ETIM North America Gains Momentum in November

ETIM North America, the North American chapter of the only widely accepted product classification system that has been in use for over 20 years, gained further momentum in November.

The association, charged with refining the ETIM model terminology into American English, French Canadian and Spanish, welcomed new members, the launch of a new Product Committee and completion of a sub-category in the Power Distribution segment.

For those unfamiliar with ETIM, it is an internationally adopted standard for the classification of technical product data, enabling the efficient exchange of product descriptors from the manufacturers who produce it, down through their distribution channels, to specifiers and end-users of products. It is a digitized, language-independent, model that is translated into local languages.

New Members

• The following manufacturers joined in November:

• Legrand, a leading wiring device, lighting control, cable management and lighting manufacturer
• Appleton Group, a division of Emerson, and featuring leading brands such as Appleton, O_Z Gedney, SolaHD and Nelson. Appleton is involved in key product categories such as controls, distribution equipment, plugs & receptacles, lighting, boxes & fittings and power quality.
• Tele-Controls, a leading Austrian company of relays, meters, soft-starters and more that is bringing new solutions to the US, and
• Prysmian Group, a leading wire and cable manufacturer most noted for its Prysmian (formerly General Cable) and  Draka brands.

These companies join other leading manufacturers as direct members and participate in Product Expert committees and can vote on recommendations to change the product classification standards.

Additionally, ETIM welcomed the following groups and their members:

• NEMRA, representing independent electrical manufacturer representatives, who sought to keep its members involved in the forefront of the electrical industry’s technological evolution. Jim Johnson commented “Manufacturer representatives are a critical link in the supply chain and need to be involved in industry initiatives. We appreciate that ETIM NA desired our participation. Reps need to be aware of what ETIM is to support their distributors and manufacturers, and the ETIM model will need to be integrated into manufacturer representative sales, operating and warehouse management systems to ensure data integrity, facilitate commerce and improve reporting. Our members will also be able to contribute to the Product Expert committees with insights on how end-users describe products.”
• IMARK Group and its 800+ members are now members of ETIM NA with Jerry Knight, IMARK Electrical’s president commenting “It’s becoming clear that ETIM is the standard for the industry to drive product classification, and to help our members achieve their goals with respect to emerging technologies and improved customer service.”

These organizations joined ETIM NA so that their members could participate in Product Expert committees to lend their product knowledge to improve the quality of the standard. While their members cannot vote unless they become direct members, they bring the voice of the customer to the discussion.

Distributors were also active this month as McNaughton McKay joined the association. McNaughton McKay joins Sonepar and Summit Electric as ETIM North America distribution members.

Jeff Balentine, Director of Enterprise Data for Sonepar US also joined ETIM North America’s Electrical Sector Board. He joins Jon Duffie from Siemens, IDEA’s David Oldfather and Mary Shaw, Executive Director of ETIM North America.

Committee Work

The Power Distribution and Industrial Automation Product Expert Committee also completed the push button sub-category and is now working on its next four categories.

Following this committee members will work on:

• Front element for push button
• Control circuit devices combination in enclosure
• Front element for mushroom push-button
• Emergency stop complete
• Enclosure for control circuit devices
• Front element for indicator light
• Selector switch, complete
• Accessories for control circuit devices
• Auxiliary contact block
• Lamp holder block for control circuit devices
• Foot-/palm switch complete
• Indicator light complete
• Legend plate for control circuit devices
• Text plate for control circuit devices
• Control switch, Joystick
• Adapter for control circuit devices
• Potentiometer for control circuit devices
• Hood/lens for circuit control devices
• LED-lamp/Multi-LED
• Blind cover for control circuit devices
• Special tool for control circuit devices
• Front bezel pushbutton
• Protective cover for control circuit devices

On November 17^th the second Product Committee was launched – Wiring Devices / Lighting Controls. The proposed categories to be worked on in this committee include Domestic switching devices, Industrial socket/plug applications, Low-voltage industrial components, Devices for distribution board/surface mounting. The subcategories for these four expand to:

• Outlet box for underfloor installation
• Tube cable outlet
• Switch
• Socket outlet
• Cover frame for domestic switching devices
• Control element/cover plate for domestic switching devices
• Surface mounted housing for flush mounted switching device
• Combination switch/wall socket outlet
• Decoration element for domestic switching devices
• Transition adapter for domestic switching devices
• Razor socket outlet
• Potential equalization socket outlet
• Accessories for socket outlets/plugs with protective contact
• Round socket/plug for high currents
• Panel-mounted CEE socket outlet
• CEE socket outlet
• CEE plug for mounting on machines and equipment
• CEE coupling
• Accessories for CEE plugs and sockets
• CEE socket outlet combination
• CEE socket outlet, disconnectable, with fuse
• Perilex socket outlet
• Explosion proof CEE socket outlet
• Switch disconnector
• Accessories for low-voltage switch technology
• Fuse switch disconnector
• Control switch
• Switch operating shaft
• Off-load switch
• Socket outlet for distribution board

Lighting controls and lighting control systems will also be addressed by the committee as new members join.

New membership is encouraged to support the above Product Expert Committees to expand expertise and add additional sub-categories. Additionally, new Product Expert Committees as added based upon membership expertise in a category.

Software companies are also encouraged to join the association so that information is democratized as well as ETIM product classification standards are integrated into all software platforms throughout the electrical industry ecosystem.

For more information on ETIM North America, visit www.etim-na.org. David Gordon from Channel Marketing Group is also on the ETIM North America Board of Directors.