CSA B56:25 ✓ Most Recent

Preface 

This is the first edition of CSA B56, Power engineering — Facility rating and staffing . Power engineers operate and manage equipment that produces energy for use in domestic, commercial, and industrial processes and facilities. This equipment includes boilers and refrigeration facilities used in power generation, industrial processes, and environmental systems. To maintain public safety, jurisdictions across Canada might require owners/users and operators to have facilities registered and supervised by a prescribed class of power engineer based on equipment type and specified facility ratings. There are five classes of power engineering certifications: Fifth Class (where applicable), Fourth Class (entry level), Third Class, Second Class, and First Class (most senior level). The purpose of this Standard is to promote uniform, coordinated, and consistent administration and enforcement related to the classification, rating, and supervision requirements for the safe management and operation of boilers and refrigeration facilities. This Standard arose from the need to have consistent methodology to determine equipment and supervision requirements, as variations across provincial and territorial jurisdictions can result in different scopes of practice for the various classes of power engineers. Standardizing these requirements will increase the level of confidence of regulators in the quality of work performed when power engineers move from one jurisdiction to another as permitted by existing labour mobility agreements. The jurisdictional regulations from across Canada have been consulted as general references to CSA B56. CSA Group acknowledges that the development of this Standard was made possible, in part, by the financial support of Standards Council of Canada and the Safety Codes Council of Alberta, which coordinated the funding for this Standard on behalf of the jurisdictions that provided financial contributions. CSA Group acknowledges that additional technical input was drawn from a report developed by the Standardization of Power Engineer Examinations Committee (SOPEEC), which served as a reference for this Standard. This Standard was prepared by the Technical Committee on Power Engineering — Facility Rating and Staffing, under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Mechanical Industrial Equipment Safety, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee. This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group. 

Scope 

1.1 Inclusions 

This Standard addresses a) the scope of practice for various levels or types of power engineer certifications; and b) the method to classify facilities in relation to the power engineering requirements by calculating a facility rating using a standardized unit (kW). This facility rating is intended to be used to prescribe facility staffing and attendance requirements with respect to levels of power engineer certifications (i.e., prescriptive-based method). 

1.2 Exclusions 

This Standard does not address a) technical and physical design requirements of boiler, refrigeration, compressor, and steam prime mover equipment; b) equipment and facility physical infrastructure requirements; c) boilers used in connection with an open-type hot water heating system having no intervening valves between the boiler and any direct vent, preventing any pressure build-up above atmospheric pressure; d) siting or location of facilities; e) scopes of work for personnel or professional certifications not related to operations; and f) installation, maintenance, or repair. 

1.3 Terminology 

In this Standard, "shall" is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the Standard; "should" is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and "may" is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the Standard. Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material. Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements. Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.