In 1801, James Pillans hung a large piece of slate on the wall of his classroom in Edinburgh, Scotland. Using colored chalk to mark on the slate, he had just invented a new mechanism to convey information to his students. By the mid 1800’s virtually every classroom in the United States had a chalkboard — a fine example of mid-19th century game-changing technology.
Read MoreFacility professionals continue to look for cost effective, easy-to-implement technology to increase the operational efficiency and sustainability of their buildings. This is especially true as increasingly stringent building codes, such as California Title 24 2016 and ASHRAE 90.1-2013, require the use of controls.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered, “Do I really need a special equipment rack in a seismically active area?” The short answer is “Yes.” Using a rack or cabinet designed for seismic applications may be more costly, but will give you the highest load-bearing capacity in your designated floor space.
Read MoreElectricians often perform repetitive motions, twist their bodies in awkward positions, and handle heavy materials. To protect their field workforce from strains, sprains, and career-inhibiting injuries, many of today's top electrical construction firms are focusing on ergonomics.
Read MoreThe utility industry is filled with risks and hazards that other lines of business do not experience. Electrical work has been repeatedly identified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries as one of the most dangerous jobs.
Read MoreAt any level of education, odds are that your school or campus has a variety of traditional HID lamps. They can often be found in light fixtures in gymnasiums or post top lamps on campus sidewalks. No matter the facility, replacing costly HID lamps with LED technology can have countless benefits to improve energy efficiency, safety and aesthetics.
Read MoreWith technology expanding at such a fast rate, the world of education has been working hard to integrate it into classrooms. Many schools have incorporated smart boards, mobile devices, and online lesson plans into their teaching programs. To support digital learning and supply internet connectivity in the classroom, an increasing amount of equipment is required to properly store and protect hardware, networks, and infrastructure throughout campus.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that wireless services have grown to become our “fourth utility” in the last decade. While this evolution has been revolutionary in terms of communications and connectivity, it has also exposed capacity limitations within in-building enterprise and office environments.
Read MoreNow that summer weather is finally here, staying hydrated throughout your day and at work is crucial to staying healthy and alert. Dehydration is a health concern that can be caused by hot, humid weather or when working around tools and equipment that produce a great amount of heat. Many people don’t think about drinking water until they feel thirsty.
Read MoreFall protection has progressively advanced over the years from single lap/torso belts to full body harnesses with significant safety features to quickly restrain a worker in the event of a fall. In industrial and construction settings, workers often need to reach elevated areas to retrieve material or place items for storage.
Read MoreIn the relationship between a smartphone and a USB charging port, it’s the phone that has the power.
Read MoreIn the United States, the publicpower utility industry has found themselves in the middle of a market transformation. Data traffic is increasing exponentially, but rural America is getting left behind with limited access to internet services.
Read MoreWith so many different ratings for ingress protection — from NEMA ratings, to UL standards, to the European IEC ingress protection (IP) ratings appearing more frequently in the U.S.— keeping the standards straight can be challenging.
Read MoreHealthcare, foodservice and educational institutions often have different requirements for lighting technology compared to residential or commercial facilities. One such requirement may involve additional testing to ensure food, water and consumer safety.
Read MoreDid you know a typical lockout program can contain over 80 separate elements? In addition to creating, maintaining and updating equipment lists and hierarchies, task-specific procedures and workplace regulations such as confined space entry requirements might play an important part.
Read MoreWith the Internet of Things (IoT) driving bandwidth demands higher and higher, healthcare facility and infrastructure managers find themselves facing expensive and disruptive rip-and-replace scenarios for networks not able to scale, migrate, and keep up.
Read MoreDid you know that 20 percent of occupational fall injuries involve ladders? Many workplace falls occur from ladders. Falls are a serious concern for both employers and employees. The good news is that ladder falls are preventable if the right precautions are taken.
Read MoreSome of the most common workplace injuries are often the most preventable with proper education, hazard controls, and work area setup. One of the common mechanisms of sprain and strain injuries in the workplace relates to manually lifting heavy objects. While these injuries could occur in a number of situations, material handling tasks that required workers to bend, push, pull, lift, and lower were the leading causes.
Read MoreAs a veteran-friendly organization, WESCO makes an active effort to hire veterans. WESCO also looks for opportunities to give back to military veterans outside of our organization. Last month, the Government Team fundraised for a national charity to give back to injured veterans.
Read MoreIt’s been a big year for the WESCO blog! From construction and industrial to government and utility, we’ve covered a lot of new technology, industry trends and standards updates. Whether it’s increasing safety, becoming more productive, improving processes, or increasing profitability, we hope the WESCO blog has been an asset to you and your business.
Read MoreWhile most elements of ladder safety might seem like common sense, OSHA requires that employers take additional measures to ensure that their workers’ safety isn’t compromised. Of several topics covered in the most recent Walking Working Surfaces standard, updates detailing fixed ladder use within general industry settings were a key focus.
Read MoreAs new versions of phones, tablets and laptops hit the market faster than ever before, it’s obvious that technology is ever changing. Quick technological advancements aren’t without frustration. We’re all too familiar with the hair-pulling challenge of finding the right device charger or learning that your six-month-old charger is antiquated. Our business environments are no different. As can be expected, the situation is often more dire than just a sea of Apple iPhone chargers when all you need is a micro-USB.
Read MoreIn the days leading up to making landfall in Florida on September 10, Hurricane Irma was already making history as one of the largest, strongest, and most devastating storms ever recorded. WESCO’s Utility Group recognized that it would take an all-hands-on-deck approach for its Florida utility customers to restore power to millions of people when the storm was over.
Read MoreIndustrial controls systems are facing an enemy that’s only becoming more hazardous – cyberattacks. Last year, one report found that 34 percent of industrial control systems around the globe were breached more than twice in one year. To better protect and secure federal agencies’ networks, new federal guidelines were published that standardize government cybersecurity efforts. The Unified Facility Criteria UFC 4-010-06, released by the Department of Defense (DoD) in September 2016, lists requirements for incorporating cybersecurity into control system design. It is the first complete list of standards and processes for cybersecurity design guidance specifically written for all DoD control systems.
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