Old odds & ends articles I have published over the years

Attention Socialists and Commie Liberals

When there is no more Capitalism

In America

Who will answer the call for Help?

This week’s terrible 7.5 Earth Quake in Haiti has produced tremendous horrors

And who was the first ones on the scene? Of course the United States of America

Not Russia or China it was the USA.

There with troops, Search and Rescue Teams, Medical Aid and food to assist the hundreds of thousands of survivors and to help dig out the victims hopefully before they pass away.

In fact every time no matter where the disaster occurs on earth there is the USA with money and aid. No other country can do and has the resources we have here in the United States to be able to assist in such a fast and efficient system when there is a disaster.

And if you take away America’s capitalism you take away its ability to help the world.

Because you will not have the corporations who are ready and able to donate supplies

To emergency’s like they do now. Instead you will have a bureaucracy like the UN which gets nothing done. And shipments will never arrive or will be robbed or diverted.

Better think about that all of you who hate America and its capitalist system.

Yes Capitalists can be Pigs , greedy and evil and they need to be called on the carpet and dealt with but most capitalists are good hard working individuals who give back because they have been given all the bounty and opportunities of this country.

As you watch this week the tragedy in Haiti unfold just ask yourself if America was not there how much worse would it be. For that matter when there is no more Capitalism in America who will come and help your town when there has been a disaster.

Before we go Full steam ahead with

Residential Sprinklers in Pa.

There are questions ??? which must be answered.

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Fire Investigator and Alarm contractor

With the passage of ICC regulations now requiring Fire Protection Sprinklers in residential properties there are many questions which need answered before we start enforcing them. That is if the builders and there cronies do not see to it that we exclude that part of the ICC Fire Code.

Having spent many years dealing with commercial  Fire sprinklers and there problems due to the cold weather and low water pressure we have in this area I am already familiar with all the problems which are going to follow us over into residential.

First off what about the residential systems will they be required to monitored 24/7 by a monitoring company or will a simple bell due like we have on some commercial systems?

 When that bell does go off lets hope some one hears it and calls 911 . If a bell does not do it will insurance companies then require monitoring to get a fire policy and talking about insurance companys will they raise residential rates due to all the damage a sprinkler system can cause? A customer of mine built a big home in Fayette County and was among one of the first to install a residential sprinkler system  in early 90’s upon notifying his insurance company he installed them his policy went up 50% instead of going down becuse now there was the danger of all the water damage should a sprinkler head pop.

Needless to say he turned them off and depends on the smoke detectors. Which brings up another question if a residential owner turns off his sprinkler system and then has a fire will insurance company not pay and could he face a code violation citation? Then talking about accidental trips what about

The cold weather we have hear and home systems popping during the winter when a home may be vacant while people are vacationing down south or selling there home.

This is when traditionally we turn all water off in homes and lower or turn off heat all together?

Will we then have to insist on dry or anti freeze systems and monitored low temp alarms being used to prevent accidents better yet what about pre-action systems in a home how many heads will get knocked off by kids playing or people moving furniture etc.

Then we have the problem with water supply will municipal water suppliers demand a separate water meter and then require you pay commercial rate for sprinkler water better believe it if they can get away with it. Then again what about the water pressure it self if there is not enough pressure or homes are driven off a well will we be required to install in ground tanks and water pumps to supply adequate pressures like we do with commercial buildings? .Then you also have the additional cost of back flow devices will it be required there tested every year just like they do in commercial .Will the residential sprinklers need annual testing as well?

Yes I see many problems coming how many more trips will you be making with your Dept. in the coming years especially in the winter time. And of course the big question

20 years from now when that sprinkler system is really needed will it even work just like the Arc fault Interrupters they have been requiring in the electrical code.

Well as usual I guess we are going to find out the hard way.

All the usual confusion and everything else that goes on every time we pass new codes and years of effort to get things straightened out. Just look at all the confusion UCC/ICC initially caused and now we are adding sprinklers to the mix and now as of July 09 home remodeling contractors’ will have to register with the state attorney generals offices. Plus grand fathering on UCC code for inspectors who have not gotten there inspection cards is running out in may yes it is going to be yet another interesting year in Pa. because no one has had the foresight to take any action to the next step to see what can go wrong.

Yes we need sprinklers yes we need regulation but we also need the wisdom to think thru what we are doing before we do it in this state and this is something it has always lacked and probably always will.

Did you know the Porno Industry is responsible?

For pushing many new technologies

Yes the very industry which is the dirty little secret everyone giggles and laughs about

Is actually responsible for pushing various technologies and they have been doing it for some time. From the original form of Comics to Super 8MM film projectors so voice could be heard and they where compact to VHS format recorders and Photographic Camera lens upgrades to many graphic and flash type upgrades on the Internet the Porn Industry has helped to push the technology to make it more available to the public. Now the Porn Industry is behind the push to get 3D-TV‘s into the home to make Porn an even more realistic experience .The Porn Industry is a Multi Billion Dollar a year industry with its own awards show for movies and photo shoots Just like the Oscars and Emmys

It’s to the point that some Porn starts are more recognizable and bigger stars than traditional Hollywood Actors, with Porn everywhere.

Of course no one ever admits going into a Porn Store or viewing it in the Internet yet some one is doing it. In fact pornography is an ever growing addiction problem in not only the US but in many foreign countries, and this addition has ruined lives and families

And has also contributed to a rise in HIV and other sexual diseases when images are not enough and physical contact with a prostitute becomes necessary thing in there life.

Believe it or not you can now buy sex toys which can be connected to a computer and even remotely operated by another individual.

So where is Porno going well the latest item released this month is a life like robotic sex doll. I can see it now every little pervert can have there very own life like girlfriend hiding in there closet.

It seems like the worlds oldest profession just like porno is not going away any time soon and as we get deeper into a country that has become an open Sodom and Gomorrah Like you have in San Francisco then you really do have to wonder about the year 2012 and if the Aztecs are right the end of the world as we know it will be gone.

Do we still need to have 2 phone lines to a Digital Communicator?

For Fire Alarm Systems

By: Nick Markowitz Jr.

Have they days were 2 phone lines hooked up to a Fire Alarm Digital Communicator also know as a DACT  become numbered I believe so.

As more and more phone lines go digital where there feed by either a T1 Channel Bank

or other digital technology like Verizon’s FIOS redundant phone lines are really pointless.

In the true Analog POTS or Plain old Telephone Days having 2 numbers made sure the signal would get thru since chances of both numbers going out at the same time where slim but when you talk about modern digital phone lines or what is known in the NFPA 72 Code as Managed Facilities Voice Networks or MFVN when you loose one you loose them all. Because when Broad Band Signal which tells the interface device to put out the individual voice paths on these digital systems is lost all signal paths are lost this includes Voice circuits, Internet and Phone. So at this point what sense does it make to require 2 phone lines?

It does not. Ultimately ATT and other Communication corporations want POTS to go away all together by 2014 and yes this will cause a burden to many devices which require true dial tone to be able to dial but luckily there are alternatives available to keep things running, such as cellular and 2 way radio along with dialer capture units which retransmit the signal over the internet known as Internet dialer s. But the bigger question has still not been answered and that is safety back up most digital systems have no battery back up to keep operating or if they do its only for a couple hours where the good old pots line keeps on working. You say no problem when digital goes out we know its not working as internet dialer s  are supervised  but what good does that do when you can not tell what is going on at the unattended premise when it’s a long holiday weekend.

But this is the price we are going to pay for digital convergence and this weekend of Feb. 6^th 2010 is really going to prove out all the disadvantages of digital with snowfalls of 20-30 plus inches of snow along the east coast. Better get out the cell phone and hope it works and you have a car charger so you can keep in communication. Since many are losing there electricity from the weight of the snow.

Do you know what’s going on above and below your

Main Street Store Fronts

It might surprise you.

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Fire Investigator

As a subcontractor for a very large Nationwide Burglar/Fire Alarm Servicing Company

I get to spend a lot of time in the Old  Main Street America in old Store fronts many of them 3 -5 story  old fashioned 5&10 stores which had names like G.C. Murphy ,Ben Franklin and W.W.Grant more than likely you had one in your great old town. 

There all gone now having faced financial problems due to declining populations and people shopping at malls instead of Main Street.

Which are now being used as Furniture Rental Stores, Dollar Stores, Urban style clothing and Check Cashing Stores.

Which only occupy the first floor.

Often the basements and upper floors have been left vacant  for years many now for decades.

And they have been allowed to decay to point broken windows now allow Pigeons to roost there ,and the poisonous pigeon waste besides a inhalation hazard attracts rats.

Often roofs leak badly and are starting to sag in since down spouts are jammed or missing causing the roof back up problems when it rains and snows .Often times roofs have been overlaid with so many layers or roof material it goes up and over protective firewall parapets. Most of the restroom facilities’ no longer work and only 1 or 2 stalls and sinks even work the others often have been sealed off improperly and are a stinking mess when pipes back up in the buildings . The Electrical systems are old and dangerous often rusted with water damage and all types of illegal and unsafe wiring done.  Exit and emergency lights some times work or are non existent .There are no fire alarms or sprinklers in these buildings and little do the people shopping in theses stores know the dangers above and below them. The buildings owners could care less and code enforcement is all but non existent. You find these types of buildings all over the US.

They were allowed to be reoccupied on the first floor only becuse the upper floors did not meet exiting requirements so the where sealed off from shoppers and allowed to rot.

The new shops moved in put up some new wall coverings a couple new lights and that’s about it. There all budget related shops and work on a bare minimum profit so they will not spend any money on them and land lords get minimal rents so they will spend no money either.

When one of these buildings does catch fire it is usually catastrophic as the fire will often spread and take several buildings if not the whole block with it. Many times lives are lost

And all kinds of illegal activity is discovered as well in some of the thought to be vacant buildings.

In some communities Main Street is slowly starting to come back and buildings are being stripped and properly renovated but all to often its the exact opposite .Because some communities will turn an eye and allow a building to be occupied just to get the taxes and hopefully some blight eliminated.

And there are thousands of these buildings sitting out there like ticking time bombs.

What is the answer to the situation I leave that up to you our code community.

There is no way we can just level a block and rebuild it yet we need to also enforce codes which is hard when there are many absentee landlords and small enforcement budgets.

So for now it is a juggling act.

Do you run Low Voltage Wiring Outside?

Are you following National Electrical Code?

Are you putting your self at risk by not doing so?

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Fire Investigator

An alarm company runs a cable between 2 buildings across an alley way and put it at 12 foot assuming it is high enough, no truck tall enough coming down the alley can hit it they thought.

Wrong one day a Crane Truck 12’9” comes down the alley and pulls out all the wiring and causes

Damage to both buildings .Which also resulted in a surge in the wiring destroying the camera system.

The Alarm Company assures the building owner since the trucker took it down the truck companies insurance will pay. Wrong the investigator comes on scene and denies the claim because the installers failed to follow National Electrical Code which requires wires in this situation to be 14 foot high. In addition the wire was not properly grounded and surge protected as required by the NEC the alarm company will now have to pay for the damages.

An alarm company is hired to install a camera system in an open dock area of an industrial building to watch where flammable gas cylinders  are being stored. Under NEC this area is defined as a hazardous area even thou it is open on 2 sides it still requires the use of very specific methods as to how the wiring is installed and wiring sealed to prevent explosions because gas is being transferred in this area .The alarm company mistakenly believes its low voltage wiring does not require the use of  explosion proof fittings and components  and installs standard equipment in the room, a month later there’s a major explosion and the room is destroyed and three employees are hospitalized with serious burns. And the investigators trace the ignition source back to the alarm company not using proper wiring measures, besides the lawsuits and local code violation citations they are facing they are also facing massive fines from OSHA as well.

An alarm company installs IP Cameras on several light poles in a parking lot and lightning strikes one of the poles sending a surge thru all the equipment and takes out the computers in the building and at the same time starts a small electrical fire.

The alarm company claims it’s an act of god and not there responsibility. Wrong again when the investigator gets on scene and again determines the install fails to meet the NEC section 900 which requires all low voltage cables entering buildings be properly protected  by using surge protection and bonding and grounding applications. The alarm company also faces a code violation citation for not following the code as well after the fire and code people investigate.

Cable companies and Telephone Companies include surge protection on all of there installs what makes an alarm company think it is exempt from following these same codes.

Mostly it is a lack of proper education in our industry and apathy on the part of alarm company owners to get there employees properly trained. Plus when going to even an approved training class all too often these courses fail to properly recognize and endorse the use of the NEC .

I see it all the time when it comes to fire alarms better than 90% of the fire systems I have taken over or serviced for others are non code compliant when it comes to how Fire Alarm wiring is to be properly run and installed. This is why I feel alarm companies should be employing electricians to install the wiring to code not using techs who are not trained to follow the NEC and when wiring is not properly installed this is when systems fail. It is time the Security Industry takes a good hard look at its self and its training and start turning out properly trained techs because as the world gets more in the mood litigate

And as OSHA , NFPA, ICC and other codes are being more closely watched and updated as technology is changing at a fast pace and more and more integration of computers becomes involved there is now a much higher chance of something going very wrong and an incident hitting seven figures in damage.

The industry needs to get out of its head we are doing low voltage and do not need to meet codes and instead realize we are installing Class II and III wiring which must meet all applicable codes because if we do not do it right some one gets hurt.

Due care must be taken when

Replacing old AC Type Fire Systems

Including the use of OSHA Lock Out Tag Out Procedure

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Before there was a Fire Alarm Manufacturing Company by the name of Fire-Lite, Silent Knight ,etc.  with panels which incorporated electronic components in them there where companies known as Faraday , Auth , Autocall , Standard Time , Edwards etc. which produced panels which ran strictly on 120/240 volts AC and used relays and big wire wound resistors it had 2 separate power phases to the panel if the primary phase would go out the secondary phase would take over and sound a trouble bell or gong.

Big large AC series wired bells or horns were used in the system to sound the alarm some where steady while some pulsed out a defined code

These systems while primitive next to modern panels where the Cadillac’s of there day however. They where built in big heavy red or silver steel enclosures which contained large pieces of ½ or thicker slate which the components where mounted to.

Yes they where dinosaurs but they where built to run for ever. However as technology has changed so has the Fire alarm Industry these old panels which had only Pull Stations or Heat Detectors to activate them and had no smoke detectors or battery back up have long gone past there usefulness yet there are still many of them out there in Apartment buildings and town halls and even some schools and as codes evolve they will still need to be pulled out and replaced. The replacement of these panels carries with it a very high risk of danger to technicians who are not familiar with how the power was supplied to these panels who try to replace them. The problem starts at how they where wired into the 120/230 volt circuit in the building. Because the small 30 or 60 amp  knife switch boxes that are wired to provide power to the panels are not fused or breaker protected like normal knife switch boxes. Fire alarm systems in those days where required to be wired a head of the main switch gear so that even if the buildings main breaker was pulled power was always maintained to the fire system. So when a technician goes into to either pull the 120 AC wiring out or install the 120 AC wiring in the knife switch box they are dealing with a very high danger potential should they make contact with the  knife switches upper lug assembly which is not over current protected. Should they slip with a screwdriver it will physically melt and explode instead of tripping the buildings main breaker . This is why only a qualified electrician should be removing and remaking the 120 volt connection to these  knife switch boxes ,or they should be plugged off and abandoned and new circuit feed to the fire systems which is properly breaker protected.

OSHA lock out tag out procedures must be utilized when working with these old switches because there is always the potential for the switch assembly not moving properly or breaking and 120 volts being maintained into the panel. Technicians should carry and know how to properly use  UL Listed  Category I or II 120 volt AC testers such as a  properly used proximity tester or multi meter to make sure power is fully off when operating one of these old knife switches. In fact even modern breaker controlled fire panels worked on by technicians are by law are required to follow OSHA Lock Out Tag out procedures as well. If your technicians are not properly trained and utilizing this procedure the fines can be substantial should an accident occur .One single violation of OSHA Lock Out Tag Out can result in a fine of $15,000.00

Alarm companies may think they are exempt from OSHA but you are not Even one man companies should know understand and be able to fully implement the safety rules and regulations of OSHA or you operate at your own peril.

Yes these old AC fire systems bring a lot of laughs and nostalgia and the old slate control boards make neat discussion pieces in the den or office . But they can also kill when not properly handled.

 

Ensuring your Alarm Signals

Reach the Central Station in the age of Digital Phone Lines

By: Nick Markowitz Jr.

The problem happens more often in residential systems but the commercial alarm side sees its share of these problems as well. A customers alarm goes off but the Central Station does not receive the signal. After a tech is sent to investigate it is found that the customer has switched to a new phone carrier and the phone line was hooked up wrong or the format being sent by the panel is incorrect. Now what? I have been dealing with this for many years now and I have some tips which can help guide you thru the jungle that has been created out there with all the different phone carriers including preventive measures which can warn you when a problem develops.

Tip 1. All panels should be set to send a test signal even if the panel can only be set for 30 days you will eventually know something is wrong when you do not get the test ideally if panel can be set to weekly is even better. When your customer gets the fail to communicate at there panels hopefully they will call you.

Tip 2. If you send out a newsletter or even with monthly billing , be sure to let customers know to alert you when they change phone service and to also test there alarm before the phone installer leaves to make sure it is working properly.

Tip 3. set the panel to communicate with Contact ID  , SIA or Modem II formats these are true digital formats which digital phone lines have an easier time transmitting and the noise on digital lines  can confuse older 3/1 4/1 formats and trick them into thinking they communicated.  If one of the modern formats is not available use  BFSK-4/2 format which also works well with digital in fact some customers who switch to VOIP style phone service you will find 4/2 is only format which will transmit over VOIP.

Tip 4. Shut off the rotary back up feature and use only touch tone dialing many digital lines no longer recognize rotary and if they do it must be much slower than most panels dial. Shutting off rotary can help insure a signal gets thru as many panels try touch tone then switch to rotary which can slow the panel from getting thru on additional tries.

Tip.5 Use the alternative 10 digit non toll free number for back up in case the toll free number is not working properly also do not forget the 1 digit at beginning of the 10 digit number.

Tip 6. Many of my high risk commercial fire customers who are using digital phone lines

I have added a Cell back up unit to make sure the signal gets thru

Tip 7.  Make sure the Channel bank or other digital phone line interface is backed up with adequate sized UPS to increase battery life to required 24 hr back up.

Tip 8. I set where possible panels which are on Digital lines to send there AC loss signals

As soon as possible so it is known there is a problem on site before digital phone lines go down.  By the time batteries go low on a fire system and it try’s to send a signal  the digital phone service may already be out. Not a good situation on a long holiday weekend.

Tip 9. Where possible if downloading is available to a panel an occasional look-in with software on a long weekend can help insure peace of mind and catch problems.

These tips are what I am using to make sure signals get thru and it has helped greatly in catching phone problems before a tragedy happens.

Heavy Wet Snows brought down many

Electrical lines and with it

Many questions like. Who owns it?

By: Nick Markowitz Jr.

Heavy wet snows as much as 36 inches this month in some places has brought down plenty of trees and electrical wires with it, here in Western Pa.

Which has brought with it the question many times who owns this line?

Typically during storms the fire dept will respond and clear the trees plus wires, if there Cable TV or telephone as there considered safe to move most times, and then notifies the local utility as to where they are for follow up repair.

But this often brings with it trouble when the Cable or Telco provider arrives.

Many times it is found out that some one has strung a cable, security, data or telephone wire across a roadway to get to another structure they own and unless permission has been granted by utilities who own the poles and state dept of transportation which regulates the road way this wire has been put up illegally and now brings with it a considerable amount of litigation and costs including fines and cost of any damage which occurred when the line pulled free.

Many times because the act was illegal there is no insurance coverage and the persons responsible for putting up the lines are 100% responsible for the bills which can be in the thousands if vehicles and poles or structures are damaged.

In addition the utility companies who own the poles where the line was illegally attached can collect monthly rent for the use of there poles as well.

All because some one did not want to go thru the hoop jumping it takes to legally go across a road way including engineering studies, permits and having proper insurance rider. In addition to the lines being illegal they are often not installed properly to National Electrical Code 900 standards which sets heights a wire must be set such as 20 ft over a road way and proper surge/lightning protection where the wire enters the buildings.

So all in all when these illegal wires are finally discovered by either a survey crew or knocked down during weather related incidents or accidents the bottom line is some one is going to pay.

All of this could have been avoided in the first place if  wireless technology where deployed to get the signal across but since the cost of a wire is much cheaper and will deal with it later attitude is too prevalent around here then things can get really sticky.

The problems of line in the air in general can be cause for concern even when there on privately owned property and poles because again many times codes are not followed.

I responded to an electrical emergency at a car dealership several years ago which I had just picked up as a customer, where wiring and shiny streamers where strung from pole to pole and pole to building and an employee backing up a car struck a light post and brought down all 8 of them because the poles where not properly installed. It looked like a 3 stooges show when I got there and luckily no one got hurt and just the cars and building where damaged to the tune of $50,000.00

But again had codes been followed damage would have been minimal. Needless to say the insurance representative was not too happy over the situation and the contractor who put up the poles is now facing litigation.

Light poles and power poles falling over from deterioration has always been a problem in this end of the state where it is difficult and expensive to bury wires .So when traveling thru Western Pa. during a storm it is always a good thing to keep a close eye ahead when driving so you do not become the next victim of falling trees and wires during a storm.

And should you ever have wires drop on your vehicle during a storm never ever get out of your vehicle. Stay put till emergency services arrive or stepping out could get you electrocuted. If you must exit do to fire do so by jumping clear from vehicle with both feet never one foot on car and one on ground or consider yourself dead. Any wire found on the ground should always be considered energized even if it looks like a low voltage wire because low voltage wires can be hot with power from a high voltage wire which has fallen across it.

Holidays and Long Weekends

The dangers our country faces every time we  take time off to celebrate?

By Nick Markowitz Jr.

Its time to turn off all the lights. Lock the doors and gates and take off for the long Holiday Weekend.  Be it Memorial Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Many places close up and enjoy the time off and places which must be staffed like Hospitals ,Police depts. TV Stations  Etc . Are running with very limited staff and this is where the problems can begin.

Many businesses now rely on technology to warn if something goes wrong to notify on call personnel to problems and with such reliance on technology we are leaving our selves very vulnerable to not only things that can go wrong naturally like broken water pipes and accidental fires .But we leave our selves open to major criminal activity and possible terrorist attack.

Take for instance the local AM/FM radio station at one time some one had to be always on duty to make sure the station was running properly and to make sure any emergency weather or other messages where gotten out to the public. Today many stations are fully automated no one is on site and if you needed to get a emergency evacuation message out to the public due to a accidental release of dangerous chemicals you could not do it.

This even goes for many Low power TV stations which are fully automated and with so many people on Cable or satellite dishes getting there attention is almost impossible.
Many communities in addition have shut off there fire depts. emergency sirens and dismantled them as well to. One possibility to get the message out is to have the local National Weather Service office send out a signal which activates emergency weather and disaster radios but many Responders do not know you can do this and not everyone has one of these radios. Even if your successful in getting the message to the weather service and they activate the emergency signal tones at the fully automated radio and TV stations your depending on the technology at the station to pick up the message and retransmit it ,some times it gets thru some times it does not .Even the manned stations have to have some one who is paying attention to retransmit as well and many times they can miss the signal if they are busy handling another problem, and a signal can be delayed for several minutes before it gets out.

But let’s talk about what caused the release of the dangerous chemicals’ in the first place.

Many company’s have eliminated there weekend Guard and maintenance staff and instead are relying on automation systems and alarms to take there place again some are installed properly and work well some do not and even if an alarm system picks up the signal getting  the signal from the plant to the people who need to respond is another problem, since many plants to save money use internet based phone lines to get signals out and these phone lines unlike traditional phone lines are them selves very vulnerable to not working when needed becuse they must be powered from both ends unlike traditional phone lines.

So that simple power failure in your community has now turned into a disaster because everyone is trying to save a buck.

Of course having guards and maintenance staff in place is not a 100% guarantee there will not be problems but at least some one is on site to react and make sure proper people are contacted even if they have to get in a vehicle and drive down to where they can notify emergency personnel. That is if emergency personnel are at there stations. Many communities no longer staff there police/fire stations after 5pm and 911 centers handle all the emergency traffic. Many smaller communities do not have local police on after 5pm or weekends either leaving the emergencies up to state police and sheriff depts. that have very large territories to cover with 2-3 officers. Some times only 1 available.

Then the other problem faced on holiday’s weekends is getting hold of people on the “on-call” call list especially this weekend in Pa and other big hunting states have there opening of Buck Deer season where an entire work staff could be gone for the weekend and no reaching any one.

This is why weekends are so dangerous  too many places in this country do not think out there emergency and back up plans and this is why we are seeing bigger problems as preventive and predictive maintenance programs are cut or abandoned.

Yes technology is a wonderful thing when it works but when it does not all hell can and does go wrong. It is not just weekends but any time after 5pm in this country.

Yes we all need a break to relax but before we do relax there needs to be some serious due diligence to make sure if things go wrong when we take off do not get out of hand.

If this article has made you uneasy it should because I am one of those people who are On-Call on the weekends and I get to see all the things that can and do go wrong.

I am very worried as more and more automation technology is being brought on line and there is no human interaction. Technology is a good thing but it can come back and bite when not handled properly.

If the Steel Industry came back to the Rust Belt

The jobs would not?

How technology has replaced Man Power

If President Obama where to pass an edict this very day.

That all Steel mills and manufacturing jobs where to return to the United States

So Americans could be gainfully employed.

This unfortunately would not be the case because technology has replaced over three quarters of the jobs once done by hand.

Take the Old LTV (J&L) Steel plant in Pittsburgh where my father retired from as a Motor Inspector (Electrician)

When he first entered the mill in late 50’s there where 20,000 men working in this plant and if they where to rebuild it on the exact spot with new technology it would take up only 1/3 rd the property and only 1500 workers would be needed, to produce twice the amount of steel.

The same would be true in the Machine Industry which made many parts from steel needed in machinery. The days of manual machines is very limited almost all new shops   use CNC automatic machines which a machinist programs the computer and the machine some of which can use up to 48 different tool ends  to automatically take a piece of steel and turn out a product. One machinist with one CNC machine can replace a floor with 20 machinists using manual machines.

This is also true in Drafting Depts. Where a floor full of Drafters was needed to produce a blueprint for a building .One drafter with a CAD program on a computer can replace 30 drafters.

Look at how many people who worked as Printers are no longer needed either when you needed the plan printed it went to a Print Shop to have copy’s made. Not any more with auto plotters and other high end electronic computer printers. You can even make your own business cards and sales brochures as well.

Just look at how many thousands of jobs in the Photographic Film industry have been replaced by a simple Digital Camera which needs no film. Over 300,000 jobs lost just in the film industry. This does not count all the jobs at Photo Stores and 1 hr Mini Labs which where lost also .When they were no longer needed which came as a total shock to the industry .They never expected digital technology to take over as fast as it did.

How many stores invested upwards of $200,000.00 in a mini photo lab to have it go obsolete before they ever got to pay the machine off.

Look at the railroads you now have a 3 man crew  to run a train and no more caboose when trains at one time took a 7 man crew. Plus all the men who stood at railroad crossings and stopped traffic before automatic gates were installed .When the rail roads went from steam to diesel over 500,000 individuals ended up losing there jobs either in the rail system or as part of what they supplied to railroads no longer being needed.

Then look at the Automotive Industry how robots have taken over and jobs eliminated

They have factories in Japan where robots totally build cars no human intervention.

Even in the Radio and TV industry many jobs are gone what once took a crew of 12 individuals to run a 50,000 watt AM Radio station one man now does it.

Yes each and every industry you look at has become more and more dependent on technology and less on man power.

Why there are many reasons, which we can explore.

Much of it has to do with Government Regulation starting with the Minimum Wage

That made thousands of low pay service jobs just go away completely.

Jobs that should only pay small amounts for the skill required now have a mandatory rate which must be paid. Then all employers must cover the cost of Workers Compensation

Insurance ,Unemployment Insurance and the other half of the wage tax an employee earns. Yes that’s right employees only pay half of the tax due there employer picks up the other half. Ask any one who is self employed if you do not believe me.

Then there are Overtime regulations and accident insurance and all kinds of other things an employer must pay for .That they do not have to pay when a machine does it. Why do you think Big Box stores pay thousands of dollars for automated check out machines instead of a human? It is cost and a machine is always there and works all the time and never complains or try’s to sue its employer. In the end a check out machine is half what it costs to maintain a cashier at minimum wage.

So if your one of those people looking for the idea job you’re out of luck in fact being able to keep a job for life like my dad did is totally unrealistic in this day and age most employees now change jobs every 3-5 years.

Plus the way whole industries just disappear the only way to stay ahead is by keeping your education constantly upgraded so you can jump into that next job .When the new technology comes about.  This goes for everyone even those of us in the trades must keep up with current trends or technologies or expect not to be working. You must stay current with trends as well so you will know when it is time to jump to another line of work as well. Look at how many back office and tech support service jobs have been sent to India.

This even goes for medical jobs when you go to a hospital late at night and need an X-Ray chances are the image is being read by X-ray specialists in India.

So as you can see it takes a lot of research these days to be able to keep ahead of the job market and be gainfully employed. I know I have had to reinvent myself several times after injuring my back then Crushing my heal which left me with a permanent limp and now dealing with Cancer.

In my case all my years of working with electrical, mechanical and electronic devices

I have been keeping busy as a trouble shooter and Integrator becuse I have been trained in several different fields and that’s the trick find a niche fill it and be the best at it and you will always have work one way or the other.