CCQ (EN) — Millwright

1. About the CCQ Millwright exam

The Millwright (Mécanicien de chantier) qualification exam is the official theoretical evaluation administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ). Millwrights install, align, modify, and maintain industrial machinery — pumps, motors, gearboxes, fans, conveyors, compressors, and related rotating equipment — on Quebec construction sites. The federal Red Seal equivalent is Industrial Mechanic (Millwright). Passing this exam is a key step toward obtaining a journeyman competency certificate.

The exam covers three sections weighted as follows: Performing basic work (30%), Installing and modifying industrial machinery (30%), and Ensuring proper operation of industrial machinery systems (40%). It is offered in French and English in multiple-choice format and lasts approximately 3 hours, with a passing grade of 60%.

2. Exam structure at a glance

Sections 1 and 2 are tied at 30% each, with Section 3 (maintenance and repair) the heaviest at 40%. The exam reflects the trade's three phases: prepare, install, then operate and maintain — with the largest share of the score on the ongoing maintenance and reliability work that defines a millwright's day-to-day responsibilities.

3. Detailed competency elements

Section 1 — Performing basic work (30%)

Rigging and material handling of equipment and machinery:

• Take the necessary safety measures during lifting and handling
• Plan the rigging or handling of the equipment or machinery
• Attach, lift, and move a load

Working at heights:

• Identify hazards related to working at heights
• Properly use working-at-heights equipment

Fabricating parts and accessories needed for the work:

• Use welding, oxy-cutting, and plasma-cutting techniques
• Perform manual machining of a part

Section 2 — Installing and modifying industrial machinery (30%)

Preparing the machinery installation:

• Interpret installation plans and technical documents
• Establish the machinery lay-out (positioning)
• Prepare and secure the base that will receive the machinery

Placing the machinery:

• Position the machinery
• Connect the machinery and accessories

Preparing for machinery startup:

• Perform pre-startup verifications
• Perform no-load tests
• Perform pre-operational tests
• Perform startup adjustments

Section 3 — Ensuring proper operation of industrial machinery systems (40%)

Planning maintenance and repair operations:

• Interpret plans and documentation related to machinery maintenance
• Take safety measures for maintenance and repair

Verifying the machinery:

• Verify the general condition of production machinery when in operation and when stopped

Performing maintenance or repair:

• Use various measuring instruments
• Disassemble equipment and machinery
• Propose a diagnosis
• Perform a repair

4. Documents provided at the exam

This is a defining feature of all CCQ trade qualification exams: unlike RBQ contractor exams (some of which are open book), CCQ exams are systematically closed book regardless of the trade. Plan your study accordingly.

5. Recommended study documents

The CCQ recommends the following references for preparation. None of them will be available during the exam — they are study aids only. Use them to build understanding, then test recall with practice questions and flashcards.

• IPT's Rotating Equipment Handbook: Machinery Reliability and Condition Monitoring (English only) — Basaraba, Bruce M., IPT Publishing, Edmonton, 1995, 500 p.
• Gréage et levage : guide de sécurité (Rigging and Lifting Safety Guide) — CNESST, Publications du Québec, 2006, 174 p.
• Mécanique industrielle et maintenance (Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance) — Davis, Thomas Bieber, Éditions Reynald Goulet, Repentigny, 2009, 489 p.
• Machinery's Handbook (28th edition, English only) — Oberg, Erik, Industrial Press, New York, 2008, 2692 p.
• Éléments et organes de machines (Machine Elements and Components) — Rémy, François, Éditions du renouveau pédagogique, Montréal, 1983, 153 p.

6. What makes the Millwright exam different

The Millwright trade is built around rotating equipment. Most industrial machinery on a real site is rotating — pumps, motors, gearboxes, fans, compressors, conveyors — and the CCQ recommends Basaraba's IPT's Rotating Equipment Handbook: Machinery Reliability and Condition Monitoring precisely because alignment, balancing, vibration analysis, lubrication, and bearing life are the practical core of the millwright's day-to-day work. Section 2 tests installation, which includes the precision alignment of rotating shafts; Section 3 tests ongoing condition monitoring and reliability work. A candidate strong on welding and machining but weak on rotating-equipment fundamentals will struggle.

The trade is also unusual in combining fabrication skills (welding, oxy-cutting, plasma-cutting, manual machining) with precision installation skills (lay-out, alignment, anchoring) and diagnostic skills (vibration, temperature, sound, measurement instruments). Few CCQ trades require this combination. The reference list reflects it: Oberg's Machinery's Handbook (the standard reference for machinists and mechanical work) sits alongside Davis's industrial-mechanics text and Rémy's machine-elements reference.

Section 3 (40%) deserves special attention because diagnosis is half the work. The exam tests whether a candidate can use measurement instruments to verify general machinery condition when running and when stopped, then propose a diagnosis before reaching for a wrench. Field-experienced candidates who can do repair work but who haven't systematized their diagnostic approach often lose points here. Because the exam is closed book, the platform also tracks what you've actually memorized — flashcards spaced over multiple sessions surface weak areas before exam day.

7. Recommended preparation strategy

1. Anchor preparation around Section 3 (40%). Maintenance and repair is the heaviest block. Drill diagnostic procedures, measurement-instrument use (dial indicators, micrometers, alignment tools, vibration meters), and disassembly/repair sequences.
2. Treat the exam as closed book from day one. Memorize standard alignment tolerances, bearing fits, balancing rules, and rigging capacities — you will not have a manual to consult.
3. Read the recommended documents in this order: Davis's Mécanique industrielle et maintenance (the broad foundation in French), then Basaraba's IPT's Rotating Equipment Handbook (Section 3 rotating-equipment depth), then Rémy's Éléments et organes de machines (Section 2 machinery components), then Oberg's Machinery's Handbook (cross-cutting machining and mechanical reference), and finally the CNESST Rigging and Lifting Safety Guide for Section 1 rigging rules.
4. Drill rotating-equipment fundamentals. Alignment (parallel, angular, soft foot), balancing, vibration spectra, bearing failure modes — these are common Section 3 topics where memorized criteria pay off.
5. Master the startup-test sequence. Section 2 tests pre-startup verifications, no-load tests, pre-operational tests, then startup adjustments — in that order. Many exam questions present a scenario and ask which test phase applies.
6. Don't neglect welding, machining, and rigging. Section 1 (30%) is sometimes treated as fundamentals, but its content is testable in detail — sling-angle reduction factors, welding-process selection, machining tolerances.
7. Take at least two full mock exams under real conditions (3 hours, no documents, single sitting) before scheduling the real exam.
8. Review every wrong answer. The Prof-RBQ.ca platform shows the reasoning behind each correct answer — read every explanation, even on questions you got right.

8. Why Prof-RBQ.ca for the Millwright exam

• Aligned with the official CCQ structure — content mapped one-to-one to the three sections, with extra depth on Section 3 (maintenance and diagnosis) and dedicated drilling on rotating-equipment fundamentals and precision-alignment procedures.
• Closed-book training methodology — flashcards and spaced practice designed for memorization of tolerances, fits, and diagnostic sequences.
• Mock exams in CCQ format — multiple choice, 3-hour timing, scoring out of 60% — so exam day feels familiar.
• Detailed answer explanations — every question, right or wrong, comes with a written rationale.
• Bilingual — full course in English and French. The CCQ exam itself is offered in both languages.
• A free section is available so you can try the platform before committing.

Frequently asked questions