Electric League News

Union Station and Under the Clock - Highlights of June Luncheon

Electric League members won't want to miss the June luncheon. The luncheon will be held June 22 in the beautifully restored Union Station in Kansas City. We will sit in the studio audience for a broadcast of KCUR's Under the Clock radio show hosted by former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver. Lunch will be served in Pierpont's Restaurant. Watch your upcoming Electric League newsletters for more details about this unique luncheon.

Mark June 22 on your calendar to attend this unique luncheon in a Kansas City landmark setting.

Ergonomics Issues - A Non-Regulatory Approach

While the President has recently signed the Resolution of Disapproval, effectively scrapping the OSHA Ergonomics Program, it doesn't mean the issue of ergonomics tied to a federal regulation is dead. The Electric League, along with several other business organizations, is supporting a “non-regulatory” approach to ergonomics management.

Electric League members are urged to contact their U.S. Congressional Representatives and the Secretary of Labor urging them to adopt a “non-regulatory” or voluntary approach to any ergonomics program. Both government and business leaders have recently endorsed the idea of voluntary guidelines on ergonomics issues.

The Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, recognizes the need to deter injuries before they occur and not to rely on a regulation that simply reacts to an occurrence. She is also open to the idea of voluntary guidelines for injury prevention and is looking at pending ergonomics legislation.

A proposal by Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) would require the Labor Department to issue new rules within two years and would prohibit payments to injured workers that exceed those offered by states' workers' compensation programs.

According to Keith Lessner, safety and environmental vice president for the Alliance of American Insurers, “voluntary, cooperative initiatives backed by additional research would go a long way toward preventing injures such as carpal tunnel syndrome.”

Other business groups also call for additional research on ergonomics-related injuries and a volunteer approach to guidelines. Brian Mannix, director of science and technology studies for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, says that OSHA's first step now on ergonomics should be to conduct more research on the issue. Even a voluntary approach to injury prevention will need more research into causes of injuries to be effective.

Paul O'Neill, U.S. Treasury Secretary, says, “we would be better off if we made the OSHA standards advisory including any ergonomics standards.”

Electric League members are asked to contact their federal legislative representatives and urge them to adopt a voluntary, non-regulatory approach to ergonomics. The Electric League can provide addresses for federal legislators and cabinet members.

Travel Network

Federated Insurance Introduces New Group Health Benefit for Association Endorsed Health Plans

In addition to the local Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) you use, Federated Insurance now offers you the opportunity for PPO benefits while you are temporarily outside your local PPO service area. This allows you to have PPO benefits while you are traveling and in need of emergency services, or for your dependent student that may be a considerable distance from home, attending a college or university. This benefit is referred to as a Travel Network.

Through a contract with BCE Emergis, parent company of United Payors & United Providers (UP & UP) ProAmerica, a national managed care company, Federated is able to offer our members the Travel Network. UP and UP ProAmerica is contracted with over 3200 acute care hospitals and 320,000 physicians across the country. This is a real benefit for members while on vacation, or for students away at college.

If you find yourself in need of emergency medical attention while outside your local network, inquire either with the provider's office or call the UP & UP ProAmerica provider referral line at 1-800 PRO FIND (1-800-776-3463). You may also access the UP & UP ProAmerica network on the Internet at www.upup.com.

Contact your local Federated Marketing Representative for more details

Home Offices Are Fertile Grounds for Electrical Hazards

You've just brought home a new piece of equipment for your home office. You're ready to set it up and turn it on, but you run into one small problem. There's no place to plug it in. What do you do?

If you're like millions of people who have converted a room or area of their home into an office, you'd probably use an extension cord to reach the nearest unused outlet. Or you might add another power strip to the same outlet being used for your other equipment.

Although that solves your immediate problem, it may also be creating another Ä an overloaded circuit. If too many pieces of equipment are plugged into the same outlet and they're all on at the same time, more current may be running through the outlet than it can handle. When that happens, the wiring or the outlet will overheat and this could create an electrical fire. Overloading is even more of a problem with extension cords.

To prevent this and other electrical hazards in your home office, the Leviton Institute offers the following recommendations:
Potential Hazard - Overloaded circuits can cause an electrical fire.
What to Look For - Outlet or wall is warm to the touch; outlet is discolored; circuit breakers frequently trip or fuses frequently blow; a burnt smell of insulation is noticeable.
Remedy - Have an electrician run a dedicated circuit to your home office and install additional outlets in the room.

Potential Hazard - Overloaded extension cord can cause an electrical fire.
What to Look For - Extension cord is warm to the touch.
Remedy - (1) Use an extension cord with the same or larger wire size as the cord being extended. (2) Since extension cords are designed for temporary use, have an electrician install additional outlets in the room so you don't need to use extension cords at all.

Potential Hazard - Ungrounded outlets that will not protect you from an electrical shock in the event of a short circuit.
What to Look For - Equipment cord has a three-prong plug, but the nearest outlet has only two slots for the plug.
Remedy - Inspect wiring at the outlet to see if there is a ground wire. If there is a ground wire, replace the existing outlet with one that accepts a three-prong plug, and connect the ground wire to the outlet. (2) In older homes, where there may not be a grounding wire, have an electrician run a new circuit with ground to your home office and install new outlets.

Potential Hazard - Improper placement of extension cords can cause a fire or cause someone to trip.
What to Look For - Extensions cords running through walls, under rugs or furniture, across doorways, or draped over heaters or equipment.
Remedy - Try rearranging office furniture; or better yet, add more outlets in the room.

Nearly one third of American households now have a home office. It may be located in a spare bedroom, a den, or part of another room. In most cases, these areas of the home were never wired for the amount of electronic equipment used in the typical home office. What's more, the same electrical circuit sending power to the outlets in your home office may also be powering outlets in other rooms. That's why the Leviton Institute recommends that you inspect your outlets, cords, and home wiring before adding more equipment to your home office.

Source: The Leviton Institute

Lightning is No Friend of Home Electronics

Since our area of the country is prone to lightning, you probably know how to protect yourself when thunderstorms are overhead. And you also know how important a lightning arrestor is to protect your home from a direct lightning strike. But how much protection have you given to the expensive electronic equipment inside your home?

TVs, home theaters, computers and other types of equipment are vulnerable to electrical surges generated by lightning - even if the lightning is miles away. If you have a large investment in home electronics, the Leviton Institute recommends that you consider installing whole-house surge protective devices to safe-guard your sensitive electronic equipment.

The typical power-strip surge protectors that plug into a wall receptacle are primarily designed to protect equipment from low energy power surges generated within your home. To protect equipment against lightning that enters your home through the electric lines, you need devices that can handle much larger power surges.

This protection is especially important in our area of the country where lightning is prevalent. The reason: Repeated high energy surges caused by lightning strikes will eventually destroy the surge-suppressor components in a power strip.

The Leviton Institute advises consumers to match their investment in home electronic equipment with the appropriate level of surge protective devices. To find out more about these devices, call your local electrical contractor.

Source: The Leviton Institute

The People Column

Lots of moving around in our industry lately. Dody Villarreal and Becky Keller have joined the sales staff at Independent Electric Machinery Company. Mark Calkins has joined Western Extralite, and Don Wrenn has joined the staff at Graybar.

Steve Jackson, late of Ensurco Duradek US Ltd, has become the Director of Sales and Marketing at Missouri Valley Electric. Joe McNerney has joined the Missouri Valley sales staff. Stefanie Spicer, who has been with Missouri Valley for five years, has been promoted. She is now the manager of Inventory Control and Information Technology. And, Ross Grecco, who retired from Missouri Valley in 2000, has returned as a Special Project Sales Coordinator.

Mr. and Mrs. Willie Perez (he's the branch manager of Stanion Wholesale Electric in Salina, Kan.) became the proud parents of a baby girl, Maci, on Friday, April 27. Congratulations!

That's all for now..

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there who will be celebrating this day on Sunday, May 13. Send us your information if you'd like to see it here. How about wishing your co-workers a happy birthday in this column ... send us your calendars and we'll include those special days. See you next month! See you next month!

Fax: 913-383-3003
E-mail: jefer@micro.com

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