Where do you store electrical materials during a construction project? As just one contractor sharing space with all the other trades, electrical firms can quickly run into storage limitations. Add to that the challenge of sharing elevators, navigating narrow aisles, and the multiple trips usually required, and the scope of the material-handling challenge becomes apparent. You don’t want access to… Continue Reading
During the course of a long, complex electrical installation, the fastest, easiest way to store tools and building materials is to pile them up on the floor. It may be messy, but you can’t argue with the efficiency…or can you? In fact, stacks of conduit, connectors, circuit breakers, light fixtures, and other electrical products may do more harm than you… Continue Reading
We spend a lot of time discussing electrical safety at the jobsite, in the home, and even in schools. But what about safety programs for the workers who make electrical systems possible? Long before electricians begin to observe their strict lockout/tagout protocols or double-check the NEC, the electrical-material supply chain is hard at work, manufacturing, storing, shipping, and distributing the… Continue Reading
Some electricians deride the term “ergonomics” as a meaningless buzzword, pointing out that marketers use it to describe everything from wire strippers to work boots. Other electrical contractors are always up to their elbows in the latest biomechanical research, looking for ways to save their lower backs. Either way, the fact is that ergonomics can help create a safer, more… Continue Reading
Wire and cable manufacturers carry a heavy burden; if they fail to fill their customers’ just-in-time orders, those customers might have to shut down entire production lines until the vital components come in. Understandably, cable providers will do just about anything to fill their orders reliably. But that leads right into another problem. If a cable manufacturer overproduces, they’ll be… Continue Reading
Market forces have aligned to create rising construction material prices, and electrical contractors in the industry are faced with a dilemma: Do they pass those prices onto builders, and, ultimately, the customer? Or do they take the hit themselves? A handful of trends combine to create these price increases. There are the tariffs on steel and aluminum, of course. New… Continue Reading
July 2, 2018 — St. Louis, MO — BHS, Inc., a leading provider of electrical, battery-handling, and material-handling equipment, will launch the new Electrical Equipment Mobile Showroom on its first tour beginning July 9. This 48-foot trailer will introduce BHS’ latest collections of cable-and-wire-management equipment and electrical material carts to customers across Texas. The Mobile Showroom will stop in Houston, Dallas, and surrounding areas over the course of its first week touring. “Visitors [to the Electrical Equipment Mobile Showroom] will leave with a clear understanding of each product’s form, fit, and function,” said Melissa Bowen of BHS Marketing. “There’s nothing like hands-on experience to find a real solution.” Equipment in the Showroom includes the Parallel Reel Payout, which is ideal… Continue Reading
