What’s New at ABSA Presented by: John G. Siggers, CET Manager Examination & Certification ABSA ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Power Engineers Employment Survey Fluctuations in demand for power engineers Is there a surplus or is there a shortage Employment status survey to determine typical employment of power engineers Survey conducted online when users renew their certificates or register for an examination ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Preliminary results (6 months), ~26.85% of ~28,338 power engineers: Employed in Alberta: 81.51% (18.97% not employed in Alberta) Operating power plants: 29.49% Operating heating plants: 20.00% Operating thermal liquid H.S.: 14.60% Operating process equipment: 11.41% Certificate required by employer but not by the regulation: 14.02%

The total percentage of persons working in all power plants, heating plants and thermal liquid heating systems are: 47.4%

Web Database for PQ Cards Publicly searchable web database of procedure qualification (PQ) cards Prevent fraud by permitting employers to independently verify qualifications Content managed by the testing organizations issuing the cards, including ABSA Manufacturers to be excluded from providing content at this time

Plant Registry Database for Alberta power boilers, heating boilers, and thermal liquid heating systems Have more than >10,000 registrations Currently validating plant type classifications Used to verify reported power engineer experience, in order to expedite certificate applications

Plant Registry 5th Class Heating Plants -603 5th Class Power Plants-858 4th Class Heating Plants- 93 4th Class Power Plants-662

New Examination Syllabi: Special Steam-Powered Traction Engine Operator’s Certificate of Competency Fired Process Heater Operator’s Certificate of Competency ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Average Examination Pass Rate 3rd Class Power Engineering Examinations Average Pass Rate= 75% 4th Class Power Engineering Examinations Average Pass Rate= 70.5% 5th Class Power Engineering Examinations Average Pass Rate= 64% 4th Class average is an average of 4N and 4R As of 2019-02-08 ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority Total Average Marking Time for Examinations 2 Day Target Threshold ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Online Seminar Registration Web-based seminar registration system, launched at the end of 2017 Immediate confirmation of availability Immediate payment No longer need to fill in a hard copy form and wait for confirmation of registration https://seminars.absa.ca/ ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Alberta Ice Rinks-NH3 Fernie BC Incident-October 17, 2017 Ammonia release three fatalities Action Taken-271 NH3 Plants Article Newsletter Ammonia Systems are properly designed Surveillance inspection of all ice arenas General Requirements for Mechanical Refrigeration Systems AB-275 Further Action Guidelines for Care and Operation of NH3 Systems-mailed SOPEEC developed New Standardized Refrigeration Examination-Introductory to Refrigeration Systems “C” Registering Refrigeration Plants ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Information Bulletins IB18-011 Power Engineering Courses Satisfactory to the Administrator IB18-007 Reference Syllabi for Power Engineer Examination IB18-005 In-Service Pressure Equipment Inspector Certificates of Competency ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

PER-Amendment AR 85/2003 Changes came into force on April 30, 2018 Restriction removed (250 kW) for historic boilers-Traction Engine Operator 48 months of Heating Plant experience (>3000 kW) qualify a person for their 3rd class level without the requirement of taking a 3rd class course ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

PER-Amendment AR 85/2003 Changes came into force on April 30, 2018 Restriction removed (250 kW) for historic boilers-Traction Engine Operator 48 months of Heating Plant experience (>3000 kW) qualify a person for their 3rd class level without the requirement of taking a 3rd class course ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority

Heating Plants-Reduced Supervision AB-528 & PER section 4.1 PER section 4 ABSA the pressure equipment safety authority