Tom Bishop, PE
EASA Senior Technical Support Specialist 

During the 1990s, government regulations for manufactured electric motor efficiency raised concerns that regulations or standards might be forthcoming for the repair of electric motors. As the representative for the electric motor repair industry, EASA responded by pursuing recognition of its recommended practice for repair as an American National Standard. Being proactive in obtaining such recognition would mean that on behalf of the repair industry, EASA would create the best practice repair standard for the industry. The path to achieving this began in the mid-1990s with EASA following the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) process to become an approved Standards Developer. That was a critical first step because only a Standards Developer can produce an ANSI standard. Despite being encouraged by ANSI to have our recommended practice be submitted through an existing Standards Developer, EASA chose to go it alone to preserve full control of the recommended practice for repair of rotating electrical apparatus.

When that was achieved in 1998, EASA embarked on the process to obtain recognition of EASA AR100 as an American National Standard. The successful effort for approval was achieved in 2000 and the document was published as ANSI/EASA AR100- 1998 (Figure 1). That is, the 1998 edition of the recommended practice was the first to become an ANSI standard. Since then, it has been revised and approved five more times in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020 (Figure 2). At present, revision work for the 2025 edition is in progress. 

Prior to the 1998 edition, the EASA standards for repair were published at times in standalone booklets, included in the association yearbook, or both. The association was originally the National Industrial Service Association (NISA) formed in 1933 under the National Recovery Act (NRA), which was part of the U.S. government's efforts to recover from the Great Depression. In response to changes in the industry and to better represent its members’ activities, the Association changed its name to the Electrical Apparatus Service Association in 1962. 

The initial repair standards were developed and approved in 1945 and published as the Electric Motor and Generator Rebuilding Standards (Figure 3). Note that the color label adjacent to the cover page was an adhesive label that could be affixed to a repaired motor. The standards were revised in 1948 and 1961. During the period between 1961 and 1969, the applicable types of apparatus were expanded from Electric Motor and Generator Rebuilding Standards to five separate standards titled as follows: 

• Used and Rebuilt Electrical Apparatus 
• Transformer Rebuilding Standards 
• Rewinding Single Phase Induction Motors 
• Rewinding Three Phase Induction Motors 
• Hand Power Tool Rebuilding

During the 1970s (based on 1978 booklet), the standards were titled Electrical Apparatus Service Association Inc. Guarantee and Standards (Figure 4). 

In the 1980s (based on 1981-82 yearbook), the standards were titled EASA Standards for the Electrical Apparatus Sales and Service Industry. In the 1990s (based on 1995 yearbook), the standards were titled EASA Standards for the Repair of Electrical Apparatus. 

Key differences in scope between the earlier series of five separate standards and AR100 were the removal of information about guarantees, and the removal of standards related to transformers, hand power tools and hermetic stators. The focus of AR100 has and continues to be rotating electrical apparatus. At the time when AR100 was created, the standards applying to transformers were revised and completely rewritten as EASA AR200 Guide for the Repair of Power and Distribution Transformers. The first publication was in 2002, and a revision was published in 2011. Subsequently, the guide was completely revised and published as EASA Guide AR200-2021 for the Repair of Dry Type Transformers (Figure 5).