Tens of millions of people work in the skilled trades in the United States. A survey recently conducted by NFPA® sheds light on major trends across these industries, from the anticipated impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in 2026 to tradespeople’s desire for more education and training opportunities. The survey, conducted virtually between October 27 and November 3, 2025, gathered responses …

When electrical equipment is designated as non-serviceable, a natural question follows: What comes next? From the standpoint of NFPA 70B, Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance, this is a legitimate concern. While the standard provides clear criteria for classifying equipment as serviceable, limited service, or non-serviceable, it offers limited guidance on how to return that equipment to normal operation once deficiencies …

A proper safety program will be intentional, but what does that really mean? Let’s consider the ground circuits installed in homes and businesses. For normal operation, zero current will be flowing in the grounding conductors. By code, we are required to intentionally install a grounding circuit that we hope will never be used for current, and many measures are in …

Testing plays a critical role in verifying that the protection scheme is designed to meet its intended purpose. It ensures the field wiring matches the schematics and everything works seamlessly. This article defines function testing and functional testing and explains the advantages and disadvantages of each test. WHY DO WE TEST? While engineers and electricians are highly skilled professionals, they …