968 as it broadened its reach to include
Canada and other affiliates around the globe. Today, BOMA International represents 92 local
associations throughout the United States and 15 affiliates in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and
the United Kingdom. BOMA's 16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion
square feet of commercial properties in North America.
BOMA International is a primary source of information on building management and
operations, development, leasing, building operating costs, energy consumption
patterns, local and national building codes, legislation, occupancy statistics,
technological developments and other industry trends.
Learn more about BOMA International's 100-year history.
Who are BOMA's Members?
BOMA International's members are building owners, managers, developers, leasing
professionals, corporate facility managers, asset managers, and the providers of the products and
services needed to operate commercial properties.
What Does BOMA International Do?
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Monitors and lobbies pertinent legislative, regulatory and codes/standards
issues. Learn more information on BOMA’s advocacy work.
Publishes The BOMA Magazine, the official publication of BOMA International.
Produces a variety of leading industry publications, including:
o A comprehensive suite of building measurement standards, including
Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement (ANSI/BOMA –
Z65.1 2010)
o The Experience Exchange Report® (EER®) - the industry benchmark for 90
years years, which contains income and expense data for office buildings
across North America
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o
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The industry’s first green lease guide
Hosts the BOMA International Conference and The Every Building Show every
June; conducts seminars on topics including office marketing and leasing, asset
management, technology, and security and emergency preparedness planning.
In January, BOMA International sponsors a Winter Business Meeting and hosts
the National Issues Conference.Presents The Outstanding Building of the
Year (TOBY) Awards, the most prestigious and coveted awards in the
commercial real estate industry. The TOBY honors buildings based on
community impact, tenant/employee relations programs, energy management
systems, accessibility for disabled people, emergency evacuation procedures,
building personnel training programs and overall quality indicators.
Designates excellence in building management and operations through the
BOMA 360 Performance Program, groundbreaking program designed to
validate and recognize commercial properties that demonstrate best practices in
all major areas of building operations and management.
www.boma.org
The Light Brigade® Launches New Fiber Optic Safety Training DVD
Tukwila, WA – July 11, 2012
The Light Brigade, AFL's training division, is releasing its newest menu-based staff
development DVD, titled Fiber Optic Safety. This DVD serves as a training tool to
enhance the fiber optic safety program of anyone who works with optical fibers or
lasers, or who installs or operates fiber optic communication systems.
The DVD's 10 menu-selectable chapters focus on topics relevant to today's fiber
technicians, including:
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Laser types and classifications, how they operate and various control measures
National and international fiber optic and laser safety standards
Optical fiber handling and safety
Chemicals and right-to-know documentation
Fiber and laser testing and inspection equipment types and applications
The impact of high-power Raman and EDFA optical amplifiers
Safety practices during installation and restoration
Potential safety problems along with causes and possible solutions
Safety in confined spaces
Types of personal protective equipment
DVD bonus materials include a student quiz with matching instructor version, written in
Microsoft® Word format which allows customization for specific safety needs.
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Effective March 22, 2012, BICSI recognizes Fiber Optic Safety DVD training for the
following BICSI Continuing Education Credits (CECs): one RCDD; one RITP; one
Installer 2, Copper/Fiber; one Technician and one Certified Trainer.
Since 1987, The Light Brigade has instructed 43,000 attendees in its public and custom
classes on fiber optic design, maintenance, and testing, as well as advanced topics
such as FTTx, DWDM and PMD/CD. In addition to creating custom courses tailored to
any need or skill level, the company produces educational DVDs and CDs.
For additional information, visit www.lightbrigade.com or Fiber Optic Safety DVD.
About The Light Brigade
Since 1987, The Light Brigade has instructed 43,000 attendees in its public and custom
classes on fiber optic design, maintenance, and testing, including advanced topics such
as FTTx, DWDM, and PMD/CD. In addition to creating custom courses tailored to any
need or skill level, the company produces educational DVDs and CDs.
Contact
Dario DePaolis
Vice President/General Manager, The Light Brigade
1 (206) 575-0404
Dario.DePaolis@lightbrigade.com
Dan Chancey, RPA, Honored with BOMA International Chair’s Award
(Washington D.C. – July 11, 2012) The Building Owners and Managers Association
(BOMA) International 2011-2012 Chair and Chief Elected Officer Boyd Zoccola,
executive vice president, Hokanson Companies, Inc., recognized Dan Chancey, RPA,
with the Chair’s Award during the 2012 BOMA International Conference, held June 2426 in Seattle, Wash. The Chair’s Award is the highest recognition presented by the
BOMA International Chair and is bestowed annually upon those who—through
innovation, talent and dedication—have set new standards of excellence for the
commercial real estate industry.
“The Chair’s Award is presented to Dan in recognition of his valuable contributions over
the years, and in recognition of his consistent, loyal support of BOMA International,”
commented Zoccola. “Dan is the quintessential voluntary member and leader, serving
on just about every BOMA committee and council. As Chair of the BOMA 360 Council,
his absolute dedication has helped transform it from a fledging designation program to a
must-have building certification. He helped develop the strategies for the BOMA One
baseline standards and has done exceptional work on the Green Task Force and Audit
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Committee. He also served two terms on BOMA International’s Executive Committee
and as President of BOMA/Memphis for three terms. In whatever role he has taken on,
he has always served with commitment and passion. He’s one of the most genuine and
giving people I know.”
Currently a vice president, senior asset manager with Commercial Advisors Asset
Services LLC in Memphis, Chancey began his commercial real estate career as a
property manager at Clark & Clark before serving as general manager for Triple Net
Properties and, later, for Grubb & Ellis Management Services. Chancey attended Bob
Jones University and in 2006 was asked to attend the Emerging Leaders in Real Estate
Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
***
About BOMA International
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an
international federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations.
Founded in 1907, its 16,500-plus members own or manage more than nine billion
square feet of commercial properties. BOMA International’s mission is to enhance the
human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through
advocacy, education, research, standards and information. On the Web
at www.boma.org.
Cyber Security Expert Winn Schwartau To Keynote Data Center World Fall 2012 =
All National Disasters Begin at the Local Level
West Chester, OH – July 12, 2012 – Cyber security expert Winn Schwartau will deliver
the keynote address at Data Center World 2012 this fall in Nashville, TN, (September
30-October 3, 2012). Mr. Schwartau will cover Disaster Recovery Plans, combating
Cyber Crime and the threat of Cyber Terrorism and will highlight how national, as well
as natural, disasters begin at the local level.
AFCOM, the world's leading association for data center management professionals,
delivered a study on Disaster Recover & Business Contingency that found that while
almost 1-in-5 data centers have experienced a physical disaster, and 1-in-8 a cyber
attack or data breach in the past three years, more than 1-in-5 still admit to not testing
their plan during this same period. Those findings prompted AFCOM's Data Center
Institute to publish a wakeup call for all data centers in last year’s report on disaster
recovery.
“A 2011 study conducted by AFCOM, found that most data centers are not adequately
prepared for disaster recovery or defense against cyber crimes,” said Jill Yaoz,
president of the AFCOM association and chairperson of Data Center World. “Our Data
Center Institute report discovered that many data centers either don’t have a plan in
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place or don’t update and test those plans regularly. Our selection of Winn Schwartau
as the keynote speaker at Data Center World 2012 highlights the critical need for our
industry to be prepared for the worst.”
Winn Schwartau, a Nashville resident, is recognized as one of the world's top experts
on security, privacy, infowar, cyber-terrorism and related topics and he has testified
before Congress and consulted as an expert witness. Mr. Schwartau was named one of
the Top 20 Security Industry Pioneers in 2009 and one of the Top 25 Most Influential
People for 2008 by Security Magazine. He was voted one of the Top 5 Security
Thinkers for 2007 by SC Magazine for IT Security Professionals, and in 2002 he was
honored as a Power Thinker and one of the 50 Most Powerful People by Network
World.
Data Center World Fall 2012 will include more than 50 educational sessions covering all
aspects of the data center and facilities management field including disaster recovery,
DCIM, management, data center builds and design, facilities management, power and
cooling, cloud as well as pertinent and topical peer-to-peer user sessions and round
table discussions.
About Data Center World Conference
Data Center World is produced by AFCOM (www.afcom.com), the leading association
supporting the educational and professional development needs of data center
professionals around the globe. Established in 1980, AFCOM currently boasts more
than 4,500 member data centers and 40 chapters worldwide, and provides data center
professionals with unique networking opportunities and educational forums and
resources through its bi-annual Data Center World Conferences, published magazines,
regional chapters, research and hotline services, and industry alliances. For additional
information on the conference and exhibits, visit www.datacenterworld.com
Ideal Industries Networks Hosts a Free CEDIA Webinar for Business and IT
Professionals
Gigabit + Infrastructure: Building the Future with Fiber Optic and CAT6a Cabling
WHAT: Ideal and CEDIA are sponsoring a free webinar: Gigabit+ Infrastructure:
Building the future with Fiber Optic and CAT6a Cabling.
Go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/123680752 for registration
WHEN: Thursday, July 19th, 2012, 1:00PM - 2::00 PM EDT
WHY: With the continued convergence of the consumer electronics and IT/Networking
industries, almost every product in the marketplace comes equipped with a network
jack, and streaming media apps can be found on virtually any video or audio source
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device. As the number of the devices and services that live on the home network
continues to increase exponentially, the competition for bandwidth has become a
serious concern. It is critical for integrators to re-evaluate current infrastructure offerings
and look to solutions that will allow for future growth as well as higher levels of reliability
and performance.
By attending this webinar, participants will gain valuable insights and knowledge around
new infrastructure options including CAT6a and fiber optic cabling. The benefits and
performance characteristics will be discussed as well as limitations and pitfalls to avoid
when specifying these advanced infrastructure technologies.
WHO: Headquartered in San Diego, CA, IDEAL INDUSTRIES NETWORKS is an
innovative manufacturer of Hand Held Network Testers deployed in LAN Installation,
LAN Management and WAN Access. Products include LanTEK™ cable certifiers,
LanXPLORER™ network analyzers, SIGNALTEK™ network qualifier, SecuriTEST™
CCTV testers, and NaviTEK® II network certifier. For more information, visit
www.idealindustries.com/products/datacomm
CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing
and installing electronic systems for the home. The association was founded in
September 1989 and has more than 3,500 member companies worldwide. CEDIA
members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and
experience in this specialized field. For more information on CEDIA, visit the
association's website at www.cedia.org.
ABOUT IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. has been serving the electrical industry since 1916. IDEAL is
one of the world's leading manufacturers of professional quality tools and supplies
serving installation professionals in the construction, maintenance, data
communications and original equipment manufacturing industries.
That’s All Folks...
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