July 19, 2017 – CSA Z463 “Maintenance of electrical systems” has been adopted across Canada—even globally—since being first published in November 2013.

In November 2015, the 8th Z463 Technical Committee (TC) meeting was held in Montreal, where it was unanimously agreed to request approval from CSA for a 2nd edition. Instead, the steering committees and CSA Group senior staff approved the development of Z463 as a standard rather than as a 2nd edition guideline.

In October 2016, the first meeting setting the stage to develop Z463 as a standard was held in Calgary, and a draft completed in December 2016. The Working Groups used this draft to move forward with recommendations to convert Z463 clauses from advisory language to mandatory (normative) form.

In addition, enhancements for Z463 and the need to improve the French translation were addressed. Changes include renaming sections as required, revising clauses and any necessary revisions to improve content and the document’s flow.

In May 2017, the 10th Z463 TC meeting was held in Ottawa, attended by 33 participants, including five members online and five guests.

The vice-chair position was filled in November 2015 by two nominees (Bob Chernish and Bryce Kelly), and there were a few changes to Working Group (WG) leaders.

The TC is organized into the following Working Groups, leaders and Sections:

• WG01 – Drafting team (guideline/standard conversion), Lorne Gara.
• WG02 – Introduction & scope, Dave Smith (Section 1.0).
• WG03 – Definitions & abbreviations, Dave Smith (Section 3.0).
• WG04 – Electrical maintenance as part of quality management systems, Terry Becker (Section 4.0).
• WG05 – Electrical maintenance as part of workplace safety & risk reduction, Terry Branch (Section 5.0).
• WG06 – Planning & development of a maintenance program, Prodipto Ghosh (Section 6.0).
• WG07 – General maintenance practices, Michael Granieri (Section 7).
• WG08 – Equipment: specific maintenance practices, Roger Grylls (Section 8).
• WG09 – Specialized equipment maintenance, Bob Chernish (Section 9).
• WG10 – Annex, Bryce Kelly.
• WG11 – French translation review, Martin Mihaluk.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 4, 2017, at the TransAlta office in Calgary.

To learn more about sponsorship, membership and guest opportunities with CSA Z463, contact the following:

Kerry Heid, chair
kheid@shermco.ca

Bob Chernish, vice-chair
bob.chernish@forces.gc.ca

Bryce Kelly, vice-chair
bryce.kelly@lethbridge.ca

Hany Soloumah, Ph.D, P.Eng., PMP, is a member of the Technical Committee developing CSA Z463 “Maintenance of Electrical Systems”, scheduled for release as a standard in 2018. He is also a member of its communications committee.