Plant Safety has been expanded to include Plant and Personal Safety. Units promoting general plant safety have been streamlined. The existing 4^th Class had featured 3 units of 14 chapters, now condensed into 1 unit composed of 5 chapters in the new Edition 3.

Changes include:

1. Introduction to Plant Safety addresses the cost and effects of safety, powerhouse hazards, health and safety management systems, and hazard assessment basics (Personal Protective Equipment, Respiratory Equipment, Confined Space)
2. Plant Safety Programs discusses general Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) programs found in most plants, as well as other safety programs in which a Power Engineer may need certified training, work permits, or equipment isolation basics. Such handling and awareness safety programs include:

   • Lock-Out Tag-Out (LOTO)

   • H2S and Toxic Gases

   • Working at Heights and Working Alone

   • Electrical Safety

   • First Aid

   • Asbestos Awareness

3. Handling of Dangerous Materials includes the new 2015 Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) supplementing the 1995 system, and gas cylinder safety
4. Fire Safety includes fire prevention theory
5. Fire Extinguishing Methods and Equipment discusses the types and uses of fire extinguishers, standpipe systems, fire hoses, sprinkler systems, and overall maintenance of fire systems

Jurisdictional Legislation has been expanded into 2 chapters:

1. The first chapter addresses Jurisdictional Legislation in general terms that apply to all Canadian jurisdictions
2. The second chapter explains How and Why the codes and standards introduced are necessary for boilers and pressure vessels. This chapter also provides a brief description of codes and standards that are relevant to the 4^th Class materials

Elementary Thermodynamics and Chemistry

• Chemistry theory has been removed from the Engineering Materials, Electricity, Combustion, and Environment topics
• Chemistry and Types of Matter theory has been consolidated and are now introduced before Thermodynamics

Introduction to Heat Transfer and Heat Exchangers

• Heat Transfer subject matter has been expanded within the Thermodynamics topic
• Heat Exchanger theory (emphasizing how heat is exchanged) has been moved from Heating Systems and Refrigeration Systems

The Academic Supplement has been updated to Edition 2.0, to reflect technological change and to support the revised 4^th Class Edition 3. The Academic Supplement Edition 2.0 now has a full-colour cover, and has a revised refrigeration section featuring:

• Consistent use of ASHRAE refrigerant data
• New, easier to read charts and saturation tables
• Extensive superheat tables
• Data for refrigerants currently in use, including natural refrigerants

In addition to the changes in the refrigeration section, the Academic Supplement Edition 2.0 also has an up-to-date periodic table with more useful data. Other content changes have been made to help learners with formulae application, and to re-validate physical constants.

The Academic Supplement Edition 1.0 will continue to support learners under the current SOPEEC syllabus. However, all learners (especially those studying the new 4^th Class Edition 3) are strongly advised to use the new Academic Supplement in their studies and examinations.

The basic content of Applied Mechanics and Dynamics remains unchanged from Edition 2.5. Icons have been added to illustrate where the Academic Supplement should be used to reference formulas, tables, or constants. Self-tests have been added to assist the learner in confirming their knowledge of each concept.

The Objective Statements have been revised in an effort to follow Bloom’s Taxonomy where possible. Conforming to Bloom's Taxonomy reduces the wording of each Objective Statement by using only one verb in each statement (using the higher level verb when possible) while maintaining the level of information within the objective in order to obtain a similar result.

Historically, the Academic Supplement has been included with each set of 5^th-1^st Class textbooks purchased from PanGlobal. Feedback from learners has indicated that they end up with multiple copies of the Academic Supplement, and do not wish to keep paying for duplicate copies of the book which they already have.

The Academic Supplement has undergone an update at the request of IPECC and SOPEEC. The new Academic Supplement will now be available separately from each set of learning materials, allowing learners to order Academic Supplements as needed. Any learners beginning their studies with the new 4^th Class Edition 3 will need to purchase an Academic Supplement along with their other learning materials.

Further information regarding the release of the revised 2017 Academic Supplement will be posted on our Product Update Releases page. Click What's New? at www.powerengineering.org for more information.

Is math important to the study of Power Engineering? Yes, it is very important! The study of math prepares the learner for calculations and the use of formulae in a number of subjects such as Applied Mechanics & Dynamics, Elementary Physical & Thermodynamic Properties, Basic Concepts in Electro-technology, and more.

SOPEEC is no longer examining math separately. Instead, they are examining learners' understanding of the concepts based on the application of mathematical skills in other topic areas.

Two subject units, Applied Mathematics and Introduction to Power Engineering, will now be available in a separate book as preparatory material.

Introduction to Power Engineering will include the following new topics:

• Basic Steam and the Steam Cycle
• Roles and Duties of a Power Engineer
• Shift work factors (including sleep patterns, dietary, and other related concerns)

This new set of learning materials will benefit learners who wish to upgrade their classification and would appreciate additional assistance brushing up on the basics of Mathematics.

The PanGlobal materials for the upcoming 4^th Class Edition 3 have been updated to match the new SOPEEC Syllabus and IPECC Curriculum.

A new printing format will be used with the updated materials, incorporating each unit into its own bound book. The printed textbooks will be packaged in sets (Part A and Part B) only. Individual units will be available as eBooks through our eBook store.

PanGlobal has also inserted new learning assets into the materials:

• Each book now has an Introduction and Rationale at the beginning of the Unit, and a Unit Summary at the end.
• Knowledge review exercises have been developed to replace the end-of-chapter questions. These are composed of long-answer, essay-type questions that will be at the back of each unit-based book. The pages on which the knowledge review questions are printed will be perforated to make it easy to use them as assignments for instructors.
• The end of each book will feature a glossary of new terms introduced in that unit, which will be printed on perforated pull-out pages.

Figures within the textbooks have been updated from those printed in Edition 2.5, with the intention to provide an improved learning experience. This has been accomplished through restoring previously used images, and by creating new images in cases where an image used previously wasn't clear.

The 4th Class workbooks and online self-assessment question banks are being updated to match the new materials. Instructor Resources are also being revised, with the intention of supporting Instructors with valuable tools designed to facilitate the instruction of the new materials.

IPECC (Inter-Provincial Power Engineering Curriculum Committee) is an open organization which allows Industry, Educators and Jurisdictional Representatives to work together to keep the Power Engineering Curricula up-to-date and current with the technology and changes that are taking place in power and heating plants across Canada. IPECC also provides SOPEEC with suggested updates to the Power Engineering syllabi for all levels of Power Engineering.

SOPEEC (Standardization of Power Engineering Exams Committee) maintains the syllabi for all levels of Power Engineering and establishes exam content to meet the syllabi. Membership in SOPEEC is restricted to jurisdictional members only. Each province/jurisdiction has one member who looks after the examinations for their jurisdiction and attends IPECC and SOPEEC meetings every year. SOPEEC recommends syllabi changes to the ACI (Canadian Association of Chief Inspectors) who are the owners of the syllabi.

The ACI is composed of Chief Inspectors from each Canadian jurisdiction (although titles may vary due to the influx of new safety legislation in jurisdictions).

If you would like to get involved with IPECC, please visit the website www.ipecc-net.com for information on the upcoming meeting in Montreal (June 2017).

For information on when the 2017 4^th Class syllabus comes into effect, please contact your local jurisdiction. A link to each jurisdiction and their contact information is available at www.sopeec.org.

In general, the SOPEEC document states that a learner must pass one exam under the current syllabus prior to November 1, 2017, in order to continue writing exams under the current syllabus. All exams under the current syllabus must be completed by November 1, 2020, or the candidate will lose credit for any exams and must re-start under the revised syllabus.

For Support and Product Information related to PanGlobal's textbooks and printed materials, please submit a Support Ticket by following the link or by navigating to www.powerengineering.org and selecting Submit a ticket under More Options of the red Get Help tab.

The new 4^th Class Edition 3 printed materials will be available to pre-order (by bookstores and educators) in April 2017.

Part A will be on the shelf for delivery during July 2017. Part B will be ready in August 2017 to support programs beginning in the Fall of 2017.

The eBook store will have Part A available for purchase in May 2017, and Part B ready for July 2017.

The 4^th Class Edition 3 review site is currently available to all IPECC members who are interested in reviewing the new material.

Part A

• The Electrical and Instrumentation units have been moved to Part A (were previously part of Part B)
• The Water Treatment unit has been moved to Part B
• The WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), Safety, and Fire Safety units have been amalgamated into one unit
• The Boilers unit now includes both Power and Heating boiler types

Part B

• The Heating units have been combined with the Air Conditioning units to create two new units:
  1. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning)
  2. Heating and Cooling Systems
• The Refrigeration and Absorption Refrigeration units have been amalgamated into one unit
• Two brand new units have been authored:
  1. Boiler Safety Devices
  2. Plant Operation

Canada's national exam committee (SOPEEC: Standardization of Power Engineer Examinations Committee) and curriculum committee (IPECC: Inter-Provincial Power Engineering Curriculum Committee) have a five-year review schedule for Power Engineering syllabi. The last major review of the 4^th Class syllabus was undertaken in 2007 with the updated curriculum, corresponding exams, and materials being released in 2008.

The current 4^th Class review was started in 2012 when it was suggested by IPECC industry members to examine the curriculum and begin a comprehensive review. At this time, PanGlobal also began reviewing the learning value of our Edition 2.5 textbooks and decided to introduce new, more effective learning tools into our materials.

Beginning Tuesday 14 February 2017, PanGlobal will be releasing information regarding our upcoming 4^th Class Edition 3 Power Engineering textbooks.

Why are the textbooks being updated? What is being changed? When can I get my hands on these new & improved textbooks? Check this space semi-weekly for answers to these questions and more!

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