US Overseeing Company Completing Work in Canada 1

[B_D]

HI,

Our manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada is managed by our parent facility in Ohio, US. They have sent us engineering drawings for 2 new boilers that are installed in our facility. However these drawings are un-signed and un-sealed; they refuse to have any part in signing off on these drawings. They have recommended having a 3rd party company come into our facility and seal these drawings. We are looking into some sort of code of ethics to hold them against this, saying that it is their responsibility to supply our company with accurate and validated drawings. It is possible that I am wrong, and that US regulations permit sending of final drawings without properly signatures/seals, however any thoughts regarding the issue or potential steps would be appreciated.

Thanks![pre][/pre]

 

[BrianPetersen]

What's the status of your TSSA inspection?

https://www.tssa.org/en/boilers-pre...ide-Ontario-Guidelines-Jan-17-2007-Rev.-3.pdf

 

[CWB1]

Hiring a local PE to review and stamp an existing design for local use is perfectly legal and ethical - common practice. The common example - every hardware store and home center is full of books of home plans sold across borders for sale that may need a local PE's stamp to legally build.

 

[JStephen]

Generally, if they're designing something in Ontario, it wouldn't be regulated by engineering laws in Ohio. Presumably, it would fall under Ontario laws, but I'm not at all familiar with the system or the laws up there.
In many US states, there are industrial exemptions, where if employees of an industrial facility do engineering for their own facility, they don't need to be registered engineers. It's possible that your Ohio engineers are assuming that is the case in Ontario, which it may or may not be.
You may have difficulty, practically and ethically, getting a third party to seal drawings for a boiler already built.
I would tend to look at this as more of a quality issue than an ethical issue.

 

[BrianPetersen]

Original poster hasn't responded.

In case the point of my gentle inquiry about the status of their TSSA inspection escaped notice ... The question of what to do in this situation is best directed to the TSSA (or a TSSA-qualified contractor), because that is who needs to eventually approve this installation.

TSSA outsources some of their inspections to contractors who have the appropriate qualifications and have registered with them. I know that's done with natural gas piping to spare the TSSA themselves from having to inspect every single gas furnace and every hot water heater in every house in the entire province, but I don't know how that works with boilers. So ... Call contractors who specialise in this sort of work, and ask them.

i am quite sure the question of what to do with a foreign-built boiler that lacks design drawings bearing the seal and signature of an Ontario engineer, has come up before.

 

[danby64]

In Ontario, there's an industrial exemption. But only if it's directly related to the manufacturing of the product. My interpretation of this is that if it's part of the production line, it's exempt and doesn't need a P.Eng stamp. So I'm assuming these boilers are part of the "utilities" in your facility, therefore would need a P.Eng stamp. I wouldn't expect your Ohio HQ to provide stamped drawings as they probably don't have anyone licensed in Ontario. Perfectly fine to contract an engineer to review these boiler drawings.

 

[QualityTime]

TSSA inspection is required. ESA inspection is required. Having an Ontario P.Eng. stamp the drawings is perfectly legal and is required