Part B of the 4th Class Power Engineer certificate exam, known as 4B, is the operating paper. The SOPEEC syllabus splits it into 12 units, B1 to B12, with 52 objectives: lubrication, pumps and compressors, boiler safety devices, plant (boiler) operations, plant maintenance, water treatment, prime movers and engines, auxiliary building systems, refrigeration, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, heating and cooling systems, and types of plants. SOPEEC says that every jurisdiction requires both papers, that the Part A and Part B examinations each have 100 multiple-choice questions and are 3 hours long in most jurisdictions, and that you need at least 65 per cent on each paper. Its 4B sample questions work that out to 1.8 minutes a question. SOPEEC's syllabus and exam pages give no count of questions per unit, and nor do the regulator pages we checked. A Handbook of Formulae and Physical Constants, steam tables and refrigeration tables are normally provided, and you may use the listed code books and a non-programmable calculator. Ontario calls the certificate Operating Engineer and letters the Part B units A to L.
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01What is the 4th Class Power Engineering exam, Part B (4B)?
To earn a 4th Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency you pass two exam papers and meet your jurisdiction's other requirements. Part A, called 4A, is theory, legislation and codes, safety and the boiler itself; Part B, called 4B, is operating the plant. SOPEEC's 4th Class exam information page says every jurisdiction requires both papers, that the Part A and Part B examinations each have 100 multiple-choice questions and are 3 hours long in most jurisdictions, and that each needs at least 65 per cent of the marks. Its 4B sample questions give 3.0 hours for 100 multiple-choice questions, 1.8 minutes a question, and each sample question has four options, A to D. If you are also writing Part A, the 4A exam guide covers it the same way.
It is not a Red Seal exam. SOPEEC, the Standardization of Power Engineer Examinations Committee, sets the syllabus and maintains the exam banks. It answers to the Canadian Association of Chief Inspectors (ACI), which owns the exam materials, and has one representative from each jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction's regulator runs the sittings: ABSA in Alberta, Technical Safety BC, TSASK in Saskatchewan, Inspection and Technical Services in Manitoba, TSSA in Ontario and the others in the table below. Pass all the papers, meet your jurisdiction's requirements, and you can get a Standardized Certificate, which SOPEEC says all Canadian jurisdictions recognize.
The names vary. In Ontario the certificate is a Certificate of Qualification as an Operating Engineer, and TSSA's guide is for the 4th Class Power (Operating) Engineer; TSSA adopts the SOPEEC syllabus unchanged but letters the Part B units A to L, so its unit A is SOPEEC's B1 (Lubrication) and its unit L is B12 (Types of Plants). Alberta's syllabus, AB-54, uses the same B1 to B12 numbering as SOPEEC, with objectives 1 to 52. Technical Safety BC calls the paper 4B1.
The current SOPEEC Reference Syllabus for Fourth Class is the November 2022 issue of the syllabus that took effect on 1 November 2017; Part B is on the same document as Part A. Study notes from before 2017 follow the older syllabus, in which some content sat on the other paper.
02What is the exam format by province?
The syllabus is national, but each regulator sets eligibility, booking and rewrite rules. This is what each regulator's own page or guide says for the 4th Class papers; where we could not confirm a format, the table says so.
| Jurisdiction | Regulator | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | ABSA | 100 multiple choice, 3 hours, 65% on each paper, for all 4th Class papers since 1 January 2023 | Book through CPECS (cpecs.ca). You qualify with a 4th Class course ABSA accepts, the first full term of a two-year power engineering technology program, or a mechanical engineering degree. Three failed papers in succession bring a disqualification of at least 6 months. A passed paper counts for 7 years. |
| British Columbia | Technical Safety BC | 100 multiple choice, 3 hours, 65% on each exam, since 1 March 2023; the paper is 4B1 | Eligibility starts with an approved 4th Class course or a listed alternative. Three chances to pass, with a letter after each attempt giving your marks and areas to improve. Wait 30 days after a fail; after a third fail you must ask permission to try again. |
| Saskatchewan | TSASK | Two papers, each 100 multiple choice in 3 hours, 65% on each | No prerequisites to challenge 4th Class, which TSASK calls entry level. You must reside in Saskatchewan. Set dates in Regina and Saskatoon, limited seats, non-refundable. Wait 30 days after a fail. |
| Manitoba | Inspection and Technical Services | Points to the SOPEEC syllabi; the exam page does not restate the format | Apply on the Power Engineer Examination Application Form; proof of experience or education may be required. |
| Ontario | TSSA (Operating Engineer) | The 4A and 4B examinations each 100 multiple choice, 3 hours, 65% (guide effective October 2024) | Rewrites allowed after 60 days. TSSA recommends a 4th Class course first. Get your certificate within five years of passing, or rewrite. |
| Nova Scotia | Technical Safety Division | 3 hours for 4th Class papers (2026 to 2027 exam schedule) | Applications must reach Technical Safety 35 days before the exam. Rewrites need a rewrite application. |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division | Two papers, A and B; 65% on every paper | An approved program equal to the SOPEEC syllabus is required. Fail a paper three times below 45% and you wait three months. |
| New Brunswick, PEI, NWT, Nunavut, Yukon | Offices listed on SOPEEC's members page | SOPEEC members; format not separately confirmed | Ask the office before you book. |
| Quebec | Emploi-Québec (Stationary Enginemen Act) | Joined SOPEEC at the 4th Class level in 2006; format not confirmed | Ask the office before you book. |
Older figures still circulate. SOPEEC's 2017 brief of the revised syllabus and its 2011 note on writing a multiple-choice exam both say 150 questions in 3.5 hours. ABSA gives 100 questions and 3 hours for all 4th Class papers from 1 January 2023, Technical Safety BC from 1 March 2023, and SOPEEC's exam page, the 4B samples and TSSA's current guide all say 100 questions. If a document says 150, check its date.
SOPEEC recommends writing in the jurisdiction where you are employed. If you move partway through, the marks from your earlier papers can be forwarded, and the new jurisdiction gives credit under its own regulations.
03What do units B1 to B12 cover?
Part B of the SOPEEC syllabus numbers its 52 objectives straight through, 1 to 52. The IPECC 4th Class curriculum breaks each into learning outcomes; the summaries below use both, in plain words. The syllabus gives no per-unit question counts, so none are given here.
Unit B1: Lubrication
Two objectives (1 and 2): the purposes of a lubricant, the classes and types of lubricants and the properties, additives and selection of lubricating oils; and bearings, from boundary and full-film lubrication to sleeve, antifriction and thrust bearings, cleaning and replacing ball and roller bearings, and the causes of bearing failure.
Free unit B1 practice questions: Lubrication & Bearings →
Unit B2: Pumps and Compressors
Four objectives (3 to 6): pump applications, performance terms and the common plant pumps; pump maintenance, from shaft seals, mechanical seals and alignment to priming and starting centrifugal and positive-displacement pumps; the classes of compressors; and compressor parts, seals, capacity control, start-up, shutdown and preventive maintenance.
Free unit B2 practice questions: Pumps & Compressors →
Unit B3: Boiler Safety Devices
Five objectives (7 to 11): pressure relief valves on power boilers, heating boilers and pressure vessels, with their code requirements, testing and repair and the temperature and pressure relief valve; combustion safety controls, burner management systems, burner sequences and flame failure detectors and their testing; low-water fuel cut-offs and water level indicators; the required and non-code fittings on steam and hot-water boilers; and the operating and safety controls on boilers and their fuel supplies.
Free unit B3 practice questions: Boiler Safety Devices →
Unit B4: Plant (Boiler) Operations
Six objectives (12 to 17): preparing and starting auxiliaries, pumps and fans; warming a cold boiler and starting and cutting in hot-water and steam boilers, including semi-automatic ignition and the post-start inspection after an outage; routine operation, emergencies and troubleshooting; the shift checks, safety device tests, standard operating procedures and logs; shutdown, lockout and lay-up of hot-water and steam boilers; and what to monitor and record, water hammer, equipment failures and boiler accidents.
Free unit B4 practice questions: Boiler Plant Operations →
Unit B5: Power Plant/Heating Plant Maintenance
Four objectives (18 to 21): hand tools, threading, measuring and layout tools, grinders and drills; work platforms, ladders and scaffolds, rigging calculations and hoisting, wire rope and fibre rope, and fasteners; servicing packaged firetube and cast-iron boilers, wet and dry lay-ups and finding and replacing leaking firetubes; and preparing a boiler for inspection, the internal inspection, and mechanical and chemical cleaning.
Free unit B5 practice questions: Plant Maintenance →
Unit B6: Water Treatment
Six objectives (22 to 27): raw-water impurities and pre-treatment, filtration, softening and deaeration; internal boiler-water treatment, chemical feed and boiler-water tests; condensate treatment and tests; cooling tower and condenser water; closed cooling-water and chilled-water circuits; and hot-water heating systems, sacrificial anodes and glycol testing.
Free unit B6 practice questions: Water Treatment →
Unit B7: Prime Movers and Engines
Five objectives (28 to 32): heat engines, prime movers and the history of the steam engine; steam turbine principles, lubrication and sealing, governing, start-up and shutdown; condensers and natural- and mechanical-draft cooling towers, including cold-climate operation; gas turbines, regeneration, combined cycles and start-up; and internal combustion engines, their fuels and the two- and four-stroke cycles.
Free unit B7 practice questions: Prime Movers & Engines →
Unit B8: Auxiliary Building Systems
Three objectives (33 to 35): lighting equipment, light sources, lighting control and emergency lighting, and how lighting affects air conditioning and energy use; cold and hot water distribution, water heaters, protective devices, backflow prevention and maintenance; and sanitary and storm drainage and the management of surface run-off.
Free unit B8 practice questions: Auxiliary Building Systems →
Unit B9: Refrigeration
Four objectives (36 to 39): the vapour-compression cycle, how operating pressures and capacity are set and how refrigeration tables are used, and refrigerant classes, properties and safety; compression system layouts, direct and indirect systems, compressors, evaporators and condensers; controls, safety shutdowns, expansion valves, capacity control, leak testing, charging, adding oil, purging and logs; and ammonia and lithium bromide absorption systems, including crystallization.
Free unit B9 practice questions: Refrigeration →
Unit B10: Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
Six objectives (40 to 45): conditioning air for comfort and health, air-handling units, humidity, relative humidity, dew point and dry- and wet-bulb temperatures; humidifiers; air flow and pressure, fans, fan curves, drives and volume control; natural and mechanical ventilation, air contaminants and air cleaning; duct systems, dampers and diffusers; and steam, hot-water and glycol coils.
Free unit B10 practice questions: HVAC & Air Handling →
Unit B11: Heating and Cooling Systems
Six objectives (46 to 51): steam heating systems, their traps, vents and piping; hot-water heating layouts, accessories, pumps and expansion tanks; warm-air, infrared and electric heating; unitary, central and combined HVAC systems; heat gains and losses and heat recovery; and HVAC control strategies for ventilation, heating, humidity and duct static pressure.
Free unit B11 practice questions: Heating & Cooling Systems →
Unit B12: Types of Plants
One objective (52): the steam-related processes in plants that employ power engineers, from heat-transfer-fluid systems, oil refining, SAGD and cyclic steam stimulation and gas plants to wood and biomass, food production and metallurgical processing.
Free unit B12 practice questions: Types of Plants →
04Is it on 4A or 4B?
Some topics sound like Part B but sit in Part A, and the other way round. Reading the two unit lists side by side gives these boundaries:
- Safety valves, low-water cut-offs, gauge glasses and water columns, the required fittings and the operating and safety controls are B3 Boiler Safety Devices. Boiler design, components and the Section I and Section IV classes are 4A (objectives 44 to 49, Boilers).
- Boiler-water chemistry and treatment are B6. Feedwater systems and blowdown equipment are 4A (objectives 53 and 54).
- Combustion safety controls, burner management and flame failure are B3. Combustion theory, fuels, burners and draft are 4A (objectives 50 to 52).
- Preparing a boiler for inspection and cleaning is B5. Fireside cleaning equipment such as sootblowers is 4A (objective 55).
- Pumps are B2, and water hammer as an operating event is B4. Steam traps and water hammer as piping physics are 4A (objective 27).
- Refrigeration systems are B9. The purpose of CSA B52 and the other codes is 4A (objective 15).
- Lockout, permits, WHMIS and fire are 4A safety (objectives 16 to 20); 4B uses them inside its own operating procedures.
The 4B sample questions include a confined-space entry permit item, which reads like 4A safety. SOPEEC says the samples show style only and may not match any current syllabus, so let the syllabus decide what you study.
05What do you get in the exam room?
The SOPEEC syllabus and its general exam information page say a Handbook of Formulae and Physical Constants, steam tables and refrigeration tables are normally provided, and the jurisdiction provides a non-technical dictionary. You may also use the examining jurisdiction's Act and Regulations; CSA B51, CSA B52 and their extract; the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code except Sections VI and VII, or the 2007 ASME Academic Extract and Supplement; ASME B31.1 and B31.3; a non-programmable calculator; and drawing instruments. In most jurisdictions you provide the code books yourself.
Everything is shown to the examiner, and no other reference material is allowed. Bring picture ID; phones are not allowed. A programmable calculator must be reset in front of the examiner, possibly in your exam time, and cannot be used if its memory will not clear. ABSA adds that highlighting and tabs are allowed in reference material.
Code questions come in both imperial and SI units and are built to the 2007 or newer ASME Code, whatever edition you bring. On 4B the code books come in most for B3, where the curriculum outcomes for relief valves, low-water fuel cut-offs and boiler fittings all refer to code requirements, so practise finding those requirements fast. Lists vary by jurisdiction, so confirm with your regulator before you buy anything.
06Which parts of 4B are calculations?
Less of 4B is arithmetic than 4A, but some of it is. The objectives and curriculum outcomes point to it: pump performance terms (objective 3), rigging calculations (19), refrigeration capacity and the refrigeration tables (36), air flow, pressure conversions and fan curves (42), and heat gains and losses (50). Practical arithmetic also turns up around safety-valve blowdown (7), water-treatment dosing, boiler blowdown and cooling-tower bleed-off (22, 23 and 25), condensers and cooling towers (30), lighting levels (33), humidity (40 and 41) and hot-water heating flows (47).
None of SOPEEC's twelve 4B sample questions is a calculation; they test operating knowledge, such as what to check before starting a pump, what laying up a boiler means and what vapour bubbles do to a pump. The samples still advise leaving calculation questions for later, so expect some. Work in SI, with imperial alongside where a gauge or nameplate shows it, and take refrigerant and steam properties from the tables provided at the sitting, not from memory.
07How should you study for 4B?
Use the 52 objectives as your checklist: B1 2, B2 4, B3 5, B4 6, B5 4, B6 6, B7 5, B8 3, B9 4, B10 6, B11 6 and B12 1. Mark each one solid, shaky or new. The shaky and new ones are your plan.
The SOPEEC syllabus and exam pages give no per-unit question counts, and neither do the ABSA, Technical Safety BC, TSASK or TSSA pages we checked. An objective count is not a question count either, so do not skip a unit because it looks small: B12 has one objective but ranges over refineries, SAGD, gas plants, wood and biomass plants, food plants and metallurgical plants. Cover every objective. In British Columbia, the letter after each attempt highlights the areas that need improvement, so use it to aim any rewrite study.
4B is the operating paper, so study the order of steps and the reason for each one: what is proven before a burner fires, which valve opens first when a boiler is cut in, what a rising or falling log reading means. Practise against the clock: 100 questions in 3 hours is 1.8 minutes each, so sit full 100-question papers in one go. SOPEEC's 4B samples suggest answering the questions that come quickly first and leaving the others and the calculations for later.
Most of the regulators we checked expect a course. The SOPEEC syllabus recommends a 4th Class course at a technical institute. ABSA and Technical Safety BC require a course or a listed alternative before you write, Newfoundland and Labrador requires an approved program, and TSSA recommends one. TSASK says there are no prerequisites to challenge 4th Class.
For context, ABSA's statistics for 2015 to 2019 show 1,327 4B papers attempted in Alberta in 2019, with 67 per cent passing; the same year 1,375 4A papers were attempted. We found no current national figure.
08Where are the free 4th Class textbooks?
PanGlobal Training Systems, which published the power engineering learning materials, ceased operations on 30 June 2025. The BCIT Institutional Repository says NAIT, SAIT and BCIT now own those materials jointly, and it publishes them under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence, which allows non-commercial use with credit. Its Fourth Class collection is the place to look for the units you need.
TSSA's guide, dated October 2024, still lists PanGlobal as the publisher, so ask your regulator or course which materials to use and what to bring to the sitting.
09Questions people ask
- How many questions are on the 4th Class Power Engineering 4B exam?
- SOPEEC says the Part A and Part B examinations each have 100 multiple-choice questions and are 3 hours long in most jurisdictions, which its 4B sample questions put at 1.8 minutes a question. You need at least 65 per cent on 4B and at least 65 per cent on 4A; each paper is passed on its own. ABSA gives 100 questions and 3 hours for all 4th Class papers from 1 January 2023, and Technical Safety BC, which calls the paper 4B1, from 1 March 2023.
- How many 4B questions come from each unit?
- The SOPEEC syllabus and exam pages give no per-unit question counts for 4B, and neither do the ABSA, Technical Safety BC, TSASK or TSSA pages we checked. Part B has 12 units, B1 to B12, with 52 objectives: B1 2, B2 4, B3 5, B4 6, B5 4, B6 6, B7 5, B8 3, B9 4, B10 6, B11 6 and B12 1. The objective count is not a question count, so plan to cover every objective.
- What is the difference between 4A and 4B?
- 4B is about operating the plant: lubrication, pumps and compressors, boiler safety devices, plant operation and maintenance, water treatment, prime movers and engines, auxiliary building systems, refrigeration, HVAC, heating and cooling systems, and types of plants. 4A is the theory paper: mechanics, chemistry and thermodynamics, legislation and codes, safety, environment, materials and welding, piping and valves, electricity, instrumentation and controls, plant communication, boilers and boiler systems. Safety valves, low-water cutoffs and water treatment are 4B topics; boiler design and blowdown equipment are 4A.
- What can you bring into the 4th Class Power Engineering exam?
- SOPEEC lists the examining jurisdiction's Act and Regulations, CSA B51, CSA B52 and their extract, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code except Sections VI and VII or the 2007 ASME Academic Extract, ASME B31.1 and B31.3, pens and pencils, a non-programmable calculator and drawing instruments. The Handbook of Formulae and Physical Constants, steam tables and refrigeration tables are normally provided, and a non-technical dictionary is provided by the jurisdiction. You need picture ID, and phones are not allowed.
- Is there math on the 4B exam?
- Some. 4B is mostly operating knowledge, and none of SOPEEC's twelve 4B sample questions is a calculation, but the samples still advise leaving calculation questions for later. The curriculum outcomes include pump performance, rigging calculations, refrigeration capacity and tables, air flow and pressure conversions, and heat gains and losses.
10Sources
- SOPEEC: Reference Syllabus, Fourth Class Power Engineer's Certificate of Competency Examination (November 2022, PDF): the 12 Part B units and 52 objectives, the Part A units used for the 4A/4B boundary, the two-paper format of 100 questions in 3 hours each with 65% on each paper, the course recommendation, and the items allowed in the room.
- SOPEEC: Fourth Class exam information: two examinations in all jurisdictions, Part A and Part B each of 100 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours in most jurisdictions, 65% on each paper, code questions in imperial and SI built to the 2007 or newer ASME Code, and candidates usually supplying the code books.
- SOPEEC: General exam information: the list of items provided and allowed, the calculator, ID and phone rules, and the advice to use the Act, Regulations and code books in the exam.
- SOPEEC: Sample questions 4B (PDF): 3.0 hours for 100 multiple-choice questions and the 1.8 minutes a question figure, the four-option style, the advice to leave calculation questions for later, the confined-space permit item, and the warning that the samples may not match the current syllabus.
- SOPEEC: How to write a SOPEEC multiple choice examination (2011, PDF): the out-of-date 150 questions in 3.5 hours.
- SOPEEC: Brief of the 2017 revised 4th Class syllabus (PDF): the older 150 questions in 3.5 hours figure, quoted as out of date, and the 2017 revision of the syllabus.
- IPECC: Fourth Class curriculum, effective November 2017 (PDF, on the SOPEEC site): the learning outcomes behind each Part B objective, used for the plain-words unit summaries and the list of objectives with calculations.
- SOPEEC: About SOPEEC: who SOPEEC is, its relationship to the ACI, and the Standardized Certificate.
- SOPEEC: Members: the member jurisdictions and their offices, including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the territories and Quebec.
- SOPEEC: FAQs: where to write, and moving marks between jurisdictions.
- SOPEEC: Quebec joins SOPEEC (2006, PDF): Quebec's membership at the 4th Class level.
- ABSA: Fourth Class: Alberta's 100 questions and 3 hours from 1 January 2023, 65% on each paper, the eligibility routes and booking through CPECS.
- ABSA: AB-54 Fourth Class Reference Syllabus, Edition 2 Revision 2 (PDF): the B1 to B12 units and objectives 1 to 52, subjects identical to the SOPEEC syllabus, and Alberta's list of allowed items.
- ABSA: Power engineers general info and FAQs: the penalty for 3 failed papers in succession, the 7-year validity of passed papers, and highlighting and tabs in reference material.
- ABSA: Alberta Power Engineer Examination and Certification Statistics, 2015 to 2019 (PDF): the number of 4B and 4A papers attempted in Alberta in 2019 and the 2019 4B pass rate.
- Technical Safety BC: Fourth Class Power Engineer: the 4A1 and 4B1 exams, 100 questions, 3 hours and 65% on each since 1 March 2023, eligibility, three attempts, the 30-day wait and the result letter.
- TSASK: 4th Class Power Engineer examination: two papers of 100 questions and 3 hours each, 65% on each, the Part B unit list, no prerequisites to challenge, residency, Regina and Saskatoon sittings and the 30-day wait.
- Manitoba Inspection and Technical Services: Examinations: Manitoba's use of the SOPEEC syllabi, the application form and the exam schedule.
- TSSA: 4th Class Power (Operating) Engineer Certification and Examination Guide: Ontario's adoption of the SOPEEC syllabus with the Part B units lettered A to L, 4A and 4B examinations of 100 questions, 3 hours and 65%, rewrites after 60 days, the five-year limit and the suggested study materials (guide effective October 2024).
- Nova Scotia Technical Safety: Power engineers: how to apply and the rewrite application.
- Nova Scotia: Technical Safety exam schedule 2026 to 2027 (PDF, linked from the Technical Safety page): 3 hours for 4th Class papers and the 35-day application deadline.
- Newfoundland and Labrador: General conditions for power engineering examinations (February 2022, PDF): the adoption of the SOPEEC framework, the approved-program requirement, 65% on every paper and the three-month wait after three fails below 45%.
- BCIT Institutional Repository: Power Engineering open learning materials: PanGlobal ceasing operations on 30 June 2025, joint ownership by NAIT, SAIT and BCIT, the Fourth Class collection and the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
The format, the units and the objectives were checked against the SOPEEC syllabus, SOPEEC's exam information pages and the 4B sample questions, and the provincial rules against each regulator's own page or guide, as saved for our 4th Class research in October 2026. Where a regulator's page does not state a figure, the table says so instead of filling it in. The unit summaries use the objective titles and the IPECC curriculum outcomes, in our own words. SOPEEC and the regulators are the final word on the exam; if you find one of ours out of date, tell us.
Related: 4th Class Power Engineering practice exam (4B) · Free 4th Class Power Engineering practice questions (4B) · 4th Class Power Engineering exam guide (4A) · How our questions are made · All guides
11Practice for this exam
TicketPrep 4B practice tests cover all twelve units and every one of the 52 Part B objectives, and every answer is explained, all four options. You can try five sample questions with no account. Writing both papers? All-Access covers 4A and 4B for $89.
Ten free questions per trade, no account: free practice questions. How our questions are written and checked: how our questions are made.