Trade Publications Portfolio Fulmer

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WRITING EDITING DESIGN
www.eastmillstreet.com
John lu¦mer
WORK HISTORY
East Mill Street Studio, Belcamp, Maryland
Freelance writing, editing and design. Specializing in trade magazines, business writing and production-oriented graphic
design with expertise in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, FrameMaker and QuarkXPress. September 2005 to present.
Mountain Home, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
Managing editor for regional magazine. As freelance contract employee, managed freelance staff, planned editorial content,
wrote everything from 5,000-word cover stories to 300-word blurbs, took photographs, and copyedited and laid out 48-page
book with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. March 2007 to April 2008.
Electrical Contractor, Security + Life Safety Systems, Bethesda, Maryland
Editor of trade magazines from July 2004 to September 2005. Supervised four-person staff, developed editorial calendar and
writers’ budget, and gave 20-plus freelancers assignments and story direction. Contributing writer from February 2003 to July
2004. Associate editor and Products editor from June 2002 to February 2003. Did layout with QuarkXPress and Photoshop.
The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Virginia
Newspaper copy editor from January 2000 to August 2001. Edited copy and designed pages with Quark and Photoshop.
The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi
Entertainment coordinator for daily newspaper from December 1997 to May 1999. General assignment reporter from March
1988 to July 1989. Freelance writer from 1995 to 1997.
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Graduate assistant and adjunct faculty member. Taught composition, technical writing, creative writing and literature. January
1994 to October 1998.
Georgetown Review
Editor of nationally distributed literary magazine. Coordinated promotions, subscriptions and business operations, and did
layout with PageMaker. August 1996 to December 1997.
The Mississippi Press, Pascagoula, Mississippi
General assignment reporter for daily newspaper. May 1987 to March 1988.
EDUCATION
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Master’s degree in English. Creative writing emphasis. Transatlantic Prize winner for fction.
Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. English minor.
lndependence Square
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·ONTENTS
Sustainable building
TED (The Electrical Distributor)
Portable generator reviews
Consumers Digest
Woodrow Wilson Bridge project profle
Electrical Contractor
2005 Construction Forecast
Electrical Contractor
2004 Profle of the Electrical Contractor
Electrical Contractor
LEED feature
Construction Expo
Construction Financing
BUILDERnews
Trade show preview
RSI (Roofng, Siding & Insulation)
Energy-effcient lighting
TED (The Electrical Distributor)
ASIS security conference
Security + Life Safety Systems
page 3
page 4
page 6
page 9
page 15
page 25
page 26
page 28
page 29
page 30
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predecessor, Lhere ís a cíose-up víew of 0íd Town`s wínLrv sLreeLs
and nonsLop Lraffíc.
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sLaLe and aíí Lhe moLorísLs and Lhe commuLers LhaL can`L waíL for
Lhís brídce Lo open up. Then vou have Lhe peopíe who ííve ríchL
Lhereand I can undersLand Lheír feeííncsLhev have aíí Lhís
consLrucLíon LhaL`s been coínc on for Lwo vears, and íL`s coínc Lo
be a fíve-vear períod before íL`s done. Thev have Lo íísLen Lo Lhe
equípmenL, Lrucks roííínc down pasL Lheír beauLífuí homes, ín a
verv quíeL, íoveív neíchborhood.¨
8FMMJOHUPO XJOT DPOUSBDU
whaL made weíííncLon a cood choíce for Lhe new brídce ís Lhe
fuíí-servíce conLracLor`s fínancíaí sLrencLh and experíence wíLh
maríne, brídce and Lraffíc-manacemenL proiecLs. Besídes Lhe
submersíbíe brídce-conLroí cabíe, secondarv power, ííchLínc,
pedesLrían-warnínc and caLe svsLems, weíííncLon wííí ínsLaíí
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Lhe brídce`s "ínLeííícenL LransporLaLíon svsLem.¨
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Lhe $T9T mííííon Marvíand brídce approaches. PresídenL and 0E0
Pauí LofLus saíd weíííncLon receíved $30 mííííon ín conLracLs for
boLh Lhe bascuíe and Marvíand approaches. LofLus saíd weííínc-
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crowLh and acquísíLíons, some Lhev have reLaíned and some Lhev
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comforLabíe,¨ LofLus saíd, addínc weíííncLon has recenLív puL a
markeLínc fírm ínLo Lhe míx. "FírsL, we`re havínc Lhem upcrade
aíí our busíness-deveíopmenL maLeríaís. I Lhínk of markeLínc as a
presenLaLíon of whaL we do and sínce we do manv specíaíLv proiecLs,
a íoL of peopíe aren`L aware LhaL we`re more broad-based Lhan Lhe
convenLíonaí eíecLrícaí conLracLínc fírm.¨
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buííL Lo handíe 75,000, Lhís squeeze píav can become a dríver`s
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porLínc Lhemor anv maLeríaíLo Lhe proiecL síLe was díffícuíL
sínce Lrucks had Lo rumbíe Lhrouch Aíexandría`s 0íd Town, Lhe
kínd of neíchborhood rífe wíLh commercíaí resLrícLíons, a sííce
of reaí esLaLe fuíí of $2-mííííon-píus Lown homes and narrow
sLreeLs once sLroííed aíonc bv washíncLon, Jefferson, Monroe
and Madíson.
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reíaLíons píaved a bíc parL ín Lhe new wííson brídce preparaLíons.
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1)050$0635&4:0'1050."$$3044*/($0/46-5"/54
Bruce Fowle, FAIA, LEED
SENIOR PRINCIPAL, FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS
On Green “Enriching the Human Experience”
SPECIAL SHOW EDITION
N L W Y O P K
TM
MAY 2007
constructionmonthly.com
How to Build
Green
On A Budget
7 Smart Strategies to Cut Costs
The Lcw ß|d Myth
How toAvoid the Low BidTrap
Laws Go Green
How do they AffectYou?
S
ustainable building—also known as
green building—is a construction
process that focuses on energy-
efficient design, products, and
applications. Integrated building systems,
a frequently used term in sustainable
building, typically describes HVAC, elec-
trical, lighting, security, and other systems
that work together to minimize energy use.
For instance, a software-based lighting
control system can automatically cut off
fixtures when it senses they aren’t re-
quired, or dim electrical light in individual
rooms as sunlight levels rise.
Of course, the major problem with
sustainable building is that sophisticated
lighting control systems aren’t cheap—
and contractors and designers have to
convince owners they’ll be blessed with
long-term energy savings while being
cursed with expensive initial product
costs.
Another issue is that as energy costs
increase, so does the momentum for
green building—and there soon may be
little choice but to go sustainable, es-
pecially in public sector construction.
This can be problematic, because while
the average American consumer buying
a household appliance is aware of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Ener-
gy Star rating system, contractors, dis-
tributors, and manufacturers are some-
what uniformed about the sustainable
movement.
Dick Schmid, vice president of mar-
keting at Crescent Electric Supply in East
Dubuque, Ill., said that while he wasn’t
fully versed on the topic of sustainable
building, he was aware that contractors
were talking about it.
“I do know they are being pushed from
the architectural level on the plans and
drawings and in the specifications,”
Schmid said. “Distributors need to under-
stand that to have an efﬁcient and effec-
tive supply chain we have to be on the
same page.
“Many ti mes the contractors see
things before we do, and we’ve just got
to be prepared,” he continued. “Other-
wise, we’re going to be in a reaction
mode. I’m concerned because I don’t
think we’re paying enough attention. For
us to do our jobs with our channel part-
ners—on both sides, the manufacturers
and the contractors—we have to be pro-
active and, if noth-
ing else, a liaison
for the information.”
Sustainable
initiatives
California, a front-
runner in environ-
mental issues, re-
cently revised its
Title 24 energy codes (which went into
effect Oct. 1). Title 24 is a comprehensive
building code that includes provisions for
energy-saving electrical products and
applications. Title 24 dispels the notion
that all high-efﬁciency electrical applica-
tions need to be expensive, as the stan-
dards allow a mix of low- and high-
efﬁcacy products to meet targets. (The
standards can be downloaded from the
California Energy Commission’s Web site
at www.energy.ca.gov/title24/index.html.)
Other states have similar codes. On
Sept. 22, the Massachusetts House of
Representatives passed a bill that man-
dates energy-efﬁciency standards on a
wide array of electrical products. In ad-
dition, the Energy Policy Act signed into
law this year by Congress has numerous
energy-efﬁciency provisions, and certiﬁca-
tion in the U.S. Green Building Council’s
(GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design (LEED) program is increas-
ingly seen as an important resume builder
for architects, engineers, and designers.
LEED looks like the future
of construction
LEED sets guidelines for building perfor-
mance and the construction partners’
ability to meet sustainability goals. The
program promotes new methods for sus-
tainable site development, water and
material use, and energy efficiency.
LEED offers project certiﬁcation, profes-
sional accreditation, training, and practi-
cal resources. (There’s much more to
LEED; learn more
about i t at www.
usgbc.org.)
LEED is a volun-
tary federal pro-
gram, but as indi-
vidual states con-
tinue to set energy
codes, there will be
an outcry for na-
tional standards in energy-efficient de-
sign and products. The National Elec-
trical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
has already protested the Massachusetts
legislation, calling it “part of a patch-
work quilt of state laws” and saying
“its authors failed to include input from
manufacturers.”
“The Massachusetts bill, as it now
stands, would create barriers to interstate
commerce and no doubt create conﬂict
between Massachusetts standards and
those of other states, not to mention fed-
eral standards," said NEMA President
Evan Gaddis in a press release.
But Gary Flamm, lighting program lead
for the California Energy Commission,
Building a better future
BY JOHN FULMER
UPFRONT
18 T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R � D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 � w w w . t e d m a g . c o m
Sustainable building is changing the future of business.
Continued on page 20
Buildings that meet the highest
environmental standards are economical
to run and do not compromise the
health of the environment, the builders,
or the building’s occupants.
18,20.qxp 11/15/05 11:58 AM Page 18
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·ONTA·T US:
/ íax
íohnsíu¦meruhotmaì¦com
40 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
F
O
C
U
S
By John Fulmer
A group of these gurus assembled at the Reed Con-
struction Data’s North American Construction Forecast
conference and the McGraw-Hill Outlook 2005 Executive
Conference in Washington, D.C., last fall. At Reed, the
consensus was the current economic downturn is tempo-
rary, but the experts there were cautiously optimistic. They
felt a recovery would begin this year and gain momentum
through 2007 in the face of higher interest rates and slow
job growth. Several industry sectors, such as industrial
with 14 percent growth and public works with 2 percent,
will have a good two-year run.
With the Federal Reserve expected to raise the federal
fund rates above 3 percent in the last half of 2005 and
worries over oil and building-supply prices, the McGraw-
Hill group thinks the economy’s expansion will idle down
to 3.5 percent, down one-half percent from 2004. They
also spotted some general trends:
®
Moderate job growth will fuel demand for offices and
multifamily housing, though residential building may scale
back from 2004’s record pace because of higher interest
rates
®
Looser lending standards will offset higher interest rates
and free up construction funding
®
An improved economy will ease the states’ fiscal woes
and pump up the institutional building sector
®
Bridge and highway construction will rise while electric
utilities will decline 8 percent. In the latter area, a loss
in plant construction will be partly balanced by transmis-
sion-line work
The big picture
So how does this translate into cold, hard cash? Robert
Murray, vice president of economic affairs at McGraw-Hill,
said the contract value of total U.S. construction should
reach $585.5 billion in 2005, a 2 percent jump over last
year’s figure, but a rather disappointing number considering
construction spending rose 9 percent between 2003 and
2004. (See chart on page 41.)
Murray noted this “all hinges on single-family housing”
and said that sector should drop 3 percent in 2005 after
achieving double-digit dollar growth the previous three
years. McGraw-Hill’s estimate reflects construction starts
and varies significantly from Reed’s figure for 2005’s es-
timated U.S. total construction spending (or put-in-place
construction), which tops the trillion mark, a 4 percent
jump from 2004. But, again, the growth rate weakened
when compared to 2004’s estimated 7 percent increase.
Reed also includes renovation construction, which isn’t
listed in McGraw-Hill’s estimate. Here’s the breakdown
from Reed:
®
$384 billion in new residential spending; down 4 per-
cent from 2004
®
$138 billion in residential improvements; up 7 per-
cent
®
$317 billion in nonresidential; a 13 percent hike
®
$181 billion in nonbuilding a 7 percent jump
In general, the economy may “decelerate significantly
in 2005” according to Merrill Lynch chief North Ameri-
can economist David Rosenberg. He sees a growth rate
of just 2.5 percent in the first quarter of next year. And
according to Peter Morici, a University of Maryland busi-
ness professor:
®
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and ser-
vices produced, will grow at a 3.5 percent annual rate,
down 3/10 to ½ percent from 2004
®
The economy will create 144,000 jobs per month and
the unemployment rate will fall only modestly
®
Inflation, influenced by international commodity mar-
kets, will register at 2.4 percent in 2005, down 1 percent
from 2004.
However, Morici projects the consumer price index will
“settle down” as gas prices continue to fall.
“That pulls a lot of prices with it,” he said.
Single- and multifamily housing
David Seiders, the National Association of Home Build-
ers’ chief economist, also called housing volume a key to
the economy and thinks, as Murray does, housing starts
Last year’s ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR’s Construction Forecast
went halfway out on a limb to prognosticate that 2005
“may be a big year all around.” It’s easy—and wise—to be
tentative in predicting this year’s economy, and some in-
dustry gurus have done just that, sticking with “maybe.”
Construction Forecast
41 www.ecmag.com JAN.05 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
will recede. Still, single-family starts will
remain positive—though unable to match
the phenomenal growth of the past two
years—and multifamily will keep a steady
pace. The national homeownership rate
will continue to grow—albeit more slowly
than in the recent past—and will hit a re-
markable 70 percent by the decade’s end,
Seiders said.
New and existing home prices, accord-
ing McGraw-Hill’s Murray, should increase
by 11 percent, and he envisions burgeoning
specialty markets for single-family housing,
including home theater, Internet alcoves
and separate male/female offices. Reed
forecasters expect mortgage rates to climb
a bit from a 5.94 percent annual average
in 2004 for 30-year fixed rates to 6.43 per-
cent in 2005.
In raw numbers, 1,425,000 new single-
family starts are expected this year, accord-
ing to McGraw-Hill, down from 1,530,000
in 2004, which translates into a 7 percent
loss. Multifamily will have 445,000 starts,
a 2 percent gain from 2004’s estimate of
435,000. The contract value of single-
family will drop to $267.6 billion, a 3
percent loss from 2004’s total of $276.6
billion, while the 2005 multifamily num-
ber is $48.8 billion, a 7 percent gain over
2004’s $45.4 billion figure. (See charts
page 42.)
McGraw-Hill expects the Midwest to be
up 1 percent in single-family starts, the
only region with an increase. The South At-
lantic and West will be big losers at minus
5 percent. The Northeast at minus 7 per-
cent is the only region facing a decline in
multifamily starts, while the Midwest and
West should see double-digit expansion. In
fact, western states can expect a whopping
19 percent growth rate spurred by building
in cities such as Las Vegas.
“The metro markets will be amazing,”
said Murray.
2005
Construction Forecast
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
350 400 450 500 550 600
2001
186.9 103.1 83.6 90.8
8.1 24.1
2002
214.2 94.0 87.9 90.0
5.4 12.0
2003
242.3 99.5 82.8 89.9
6.5 8.9
2004
276.6 110.0 85.9 91.2
7.0 6.0
2005
267.6 119.7 87.4 97.4
8.0 5.5
<Single Family Housing <Income Properties <Institutional Bldgs. <Manufacturing Bldgs. <Public Works <Electric Utilities
U.S. Total Construction for 2001–2005
The commercial side
McGraw-Hill lumps stores, offices, lodging,
manufacturing, educational and healthcare
into nonresidential and sees $176.3 billion
spent in those areas, an 8 percent jump
from last year. All of these building sec-
tors will have an increase, led by hotels
and motels at $6.9 billion (a 15 percent
gain), manufacturing at $8 billion (14 per-
cent) and office buildings at $23 billion
(12 percent).
Nonbuilding or public works, will find a
modest 1 percent uptick in 2005. Bridges
and highways ($43 billion) are the big
gainers with a 5 percent increase; however,
electric utilities will total $5.5 billion, an 8
percent drop from last year.
But why does nonresidential fare so well
and residential seem so ho-hum? Murray
said the lodging sector, especially, is “get-
ting primed for expansion.” This could be a
direct result of the tourist industry shaking
off the slump after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, coupled with a quick end to hos-
tilities Iraq, a somewhat dubious explana-
tion. McGraw-Hill found occupancy and
room rates had gone up and noted several
large projects, including the $297 million
Caesar’s Palace Hotel South Tower and the
$154 million South Coast Hotel/Casino in
Las Vegas, are driving this sector.
Jim Haughey, director for economics
for Reed Business Research Group—writ-
ing about the 2004 spring growth spurt
for nonresidential, a period in which
building projects “jumped at a 21 percent
annualized pace” after three quarters of
decline—said 2004’s spring showing was
a harbinger of more good things to come.
Expect several years of double-digit growth,
Haughey wrote. With some caveats. Market
activity declined slightly in the summer of
2004, and he expected little, if any, in-
flation-adjusted growth in fourth-quarter
2004. He blamed poor weather, concrete
and steel shortages, work delays caused by
material-pricing sticker shock, anxiety over
reports of economic weakness, and Fed ac-
tions to raise credit costs. But he thinks
2005 will show a rebound.
“Expect growth to resume in the fall
and extend through 2005 because most
of the key market drivers are improving,”
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42 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
Haughey wrote. “In the leasing market, va-
cancy rates for leased buildings, while still
high, are declining. Overall rents are now
stable or slightly rising. This increase in
cash flow for building owners is prompting
more construction.”
He outlined some other signs for nonresi-
dential expansion:
®
Hotels reacting to rising room and oc-
cupancy rates
®
Retailers adding space after a 7 percent
annual-sales jump
®
Office expansion due to higher employ-
ment levels
Retail, industrial and real estate
At Reed, Glenn Mueller, Johns Hopkins
University professor and Legg Mason Inc.
real investment strategist, noted a “physi-
cal” real estate cycle reflects supply and
demand for space and drives occupancy
and vacancy. That sets rents and stimu-
lates construction. In the “financial” cycle,
changes in real estate capital affect build-
ings prices. In these cycles, sluggish expan-
sion is followed by precipitous decline.
“We bottomed out in 1990, then peaked
in 2000. But it only took three years to go
back to the bottom. We’ll now start climb-
ing back up. This is a typical cycle,” he
said.
Rental growth, he said, is slow nearly
everywhere except Southern California
and Florida, but should start moving up by
2006. Mueller believes the nation’s indus-
trial sector will grow in 2005, and as the
job market improves, so will the multifamily
and real estate. His colleague at the confer-
ence, Edward J. Sullivan, the Portland Ce-
ment Association’s (PCA) chief economist,
has even higher hopes. He sees industrial
climbing strong and steady, reaching $35
billion by 2008, up from 2004’s level of
just over $10 billion. It’s a height industrial
hasn’t reached since 1998.
“It’s optimistic,” Sullivan said. “But I
don’t know if many will agree with that.”
The chart on this page, “Industrial Con-
struction Outlook,” shows this dramatic up-
swing, with separate projections for spring
and summer of 2003–2008. In an e-mail,
Sullivan explained: “I make three forecasts
per year. The spring forecast refers to my
projections made in the spring and the
summer [forecast], my forecasts made in
the summer. The intent was to show what,
if any, changes I have made regarding my
outlook for each of the sectors.”
Despite good vital signs, Mueller thinks
hotel occupancy won’t pass the 65 percent
“average” until 2007. Retail is the stron-
gest, most recession-proof market, and low
interest rates and home refinancing have
given consumers a lot of spending cash.
The average retail occupancy—86 per-
cent—will begin to grow in 2005.
Warehouses and RFID
In 2000, warehouse construction hit 304
million feet but dropped to 184 million in
2003, a stunning 40 percent loss. What
happened? In the 1990s, a strong retail
sector and Internet sellers looking for stor-
age space boosted construction. But the
fabled dot-com bust and lukewarm retail
activity put speculative warehouse projects
on hold indefinitely and slowed build-to-
suit projects.
But vacancy rates, which peaked at
11.7 percent in third-quarter 2003 and fell
to 11.2 percent a year later, are turning
around. Successful retailers are planning
distribution centers, and McGraw-Hill says
this sector, after 5 percent growth in 2004
(193 million square feet) will leap 14 per-
cent in 2005 to 220 million.
With warehouse construction, the Mc-
Graw-Hill report noted the rapidly develop-
ing use of radio frequency identification
(RFID) tags in tracking inventory. As Thom-
as E. Glavinich wrote in ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
in April 2004: “Wal-Mart is requiring its
top 100 suppliers to put RFID tags on their
pallets and cases by Jan. 1, 2005. Simi-
larly, the Department of Defense (DOD) is
requiring suppliers to put RFID tags on its
shipments by 2005.”
For electrical contractors, RFID technol-
ogy could mean limited opportunity in Cat
5 hard-wiring for stationary scanning sys-
tems and unlimited opportunities in wire-
less network installations. But the technol-
ogy is evolving and its potential is as yet
untapped.
2004 2005
Millions of starts
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
<Single Family <IMultifamily
Housing Starts
2004 2005
Billions of dollars
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
<Single Family <IMultifamily
Value of Housing Starts
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Billions of 1996 dollars
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
YTD Average (July): $10.0 Billion. Current Forecast $10.7 <Spring Forecast <Summer Forecast
Industrial Construction Outlook
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44 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
“To what extent the use of RFIDs will af-
fect warehouse demand is uncertain,” the
report stated, “but at the least it will increase
our need for new warehouse designs to be
able to accommodate new technology.”
The institutional sector
Normally a steady performer, institutional
building has stumbled since 2002 and re-
corded its third straight decline in 2004
with minus 4 percent. McGraw-Hill blames
state and local governments’ poor health
and their taxing structure, which is, in turn,
tied to the economy. The states’ fiscal for-
tunes are irregular, but, in general, condi-
tions are improving, the bad times having
peaked. The report said: “This should set
the stage for an improved performance by
institutional building in 2005,” and the
“broader forces affecting the pattern of in-
stitutional building are generally positive.”
These forces are the following:
®
Rising student enrollments
®
A growing elderly population
®
The population shift to the Sunbelt
®
A large number of bond issues passed
recently
®
The residential sector’s strength in
2001–2004 will introduce need for insti-
tutional facilities
In short, the report stated institutional
will have a 3 percent gain to 518 million
square feet with slight improvement in
schools, healthcare facilities and trans-
portation terminals. Public buildings, such
as courthouses and churches, will suffer a
decline.
Building in education
In response to escalating student enroll-
ments and heavy state and local funding,
education construction hit a peak with
273 million square feet in 2001. But in
two years, it slid 12 percent to 241 million
square feet with the biggest losers being
Midwestern and Northeastern states. Cali-
fornia was the exception to the trend, rack-
ing up an increase of 3.2 million square
feet in 2001–2003.
In 2004, the pattern continued. Uni-
versity-related construction fell 19 percent,
triggering an 11 percent drop in high school
construction, a 13 percent decline in el-
ementary schools and a 14 percent skid in
junior high school construction. Community
colleges had a slight increase, but museums,
libraries and labs were down. At the time
of the report, educational construction was
a facing a possible 10 percent across-the-
board drop to 217 million square feet, the
skimpiest total since 1998’s 203 million.
McGraw-Hill predicts that though in re-
treat, this sector will bounce back. Growing
enrollments in 2005 will continue through
2013. The bulk of this activity will happen
in the West, with an 11 percent gain, and in
the South, with a 5 percent increase.
Healthcare and other institutional
Healthcare construction in 2003 took a step
backward, dropping 5 percent to 92 million
square feet, according to the McGraw-Hill
report, and dropped 1 percent in 2004 to
91 million. Though this sector has seen de-
clines recently, it has grown considerably
in the past seven years. In 1997 through
2003, new construction averaged 93 mil-
lion square feet, up 28 percent from 1990–
1997’s 73 million-square-feet average.
Several factors will help this area grow an
estimated 3 percent to finish 2005 with 94
million square feet in new construction:
®
Medicare reform and corresponding big-
ger reimbursements
®
Hospitals are investing in new technology
and replacing older facilities in the face of
competition from specialty outpatient clin-
ics
®
Bigger demand for healthcare exists as
baby boomers grow older
The fiscal woes of governments have
squeezed financing of prisons, police sta-
tions, courthouses, and post offices. Steady
at 44 million square feet in 2000–2001,
this building type took a cut to 35 million
in 2003 but was expected to rebound 10
The China, oil, green axis
IF A THEME DEVELOPED at McGraw-
Hill and Reed, it was a concern over
fuel prices, China’s emergence as
an economic giant, and the impor-
tance of “green” building, which
was especially apparent by frequent
mention of the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) ac-
creditation. A voluntary, consensus-
based national standard for develop-
ing high-performance, sustainable
buildings, LEED seemed to be on
everyone’s mind. During a McGraw-
Hill panel discussion with three of
the country’s leading architects,
Carl Roehling, president and CEO
of SmithGroup, said many younger
architects see a LEED accreditation
as an essential resume-builder and
“half of our clients ask for a LEED
building.” (For more visit www.us-
gbc.org/leed/leed_main.asp)
At the time of the conferences,
oil prices were hovering at $55 a
barrel, yet Jim Haughey, in Reed
Construction Forecast Monthly,
said high energy prices, reduced
consumer confidence and lower
capital spending were mere bumps
in the road to continued economic
development. Job losses such as
those that occurred in previous oil
crises should not be a factor, his
report said.
“As oil price-shocks go, this one is
minimal. Prices are higher but sup-
plies are readily available without
waiting or searching. Gasoline prices
would have to rise more than 60
cents—to above $2.50 per U.S.
gallon—to match the impact on the
economy of the 1991 oil shock. This
is very unlikely to happen,” Haughey
reported.
China and commodities
Though China’s commodity gobbling
caused building-material shortages
here, Haughey asaid China’s oil
thirst was slaking “and an absence
of lineups at the gas station would
seem to indicate the price of oil is
headed down soon.”
He supposed the price per bar-
rel would drop $5 in the next few
months, which proved to be pre-
scient. On Dec. 10, 2004, the price
of light, sweet crude for January
delivery had fallen to $42.53.
Also in late 2004, the oil market’s
continued volatility—the tensions
and troubles in Iraq, Russia and
other production areas—had Edward
J. Sullivan’s Portland Cement Asso-
ciation adjusting its 2004 gross do-
mestic product projection, dropping
it from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent,
and lowering 2005’s GDP estimate
from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent.
“The downward adjustment to the
current forecast primarily reflects
significantly higher oil price as-
sumptions,” the PCA reported in a
revised forecast. “PCA fully incor-
porates the likelihood of continued
oil supply disruptions in the context
of strong global demand conditions,
resulting in a downward rigidity in
current oil price levels. The higher
oil price scenario will weaken over-
all economic growth. With higher
oil prices, consumer spending will
be partially compromised, inflation
will run stronger, job gains will be
smaller, and sentiment in both the
consumer and business areas will
be more sedate. Combined, these
factors lead to roughly a 50 basis
point reduction in PCA’s previous
forecast for real GDP growth.”
FOCUS / CONSTRUCTION FORECAST 2005
45 www.ecmag.com JAN.05 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
percent to 38 million square feet in 2004,
before dipping to 36 million in 2005. Other
points for these institutional areas:
®
In 2002, religious building reached 52
million square feet, a high not seen since
the early 1960s. It dropped to 43 million
in 2004
®
Amusement-related building—conven-
tion centers, sports arenas, theaters—was
at 94 million square feet during 1995–2000
but fell sharply in recent years, landing at
65 million in 2003. It’s expected to make a
minor comeback to 73 million square feet
in 2005.
Manufacturing
For several long years in the recent past,
manufacturing was a wasteland, hitting the
skids at 67 million square feet in 2002.
There are reasons for the fall—a strong dol-
lar in the late 1990s that made U.S. exports
more expensive and manufacturers who
moved production overseas—but whatever
the case, this depressing decline has been a
sore point for many electrical contractors.
But remember the good old days? In
1997, this sector was at 191 million square
feet. A small part of that was regained in
2003 with a hike to 71 million square feet,
and 2004 saw another small increase to
73 million, spurred in part by auto plant
construction in Oklahoma, Texas and Mis-
sissippi; the $600-million conversion of
an Arizona Intel semiconductor plant; and
a $300-million expansion to a California
biotech manufacturer. These projects, and
others like them, will help manufacturing
reach 80 million square feet in 2005, a 10
percent jump, according to McGraw-Hill.
Public works, electric utilities
Moribund government spending affected
this sector, too, as public works money be-
gan drying up in 2003 after several years
of growth. But in 2004, prompted by the
need for water and sewer works, these proj-
ect types jumped 4 percent to reach $85.9
billion.
A 2004 bill by Congress set forth these
spending levels:
®
Highways up 4 percent (from 2003 lev-
els) to $33.6 billion
®
Mass transit increased 1 percent to $7.3
billion
®
Airport grants didn’t budge, remaining
at $3.4 billion
®
Army Corps of Engineers construction
funding cut 3 percent
®
EPA water infrastructure grants raised
3 percent
®
The EPA Superfund account received an
8 percent bump upward
But in 2005, President Bush set a 0.5
percent limit on discretionary funding and
things look tight, except for the Transpor-
tation Security Administration—homeland
security was exempt from the limit—which
received a 20 percent increase, including
$250 million slated for airport upgrades.
At the time of the report, 2005 levels were
not set by Congress, but they look similar
except for a 13 percent EPA cut and a 7
percent raise for the Corps.
Closing the books
Sullivan, who delivered the U.S. construc-
tion overview at Reed, noted many signs
of a brighter economy. After a 2001–2003
drought, investment spending has made a
strong return and will no doubt help replen-
ish funding for manufacturing construction
and other sectors that have fallen on hard
times. Job growth looks good. The fiscal cri-
sis in most states, he said, is fading. Still,
the signs portend only a modest recovery in
most sectors and slight declines in some
others. And oil prices are the most frighten-
ing bugbear, the biggest wild card for many
an economic pundit. Not a real boom year,
yet certainly not a bust. Just a time to be
cautiously optimistic. EC
FULMER is editor of ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR and SECURITY+LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS.
He can be reached at 301.215.4516
or [email protected].
Still China was a focal point.
Haughey said China’s decision to
cool down its blistering-hot economy
caused cuts in worldwide orders in
every sector.
“China accounted for more than 25
percent of world economic growth in
the last year, so the canceled orders
had a significant impact immedi-
ately,” Haughey wrote.
“Because China had been hoarding
inventory of many commodities, the
country’s May–July (2004) orders
were probably below their consump-
tion and will have to rise later in the
summer” Haughey added.
The “Green” Approach
The oil price spike, China’s grow-
ing needs and green building are
related. Limited supplies of fossil
fuels and competition from nascent
economic giants such as China for
those supplies have forced U.S.
builders into innovative design prac-
tices. During a Reed industry panel
discussion—and throughout the
conference—it was common to hear
talk such as this, which comes from
the Greenway Group Inc., whose
chairman, James P. Cramer, was the
conference moderator:
®
“Green and sustainable design
and development are shifting
gears into increasingly high
demand.”
®
“Intelligent and integrated build-
ings are becoming the norm.”
®
“Some don’t have a clue about
[LEED] but it’s coming to this
industry.”
In short, contractors will be forced
into using new and unfamiliar
design criteria if they wish to com-
pete, especially for government
contracts, a sector that will most
certainly employ the most stringent
green guidelines for sustainable
buildings.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Most Significant Design Trends Over Next 5 Years
% of respondents
Smart growth/
livable communities
Building security
Increased use of
technology in design
Rehabilitation vs.
new construction
Integrated international
building code
Other
Green architecture
Healthy buildings; mold
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·ONTA·T US:
/ íax
íohnsíu¦meruhotmaì¦com
The 2004 Profile of the ELECTRICAL
In journalism,
it’s conventional
to tell readers the
who, what, where,
how and why of
a story, and that’s
what we’ve done
in interpreting the
survey results
from the 2004
PROFILE OF THE
ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR.
23 www.ecmag.com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
By John Fulmer
A COMPREHENSIVE
PICTURE
T
HE BIANNUAL PROFILE, a feature of
this magazine for more than four decades,
aims for a comprehensive picture of con-
tracting from your perspective, providing an indi-
cation of where your business fits into the overall
industry, while giving us a guide to the news and
information that is important to you.
The survey garnered 865 respondents, an
increase of 152 from the last survey in 2002. It
was the first time we employed the Internet, and
the majority of responses (505) came through
that source. Is that a coincidence? Probably not.
Our survey reveals most of you have discovered
the business benefits of computers. Since 2002,
a slightly higher percentage of respondents used
computers for word processing, Internet access
(including buying supplies online), accounting,
e-mail and other basic office functions. However,
technology as a construction tool has grown by
leaps and bounds:
®
Estimating-software use is up from 54 percent
to 70 percent
®
Job-cost control and analysis use grew by 20
percent
®
CAD use doubled from 20 to 40 percent.
Why? Because construction software’s ability
to streamline and consolidate project manage-
ment—from estimating to change orders—can
give a competitive edge. And the construction-
software industry has responded to contractors’
needs by improving existing programs, delving
into new areas, and designing “lite” or graduated
versions of their products to fit contractors of
all sizes.
And here’s a programming note: We’ve des-
ignated “small” firms as those with up to nine
employees; “mid-size” with 10 to 19; “large”
with 20 to 99; and “very large” as those with
100 or more. Sixty-two percent of responses
came from small firms while 10 percent came
from mid-size, 15 percent from large and 11
percent from very large firms.
The 2004 Profile of the ELECTRICAL
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR has taken this mountain
of data and explained:
✱
WHO YOU ARE (size and revenue of company,
and its race and gender breakdown)
✱
WHAT YOU DO (project type)
✱
WHERE YOU DO IT (new construction, retrofit
or maintenance)
✱
HOW YOU DO YOUR WORK (working with specs,
material purchasing and computer use)
✱
WHY YOU CHOOSE THE WORK YOU DO
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24 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 24 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
WHO ARE YOU?
S
EVENTY-ONE PERCENT of firms
interviewed took in annual revenues
of $1 million or less and just 10 per-
cent made $10 million or more (See Figure
2). The majority of contractors have some
college education (8 percent who responded
had electrical engineering degrees) and their
firms are diverse in race and gender, though
in somewhat surprising ways. For instance,
while 42 percent of firms polled employ
women, they are woefully underrepresented
in traditional job categories such as jour-
neymen at 3 percent or apprentices at 4
percent. As you might expect, women make
up a sizable portion of clerical workers, but
the “executive” category, which includes
owners, has the next-highest percentage of
women employed at 13 percent. It’s doubt-
ful all of them are owners and therefore
probable many are hired into marketing,
accounting and human resources.
This is the first time our survey takes race
and gender into account, so it’s hard to draw
big-picture conclusions about the work force
in those two areas, except that Caucasians—
at 87 percent—and males dominate. We can,
however, parse the data to find 37 percent of
firms have minorities in management or field
positions, and those with women (in execu-
tive or field positions) or minorities are usually
mid-size to very large contractors with $1 mil-
lion plus annual revenue. Also, firms hiring
minorities for management or field positions
often hire females for nonclerical jobs, sug-
gesting the firms are either more diverse or
these employees may be minority females.
Firms hiring minorities tend to be located
in the West and South with Northeast firms
lagging behind in minority personnel. Texas,
with its large Hispanic population, charts as
one the states with the most diverse electri-
cal-contracting work force.
An educated work force
It’s pretty safe to compare education data
for 2004 with those from 2002; the fig-
ures haven’t changed appreciably. Two
years ago we reported 68 percent of survey
respondents had some college, 18 percent
had a BA degree and
14 percent an AA
degree. Our 2004
survey shows:
®
60 percent of you
have had some college
®
13 percent earned
an AA degree
®
15 percent a BA
degree.
As noted earlier,
8 percent of contrac-
tors had an engineer-
ing degree, a figure
that doubled since
2002 and which may point to a growing
trend in integrating power distribution and
low-voltage projects and the continued high
popularity of design-build. (But more about
that later, when we talk about what you do.)
In general, firm size has little to do with
higher education; the figures are more or
less evenly distributed. The biggest gap is in
BA degrees and occurs between very large
firms where 24 percent of employees had a
bachelor degree and small firms where 13
percent of employees earned one.
To get a more personal perspective, we
asked about hobbies, also a first-time ques-
tion. About half the respondents engaged in
four or more of the leisure-time activities
listed, and we found the highest percent-
age, 59 percent of those surveyed, like to
work around the house in their spare time.
Yet another “why,” but one that’s pretty
easy to answer. Contractors work hard
and feel a sense of accomplishment in
what they do for a living, in building and
improving things. So it’s no surprise that
“home improvement” tops the list and that
a contractor’s work ethic and pride in a job
well done is put to good use on days off.
Contractors love to travel (51 percent) and
enjoy the great outdoors: 39 percent chose
hunting and fishing as the third-favorite
hobby. Watching sports came in fourth, music
and theater placed fifth and woodworking
came in sixth, indicating there are some sofa
spuds, culture vultures and closet carpenters
in our ranks. The eternally frustrating game
of golf notched in at seven, followed by clas-
sic/antique cars, playing sports, cooking and
wine, and last, a group listed auto racing as
their favorite pastime. A diverse and interest-
ing bunch, indeed.
FIGURE 1. Firm Size: Number of Employees
1–9
62%
10–19
10%
20–99
15%
100+
11%
FIGURE 2. Revenue
Less than
$250k
44%
$250k to
$1 million
27%
$1 million
to $2.5 million
10%
$2.5 million
to $10 million
9%
$10 million
to $25 million
6%
$25 million+
4%
FIGURE 3. Racial Composition of Firms
Other—
including Asian
3%
Black or
African-American
4%
Hispanic
6%
White or
caucasian
87%
25 www.ecmag.com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
WHAT DO YOU DO?
T
HESE DAY S, contractors are
involved in more types of projects,
especially with the growth of high-
tech and security and life/safety systems.
Our survey listed 17 project types and asked
contractors which they performed in 2003
(See Figure 6). On average, 50 percent of
firms worked in eight of the 17 categories
and very large, large and mid-size contrac-
tors were more apt than small ones to work
in multiple categories. In fact, 84 percent
of very large firms worked in eight or more
categories, compared with 40 percent of
small contractors. In all, more than 90 per-
cent of the firms surveyed worked in four or
more of the categories.
The old standbys
While emerging—and merging—technologies
will be a huge part of the industry’s future,
contractors know power distribution and
lighting, which we subdivided into controls,
fixtures, ballasts and lamps, is today’s bread
and butter. These five “traditional” categories
top their lists, and are performed by between
81 and 90 percent of firms surveyed while
25 www.ecmag.com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
Contractor age, employee diversity remain a problem
The average contractor age continues to be a cause for
concern. For example, the 2004 survey shows:
®
Most of you are middle-aged (48.6 years old on average)
®
You have spent an average of 24.6 years in the industry,
most of your working life
®
Only 8 percent were 25 to 34 years old, almost exactly the
number (7 percent) of respondents 65 and older
®
These figures hew closely to those of the 2002 report, which
also noted that contractors under 35 were notably absent.
An inclusive work force
Other factors may significantly affect the industry. The Aspen
Institute, as reported in The New York Times, says enormous
demographic changes are afoot for the next two decades.
With declining birth rates, a leveling off of women entering the
work force and baby-boomer retirements at hand, the Institute
predicts:
®
The labor force may grow as little as 16 percent
®
The percentage of native-born workers ages 25 to 54 won’t
grow at all
®
Workers with any college education might increase by only
4 percent.
Contractors already know how difficult it is to find educated and
qualified workers, and these projected changes could have a big
impact on the available labor pool and productivity. Atul Dighe, a
futurist with Social Technologies LLC and recent NECA convention
speaker, thinks “inclusion,” looking at everyone as a possible
employee, is vital. Hispanic and Asian workers are quickly
becoming a large and influential part of the labor pool—old
news to folks in California and the Southwest, but something
novel in other parts of the country—and President Bush’s new
immigration policies would allow 8 million undocumented
immigrants to obtain renewable, three-year visas.
In an e-mail, Dighe wrote that young people today are the most
ethnically diverse in our history and if “any industry wants to attract
talent in the future, they will have to figure out how to make their
industry reflective of this more diverse population mix.”
“Today’s youth,” he wrote, “will seek employment situations that
have a diverse work force. Quite simply, today’s youth will seek
employment situations that have a diverse set of people in it.
“As your research indicates, many of the current contractors are
entering their 50s and 60s and, unlike in the past when the next
generation was ready to take the baton of ownership/leadership,
many contractors are finding that the next generation is not
interested,” Dighe added. “‘Inclusivity’ here could mean thinking
about passing the business on to someone outside of the family.
Contractors need to think carefully about identifying who’s next in
the leadership pipeline and working with those people to develop
their skills and abilities. Looking outside the family to longtime
associates, key supervisors, and even in the current labor pool may
be a potential solution.”
FIGURE A. Respondent Age
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Company Size
Total 1–9 10–19 20–99 100+
AGE
■ 18–24
■ 25–34
■ 35–44
■ 45–54
■ 55–64
■ 65+
26 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 26 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
alternative-energy projects such as fuel cells
at 3 percent and wind generation at 4 per-
cent barely registered. We also discovered,
regardless of company size, just about every-
one worked in the four lighting categories.
Rounding out the Top 10:
®
datacomm systems at 62 percent
®
backup power at 61 percent
®
fire/life safety systems at 46 percent
®
CCTV or access/motion security systems
at 38 percent
®
energy management/power quality at 34
percent.
Future work
We also wanted to know what type of work
contractors expect to do, and which cat-
egories they think will change in volume
over the next few years, regardless of
what they do now. In general, contractors
expect to increase or stay the same across
all categories. Few expect a decrease in
any category.
If a contractor doesn’t work in a cer-
tain category, we found they’re unlikely to
express an opinion about a future there. So
we focused first on firms participating in a
given area, then looked at those who hadn’t
done that same type of work in 2003.
Among those who worked in a particular
category, large and very large firms usually
predict increases in all categories, except
ballast and lamps, where we find no dif-
ferences by company size, and home auto-
mation/theater/security, where small firms
expect greater future volume compared to
mid-size, large and very large firms.
On average, small firms that don’t work
in backup power, datacomm and fiber optics
pick those as growth areas more frequently
compared to all others firms not working in
these areas. In contrast, 16 percent of very
large firms predicted growth in fuel cells and
17 percent predicted an increase in wind gen-
eration projects compared with all other firms.
Overall, alternative-energy projects, including
solar at 10 percent, wireless networks (11 per-
cent), home automation/theater/security and
energy management (both at 9 percent) were
anticipated to be high-growth areas for firms yet
to tap into those sectors.
On the leading edge
We also compiled a list of seven “leading-
edge” projects ranging from configuring a
CISCO router (7 percent of firms) to com-
munications/data systems moves, adds and
changes at 34 percent, a type of work done
frequently by contractors of all sizes; however,
these percentages are even higher for large
and very large firms. Overall, 51 percent said
their firm performed this kind of work in 2003
compared to 37 percent two years ago.
FIGURE 4. Respondent Education
Total
1–9
10–19
20–99
100+
■ Attended HS ■ HS Grad ■ Apprentice, Trade, Vocational ■ Attended College ■ AA Degree ■ BA Degree ■ MA Degree +
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
FIGURE 5. Volume will increase among those working and not already working in category
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Power (60-HZ)
Lighting Controls
Lighting Fixtures
Ballasts
Lamps
Backup Power
Energy Management/Power Quality
Biometrics (CII)
Fire/Life Safety Systems (CII)
Security Systems (CCTV/Access/Motion) (CII)
Home Automation/Security/Theaters (Res)
Communications/Data Systems
Fiber Optics (Datacomm and Lighting)
Wireless Networks
Fuel Cells
Solar/Photovoltaics
Wind Generation
■ Currently working in category
■ Currently not working in category
28 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 28 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
A simple formula for success: E=PC
2
As we said, 84 percent of very large firms worked in
eight or more categories compared with 40 percent of
small contractors. In all, more than 90 percent of the firms
surveyed worked in four or more of the categories.
This points to an ever-developing “integration” trend, one
that’s seen strong growth for the last decade and has affected
commercial/industrial/institutional projects and single-family
residential contractors alike. Dr. Tom Glavinich, a regular
contributor to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, has devised the formula
E=PC
2
to explain this simply. That translates into E for markets,
P for traditional power projects, and C stands for control and
communications work. The contractor that puts P and C together
will have plenty of Gs. And that stands for greenbacks.
The ability of a contractor to group traditional power
installations with various combinations of security, lighting
controls, fire alarm systems, automated building systems,
datacomm and even biometrics is a powerful sales tool,
providing a one-stop shop where an owner can get 120V
power, Category 5 cabling, HVAC that’s computer-controlled
for optimum efficiency, an energy-saving lighting system that
dims at peak sunlight and “spotlights” an after-hours intruder
with the help of the integrated security system, and amenities
such as state-of-the-art home theater and sophisticated
sound systems.
Figure B shows 95 percent of our respondents did some type
of traditional power or lighting project and 65 percent did
a power-quality project, which includes backup power and
energy management. We also found some interesting figures
on what we call “core integration projects”:
®
almost two-thirds of our contractors did some type of
automation/control systems project for commercial/industrial/
institutional (CII) or residential markets
®
55 percent of respondents did a CII automation/controls
system project
®
almost one-third did a residential automation/security/
theater project
®
66 percent did a communications low-voltage project
®
and 10 percent of all contractors did a alternative
energy project with 20 percent of very large firms involved in
this sector.
Home-theater work is an especially lucrative niche market, and
many, if not most, new homes are being wired for more than
120V power these days. Residential contractors who can’t do
more complex wiring tasks could be left in the dust.
FIGURE B. Contractors work in many areas in addition to traditional power
■ Total ■ 1–9 employees ▲ 10–19 employees ★ 20–99 employees ● 100+ employees
Any Traditional Power/Lights
Any Power Quality
Any CII or Res Automation/Controls
Any CII Automation/Controls Systems
Residential: Home Automation/Security
Any Communication/Low Voltage
Any Alternative Energy
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Regardless of whether their firm per-
formed this type of leading-edge work in
2003, respondents were asked to predict
their future volume in each area over the
next few years. Almost all expect to “stay
the same,” few predict a decrease, and
firms not working in a given area usually
didn’t guess about a future there. However,
we discovered mid-size and large firms are
most likely to predict increases in all cat-
egories. For those not yet performing work
in these areas, 3 percent of very large firms
predicted a rise in low-voltage systems-inte-
grator work, and 10 percent predicted a rise
in datacomm work for a CLEC.
The “whys” for all of these predictions
are hard to discern, but surely, some con-
tractors for any number of reasons—security
in what’s known, how local markets shape
up, etc.—stick with their bread and butter
and probably will say the same when we
conduct our next survey. We’re sure they
do what they do well, have a good business
reputation and a streamlined operation
that keeps the contracts coming, and see
no need to expand their business into more
arcane or risky projects.
That’s not to say fruitful opportunities don’t
exist for the more adventurous contractor or
one whose market is rife with low-voltage or
alternative-energy work. As our survey shows,
those jobs and the number of contractors
performing them may rise in the future.
30 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 30 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
WHERE YOU DO
YOUR WORK
O
UR CONTRACTORS report
they get 41 percent of revenue
from new construction, 31 percent
from modernization/retrofit and 28 percent
from maintenance/service/repair. However,
maintenance is a high-revenue generator
for small firms, while the percentages for
new construction rises as firms grow larger
(See Figure 7). In what could be seen a
disturbing trend, the portion of new con-
struction has dipped 9 percent from our
2000 survey when we proclaimed it “was a
good year to be an electrical contractor.”
It’s still good. Many think voice/data/
video will make a strong comeback and
renovation will be the wave of the future.
When baby boomers latch on to their
parents’ inheritance—a sum estimated
in the low trillions—some experts think a
good chunk of that will be spent on real
estate, especially if empty nesters leave the
suburbs for the cities to take advantage of
FIGURE 7. Types of work by sector
Total 1–9 employees 10–19 employees 20–99 employees 100+ employees
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
■ New construction ■ Modernization/retrofit ■ Maintenance/Service/Repair
FIGURE 8. Types of electrical projects by firm size
Total 1–9 employees 10–19 employees 20–99 employees 100+ employees
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
■ Electrical power/distribution ■ Communications/data systems ■ Security/Life Safety Systems ■ Total building automation ■ Sound and video
FIGURE 6. Currently Work in Category
■ MA Degree + ■ BA Degree ■ AA Degree ■ Attended College ■ Apprentice, Trade, Vocational ■ HS Grad ■ Attended
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Power (60-HZ)
Lighting Controls
Lighting Fixtures
Ballasts
Lamps
Backup Power
Energy Management/Power Quality
Biometrics (CII)
Fire/Life Safety Systems (CII)
Security Systems (CCTV/Access/Motion) (CII)
Home Automation/Security/Theaters (Res)
Communications/Data Systems
Fiber Optics (Datacomm and Lighting)
Wireless Networks
Fuel Cells
Solar/Photovoltaics
Wind Generation
32 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 32 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
their culture, nightlife and restaurants. If
this prognostication proves true, renovation
work should turn up aplenty.
In general, our 2004 survey showed:
®
regardless of company size, electri-
cal/power distribution is by far the largest
revenue source, accounting for an average
of 69 percent of sales
®
total building automation registered at 11
percent and accounts for more revenue of
mid-size firms than firms of any other size
®
communications/data systems (low volt-
age) at 10 percent, is less important to
small firms
®
similarly, security and life safety work, only
6 percent of total sales, grows in importance
as the company size grows; it accounts for 4
percent of small-firm revenue and 9 percent
of very large-firm sales
®
sound and video accounts for 4 percent
of revenue on average with no significant
difference by company size.
But there are no huge gaps anywhere;
the biggest difference is only 9 percent in
power distribution sales, with small firms
at 71 percent and mid-size firms at 62
percent (See Figure 8).
Residential vs. commercial
Across the total sample, contractors get 34
percent of their work from single-family resi-
dential, 8 percent from residential multifam-
ily, and 52 percent for business from com-
mercial, industrial, institutional and public
places (CII). Airports, highways, power lines
and other “nonbuilding” projects account for
a mere 4 percent of the business.
The biggest difference in work performed
comes when comparing company size. Small
firms report 46 percent of their work comes
from single-family residential, while very
large firms say it’s a miniscule 5 percent of
their business. CII projects, however, account
for 79 percent of the work for very large firms
and 41 percent for small firms. Very large
firms also do four times as much “nonbuild-
ing” work as small firms. No big shock here.
Big firms take on big nonbuilding projects
and residential construction has always been
a mainstay of small firms.
HOW YOU DO YOUR
WORK
C
ONTRACTORS SAY 46 per-
cent of their revenue comes from
design/build, which allows con-
tractors total or near-total control of their
job. It’s particularly important to small
firms, which claim it makes up 53 per-
cent of their work. (Mid-size, large and very
large firms all claim it’s 35 percent.) We
designated three more categories related to
engineering and design:
®
work in which the contractor made sub-
stantive changes to specs and drawings
®
work in which slight changes were
made
®
work in which someone else’s specs and
drawings were followed.
Contractors said they made substantive
changes in 13 percent of their jobs, and
also made slight changes in 13 percent of
their work, but in a hefty 28 percent of their
work, they followed specs and drawings to
the letter.
An even closer look shows small firms
FIGURE 9. Building categories
Total 1–9 employees 10–19 employees 20–99 employees 100+ employees
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
■ Residential (single family) ■ Residential (multifamily) ■ Commercial/industrial/institutional ■ Non-building (e.g., airports/highways/power lines)
FIGURE 10. Extent of contractor’s changes to specs and drawings
Total 1–9 employees 10–19 employees 20–99 employees 100+ employees
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
■ Design/build ■ Made substantive changes ■ Made slight changes ■ Followed other’s specs and drawings
34 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com 34 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JUL.04 www.ecmag.com
2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
use design/build on 53 percent of their proj-
ects; couple that percentage with the small
firms’ propensity to do single-family resi-
dential (remember, it took up 46 percent of
their work) and it’s a good guess deign/build
is being used in a lot of home construction.
Small firms say they followed specifications
faithfully only 23 percent of the time, a
percentage that’s at least 12 percent lower
than that of the bigger firms.
Also, mid-size, large and very large firms
score much higher percentages than small
firms when asked if they followed specs and
drawings faithfully. Another “why?” An edu-
cated guess is that public-sector projects,
normally off-limits to design-build, are done
less often by small firms.
How contractors purchase
Respondents were given four specifications
options for installation and asked how their
company had to fulfill obligations on the
job. We found:
®
a single brand is specified 21 percent
of the time
®
multiple brands are used at 28 percent
®
“or equal to” products can be used at a
37 percent rate
®
performance-specified brands are
required 15 percent of the time.
Note that a single-brand specification is
a requirement for small firms 25 percent
of the time, a rate that falls incrementally
as companies get larger, dropping to 13
percent for very large firms.
It’s no revelation that distributors get the
lion’s share—74 percent—of the market,
with warehouse home centers lagging far
behind at 14 percent. As companies get
bigger, home centers play a smaller role:
very large firms buy only 5 percent of their
supplies from that source.
Almost all contractors surveyed buy from
multiple sources, the number of which
climbs with firm size. For example, 11
percent of small firms and 32 percent of
very large firms buy from all four sources;
however, a majority of small firms—54 per-
cent—say they buy from just two sources,
perhaps because larger companies are both
located in more places and involved in more
different types of work. Online purchasing
is still a small factor—just 6 percent of
all firms buy over the Internet—but very
large firms do 9 percent of their purchasing
online.
Computer use
Computer use is no longer the way it will be
done; it’s the way it is done. Forty percent of
large and 74 percent of very large firms use
computers in eight ways or more compared
to 15 percent of small firms and 10 percent
of mid-size firms. This pattern—more use
by small than mid-size—suggests a concen-
tration of small firms that specialize and
need the tools to compete in selected areas.
The fact that almost all very large firms said
they used computers for four or more tasks
hints at the opposite, that they are involved
in many different sectors.
As noted earlier, Internet access/e-mail
is used almost universally—in fact, all large
and very large firms say they use it. Also:
®
97 percent of large and very large com-
panies use computerized accounting
®
a whopping 94 percent of very large
firms use computers for estimating and
job-cost analysis
®
and 88 percent say they run AutoCAD.
This part of the survey yields some puzzling
and interesting data. There are some unex-
pected results in computer-program use that
on the surface don’t seem to be cost-effective
for small firms. For example, 34 percent of
small firms—that’s just one to nine employ-
ees, remember—say they have computerized
equipment and tool inventory, and 9 percent
say they use computers for fleet management.
Now that could be something as simple as a
customized Excel spreadsheet or it could be
specialized software. In any case, contractors
have put their computers to good use.
This data is probably skewed toward nor-
mal office use of computers, but PDAs and
laptops have been common tools in the field
for some time. Reported use for field laptops
is 42 percent and 33 percent for PDAs, and
we found 23 percent of firms order material
with handheld devices. In the future, large
and very large firms expect increased com-
puter use from these already high levels.
You as key specifier in supply procurement
Our 2004 survey found con-
tractors choose the brand
72 percent of the time. Small
firms choose more often (74
percent) than very large firms
at 65 percent. In the latter
case, we hypothesize the
projects may be far larger and
more complex, and purchas-
ing may be controlled by the
general contractor—or that
small firms are involved more
in single-family residential
design-build and have more
purchasing control.
Guesswork aside, we think the
electric contractor’s capacity
to make product choices is
terribly important—in terms
of costs savings and getting
the job done on time with a
minimum of change orders.
When it comes to purchasing
electrical material and sup-
plies, they know what’s best.
Unless there are overriding
reasons, why should someone
else choose for them?
In his report to the Electri’21
Council, “Procurement
Chain Management in the
Construction Industry,” Perry
Daneshgari, a consultant and
contributor to this magazine,
said general contractors con-
tend it saves money, provides
faster occupancy and wider
product selection when they
control procurement. Danesh-
gari disagrees somewhat.
While his study admits the
general contractor procurement
method (GCPM) adds value
through bulk purchases and
by cutting out the distributor
or subcontractor (and their
markup), and allows procure-
ment earlier in the project, this
method may cause lost time
later in the job due to lack of
expertise. Daneshgari says the
specialty contractor procure-
ment method (SCPM) provides
the owner value through service
and knowledge. These are some
of his crucial points when it
comes to SCPM vs. GCPM:
®
A subcontractor’s product
knowledge and installation
skill is vital to most owners
35 www.ecmag.com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR 35 www.ecmag.com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
Tools and vehicle use
Of course, almost every one of you owns a
company vehicle and you’d much rather buy
one than lease, though the latter option is
more prevalent as firms grow in size. The
same goes for tools. You’d rather own than
lease. We asked about the tools purchased
most frequently in 2003 and found 90 per-
cent of firms bought power tools followed by
hand tools at 89 percent, multimeters at 79
percent of firms and mobile phones/two-way
radios at 57 percent. Lifts and scaffolding
(23 percent) and digging and boring equip-
ment (16 percent) were at the bottom. It’s
no shock that these two types of heavy,
construction-site equipment were the most-
leased tools in our survey, the only ones to
have a lease rate higher than 10 percent.
FIGURE 11. Specification options
Total 1–9 employees 10–19 employees 20–99 employees 100+ employees
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
■ Single brand ■ Multiple brand ■ “Or equal to” ■ Performance specified
in managing, validating and
optimizing equipment speci-
fied in the design; general
contractors lack the electrical
knowledge to pass on impor-
tant new product information
®
Distributors provide a
valuable role for manufactur-
ers; with no distributor, man-
ufacturers need to increase
customer sales and support
roles thus adding cost; dis-
tributors offer services that
can dramatically reduce the
specialty contractor’s labor
cost
®
Owner may experience
project delays or additional
cost from material delays or
material handling; electrical
contractors know importance
of fast job-site delivery and
available inventory
®
GCPM assumes general
contractors can bypass dis-
tributors and contractors and
buy manufacturer-direct; but
many manufacturers require
all customers to go through
distribution, thus limiting
product selection
®
General contractors order
material and have it shipped
from the manufacturer to
the job site where it’s stored
until it is installed; in SCPM,
distributors and specialty
contractors schedule mate-
rial flow to the job site. It is
delivered as needed and can
be packaged according to the
area where it will be installed
We feel you should be the key
specifier for electrical products
and supplies. You know what
works best in a given applica-
tion, and you have developed
relationships with distributors
that ultimately work to the
owner’s advantage. Job-site
roles have become more
flexible in the past decade,
leading some general contrac-
tors to believe they should
make all purchasing decisions.
But this same flexibility can
allow you to take the reins
of a project, especially if the
traditional general contractor
has become nothing more
than a dealmaker who puts
projects together on paper. This
flexibility also relates to the
ascendancy of design-build
where, from the very beginning,
you work with a team to map
out design and procurement.
METHODOLOGY/ABOUT THE SURVEY
The survey was conducted by postal mail
and via the Internet between April 8 and
May 10, 2004, among a random sample of
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR subscribers.
During that period of time, a total of 865
usable surveys were completed, 505 via
the Internet and 360 via postal mail. There
were no follow-up mailings. An incentive
was offered for participation in the survey:
For each completed survey, ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR magazine would contribute $5
to charity.
The margin of error on the total sample of
865 respondents is +/- 2.8 percent at the 90
percent level of confidence.
Tables and figures contained in this article
come from the data generated by this
year’s Electrical Contractor Survey, which
was conducted by New York, N.Y-based
Renaissance Research & Consulting Inc.
an independent marketing research firm
that specializes in construction. They can be
reached at [email protected].
CONCLUSION
W
HAT LIES AHEAD? It’s a pretty good
bet—in fact, bet the house—com-
puter use, especially with sophisti-
cated construction software, will grow. The
rumored death of VDV—to borrow from Mark
Twain—has been greatly exaggerated. As we
said, look for more contractors to integrate
low-voltage with traditional power and light-
ing. And we think three key areas will affect
contractors in years to come: contractor age,
procurement control and a possible decline
in new construction. An infusion of minorities
in the workplace could cure the stagnation
in average contractor age, and we’re sure
you’ll seize greater control in procurement
and adapt to a possible retrofit/renovation
upswing. All of these somewhat cloudy issues
may have a bright, shiny copper lining. We
say 2004—and beyond—will be very good
years to be an electrical contractor. EC
FULMER, a Baltimore, Md.-based
freelance writer, can be reached at
[email protected].
30 CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY l new york 2007
g
r
e
e
n
why not LEED?
F
or a long time, most people believed “green” or sustainable building
was the province of granola-gobblers who built homes out of recycled
tires and equipped them with hideous-looking solar panels the size of
garage doors. Perhaps they used hay bales for insulation. And they all
lived in California.
Then, environmentally conscious construction began to enter the
mainstream, and some early adopters in the commercial sector went
with the fow. The problem green-leaning contractors always had was
convincing owners that higher initial construction costs would pay
of in the long run with a building’s reduced energy consumption.
The “feel-good” factor, prodding owners to a loftier level of ecological
awareness, was an even harder sell, especially in a low-bid world.
All that has changed in an incredibly short time. The U. S. Green Build-
ing Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
designation, which got its start in the late 1990s, may be the biggest
single development in this arena. As little as two years ago, mentioning
LEED to contractors and vendors was often met by blank stares. Now
LEED Professional Accreditation is seen as an important resume-builder
for architects and designers and many forward-thinking contracting
frms have accredited professionals (LEED AP) on staf, individuals
who have passed an exam in one of three areas: new construction,
commercial interiors and existing construction.
More important, every contractor should be aware of the LEED rating
system. While the USGBC is a nonproft, nongovernmental agency and
achieving LEED status—there are diferent levels and categories—is
strictly voluntary, many public-sector projects are beginning to require
LEED-based guidelines.
By John Fulmer
LEED 101
So what exactly is LEED? The USGBC (www.usgbc.org) describes itself as a community of more than 7,500 organi-
zations from every sector of the building industry united by a common purpose to transform the building market-
place to sustainability by rating construction practices. LEED divides construction into eight categories, such as
residential, schools, and new commercial construction. If you wanted to try for LEED certifcation, frst register
your project—there’s an online form on the Web site—and begin accumulating points in the six categories listed
on the rating system documents, which are also available online.
The categories for new commercial building are:
• sustainable site
• water efciency
• energy & atmosphere
• material & resources
• indoor environmental quality
• innovation & design process
30 CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY l new york 2007 new york 2007 l CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY 31
LEED?
GETTING BROWNIE POINTS
Each of these categories has a total number of available
points. For instance, it’s possible to score a high of
17 points in “Energy and atmosphere” and a low of 5 points
in “Water efciency.”There are subcategories that explain
how a builder/developer can amass points. Some criteria
are required, such as a fundamental commissioning of the
energy system. An advanced commissioning will award
builders an extra point.
The new commercial rating system has a total of 69 points,
but a builder need not hit every target. The USGBC rates the
performance, tallies up the points and awards the certifca-
tion in four levels:
• Platinum 52-69 points
• Gold 39-51 points
• Silver 33-38 points
• Certifed 26-32 points
SCORING POINTS
Some of the ways points are awarded would seem obvious,
such as energy-efcient lighting systems and building
envelopes with advanced insulation techniques. But LEED
is a comprehensive program that awards points in often
arcane and oblique ways.
For instance, in a commercial project, LEED gives points
for easy access to public transportation and installation
of bike racks, with the idea that gasoline consumption is
reduced. Builders would “lose” points if they had equipment
and materials trucked in beyond a 500-mile radius because
that increases diesel-fuel use. A quick look at a rating
system.—maybe not that quick since the new-construction
PDF is 81 pages long—will outline requirements for carpet
systems and adhesives use. It will prohibit development
in proximity to wetlands and in food plains. Fenestration
that maximizes “daylighting” and cuts the electric bill will
put you in LEED’s good graces. It blesses construction that
implements recycled and regionally produced materials
and curses HVACR systems flled with refrigerants that cause
ozone depletion.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
What’s does it matter if you get a gold or silver star on your
new building? Why go green at all? Well, how about tax
breaks? The New York State Green Building Tax Credit for
(GBTC) provides $25 million in income-tax credits over nine
years for several types of construction, including many
commercial classifcations, with a minimum building size
of 20,000 square feet. GBTC criteria could even be consid-
ered more stringent than the LEED system, but the two are
very similar. In fact, the USGBC was among the parties that
provided input on the New York requirements.
New York is one of dozens of U.S. cities that have LEED-
based building requirements or incentives, and most
experts agree that green-building momentum is unstop-
pable. In various jurisdictions, LEED ofers other benefts
such as grants, fast-track permitting and special loans. In
some cases, building-permitting fees are slashed in half for
LEED projects and zoning variances are allowed for higher
density. Why? Because LEED seeks to improve interior
environments, and one of the intangible benefts that green
building proponents point to is that LEED-type buildings are
considered more healthy. This may, in turn, cause insurance
companies to drop mold-exclusion clauses and cut premi-
ums, another example of the type of “soft” benefts greenies
like to talk about.
You’ll have partners, among them the New York State
Energy Research and Development Authority. NYSERDA can
assist with computer modeling and charrette coordination,
help you gain LEED certifcation, and guide you on Execu-
tive Order 111, Gov. Pataki’s 2001 directive to state agencies
and authorities to become more aware of sustainable build-
ing principles. NYSERDA’s Web site highlights The Bank of
America Building under construction in midtown Manhat-
tan. The two million-square-foot ofce building is the frst
high-rise to go for a LEED Platinum rating.
And a trend has emerged in which RFPs, owners and
projects all look for a frm with LEED APs. Yet this is a
simplistic overview. LEED certifcations and requirements
are complex, and estimators need to fgure in LEED admin-
istrative costs. However, as energy prices skyrocket and
resources are depleted, owners will begin—have already
begun—to understand that long-term energy savings
may outweigh savings on cheaper but less-energy-
efcient construction.
new york 2007 l CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY 31
w w w . t e d m a g . c o m ■ J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 ■ T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R 55
▲
A
sk those in the electrical industry
about the retail market and they’ll
tell you it’s mostly about lighting.
Ask what kind of lighting, and
they’ll answer “the energy-efﬁcient kind”
—which should be obvious, since energy
costs are astronomical and lighting eats
up a big chunk of a retailer’s utility bill.
But there are nuances to retail lighting
and a storeowner’s desire to cut energy
costs. For instance, it can’t be lousy light.
Ideally, retailers want light with a high
color rendering index (CRI), a one to 100
value that indicates an artificial light
source’s ability to replicate natural light.
They also want components to last and to
be near zero maintenance. And, as if all
of that weren’t enough, they want a part-
nership between form and function: The
lighting ﬁxtures and design scheme must
be attractive as they are essential in en-
ticing customers into the store and luring
them closer to the merchandise.
“Storeowners look at a lot of energy-
efficient applications, but in retail, it’s
about what’s the best lighting application
for the customer to display their prod-
ucts,” said Ken Hawley, vice president of
sales at Venture Lighting.
Property management
Replacing cheaper, less energy-efﬁcient
ﬁxtures, lamps, ballasts, and controls with
more expensive but energy-squeezing
retroﬁts is a big issue. It’s often difﬁcult for
a distributor to upsell an end-user when
the price of new-generation ﬂuorescents
and HIDs seems prohibitive. Sometimes
the deck is stacked against a retailer who
wants to be a good environmental stew-
ard. As Mike Lancaster, sales develop-
ment manager for retail and property
management at GE Consumer & Indus-
trial, explained, many mall stores have
leases that require them to pay a prede-
termined assessment or share of the
mall’s total energy consumption based on
their square footage.
Lancaster has one customer with hun-
dreds of stores across the country. In some
stores the company uses an energy-
efﬁcient 50W lamp that allows it to reap the
beneﬁts of reduced energy savings. How-
ever, in malls where stores aren’t individu-
ally metered, the retailer continues to use
older, less expensive but less efficient
75W lamps. “There’s no incentive to the
store to reduce its individual energy con-
sumption,” said Lancaster. “As a result,
we’re seeing malls adding submetering
equipment that allows better manage-
ment of costs and more equitable billing
of individual stores.”
Retail construction
Retroﬁts are only part of the retail land-
scape, and malls represent the declining
side of new store construction. Enclosed
malls are losing favor with consumers
and being replaced by open-air “lifestyle
centers” that aim for a smaller footprint
MARKET FOCUS BY JOHN FULMER
When it comes to retail, energy efﬁcient is what they’re shopping for.
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While retailers desire lighting that entices customers into stores and lures them closer to
merchandise, they are also beginning to appreciate the beneﬁts of energy-efﬁcient lighting.
Know what’s in store
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56 T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R ■ J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 ■ w w w . t e d m a g . c o m
and a cozy, village-square approach, ac-
cording to the McGraw-Hill Construction
Outlook 2005.
McGraw-Hill said retail turned the
corner in 2003, with a 10% increase in
construction, followed by a 4% increase
in 2004. In 2005, the ﬁgure dropped to
1%, but that still means 297 million
square feet of new retail space was
added. The report ties retail to new home
starts, which McGraw-Hill expects to
drop 5%, and projects new retail con-
struction to also fall 5%, but that still
translates into an additional 283 million
square feet.
Reed Construction Data backs up
those growth ﬁgures and projected that
$70.4 billion would be spent on retail
construction put in place in 2005. Reed
expects put-in-place growth to continue
in 2006 with $72.9 billion spent and in
2007 with $76.7 billion spent. Spending in
this sector had been growing steadily
until the post-9/11 downturn, when it
slumped to $63.2 billion in 2002 and
$62.1 billion in 2003, after hitting $67.9
billion in 2001. In 2004, retail construction
put in place began moving upward
again, ending with $66.6 billion spent.
“If you look at market segments, retail
spaces are the largest in terms of square
footage, and lighting can represent more
than 50% to 60% of the electric load in the
facility on average,” said Nick Bleeker,
manager of business de-
velopment for Day-Brite/
Capri/Omega. “With those
statistics, retailers need to
know how important light-
ing can be to address
their particular needs.”
Design and
implementation
Bleeker said his lighting
companies use a tailored
approach to customers’
needs, taking into con-
sideration the store’s
preferred image and its
purpose. Since retail is
diverse—covering the
likes of Joe’s Quik-E
Mart, Tiffany & Co., Tar-
get, AutoZone, and Safe-
way supermarkets—store
lighting can be simple,
complex, and anywhere in between.
“We talk about the requirements or
guidelines for general lighting, accent
lighting, feature and display lighting, and
perimeter lighting. Depending on what
store classiﬁcation they have, they use
several of those elements, all of them, or
just a few,” said Bleeker.
Arnold Jones, president and CEO of
Williams Supply in Roanoke, Va., said
owners often need advice, and distributors
have an open opportunity to approach
retailers and offer services that range from
hazardous-material disposal to energy
audits on their stores. Lighting design,
Jones said, is an excellent prospect for
distributors working with small retailers,
such as jewelry stores and clothiers, who
have the same concerns with product
display as chain retailers. By working
closely with a ﬁxture or ballast manufac-
turer, Williams can make an attractive
value-added proposal that offers design
services to light or relight a space.
“We have a person who is very cap-
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U.S. retail construction put in place
Electricity use in retail buildings
Continued from page 55
Lighting:
59%
Cooling:
14%
Space heating: 5%
Ventilation: 6%
Other: 9%
Ofﬁce equipment: 7%
70
80
30
20
10
0
60
I
n

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

U
.
S
.

d
o
l
l
a
r
s

(
b
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
)
50
40
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
8
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
3
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
5
*
2
0
0
6
*
2
0
0
7
*
*2005-2007 are estimates. Source: Reed Construction Data.
$
5
6
.
5
$
5
8
.
9
$
6
3
.
1
$
6
7
.
8
$
6
7
.
9
$
6
3
.
2
$
6
2
.
1
$
6
6
.
6
$
7
0
.
4
$
7
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$
7
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.
7
55,56,57.qxp 12/15/05 4:48 PM Page 56
w w w . t e d m a g . c o m ■ J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 ■ T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R 57
able, who can lay out lighting in any en-
vironment. He can produce a CAD-type
drawing, if the customer wants that,”
Jones said. “It shows the electrician ex-
actly where to hang the fixtures and
speciﬁes the ﬁxture to be used and the
lamp and ballast combinations to achieve
the greatest energy efficiency and
highest-quality color rendition.”
The efﬁcient products
According to Don Gaither, manager of re-
tail sales for Technical Consumer Prod-
ucts (TCP), “Incandescent sales were ﬂat
in 2004, for the ﬁrst time in many years.
Typically, incandescent growth was be-
tween 2% to 3% per year.”
Gaither believes this is further proof
that retailers are demanding energy-
efficient products, such as dimmable
compact fluorescents. There are battle
lines in the quest for energy efﬁciency,
with ﬂuorescents and high-intensity dis-
charge (HID) lamps as the main combat-
ants. Since both camps have seen vast
improvements in technology, this could
be the most important lighting choice
retailers will make.
Hawley said that metal halide is often
considered ﬁrst as a ﬁne outdoor lamp
along with its HID cousins, sodium and
mercury vapor, and as a high-wattage
commercial application. But innovations
with lower wattages should give a com-
petitive edge to a pulse-start product line
that includes a full-spectrum, 90-plus CRI
lamp that clocks in at 5,000 Kelvin—a
near-perfect reproduction of daylight.
“It’s a very robust light source and will
certainly open up an area or a grouping
of applications that we have not really
been able to get a good market presence
for in the past,” said Hawley.
Everyone knows ﬂuorescent lamps are
energy efﬁcient. As with HID lamps, they
provide excellent lumens-per-watt (LPW)
ratios, a measurement of lamp efﬁciency in
terms of brightness. Comparing an incan-
descent’s LPW with a ﬂuorescent’s is like
comparing gas mileage between an
Escalade and a Prius. Fluorescents, how-
ever, have had a reputation for greenish,
sickly looking light, though recent techno-
logical advances are changing that
perception. Fluorescents can now hit 90
CRI or better and develop good Kelvin
ratings while still delivering great LPW
ﬁgures. The ﬂexibility of ﬂuorescents—and
HIDs—will become increasingly important
as jurisdictions become more stringent
with their energy codes. ■ ■ ■
Fulmer is a principal of Colston & Fulmer
Editing Services in Joppa, Md. Reach him
at 443-270-8190 or johnsfulmer@com
cast.net.
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Lighting design is an excellent
prospect for distributors working with
small retailers, such as jewelry stores
and clothiers, who have the same
concerns with product display as
chain retailers.
Circle 132 on Direct Info Card
55,56,57.qxp 12/14/05 4:18 PM Page 57
NE WS FROM THE POWER AND INTEGRATED BUILDING SYSTEMS INDUSTRY
40 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.06 www.ecmag.com
Experts Discuss Bioterrorism at ASIS Conference
FEARS THAT AMERICA HAS GROWN
complacent since the 9/11 ter-
rorist attacks was the theme at
The American Society for Indus-
trial Security (ASIS) Internation-
al’s “Bioterrorism, Weapons of
Mass Destruction and the Se-
curity Professional” conference
held November 7 and 8 in Phila-
delphia.
Complacency has made us
ill-prepared, concluded a roster
of eight security industry experts
who talked about threats from
anthrax, bubonic plague and
other deadly biological agents.
Moderator Henry Nocella, a pri-
vate consultant and former security chief
for Bestfoods, said the United States needs
to pay more attention to the motivations of
extremists.
“We’ve been at war for 25 years,” No-
cella said, after outlining a litany of attacks
attributed to Al-Qaeda and other groups.
He characterized these groups as driven
by cultural and political insults, the deep
impact of which Americans fail to compre-
hend. Members of these groups, he said,
nurse this hurt and pass down the need for
vengeance from generation to generation.
They are highly educated and motivated by
religious fervor that, again, most Americans
can’t fathom. They will be patient in extract-
ing revenge but also itching to use nuclear
and biological weapons against us.
“If we want to meet this threat, we
need to wake up,” Nocella said. “The
American public is absolutely, positively
asleep at the switch.”
Keynote speaker Ronald Blanck, former
Army Surgeon General and president of Uni-
versity of North Texas Health Science Cen-
ter, said we still don’t have “an overarching
national strategy to deal with this” terror-
ist threat. “Bioweapons” scare him more,
however, because contagious diseases such
as smallpox can spread long after a terrorist
introduces the agent into a population.
“Every other weapon you know about, it’s
overt,” Blanck said. “Even a nuke is con-
tained. Bioweapons can’t be contained.”
Protecting corporations
Anthrax mailings in recent history caused
post office shutdowns that cost millions
and lasted months. Steve Lund’s job is to
prevent that kind of situation at Intel Corp.,
where he is director of security.
“One of the biggest things we look at is
the operational impact of business continu-
ity,” Lund said. “If you can imagine a man-
ufacturing facility taken out of commission,
it makes a big impact downstream. The
idea is to keep the business going.” The
Santa Clara, Calif.-based computer chip
maker has a global presence, and Lund
said Intel’s corporate philosophy empha-
sized cooperation and coordination with lo-
cal law enforcement at all of their facilities.
Intel security, he said, has set up levels of
response that includes an emer-
gency operations center (EOC) at
every major site with smaller sites
linked to an EOC “parent.” It is
a chain-of-command system in
which each team member, from
the EOC coordinator to all depart-
ment heads, has specific duties
during an emergency.
The presenters were in con-
sensus on one overriding issue:
keeping the bioterror threat at bay
won’t be easy. Doug Callen, chief
security officer with the Transpor-
tation Safety Administration, said
major U.S. cities lag far behind in
the kind of CCTV surveillance that
helped piece together the case against the
suicide bombers in the London Under-
ground bombings in July 2005.
Comoderator Robin McFee, a toxi-
cologist and president of Emergistics US
Inc., a Texas-based consulting company,
reiterated Blanck’s message that Ameri-
cans are too blasé about bioterror. She
said that hospitals, labs and other facili-
ties often store deadly material without
thought of security.
“If you have nasty stuff in your facility,
don’t assume other people don’t want it,”
McFee said. Like Blanck, she is worried
about Russia’s unaccounted for store of
smallpox, anthrax, plague and other lethal
agents. Americans, she said, think they are
safe from these now-unfamiliar killers but
that is another foolish assumption. EC
—John Fulmer
Grocery Chain Tackles Energy Costs
LOCAL GROCERY STORES IN IDAHO aren’t waiting for government regulations to enforce
energy conservation—they are implementing new policies on their own.
Albertsons Inc., the second largest grocery store chain in the nation, has imple-
mented an “aggressive energy management program” in its 2,500 stores.
Due to rising energy costs, the company is trying to reduce the amount of elec-
tricity by 20 million kilowatt-hours a month. The company has added skylights,
energy-efficient lighting systems and motion-sensor lighting into its stores.
Albertsons is also upgrading existing stores with more efficient refrigeration
systems and motion sensors in offices and restrooms. EC
I
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