CTS 10-12: Mechanics: Open Access Textbooks

This textbook is for workers and students looking for an introduction to injury prevention on the job.

The goal of this volume is to get students prepared for the more advanced topics that they will encounter during their trades math education. The material is presented from a trades perspective with easy-to-understand examples and video explanations accompanying questions.

The goal of this volume is to take the material you learned in Math for Trades: Volume 1 and apply it to more advanced topics that you may encounter during your trades training.

This volume continues the journey through math with topics such as capacities, pressure and total force, grade and total fall and trigonometry. These topics take the foundation that as been built in the first two volumes and adds new layers.

Indigenous students entering the trades can face many barriers including cultural misunderstanding and even discrimination or racism in the workplace. This textbook is for them.

WIth this textbook, first and second-year college students are introduced to this expanding new field, comprehensively exploring the essential concepts from every branch of knowledge – including engineering and the applied arts, natural and social sciences, and the humanities.

Safety is a part of the job. When you take a job, you have a safety obligation to your employer, co-workers, family, and yourself. By recognizing and understanding the hazards in your work area, you can prevent the occurrence of many accidents.

Workers exposed to hazardous materials may be at risk for many serious health problems, such as kidney or lung damage, sterility, cancer, allergic reactions, or burns. Some hazardous materials can also cause fires or explosions. Every person working with or near controlled products has the right to know the hazards and how to safely use the products.

This eTextbook describes the clothing and protective equipment workers must wear on the job site and the safety precautions they must take to protect themselves and others from injury. The equipment used will depend on the hazards anticipated.

As a trades worker you have a responsibility to work safely, and fire prevention is a primary concern. Many of the work tasks you carry out include the application of heat and flame. You should be able to apply fire prevention practices, identify fire causes, and identify and apply fire extinguishing agents to control or extinguish a fire.

After completing this competency, students will know effective study habits; listening techniques; note-taking techniques; techniques for reading textbooks; ways to research materials; and techniques for preparing for and taking notes.

This eBook looks at some of the current major trends in employment in Canada and British Columbia. This review includes an overview of the economy, skills that employers look for, employee expectations, and effective strategies for entering the labour market and finding a job.

No matter what your job is, you will need to communicate with other people. Your communication skills determine how successfully you receive and transmit information. Communication is arguably the most important of all life skills and plays a significant role in all aspects of work and home life.

This competency provides the information necessary for you to understand the trades training system and how to explore any trades you may be interested in.

Hand tools are used in almost every trade, but many of them have particular applications in a specific trade. It is likely you have used some of these tools already at work, at school, or at home, but this may be the first time you have had the chance to study some of the tools’ designs and applications in detail.

Power tools play a major role in virtually every trade. You will be expected to be familiar with a wide range of portable and stationary power tools and to understand the safe operation of these tools.

Rigging loads for lifting requires the use of various hardware items. Knowing how to correctly select, inspect, and assemble of each of these items is critical to a safe lift.

The safe use of ladders and scaffolds is required in all types of jobs. In this competency you will learn about some of the common equipment used for performing work at elevated locations

Essential skills are used in every job to varying degrees and at different levels of complexity. They provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve in their jobs and adapt to changes in the workplace.

This competency introduces the basic principles governing the structure and the behaviour of solids, liquids, and gases. You will look at the effects forces have on objects and the basic machines that transmit a force. You will also examine the effects of thermal and electrical energy.

Some of the most important documents used in the workplace are the technical drawings, diagrams, and schematics that specify how fabrication and construction tasks will be carried out, or describe the composition and assembly of equipment. One of the essential skills for anyone involved in a trade is the ability to correctly interpret drawings.

Codes, regulations, standards, specifications, and recommended practices are used in all aspects of construction, fabrication, manufacturing, and inspection.

Document use is one of the nine essential skills identified by the Government of Canada to be successful in the workplace. It refers to the skills needed to find, enter, and use letters, numbers, symbols, and images in electronic and paper form.

Planning ahead saves time and money and makes a job more profitable. Effectively managing time and resources, including materials, and keeping detailed notes is very important whether you are working for another company or on your own.

You will use electricity daily. Electric tools make the performance of your job easier and more efficient. To use electricity safely and effectively, it is important to understand electricity’s terminology and principles.

To be able to recognize or troubleshoot electrical devices, you must be familiar with the correct terminology and symbols used to identify them.

It is important for you to be familiar with techniques for soldering electrical connections and how to use wireless connectors.

Whether you work in an electrical, a mechanical, or a construction trade, you will be faced with using and/or maintaining a variety of electrical measuring instruments. Learn three basic meters for measuring voltage, current, and resistance.