October 2006 ISSUE
COUNCIL BRIEFS
Education Foundation Funding to End in Eight Years
The following news items were gathered from the Sept. 21 Council meeting in Edmonton. The next meeting is Dec. 7 at APEGGA’s Calgary Conference Centre.
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JUST FLEW IN - Maj. Mark McCullins, P.Eng., reads the Professional Member Oath during his member induction in Edmonton Sept. 20. At right is APEGGA President David Chalcroft, P.Eng. Maj. McCullins flew in from Cold Lake with his colleague from the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, Larry Dublanko, P.Eng. Also in attendance was Lt.-Col Alan Markewicz, CFB Edmonton commanding officer. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the dinner preceding the regular APEGGA Council meeting. For a story on the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, see page 14 of this month’s PEGG. |
The APEGGA Education Foundation needs effective fundraising and business planning to ensure it thrives — not a financial lifeline to APEGGA, Council decided. Acting on an Executive Committee recommendation, Council voted that funding will start tapering off after four years and be eliminated completely in eight.
The decision follows a foundation request earlier this year for $207,000, plus $35,000 from Summit Awards tickets sales, for each of the next five years. That would have represented an increase of about $150,000 a year. The foundation told Council that the extra money would be the financial boost it needs to become self-sufficient.
Council agrees that the goal of self-sufficiency is a good one but doesn’t like the path presented. An Executive Committee report says the foundation’s business plan does not sufficiently acknowledge the need to raise more funds on its own. This need, in order for APEGGA to reduce and ultimately eliminate its financial support, has (in the past) been communicated by APEGGA to the Foundation on several occasions.”
Under the new funding plan, the foundation will receive $552,000 over eight years, primarily to cover scholarships established by APEGGA, a drop of 25 per cent from the $736,000 the old formula would provide. The system gives the foundation $92,000 each year from 2007 to 2010, $73,600 in 2011, $55,200 in 2012, $36,800 in 2013, $18,400 in 2013, and nothing after that.
Professionals Cooperate
In Well Site Reclamation
The joint efforts of APEGGA and five other professional associations, and in
cooperation with Alberta Environment, have created a new framework to sign off
on upstream oil and gas reclamation and remediation certificate applications.
More than 20 months of work went into the self-regulatory structure, which comes out of Alberta Environment regulation changes that took effect last October.
Council passed motions which will result in a precedent-setting level of
professional cooperation.
Council approved a memorandum of understanding to create a Joint Environmental
Professional Practice Board. It also received for review a new jointly devised
standard, called Professional Responsibilities in Competition and Assurance
of Reclamation and Remediation Work in Alberta.
Complete story: front page of this
month’s
PEGG.
Mobility Momentum
Grows in U.S.
A number of U.S. state licensing boards are warming to APEGGA’s vision
of simplified, hassle-free registration between Canada and the U.S. APEGGA Executive
Director & Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., told Council that some state boards
are closer than ever to accepting that Canadian engineers are qualified to work
in the U.S. without first writing exams.
Mr. Windsor, APEGGA President David Chalcoft, P.Eng., and Past President Darrel Danyluk, P.Eng., attended the annual meeting and conference of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying in Anchorage, Alaska, in August. “This was by far the best reception we’ve had in the seven or eight years of making mobility an Association priority,” Mr. Windsor said. The NCEES Western Zone meeting, held as part of the conference, featured a very useful discussion of mobility, Mr. Windsor added.
U.S. licensing decisions are handled by state-appointed boards, and licensure of a Canadian engineer in one jurisdiction does not guarantee automatic licensure in another.
Through bilateral negotiations, some states are beginning to give Canadian applicants more credit, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Idaho and Washington boards, for example, both favour withholding exams for Canadian engineers with eight or more years of experience after licensure.
APEGGA has held two major forums on mobility in the last six years, which were attended by regulatory representatives in Canada and the U.S. The Association is also active in the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, or PNWER, which promotes a cooperative approach to the economic well-being of the eight states, provinces and territories it represents. PNWER held its last annual meeting in Edmonton in July and passed a motion encouraging legislators to help licensing bodies improve mobility.
The ultimate goal is a “P.Eng. equals PE” relationship with the U.S.boards. Professional engineers in Canada and the U.S. may take different routes and exams to earn their licensure, but “the end product is essentially the same,” said Mr. Windsor.
Planning Documents
Improve Sight Lines
Several years ago, councillors told staff that reporting and accountability needed
improvement. They wanted clear sight lines from the strategies Council develops,
through the 10-year strategic plan and the annual business plan, to the reporting
of outcomes.
Two major elements in that improved system were presented to Council — the 2007-2016 Strategic Plan and Engaging in Growth: the APEGGA Business Plan 2007.
The strategic plan lists four major Council goals. These are
• regulate the professions effectively and efficiently so that the
public interest is served
• lead the professions
• uphold members in their professional practices
• communicate and consult effectively.
The plan calls for 14 different outcomes. For example, under the first goal the plan lists public trust in the Association and members; ethics, excellence, and high standards and values in the Association and in professional practice; and the pursuit of mobility.
As leaders, APEGGA strives for a society that knows where the professions stand on important matters. The Association needs to be viewed as a source of expertise in professional matters. APEGGA should use best practices, lead by example and have positive working relationships with other self-regulating professions.
Engaging in Growth draws lines through to measurables, targets and the actual managers and directors responsible. Under communicate and consult, for example, the Manager, Editorial Services is called upon to continue improving The PEGG based on reader feedback and interaction with members.
Wherever possible, hard targets are included. APEGGA is shooting for a five
per cent increase in use of Member Services, for example. The Compliance Department’s
target is 25 per cent more new permits to practice and individual licences, as
well as the resolution of 25 per cent more violations.
Both plans are available online at www.apegga.org.
More Guidelines Updated
APEGGA continues its efforts to make sure practice standards and guidelines are
current and relevant, with two more Professional Practice documents approved
for publication. In the last three and a half years, 21 standards and guidelines
have been revised or created to help members in the practice of their professions.
In fact, the APEGGA Practice Standards Committee strives to ensure none of its documents have been more than five years without revision. Only two fall in that category now.
The two most recent updated documents are Guideline for Management of Risk in Professional Practice, which replaces a 1989 version, and Guideline for Selecting Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Consultants, which replaces a 1997 version.
The risk management guideline helps members assess as well as manage risk. It covers everything from identifying hazards to communicating with stakeholders. The principles are the same, says the guideline, regardless of the size of the company and the scope of its projects.
The guideline for choosing a consultant presents a recommended process to assess and select a consultant. The process can be adapted to any type or scope of assignment.
To read the complete documents, visit www.apegga.org.