NFPA Journal - May/June 2019 - 54

NEC
Conversations took place around topics
such as defining kitchens more clearly,
boat and marina hazards, the effectiveness of bonding around swimming
pools, and whether technology has lessened the electrical load in a building
enough to adjust the calculation values
in Article 220. Out of all this activity
came the collective CMPs' first stab
at the 2020 NEC. After review by the
correlating committee, which ensured
correlation among the different articles
and with other NFPA electrical documents under its control, the actual first
draft of the 2020 NEC was posted in
June 2018.
That's when the NEC universe got to
work combing through the first draft
and submitting public comments. As
per the NFPA regulations governing
the development of our documents,
the second draft has a few more rules
that guide what can and can't be done
with regard to submitting comments
and how the committee must act on
them. For one, the public comment
stage is not the place to introduce any
new material; as a result, all public
comments must reference a resolved
public input, a committee input, or
a first revision. This is no small feat.
After reviewing the first draft report,
there were a total of 1,930 public

comments submitted. Then the cycle
of task groups, staff preparation, and
planning meetings started again, leading to the big meeting in San Diego
last October. Out of the second draft
meeting we ended up with 634 second
revisions, and it was on to the correlating committee once again, which made
73 second correlating revisions.
All of this is important because it
helps to paint the picture of how we
got from the 2017 NEC to where we are
today, on the eve of the June 20 technical meeting at the annual Conference
& Expo.
It is important to understand that
no change or revision to the NEC is
taken lightly. There are multiple points
within the process for individuals to
get involved and make their voices
heard. More importantly, it is critical
that users of the NEC understand that,
at any point in the process, it only
takes one third of the committee letter
ballot to prevent a potential revision
from moving forward. So by the time
the final version of the 2020 NEC hits
the shelves later this year, the revisions
have been thoroughly deliberated,
with multiple steps in the process at
which opposition to a revision has an
opportunity to prevent it from moving
forward. With the code making panels

CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Electrical Injuries in the
Workplace-Trends, Safety Plans,
and Training Needs
Tuesday, June 18, 8-9 a.m.
Derek Vigstol and Richard Campbell,
NFPA
NFPA 70, IEEE 841, NEMA ST 20,
Surface Temperatures of Motors
and Transformers in Hazardous
Locations
Tuesday, June 18, 9:15-10:15 a.m.
Carlos Martinez and Eddie Guidry,
Fluor Enterprises
Battling Human Error:
How NFPA 70E Risk Assessment
and Innovative PPE Programs
Reduce Injury Risk
Tuesday, June 18, 9:15-10:15 a.m.
Scott Francis, Westex

54 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 9

NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical
Safety in the Workplace:
Questions Asked and Answered
Tuesday, June 18, 10:30a.m.-noon
Bruce Bowman; Christopher
Coache, NFPA; Ernest Gallo,
Telcordia Technologies; Mark
Hilbert, MR Hilbert Electrical
Inspections and Training; Rodney
West, Schneider Electric
NFPA 70B and NFPA 70E:
The Role of Electrical Equipment
Maintenance in Workplace Safety
Tuesday, June 18, 5-6 p.m.
Lee Marchessault, Workplace
Safety Solutions
NFPA 70-2020, National Electrical
Code: Proposed Changes
Wednesday, June 19, 8-9 a.m.
Keith Lofland, IAEI; Michael
Johnston, NECA

made up of a diverse mix of people
from all corners of the electrical world
and representing organizations like the
Independent Electrical Contractors,
International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, International Association of
Electrical Inspectors, and Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
there is a good representation of the
crowd that will be affected by the
changes. So every revision has had
plenty of opportunity to be reviewed
by those in the know, including the full
NFPA membership at the upcoming
technical meeting.
It's too soon to say which changes
will be reflected in the 2020 NEC-the
process is still underway, and as I write
everything is still fair game to have a
motion filed to amend. Even the revisions covered below could possibly see
action up until the Standards Council
meeting in August if appeals are filed.
Here is a handful of important topics
that shaped the debate around the
2020 NEC.

GFCI protection
Ground-fault circuit interrupter protection is an area of the NEC that seems to
receive a fair amount of attention and
active discussion every cycle-and the
2020 revision cycle was no exception.

The Critical Role of the NEC:
Back to the Future
Wednesday, June 19, 2-3:30 p.m.
Alan Manche, Schneider Electric;
George Zimmerman, CME Consulting;
James Dollard, BEW Local 98,
Philadelphia; John Kovacik, UL;
Mark Earley, NFPA; Michael Johnston,
NECA

EXPOPLUS
Electrical Safety-
The Cost of Shortcuts
Tuesday, June 18, 10-11 a.m.
Brandon Schroeder, Believe in Safety
NEC Changes for Electricians
Tuesday, June 18, 2:30-3:30 p.m.,
and Wednesday, June 19, 10-11 a.m.
Derek Vigstol and Erik Hohengasser,
NFPA
NFPA Journal - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2019
