Innovation September-October 2013

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 5

v iewpoint

One of the planks of my statement of candidacy for president included “enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountabil- ity of all APEGBC activities and operations.” For my final viewpoint, I wanted to share some thoughts on how well APEGBC is conforming to these particular aspects of continual improvement. Efficiency refers to the extent to which effort and resources are well used for an intended task or objective, whereas effectiveness is con- cerned primarily with the usefulness of the outcome, taking account also of the need to identify the right objectives in the first place. These concepts may apply both to APEGBC’s ongoing activities as well as to new initiatives and projects. For example, with respect to the former, APEGBC generally considers a range of performance indicators (e.g., for the registration process, these include the average time from initial application to attaining membership), and generally performs very well relative to its sister associations. However, with respect to the development of new initiatives or projects—taking account of project formulation, recommended actions and then implementation—I get the impression that we could certainly improve, and I have urged that staff look at ways to bring this about. One aspect of continual improve- ment relates to the annual value-for-money review of the efficiency and effectiveness of expenditures relating to various departments. This is working very well and is leading to thoughtful enhancements each year. Transparency relates to the degree of openness of an organization, such that members have access to the maximum possible amount of information regarding its operations and activities, with this being avail- able in as user-friendly a manner as possible. A key aspect of transpar- ency relates to the deliberations of Council and the extent to which, and ease by which, these are available to the membership. Council meetings include: open sessions that may be attended by any member, and that include minutes that are readily available (see www.apeg.bc.ca/about/ council); closed sessions that are attended by relevant staff members; and in-camera sessions attended by Council only. Thus, portions of a meeting relating, for example, to strategies and financial proposals under development, and personnel matters are rightly kept confidential and are considered in closed or in-camera sessions. I have urged that all Council deliberations occur in open sessions to the maximum extent possible, and that all associated materials, in addition to the minutes themselves, are readily available to the membership. Finally, accountability refers to the organization taking responsibil- ity for its policies, decisions and actions, being answerable and respon- sive to enquiries, and reporting back appropriately to the membership. At APEGBC, key approaches to doing so include ready access to minutes and reports, as mentioned above, the annual report, and the annual general meeting and related events. In this vein, a budget report is presented each year during the annual conference, we meet with our past presidents every year to provide updates and obtain feedback, and at the AGM we encourage a broad range of questions, feedback and discussion points. As well, one feature of our annual report relates to the disposition of all motions carried at the preceding AGM. Overall, I am pleased to report that, while there is certainly room for improvement, APEGBC has been advancing steadily with respect to the efficiency and effectiveness of its activities, and with respect to being transparent and accountable.

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC Suite 200 - 4010 Regent Street, Burnaby, BC Canada V5C 6N2 Tel: 604.430.8035 Fax: 604.430.8085 E-mail: apeginfo@apeg.bc.ca Internet: www.apeg.bc.ca Toll free: 1.888.430.8035 2012/2013 COUNCIL, APEGBC P resident M.D. Isaacson, P.Eng., PhD, FEC, FGC (Hon.) V ice P resident M.B. Bapty, P.Eng., FEC P ast P resident J.H. Holm, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) COUNCILLORS A.E. Badke, P.Eng.; S.M. Carlson, P.Eng.; J.J. Clague, P.Geo., FGC, PhD; A Fernandes, CIM, FCSI; H. Hawson, P.Eng., FEC; D.M. Howes, P.Eng.; H.G. Kelly P.Eng.; G.D. Kirkham, P.Geo., FGC; J. Martignago; A.J. Mill, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FEC; K.E. Savage, P.Eng., FEC; M. Waberski, BCLS; M.C. Wrinch, P.Eng., PhD, FEC; S. Wynn, PhD ASSOCIATION STAFF A.J. English, P.Eng. C hief E xecutive O fficer and R egistrar T.M.Y. C hong, P.Eng. C hief R egulatory O fficer and D eputy R egistrar J.Y. Sinclair C hief O perating O fficer M.L. Archibald D irector , C ommunications and S takeholder E ngagement J. Cho, CGA D irector , F inance and A dministration D. Gamble D irector , I nformation S ervices P.R. Mitchell, P.Eng. D irector , P rofessional P ractice , S tandards and D evelopment D. Olychick D irector , M ember S ervices G.M. Pichler, P.Eng. D irector , R egistration G.A. Thiele, LLB D irector , L egislation , E thics and C ompliance R.M. F ilipiak, P .Eng. A ssociate D irector , A dmissions V. Lai, CGA A ssociate D irector , F inance and A dministration J.J.G. Larocque, P.Eng., LLB A ssociate D irector , P rofessional P ractice

Continual Improvement at APEGBC

Dr. Michael Isaacson, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.) President

Melinda Lau M anaging E ditor

EDITORIAL BOARD S. Chiu, P.Eng.; R. Gupta, P.Eng., P h D; C.L. Hall, P.Geo.; S.K. Hayes, P.Eng.; K.S. Hirji, P.Eng.; M.A. Klippenstein, P.Eng.; I. Kokan, P.Eng.; M.E. Leslie, P.Eng.; B. Thomson, P.Geo., FEC (Hon)

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