Canadian Consulting Engineer MarchApril 2009 by Annex Business Media

For professional engineers in private practice

MARCH/APRIL 2009

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contents

March/April 2009 Volume 50, No. 2

Cover: Showing Off, at Exhibition Place, Toronto. Photo by Bill Conway. See story page 18

features COVER STORY Power Showing Off, at Exhibition Place. The expansive grounds on Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterfront are introducing renewable power and energy conservation technologies to the public. By Virginia Heffernan

A Long and Winding Road. See story page 30.

departments

HVAC Proven Benefits. A complete mechanical retrofit at 125 Garry Street in Winnipeg has reaped dramatic savings for the 35-year old building. Tower Engineering Group 22 Industry

Comment

Up Front

ACEC Review

Business

Engineers & the Law

Products

Advertiser Index

The Human Edge

Next month: Special focus: Geothermal heating and cooling systems. Green building case studies.

Capturing CO2 from a Coal-fired Plant. Studies at the Boundary Dam generation plant in Saskatchewan will show whether sequestration is a feasible option. By David Cameron, P.Eng., Mike Richard, P.Eng. Stantec

Environment & Infrastructure A Long and Winding Road. Though governments want to speed up the environmental approvals process for infrastructure projects, it is not going to be an easy task. By Bronwen Parsons 30 Fire Protection Fire Detection at Nanticoke. Fibre optic technology helps detect fast moving fires along 30 kilometres of conveyors at a coal generating plant in southwest Ontario. Nadine International March/April 2009

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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engineer For professional engineers in private practice

comment

C a n a d i a n C o n s u lt i n g

Editor

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

Canadian environmental assessments need a fix

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

Ellie Robinson

ollowing the government’s budget promise in February to inject $12 billion of new spending into infrastructure construction, Transport Minister John Baird has suggested that the federal government will be looking for ways to expedite the environmental assessment process. Such changes will be welcomed by consulting engineers and their clients. In the feature, “A Long and Winding Road” on page 30, we look at problems that are beleaguering the environmental assessment regime, making it an unwieldy monster from a procedural point of view. The system suffers from duplication, too many different government agencies involved, and too little coordination with planning and financial approvals. Projects can take years to receive the go-ahead. Perhaps the worst-case scenario is the Mackenzie Pipeline project in Canada’s Arctic, which is still waiting for an environmental impact report after five years. A more recent case involves a proposal in Ottawa for a new interprovincial bridge at Kettle Island. After years of studies, the National Capital Commission has gone back to the drawing board and ordered detailed studies for two other potential sites. In today’s climate of environmental consciousness we run the risk of studying projects to death. And it’s not just project proponents who are frustrated. Even staunch environmentalists like Aaron Freedman of Environmental Defence will agree that debate cannot go on forever, and at some stage a decision has to be made. During several interviews for the story, though, it emerged that the reason projects are held up often has more to do with politics than actual environmental problems. Politicians and bureaucrats can use the environmental approvals process as a convenient tool to put a stop to projects that they no longer find palatable. For example, when First Nations are affected by a project, negotiations with them can suddenly turn things in a completely different direction. In fact, First Nations are a very large elephant in the room when it comes to federal attempts to expedite the approvals process. Another troubling aspect of the current regime -- federal and provincial -was raised by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in his annual report last year. There is a lack of follow up and enforcement. No matter how rigorous the review process, and no matter how many mitigation measures the project owners and their engineers promise to implement, if there is no systematic way of ensuring those measures are effective, then what’s the point of it all? Few officials are assigned to revisiting projects as a check-up. It tends to be private citizens who discover that the natural habitat hasn’t recovered as was promised, and they are the ones who raise the alarm. Consulting engineering companies are experts in writing environmental assessment reports, and they certainly reap plenty of business in this area. But there’s no professional satisfaction in writing reports “just to sit on a shelf,” as one practitioner put it. Like everyone else, consulting engineers want to see Canada start building badly needed new infrastructure -- and they also want to see it done in a truly environmentally responsible way. Bronwen Parsons

Contributing Editor

Rosalind Cairncross, P.Eng. Advertising Sales Manager

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

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

Beata Olechnowicz (416) 442-5600 x3543 Production Co-ordinator Karen Samuels (416) 510-5190 Vice President, Publishing Business Information Group (BIG)

Alex Papanou

President, Business Information Group (BIG)

Bruce Creighton Head Office

12 Concorde Place, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 Tel: (416) 442-5600 Fax: (416) 510-5134 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER is published seven times a year by BIG Magazines L.P., Toronto, Ont. EDITORIAL PURPOSE: Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine covers innovative engineering projects, news and business information for professional engineers engaged in private consulting practice. The editors assume no liability for the accuracy of the text or its fitness for any particular purpose. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada, 1 year $58.95; 2 years $88.95 + taxes Single copy $7.00 Cdn. + taxes. (GST 809751274-RT0001). United States U.S. $58.95. Foreign U.S. $81.95. Printed in Canada. Title registered at Trademarks Office, Ottawa. Copyright 1964. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner(s). ISSN: 0008-3267 POSTAL INFORMATION: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept., Canadian Consulting Engineer, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2. USPS 016-099. US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304-5709. Periodicals postage paid at Niagara Falls, NY. US Postmaster: send address changes to Canadian Consulting Engineer, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304. Privacy: From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us. tel: 1-800-668-2374, fax: 416-510-5134, e-mail: jhunter@businessinformationgroup.ca, mail to: Privacy Officer, BIG, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Member of the Canadian Business Press Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations Inc.

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March/April 2009

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up front

AWARDS

Schreyer and Tree of Life announced The winner of the Schreyer award in the 2008 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards was the Replacement for the Highway 417 Island Park Drive

dian engineering company helped to develop sustainable land-use practices to restore forests and watersheds in the mountains of Jamaica. Ten other projects won awards of excellence. The winning projects were all published in the October-November 2008 issue of this magazine, but the announcement of the two special awards was held off until the February awards ceremony. The awards are jointly sponsored by the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine. Entries for the 2009 awards are now invited - see page 36. PEOPLE

Top: Replacing the Island Park Drive Overpass, Ottawa. Above: Trees for Tomorrow project, Jamaica.

Overpass, Ottawa, by McCormick Rankin Corporation (part of MMM Group). The project involved replacing a bridge with two 650-tonne structures overnight! The announcement was made at an awards presentation dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa on February 24. A new “Tree of Life/Un Arbre à Aimer Award” was also announced that evening. This award for outstanding environmental stewardship was given for the first time. It went to a project entitled “Trees for Tomorrow, Jamaica,” by Tecsult International Limited of Quebec City. The Cana

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Lamarre steps down at SNC-Lavalin Jacques Lamarre, president and chief executive officer of SNC-Lavalin Group, retires on May 7 and will “pass the baton” to his successor, Pierre Duhaime. Lamarre has been with the Montreal-based company for 42 years since he joined Lavalin in 1967 as a civil engineer. He has been Jacques Lamarre, ing. president and CEO for the last 13 years. The company is Canada’s largest engineering and construction company with offices in 35 countries and projects in 100 countries. It reported net income of $312 million in 2008. In a statement, Lamarre said: “SNCLavalin has been a second family for me, somewhere I felt at home. I have had the privilege of meeting and working with so many people of high calibre on SNC-Lavalin’s multicultural teams across Canada and around the world, as well as those of our clients. This has always given me immense pleasure, and part of me says I would like this to go on forever.”

TRANSPORTATION

Why install cameras A study of the effect of cameras mounted at Calgary intersections since 2001 found that right angle crashes have dropped by 48.2 per cent over the six year period. Rear-end collisions have also been cut by 39.6 per cent. The study was done by Synectics Transportation Consultants and released by the Calgary Police Service. Quebec-Ontario bridge still up in air A decision on where to locate a new interprovincial bridge in Ottawa has been delayed again after a consultants’ recommendation ran into opposition from local communities. Roche-NCE consultants’ environmental studies had pinpointed Kettle Island for the crossing, but now the National Capital Commission has ordered studies of two other locations, at Lower Duck Island and McLaurin Bay, farther east. High-speed rail study awarded The EcoTrain Consortium, which includes the consulting engineering firms Dessau and MMM Group, has won a $3-million contract to update the feasibility studies for a high-speed rail line between Quebec City and Windsor, Ontario.

continued on page 8

March/April 2009

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Built-in features. Built-in simplicity. Fewer add-ons. Easy installation. With so many features already built-in, GE’s new AF-6 Series Drives simplify installation and eliminate the need for additional equipment. • Built–in process PID controller • Built–in Communication Networks for Modbus RTU, Metasys N2 and Apogee FLN P1 for the AF-600 FP™ drive • Built–in logic controller • Built–in Fan & Pump Macros for the AF–600 FP™ drive • Built–in DC Link Reactors • Built–in Brake Chopper option • Built–in Class A2 RFI • Built-in energy savings • Built-in auto–tuning • Built-in removable and hot pluggable, illuminated LCD display Choose AF-6 Series Drives for your next project and you’ll be building in fewer add-ons and a lower installed cost. For complete product details or to locate the GE sales representative in your region, call 1-877-259-0941, ext. 2912 or, e-mail us at marketingcdn@ge.com. www.ge-ed.ca www.geelectrical.com

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up front

continued from page 6

Lamarre said he has no doubt that Pierre Duhaime “will take this great company to new levels.” Duhaime is currently executive vice president in charge of SNC-Lavalin’s worldwide mining and metallurgy activities. COMPANIES

Wardrop sold to U.S.-based Tetra Tech Another well-known Canadian consulting engineering company has been bought by a U.S. operation. Wardrop Engineering, a firm with over 50 years of history in Canada, was sold to Tetra Tech of Pasadena, California. Tetra Tech has 10,000 employees worldwide and specializes in water, the environment and energy. Wardrop began in Winnipeg in 1955 and was one of the first consulting engineering firms in the city. It opened a second office in Thunder Bay in 1956 and then expanded into

a multi-disciplinary firm during the 1960s. It now has 1,200 employees, with 10 offices across Canada and offices in several other countries, including the United Kingdom and India. In 2008 the company had revenues of approximately U.S. $120 million and was cited as one of the “Best Employers for New Canadians.” Shayne Smith, CEO of Wardrop, said “Tetra Tech is the partner that we’ve been looking for,” adding that with the larger firm’s resources they could now do full turnkey projects. Wardrop is to join Tetra Tech’s environmental consulting services division. WATER

U.S. professor sees link with lead and chloramines New technologies in water treatment could produce new problems, according to a report by the American Chemical Society. The report was

reproduced in the Canadian Water Quality Association’s Communiqué of February 2009. Dr. Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech University is arguing that a change in disinfectant from chlorine to chloramine can lead to leaching from the infrastructure into drinking water. After a study on hundreds of children in Washington, D.C., Edwards and his colleagues concluded: “For the youngest children, those under the age of 1.3 years, you saw substantial increases in blood-lead incidence immediately after switching to chloramine.” Edwards has also warned that there could be unintended consequence of water conservation, saying that reduced-flush toilets and other water-saving devices are allowing water to remain in household pipes longer. He believes the stagnating water could have unwanted effects on household plumbing. continued on page 10

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March/April 2009

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continued from page 8

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Building ratings to become more consistent Green building organizations in North America, Australia and the U.K. have signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to develop common measures for carbon dioxide emissions from buildings. The memorandum signed in March affects the LEED, BREEAM (U.K.) and Green Star (Australia) building rating systems. ENVIRONMENT

Oil sands ponds under scrutiny The heat was on again for Northern Alberta’s oil sands developers after an article in National Geographic’s March issue included a lengthy photo feature of the vast open pit mines. The article by Robert Kunzig was entitled “Scraping Bottom: the Canadian Oil Boom.” The previous month the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board directed oil sands companies to begin cleaning up the mines’ tailings ponds, which are sometimes the size of lakes and contain heavy metals such as naphthenic acid and PAH. The companies have until September 30 to file their plans and in five years must find ways to process all tailings water and dispose of the sludge. Consulting engineers could be asked to help find technologies to deal with these problems. Worldwide attention was pointed at the tar sands last year when hundreds of migrating waterfowl landed on one

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of Syncrude’s tailings ponds and died. AWARDS

Confederation Bridge wins international acclaim Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island with Mainland Canada was named one of the Top 10 infrastructure projects of the last 75 years in North America by the International Right of Way Association. Selected from 130 entries, the Canadian bridge was ranked alongside the Hoover Dam and Golden Gate Bridge.

Stantec

up front

Confederation Bridge, completed in 1997 across the Northumberland Strait, P.E.I.

At 13 kilometres, the P.E.I.-to-New Brunswick crossing is the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered waters. It was completed in 1997, with Stantec in joint venture providing civil and structural engineering services. Winners in Alberta announced Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) announced its 2009 awards at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton on February 13. Barry Lester, P.Eng. was presented with the CEA Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Distinguished Achieve-

ment. Lester was a founding member of his own structural engineering company, Simpson Lester Goodrich, and later became executive vice-president of Stantec Consulting. Among many achievements, he was a key leader of the engineering team for Confederation Bridge. Awards of Excellence went to: A.D. Williams Engineering for Career Development Path, an Application for Your Future (com- Barry Lester, munity outreach & P.Eng. in-house initiatives); CH2M Hill for the Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Calgary (sustainable design, project management); D.A. Watt Consulting for The Bow in Calgary (community development); Hemisphere Engineering for Air Quality Renewal at the Kinsmen Aquatic Centre, Edmonton (building engineering); ISL Engineering & Land Services and Klohn Crippen Berger for the Glenmore Causeway Upgrades in Calgary (transportation infrastructure); ISL Engineering & Land Services for Ray Gibbon Drive in St. Albert-Edmonton (environmental); Stantec Consulting for the Hardisty Contract Tankage Terminal Project (natural resources, mining, industrial); Stantec Consulting for the Windermere North Storm Outfall in Edmonton (water resources, energy); Stantec Consulting/Stantec Geomatics for the Specialty Chemical Plant 3D Model (studies, software, special services). @ARTICLECATEGORY:655; 652; 1482; 651;

March/April 2009

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ACEC review

Chair’s Message

Staying the Course on Engineering Procurement

s the recession tightens its grip on our economy there will be increased competition for consulting engineering assignments in some sectors of our market. History tells us that there will be a temptation on the part of some procurers of professional engineering services, our clients, to seek false economies by selecting consultants on the basis of low fees. Consulting engineering firms and their clients will ultimately both suffer if we fail to build on the progress made in recent years to establish and implement the Best Practice for Selecting a Professional Consultant published by the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure (InfraGuide). Although the InfraGuide program has concluded, their documents continue to be available from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. ACEC is now in the process of de-

veloping a new partnership with the Canadian Standards Association to provide education and training on procurement practices for infrastructure delivery, based on the principles of Qualifications-Based Selection espoused by InfraGuide. If this initiative succeeds, it will be the culmination of years of dedicated effort by a number of association staff and member firm volunteers, most notably John Gamble of Consulting Engineers of Ontario, and Andrew Steeves of ADI, New Brunswick. However, all of us, consulting engineering firms and clients alike, have an important role to play in ensuring that the economic recession does not result in a recession in the quality of engineering services. Fee-based procurement results in poor quality engineering, construction cost and schedule overruns, and increased litigation. It would be a disservice to our industry and to society for us to allow a return to the short-term thinking of the 1980s. CHRIS NEWCOMB, P.ENG., Chair, Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC)

Message du Président du conseil

Maintenir le cap sur la sélection basée sur les compétences

lors que la récession continue de malmener notre économie, la concurrence pour des projets d’ingénierie s’accroîtra de plus en plus dans certains secteurs de notre marché. L’histoire nous dit que certains acheteurs de services de génie-conseil -- c’est-àdire nos clients –- rechercheront de fausses économies en choisissant leurs ingénieurs-conseils selon le plus bas prix. Or, les firmes de génie-conseil et leurs clients seront tous deux perdants si nous ne bâtissons pas sur les progrès que nous avons réalisés ces dernières années pour établir et implanter la « meilleure pratique pour la sélection d’experts-conseils » publiée par le Guide national pour des infrastructures municipales (InfraGuide). Bien que le programme InfraGuide soit terminé, ses documents sont toujours disponibles auprès de la Fédération canadienne des municipalités. L’AFIC a entrepris d’établir un nouveau partenariat avec l’Association canadienne de normalisation Canadian (CSA) pour assurer une sensibilisation et une formation sur les pratiques

d’achat de services pour les projets d’infrastructure, selon les principes de la sélection basée sur les compétences qui sont d’ailleurs prônés par InfraGuide. Si cette initiative réussit, ce sera grâce à des années de travail assidu par plusieurs membres du personnel de l’association et par nos bénévoles, notamment John Gamble de la Consulting Engineers of Ontario, and Andrew Steeves d’ADI, Nouveau-Brunswick. Nous avons cependant tous -- ingénieurs-conseils et clients -- un rôle important à jouer pour nous assurer que la récession économique n’entraînera pas une récession de la qualité des services d’ingénierie. L’achat de services au meilleur prix se traduit par des services de qualité discutable, des coûts de construction élevés et des dépassements de calendrier, ce qui augmente le risque de litiges. Ce serait nuire à notre industrie et à la société que de revenir à la pensée à court terme des années 1980. CHRIS NEWCOMB, P.ENG., PRéSIDENT DU CONSEIL Association des firmes d’ingénierie du Canada (AFIC)

ACEC Member Organizations: Consulting Engineers of British Columbia, Consulting Engineers of Yukon, Consulting Engineers of Alberta, Consulting Engineers of Northwest Territories, Consulting Engineers of Saskatchewan, Consulting Engineers of Manitoba, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Association des Ingénieurs-conseils du Québec, Association of Canadian Engineering Companies of New Brunswick, Consulting Engineers of Nova Scotia, Consulting Engineers of Prince Edward Island, Consulting Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador. March/April 2009

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ACEC review

Awards Gala a Smashing Success; Nominations Now Open for 2009

n February 24, ACEC hosted a sold-out Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Gala at Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel to honour the best and brightest within the consulting engineering industry in Canada. Among the guests were over 30 Members of Parliament and dignitaries from a number of ACEC’s partner organizations. Under the theme of “Opening Night on Broadway,” the evening not only feted innovation and achievement in the consulting engineering industry, but also featured beautiful renditions from a number of well known Broadway classics. Special

congratulations go to Peter Buckland and Peter Taylor of the firm Buckland & Taylor out of Vancouver, B.C., the recipients of the 2008 Beaubien Award, which is presented annually by ACEC to an individual or individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the consulting engineering profession, the industry, and the Association. A full list of award recipients was published in Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine’s October-November 2008 issue. Nominations for the 2009 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards are now open. The deadline to sub-

mit a Notice of Intent is Tuesday, March 31, with the deadline to submit the final entry on Tuesday, May 5. The 2009 Awards will continue to feature the Awards of Excellence, the Schreyer Award for top technical award, and the new Tree of Life award for outstanding environmental stewardship. The ACEC-CCE awards demonstrate an exceptional level of recognition in a firm’s achievements -- ACEC members, large or small, are encouraged to submit. For entry forms and rules, see www.canadianconsultingengineer. com/awards

ACEC National Summit is Coming!

ark down June 24 to 27, 2009 in your calendars and be sure to attend the ACEC National Summit, taking place at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler in the 2010 Olympic host city of Whistler, B.C.! In the face of ever-changing domestic and global economic uncertainties, the theme for the 2009 ACEC Summit is “Facing our Challenges in Challenging Times.” Business sessions will be designed to focus on the various challenges facing the consulting engineering industry, including those identified at the 2008 FIDIC conference in Quebec City -- human resource challenges, strengthening one’s business, market trends, and social responsibility. Back by popular demand will be the Owner’s Roundtable, the CEO and Principals’ roundtables, the cross-country round-up, the ACEC Annual General Meeting, and the PSMJ Pre-Event bootcamp. 14

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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But of course, ACEC wants you to have fun! The ever-popular Chairman’s Dinner, local flavour night, the ACEC Golf Classic, and the range of optional tours and activities in the Whistler area should serve to entertain and relax all delegates. ACEC is also proud to announce that new for 2009 is the introduction

the program will allow YPs to discuss issues unique to them, and to network among both their peers and among their more senior counterparts. A planned tour of the Whistler Olympic venues should also provide an excellent educational opportunity. Conference fees for YPs will be discounted from regular delegate fees.

of a parallel Young Professionals (YP) Program. This program, intended for the under 35 professional, drew inspiration from the energy and commitment of Young Professionals attending the 2008 Quebec City FIDIC conference. Developed with existing provincial Young Professional clubs,

More information, including registration information, should be made available in late March. Watch future editions of Source and the ACEC website, www.acec.ca, for more information -- ACEC looks forward to welcoming you to Whistler from June 24 to 27!

March/April 2009

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ACEC review

Budget 2009 Delivers on Infrastructure Investment

n January 27, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented the 2009 federal Budget and economic stimulus package. Immediately before the Budget, there was a great deal of speculation that infrastructure investment would form the backbone of the stimulus package -- on that note, the Budget did not disappoint. The Budget announced that over $12 billion in direct federal investments will be

“shovel ready,” with priority given to projects that can be completed within two years. ACEC was invited to appear before the House of Commons Finance Committee on February 12 to give its take on the infrastructure measures contained in the Budget. ACEC applauded the measures, and assured Members of Parliament that with the recent economic downturn, ACEC members had stated quite clearly that they had the capacity necessary to conduct the forthcoming work. In addition, ACEC set forth four key principles for implementation of the infrastructure measures, which included: • In order to provide a true stimulative effect, federally funded infrastructure work must be outsourced to the private sector.

• Professional consultants should be procured using the Qualifications Based Selection approach recommended in the InfraGuide Best Practices document. • Red tape, overlap, and bureaucratic approval processes should be minimized. • Strategic infrastructure of long-term benefit to Canadians should be a greater priority than simply expediency. Minister Baird has agreed to provide ACEC members with a teleconference briefing on the implementation of the infrastructure measures at some point in early spring. For more information on the Budget, including a list of specific programs and ACEC’s official Budget reaction, visit the website at www.acec.ca.

ACEC Human Resources Video Project Update

E ACEC President Jeff Morrison meets with the Hon. John Baird, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

made in a wide range of infrastructure projects over the next two years. Once additional funds are leveraged from other orders of governments, that figure is expected to climb to well over $20 billion. An additional $2 billion will also be made available for social housing. It is important to note that these amounts are over and above federal programs announced in previous Budgets, such as the Gas Tax Transfer Fund, the Building Canada Fund, and the Public-Private Partnership Fund. Following the release of the Budget, Transport and Infrastructure Minister John Baird confirmed that the bulk of the $12 billion in new federal funds will go to projects that are

xcitement continues to build after several roll-out activities have been successfully delivered for ACEC’s human resources video project “Engineering Legacies.” Early in February, ACEC presented the highlight reel to a student audience at the Ontario Engineering Competition (OEC) and participated in the Career Fair with its exhibit booth. Students were impressed with the video and interested in more information about consulting engineering. In March, ACEC will be present at the Canadian Engineering Competition which is the national event for the OEC and its respective provincial counterpart competitions. In addition, ACEC will present to the National

Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science. Also in March, ACEC will commence an information session tour targeting engineering students gradu-

ation from 4th year in the spring. Universities lined up for this tour include the University of Dalhousie, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Britcontinued on page 16

March/April 2009

p13-16 CCE MarApril_09 ACEC.indd15 15

Canadian Consulting Engineer

3/13/09 5:09:02 PM

ACEC review

New Document Set to Hit Streets in June

Document 31 – Prime Agreement between Client and Engineer

CEC is pleased to announce that Document 31 is nearly complete. The final English copy has gone to translation and is undergoing an electronic formatting update. With the formatting facelift, firms will be able to electronically update the document’s fields as per the details of a specific contract. The ACEC Contracts Committee is working diligently to produce a Guide to accompany the document upon its release. This is expected to take several months. The official launch of the document (in both official languages) and its guide will be at the ACEC Summit in June of 2009 in Whistler, B.C. All ACEC documents are available to Member Firms free of charge, and to non-association members for a nominal fee. Please visit www.acec.ca to purchase documents. At this time, ACEC would like to extend its sincere thanks to the ACEC Contracts Committee for their exceptional dedication in complet-

ing the review of Document 31. ACEC Contracts Committee: • Chris Dunham - Chair • David Kauffman - De Grandpre Chait • Owen Pawson - Miller Thompson • Derek Holloway - Encon Insurance • Kevin Murphy - CBCL Limited • Anthony Karakatsanis - Morrison Hershfield

• Jody MacLeod - CBCL Limited • Louis Martin Richer - Genivar, Montreal • Ed Bird - Associated Engineering, Kelowna • David Thompson - KTA Engineering, Calgary • Clayton Rogers - Hatch Ltd., Mississauga • John Collings - Collings Johnston Inc., Vancouver

ACEC Human Resources Video Project Update… continued fron page 15 ish Columbia. A formal cross-Canada tour will be arranged for the fall of 2009 where ACEC aspires to reach every province. The official release of the “Engineering Legacies” campaign took place on February 24 at the Canadian

Consulting Engineering Awards Gala Dinner in Ottawa. The only outstanding items to date are: • Final communications plan • Wrap up of footage • Editing of video modules

ACEC Co-ordinates The Association of Canadian Engineering Companies’ national office is located at 130 Albert Street, Suite 616, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G4, tel: 1-800-565-0569; 613-236-0569; e-mail: memserv@acec.ca. www.acec.ca 16

Canadian Consulting Engineer

p13-16 CCE MarApril_09 ACEC.indd16 16

• French and English website • French promotional material • DVD casing and design Once again, ACEC would like to sincerely thank its generous sponsors for supporting this project. Sponsors can be viewed at www. engineeringlegacies.com To find out more information about the campaign, please contact: Susie Grynol Director, Public Affairs and Business Practices sgrynol@acec.ca or 1-613-236-0569 x 203. To view the highlight reel, visit www.engineeringlegacies.com

March/April 2009

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3/13/09 5:09:11 PM

green design

By Virginia Heffernan

s we move through the echoing gloom underneath the Direct Energy Centre on Toronto’s waterfront, I hear Noel Mationg, coordinator of energy systems for Exhibition Place, request a favour on his cell phone. Suddenly, the massive underground parking garage lights up like a movie set. But the brightness is shortlived. Gradually and in sequence, the overhead lights dim. We continue walking the length of the near-empty garage and, as we do, lights illuminate to guide our way and then fade to black behind us. This “intelligent” lighting system in the Direct Energy Centre’s parking garage is just one of the ways Exhibition Place is striving for energy self-sufficiency. “We found that being able to turn the lights off when

Caribana parade. The Direct Energy Centre (originally the National Trade Centre) is a new addition, built on the east end of the site in the late 1990s. The many other exhibit halls include historic buildings such as the Coliseum, the Horse Palace, the beaux-arts Music Building, and the Horticulture Building. There are also modernist buildings from the 1950s such as the Better Living Centre. “We get five million people coming through here every year,” says Goss. “What we want to do is present [green] technologies so that people can see them and to spur outside interest to help develop green industries in Canada.” With this goal in mind, visitors can tour a permanent education exhibit on sources of energy and methods of conservation within the Direct Energy Centre.

showing at Exhibition Off Place they weren’t needed led to big savings,” says Mark Goss, P.Eng., general manager of operations for Exhibition Place, though he declined to elaborate on specific numbers. When the Board of Governors for Exhibition Place decided to make the grounds a showcase for energy efficiency in 2004, the board wanted the complex of buildings on Toronto’s waterfront to be a leader in the financing and use of energy-efficient technologies. The buildings -including the Direct Energy Centre -- were then using 25 gigawatt hours of energy per year. The board committed $7.4 million to make the grounds energy self-sufficient by 2010. By February 2009, energy consumption has been reduced by about one-third. Entered off Lakeshore Boulevard West through the neo-classic Princes Gates, the Exhibition Place grounds have a long history. Since 1904 they have been best known as home of the Canadian National Exhibition(“the Ex”), but the city-owned parkland also hosts a myriad other events, including the CHIN Picnic, Molson Indy, and annual

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

p18-21 CCE MarApril09 Exhibition18 18

The environmental plan for Exhibition Place has several components, including a wind turbine, a trigeneration plant, a green roof and photovoltaic plant on the Horse Palace roof, a geothermal heating and cooling system for the Press Building, and a number of building retrofits. The idea is to reduce energy consumption in three ways: one third through on-site power generation; one third by installing new technologies and equipment such as absorption chillers; and a final third by optimizing and controlling the energy used in operating the facilities. One of the most significant investments in the plan is a $4.4 million trigeneration plant, one of the largest in Canada when it opened in early 2007. The system – a cogeneration plant with an added absorption chiller -- provides heating, cooling and power. It consists of one 1.6 MW natural gas-fired generator with a heat recovery package. In winter the plant, which is located on the roof of the Direct Energy Centre, takes the waste heat from the engine and runs it through a heat exchanger to augment the centre’s boilers.

March/April 2009

3/13/09 5:21:12 PM

green design

Courtesy Canadian National Exhibition

Left: aerial view of the showgrounds and its many venue buildings. The Direct Energy Centre is the largest exposition hall with the white roof. Below: Princes Gates entry.

The famous Exhibition Grounds near the Toronto waterfront are becoming a showplace for environmental design.The goal is to make the site self-sufficient in energy. In the summer, the waste heat drives the absorption chiller to provide cooling. Consultants on the project were Toronto Hydro Energy Services and Sandwell Consulting Engineers in Burlington. The trigeneration plant is the first phase of a district energy system that will be expanded across the 192-acre site. Currently, the plant satisfies about 30% of Exhibition Placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electricity, heating and cooling requirements. It provides about 12 million kWh of energy per year and reduces annual energy consumption by the equivalent of 7,400 tonnes of CO2. By recovering waste heat, the plant improves overall efficiency from the 40% typical of a standard engine to more like 80%. Green technologies have also been installed on the roof of the Horse Palace. First, it has a 2,500-sq.ft. green roof planted in 2004. Complementing the green roof is a 100 kW photovoltaic power generation system designed by Carmanah Technologies with consulting services provided by Energy Profiles. Phase 1 of this component involved

monitoring four different subsystems, each using a different combination of solar, inverter and mounting technologies. Comparing the systems will allow Exhibition Place to find the best fit for its unique environmental challenges. These include snow, smog, fog and extra air pollution from the Gardiner Expressway. A second phase was installed last summer that uses four 20-ft. arrays to produce a peak performance of 7.7 kW electrical and 7.2 kW thermal (23,400 BTU/h). The installation uses a germanium photo cell (rather than silica) that tracks the sun throughout the day. Together, the two solar installations on the Horse Palace are reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 115 tonnes per year. They generate roughly 120 kW hours of electricity, enough to cut hydro costs by $10,000 annually. Exhibition Place will use information gathered during the two phases to design a 1.5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2 million kW generation system for the grounds. Another important component of the environmental continued on page 20 March/April 2009

p18-21 CCE MarApril09 Exhibition19 19

Canadian Consulting Engineer

3/13/09 5:21:19 PM

green design

continued from page 19

Carmanah Technologies

plan are building retrofits. In the Queen Elizabeth Building, for example, the “old clunker” of a boiler has been replaced by a smart chiller and two high-efficiency boilers. Boilers have also been replaced in other buildings, such as the Ricoh Coliseum, a project by M & E Engineering and Project Services Group. By far the most public display of Exhibition Place’s green initiatives is the wind turbine built and operated by WindShare near the west entrance of the grounds. Left: photovoltaic system on the Horse Palace roof. Right: trigeneration plant at the Direct This three-bladed 750-kW gearless gen- Energy Centre provides heating, cooling and 1.6 MW of electricity. erator is capable of producing 1.2 million kWh of energy each year. After improving the ventila- so Exhibition Place is adapting the lighting to include, for tion to prevent the generator from overheating, the turbine instance, the ability to pan the ground surface. is now operating at full capacity compared to about 80% of To put the contribution of LED lights in perspective, capacity during the first year of operation in 2003 (see CCE Exhibition Place says that if Toronto converted its 160,000 January/February 2004). streetlights to LED, the city could save $6 million a year in Outside the buildings, Exhibition Place has installed electricity costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by LED streetlights that use 50% less electricity and last five over 18,000 tonnes -- equivalent to removing 3,608 cars times longer than conventional streetlights. The technology from the streets. cce for this type of lighting has evolved tremendously since the lights were first installed two and a half years ago, says Goss, Virginia Heffernan is a freelance writer based in Toronto. @ARTICLECATEGORY:651; 655; 657;

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March/April 2009

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They’re not just ranting and raving fans.

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3/2/09 3:56:11 PM 3/13/09 5:21:24 PM

energy management Engineers upgraded the HVAC system of a 35-year old office building and have documented dramatic benefits over four years.

Provenbenefits T

he energy efficiency upgrade of the 12-storey office building at 125 Garry Street in downtown Winnipeg was more than just a chiller or boiler replacement. Such replacements are routinely performed throughout Canada, sometimes even without engineers. This upgrade project shows the success of the engineering method in achieving energy reductions in an ageing building as opposed to a simple turnkey replacement of equipment. Conditions inside the 35-year old structure have been greatly improved by applying readily available technology in innovative ways, all at an affordable cost. What’s more, the dramatic results (50% reduction in natural gas use and 15% reduction in electrical use) have been monitored and proven over the past four years. Existing systems The project did not start out as a systems upgrade but rather as a need to replace an aging chiller due to the phase-out of R-11 refrigerant. A number of supplier/contractors were very eager to replace the chiller with their products, but through the application of engineering methods, Tower Engineering won the trust of the owner,

Tower Engineering Group

Brent Business Services, and convinced them to take a more comprehensive approach. With an area of approximately 120,000 sq.ft. (11,150 m3), 125 Gerry Street was built with systems typical for its time: R-12 walls, R-20 roof, and double-pane, aluminumframe windows. Heating was by two gas-fired boilers and cooling by one centrifugal Above: 135 Garry Street, chiller. Air supply was by a downtown Winnipeg. central variable air volume (VAV) system for floors 3 to 12, and a constant volume system with reheat for the first two floors and basement. The building operated 16 hours a day on weekdays and 12 hours a day on weekends. This resulted in annual energy use of 2.47 gJ/m2 in the year prior to the system upgrades. Natural Resources Canada’s benchmark for similar buildings is 1.9 to 2.19 gJ/m2. Therefore, in its continued on page 24

TABLE 1 – Summary of upgrade options presented to the client Installed Cost $

Extra Cost For EnergyEfficient Option

#1 New Centrifugal Chiller

375,000

45,000

2,400

#1A Rebuild Existing Chiller

125,000

#2 New 300 ton Modular Chiller

310,000

#3 New 250 ton Modular Chiller with Outside Air Sub-cooling

Option & Description

Energy Savings $

Possible Grants $ + NRCan

Total

40,800

2,000

1,778

10,800

355,000

45,000

13,319

15,000

10,000

25,000

#4 New 250 ton Modular Chiller with Heat Recovery

375,000

65,000

23,347

17,000

18,000

35,000

#5 DX System

475,000

100,000

2,498

#6 Ice Storage

360,000

50,000

18,319

20,000

10,000

30,000

VFDs on Fans

50,000

3,200

DDC Control System

60,000

19,462

17,040

15,000

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p22-26 CCE MarApril_09 Tower.ind22 22

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3/13/09 5:22:12 PM

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3/13/09 5:22:13 PM

energy management

continued from page 22

TABLE 2 – Energy Cost Comparisons Item

Pre-Retrofit Utility Data (Baseline)

Post Retrofit Utility Data (Original Estimates)

Actual – 1st year after completion of project (2005)*

Actual – 2nd year after completion (2006)*

Actual – 3rd year after completion (2007)*

Actual – 4th year after completion (2008)*

Electricity (gJ)

16,887

15,856

15,514

14,645

16,635

16,366

Gas (gJ)

10,769

6,882

4,930

4,551

5,301

5,561

Total Energy Consumption (gJ)

27,656

22,738

20,444

19,196

21,936

21,927

Avg. energy per unit area (gJ/m2)

2.47

2.04

1.83

1.72

1.96

Total Energy Cost ($)

$316,846

$265,975

$251,484

$242,848

$269,914

$246,366**

Total Energy Savings (gJ)

4,918

7,212

8,460

5,720

5,729

Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Tonnes)

199

300

319

272

Total Energy Savings ($)

$50,871

$65,362

$73,998

$46,932

$70,480**

NOTES — * Building system operation at increased schedule. ** Additional cost savings due to electricity demand reduction compared to 2007.

original state the building’s energy use was high. The owners and building managers were only too aware of the constantly increasing costs of maintenance and the low efficiencies of the aging equipment. Tower’s first step, as opposed to just preparing drawings for the replacement of a chiller, was to conduct a detailed assessment of the existing major mechanical, electrical and structural systems. What became evident was that the solution proposed by the contractors was not the best for the building. Tower presented the owner with a detailed list of upgrade options, including construction costs, a payback analysis and the available grants from utilities and governments (see Table 1). Modular system of chillers Analysis showed that the best way to proceed was with a modular system of six chillers, each of 175 kW (50 tons) cooling capacity. This system would give a high level of redundancy. Also, it meant the rooftop mechanical room would not have to be upgraded to a Class T standard, which the building code would have required for a single new chiller due to refrigerant pressure issues. Upgrading the mechanical room would have meant major work, including separating the chillers from the boilers and the addition of a vestibule entrance with an alarm. Also, the modules could be much more easily installed than a single chiller, since they could be carried upstairs and moved through doorways, rather than requiring to be hoisted in by crane. The modular system resulted in a high part load efficiency because modules could be completely turned off.

Before the retrofit, some of the building’s cooling energy was being wasted during the summer because certain areas needed to be reheated to make them comfortable. This reheating could not be accomplished without firing one of the large boilers -- at significant cost. With the modular system, five of the chillers would be used to cool the building directly, while the sixth chiller would be operated at a low temperature to sub-cool ventilation air in the summer. This method would change the way that fresh air was introduced into the building. It would also generate the reheat which would allow the boilers to be shut down in warm weather. The new boilers were 85% efficient, near-condensing with fully modulating burners. As the existing heating system required high temperature water, there was no benefit in installing condensing boilers and thus their cost premium was saved. Ventilation air sub-cooling and condenser water heat recovery This HVAC option is often discussed but rarely implemented. The existing variable air volume (VAV) system would blend return and outside air then condition it to a temperature to meet the cooling requirements, about 13°C (55°F). Cooling air raises its relative humidity and dehumidifies it somewhat, but the air is in a saturated state. The new approach was to sub-cool the outside air to 7°C (45°F) and then blend it with the return air. The mixture would be at a much lower moisture level, requiring less additional cooling energy and resulting in a more comfortable environment in the cooling season. In this continued on page 26

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p22-26 CCE MarApril_09 Tower.ind24 24

March/April 2009

3/13/09 5:22:13 PM

EngCan EHC-DI Advertorial CCE 02-09:CCE

2/18/09

4:03 PM

Page 1

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f you don’t have adequate employee group health and disability coverage, you don’t have the necessary and important safety net that your family’s financial future may depend on. Without the right protection, a prolonged illness or a disability that’s not fully covered can drain your savings almost before you know it. Consider purchasing health care and dental care coverage to help your family cope with the expenses that would otherwise be paid out of your pocket. An extended health care plan can cover eligible health expenses such as semi-private or private hospital rooms, out-ofCanada emergency medical care, prescriptions, ambulances, diagnostic services, chiropractors,

physiotherapists, and many similar expenses your government health insurance just doesn’t cover. Dental coverage can help cover the cost of examinations, x-rays, cleaning, fillings, crowns, root canals and even dentures. And if you happen to be selfemployed, your premiums for extended health care plans may be tax-deductible. There’s also a real possibility that an illness or injury can leave you unable to work for a period of time. For that reason, you should look into adding disability insurance (sometimes known as income protection insurance). Because losing your ability to work can put an end to your income and quickly drain your savings, these plans

provide monthly benefit payments, based on a percentage of your monthly earnings, while you are disabled and unable to perform your occupation. Look for a disability plan that offers coverage for different types of disability, such as total disability, residual disability, partial disability and catastrophic loss. Best of all, so long as you pay your own premiums, you receive your monthly benefits tax-free. By having a back-up plan in place to protect you in case of unforeseen illness or accidents, you can build the personal safety net that may one day save your family’s financial future.�

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3/13/09 5:22:15 PM

energy management

continued from page 24

case, the reduction was almost 350 kW (100 tons). The system was further designed so that condenser water from two chillers was pumped to the reheat coils that previously required water from the boilers. This water would otherwise be pumped through the cooling tower to dissipate the heat to the atmosphere. The process resulted, basically for free, in heating being available when cooling was operational and allowed the boilers to be shut down in summer. Ventilation air heat recovery By recovering the heat from the building’s exhaust air, it was estimated that the annual savings would be 19,000 m3 of natural gas for heating and about 42 kW (12 tons) for cooling. The electrical demand would also be reduced by about 6%. In addition, variable speed drives (VFDs) were added to reduce the ventilation air system’s power needs. Also, a new direct digital control (DDC) system enables the building operators to monitor and optimize the systems. The DDC system reduces the building’s energy use by at least 10% or 2,000 gJ.

Success monitored over four years Accounting for the installed cost and the annual savings, the simple payback was estimated at three years. However, once the building was upgraded, its hours of operation were increased to 24/7. Even with this 60% longer operating period, the upgrades resulted in building energy use of 1.83 gJ/m2 which is below the Natural Resources Canada benchmark! The actual results for four years ending 2008 have exceeded the estimates, as shown in Table 2. The retrofit was so successful that none of the upgrade costs were passed on to the tenants. And remarkably, no money was spent on envelope upgrades. The energy saving results were achieved only through the mechanical systems. cce Client: Brent Business Services Prime consultant: Tower Engineering Group, Winnipeg. (Mike Houvardas, P.Eng., Greg Jorgensen, P. Eng.) Mechanical & electrical contractors: Wescan, St. Vital Mechanical Supplier: Multi-Stack - Hydronaire (chillers) @ARTICLECATEGORY:651;

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March/April 2009

3/13/09 5:22:16 PM

industry Stantec is helping to find out whether it is feasible to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the Boundary Dam coal-fired generation plant in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Capturing CO2 from a Coal-fired Plant

B y D av i d C a m e r o n , P. E n g . , M i k e R i c h a r d, P. E n g . , S ta n t e c

he search for cost effective, near zero emission technologies for coal-fired electrical power plants is gaining momentum in many parts of the world and Canada is no exception. One ambitious project under way is a $1.4 billion partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan, SaskPower and private industry to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental merits of carbon capture and sequestration technology. If successful, the project will lead to sustainable options for generating power using coal and other fossil fuels. Under the partnership, SaskPower is leading the development of one of the first and largest clean coal/carbon capture demonstrations in the world at the Boundary Dam Power Station in Estevan, Saskatchewan. Acting as prime consultant to the SaskPower initiative, Stantec completed a number of pre-commitment engineering studies to evaluate clean coal power options between January 2005 and the present. An early study for SaskPower’s Shand station was based on a new 350 to 450-MW unit using either Oxyfuel™ or post-combustion CO2 capture. The project was placed on hold in 2007 when it was found to be uneconomical Above: 3D model of Boundary Dam plant with C02 capture and compression facilities added to the existing plant (new facilities shown at right).

for SaskPower’s short-term supply needs. Attention then focused on the current project at the Boundary Dam Unit 3, a unit scheduled for retirement in 2013. This project is called the “Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Sequestration Demonstration Project,” or “BD3 ICCS.” In this case, the unit will be re-powered and fitted with post-combustion CO2 capture technology in two stages. Starting in 2013, 50% of the flue gas will be treated, then the remaining 50% will be processed starting in 2015. The demonstration project was included as part of the federal government’s carbon capture and sequestration funding for Saskatchewan in the 2008 budget. Ultimate development will be contingent on, among other things: capital costs remaining competitive with other power options, an agreement to use the captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and the required environmental approvals. The project has included a thorough assessment of existing and emerging post-combustion capture technologies. The studies are being done in the absence of accepted clean coal benchmarks, or CO2 purity guidelines, for enhanced oil recovery sequestration. Projecting forward, environmental standards, expected benchmarks and legislative risks are being researched. At the end of the assessment period, SaskPower will make a decision on whether or not to proceed with the project. continued on page 28 March/April 2009

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industry

continued from page 27

Capturing the post-combustion C02 — How it’s done There are a number of competing post-combustion CO2 capture technologies available in various stages of commercial development. A majority depend on amine-based solution chemistry for carbon absorption and can be expected to capture at least 90% of the CO2 in the flue gas. The technical challenges for post combustion capture of CO2 begin with the flue gas. Flue gas contaminants such as sulphur diox- Above: Diagram of an amine-based post-combustion C02 capture plant. ide, and other acidic species like chlorine and (Aaron Cushing, Stantec) fluorine, can degrade the carbon absorption chemicals. These species are typically removed through cycle again. The overall CO2 capture process is extremely Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) systems. energy intensive, with typical parasitic loads requiring up Following the FGD process, the flue gas is usually cooled to 30% of the unit’s gross energy output. Improvements to between 30-60°C to maximize the CO2 mass transfer rate are continuously being sought through process and amine with most amine-based absorption solutions. The cooled advancements, and improved heat integration. flue gas enters the bottom of an absorber vessel, where it is counter-currently contacted with a spray of amine- Project challenges water solution. Depending on the technology vendor, the CO2 capture at the scale needed for electricity generabsorber may contain internals to enhance mass transfer. ating plants relies on new, not fully commercialThe CO2 chemically reacts with the lean amine solution ized technologies, or on designs that have only been and is removed from the flue gas. This reaction is exother- proven at much smaller facilities. Therefore, a detailed mic, and leads to increasing temperatures in the absorber, risk assessment forms a critical part of any CO2 which is countered through supplementary cooling. capture project. Technical specialists conducted both a The amine solution, now rich in CO2, is pumped from qualitative and quantitative risk analysis on the Boundary the absorber to the stripper vessel for regeneration. The Dam demonstration project. amine solution is first pre-heated in a lean/rich heat Another project challenge is the layout of the facilities exchanger with heat transferred from hot, regenerated and equipment on the existing site. Adding CO2 capture amine leaving the stripper and returning to the absorber. equipment to the retrofitted unit results in increased conThis process recovers otherwise lost energy, and increases gestion. The operation of an amine capture system requires the system’s overall thermal efficiency. The rich pre-heated access to both the flue gas and the turbine, which in a amine solution is then distributed to the stripper, a vertical typical plant such as Boundary Dam are in separate areas. tower with internals to enhance mass transfer, through a This means that long lengths of ductwork and piping are series of nozzles. The stripper acts as a distillation column, required to both capture CO2 and regenerate the amine. In heating the rich amine solution, reversing the absorption addition, carbon capture technology usually requires that reactions and liberating the captured CO2. Heat is supplied additional reagents such as amine, or ammonia makeup by steam powered reboilers at the bottom of the vessel. and limestone, are brought to site and that additional waste Steam for the reboilers is diverted from the unit’s turbine- material is removed. Facilities for receiving and removing generator, reducing the amount of electrical power the these materials must be included in the layout. unit can produce. This part of the process represents the Efficient and cost effective, CO2 capture will be critical biggest single energy requirement for carbon capture. to the future large scale use of coal for power generation. The liberated CO2 rises through the stripper col- SaskPower’s BD3 ICCS project is on the cutting edge of this umn and exits the top, where it cools and condenses to effort. If the demonstration project is successful and the moisture and small amounts of amine. The CO2 is then 100-MW plant is fully operational in 2015, it would capture directed to a compression plant prior to being sent off approximately one million tonnes of carbon dioxide annusite via a pipeline. In the Boundary Dam plant demonstra- ally, showing that power can be generated in an economic tion, the CO2 will be directed to depleted oil reservoirs for and environmentally safe manner from domestic fuels that enhanced oil recovery. are in abundant supply. cce The hot, regenerated amine is pumped back to the absorber via the lean/rich heat exchanger where it is cooled. David Cameron, P.Eng. is a senior principal with Stantec, based in Further cooling with water may also be necessary before the Fredericton, N.B.; Mike Richard, P.Eng. is a process engineer with lean amine is reintroduced to the absorber, to begin the Stantec, based in Regina, Sask. @ARTICLECATEGORY:659;

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March/April 2009

3/13/09 5:24:03 PM

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environment

ack in 2000, the regional authority of Metro Vancouver bought a cattle ranch in Ashcroft, a small community located about 340 kilometres east of Vancouver in B.C. The 4,500-hectare site was purchased with the intention of using part of it as a landfill, as a destination for Metro Vancouver’s garbage. Whether that was a sound decision or not, nine years later there is no garbage dump on the site, and Metro Vancouver has spent an estimated $12 million on the project and possible alternatives. A good chunk of that $12 million — about one quarter — went on environmental studies. While the Ashcroft landfill is an extreme case, it’s not that unusual. These days any infrastructure project has to go through a long environmental assessment process before it can go ahead.

A Long & Wndng Road

Obtaining environmental approval for infrastructure projects can be a long and tortuous affair. What’s wrong with the process, and what can be done about it?

Obtaining approvals for a project such as a major highway can take years and a seemingly endless supply of consultants’ reports. The process drains huge resources from project proponents such as municipalities — resources that in today’s economy are scarce. Faced with the dire economic situation, Canada’s government has decided to stimulate job creation by pouring upwards of $12 billion into infrastructure projects. But in order to “get shovels in the ground” quickly, the government knows it has a problem to solve first. It must streamline and expedite the environmental assessment process. In presenting the February 2008 Budget, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty explained their dilemma: “Infrastructure approval processes are subject to duplication and inefficiencies in administration, leading to unnecessary project delays.” As a result, Flaherty said, the government wants to change the regulatory framework, “to drive efficiencies in assessing environmental and other impacts of infrastructure projects without compromising protection of the environment.” The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) applies to infrastructure projects when the federal government proposes a project, provides funding, provides land, or in some cases where a site crosses jurisdictional boundaries. In most large infrastructure projects, provincial environmental assessment regulations will also apply. Hence the government’s concern with duplication. 30

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Illustration Belle Mellor/Three in a Box

By Bronwen Parsons

March/April 2009

3/13/09 6:01:20 PM

environment

All signs (leaked e-mails, comments to the press) suggest that the federal government intends to solve the problem by foregoing its requirements whenever a project is already going through a provincial assessment. But is a federal retreat the answer? Environmentalists don’t think so. At Environmental Defence in Ottawa, Aeron Freedman says: “We think that’s a recipe for a race to the bottom.... We’re not satisfied with the environmental approvals process, but what we’re facing now is the prospect of that process actually being weakened significantly if the federal role is withdrawn.” Another option for the Canadian government is to attempt to harmonize its Environmental Assessment Act with the environmental laws of different provinces. But that could be difficult because the federal and provincial legislations are very different both in their philosophies and technical approaches.

impacts of specific projects, but one thing that everyone agrees upon is that the current assessment system is not working and needs to be changed. Environmentalists think the current laws are far too lax. Freedman, for example, says the present federal rules don’t go far enough technically. They “don’t adequately take into account cumulative impacts. They don’t always adequately balance the environmental health impacts of a project in an integrated way.” Others argue that the laws lack clear and substantive measures for making decisions. Lawyer Rodney Northey of Fogler, Rubinoff in Toronto gave a paper to the Ontario Bar Association in February entitled, “The New Era of Ontario Infrastructure: What Laws Govern Infrastructure Planning?” In it, he complained that whether you’re dealing with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act or the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act: “the criterion of significance is veiled behind multiple considerations and vague opinions....” Northey also points out that under the present regime “No” decisions are extremely rare. For consulting engineers and their clients, the biggest frustration is the duplicate effort involved in having to do both a federal and provincial assessment. Eric Giroux, P.Eng., M.Sc., regional director for Quebec City of SNC-Lavalin’s environment division, says: “The main issue we have is having to work with more than one process. It requires the engineering firm or proponent to answer two sets of questions or requirements. It takes more time, more money.” Right now the federal and provincial systems are not compatible: “They have different triggers, they work differently, and administratively they are different,” Giroux explains. Giroux gives one ludicrous example. In Quebec, fish are protected by the province, while fish habitat (streams, etc.) comes under the jurisdiction of the federal government. But in the case of migratory birds, “it’s exactly the opposite.” The bird habitat is protected by the province, and the birds themselves come under

Consulting engineers deeply involved Consulting engineers are deeply involved in helping municipalities and other clients obtain environmental approvals for infrastructure projects. The civil engineering firms who design roads, sewers, water treatment plants and other infrastructure have whole departments devoted to doing environmental studies and steering projects through these rites of passage. The work involves initial scoping, doing detailed field studies and writing the extensive reports. It can also mean liaising with government agencies and arranging consultation sessions with the public. At McElhanney Consulting Services in Vancouver, Ross Murray is an aquatic ecologist who manages the firm’s environmental division. Murray explains how they would approach a typical new highway project. “You look at the geographical course and define the environmental values within it — the species present, their habitats, sensitive environmental features, etc. The highway is going to intersect rivers, it’s going to intersect migratory paths of animals, it’s going to cause the removal of a certain amount of flora. You are going to take what is natural habitat and pave it, so there’s going to be a strip of hard surface put through the middle One thing that everyone agrees upon is that the current of what would have been forest or prairie, or whatever the case is. In system is not working well and needs to be changed. the process you look to determine the likely impacts of the development and how you can federal jurisdiction. There are historical reasons for this reduce and mitigate those impacts as much as possible.” division of authority, but it creates sometimes illogical and “But,” Murray warns, “it’s not possible to eliminate very complex layers of requirements. As well, depending on those impacts. So we figure out how we are going to com- the nature of the project, the assessment might involve not pensate so that the species present in the area end up in only two governments, but also several different governa net situation, where they are hopefully as well off after ment agencies. Each agency brings its own staff personthe project as today.” alities and bureaucracy into the mix, and each is set on protecting its own turf. Vague, indeterminate and redundant So for Giroux, while there is no question that Environmentalists and consulting engineers often argue projects must undergo environmental reviews to from different sides of the fence over the environmental continued on page 32 March/April 2009

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environment

continued from page 31

protect the natural habitat, there needs to be some streamlining: “We can apply the same rules with less effort,” he says. Just one component of the work — the studies done of the natural habitat to create a baseline for assessing the potential environmental impacts of a planned project — can take an enormous amount of time. “You can imagine the size of some of these documents,” says Paul Ruffell, P.Eng., President of EBA Consultants of Edmonton. Expanding Highway 63 across the barren muskeg to Fort McMurray, for example, means crossing numerous fishbearing streams. “Each has to be treated individually and studied to make sure that you don’t have a fish kill there,” explains Ruffell. What’s more, the counts have to be taken over two seasons — in spring and fall. While the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans becomes involved for fish habitat, special Navigation Waters protection officers with Transport Canada have to be brought in whenever a project crosses a navigable waterway. A navigable waterway is classed as one that is only big enough to pass through in a canoe. Ruffell says he supports these rules, but the problem has been a lack of skilled resources in the federal government to deal with the approval applications.

certain extent, but you still have to go through all the procedural steps. You still expose yourself to challenges on a particular item.” He says MMM tries to encourage clients to start the environmental review process at an early stage of the project “in tandem with other approvals.” But frugal municipalities are sometimes reluctant to do so, he suggests, because environmental approvals can expire after a certain date. Also, the municipalities might not want to pay consultants’ fees to study a project that is not even approved. Throw financing into the equation, and it becomes even more complicated because under the present rules the federal government won’t release funds until a project has received approvals. “It’s a chicken and egg situation,” says Willis.

Not so harmonious The government’s hopes of somehow reducing and streamlining this process will be a challenge. Willis explains that the federal and provincial governments have already made efforts to make the two systems work in tandem, but he thinks, “operationally it doesn’t always work. They are very, very different philosophically oriented pieces of legislation.” paper compares some In Quebec, fish are protected by the province, while fish of Northey’s these fundamental differences habitat comes under the jurisdiction of the federal government. in Ontario. He explains that the province’s environmental act puts But in the case of migratory birds, it’s exactly the opposite. an emphasis on considering alternatives for a project. The Canadian act Haphazard sequencing focuses more on a specific project and designing it to avoid If environmental reviews are keeping shovels out of the adverse impacts. He says that because the acts have different ground, it’s partly due to poor timing. There is no formal- approaches it is even possible for them to lead to different ized process for taking projects logically through the vari- conclusions about the same project. ous approval stages. It means that fitting environmental Historically, Northey points out, governments have had approvals in with the planning, political and financial little success in integrating their environmental review approvals is often a haphazard and messy affair. The result processes. Northey writes, “the Ontario and federal govcan be logjam. ernments have not, to date, succeeded in agreeing to a Steve Willis, MCIP, who is vice president of planning and single integrated environmental assessment process for environmental services for infrastructure engineers MMM any projects that trigger both the CEAA and EAA [Ontario Group in Ottawa, gives an example. “Here in Ottawa,” Act].” Instead they have only agreed to integrate timelines. explains Willis, “we’ve had extensive debates about transit. Northey suggests that the environmental assessment proThey have been all over the newspapers virtually every cesses need to be better integrated with the Planning Act. single day. Council has agonized over multiple alternatives. But that’s likely to be a long way in the future. Where does it go? What’s the scale? The cost? There has been enormous debate over these issues at public meetings What to do? and hearings. And then the city has to start the environmen- Perhaps all we can hope for at present is better coordination tal assessment process as if none of that ever happened. of timelines between different approval regimes. After his “Under the current rules they have to say everything is experience with the Ashcroft landfill, Ken Carrusca, P.Eng., on the table again. Everything is up for discussion. Instead division manager of residuals management with Metro of building a streetcar line, for example, what else could you Vancouver, suggests that one answer is for governments to do? Could you improve the bus service? set firm timelines and require everyone to strictly adhere to “That’s the hardest part. You can use the prior work to a them. He believes that decisiveness is critical. “From talking to continued on page 36 32

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3/2/09 6:01:24 3:29:12 PM PM 3/13/09

business

By Anil Chawla and Pesh Patel, Deloitte

Tax Breaks for Doing Research When can a consulting engineer reap the benefits?

n Canada, corporate innovation is rewarded with more than $4 billion in incentives from the federal government’s scientific research and experimental development program (SR&ED). Many consulting engineering companies are performing innovative work that may qualify for the credit, but they don’t know about the program, or they are filing for the incentive but are not maximizing their claims. Taxpaying entities can receive SR&ED incentives for such activities as: • developing new kinds of products • developing new computer software • developing new or improved processes • changing how products are manufactured To qualify for the SR&ED program, work must be done to advance scientific knowledge and technology, and to resolve scientific or technological uncertainty, while incorporating a systematic experimental investigation by qualified personnel. It is important to note that the SR&ED work does not have to be “successful” to qualify for the SR&ED tax credits. A project can be a failure from both a commercial and scientific point of view but may still qualify for SR&ED if the above criteria are met. However, engineering firms face unique challenges from the Canada Revenue Agency when their SR&ED work is performed on behalf of their clients. The agency wants to avoid “double dipping” of SR&ED tax incentives where both the engineering firm and their clients claim the incentives on the same activities, so it may deny a claim if the work is not properly planned and documented. To claim the tax credits, engineering firms must take several pre-emptive steps to properly document the work as it is performed. The SR&ED program is intended to provide benefits in respect of labour, materials, contracts, capital, overheads and some other costs. Many engineering projects involve some costs that are eligible for SR&ED credits, and some that are ineligible. Therefore, it is important to isolate the eligible costs. Who gets to claim — client or engineer? Sometimes, it is difficult to determine whether it is the client (“the payer”) or its consulting engineer (“performer”) who is entitled to the SR&ED tax incentives. This problem usually arises where a contract is not specific about whether

an amount paid to the performer is for them to conduct SR&ED on behalf of the payer, or whether it is for the payer to purchase a solution from the performer. Following is a list of criteria that Canada Revenue Agency looks at to determine who should be entitled to the SR&ED tax incentives. No one criterion below should be looked at in isolation. • Does the contract indicate that the engineering company was required to perform specific SR&ED work? Are there certain specifications that the engineer had to comply with in performing the contractor’s tasks? If the answer is yes, it indicates to Canada Revenue Agency that the engineer company had to perform SR&ED on behalf of the client and therefore the tax incentive belongs to the client. • Who is assuming the risk of development? Is there a price ceiling on the contract above which the client will not pay? Or will the client not make a payment to the engineering company until certain milestones are reached? If the answer is yes, it gives an indication that it is the engineering company taking the risk of development and, therefore, SR&ED incentives should reside with them. • Who has the right to the intellectual property? If the rights to the intellectual property of the SR&ED work reside with the engineering company, this may be an indication that the engineer was not required to perform SR&ED on behalf of the client and therefore the engineer should be entitled to the SR&ED incentives. To maximize the SR&ED tax incentives, it is therefore important to structure contracts carefully and ensure that the above criteria are taken into consideration well in advance of making a claim. Although engineering firms should retain professional assistance to ensure that an SR&ED strategy is aligned with the firm’s overall tax planning, making a claim itself is not normally a lengthy process. Following the government assessment, Canada Revenue Agency tries to return claims in as little as 120 days for refundable claims and 240 to 360 days for non-refundable claims. This means that a credible SR&ED claim can be made with some degree of certainty, which is especially useful if a company is in a cash-short position. cce Anil Chawla is a partner and Pesh Patel is an associate partner with Deloitte in Toronto. They provide tax advice for engineering and science firms. Tel. 416-643-8006/416-643-8386. @ARTICLECATEGORY:668;

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com March/April 2009

p34 CCE MarApril_09 Business.ind34 34

3/16/09 11:34:47 AM

Nadine International

fire protection

Fibre optic technology warns of fast-moving fires on the conveyors at a huge coal-fired generating station in Ontario.

Fire Detection at

Nanticoke N

adine International of Mississauga, Ontario was retained to upgrade the fire protection systems at Ontario Power Generation’s Nanticoke Generating Station, one of the largest coal generating stations in North America. Located in Haldimand County on the shores of Lake Erie, Nanticoke has 30 kilometres of conveyor belts, each travelling at 600 feet (183 metres) per minute. The existing fire protection for the conveyers consisted of closed-head, pre-action sprinklers that were activated by a pilot line system. While this system met National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, it could not detect moving fires or provide fire protection under the carrier or return belts. As a result a fire might not be extinguished before extensive damage occurred. Asked to develop a system that would detect both moving and stationary fires along the conveyors and chutes, Nadine International evaluated traditional spot type heat detection, infra-red/flame detection, gas/smoke analysis and various types of linear heat detection. All these systems can detect stationary fires, but none will detect fast-moving fires. After research and testing, the engineers recommended an advanced fibre optic linear heat detector cable called a “Fibro-Laser.” The technology has been used in Europe to detect stationary fires in highway tunnels and in special industrial and power hazardous applications. However, this was the first time it had been installed to detect a fast moving fire anywhere in the world. At Nanticoke the fibre optic laser heat detection system is combined with a deluge water suppression system. By providing an early warning of any temperature rise along the conveyor, the fibre optic laser cables notifies the station’s staff to take action before a fire becomes large enough to activate the sprinkler system. When OPG decided to upgrade the fire detection system, having a reliable and early fire detection system was critical. In addition, the fibro-laser system was

Top: diagram showing location of the heat detection cable on the conveyors. The cable detects temperature changes along its entire length and has to account for varying ambient conditions both indoors and out.

found to be the lowest cost-effective alternative. Fibre-optic heat detection cable Effectively one sensor with thousands of measurement points, the Fibro-Laser technology system monitors conditions along the entire span of the cable simultaneously. Within one metre accuracy, the system can measure: • absolute temperature anywhere along the cable; • rate-of-rise temperature in degrees, per minute, anywhere along the cable; • degrees over ambient temperature anywhere along the cable. The cable contains no electronics, and is immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibre-optic temperature sensors work according to the Raman effect, which involves an interaction between the light particles (photons) and electrons of molecules, and the emission of light of new wavelengths. Designing and calibrating the system Because the product had not previously been used in this type of application and had never been tested to detect a rapidly moving fire, Nadine performed exhaustive tests and models. These included staging a mock-up and simulating an extensive fire condition using 2000-W electric heaters at various points along the conveyor. The engineers also had to find the optimal location for the detector cable within the conveyor. It had to be placed where it could detect overheated bearings on both the upper carrier belt and on the return belt, which are separated by the sheet metal frame. The cable also could not be in a location where it would hinder maintenance operations. Ultimately a location alongside the conveyer bed was selected. Also complicating the system design was the fact that the parts of the conveyor are located outdoors and exposed to the elements. So the cable detector had to be calibrated to account for varying ambient temperatures over a wide range of conditions including rain, snow, sun, shade and even wind direction. continued on page 36 March/April 2009

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fire protection continued from page 35

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Client: Ontario Power Generation Prime consultant, research and design: Nadine International (Ajwad Gebara, P.Eng., Ashar Kahn, Paul Tomlinson, P.Eng., Ashraf Elhanafey, CET) Other key players: Siemens Building Technologies (FibroLaser cable); Aker Kvaerner Songer Canada (cable installation)

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Making the system code compliant was a challenge as the product was not recognized by Underwriters Laboratories Canada at the time, nor was there any standard for measuring its adequacy for detecting moving fires. The cable was run for a six month trial run to monitor its performance parameters and did not generate any false alarms. The project won an award of excellence from Consulting Engineers of Ontario in 2008. cce

2009

Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards / Prix canadiens du gĂŠnie-conseil

Entries are now invited for the 41st annual awards. Les soumission sont maintenant invitĂŠes pour le concours. NEW!

TREE OF LIFE AWARD/ PRIX UN ARBRE Ă&#x20AC; AIMER

+SCHREYER AWARD/LE PRIX SCHREYER +10 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE/PRIX Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;EXCELLENCE

environment

continued from page 31

colleagues and folks who have been involved in environmental assessment processes,â&#x20AC;? he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;what they appear to be looking for from government is this â&#x20AC;&#x201D; provide an answer, make a decision whatever that decision might be, and the proponent, the business or the entity, can adjust accordingly.â&#x20AC;? Ruffell and others would like to see the federal government outsource to the private sector a role in shepherding projects through the environmental approval stages before actual decisions are made. About two years ago, when Ruffell was president of Consulting Engineers of Alberta, the association initiated an outsourcing procedure for larger projects with Alberta Environment. We said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We as an industry have the capability. Why not build that capability in the private sector as long as you hang on to the decision-making process.â&#x20AC;? Whatever happens, the environmental approvals process in Canada needs to be simplified. It is neither serving the construction industry nor the environmentalists. And its unwieldy results are not even satisfying the general public who are supposed to be benefiting from all this effort. As activist Joseph Lin, president of the Green Club, commented during the environmental reviews for the Richmond Airport Vancouver Rapid Transit: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thousands of pages of documents regarding environmental impacts ... are neither easily accessible nor understandable by the general public.â&#x20AC;? cce @ARTICLECATEGORY:652; 655;

Stage 1 deadline: Tuesday, March 31 Notices of Intention to Enter and $225.00 fee. Stage 2 deadline: Tuesday, May 5 Complete entry binder & Official Entry Form

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For details (in English and French) and to obtain a Notice of Intention to Enter form, visit www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/awards Contact Bronwen Parsons, tel. 416-510-5119, e-mail bparsons@ccemag.com @ARTICLECATEGORY:1482;

p35-36 CCE MarApril09 Fire_1.ind36 36

3/13/09 5:29:23 PM

engineers & the law

By Owen D. Pawson, Miller Thomson LLP

LEED and Penalty Clauses

what happens when a building doesn’t make the grade

he growing trend of green building and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) certification shows no signs of slowing down. LEED is a voluntary green building rating program that was originally developed and administered by the United States Green Building Council and more recently has been adapted for use in our country by the Canada Green Building Council. There are currently over 400 buildings across Canada that have received LEED certification. In June 2007, for example, the Ontario Liberal Government announced that it is making LEED certification the minimum design standard for new government-owned construction and major renovation projects. In British Columbia, Vancouver has adopted a policy of having its large municipal buildings designed to LEED gold equivalency since 2004. As the number of LEED projects increases, claims and disputes over whether a project has achieved LEED certification will inevitably follow. Consequences for the failure of a completed project to meet a specified LEED standard will also be an issue. The parties involved (owners, contractors and professional designers) must evaluate and manage the special risks related to green building during the formation and administration of their contracts. How does LEED work? LEED is a rating system in which points are earned for building attributes considered environmentally beneficial. The rating system addresses six major areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor air quality and innovation and design process. Certification of the building is based on the total point score achieved following an independent review and audit. Buildings are rated as one of four levels: certified, silver, gold or platinum. Although there are substantial opportunities and benefits associated with green building, there are also increased expectations. Building owners could suffer financial loss (diminished building value) if the stated LEED certification level is not achieved. Accordingly, owners are contractually requiring that their buildings be designed to a specific LEED standard and are specifying financial “penalties” if the building fails to meet that standard.

Penalty clauses vs. liquidated damages The enforceability of financial “penalties” in a construction contract that requires a certain level of LEED certification will depend on whether the provision can be characterized as a penalty or as a requirement for payment of liquidated damages. A penalty can be defined as a requirement for a fixed sum to be paid upon a default or breach of a specified clause(s) where the amount does not bear a direct relationship to the actual loss suffered. Often the penalty will be an amount well beyond the damages actually incurred. On the other hand, liquidated damages are a genuine pre-estimate of damages that a party is likely to suffer if a breach occurs -- in this case, a building’s failure to achieve LEED certification. In other words, the parties agree at the outset that the amount stipulated (or a specific mechanism or formula to determine that amount) will represent the likely damages that the owner will suffer if the building fails to meet that LEED standard. The “liquidated damages” amount is often expressly stated to not be a penalty. The general rule is that provisions for liquidated damages are enforceable while penalty clauses are not (S.M. Waddams, The Law of Damages, CLB 2007). That is, the courts will not enforce a penalty even if the parties have clearly intended at the outset of their relationship that they wanted the penalty clause to be enforceable. But the use of the words “liquidated damages” or “penalty” in the contract does not determine whether it is in fact one or the other. In other words, the courts may still find a clause to be a penalty notwithstanding that the parties have called it “liquidated damages.” The key is to attempt to estimate what actual loss would be caused by the breach by the offending party to ensure that amount will be considered fair and reasonable. A court may determine that a clause providing for payment upon a breach or default should be categorized as a penalty clause: • if the required payment amount is excessive and unconscionable compared to the greatest loss that could conceivably have been incurred as a result of the breach; • if the breach consists only of a failure to pay a sum of money, and that sum is an amount greater than the sum which ought to have been paid; • if a lump sum is payable by way of compensation on the occurrence of one or more of several events continued on page 38 March/April 2009

p37-38 CCE MarApril_09 Eng&Law_P37 37

Canadian Consulting Engineer

3/13/09 5:29:56 PM

engineers & the law

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continued from page 37

irrespective of their nature or magnitude; and • even though a precise estimation of an amount is possible. Whether a provision provides for penalty or liquidated damages is likely to be decided by a court upon the terms and inherent circumstances of each particular contract, judged at the time of the making of the contract and not at the time of the breach. Green building is undoubtedly here to stay. However, the requirements for LEED certification are rigorous and if a building fails to meet the standard stated in the contract the failure could give rise to disputes and possible claims against the professional designer. One possible solution is careful contract language that clearly identifies and allocates that risk. A well-drafted liquidated damages clause adds certainty to a design agreement and it will ensure that both parties clearly understand their obligations. cce Owen D. Pawson is a partner with with Miller Thomson LLP in Vancouver. @ARTICLECATEGORY:668;

products SOFTWARE

Autodesk has updated its Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 now has enhanced conceptual design, modeling and analysis capabilities for more complex architectural forms. Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers includes enhancements such as native heating and cooling loads analysis. Also just released is AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, as a BIM solution for exploring land development, transportation and environmental projects digitally before they are built. Its enhancements include broad support for popular formats and interoperability. Autodesk Navisworks 2010 enables designers to unite project contributions into a synchronized model for BIM. www.autodesk.com POWER

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Delta Controls’ integrated building automation system won the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award for Product Innovation and Differentiation in February. The BAC-Net automation system encompasses HVAC, lighting and access controls. www.deltacontrols.com @ARTICLECATEGORY:673;

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3/13/09 5:29:57 PM

Specifier’s Literature Review SECURITY

A BRIDGE FOR ALL REASONS

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For many years, Armtec has stretched your design dollar with its range of soil steel structures including Multi-Plate and Super-Span. Keeping pace with the need to provide economical bridge solutions, Armtec offers Bridge-Plate structures for larger installations. Bridge-Plate has the deepest and the strongest corrugation in the market today, enabling long span soil steel structures to be designed and built more economically than ever before. For more information please visit our website at www.armtec.com or e-mail sales@armtec.com SUPPLIER: ARMTEC

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This comprehensive Technical Design Manual provides in-depth methodology and design assistance for the many applications of Chance® Helical Piers and Anchors. This resource has been compiled to provide information to geotechnical and structural engineers on how to design Chance Helical Piers and Anchors for structural retrofits, new structures, telecom towers, soil retention and environmental boardwalks. Contact us for a free copy before your next deep foundation project. Please visit www. c3group.com/ebs for further information on EBS Engineering and Construction Limited and CHANCE® HELICAL PIER® Systems. SUPPLIER: EBS ENGINEERING

THE NEWEST RESOURCE FOR PUMPS AND PUMPING SYSTEMS Today’s processes place heavy demands on pumps when it comes to optimum operation, high reliability and low energy consumption. Therefore, we have developed the Grundfos Pump Handbook which, in a simple manner, deals with various considerations when sizing pumps and pump systems. This handbook, developed for engineers and technicians who work with design and the installation of pumps and pump systems, includes answers to a wide range of technical questions. For more information please visit our website at www.grundfos.com SUPPLIER: GRUNDFOS CANADA

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DEPENDABLE POWER Harper Power Products Inc. offers power generating systems from DDC/MTU Power Generation that offer quality and dependable power at a moment’s notice. To find out more about our complete line of generator sets please visit us online at www.harperpowerproducts.com. SUPPLIER: HARPER POWER PRODUCTS

The internationally recognized Multi-V variable refrigerant-flow technology uses multiple indoor units available in numerous models and sizes. Multiple indoor units can be controlled from a single outdoor unit utilizing green technology. Stylish and sophisticated, the energy-efficient Multi-V units match any requirement with generous piping capability. These network capable machines easily connect with LON works or BACnet. www.LG.ca SUPPLIER: LG ELECTRONICS CANADA INC.

CITY MULTI

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Introducing Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi modular units. This flexible heating and cooling system is now more efficient and provides more outdoor space savings than ever. City Multi is famous for its industry-leading VRF technology, geothermal applications, and the world’s only 2-pipe system featuring simultaneous heating and cooling along with reduced installation costs. City Multi also offers complete sustainable heating and cooling solutions, which qualify for LEED credits. For more information, visit www. mitsubishihvac.ca SUPPLIER: MITSUBISHI

Multistack manufactures modular air and water cooled chiller systems that offer elegant solutions to space and access problems faced by modern engineers. Multistack products have a very small footprint, extreme redundancy, future expandability, CSA B52-05 Mechanical Refrigeration Code compliance, low-maintenance, dedicated heat recovery, environmentally responsible refrigerant and extremely low-sound signatures. By design, Multistack offers built-in redundancy and leads the industry in modular Dedicated Heat Recovery Chillers and environmentally friendly solutions for new and retrofit applications. For more information contact, (608) 366-2400 or visit www.multistack.com SUPPLIER: MULTISTACK

SOFT STARTER SSW-06

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The SSW-06 is WEG’s third generation Soft Starter line. Its Keypad with dual display provides high visibility with bright red LED digits and easy programming. With built-in bypass contacts to eliminate heat dissipation once the motor is at full voltage it is extremely compact. This allows for simple integration in non-ventilated enclosures and replacement of electromechanical starters in Motor Control Centers. This product recently won the IF Design Award - Industrial Products Category. The main design attributes which conferred this award to the SSW-06 were the simplicity of constructive solutions and its user friendly operator interface. Call 1 877 PAMENSKY www.pamensky.com SUPPLIER: V.J. PAMENSKY

S-CONCRETE is a reinforced concrete section design and detailing software that operates in stand-alone mode or integrated with our structural analyis software, S-FRAME and P-FRAME. S-CONCRETE supports the current American, Canadian, British, and Singapore standards. It will design beams, columns, composite columns, and shear walls subjected to wind and earthquake loads. For more information please visit our website at www.s-frame.com SUPPLIER: SOFTEK SERVICES LTD.

VICTAULIC SEISMIC TESTING

CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER 2009 MEDIA KIT

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3/13/09 5:31:42 PM

engineer Canadian Consulting

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March/April 2009

p41-44 CCE MarApril_09 AdInd_Hum41 41

Canadian Consulting Engineer

3/13/09 6:04:55 PM

the human edge

Interview

Paul Boge, Movie-Maker

A young Winnipeg engineer unleashes his creative talents

aul H. Boge, P.Eng. is the writer, director and co-producer of Among Thieves, an independent feature film that premiers in Winnipeg on April 21. In his day job 35-year old Boge works for his father’s company Boge and Boge, travelling frequently to Northern Manitoba as a project manager for industrial clients. Q. Why did you get involved in making films?

I think film is a fantastic medium. It’s one of the languages that our culture speaks today. And it’s very accessible to people. Q. Is Among Thieves the first film you have made?

Above: filming Among Thieves in Winnipeg. Paul Boge is second from right, with co-producers Chris Radtke (left, behind camera) and Timothy Horch (right, holding boom).

Our company FireGate Films did a short film three years ago called Espresso Junction. But Among Thieves is our first feature length film.

Euros. That was one aspect that was not talked about enough. I’m not there to point fingers at anybody.

Q. What’s your dream for this film?

We’re hoping that a distributor will pick up the movie. But the more immediate goal is to start a conversation about some of the aspects to the war in Iraq that were not covered much in mainstream culture. Q. Why this story in particular?

It’s unique and it’s current. And I’m fascinated with the actual events. I sat down with Chris Radtke and Tim Horch, the co-producers. We thought about doing this story about three friends who happened to reunite after 10 years and who uncover one of the reasons for the war in Iraq.

Q. Do you feel driven to write and make movies?

Absolutely. I love it. It’s been said that a writer is not someone who writes, but someone who can’t not write. I started making short films in high school, and began writing scripts in university. It’s been a real blessing to be able to share stories with people. There is a similarity between engineering and running a film project. There were about 80 people involved in this production. We shot at over 30 locations, and we were shooting only on evenings and weekends. Coordinating all the people, equipment, work and resources was an engineering project.

Q. Were you driven by political convictions?

It is not so much political as a desire for the truth to come out. I think there needs to be a wider debate about the motive for the war in Iraq. As a culture we spend so much time focusing on what is happening and don’t spend enough time trying to understand why it is happening. We were content to say, Oh, it was oil, it was big business. But it is also an issue of currency related to Saddam Hussein’s decision in 2000 to switch his oil sales from U.S. dollars to

The prolific Boge is also the author of two biographies, two novels, and writes on engineering issues for professional publications such as Canadian Consulting Engineer. His published books include the best-selling biography Father to the Fatherless: The Charles Mulli Story (2005: BayRidge Books), and The Cities of Fortune (2006: Castle Quay Books). He is currently writing a biography about Winnipeg inner city pastor Harry Lehotsky, due out this year. For a trailer of Among Thieves, see www.firegatefilms.com cce @ARTICLECATEGORY:668;

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com March/April 2009

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3/13/09 6:04:55 PM

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