Construction in Vancouver - Issue 1393

VRCA news feature

J u ly 1 2 – 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 v R ca . b c . ca

Standing out sustainably elements behind stuart olson’s 745 thurlow lead the redefinition of sustainability

Hayley Woodin

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s they make their way to one of eight elevators just off of the building’s stunning 26-foothigh lobby, tenants and visitors at 745 Thurlow move with such collective smoothness that foot traffic on the premises might be mistaken for a flawlessly choreographed dance.

Helping guests navigate the 23 storeys of commercial spaces built by Stuart Olson is Destination Dispatch. The smart elevator system features two digital directories, and the elevator cars themselves house no buttons.

It’s the behind-the-scenes technology that ensures foot traffic in the almost fully leased building is handled as efficiently as possible on two fronts: in saving people time and in saving the building energy.

“Through the spirit of collaboration the entire project team worked closely to find opportunities to do things better, and to give greater value for the dollar spent,” said Clint Undseth, vice-president of innovation at Stuart Olson, which is a member of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA).

Since Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification came to Canada in 2003, what it

means to build green has expanded beyond green roofs and patios – although 745 Thurlow has both – to include design, electrical and mechanical elements that meet targets in the areas of water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, location, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

Designed to achieve LEED Gold certification for core and shell development, Stuart Olson incorporated a variety of elements to increase 745 Thurlow’s operational sustainability, reduce waste and save energy.

For example, 93.5% of the project’s construction waste was diverted from landfills, and the energy model for the project called for a self-contained thermal dynamic, which means little to no need to use natural gas heating.

Thanks to LED lighting, the building’s minimum level of energy use is .48 watts per square foot – a significant improvement on the .98 watts per square foot standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. A controlled lighting system and motionactivated lights across the building’s bathrooms and parkade also increase operational efficiency. continued on page B2

Opened in 2015, 745 Thurlow incorporates leading-edge technologies to optimize energy efficiencies. Construction in Vancouver takes a closer look at this new building, built by general contractor Stuart Olson | Bob Young

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B2 news standing out Continued from page B1

Another key element of 745 Thurlow’s sustainability program involved reducing volatile organic compounds within sealants, paint and carpet to improve the indoor air quality of the Bentall Kennedy-managed building.

According to Stuart Olson, multiple elements – including triple-glazed windows with an advanced coating – combine to make the building 20-25% more efficient than a comparable new structure of the same size in Vancouver.

“The latest and greatest has been used here, whether in electrical or mechanical,” said Aldo Pulice, senior superintendent for 745 who is overseeing some of the work that remains on the building. It’s expected to be completely finished by the end of the year.

“You don’t want a building to last three or four years,” Pulice said. “Stuart Olson came at this looking to build something that will last 100 years.”

Located on the south side of Alberni, 745 Thurlow quite literally stands out. Between its upscale street-level tenants and a rooftop garden that collects 100% of the water needed for its irrigation, the building juts out 14 feet over Thurlow Street.

What stands out most about the building, however, are the sustainability-oriented features that are as attention-grabbing in Stuart Olson’s key performance indicator data as the building’s near-panoramic views of Vancouver.

“We want to enable real-time reporting of the tangible impact of building performance,” Undseth said. “I’d like to see realtime reporting of what’s behind the building certification plaque – what’s LEED in real time?”

Undseth says the company uses analytics to enhance and

optimize the products, systems and features of their projects. For example, Stuart Olson’s Centre for Building Performance, which tests and develops many sustainability-focused innovations that end up in the company’s projects, first implemented converged infrastructure – multiple information technology elements grouped into a single optimized package – on its Telus Garden project, and did so for the second time at 745 Thurlow.

“Converged infrastructure will now always go in a building that we do,” said Undseth, noting that it reduces time and materials during construction.

“It allows us to anticipate and facilitate change of the future, and to eliminate design debt.”

With an expanded definition of sustainability that aims to quantify the real-world impact of its projects, Stuart Olson often looks beyond LEED to social, economic and ecological efficiency elements that collaboratively lead to tangible, quantifiable and sustainable results in construction.

“I think what Stuart Olson is doing today is really the tip of the iceberg in terms of where innovation needs to go,” said Helen Goodland, principal of Brantwood Consulting and an adviser to the BC Construction Association on sustainability and innovation.

G ood l a nd recent ly help ed launch the Construction Innovation Project, a 12-month research process that is aiming to raise the benchmark for innovation within the B.C. construction industry.

“What we’ve found is there is a tremendous lack of innovation investment within the industry by businesses themselves,” she said, adding that Stuart Olson’s R ich mond-based Centre for Building Performance is a bit of an industry anomaly.

“It’s very refreshing to see what Stuart Olson has committed to do and they should get tremendous credit for that.” •

aldo pulice | senior superintendent, 745 Thurlow

The latest and greatest has been used here, whether in electrical or mechanical

There is a lot of state-of-the-art, sustainability-focused computer technology behind the stylish walls of 745 Thurlow, a commercial tower built by Stuart Olson | Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership architect

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July 12–18, 2016

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Constructive comment

Innovation deficit threatens B.C.’s construction industry Province has proved itself as a green-building and wood technology leader, but further investment and education is crucial

Fiona Famulak

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ritish Columbia has emerged as the bright spot of Canada’s economy. Building on strong performance over the last two years, B.C. is predicted to lead all other Canadian provinces in 2016 with impressive GDP and employment growth. The construction industry is playing a key role in driving this economic activity and job creation.

The importance of the construction industry to our economy cannot be overstated. This multibillion-dollar industry generates 8% of the province’s wealth and employs more than 200,000 workers, making it one of B.C.’s largest employers.

It is also one of the world’s oldest industries. For millennia, knowledge has been handed down

from master to apprentice in the age-old tradition of craft. It is large, slow moving and wary of change.

However, unprecedented economic, demographic and technological pressures are profoundly affecting the construction industry. Costs are escalating.

People, raw materials, land, energy and water are not the infinite resources they once were.

Twenty-five years from now, we will be expected to deliver projects that perform better – that is carbon neutral or close to it, using substantially less labour and materials.

Without putting too fine a point on it, we need to embrace construction innovation because “business as usual” doesn’t cut it any longer.

So what exactly does construction innovation mean? Simply, it’s the successful introduction of new technologies and processes.

It will require private and public investment in R&D, education and equipment so that our industry can respond to future opportunities and challenges.

Businesses that invest in innovation will improve their productivity and their resiliency to challenging market forces, and

Businesses that invest in innovation will improve their productivity and their resiliency to challenging market forces, and enhance the quality and performance of their projects.

Governments that embrace innovation will squeeze the most value from every taxpayer dollar spent

enhance the quality and performance of their projects. Governments that embrace innovation will squeeze the most value from every taxpayer dollar spent. It’s a scenario that ultimately benefits our economy, our communities and our families.

Without innovation, we will see valued-added work and jobs lost to other regions and countries, and we will see more out-of-market players reaping the rewards.

All that said, our industry has been innovating. B.C. has established itself on the world stage as

a leader in green-building techniques and wood technology.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Canada started in B.C. and we are the first to build passive-house projects.

We are also the first to build tall wood structures.

We’re demonstrating that we have the capabilities and confidence to manage market dynamics, be they demand-supply challenges or labour shortages.

In the face of these obstacles our people are developing innovative project delivery methods, policies and processes. And many of B.C.’s tech darlings, such as BuiltSpace, Pulse Energy, Multivista, Optig and dPoint, market to the construction industry. The industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated, to an extent that may surprise many.

But it hasn’t been enough. Federal and B.C. governments’ lack of investment in innovation generally is well documented (by the Conference Board of Canada and others). Industry has also failed to step up. According to Statistics Canada data from 2012, Canadian construction companies invest only one-tenth of a penny for every $1 contributed to GDP in R&D – the lowest rate among any

of Canada’s major industry sectors. Government and business need to come together – today – to talk seriously about investment in construction innovation, otherwise we risk being left behind.

Construction innovation can touch all facets of what we do, from design and construction processes to products and technologies. While it has the power to be incredibly disruptive, innovation can also help us learn from the small creative solutions we deploy every day. The result will be greater resiliency and profitability for construction businesses and the communities that support them – because the benefits to society will far outweigh those afforded to the individual businesses.

It will take a clear vision, a willingness to work together, commitment and money. Innovation is fundamental to the future success of this vital industry. Let’s start the conversation now. • Fiona Famulak is president of the Vancouver Re gional Cons truc tion A s s o ci ati o n , th e l a rg e s t re g i o n a l construction association in B.C., which re p re s e n t s c l o s e to 70 0 m e m b e r companies.

July 12–18, 2016

special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association

B4 news INNOVATION: From pencils to pixels How changes in estimating technology have supported the creation of better buildings Jim Taggart

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lark Campbell remembers a time when an estimator’s tool kit included a foolscap pad, a set of coloured pencils and an adding machine, and the accuracy of an estimate relied largely on the methodical takeoff of quantities and meticulous double-checking of calculations.

Campbell, chief estimator with Smith Bros. & Wilson (BC) Ltd., observes that while much has changed over the course of his long career, some things remain the same.

“Estimators still have to be methodical, but now they work with tablets, clouds and electronic spreadsheets,” he said. “All this technology is essential to deal with the increased complexity of today’s buildings, and the more detailed information required by clients and consultants.”

For Campbell, digital technology has also changed the role of the estimator, creating a specialty that rarely existed before.

“Estimators also used to be project managers, continuing their responsibility for cost control onto the site. We had to bear the consequences of our own mistakes.”

Now the need to be experts in the use of estimating software has tended to separate the role of the cost estimator from that of the project manager.

An estimate is built up from quantities taken off architectural and engineering drawings, and requires a comprehensive knowledge of building specification and construction sequencing. In addition, there may be site constraints relating to access, staging, hours of work and other factors that can significantly affect the cost of a project.

Taking-off quantities can be a complex undertaking. Lines on drawings may represent more than one thing: the edge of a concrete slab, the face of a drywall partition and even the paint that must be applied to it. Traditionally, the use of coloured pencils on

Today’s technology allows multiple sub-trades to work collaboratively to build up a comprehensive estimate for a complex building | goodluz/ Shutterstock

a paper drawing helped estimators keep track of what attributes they had counted. They used figures rather than scaled dimensions for accuracy.

Today, that same information is obtained by clicking a mouse (for example) on all the corners of a concrete slab, inputting a thickness and allowing the computer to calculate the volume and cost, and to catalogue the information in an electronic spreadsheet. This is undoubtedly quicker and arguably more reliable – but interestingly less precise than the hand method.

Far outweighing any potential shortcomings in the accuracy of individual calculations, today’s technology allows multiple

Elias Tkachuk conTracTing lTd.

sub-trades to work collaboratively to build up a comprehensive estimate for a complex building.

It is these opportunities for collaboration that excite Stephan Blank the most. Blank is senior estimator with Kinetic Construction Ltd., and uses digital technology in all his work. Blank downloads the drawings for a new project onto his tablet and makes notes on them as he tours the site. Any photos he takes can be keyed to specific locations on the plans, and the whole package shared with sub-trades via a cloud-based server. Blank can then itemize every aspect of the scope of work, and provide each sub-trade with a template with which to prepare

its bid.

When the bids are submitted, omissions and overlaps can be readily identified, duplications eliminated and gaps filled in. The result is a bid that is complete and comprehensive.

“The ability to share detailed information electronically with subtrades reduces uncertainty, and hence risk, for all those involved,” Blank said. “With this reduced risk comes lower and more consistent pricing for clients.”

These technological advances also benefit the general public.

Lower pricing allows municipalities to fund additional community projects. Software exists to consolidate deliveries and so

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Digital technology has ushered in a new era in construction estimating, but much is still to come.

Blank predicts, “Within five years we will be doing take-offs from 3D models in which the attributes of all the elements have been embedded by the designer.”

The era of the pencil has come to a close but that of the pixel has just begun. • Jim Taggart is editor of Sustainable Architecture and Building Magazine.

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UBC’s new Pharmaceutical Sciences Building claims six awards For Nick Maile, the only thing better than having a building he helped plan and develop win a series of major architecture awards, it’s seeing the people who use the building truly enjoying it. The development manager for UBC Properties Trust believes the university’s new Pharmaceutical Sciences Building is “architecturally pleasing, but any building, no matter how beautiful, if it doesn’t work for the students and faculty, it’s not a success. This one, though, is incredibly lively – people like to be in it and they use every space.”

“At UBC, we are trying to be on the leading edge of sustainability and energy efficiency,” says Nick, “but it’s definitely a challenge with a building like this, where there is a data centre in the basement plus a lot of a lot of laboratories and many fume hoods.” (Fume hoods limit exposure to hazardous chemicals or toxic fumes, but they are energy-guzzlers: one fume hood alone can use more energy than three typical B.C. homes.)

For help, UBC turned to BC Hydro’s New Construction Program, which provides funding for an energy-modeling study – a simulation of how a building might function throughout a full year if it’s designed and built with a variety of energy saving measures – along with additional financial incentives for implementing those measures.

The energy-saving measures include capturing waste heat from the data centre and recycling it into the building, as well as daylight sensors and a low temperature water system. Together, these measures are estimated to add up to about 1.2 million kilowatt hours of savings every year over a similar building that does not include them.

In addition, says Nick, “The incentive from BC Hydro for installing these measures really does help. It may be a small percentage of the overall construction budget, but we can give that money back to the Pharmacy people to use for long-term operations. So not only does the university win by saving on energy use, the department wins as well.”

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July 12–18, 2016

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B6 news INNOVATION: Collaborate or stagnate When it comes to innovation your competitors could be your friends

Helen Goodland

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ffective collaboration is key to the successful delivery of a construction project.

Collaboration is also crucial to advancing innovation. Yet this is a different and far less comfortable form of teamwork. In fact, the most disruptive innovation happens when unlikely partners – such as competitors – join forces.

Why would companies want to share their confidential innovation activities with their competitors? Because they know that, like it or not, sharing on a more or less universal scale is already happening.

The reality is that no company operates in a vacuum. The construction workforce is transitory and so company knowledge is equally mobile. Construction is highly visible and any new idea can be seen as soon as it appears on the construction site.

So if sharing already goes on, how can innovative companies put that process to best use?

Here are some reasons why construction companies might want to collaborate more today, and why they might want to think differently about the “why,” the “how” and particularly the “with whom.”

•Many innovation challenges are common to all companies. Whether it is finding new ways to improve public image or dealing with evolving regulatory demands, companies can work together to forge a common understanding of market

trends and amplify their voice when it comes to engaging with investors and governments.

Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) does this. It is an alliance of oils a n d s p ro d u c e rs focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance in Canada’s oils a n d s t h ro u g h collaborat ive a c t ion a nd innovation.

•Researching and developing new technologies can be expensive and risky.

It makes sense to team up, even with direct comp et itors, to sh a re R & D expenditures. This is particularly true for small businesses. Since launch in 2012, COSIA member companies have shared over 800 distinct technologies that cost almost $1.3 billion to develop. Collectively, the innovations create a body of knowledge that would be impossible to develop in isolation.

The risk as well as the reward is shared. Everyone wins.

•Radical solutions come from radical partnerships. Not every innovative process requ ires full industry participation. It is therefore important to think about who your partner should be in your research collaboration.

How, where and why companies collaborate varies according to time frame, degree of commitment and level of interdependence. Indeed, collaborating with people who think in the same way is never going to produce anything radical. So truly creative companies will seek out “unusual suspects” for partners. For example, the video gaming industry has had a tremendous impact on the development of building visualization technologies.

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Many companies believe that the “best learning” (a.k.a. problem solving) happens when pressures of budget and schedule are most acute.

This means t h at i nnovation occurs at the point that is le a s t resourced in terms of funding and ex pertise. Industries with established innovation processes such as pharmaceutical, automot ive, a g r ifood, etc. w i l l f i rst def i ne t he problem, then over-resource the innovation processes necessary to achieve a solution. Properly planning for innovation steers companies away from the pitfalls of short-term thinking, which layers on unnecessary risk.

•Open source innovation is key. The rise of open innovation, crowdsourcing and the sharing economy demonstrates the power of collaboration across commu n ities. Brea k th roug h Released in February 2016, the innovation happens when British Columbia Construction con necti ng prev iously Construction A s s o c i a t i o n ’s u ncon nected bod ies of I n n ovati o n P roj e c t re p o r t knowledge. Continuing to discusses innovation’s positive collaborate with the same effect on business and economic people, from the same congrowth in B.C.’s construction text and in the same way is industry | BCCA not going to achieve that.

There are many areas, such •Collaboration with competi- as health and safety, where new tors forces companies to “think ideas would benefit from indusoutside the project.” Innovation try-wide feedback and, if they rein construction mostly hap- duce injuries, should be adopted pens in a crisis on a project. universally. In fact, there are only

positive reasons why large companies that have the resources to undertake R&D should share what they learn with the companies that work with them. Yet it’s not just large companies that are spearheading the conversation. Members of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association are actively collaborating to address issues and solutions for the betterment of the whole industry.

•Collaboration does not dilute your position as a leader. In fact, collaboration intensifies your reputation as a thought-leader.

Companies that are strategically engaged with innovation understand that it is not a one-time deal. In fact, they are fully invested in an ongoing endeavour of problem identification, research, development, testing, implementation, evaluate and repeat. It is the sustained effort that will keep them ahead of the competition and carve out their unique value proposition to the market.

So collaboration is the smart way forward. Starting with engagement up and down the supply chain and then across to other companies with similar challenges, there are tremendous opportunities for quickly and effectively dislodging some of the systemic barriers to productivity and performance. Clearly defining barriers to major market opportunities can help innovation supporters, such the BC Innovation Council, to facilitate access to expertise, capital and equipment necessary to find good ideas. • Helen Goodland is principal of Brantwood Consulting and co-founder of Building Technology Innovations. She recently completed the BC Construction Innovation Project for the BC Construction Association. She serves on the Canadian Construction Association’s CSR Taskforce and is chair of the United Nations Su s t aina ble B uilding a n d Clim ate Initiative’s Materials Technical Advisory Committee.

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July 12–18, 2016

B7

Legal Specs

Pay-if-paid clauses can carry unreasonable risks Contractual proviso saddles trade contractors with unfair burden

BY Norm Streu and Christopher Hirst

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A pay-if-paid clause purports to transfer a risk to a trade contractor that it cannot meaningfully assess or take steps to mitigate

ay-if-paid clauses are used widely on B.C. construction projects. These clauses attempt to restrict the obligation to pay a contractor to the receipt of payment by the payer. In other words, these clauses say: my obligation to pay you only arises if I get the money with which to pay you. While such clauses may initially seem rational, a closer consideration shows that they unreasonably allocate payment risk on a construction project. For this reason, they can be difficult to enforce as courts have been reluctant to apply them in all but the clearest circumstances.

The argument in favour of payif-paid clauses is seductively simple. Without the money received from the owner first, how can a general contractor pay a subcontractor for work performed? A general contractor will say that it cannot be expected to have the resources to pay trades out of its own pockets: it needs to rely on payment from the owner first. In some cases, without the money from the owner, the general contractor would find it financially devastating to meet an obligation

to pay out trades. Many say they do not have pockets deep enough to carry this obligation.

This makes sense if the issue is only the timing of the obligation to pay. A general contractor may say, “First I need to get the draw from the owner, then I can flow the money to the trades.” This is what is typically referred to as a paid-when-paid clause.

However, a pay-if-paid clause goes further. It says that if the money is not received from the owner the obligation to pay the trades does not exist. The act of non-payment by the owner nullifies any obligation of the general contractor to pay trades.

This type of clause is what is often referred to as a condition precedent in a contract. Condition precedents are not in themselves unusual or unreasonable. For example, a general contractor may include a clause that unless appropriate insurance documentation or bonds are submitted, there is no obligation to pay.

What is unusual and unreasonable about a pay-if-paid clause is that the non-payment arises from a circumstance that the

trade contractor has no control over. A rational division of risk under a construction contract assigns the risk to the party that is in the best position to carry that risk. In the case of payment, it is the general contractor who is in direct meetings with the owner and in a position to assess the risk of non-payment by the owner. A trade contractor is completely in the dark and knows nothing about the risks it may be assuming with respect to the owner. Further, a trade contractor is most often specifically precluded from gathering the information it would need to properly assess that risk.

Virtually no owner is willing to sit down with each trade and explain the financial plan for the project and provide detailed confirmation of his or her ability to pay. It is only the general contractor that is able to insist upon such information.

In short, a pay-if-paid clause purports to transfer a risk to a trade contractor that it cannot meaningfully assess or take steps to mitigate.

For this reason, courts have taken a dim view of such clauses.

The case law in both Canada and

the U.S. suggests that only the most explicit and clearly drafted pay-if-paid clauses will be enforced by the courts.

For example, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in Arnold in Construction & Forms Ltd. vs. Alta Surety Co. (1995) refused to enforce a pay-if-paid clause, noting that “an intention so important cannot be buried in obscure language that would not alert the subcontractor that payment ... was conditional on the owner paying the [prime] contractor.”

If you are a trade contractor, you should look closely at whether you are willing to accept a payif-paid clause. If you are a general contractor and are using such a clause, you should know that their use has been questioned, and their enforceability will likely depend on whether the trade contract clearly transfers this risk to the trade contractor. • Norm Streu is the president and chief operating officer of the LMS Reinforcing Steel Group. Christopher Hirst is a partner and the leader of the construction and engineering group, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP.

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July 12–18, 2016

special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association

B8 news COMMUNITY: Living in and building for local communities VRCA members help build vibrant and healthy neighbourhoods across the region Hayley Woodin

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ver the life of the company his father first founded, Kevin Mierau says, Mierau Contractors Ltd. has renovated, upgraded or built many of the pools, municipal projects and schools within the city of Abbotsford.

“T hose are proud achievements, as they are longstanding buildings that will impact every student that goes through those schools,” said Mierau, who took over as company president when his father retired, and sits on the Vancouver Regional Construction Association’s (VRCA) board of directors.

D u r i ng su m mers a nd over school breaks, Mierau cut his teeth in construction locally, earning his Red Seal in Carpentry through an apprenticeship at his dad’s company, and courses at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). One of his proudest career achievements came years later when Mierau Contractors won the bid to build UFV’s first student union building on the university’s Abbotsford campus.

“I was excited to work on the project, and UFV was also excited to hear that a university alumnus was building their new student union building,” said Mierau, adding that the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold building has been “buzzing with activity” since it opened in September.

With 46,700 square feet over three floors, the project creates space for a gymnasium-sized multi-purpose room, restaurants, bookable rooms and a variety of student services. It is a vibrant, student-focused hub that didn’t exist in Mierau’s days.

“There was a radio station in a separate building, but there was nothing to bring all of the students together in the way the student union building now does,” he said. “Whether we realize it or not, we are shaping the community through the construction

The LEED Gold-certified student union building on the University of the Fraser Valley’s Abbotsford campus was constructed by Mierau Contractors Ltd. | Mierau Contractors Ltd.

With construction spearheaded by EllisDon Corp. and completed in 2014, the $512 million Surrey Memorial Hospital Redevelopment and Expansion project included the completion of a critical care tower and the construction of a new emergency department | EllisDon Corp.

of schools, hospitals, universities, pools, auditoriums and other municipal facilities. These all impact the lives of everybody that works, learns or lives in the community.”

Like Mierau, VRCA board chair David McFarlane agrees that there is something special about building close to home.

“I think you naturally take pride in things that you build for your community,” said McFarlane, who is also the vice-president and area manager for EllisDon Corp. in Vancouver.

A Surrey resident for the past nine years, McFarlane worked on the Surrey Memorial Hospital Redevelopment and Expansion project, an initiative that increased the hospital’s regional bed capacity to 650, doubled the capacity of the neonatal intensive care unit and expanded stroke and intensive care units.

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“Of course when you have a kid that needs medical attention, you try to take them to the best place you have – and inside Fraser Health territory, I’m positive Surrey Memorial is the most cutting edge,” said McFarlane, who, as a parent, has relied on the hospital’s services for the birth of one of his two children. Both have also had minor day surgery at the hospital.

Completed in 2014, the $512 million project included the completion of a critical care tower and the construction of a new emergency department – Canada’s second-largest and B.C.’s busiest.

It was the largest health care project in the history of the province, and its economic benefits to the region have snowballed.

“The hospital has been a catalyst for a clustering of good jobs, and good private sector developments that have created a health precinct in that part of downtown Surrey,” said Don Luymes, the City of Surrey’s manager of community planning.

“It’s sort of a virtuous cycle where one really good project like that has a ripple effect. It in turn creates new developments that also spawn further investments,” he said.

For McFarlane, his work with the hospital continues. On behalf of EllisDon Corp. and the local trade community, he made a million-dollar donation to the Surrey Hospital & Outpatient Centre Foundation, of which he is a board member.

The company is also the presenting sponsor for Champion of the Crescent, a stand-up paddle board event in South Surrey that will raise funds for a new mentalhealth-focused children’s unit at Surrey Memorial.

“That’s part of my ongoing giving back,” McFarlane said. “EllisDon always tries to give back to the communities where they work and they build. I live in Surrey so it was natural for me and my family to become involved in the hospital.” •

Special rates offered to VRCA members To book space or for answers to your questions, please call 604.688.2398 or email ads@biv.com

special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association

July 12–18, 2016

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news

COMMUNITY: Giving back to community organizations VRCA members contribute time, donations and resources to worthwhile initiatives Hayley Woodin

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t th is yea r’s Su n Ru n, members of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) Under 40 Network (known as U40s) helped set a new record.

With a 50-person team that ran, jogged and walked in support of KidStart – an organization that supports vulnerable ch i ld ren a nd youth th rough strong mentor relationships – the U40s helped raise a recordsetting $8,000.

“It’s amazing,” said Jen Graham, manager of development and communications for PLEA Community Services Society of BC, the organization behind the mentorship program. “It’s the most we’ve raised so far and we do the Sun Run every year.”

On its ow n, t he V RCA h as raised over $16,000 for K idStart through a variety of member events and fundraisers. The funds largely support the organization’s mentorship program for children aged six to 12.

“The reason why the VRCA U40 Network is so important to us is because the individuals believe in the power of mentoring,

just like we do,” said Graham, adding that on average, KidStart supports 230 mentor relationships each year in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island.

A strong belief in mentorship also underscores the U40s’ enthusiasm for the Zajac Ranch for Children, which gives youth suffering from chronic, lifet h reaten i ng or debi l itat i ng conditions the chance to attend camp.

Each year, local suppliers donate the materials, while members of the U40 Network lend ti me, ex pertise a nd helpi ng hands to expand and fix-up the Mission-based site.

“It’s a great day for all of us,” said Stephan Blank, chairman of the U40 Network. “We get out of the boardroom and get to work.

Everybody gets dirty, everybody tackles a project that’s handson. It’s really what construction is all about – giving back what we’ve been trained to do.”

While the VRCA’s involvement with Zajac Ranch is a relatively new venture, some of the association’s charitable work goes back decades.

T he V RC A b e ga n f u nd i n g

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KidStart

scholarships for students attending the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 1969, and today has an endowment of over $61,000, the interest from which allows VRCA to award scholarships to students in the school’s architectural and building engineering technology program.

Starting with a donation of $250 i n 1988, the V RCA has now contributed approximately

Mentoring for children and youth

$177,000 to Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC).

“The bottom line is that the VRCA’s contributions have been vital in allowing us to continue to provide our core support services and information services,” said Chris McBride, executive director of SCI BC. “Without donations, we would really struggle.”

The association has also donated funds to both the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and the Lower

Mainland Christmas Bureau.

A n o t h e r l o n g-s t a n d i n g VRCA engagement is the association’s commitment to raising awareness and informing young students about careers in construction.

Education committee members regularly volunteer time to visit local school districts and offer presentations at tradeshows. Earlier this year, members entered the classroom and spoke with six teachers and 120 students at New Westminster Secondary School to share the opportunities available in the construction industry. Currently in development is a summer program that will tour high school students around construction sites and offices to teach them about the industry.

Bl a n k a l so recent ly sp oke with a group of Syrian refugees looking to begin a career in construction as part of a Welcome to Workplaces in Canada presentation set up by WCG Services and Mosaic.

“Every month, through the education committee and the U40 Network, we’re giving back to the community in a real way,” Blank said. •

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special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association

B10 news ROUNDTABLE: Building the future on the foundations of the past In 25 years Vancouver’s construction industry has changed for the better Peter DeVries

“On tender day, everyone was on phone duty,” Campbell said. Phones rang off their hooks and bids flew across desks like they were in a windstorm.

Though the principles underlying tendering have remained the same, the format is vastly different. A contract used to mean subcontractors had a relationship with contractors. They knew each other by name and deals were sealed in person with a handshake.

N

ineteen-ninety marked the year leaded gasol i ne was ba n ned.

Roxette topped the music charts, Vancouver hosted its first Indy race, and an unprecedented surge in downtown construction saw new office buildings go up at a rate of one every 84 days. The boom lasted three years before it began to taper, 36 months that had general contractors, trades workers and owners falling asleep at their desks with the warble of their office phones still echoing in their ears.

Back then people had proper offices. And phones connected to cords. The construction industry looked different too. “It was a smaller community back then,” said Clark Campbell, chief estimator and senior project manager at Smith Bros. & Wilson (BC) Ltd. Campbell is sitting at a boardroom table, flanked by a collection of estimators, contractors and sales directors from a sampling of regional companies. Collectively they represent a cross section of the Lower Mainland construction industry – some veterans, others industry newcomers.

Invited by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association to a moderated roundtable discussion about key issues currently facing the industry, the group has an air that reflects its industry pedigree; a little tired, wryly humorous and seemingly unflappable. They’re problem solvers.

They have to be. Nowadays construction is a wildly variable, ever-changing venture.

New building technologies and materials, volatile market prices and a real estate environment that’s world-renowned for its logic-defying value increases during the last 15 years have demanded unfailing versatility from industry players.

And then there are the changing methods of business. A quarter-century ago everything was slower and simpler. Picture the general contractor’s office back then, It Must Have Been Love straining from the boxy radio in the back corner, rows of phones with coiled cords and oversized handsets. And teletype machines. And paper – lots of paper.

Quality of documents Back then, general contractors had to get paper copies of original plans in order to price out and bid on jobs. They would provide the drawings to their tradespeople, who would submit prices for their parts of the build. Estimators would interpret and analyze the drawings, a crucial step in being able to properly estimate costs.

They would then assess incoming bids for reasonableness, the overall project for viability and profit margins, and finally price out the entire build for tendering.

“Fifteen to 20 years ago, we’d have to get a copy of the plans from the architect,” said Kevin Mierau, president of Mierau Contractors Ltd. That meant a face-to-face exchange. “All the bidders around the table

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would have a set, we’d all do our takeoffs, and whoever was successful would get the contract.”

Today, architects send a link to an FTP site where contractors download the drawings and print them off themselves. The drawings have become much more complicated and detailed, too.

“It started with using AutoCAD in the ’90s,” said Michael Whitely, estimator at EllisDon Corp.

“Now you have all sorts of 3D modelling. Technically the documents should be in much better condition. You can draft quicker, so you can spend more time on detailing.”

But complacency, said Whitely, has led to shortcuts. “There’s a disconnect from how things are actually built.”

Mike Wallis, chief estimator at Flynn Canada Ltd., agreed. “The biggest problem we see in the quality of documents is the copy-and-paste phenomenon. It’s so easy to copy and paste from a master specification now. Whereas before, if you had to retype it out you’d catch a lot of things that you’d realize made no sense for the project.

Now those conflicts might be missed” Mierau has seen that too.

“Last year we built a church,” he said.

“It had over 80 drawings and more than 700 pages in the specifications.” A wall specification duplicated from another project might call for, say, drywall on a wall that has floor-to-ceiling windows.

As a result, contractors, estimators and tradespeople must pay attention to detail like never before.

Embracing complexity “Buildings are also more complex – mechanically, electrically,” Mierau said. “More details for envelope. More details for everything.”

Consultants will often add components to drawings that risk going unnoticed. Technology has helped mitigate these problems

somewhat, said Campbell. “There is technology today that will help you identify conflicts.” Copies of drawings coming back from various trades can be digitally overlaid and software will identify their differences.

But technology has also complicated things. In the past, contractors could manage one or two active jobs and simultaneously build an estimate for a third, Campbell said.

“With building information management, where you’re checking for conflicts between, say, mechanical and electrical construction, you need to have special software.” It’s a more onerous process that demands more attention than it used to.

It also requires specially trained software technicians, and not just for the construction components. Common business operations have grown more complex as well.

“The software we have internally to simply manage documents is far more complex than it was even five years ago,” Mitchell said. Today, on large jobs a dedicated staff member will deal exclusively with document control for the duration of the build.

That’s also created an entirely new overhead for estimators in the form of software licenses. The programs used to manage increasingly complex building projects require users to purchase software licenses that often require annual renewal.

“We actually have a guy in Toronto whose sole job is to manage thousands of software licences,” Wallis said.

Such advances have dramatically decreased turnaround times for project bidding. “The whole industry has been sped up through technology,” Campbell said.

Tendering It wasn’t always so. Tender day, when all bids come in from subcontractors, has always been a big deal. Twenty-five years ago, it was a day that turned the office into a facsimile of the trading floor at a stock exchange.

Managing risk Face-to-face meetings started to decline back when the fax first appeared. That’s around the time the exclusion phenomenon started. The fax machine, and now to an even greater extent email, made it easy to send a bid with six pages of exclusions, clauses that abdicate responsibility for everything from cleanup to the management of materials.

Before that time, contracts were simple enough that estimators could comfortably review and ratify them. Eventually the complexity of those contractual exclusions surpassed estimators’ ability to comfortably assess them. Missing even one or two details, potential future costs that by default are the responsibility of the contractor, might all but erase an already tight margin. The net effect was increased risk for the contractor.

Enter the lawyers. Even before bidding, contractors have those contracts reviewed by legal experts.

“Nowadays we often get outside legal counsel to review contract documents even before we bid on a job,” said Craig Mitchell, director of sales at Britco. “We’re not going to go into a project blind. So we’re now spending money just to make a bid.”

The narrowing of the estimator’s function has pushed estimators to become more productive, submitting a greater number of bids at an increased level of efficiency.

Clicking vs. talking The doubling down on the details has changed the face of project estimating, turning it into a highly technical, individualized exercise. In that sense, the industry offers a reflection of the modern age.

“Society’s changed a lot too – there’s a lot more reluctance to pick up the phone,” said Wallis.

In the past, when an architect was working on a technical drawing and had a question about something, he or she would make a call.

“They’d ask one of the tradespeople they had a relationship with, ‘Hey, how do you build this?’ Now they might email, but more likely they’ll just Google it and go with what they think looks the best.”

The change in mentality has led to a proliferation of unnecessary emails.

“People email simple questions that would take 30 seconds to call somebody up and ask the same question,” Whitely said.

Stephan Blank, senior estimator at

Mike Wallis, Chief Estimator at Flynn Canada Ltd.

Clark Campbell, Chief Estimator and Senior Project Manager at Smith Bros. & Wilson (BC) Ltd.

The biggest problem we see in the quality of documents is the copy and paste phenomenon

Prefabrication, modulization, pre-engineered systems will inevitably decrease the costs to the homeowner or building owner

special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association

July 12–18, 2016

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news Kinetic Construction Ltd., added, “Fifteen times, back and forth and you still haven’t got the right answer.” That got the table chuckling, though only ruefully.

Contractors of the past would personally interview bidders. It was an exercise that offered them a valuable opportunity to get a sense of their level of expertise, and perhaps more importantly, integrity. “It was a smaller community back then,” said Mierau. “Today, you’re not establishing those relationships that you would have had with people in your area who would constantly come by to review drawings.”

Reducing waste Today, hundreds of pages of drawings end up in the recycling bin.

“We go through more paper now than we ever have,” Mierau said. Historically, paper was one of the first business commodities diverted for recycling, years before the construction industry started looking more closely at the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Today, industry changes on that front are both well established and widely understood. A good deal of publicity has focused on the methods used in construction to recycle everything from metals to concrete.

For those in construction, the mindset of the past is almost cringeworthy. “Even when we started the transition in the ’90s, superintendents just didn’t see it,” said Campbell. “They’d tell us, ‘Just load it and get it outta here. Burn it. Bury it. It’s costing me money.’”

Now diversion is just part of the deconstruction planning process. From demolition to construction, all materials are assessed for salvageability and recycling capacity. Concrete, asphalt, plastics and metals can be crushed, processed and reconstituted in new ways; ducting, steel beams and insulation can be reused, and old wood can be repurposed as decorative accents.

“It costs a little bit more, doing the sorting instead of throwing it in one bin,” said Wallis, who doesn’t bemoan the added cost. None of the others do either – a testament to the changing attitudes of those working in the industry. “It’s just become the idea of what construction should be.”

Going modular During the build process too, technological advancements have devised ways to use materials more efficiently. Modular construction in particular optimizes materials usage, reduces waste and improves quality control.

“The quality will be the same, if not better, because you’re building this stuff in a controlled environment,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell sees other benefits.

“It’s more exact with material takeoffs and utilizing stuff that might otherwise sit out in the yard, rotting,” he said.

He offered the example of two-foot cut ends; these are short, otherwise discarded pieces of lumber that are often used as bracing between wall studs. Computer software used in modular construction is designed to catalogue every inch of material used, ensuring the most efficient cuts to minimize waste, and making sure those ends get used somewhere else.

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Modular construction also dramatically reduces construction time, helping keep pace with increased demand. The use of automation, 24-hour factory shifts and twin assembly lines all magnify this effect, decreasing build times, reducing on-site costs through the need for fewer personnel and enabling construction companies to spread resources across a greater number of jobs.

However, many people are yet to fully appreciate the benefits of modular manufacturing, and liken it to low-quality Legoblock construction.

“People figure it’s just this cookie-cutter stuff that’s sacrificing quality and flexibility and layout,” said Mierau. “But everything they’re doing is custom, per project. You’re getting exactly what you want.”

Campbell echoed the sentiment.

“Prefabrication, modulization, pre-engineered systems will inevitably decrease the costs to the homeowner or the building owner” he said, adding that he sees those benefits extending to industry players as well. “It will decrease our costs, decrease risk and increase our capacity to make a profit along the way.”

Greening processes Modular construction also facilitates some of the certification standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the preeminent rating system for green-building construction. Although LEED considers many factors outside those touched by modular construction, those well within its control, such as material handling, optimal construction conditions and environmental control during construction, can all contribute to attaining LEED credits.

Advancements in the development of environmentally friendly building materials is helping as well. Better-designed products can reduce maintenance costs during the life of a building while improving energy conservation and building lifespan. Safer materials can better preserve occupant health. And the ability to design and mock up a three-dimensional representation of architectural drawings helps architects design improvements such as the use of natural light and air-flow principles in place of carbon-dependent lighting and heating.

Kevin Mierau, President of Mierau Contractors Ltd.

Buildings are also more complex. Mechanically, electrically. More details for envelope. More details for everything

Pressing on Amid all the chaos, the level heads of those standing behind the crews prevail as the region continues to grow exponentially.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., this past year saw a 46% increase in multiple-unit urban starts – significant demand from a growing community. To keep up, the construction industry is modernizing.

Even if deals once struck in person at an

office are now done while holed up in the cab of a truck, hovering over a smartphone with a cold, half-finished drink in the coffee holder, the homes and businesses built on those deals continue to meet ever-increasing needs.

“At the end of the day,” Campbell said, “the owner gets a building, the contractor’s done a good job and the public gets something that they can say is good for their neighbourhood.” •

Craig Mitchell, Director of Sales at Britco

Nowadays we often get outside legal counsel to review contract documents even before we bid on a job

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July 12–18, 2016

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B12 news CONSTRUCTION: Canada’s construction and building industry is becoming ‘lean’-er Lean Construction Institute of Canada aims to enhance productivity and efficiency across the industry Ken Lancastle

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he Canadian construction and building industry is constantly looking to improve productivity and reduce waste, and the principles of lean construction are providing a new set of tools to do just that.

While the concept of “lean” has been around for a number of years – its roots are in the automotive and manufacturing sectors – its introduction to the Canadian construction and building industry is being spearheaded by the newly formed Lean Construction Institute of Canada (LCI-C).

The institute, which was established in 2015 as a special committee of the Canadian Construction Association, is committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement in the design, construction and building industries. The membershipbased organization is hoping to see lean principles and philosophies adopted across the country and by all industry stakeholders.

“The principles behind lean construction are designed to find value throughout the construction process, including in the design and actual building of a project,” explained LCI-C

co-chair Serge Massicotte. “At its core, the objective behind the implementation of lean construction is a pursuit of perfection. We are aiming to enhance productivity and continuously improve our industry’s performance.”

The construction and building industry in Canada has lagged behind other industries in terms of its productivity improvements, partially due to the disjointed nature of the industry and the multiple individuals and stakeholders involved in any given project. Lean construction, meanwhile, promotes an environment of collaboration, while providing the means and methods to reduce wastef u l processes.

In addition to ongoing collaboration and communication, there are a number of other principles embedded in lean construction, such as defining project value, mapping the value stream, creating flow in the design and construction process, establishing a pull schedule and pursuing perfection throughout the process.

Simply put, lean construction aims to capitalize on efficiencies, while eliminating inefficiencies and waste.

“W hat is also important to note about lean construction

is that it can be applied in any project delivery method, on any project,” said LCI-C co-chair Kathleen Lausman. “All stakeholders, whether they are project owners, designers, consultants or contractors, can benefit from lean construction and the culture of efficiency that lean principles promote throughout a project.”

Un l i ke t rad it ion a l project delivery environments, a lean construction project encourages dialogue between all project participants.

As with the automotive and manufacturing industries, lean construction promotes the reduction of wasteful practices through a variety of value-added activities and advanced planning. By involving all stakeh o l d e r s a n d p ro m o t i n g a n environment of collaboration in that planning process, it makes it easier to align around common project objectives.

Today, lean construction continues to see growing interest from the entire construction and

building industry in Canada.

Early results from lean construction projects have seen faster delivery times, greater satisfaction from project participants, improved productivity and reduced costs.

Outside of the industry, the general public and end-users of construction projects can look forward to improved time frames on projects and higher quality, as well as reduced disruption from construction projects. And since lean construction brings all stakeholders into the process, the needs of the public and end-users are part of this ongoing process.

Today, as more individuals and firms become interested in lean principles, LCI-C looks forward to the implementation of lean education and training

opportunities across the country.

“One of our key objectives is to educate the industry, challenge traditional thinking and create awareness about lean construction in Canada,” Massicotte said.

“We are excited to see the interest in lean already growing, and encourage firms and individuals in our industry to consider LCI-C membership to help gain a competitive advantage through lean.”

As part of this education, LCI-C held its inaugural annual conference in Calgary in April. In total, more than 100 delegates attended the conference, the theme of which was Lean for Extraordinary Results. The event attracted a variety of stakeholders, including owners, consultants and contractors, all of whom can benefit from utilizing lean. • Ken Lancastle is associate director of industry practices for the Canadian Construction Association. More information about the Lean Construction Institute of Canada is available at www. lcicanada.ca.

Serge Massicotte, Co-chair, Lean Construction Institute of Canada

At its core, the objective behind the implementation of lean construction is a pursuit of perfection

CONSTRUCTION: ‘Quality of Documents’ workshops engage industry stakeholders Cross-Canada roundtables provide insight on important industry issue Ken Lancastle

T

he issue of poor qu a lity documentation in the Canadian building industry is one that has been discussed for a number of years, with all stakeholders understanding how important high-quality and complete documents are to the successful delivery of a construction project.

Simply put, poor quality or incomplete documentation can lead to confusion or inaccurate information being passed among the owner procuring the project, the consultants tasked with designing the project and the contractors responsible for building the project. This can lead to multiple changes during construction, delays or cost overruns, all of which can ultimately impact the endusers and general public.

“We have often likened project documentation to a flight plan,” explained John Bockstael, chairman of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) Standard Practices Committee.

“Construction documentation represents the guidelines that

need to be followed in order to ensure the successful delivery of a project.”

Because of the importance of the issue, and recognizing it as an issue that affects project owners, consultants and contractors alike, the CCA recently embarked on a series of “Quality of Documents” workshops across Canada to further explore the topic.

In total, 12 workshops were held across the country, involving participants who represented all stakeholder groups in the industry, to discuss the causes and potential solutions to poor-quality or incomplete construction documents.

“It was extremely important for us to ensure that an entire cross-section of industry participants was available to participate in these workshops,” Bockstael said. “We have continued to emphasize that this issue is one that affects all of us, and that no party is infallible. All stakeholders have an important role to play if we are to develop comprehensive solutions to this issue.”

Throughout the workshops, a number of themes emerged. It

was noted that all parties have a role to play, and need to understand their responsibilities as they relate to the construction project and the coordination of high-quality documentation.

At the same time, lack of education, training and experience are potential impediments to improving quality, particularly as experienced employees reach retirement age or leave the industry. Additionally, because technology, while helpful, can also be a hindrance to quality control, as it can supress critical analyses of constructability, its proper use is essential. Workshop participants also noted that standardized industry best practices, as well as communication, trust and collaboration, are all key to improving the quality of documents.

As part of the workshops, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on the 12 potential issues that affect the quality of documentation on construction projects. Analysis of the results highlights key themes and causes of poor documentation that include: •Lack of final coordination,

Maksym Dykha/shutterstock

checking and proof-reading

•Insufficient time for design •Lack of coordination between

architects and engineers

•Owners’ (unnecessary) pressure •I n s u f f i c i e n t f e e /d e s i g n

contingency With the workshops complete, CCA has published a summary report of both the workshops and the survey on its website (www. cca-acc.com).

“We are extremely pleased with the progress we have made so far on this file” Bockstael said.

“Most importantly, we look forward to working with our partner

associations and other stakeholder organizations across the Canadian building industry so that we may help improve the quality of documentation and ultimately the performance of our collective industries.” • Ken Lancastle is associate director of industry practices for the Canadian Construction Association. Established in 1918, the Canadian Construction A s s o c i a t i o n ’s (C C A ) v i s i o n i s t o build Canada with ethics, skills and responsibility. CCA’s mission is to be the national voice for the Canadian construction industry.