From the Blog

    OSHA NRTL Recognition Is Not Field Evaluation Body Accreditation
    , , , , , | August 26, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    OSHA NRTL Recognition Is Not Field Evaluation Body Accreditation

    For decades, confusion has surrounded the relationship between OSHA’s Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory program and the field evaluation of unlisted electrical equipment. Some authorities having jurisdiction, equipment owners, and contractors have assumed that an organization recognized by OSHA as an NRTL must also have been evaluated and approved by OSHA to perform field evaluations. That [...]
    Introducing the Lewis Bass AHJ Finder: Find the Right Building Department Contact Faster
    August 12, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Introducing the Lewis Bass AHJ Finder: Find the Right Building Department Contact Faster

    If you have ever tried to determine who to contact about an electrical field evaluation, unlisted equipment, permitting question, or inspection requirement, you probably already know the problem: finding the right Authority Having Jurisdiction can sometimes be surprisingly difficult. A city website may have separate pages for building, electrical inspections, permitting, planning, and community development. [...]
    An Open Invitation to Building Department Officials Regarding Unlisted Equipment in Their Jurisdiction
    , , | July 29, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    An Open Invitation to Building Department Officials Regarding Unlisted Equipment in Their Jurisdiction

    Every day, building departments and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) across the United States make important decisions that directly impact the safety of workers, facilities, and the public. Those decisions are not easy. They require balancing code compliance, public safety, limited resources, and an ever-growing variety of electrical equipment entering the marketplace. At Lewis Bass International [...]
    Ask Lewis Bass: A Question About UL 508A Control Panels
    July 15, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Ask Lewis Bass: A Question About UL 508A Control Panels

    From the Desk of Lewis Bass Welcome back to "Ask Lewis Bass," our ongoing series where we answer real-world questions from engineers, panel builders, OEMs, and compliance teams working through the challenges of industrial electrical safety and equipment compliance. This week we're tackling a question we receive surprisingly often from companies building custom industrial control [...]
    Random Engineering Fact of the Week: Why the Emergency Stop Button Isn’t Always “Big and Red Enough”
    July 1, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Random Engineering Fact of the Week: Why the Emergency Stop Button Isn’t Always “Big and Red Enough”

    Here's a fun one that surprises even experienced machine builders. You can install the biggest, brightest, most obvious emergency stop button you've ever seen... and it can still contribute to a failed SEMI S2/S8 evaluation. Wait... what? During a SEMI S2/S8 assessment, engineers don't just verify that an emergency stop (EMO) device exists. They also [...]
    This Month in Electrical Safety: May/June 2026 Edition
    June 17, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    This Month in Electrical Safety: May/June 2026 Edition

    As we move through May and into June 2026, electrical safety continues to evolve across the United States. New code adoption efforts, increased OSHA focus on electrical hazards, expanding electrification initiatives, and growing attention to equipment labeling and worker training are shaping the way facilities manage electrical risk. Manufacturers, facility operators, contractors, and safety professionals [...]
    Field Evaluation Services in Oregon: Why Lewis Bass Is Approved to Help
    June 3, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Field Evaluation Services in Oregon: Why Lewis Bass Is Approved to Help

    If your company has unlisted electrical equipment in Oregon, there is good news. Lewis Bass International Engineering Services is approved by the State of Oregon to perform field evaluations and field labeling services on qualifying equipment. That may sound like a small administrative detail, but for manufacturers, semiconductor facilities, research laboratories, machine builders, integrators, and [...]
    Spot the Non-Compliant Machine
    | May 20, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Spot the Non-Compliant Machine

    Walk through enough factories and you start to notice something strange about electrical safety problems: the dangerous machines rarely look dangerous. Most of the time, the issue is subtle. A missing field evaluation label.An incorrect disconnect.A blocked emergency stop.A mystery SCCR rating nobody can explain during the inspection. And suddenly an entire production schedule is [...]
    Ask Lewis Bass: A Question About CE Marking for Modified Machinery
    May 6, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    Ask Lewis Bass: A Question About CE Marking for Modified Machinery

    From the Desk of Lewis Bass Welcome back to “Ask Lewis Bass,” our ongoing series where we answer real-world questions from engineers, compliance teams, and safety professionals working on the safety compliance aspects of their engineering projects. Question: Hi Lewis Bass, We’re working on a CE marking project for a piece of industrial equipment that [...]
    This Month in Electrical Safety: April 2026 Edition
    April 22, 2026| Post by: LBIES Staff

    This Month in Electrical Safety: April 2026 Edition

    Welcome back to This Month in Electrical Safety, where we cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters for manufacturers, integrators, and facility owners across the United States. April 2026 brought a fresh wave of developments; not recycled talking points, but real shifts in how compliance is being interpreted, enforced, and expected in [...]