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Business PlanApril 2016 – March 2017

Values:

SafetyWe can and will make Ontario a safer place for all citizens.

AccountabilityWe hold ourselves to the highest standards of responsibility and ethical behaviour.

LeadershipWe will always strive to do better, challenge assumptions, and welcome new ideas.

CollaborationWe work best when we work together.

Integrity and TrustWe will take the high road.

Vision: An Ontario where people can live, work and play safe from electrical harm.

Mission: To improve electrical safety for the well-being of the people of Ontario.

Mandate: To promote and undertake activities which enhance public electrical safety including training, inspection, authorization, investigation, registration, enforcement, audit, and other regulatory and non-regulatory public electric safety quality assurance services. – ESA Objects of Corporation, 1999

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Role ........................................................................ 2

Relationship to Government ................................. 2

Scope of Powers & Responsibilities ..................... 2

Strategic Plan, Business Plan, Operating Plan & Annual Report .......................... 3

Approach ............................................................ 3

BUSINESS PLAN 2016/17

Strategic Plan 2015–2020 ..................................... 6

Strategic Goals ...................................................... 6

Goal: Accelerating Improvements in Electrical SAFETY ......................................... 7

Background ........................................................ 7

Strategy .............................................................. 7

Major Activities 2015–2020 ................................ 7

2016/17 Priorities ............................................... 8

Goal: Increase COMPLIANCE to Electrical Safety Regulations .................... 11

Background .......................................................11

Strategy .............................................................11

Major Activities 2015–2020 .............................. 12

2016/17 Priorities ............................................. 12

Goal: Ensure Strong Positive Assessment of ESA’s PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY ............... 13

Background ...................................................... 13

Strategy ............................................................ 13

Major Activities 2015–2020 .............................. 13

2016/17 Priority ................................................ 14

Enabling Strategies ............................................. 14

Enterprise Risk Management ............................. 20

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Key Corporate Policies ................. 22

Privacy .............................................................. 22

Complaints ....................................................... 22

French Language Service ................................ 22

Appeals ............................................................. 22

Appendix 2: Management of Non-Regulatory Business ................................. 23

Other Information Available ............................. 23

Appendix 3: Organizational Structure .............24

Appendix 4: Five-Year Financial Outlook ......... 26

Introduction

2 Electrical Safety Authority

INTRODUCTION

RoleThe Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is mandated by the Government of Ontario to enhance public electrical safety in the province. We are both a safety regulator and advocate.

Our powers and duties derive from The Electricity Act and The Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act including responsibility for four regulations:

¡ The Ontario Electrical Safety Code (Regulation 164/99) which defines how electrical work will be done;

¡ Licensing of Electrical Contractors and Master Electricians (Regulation 570/05) which sets requirements for those doing electrical work;

¡ Electrical Distribution Safety (Regulation 22/04) which defines safety accountabilities for Ontario’s Licensed Distribution Companies (LDCs); and

¡ Electrical Product Safety (Regulation 438/07) which addresses approval of electrical products before their sale, and response to unsafe industrial and commercial products in the marketplace.

ESA’s primary activities are: identifying and targeting leading causes of electrical safety risk; ensuring compliance with regulations; promoting awareness, education and training; and collaborating with stakeholders to improve the state of electrical safety in Ontario.

ESA is a private, not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario with staff deployed across the province.

Relationship to GovernmentESA is an administrative authority of the Government of Ontario. We are mandated to administer its designated legislation and regulation with the purpose of public safety, consumer protection, and advancing the principle of a fair, safe and informed marketplace which supports a competitive economy.

The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services retains responsibility for legislation and regulations. ESA is responsible for ensuring legislation and regulations are implemented and enforced.

The roles and obligations of ESA and the Ministry are detailed in an Administrative Agreement.

Scope of Powers & ResponsibilitiesESA’s mandate is detailed in the corporation’s Letters Patent. The objects or purposes are stated as:

¡ to promote and undertake activities which enhance public electrical safety including:

» training; » inspection; » authorization; » investigation; » registration; » enforcement; » audit; » and other public electrical safety

quality assurance services;

Business Plan 2016 / 17 3

¡ to act in any capacity under all legislation and regulations designated and delegated to the Corporation under the Safety and Consumers Statutes Administration Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, C.19 as amended from time to time and any other legislation or regulations under which responsibilities are delegated to the Corporation in the future;

¡ to inform, educate and work with industry, government and the public;

¡ to promote and undertake activities which enhance the competitiveness of the Ontario and the Canadian economy;

¡ to promote and undertake activities that encourage the harmonization of electric safety standards and compliance practices;

¡ to encourage industry to responsibly enhance electric safety.

The objects establish a broad scope of tools which can be applied to enhance electrical safety, ranging from inspection to training and registration and others. In addition, ESA has the ability to use other “safety quality assurance services” which gives the organization significant flexibility.

At the same time, the Letters Patent also oblige ESA to:

¡ work collaboratively with industry, government and the public;

¡ support competitiveness;

¡ support harmonized standards and practices; and

¡ ultimately encourage industry to take accountability for the improvement of electrical safety.

Strategic Plan, Business Plan, Operating Plan & Annual ReportESA’s Strategic Plan, Business Plan and Annual Report are its three major public reporting documents.

The strategic plan — The Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 — defines the major corporate goals for the five years 2015–2020 and the leading strategies which will be used to address them. It also includes the measures that ESA will use across the period to track progress.

The Strategic Plan is supported by an annual Business Plan which defines the various activities which will be implemented each year. It also addresses the essential corporate capabilities that are needed to fulfill everyday business needs as well as the goals of the strategic plan. The Business Plan is updated annually to reflect progress made and new insights generated.

ESA’s Annual Report describes progress made in the prior year against the commitments of the Strategic Plan and Business Plan.


ApproachThe Electrical Safety Authority will use its insights, expertise and passion for safety to achieve our vision of an Ontario where people can live, work and play safe from electrical harm.

We recognize that achieving electrical safety requires both safe environments and safe behaviours.

ESA will act directly where we can make meaningful positive impact on safety. Where we need others to act, we will be a catalyst to encourage them to do so. We will act as part of Ontario’s safety system.

We will foster among the public and industry accountability for their own electrical safety and those they impact.

We will apply risk-based approaches; that is, applying greatest effort to areas of greatest potential harm. To do that we will have a thorough understanding of the causes of electrical injuries, deaths and fires in Ontario.

We will judiciously apply the scope of tools and resources at our disposal — training, inspection, authorization, investigation, registration, enforcement, audit, and other services — to make maximum positive impact on safety.

We will use regulation where needed and where the benefit of regulation outweighs the cost.

We will earn and retain the trust and confidence of our stakeholders.

We will be fiscally responsible.

We will act with the public benefit foremost in mind.

Business Plan 2016/17


Strategic Plan 2015–2020 ESA’s approach, goals, measures of success, strategies and key activities are captured in the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0. This 2016/17 Business Plan supports that strategic plan with greater detail on how ESA will progress toward those goals in the year ahead.

Strategic GoalsThe Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 features three strategic goals:

SAFETY

ESA will seek to improve the state of electrical safety in Ontario by accelerating the reduction in the combined rate of electrical fatalities and critical injuries over five years.

COMPLIANCE

ESA will seek to increase the rate of compliance with electrical safety regulations, where required.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

ESA will ensure stakeholders recognize us as an effective, publicly accountable organization.

Successfully executing against these goals will mean that by 2020 Ontario is a safer place to live and work, more individuals and companies will operate inside the electrical safety compliance system – including many that had not done so before, and ESA will be seen as an effective, responsive and accountable steward of its mandate which delivers excellent value to the people of the province.


Goal: Accelerating Improvements in Electrical SAFETY

ESA’s ultimate vision is the elimination of all deaths, injuries, fires and loss from electricity.

In the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0, ESA commits to improve the state of electrical safety in Ontario by accelerating the reduction in the combined rate of electrical fatalities and critical injuries over five years.

The specific goal is to achieve a 20 per cent decrease in the combined rate of electrical fatalities and critical injuries (based on the five-year rolling average) between 2015 and 2020.

BackgroundSince 2000 the rate of electrical fatalities in Ontario has steadily decreased thanks to the collective efforts of everyone in the safety system. As the number of fatalities declines, ESA is also focusing on the next most serious type of incident: critical injuries.

Our five-year target of a 20 per cent reduction in the combined rate of fatalities and critical injuries between 2015 and 2020 would be a marked improvement on the 13 per cent rate of reduction in the prior five years. It is an ambitious target for ESA and safety stakeholders.

The target reduction is based on the baseline of the 2014 combined fatality and critical injury rate and is a decrease from 87 to 70 per million population based on the five-year rolling average.

Electrical fatalities are tracked using data from the Coroner’s Office, and the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management.

Critical injuries are tracked based on those injuries classified as Levels I-III on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) in Ontario’s emergency departments (ERs.) Levels I-III cover urgent, emergent and resuscitative conditions. The CTAS is a reliable and consistent source of critical injury data. As the CTAS information is captured in ERs, it will include both occupational and non-occupational injuries.

While ESA uses the combined fatality and critical injuries rate as its top line key measure, we continue to review and report individually fatality, critical injury, injury, fire rates and other safety data so as to ensure we monitor the nuances of change. ESA compiles and reports key findings annually in the Ontario Electrical Safety Report.

To achieve its safety goal ESA has defined a strategy and major activities to execute across the scope of five years.

StrategyESA will operate from a position of knowledge and insight about electrical safety. We will use that knowledge to identify the areas of greatest risk and prioritize efforts on them. We will anticipate emerging risks and act to reduce them.

Major Activities 2015–2020

UNDERSTAND

We will continually improve ESA’s understanding of what electrical safety events are happening and their causes, and our ability to anticipate and intercept emerging risks.


This requires collecting, analyzing and reporting safety incident data, and reviewing events to understand how they could have been prevented.

It also means staying abreast of new technologies and other developments in the marketplace and other jurisdictions that may have implications for Ontario.

PRIORITIZE

To best serve the cause of safety, ESA needs to focus its efforts and that of stakeholders where the safety need is greatest.

To do so, ESA will use risk-based management to define priorities. ESA has invested in systems and processes to assess relative risk and assist with this decision-making.

Based on analysis of where electrical safety incidents are currently occurring, ESA has identified three areas of current safety priority:

1. Members of the public and construction trades making contact with powerlines;

2. Electrical workers working live while doing repair and maintenance; and

3. Electrical fires in homes.

We will continue to assess safety incidents and introduce or change priorities if required based on new patterns of events.

COLLABORATE

ESA will share our insights and learnings internally and externally. We will work with stakeholders and collaborate to address safety risks.

ESA will continue to produce its annual Ontario Electrical Safety Report, share information, and participate in forums throughout the safety system and energy sector.

2016/17 Priorities

To progress toward the targeted 20 per cent decrease in combined electrical fatalities and critical injuries by 2020.

We will mark progress toward that goal by achieving by December 31, 2016 the milestone of a reduction to 81 electrical fatalities and critical injuries per million population, including a fatality per million population rate of 0.8 (both based on the five-year rolling averages.)

To do this, we will focus in three key areas in 2016/17:

Powerline Contacts by the Haulage Sector

While the rate of powerline electrocutions has declined significantly — down 68 per cent over ten years to 0.13 fatalities per million population (based on five year rolling averages 2010–2014) — contact with overhead and underground powerlines remain the top sources of electrical safety incidents in Ontario.

In the last ten years 70 per cent of powerline contacts took place on construction sites, compared with 15 per cent for the general public and 10 per cent for utility-related contacts.

Within these events dump trucks are a persistent source of contacts and near misses. In fact, powerline contacts by the haulage industry have risen significantly – doubling from 2009 to 2014.


ESA already has a number of activities targeted at this problem including public awareness campaigns and relationship building with industry groups.

This year, ESA’s key deliverables will be:

h Creating with stakeholders a powerline safety guideline for the haulage industry and distributing the guideline to all members of the Ontario Dump Truck Association;

h Creating with the support of Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) a powerline awareness package for those colleges that offer heavy equipment apprentice training and pilot the package with two colleges.

In addition, ESA will continue to collaborate with other influential stakeholders including the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Transportation, municipalities, and health and safety organizations.

We will also support the development of engineered solutions to prevent contacts between trucks and overhead powerlines.

Fatalities and Injuries of High-Risk Electrical Workers

The second electrical safety priority for ESA is reducing the frequency of electrical workers working live while doing repair and maintenance activities.

Occupational electrical-related fatalities and critical injuries are a significant and ongoing problem and a particular hazard to those who routinely work near electrical sources. Since 2008 the rate of overall occupational incidents has declined, but not for electrical workers.

ESA has identified the events and contexts which result in the most injuries and deaths for electrical workers. One third of all workplace electrocutions occur during repair and maintenance activity.

In 2015 ESA commissioned detailed research on the behaviourial dynamics influencing electrical workers in these circumstances. It has provided insight into the best strategies for improving safety.

This year, ESA’s key activities will be:

h Continuing to enhance safety training with colleges by: working with nine partner colleges to deliver worker safety awareness to apprentices in basic electrical training; work with five colleges to add similar training to intermediate electrical training; and pilot with one college the transfer of this training for delivery by the college itself;

h Working with the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute (HRAI) to develop a safe work practice package for HVAC workers including incorporating behavioral research insights.

In addition, ESA will continue to work with industry, trade groups, Ministry of Labour, municipalities, and health and safety organizations to advocate for adoption of consistent safe work practices around energized equipment.

Electrical Fires in Older Homes

Over the past ten years there were more than 650 fires in Ontario related to aging electrical systems, of which about 71 per cent were in residences.


There is a markedly higher rate of fires in homes built prior to 1976. After that date, a number of technological and Ontario Electrical Safety Code changes were instituted which helped to reduce the likelihood of a fire from electrical wiring.

The majority — 70 per cent — of these fires are caused by mechanical or electrical failure. Switches start to arc, outlets show signs of charring, and wiring behind the walls deteriorates.

Ontario has a significant stock of homes of this vintage and therefore it is important to identify such risk potential before a fire occurs.

In 2015/16 ESA revised its existing process for doing general electrical inspections of homes built prior to 1976 and created a new program called ElecCheck. We completed more than 900 such inspections in 2015/16. The initial results demonstrate that the new process contributes meaningfully to the reduction of fire risk in older homes by finding deficiencies that other processes’ would not capture. These inspections are a non-regulatory service requested by homeowners, insurance companies, real estate agents and others interested in assessing the state of a home’s electrical system.

The new ElecCheck process is based on a Canadian Standards Association (CSA) voluntary standard and provides an in-depth assessment of electrical systems.

In 2016/17 ESA will address how to generate the wider use of this approach. We will:

h Establish a detailed, multi-year business plan to generate the wider adoption of the ElecCheck methodology across the province.

In addition, ESA will continue to engage stakeholders such as the insurance industry, real estate sector, municipalities, and Fire Prevention Officers to increase their understanding of electrical fires in Ontario.

We will also promote wider adoption of arc fault technology (AFCIs) in existing homes.

Fires originating from the use of electrical stoves, ranges and cook tops continue to contribute significantly to fire rates in Ontario. ESA will continue to work with other provinces to accelerate the introduction into the market of electrical stoves and ranges that meet the new CAN/CSA household cooking ranges standard, and promote the retrofitting of cook-tops in high-risk communities. This will help to reduce the frequency of cooking related fires.


Goal: Increase COMPLIANCE to Electrical Safety Regulations

The second strategic goal of the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 is to improve the rate of compliance with electrical safety regulations over the next five years, where required.

Our specific target is to increase the amount of renovation wiring work being captured by ESA’s compliance processes by 7.5 per cent over five years. This will be a significant shift in work coming into the compliance system.

BackgroundESA is the regulatory authority for four electrical safety regulations:

¡ The Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC) (Regulation 164/99) which defines how electrical work will be done;

¡ Licensing of Electrical Contractors and Master Electricians (Regulation 570/05) which sets requirements for those doing electrical work;

¡ Electrical Distribution Safety (Regulation 22/04) which defines safety accountabilities for Ontario’s Licensed Distribution Companies (LDCs); and

¡ Electrical Product Safety (Regulation 438/07) which addresses approval of electrical products before their sale, and response to unsafe industrial and commercial products in the marketplace.

We have set our top compliance priority as adherence to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code and contractor licensing regulations

for residential, commercial and industrial renovations because evidence indicates that this is the area where the underground economy is most active.

The improvement in compliance will be measured via individual wiring work items as captured within renovation-related notifications/permits being processed by ESA. A 7.5 per cent increase would mark a significant improvement in non-compliant work coming into the system and progress toward capturing more of the underground economy.

ESA must achieve this higher rate of compliance without creating a proportional increase in resourcing or burdening those already in compliance. This will require ESA to use improvements in efficiency, and to apply risk-based management.

StrategyESA recognizes that sometimes the compliance system itself can be a deterrent to participation. We will remove barriers to compliance by increasing awareness of regulatory obligations where it is lacking, and improving our own processes and requirements where needed.

We will also improve compliance through effective enforcement and fostering increased acceptance by stakeholders of their accountability for regulatory obligations.


Major Activities 2015–2020:

TARGET

For each regulation, ESA will target the highest priority areas of non-compliance within its regulatory responsibilities and generate measurable improvements where needed.

KNOW

We will measure rates of awareness of regulatory obligations among our key stakeholders and execute targeted programs to improve awareness and understanding where needed to improve compliance.

IMPROVE

ESA will assess our most frequently used compliance processes and execute programs to make them clearer and easier for stakeholders to use.

MOTIVATE

We will use a range of tools including incentives to encourage compliance and disincentives to discourage non-compliance.

2016/17 PrioritiesThe priority for the year is to:

Prepare for 2017/18 by which time all wiring compliance work will be allocated by risk-based assessment and the majority of ESA’s wiring compliance resources will be dedicated to high-risk work.

To progress to this state ESA’s key activities in 2016/17 will be:

h Building and testing a program that applies risk ranking to wiring inspection notifications in our internal data system. Preparation for its deployment in 2017/18 will include policy and procedure development, change management, financial and IT implications, and stakeholder engagement;

h Bringing more underground economy wiring work into the compliance system (with focus on Ontario Electrical Safety Code and contractor licensing) demonstrating progress to 2020 goal of overall 7.5% target. ESA will create a detailed business case based on the findings from two investigation pilots conducted in 2016/17 that enhances compliance enforcement efforts in commercial activities;

h Advancing the application of risk-based compliance oversight in commercial and residential wiring work. In 2016/17 ESA will conduct two pilots in the commercial renovation sector using a logbook-and-audit compliance approach and automated risk ranking by our Risk Informed Model (RIM.) Based on positive pilot results, we will complete a detailed business case to expand the program across Ontario as the new ESA Commercial Renovation Program;

h Completing a review of the Authorized Contractor Program including gathering stakeholder feedback and developing changes that will support the advancement of risk-based approaches and address stakeholder needs.


Goal: Ensure Strong Positive Assessment of ESA’s PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

The Government of Ontario has delegated to ESA significant powers and responsibilities. ESA must be responsible and accountable to the public for the execution of our mandate.

The best way to measure our accountability performance is through the eyes of stakeholders. Therefore our third strategic goal is: ESA will ensure stakeholders recognize us as an effective, publicly accountable organization.

Performance is measured via a multi-stakeholder accountability perception research done every two years. The baseline research completed in 2015 demonstrated a strong, positive view of ESA performance.

ESA’s five year goal in this area is: to maintain positive stakeholder perceptions of ESA’s accountability performance consistent with the baseline state of 2015 as ESA executes its five-year strategy.

BackgroundResearch done in 2015/16 found that a wide cross-section of stakeholders have a significantly positive view of ESA’s accountability performance. No critical weaknesses were identified.

This is a strong position for ESA. However, we recognize that stakeholder perceptions are dynamic and move over time and as we make changes and improvements.

In implementing Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 we will be making changes to business processes such as in the compliance oversight of lower risk work. Any change of this nature risks change in stakeholder perceptions. Therefore we need to work to retain positive stakeholder views of our accountability performance as we execute the five year strategic plan. We must also monitor and anticipate risks and intervene to mitigate them.

StrategyESA will ensure we maintain a good understanding of stakeholder perceptions of ESA’s accountability and address any gaps.

When necessary, we will target areas of real and perceived weakness in accountability and generate improvements in stakeholder perceptions.

Major Activities 2015–2020

MONITOR

ESA will execute regular stakeholder research to monitor perceptions and identify areas to target improvements.

LEAD

ESA will be at the forefront of regulatory best practices.


CONTROL

As a key element of our accountability requirements, ESA will maintain financial sustainability and deliver public value.

PERFORM

We will have robust internal accountability policies and practices to ensure responsible, transparent and fair behaviour in keeping with our Regulatory Governance Principles.

ENGAGE

We will effectively communicate with the stakeholder community about our priorities and activities.

2016/17 Priority

In support of retaining positive stakeholder views of ESA’s accountability, we will implement the first year of activities in our Customer Experience Strategy.

We established an ESA Customer Experience strategy in 2015/16. It considers customer experience in an integrated, enterprise-wide view and seeks to build a greater internal orientation to considering the customer implications of our programs and initiatives.

For 2016/17, the strategy sets a focus on four streams of activity:

h Addressing the issue of missed scheduled appointments by: implementing an advance notification process; and by year-end reducing the rate of rescheduled appointments by 70 per cent in defined hot spots where the scheduling problem is prevalent;

h Improving internal complaint tracking and reporting for greater visibility and analysis of customer experience issues. Use the complaints register to monitor for a reduction in scheduling complaints;

h Completing a third-party assessment of the opportunities to move more customer service volume to alternate (non-telephone) channels;

h Launching a customer experience feedback system for wiring notifications.

Enabling StrategiesTo ensure ESA has the organizational capabilities to achieve our strategic goals and fulfill our mandate and regulatory responsibilities, we have a number of enabling strategies.

The following summarizes the primary efforts in each of these areas.

FINANCIAL PLAN & PRACTICES

ESA is a not-for-profit corporation. Its revenues are generated by licensing fees, fees for safety oversight services in regulated and non-regulated areas, and investment income. ESA receives no tax revenue and is expected to be financially self-sustaining.

Financial circumstances and market conditions change so we annually up-date the financial outlook as part of the yearly Business Plan (see page 26.)

ESA’s key financial objectives are to:

1. achieve recovery of direct and indirect costs associated with each line of business i.e. achieve operating break-even;


2. achieve break-even overall; and

3. address long-term future financial obligations.

The key deliverable for 2016/17:

h While achieving a modest bottom line surplus, at the operating line we will achieve or better the budgeted $1,988,000 deficiency generated by investments in capacity and service delivery.

A sub-set of ESA’s financial plan is its strategy for the long-term management of its pension obligations. The goals of the pension strategy are to ensure financial stability for ESA, progress to joint sponsorship and accountability for the pension between employer and employees, third party administration, shared company and union accountability, and exploration of the benefits and practicalities of multi-employer pension plans.

BUSINESS PROCESSES

ESA is a complex organization with multiple areas of regulatory responsibility, and safety and compliance initiatives. Our operations and workforce encompass a wide range of specializations and include a large field staff of Inspectors, a customer service centre, and head office functions.

We seek continual improvement in our business processes to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. In the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 we defined our five-year business process priorities as:

improving the electrical safety impact of our work; improving efficiencies within the business to ensure optimal use of resources and sufficient capacity available to meet our strategic goals; and customer service effectiveness.

In this 2016/17 Business Plan there are multiple initiatives that directly serve the advancement of those needs including: the Compliance objective to further apply risk-based management; and the Public Accountability priorities of improvements in fulfilling scheduled inspection appointments, better complaint tracking and analysis, and customer service channel assessment.

In addition, in 2015/16 ESA completed a third party review of the complexity of compliance requirements for the Ontario Electrical Safety Code and contractor licensing areas and will undertake continual improvements to address key rub points.

ESA has also initiated a review of the Authorized Contractor Program to improve its effectiveness as part of the compliance system and also stakeholder satisfaction.

COMPLIANCE & ENFORCEMENT

Compliance and enforcement consume the majority of ESA’s time and effort as we execute our regulatory responsibilities. As we do so, we seek opportunities to have greater impact and maximize electrical safety in the province.

We are challenged by the wide scope of the underground economy – those who do work or commission work outside of regulation and oversight.


In this Business Plan we have set an objective within the Compliance goal area to increase the volume of work brought into the regulatory oversight system. This is a direct targeting of the underground economy and in an area where our analysis indicates a prevalence of illegal work.

In addition, we look for opportunities to partner with and leverage stakeholders who share our concern about underground work including the provincial government, other Ministries and regulators, and industry groups.

PEOPLE AND CAPACITY PLAN

The People and Capacity plan has three pillars:

Adaptability – A flexible workforce with the necessary capabilities and leadership skills required to deliver on ESA’s mission beyond 2020;

Culture and Collaboration – An organization that functions as one aligned behind ESA’s Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0; and

Sustainability – ESA is able to deliver on its mission and strategy in a cost effective manner, thereby ensuring a strong and stable organization.

Given ESA is a knowledge-based organization with the vast majority of employees directly engaging with customers and stakeholders, the first two pillars of the plan — Adaptability, and Culture and Collaboration — are critical in the effective functioning of ESA and ultimately key to the success and achievement of the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0.

As 85 per cent of ESA’s cost structure can be connected to people, it is imperative the third pillar of Sustainability exists to create and maintain a cost-effective, stable environment which will support delivery of the strategy.

In 2016/17 focus will be on identifying future needs of the organization and building capacity among the staff to address them. This includes improving leadership and organizational effectiveness in delivery and support of strategy. In addition, we will continue with development plans for already identified capability needs.

A key measure of progress in 2016/17 will be:

h Delivery of an organization-wide conference for ESA’s leadership group to reinforce alignment to strategy, build understanding, engagement and support for alternative compliance implementation, and seek early input for the FY2018 Business Plan. Measure of success: achieving 80 per cent or better support from the leadership team for alternative compliance plans.

Change Management Capacity

An associated initiative is ESA’s efforts to build the organization’s capacity to manage through change. Over the last two years there has been training of senior staff in change management fundamentals and strategies.

That effort will continue in 2016/17 with a specific goal of achieving Level 3 of the Prosci Enterprise Change Management Maturity Model. That would mean a comprehensive approach to change management is being applied in multiple projects and there is evidence of Prosci best practices in action.


COMMUNICATIONS & STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS

Effective communications and stakeholder engagement are important contributors to achieving the overall goals of the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 and the annual objectives of the 2016/17 Business Plan.

Communications and stakeholder efforts are implicit in the Safety, Compliance, and Public Accountability objectives noted earlier in this document.

In addition, there are additional underlying efforts that help to support ESA’s advancement including:

¡ Improving understanding and favourable views among key stakeholders of ESA’s role, strategy, vision, priorities and activities. This is achieved through ongoing stakeholder meetings, collaborations and communications efforts. Progress is measured through regular awareness research;

¡ Effective incorporation of stakeholder perspectives on planned ESA activities or initiatives. This is collected through advisory councils, consultations, and stakeholder research;

¡ Managing ESA’s reputation through effective monitoring, anticipation and interception of potential risks, and participation in a corporate issues management protocol and the Enterprise Risk Management system;

¡ Building ESA brand awareness through multiple communications channels and platforms. Progress is measured through regular research. In 2014 unaided brand awareness of ESA among the Ontario public was 7 per cent. The improvement goal is to achieve 12 per cent by 2020. Efforts in this area have already contributed to a base improvement to 9 per cent in 2015/16.

¡ Improving internal communications. In 2015/16 a dedicated effort in this area collected perspective from across the staff and led to a renewed internal communications approach to be implemented in 2016/17.

IT STRATEGY

ESA’s Information Technology (IT) function is accountable for effective and efficient use of information and information technology by ESA, its partners and stakeholders.

ESA’s newly updated IT plan addresses the requirements of the Harm Reduction Strategy 2.0 and enables the organization to respond to new strategic challenges now and in the future.

The IT plan aims to achieve three main outcomes:

¡ risk-based decision making; ¡ highly stable and reliable systems; ¡ and improved organizational efficiency.


The updated IT strategy v2.0 facilitates this by advancing nine IT imperatives in three categories that align closely with strategic corporate goals and needs:

¡ Three Planning & Analysis IT Imperatives align with the achievement of the Corporate Safety goal

¡ Three Efficiency & Flexibility IT Imperatives align with the achievement of the Corporate Compliance goal.

¡ Three Framework & Foundation IT Imperatives align with the achievement of the Public Accountability goal.

Highlights of the plan include:

New Vision for the IT Department

ESA IT to become a strategic partner in support of all ESA departments.

Expanding the use of risk-based decision-making tools to drive operational and strategic decisions.

For example, introducing and operationalizing Risk Informed Model (RIM) algorithms as business rules in SAP and other systems; supporting the evolution of risk-based oversight programs.

Developing strong in-house data and analytics expertise following a new Business Intelligence(BI) Strategy.

Implementing a consistent set of data, data repositories, analytics and reporting tools as well as mature data management practices with a new, dedicated data and analytics team.

Increasing operational and call centre efficiency of the evolving business processes with better tools.

IT will provide insightful thought leadership and best practice advice regarding tools required to enable emerging business needs as defined through a series of strategic analysis initiatives.

For example: enabling self-service capabilities for ESA staff and external stakeholders based on complexity audit and customer experience strategy; considering introduction of new or expansion of existing tools such as security event management, MDM, lead tracking and others; and supporting field staff with easier to use and more robust devices and mobile applications.

Creation and implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO).

Introduction and evolution of a dedicated project management office with project managers and business analysts that will create and align detailed business requirements with IT capabilities to deliver on strategic business needs aligned with corporate priorities


Improving external and internal collaboration to drive efficiency and effectiveness of ESA.

Establishing a multi-channel communications and collaboration capability covering traditional, web and social media interactions internally, externally and between both. Ensuring content and knowledge are effectively managed and available for querying and analysis.

Introducing additional functionality to increase employee efficiency (chat, instant messaging, e-mail management.)

Maximizing existing investment in core ESA systems (SAP, CISCO telephony, IT Infrastructure.)

Leveraging existing SAP modules and expanding the use of the strong data and analytics capabilities of this enterprise class platform. Streamlining IT Infrastructure by decommissioning duplicate and ad-hoc systems to reduce complexity and implementing new Cloud based options where appropriate. Expanding development of mission-critical call centre functionality through consistent development of the Cisco telephony environment.

Expanding governance to align IT action with business and corporate priorities.

Expanding existing IT and business planning governance structures and processes to provide ongoing oversight and ensure IT alignment with business priorities over: projects; Change Requests (CRs); and day-to-day IT operations (security, infrastructure, change, incident and problem management.)

Improving IT department effectiveness.

Continued development and evolution of the IT Department and all its functions to better enable delivery of the strategy while at the same time creating advancement opportunities for the staff.

Disaster Recovery and Back Up

Investing in Disaster Recovery and back-up capabilities of the IT infrastructure and related processes to ensure business continuity based on agreed upon parameters.


Enterprise Risk ManagementESA’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system monitors strategic risk to the organization. Risk is assessed continuously and assessment and mitigation efforts change as events and circumstances evolve. The relationship between ERM and achievement of the corporate strategy are closely linked and managed together.

The ESA ERM system features real-time reporting through a risk intelligence system which clearly defines monitoring and reporting responsibilities in various parts of the organization. It uses 54 tracking tools which roll up into 12 risk event segments which in turn fall into four major risk event categories: financial, organizational, operational, and reputational.

Risks are assessed based on potential impact, likelihood, clock speed (i.e. pace at which information becomes available to manage the risk), and our mitigation capacity.

The ERM system is used by management and the Board to identify and mitigate strategic risks on an ongoing basis.

In 2016/17 we will continue to embed the ERM system in daily business operations including increasing engagement of front line staff in inputting to risk identification.

Appendices


Appendix 1: Key Corporate Policies

ESA maintains a number of policies and procedures to guide and direct its work. The following are four key policies. Information on other policies can be obtained by contacting ESA.

Privacy ESA is committed to maintaining the accuracy, security and privacy of personal information in accordance with the terms of our Administrative Agreement and privacy laws. ESA maintains a customer privacy policy and has a Chief Privacy Officer who oversees policy and activity in this area. ESA collects personal information to support the delivery of services, understand individual needs, manage business operations, develop and enhance services, and meet legal or regulatory requirements.

Due to the importance of information exchange in maintaining public electrical safety, ESA routinely discloses and disseminates records that support our safety mandate. Personal information is not disclosed if such disclosure would violate an individual’s right to privacy. Commercial information is not disclosed if it has been provided with the expectation of reasonable commercial protection.

ComplaintsESA responds to complaints received from customers, stakeholders and the public. We provide information and encourage two-way communication at all levels to ensure we are continually improving service quality. Where possible, complaints are dealt with at the source and in a timely manner. Complaints

that are not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant can be referred to the President and Chief Executive Officer. Information on ESA’s complaints policy can be found at esasafe.com.

French Language ServiceESA responds to all requests for French services as they arise throughout the year. The nature and level of services we provide in French are determined on an as-required basis to ensure ESA fulfills its public safety mandate. ESA monitors requests for service in French to ensure the appropriate level of service is available.

Appeals ESA is committed to providing individuals with the opportunity to request a review of Orders or licensing decisions as they arise. ESA has established a fair and transparent appeals process to facilitate the right to appeal any decision rendered by ESA. The appeals process, which can be reviewed at esasafe.com, defines specific steps and timelines to respond to an appeal pertaining to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code or the licensing of electrical contractors or Master Electricians.

For the appeal to proceed it must be supported with required information as outlined in the process. The majority of appeals are addressed through the first stage of review, the Director’s Review. However, an appeal can be escalated to an independent cross-sector review panel and ultimately can be taken to Divisional Court.


Appendix 2: Management of Non-Regulatory Business

ESA’s Objects of Corporation allow the organization to operate non-regulatory public electric safety quality assurance services as it deems appropriate and necessary to serve its mandate.

Revenue from regulatory lines of business is not applied to non-regulatory businesses, and revenue and expenses for these lines of business are reported separately in ESA’s Annual Report.

Other Information AvailableMore information can be found at esasafe.com including ESA’s annual reports which include performance reporting and compliance and safety outcomes, the Ontario Electrical Safety Report, and details about ESA’s stakeholder engagement activities including advisory councils and consultation processes.


Appendix 3: Organizational Structure

Board of Directors

President & CEO

Regional General Managers

Business Planning & Improvement

Finance

Information Technology

Customer Service Centre

Field Evaluation Services

Codes & Standards Support

Contractor Licensing &

Powerline Safety

Safety Risk, Policy & Innovation

Engineering & Program

Development

OperationsCorporate

Services & Chief Financial Officer

Chief Public Safety Officer & Regulatory and Safety Programs


Communications

Stakeholder Relations

Human Resources

ESA Training Solutions

Legal

Corporate Secretariat

Communications & Stakeholder Relations Human Resource General Counsel

Appendix 4: Five–Year Financial Outlook

The following is a financial outlook based on current forecasts of performance and external economic factors. This outlook is reviewed annually and up-dated as required. ESA establishes detailed operating budgets in advance of each fiscal year.

($000’s) Fiscal Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Budget Projection Projection Projection Projection

Revenue 104,762 106,940 110,162 113,711 117,780

Expenses 103,650 105,862 108,080 111,573 114,252

Surplus (deficiency) before depreciation 1,112 1,078 2,082 2,138 3,528

Depreciation 3,100 3,300 3,500 3,500 3,600

Surplus (deficiency) from operations (1,988) (2,222) (1,418) (1,362) (72)

Other Income (loss) 2,688 2,979 3,043 3,163 3,295

Surplus/(deficiency) for the year 700 757 1,625 1,801 3,222


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