Enerscan Engineering Inc. and Dale Robertson, P.Eng.,
President of Enerscan, awarded the 2006 Lieutenant Governor's
Award for Excellence in Engineering.

 
From left:  Dale Robertson, P.Eng., President of Enerscan Engineering Inc., Terry Hennigar, P.Eng., President of APENS, Her Honour, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Myra Freeman

By Catherine Young, writer for APENS

The ornate, gilt-edged Ballroom of Government House provided the ideal backdrop for a ceremony celebrating the provinces best and brightest in engineering.

In one of Engineering Week's highlights, Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman presented the 2006 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Engineering on March 3.

The award was established in 1997 in honour of former Lieutenant Governor James Kinley, P.Eng., who was the first engineer to be named to a Vice-Regal post in Canada.

Criteria for the award include sustainability of engineering work, creativity of engineering work, excellence in engineering design, enhancement of the engineering profession; leadership in the use of leading edge technology, economic benefits, and the public benefit.

To begin the afternoon, Her Honour welcomed the 40 people attending the awards ceremony. Bruce Wornell, P.Eng. a Past-President of the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) and current Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE) Director, addressed the gathering. "This event is very special to us because it celebrates the best of our profession," he said.

Following Wornell's remarks, Her Honour then presented this year's awards. Horner ADI Limited of Truro won honourable mention for revamping the Municipality of Barrington Sewage Treatment Plant. For this project, Horner staff evaluated the existing facility and doubled its present capacity within strict time and money constraints. Her Honour commended the company for its "new design that is much better environmentally, economically and from a public health point of view."

Michael Topley, P.Eng., President of Horner ADI Limited, accepted the award on behalf of the firm. He thanked his project team, and Municipality of Barrington officials, for their support.

Next, Her Honour spoke of another honourable mention. Eric Horton, P.Eng., was commended for designing "Perfect Pass." This system enables a boat to maintain precise speeds while towing competitive water-skiers through an official course - in short, making "perfect passes." Starting as Horton's idea, Perfect Pass Control Systems Inc.'s product is now a standard component in all world-class water skiing courses. Because the honouree was unable to attend, another awards ceremony will be arranged in the future.

For the afternoon's final event, Her Honour presented the 2006 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Engineering to Enerscan Engineering Inc. and to consulting engineer and President of Enerscan, Dale Robertson, P.Eng..

The small firm was celebrated for its innovative use of polymer-based hardware, instead of the standard metals and porcelain, for electrical distribution.

In accepting the award, Dale Robertson, P.Eng., said, "Developing new products in an industry that hasn't changed much in 50 years is a team effort." He singled out Rick Barber,P.Eng., Mike Axler and Billy Livingston of his engineering team for special recognition.

After the ceremony, Robertson said his brother-in-law, a linesman, had inspired him. "Basically, he was dissatisfied with the quality of the present hardware and he challenged me into coming up with a new solution. So I thought about the problem, designed prototypes, conducted trials and, eventually, the result gained acceptance." The entire process took Robertson's team 15 years of trial and error.

Robertson said that getting the electrical industry to accept this innovation was difficult. But gradually, the polymers - and Enerscan's products - gained industry acceptance.

Today, Enerscan employs 30 people and with revenues doubling each year, its growth shows no signs of slowing down. As Robertson says, "We have momentum now. Our future is fantastic."

After the ceremony concluded, Lieutenant-Governor Freeman invited attendees to join her for light refreshments. Those attending mixed, mingled and congratulated the award winners.