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Construction and Maintenance Electrician

When Marc Dodsworth honed his skills as a construction and maintenance electrician apprentice at steam power plants in downtown Toronto, he had no idea cooler days lay ahead.

LINDA WHITE
[ 2005-11-02 ]

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Today, the experienced journeyman maintains and troubleshoots machinery on the Deep Lake Water Cooling Project.

The alternative cooling system made headlines when actor and renewable energy activist Alec Baldwin attended its launch.

The project draws water out of Lake Ontario through intake pipes located deep in the lake. "The water goes through heat exchangers and continues on to the city for drinking," Dodsworth says. "The cooling plant utilizes this ultra-cold water coming out of Lake Ontario to cool all the large buildings in the downtown core."

Those buildings include the Air Canada Centre, TD Centre and the Metro Convention Centre. "There's a whole maze of tunnels 100 feet underground heading toward Queen's Park," Dodsworth says.


A journeyman electrician with McDowell Electric, he also services the windmill at Exhibition Stadium. "There's a lot of new technology coming down that's really exciting."

Dodsworth completed a degree in electronics through night school. When he couldn't find the career path he imagined, he followed a friend's suggestion and applied to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 353 Ontario.

He began his apprenticeship in 1988 with a company that installed energy-efficient systems for the Toronto public school board. He continued his apprenticeship with McDowell Electric, working on steam power plants. Steam supplied to hospitals in Toronto's downtown core is used to propel large chillers.

"McDowell is a really diversified company, so I've had the opportunity to work on a lot of exciting projects around the city, like the SkyDome, Roy Thomson Hall and the new Opera House," Dodsworth says. "You get to see a cross-section of people -- the best part of the job is the people."

Working in underground tunnels underscores the importance of safety.

"We're dealing with confined spaces, which we have to have training for," Dods- worth says. "I always have precautions like a safety man, safety harness and gas detector. You might never use them, but they're there in case you need them. You can't afford to be lackadaisical about safety."

Not everyone is so committed to safety. "It costs extra money to have a guy standing over you, but when you're 100 feet underground in extremely hot temperatures, you want him there," Dodsworth says. "That extra cost is the reason why some contractors shortchange safety."

Dodsworth credits IBEW with valuable safety training. "The union has its own classroom. We're trained above and beyond what the other guys do, so you have to stand out."



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