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ONTARIO ONE CALL LAUNCHES PROFESSIONAL LOCATE COURSE Ontario One Call has launched the Professional Locate Administrator Course (PLAC), an interactive online program, designed to create expert Locate Administrators. The course provides an in-depth understanding of how to effectively request and manage locates (ground markings identifying the position of utility lines based on records or electronic locating equipment) within Ontario. Learners will be taken through interactive online modules covering various topics related to planning projects, making accurate locate requests, staying within the regulations, utilizing tools, avoiding issues, troubleshooting and much more. “If you work for a company that digs, and your job involves requesting and organizing locates, this course is for you,” says Ian Simpson, Director of Education, Marketing and Compliance at Ontario One Call. “Whether you are brand new to the industry or are a seasoned professional, when finished, you will be the go-to person within an organization to answer questions related to locates.” PLAC is a self-guided online course and is available 24/7. Once registered, students learn at their own pace. After successfully completing the program, students will receive a certificate of completion, which is valid for two years. Most students on average take roughly six hours to complete the course, which includes nine modules, quizzes and a final exam. Ontario One Call offers a free service for anyone who needs to make a locate request so they can dig in the province. Until now, there was no industry-wide training available on how to make good quality locate requests. PLAC is looking to change that. “Making accurate and good quality locate requests would relieve a lot of pressure on the system,” says Simpson. ohba.ca
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The cost of the course is $84.95 + HST. To register or find out more details visit OntarioOneCall.ca/PLAC. H E A LT H
KILLING COVID-19 IS NOTHING NEW FOR NAPOLEON
If nothing else, the COVID-19 pandemic has made people much more clued in about safety and cleanliness in their daily lives. Extending that vigilance to the air in our homes, though, is old hat for Napoleon. “An inadequate heating and cooling system can create a risky situation in a home,” says Stephen Schroeter, co-CEO of Napoleon. “Pathogens like viruses, bacteria and other airborne contaminants can recirculate and be transferred between rooms. But with a furnace with Phillips Ultraviolet-C technology, which kills pathogens like COVID-19, everyone will breathe cleaner, safer, fresher air.” For the past decade, Napoleon gas furnaces have been thusly equipped— the only company, in fact, featuring a unique virus-killing UV-C sanitization system called HomeShield—the same technology used in hospitals to kill viruses and pathogens quickly. No other manufacturer offers this technology inside a furnace, notes Napoleon, which employs the UV-C wavelength light. This ultraviolet light does not occur naturally on Earth due to the filtering effect of the atmosphere. This powerful germicidal UV-C light breaks down DNA, damaging and killing viruses and bacteria. HomeShield produces the UV-C ‘killer effect’ safely inside the furnace to sterilize the air inside, stopping the spread of harmful viruses, moulds, bacteria, parasites and allergens. And it works silently 24 hours a day as the furnace is heating, cooling or circulating air.
“For more than a decade Napoleon has been doing this,” says Schroeter. “Due to surging demand in recent months, we are ramping up production of our unique technology that kills pathogens as air cycles through a home about 50,000 times a year.” DESIGN
DULUX’S COLOURS OF WELLNESS
We could all use a little colour to brighten up these uncertain times, and Dulux has come to the rescue! With Canadians increasingly looking to fill their homes with natural, serene colours as a way to cling to familiar, soothing comforts, Dulux Paints by PPG is touting its ‘Be Well’ 2021 Palette of the Year. Infused with soft, nostalgic neutrals, the palette includes creamy oatmeal, warm latte, earthy turquoise and toasty ginger—organic tones that emit a sense of calm and tranquility. “Even before the pandemic hit, Canadians were longing for more simplicity and restfulness in their lives after decades of overstimulation and overconsumption,” suggests Mitsu Dhawan, marketing manager for Dulux Paints by PPG. “Our 2021 colour palette is like a big hug for the home.” The Be Well collection is highlighted by three star hues: Transcend, a midtone sandy brown; Big Cypress, a shaded ginger with persimmon undertones; and Misty Aqua, a watercolour cerulean blue. “These restorative colours work well both on their own and in combination with one another, with cool and soft aqua providing an unexpected pairing of freshness against the warm and light natural shades,” Dhawan says. “The palette is made up of such versatile tones that any of them can be used as either the supporting or dominant colour in a room.” ONTARIO HOME BUILDER EARLY SPRING 2021
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