# Presentation: 750364

## Electrical Installation Code United States of America 

- National Electrical Code
- Date of the latest version-2002
- Next edition-2005 (Sept. 2004)

- Electrical Safety Systems for the Asia-Pacific Region

## Electrical Installation Code United States of America 

- Organization responsible for maintaining the Code-National Fire Protection Association-Committee on the National Electrical Code
- Key contact person
- Mark W. Earley
- Telephone +1.617.984.7400
- Email mwearley@nfpa.org

- Electrical Safety Systems for the Asia-Pacific Region

## Origin of the National Electrical Code

- First meeting held on March 18-19, 1896 in New York City
- 23 persons in attendance
- American Society of Electrical Engineers
- American Institute of Architects
- National Street Railway Association
- The International Association of Fire Engineers
- Underwriters Laboratories
- Factory Mutual
- AT&T
- General Electric

## Origin of the National Electrical Code-Perspective

- Edison had introduced the incandescent lamp 17 years earlier
- Alexander Graham Bell had invented his telephone only 20 years earlier
- Wright Brothers would fly 7 years later.
- Henry Ford worked for Detroit Edison

## Electrical Codes in Use

- There were 5 electrical codes in use in the USA in 1896
- Manufacturers were unable to standardize products where there could be 5 variations of the product.

## Development Approach

- Take the best requirements from
- The five electrical codes
- The Electrical Code of Germany
- The Rules of the British Board of Trade
- The Phoenix Rules
- The rules had to be safe as well as practical
- The document was developed and circulated around the USA and Europe to 1200 experts

## The First Edition

- Issued in 1897 by the National Conference on Standard Electrical Rules

## National Fire Protection Association

- Assumed sponsorship in 1910
- Published annual and biennial editions until 1959
- Has published triennial editions since 1959
- Published 41 of the 49 editions

## Guiding Principles

- No one individual or industry segment possessed all of the answers.
- Broad consensus of all affected industry segments necessary

## NFPA Codes and Standards Process Cont’d

- Categories of Interest
- Users
- Manufacturers
- Enforcers
- Testing/Research
- Special Experts
- Insurance
- Installer/Maintainer
- Consumer
- Labor
- Utility

## The National Electrical Code Committee

- Technical Correlating Committee-an oversight committee that has overall responsibility to correlate the reports of the various committees reporting to it.
- Code-Making Panels-Technical committees that have responsibilities for specific technical subject areas of the code

## Organization of the National Electrical Code Project

## WHAT IS NFPA?		

- National Fire Protection Association
- Founded in 1896
- Private, Non-Profit, Voluntary Codes and Standards Developer
- ANSI Accredited Audited Designator Organization
- Membership Organization - 75,000
- Members in U.S. and 97 Nations

## WHAT IS NFPA?	             Cont’d

- Codes and Standards
- Public Education
- Research
- Mission - “...To Reduce the Burden of Fire on the Quality of Life...”
- Focus - Fire Safety, Electrical Safety, and Related Hazards

## NFPA Codes and Standards

- Subject Areas:
- Electrical Installation
- Building Fire Protection and Life Safety
- Fire Protection Systems and Equipment
- Special Occupancies and Equipment
- Chemicals and Hazardous Materials
- Fire Service Equipment, Safety and Health
- Participate in Other Codes and Standards Activity:  ANSI, IEC, ISO, ASTM, ASME, CEC, Model Building Codes, etc.

## NFPA Codes and Standards Process

- Open Consensus Process - Encourages Innovation, Accessible to All
- Broad Based Committee Membership
- International Participation in Process
- Technically Skilled Staff Oversee Process and Support Users with Handbooks, Training, and Advice

## NFPA Codes and Standards Process

- Member of ANSI - American National Standards Institute
- Accredited Consensus Process:
- ~5400 Committee Members
- 210 Committees
- 290 Documents
- 1/3 Balance by Interest Category
- 2/3 Consensus to Change Document

## NFPA Codes and Standards Process Cont’d

- Staff Liaison
- Technical Expert
- Administrator
- Steps in Process
- Enter Revision Cycle
- Call for Proposals
- Committee Acts on Proposals
- Publish Report on Proposals - ROP
- Call for Comments
- Committee Acts on Comments
- Publish Report on Comments - ROC

## NFPA Codes and Standards Process 				Cont’d

- Adopted at NFPA Meetings
- Two Per Year
- Floor Debate
- Voted on By Membership
- Released by Standards Council
- Cycle Time - 22 Months
- Disputes
- Standards Council

## Why Voluntary Private Sector Codes and Standards?

- Cost Effective - Little or No Cost to Public
- Revised Periodically - State-of-the-Art
- Process Accessible to All
- Process Attracts Participation of All Interests - Public and Private
- Focused on Participants’ Technical Interests

## Electronic Access to NFPA

- NFPA’s Homepage:  www.NFPA.org
- Contains
- News, press releases, product information, fire investigation reports, calendar of events, staff directory and E-mail addresses, ROP’s and ROC’s, membership information, hot links to other organizations
- NEC Web site: _[www.necdigest.org](http://www.necdigest.org/)_
- Accessible to all
- Member only area includes online access to code as well as archive versions of 2 previous editions.
- ROP’s and ROC’s Browseable via Adobe Acrobat
- Proposals and Comments can be Viewed and Submitted Electronically

## National Electrical Code-Ancillary activities

- NEC Digest
- NEC Handbook
- NEC Expert Series
- NEC Pocket Guides
- NEC Inspection Manual

## NEC Vs. IEC 60364

- IEC 60364 is a collection of over 30 documents.  It does not include hazardous locations, that is handled by another series of documents.
- IEC 60364 is not an installation Code.  It is a statement of principles and a framework. It requires an installation code to be built around it.
- NEC complies with the philosophy of 60364
- NEC is written for practical installation

## U.S. Codes and Standards System

- Driven by Private Sector Voluntary Codes and Standards Organizations
- Adoption and Enforcement of Codes and Standards at three levels (Dick Owen):
- Federal
- State
- Local - City, County, Town...
- Adopted in all 50 states.

## 
Evidence of compliance -- certificate of compliance/occupancy issued
Dispute settlement is usually handled through an electrical board
Penalty for non-compliance
No certificate issued
Fines

- Evidence of compliance -- certificate of compliance/occupancy issued
- Dispute settlement is usually handled through an electrical board
- Penalty for non-compliance
- No certificate issued
- Fines

- National Electrical Code Enforcement United States of America

- Electrical Safety Systems for the Asia-Pacific Region

## The code is used by construction contractors on a national and international basis?
Some amendments on the local level
Compliance with the code is required for industrial, commercial, residential, public, and private.
The code is used for new construction as well as renovation.
NFPA 70E is a recommended practice that covers electrical equipment maintenance

- Some amendments on the local level
- Compliance with the code is required for industrial, commercial, residential, public, and private.
- The code is used for new construction as well as renovation.
- NFPA 70E is a recommended practice that covers electrical equipment maintenance

- National Electrical Code Applicability United States of America

- Electrical Safety Systems for the Asia-Pacific Region

## NEC® The International Electrical Code® Series