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Industry News
New National Plumbing
Code offers flexibility
By Ron Shuker
Contractors and engineers will have
more flexibility in the design and
installation of plumbing systems
under the 2005 model National
Building, Plumbing and Fire Codes
released at the end of September. At
least that’s what officials at the
Canadian Commission on Building and
Fire Codes are saying about the new
objective–based codes.
As well, almost 1300 technical changes
have been made to the previous editions
since they were published in 1995.
Mobile worker
shortage studied
Astudy recently completed by the
Construction Sector Council reveals
why it is becoming increasingly
difficult to find workers that are
willing to move from jobsite to jobsite.
“Mobile workers are generally a dissatisfied
group and the construction
industry, particularly the industrial sector,
could suffer because of it,” reports
Bob Blakely, CSC labour co-chair and
director of the Canadian Affairs for the
Building and Construction Trades
Department, AFL-CIO.
It’s not hard to see why. The typical
mobile worker “is married, with at least
two children under the age of 18 years,
and his working mobile has a net-negative
impact on his marriage and family,”
reports the study, Working Mobile: A
Study of Labour Mobility in Canada’s
Industrial Construction Sector.
To make matters worse, mobile
workers are often regarded with the
suspicion that they are taking local jobs
by the communities where they work
and they don’t receive the tax breaks
that other mobile workers, such as
truckers, receive. See the full report at
www.csc-ca.org.
Together, designers and installers
have reason to be optimistic about the
innovative alternatives they can adopt
once the new code is adopted by each
province and territory, reported Raman
Chauhan, technical advisor at the Codes
Centre of the National Research
Council in Ottawa during an address to
the Ontario Plumbing Inspectors
Association Annual Meeting, held Sept.
19-21 in Oshawa, Ont. These changes
address many technological advances
along with health and safety concerns.
The old prescriptive code simply stated
that: “You have to do it this way or
that way. There is no other acceptable
way,” explained Chauhan. Objectivebased
codes outline the problem the
code determines to solve, describe the
objective(s) to solve the problem and
leave the actual determination of a solution
to the system designers.
Chauhan said, for example, the code
requirement is to ensure public safety in
the use of toilets. The objective is to
ensure a toilet does not collapse when
used. The designer must select the fixture
and the method of installation so it
won’t fail. A simple way of meeting this
requirement is to ensure the toilet complies
with a recognized standard. In the
case of toilets, the CSA B-45 standard is
referenced in the NPC.
A big concern with performance
codes was the need for performance
standards. “These can take decades to
develop and establish as valid and consistent.
Many code requirements lacked
that performance data,” he said. “Now
there is additional information in the
objectives to help evaluate equivalents,”
he added.
What has not been publicized is how
this code ties into new provincial
(Ontario and B.C., for example)
mandatory upgrades and certification
of designers. That goal is to ensure
accuracy in drawings and permit applications,
and speed up the approval
process. It also means mandatory use of
the provincial building permit application
form, Al Suleiman, acting manager,
code interpretation, regulation and
training, Ministry of Municipal Affairs
& Housing, told OPIA members.
continued from page 7
of the art air and vapour barriers
for improved insulation. Energy
savings of 30 to 40 percent a year
are expected.
Apprenticeship study
launched
The Canadian Apprenticeship
Forum has launched an apprenticeship
study that is expected to
be broader in scope than previous
surveys. It will provide employers,
apprentices, governments and
educational facilities cost and benefit
information on a wide range of
apprenticeship trades, reports
project manager Arlene Wortsman.
Circle Number 110 for More Information