November/December 2016 Vol. 14 No.1
2016 VRCA AwARDs of ExCEllENCE PM 40063056
AmAndA FArrell, CeO PArtnershiPs BC | COnstruCtiOn sAFety Buildex VAnCOuVer 2017 PreView
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Inside 06 Connections
Partnerships BC is busier than ever and president and CeO Amanda Farrell is looking to build on the P3 model success to deliver important i nfrastructure projects.
november/december | Volume 14 no 1
PUBLISHER
MANAGING EdItoR CoNtRIBUtING wRItERS
dan Gnocato dang@mediaedge.ca Cheryl mah Adrian Bartha tracey Block
17 Special Supplement
robin Brunet
2016 VrCA Awards of excellence
susanna Chu tyler Galbraith richard Gilbert david A. de Groot Chris mcleod
Industry focus
dan maclennan Alison scott
11 Construction Safety
data driven safety lowering injury rates Growing a safety Community
B.C./ALBERtA SALES
Departments
PuBlished By
04 Message from the Editor
PRESIdENt Kevin Brown
14 the Legal file
interpreting exclusions Acting as the Owner’s Agent
50 Industry News
dan Gnocato tel: 604.549.4521 ext. 223
vANCoUvER offICE 2221 hartley Ave. Coquitlam, B.C. V3K 6w9 tel: 604.549.4521 Fax: 604.549.4522 toRoNto offICE 1000-5255 yonge st. toronto, On m2n 6P4 tel: 416.512.8186 Fax: 416.512.8344 Copyright 2016 Canada Post Canadian publications mail sales publication agreement no. 40063056 — issn 1710-0380 return all undeliverable Canadian addresses to: suite 1000 — 5255 yonge street, toronto, Ontario, m2n 6P4
Printed in CAnAdA Construction Business is published six times a year by mediaedGe Communications inc. as follows: January/ February, march/April, may/June, July/August, september/ October, november/december. Yearly Subscription: CANAdA 1YR $35* 2YR $60* USA 1YR $60 2YR $110 INt 1 YR $85 2YR $150 *Plus applicable taxes REPRINtS: No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form — print or electronic — without written permission from the publisher. Requests for permission to reprint any portion of this magazine should be sent to the publisher. Circulation inquiries: 416.512.8186 ext. 232 circulation@mediaedge.ca
PRoUd SPoNSoR of
Cover Photo
the uBC student union Building won Bird Construction the VrCA Gold general contractor award for a project over $45 million. Photo credit: ema Peter
FeBruAry 15 & 16, 2017
Construction Business is British Columbia and Alberta’s construction magazine. each issue provides timely and pertinent information to contractors, architects, developers, consulting engineers, and municipal governments throughout both provinces. Complimentary copies are sent bi-monthly to all members of the Architectural institute of B.C., B.C. Construction Association, B.C. roadbuilders and heavy Construction Association, Consulting engineers of B.C., Construction specifications Canada — B.C. Chapter, Greater Vancouver home Builders’ Association, B.C. ready-mixed Concrete Association, independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C., urban development institute of B.C. and Vancouver regional Construction Association.
nOVemBer 8 & 9, 2017
mArCh 21 & 22 2017
Editor’s Note
Bright Outlook
A
nother year end is upon us and once again, I have to wonder where the time has gone. This year has been a whirlwind of keeping up with the industry. Despite the global uncertainty, B.C. has been leading the country in terms of economic growth and by all accounts, the construction industry is busy. Partnerships BC is busier than ever, according to president and CEO Amanda Farrell. She took over the role in 2014, while also juggling being project director on the highly anticipated Evergreen Line. Since the agency was founded in 2002, it has successfully developed a centre of expertise on the P3 model that is sought after from across the country. With infrastructure spending a priority for the Canadian government, the outlook for more large and complex projects is bright.
Also inside this issue is our annual look at construction safety. Industry experts discuss adopting technology to improve safety and the impact of the Certificate of Recognition in B.C. The Alberta Construction Safety Association continues its efforts to build a safe community with positive results. Make sure to take a look at all the winners of the 2016 VRCA Awards of Excellence. Bird Construction took home the VRCA Gold general contractor award for a project over $45 million for the UBC Student Union. The project also earned multiple silver awards. Two other projects that stood out this year were the Surrey Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre and the Audain Art Museum in Whistler. Finally, we want to make a special note that three long-standing leaders in the B.C.
construction industry have announced their retirements. We wish BC road builders president Jack Davidson, ICBA president Philip Hochstein and BCCA president Manley McLachlan all the best. It has been a long and productive working relationship — thank you for your time, insights and support.
Cheryl Mah Managing Editor
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sPeCiAl AdVertisinG FeAture
BullyinG And hArAssment in COnstruCtiOn As members of the construction industry, you are professionals. you have specialized skills required for your trade, know your job well and you understand the importance of working as a team to get the job done right. you believe that bullying is simply not part of the job. you might not think bullying and harassment is a problem in your workplace, but what constitutes bullying and harassment can be a grey area. Attitudes or behaviours that are laughed off as just joking or teasing among workers on a jobsite may actually be inappropriate or offensive. CoLLABoRAtING to dEvELoP PREvENtIoN RESoURCES to help prevent bullying in the workplace, the BC Building trades and Construction labour relations Association of BC approached worksafeBC to develop some resources for industry. the result was a video series focusing on the impact of bullying on workers in construction. the videos depict different bullying and harassment scenarios, such as heckling a new recruit, playing pranks on a co-worker, and making fun of others. these scenarios are fictional but you’ve probably seen similar situations play out on your worksite. it may seem harmless, but if you’ve ever been bullied then you know it can
have a negative impact on your work and the work environment. KNowING wHAt to LooK foR so how can you tell if someone is crossing the line? According to worksafeBC, bullying and harassment is any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person towards a worker that could cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated. examples of this include: • Verbal aggression or insults • harmful hazing or initiation practices • Vandalizing personal belongings • spreading hurtful rumours. it’s important to note intent never determines whether the behaviour is bullying or harassment. regardless of how the person meant it to be taken, if it humiliates or intimidates someone, it can be deemed a serious offense. wHAt YoU CAN do if you’re an employer, your workplace needs to have policies and procedures in place to address bullying and harassment. if you already have a policy, it may be as simple as updating it to include specifics about bullying and
harassment. if you don’t have a policy, you need to develop one that does the following: • Provides a clear definition of bullying and harassment (including specific examples). • includes a statement on the position your workplace takes on bullying and harassment. • defines how incidents of bullying and harassment will be managed. • implements procedures for workers to report workplace bullying and harassment. • trains workers and supervisors in how to recognize and respond to bullying and harassment. if you’re a worker, you’re responsible for following your employer’s policies and procedures, including reporting any bullying and harassment you observe or experience. most importantly, though, you have the responsibility to not engage in bullying and harassment. the next time you’re about to make a joke or participate in a seemingly innocent prank, ask yourself how the other person is going to feel about it. worksafeBC has put together a tool kit of resources that include procedure templates for employers, frequently asked questions handouts, and posters. these free resources, as well as the video series about bullying and harassment in construction, can be found at worksafebc.com/preventbullying.
Bullying in construction
It’s not part of the job Bullying and harassment can take many forms. Know what to look for. • Verbal aggression or insults • Harmful hazing or initiation practices • Vandalizing personal belongings • Spreading malicious rumours
Help prevent workplace bullying and harassment. Find resources and view our video series at worksafebc.com/preventbullying.
Connections
Building P3 Expertise By Cheryl mAh
P
artnerships BC president and CEO Amanda Farrell has been involved in major capital projects in B.C. for more than 15 years, including the Millennium Line, Abbotsford Regional Hospital and South Fraser Perimeter Road. But without a doubt, the highlight of her career is the Evergreen Line. The 11-kilometre extension to the existing SkyTrain light rapid transit system links the communities of Port Moody, Coquitlam and Burnaby with a direct connection to the existing Millennium Line. When the Evergreen Line opens on December 2, 2016, Metro Vancouver will have the longest fully-automated and driverless rapid transit system in the world. “It’s a once in a lifetime to be involved in a project like this from beginning to end. I feel tremendously proud and I’m excited to see how it will change people’s lives in the Tri-Cities,” says Farrell, who has been a part of the Evergreen Line project team since 2007, becoming project director in 2012. Juggling double duty as project director and CEO has kept Farrell extremely busy. As she wraps up the Evergreen Line, she is looking forward to concentrating on her role at Partnerships BC. As CEO and president, Farrell provides leadership in various areas supported by a senior executive team. The agency is governed by a board
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of directors and has a staff of about 30 with offices based in Vancouver and Victoria. “Our role is really to bring together the needs of government with private sector expertise to get jobs done,” says Farrell. “We work with stakeholders to make sure we’re successful in delivering our mandate, which is to plan and procure large complex projects that are often publicprivate partnerships (P3).” Since Partnerships BC was formed, it has built an impressive track record of success in the innovative delivery of public infrastructure. Serving public sector clients, it has developed local expertise and set best practices in structuring and implementing P3 projects. Over the last decade, the P3 market has grown significantly in Canada with B.C. leading the way. B.C.’s partnership projects have earned multiple provincial, national and international awards of recognition for innovation and excellence from the engineering and construction communities as well as the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP). Farrell says the response from the private sector has been positive and strengthened over the years with the strong track record of P3 success in the province. “We have a really vibrant market. When we started back in 2002, there was not much competition. Now it’s common for us to see 6-10
November/december 2016
responses at RFQ stage. We are seeing a lot of interest in our projects,” she says. The scale and complexity of P3 projects has also driven innovation within the design and construction communities with proponents often thinking outside of the box to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget. “We encourage and leave enough room for private sector innovation. We try to specify where we can what the performance is we’re try-
Connections
ing to achieve and then let ideas flow as to how to get there,” says Farrell. “Innovation is a central part of a P3.” B.C.’s active P3 market has attracted international attention and players, but Farrell stresses participation from local B.C. companies remain high. “That’s important to us — to ensure B.C. based companies are involved,” she says. “In the last couple of years, we’ve been offering business to business sessions where we can meet with local companies to explain how the model works and how medium and small sized companies can get involved. We’re also working with associations to make sure members understand how to access the opportunities.” At any given time, the agency has projects in business development, procurement or under construction. Current projects include the North Island Hospitals and BC Children’s and BC Women’s Redevelopment, both under construction. In procurement is Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment, Valleyview Health Centre and the George Massey tunnel replacement. “Our focus has been health and transportation and increasingly accommodations – schools, universities,” notes Farrell. The agency is also supporting the development of three major transit projects in the business case stage: the Pattullo Bridge replacement and the Broadway and Surrey rapid transit lines. “I can’t remember when we’ve been as busy as we’ve been in the last 12 months,” says Farrell, who joined the agency in 2004 and has held different positions. She was appointed president and CEO in 2014. “I feel very lucky with this job – no two days are the same. It’s been a real privilege to work on these incredible projects that are quite transformative,” she says. Farrell brings many strengths to her role including experience in procurement, project management and transportation. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, the 47-year-old graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences from the University of Reading. She started postgraduate research at the University of Bath but left to join the Ministry of Defense where she worked in the Ministry’s conservation office. She eventually became involved in various other government areas including overseas operations, legislation, NATO policy and procurement for the navy. In 1998, Farrell moved to Vancouver and joined the crown corporation Rapid Transit Project 2000 (RTP 2000) that was building the Millennium Line. In 2002, she became a part of the project team working on the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and 8
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November/december 2016
HIRE OUR MEMBERS! We stand behind our members and their work
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Connections
Cancer Centre, the first P3 hospital project for Partnerships BC. While working on the Abbotsford project, Farrell got to know the agency better and was attracted by the P3 model. “I really love working on projects and realized the breadth of opportunities with Partnerships BC,” recalls Farrell. “I liked the concept of developing a centre of expertise in planning and procuring major projects.” She first began working on projects within the hospital sector such as the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care before moving to the transportation sector to provide oversight on projects including the South Fraser Perimeter Road. “I enjoy working with people to resolve issues and challenges and to structure projects in a way that provides the best value for taxpayers,” says Farrell. Over its 14 years in operations, Partnerships BC has participated in 48 projects, with an investment value of $18 billion. These projects deliver significant benefits to British Columbians across the health, transportation and rapid transit, social housing, energy and accommodations sectors. “What many people don’t know about us is of those 48 projects, quite a few have happened outside of B.C.,” notes Farrell, citing advisory and planning work done in Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alberta, Nunavut and Ontario. “People are coming to Partnerships BC for our expertise.”
The agency’s role varies depending on the individual project. It provides services ranging from business case development and procurement management to advisory services during the design, construction and operations of capital assets. Aging infrastructure will ensure steady demand for more new projects and given the fiscal realities, P3s offer a viable option. But Farrell stresses not all projects are appropriate for the model. “Our job is to look at a complex project and match the best value for money — the best method of procurement which can be a P3 but we also do a significant number of design-build projects,” she says. “We often say probably 15-20 per cent of the value of projects is good candidates for P3s – that means most projects aren’t. We have a matrix of criteria that we look at when we consider a project to see if it’s a potential for a P3.” An important factor for a successful P3 project is the proper risk transfer to the private sector. Public interest is protected by ensuring private sector companies are held accountable if they fail to meet their contractual obligations. Farrell says the Evergreen Line is a good example where SNC Lavalin took on the risk of the tunnel boring challenges. “The procurement was structured around the tunnel risk and they are responsible for any extra costs or delays, which benefits taxpayers.”
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Talk to a CMW Risk Advisor today. Call 604 294 3301. cmwinsurance.com 700 – 1901 Rosser Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5C 6R6
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November/december 2016
Moving forward, she says the outlook for the P3 opportunities is good, especially in light of the federal government’s focus on infrastructure spending to create long-term economic growth. The Liberal government has also announced the establishment of a new Canada Infrastructure Bank, to be launched next year, which is intended to attract billions in private investment for public infrastructure projects. “Infrastructure is a priority for the Canadian federal government, which is great news to get projects moving and built,” says Farrell, who sits on the CCPPP board of directors and Women’s Infrastructure Network steering committee. “The challenge is going to be to have enough capacity to deliver — it will be interesting to see how projects will be rolled out.”
Construction Safety
Data Driven Safety A competitive edge in construction By AdriAn BArthA
Introduction While the rest of our business functions like BIM, project management, and accounting have moved on to well-established systems to report performance, safety has largely remained behind the scenes and behind the times. As an industry, we have made great improvements in safety performance, but despite our best efforts there are several factors that have led us to this point: remote workforces, costly administrative processes, limited IT resources, high personnel turnover and the list goes on. The good news is that we’re on the cusp of a revolution in safety analytics in 2017 that will finally make all our paper and Excel records work for us (and not the other way around). Data driven decisions are often better decisions. Data driven companies are already more profitable than their competitors and the safety analytics revolution will strengthen the divergence among companies that use data to their advantage vs. those stuck in the status quo. CEOs and other top executives are the only people that can drive broader business changes over the long term in companies. Without their buy-in, any cross-organizational initiative has a short life expectancy. Without great reporting, rich with insights and supporting facts, it is difficult to earn their support. What’s really at stake is the ability to evolve safety performance in businesses and demonstrate it to customers, buyers, employees and community.
of time and effort but it’s not going far enough. No longer will safety directors painfully report one sliver of historical performance months or quarters after the fact. Instead, construction executives will already be aware of real-time performance across every part of their organization and come to meetings ready to discuss insights and recommended actions. Risks such as near misses that have a potential cost to the company will be tracked and aggregated. Damage to equipment will be trended and traceable to the job. High performing supervisors will be clearly visible with two clicks. The velocity of continuous improvement in these organizations will evolve, and so will their performance and safety cultures. This transformation will lead to three key changes for safety teams, executives, and customers:
1.full Cycle Safety Full cycle safety means that continuous improvement systems of plan-do-check-act are operationalized at every level of the organization and actively monitored. Based on our experience with more than 120 construction companies in Canada in the last four years, most construction companies use a maximum 5-10 per cent of their safety data. No one is perfect, but does that mean we’re wasting our time, lazy or simply missing an opportunity? We argue it’s the latter. Starting in 2017 we will have the supporting tools to do that easily. No PhDs or costly IT projects necessary.
Safety Analytics in 2017
2. Executive Involvement
Thankfully, many construction businesses across Canada are gearing up for a revolution that will turn these challenges on their head. A real-time dashboard that shows incident or injury rates automatically? That would save a lot
CEOs and presidents have been reluctant to get involved in how safety data is collected and this is understandable — we have not given it to them in a real-time, digestible way like they get from other parts of the business. Good data
should roll up to the company’s executive team to illustrate performance and trends at every level of the organization so that they are aware of the three-four backwards and forward-looking KPIs that truly spell out and price the risk across their business. There is another benefit of increasing executive involvement with good safety data: it directly impacts the front-line workforce and increasing employee participation in safety helps to generate new data, ideas and insights that can further interest owners and buyers. The key technologies needed to achieve these things are already underway: “Facebook-easy” mobile apps to engage the workforce in safety activities and advanced analytics to drive real insights into performance for data-hungry executives. Across our construction clients that have adopted mobile applications for safety tasks, we’ve seen an average 99 per cent per year increase in workforce participation in safety management.
3. Client opportunities Our customers, buyers and project owners are increasingly concerned about their reputations and brand value. As an industry, we understand that our license to operate is based on returning our colleagues to their families safely at the end of the day. In turn, pressure is put on us to accurately report on safety activities. Multiply this across many buyers or customers and we have a highly administrative and reactive process. Many companies are already taking a different approach to reporting safety performance to their clients. They’re making it a regular part of how they do business, and improving this reporting with best-of-breed cloud software. In other words, if safety is important to customers and to the company, then let’s use it as an opportunity to differentiate ourselves and prove that in what we do every day In a very competitive construction environment, creating and communicating a new competitive differentiator can mean the difference between status quo and long-term success. By adopting easy-to-use technology, improved safety performance can be that competitive advantage. Adrian Bartha is the CEO of eCompliance, which he joined in 2012 after experiencing first-hand how a workplace incident affected a power and utilities company which he led as a member of the board of directors. To learn more about how to turn safety into a competitive advantage, visit www.ecompliance.com.
November/december 2016
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Construction Safety
Lowering Injury Rates COr certification participation showing positive results. By dr. Chris mCleOd
C
ompanies that sign up for a voluntary audit of their occupational health and safety practices called the Certificate of Recognition (COR) have lower rates of serious injuries leading to time off work. The Partnership for Work, Health and Safety, a research partnership between WorkSafeBC (the workers’ compensation system in B.C.) and the University of BC, assessed how participation in the program affected companies’ injury rates from 2003 to 2014, and found that participation is associated with lower injury rates, especially in construction companies, as well as manufacturing, forestry, and oil, gas, and mining companies.
About CoR The Partners in Injury and Disability Prevention Program, established by WorkSafeBC, recognizes and rewards employers who exceed legislative and regulatory requirements in implementing occupational health and safety and return-to-work programs. WorkSafeBC first piloted the program in 2002 in the construction sector, then expanded to the oil, gas, and mining sector in 2004 and to all industry sectors in 2006. Employers who pass an audit of their safety practices receive COR certification and are eligible for a rebate of 10 per cent of their WorkSafeBC premium.
How we did the study We looked at differences in rates of three types of injury between COR certified and non-certified companies: short and long-term disability and fatalities; serious injuries; and health care only (i.e. no time off work) over the years 2003 to 2014. We included firms in five industry sectors: construction, forestry, oil, gas, and mining, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing.
what we found Certified companies had, on average, a 17 per cent lower short and long-term disability and fatality (STD, LTD, and fatality) injury rate between 2003 and 2014 when compared to non-certified companies, and a 19 per cent lower serious injury rate. We found no difference in the health care only injury rate, possibly indicating that the COR program may be more effective at recognizing and controlling the types of risks that lead to more serious injuries. 12
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When we looked at the construction sector separately, we found that certified companies had a 12 per cent lower STD, LTD, and fatality rate and a 13 per cent lower serious injury rate when compared to non-certified companies. After 2009, the reductions in individual years in both injury rates were greater — consistently around 20 per cent. The STD, LTD, and fatality rate reduction in the construction sector was similar to the reductions in forestry, and oil, gas, and mining companies, although these companies had an even greater reduction in the rate of serious injuries. The reductions in both rates were larger in manufacturing, but not in the transportation and warehousing sector, where we found no reduction in injury rates. Overall, the largest drops were found in the most hazardous sectors — construction and forestry. This work shows that COR certification is associated with lower injury rates and that the COR audit process is effective at identifying lower risk companies, but further research is needed to show whether participation in the COR program actually led to the lower injury rates. We are now working to extend this work specifically in the construction sector as WorkSafeBC has provided funding for us to work with the BC Construction Safety Alliance to assess and develop their COR audit data. Similar COR programs have been introduced in other provinces, including Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We have recently received funding from the Alberta Ministry of Labour to evaluate the effect of Alberta’s COR program on firm work injury rates in that province. More about this evaluation is available on the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety web site at: http://pwhs.ubc.ca/research/policy-and-program-evaluation/certificate-of-recognition-audit-program/ Dr. Chris McLeod is an assistant professor and the co-director of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and an associate scientist at the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto. His research focuses on the program and policy evaluation of occupational health policies and practices and on the causes and consequences of work-related injury and disease.
Construction Safety
Growing a Safety Community By dAn mAClennAn
H
ere at the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA), we believe that investment in safety training and education will create a more productive and effective working environment. A company can increase its competitiveness, improve its performance and save money. We also believe, that together the industry can create a community that empowers all employees and employers to make workplaces safer; enabling everyone to return home unharmed at the end of each and every working day. Health and safety are critical components for the success of any company working in construction anywhere in the world. It forms the foundation of a company’s business plan and can determine the kind of culture you want to create among your employees. Almost 11,000 companies in Alberta have their Certificate of Recognition (COR) or Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR). And more than half of these companies have achieved their COR/SECOR through the ACSA. A COR/SECOR shows that an employer’s health and safety management system has been evaluated by a certified auditor and meets provincial standards established by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety. It provides an employer with the necessary tools to create a proactive health and safety culture in the workplace, while also reducing the risk and loss associated with workplace incidents. This, in turn, can lower Workers’ Compensation Board - Alberta (WCB) rates and may qualify a company for rebates, through the voluntary program, Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR). Since the establishment of the ACSA in 1988, safety performance in Alberta’s construction industry has improved. According to the WCB, the past 28 years has seen a decrease in losttime claims (claims resulting in a worker’s time off work) from more than 7,100 to just under 4,800. That’s a reduction of more than a third. And the number of lost time days (the number of days a worker has off work) has decreased by more than half from more than 381,800 to now just 187,417. These figures are made even more impressive by the fact there are now 45,000 more companies working in Alberta’s construction industry than there were in 1988. To add to this growing investment in safety, people are taking ACSA’s courses to improve their skill and knowledge in safety, and to increase their competitive edge while looking for work. It is reassuring to see that even in times of economic change and hardship, people are
investing in what is important to their business and to themselves. More than 13,000 people have forged a career as a designated safety leader since we started the National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO) and Health and Safety Administrator (HSA) designation programs. These designations indicate that a person has the necessary knowledge across various construction-related health and safety management principles. When a person completes these programs, they are ready to begin the career-long process of becoming a leader in construction safety. Numerous leading companies have also built the NCSO and HSA designations into their training programs for other staff, managers, and leaders, demonstrating an organization-wide commitment to safety Every year in March, we hold our annual NCSO Professional Development Conference, which attracts more than 300 safety professionals from all over Alberta. Over March 9 and 10, 2017 in Edmonton, under the theme of Connect. Communicate. Collaborate, the conference will provide a valuable opportunity for construction industry workers to improve their contribution towards their company’s safety performance and obtain their NCSO/HSA designation.
Just as the conference theme suggests, we too are pleased to connect, communicate and collaborate with this growing safety community. Witnessing companies incorporate health and safety as not just a priority, but as a core value of who they are and what they do, is what drives us towards our vision of seeing Alberta’s construction environment being the safest anywhere. People who work for a company with a strong safety culture tend to take those values with them beyond the workplace and apply them while on the road or in the home, and instill the same important values among future generations. Together, in partnership with our growing safety community, we will continue to work with industry in championing the safety spirit, influencing positive change, and instilling a culture of safety throughout the province. Dan MacLennan is executive director of Alberta Construction Safety Association. With over 36,000 active members, the ACSA is the largest safety association in the province. Visit www.youracsa.ca for information on the NCSO Professional Development Conference and to also find out if your company is a member and eligible for discounted courses, free safety program resources, and PIR rebates.
November/december 2016
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13
Legal File
Interpreting Exclusions ledcor Construction ltd. v. northbridge indemnity insurance Co. By dAVid A. de GrOOt And AlisOn sCOtt
I
n Ledcor Construction Ltd. v. Northbridge Indemnity Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) (a) clarified the standard of review for interpreting standard form contracts and (b) interpreted a faulty workmanship exclusion in a builders risk policy (the Policy). In construction and insurance, the former principle is important because of the prevalence of standard form contracts in those industries. The latter principle, while creating a simple interpretive framework, leaves factual uncertainty as to whether costs for physical damage in any given case are “to make good faulty workmanship” or are “resulting physical damage”.
facts Station Lands Ltd. (Station) retained Ledcor to construct EPCOR Tower in Edmonton. During construction, the tower’s windows were dirtied. Station hired Bristol Cleaning (Bristol) to “[p]rovide all necessary equipment, manpower, [and] materials required to complete a construction clean” of the building’s windows”. Unfortunately, Bristol used improper equipment and techniques and damaged the windows. Station and Ledcor claimed against the policy for the replacement costs of the windows. The insurers denied coverage based on the following exclusion: This policy section does not insure: (b) The cost of making good faulty workmanship, construction materials or design unless physical damage not otherwise excluded by this policy results, in which event this policy shall insure such resulting damage. According to the insurers the cost of “making good faulty workmanship” included the cost to replace the windows and was excluded. Ledcor and Station claimed that only the cleaning was “faulty workmanship” and that the window damage was resulting physical damage and accordingly covered.
trial and Appellate decisions The trial judge held the exclusion was ambiguous and both parties’ interpretations were plausible. Applying the doctrine of contra proferentem (interpretation against the draftsman), he found in favour of the insureds. The Alberta Court of Appeal applied a correctness standard of review and reversed the trial decision. According to the Court of Appeal, the exclusion had to exclude physical damage of some sort because it was an exception to coverage for physical loss and damage. To determine whether physical damage related to “the cost of making 14
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good faulty workmanship” or “resulting physical damage”, the Court of Appeal created a three-part physical or systemic connectedness test. Applying this test, the Court of Appeal held that the damage to the windows related to the cost of making good faulty workmanship. Ledcor appealed to the SCC.
tHE SCC dECISIoN the Standard of Review The SCC had previously held that, subject to certain exceptions, contractual interpretation was a question of mixed fact and law subject to the palpable and overriding error standard of review. However, appellate decisions had questioned whether that standard applied to standard form contracts. Resolving this dispute, the SCC held that because there is no meaningful fact-driven negotiation of standard form contracts, and because any interpretation will equally apply to future cases, the proper standard of review is correctness. In the construction and insurance industries, where participants frequently rely upon standard form contracts, this ruling widens the scope of appeals for contract disputes. Further, it highlights the need to know not only the terms of the contract but also the interpretations of those terms to avoid unexpected consequences.
Interpreting the Exclusion After reaffirming the general rules for interpreting insurance policies, the SCC held that the exclusion was ambiguous. To resolve this ambiguity, the SCC reviewed the purpose of the policy to determine the parties’ reasonable expectations as to the scope of the exclusion. According to the SCC, the purpose of a builders’ risk policy is to provide certainty, stability and peace of mind for construction projects through broad coverage. Given this purpose, the insurers’ interpretation of the exclusion would “essentially deprive insureds the coverage for which they contracted”, and therefore: [T]he faulty workmanship exclusion serves to exclude from coverage only the cost of redoing the faulty work, as the resulting damage exception covers costs or damages apart from the cost of redoing the faulty work. In addition, the SCC expressly rejected the physical or systemic connectedness test, holding that it was not necessary for the “cost of making good faulty workmanship” to include physically damaged property. Overall, the SCC’s legal framework for interpreting the exclusion is simple and concise.
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Yet, even the SCC recognized that the “results that courts reach will be largely dictated by the particular circumstances of each case” and that “whether certain damage falls within the resulting damage exception to the faulty workmanship exclusion will greatly depend on the scope of the contractual obligation pursuant to which the faulty workmanship was carried out.” Accordingly, while Bristol’s scope of work was narrow — to perform the labour to clean the windows —and the physical connectedness test unnecessarily imported a property component to Bristol’s services, future cases may not have such defined distinctions. In fact, in many cases the distinction will not be factually clear. Accordingly, while the legal framework is now set, it is still possible to litigate the application of that framework based on the facts of any given project or contract. For instance, while the SCC granted leave to appeal in Acciona1, a factually more complicated decision, the SCC, after Ledcor was decided, simply referred Acciona back to the British Columbia Court of Appeal for disposition in accordance with Ledcor. It will be interesting to see what the British Columbia Court of Appeal will do with the factually more difficult case of Acciona. David de Groot is a senior associate in the litigation group at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, practicing primarily in the areas of commercial and construction litigation. Alison Scott is a junior associate in the same group, focusing on commercial and energy litigation and arbitration. 1Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc. v Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company, 2015 BCCA 347
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Legal File
Acting as the Owner’s Agent when architects and engineers are arbiters under construction contracts By tyler GAlBrAith
G
enerally, and subject to the specific terms between the owner and the architect or engineer, the architect or engineer acts as the owner’s agent at the construction site. In essence, the architect or engineer is the owner’s representative (i.e. the owner’s “eyes and ears on the job”). Generally, the architect or engineer monitors the progress of the construction and ensures that the construction is in accordance with the plans and specifications and done in a timely manner. Accordingly, architects and engineers play an integral role in the administration of construction contracts. However, in many construction contracts, architects and engineers are required to assume the role of arbiter and determine issues or disputes between the parties of varying complexity and importance. Typically, an architect or engineer will make initial interpretations and findings regarding matters in question relating to the performance of the work under the contract or the interpretation of the contract documents. Accordingly, an architect or engineer is, more often than not, the first arbiter of issues or disputes between an owner and contractor. But what are the architect’s or engineer’s duties when an issue or dispute arises and is called upon to make an interpretation or finding? As set out above, architects and engineers are retained as the agents of the owner of a project to design, supervise and administer the construction of a project. This relationship can place 16
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an architect or engineer in a delicate position. However, this does not mean that the architect or engineer must be disinterested and the fact that the architect or engineer is employed by an owner and frequently interprets its own plans, which may contain mistakes, does not disqualify the architect or engineer from making decisions on issues affecting the owner, the contractor and themselves. In some construction contracts, it is expressly provided that in making interpretations and findings the architect or engineer will not show partiality to either the owner or the contractor. However, not all contracts deal with this point expressly. The courts have held that an architect or engineer employed by an owner is required to act judicially (i.e. fairly and reasonably) when adjudicating disputes or making decisions under a construction contract. All decisions must be dictated by the architect’s or engineer’s own best judgment of the most efficient and effective way to carry out the contract. Further, architects or engineers must not be influenced by extraneous considerations and, particularly, their judgment must not be affected by the fact that they are retained and paid by the owner. Circumstances that will lead to architects or engineers being unable to act impartially include “ownership of a share in the owner’s or contractor’s company, an undertaking to the owner that the cost of the work would not exceed a stipulated sum, indebtedness to the owner, personal relationship to the
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owner and furnishing materials for the project.” A contractor will not be bound by a decision of an architect or engineer if the architect or engineer does not adhere to the provisions of the contract and acts arbitrarily, fails to exercise his or her duties in good faith or to act impartially, or makes a decision under the owner’s influence. As a corollary to this, because the owner is typically given the power to name its own architect or engineer as an arbiter or adjudicator of a contractor’s claims, the courts have held that there is an implied term in the construction contract that the owner must not interfere with the independence of the architect or engineer, meaning an owner is under a contractual duty not to influence or interfere with the architect’s or engineer’s judgment. In summary, in adjudicating disputes under a construction contract, the architect’s or engineer’s duty is to decide claims and disputes impartially, fairly, and with professional competence. Architects or engineers are required to act in an unbiased manner and their judgment cannot be affected by extraneous considerations, including the fact that they are being paid by the owner. A contractor will not be bound by determination of an architect or engineer where the architect or engineer does not act in such a manner. Tyler Galbraith is a partner at Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP, practicing in the areas of construction and commercial litigation.
2016 VRCA AwARDs of ExCEllENCE
Building Excellence
28th Annual Awards of Excellence 2016 vRCA Awards of Excellence Gold winners
General Contractors — Up to $15 Million
Electrical Contractors — over $8 Million
PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. YVR Expedited Transfer Facility - Package 2 (ETF2)
Western Pacific Enterprises GP for their contribution to the Evergreen Rapid Transit Project
General Contractors — $15 to $45 Million
Manufacturers and Suppliers
Graham Construction and Engineering LP Main Street Station Renovations
General Contractors — over $45 Million
Western Archrib for their contribution to the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre
Judges’ Award
Bird Construction Group UBC Student Union Building
Britco LP for their contribution to Bella Bella Staff Housing Project
Chairman’s trade Award — Up to $1 Million
Heritage Award
President’s trade Award — $1 to $3 Million
Construction workplace Health & Safety Innovation (sponsored by workSafeBC)
Seagate Consulting Ltd. Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre Pocklington Building Systems Ltd. Audain Art Museum
founder’s trade Award — $3 to $8 Million
Southwest Contracting Ltd. Vancouver House Buildings 1 & 2 Phase 1
director’s trade Award — over $8 Million
Gallagher Bros. Contractors Ltd. A-B Connector
Mechanical Contractors — Up to $3 Million PML Professional Mechanical Ltd. The View
Mechanical Contractors — $3 to $8 Million
Trotter & Morton Building Technologies Inc. UBC District Energy Centre
Mechanical Contractors — over $8 Million
Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. UBC DES Phase 6-9 DPS & UBC DES Phase 6&7 ETS
Electrical Contractors — Up to $2 Million
Alpine West Systems Electrical Audain Art Museum
Electrical Contractors — $2 to $8 Million Houle Electric Ltd. Northern Rockies Regional Recreational Centre
Vintage Woodworks Inc. for their contribution to MNP Tower
The Gisborne Group for Glove & Eyewear Matrices
Safety
Houle Electric Ltd. PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. The Gisborne Group McLeod Masonry International Corp. Status Electrical Corporation Western Pacific Enterprises GP Graham Construction and Engineering LP Scott Construction Group Omicron Canada Inc
Innovation & Productivity
Houle Electric Ltd. for the Connected Snow Removal Camera
Education Leadership
Ronan Deane from Graham Construction and Engineering LP
outstanding woman in Construction
Elizabeth Rowe from Canadian Turner Construction Company, Ltd.
U40 Excellence in Construction
Amit Patel from Canadian Turner Construction Company, Ltd.
Member of the Year
Division 15 Mechanical Ltd.
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DRIVINg INNoVAtIoN tHE vANCoUvER REGIoNAL CoNstruction Association’s 28th annual Awards of Excellence on October 5 was a celebration of the construction industry’s finest companies and individuals. Feeding off the momentum created by last year’s event, and with high octane musical performers adding sizzle to the evening, the 2016 Awards of Excellence increased exposure of our Silver and Gold Award winners and industry partners and ensured plenty networking time for everyone who attended. The evening was the culmination of several weeks of presentations, judging and award deliberations, a process that attracted more than 150 entrants and shone the spotlight on 45 projects representing approximately $1.3 billion in construction value. As in previous years, the calibre of project entries was excellent and competition fierce. I would therefore like to thank the Awards of Excellence Committee, chaired by Tony Everett, and comprising Peter Bazilewich, Amanda Caverly, Mel Flathen, Dan Gnocato, Dolphe Hoffman, Steve McConnell, Bob Tomyk, Bob Proctor and project manager Jennifer Jones, for their time commitment and passion for the judging process that took place over the summer.
Each year, as we work through the judging process, trends emerge that reflect the state of the industry. This year, it’s clear that system technologies from abroad, especially innovation from Europe, are beginning to influence construction in the Lower Mainland. Energy, material and system efficiencies continue to drive innovation. As we saw last year, there continues to be a shift towards wood technologies, structural wood and exposed wood in design, seen abundantly in many project submissions from both the public and private sectors. As space becomes a premium and 1980s construction cries out for refurbishment, projects are becoming increasingly complex. Maintaining normal operation, managing traffic, noise and tenant expectations have increased collaboration like never before, not only between trades, but also with municipalities, law enforcement and communities. In addition to the announcement of 14 Gold (project) Award winners, the evening saw the presentation of seven Outstanding Achievement Awards, a Judges’ Award and a Heritage Award, all of which recognize individuals and companies who have demonstrated excellence in certain fields e.g. safety, education, innovation and productivity as well as commitment to the industry.
Again, I want to acknowledge our industry — across the entire supply chain — for the work you do, the dedication and professionalism you bring to each project and your achievements as evidenced by the complex, state-of-the-art infrastructure that we use every day. Thank you to all the nominees and congratulations to all the 2016 Award winners! Fiona Famulak President, VRCA
JLT CONGRATULATES ALL WINNERS OF THE
2016 VRCA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc. Insurance, Bonding and Construction Risk Specialists
Surrey 604 583 9800 | 1 888 290 9240 Vancouver 604 682 4211 | 1 800 708 1144 Victoria 250 388 4416 | 1 888 216 8018 www.jltcanada.com
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR OVER $45 MILLION golD Bird Construction Group — UBC Student Union Building
A Unique Student Hub BY CHERYL MAH
MoSt NEw StUdENtS ARRIvING oN A campus university for the first time can be overwhelmed: the sheer size of the university, the maze of different buildings and masses of people moving about. At the University of B.C., a new Student Union Building (SUB) is creating a welcoming centre for students, alumni and visitors alike to the campus. Designed by Dialog in joint venture with B+H Architects, the 250,000 square foot building replaces the existing SUB at the heart of the campus on University Square. Acting as a community hub, it provides new, vibrant spaces to support student engagement, studying, clubs and societies. The original SUB was built more than 40 years ago and was no longer able to meet the needs of the growing student population, which stands at more than 48,000. In 2008, UBC students approved the construction of a new SUB building through an incremental levy on future student fees. The $85 million contribution is the largest single donation in UBC’s history. Bird Construction broke ground on the $110 million project in 2012 and completed it in 33 months. At peak, manpower was approximately 250, according to project manager Duane Ferreira. The four-storey building plus mechanical features eight new food and beverage services on 20 construction business
level one including a redesigned Pit Pub (well known student hangout). The upper three levels contain a mixture of rentable spaces, club rooms and Alma Mater Society (AMS) administration and executive offices. At the roof level, there is also an 11,000 square foot garden, and a daycare. One of the more unique amenities is a threestorey climbing wall. The centrepiece of the new Student Union building is the Nest, a two storey structure
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that “floats” in the middle of the five storey atrium, balanced on three main, slender steel support columns and beams. It contains theatrical performance space on the second floor and a student lounge on the third floor. Approximately 15,735 cubic metres of concrete and more than 700 tons of structural steel were used for the building. A high amount of wood was also incorporated, especially in the ceiling. The atrium’s saw-tooth roof is built from glulam
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beams and cross laminated timber panels as well as the pedestrian bridge walkways. Another unique feature is the 6,000 square foot Great Hall that cantilevers off the concrete structure on the south side. It consists of 30 foot trusses, weighting 80 tons each. The space will be used for banquets, entertainment and other events. “It’s a massive two storey space that is supported by a concrete column and three large steel trusses — two weigh 80 tons and the shorter one on the south side is 30 tons,” says Ferreira, noting the size of the trusses meant they had to be assembled on site before being put in place. Equally impressive are the floating stairs installed throughout the building which are supported by embeds including 40-foot-long HSS beams. The exterior envelope is a mixture of curtainwall glazing and high performance TAKTL concrete panels. It’s the first time the panels are being used in B.C. and possibly Canada, according to Ferreira. Challenges on the project included the large number of stakeholders, a constrained site and the unique design. “The biggest challenge is the uniqueness of the building,” says Ferreria. “Everywhere you go there’s something different — definitely not a typical building — so it’s been very challenging working out the details.” The new building is bordered by the existing SUB to the north, the aquatic centre to the east and a new building to the south, leaving very little lay down area available. A just in time delivery strategy was required to ensure minimal amount of deliveries and storage on site, says Ferreira, which required significant coordination. Another feature of the project is the small grassy tree covered knoll on the west side, which has been incorporated into the building design as a seating area, making it a key feature of the atrium and a social hub for the facility. Keeping the knoll intact during construction was a challenge though, says Ferreira. “The access to build on that side was very limited.” Also key to the design concept was to pursue the highest level of sustainable building design. The project was developed with an innovative student engagement and collaboration process (ie. social media) where a sustainable and regenerative design was identified as a priority by the students. Targeting LEED Platinum, the new SUB features many green strategies including rainwater harvesting, daylighting, passive ventilation, a high performance building envelope and solar hot water. Ferreira credits collaboration and teamwork for the successful outcome and says the challenging project is one he “won’t forget for a long time.” The UBC Student Union Building won Bird Construction the coveted 2016 Gold VRCA Award for a general contractor over $45 million. Other VRCA winners on this project include JSV Architectural Veneering & Millwork Inc., Wesbridge Steelworks Limited and Structurlam Products LP.
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR $15-45 MILLION golD Graham Construction and Engineering LP — Main Street Station Renovations
overcoming tough Challenges BY ROBIN BRUNET
IN tERMS of CHALLENGING SItE CoNditions alone, Graham Construction & Engineering Inc.’s renovation of the Main Street SkyTrain Station in Vancouver would have been enough to earn the company widespread distinction, let alone a Gold Award (in the category of General Contractors for projects between $15and $45-million) at the VRCA’s 28th Annual Awards of Excellence gala. The renovation of TransLink’s oldest rapid transit station (it was built in 1982) involved demolition of the existing mezzanine and platform, and repositioning of the associated stairs, escalators and elevator shaft. This meant heavy construction above the busy Main Street and Terminal Avenue. But Graham project superintendent Scott Comfort says the toughest challenge was working in and around more than 20,000 commuters using the station daily. “TransLink was adamant that services not be interrupted, so we embarked upon a year’s worth of pre-construction management to figure out how to do the job without risking anyone’s safety.” Some of the solutions included pre-fabrication and sequenced installation. “Also, we could work on various parts of the station according to our schedule, but any work that had to be performed beside or above the train level was limited to between two and five a.m., when the trains weren’t operating,” says Comfort. 22
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Altogether, the project included construction of a new East Station House and renovation of the West Station House in addition to the mezzanine platform demolition and replacement/ repositioning work. Also, the existing chain-link guards along the train guide way were replaced with a new steel/glass windscreen and service walkways that would span from the West Station to the East. The $25 million project kicked off in February of 2013 with Graham and TransLink relying on the integrated design process to provide design-assist, constructability, value engineering, and risk reduction strategies. A 4D BIM model of the project helped sub-trades better understand construction sequencing. It’s a testament to Graham’s skill that the commuter platform was never fully closed to SkyTrain passengers. “We closed off portions of work islands while the commuters walked by and then set up elsewhere as soon as we were done,” says Comfort, adding that one beneficial aspect of this particular location was that Graham crews could take the SkyTrain directly to and from work. The most obvious renovation from a pedestrian perspective is the curved steel and glass structure that forms a platform windscreen crossing over Main Street: construction of the span was scheduled so that each 2.5 metre section could be installed within two hours.
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“That’s a good example of how prefabrication helped us,” says Comfort. “Plus, with sequencing we only needed to block off parts of Main Street instead of the entire thoroughfare.” The only time Main Street was fully closed was December 23-24 of 2014, when the new escalators were delivered to the site. “They were exceptionally long and had to be installed in a specific area — but even then, traffic closures were minimal,” says Comfort. This was the case with the windscreen while relocating fibre optics, hydro, and communications cables that were located in trays beside the service walkways was done sequentially. Structural steel erection, placing concrete (for the platform extension), roofing, glazing, and moving materials are routine tasks for any contractor, however, performing them above a busy city intersection among SkyTrain commuters and finishing the job on time and budget in August of 2015 resulted in a memorable addition to Graham’s extensive portfolio — and the Gold from the VRCA. Comfort concludes, “We almost fell out of our chairs when we won, because we were up against some amazing projects this year. To call this a memorable project for us would be an understatement, so it’s a real honour to be recognized.”
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR UP TO $15 MILLION golD PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc — YVR Expedited Transfer Facility — Package 2 (ETF2)
old fashioned Muscle Power BY RICHARD GILBERT
PCL CoNStRUCtoRS wEStCoASt Inc. used a creative plan and traditional muscle power to construct a new 183-metre corridor and bridge above a fully operational food court and security zone at Vancouver International Airport, without the use of hoarding or a crane. “If you can imagine, we had a live domestic food court with all the tenants and a lot of kitchens, as well as the security zone, which is basically the captive screen area where passengers go after checking in their bags,” says Brian Whelan, project manager, PCL Constructors Westcoast. “We built the bridge over all of that, while operations remained open and live.” PCL won an award for their work on the YVR Expedited Transfer Facility — Package 2 (ETF2) project at the 28th annual Awards of Excellence, which was held by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) in October 2016. The project is a continuous corridor connecting the domestic terminal building to the international terminal building, expediting international passengers to their next international flight or to customs. The company won the Gold Award in the category of general contractor working on a project valued up to $15 million. According to Whelan, PCL developed a plan which allowed the domestic terminal to remain 24 construction business
open to passengers between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m. “We had a tight operational schedule to work in. And, anytime there was noisy work, it had to be done between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m,” he says. “You can imagine that most of this work is noisy. So, we were literally picking up tools late at night and dropping them early in the morning again.” To overcome this major constraint, PCL broke the overall project into four divisions. Division one was the part of the project where work could only be done during the night shift. However, a 24 hour shift was used to work on divisions two, three and four. As a result, division one would be completed in the same time period as divisions two, three and four. Whelan say the work on division one began with the construction of a temporary weather protection system above the existing roof. The engineered structure had a poly membrane fixed to it, so everything below was protected from rain and water ingress. This structure was in place, before PCL started to rip open the existing roof, and connect new steel skeletons to the existing structure. Another major challenge was that PCL was not allowed to set up a crane for more than two days in the airport rotunda. “We did everything by hand. It was like going back in time when everything was erected by
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hand,” says Whelan. “We used electric winches and another machine called a grass hopper, which carried heavy beams around the building. We had a special torquing machine to reduce the noise of tightening bolts. We built that bridge stick by stick at night.” In addition, the bridge was constructed without any permanent hoarding. “What we did is we had a really cool hoarding system that we used and rolled out every night,” says Whelan. “It was a rubber made barrier system that is used to control construction zones.” Work was carefully planned and constructed using these control zones, which were set up each night and removed each morning. The delivery and installation of the auto walk systems on the bridge was also done without the use of a crane. A total of nine pieces, each weighing 5,000 kg, were delivered to and staged in the rotunda below the newly installed bridge over a 60-day period. Each machine piece was then hoisted using a mechanical winch, trolley, and chain fall system, which are all operated by hand. Construction of the bridge began in November 2014 and work was completed in October 2015. There were about 80 workers involved with this project during peak construction.
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CHARIMAN’S TRADE AWARD UP TO $1 MILLION Consulting Ltd. — Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre golD Seagate
technical Accuracy BY CHERYL MAH
offICIALLY oPENEd IN MARCH 2016, the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre is an architecturally striking facility that will meet the recreational needs of a growing community while providing the capacity to host competitive swimming and diving events. Designed by HCMA Architecture + Design, the $55 million project is the first to be completed on a “super block” that is part of Surrey’s long range vision for a regional campus of health, wellness and sports excellence. The facility anchors the eastward expansion of the neighbourhood and is connected to a potential district energy hub, the first of its kind for South Surrey. The 95,000-square-foot aquatic centre includes a 10-lane, 50-metre FINA certified competition pool, 10 metre high dive tower and a leisure pool with a waterslide. Other features are two hot tubs, universal change area, fitness cen26 construction business
tre overlooking the natatorium and seating for up to 900 spectators. The most dramatic and defining feature of the facility is the mass timber roof that resembles an undulating and metaphorically appropriate wave form. The complex and curved roof rises to suit the height required to provide clearances for the Olympic dive platform on one end, and a waterslide on the other. With the two structures creating natural high points, the concept was to create a timber catenary roof suspended between concrete end buttresses and a central V-column support, free spanning 180 feet and 120 feet. The installation of the glulam catenary roof structure required careful planning and precise execution from Seagate Consulting Ltd. “No one has ever done this before in the world, as far as anyone knows,” says Seagate
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president and owner Ralph Austin. “We did lots of planning and preparation and it went really well. This was a highly technical project, an engineering marvel — the one that I’m most proud of, for sure.” While suspended catenary steel cable systems are not uncommon particularly on bridges, the use of timber as long spanning tension cables is rare. The result is what the project team believes to be the world’s most slender long span timber roof ever built. The 532,000 lbs of glulams for the roof were manufactured by Western Archrib in Edmonton and trucked to the site. The extensive preplanning by the project team allowed Seagate to assemble and install the roof structure in 12 days over a six week period, completing the work ahead of schedule. The roof diaphragm consists of two layers of plywood that was also installed by Seagate. The unique roof structure is comprised of paired curved glulam beams (measuring only 5 inches wide x 10.5 inches deep) suspended between post-tensioned concrete buttresses. “We had to put up 116 paired beam assemblies,” says Austin. “They came in 60 feet sections that were pre-assembled by Western Archrib in their plant. The longer side of the roof had three sections where the beams were up to 180 feet long. The shorter side has two sections with beams 120 feet long.” A special rigging plan had to be designed to hoist the rafters into place, which required multiple cranes for the longer sections. “We stitched the beams in the air, hung two with the tower crane and then had Sterling crane bring in the third, over 70 feet over the pool floor,” says Austin, adding the beams were set in place with steel pins on each side. Construction took 20 months with EllisDon achieving substantial completion in December 2015. Installation of the roof was a key milestone, especially ensuring the glulams met the tolerances between the buttress columns. The innovation and technical expertise required to make the undulating roof a reality has already earned the project multiple industry awards. The Aquatic Centre was one of the most honoured projects at this year’s VRCA Awards, earning a total of four wins. Other winners included EllisDon Corporation (silver); Keith Plumbing & Heating Co. Ltd. (silver) and Western Archrib (gold). “The city is blessed with strong contractors and trades. The award confirms our place in the industry among our peers, who are very talented and we are very proud to be recognized in this way,” says Austin.
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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PRESIDENT’S TRADE AWARD $1-3 MILLION Building Systems Ltd. — Audain Art Museum golD Pocklington
Achieving an Innovative Building Envelope BY RICHARD GILBERT
tHE INStALLAtIoN of tHE RoofING and cladding on the new Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., required precise pre-planning, but the biggest challenge for Pocklington Building Systems on the project was the alignment of a building exterior with such a complex architectural design. “We did the entire building envelope, which had different walls at different degrees and soffits underneath the building at different angles,” says Peter Pocklington, owner, Pocklington Building Systems. “The biggest challenge for us was lining up the standing seams, which wraps completely around the building. Fortunately, in today’s world we are able to use GPS technology to line things up.” Pocklington made this comment after his company won an award for their work on the Audain Art Museum at the 28th annual Awards of Excellence, which was held by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) in October 2016. Pocklington Building Systems won the Gold Award in the category of trade contractor working on contract valued at $1 to $3 million. Patkau Architects designed the 55,000 sq. ft. museum a full storey above the ground, because the building is located within the floodplain of 28 construction business
Fitzsimmons Creek. The $30 million building is also crowned with a steeply sloped roof, due to heavy snowfall. Due to the structure’s sharp angles and sloping walls, the installation of the sheet metal roof, walls and soffits required innovative thinking and the use of technology. “The whole building is cantilevered out, and it’s on piers and cores. So it’s all suspended,” says Pocklington. “Because some of the walkways were cantilevered out, we loaded it with weight ahead of time, so everything would settle. Then, we shot new lines to straighten everything out, and put it all together.” The construction crew loaded the building to simulate its finished weight, which ensured the outside cladding did not buckle once the interior was completed. “In addition to the standing seam, the roof, walls and soffits had heavier gage metal than normal, because of the heavy snow and the need for a perfectly flat panel look,” says Pocklington. “We had seven inches of build up from the steel, insulation and z-bars. There were custom made panels, all at different angles, which were complicated and difficult to put together.” This project required Pocklington to do a lot of pre-planning, because the sheets of metal had
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to be fabricated to fasten to the substructure of the building. For this reason, Pocklington set up an onsite sheet metal shop, which was supported by their fabrication shop in Whistler. “We had some interesting methods of getting 55 foot panels up on to a 10 or 12 pitch roof,” says Pocklington. “So, we used the extended scissor lifts and a crane technique, where we could land bundles of metal.” The simple form of the exterior is clad in an envelope of dark metal which recedes into the shadows of the surrounding forest. Where this envelope is opened, to provide access in the entry porch or view from the glazed walkway to the galleries, the dark metal is overlaid by a luminous wood casing. The company set up a trailer and was on site every day after construction began in the winter 2014. There was an average of 14 workers on site during construction, which took place under harsh winter conditions and was completed in spring 2016. A total of four VRCA Awards was handed out for the Audain Art Museum — two silver and two gold. Other winners included Alpine West Systems Electrical (gold), European Touch Hardwood Floors (silver) and Axiom Builders (silver).
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TRADE AWARD $3-8 MILLION Southwest Contracting Ltd. — Vancouver House Buildings 1 & 2, Phase 1 golD FOUNDER’S
digging Up Gold BY CHERYL MAH
It’S Not oftEN YoU wIN GoLd foR digging a big hole, but that’s exactly what happened to Southwest Contracting Ltd. (SWC). The successful completion of the excavation and innovative shoring work for Vancouver House earned Southwest the VRCA 2016 Gold Founder’s Trade Award. “We’re the ones who dig the hole for the nice looking building,” says project manager Dan Sims with a laugh. “To have the judges understand in our world how good the project was is pretty cool.” Vancouver House, currently under construction in downtown Vancouver, is a bold new mixed use project that will feature a 52 storey signature “twisting” tower on a 10 storey podium at the corner of Howe and Beach. A post-tensioned “spine” is located in the southwest corner of the structure, which supports the unique building form. Once completed, it will create a dramatic gateway to the downtown core as the city’s fourth tallest building. The distinctive project begins seven levels underground. SWC began excavation and shoring for Phase 1 in May 2015 and completed the job in February 2016, on schedule and within budget. While excavation and shoring is standard practice for the construction of any large building, the Vancouver House was unique for two main reasons, according to Sims. The first reason was the use of internal bracing for the 28 m deep excavation, one of the deepest in Vancouver. A non-cooperative neighbour did not grant encroachment, making the use of conventional tie-back anchors not possible. SWC installed seven levels of internal braces (consisting of steel waler beams and corner struts) to retain the vertical cut at the southern end of the
excavation. The longest brace on each level was installed using two excavators working together. “The result is the deepest internally braced shoring system in the city,” says Sims, explaining that each level of braces comprised struts in an unusual asymmetric pattern to allow zone-steel in the core foundation to be placed with minimal interference. The second unique aspect of the project was how SWC proposed a value engineered alternative for the internal bracing system as part of their procurement package, providing both schedule and cost benefits for the client. Once the contract was awarded, SWC worked with the geotechnical engineer (GeoPacific Consultants Ltd) to develop the concept into a final design that met the engineering requirements. “We were allowed to collaborate with the engineer and ultimately provide the client with considerable cost savings and it performed as we anticipated,” says Sims, adding internal bracing is becoming more common but comes at a higher cost. “Traditional shoring is still cheaper. But our changes to the brace design probably saved the client about $2-3 million for the total cost of the building.” One of the main changes made by SWC was to use a more conventional soldier pile shoring system, which allowed for traditional bottom up construction of the southern foundation wall with no block-outs for the temporary structure. It also meant that the drilled piles did not have to be removed during construction of the parkade, reducing costs and schedule for subsequent trades. “The original bracing design would’ve worked fine but from a construction point of view, it was
not as efficient as what we came up with collectively,” notes Sims. Challenges include inclement weather and groundwater. The final depth of the excavation was 13.4 m below sea-level and False Creek was only a block and half away. SWC planned ahead and installed sump pumps prior to bulk excavation to minimize any issues associated with the groundwater. The vertical drilled soldier piles also needed to be installed with extremely tight tolerances adjacent the southern shoring face. Henry Drilling were sub-contracted to undertake this work and installed vertical soldier piles in a 440 mm gap with verticality tolerances less than 0.5 per cent. SWC has started Phase 2 of the project (smaller excavation) and expects to be finished by the end of February 2017. “This is definitely a highlight of my career so far,” says Sims. “This was our first big scale value engineering process. I’m grateful that the owner and geo-technical engineer had enough faith in our team to do this.”
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DIRECTOR’S TRADE AWARD OVER $8 MILLION Bros. Contractors Ltd. — A-B Connector golD Gallagher
No Small feat BY SUSANNA CHU
wHEN PEtER, JIM ANd BERNARd formed Gallagher Bros. Contractors Ltd. in 1956, they likely did not envision a $9.5 million dollar contract for 170,000 square feet of ceiling work and 800,000 square feet of dry wall. However, their sons completed just such a project in 2015. And the firm’s hard work on the Vancouver International Airport A-B Connector earned the 2016 VRCA Gold Director’s Trade Award. An award that, according to project manager Peter Gallagher ( Jr.), (his cousin Kerry was also a project manager on the installation) recognizes the efforts of Gallagher’s “exceptional” tradesmen. “They were reliable. [Their] quality of work, their safe work practices are fantastic.” Supervisor Dean Prentice and his trades people, such as Ray St. Germaine, were committed to getting “the work done when they needed to get the work done.” Doing so was no small feat, given the nature of the project. The four-level rotunda connects Piers A and B (for docking aircraft) with the domestic terminal. The $213 million project features a new gate capacity, an expedited baggage handling system linking international and domestic flights, new dining and retail conveniences, major seismic upgrades to existing structures and thematic design features celebrating B.C.’s interior. 30 construction business
Gallagher Bros. was responsible for the interior and exterior stud framing and drywall, acoustic tile ceilings, soffit assembly, floating acoustic panel ceilings, expansion joints and other features. Of these, perhaps the most unusual and challenging element was installing the acoustic sound panels, dubbed “big butterflies.” “The butterflies were…unusual shapes,” says Gallagher, “so there was a lot of co-ordination that had to be done with the manufacturer.” Custom-built and designed to match the shape of the structural-steel-tube wing truss structure above, these “butterflies” had to be suspended with care from the ceiling. The Gallagher team based their engineered shop drawings, framing installation and panel fabrication on the elevation points and reflected ceiling plans [RCPs] taken from drawings. Each panel, fabricated off site, had to follow the layout accurately and fit precisely. Difficulty of access posed another challenge at YVR. “The ceiling work that goes in, it’s up very high above the floor areas,” making access to the ceiling and co-ordinating the work uniquely challenging, says Gallagher. Working at such a height and under a tightly phased schedule led to another innovation: general contractor Ledcor designed and built a floating scaffold to allow easier access for the ceiling
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installation. All the work was laid out, framed, suspended and finished from this scaffold deck. “It was open underneath so that the work on the floor could get done at the same time.” However, moving materials up to a floating scaffold proved challenging. The Gallagher team had to co-ordinate well with Ledcor and the other trades. Success demanded clear and frequent communication on the site. Extensive communication also allowed Gallagher Bros to meet the phasing requirements. Ledcor had agreed with YVR to turn over multiple completed areas, in sequence. To successfully complete each phase, all the trades and consultants needed to be highly organized and proficient. Co-operation was critical. “We do not like missing any deadlines, so we did whatever it took to meet the deadlines,” including extended-hour shifts and, at one point, a crew of 70 employees on site. And these workers are the ones who make Gallagher proudest when he reflects on the YVR A-B Connector’s VRCA award. His firm submits only projects they believe deserve recognition, “and if we do win an award, we like to take that back to the people who work for us and let them know they won an award. Not just Gallagher Bros. They’re part of a team so we like them to go home to their families and say, ‘We just won an award!’”
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MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR OVER $8 MILLION golD Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. — UBC DES Phase 6-9 DPS & UBC DES Phase 6&7 ETS
Massive Undertaking at UBC BY ROBIN BRUNET
A MASSIvE, MULtI-PHASE PRoJECt At UBC has switched the Vancouver campus’ antiquated steam heating system to a new hot-water system. The execution of the UBC’s Academic District Energy System (ADES), together with the previous phases, makes this project one of the largest steam-to-hot water conversions in North America. UBC launched the project in recognition that steam is an inefficient way to heat because it has to be kept at a much higher temperature (186°C) compared to hot water (90°C). Plus, many of its old steam pipes were poorly or not at all insulated, resulting in huge amounts of heat lost in transit. The $88 million conversion started in 2011, with Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. achieving substantial completion in December 2015. Division 15 faced challenging and unusual conditions as crews had to navigate complex and sometimes unexpected infrastructure, while scrambling to stay ahead of a demanding schedule. On top of that, work had to be performed quietly so not to disturb rats living in the vicinity. And while the rats were valuable test lab animals rather than their sewer-dwelling brethren, Division 15 co-founder Dale Miller says keeping the peace on their behalf illustrates the uniqueness of the job. The project required a complex network of underground piping across the northern half of the campus to supply more than 130 buildings with hot water for space heating and domestic hot water. All told, 11 kilometres of special pre-insulated pipes from Europe were used in the conversion,
and more than 130 energy transfer stations were created across the campus. The project was capped in 2015 by the completion of a 60 megawatt, natural gas-powered hot water plant, the demolition of the existing steam powerhouse, and de-commissioning of the existing steam system. ADES will enable UBC to achieve an ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent compared to 2007 levels (in the process achieving a $5.5 million annual energy cost savings). It will also enable the university to eliminate fossil fuel use by 2050 and advance clean energy research and development opportunities. For Division 15, the logistics of the project were daunting: as prime contractor of the first phase alone, it had to install 1.5 km of pipe and create eight energy transfer stations (complete with brazed plate heat exchangers, pumps and associated controls). It was about $3.7 million worth of mechanical work. “Ultimately there were about eight phases, and by the last phase the stations and piping were a blur to us,” he recalls. “It’s not the first project of its kind in B.C., but definitely nobody else in Canada had attempted anything this large.” Division 15 used special pre-insulated, prejacketed Logstor pipes and fittings from Europe, with embedded leak detection wiring technology. “They had to be laid in a certain way and required a certain method of backfill in order to perform as intended,” says Miller. While this in itself wasn’t daunting, excavating UBC thoroughfares and exposing the forest of recent and old infrastructure complicated Division 15’s efforts. “We frequently had to go under and over certain elements that weren’t in
the drawings, and this resulted in us having to order special parts and pieces from Europe,” says Miller. “As a result, we had to scramble to compensate for delays in the schedule.” The biggest installation occurred during phase two, with four kilometres of piping that would serve as the central water conduit. “Again, the surprises resulting from digging up the road happened almost daily,” says Miller. “Plus, special care had to be taken throughout, because the existing steam system had to remain operable.” The crew’s encounter with the test rodents came while creating the energy transfer stations. “We had to build the stations in mechanical rooms whose components were 50 years old, and to surmount the challenges of not disrupting the infrastructure we used a laser scanning technology to scan each room and capture all the existing conditions, pipes, equipment and beams,” he recalls. “We fed this information into our 3D modeling software where our BIM designers generated detailed fabrication drawings for our fabricators — who built the necessary components in our shop and took them to site for precise assembly.” The completed ADES has an expected lifetime of up to 80 years, partly due to the system’s flexibility: water from a district energy system can be heated with biomass, electricity, natural gas, solar, waste heat, geothermal, ocean thermal, cogeneration — and possibly new technologies that haven’t yet been invented. The successful completion of the project has “opened up doors” for Division 15, according to Miller: “Clients know us for our work at UBC, and we’re now involved in the development of other district energy projects,” he says.
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MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR $3-8 MILLION golD Trotter & Morton Building Technologies Inc. — UBC District Energy Centre
Energizing UBC BY SUSANNA CHU
UBC StUdENtS SHUffLE tHRoUGH crimson and gold leaves en route to their midterm exams. They barely notice yet another gorgeous building amid all the campus construction. Meanwhile, at the District Energy Centre (DEC) on Agronomy Road, Mike Lee and Mike Scully of Trotter & Morton Building Technologies celebrate that those students would have adequate heating and hot water throughout the campus. “We had a critical deadline,” says Lee, the project manager for the DEC’s mechanical installation, “because they were bringing down the other [steam-powered] boilers and we were getting into winter time.” Scully, the superintendent, agrees, “The schedule was the hardest [challenge] to me. From the time we were allowed to go into the building to the time the boilers started was six months. Eight months, maybe.” “Basically things had to work, or we’d have a lot of unhappy students,” says Lee. So what did it take? A lot of ingenuity and hard work. There were three 15-megawatt thermal, natural-gas-fired high-efficiency boilers, 80,000 lbs each without water. Lee notes two units create enough energy to heat the entire campus, while the third provides back-up. The boiler room of a two-storey, 21,000-square-foot building offers precious little lay-down area for installing such 32
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boilers along with related piping, ductwork and a condensing economizer. Because the more sustainable wood structure could not bear the loads that a steel or concrete structure would, all the pipes and ductwork had to be installed carefully, in sequence. “In certain instances, you couldn’t use the wood ceiling to hang the pipes, so we were forced to build steel structures for it,” says Scully. “We had to engineer our own pipe support.” Moreover, all work had to be closely co-ordinated with the other sub-trades, adds Lee. “Each discipline would go in the correct order so you wouldn’t impact other trades…It all had to fit in this space.… Everything was pre-[fabricated] off site. It was brought in in big pieces. We bolted or welded it together.” “If you didn’t do the install correctly, then certain trades wouldn’t be able to do their work,” says Scully. To fit the boilers into the limited space, “we used 3-D modelling to design the pipes and the breaching for the flue pipe so that we could have it all installed before the boilers went in, and basically we were able to just line up the boilers to the pipes that were already there. Otherwise, I’m not sure how you would have done it.” Both credit general contractor Ledcor’s Matt Artis (project manager) and Jack Stam (site superintendent) for the successful co-ordination on the project. And James Torcov, representing UBC.
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“He had a real hands-on approach to how… to get it running the way he wanted as well as the way [we] felt our contract was,” says Scully. While Lee and Scully may have cursed the building’s wood and other constraints at times, they admire its beauty. “I’m proud of how the installation looks,” says Lee, noting the high-end aluminum cladding on the pipes. “It’s one of the nicest buildings I’ve been into. Because you can see all the pipework. Usually when we do a lot of buildings, the pipework is buried.” “This one has large glass walls in front of the boiler plant so the students can view what’s going on in there. It’s pretty neat. If you have to build it, it has to look really good. We try to build it that way anyway, but this one stands out,” says Scully. “Everybody who goes in there pretty much goes, ‘Wow,” says Lee. Trotter & Morton won the 2016 VRCA Gold Mechanical Contractor Award for the UBC DEC as well as a Silver Award in the electrical contractor category. Lee reflects, “I couldn’t be prouder of how this was constructed… It was a very challenging job to construct… Not something you get to do all the time.” “Before we went on the site, we said it looked like it should be an award-winning job,” says Scully. “And because we had such a good crew to work with, we were actually able to build the project to meet that [expectation].”
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MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR UP TO $3 MILLION golD PML Professional Mechanical Ltd. — The View
Affordable transformation BY TRACEY BLOCk
RENovAtING ANY BUILdING tHAt remains occupied and operational during construction poses a challenge for the trades. But transforming Vancouver’s former Remand Centre into 96 affordable housing units while the Community Court continued to function on its lower level produced unique challenges for VRCA Gold Award winner PML Professional Mechanical Ltd. In the mechanical contractors category up to $3 million dollars, PML was recognized at the October awards for its contribution to The View. “It’s not very glamorous, but even changing the discharge of the toilets . . . [proved] challenging,” explains Mallory Wightman, marketing coordinator for PML. Wightman’s father, Don, launched PML in 1995 and is the company’s sole owner and president. Horizontal sanitary mains were located in the building’s lower level. Since the court and its offices remained open during the renovation, loud noises and vibrations from machinery could prove disruptive to live proceedings and sensitive court recording equipment. As a result, replacement of the mains had to take place after hours with some mechanical equipment held in a secured area in the courts. Built in 1981 by Vancouver architect Richard Henriquez, the former Pretrial Services Centre at 250 Powell Street, at the corner of Gore Street, was a jail built for individuals charged
with crimes, but awaiting court appearances. It sat unused since its closure in 2002. Architect Gregory Henriquez took on the challenge of completely renovating his father’s building into a vision for equitable housing. Of the 96 residences, 37 are reserved for participants of BladeRunners, an employment program for inner city, at-risk Aboriginal youth managed by the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS). The remaining units are for at-risk women and individuals in low income households. The conversion, at a cost of more than $13 million, was done as a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of BC, BC Housing, the City of Vancouver, non-profits The Bloom Group and ACCESSBladeRunners, CPA Development Consultants, Henriquez Partners Architects and Mierau Contractors. With an average crew size of seven, PML began working on the Remand Centre’s transformation in January 2014 with substantial completion received in August 2015. PML provided plumbing, HVAC and fire protection to the renovation while ensuring the best way to promote sustainability, staying true to its mandate to minimize energy consumption and environmental footprints. Existing boilers were replaced with condensing water heaters that are 97 per cent efficient.
“To increase energy efficiency, we added solar panels to the roof for water heating,” explains Wightman. “And then instead of getting completely new domestic hot water tanks, we refurbished them, relining them with a coating on the inside.” The building’s mechanical systems were all upgraded to meet current code and PML used a tagging system to identify for the general contractor any existing plumbing that could be maintained in the renovation. Wightman noted additional challenges included limited on-site storage. Large equipment such as heat recovery ventilation had to be moved by cranes on and off the site, requiring additional road closures and permits. “Because this project was in the downtown core, deliveries had to be well coordinated” he says. “We couldn’t leave materials lying around on Powell Street and we required permits to close the roads.” In addition to PML winning VRCA’s silver award of excellence, The View’s general contractor, Mierau Contractors Ltd., also won a silver award. After landing silver in August, Wightman says PML was hopeful the project would receive the acknowledgement it deserved and win gold. “A project that provides affordable housing in the downtown Eastside is something we recognized as very necessary,” says Wightman of PML’s involvement on the winning project.
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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR OVER $8 MILLION golD Western Pacific Enterprises GP — Evergreen Rapid Transit Project
A team Effort BY TRACEY BLOCk
“It fELt LIKE A tEAM EffoRt ALL tHE way through,” says Tom Butterfield about the recently completed Evergreen Line Rapid Transit Project that just won Western Pacific Enterprises (WPE) the 2016 Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) Gold Award of Excellence for Electrical Contractor over $8 million. Working on the Evergreen Line’s 11km extension to Metro Vancouver’s existing SkyTrain system brought WPE’s work full-circle, having successfully completed system wide electrical installations and select project stations on the entire SkyTrain System consisting of the Expo Line, Millenium Line and Canada Line. 34 construction business
Construction of the Evergreen Line began in February 2013, but issues around the tunnel boring process resulted in sinkholes in nearby communities and led to its completion date pushed back to early 2017. However, an earlier than expected opening to the public is now planned for December 2, 2016 when the Evergreen Line will connect riders from Coquitlam City Centre through Port Moody to Lougheed Town Centre in 15 minutes. “The real impact was the tunnel . . . [but] those things were out there and they were known long before they were impacting us,” says Butterfield of the initial delays. “But schedule-wise, the rest of the stuff [SNC-]Lavalin did was pretty much on schedule.”
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WPE also received a 2016 VRCA Safety Award in the category of Trade Contractor with 200,000 or more personhours with a Zero Frequency Injury Rate. “That equates to about 100 [person] years,” added Butterfield. “In the tunnel, we were probably peaking out close to 80 for a while . . . and with all the contracts combined, maybe around 60 was the average crew for close to a year.” Unlike other jobs wrapped up into one contract, WPE completed this large scale transportation infrastructure project on a segment by segment basis, with multiple contracts that included: the provision of temporary power and guideway and column grounding; complete electrical installations at Lafarge and Coquitlam stations; brownfield work at Lougheed station and the Operations and Maintenance Centre; mainline electrical installations of segments; propulsion power substation installations; station fit out; and expansion to the SkyTrain video wall. Now completing SkyTrain’s fourth generation of track, Butterfield says aside from some minor technological changes, each project has been fairly similar. “In general . . . the engineering gets better on it every time,” he says. “Their material selections [and their] choosing of vendors gets better every time.” Butterfield continues, “We get a little bit better as contractors, too. Lessons learned. We know all the right questions to ask and there [are] fewer and fewer surprises every time you do it. It’s pretty efficient.” Butterfield credits much of WPE’s efficiency to project coordinator Krista McLean. “Krista provided most of the documentation support for this project,” he says. “The amount of files and paperwork that come through is pretty extensive, so you really need help on that otherwise you’re just buried in it.” McLean says she was project coordinator for about a year before taking on this project. “This was the first time I had done something [like this] from start to finish. It was a lot to learn.” With his crew out of the tunnel by Labour Day weekend, Butterfield is pleased with the final product. “We’ve just been doing cleanup work and minor changes,” he explains. “As [BC Rapid Transit Company] takes over ownership, there’s a few adjustments, so we’ve kind of had skeleton crews just cleaning up requested works for September and October.” After winning VRCA’s silver award in August, Butterfield felt they had the edge to win gold. “You don’t have one of these [projects] every year,” he concludes.
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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR UP TO $2 MILLION golD Alpine West Systems Electrical — Audain Art Museum
Complex Electrical Installation BY RICHARD GILBERT
ALPINE wESt SYStEMS ELECtRICAL was involved in the construction of the new Audain Art Museum in Whistler, B.C., from the planning stage to completion, but the contractor’s biggest challenge on the project was translating the architectural design into a concrete reality. “If you go to the museum, you won’t notice any electricals, because it blends in well with the building,” says Jamie Yetman, project manager, Alpine West Systems Electrical (AWSE). “We took care to design and install the electricals that way, and thinking about people being there to notice the art. The electrical blends into the design of the building, in order to allow visitors to fully appreciate the art work on display.” Yetman made this comment to explain why AWSE recently won an award for their work on the Audain Art Museum at the 28th annual Awards of Excellence, which was held by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) in October 2016. AWSE won the Gold Award in the category of electrical contractor completing a contract valued at up to $2 million, for finding a solution to the complex structure challenge of the museum with its sharp angles and sloping walls. “The angles of the building made the electrical installation very unique. In some cases, there
were no walls, where we needed to put equipment, because of the angles of the exterior of the building,” says Yetman. “We had to build unistrut cantilever framing to hold all of our electrical equipment. This work would brace the electricals and allow electrical panels to be mounted at a proper height.” The 55,000 sq. ft. museum opened to the public on March 12, 2016 featuring an important collection donated by Vancouver home builder Michael Audain and his wife Yoshiko Karasawa. The Audain’s personal art collection traces a visual record of British Columbia from the late 18th century to the present day. It includes one of the world’s finest collections of old First Nation masks and a collection of Emily Carr paintings. Construction of the $30 million museum started in August 2013. From the construction perspective, the initial challenge was the project site in Whistler, which was surrounded by forest and located within the floodplain of Fitzsimmons Creek. In addition, the typical snowfall in Whistler averages about 15 ft in accumulated depth every year. In response, Patkau Architects designed a building with public spaces and galleries, which fit into an existing linear space within the surrounding forest. The structure is elevated a full
storey above the ground and crowned with a steeply sloped roof. “We had to take time to figure out all of the existing layers, before you could install anything,” says Yetman. “It’s not a standard building where there is an architectural ceiling with a chase. We had to make sure everything was in the right location at the right depth and height to fit in the space.” During the investigation and planning stages of the project, AWSE had two workers on the site. The company had about 12 workers on site, when the rough in or pulling of wire was being done. “There was an empty chase along the west side of the building,” says Yetman. “So, we used that chase and ran all of our pipes from the rooms back to that area. So, this made it easier to pull wire in and out of these areas.” At the end of the project, the number of workers from AWSE went back down to two people, who were involved in cleanup, labelling and testing. A total of four VRCA Awards was handed out for the Audain Art Museum — two silver and two gold. Other winners include Pocklington Building Systems (gold), European Touch Hardwood Floors (silver) and Axiom Builders (silver).
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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR $2-8 MILLION golD Houle Electric Ltd. — Northern Rockies Regional Recreational Centre
Community Building BY ROBIN BRUNET
LoNNIE tRELENBERG, EStIMAtoR/ project manager for Houle Electric Limited, says the most fulfilling aspect of the Northern Rockies Regional Recreation Centre (NRRRC) project in Fort Nelson (apart from Houle winning the Gold in the electrical contractors category at the VRCA’s 28th Annual Awards of Excellence) is that “it’s become a genuine community hub. Fort Nelson’s first recreation centre collapsed in 2007, and then the bottom dropped out of the oil and gas industry, but our project has helped invigorate community spirit.” The NRRRC, which ultimately became a $2.5 million contract for Houle, consisted of the third phase of a 35,000 square foot addi36 construction business
tion to an existing complex and included a new aquatic centre with changing rooms, child play area, public viewing area, a second storey fitness area, climbing wall, and a combined racquetball/ squash court. Phase Three also included a partial basement and third story mezzanine housing mechanical and electrical spaces to service the new aquatic and fitness centers. Houle was responsible for the HVAC controls (Reliable), pool controls, access control (Genetec using HID Edge controllers), and CCTV (Genetec). In terms of challenges, Houle was kept busy from the project’s launch in April of 2013 to its completion in May of 2015. Trelenberg says,
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“First of all, there was a 40 per cent increase in the project scope with no extended construction period. Then, the team was faced with temperatures from 30°C to -45°C and snowfalls heavy enough to shut down the community.” Houle crews (which peaked at 14 people and was guided by foremen Anthony Price and Darren Lawless) worked closely with MMM Group Limited engineers on changes that occurred throughout the project; and by prefabbing many items and shipping them to the site ready to be installed, this significantly reduced labour and trade compaction, waste, and installation time. Houle also adhered to LEAN construction technique to ensure that waste was minimized. The mechanical systems included using heat recovery from the refrigeration plant for rink underfloor heating, snow melt pit heating, and domestic water pre-heating. “With the addition of the indoor pool, the mechanical systems also include using the low grade waste heat from the refrigeration plant instead of natural gas to heat the aquatic centre building, domestic water, and pool water,” says Trelenberg. “The added heat recovery system includes heat exchangers, water storage tanks, circulation pumps and heat pumps.” One highlight of the project was a concert level lighting system in the aquatic centre consisting of a 200 head total lighting rail on the north and south sides of the pools, which both meets lighting requirements and provides full maintenance access without the need to drain the pool (as is the case with traditional aquatic centres). “The lighting was specifically installed to minimize any spotting or glare to the people in and out of the pool,” says Trelenberg. “It can also play pre-programmed lighting shows with the use of a high end Philips colour Kinetics lighting control system.” Arguably the most impressive aspect of the completed NRRRC is that by combining the curling rink, two ice rinks, aquatic, fitness, community and visitor centre into one well-planned facility, the building footprint has been reduced and all components can be conveniently serviced by a single transportation stop. Trelenberg, who has visited NRRRC several times, credits Bird Construction as well as MMM for bringing a difficult project to fruition on time and on budget. “Quite frankly, when we won the Gold at the VRCA awards I was surprised and deeply honoured, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the enormous professionalism of our colleagues,” he says. “This was a tough project — but the results are remarkable.”
2016 Glotel Awards - Top 3 Finalist||Best BestSustainability Sustainability Project Project 2016 Glotel Awards - Top 3 Finalist
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2016 SP&T Award | Security Integratorofofthe theYear Year 2016 SP&T Award | Security Integrator
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2016 VRCA Awards of Excellence | Innovation 2016 VRCA Award of Excellence | Innovation Connected Snow Removal Camera
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2016 VRCA Awards of Excellence | Safety 2016 VRCASafety Awards of Excellence | Safety Superior Record (13th Safety Award)
Superior Safety Record (13th Safety Award)
2016 VRCA Awards of Excellence | Gold Electrical Project | Northern 2016 VRCA Construction Awards of Excellence | GoldRockies Regional
Recreation Centre Project | Northern Rockies Electrical Construction Regional Recreation Centre
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MANUfACtURER & SUPPLIER Archrib Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre golD Western
tHE NEw GRANdvIEw HEIGHtS Aquatic Center is a 94,000 square foot facility, located on the corner of 168th Street and 24th Avenue in South Surrey. The dramatic undulating roof form has already earned the project international and national attention. The 5” x 10” glulam roof beams at the Aquatic Centre is a catenary roof structure, hanging like cables from post-tensioned concrete buttress at each end of the building. More than 100 rafters measuring 120 and 180 feet long were raised over 74 feet and set in place with two 2.5 inch steel pins on each side. The glulam beams and connections were manufactured by Western Archrib in their Edmonton plant and trucked to the site. Construction took 20 months with EllisDon achieving substantial completion in December 2015.
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Structurlam Products LP UBC Student Union Building
Daikin North America LLC MNP Tower
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Completed in only seven months, the Bella Bella Staff Housing Project is Canada’s first multi-unit modular passive house. The project consists of six two-storey attached townhomes and has passed a rigorous quality assurance process that meets a criteria that includes space heat demand, primary energy demand and pressurization testing. The units were manufactured at Britco’s plant in Maple Ridge to sustainable construction standards and then transported by water barge to Bella Bella and erected on site on existing foundations. On the coldest day of the year, each unit in this complex will have a peak heating load of about 600 watts. This means that the entire unit is heated with the equivalent of the heat generated from six 100watt light bulbs. No additional heating required. In addition, the heat recovery ventilator provides fresh air to the building. All the air in the building is replaced every three hours or less, and 92 per cent of the heat in that air is recovered, transferred to fresh air.
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Vintage Woodworks Inc. MNP Tower
The Heritage Award was established four years ago to recognize contractors who restore and upgrade historic buildings. This year the judges identified one project that met all the criteria. The MNP Tower is a 35 storey commercial tower of concrete and glass, built in a unique wave shape, covering 395,646 square feet. There are four levels of underground parkade connected through to the existing Guinness Tower and the building is constructed on the last available site of downtown Vancouver’s Harbour District. Vintage Woodworks Inc. scope of work included heritage window and door removal, restoration and installation, and replacement of a heritage flag pole. The restoration followed the standards and guidelines for conservation of historic places in Canada
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR – PROJECT OVER $45 MILLION Ledcor Construction Limited – Marine Gateway
GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT $15 to $45 MILLION Axiom Builders Inc. — Audain Art Museum
Marine Gateway is an ambitious mixed used development located at Cambie Street & SW Marine Drive in Vancouver, a significant new transit node in south Vancouver. The 1.5 million square foot development is comprised of a neighbourhood plaza, two residential towers that include market and rental units, an office tower, a retail podium, and a 11-screen Cineplex theater complex. Central to the design is the accommodation of transit-related amenities including a bus loop and Canada Line station. The building on the west was built within six feet of the Canada line station and directly adjacent and overtop of the bus loop to the south. Challenges on this project included working adjacent to an active Canada Line station and an existing bus loop. Ledcor Construction broke ground in 2012 and successfully delivered the project in 2015.
Located on Blackcomb Way adjacent to Whistler village, the 56,000 square foot Audain Art Museum is British Columbia’s largest purpose-built art museum. The museum features a 10,000 square foot permanent exhibition space as well as a 8,000 square foot temporary exhibition space. The museum features philanthropist Michael Audain’s private collection of B.C. historic and contemporary art. The location of the building, in the flood plain surrounded by forest, combined with the requirement to maintain all trees, posed unique challenges for nearly every aspect of the structure and envelope construction. Raised on large concrete piers, the building is designed to stand a one-in2,500-year flood. The long span structure consists of a three dimensional steel frame, with concrete composite steel deck floor slabs. Construction began in August 2013 and was substantially completed in October 2015. The museum officially opened in March 2016.
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT OVER $45 MILLION Ledcor Construction Limited — A-B Connector at YVR
The A-B Connector project at the Vancouver International Airport is an expansion of the domestic terminal that features new gate capacity, an expedited baggage system, seismic upgrades and new dining and shopping options. The project also added four new apron-drive passenger bridges, creating more space for boarding passengers. The new four-storey rotunda is the largest YVR project to date for Ledcor Construction. At the peak of the project, there was an estimated 600 workers on site. The scope of work included demolishing the existing south pod and a portion of Pier B and Pier A; relocating and upgrading four gates and adding four new gates; constructing an expanded concourse and a new bag hall area. Challenges included working within an operational airport and a high security controlled environment. Construction work occurred seven days per week with three work shifts Monday to Friday. 40 construction business
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Previously known as 250 Powell, The View opened in the fall of 2015. Mierau Contractors successfully transformed a former remand centre into 96 new units of affordable housing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The vacant cells on levels two through seven were transformed into social housing, much needed in this part of the city. Cells were demolished and replaced with 96 new residential units. A gymnasium was turned into a shared amenity space and a convenience kitchen for the residents. Each floor has access to roof decks, common lounges, and laundry rooms. The inmates exercise yard is transformed into a community garden with vegetable and flowerbeds. Challenges included working above an operating Community Law Courts. The main floor and basement of the building were in continuous use during construction.
The Wesbrook Community Centre is a visually stunning and state-of-theart facility at the heart of Wesbrook Place village in UBC. Built to LEED Gold equivalency, the community centre provides recreational facility as well as amenities to support and improve the social and cultural life of the community. The new community centre is a two-storey 30,600 square foot building that provides a large gymnasium, fully-equipped fitness centre, café, dance studio, music rooms, child minding, teen and adult centre, meeting rooms, multi-purpose rooms, and administrative space all grouped around a large central atrium. The building is an example of hybrid construction with heavy timber structure (glulam beams and columns, cross laminated timber panels, structural steel and reinforced concrete for optimal structural performance and architectural aesthetics
GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT $15 to $45 MILLION Mierau Contractors Ltd —The View
GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT UP TO $15 MILLION Scott Construction Group — Wesbrook Community Centre
sIlVER GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT $15 to $45 MILLION EllisDon Corp — Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR — PROJECT UP TO $15 MILLION Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd. — kinder Morgan Vancouver Wharves Bulkhead Wall
The award winning Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in South Surrey features a 10-lane, 50-metre FINA certified competition pool, 10 metre high dive tower and a leisure pool with a waterslide. With seating for up to 900 spectators, it provides the capacity to host competitive swimming and diving events. The most striking and unique feature on the LEED certified aquatic centre is a glulam catenary roof structure supported by post-tensioned concrete buttresses. The 5” x 10” glulam roof beams hang like cables from post-tensioned concrete buttress at each end of the building. Prefabricated from regionallysourced Douglas fir beams, EllisDon Corporation worked closely with the structural engineer to use multiple mobile cranes to lift these wood members into place in just eight days. Construction took 20 months with EllisDon achieving substantial completion in December 2015. Peak manpower was just over 100. Installation of the roof was a key milestone. November/december 2016
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DIRECTOR’S TRADE AWARD OVER $8 MILLION Jangho Curtain Wall Canada Co. Ltd. — 745 Thurlow
DIRECTOR’S TRADE AWARD OVER $8 MILLION keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd. — Marine Gateway
745 Thurlow is 25-storey office tower in downtown Vancouver. The project has curtain wall on both tower and podium. It also includes a grand canopy, atrium and glass railing on podium and one other canopy on the roof patio. Total area of curtain wall is around 183,000 square feet. The curtain walls on north and east are sloped outward, creating difficulty for installation. Two-direction sloping of canopy resulted in untypical glass shapes and sizes, which was challenging for installation and alignment.
Keith Panel Systems (KPS) played a critical role to deliver a world class development that was on schedule and within the owner’s pricing expectations. The wall coverage that KPS was responsible for was massive. Over 200,000 square feet of façade product was successfully engineered, fabricated, and installed. This required a field crew of more than 40 installers supported by local fabrication working throughout a 15 month installation schedule. Highlighting the architectural façade are the custom iridescent colour shifting ACM panels in KPS System A.
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sIlVER PRESIDENT’S TRADE AWARD $1-3 MILLION Whitemud Ironworks Limited — YVR Expedited Transfer Facility
PRESIDENT’S TRADE AWARD $1-3 MILLION Horizon Landscape Contractors — McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver Airport
The construction of a new 183 metre long structural steel transfer corridor at YVR required extensive planning and coordination to transport steel through an active and operational airport. Both day/night shifts were necessary along with safety/security protocols and emphasis of minimal disruption to the public. All the steel was carted on custom made engineered dollies and rolled into position with manual labour involved in erection (without any use of crane or conventional hoisting capabilities from above). Heaviest beam weighed in at 5,000 lbs. The project also included demolition, site assessment/transport, field measuring, and engineering.
The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Richmond is a large construction project that brings unique European styling and high end retail brands to Greater Vancouver. Horizon Landscape Contractors installed various water treatment system components including: skid mounted water treatment system, WaterWise Controller, holding tank and automated diverter and strainer. The project has a water feature that uses safe recirculated drinking water. This is the first one of its kind in Vancouver. All other water play parks are stormed. The Waterplay Luminary fountain system features 40 individual nozzles called “Luminary Sprays” providing a flow of roughly 60 gallons per minute on average when all the features are on.
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FOUNDER’S TRADE AWARD $3-8 MILLION JSV Architectural Veneering & Millwork Inc — UBC Student Union Building
The UBC Student Union Building is a unique and complex project featuring extensive use of wood throughout. The installation of the millwork to the Nest, a two storey structure that “floats” in the middle of the five storey atrium, was extremely challenging with difficult access. The scope of work included supply and installation of acoustic wall and ceiling panels, cabinets, bars and restaurant architectural woodwork. The high quality of the millwork, benches and booths was maintained throughout the building.
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CHAIRMAN’S TRADE AWARD UP TO $1 MILLION European Touch Hardwood Floors Inc. — Audain Art Museum
CHAIRMAN’S AWARD UP TO $1 MILLION Maxwell Floors Ltd. — A-B Connector
At 56,000 square feet, the Audain Art Museum is B.C.’s largest purposebuilt art museum. The museum sits on piers with concrete foundations and shear walls that elevate the building above the flood plain. European Touch Hardwood Floors Inc.’s scope of work included concrete levelling and hardwood flooring installation. The hardwood floors provided a beautiful compliment to the stunning architecture including several wood features throughout the project.
The A-B Connector project is an expansion and upgrade of the YVR Domestic Terminal that features a new gate capacity, an expedited baggage handling system, new dining and shopping options, and seismic upgrades to existing structures. Maxwell Floors Ltd. supplied and installed 300,000 square feet of resilient flooring. Many colours, designs and borders in various locations, coupled with YVR security, required Maxwell Floors to provide carefully labeled and controlled JIT inventory on a daily basis.
sIlVER FOUNDER’S TRADE AWARD $3-8 MILLION Wesbridge Steelworks Limited — UBC Student Union Building
Wesbridge Steelworks supplied and installed the intricate and precision structural and miscellaneous steel work for this stunning Platinum Leed Certified building. The steel highlights of the multi-purpose student building include the Great Hall, the Nest, and three stories of “floating” stairs. The Great Hall Steel consisted of 30 foot trusses weighing 80 tons each. The Nest steel was extremely challenging as it was supported by three slender columns. The “floating” stairs are throughout the building and are supported by embeds, some of which are 40 foot long HSS beams. 44 construction business
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oUtstANDINg woMAN IN CoNstRUCtIoN AwARD Elizabeth Rowe, Canadian turner Construction Company, ltd.
MEMBER of tHE YEAR AwARD Division 15 Mechanical ltd.
Elizabeth “Libby” started her career with a Bachelors and Masters of Applied Sciences in Material Science Engineering from the University of Toronto. After university, she worked with PCL Construction where she was a field engineer and Quality Assurance engineer for the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project. Currently she is working as a project manager at Turner Construction. Libby has also been involved in the Canadian Construction Women organization for several years. She began her involvement on the program committee and was later elected as the vice president and then CCW president. During her time in leadership, Libby helped double the CCW membership numbers.
Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. provides design-build, design-assist and construction services for mechanical and district energy systems throughout B.C. Division 15 utilizes BIM and pre-fabrication in a number of sectors, thereby enhancing installation accuracy and project scheduling. The company’s dedicated and experienced staff works closely together with client project teams to create advanced, cost-effective mechanical solutions to challenges in complex, fast-track projects. Division 15 team members have invested countless hours serving on the VRCA, BCCA, and CCA board of directors and supporting the U40 Network. Division 15 has been a member of the VRCA for more than nine years.
EDUCAtIoN lEADERsHIP AwARD Ronan Deane, graham Construction and Engineering lP
U40 Award Amit Patel, Canadian turner Construction Company, ltd.
Ronan has been involved in the VRCA Education Committee since 2011, serving as co-chair in 2013 and chair from 2014 to present. He has been a consistent leader and active promoter of education through a variety of forums, including career development events at high schools. He has invested a considerable amount of time in the role of advancement of education for the betterment of the construction industry. He actively speaks with youth about opportunities available within the industry. With limited labour supply being an issue, Ronan’s involvement at grass roots level will pay dividends in years to come.
Over his 11 year career in the construction industry, Amit Patel has completed countless projects in Seattle and Vancouver. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UBC. From there he moved to Seattle to begin working for Turner Construction as a field engineer. When Turner Corporation decided to establish a location in Vancouver, Amit was a natural choice to lead this transition. Under his leadership the Vancouver office has grown to become a major competitor in the market place. Amit has a passion for the industry which is reflected in the quality of work his team produces, and the integrity he displays in his dealings with designers and clients.
CoNstRUCtIoN woRKPlACE HEAltH AND sAfEtY INNoVAtIoN AwARD the gisborne group for glove & Eyewear Matrices
ANNUAl sAfEtY AwARDs
ZERo ACCIDENt fREqUENCY
Houle Electric ltd. (trade contractor 200,000+ personhours) the gisborne group (trade contractor 100,000 to 199,999 personhours) PCl Constructors westcoast Inc. (general contractor 200,000+ personhours)
• Graham Construction and Engineering LP • McLeod Masonry International Corp. • Omicron Canada Inc • Scott Construction Group • Status Electrical Corporation • Western Pacific Enterprises GP
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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — OVER $8 MILLION Bridge Electric Corp. — Pacific Centre Mall, Sears Redevelopment
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — $2-8 MILLION Status Electrical Corporation — The View
The Sears Redevelopment Pacific Centre project renovated over 600,000 square feet in downtown Vancouver. The redevelopment is pursuing LEED Gold certification. LED lighting and a low voltage lighting control system with timers, occupancy sensors, and a photocell were installed to reduce energy use. The project faced many challenges including fitting new electrical systems without reducing ceiling heights for tenants. Bridge Electric successfully delivered a high quality project with good value to ownership by using thorough planning, clear communication with the GC and other trades, efficient material handling, and strategic personnel allocation.
The View (250 Powell) opened in the fall of 2015 after the building, a former Remand Centre in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, was renovated into 96 units of much needed affordable housing for lowincome individuals. The Level 1 Community Law Courts remained in full normal operation during construction. Status Electrical supplied and installed all materials and equipment required as per Division 26, 27 and 28 including lighting control, power distribution, branch circuits, motor control, data, telephone, Intrusion, Intercom and Access Control.
sIlVER ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD OVER $8 MILLION Mott Electric General Partnership Marine Gateway
Marine Gateway is a multi-faceted urban town centre comprised of below grade parking, a neighborhood plaza, two residential towers that include market and rental units, an office tower, a retail podium, and a Cineplex theater complex. Mott Electric General Partnership’s scope of work included electrical, security, lighting and public art lighting. Their largest project to date, with design assist and the innovative use of a robotics, auto cad and tablets for crews, Mott Electric provided cost effective design and construction as a key member of the team. 46 construction business
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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — UP TO $2 MILLION Trotter & Morton Building Technologies Inc. UBC District Energy Centre
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD – UP TO $2 MILLION Canem Systems Ltd. — McCarthy Tetrault Law Office
The UBC District Energy Centre is a two-storey, 21,000 square foot facility that houses three, 15 megawatt, natural gas fired, high efficiency boilers. The building is aiming for LEED Gold certification. the power service had to be run into the building in underground ducts. Features include a combination of energy efficient fluorescent and LED lighting, security cameras, a card access door control system and TV screens (digital signage) in the main entry way. Challenges included working at the core of a fully occupied university with size constraints of site and no lay down areas.
This project was designed for the top three floors of an office tower in downtown Vancouver. Canem Systems’ scope of work included the lighting control and concentrated circuit requirements. Challenges were overcome with pre-planning, prefabrication, value engineering and innovative solutions. One of the first challenges faced was the request to have the server rooms complete with all the data cabling terminated and wireless access points installed well before the actual surfaces that would eventually house the data outlets would be available. The project was completed on a very tight schedule.
sIlVER ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD $2-8 MILLION F&M Installations Ltd. — 242kU XLPE Transmission Cable System Supply & Installation
FMI performed a technically complex hightech cable pull through dense suburban streets in Victoria and Saanich. FMI worked with Japan-based cable manufacturer J-Power Systems ( JPS) and Mitsubishi Canada Ltd to install the 242 kV cable on behalf of BC Hydro. The team’s task was to run almost 13 km of high-voltage 242 kV cable between the George Tripp substation and the Horsey Substation. The cable was a mixed power and fibre-optic line running through ducts and manholes. These cables provide a redundant system to ensure power can be delivered to the substation and disbursed through the city — particularly during power failures and natural disasters.
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sIlVER MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — OVER $8 MILLION Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. — Pacific Centre Mall, Sears Redevelopment
MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD $3-8 MILLION Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. — Alexandra District Energy Utility Phase 3
The Sears Redevelopment project completely redeveloped over 600,000 square feet of prime commercial and retail core and shell space. The project tied into the existing Pacific Centre Mall which remained operational during construction. The entire redevelopment was completed without impact to the operations of the existing Pacific Centre mall or the mall’s functioning parkade which sits immediately below the building being developed. Further to this the new construction portion of the project was completed in a very compressed schedule which spanned less than 24 months.
As the mechanical contractor for the last two phases of the ADEU system, Division 15’s scope of work included the tie in of the new underground mains from the existing geofield as well as the supply and installation of large cooling tower stations, advances pumping and boiler systems and energy transfer stations with related controls. To meet the tight schedule, Division 15’s in-house BIM team created accurate 3D mechanical models and championed the detection and resolution of coordination issues in a virtual environment.
sIlVER MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD OVER $8 MILLION Fred Welsh Ltd. — MNP Tower
The MNP Tower is a 35 storey commercial tower, built in a unique wave shape, covering 395,646 square feet. The building mechanical systems include Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system for heating and cooling throughout the building; and split refrigeration units for the rooftop mechanical room, the back-of-house parkade areas, and also serving the double height entrance lobby. To maintain the symmetry of the wave shape, each floor has a dedicated mechanical room that houses the condensing units for the floor VRF system, supply and return mains for condenser water system, domestic water risers, and main supply and exhaust ducting. 48 construction business
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sIlVER MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — $3-8 MILLION keith Plumbing & Heating Co. Ltd. — Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre
The Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre is an architecturally striking facility that will meet the recreational needs of a growing community. The LEED certified building’s mechanical system uses high-efficiency, heatrecovery chillers to move heat recovered from the exhaust-air stream to areas requiring heat, and condensing boilers provide back-up heat. It also features an exhaust system to extract trichloramines from the pool surface. The vertical steel facade columns along the south wall were used as ducts to eliminate condensation at the exterior glazing. Mechanical equipment was installed in the basement instead of on the unique wood roof.
sIlVER MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD — UP TO $3 MILLION Clairmont Mechanical Contracting Ltd. — Crofton Dining Hall & Athletic Centre
The project includes a two and a half level underground parkade, a new athletic wing, including workout room, washrooms at several areas, substantial mechanical and electrical rooms, a new graduate lounge, and the final being the Dining Hall with a new commercial kitchen and support areas. Total finished area is 57,000 square feet.
sIlVER MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR AWARD UP TO $3 MILLION Trotter & Morton Building Technologies Inc. UBC Alumni Centre
Trotter & Morton Building Technologies Inc. was the mechanical and fire protection contractor for the construction of the UBC Alumni Centre, which includes a centre for innovation, large celebration venue, classrooms, social spaces, high-tech boardrooms, library, cafe and commercial kitchen for the catering staff. Trotter used a new heat pump technology and overcame many challenges including no lay down areas in an occupied university. This project is aiming for LEED Gold.
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Industry News
SURREY PooL EARNS woRLd’S BESt tItLE The Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, B.C. has been recognized as the world’s top structural engineering project. The Institution of Structural Engineers has presented the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre with one of the highest accolades in world engineering, “The Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence” at a ceremony in London, England. Engineered by Fast + Epp, the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre boasts the world’s most slender, long span timber catenary roof. The undulating roof shape reduces the amount of air to be heated and de-humidified, cutting operational costs, while ingenious steel tube columns in the façade serve a double function, resisting wind loads and acting as ventilator ducts. The Awards judges said: “We were struck by the undulating roof, which elegantly balances structural form with building use and celebrates the expressed materials. The adoption of timber in catenary permitted a structural depth of just 300mm for a 55m span — a design which defies convention and demanded design excellence.” The project won in the Community or Residential Structures category and then was ultimately selected for the top overall award by the judges. Designed in close collaboration with architects from HCMA Architecture + Design, the facility was constructed to meet the diverse needs of one of Canada’s fastest growing cities and features an undulating roof structure with hanging timber ‘cables’ suspended between large concrete buttresses. It’s believed to be the world’s most slender long span timber catenary roof, highlighting wood’s potential as a cost-effective, structurallyefficient and aesthetically-pleasing building material for aquatic facilities. To date, the aquatic facility remains one of Fast + Epp’s most ambitious projects in its 30-year history. INvEStMENt GREEN LIGHt foR woodfIBRE LNG Construction for the $1.6 billion Woodfibre LNG project in B.C. could begin in 2017. The board of directors has approved construction of the project near Squamish, the first major LNG project in the province to make a final investment decision. This project will be the cleanest LNG project in the world and one of the largest private-sector investments in the Lower Mainland’s history. Woodfibre LNG will bring to Squamish an estimated 650 good paying construction jobs per year during an estimated two-year construction period, 100 full-time jobs to the Woodfibre site during operation, plus a dozen or so administration-related jobs to Squamish during the life of the project. Pending permit approval from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, construction for the Woodfibre LNG Project could begin in 2017, with operation in 2020. 50 construction business
JACK dAvIdSoN wINS PINNACLE AwARd The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) has honoured Jack Davidson, CAE, president of the BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, with its Pinnacle Award. The annual awards were formally presented during CSAE’s National Conference & Showcase held October 26 – 28 in Toronto, Ontario. Pinnacle Award recipients are accomplished leaders who have demonstrated leadership qualities within their own organizations, contributed to other voluntary organizations and the community-at-large, and to CSAE at both the national and local levels. Jack Davidson, CAE, has served as president of the BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association since 1999. During that time Jack has successfully steered the organization through effective strategic planning, strong government relations and educational programs and effective media and public relations campaigns with a relentless focus on driving value to his members. He also helped develop a safety training organization for the construction industry and spearheaded other programs that promoted and developed job opportunities in related industries. He has served as a director on numerous boards over the years and is widely known for his dedication to his volunteer work. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his outstanding contribution to the community and to Canada in 2013. $2 BILLIoN tRANSIt PLAN APPRovEd The Mayors’ Council and TransLink board of directors has approved a plan for $2 billion in transit and road improvements to be implemented as Phase One of the 10-Year Vision for Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation, marking the beginning of a multi-year investment in transit and transportation across the region. The Phase One Plan will bring noticeable improvements to the way residents travel throughout Metro Vancouver, by reducing overcrowding on transit and on HandyDart, providing new services to areas which haven’t had transit before, helping to address bottlenecks on the region’s major road networks, and creating pedestrian walkways and bike paths. The Plan reflects input gathered through public consultation that demonstrated strong support from Metro Vancouver residents and businesses for new transportation investments. Phase One will be funded by a $370 million contribution from the federal government and $246 million from the provincial government, with the remaining $1.3 billion of capital and operating costs coming from TransLink’s existing funding sources, cost savings and efficiencies, as well as new regional revenues including property tax and transit fare increases.
November/december 2016
Western canada’s Largest conference and tradeshoW for
ProPerty ManageMent • InterIor DesIgn • archItecture • renovatIon • constructIon • real estate
February 15 & 16, 2017
Va n co u V e r co n V e n t i o n c e n t r e W e s t
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Early Bird dEadlinE January 26
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buIlDeX vancouver 2017 show PrevIew
Plan your visit 80+ sEminars to CHoosE from We’ve expanded our program, giving you more opportunities to enhance your own professional development. earn ceu credits from aiBc, BoMi canada, Homeowner Protection office and idcec. explore the full program at buildexvancouver.com.
600+ ExHiBits to ExPlorE don’t miss the exciting features and new products in the tradeshow floor. Make and develop connections, and get takeaways for your business.
assoCiation PrEsEnCE this year, we’re pleased to once again host the ever popular BoMa luncheon, icBa Breakfast and Vrca Breakfast. Visit www. buildexvancouver.com for more information.
World of ConCrEtE Pavilion Back by popular demand — the internationally acclaimed World of concrete is back! Visit this interactive feature on the tradeshow floor, with its own pavilion and live demos.
loCation & timE industry rECEPtion sPonsored By
the annual industry reception takes place wednesday, February 15 from 5:00 – 6:00pm on level 2. Join your colleagues and network with over 600 industry professionals while enjoying a complimentary glass of wine or beer and hors d’oeuvres.
Vancouver convention centre West 1055 canada Place tradeshow – exhibit Halls B&c seminars – level 2 Date
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Wednesday, February 15 thursday, February 16
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Early Bird dEadlinE: January 26 register by January 26 to benefit from lower seminar fees and enjoy complimentary tradeshow access! all early Bird registrants will be entered into a draw for a trip to one of these informa events!
BUILDEX Vancouver Show Preview • February 15 & 16, 2017 • www.buildexvancouver.com
BUILDEX VancoUVEr 2017 Show PrEVIEw
tailorEd sEssions for you
WEdnEsday, fEBruary 15
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 8:30am–10:00am • eb $45/ReG $55 W03: IntRoductIon to HIGH PeRFoRmance – PassIve House buIldInGs Presented By
[ AIBC 1.5 Core LUs • BOMI 1.5 CPDs ] the Passive House standard is starting to alter the canadian construction industry. Building professionals, developers, manufacturers, and public officials alike are all turning to the standard to deliver high performance buildings and differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace. this seminar will explore the fundamental principles and practices behind Passive House, the world’s leading high performance building standard, and reveal how it’s spreading across Bc.
roB BernHardt
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 1:30Pm–3:00Pm • eb $45/ReG $55 W33: deconstRuctIon and tHe GReen demolItIon bylaW [ AIBC 1.5 Core LUs • BOMI 1.0 CPD • 1 Hour HSW-S IDCEC Approved ] to become the greenest city in the world, the city of Vancouver has implemented policy to support the recyclers and salvagers in the city with the passing of the Green Demolition Bylaw. This focuses specifically on diverting demolition waste from the landfill and hopefully salvaging non-renewable resources like old growth wood among many other valuable materials. this bylaw currently applies to all houses built before the 1940s and will soon expand to all pre-1950s, then pre-1960s and very soon, all houses. this bylaw prevents traditional demolition’s inherent waste and instead supports the eco-friendly deconstruction process resulting in the selective disassembly of a structure for reuse, recycling and waste management. if you are demolishing residential homes outside of the city of Vancouver, you are not excluded. nearby municipalities are using the city of Vancouver as a precedent for their own upcoming sustainability programs. this panel presentation will address the specifics of this important subject matter critical to the construction industry and our city at large.
MicHael neMetH
speakers: rob Bernhardt, Bernhardt contracting ltd. Michael nemeth, Bright Buildings
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 8:30am–12:30Pm • caGbc membeRs $135; non-caGbc membeRs eb $140/ReG $160 W04: leed v4 RatInG system Presented By
[ AIBC 4 Core LUs • 3.5 BGCI Ce Hours (General or LEED-specific for any specialty) • 3.5 BOMI CPDs ] in this half day workshop, you’ll gain a solid grasp of leed v4 changes and the positive impact this will have on current green building practices in canada. as a result, you’ll be able to communicate effectively to colleagues and clients about some of the major high-level changes occurring in leed v4.
roBert caPar
adaM corneil
ricHard drake
cHristina radVak
Moderator: robert capar, owner, Maison d’etre design-Build inc.
Jason Packer
speaker: Jason Packer, Dip. Tech, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Associate, Senior Green Building strategist, recollective consulting inc.
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 12:00Pm–1:00Pm • eb $35/ReG $45 W22: smaRt code solutIons FoR buIldInG enveloPes and loWEr ovErall Cost [ AIBC 1 Core LU • BOMI 1.0 CPD ] discover new 2015 national Building code and necB fire, sound control internal envelope requirements and innovative solutions including all new code requirements for apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) for healthy Habitat.
Brad Badelt
roBert MarsHall
learning objectives: • understand Fire, sound, Moisture and ieQ control • Become familiar with key new code requirements • understand the importance of Holistic solutions in the Built environment • Gain confidence to design and specify smart innovative systems speaker: Robert Marshall, Building Science Manager, CertainTeed SAINT-GOBAIN Canada
Panelists: Brad Badelt, Sustainability Group Member, City of Vancouver adam corneil, ceo, naturally crafted richard drake, contractor Christina Radvak, Deconstruction Manager, Habitat for Humanity, Greater Vancouver
Wednesday, Feb. 15 • 1:30Pm–3:00Pm • eb $45/ReG $55 W35: GReetInGs FRom abRoad: an oveRvIeW oF tHe latest euRoPean buIldInG InnovatIons [ AIBC 1.5 Core LUs • BOMI 1.5 CPDs • 1 Hour HSW-S IDCEC Approved ] it has been estimated that buildings account for 40% of the total energy use in europe, which accounts to around one third of the region’s co2 emissions. this session aims to explore the ingenuity in the building industry by examining trends and approaches that have been implemented around europe to reduce energy consumption and introduce greener solutions. some of the subjects that will be discussed are large-scale solar energy integration in urban environments, using algae as source of energy in buildings, smart energy management systems, along with many others. Furthermore, these projects show how their approaches balance sustainability and cost effectiveness of products and processes.
Wilco Van BeMMel
dirk Van der Ven
GERBEN VAN STRAATEN
speakers: Wilco Van Bemmel, General Manager, Walas Concepts dirk van der Ven, carbon Blue Project Gerben Van Straaten, CEO, World of Walas
BUILDEX Vancouver Show Preview • February 15 & 16, 2017 • www.buildexvancouver.com
BUILDEX VancoUVEr 2017 Show PrEVIEw
tailorEd sEssions for you
tHursday, fEBruary 16
tHuRsday, Feb. 16 • 8:30am–10:30am • eb $45/ReG $55 t02: movInG FRom equIvalency to ceRtIFIcatIon: manaGInG RIsk and RePutatIon
tHuRsday, Feb. 16 • 1:00Pm–2:00Pm • eb $35/ReG $45 t25: eFFIcIency RedesIGn oF exIstInG buIldInGs: tHe BritisH ColumBia ExPEriEnCE
[ AIBC 2 Core LUs • BOMI 2.0 CPDs • 2 Hours HSW-BC IDCEC Approved ]
[ AIBC 1 Core LU • BOMI 1.0 CPD • 1 Hour HSW-BC IDCEC Approved ]
as an industry in transition, it is increasingly difficult for builders to respond to the ongoing regulatory changes and growing expectations of home buyers around sustainable features. Municipalities must also respond to these changes, while progressing their own sustainability goals and managing the expectations of their constituents. the collision of these factors can at times create some unintended consequences that lead to builders building to an equivalency standard and municipalities unable to gauge those builds that have actually met the standard. in the end, all interested parties may be compromised-the homebuyer may not be purchasing a certified home; the builder may be risking their reputation by not certifying; and the municipality may not only be undermining their ability to meet their own sustainability targets, but also creating an uneven playing field whereby they’re giving a pass to those builders building to a program standard but not certifying, while other builders are pursuing third-party certification.
this presentation will guide the audience through a series of case studies of 2 – 10 year paypacks that demonstrate the efficiency opportunity of existing buildings.
len HorVatH
scott sinclair
Presenters will begin with an overview of the Bc Hydro continuous optimization Program for commercial Buildings, that took a unique approach to recommissioning through the use of Energy Management Information System (EMIS) software as a real time M&V tool, in combination with a year of operator “coaching” following project completion, expanding on the uptake and outcomes of this program. speakers: len Horvath, President, Quantum lighting scott sinclair, President & ceo, ses consulting
tHuRsday, Feb. 16 • 1:00Pm–2:00Pm • eb $35/ReG $45 t27: buIldInG PuRPose In tHe constRuctIon IndustRy: tHE addEd valuE of ComPany CulturE [ AIBC 1 Non-Core LU • BOMI 1.0 CPD • 1 Hour IDCEC Approved ]
JeniFer cHristenson
steVe Henderson
CHRIS HIGGINS
Joanne saWatzky
Moderator: Jenifer Christenson, Executive Director, Built Green Canada speakers: Steve Henderson, Principal, Staburn Property Group Chris Higgins, Green Building Planner, City of Vancouver Joanne sawatzky, senior Project Manager, light House sustainable Building centre
tHuRsday, Feb. 16 • 10:00am–11:30am • eb $45/ReG $55 t16: ventIlatIon today — emeRGInG concePts, PErformanCE CalCulations, and asHraE standard 62 ComPlianCE
company culture permeates the layers of a business: hiring, retention, branding and marketing. often times, company culture is put aside due to project demands and bottom lines. understanding who you are as a company, how to communicate this internally, to your target market and talent and maintain motivation within your team can be a challenge. attendees will leave with tools for answering these questions and leave with the know-how to implement changes that stick.
tara landes
Henri Belisle
aMi Mckay
MattHeW senF
[ AIBC 1.5 Core LUs • BOMI 1.5 CPDs ]
Moderator: tara landes, Founder and President, Bellrock Benchmarking inc.
recently, interest in understanding both performance as well as compliance of different ventilation strategies is receiving heightened attention, as air Handling Units (AHU) now demand higher levels of design and documentation for alternate designs. this presentation will discuss numerous different aHu scenarios, including ducted and non-ducted, mechanical and natural ventilation concepts with respect to both. the presenters will expand on how to calculate and demonstrate actual performance, including advanced methods such as airflow network models and computational fluid dynamics, as well as how to achieve asHrae standard 62 compliance. the presenters will also discuss these scenarios in the framework of the CaGBC’s requirements for ventilation and its representation in energy models
Panelists: Henri Belisle, General Manager, TQ Construction ami Mckay, lead interior designer & owner, Pure design inc. Matthew senf, Principal, sasen renovations
dr. andrea FrisQue
randy irWin
speakers: dr. andrea Frisque, P.eng., senior Building Performance engineer, stantec randy irwin, P.eng., Building Performance engineer, stantec
tHuRsday, Feb. 16 • 2:00Pm–3:00Pm • eb $35/ReG $45 t33: stEEl modular ConstruCtion: ProCEssEs, BEnEfits, cHallenGes and FutuRe outlook [ AIBC 1 Core LU • BOMI 1.0 CPD ] this panel presentation features key stakeholders involved in the successful execution of modular built projects. Providing a high JiM dunn level overview of modular construction, this panel will identify the challenges and opportunities that this practice presents to industry providing a future forward look of it’s standing in the marketplace. discussing common misconceptions, panelists will summarize the benefits of using this practice, providing an overview of industry best practices. Panelists will also provide context around the importance of early collaboration between Developer, General contractor, architect and Manufacturer, sharing critical processes put into play to overcome common challenges and ensure project success. Moderator: Jim dunn, President, stack Modular corporation
BUILDEX Vancouver Show Preview • February 15 & 16, 2017 • www.buildexvancouver.com
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