By Andrew P. McCoy and Fred Sargent
Published On November 15, 2022
“Don’t leave home without it,” a tagline in American Express ads for decades, remains one of the longest-running and most-recognized advertising slogans of all time. It also fits squarely with the one-question survey we recently broadcast to hundreds of members of our electrical contracting community: Name one item that every service electrician should always have in their service van. What product, tool or other item should they never be without?
Electrical contractors today might take the don’t-leave-home-without-it slogan as a simple reminder of the need to minimize trips to and from the shop or local distributor. In that interpretation, it’s all about productivity and efficiency. However, it can serve an even higher purpose.
But let us begin with a report on the responses to our survey that poured in from every corner of the country. Since we had asked an open-ended question with a long blank line to fill in, we got a lengthy list of answers; some predictable, some unanticipated and some hilarious.
The most popular answer was a digital multimeter. Not far behind on the list were personal protective equipment items dictated by NFPA 70E to guard against arc flash.
Here’s a selection of other answers that came back to us, sorted into general categories:
Mental health: Don’t forget your mobile phone. You’ll go nuts without it. Forgetting it is unlikely for anyone these days, but it’s worth mentioning here. (Same goes for your laptop.)
Clever thinking: Always have a 4-way switch in your van. You can use it as a single-pole, three-way or 4-way.
Universal antidote: Bring a roll of duct tape. Is there anything you can’t fix with duct tape?