finishing touches
“When I come to do a final inspection, I’ll know right away if that tree was watered properly or not.” Announcing Steels as a dealer of Owens Corning Roofing Insulation Products
Steels is now a full line dealer of extruded polystyrene insulation products supplied by Owens Corning including Foamular®. Foamular® Extruded Polystyrene Insulation maintains its thermal resistance over time. Its exceptional moisture resistance and high compressive strength make it an excellent choice for an energy-efficient and durable building envelope. *The colour PINK is a registered trademark of Owens Corning. © 2010 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.
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Your Building Materials experts.
82 | spring 2012
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— Chris Enders, superintendent of parks and facilities management, City of Fort Saskatchewan chain—from nurseries to end users like municipalities—recording data. The tree would be tagged at the nursery and the data collection system passed to the wholesaler when the tree is purchased. The wholesaler would pass it on to the contractor who can eventually pass it all on to the owner. “By the time the tree lands in the municipality, there could be six or seven years’ worth of data that travels with it in the database,” Maat says. “The only thing that changes is the rights as to who can append or query that data.” That’s an idea with great appeal to Enders, who says that he’d prefer to know the entire histories of city trees and would be more likely to choose trees that come with data. Eventually, he’d like to see developers, who have to provide two years of maintenance for trees before turning them over to the city, using this type of system. “When I come to do a final inspection, I’ll know right away if that tree was watered properly or not,” he says. “If it wasn’t, I’m not accepting the tree.” Collecting data can also benefit the contractor caring for trees on client land, providing an easy way to prove that maintenance has taken place. Maat’s company works with clients to customize the database, which is accessible from anywhere. After that, clients simply log in to view and analyze the information. In Fort Saskatchewan, the ease of using the system is leading to tags being placed on everything from playground equipment to garbage cans. Says Enders: “It’s going to take a few years to tag everything that I want tagged.”