Access to Standards and Codes in Canada remains a huge problem. Codes such as the National Fire Code from the National Research Council cost money and are barely accessible. We have previously blogged about this here. In comparison to other countries, Canada lags far behind. In an attempt to make compliance simpler and more straightforward, China has recently announced that they will make all industrial standards free in the years to come. In Canada, very little has happened, but one piece of good news has emerged. The National Energy Board (NEB) of Canada recently announced the following:
The National Energy Board (NEB) is launching a one-year pilot program to make a key safety standard, CSA Z662 – Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems (CSA Z662), available online to the public free of charge. Previously this information was only available to the public through a paid online subscription, the NEB’s onsite library, or through interlibrary loans across Canada.
The pilot runs until March 2018, with the NEB covering the cost, so Canadians can have full digital access.
- National Energy Board full announcement link
- CSA Z662 web portal (access to standard)
While Nimonik applauds the efforts of the NEB, we feel that there remains a tremendous amount of work to do on this front. A failure to provide free and open access to industrial standards increases the costs of doing business in Canada and reduces compliance – putting everyone at risk. Nimonik will continue to strive for more and easier access to regulatory compliance information around the world.
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