INNOVATION March-April 2012

counc i l repor t

JANUARY 27, 2012 Council Approves 2012/2013 Budget Guidelines The schedule and guidelines for the 2012/2013 fiscal year budget development were approved by Council at their January meeting. The guidelines were developed by the Executive Committee, which acts as the Finance Committee of Council. The 2012/2013 Budget Guidelines state: 1. The Sustainable Financial Management Policy will be the foundation for guiding budget preparation. 2. Apply the APEGBC Strategic Plan, Council Work Plan and Balanced Score Card to budget development. 3. Strive to minimize any annual professional member fee increase for 2013. 4. Evaluate the budget and progress of the Professional Renewal Program and move to early completion (2013- 2014) without increased funding. 5. Review departmental opportunities for process efficiencies and consider value for money report recommendations. 6. Retain the 1.5 months General Operating Fund Reserve and assess the requirements for the Property, Equipment and Systems Replacement Fund. 7. Staffing levels will be determined by authorized program improvements, growth and membership count. 8. Departmental budgets will be presented on a direct cost basis. 9. Final 2012/2013 budget approval should be sought at the Council meeting in May 2012. Special Ballot to be Undertaken on Legislative Amendments In September 2011, APEGBC made a formal request to the provincial government for legislative amendments to modernize the Engineers and Geoscientists Act (reported in Innovation (May/June, July/August, and September/October 2010). Following the submission of the request to government, concern was expressed by some members regarding a proposed amendment that would enable Council to make bylaws related to the public interest without requiring member ratification. Members of Council, branch representatives and staff continued to seek feedback on the requested amendments, and in late December, APEGBC’s Executive Committee made the decision to pursue additional consultation on the issue of Council setting public interest bylaws and withdrew this request from the list of priority amendments. On January 3, the President received a petition signed by 70 members. This petition requested a member ballot be held to consider the following motion: That Council re-consider the request to Government to enact amendments to the Engineers and Geoscientists Act, and withdraw the request for amendments that would allow Council to make changes to the Bylaws of the Association without the approval of 2/3 of the votes cast by ballot as required by the Act. APEGBC’s Council of elected members and government appointees regularly meet throughout the year to conduct the business of the Association. The following are highlights from the January 27, 2012 meeting of APEGBC Council.

In accordance with section 12(7) of the Engineers and Geo- scientists Act the Association is required to take a vote of the members by ballot upon the written request of 25 or more members. Voting will commence via electronic ballot on April 18 and close at noon on May 17, 2012. For more background and information on the ballot, see page 9 of this issue.

Implementation of Organizational Quality Management Program Approved

At their January meeting APEGBC Council endorsed the imple- mentation of the Organizational Quality Management (OQM) Pro- gram, OQM Manual and Quality Management Guidelines following the successful completion of a pilot program in 2010/2011. This self-funded, voluntary program recognizes the significant influence that companies employing engineers and geoscientists have on the practice of the professions, and aims to improve quality man- agement at an organizational level. Strong support was received from stakeholders who participated in reviewing the manual and guidelines. As implementation begins, feedback will continue to be participating in the program will implement or adapt in-house policies and procedures that provide direct support to their member employees in meeting the seven quality management requirements under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act and bylaws. Participating organizations will have a number of options available to them in order to achieve certification and will be identified on the APEGBC website and through various APEGBC publications as having achieved OQM Certification. Council applauded the work of the multi-organizational OQM Committee for their guidance in achieving this milestone. In the coming months, APEGBC staff will be visiting organiza- tions throughout BC to promote the program. Full implementa- tion is scheduled to commence in the 2012/2013 fiscal year. Shop Drawing Guidelines Approved The APEGBC Guidelines for Shop Drawings have been up- dated to reflect current practice. Revisions also ensured the guidelines are more generic in nature so they are applicable to all types of shop drawings, not just those related to building projects. Council approved the guidelines on January 27. They will be published after receiving final legal and editorial review. The Canadian Framework for Licensure The CEO/Executive Director Group of Engineers Canada’s constituent members is working to develop a Canadian Framework for Licensure in order to create consistency and enhance equity, fairness and timeliness of service across the provincial/territorial engineering regulatory associations. The group has identified 12 essential elements of the regulated engineering profession in Canada, which will initially be developed collaboratively by engineering regulators with extensive consultation to identify best practices. APEGBC Council has directed that feedback on each element be sought from appropriate committees (ie, CPD, Registration). To date, APEGBC Council has reviewed and provided feed- back to Engineers Canada on four elements of the framework. After incorporating this feedback and feedback from other con- stituent associations, Engineers Canada provided the following three elements back to Council for their consideration and final endorsement: 1) accountability of engineering organizations; 2) negotiating international recognition agreements; and 3) con- tinuing professional development. These revised elements were endorsed by APEGBC Council at their January 27 meeting. considered to ensure continual program improvements. In order to achieve OQM Certification, companies

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