Power Transformer Manufacturer Expands Operations
Is there an artificial intelligence (AI) data center headed to a community near you sometime soon? At the rate AI data centers are popping up across the country and around the globe, there’s a better than average chance you’re already familiar with the heated debates new data center announcements bring with them.
While local and state governments often welcome new data centers with open arms—and big tax breaks—the residents in nearby communities frequently raise concerns about the natural resources these facilities consume, as well as the impact they have on the environment and utility rates.
The proliferation of AI data centers in recent years has made it somewhat common knowledge that these cutting-edge computing facilities consume enormous amounts of water and electricity. After all, all that computing power working 24/7 generates a lot of heat and components must be kept cool to work at peak efficiency.
Unfortunately, aging electrical grids and shortages of advanced power generation equipment have left many areas struggling to accommodate the demands of new data centers. That’s why manufacturers of such equipment are expanding operations, increasing the need for highly skilled workers with advanced electrical skills.
According to an AL.com article by William Thornton, Hyundai Power Transformers USA recently “announced a $200 million expansion of its Montgomery [Alabama] manufacturing operations,” a move that “will create about 200 jobs and significantly increas[e] the factory’s domestic production capacity for large power transformers.”
In addition to boosting production capacity, the new facility “will be able to manufacture even larger transformer units in the United States. This comes at a particularly crucial time, the company says, as about 70% of the nation’s large power transformers are currently in need of replacement.”
Hyundai Power Transformers USA’s expansion plan underscores the ongoing need for more skilled workers with basic to advanced electrical skills. Unfortunately, the ongoing industrial skills gap issue means that workers with advanced electrical skills remain in high demand with supply lagging behind.
This creates a challenge for industries across the country and around the world. How do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the electrical skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace?Top of FormBottom of Form
A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start. Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce.
Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field. For example, companies in the power generation space could benefit from DAC Worldwide trainers focused on the skills their employees need, such as:
- Transformer Wiring Training System (408-000): a realistic training device that replicates the conditions and circumstances that an electrical worker encounters when making common power transformer connections in the field and industry. This self-contained, tabletop training system provides a safe, inexpensive, yet realistic alternative to paper-based learning without the danger of full-voltage field experience.
- Transformer Connections Training System (491-000): replicates the conditions and circumstances that a utility worker encounters when making common transformer connections in the field. Using this trainer, learners will explore the skills that an operator must master to confidently operate modern generating equipment, such as the paralleling of generators and connecting to a larger power grid.
- Electrical Generation Fundamentals Training System (490-000): represents a true simulator depicting multiple power plants on a grid. The unit basically acts as the control center for a generating station and simulates four separate generating units. The system demonstrates the principles of generator operation and represents the relationships that an operator must master to confidently operate generators.
- Published in News
Workplace Fatalities Fall for Second Year in a Row
Do you fear for your life each day when you head to work? No, this isn’t a joke with Monday or your boss as the punch line. Thousands of people die each year due to injuries suffered on the job. Do you have the type of job with inherent safety risks?
Some jobs obviously tend to be more dangerous than others. Lion tamers and offshore oil rig workers jump to mind. However, the millions of people who work in modern manufacturing facilities can also find themselves surrounded by equipment that can kill if not handled properly.
For example, workers maintaining equipment can be seriously injured from the unexpected energization of, release of stored energy from, or startup of equipment. That’s why mandatory safety training, such as those related to lock-out/tag-out procedures, is so critical.
Lock-out/tag-out rules establish standards for the shutdown of equipment, so that energy sources can be isolated to prevent the release of potentially hazardous energy during routine maintenance activities. Following proper lock-out/tag-out procedures helps workers to avoid preventable workplace accidents and injuries.
Fortunately, it appears that a focus on safety training nationwide is working. A recent EHS Today article reports that “[t]he U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ [BLS] 2024 fatal occupational injuries data showed 5,070 worker deaths – a second consecutive year of decline.”
NSC CEO Lorraine Martin claims that “[t]his progress shows that when employers focus on serious injury and fatality risks, invest in prevention and build strong safety cultures, lives are protected.” However, she believes that “5,070 deaths in a single year is still 5,070 too many. We must accelerate proven strategies that address the highest-risk exposures and ensure every worker gets home safe.”
To put these statistics in perspective, BLS data shows:
- “The fatal work injury rate was 3.3 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2024, a decrease from a rate of 3.5 in 2023.”
- “A worker died every 104 minutes from a work-related injury in 2024 compared to 99 minutes in 2023.”
- “Workers in transportation and material moving occupations represented the occupational group with the most fatalities with 1,391 fatal work injuries in 2024, though this was a 7% decrease from 2023 (1,495).”
How can manufacturers get the total of workplace fatalities down to zero? There’s simply no substitute for thorough, effective safety training for every worker before setting foot on the shop floor. For manufacturers without significant experience setting up a safety training program, it can help to partner with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers two safety training systems specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lock-out/tag-out skills:
- DAC Worldwide Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System
- DAC Worldwide Electrical Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System
Be sure to check out these training systems and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
Electrical Outages Costing Manufacturers Time and Money
This winter, a series of storms has battered states from coast to coast, dumping feet of snow and ice and generally wreaking havoc in a variety of ways. Were you impacted by any of the storms? When the forecast calls for snow and ice, what do you worry about most?
For some, it’s the potential impact on their daily commute that leads to sleepless nights. Others, though, might worry more about how they’ll survive an extended power outage if snow and ice cause a widespread power outage.
While it’s natural for individuals to worry about the personal impact of severe weather, many people don’t realize how these storms affect businesses. While it’s much rarer for a business to close than it is for a school, for example, it’s clear that significant power outages are costing manufacturers across the country both time and money.
According to a Manufacturing.net article by Chris Daly, “[e]lectricity interruptions are on the rise across the United States…In fact…electricity customers throughout the U.S. witnessed 11 hours of power outages on average during 2024.”
Is this significant? It certainly is when you consider that “there were around four hours of electricity interruptions per year on average between 2014 and 2023. As a result, last year saw almost twice as many power outages as the average recorded each year for the past decade.”
While an electrical outage might interrupt your favorite Netflix show for a few hours, the ramifications are more serious for manufacturers. As Daly notes, “[a] single electricity interruption runs the risk of powering down operations and causing production line processes to fall out of sync, resulting in a loss of material and profits.”
How much loss? Donna McGinnis, Director of Marketing at Briggs & Stratton Energy Solutions, estimates that “up to $1 million of manufacturing losses can be recorded during each hour that production is disrupted by a power outage.”
What are manufacturers to do? It seems like severe weather conditions are occurring with increasing frequency each year. When you add the strain of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers popping up across the country, further burdening electrical grids, it’s clear that things could get worse before they get better.
Daly believes that “[b]usinesses throughout the U.S. need to realize the prospect of experiencing more power outages. This point was emphasized by the Department of Energy, when it recently warned that blackouts may increase by 100x by the year 2030 if reliable power sources continue to be shuttered and extra firm capacity fails to be added to the nation’s energy array.”
Daly recommends that manufacturers investigate the use of onsite generators and portable power banks to minimize the impact of power outages. However, it’s clear that larger solutions targeted at strengthening electrical grids will also be necessary.
All of this underscores the ongoing need for more skilled workers with basic to advanced electrical skills. Unfortunately, the ongoing industrial skills gap issue means that workers with advanced electrical skills remain in high demand with supply lagging behind.
This creates a challenge for industries across the country and around the world. How do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the electrical skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace? A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start.
Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
Texas Becoming Nexus of AI Data Centers
Has artificial intelligence (AI) affected your day-to-day life yet? If it has, then you already know how prevalent this technology has become in a short time. If it hasn’t, well, you may just not realize it yet, as AI seems to have infiltrated nearly every aspect of technology.
AI apps, like ChatGPT and Grok, have become go-to resources for a wide variety of users, from students looking for help with homework to workers seeking assistance with basic job functions. Apps like these, though, are just the tip of the iceberg. AI “engines” are being used to power things behind the scenes in many different types of technology.
The rise of AI has resulted in a race for dominance. Every big tech company is in the race, but it’s unclear where the finish line is, what awaits the winner, or what it will take to get there. These uncertainties aren’t dampening the spirits—or investments—of these companies in AI, though.
In many cases, the race currently takes the form of a rush to build as many large AI data centers as possible. Locations throughout the United States have been targeted for new AI data centers, leading to pushback in many communities over the resources, including water and electricity, that these facilities require.
It’s true that AI data centers require an enormous amount of electricity and water to run their rooms full of supercomputers. In areas where electrical grids are already overtaxed, residents have valid concerns about the effect AI data centers will have on their already-strained resources. At least one project, however, may be taking a new approach to allay some of those concerns.
In an article in The Wall Street Journal, author Bradley Olson reports that a small portion of a sprawling ranch in West Texas will soon be home to a giant new AI data center being planned by AI startup Poolside in conjunction with cloud-infrastructure provider CoreWeave.
What’s different about this AI data center is that the partners chose the location because the complex will be “capable of generating its own power.” “[L]ocated in the heart of the fracking boom,” the site will “take advantage of natural gas produced in the Permian Basin, the epicenter of U.S. drilling activity.”
According to Olson, “Poolside and CoreWeave…are betting that the proximity to natural-gas resources could reduce costs and improve the long-term viability of the data center, as many planned facilities across the U.S. have been built without power generation capabilities.”
The companies plan “to use an on-site gas plant built years ago by Occidental Petroleum and other infrastructure including pipelines will make it possible for the data center to generate its own power.” This could be a game changer, since Olson notes that it’s “far from certain whether many data centers will have sufficient power and water to operate without becoming a significant strain on local resources.”
One thing Olson does not touch upon, but which is another scarce resource that AI data centers will put a strain upon is the supply of skilled workers to build and operate these facilities. In the case of the planned facility in West Texas, workers will be needed that have a wide variety of skills in both the oil and gas sector and electricity and power generation.
How do companies and schools in these areas train the next generation of professionals with the electrical and oil and gas skills they need to succeed in the age of massive AI data centers? Fortunately, there are already companies they can partner with to develop the training programs that will provide workers with the hands-on skills they need to succeed.
For example, DAC Worldwide provides a variety of hands-on training systems for both electrical and oil and gas training:
Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
AI Driving Investments by Energy Giant
What comes to mind when you think about utility companies? For many people around the country, images of coal-fired power plants and tall wooden poles strung with long wires might be top of mind. What likely doesn’t come to mind is advanced technology, like artificial intelligence (AI).
However, it’s technologies like AI that are top of mind for many leaders in the energy and public utility sectors. Why? The data centers being built to expand the powers and capabilities of AI use tremendous amounts of power that threaten to undermine the security and stability of already-overburdened electrical grids in many areas.
Those tasked with ensuring the future of our energy supply must adjust their focus and priorities to align with the changes being wrought by new technologies like AI. For example, in an article in The Dallas Morning News, author Lana Ferguson notes that energy giant Schneider Electric recently announced “plans to invest more than $700 million in its U.S. operations through 2027.”
This huge investment will “support the country’s focus on bolstering the nation’s energy infrastructure to power AI growth, boost domestic manufacturing, and strengthen energy security.” Specifically, “[t]he money will go toward manufacturing expansions and creating more than 1,000 new jobs, with roles such as next-generation manufacturing professionals, engineers, developers and technical analysts.”
Schneider Electric expects its investment to “bolster ‘smart factory transformation’ across several states that include Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Missouri.” Officials are hopeful that other key players will follow suit with their own investments.
According to Aamir Paul, president of North America Operations for Schneider Electric, “[w]e stand at an inflection point for the technology and industrial sectors in the U.S., driven by incredible AI growth and unprecedented energy demand. To lead the transformation ahead, we must be agile and act now to advance ambitious digitalization and efficiency goals to make an impact for generations to come.”
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons lauded these plans: “Schneider Electric’s significant investment is a clear sign that manufacturing in America is moving forward — driving economic growth, innovation and job creation across the country. By expanding their operations with a focus on energy security, automation and AI, Schneider Electric is not only strengthening America’s competitiveness but also creating new opportunities and powering our nation’s future.”
As energy giants like Schneider Electric invest and expand, there’s one challenge they’re sure to encounter immediately: a shortage of highly skilled workers with advanced electrical and automation skills. How do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the electrical skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace?Top of Form
Bottom of Form A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start. Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
Room for Improvement in Workplace Safety
“Safety first!” If you work in the manufacturing sector, you’ve probably seen and heard that phrase a million times. And there’s nothing wrong with that. No one wants to work in a facility that puts them at risk of serious injury or even death.
Unfortunately, too many workers do suffer workplace injuries every year. The number and severity of these injuries remain a constant reminder that there’s always room for improvement when it comes to workplace safety.
In a recent EHS Today article, author Adrienne Selko notes that “US businesses need to ‘do significantly better’ in supporting workplace safety, according to a recent survey from BSI.” BSI’s Xavier Alcaraz notes that “[w]e’ve normalized a culture where…’safety first’ is promoted but supervisors look the other way when deadlines are at risk.”
Things don’t have to stay that way, however. Workers deserve better. BSI offers some practical advice for manufacturers seeking to improve workplace safety:
- “Safety culture: Foster an environment where safety is a systems-driven core value, encouraging reporting of potential hazards and near-misses without fear of reprisal. This contributes to both physical safety as well as psychological safety.”
- “Adopt a management systems approach for health and safety that emphasizes continuous improvement.”
- “Align safety goals with business goals.”
- “Safety training: Provide comprehensive safety training, including proper use of equipment, emergency procedures, and hazard recognition.”
That last suggestion is an important one that too many companies ignore. Of course, not all companies prioritize safety like they should, but even those wanting to improve don’t always know how to go about adequately training workers.
For companies looking to improve their safety training, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure the continued safety of the workforce.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers two safety training systems specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lock-out/tag-out skills:
- DAC Worldwide Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System
- DAC Worldwide Electrical Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System
Be sure to check out these training systems and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide Offers Hands-On Electrical Generation Fundamentals Training
Industrial facilities know how important electrical skills are to ensuring that things run smoothly and safely. What many people don’t know, however, is how diverse electrical skills can be. While basic electrical skills, such as wiring a circuit or troubleshooting a transformer, are extremely valuable and quite common, some facilities require specialized advanced electrical skills, such as those relating to power generation and managing multiple power plants on an electrical grid.
For example, one industry that’s currently booming will likely lead to a need for workers with advanced electrical skills related to power generation. Which industry are we talking about? Semiconductor manufacturing!
According to a recent article in The Register, author Tobias Mann notes that “AMD president Victor Peng addressed [at the recent Hot Chips Conference] one of the biggest challenges facing the semiconductor industry as it grapples with growing demand for ever larger AI models: power.”
How big is the challenge facing the semiconductor manufacturing industry? Mann points out that “AI’s seemingly insatiable thirst for power has gained considerable attention over the past year – so much so that some operators have begun setting up shop next to nuclear power plants. And the problem isn’t going to get easier.”
According to Mann, Peng has expressed worry about “finding enough power sources and being concerned about the grids and the distribution.” In fact, Mann notes that Peng has “noted that these [AI] models have very quickly gone from requiring hundreds of megawatt hours to train to hundreds of gigawatt hours.”
How do you address such a large-scale challenge? “Peng argues that the semiconductor industry needs to focus more attention on making the infrastructure not only more performant, but more efficient.” Indeed, the burgeoning semiconductor manufacturing industry must bring together all the players necessary to craft large-scale infrastructure solutions that ensure that the electrical grids of tomorrow will be able to support the demands of new technologies.
Addressing fundamental electrical generation challenges will require highly skilled workers who possess advanced electrical skills related to power generation. Hands-on training in electrical generation fundamentals can elevate workers’ skills to the next level.
For example, DAC Worldwide’s Electrical Generation Fundamentals Training System (490-000) represents a true simulator depicting multiple power plants on a grid. The unit basically acts as the control center for a generating station and simulates four separate generating units. The system demonstrates the principles of generator operation and represents the relationships that an operator must master in order to confidently operate generators.
Practice in paralleling machines of various sizes is easily accomplished without tying up the plant simulator. The synchroscope display includes a phase angle display, representing the phase difference between running and incoming.
A graphic representation of how load is shared, by two machines of various sizes, is shown by a house curve. The relationship between real load and reactive load is displayed by meters and by a pictorial diagram of the power triangle on the graphic display. Inductive, resistive, and capacitive loads can be turned on and off reinforcing the effects of reactive load and demonstrating how power factor can be changed.
Users will study topics, such as AC generators, reactive power control, loss of load, and trainer operation. They will also practice hands-on skills, such as correctly performing paralleling operation, generator responses to inductive/resistive/capacitive loads, calculating power factor, and observing a diesel generator autostart and load. The Electrical Generation Fundamentals Training System is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many electrical training systems. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about its many other electrical training systems!
- Published in News
Sustained Demand Boosts Manufacturing Equipment Orders
As consumers, it’s easy to see the effects of a prolonged battle with inflation. It seems like everywhere you go, it costs more these days for the things you need. From grocery stores and restaurants to gasoline and utilities, the consumer dollar just doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.
Are manufacturers experiencing something similar? If you watch the news, it’s pretty much been doom and gloom for some time now, even though many key economic indicators reflect a recovering economy that’s more robust than it’s been since the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it’s true that inflation and high interest rates can affect businesses just like they do consumers, there’s evidence that manufacturers see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, it appears that many manufacturers are ready to resume capital investment in the form of new manufacturing equipment orders.
A recent American Machinist article notes that “[a]n uptick in demand from machine shops and OEMs may indicate manufacturers are overlooking the high interest rates that have restrained new orders through the year to-date, recognizing sustained consumer and business demand for finished products.”
The article reports that “U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers increased their demand for capital equipment during May, with new metal-cutting and metal-forming and fabricating machines rising 21.8% from April to $386.7 million for the month. That represents a 6.5% increase in new orders from May 2023.”
“These figures are supplied by AMT – the [Association] for Manufacturing Technology in its U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report, a monthly review of new orders for machine tools (i.e., ‘manufacturing technology’), that serves as an indicator of future manufacturing activity because it quantifies machining operations’ investments in preparation for new production programs.”
In its report, AMT notes that these developments represent “a realization by manufacturers that capital investment is necessary ‘to meet the sustained demand for goods and machinery from consumers and businesses,’ in spite of the ongoing strain of high interest rates that have weighed against new-order activity since January.”
AMT also observed that “[d]emand for manufacturing technology among OEM is notably strong among electrical equipment manufacturers and power-generation and transmission equipment manufacturers. ‘These industries undoubtedly benefit from the government investment authorized by the CHIPS and Infrastructure acts and are therefore less sensitive to interest rates than others.’”
This is good news for electrical power generation and transmission equipment manufacturers. New equipment often means increased capacity, which in turn means new employees. Ensuring that new employees – and current employees – have the hands-on skills they need to succeed in the workplace remains a top priority.
How do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the electrical skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace? A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start. Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job?
If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
Electrical Safety is no Joke
Did you hear the latest parental advice on how to keep kids from chewing on electrical cords? You ground them until they conduct themselves properly!
OK, we may have started this article with a (terrible, absolutely awful) joke, but we did so to make a point: electrical safety is no joke, especially in the workplace. In fact, bad dad jokes are the only time electrical safety is a laughing matter.
That’s a lesson that a plastic and resin manufacturer with facilities in Georgia and Alabama learned the hard way recently. According to a recent Plant Services article by Alexis Gajewski, “[a]n [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] OSHA investigation has determined that Crown USA Inc. could have prevented the death of a 37-year-old maintenance technician…if they were following required safety rules designed to keep machines from starting up during maintenance.”
Gajewski notes that “[t]he worker was inside an unlocked hooding palletizer, servicing the machine, when they suffered fatal crushing injuries.” OSHA Area Director Jeffery Stawowy said, “Employers must understand federal workplace safety regulations exist to help prevent tragedies like the one that occurred at Crown USA Inc.”
The resulting OSHA investigation revealed “eight serious and six other-than-serious violations. These violations include failing to implement adequate machine guarding, a lack of training on energy control procedures, exposing workers to serious respiratory hazards, and failing to provide proper personal protective equipment (PPE).”
Not only did a maintenance worker needlessly lose their life, but the company also “faces $98,699 in penalties.” Other companies would be wise to learn from Crown USA Inc.’s shortcomings and institute rigorous safety training, including adequate training on energy control procedures.
Manufacturers can always benefit from a regular audit of safety training. The best way to improve a workplace’s safety culture and teach workers to prioritize safety is to implement a quality safety program that teachers workers the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe in the workplace.
As previously mentioned, one of the most basic—and important—areas to focus on is the control of hazardous energy, often known by its more popular moniker “lock-out/tag-out or LOTO.” According to OSHA, “[e]nergy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy can result in serious injury or death to workers.”
That’s exactly the lesson that Crown USA Inc. learned too late. Fortunately, “[p]roper lock-out/tag-out practices and procedures safeguard workers from hazardous energy releases.” Teaching workers hands-on LOTO skills will help them to understand how to properly control hazardous energy and maintain a safe work environment.
For companies looking to improve their safety training, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure the continued safety of the workforce.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers a safety training system specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lock-out/tag-out skills. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
Foundational Electrical Skills Remain Essential in the Modern Industrial Workplace
Do you remember the good old days of the COVID-19 pandemic? Me neither. Empty store shelves devoid of your favorite products. Supply chain disruptions affecting every aspect of your modern life. No, those were not fun times.
Anyone shopping for a new or used vehicle during the pandemic probably remembers the lack of vehicle supply leading to huge price increases. In some cases, thousands of new vehicles sat in parking lots waiting for one tiny, but critical component—usually a semiconductor or “computer chip”—before they could be shipped to dealers for sale.
The fact that our auto industry relied almost exclusively on foreign suppliers for such key components did not go unnoticed by the federal government. In a recent IndustryWeek article, author Sarah Shinton notes that “[i]n 2022, the White House signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, a bipartisan effort to increase domestic advanced semiconductor manufacturing. The legislation made a historic $52 billion investment in American semiconductor research, manufacturing and workforce development.”
Is your area one of those lucky enough to have acquired a new semiconductor manufacturing facility? If so, you may not have heard a lot about it yet. Shinton points out that “new projects are facing construction delays and permitting issues.”
More problematic, however, is the fact that there’s a larger issue looming: “the country might be unable to generate enough electricity to power new fabrication plants, leaving billions of dollars in federal funds stranded and one of its most critical supply chains vulnerable.”
Shinton notes that “[w]hile manufacturing semiconductors has always been energy-intensive, the process is becoming even more so as chips are developed to be smaller and more powerful. The most advanced semiconductors require extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which use ultraviolet light produced by rapid-fired lasers to burn fine details on silicon wafers.”
Unfortunately, “these machines consume 10 times as much power as earlier generations of equipment.” How much power is that? A lot. Shinton points out that “the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturer,…now consumes more electricity than some U.S. states.”
This presents a huge problem for future chip fabrication plants in the U.S. According to Shinton, “semiconductor manufacturing creates large pockets of demand in the areas where fabrication plants are located. A rapid increase in load presents challenges for grid operators who maintain the delicate balance between electricity supply and demand, preventing curtailments or worse, blackouts.”
The phasing out of coal-fired power plants in favor of alternative sources, such as natural gas, solar, and wind, could also be problematic. “The vast amount of electricity needed to onshore this new manufacturing comes at a time when America’s power grid is increasingly unreliable as the country undergoes rapid changes…many regulators are raising alarms that power plants are being retired faster than they are replaced, leaving the country at risk of electricity shortages.”
Moreover, “[t]hese mass retirements are also happening while electricity demand nationwide is increasing from data center growth, expansions in manufacturing and intensifying weather conditions…Over the past year, the five-year load growth forecast nearly doubled, jumping from 2.6% to 4.7%…Without expanding the high-capacity transmission system, our grid will struggle to meet this demand.”
What do these problems mean for the future workforce? Not only will dozens of semiconductor manufacturing facilities need highly skilled workers for their plants, but the industries supporting these new ventures will need thousands of workers with fundamental electrical skills as public utilities work together with industry to ensure a stable electrical grid for the future.
How do companies and schools train the next generation of professionals with the electrical skills they need to succeed in the modern workplace? A thorough review of training systems is a great place to start. Do employees and students have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job?
If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure a competent workforce. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s variety of hands-on electrical training systems that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
Electrical Safety Training Sets the Stage for a Secure Workplace
My neighbor asked me to install a new electrical outlet in his master bathroom. He was eventually shocked to learn that I’m not a licensed electrician! OK, that’s an old—and terrible—joke, but it does underscore the importance of safety when it comes to working with electrical current.
In the modern industrial workplace, there are a whole host of skills that workers need to know. No matter how highly skilled a worker might be, however, nothing will matter if the fundamental basics of safety aren’t mastered.
When it comes to safety, one of the most important skills that workers must learn is how to work safely with electricity. According to a FacilitiesNet article by Ashley Beebe, “[w]hen working with electrical distribution systems and components, frontline maintenance technicians and engineers often face the potential for serious injury or death from electrocution or arc flashes, but knowledge of safety tips, procedures, codes and regulations can help technicians and engineers lessen the risk and potential for serious injury or death.”
That’s why, “[a]ccording to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employees must not work near an electric current, any equipment, or a part they may come in contact with while on the job, unless it has been de-energized. If an electric current has not been de-energized, employees must be protected by isolation, insulation, warning signs or other methods.”
In safety training, the control of hazardous energy is often known by its more popular moniker “lock-out/tag-out or LOTO.” According to OSHA, “[p]roper lock-out/tag-out practices and procedures safeguard workers from hazardous energy releases.” Teaching workers hands-on LOTO skills will help them to understand how to properly control hazardous energy and maintain a safe work environment.
For companies looking to improve their safety training, a thorough review of current training materials is a great place to start. Do employees have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure the continued safety of the workforce.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers a safety training system specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lock-out/tag-out skills. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
Learn Essential Motor Control Skills with DAC Worldwide’s Hands-On Training Systems
Industrial machinery requires a wide variety of different types of motors to function efficiently and effectively. Whether they’re powering a compressor, pump, fan, or conveyor, three-phase induction motors keep operations at industrial facilities moving steadily.
Many induction motors require significant power given their heavy-duty applications. Moreover, they draw a high electrical current upon start-up. In fact, start-up current can sometimes be as much as 5-6 times what they draw at normal operating speed. This is why they require a special device called a motor starter.
If industrial motors relied solely on circuit breakers or fuses, those would trip or blow every time the motor started. That’s obviously unacceptable in an industrial setting. Instead, specialty motor starters start and stop induction motors using manual or automatic switches. They also protect motor circuits from excessive heat caused by overloads during normal operations.
Motor starters consist of two primary parts: (1) an electromagnetically operated set of contacts (called a contactor) starts and stops the motor by beginning or ending the flow of electrical current; and (2) an overload relay that protects the motor from drawing too much current and overheating.
Likewise, motor starters usually consist of two circuits: (1) a power circuit that transmits the primary voltage to the motor via the starter contacts and overload relay; and (2) a control circuit that manages the contactor coil that creates the electromagnetic field that operates the power contacts.
Because there are so many different types of industrial applications that require induction motors, there are likewise a wide variety of different types of motor starters. One common type is the reversing magnetic motor starter. Reversing starters, as their name implies, are specifically designed to efficiently reverse shaft rotation of a three-phase induction motor.
Reversing starters work by interchanging two contactors supplying electrical current to the motor, as well as having both a forward and a reverse starter. To ensure that only one of the starters can be engaged at any particular time, reversing starters feature both mechanical and electrical interlocks for enhanced safety.
Industrial maintenance technicians must be familiar with all sorts of induction motors and their motor starters. Hands-on training in electrical maintenance can elevate your technicians’ skills to the next level.
For example, if you want to ensure your maintenance technicians have the skills to work with reversing magnetic motor starters, DAC Worldwide’s 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter (423-000) offers comprehensive training in the operational principles, wiring, fault troubleshooting, and application of industrial three-phase, reversing magnetic motor starters.
The 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter is self-contained, allowing for individual study by a single student or a small student group. While often used independently, the training aid can be integrated with other optional products relating to programmable controllers, pilot devices, and motor-driven mechanical systems.
This electrical trainer includes a variety of industry-standard components, including: a three-phase induction motor; reversing magnetic motor starter with auxiliary contacts, mechanical and electrical interlocks, and overload relay; on-board wiring devices including Hand-Off-Auto (HOA) control station, manual control station, and automatic timer; color-coded, shielded banana-jack receptacles for all motor leads, supply connections, and control components; circuit breaker with lock-out/tag-out; keyed power switch; pilot light and emergency stop switch; and four instructor fault switches to create common component faults for troubleshooting instruction.
The 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many electrical training systems. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other electrical training systems, such as the Three-Phase, Squirrel Cage Rotor, AC Motor Training System; 1-Phase Motor Control Training System with Manual Starter; DC Permanent Magnet Motor Control Training System; and many more!
- Published in News
- 1
- 2