This piece was originally published in the December 2018 issue of electroindustry.

As I wrap up my time as Chairman of the Board of Governors, I am proud to report that NEMA remains relevant, engaged, and fiscally sound. Our collective accomplishments are outlined in NEMA by the Numbers, which I urge everyone to review. It portrays how, through our industry-wide work, NEMA provides its Members with a competitive advantage.

Let me share a few highlights.

Standards & Technical Expertise: Standards, code adoption, and enforcement are an underlying strength of a cohesive electrical world. The NEMA Technical Library includes more than 700 documents. They contribute to safe, reliable, and efficient products that facilitate production, promote interoperability, aid in disaster recovery efforts, contribute to national code-making panels, and increase market demand at home and abroad. Our library includes 60 new documents and collaborative efforts with other Standards Developing Organizations. So far, 85 percent of NEMA inputs to the 2020 National Electrical Code^® have been approved.

Business Intelligence: Member companies—large and small—rely on our business intelligence and market analyses. This is not just my opinion. The Wall Street Journal recognizes the NEMA team as consistently being one of the best economic forecasters. Among its outputs are market data reports, sector-specific product shipment forecasts, decision-focused scenarios, economic outlooks, industry surveys, and indexes. The team also publishes a daily digest of relevant news.

Advocacy: Advocacy at every level ensures that NEMA priorities make it into law and regulations—or not, as the case may be. We influenced Congress to enact disaster reform legislation so that recovering communities can Rebuild Smart. We were a focused voice in tariff debates and represented our industry in the new U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement. Four NEMA priorities became law as part of America’s Water Infrastructure Act. In the states, we defeated 29 unfavorable bills and passed four carbon monoxide detection bills. We secured 10 new grid modernization and energy-efficiency bills and $30 million for the Solid-State Lighting Program at the Department of Energy.

MITA: The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) represents 90 percent of the global market. It continues the fight for a full and final repeal of the medical device excise tax.

Strategic Initiatives: Our Strategic Initiatives Program encompasses research projects related to the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, and workforce development. For instance, NEMA published cybersecurity best practices and energy-efficiency models for industrial and building management systems; reported on legal requirements for data privacy and ownership; conducted 16 IoT webinars; quantified the costs and benefits of modern grid technologies; and created a toolkit that addresses workforce gaps in the electroindustry.

In 2018, 85 percent of every dollar paid by Members went to programs and activities in seven core markets: Building Infrastructure, Building Systems, Industrial Products & Systems, Lighting Systems, Medical Imaging, Utility Products & Systems, and our newest, Transportation Systems.

To everyone who has participated on a NEMA project, I commend you for your dedication and outstanding work. And to everyone in the C-suite, thank you for allowing your talented employees to serve this great organization.

Happy holidays.