W1 /
ANSI Accredited Standards Committee W1
Requirements for Apparatus Designed for Use in Arc Welding, Plasma Arc Cutting, and Allied Processes
/ Secretary:
Greg Winchester
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1752
Rosslyn, VA22209
Tel 703-841-3299 Fax 703-841-3399

MINUTES

MEETING TIME AND DATE:WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010

8:40 AM to 12:45 PM

MEETING LOCATION:AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY

550 N.W. LEJEUNE ROAD

MIAMI, FL33126

PRESIDING OFFICER:JOHN FREUDENBERG, CHAIRMAN

MEMBERS ATTENDING:Charles Aimar1ESAB Welding & Cutting Products

David Beneteau1CenterLine (Windsor) Ltd.

Joe Bablo1Underwriters Laboratories

Andrew DavisAmerican Welding Society

John Freudenberg1Northeast Product Safety Society

Wayne HoffmanConsultant / US Tech. Advisor to IEC/TC 26

Andrew Krumins1CSA International

Mike MadsenMiller Electric

Frank StupczyLincoln Electric

Dave WerbaAmerican Welding Society

Greg WinchesterW1 Secretary

Tony ZellerHypertherm

OTHERS ATTENDING:Viresh Sitapara2ESAB Welding & Cutting Products

RicardoVazquez3NEMA Mexico

MEMBERS ABSENT:none

1 via webconference

2 from 9:15 am

3 via teleconference from 9:30 am to 11:15 am

1.Meeting Guidelines and Procedures

Attendees were reminded that the NEMA meeting guidelines would be used as the framework for conducting this W1 meeting.

2.Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

Membersreviewed the minutes of theOctober 30, 2009 meeting in Myrtle Beach and approved them as written.

3.Membership

Members confirmed the following roster:

Page 1

MEMBER / INTEREST
CATEGORY / PRINCIPAL
REPRESENTATIVE / ALTERNATE(S) / STATUS
American Welding Society / User / Dave Werba / Andrew Davis
Centerline (Windsor) Limited / General Interest / David Beneteau
Canadian Standards Association / [Observer] / Leonard Letea / For liaison purposes
CSA International / User / Andrew Krumins
ESAB Welding and Cutting / Producer / Charles Aimar
Hypertherm Inc. / Producer / Tony Zeller / Bill Lynn
Lincoln Electric Company / Producer / Frank Stupczy / Gary Mikitin
Miller Electric Manufacturing Company / Producer / Mike Madsen / Terry Christianson-Plato
Northeast Product Safety Society / General Interest / John Freudenberg
Underwriters Laboratories / User / Joe Bablo
Wayne Hoffman -- Consultant / US T.A. to IEC TC 26 / User / Wayne Hoffman

ACTION: W1 Secretary to contact the following individuals regarding membership on W1:

ORGANIZATION / LIKELY INTEREST
CATEGORY / CONTACT / ALTERNATE(S) / STATUS
Applications Technologies Co. LLC / General Interest / Dick Holdren
Electrical Apparatus Service Association / General Interest / Thomas Bishop
National Fire Protection Association / General Interest / Jeffrey Sargent

4.Status of IEC 60974 Adoptions

Greg Winchester reported that since the last W1 meeting all of the remaining IEC 60974 parts originally identified for adoption have been published. W1 is now in the mode of adopting IEC 60974 parts as new editions reach FDIS stage (or 100% approval of a CDV ballot) in IEC/TC 26.

5.Standards Roadmap

Members reviewed the October 2009 version, v5.0, of the roadmap and made the following changes for v6.0:

  • added background on harmonization of North American standards, along with standards and options that would form the basis of CANENA Technical Harmonization Committee work;
  • updated status information for the IEC 60974-6 ed. 2 project (going to FDIS stage);
  • updated status of CAN/CSA E60974-5-09, the Canadian adoption of IEC 60974-5 ed. 2 (published).

Page 2 of

6.Compliance Issues

A.Audit of ANSI/IEC 60974-5

Greg Winchester reported that NEMA received the compilation of ANSI Auditor comments to the audits of NEMA-administered ANSI ASCs in December 2009. The comments contained a number of "suggestions" which fell mainly into the areas of operating procedures and lateness of PINS submittals. [SECRETARY'S NOTE: The PINS lateness for ANSI/IEC 60974-5 was successfully challenged and this has been removed from the audit findings.]

B.W1 Operating Procedures

Greg Winchester reported that NEMA management, based on similar ANSI Auditor "suggestions" for all NEMA-administered ASCs, has decided to develop a common base operating procedures for all of NEMA's ASCs. It was expected that this base document will be available in several months (perhaps for review at a planned Septermber 2010 W1 meeting).

7.Mandatory Certification of Apparatus in Mexico and Proposal for a CANENA Activity

Ricardo Vazques, NEMA Mexico, called into the meeting and reported that he and Gustavo Dominguez at NEMA Mexico are engaged in scheduling meetings with officials at DGN which is undergoing some staffing changes. Initial meetings will focus on DGN's schedule for the NOM 003 revision and implementation. Thereafter, meetings will be held with DGN officials specifically responsible for the welding/cutting industry. [SECRETARY'S NOTE: A meeting with Brett San Antonio at DGN to specfically discuss welding will take place the week of March 22-26, 2010.]

Once DGN's motivation and vision for welding/cutting equipment certification is ascertained, NEMA Mexico will work with the 1EW Section and Apparatus Technical Committee on a strategy. This strategy will then be relayed to others in Mexico who will have an interest in standardization and harmonization through CANENA, such as ANCE (which has a Welding Machines Working Group), CANAME, and Mexican representatives of 1EW Section members. ACTION: Members to provide NEMA Staff/NEMA Mexico with names and contact details of representatives from their respective Mexican operations.

8.Time, Date, Format, and Content of Next Meeting

The next W1 meeting will take place from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday, September 2, 2010, at NEMA Headquarters (with phone and webconferencing facilities available). A joint meeting of the NEMA Welding Apparatus Technical Committee and US TAG to IEC/TC 26 will precede it on August 31-September 1.

9.Any Other Business

a)Copper and Welding Cables

It was reported that AWS and NEMA had recently been contacted regarding the possibility of standards for welding cables. This inquiry came about because of a purported trend by suppliers to reduce the copper content in welding cables. Members knew of the following standards that their suppliers are using or aware of:

  • IEC 60245-6 (referenced by the 3rd edition of IEC 60974-1 and expanded upon by the 4th edition);
  • CSA C22.2 No. 96 for portable power cables;
  • UL 1274 (an Outline of Investigation – Subject No. 2005).

Given the above documents, no proposal for an American National Standard for welding cables was proposed.

b)ANSI/IEC 60974-1 (power sources) issues

The following issues concerning IEC 60974-1, for which a 4th edition is currently being developed in IEC/TC 26, were raised to help the US TAG to TC 26 comment on the 4th edition draft development:

  • subclause 5.4: should dielectric testing be done in a heated condition or run cold;
  • bonding and grounding: would there be US and Canadian national differences pointing to CAN/CSA and/or ANSI/UL standards;
  • subclause 14.2.1: can there be a relaxation from the requirement for V-1 or better for "small parts" (e.g. plug for an operning where a finger probe would enter).

ACTION: Joe Bablo and Andrew Krumins to provide feedback on the above issues.

10.Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 12:45 pm on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

RECORDED BY:Greg Winchester, W1 Secretary

March 15, 2010

REVIEWED BY COUNSEL: