Message From The Editor

   

Changing Scene

	BCEA Bursary and Scholarship Program Accepting 2018 Applicants The BC Electrical Association will award up to $10,000 in $1,000 to $2,000 scholarships to students attending or planning to attend a university, college or post-secondary educational institute on a full-time basis…
	Ontario Budget Creates Apprenticeship, Skills Training Opportunities In the 2018 Ontario Budget, the province announced plans to launch an Office of Apprenticeship Opportunity, invest in a new apprenticeship strategy, and establish the Ontario Training Bank...
	Houle Electric's Ross McLean Earns 2017 CCA Trade Contractor Award A partner and regional manager for Houle Electric, Ross has served as chair for the Vancouver Island, Prince George and British Columbia Construction Associations...

• Westburne Appoints Diane Murray Branch Manager, Listowel, Ontario
  The Listowel branch, one of almost 50 in Ontario, opened in November 2017. It has a dedicated delivery truck to service local customers...
  
  
• Schneider Electric, Danfoss and Somfy to Create a Connectivity Ecosystem
  The connectivity ecosystem planned by Schneider Electric, Danfoss and Somfy aims to speed the adoption of connectivity in residential, mid-size building and hotel markets by making their products seamlessly interoperable at controller level, or at cloud level through APIs (Application Programming Interface)...
  
  
• Federal Government Invests in Medicine Hat College Microgrid Demo Project
  A $526,000 federal investment will help the Alberta college establish an open-access one-megawatt microgrid demonstration system that will allow students and innovators to test and showcase new products and processes...
  
  
• BC Hydro Awards Contract for Site C Substation, Transmission Line
  BC Hydro has awarded a $33-million contract to build the Site C substation to Nanaimo-based F&M Installations Ltd. Electrical work will include erecting steel and installing and assembling buswork, power and control cables, grounding...
  
  
• Barry Lawrence Named ECAA's New Safety Instructor
  Barry Lawrence, Director and founder of Bastion Safety, has already delivered one 2-day Safety Principles course for the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta, and will deliver two more on April 19-20 in Grande Prairie and May 3-4 in Edmonton...
  
  
• Intertek Warns of Safety Concern for "Smart Electrician" GFCIs
  Ground fault circuit interrupters manufactured by Huizhou Faith Electric Manufacture under the brand name "Smart Electrician" may fail to properly break the circuit in a fault…

Codes & Standards

Guide to the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I — Instalment 35

Company Profile

d'Armes Unveils Its New Light Fixture Cé

Lighting

Voice Control for Lighting

Economy

Value of Building Permits Rose 5.6% in January

Survey Says

Electrical Market Customer Distribution

Survey Says From Recent Issues

• Automation & Control Sales Market by Region
  Ontario and Quebec rank evenly in the sales of automation and control equipment with 29% each, creating a hub of automation within the two provinces. Western Canada follows with a combined market share of 27%.
  
  
• Lighting Distribution Sales by Region
  Ontario leads the country in sales of lighting and lighting equipment with 37% of the market. Quebec follows closely with 31% of the market.
  
  
• Lighting Market Mix
  The lighting market in Canada is dominated by the residential and commercial sectors, which together account for 88% of the overall market. Industrial follows with just 9% of market share.
  
  
• Electrical Contractor Median Hourly Rate by Years of Experience
  Electrical contractors' salaries follow a steady trend, increasing with years of experience and plateauing at an average $34.82/hr.


• Average Hourly Rate for Electrical Contractors
  Master electricians and electrical foremen lead, making more than double the rate of apprentice electricians.


• Survey Says: Electrical Products Sales Mix
  General electrical supplies drive electrical product sales in Canada with 27% of the market mix, followed closely by lighting with 19%.


• Canadian Electrical Market Sales by Region
  Ontario has the most full-line electrical distributors, who represent 37% of all electrical product sales in Canada purchased from these distributors. Quebec follows with 22% of national sales.

New Products and Solutions

Schneider Electric Premset: Innovation, Safety and Reliability for Medium Voltage Distribution

Ecopower FPK — Kelvin-Adjustable Flat ComfortPanel

Studio 5000 Software Release Optimizes Productivity and Reduces Design Time

Osram Wireless Site Lighting Control Module

Siemens UP 204 Room Controller

Kim Lighting Pavilion Bollard

From Our Last Issue

• Marking for Maximum Continuous Load
  2015 Code — no labelling requirement. 2018 Code — maximum continuous load required to be field marked on equipment. The maximum continuous load determined for a given installation may be substantially less than the equipment rating. However, there is no requirement to communicate this information to maintenance personnel, installers, or inspectors, for purposes of future maintenance or modification of the electrical system. As a result, new Subrule 2-100(4) requires that a caution label be applied to the equipment to indicate the maximum permitted continuous load.
  
  
• How to Keep Up to Date with the CE Code
  The electrical industry is growing at a staggering rate, which creates a challenge for tradesmen who must keep with rapidly changing codes and new regulations for niche markets or new avenues for existing electrical markets. Training can provide a direct and relevant source on code regulations in a variety of particular areas. CSA offers a wide variety of courses that, depending on the course, are available in different formats: online, classroom or on-site. The courses have been developed by a team of industry professionals, many of whom had direct input into the development of the Canadian Electrical Code and relevant standards.
  
  
• How to Create More Consistent Service
  Ignore this tip if you manage a multibillion dollar brand like Apple, Coke, or McDonalds. Those companies are so established that customers have an emotional attachment to the brand name itself. If on the other hand you manage a smaller organization, then chances are your customers have little attachment to your company name. Instead, they associate your brand with individual employees with whom they interact. But if your customer interacts with just one employee who is having a bad day, or who isn't fully trained on how to interact with stressed or rushed customers, then your entire brand takes the hit.
  
  
• January New Housing Construction Spending Up 9.4% YOY
  New housing construction investment totalled $4.4 billion in January, up 9.4% compared with January 2017. Investment was up for all dwelling types. Spending rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$139.1 million), British Columbia (+$128.3 million) and Alberta (+$82.6 million). The increase in Quebec was driven by investment in apartment building construction. In British Columbia, year-over-year gains were posted for all dwelling types, with single homes (+$52.3 million) and apartments (+$52.1 million) accounting for the majority of the increase. Apartment buildings were the largest contributor to the year-over-year growth in residential construction investment, up $232.5 million (+16.9%)

Current Copper Prices

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The Electrical Stock Market

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In The Next Issue

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