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Volume 3 • Issue 25
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Standards and fatalities — fill those procedural and training gaps soon
Too often we hear about injuries and fatalities that could have been avoided, like the one we report on here involving a worker whose employer had not formalized safety procedures that could have protected him from electrocution. It is for these reasons that the industry sets standards. And we learn that the piloting of the Red Seal Occupational Standard (RSOS) for the Construction Electrician and Steamfitter/Pipefitter trades has now been completed. The experience was marked by extensive collaboration with industry in all provinces.
Line Goyette Managing Editor
linegoyette@kerrwil.com
Safety
Electrical Worker Killed, Company Fined $110,000
A Kingsville, Ontario-based electrical business specializing in power generation, controls and energy systems has been found guilty and fined $110,000 after a worker was electrocuted while working on a solar farm construction project. The company had been contracted to provide electrical switchgear equipment, controls and communication equipment in a prefabricated electrical building on the construction site. While one of the workers was installing a door interlock in a high voltage section of the building…
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Codes & Standards
CCDA Completes New Red Seal Occupational Standard for Construction Electricians
The piloting of the Red Seal Occupational Standard (RSOS) in the Construction Electrician and Steamfitter/Pipefitter trades has now been completed. The experience was marked by innovative ideas, extensive partnerships with industry, and continual questioning about what we were doing and how we could do it better. A number of features have been added, including performance descriptions and evidence of attainment, and specific learning outcomes and learning objectives necessary to acquire the knowledge behind the trade. These additions will help apprenticeship training providers to develop technical training programs that meet industry needs.
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Human Resources
How Up to Date Are Your HR Policies? Time for a Summer Tune-Up?
As the warm weather approaches and staff start thinking of vacations, this is a good time to take stock of your organization's HR policies. They provide employees with best practice guidelines, help ensure that staff are treated fairly, and allow managers to make decisions that are non-biased, consistent and transparent. Ensure that any policies you implement are in line with what your company values and how work should be accomplished. Managers also need to have the skills and resources to be able to implement and monitor the policies.
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Economy
Value of Building Permits Slips in April
The value of building permits issued by municipalities edged down 0.3% to $6.9 billion in April. This marked the second consecutive monthly decline and was largely the result of lower construction intentions in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The value of residential building permits declined 1.8% to $4.3 billion; commercial permits, up 2.5% to $1.5 billion; institutional, up 15.4% to $695 million. Industrial building permits fell for a third consecutive month, down 16.5% to $346 million. Half the provinces posted lower construction intentions in April, led by Ontario. Alberta posted the highest gain.
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Survey Says
Contractor Salaries by Benefit/Perk
Cell phones top the list. How do your benefits and perks compare to your salary?
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Survey Says From Recent Issues
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NEW PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS
Wieland's revos Basic Series connector housings are available with plain threads or strain relief cable glands for environmental sealing against dust, water ingress, and direct spray. Standard versions of the connectors provide IP54 and IP65 environmental protection.
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Ideal Networks has launched a new extremely durable permanent link adapter to accompany the LanTEK III cable certifier. The RJ45 permanent link adapter is smaller and designed to give superior resilience while still ensuring high performance and low cost of ownership.
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HD Electric Company's PRX proximity voltage detectors come in three versatile, lightweight, and weather resistant models that allow linemen to safely and accurately verify the presence of voltage without contacting the conductor, making it flexible to use under any condition.
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From Our Last Issue
- Guide to the Canadian Electrical Code, Part 1 — Instalment 14
In this article: CE Code Section 24 — Health care areas. The code is a comprehensive document. Sometimes it can seem quite daunting to quickly find the information you need. This series of articles provides a guide to help users find their way through this critical document. This is not intended to replace the notes in Appendix B or the explanations of individual requirements contained in the CEC Handbook, but will hopefully provide some help in navigating the code.
- Adaptive Lighting Systems Part 3: Scheduling
The lighting control strategy we're reviewing today is a low-hanging fruit when it comes to energy savings, especially when we talk about smart lighting systems. Much simpler both in concept and implementation than occupancy sensing or daylight harvesting, scheduling still aims to do pretty much the same thing — eliminate unnecessary lighting usage. But since no sensors are involved, it doesn't allow luminaires to respond to certain changes in the environment. Instead, it makes them perform in accordance with a predefined schedule.
- Patrick Deschamps — Finding His Place in the Industry and Staying There
Patrick Deschamps, father of a 10-year-old girl, was recently appointed Vice President of Commercial Sales at Contact Delage. While still a CEGEP student, Patrick launched a small lawn mowing business. As he worked on the sales and marketing side of his business, he realized how much he loved it. For the next two years, he worked at a car dealership, but his schedule was incompatible with his family life. Patrick then returned to studies in international trade. In 2002, he met Contact Delage President Guy Goupil at a family reunion. Together, they discussed careers —a life-changing moment...
- Q1 Residential Construction Investment Up 2.1% YOY
In the first quarter, total investment in residential construction rose 2.1% compared with the same quarter in 2015 to $26.1 billion. This marked the ninth consecutive year-over-year gain. Higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction (up 21.2% to $4.1 billion) was responsible for much of the advance. However, gains occurred in only four provinces: Ontario, BC, New Brunswick, and Quebec. The largest year-over-year decline was recorded in Alberta, followed distantly by Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
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EIN's TRAINING & EVENTS CALENDAR
Training, networking and professional development opportunities for members of Canada's electrical industry.
2016 ECAO Industry Conference
September 21-25
Minett, ON
BCEA Energy Industry Breakfast Meeting
September 27
Burnaby, BC
Alberta Safety Codes Council: Alberta Electrical Utility Code
September 28
Red Deer, AB
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Current Copper Prices
 Monitor daily and 6-month $US prices for copper — the preferred electrical conductor for most categories of electrical wiring.
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THE ELECTRICAL STOCK MARKET
 Track the stock market performance of 25 publicly traded electrical equipment suppliers and electrical wholesalers. Updated weekly.
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