Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) distributes electricity to over 3.7 million customers in northern Illinois and has a peak load of 23,600 MW. To supply this power, they have 90,000 miles of power lines and operate hundreds of transformer substations.

In New England where manufacturers and companies utilizing welding and its technologies are spread out over a large area, it is often difficult or costly to send employees for training. In response to the need to increase the availability of training, the New England School of Metalwork, a non-profit educational facility specializing in the welding and blacksmithing trades based in Auburn, Maine, conceived the idea of constructing a Mobile Weld Training Center (MWTC) that would allow companies to train employees at their own facilities, thus eliminating travel concerns.

When Terry Cunningham, Emergency Response Coordinator at the General Mills Cedar Rapids, Iowa plant heard about the new FM Approvals Standard 4950 “Welding Pads, Welding Blankets and Welding Curtains for Hot Work Operations,” he was anxious to incorporate FM Approved products into the plant's overall hot work management program. General Mills, a leading global food manufacturer with plants worldwide, has always taken an aggressive approach to reducing risk. “We have many areas where hot work operations take place,” said Cunningham. “Accidents, whether to personnel or to our production process, cause tremendous loss, so implementing a better, safer hot work policy was a priority at General Mills.”

Winnebago Industries, Inc., headquartered in Forest City, Iowa, is the leading United States (U.S.) manufacturer of motor homes, self-contained recreation vehicles used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. Switch to Permanent Gas Tanks Posed a Concern.