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CIRCUIT
CIRCUIT
A publication of stuart c. irby co.
Volume 2
Issue 1
Jan, Feb, March
2006
inside:
Letter from the
President
pg. 1
Remote Data Collection
pg. 2
Priester Supply
Aquisition
pg. 3
Arc Flash-Dont Be A
Statistic
pg. 5
Energy Ef ciency
pg. 7
A Bright Future For
Machine Safety
pg. 12
New easyID
TM
Technology
pg. 15
Cost Savings Using
20 Foot EMT
pg. 17
New Products
pg. 19
New Services - Online
Class Registration
pg. 21
www.irby.com
Safety
how far will you go? The ability to provide accurate and
predictable pricing for orders made 2005
a very difcult year for manufacturers,
distributors and customers alike. Suppliers
of petrochemical products and copper, two
widely used commodities in the electrical
industry, saw unprecedented volatility in
their supply and demand resulting in day-
to-day price increases passing through
the entire supply chain. While the reasons
for these increases varied, they were in
part heavily driven by (1) the expanded
global economy already strengthened
on account of the construction boom in
China and India, (2) the price increase
in the cost of a barrel of oil due to the
impacts of Hurricane Katrina, and (3) the
lack of rening capacity to compensate
the worlds increased demand for oil.
For the rst time in recent memory,
suppliers to the manufacturers of products
we distribute established costing methods
that dictated pricing be set when a
product is shipped rather than when it is
ordered. This situation made it challenging
to quote a job, get the purchase order,
place the order, and have the product
shipped and delivered to the customer at
the original price quoted. Such methods
also inuenced price elasticity by placing
additional pressure on manufacturers
and distributors to maintain accurate
and exible inventory levels. Ultimately,
our job within the supply chain is to have
quality products from world class suppliers
available to our customers at competitive
prices and delivered with unsurpassed
service levels. Although challenged with
these obstacles in 2005, our dedicated
employees faced them head on and,
according to several customers including
Entergy and Terex, Irby performed at a
level better than the best and named
us as their Supplier of the Year.
On a lighter note, I am pleased to
announce Stuart C. Irby Company recently
acquired Priester Supply Co. Priester is a
70+ year old, 10 branch utility distributor
headquartered out of Dallas with a
strong presence in Texas, Oklahoma, New
Mexico, Colorado, Louisiana, and New
England. We are excited about having the
Priester employees join the Irby family.
Together, we become the strongest utility
distributor in our combined markets. Our
continued commitment is to bring our
customers quality products from world
class manufacturers at competitive prices
and to maintain our exceptional service
levels. Together, we truly bring new
meaning to the 1+1 = 3 equation!
This issue of Irby Circuit focuses on many
of the key elements affecting both our
businesses. Your feedback is welcome to
help make this publication increasingly
valuable to you and your company.
Sincerely,

1. Letter from the President
2. Remote Data Collection
3. Priester Supply
5. Arc Flash-Dont be a
Statistic
7. Energy Efciency-NEMA
Assessment of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005
12. A Bright Future for
Machine Safety
15. New easyID
TM
Technology
17. When You Have Extra Feet,
You Need Fewer Hands
19. New Products
21. My Irby-Online Class
Registration
Editorial Staff
Editor
Jim Cameron
Managing Editors
Jane Burks
Wendy Walker
Advertising Manager
Karla Kregting
Graphic Design
Kim Townsend Advertising
Jackson, MS
Irby Circuit is published four times
a year by Stuart C. Irby Co. It is
printed by Service Printers in Flo-
wood, Mississippi.
P. O. Box 1819
Jackson, MS 39215-1819
Telephone 601-960-7383
Fax 601-960-4289
Toll Free 800-844-1811
irbycircuit@irby.com
letter from the president
Table of Contents
For Comments or Suggestions
Contact Stuart C. Irby Co.:
division of A key to success in any business is
to understand the future needs of
ones customers and to be the rst
to meet those needs in an effective
and ef cient manner. In 2005, Gib-
son Electric Membership Coopera-
tive (GEMC) in northwest Tennessee
began utilizing an Irby service called
Remote Data Collection (RDC) to
streamline their material procure-
ment and management processes.
The Situation
GEMC is an electric distribution cooperative serving north-
west Tennessee with four local customer service centers,
each containing a warehouse. In June of 2005, the local Irby
Salesman, Travis Lewis, approached Charles Phillips with
GEMC to discuss the possibility of using RDC to help Charles
achieve his objectives for reducing Gibsons inventory in-
vestment and improving inventory turns. RDC can help cus-
tomers imporve their performance in three key areas:
Simpli ed procurement process
Depending on customer preferences, this can be a com-
pletely electronic process for purchasing orders.
Improved information accuracy
Correct items and descriptions, correct customer ac-
count information, correct quantities, correct pricing,
correct purchase order numbers, correct shipping ad-
dresses, correct order dates and anticipated ship dates
with copies immediately on the desk of designated
people.
Improved Materials Management
Improved materials availability, reduced inventory in-
vestment.
The Process
GEMCs Alamo location was selected as the rst site for
implementation of RDC. The set-up process took approxi-
mately one week and was coordinated by Travis and the
local Irby branch. As a part of the set-up process, Travis worked with GEMC
to develop min/max stocking quantities for each of their
items taking into account product lead times, delivery
schedules, standard package quantities, purchasing his-
tory, cost and other factors. Stock numbers were assigned to each item that GEMC
buys and this number was cross referenced with Irbys
system. This information was built into the RDC database
and entered into GEMCs inventory control and plant ac-
counting software. Storage bins and locations were labeled and bar-coded. All setup of the local computer and the PALM
®
handheld
device was coordinated by Irbys IT specialists. A two hour training session on its RDC system was con-
ducted with GEMC employees.
The RDC ordering process signi cantly improves informa-
tion ow and accuracy, and the process is very simple. A member of the Alamo crew scans the bar code with the
PALM
®
handheld device. He con rms the material is needed and enters the re-
quested quantity, taking into account the min/max quan-
tities established for that item. This process is repeated
for all items that need to be ordered.
After the review of the warehouse inventory is complete,
the handheld device is synced with the desktop computer. Orders are sent to Irby via
a secure web link and con-
rmations are provided
to GEMC via return email
within minutes. Material
is shipped to the Alamo
location based on GEMCs
shipping instructions.
The Results
Charles Phillips, Purchasing
Agent for GEMC says, GEMC began using Irby as a sole
source provider of utility material more than four years
ago with the goal of lowering our total cost of material
procurement and inventory. Remote Data Collection is one
of the programs that has helped GEMC achieve the lowest
warehouse overhead of any electric utility in our area. A
low overhead coupled with higher inventory turns means
we are achieving our goal. We appreciate the vital role Irby
and our Irby salesperson played in helping our Cooperative
become more ef cient.
We consider the Alamo project a complete success and are
coordinating with Travis to get RDC going at three of our
other customer service centers, says Phillips.
Jeff Newman, Manager of Engineering at Forked Deer El