BC Comfort by North American Constructors Journal

BC Comfort:

Perfecting

the all-in-one

approach

BC Comfort of Burnaby, BC provides turnkey mechanical and HVAC Design/Build solutions for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino

www.bccomfort.com

stablished in 1972, BC Comfort of Burnaby, BC has forged a reputation as a highly regarded provider of turnkey mechanical and HVAC design/build and contracting solutions for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. The company shepherds projects through from concept to completion and beyond. Its full service offerings include sustainable design and engineering, HVAC and refrigeration, building automation controls, value engineering and preconstruction, and plumbing and medical gas. BC Comfort values long-term relationships and more than 80 percent of its clients have been with the company for 10 years or more. Senior Design Engineer Henry Leung credits that client retention to the company’s integrated in-house approach. “We have in-house plumbing, HVAC, controls, service and engineering. That differentiates

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| BC Comfort| 1 us from the other mechanical contractors in our area. We can offer a turnkey package to either general contractors or developers,” says Leung, a 12-year industry veteran who is responsible for ensuring that every design sent to a client meets BC Comfort’s standards. BC Comfort is committed to environmental sustainability and as part of its own efforts, partnered with Climate Smart of Vancouver in 2012 and has shown a steady reduction in

| BC Comfort| 2 its own carbon and natural gas emissions.

Key Projects

BC Comfort employs 80 and its sphere of operation is boundless, including office buildings, institutional buildings, sports arenas, community centers, data centers, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, manufacturing, and light healthcare facilities, high end car dealerships, warehouses and retail centers. BC Comfort is currently working on a pharmaceutical

manufacturing plant. “It’s one of the largest Pharmaceutical /clean room projects in the western Canada region and provides a lot of different services. That’s the one tying up a lot of our time right now,” says Leung. The company’s expertise was evident during its involvement with the recently completed Open Road Audi/Volkswagen dealership project in Burnaby. The company provided a turnkey HVAC and controls project saving over half-million

“There is a tangible sense of satisfaction when a design gets built, knowing that you had a hand in the creation of some very different facilities.” - Henry Leung, Senior Design Engineer www.bccomfort.com

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dollars on mechanical division alone for the client. “The job was originally bid on in a spec type of market and the budget came in a lot higher than what the owner had anticipated,” says Leung. “We were approached by the General Contractor to see if we could offer a Design/Build s olution, which we were able to. We had to radically change the design but were able to meet all of the owner’s requirements at a cost that was 75 percent

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of the original bid.” That focus on delivering functional and cost effective systems makes BC Comfort an attractive project partner.

Why Design/Build?

Leung estimates that 75 percent of the company’s work is Design/Build. “We really like this approach because it means that we can really have control on the quality that we’re outputting from a design standpoint and that whatever design we are

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| BC Comfort| 5 “We have in-house plumbing, HVAC, controls, service and engineering. That differentiates us from the other mechanical contractors in our area. We can offer a turnkey package to either general contractors, building owners or developers.” - Henry Leung, Senior Design Engineer

constructing we can make sure it’s both cost effective and constructible,” he says. Three elements are especially attractive to clients – risk mitigation, speed of project delivery and having a single point of contact for information exchange. “The clients are basically getting a guaranteed maximum price up front. Traditional risk because of cost overruns, design omissions, mistakes

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due to scope interpretation and things that the contractor might say are not within his scope is basically eliminated,” Leung explains. “As for speed, instead of having to create a set of drawings, having to tender them out and then having them come back to re-design, you get a much smoother delivery. Once the project enters the design phase it’s being designed for construction and you can push through construction much

| BC Comfort| 6 faster while being aware of actual cost throughout the project,” he adds. Pre-project planning is crucial. The totality of the project must be accurately determined in order to provide an accurate cost assessment. “Because you have to give a price fairly early in the project you have to make sure that it’s well thought out. We sit down with both our engineering and construction departments to

review the Design/Build projects to make sure the entire scope of work is captured,” Leung says. The company utilizes Building Information Modeling (BIM) software for its larger projects. BIM allows for the monitoring of potential interference or clash points and gives the company the ability to place its equipment in a coordinated manner on site, and generate drawings with dimensions and elevation grid

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| BC Comfort| 7 lines for each piece of pipe. “When our construction crews get on site, they know exactly where they need to place their systems,” Leung points out.

Operations, Etc.

As union members, Leung says company employees “undergo regular training in everything from working in confined spaces to fall protection. We try to make sure we have a level of training provided for everyone in our company.”

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The company is certified by the local engineering authority and adheres to an Organizational Quality Management program, undergoing regular audits to ensure that every project is organized properly and reviewed by senior management. Site supervisors oversee safety while overall supervisors in each of the company’s major disciplines regularly visit every site to

| BC Comfort| 8 make sure those protocols are consistent at each job. There is room for individal growth within the company. “Most of the new positions that get filled internally are promotions or transfers within the company. When we had an opening for a Project Manager, they inquired with the field staff and trained and promoted an individual into the office,” Leung says. Leung enjoys the mentoring aspect of his position.

“I like to teach so that each person can repeat whatever design or skill that I currently have. I believe everyone under me should be able to eventually do what I can and understand everything they are looking at. That adds value to the company and increases their own value by learning more and being able to catch things I might not,” he says. As it moves forward, BC Comfort will continue to nurture those long-term relationships

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while seeking new opportunities. “The majority of our work is for the same group of General Contractors and developers. They know the quality is always consistent in our design and our construction and that our pricing is always fair,” Leung says. “We basically are an Engineering and a Construction company. We can offer much more in terms of sophisticated

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solutions and that sets us apart from the competition.” And it is clear the company is proud of the process it takes to achieve those solutions. “There is a tangible sense of satisfaction when a design gets built, knowing that you had a hand in the creation of some very different facilities,” Leung concludes.

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