One of the key goals when our association was formed, was to help our members improve the quality of the products they were manufacturing and to raise the image of the onsite treatment industry in Ontario. Since those early days, the CPA has continued to offer training to it's members and their employees and contributed to a number of research and development projects related to the onsite industry.
The CPA regularly hosts "Concrete School" classes for member's employees. These courses are conducted by concrete Guru and longstanding member, Mel Marshall, whose expertise in teaching our industry spans decades. Whether to train-up new employees or refresh some of the seasoned ones, these one day classes are invaluable to our producer members. Our association is truly blessed to have the benefit of Mel's support.
When the Ontario government changed requirements for licensing, leaving many of our members operating with non-certified crane operators, the CPA arranged for training through Durham College in Oshawa. A week long course was designed to help these highly experienced but un-ticketed operators prepare for and achieve the Provinces' "Hoisting Engineer - Mobile 2" certification.
The CPA Technical Committee also publishes a series of "Tech-notes" - brief data sheets covering many of the subjects discussed in the production school sessions. These are designed to be posted in work areas or distributed among employees to assist training in the workplace and help reinforce quality production fundamentals. Laminated posters have also been developed and sent out, again, in an effort to help members maintain high standards of quality in concrete production.
In an effort to encourage new technologies, the CPA has supported a number of research and development projects since its inception. Some of these include:
The University of Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research - The CPA contributed to the development of new wastewater disposal technology.
The Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre - developed by the University of Guelph, these research and training facilities in Guelph and Ottawa provide designers, regulators and students with the opportunity to learn in a hands-on, indoor environment about various types of wastewater treatment. Since its inception the CPA has been a member of the advisory board and contributed to the centre's construction.
The Clifford Intermittent Recirculating Sand Filter - contributions of tankage for the test site by members and participation in the development committee.
"Care and Feeding of Your Septic tank" - was a homeowner's septic system manual published by the CPA. Over 100,000 copies were distributed. This has since been replaced by our "Septic Solution" book. Revised and updated, it is available from any of our members or downloadable from this website. (right up there ↑)
Funding is also provided to facilities in Canada and the U.S. for the ongoing durability testing of concrete and septic tanks.