EDS was founded by Bob Ruggles, a journeymen electrician with 31 years field experience. Like most electrical workers, Bob was aware of the potential risk of electrical shock and/or electrocution. But Bob often chose not to use insulated gloves to keep himself from becoming part of the circuit. In his opinion, the voltage-rated gloves were bulky, uncomfortable and kept him from getting a feel for the job task he was performing.

This all changed for Bob when he attended a funeral of a childhood friend who was electrocuted while working on a 120V lighting circuit. He was a qualified industrial electrician who neglected to shut off the power feeding the circuit, verify zero energy and insulate himself by wearing his voltage-rated gloves. This incident influenced Bob to make a cultural change. He had lost a dear friend, and he realized his own lack of self-discipline and awareness wasn’t up to where it should be regarding electrical safe work practices.

What Bob came to realize from this tragedy is that safety is just another word until it becomes personal. After the sale of Bob’s electrical contracting business in 2005, he desired to make a difference in the lives of electrical workers. This would be accomplished by raising awareness and training workers about safe work practices as outlined within the NFPA 70E and NEC documents. (These national consensus standards provide for electrical safety in the workplace and installation requirements.) If these standards were implemented, workers would be safe from the shock, thermal hazards and other hazards involved when working on or near electrical equipment. Installations would also be considered safe to operate.