How to organise hosting a Vehicle Emissions Inspection Clinic

For Environment Canada, the primary goal of the emissions clinics is public awareness. We want to promote the benefits of motor vehicle emissions control systems in reducing tailpipe emissions, discourage tampering with these systems, educate the general public on transportation related environmental and health issues and encourage proper vehicle maintenance.

In order to ensure a successful clinic a number of items need to be addressed.

LOCATION/TENT RENTAL
FINANCES
PUBLICITY
VOLUNTEERS
CLINIC METHODOLOGY
VOLUNTEER RESPONSIBILITIES
MISCELLANEOUS
CONTACT US!

LOCATION/TENT RENTAL:

Clinic are usually held in a small portion of a parking lot easily accessible to motorists. It is preferable to select a location that sees a lot of traffic and is very visible. Additional insurance coverage may need to be purchased to cover the clinic. This will be dependent upon the owner of the parking lot.

In order to ensure adequate space the following dimensions are normally required:

[ Click to enlarge ]

Ideally the location will have access to an external power supply. Environment Canada will supply a generator to power the analysers, however it makes for a more peaceful day if using it can be avoided. Tents can be rented from a local rental agency. The standard size of a tent is 20' x 20'. The sides of the tents are usually left off to allow adequate air circulation. At a typical clinic two tents are placed side by side so two tests can be conducted simultaneously. If you are unsure as whether to rent one tent or two please contact Environment Canada.

Besides protecting the volunteers and equipment from adverse weather, the use of a colourful tent is also an excellent way of attracting motorists' attention.

FINANCES:

Environment Canada will cover costs incurred up to a maximum of $3,000 for a one day clinic and up to $4,000 for a two or three day clinic as described below.

Applicable costs include:

• Rental cost of tents, tables, chairs, portable sign, etc. (receipts required)
• City permits, additional insurance (receipts required)
• Overnight security for equipment / material if needed (receipts required)
• Additional staff support required to organize the clinic, up to a maximum of $1,000 (receipt required)
• Printing of promotional material, press releases, etc. (receipts required)
• Paid advertising (receipts required)
• Refreshments and light meals for volunteers, up to a maximum of $400 (all receipts and volunteer names required must be submitted to Environment Canada)

Environment Canada will not pay for volunteer time or travel expenses.

Any items not listed above must be discussed with Environment Canada and confirmation to include these should be obtained in writing from Environment Canada prior to the clinic date. If approved, these items must be included within the set $3,000 or $4,000 limit.

A detailed invoice with all receipts attached must be submitted to Environment Canada within 30 days of the date of the clinic.

For additional information on finances please refer to the sample Terms of Reference document.

PUBLICITY:

For Environment Canada the primary goal of the vehicle emissions inspection clinic program is public awareness. In order to ensure the success of your clinic the public must be made aware of the event.

Over the years a number of different tactics have been tried to lure motorists to the clinics. This has resulted in various levels of success. Trying to quantify how well one particular advertising medium works over another can be very difficult, especially when multiple sources are employed.

A clinic with high vehicle turnout is usually directly related to a high media turnout. A marked improvement in vehicle numbers is usually noticed on the second day of a clinic if a high volume of media sources attended the first day. Usually the clinics generate a very positive response from media outlets since the clinics give motorists the opportunity to help clean the air they breathe and reduce their impact on climate change. The clinics are also run in the summer months, which is usually when air quality issues are more of a concern in Canada.

Advertisements in local newspapers, radio and television stations can get very expensive and while they are often effective are not always necessary. Experience reveals that press releases are quite effective and are free. Furthermore, most of the motorists attending a clinic do so because they saw something unusual going on.

Environment Canada asks that you explore all the local media options available in your community and then base your media decisions on the mediums that you feel would work the best. To assist you in your decision Environment Canada has compiled a list of media tactics employed in other communities across Canada.

Environment Canada is also available to help you in deciding on the publicity strategy for your community veic@ec.gc.ca. Public Service Announcements, Community Announcements, Newspaper Announcements, and Poster templates are supplied which can be adapted for your clinic.

A media package is to be supplied to Environment Canada by you, the host, following the delivery of the clinic. The package should include the following:

• Copies of any Press Releases, Public Service Announcements (PSA), Community Announcements that were sent out and when they were sent.
• Copies of any paid advertising, along with what newspaper, radio, TV station they were placed in and the dates appearing.
• Copies of any posters used
• A listing of media pick ups(TV, radio or newspaper stories) the clinics generated and copies of all newspaper stories.

VOLUNTEERS:

Four or five volunteers are required per lane. Therefore if two lanes are operational eight to ten volunteers are needed. While adequate staff is needed, it is also important not to over-staff. Too many people are hard to organise and hard to keep busy if the turnout is low.

Volunteers will be used to staff the following positions: Greeters, Data Loggers, Tire Pressure Testers, Gas Cap Testers, and Floaters (the responsibilities of each position are explained in the VOLUNTEER RESPONSIBILITIES section).

It should be noted that although volunteers will be working around motor vehicles, no specific technical knowledge is necessary. Environment Canada personnel will run training sessions for clinic volunteers giving recommended test procedures to be followed and preferred data collection methods. The first training sessions can be held the morning of the first day, and subsequent sessions will be provided to new sets of volunteers.

The typical hours of operation for an emissions clinic is from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. on weekdays and from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on weekends, although this is left up to the discretion of the hosts. It is recommended volunteers be at the clinic site approximately 45 minutes prior to the start of the clinic. Volunteers are usually split into two shifts, a morning one and an afternoon one.

Environment Canada will provide experienced personnel to operate the analysing equipment and to debrief motorists.

If schools are in session students are usually easy to obtain and their high level of energy helps a great deal. Previous hosts have also used the following resources to staff volunteer positions:

• Local Environmental Groups
• Local Youth Groups
• Town employees
• Various NGOs (eg. Lung Associations, service clubs)
• Community colleges (automotive programs)
• Regional Environment Canada offices

Environment Canada would appreciate a list of volunteers one week prior to the start of the clinic.

Volunteers should come prepared to be working outside for the day. Suitable clothing and footwear should be worn. Environment Canada will provide T-shirts which all volunteers are requested to wear. The T-shirts are theirs to keep at the end of the clinic.

The clinic is an impartial, free emissions test. Active solicitation of vehicle repair business would undermine the integrity of the event and should be avoided. All personnel will be requested to adopt a professional approach and provide motorists with business references only if specifically asked.

CLINIC METHODOLOGY:

• The motorist is greeted by a staff member who explains briefly the purpose of the clinic and what will be done to the vehicle during the inspection. This person also asks the driver to fill out a survey form (survey link) with very basic questions regarding vehicle maintenance practices, environmental issues and how they found out about the clinic. The motorist is then given vehicle emissions literature, which is theirs to keep and can be read while they wait.
• Vehicle specific information such as the age of the vehicle, odometer reading, etc. are then recorded on the Environment Canada data form (data form link).
• The motorist pulls into the designated test area and stops, ensuring that the vehicle is in park or in neutral with the parking brake on. The gas cap tester performs a pressure test on the gas cap to ensure it seals properly and the tire pressures are tested and recorded along with the manufacturer's rated tire pressure. The vehicle is left idling if it is to be tested next (this is done in order to ensure the vehicle remains warm for the emissions test).
• The motorist then moves the vehicle forward under (or beside) the tent and stops, ensuring that the vehicle is in park or in neutral with the parking brake on. The car is left idling. The analyser technician connects a tachometer, if necessary, to a distributor wire and inserts the analyser probe into the vehicle's tailpipe.
• In order to precondition the vehicle, the engine speed is elevated to 2500 RPM. This is done by the motorist slowly pressing down on the gas pedal with the vehicle in park or in neutral with the parking brake on. Once the analyser readings have stabilised, a reading of Hydrocarbons (HC), Oxygen (O2), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) is taken.
• The vehicle is allowed to return to low speed idle and a second stabilised reading is obtained at this low idle engine speed (700-1000 RPM).
• In the event that the vehicle fails the tailpipe test, The Environment Canada technician visually inspects the exhaust system, including the catalyst. He/she then inspects the vehicle's under-hood pollution control devices and fills out the relevant parts of the data form.
• The motorist is given his/her test results and thanked by the debriefer. The debriefer also explains the results to the motorist......END of INSPECTION!
• The whole inspection, including the greeting and debriefing portions, should not take much more than 5 minutes if there are no line-ups. If the vehicle fails the tailpipe test the pollution devices are visually checked only. No modifications or adjustments are performed on the vehicle.

VOLUNTEER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Greeter:
  • ensures that motorists are directed into clinic entrance
  • welcomes the participants
  • briefly explains the program and its objectives
  • hands out any literature and other promotional material
  • explains to the driver what will happen in the next few minutes, gives necessary instructions as to where to stop and what to do while going through the testing procedure
  • asks the driver to fill out part A of the survey (survey link)
  • emphasises that the driver must stay in their vehicle, especially while under the tent
• Data logger:
  • records vehicle specific information such as the age of the car, odometer reading, etc on the Environment Canada data sheet. (data form link)
  • ensures that data sheet is passed on to tailpipe testers
• Gas cap tester:
  • verifies the condition of the gas cap and seal for deterioration
  • verifies the presence of a fuel inlet restrictor
  • performs a pressure test on the gas cap to verify if it seals properly
  • reports results to the inspector or the data logger
• Tire pressure tester:
  • performs a pressure test on each of the vehicle's tires and records the values on the tire pressure sticker.
  • locate the vehicle manufacture's recommended tire pressures and record this information on the tire pressure sticker.
• Floater:
  • helps out where needed most
  • makes sure motorists follow instructions and remain in their vehicles at all time
  • fills in during lunches and breaks
  • assist the Environment Canada staff with analyser operation

MISCELLANEOUS:

The local host is to supply miscellaneous items such as tables and chairs to ensure the event runs smooth. A check list of these items is available.

Environment Canada staff is available to answer any questions pertaining to the items on the list.

The Emissions Clinic Team is able to carry a great deal of equipment with them to the clinics site so if any items are in doubt please contact Environment Canada.

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