HomeMy WebLinkAboutA006 - Letter dated January 12, 1999 from Carroll Nikkel to City Council, concerns about proposed changes Nikkei & Associates, Inc.
Electrical Contractor
728 East Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa 50010-6523
515-232-8606
Fax: 515-232-4012
E-mail: nai@nai-ames.com
January 12, 1999
Mayor Ted Tedesco and the Ames City Council
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, IA 50010
Dear Mayor Tedesco and all council members:
Myself and other contractors are concerned about the direction the City and Electrical Inspection
department are heading.
Our concern:
1. Changes and additions to Section 7.202 (1)
("...is present at the address where the work is being done....")
("...direct supervision....")
2. Changes and additions to Section 7.301 (1)Apprentice Electricians
("...at an address where a journeyman electrician or a master electrician is present and providing
direct...")
History of the problem:
1. The City of Ames implemented the Block&Associates Testing Co. for testing Journeymen—
this is a good, unbiased entity for such administration,but theirs is a very difficult test to pass.
We have had individuals take the Block test up to five times,and they still have not passed it; in
fact,the average electrician has had to take the test two to three times before they are able to
pass. These people do excellent work and know what a Journeyman should know,and they have
even gone through a formal D.O.L.-approved four-year apprentice training program. Most of
our individuals have had difficulty passing the Block test due to complex calculations that are
normally performed by design and engineering individuals—these are calculations that are
seldom performed on the job sites themselves.
2. The new Inspector is enforcing the above ordinances differently than his predecessor—that is by
the letter of the ordinance, in lieu of using it to correct a problem if one arose on the project.
Problems and complications this causes:
1. This significantly increases the cost of doing virtually any work; extra downtime costs are
absorbed by our customers.
2. This slows down the productivity of our workforce,having to deal with these requirements.
3. This decreases the job openings for Training Apprentice Electricians,which over time causes
more of a shortage of Journeymen available.
2
4. On larger projects which require two or three electricians,the Journeyman is required to attend a
project meeting once a month at a remote location for one to two hours,after which they return
to the job site. He would either have to send his people home or have them stop work and sit
down until he returns.
5. Journeymen and Apprentices are hard to find, if not impossible,in the current state of our
economy.
6. We find in our company that a good Journeyman can handle more than one project at a time.
This leaves third and fourth-year apprentices by themselves 60 to 70 percent of the time, except
in critical phases of the project—at which times the Journeyman is always present.
7. A Journeyman is even unable to go to a wholesale store to pick up supplies without shutting
down his crew.
This has all been implemented and more directly enforced in the past three years, and it in turn has
created a lot of undue stress for those forced to comply with the ordinance. This is a unique time for the
Ames area; the construction industry is booming,but licensed individuals are scarce. Wages have gone
up,but production has gone down,and we have been compelled to employ unproductive people simply
because they had a license. A third-or fourth-year Apprentice's skills and abilities cannot be
recognized;their full productivity is being held back by the City's requirements. The saddest note of all
is this reflects on the consumer,with higher prices to be paid,with no additional value to the consumer.
We propose that the Council strike the phrase in both sections as follows:
("...is present at the address where that work is being done...") and
the word"direct"in reference to supervision.
We also suggest the City add a place to name the Journeyman who is responsible for supervision of a
project on the Permit Form,thus giving the Inspector notice as to whom to contact for any problems.
We do agree electrical work needs to be under the supervision of a licensed Journeyman,but the City
should not dictate who does the actual work,when,where and all the details. Projects vary in size,type,
methods and endless other types of requirements—these details should remain the responsibility of the
contractor. The Electrical Inspector has numerous other methods to make contractors install work per
NEC codes,without having to deal with Journeymen being on the job at all times.
Y_cerel
Carroll Nikkel
President
CN/mg