Service delay expected during the transition period from February 15 to 28, 2023

January 13, 2023

On March 1, 2023, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) is implementing the third phase of its upgraded IT solution known as OASIS, as part of its commitment to modernize and simplify services.

Customers are advised that some of TSSA’s response times may be delayed, and services may be limited for all programs while transitioning systems from end of day February 15 to 28, 2023 (timing may be subject to adjustment).  

Customers of all safety programs (Fuels, Elevating and Amusement Devices, Ski Lifts, Boilers and Pressure Vessels, and Operating Engineers) who have plans to submit requests or applications are urged to do so before February 15 or after February 28, 2023. 

TSSA is continuing to implement OASIS as part of its transformation to an Outcome-Based Regulator. This third phase involves the migration of the Elevating and Amusement Devices and Ski (EDAD Ski) Safety Program to the integrated business solution that is already in place for Fuels, Boilers and Pressure Vessels and Operating Engineers.

As part of TSSA’s focus on modernizing its processes and leveraging technology to create a more consistent customer experience, centralized inspection scheduling for EDAD Ski Safety Program will start on April 1, 2023. EDAD Ski customers will have one central point of contact to schedule inspections. More details will be provided shortly.

We seek your understanding and patience as necessary improvements to TSSA’s systems are made to enable better data quality and make it easier for customers to access TSSA’s services. Customers should anticipate longer response times during and immediately after the transition to an upgraded system.

The table below lists the affected services from end of day February 15 to 28, 2023:

Service

Impact

Customer Service Centre

• Customers are encouraged to limit their requests for non-urgent services and support until regular operations resume on March 1, 2023. TSSA will not be able to receive and respond to emails sent to Customer Services at customerservices@tssa.org during this time.
• Applications can still be submitted via the prepayment portal. If you require immediate assistance, please call Customer Services at 1-877-682-8772.   

Prepayment

Portal

• Applications that require prepayment can be submitted through the prepayment portal during the transition period.
• Applications submitted through the prepayment portal during the transition period will be processed after March 1, 2023.

Payment of Invoices

• Credit card payments for invoiced services or authorizations can be made through the online payment portal.
• Credit card receipts should be requested at the time when the payment is processed via the online payment portal.
• All payments processed and accepted between February 15 and February 28, 2023, will be posted to customer accounts after March 1, 2023.

Issuance of Invoices

• Invoices for services performed between February 15 and February 28, 2023, will be issued after March 1, 2023.
• Starting March 1, 2023, Elevating, Amusement and Ski Lift Device customers will receive invoices in a new format (like those already in place for Fuels, Boilers & Pressure Vessels & Operating Engineers).

Request for Public Information

• Requests opened before the transition period will be processed during the transition period.
• Requests for public information received after February 15, 2023, will be processed after March 1, 2023.
• Turnaround time will be delayed beyond the targeted 30 days.

New Account or Updates to Account Information

     From February 15 to 28, 2023:

• New accounts cannot be created.
• Account information (for example address change, change of device ownership, etc.) cannot be updated.

Engineering Services

• Engineering customers should anticipate longer processing times during the current system upgrade transition.
• Effective January 9, 2023, Priority (Rush) Services for the Elevating, Amusement and Ski Lift Devices Safety Program will be suspended temporarily. Click here for more information.

Inspection Services

• Scheduled inspections will continue as planned across programs.
• To schedule or reschedule an inspection, contact Workforce Planning at 1-833-WFP-TSSA or send an email to:

        - EDAD Ski: EDADInspection@tssa.org

        - BPV/OE: inspectionscheduling@tssa.org     

        - Fuels: fuelsinspection@tssa.org

• During the transition period and first few weeks of March when the new system goes live, TSSA’s inspectors may not be available on requested days due to training and system unavailability.
• Customers are encouraged to schedule time-sensitiveinspections taking place during the transition period as early as possible.
  • For all reportable incidents, please contact the Spills Action Centre by calling 1-877-682-TSSA (8772) and choosing option 1.

Inspection

Reports

Customers across programs may receive a temporary inspection report during the transition period. Regular inspection reports will follow after March 1, 2023.

Boilers & Pressure Vessels - Certificate of Inspection 

(BPV COI)

From February 15 to 28, 2023:

• General inquiries related to the status of a COI or requests for reprints will continue.
• Changes to address or updates to technical data captured under TSSA’s inventory (devices and facilities) records cannot be processed between February 15 and 28, 2023.

Portal for

Boilers & Pressure Vessels - Certificate of Inspection 

(BPV COI)

As the BPV COI portal will not be available to insurers, inspection agencies or owners during the transition period, the following services will not be available:

• Changes to address or updates to technical data captured under TSSA’s inventory (devices and facilities) records cannot be processed between February 15 and 28, 2023.
• Records of Inspection for boilers and pressure vessels cannot be accepted between February 15 to 28, 2023.
• Insurer cancellation requests cannot be processed during the transition period.

Licenses, Certificates and Other Items Mailed Out by TSSA

Mailings of licenses, certificates and other items will resume on March 1, 2023.

Exam Results/ Individual 

Authorizations

Exam results and individual certificates (authorizations) will not be officially issued between February 15 and 28, 2023.

Note: Exam scheduling activities and marking will continue, and candidates will be notified via email of results

Elevating Devices Contractor Renewals

As the migration of the Elevating, Amusement and Ski Lift Devices Safety Program to the upgraded system will go live on March 1, 2023, the authorization expiry date for all active Elevating Devices contractor registrations will be extended from March 31, 2023, to May 31, 2023. TSSA will continue to process renewals after March 1, 2023. 

Stay tuned for more updates in TSSA’s Newsroom and Safety Dispatch e-newsletter.

About TSSA 

Throughout Ontario, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) enforces provincial safety regulations and enhances public safety. TSSA regulates the safety of amusement devices, boilers and pressure vessels, elevating devices, fuels, operating engineers, and ski lifts. Its range of safety services includes public education, certification, licensing and registration, engineering design review, inspections, investigations, safety management consultation, compliance support, enforcement and prosecution activities.  

To legally operate a business, facility or device in Ontario, those in TSSA-regulated industries must maintain a current TSSA licence or registration. Active authorizations are necessary for TSSA to have oversight of the technical operations it regulates.

Last summer, TSSA informed authorization holders of its policy for reinstating lapsed authorizations. In an effort to help regulated parties keep their authorizations in good standing and remain compliant with safety laws, while further protecting the wellbeing of Ontarians, TSSA provides regulated parties with notice of renewal on a number of occasions using various outreach methods.

Starting May 2, 2022, TSSA will begin active outreach to former authorization holders whose authorizations expired between April 30, 2016, and April 30, 2021, to bring the operations back into compliance, if warranted, and ensure they’re performing safely.

TSSA will contact former authorization holders using a staggered timeline for each safety program area.

• Elevating Devices – Commencing May 2, 2022
• Boilers and Pressure Vessels – Commencing late July/early August 2022
• Fuels – Commencing November 1, 2022

Please note that these dates are subject to change, to maintain effective workflow management and customer service levels.

Learn more about TSSA’s Lapsed Authorizations and Historical Lapsed Authorizations Policy and get answers to frequently asked questions about fees associated with lapsed authorizations, requalification requirements, leave of absence considerations, and more.

Please contact TSSA if you have any questions about ensuring your TSSA authorizations are current.

Following our January 17, 2022 communication on TSSA’s implementation of an upgraded IT solution to modernize our services, this customer alert outlines the affected services from February 18 to March 1, 2022. 
To facilitate the processing of requests or applications, we encourage customers of all programs (Fuels, Elevating and Amusement Devices, Ski Lifts, Boilers and Pressure Vessels (BPV), and Operating Engineers) to submit requests or applications before February 9, 2022 or after March 1, 2022. This will spread out the volume of submissions that TSSA receives during the blackout period and make the transition to the new IT solution smoother.

We seek your understanding and patience during this transition as we make necessary improvements to TSSA’s systems that will ultimately make it easier to access our services.

The table below lists the affected services from February 18 to March 1, 2022:

Service

Impact

Customer Service Centre

Customers are encouraged to limit their requests for non-urgent services and support until regular operations resume on March 1, 2022. TSSA will not be able to receive and respond to emails sent to Customer Services at customerservices@tssa.org during this time.

The following applications can still be submitted:

• BPV Engineering applications: bpv_registrations@tssa.org
• Fuels Safety (FS) Engineering: FSSubmissions@tssa.org
• EDAD Engineering: EDdesignsubmittal@tssa.org
• BPV Portal and ROI Inquiries: bpv_inquiries@tssa.org

If you require immediate assistance, please call Customer Services at 1-877-682-8772.   

Payments

• Credit card payments for invoiced services can be made through the online payment portal or through Customer Services by phone during the blackout period. Credit card receipts can be issued at the time when the payment is processed. Customers who require an official TSSA receipt will be issued one after March 1.
• Payments accepted between February 18 and 28 will be applied to customer accounts after March 1.
• Payments for authorizations will be accepted during the blackout period; authorizations will be issued after March 1.

Invoices

• Invoices for services between February 18 and March 1 will be issued after March 1. Invoicing across programs after March 1 might be delayed.
• Fuels customers will receive invoices in a new format starting March 1.
• For customers who have signed up for consolidated invoicing, this service will be available for Fuels, Boilers and Pressure Vessels, and Operating Engineers after March 1.
• Invoices for Elevating and Amusement Devices and Ski Lift will be issued separately from Fuels and BPV devices. 

Request for Public Information

• Requests opened before the blackout period will be processed during the blackout period.
• Requests for public information received after February 18 will be processed after March 1.
• Turnaround time will be delayed beyond the targeted 30 days.

New Account or Updates to Account Information

From February 18 to March 1:

• New accounts cannot be created.
• Account information (for example, address change, change of device ownership, etc.) cannot be updated.

Engineering Services

• Engineering customers can anticipate longer response times during the blackout period due to manual data-entry processes.
• TSSA will continue to respond to calls and incoming enquiries.

Inspection Services

• Scheduled inspections will continue as planned across programs.
• For Fuels, Elevating Device, Amusement Devices and Ski customers who need to change scheduled inspections during this transition, you should contact your inspector.
• For BPV inspection requests, please contact Workforce Planning at 1-833-WFP-TSSA or inspectionscheduling@tssa.org.
• For emergency inspections, please call your local inspector.

Inspection Reports

Customers across programs may receive a temporary inspection report during the blackout period. Regular inspection reports will follow after March 1.

Boilers and Pressure Vessels Certificate of Inspection (BPV COI)

From February 18 and March 1: 

• Certificates of Inspection will not be issued.
• Changes to address or technical object data cannot be processed between February 18 and March 1.

Boilers and Pressure Vessels Certificate of Inspection (BPV COI) Portal

As the BPV COI portal will not be available to insurers, inspection agencies or owners during the blackout period, the following services will not be available:

• Changes to address or technical object data cannot be processed between February 18 to March 1.
• Records of Inspection for boilers and pressure vessels cannot be accepted between February 18 to March 1.
• Insurer cancellation requests cannot be processed during the blackout period.

Licenses, Certificates and Other Items Mailed Out by TSSA

Mailings of licenses, certificates and other items will resume on March 1.

Exam Results/ Individual Authorizations

Exam results and individual certificates (authorizations) will not be officially issued between February 18 and March 1.

Note: Exam scheduling activities and marking will continue, and candidates will be notified via email of results

TSSA is continuing to implement OASIS as part of our transformation to an Outcome-Based Regulator. The new IT solution will improve core functions, enable better data quality and make it easier for customers to access TSSA’s services. 

About TSSA 

Throughout Ontario, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) enforces provincial safety regulations and enhances public safety. TSSA regulates the safety of amusement devices, boilers and pressure vessels, elevating devices, fuels, operating engineers, and ski lifts. Its range of safety services includes public education, certification, licensing and registration, engineering design review, inspections, investigations, safety management consultation, compliance support, enforcement and prosecution activities.