Canadian Consulting Engineer June July 2011

For professional engineers in private practice

JUNE/JULY 2011

SANDY HILL PARK FLOOD CONTROL SEWAGE TREATMENT IN ADDIS ABABA SPEAKING TO YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Milliken Reservoir Expansion

www.canad ianco nsu lti n gen gi n eer.c om

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contents

June/July 2011 Volume 52, No. 4

Cover: Milliken Reservoir expansion. See story page 26. Photograph by William Conway, Progress Photography.

See story page 22.

departments Comment

4

Up Front

6

Business

33

Engineers & the Law

37

Computers

39

Computer Products

40

Advertiser Index

45

Human Edge

46

Next issue: recreational building design; energy, building controls and operations.

features Stormwater Flood Control in Sandy Hill. A popular community park in downtown Ottawa has been reconfigured with stacked storage.

By Adrien Comeau, P.Eng., Stantec

14

International Improving Lives. Canadian engineers are modeling a sewage collection system and treatment plant in the busy African city of Addis Ababa.

By Michele Rochon, Morrison Hershfield

20

Wastewater St. John’s Harbour Clean-Up. Raw sewage is no longer being released into the harbour of one of Canada’s most historic and picturesque towns.

CH2M HILL & NDAL

22

Water Supply Milliken Reservoir and Pump Station. An underground reservoir in Richmond Hill, Ontario is being expanded on a grand scale.

By Chris Caers, P.Eng. and Bill De Angelis, P.Eng., Associated Engineering

26

Transportation Glenmore Trail Interchange. Traffic in Calgary flows freely after a temporary flyover was constructed in just five months.

ISL Engineering and Land Services/CH2M HILL

28

Opinion Talking to Young Professionals. A senior consulting engineer finds out that sharing wisdom with young people is a two-way street.

By Andrew Steeves, P.Eng.

34

June/July 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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engineer FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE

comment

CANADIAN

C O N S U LT I N G

Editor

Bronwen Parsons E-mail: bparsons@ccemag.com (416) 510-5119 Senior Publisher

A conflict of interest is like a cold

Maureen Levy E-mail: mlevy@ccemag.com (416) 510-5111 Art Director

Ellie Robinson

E

veryone at some point in their lives finds themselves in a conflict of interest. It could be a personal or a business situation, but in either case it can affect your judgement.

Chris MacDonald, Ph.D., spoke on the subject of conflict of interest in business at a breakfast in downtown Toronto in April. MacDonald is with the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. The breakfast was part of a regular series given by the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy.

MacDonald said there are no easy answers for individuals who find themselves morally torn between the interests of themselves, their companies, their clients or the greater public good.

He gave three real life examples -- all from an aeronautical company. One was a board member who owned shares in a major supplier. Another was a junior engineer who was moonlighting in an IT security business. A third was a manager who chose her lover as a candidate for a job.

Most of us think that a conflict of interest involves someone who stands to gain financially from a situation. But a person can also be influenced by their own sense of pride and ambition, and by the friendships they make. Whatever the motivation, the result is that your decision, or the advice you give your client, is no longer impartial and objective. For professionals, of course, this can be a fatal flaw.

Engineers have the Iron Ring ceremony (see Kim Farwell’s views on this tradition, page 46). They also have the code of ethics they sign onto when becoming licensed. But do these oaths protect them from dangerous and compromising situations? Not really, answered MacDonald, because engineers can find themselves in a “conflict of obligation.”

The most important thing to remember, he said, is not to think of a conflict of interest as an accusation. It is a situation you find yourself in, and it is often not your own fault or doing. “It is like a cold. It’s something you’ve got. Being in the situation is not blameworthy. But mishandled, it can be.”

Faced with an ethical conundrum, what can individuals do? The standard solutions aren’t always helpful, MacDonald said. A person could disclose their conflicting interest, but where does that leave the other parties? He or she could remove themselves from the decision-making process. But in many situations, MacDonald said, there are so few experts in a specialized field, often even that’s not possible. The Golden Rule doesn’t always help either: what if declining a project means you have to lay off staff?

What can companies do to avoid conflict of interest problems? First, they should ensure they have a good -- readable -- ethics policy. Often policies are far too legalistic to be effective, said MacDonald. Enron had an ethics policy 65 pages long, but its executives still spiralled into jail.

What’s more important, said MacDonald, is the company’s culture, because that will dictate how the policy is interpreted: “Culture will always trump policies.” People must feel comfortable bringing ethical issues up for discussion around the table. In some companies, you bring up the “e” word and everyone “turns and runs” he said.

Bronwen Parsons

Contributing Editor

Rosalind Cairncross, P.Eng. Advertising Sales Manager

Vince Naccarato E-mail: vnaccarato@ccemag.com (416) 510-5118

T

Editorial Advisors

Bruce Bodden, P.Eng., Gerald Epp, P.Eng., Chris Newcomb, P.Eng., Laurier Nichols, ing., Lee Norton, P.Eng., Jonathan Rubes, P.Eng., Paul Ruffell, P.Eng., Andrew Steeves, P.Eng., Ron Wilson, P.Eng.

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Circulation

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Production Co-ordinator

Karen Samuels (416) 510-5190 Vice President, Publishing Business Information Group (BIG)

Alex Papanou

President, Business Information Group (BIG)

Bruce Creighton Head Office

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p03-05 CCE JuneJuly11 ContComment.indd 4

June/July 2011

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up front

Photohelico

ENERGY

A25 Bridge over Rivière des Prairies in Montreal.

INFRASTRUCTURE

New bridge opens in Montreal On a rainy May 21, over 5,000 people came to celebrate the official opening of the A25 Bridge between Montreal and Laval.

The bridge is a component of the first public-private partnership project in Quebec. It is also the first cablestayed bridge to be constructed in the province in over 40 years.

The Montreal Gazette interviewed one person who came to the opening, Ziggy Zalezniak, aged 56, who cycled over the bridge from the Montreal side. He said “It’s pretty neat, because in my lifetime, other than the Champlain Bridge, this is the first bridge that has been constructed. It’s a wonderful opportunity to do something that’s a bit historic.”

The bridge is located along a new 7.5-kilometre toll highway, Autoroute 25. The new highway links the Island of Montreal north over Rivière des Prairies to the suburb of Laval, connecting Henri-Bourassa Boulevard in Montreal with Highway 440.

Completed in four years, the 1.2-km. bridge has a main cable-stayed span of 280 metres. It has precast, prestressed concrete deck panels, and is supported by drilled shafts bearing on rock.

The two pylons are located on each side of a sturgeon spawning pool in the river. The design of the bridge was complicated by having to deal with this environmentally sensitive habitat, as well as dealing with restrictions on the tower height and the presence of highvoltage power lines.

Concession A25 was in charge of the $500-million design-build, operate and maintain project. The P3 consortium involved Kiewit, Parsons, International Bridge Technologies, and Genivar who did design and the environmental assessment. Delcan acted as independent reviewer, while CIMA+/ BPR are the engineering consultants for the Quebec Ministry of Transport.

The consultants have been working on the project from its beginning.

The P3 consortium has a 35-year contract to operate and maintain the bridge and collect tolls for the first 20,000 vehicles that cross daily. After that the tolls are shared 50-50 with the Government of Quebec.

Some critics worry that the bridge will simply funnel more traffic into an already congested Notre Dame Street East in downtown Montreal.

However, the province has promised to redesign the street.

Shale gas stop and go B.C.’s Ministry of Energy and Mines is looking at expanding its natural gas resources: “Shale gas could double production by the end of the decade, providing B.C. with new investment opportunities, long-term jobs, and a surplus of natural gas.” Meanwhile, since March, Quebec has halted shale gas exploration along the St. Lawrence River pending an environmental assessment. Opponents say the drilling process risks contaminating underground water sources.

BUILDINGS

Toronto schools go solar Schools across Toronto will be covered with solar panels over the next three years. AMP Solar has a contract to fix 450 school building roofs. In return AMP will install photovoltaic panels on the roofs and generate electricity.

HVAC

Building operation is critical “Studies and documented experience have shown that improved [building] operational strategies alone could save 10-40% in energy. These savings came about through application of expert knowledge to operation and maintenance practices, not large capital investment.”

ASHRAE press release, June 1.

continued on page 8 6

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June/July 2011

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Ca

up front

continued from page 6

STRUCTURES

Concrete to last 40 years more NRC’s Institute for Research in Construction is developing a durable concrete that will increase the average lifespan of bridge decks by more than 20 years compared to typical highstrength concrete, and by more than 40 years compared to normalstrength concrete.

Developed by Dr. Daniel Cusson, Ph.D., P.Eng., a senior researcher at the NRC Institute for Research in Construction in Ottawa, the highperformance self-curing concrete minimizes shrinkage, which is typical of high-strength concrete. Yet the material maintains high-strength concrete’s mechanical properties.

The new formulation also greatly reduces cracking, which means chlorides from de-icing salts have less opportunity to penetrate the concrete to cause cor-

rosion in the steel reinforcement.

The Federal Bridge Corporation is considering using the new mix for one component of the replacement of the North Channel Bridge in Cornwall.

STRUCTURES

Wood under fire A large fire that destroyed a housing development under construction in Richmond, B.C. has sparked discussion among associations representing different construction materials.

The Remy housing development at Cambie and Stolberg Roads in Richmond went up in flames on the night of May 3, creating a blaze that lit up the sky for five hours and required 40 firefighters to put it out.

No-one was hurt, but the building collapsed in on itself, leaving just its charred concrete elevator core.

The housing development was

controversial because it is the first to be built under new rules introduced in 2009 into the B.C. Building Code that allow all wood-frame construction for mid-rise buildings.

Masonry and cement industry associations said the fire justified their concerns about the safety of woodframe mid-rise buildings, and they warned against other jurisdictions following B.C.’s lead in allowing them.

Proposed changes to the Ontario Building Code and the National Building Code are already in the works that also would allow wood frame buildings over four storeys high.

In response, the Canadian Wood Council issued a statement and pointed out that the risk of fire is always higher when a building is under construction, and that this project “had not yet reached the point in time when the fire prevention and protection elements are all in place.”

C

M

Y

There’s only one thing we leave to

HEALTH

Leaking roofs linked to asthma A study released in June by the Montreal Public Health and Social Services Agency (DSP) blamed humidity and mould in housing units as the major cause of children having asthma and other respiratory problems.

The study data from 8,000 parents living on the Island of Montreal during 2006 found that mould and excess moisture at home was responsible for 26% of the cases of respiratory infections, 17% of asthma cases and 14% of winter allergic rhinitis.

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CALL FOR PROJECT NEWS Has your company recently completed or been commissioned for an interesting project?

Send us a photo and brief description of around 100-200 words.

E-mail bparsons@ccemag.com

June/July 2011

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MEP-2 pub_

up front

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Halcrow Yolles

The health agency is and first steel skyscraper, the blaming poorly maintained Bow has a triangular diagoflat roofs on Montreal apartnal grid (diagrid) system in a ment buildings as the chief curved building design. Fosculprit. Norman King, an aster + Partners/Zeidler Partsistant manager with DSP, nership are the architects.

In the green buildings catsaid that other research by the authority into 200 buildegory, the Centre for Green ings has led them to conCities at the Evergreen Brick clude the lack of maintainWorks in Toronto won an ing flat roofs is a major probaward of excellence. Halsall lem in moisture issues.

Associates is the structural The study identified two engineer on the project, other major causes of respiwhich transformed an old inInstalling giant steel trusses for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. ratory disease and asthma in dustrial site off the Bayview the children, but neither was Extension. Diamond and as great an issue as the home’s moisSchmitt are the architects. awards on May 19. The Ritz-Carlton ture and mould. Exposure to tobacco Halsall Associates was also the Hotel which recently opened on Welsmoke was blamed for 10% of asthma structural engineer for the Queenston lington Street in downtown Toronto, cases and 7% of respiratory infections.

Plaza Border Crossing Facility, Phase 1 won an award of excellence in the Lack of breastfeeding was found to be and 2, which won in the architectural engineering category. Halcrow Yolles a factor in 11% of asthma cases. category. Moriyama & Teshima was was the structural engineer. The 208Children in inner city neighbourthe architect. metre high tower rests on a five stohoods living in rental apartments had rey, glass-enclosed podium that has the highest rate of illness. The health interlocking and cantilevered strucPEOPLE agency is urging municipalities to tural elements. Page & Steele/IBI Joining the Academy improve the housing stock and saniGroup are the architects.

Several senior people from consulting tation conditions.

Halcrow Yolles was also the strucengineering firms were among the 45 tural engineer for the Bow, a 58-storey new Fellows inducted into the CanaAWARDS mixed-use development in Calgary, dian Academy of Engineering on June Steel Excellence in Ontario that won an award of excellence in the 2. They included Dennis E. Becker of The Canadian Institute of Steel Concategory “projects constructed outside Golder Associates, Giovanni Bianchini of Ontario.” Calgary’s tallest building struction’s Ontario Region gave out continued on page 12

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June/July 2011

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up front

continued from page 10

of Hatch, Anton Davies of Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin (RWDI), Henry N. Edamura of MMM Group, Catherine Karakatsanis of Morrison Hershfield, and Peter Halsall of Halsall Associates.

University of Toronto.

He was most recently executive vice president of infrastructure and environment.

Bruce Bodden continues as chairman of the Board of MMM.

Peter Halsall

Robert Webb

COMPANIES

New leaders at MMM MMM Group in Toronto has appointed Hugo Blasutta as chief executive officer of the company. Blasutta joined MMM in 2010, becoming executive vice president in charge of corporate development.

Robert Webb has been appointed president of MMM. Webb joined the firm after graduating from the Hugo Blasutta

AMEC rebrands In early June, AMEC acquired MACTEC, a U.S. engineering and environmental services company based in Georgia. MACTEC has 2,600 employees in 70 offices, mostly in the eastern part of the U.S. Around the same time, AMEC announced that it was rebranding its Earth & Environmental unit to become Environment & Infrastructure (E&I). The move, AMEC said, is “to better reflect the services and scope

of the current business and its global growth strategy.”

The E&I business now numbers 7,000 employees and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia. It is led

by Dr. Hisham Mahmoud as the company president.

B.C. firm joins Golder Golder has announced a “merger” with HB Lanarc Consultants of British Columbia. HB Lanarc specializes in sustainable design and planning and has approximately 40 people located in offices in Nanaimo and Vancouver.

SNC-Lavalin buys Aqua Data SNC-Lavalin has acquired Aqua Data, a company of around 100 employees that specializes in water distribution and wastewater collection systems. It has offices in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Tampa, Florida.

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stormwater

By Adrien Comeau, P.Eng., Stantec

A popular community park in downtown Ottawa has a stacked underground and surface floodwater protection system.

Stantec

Flood Control in Sandy Hill

M

any Canadian municipalities face chronic flooding issues.

The problem is particularly prevalent in older communities, where there is aging infrastructure, changing land uses and the increasing use of basements as living spaces.

Modern design practice and standards for managing stormwater in urban settings are based on the dual drainage principle, which provides a much higher level of

14

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p14-27 CCE JuneJuly11 STD Features.indd 14

protection than in the past.

The dual drainage system is based on providing a cost-effective balance between an underground drainage network of pipes that convey all runoff up to a prescribed limit (typically based on a 2 to 10 year storm recurrence), and the provision of adequate surface or overland drainage routes for conveying excess flows from rarer events that exceed this limit. By controlling excess flows at

the source and safely managing them overland along natural or engineered drainage routes, municipalities can mitigate the impacts of extreme storm events and climate change.

Stantec’s experience over a decade has shown that the dual-drainage approach is an effective solution for established urban areas with a history and an elevated risk of flooding.

One of Stantec’s recent applications was at Sandy Hill, a residential area

June/July 2011

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stormwater

Left: site plan for the park, with underground tank outlined.

Above: underground sewage tank under construction.

with a community park near the Rideau River, in the eastern portion of downtown Ottawa.

Historically, plans and efforts to reduce flooding in the Sandy Hill area had focused on separating the combined sewers and finding a suitable outlet for the storm water. But this solution was unreliable. Constructing and operating a large-scale remediation tank in the community presented challenges because of the impacts on

existing community features. These constraints had stalled previous attempts to solve the flooding situation.

How could the massive storage facility be incorporated within the heart of the community and, in particular, in its highly valued community park? It was no small task.

Stantec demonstrated that an innovative “stacked-storage” facility was the most viable and technically effective solution.

Stacked storage facility The “stacked storage” facility consists of a 12,500-m3 underground combined sewage storage tank topped with a 4,000-m3 dry pond for managing excess stormwater runoff.

The underground sewage storage tank measures 55 m x 55 m, and is 4.5-8 m high. It is located at a depth of 6-10 metres, and was excavated primarily in bedrock within the heart continued on page 16 June/July 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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MEP-Form

stormwater

continued from page 15

Left: the park completed; much of the land was lowered to become a stormwater storage pond during rare extreme storm events; most of the time it provides a dry, grassed area.

Right: tank flushing gates in operation; during a storm, a portion of the water that enters the tank is retained behind the gate of each laneway and then used for wash down.

of Sandy Hill Community Park.

The surface water detention area lies over the tank, separated from it vertically by a sub-drain system of perforated pipes and a 1.3-metre layer of engineered soil that retains enough moisture to sustain grass.

The original grade level of the park had to be lowered by 1 to 1.5 metres to create the surface storm water storage area, which affected a significant portion of the park’s usable area. The existing roadways were modified to direct storm water runoff towards the storage area. Also, inlet control devices in the catch basins in the roadway sags near the park ensure that the runoff from smaller and more frequent storms, as well as the initial drainage volume from larger 16

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p14-27 CCE JuneJuly11 STD Features.indd 16

storms, is directed to the underground sewers. In this way only the excess, “cleaner,” storm water runoff that may surcharge the sewer pipes enters the park and goes into the surface storage area.

Underground tank storage The surface storage area will only be used for very rare storm events and most of the time is a dry grassed area.

The underground tank will be used more often. During extreme storm events, a diversion chamber on the trunk sewer directs excess combined sewage to the underground storage tank, where it is stored until it can be pumped back to the combined trunk sewer for treatment at the wastewater treatment plant approxi-

mately 20 kilometres away.

The underground tank has two cells. Cell No. 1 occupies one third of the tank’s total volume and is intended for more frequent use (once every two years on average). Cell No. 2, occupying the balance of the tank, is intended for storm frequencies greater than one in five years.

Flushing gates use some of the stored sewage to clean accumulated debris from the tank floor after each use.

Since 2009 when the project was completed, the underground tank has been used twice. During these high rainfall events it successfully stored combined sewage, preventing basement flooding. continued on page 18

June/July 2011

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stormwater

continued from page 16

Above: amphitheatre and chess board paving.

Topography and landscaping Working closely with the community, Stantec realized an opportunity to enhance the park without compromising the flood protection goals.

The new design incorporates a superior park layout, modernized facilities and comfortable outdoor places.

Grade changes for the surface storage area were used to shape a new landscape with natural slopes and visually appealing stone walls. While the redesigned sports field was smaller in area than the original, its design and functionality were greatly enhanced.

The storage tank’s remotely operated control equipment, as well as the tank’s carbon filter odour control sys-

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tem, is stored in a new park support building. This building is combined with new change facilities and rest rooms for the public.

The landscaping design conserves mature trees as much as possible. It uses native species and species chosen for their year-round beauty as well as their ability to survive submergence in deep water. Once fully grown, the vegetation will buffer the park from the surrounding roadways.

An amphitheatre was integrated between the storage facility and community centre to accommodate a variety of community needs. Built out of natural stone and precast flagstone, the amphitheatre was de-

signed with organic lines that are consistent with the existing grading.

To create visual interest and foster a sense of play, a large chess board area was also installed, using two colours of concrete pavers.

Construction of the facilities and Stantec’s landscape architectural design of the park were completed in less than two years. The finished project has provided the community with an enhanced public space and protection from basement flooding up to a design target level of service of 1 in 100 years.

The park is now an established destination for community gatherings and the project has won several awards, including the American Public Works Association’s 2010 Project of the Year Award in the environment category ($5M to $25M).

CCE Client: City of Ottawa Prime consultant (environmental assessment, design and construction services): Stantec Consulting (Adrien Comeau, P.Eng., Brett Byce, P.Eng., Stéphane D’Aoust, P.Eng., James Ricker, P.Eng., Chantal Gaudet) Other key players: IBI Group (surface pond layout and underdrain system design); Golder Associates (geotechnical and hydrogeology); Civitas Architecture (control and park support building) General contractor: Doran Community representatives: Action Sandy Hill Supplier: IPEX

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international

Improving Lives

Canadian engineers are modeling an expanded sewage collection system and designing a wastewater treatment plant in the busy African city of Addis Ababa.

By Michele Rochon, Morrison Hershfield

Above: view down an existing lagoon.

ADDIS ABABA, THE CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY OF ETHIOPIA and

headquarters of the African Union, is growing rapidly. In 2007 its population was approximately 3.5 million and most of this growth is due to in-migration. In the slum areas the population density reaches 632 inhabitants per hectare.

As it moves to become a world-class economic centre, Addis Ababa is undergoing significant development.

Water and wastewater infrastructure represents a top priority.

There are three sewer catchment areas, Kaliti, Eastern and Akaki. Kaliti, the largest basin that includes the core of the city, is similar to other burgeoning urban areas in Africa, and modernizing to 21st-century systems is a challenge.

At the same time the technological possibilities in Africa are exciting. For example, in the absence of a tradi20

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tional landline telephone system, the continent has jumped this step and embraced the widespread use of wireless technology; more than 30 African nations have more cell phones than landlines. Water and wastewater infrastructure is experiencing a similar trend, benefiting from the most current developments around the world, and leaping from latrines and simple septic tank technology, to systems that could serve as a model for urban centres everywhere.

Poorer people use latrines The Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority recently awarded Morrison Hershfield a project, funded by the World Bank, to improve the sewage collection and treatment systems in Kaliti.

The existing piped sewer system serves only a small portion of the

Kaliti catchment area. It has approximately 30 kilometres of trunk sewers and 320 kilometres of secondary sewers, with many sections suffering from under-capacity piping. Many of the residents of the area currently use septic tanks and pump-out technology. People in poorer areas are using latrines. With transportation and drainage infrastructure unable to meet the demand, and the density of development increasing, the quality of life in the community is dramatically reduced.

Morrison Hershfield's project manager Doug McRae is in Edmonton. He explains: “The goal of our project is to establish widely available piped waste water services, which will be a large step towards improving the overall public health of the community. With the increased prosperity of the city, buildings of 6 to 10 storeys are spring-

June/July 2011

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international ing up everywhere and the current sewage collection system just can’t accommodate them the way it is.”

The project includes reviewing the existing sewerage master plan and estimating water demand and the resulting sewage flows. Morrison Hershfield developed a model of the collection system showing the current piping and phased expansion to serve the entire Kaliti catchment area. The ultimate system will reach approximately 327 kilometres of trunk sewers when all the phases are complete.

New treatment plant will have sludge digestion The current treatment process consists of a lagoon system sized to handle approximately 50,000 people, compared to an estimated 2.5 million people who currently reside in the basin. As the collection system is expanded, so the treatment system must expand also. Lagoons are no longer appropriate due to the large land area required, so the project will add a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that will improve the quality of the discharged treated sewage effluent.

For the new facility Morrison Hershfield selected a process that is easy to operate and forgiving to the varying strength of the wastewater flows.

The process employs screening and grit removal, primary clarification, a trickling filter, secondary clarification and polishing ponds.

The feasibility of using the treated effluent as a source of irrigation water is also being explored. This feature would provide the local farmers with a water source considerably cleaner than is currently found in the adjacent Little Akaki River.

The treatment system will feature sludge digestion that will allow the city to capture the resulting biogas for energy production and will reduce the plant’s carbon footprint. Electrical energy is a critical issue due to the growth of the city and the electrical energy produced from biogas will help supply some of the plant’s needs.

Morrison Hershfield has partnered with the Ethiopian engineering firm ARMA who will provide local engineering and technical support. With McRae as project manager, Alemeshet Tsegaye of ARMA is the deputy (local) project manager. Tadesse Lemu, P.

Eng. and Miressa Fola, P.Eng. of Morrison Hershfield, both originally from Ethiopia, are lead engineers.

“We are pleased to have a role in ensuring adequate and safe sanitation facilities for the people of Addis Ababa,” says McRae. CCE

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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wastewater

CH2M HILL & NDAL

Thanks to recent infrastructure improvements, raw sewage is no longer being released into the harbour of one of Canada’s most historic and picturesque towns.

St. John’s Harbour Clean-Up

S

t. John’s, the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, is the oldest city in North America.

For over 500 years raw sewage has been flowing into the harbour that lies at the heart of the historic city.

It is estimated that before new treatment facilities were recently built, 120 million litres of raw sewage and stormwater flowed into the harbour every day. During wet weather storms the flow might be up to five times as much. The harbour was so polluted that at times unsightly material floated on the surface.

Plans to help the situation began in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the comprehensive St. John’s

Harbour Clean-up Project was begun.

Phase I provided immediate relief to the harbour’s western end by collecting and screening the raw wastewater. Then in 2001, the city contracted Newfoundland Design Associates Limited (NDAL) in association with CH2M HILL to do the conceptual and detailed design for phase 2, known as the Riverhead Wastewater Treatment Project. The project included building a new Harbour Interceptor Sewer, which is a 1600-mm diameter pipe that stretches two kilometres around the harbourfront to collect the sewage.

As well, phase 2 involved building a new wastewater treatment plant to

treat the sewage before it is discharged into the harbour and ocean.

Finding a site for the Riverhead Wastewater Treatment plant fairly close to the harbour was difficult, but eventually Southside Hills on the southwest of the town harbour was selected. The site had to be literally carved out of the rock -- over 800,000 cubic metres of rock were excavated at a cost of about $20 million.

Because the plant is highly visible across the harbour from the centre of St. John’s, care was taken over the architectural design. It was decided that a “contextualized” approach was best i.e. one in which the buildings are recognizable for what they are, but at

Above: interceptor sewer being installed; it runs 2 kilometres around the harbour.

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June/July 2011

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wastewater

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Above: the treatment plant had to be carved out of rock, requiring 800,000 cubic metres of material to be excavated.

You Demand the Best the same time they are visually interesting and not obtrusive. They are designed for a long service life.

The wastewater treatment plant provides conventional primary treatment, but it has provision for upgrading to either enhanced primary treatment or full secondary treatment. Other more compact treatment approaches were considered, but the traditional approach was selected because it offers opportunities for upgrading, has a better lifecycle cost, and is easier to operate and maintain.

After entering the plant the sewage passes through aerated grit tanks and primary clarifiers. Then, after chlorination, the treated wastewater is discharged through the existing diffused outfall at the west end of the harbour.

As well, the outfall was extended with new diffusers to provide improved dispersion of the effluent.

Completed in 2009 at a cost of approximately $137 million, the project will, over time, help to heal the environment in the harbour.

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Design engineers: Newfoundland Design Associates Limited (NDAL) (William Noseworthy, P.Eng.) in association with CH2M HILL (Robert Hook, P.Eng.) June/July 2011

p14-27 CCE JuneJuly11 STD Features.indd 23

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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water supply

By Chris Caers, P.Eng. and Bill De Angelis, P.Eng. Associated Engineering

A water reservoir in Markham, north of Toronto, is being expanded with a massive underground concrete chamber that will double the plant’s storage capacity to 268 million litres.

Milliken Reservoir & Pump Station

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William Conway, Progress Photography

A

$90-million expansion of the Milliken Reservoir and Pump Station in York Region north of Toronto is under way. The expansion is doubling the size of the facility in order to help meet the future drinking water needs of the city of Toronto and York Region.

Owned and operated by the City of Toronto, and one of three major reservoirs north of the city, the existing Milliken in-ground reservoir was built in the 1970s and receives water from Lake Ontario. Associated Engineering is providing engineering design and construction administration services for the expansion, which will increase the storage capacity of the reservoir and its pumping capacity, and will provide stand-by power to the existing Milliken facilities The project is a huge undertaking. The existing two-cell reservoir has a combined capacity of 134 million litres. The new reservoir, being built adjacent to the existing reservoir, will double the capacity to 268 million litres. The underground chamber is made of steel-reinforced concrete covering an area of 16,800 square metres and supported on 446 columns, 9 metres high. On its roof will be placed 400 mm of overburden and topsoil to provide soccer fields for the town of Markham.

Approximately 1,100 metres of large diameter watermain and six new valve chambers were required to be constructed on-site to service the expanded facility.

The new pump station adds three 90 ML per day and three 45 ML per day pumps, with ancillary electrical and mechanical equipment. Selecting the appropriate pumping units was a

Above: the scale of the new underground reservoir seen here without its roof is almost surreal. It has almost 450 columns which are 9 metres high.

design challenge. The units needed to convey today’s flows efficiently, yet they had to be sized to accommodate pumping requirements to the year 2031. With input from the city’s operations staff, the design team developed the solution of combining the

different pump capacities, installing fixed and variable speed drives, and recommending flexible operating strategies.

The site conditions required the engineers to do a sophisticated structural analysis of potential seismic sce-

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water supply

narios. The result is believed to be one of the first “post-disaster structures� constructed by Toronto. Special connections were required to be designed at each entry and exit to the structure.

The connections had to provide flexibility in the event of an earthquake, yet retain the integrity of the piping system. Each connection was custom engineered, fabricated and installed.

To minimize dead zones in the reservoir cells and ensure efficient disinfection, a new access house was constructed with connections between the existing and new reservoir cells in order to encourage water circulation. In addition, curtain walls were placed in the cells to better facilitate water flow.

On the operational side, the city required that water storage and pumping at the plant was uninterrupted during the construction. The construction schedule was aggressive and the contractor employed significant resources and innovative techniques.

Special column forms were developed and used to allow construction of the 446 columns to proceed more efficiently. Also, to allow for the base slab to be placed during winter months, a glycol heating system was installed underneath the slab to maintain proper placement temperatures.

The timely delivery of shop drawings and shop drawing reviews, as well as equipment testing and delivery to the site had to be carefully coordinated. For example, as the pump station was being constructed, the bridge crane was installed in the building, prior to the roof being placed. This crane was then used to place the new pumps into position.

Construction began in the summer of 2009 and the pumping station was operational in April this year. The reservoir cells will be in service this

Above: new 45- and 90-ML per day pumps; combining two sizes helps make operations more flexible.

Left: 1500-mm butterfly valve being placed in the new access house.

summer. The project also involves upgrades and remedial work in the existing pump station and reservoir, which is expected to be completed by mid2012. Careful coordination is required between Associated Engineering, the contractor and the city operations in shutting down the existing facilities and delivering water using the new pump station and reservoir.

The success of the Milliken project to date has been achieved through teamwork and communication between the client, engineers, contractor and subcontractors. In particular, having a full-time project manager onsite has enabled the consultant team to be more intimately engaged with project matters. They can quickly resolve most day-to-day construction

matters and, at the same time, be more proactive in overall project management, both of which have aided the project delivery.

CCE Chris Caers, P.Eng. is project manager of the Milliken expansion project for Associated Engineering. Bill De Angelis, P.Eng. is the project director.

Client: City of Toronto Prime consultant, engineering design, construction administration: Associated Engineering (Chris Caers, P.Eng., Bill De Angelis, P.Eng., Rick Swinton, Krys Pioro, P.Eng., Frank Dolling, P.Eng., Rada Djunisijevic, P.Eng., Mike Dupre, Patrick Zhao, P.Eng., Paul Shi, P.Eng., Caroline Korn, P.Eng.) Contractor: Bondfield Construction June/July 2011

p14-27 CCE JuneJuly11 STD Features.indd 27

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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transportation

GLENMORE TRAIL INTERCHANGE A temporary flyover in Calgary was designed for disassembly and was constructed in just five months.

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transportation

ISL ENGINEERI NG AND L AND SERVICES/CH2M HI LL

FOR OVER A DECADE THE CITY OF CALGARY wanted

Reconfigured interchange, with roundabout access ramps to detour bridge (at right) over Glenmore Trail.

Keith Walker, Peak Experience Imagery.

to do something to ease the traffic congestion that was holding up 70,000 vehicles a day at the intersection of an expressway -- Glenmore Trail -- with 37 Street SW. The junction in the southwest of the city was controlled by signals, which led to long line-ups of vehicles on either side.

In 2009, the city contracted ISL Engineering and Land Services and CH2M HILL to plan and design a grade separated interchange at the "G37" junction. However, problems arose because Glenmore Trail may eventually become part of the southwest ring road being completed around Calgary.

The ring road is owned by the province, and with the southeast section under construction only the southwest quadrant remains to be built.

The uncertainty about the Glenmore Trail and 37 Street intersection meant there was a risk that if an interchange was constructed, it might soon have to be removed to make way for the ring road’s final design. The new interchange could become just a throwaway.

Disassembly and reuse As a solution ISL/CH2M HILL developed a plan to construct a temporary, low-cost bridge over Glenmore Trail about 250 metres to the east of the existing junction i.e. away from the critical land area. The two-lane bridge, approximately 44 metres long, is accessed by two roundabout ramps.

This simple plan had practical advantages. The flyover will serve as a detour for traffic when the final plans are available for this intersection; the design can be re-used, and the bridge itself was designed to be disassembled and reused.

By April 2010 Calgary City Council had approved the plans for the temporary overpass and the project was begun.

Design to completion took only five months. The bridge superstructure itself was constructed in just 23 days. It opened on September 11 that year -- a record time for an interchange in Calgary.

Shared risk The speed of the project was partly due to design innovations, but was also due to the way the project was managed, which involved partnering and “integrated project delivery.”

Dr. George Jergeas, P.Eng. of the University of Calgary was the facilitator for this process. continued on page 26 June/July 2011

p28-40 CCE JuneJuly11 G37&Business1.indd 29

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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continued from page 25

Keith Walker, Peak Experience Imagery.

transportation

page 28

With other project delivery approaches such as design-bid-build, the parties are first concerned with identifying and mitigating every risk as it affects them. But on this project the focus was on sharing the risks as a whole, and on first identifying and agreeing on the project goals and how to achieve them together. Regular “health check” meetings were held to maintain the trust between the team.

ISL Engineering

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June/July 2011

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transportation Risks were shared. For example, a high voltage transmission line needed to be relocated, but the timetable for approving the relocation by the Alberta Utilities Board was not known at the time construction proposal calls went out. Consequently, the construction contract provided for a time extension without costs if the utilities board did not grant the application.

Importantly, as soon as the contractor and subcontractors were selected they were involved in the design and worked with the client and consultants to pool their expertise.

Spread footings, surplus girders and precast panels Because the interchange is a temporary structure, the design team found important ways of saving time and costs.

First, they founded the bridge on spread footings that rest on mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) embankments. The earth is stabilized using a geo-grid mesh. This approach eliminated the need for constructing pile foundations and abutment walls -- elements that would have had to remain behind after the bridge is disassembled.

Second, the design team knew of some surplus prestressed concrete girders that were available. With minor remedial work, these were well suited to the temporary interchange. The design was configured to adapt to the girders.

Third, the design uses full-depth, full-width precast concrete deck panels. The deck is over 19 metres wide, and each panel is 19.3 by 2.5 metres in plan by 225 millimetres thick. The panels are set in place quickly and are attached individually to the girders, with small closure pours at the joints.

Reduced exhaust fumes Today, commuters in Calgary have their journey cut by an average of seven minutes thanks to the temporary overpass.

The associated exhaust emissions from idling vehicles have been eliminated.

Calgary has a bridge that can be “recycled” and used at another location when needed. The project also shows how quickly and effectively a construction project can proceed when the different players agree to work collaboratively.

CCE Client: City of Calgary, Transportation Infrastructure Prime consultant: ISL Engineering and Land Services (Calvin T. McClary, P. Eng., Jim Hanley, P. Eng.) ; CH2M HILL Canada (Andrew Boucher, P. Eng.) Partnering facilitator: Dr. George Jergeas, P. Eng., University of Calgary Geotechnical/materials: Thurber Engineering General contractor: PCL Other key players: Enmax Power Services (street lights/ HV transmission line relocation; Lafarge (construction); Armtec (precast girder and deck panel fabrication and installation)

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business

By Jim W. Hart, RBC

A Living Document

Advice on how to make your business plan work

O

ften consulting engineers find themselves assessing a new project to determine if it is a good fit by considering their own expertise, capacity, and the business opportunity. How often though, do these same firms spend the time making sure their own business plan is in order -- in effect, seeing how their own “financial specs” look?

Here are some questions to consider:

pertise. For instance, your banking advisor can give you advice on financing options, growth and market considerations and risk management, as well as provide access to a network of experts within the financial institution.

WHAT SHOULD THE PLAN COVER?

Once the right players are at the table, every business plan should come back to assessing these six fundamentals: WHY REVIEW YOUR FINANCIAL PLANS? Your firm -- What differentiates your firm now from the For the most part, engineering firms put a lot of time and competition? Be specific, describe why your service is effort into crafting their original business plan and then unique, your value proposition, how you target clients and they file it away after the start-up phase how you stand out. or until it is time to update their finanYour industry -- What is the current Does the firm have cial statements. industry environment? Have there However, the best business plans the right expertise required been systemic changes? Are there new should be considered living documents opportunities, risks and threats? What to grow successfully? that should be reviewed and updated are your plans to address any risks, more often than yearly. While that apsuch as diversification, downscaling proach may seem ambitious when you are in the midst of operations and lowering your leverage? managing day-to-day requirements, the benefits outweigh Your management team -- Think of past accomplishthe time that the review and update takes. ments, as well as current capabilities, limitations and succession plans. Are you proactively managing the business. Are you reviewing fixed and variable expenses, identifying ways WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? Taking a close look at your financial plan allows you to: to reduce costs, managing cash flow and managing receivAssess where you are now. Maybe you’ve entered new ables more aggressively? markets or shifted your focus; your plan should now reflect Your competition -- What is the competitive landyour evolution. Reassessing your business plan lets you scape now? What are firms of similar size doing today take a step back and really look at where you want your and what could they be doing in the future? Is new combusiness to be in five to 10 years. petition emerging?

Your business strategy -- Think about your overall busiGet back to basics. It’s always smart to return to business fundamentals. By reassessing your plan, you can deepen ness goals outside profit and revenue. Describe your obyour understanding of your business, including your capa- jectives and your plan to achieve them. Also, consider bilities, limitations and your strategic goals. Review the cur- your business strategy for the long term: what critical risk rent business environment, including the competitive land- factors could stand in the way of those goals? For inscape and market opportunities. stance, are you relying on a limited number of markets or Get credit. A business that can demonstrate a solid, well- clients? Does the firm have the right expertise required articulated business plan that reflects current realities im- to successfully grow? Is your long-term strategy backed by proves its chances of obtaining financing support. a solid financial plan?

Get prepared. Planning for the unexpected is now as Your financial strategy -- It’s important to look at your fiimportant as planning for success. By continually updating nancial forecasts and check that they are aligned realistiyour business plan, your company will have a blueprint to cally with the business strategy. A lender will test these to guide it through any business and economic cycle. assess if the company is flexible enough to withstand changHaving the right partners at the table can be invaluable, es in its business environment. You must consider how unespecially if business financing is not your main area of ex- expected events could impact the viability of the plan. continued on page 40 June/July 2011

p28-40 CCE JuneJuly11 G37&Business1.indd 33

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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opinion

A SENIOR CONSULTING ENGINEER FINDS OUT THAT SHARING WISDOM WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IS A TWO-WAY STREET.

Talking to Young Professionals 34

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June/July 2011

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opinion

B Y A N D R E W S T E E V E S , P. E N G .

It

©Illustration Works/Nick Henderson

has been said both that “youth is wasted on the young” and that “experience is wasted on the old.” These are rather cynical statements reflecting two solitudes. The good news in our industry is that the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC/AFIC) and its provincial member organizations are attempting to bridge the solitudes with a series of talks by experienced consulting managers to young professionals.

As part of this ACEC initiative I have made presentations to young professional groups (YPs) in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick. It has been an energizing experience for me, and I think it has been educational for the YPs. Speaking to young professionals has turned out to be quite different than I expected. The topics that I thought would interest the audience received polite interest, while remarks that I had included as asides or afterthoughts generated considerable discussion.

After giving seven talks to a combined audience of over 300 young consulting practitioners I do not claim to be an expert on either youth or experience. However I have several observations that I think should interest both the young professionals and their managers.

OBSERVATION 1: The young professionals are keen. Across the country in large centres and small there was good attendance at all the sessions, with lots of questions and good discussions afterwards. Other people who have presented to young professionals have also reported a high level of interest and engagement. Our young staff want to learn more about our business.

This is an important point. The future of our industry rests with its younger workers. Knowing that they want to learn about the ins and outs of the business should reassure all industry leaders. Consider the alternative. I would argue that as young professionals too many of my contemporaries were not interested enough in the business side of consulting engineering, and as a result we are experiencing poor business practices today.

Having keen young staff is a good thing.

OBSERVATION 2: Consulting engineering is an industry of

mystery. This is the polite way of stating that most young professionals do not know much about how our businesses

are run, how we find work, or how we make money.

However it is not just the young professionals who are mystified. Over many years I have presented variations of my talk to young professionals and older professionals, both consultants and clients. In many instances managers have taken as many notes as the YPs. Seeing the YPs take notes has been reassuring -- after all, they are there to learn. Seeing their managers take notes has not been reassuring –- shouldn’t they know the topic already?

One of the topics covered in my presentation is “How Consulting Engineers Make Money.” The core of my presentation is the various methods we use to charge our clients and the necessity of understanding our costs before setting prices. Most of the talk, therefore, is about the build-up of our charge-out rates. To their credit the YPs are not satisfied accepting a rate schedule: they want to know the basis for the rates.

If the average new employee is surprised to learn that clients are charged three times salary, the average client is appalled. Yet after complaining to us about our rates, some of those clients will go to a garage and pay similar rates for repairing their cars.

Over the last few years ACEC has been promoting qualifications-based selection (QBS) to clients and our industry. At times, selling QBS to fellow engineering firms has been as difficult a job as it has been selling it to clients.

When asked why they resist this Best Practice these managers reply that the client will not accept QBS. This is despite the fact that “The Best Practice” document was developed by client groups (such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities) and follows methods that clients use to hire lawyers, accountants, management consultants and new staff within their own organizations.

The best way to remove mystery is through education.

ACEC’s “Best Practice “ presentation package is part of the talk I give to YPs. OBSERVATION 3: YPs are seeking direction and growth in their careers. First let’s have a managers’ quiz: When was the last time you had a performance review with your young professionals? Was the focus of that review on past performance or on career development or both? Did you discuss technical matters or business concerns?

In my experience YPs want frequent reviews; they continued on page 30

June/July 2011

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opinion

continued from page 35

want constructive feedback; they want to discuss the future as well as their past successes (or struggles), and they want a plan.

After my presentations some YPs have contacted me with variations of this question: how do I get my manager to pay attention to me? Young engineers, architects and technologists want to know their career options and to see a draft plan for their future development. If they are asked to do repetitious tasks, is it because they need a solid grounding in basics such as record-keeping or use of design tools? Or is it because their manager is too busy to take the time to train them to do something more challenging? Some of your staff suspect the latter is the case.

What would you do if you were in the YPs' situation? Think back 15 or 20 years.

How impatient were you? Were you as agreeable then as you are today?

“

OBSERVATION 4: Most employers support education for their

young professionals. The attendees have come from large and small firms, reflecting the support that ACEC provincial associations are seeing for YP programs across Canada. Again, this is a good thing. The quicker that YPs learn our business the sooner they will apply those good practices to their projects.

However not all firms in our industry are supporting business education for their young employees. I hope the rationale is not a desire to keep staff uninformed about business issues because this would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Would you want a young employee to be pricing a project without knowing costs and expenses?

Again is this not shortsighted? Recruiters will find talent whether you hide it or not. Furthermore, an uneducated employee will be more susceptible to the siren call of a recruiter than one who has an appreciation of the bottom line.

OBSERVATION 5: Culture may change, people do not. There

has been an extensive discussion in management circles about the “generations” (“boomers," “X,” “Y,” “next,” “me,” etc.). As managers, we have been told that young people today are different and that we must understand these differences in order to manage young people effectively. I have come to the conclusion that much of the discussion has been unhelpful and a waste of time.

The questions and comments from today’s young professionals are the same as those asked by my co-workers and me when we were new to the industry. How do I get ahead? Why do we run our business this way? Why don’t clients recognize the obvious fact that our firm is better than the other guys? Why doesn’t my manager talk to me more? How do I get more compensation? Must accounting run everything?

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If I have one recommendation to make to managers in our industry it is to drop the pop psychology and to start listening to your young professionals. Every generation of young people finds ways to exclude its elders by developing its own language and culture and social networks. You did it, your parents did it and now your kids are doing it. As managers it is our responsibility to bridge the gap.

Once you start listening you will discover that the shy engineer in the corner is much like that quiet fellow in your structures course who aced all the assignments. That pushy young architect in your buildings group is similar to that funny classmate who organized the class brewery tour.

It is not helpful to allow your relations with young professionals to be governed by an article stating that “today’s youth is more self-centred than previous generations.” I grew up in the 1960s and some people were self-centred then too.

People do not change, cultures do.

IT IS NOT HELPFUL TO ALLOW YOUR RELATIONS WITH YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO BE GOVERNED

BY AN ARTICLE STATING THAT “TODAY’S YOUTH IS MORE SELF-CENTRED THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS.

”

OBSERVATION 6: We must teach young professionals about business because they are not taught it in our universities or community colleges. As noted previously, when I present “How Consulting Engineers Make Money,” most young professionals find it to be a revelation. However, I would venture to say that 90% of engineering professors would find it to be a revelation as well.

Engineering professors know little about business -- especially our business. Worse still, many of them do not think it is important. The consequences of this attitude are bad enough when their students join our firms -- at least we have a chance to educate those graduates. The most serious consequences occur when the graduates join clients such as governments, public utilities and agencies where there is no profit motive and little appreciation of business practices.

So while we are playing with fire if we do not teach young engineers, technologists and architects the basics of our business, there is a broader need to educate the engineering establishment within our educational institutions and not-for-profit clients. This should be a key priority for ACEC and its member organizations in the next few years.

FINAL OBSERVATION: I have learned as much from the young professionals as the YPs have learned from me. Start talking to them and you will both learn a great deal. CCE

Andrew Steeves, P.Eng. is a consulting engineer at exp. in Fredericton, New Brunswick and a past Chair of ACEC and ACEC-NB. E-mail Andrew.Steeves@exp.com

June/July 2011

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engineers & the law

By Tony Crossman, Charles W. Bois, Sarah D. Hansen, Miller Thomson LLP

Beware of Oil Tanks

B.C.’s Environmental Management Act shows its teeth

I

n today’s age of natural gas and electricity, we don’t often property was amended to make Ms. Aldred responsible for think about the implications of home heating oil tanks removing the tank and dealing with any contamination and the contamination that they can cause to residential arising from it. The estimate she obtained to remove the properties. We haven’t been too concerned about the impli- tank and remediate the contamination was for $60,000.

Unfortunately, the total bill for cleaning up the contamications for selling our homes.

A recent decision of the B.C. Supreme Court, however, nation was over $200,000.

Ms. Aldred sued the Colbecks for negligently misrepreshows that you and your clients should be concerned about residential fuel tanks when buying and selling prop- senting the condition of the property, bringing her suit erty because the cost implications can be in hundreds of under the B.C. Environmental Management Act (the cost recovery action). thousands of dollars.

Although the Court found that the Colbecks did not tell The case in question concerns a series of transactions.

The Colbecks purchased a property in September Ms. Aldred that the tank had been removed, the Court did find that the reasonable meaning 1998. Their offer to purchase was to be accorded to the Colbecks’ subject to a satisfactory building The small amount of statement that the tank had been inspection. The building inspector reported that there was evi- time taken and the price charged “decommissioned,” and the meanshould have raised a suspicion ing they intended to convey, was dence of a buried oil tank because that the tank had not damaged the there was a vent and fill pipe. He that the work was not properly property. That representation was recommended locating the tank done, or not done at all. incorrect. and testing for oil products.

The Colbecks had contacted The Colbecks did not act on the inspector’s recommendation until after they decid- the appropriate municipal authority, which was the local ed to sell the property in 2000. At that time, the Col- Fire Department, and followed the recommendation conbecks retained a contractor to deal with the tank. The cerning the decommissioning of the tank by retaining a contractor said that he pumped out 580 gallons of person approved by the Fire Department.

The Court did not agree with the Colbecks that what water, oil and sludge, cleaned the tank and filled the they had done was sufficient. The Court found that the cost tank with sand for $900.

Ms. Aldred bought the property in 2000. In negotiating and time it was said to have taken to do the work (one day) the contract, the Colbecks advised Ms. Aldred about the suggested the work done was inappropriate. In other words, inspection two years earlier and the work that they had the description of the work, the small amount of time taken completed which meant that no additional inspection and the price charged should have raised a suspicion that would be required. Ms. Aldred was given a copy of the the work was not properly done or not done at all.

In addition, there was no evidence that the Colbecks had 1998 inspection report.

In 2007, Ms. Aldred decided to sell the property and inquired whether any testing had been done for leaks from signed a residential property disclosure statement answer- the tank and contamination into the surrounding soil and ing “No” to the question: “Are you aware of any under- groundwater. This was despite some previous experience of the Colbecks where they had completed remediation work ground oil storage tanks on the property?”.

The following March she signed a contract of purchase for a leaking tank. and sale with a new purchaser, and her realtor advised her to check the property’s disclosure statement regarding the Sellers liable for negligent misrepresentation oil tank. When she hired a contractor to inspect the prop- The Court found the Colbecks liable for negligent misreperty, he located a tank at the same location that had been resentation. The Court also found that the Colbecks were liable under the cost recovery provisions of the Environidentified by the inspection report.

As a result, the contract of purchase and sale of the mental Management Act. continued on page 38 June/July 2011

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engineers & the law

continued from page 37

In particular, the Court concluded the Colbecks did not undertake all appropriate inquiries, consistent with good commercial customary practice at the time, in order to fall within the “innocent purchaser” exemption under the Environmental Management Act. Rather, the Court found that the Colbecks were warned about the possible problems in the building inspection report -- about the presence of an oil tank -- and did nothing to avoid that or deal with it.

Further, the failure to examine the state of the tank during the two years that the Colbecks owned the home, during which time the Court found the leakage from the tank must have continued, suggested that the Colbecks contributed to the contamination of the site.

The Colbecks did not succeed on

the doctrine of caveat emptor (buyer beware). Ms. Aldred’s questions about the property and the Colbecks’ statements that the tank had been dealt with negated this argument.

The Colbecks were found to be solely responsible for the remediation of the property. The Court left open the question of whether the Colbecks could pursue prior owners for contribution.

On the question of what Ms. Aldred recovered, the Court found that she could recover $6,000 in losses incurred in selling a property in order to acquire the Colbeck property. The Court declined to award Ms. Aldred damages for: • loss in value of the property (because there was no evidence of loss in value); • losses as a consequence of the delay in selling the property due to

the contamination, such as property taxes, utility costs and vacant home insurance (because those losses were “too remote”); • finance costs; and • general damages for discomfort, disappointment, anxiety and frustration.

The Court also found that Ms. Aldred was entitled to recover from the Colbecks the costs of remediating the contamination. However, since Ms. Aldred was now engaged in ongoing litigation with the contractor she hired to remediate the property, the Court did not discuss the quantification of these costs. Rather, the parties essentially agreed to explore the “reasonable cost” of remediating the site as part of Ms. Aldred’s litigation against her remediation contractor.

CCE The authors are partners in the Vancouver office of Miller Thomson LLP

business continued from page 33 SINCE CONSULTING ENGINEERING IS PROJECT-BASED, WHAT SHOULD FIRMS BE LOOKING AT WHEN IT COMES TO CASH MANAGEMENT?

No matter how well you manage your cash flow, things can still go wrong: a major customer delays payment or a contract falls through. One of the best ways to prepare for these unanticipated events is to have access to cash through credit. For instance, your financial advisor may suggest a revolving line of credit, which essentially tops up your operating account if it drops beneath a certain level so that you can maintain a strong operating fund. Don’t be afraid to borrow to cover a shortfall -- provided that it truly is a shortfall and not something more systemic that requires other corrective strategies.

A business plan that is reviewed and updated regularly will help guide your business decisions on a daily and longterm basis.

CCE Jim W. Hart is senior manager, client & business strategy, with RBC, in Toronto.

E-mail jim.hart@rbc.com.

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computers

By Bronwen Parsons

Map 3D

Mapping software becomes intelligent

A

utodesk unrolled its 2012 suite of products in data are not imported into the core file, but are linked to it Toronto on May 12 with an event “Make Your by what Niemec referred to as a “string.”

Most Amazing Ideas Happen,” held near Pearson “I’ve got customers who are using imagery that is 500 MB International airport. to a GB,” he said. “If I do an image insert in my drawing, it The first session in the infrastructure stream was on Au- balloons up. In contrast, with FDO technology the image toCAD Map 3D, which is a program for modeling infrastruc- isn’t being stored in my drawing file any more, so it is not ture and gives access to CAD and GIS data. going to affect that drawing file size.” Therefore the proNeal Niemec, a GIS professional based in Minnesota gram won’t be slowed down. with Autodesk, gave a hands-on presentation. He started The software’s new capabilities also give more accuracy, off by explaining that the Map 3D program, like the Civil Niemec suggested. “The fidelity of your data, of the informa3D program of which it is a part, are “BIM for Infrastruc- tion in your design, is intact as it moves through the process.” ture.” In other words, civil engineering design software has evolved in a similar way to building CAD programs to become “intelligent.” That means the design has ancillary information of many different types (for example, materials lists) attached to it, and the ancillary information changes and modifies along with the evolution of the design.

The 2012 version of Map3D has integrated within it an Autodesk program called Topobase that adds intelligent functions. According to Niemec. Topobase on its own used to sell for $8,000, so this is a bonus.

To demonstrate, Niemec created a Screen capture from Map 3D. utility model on Map3D by clicking on Industry Model Explorer. “It is an intelligent rules-based Other new features in the 2012 Map3D are a user interdata model,” he said. “It means that if I’m adding informa- face for managing its library of 4,000 coordinate systems. tion into this data model, such as a new water pipe, the The new version also has connectivity to all the ESRI geoprogram is smart enough to say, O.K., you’ve got a pipe databases. going from a house to the existing network, so you need a Niemec stressed the importance of the DWF format valve here, and you need a house connector here.” for publishing mapping files. Standing for Design Web One of the key technologies in Map3D is FDO, Feature Format, DWF is similar to a PDF file, he said, except Data Object, which helps the users to work more efficiently. where PDFs have around 7,000 dpi resolution, DWF has “What FDO allows me to do is to connect to data “natively,” around 10 million dpi resolution and is “engineering Niemec explained. “Normally you would have to import a grade information.” shape file, convert it to, say, AutoCad Object, make changes To view a DWF file a user needs the Design Review apto it and then export it, converting it back to its original file. plication from Autodesk, which is free. The Design Review That’s the way it’s been done for a very long time. But with tool allows changes to a DWF in the field and the DWF carFDO capability, I can connect to different types of databases ries embedded information, Niemec explained. “So even -- Raster files, file formats like DGN and SHP. And I can con- though it’s a GIS model, or a data model, or an AutoCAD nect to Web services.” drawing file, I have the capability to store the intelligence CCE Importantly, thanks to FDO technology, new files and behind it within the DWF.” June/July 2011

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computer products

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Densoband seals up the Champlain Bridge

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CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER 2011 MEDIA KIT

Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine provides high quality editorial coverage of the most pertinent and timely issues that affect engineers across Canada. The magazine reaches the consulting engineers who make the critical decisions on building and construction projects. This is exactly the audience you need to reach. Advertise your product or service with us. Be seen and be specified!

To order your 2011 media kit, please send along your request to Maureen Levy at (416) 510-5111 or email: mlevy@ccemag.com

professional directory Announcement Gary Komar, P.Eng., was appointed as President and Chair of Dillon Consulting Limited by the Board of Directors effective at the firm’s annual meeting on May 14, 2011. He succeeds Jim Balfour, P.Eng., MCIP. Gary started his career with Dillon after receiving his degree in civil engineering at the University of Windsor in 1978. He has managed some of the firm’s largest and most complex projects involving multidiscipline teams. He was most recently responsible for Dillon’s industry sector clients.

Dillon has been providing consulting engineering, planning, science and program management solutions to public and private sector clients across Canada and abroad since 1946, and continues its growth under strong, capable leadership.

For information on placing an advertisement in the Canadian Consulting Engineer Professional Directory, contact Maureen Levy, Senior Publisher, 416-510-5111, email: mlevy@ccemag.com Vince Naccarato, Sales Manager, 416-510-5118, email: vnaccarato@ccemag.com

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human edge

Traditions

Kim Farwell defends the iron ring ceremony

D

uring a conference for female engineers held in Toronto, some participants suggested the Iron Ring ceremony was an antiquated and chauvinistic tradition that had outlived its time. But Kim Farwell, P.Eng. rose and spoke passionately in its defence. CCE recently asked her to explain her views further.

Ms. Farwell is the immediate pastpresident of APEGGA, the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.

She is employed as operations support lead for extraction with Syncrude in Fort McMurray.

The ceremony, formally known as the “Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer,” was formulated by English writer Rudyard Kipling in 1922 at the reKim Farwell quest of H.E.T. Haultain and past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada. Participants make promises (the Obligation), and are given the iron ring to wear on the little finger of their working hand.

The ritual is still held on a voluntary basis for engineering graduates in universities across Canada (Wikipedia).

Q. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THE IRON RING CEREMONY IS STILL AN IMPORTANT TRADITION?

It is a ceremony that is unique to Canada, unique to Canadian engineers, and has some very significant historical references.

One of the things I will say up front, though, is that the ceremony and the Obligation are intended to be secret.

Some Camps have recently chosen to open the ceremony to the families of the obligated engineers. But the family is asked not to take pictures or use voice recorders, and they are told that the ceremony is secret.

There is still a school of thought that even talking about the ceremony and making it more public is not in the best interests of the Obligation.

But the evidence I saw in the meeting in Ontario was that we’re going to do ourselves a disservice by not publicizing some aspects of the history and about the brother and sisterhood that engineers join when they have gone through the 46

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

ceremony. That obligation that we participate in gives us a higher sense of our relevance to society.

Q. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE WHO ARGUE THAT WE’RE IN A DIFFERENT MILLENNIUM AND IT IS TIME TO SHED THESE KINDS OF RITUALS?

I would ask them, Why? Why would you not be honoured to be part of an organization that has this deeply entrenched history? Because the Obligation is no less relevant today, though the types of words used are not necessarily how we would say the same thought.

The thing that I think people get caught up in is the reference to a Biblical passage. But it’s not a religious ceremony. Kipling uses the Bible no differently than any of the literary greats use it as a reference. So instead of writing a paragraph about the ceremony, he wrote a poem (which is public) that referred to the Gospel passage about sisters Mary and Martha, with our profession as the sons of Martha. For his time this would be a very strong reference and extremely complimentary to engineers in the context of the society in which he participated.

Q. DO YOU THINK THE CEREMONY SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY CHANGED?

I don’t think the ceremony itself should change at all. But the words we say around it and about it, and how we help people to understand what its relevance is historically and in today’s context can definitely be improved.

It’s not chauvinistic. It just uses the proper English pronoun that you use to describe a human being, which is “he.” Rudyard Kipling wouldn’t write in the terms of “they,” which is not proper English, because he wrote it in 1922. Anything written in that timeframe would be written in that form.

To me, as I say, the relevance and the context is more important than whether the words specifically reflect today’s time, because hopefully this ceremony is still in existence in 1,000 years.

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