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contents

October/November 2011 Volume 52, No. 6

features Cover: 2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards. ÂŠiStockphoto/Thinkstock

The Ups and Downs of P3s. See story page 64.

departments Comment

Up Front

ACEC Review

Products

Advertiser Index

Human Edge

74 Next issue: University buildings, energy management, disappearing Baby Boomer engineers.

2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Introduction: Technical Excellence and Visual Beauty. By Carolyn M. Hansson, Ph.D., P.Eng., Jury Chair.

Schreyer Award Decommissioning of GaspĂŠ Mines by GENIVAR.

Tree for Life Award A Grander View by Enermodal/MMM Group.

Awards of Excellence St. Joseph Seminary by DIALOG.

Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex by AME/IMEC.

Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation by Aercoustics Engineering.

Coast Meridian Overpass by SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific).

Trafalgar Street Elevated Roundabout by Delcan.

Dufferin Street Underpass by Delcan.

Petite-Nation River Bridge by CIMA+.

Oxford Pollution Control Plant Expansion by Stantec.

Chateh Water Treatment Plant by ISL Engineering and Land Services.

Go Transit Rail Improvements by AGM Program Managers.

Winners Gallery Smiling faces from the award-winning teams.

on topic Business The Ups and Downs of P3s. Public-private partnerships offer big profits, but also hazards. By Peter Kenter 64 October/November 2011

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Engineers & the Law Wind Turbines and Health. An issue over 550-m setbacks. By Tamara Farber Miller Thomson, LLP 67 Canadian Consulting Engineer

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engineer FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE

comment

CANADIAN

C O N S U LT I N G

Editor

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

Clients are the vital backbone of excellence

Art Director

Ellie Robinson

t reveals much about our growing environmental awareness

that four of the winning projects in the 2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards are inventive ways of bridging over or under busy railway lines. A few decades ago railways were considered a fading 19th-century mode of transportation, but today governments are investing in new ways to mesh this relatively green transportation mode into our highway networks. The winning projects also demonstrate how important clients are in any engineering project that is going to excel. Four of the winners – one third – come from relatively small cities, two from one single Ontario city, and two from neighbouring cities in B.C.. From Port Coquitlam, a winner was the impressive Coast Meridian Overpass by SNC-Lavalin that spans multiple railway lines. From nearby Coquitlam, the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex by AME/IMEC uses an unconventional, dynamic heating and cooling approach. In London, Ontario both the Trafalgar Elevated Roundabout by Delcan and the Oxford Pollution Control Centre by Stantec won awards. Clearly something good is happening in the engineering departments of small cities to encourage this type of innovation. (In case anyone is wondering, the juror from London abstained from assessing his hometown projects.) Most important is GENIVAR’s project to clean up a copper mining site in the Gaspé region of Quebec. For the mining industry, which historically has left behind some of the worst environmental messes in Canada, this initiative by the client Xstrata Copper Canada is extraordinary. The jurors wanted to recognize it as a benchmark for other mining companies to follow and gave it the Schreyer Award. The other awards include one that went to the St. Joseph Seminary by DIALOG in Edmonton, a timeless beauty of a building inspired by the client’s statement, “the Catholic Church thinks in hundreds of years.” And Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation by Aercoustics was featured in this magazine’s August-September issue. That article made it clear that it was the client who inspired the work and stayed the course. At a Consulting Engineers of Ontario meeting in London in June the attendees made a big point of thanking clients -- specifically municipal engineers who had gone out on a limb to defend the use of qualifications-based selection (QBS) to hire consultants. The city engineers had needed to stand up in council meetings and defend the fact that they hadn’t simply hired other engineers who offered to do the work for the lowest fee. (Apparently one company had lobbied heavily behind the scenes even after the project was awarded to try and steal the work, offering to do it more cheaply.) Sometimes we forget that it takes a lot of courage and perseverance for municipal engineers – indeed all clients – to back innovative approaches. It would be easy for them to slip into the habitual ways of doing things, and to be lured into accepting the false promise of low prices. This awards program, however, is an opportunity to show clients that their trust and confidence in consulting engineers who innovate is appreciated, and that it produces great results. Bronwen Parsons 4

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

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

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Contributing Editor

Rosalind Cairncross, P.Eng. Advertising Sales Manager

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

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

The

Mee

Circulation

Barbara Adelt (416) 442-5600 x3546 badelt@bizinfogroup.ca Production Co-ordinator

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

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Alex Papanou

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President, Business Information Group (BIG)

Bruce Creighton

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12 Concorde Place, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 Tel: (416) 442-5600 Fax: (416) 510-5134

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CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd.

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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.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada, 1 year $59.95; 2 years $89.95 + taxes Single copy $7.00 Cdn. + taxes. (HST 809751274-RT0001). United States U.S. $59.95. Foreign U.S. $83.95. 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 (print), ISSN: 1923-3337 (digital) 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

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We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

October/November 2011

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GE the

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Recharging the urban landscape.

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CODES

Go prescriptive, or performance Canada’s new National Energy Code for Buildings will be published in November. The code provides an overall 25% improvement in energy compared to its 1997 predecessor. The energy code is a companion document to Canada’s National Building Code. Building designers can follow a prescriptive path, a trade-off path, or a performance path.

Future courtyard infill, West Block, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa.

BUILDINGS

“Stern to stern” overhaul for West Block Work is under way on the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Viewed from Wellington Street, the building sits to the left of the more famous Centre Block, but forms an integral part of the Victorian Gothic complex that is the iconic face of Canada. The West Block was built in 1859 and includes two towers -- the Mackenzie Tower added in 1878, and the Laurier Tower added in 1906. The building is badly deteriorated and is to receive a “stern-to-stern” overhaul. It was vacated earlier this year and PCL Constructors were awarded a construction management contract in July for the first phase of reconstruction, estimated at $359 million. Part of the program is to build a new infill structure in the courtyard that will serve as a temporary debating chamber for the House of Commons. The House will move into it when renovations to the Centre Block begin, and then eventually, the infill space will be converted to committee rooms. Ojdrovic Engineering and Cooke Engineering are structural engineers and Crossey Engineering are the me-

chanical-electrical engineers. The architects are ARCOP Group and Fournier Gersovitz Moss in joint venture. Heritage consultants are Keith Blades Conservation and Craig Sims. The West Block’s load-bearing masonry walls are urgently in need of attention and require seismic reinforcement. Almost half of the original stones will need to be removed while the core of the walls are repaired. Also the entire mechanical and electrical systems are being brought up to code. The renovations will be completed in 2017.

TRANSPORTATION

Montreal’s infrastructure in poor state In September, the city of Montreal identified 12 bridges that were in a “critical” condition. Another 24 were “problematic.” Mayor Gerald Tremblay gave assurances that the bridges didn’t pose a danger and said: “The moment an engineer tells us there’s a risk, and if we have to shut down an infrastructure -- we will do so.”

INDUSTRY

Quebec construction industry under fire Calls for a full-fledged official inquiry into the construction industry of Quebec were renewed in September after elements of a report were leaked to Radio Canada.

The leaked “Duchesneau” report was prepared by a special anti-corruption squad created in February to investigate possible bid rigging and other irregularities in the tendering process. The study apparently found that organized crime elements had infiltrated the construction industry and said that engineering prices were inflated.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Award intended to send message The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering is launching a new award to raise awareness about the state of Canada’s deteriorating infrastructure and the need to build more sustainably. The Award for Government Leadership in Sustainable Infrastructure will be given to someone in the public sector.

continued on page 8 6

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

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October/November 2011

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continued from page 6

RENOVATIONS

Acton Ostry Architects/Martin Tessler Photography

Biological Sciences Complex given new life The south and west wings of the Biological Sciences Complex at the University of British Columbia had a grand re-opening in August following a $45-million renovation. Located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Mall and University Boulevard, the large complex consists of buildings from the 1940s to the 1970s. Three buttresses clad with illuminated glass panels were added to the exterior of the complex as part of the seismic upgrades. Another feature is the installation of a prototype daylighting technology developed by the university and SunCentral that in-

Biological Sciences Complex, University of B.C.

creases the depth sunshine can reach inside buildings. The design team includes architects Acton Ostry and consulting engineers Read Jones Christoffersen (structural and building envelope), MCW (mechanical and electrical), and Gage Babcock (building code). PEOPLE

First LEED Fellows Stephen Carpenter, P.Eng., president of Enermodal Engineering of Kitchener, Ontario (a member of MMM Group), has been named one of the inaugural class of LEED Fellows by the Green Building Certification Institute. The GBCI is affiliated with the U.S. Green Building Council, which founded the LEED green building rating system.

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

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Halsall has new president Michael Van Dusen, P.Eng. is succeeding Peter Halsall, P.Eng. as president of Halsall Associates. Based in Toron- Michael to, Van Dusen previously Van Dusen headed the restoration practice of the building engineering company. Peter Halsall will continue as Chairman of Halsall and other businesses in the Canadian operating company of Parsons Brinckerhoff, of which Halsall Associates is part.

benefits of something, while minimizing all possible associated risks. Raj S.V. Rajan, Ph.D., P.Eng. Sherwood Park, Alta. EVENT

Construct Canada coming up Construct Canada is on November 30 to December 2 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building. It is Canada’s largest construction show and has seminars with 450 speakers. The accompanying National GreenBuilding Conference focuses on sustainable and energy efficient practices. www.constructcanada.com

MAILBOX

Where are the women? Perusing a recent issue of Canadian Consulting Engineer, I noticed your Editorial Advisors are all men. To promote women in consulting engineering, I believe we need to promote women on project teams, in leadership roles, and as members of boards and committee. We need role models at all levels and in all areas of our industry. Lianna Mah, P.Eng. Associated Engineering, Burnaby, B.C. What to learn from Fukushima? As engineers and scientists, we should not state that nuclear power is “a little frightening,” even if it may be somewhat true. (CCE Comment, AugustSeptember, page 4). This only adds fuel to the anti-nuclear groups. We must not give up on developing nuclear and other forms of renewable alternative energy resources for the future. As you have said, we have to be aware of both the potential and dangers of all forms of energy resources, and also plan for mitigating the associated risk with detailed analysis of “what if” scenarios to the best of our ability and knowledge. The probability of an incident may be minimal, but the resulting damage, if the incident did occur, may be extremely large. It is easy to be against anything and everything, but it is wise and preferable -- though harder -- to work for the

EXHIBITION

Green Cities by Default FloraShock: an Ecotopian Vision of the Future by Jason van Horne is a multi-media work that depicts cities 100 years after “vengeful Mother Nature” has “struck back” at human beings and decimated much of the world’s population. Cities have become overgrown but people are slowly repopulating the ruins and crumbling buildings. The result is “gardens on every rooftop, vertiJason van Horne

up front

cal farms inside old skyscrapers, rope bridges connecting condo towers and ramshackle dwellings cobbled together on top of former million-dollar penthouses.” The mixed-media model was part of an exhibition called Architecture: New City Landscape, held at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre this summer.

October/November 2011

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards – A Celebration of the Industry

n November 1, 2011, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer (CCE) Magazine gathered at the new Ottawa Convention Centre to celebrate excellence in the consulting engineering sector at the annual CCE Awards Gala. The Awards Gala has become a premier showcase for the significant contributions made by consulting engineering firms to our social, economic and environmental quality of life. Twelve exceptional projects were recognized and the firms responsible for these projects were honoured. Among these awards were two special prizes for the Tree for Life, recognizing environmental sustainability, and the Schreyer Award which is the highest honour for a consulting engineering firm in Canada. This edition of Canadian Consulting Engineer salutes all of the winners.

ACEC also recognized Dr. John Boyd, one of the most esteemed leaders in the consulting engineering community in Canada and internationally, with the coveted Beaubien Award. This is the highest honour bestowed to an individual for his or her lifetime contributions to the Canadian consulting engineering industry. The CCE Awards Gala has become a cornerstone of ACEC’s profile-building priority. It is well-attended by dignitaries and Members of Parliament who are exceedingly impressed each year by the accomplishments of our firms, and their contribution to society. We are all winners in this celebration as consulting engineers continue to innovate and provide solutions to the world’s most complex problems. Let us stand together and be proud of our accomplishments as a collective society. Congratulations to all the winners! HERB KUEHNE, P.ENG., CHAIR, ACEC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MESSAGE DU PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL

Prix canadiens du génie-conseil – Une célébration de l’industrie

e 1er novembre 2011, l’Association des firmes d’ingénieurs-conseils du Canada et la revue Canadian Consulting Engineer ont tenu le gala annuel des Prix canadiens du génie-conseil au tout nouveau Centre des congrès d’Ottawa pour célébrer l’excellence du secteur canadien du génie-conseil. Le gala des Prix est devenu l’événement phare de l’industrie, présentant les importantes contributions que les firmes de génie-conseil apportent à notre qualité de vie sociale, économique et environnementale. Douze projets exceptionnels ont été reconnus, et les firmes qui les ont réalisés ont été honorées. Les prix attribués comprenaient deux prix spéciaux, soit le prix de l’Arbre de Vie qui est octroyé pour un projet environnemental remarquable, ainsi que le Prix Schreyer, qui est la plus haute distinction décernée dans le domaine du génie-conseil au Canada. Ce numéro de Canadian Consulting Engineer salue tous les lauréats. L’AFIC a également reconnu John Boyd, Ph.D., l’un des leaders les plus estimés de la communauté du génie-conseil au Canada et au niveau international, en lui présentant le

Prix Beaubien. Ce prix convoité est la distinction la plus prestigieuse décernée à une personne pour sa contribution, tout au long de sa carrière, à l’industrie canadienne du génie-conseil. Le gala des Prix canadiens du génie-conseil est devenu un élément central des initiatives prioritaires de l’AFIC visant à mettre en valeur le profil de l’industrie. L’événement accueille de nombreux dignitaires et membres du Parlement qui sont toujours très impressionnés par les réalisations de nos firmes membres et par leur contribution à la société. En célébrant nos réalisations de cette année, nous sommes tous gagnants alors que les ingénieurs-conseils canadiens continuent d’innover et de procurer des solutions concrètes aux problèmes les plus complexes de notre planète. Nous pouvons tous ensemble être très fiers de nos réalisations en tant que membres d’une industrie essentielle au bien-être de notre société. Félicitations à tous les lauréats! HERB KUEHNE, P.ENG. PRÉSIDENT CONSEIL D’ADMINISTRATION DE L’AFIC

October/November 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

Dr. John Boyd Receives 2011 Beaubien Award

Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards

n November 1st, John Boyd, P. Eng., PhD was presented the Beaubien Award at the 2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards. The Award recognizes individuals for their lifetime contributions to the advancement of the consulting engineering profession and industry. “The recognition of your peers is the greatest honour you can receive, and being numbered amongst the Beaubien recipients is a truly humbling experience,” remarked Dr. Boyd. Dr. Boyd is a leader in the Canadian consulting engineering business. He has worked with Golder Associates for 35 years, holding senior management positions including President of the Canadian operating company, VP Operations of the Golder Group, and Directorships with several Golder Group companies.

Above: Dr. Boyd with ACEC President, John Gamble and current ACEC Chair, Herb Kuehne at a business session at the 2010 FIDIC Conference in New Delhi, India. Left: Dr. Boyd addressing delegates at the 2008 FIDIC Conference in Quebec City.

versity of Toronto on engineering and sustainability beginning in 2012. Dr. Boyd has served as Chair of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies and Past-President of the International Association of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Executive Committee. During his tenure with FIDIC, Dr. Boyd led the FIDIC Committee on Sustainable Development. The resulting Project Sustainability Man-

“The recognition of your peers is the greatest honour you can receive, and being numbered amongst the Beaubien recipients is a truly humbling experience,” — John Boyd, P.Eng., PhD. A sought after speaker, Dr. Boyd is recognized as an authoritative voice on issues pertaining to the role played by engineers in society, the engineering profession’s responsibility towards solving societal problems, and sustainable development. In respect of this expertise, he has recently committed to teach a graduate course at the Uni-

agement (PSM) system is unique in providing a practical approach that maintains a traceable link to Agenda 21, the worldwide basis for sustainability adopted by over 140 countries. Today, Dr. Boyd continues his work at FIDIC as Chair of the Climate Change Task Force. He is the recipient of the Presi-

dent’s Award from the Irish Consulting Engineering Association for his contributions towards sustainability in engineering, and the ACEC Chairman’s Award for exceptional contributions to the Canadian consulting engineering industry. Dr. Boyd was selected for the Beaubien Award by a number of his peers in the Canadian consulting engineering industry. He joins a long list of accomplished leaders in this profession.

ABOUT ACEC The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies Canada (ACEC) is a business association representing nearly 500 consulting engineering companies across Canada. ACEC is made up of 12 provincial and territorial organizations. For more information on ACEC, visit www.acec.ca.

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, Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Manitoba, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Association des Ingénieurs-conseils du Québec, Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – New Brunswick, Consulting Engineers of Nova Scotia, Consulting Engineers of Prince Edward Island, Consulting Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador. 12

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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October/November 2011

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

ACEC Delivers a Strong Message to Parliament: Infrastructure Investment is Critical to Canada’s Economic Health

arlier this fall, ACEC was invited by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to make a written submission as part of the pre-budget consultations. In its submission, ACEC recommends that Parliament and the federal government begin work immediately to develop a national, long-term infrastructure investment strategy. The plan should set

Photos taken from ACEC Engineering Legacies.

priorities, identify clear objectives, establish the roles and responsibilities of all partners, and measure the return on investment. This will allow future investments to strengthen the Canadian economy and to have the most mean-

ingful impact on the country’s infrastructure deficit. Development of the strategy will need to begin during the 2011-2012 fiscal year in order for roll-out to be achieved in time for the expiry of the Building Canada Fund in 2014. ACEC Parliament Hill Day Reinforces Message The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) continues to encourage the federal government to follow through on its pledge to work with stakeholders and develop a long-term infrastructure investment strategy. This message was front and center during Hill Day as ACEC members and representatives from across the country met with Members of Parliament to stress the importance of addressing Canada’s infrastructure deficit. ACEC believes that infrastructure is an investment – not an expense. It is an investment in the economic, social and environmental prosperity of the country. Prudent ongoing investment will strengthen the economy, create and sustain jobs and contribute to a balanced budget in the long run. The recent infrastructure investments made possible by the Building Canada Fund and the Stimulus Action Plan were clearly helpful. However, in spite of these recent efforts, infrastructure investment in Canada has significantly declined since the 1960s. In developing its submission, ACEC worked closely with its partners at Engineers Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). To view ACEC’s submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee, visit www.acec.ca.

October/November 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

PSMJ Seminars 2011-2012 REGISTER TODAY! ACEC and PSMJ, in collaboration with Consulting Engineers of Ontario, have organized a series of business management training programs between September 2011 and May 2012. Discounted rates are available for ACEC members. Seminars offered this year include: Winning Proposals and Presentations – November 17-18, 2011 – Toronto, Ontario Project Management Bootcamp – January 24-25, 2012 – Toronto, Ontario Principals Bootcamp – March 20-21, 2012 – Toronto, Ontario Project Management Bootcamp – May 8-9, 2012 – Toronto Ontario

*Some dates are subject to change. Please refer to www.acec.ca for up-to-date information.

CMY

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Winning Proposals and Presentations During this two-day seminar, you will learn a solid, proven system for preparing proposals and presentations that resonate with clients. This program will walk you through the entire proposal and presentation process, step-by-step, from what you need to do to post-presentation wrap-up, giving vital tips and important information along the way. Project Management Bootcamp This program will give project managers the knowledge and tools they need to perform better, more efficiently, and with greater attention to customer service. Now more than ever, achieving success as a design firm depends on the quality of a firm’s relationships with its clients, and no-one is more responsible for these relationships than Project Managers. Clients ranked “good technically” tenth on a list of project management traits. Clients expect you to be good technically and they usually lack the technical

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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savvy to distinguish between a good design and a great one. However, they do know when the design doesn’t work, when you are late with deliverables, when you don’t return a call or when they have to repeatedly ask for something. Principals Bootcamp This seminar is for anyone who wants to be a successful design firm leader and help their firm succeed in the new economy. Participants will spend two days learning from, networking with, and contributing to the learning of other senior leaders, principals and aspiring associates from other firms. First, you will learn what to do to become a more effective Principal. Then, you will be given examples of how these techniques have worked in other firms. Finally, you will acquire the tools to implement these ideas quickly and effectively For questions about programming or registration, please contact Adam Waiser, Policy and Communications Analyst, at awaiser@acec.ca or 1-800-565-0569.

October/November 2011

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2011 AWARDS

CHAIR’S COMMENTS

Technical Excellence and Visual Beauty BY CAROLYN M. HANSSON, PH.D., P.ENG.

Technical excellence and visual beauty were hallmarks of this year’s entries in the 43rd annual Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards. We were also pleased to read that most of the entries addressed the need for environmental cognizance and energy efficiency in their choice of materials, construction methods, subsequent operations and, in some cases, their re-use of the materials at the structure’s end of life. For several of the building projects, these environmental concerns were the major emphasis, with LEED certification as a goal. Considering the current state of infrastructure in Canada, however, the panel discussed the advisability of including “sustainable operation and life cycle costs” as additional criteria in future competitions for new structures and the transportation sector. We also discussed the possibility of a new award category for the operation and maintenance of existing structures. The 12 volunteers on the judging panel, who were tasked with selecting 12 of the 63 entries for awards, had a variety of technical competences and represented a range of sectors, from municipal authorities and professional engineering organizations, to academia and cultural organizations. The jurors had a wonderful time reading the entries prior to the meeting and then having the chance for a full and lively discussion as a jury. Each of the projects was a culmination of the designers’ amazing creativity and the engineers’ technical ingenuity. Overall, we were highly impressed with the quality of all the entries (although the communication skills of some of the writers left something to be desired). Consequently, the numerical scores were, in some cases, very

close and detailed debate was required to select the final 12 awardees. These are briefly described below. The Winners The project “Rehabilitation of the Gaspé Mines” by GENIVAR for Xstrata Copper Canada was selected for the Schreyer Award, the top technical award. The jury was unanimously impressed by the complexity and ethical awareness demonstrated by this private sector initiative: to develop and implement a health and safety program for the workers; demolish the dust-filled mining buildings; decommission the mine tailings; clean the contaminated soil; and dispose of all contaminants onsite. We hope that this project will set a benchmark for future mine decommissioning projects. The environmental “Tree for Life” award is given to the new Kitchener, Ontario headquarters of Enermodal Engineering, a member of the MMM Group. Named “A Grander View,” the building was constructed as a showpiece for the company’s capability as a “green building” consulting firm. The goal is to be the first Canadian structure to be awarded triple LEED Platinum certification. Certification was achieved, in August this year, in two of the categories: “New Construction” and “Commercial Interiors,” and it is currently being sought for the “Operation and Maintenance of Existing Buildings.” The building was applauded by the jury for its comprehensive attention to all aspects of energy and water conservation and its re-use of construction materials and furniture while giving high priority to the employees’ working environment, allowing them individual climate control and natural daylight. continued on page 18

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

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AWARDS 2011

CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS

October/November 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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2011 AWARDS

continued from page 16

Following are comments on each of the award of excellence winners: St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, by

DIALOG. This is a beautiful building incorporating modern architecture with traditional details. The jury was particularly pleased by the very detailed construction and the final, elegant appearance of the white concrete interior. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation in Vancouver, by Aercous-

tics Engineering. The jury admired this project for its high degree of complexity, involving insulating the ventilation noise, and balancing the music loudness, reverberation, spaciousness and warmth — all in time to have the theatre ready for the 2010 Olympics. Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, Coquitlam, B.C., by the AME Group and

IMEC Mechanical. The need to reduce the energy expenditures of this large facility with year-round ice and curling rinks was solved by an impressive new heat exchange technology developed by IMEC and shared with the new Aquatic Centre and an adjacent library. Coast Meridian Overpass Design-Build Project, Port Coquitlam, B.C., by SNC-

Lavalin Constructors (Pacific). The overpass is a 580-m cable-stayed bridge constructed by an ingenious pushlaunch system over an operating highway and rail yard, joining two sides of the city. The award was based on the social impact and technical complexity of the construction. Trafalgar Street Elevated Roundabout, London, Ontario, by Delcan. This proj-

ect was selected on the basis of its complexity and benefits to the public in increased safety, reduction in traffic delays and improved rail efficiency. Dufferin Street Underpass, Toronto,

by Delcan. The underpass was designed to eliminate a three-block diversion of road traffic around a multi-track rail corridor. Again, the judges recognized the complexity of

S O M E FA C T S The Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards have been given annually since 1968. They are given to recognize outstanding work on projects completed in the previous three years by consulting engineers. The awards are a joint program held by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC)/l’Association des firmes d’ingénieurs-conseils - Canada (AFIC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine.

THE ENTRIES 63 entries this year. Last year 73. Entries per category (last year’s numbers in parentheses) Technical Categories: Buildings 19 (11); Transportation 14 (11); Water Resources 8 (13); Environmental Remediation 4 (9); Natural Resources, Mining, Industry and Power 5 (9); Special Projects 6 (10). Non-Technical Categories: Project Management 5 (4); International 1 (3); Community Outreach & In-House Initiatives 1 (3). Note: awards are given according to merit; not assigned as one per category. Province of entering firms (last year’s numbers in parentheses): Maritimes 1 (5); Quebec 9 (16); Ontario 21 (14); Manitoba 2 (2); Saskatchewan 1 (3); Alberta 14 (18); B.C. 15 (15).

CRITERIA The criteria for evaluation include: (i) originality or innovation in the use of new technology or a new application of existing technology; (ii) complexity, (iii) environmental impact, (iv) social and economic benefits; and (v) fulfilling the owner’s or client’s needs. The emphasis of these criteria differs between the technical categories and the three non-technical categories. For more details, visit www. canadianconsultingengineer.com/awards/forms.aspx

the project and the resulting reduction in travel times and greenhouse gas emissions. Petite-Nation River Bridge, Lochabar, Quebec, by CIMA+. The judges select-

ed this “life-line” design aimed at ensuring the safety of users and allowing the road to remain accessible during an earthquake. We appreciated the additional complexity that was necessitated by the terrain, requiring the 425-m span to be constructed 35 metres above the river with piers of different height, wall thickness and ground anchoring systems, to ensure uniform rigidity of the structure. Oxford Pollution Control Plant Upgrade, London, Ontario, by Stantec

Consulting. This project was selected for an award because of its use of new membrane bioreactor technology that allowed the existing wastewater treatment plant, which had inadequate capacity for current and future needs,

to be upgraded and extended within the same limited site. Chateh Water Treatment Plant, Alberta, by ISL Engineering and Land Ser-

vices. The judging panel was impressed with this plant designed and constructed to treat some of the worst source water in Canada in an isolated community in Northern Alberta, being cognizant of the need to transport chemicals from far away, of the operational difficulties and of the overall life-cycle costs. GO Transit Rail Infrastructure Improvement Program, Greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, by AGM Program

Managers (Hatch Mott MacDonald, IBI Group, MMM Group). This was probably the most complex of the projects the jurors saw. The project aimed at a significant increase in the extent, capacity, safety and security of the GO system in the most highly congested region of the country. continued on page 20

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com

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AWA R D S J U RY

continued from page 18

2011

CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS JURY CHAIR CAROLYN M. HANSSON, PH.D., P.ENG. has been

employed in industry, consulting and academia. She is currently a Professor in both the Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Departments at the University of Waterloo. Professor Hansson has served as Vice-President of Research at the university and has served on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Ministers National Advisory Council on CanMET, and the U.S. National Materials Advisory Board.

JURORS BARRY J. ADAMS, PH.D., P.ENG. is a Professor of

Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he was Chair of the Department of Environmental Engineering (1991-95) and Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering (1994-2003).

He has consulted in Canada and abroad, and has published over 200 papers, books, and technical reports. JOHN BRAAM, P. ENG. is the City Engineer for the City of London, Ontario and Chief Administrative Officer for the Lake Huron and Elgin Area Primary Water Supply systems, a

position he has held since 2006. He has worked in consulting, private sector industry, public utilities and various municipalities. He is a Past President of the Ontario Water Works Association. continued on page 22

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AWA R D S J U RY

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JOHN BREMNER, P.ENG. has 40 years of experience in engineering and public works. From 1996 to 2004 he was Executive Director and Registrar of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C., and for 18 years before that he was Director of Parks and Engineering and Deputy Municipal Manager for the District of North Vancouver. WIESLAW CHOJNACKI, P.ENG. is Head of Civil

and Geotechnical Design for the Transit Expansion Department with the Toronto Transit Commission. His experience includes facilities design,

planning and policy and construction supervision. He has worked on projects in England, North Africa and the Middle East. MAUD COHEN, ING., was recently re-

elected for a third term as President of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) the professional engineering association of Quebec with over 60,000 members. A graduate in industrial engineering and holder of an MBA, she is also a director with the CGI Group in Montreal. CLAUDE FAUBERT is Director General

of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. He is responsible for the operations of the museum

and is much involved in developing plans for a new museum of science and technology. Previously he was the museum’s director of education and vice president of exhibitions. JOEL GAUTHIER is Pres-

ident and Chief Executive Officer of the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), the Quebec government’s agency for public transportation in the Greater Montreal area. He is also on the board of directors at the Canadian Urban Transit Association and is Canada’s representative on the American Public Transportation Association. continued on page 24

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AWA R D S J U RY

continued from page 22

TIM JERVIS, P. ENG. is

Manager of Engineering and Construction for Metro Vancouver. A civil engineer, he has overall responsibility for the design and construction of large scale water and wastewater facilities, and the operation of the regional solid waste management system. Before joining Metro Vancouver in 1985, he worked for a consulting engineering company. PIERRE LÉGER, ING, PH.D is Professor of

Civil Engineering at École Polytechnique de Montréal. Previously he taught structural engineering from 1986 to 1992 at McGill University. His research focuses on the structural be-

haviour and safety of concrete dams and hydraulic structures. He is the author of more than 175 journal and conference papers. KATHLEEN LLEWELLYNTHOMAS, P.ENG. is the

Commissioner of Transportation Services for the Regional Municipality of York, north of Toronto. She is responsible for the regional roads, York Region and Viva transit operations, and natural heritage and forestry services.

Congratulations to the XSTRATA/GENIVAR team on an outstanding job! Proud winner of a Canadian Consulting Engeneering Award of Excellence for the “Réhabilitation du site Mines Gaspé” project Proud partner of your environmental projects www.genivar.com

She was previously Director of Engineering for the City of Toronto. DON WILLIAMS, P.ENG.

is Senior Manager of Engineering at the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) with Ontario Power Generation. A graduate in electrical engineering, Don has engineering design authority for the project, ensuring it meets regulations. He is also responsible for engineering, procurement and construction.

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SCHREYER AWARD

ENVIRONMENT

GENIVAR

Decommissioning of Gaspé Mines The judges were deeply impressed by the measures taken to clean up after a large copper mine and smelter was closed in Murdochville, Quebec.

Town of Murdochville with the mine in the background. The photograph was taken part way through the rehabilitation program.

Copper mining and processing went on at the Gaspé Mines in Murdochville, Quebec from 1952 until it closed in 2002. The operations included an open pit mine, an underground mine, two concentrators and a copper smelter with a sulphuric acid plant. The footprint of the mine site, including the tailings, is about 80 square kilometres, with around 50 kilometres of roads. When Xstrata Copper Canada took over the plant in 2006, they began a $116-million undertaking to rehabilitate the site, which was car26

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ried out between 2007 and 2010. The Gaspé Mines rehabilitation project was the first decommissioning of a mining operation and copper smelter in Canada. GENIVAR provided complete engineering, procurement and construction management services to Xstrata Copper Canada on the rehabilitation project. Genivar was also the main environmental consultant for the rehabilitation of both the mine site and the residential properties that were affected in the nearby towns of Murdochville and Gaspé.

Buildings, tailings ponds and dust The project included demolishing all the existing mine structures, and decommissioning the tailings sites. It also involved handling over 1,000,000 m3 of materials. In order to improve the management of water on the mine site, over 6,000 metres of bypass channels were constructed to help protect against erosion from snowmelt and the heavy rains that are common to the area. Most of the demolished mining buildings contained dust with metal

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ENVIRONMENT

SCHREYER AWARD

JURY COMMENT

“The jury was unanimously impressed by the complexity and ethical awareness demonstrated by this private sector initiative: to develop and implement a health and safety program for the workers; demolish the dust-filled mining buildings; decommission the mine tailings; clean the contaminated soil; and dispose of the contaminants on-site. We hope that this project will set a benchmark for future mine decommissioning projects.”

where copper concentrate arriving by boat or train was transshipped. A total of 855 residential, commercial and industrial properties were rehabilitated, which involved the removal of, on average, 30 centimetres of soil and returning the ground cover to its initial state.

concentrations exceeding current environmental standards, which posed a hazard for the demolition workers. Using Xstrata Copper Canada’s Sustainable Development Policy and Guidelines, Genivar applied a detailed health and safety program, and as a result no worker had to be removed from the site due to exposure. The impact of the mine was not just on its immediate site. Airborne pollutants from the smelting operations over 50 years had affected soils in the town of Murdochville, and also in the nearby Sandy Beach area

Environmental choices A large number of certificates of authorization and other permits -- 46 in total -- had to be obtained in a short time frame from the MDDEP (Quebec’s Department of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks). The most environmentally-friendly approaches were taken at each step of the project. For example, a specialized firm was hired to treat hydrocarbon-contaminated materials on site using a biopile. The technology uses naturally occurring microorganisms and enhanced aerobic biodegradation to break down the pollutants. Most of the 150,000 m3 of soils excavated from private properties was reused as cover for the mine tailing sites. Also, the demolition contractors separated and recycled all the metal materials, and all concrete structures were crushed to a size that could be used for fill material in deep foundations.

Local involvement An extensive communication program kept the public informed and individual meetings were held with over 500 property owners. All the calls for tenders issued for the project contained an incentive clause encouraging the hiring of local labour. And despite ceasing its operations in Murdochville and Gaspé, Xstrata Copper Canada continued to promote the local economy by providing buildings, sponsoring events and making donations. CCE

Project name: Rehabilitation of Gaspé Mines site, Murdochville, Quebec. Award-winning firm (prime consultant, engineering, procurement, construction management, environmental consultant): GENIVAR, Montreal/Quebec (Carl Gauthier, ing., Andreanne Hamel, ing., Kaddour Tounsi, ing., Michel Létourneau, ing., Kateri Normandeau, P.Eng., Alexandre Brunet, ing., Simon Latulippe, ing., Nathalie Chevé, ing., Steve St-Cyr, ing., Lucie Parent) Owner: Xstrata Copper Canada Other key players: Construction LFG, SaniSable (excavation, civil works); Delsan-AIM, DemAction (demolition); Sanexen (biotreatment risk assessment), Kwatroe (water treatment plant construction); Maxxam Analytique (chemical analysis); Forage Boissonneault (drilling, surveys); Innovex, Solmax/Texel (geomembrane).

October/November 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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A Grander View achieves remarkable energy and water savings, and showcases what can be accomplished at minimal incremental cost. It has already earned a double Platinum LEED rating for new construction and commercial interiors. It is also one of two buildings selected to represent Canada at the iiSBE Sustain-

able Building Challenge in Helsinki in the fall of 2011. A Grander View was designed to use 69 kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m2), compared with the Canadian average of 380 kWh/m2. Metered data for water and energy demonstrates it is using 82% less energy and 89% less water than a conventional building. continued on page 31

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TREE FOR LIFE AWARD

continued from page 29

Meanwhile, an occupant survey conducted independently a year after the company moved in found a very high level of employee satisfaction with the new headquarters. Beautiful infill site First, the building is located on an urban infill site, providing a view of the Grand River for the employees. Staff are provided with employee garden plots, but there is no permanent irrigation system and no use of pesticides. Recycled and salvaged materials were incorporated, including a stone façade salvaged from a church and material from the demolished St.

Daylit interior.

Clair River Tunnel in Sarnia. As well, 70% of the furniture from the previous Enermodal office was re-used. Narrow building with daylight The footprint for the three-storey, 2,150-m2 building is narrow — only 12 metres across, which ensures all employees have access to at least one view to the outdoors, while minimizing the need for artificial light. The lighting power density is approximately 65% below ASHRAE standards. The windows are triple-glazed with fibreglass frames, and the exterior walls are made from insulated concrete forms to ensure high insulation values. The well-conceived building shell means that there is no perimeter heating necessary and the entire building can be viewed as one engineering zone (rather than interior and perimeter spaces). To cope with low sun angles, solar heat gain and glare is eliminated by

JURY COMMENT

The building was constructed as a showpiece for the company’s capability as a “green building” consulting firm. It was applauded by the jury for its comprehensive attention to all aspects of energy and water conservation and its re-use of construction materials and furniture while giving high priority to the employees’ working environment, allowing them individual climate control and natural daylight.

automated external shades. The shades are activated by a programmed level of incident solar radiation. Innovative rainwater cistern and recovery from condensate Besides using low-flow plumbing fixtures, the building collects rainwater in a cistern that has a vortex filter, reduced rate water entry, and a floating suction intake line. The resulting water is cleaner, and the overall system more energy-efficient, than a conventional cistern that uses filters. Although most water used in the building comes from the cistern, additional potable water is gained by capturing heat pump condensate created during the building cooling process. During summer’s peak cooling season, when rainwater is often scarce, the building cooling process produces 20 litres per hour — enough to flush a toilet five times. Earth tubes and a variable refrigerant flow system The building has separate heating/ cooling and ventilation systems. Separating the two systems saves energy

because sometimes ventilation only is required, or vice versa. In the ventilation system, both mechanical room intakes are connected to “earth tubes.” These consist of a 0.6-m diameter concrete pipe running for 4.5 metres below grade to a manhole capped with a louvered doghouse. The earth tubes temper the outdoor air by about 2°C using the heat of the ground in the winter and the reverse in the summer. Heating and cooling is by a variable refrigerant flow system. Three airsource heat pumps are located on the roof — one pump assigned to each floor. The heat pumps are connected to 60 small fan coil units located throughout the building that distribute the refrigerant from the heat pumps. This “multi-split” system allows occupants to control the temperature and humidity in small workspace areas. Occupancy sensors ensure that the heating and cooling system brings a room to the ideal indoor temperature only when someone is in that area. Therefore, there is no automation system that dictates pre-determined occupied and set-back times. CCE

Project name: A Grander View, Kitchener, Ont. Award-winning firm (mechanical-electrical engineer, LEED consultant, energy modeling, commissioning, monitoring): Enermodal Engineering/MMM Group (Stephen Carpenter, P.Eng., Richard Lay, P.Eng., Tim Dietrich, P.Eng.) Owner: Enermodal Engineering. Other key players: Robertson Simmons (architect), MTE Consultants (civil/structural engineering), Melloul Blamey (contractor), Roth Associates (landscape). Supplier: Mitsubishi (air-source heat pumps, controls). October/November 2011

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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BUILDINGS

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

DIALOG

St. Joseph Seminary

Jason Ness Photography

Reinterpreting traditional church architecture with modern materials, these award-winners have created a beautiful and timeless building in Edmonton.

Inside the chapel. Its carefully crafted, thick concrete walls have no construction joints.

The new home of St. Joseph Seminary is on the Catholic Campus at 84th Street and 100th Avenue, a beautiful site overlooking downtown Edmonton. Rev. Richard Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton, said at the outset of the project in 2007: “The Catholic Church thinks in hundreds of years.” That simple declaration helped

shape the entire design. The team set out to make a building with a sense of timeless permanence, reinterpreting traditional forms of church architecture — arches, buttresses, and side aisles — with modern materials. In traditional church design the structure and the architecture are inseparable, created simultaneously by

a master builder. Similarly, this design team took a highly collaborative approach, attempting to act in unison as a single master builder made up of many professional experts. Chapel at the heart At the heart of the seminary, visually and spiritually, is the new chapel, a sanctuary created entirely with castcontinued on page 34

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in-place, fair-faced, visually exposed concrete. Chalk-white, self-consolidating concrete that was cast in a single massive pour, the chapel walls are 450 mm thick, 11 metres high, and have a visually exposed area of over 700 square metres. The risks of casting nearly 350 cubic metres of a highly customized concrete mix — without construction joints — while achieving the highest possible levels of architectural finish were daunting. The entire project

team — structural engineer, architect, interior designer, construction manager, formwork contractor, formwork supplier and concrete supplier — all worked together for 18 months to develop the methodology. Literally every detail of the chapel was painstakingly thought out in advance: the size and location of every form tie; the type, size and orientation of every sheet of form ply; the development of specialized formwork details to create sharp 90° exterior cor-

Project name: St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton Award-winning firm (prime consultant, architecture, structural, mechanical, electrical, interior design): DIALOG (Donna Clare, Jeff DiBattista, P.Eng., Jim Montgomery, P.Eng., Michelle Sigurdson, Ed Pon, P.Eng.) Owner: Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton Other key players: Garnet K. McKee Consulting (owner’s project manager), Dawson Wallace Construction (construction manager), ISL Engineering (civil), Shelby Engineering (geotechnical), Carlyle + Associates (landscape).

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ners without chamfers; special structural reinforcing for crack control; and countless test batches to confirm the best colour, texture and porosity of the concrete. Portions of the formwork were even lined with fabric to create a concrete that has a soft and tactile appearance. Functionally, the massive walls of the chapel also serve to provide protection from the noise and vibration of the outside world, to regulate temperature through their thermal mass, to provide a long reverberation time for enhanced acoustical performance of the pipe organ, and to act as a simple white backdrop for coloured light filtering through seven historic stained glass windows. Steel arches and intricate details Structural steel also plays a vital role in the reinterpretation of traditional church architecture. The narthex has intricately detailed structural steel, while its steel arches on the aisles reinterpret the flying buttresses of traditional cathedral architecture. Outside, the 15 metre glazed bell tower supports a steel cross 7 metres high that can be seen for miles across the river valley. The structural engineer coordinated closely with other engineering disciplines. For example, the columns of the bell tower act as ducts carrying warm air to the windows, eliminating the need for radiant heating that would be visually unappealing. Similarly, the girts around the narthex provide lateral stability to the exterior columns, support the floor-to-ceiling glazing, and conceal the radiant heating pipes. Within the chapel, the rear wall is all glass with seven historic stained glass windows. This wall is framed with columns so slender they are hung from the roof so that they act in tension for improved stability. Today the project stands complete, on budget, with a construction cost of $33.5 million dollars. CCE

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

BUILDINGS

AME CONSULTING GROUP & IMEC MECHANICAL

Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex An innovative “thermal energy exchange” system was used at a large recreational centre in Coquitlam, B.C. The system dynamically manages the energy requirements, moving heat from place to place as required.

Exterior view of the renovated complex.

The Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex in the city of Coquitlam, near Vancouver is a $62 million, 13,200-m2 project that was completed 10 months ahead of schedule and several million dollars under budget. The project was part new construction and

part renovation. Completed in 2010, it required building two new rinks and the demolition of the old rinks, a major renovation of the main 2,000seat arena, and finally the construction of a Sports Hall of Fame atrium lobby. Given the client’s mandate to

achieve energy savings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure future sustainability, IMEC suggested a district thermal energy sharing system. Specifically they recommended “Thermenex” (thermal energy exchange), a system developed by Jeff continued on page 36

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Weston P. Eng. at IMEC for large comrather than having to rely on the semercial and industrial applications. lected design parameters. The buildThermenex greatly reduces energy ing demands choose the set points. use and greenhouse gas emissions at a With the Thermenex system in capital cost that is typically much place, the expansions at the Poirer lower than other green technologies. complex required no new boilers. The core principle for Thermenex The entire facility is now served by a is the recognition that cooling is simunique domestic hot water system. ply the removal of heat. It is a cusThe system has three stages of heat. tom-built thermal heat exchange hub The excess building heat is the first that dynamically manages the movestage either directly or through a heat ment of heat to where it is required. reclaim chiller, depending on deIt consists of a pipe with a thermal mand. The existing aquatic centre gradient (one end hot the other end had a solar domestic hot water system cold) with control valves that functhat now functions as second stage tion as a hub for efficiently managing heat, and if capacity is available it can heat. In the case of the Poirier Comprovide final domestic water heating. plex, the pipe was “folded” to create The existing boilers provide the final four pipes running together, all with stage of heat if required. different temperature characteristics. Monitoring indicates that the existImportantly, the system is pro-• Ontario/Manitoba ing boilers are using less fuel now than - www.ebseng.com they before the renovation, while grammed to maximize efficiency 320 were Woolwich Street South, Breslau ON serving an additional 15,500 m3 (inbased on the changing building needs,• British Columbia - www.c3is.ca 12220 Vickers Way, Richmond, BC

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Integrated Solutions Inc. A C3 Group Company

cluding the renovated library) of very well used public facilities. A new 170-ton heat recovery chiller provides cooling for the ventilation systems. It reclaims any lowgrade thermal energy from all the cooling systems, the ground and the building exhaust. Excess heat from the library, located 200 metres from the main complex, can be used to heat the pool facility. One of the design challenges was timing the availability of waste heat from the ice plant with the demand for heat in the pools. An 80-ton geoexchange field was installed to function as short-term thermal storage for rejected heat. There were significant scheduling challenges. All work needed to be performed while maintaining full recreation programs, which included hockey and lacrosse play-offs and national tournaments. An inventive, integrated, three-stage project delivery instituted by Task Construction Management brought this project in under budget and ahead of schedule. Probably the most significant challenge was convincing the city of Coquitlam to take a risk on a new technology with limited proven success for such a large, high profile project. The mechanical design-build contract included a guarantee that if the system did not perform, a plan was in place to convert to a more traditional design, with money held back until the system was functional. Needless to say, this was not required. CCE

Project name: Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, Coquitlam, B.C. Award-winning firms (design-build mechanical consultant): AME Consulting Group and IMEC Mechanical (Rob Walter, Eng.L.., Scott Campbell, Tom Wilson, P.Eng. (AME); Ian Hall, Jeff Weston, P.Eng., Darcy Hart (IMEC)) Other key players: CEI (coordinating architect), Task (construction management), HY Engineering (civil), Bogdonov Pao (structural), MCL Engineering (electrical), Storrier Consulting (client liaison).

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A heritage of innovation

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To help prevent the 90,000 residential electrical fires that occur in North America each year, Eaton pioneered affordable circuit interrupter technology and helped incorporate it into electrical codes. In a plant, an arc flash event can generate temperatures that are four times that of the sun. In 2007, Eaton introduced the

FlashGard® Motor Control Center—an industry first—with features engineered to help prevent injuries from electric shock, arc flash burns and arc blasts.

To deliver the highest quality backup power protection for your home computer, network, server and data center, Eaton is applying the knowledge that developed the first AC power inverter and commercial UPS combining battery charges and inverters.

To keep clean, uninterrupted power flowing, Eaton delivers the industry’s most efficient UPS—the Eaton 9395 boasts a 99% efficiency rating and the highest reliability on the market. It is the first power-quality product to receive SMaRT© Gold certification.

Eaton is building on the expertise that enabled development of the first automatic motor starter and threephase, oil-insulated contactor to deliver motor control that lowers total cost of ownership and enables processes to run more efficiently.

Bringing the first automatic motor starter to market made Eaton the natural choice to provide the control equipment used to build the Panama Canal a century ago. Today, Eaton is providing the sophisticated equipment and expertise for major Panama Canal upgrades.

In 1920, most people thought green was just a color. Even then, Eaton saw opportunities for efficiency. The result? A $1 million plant in Cleveland designed to conserve heat and maximize natural light.

commitment that extends far beyond its own facilities. The Department of Energy recognized Eaton for meeting the highest standards in managing energy-saving performance projects. Today, Eaton is a certified energy services company (ESCO).

Today, sustainability is integral to Eaton’s culture and guides every action taken—a

Eaton is leveraging the engineering expertise that pioneered the use of vacuum tubes to control heavy currents nearly 80 years ago by continuing to offer vacuum interrupters and circuit breakers with long mechanical and maintenance-free lives.

Eaton leads the way with over 40 arc flash prevention solutions and engineering services teams that provide training and arc flash hazard analysis.

Chances are, if you are using vacuum interrupting technology, you may already be relying on industry-leading Eaton solutions.

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Eaton is applying the expertise used to develop the first molded case circuit breaker in 1923 to protect the circuits that maintain the electrical safety of our homes, offices buildings and complex industrial and commercial processes.

For instance, the Series NRX® low voltage power circuit breaker delivers the performance of a power circuit breaker in the compact size of a molded case breaker. Depend on Eaton circuit breakers to deliver protection you can count on.

Back in 1976, Eaton started studying the viability of alternative power sources and became involved in the development of power systems for electric cars.

charging infrastructure for commercial and residential use. In Canada, Eaton is partnering with utilities to bring electric vehicle technology to the forefront. And, Eaton is already supplying and supporting vehicle charging stations across the United States.

Today, Eaton is the only company to offer hybrid-electric and two hybrid hydraulic system technologies for commercial vehicles, as well as an electric vehicle

Data centers manage the information that keeps business running. Eaton is applying the expertise that developed a patented heat containment system to optimize airflow and improve the overall operation and energy efficiency of data centers.

Over the last decade, there has been an initiative to increase data center capacity, which often taxes equipment cooling systems. Eaton’s robust enclosure and airflow management portfolio, industryleading UPS and power distribution solutions meet the challenges of data center energy efficiency.

With a powerful operator interface platform and the game-changing SmartWire-DT™ solution—the first networking control system to connect power components—Eaton is delivering the next generation of connectivity to enable remote intelligence, simplify wiring and reduce commissioning and testing.

Taking things even further, Eaton is also integrating electrical and hydraulic systems to deliver a total solution to provide more accurate speed control and more reliable performance for full control of machine axis movement.

Our collective energy appetite is rapidly increasing as nations modernize and economies evolve. Electrical energy consumption is projected to double by 2030. Eaton’s core competencies in electrical power distribution and control equipment are bringing wind, solar and smart grid solutions to life today.

Soon, Eaton will deliver a turnkey 3.2 megawatt solar power system— the largest in the state—for the New Mexico VA Health Care System. Eaton was chosen for its electrical power management expertise, a robust service organization and solar power system design and installation competencies.

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BUILDINGS

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

AERCOUSTICS ENGINEEERING

Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation The use of new tools and ingenuity has turned a post-war theatre in downtown Vancouver into an opera house with excellent acoustics.

d is

Old acoustics were poor The acoustics of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre have long been lamented. It was typical of its post-war era. It had a very dry acoustic — not reverberant enough. It had a poor spatial sound, the sound wasn’t loud enough and it lacked warmth. The only thing it had going for it was acoustical clarity — if anything, too much of it. In a room that is too big acoustically it is possible to compensate with strategically located reflecting surfaces. In addition, if those reflectors direct sound to arrive at listeners from the sides, an over-wide room can be made to sound more like the wellloved narrow shoe-box shaped rooms

Ed White.

The acoustical renovation of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in downtown Vancouver has been described by the Vancouver Opera company as “a minor miracle.” Using the latest acoustical tools and theories — some created by themselves — Aercoustics Engineering turned a notoriously poor performance venue into one celebrated for its excellent acoustics. Much of the focus of the acoustic design was on the needs of the Vancouver Opera, although opera only occupies the room 30% of the time. Most opera houses limit their seats to 2,000, but since the Queen Elizabeth Theatre also hosts popular music acts, the renovated space has almost 2,800 seats. The leading acoustical engineers of the world would never set out to build an opera house this big, but there was no other choice.

Reconfigured auditorium. The acoustical reflectors are carefully adjusted, sometimes within less than a degree.

of the 19th century –- a single violin can appear to fill the whole room. Ceiling removed and new HVAC system installed First in 2006, the building was literally cut in two. This was done to prevent noise being structurally borne from the second theatre in the building, the smaller Playhouse Theatre. The ceiling of the Queen Elizabeth

Theatre was then removed to make the room taller. As well, originally plans called for two new balconies (for a total of three) to be added. The new design also incorporated some modern concepts of the so-called “Directed Energy” halls. Most background noise in a concert hall comes from the ventilation system, so many new venues use a dis-

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placement system to provide air slowly and very quietly from a plenum below the seats and floor. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre this option was precluded, so Aercoustics proposed a scheme whereby air is blown into a series of plena in between the roof joists. The plena act as a noise control mechanism and don’t take up precious acoustic volume in the room. Redesign forced new strategies When hazardous lead dust had to be removed from the site in 2007, it forced a major redesign to finish the project for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The two extra balconies had to be deleted from the original design, as did the terraced seating levels that were providing the critical lateral reflections. Fortunately, at this point Aercoustics discovered a new software tool, originally intended to optimize lighting in green buildings. It is extremely difficult to design a reflector to its optimum location and orientation in three-dimensional space. This software, for the first time, allowed the engineers to calculate reflection direction and coverage in real time. The tilt on many of the reflectors has been optimized to within less than a degree. Aercoustics believes that it was the first to optimize reflectors on this scale and this accurately.

Project name: Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation, Vancouver Award-winning firm (acoustical engineer): Aercoustics Engineering, Toronto (John O’Keefe, P.Eng., Kiyoshi Kuroiwa, P.Eng., Daniel Ruvacalba) Owner: City of Vancouver Client: Vancouver Civic Theatres Architect: Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Other key players: Engineering Harmonics (sound system), Douglas Welch Design (theatre consultant), Read Jones Christoffersen (structural engineering), Stantec (mechanical engineering), Schenke Bawol Engineering (electrical), Heatherbrae Construction (contractor).

The renovated “directed energy” theatre performed exactly as predicted and the new sound in the room has been widely acclaimed by the client, users, press and public. The renovated acoustics have also been quantified scientifically, proving the audible improvement.

The acoustical approach had to be far more cost effective here in Canada than elsewhere. Seattle renovated a similar sized building for their opera company in 2003 at a cost of US $127 million. In 2009, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre was renovated for only C $45 million. CCE

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T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

SNC-LAVALIN CONSTRUCTORS (PACIFIC)

Coast Meridian Overpass Using a “push-launch” method, the design-build team spanned 580-metres to bridge a huge transportation corridor in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

The impressive structure — a hybrid twin box-girder and cable-stayed design — crosses multiple railway lines.

Prior to the construction of the Coast Meridian Overpass, the city of Port Coquitlam in British Columbia was divided by two major transportation corridors: the Lougheed Highway — a major arterial road in Metro Vancouver — and Canadian Pacific’s largest active rail yard in western Canada. The city responded to this difficult situation by developing a conceptual design for the Coast Meridian Overpass. Envisioned as a way to unite the two sides of the city, connect Port Coquitlam with other major regional 44

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transportation networks in the region, and relieve traffic congestion, the Coast Meridian Overpass was awarded as a design-build project to SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) “SLCP.” SLCP was given the complex task to design and build an overpass in and over a yard handling 3,000 to 3,500 rail cars – including the West Coast Express commuter rail – each day. As well, the project had to be done with minimum disruption to local traffic, businesses and residences during construction.

SCLP had submitted the lowest qualifying bid with a design that included a 580-metre, hybrid twin box girder, cable-stayed bridge with four traffic lanes and facilities for cyclists and pedestrians. The site presented specific challenges. These included pre-defined pier locations, limited access to the rail yard, and an active seismic zone. The Coast Meridian Overpass used a single line of columns and large-diameter piles to navigate these constraints. The unique cable-stayed and

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T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

steel superstructure lightened the overall structure and reduced its depth by nearly 2 metres. Taking advantage of the cablestayed design, the team used a permanent cable to minimize deflections during a push-launch process. Push launch construction The project’s major challenge was push-launching a 580-metre bridge over an active rail yard. The project was the longest “push-launch” bridge construction process successfully attempted in North America. The process involved launching six spans over the CP rail yard and one over Lougheed Highway. A hydraulic jack pushed the span structures over the south embankment on rollers. Cable supports were carried forward to the erection scheme, where the permanent stay cable and a temporary pair of cables supported the leading edge of the launched span. The team used multiple cable adjustments during the construction process, and to minimize additional loading they placed a sliding deviator block over top of the lead pylon for the temporary cable. There were five alternating assembly and launching phases before the superstructure was fully assembled and launched into final position. The next phase jacked the superstructure onto the permanent bearings, and the last phase involved the crane erection of the north abutment box girders and infill steel. Overall the design: • Resulted in a shallower (by 2 metres) and lighter superstructure; • Lessened steel quantities; • Lowered bridge profile and reduced lightweight fill for the approaches; • Allowed the twin box girders to be launched simultaneously, thus reducing the construction schedule; • Used cable stays and a permanent tower to minimize deflection during the launch; • Accounted for twin level earthquakes with a 1:475 year event for the bridge to remain functional, and a 1:2475 year event for collapse protection.

Integrated design-build team SLCP’s integrated design and construction team developed a design process that synthesized the construction and fabrication methods. Managing the project’s major bridge and roadway construction activities also required a solutionsoriented approach. Together with the city, SLCP implemented comprehensive traffic management, safety, public communications, and environmental plans that mini-

mized the impacts on residents and businesses. The Coast Meridian Overpass Design-Build Project was delivered on time and on budget in March 2010. Port Coquitlam residents now enjoy greater mobility between the two sides of the city and have access to other key transportation routes, including the Mary Hill Bypass, TransCanada Highway, and the future Evergreen Line rail transit extension from Vancouver. CCE

Project name: Coast Meridian Overpass Design-Build Project, Port Coquitlam, B.C. Award-winning firm (design-build contractor): SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) (Jim Burke, P.Eng.; Dave Weatherby, P.Eng., Nuno Pereira, Allen Tanagho, P. Eng., Blair Squire) Owner: City of Port Coquitlam. Other key players: International Bridge Technologies (main spans designer); Shannon & Wilson (geotechnical engineer); Stantec (electrical engineer); Delcan (independent bridge design review); B & B Contracting (earthworks and roadworks); EBA (geotechnical); Fraser River Pile & Dredge (piling).

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DELCAN

Trafalgar Street Elevated Roundabout A roundabout on a raised crossing over a busy rail track in London, Ontario provides many benefits for traffic flows, the railway and the community.

The level railway crossing at the intersection of Trafalgar Street and Hale Street was a longstanding bottleneck in the city of London’s road network. The single level crossing consisted of an arterial road and a collector road intersecting and crossing three CN rail lines. With a mix of residential, commercial and industrial land uses in the area, the crossing is used by local and citywide traffic, public transit, cyclists and pedestrians. The CN tracks are used by freight and high-speed passenger trains. When the city decided to make

improvements to the crossing, the recommended solution during the environmental assessment process was a signalized intersection on a raised structure over the rail line. However, a subsequent value engineering review concluded that a roundabout rather than a signalized intersection on the concrete rigid frame elevated structure would provide more benefits. The selection of a roundabout rather than signals: • reduces the length of the bridge from 115 to 86 metres, resulting in

The roundabout is elevated above railway lines that carry 47 trains every day. It has reduced traffic delays and addressed safety concerns for vehicles and pedestrians. 46

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a saving of $2 million; • eliminates the need for traffic signals and their associated maintenance costs; • eliminates need for left turn lanes; • reduces the number of potential traffic conflict points resulting in improved safety; • reduces the forecasted number and severity of collisions; • reduces unnecessary idling, air emissions and fuel consumption, resulting in improved air quality; and • provides a focal point for community landscaping. This crossing is the first raised roundabout over a rail line in North America and has become a landmark for the city of London. Since its opening, the feedback from the public has been very positive. The delays to vehicular traffic have been eliminated and CN is able to conduct operations without hindrance. Design from first principles The roadway and structural elements had to be developed from basic first principles since common design guidelines and standards could not be applied directly to this situation. Ourston Roundabouts Engineering assisted Delcan by providing a preliminary design layout for the roundabout. The multi-year, multi-phase project began construction in February 2010 and was completed in December 2010. Delcan’s scope covered the environmental impact assessment and approvals, the detailed design of the physical infrastructure, project management, and construction administration. In addition, Delcan coordicontinued on page 48

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

DELCAN

Dufferin Street Underpass Engineers designed a way to cut below a major railway corridor in a dense area of Toronto, solving a 100-year old problem and revitalizing the community.

View into underpass. A rigid frame structure was inserted below the railway lines, creating a “bridge on a bridge.”

For more than 100 years the southbound journey on Dufferin Street in Toronto was stopped short by a major, multi-track rail corridor. Cars, buses and emergency vehicles alike were forced to turn left, entering the infamous “Dufferin Jog.” This three block circuitous route through a residential neighbourhood added only time and confu-

sion to those travelling south. Delcan was contracted to remedy this by designing and engineering a solution to seamlessly link the two parts of Dufferin Street. The city of Toronto billed the project as an exercise in “urban place-making,” wanting both to improve access and revitalize the community at the same time.

Delcan’s crisp urban design met the requirements by drawing on community input and imagining a bright, open corridor, with a stone parkette, a grassy knoll and well-lit walls for the installation of art. At the same time, they designed a straight-through alignment for the underpass, which minimized the tak-

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ing of property and provided the smallest footprint. The technical challenge was that the underpass needed to be constructed under a busy multi-rail corridor. To achieve this, the designers elected to raise two rail tracks marginally rather than lower the roadway. This allowed the existing traffic to continue undisrupted, while limiting major works on the railway corridor itself. Bridge on a bridge The engineering design evolved to a scheme to “sneak” in a rigid frame structure beneath the railway tracks, creating a “bridge on a bridge.” Observing minimal clearances, tight confines and very large loads, the new underpass was built to have the existing railway bridge actually supported on the underpass’ roof. The scheme involved no changes to the grades of Queen Street and Dufferin Street, but instead involved raising two of the railway tracks by about 1 metre, a process that was much easier

to accomplish than the lowering of Queen Street and Dufferin Street. A compact reinforced concrete twin-cell rigid frame structure was built in a sequential manner to accommodate train traffic throughout construction, and with the goal of having virtually no effect on vehicular traffic on Queen Street, Dufferin Street or adjacent streets. None of these streets was ever closed during construction. The scope of Delcan’s design and engineering included everything from concept design to environmental assessment, structural engineering, electrical engineering, utilities relocation, stormwater management, landscaping and public consultations.

In November 2010, the new Dufferin Underpass opened to ringing endorsements. Travel times through the area were reduced and the Toronto Transit Commission announced expected savings of close to $450,000 per year by making Dufferin bus trips more efficient. Plans are under way to improve the formerly “trapped” neighbourhood north of Queen Street West with pedestrian walkways and bikefriendly features that will help to promote the area’s vitality and growth. The project’s creative engineering solution has solved a century old problem while reinvigorating a downtown community. CCE

Project name: Dufferin Street Underpass, Toronto Award-winning firm (prime consultant): Delcan, Markham, Ont. (Joanne McCall, P.Eng., Brent Archibald, P.Eng., Bill Moore, P.Eng., Jonathan Werner, P.Eng., Vic Anderson, P.Eng., Thomas Woods, P.Eng., Sami Ibrahim, P.Eng., David Yaeger, P.Eng.) Owner: City of Toronto Other key players: Golder Associates (geotechnical); McCormick Rankin Corporation (contract administration, resident services); Dufferin Construction (general contractor).

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Trafalgar Street Elevated Roundabout nated the relocation of utilities such as the electrical power, telephone, gas and cable infrastructure, as well as the relocation of the CN tracks. Delcan also facilitated property acquisitions by participating in legal hearings and working directly with homeowners. Throughout, Delcan managed a large team of local specialist sub-consultants and employed key experts for various specified tasks. Benefits for vehicles, CN rail and neighbourhoods The project has eliminated significant delays for the 15,000 vehicles using the crossing every day and reduces the 48

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amount of traffic infiltrating adjacent neighbourhoods. The new crossing also enables the railway to improve its efficiency for its shunting operations and 47 daily freight and passenger trains that pass through. Increased rail efficiency helps to reduce commercial

traffic on highways, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The city of London has dedicated the bridge in honour of the Canadian World War II fighter pilot and hero from the London area, Charles (Charley) W. Fox. CCE

Project name: Trafalgar St./Hale St. & CN Rail Elevated Roundabout, London, Ont. Award-winning firm (prime consultant): Delcan (Henry Huotari, P.Eng., John Riggs, Marla Browning, Norman Walker, P.Eng., Sameh Salib, P.Eng., Paul Elgie, CET, Ken Lowes, Tech, Patrick Gallipeau, Tech.) Owner: City of London Other key players: Golder Associates (foundations/pavement design); Ourston Roundabout Engineering (preliminary roundabout design); McKay-Cocker Construction (general contractor).

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AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

CIMA+

Petite-Nation River Bridge This award went to one of the first bridges in Quebec designed to survive an earthquake. The structure spans a river valley along new Autoroute 50.

Due to the rugged terrain the height of the bridge piers varies tremendously, creating a challenge for the seismic design.

The “lifeline bridge” concept was first developed by the California Department of Transportation to guarantee that certain roads are safe and remain accessible to emergency vehicles during a major earthquake and in the aftermath. In this project CIMA+ engineers

designed the first “lifeline bridge” of its size built in Quebec, where earthquake engineering for bridges has only recently been implemented. The bridge spans a broad river valley as part of the extension to Autoroute 50 near Lochaber, between Ottawa and Montreal.

The challenge was designing a seismically-sound bridge that spans 304 metres, 35 metres high across a valley, while minimizing any disturbance to the environment and without building in the river below. The completed bridge has three

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The engineers adjusted the thickness of the cell walls of each pier according to its height in order to make the piers uniformly rigid.

piers that are each at varying heights caused by the site’s rugged topography and complex and varying geotechnical conditions. The 24.5-metre high Pier 2, which is seated directly on bedrock, is much shorter than the 32.5-metre high Pier 3, which rests on drilled shafts that pass through 35 metres of ground before bearing on bedrock, for a total height of approximately 70 metres. Such a difference in pier heights and foundations, and therefore in their rigidity, results in a concentration of seismic loads in the shorter piers, placing them at a very high risk. To meet this challenge, the engineers designed a hollow structure for the piers in order to obtain the required rigidity while reducing their mass. Each pier has a pier cap beam supported by four ductile rectangular columns of equal height, which are supported by a multi-cellular truncated pyramid at the base. Although the ductile columns and pier cap beams

are identical for all the piers, the pyramids consist of three cells for each pier, with walls of varying thickness. The engineers made the rigidity of the piers uniform by adjusting the wall thickness of the cell according to the height of the pier. Yet from the exterior the piers look identical. Drilled shafts were used to transmit seismic loads to the bedrock through 35 metres of ground, and also to install active rock anchors to avoid any rotation of footings. For the seismic resistant system, CIMA+ designed a longitudinal bridge

restraint system that consists of three fixed supports (one for each pier). There are also steel shear keys for increasing resistance to transverse loads. The structure’s protected components (pier caps, bearings and foundations) were designed to withstand the maximum probable forces that are likely to develop in the plastic hinges of the ductile columns. The light, steel superstructure is perfectly symmetrical, which benefits its seismic performance and behaviour in service. The forces in each span are perfectly balanced, minimizing the mass of steel required for the girders and limiting the adverse effects of structural fatigue. The length of the central spans was 85 metres in order to avoid the need for major work in the riverbed. Originally, the bridge was intended to be 425 metres long, but CIMA+’s studies revealed that the length could be reduced by more than 100 metres. This represented substantial savings in terms of the total cost. The project was completed on time and on budget in October 2010. CCE

Project name: Petite-Nation River Bridge, Lochaber, Québec Award-winning firm (prime consultant): CIMA+, Laval, Que. (Denis Gamache, ing., Marie‑Claude Michaud, ing., Munzer Hassan, ing., Aleksander Mossor, ing., Pierre Meilleur, ing.) Owner : Ministère des Transports, Direction de l’Outaouais Other key players : Prof. Robert Tremblay, ing., École Polytechnique de Montréal (seismic design); Prof. Omar Chaallal, ing., École de Technologie Supérieure (soil-structure interaction); Qualitas (geotechnical).

AWARD-WINNING WORK Congratulations to the City of London, Stantec Consulting and all members of the project team who contributed to the success of the award-winning Oxford Pollution Control Plant upgrade project in London, Ontario. Golder is honoured to have been a part of this innovative and sustainable project. Engineering Earth’s Development, Preserving Earth’s Integrity.

www.golder.com

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W AT E R R E S O U R C E S

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

STANTEC CONSULTING

Oxford Pollution Control Plant Expansion Using an MBR system, engineers doubled the capacity of a wastewater treatment plant in London, Ontario â&#x20AC;&#x201D; affordably and without altering the footprint.

Maintaining clean waterways while building wastewater infrastructure to meet the needs of growing populations is a challenge facing many regions. Stantec designed an expansion to the Oxford Pollution Control Plant in London, Ontario that demonstrates it is possible to design an affordable wastewater treatment plant with both expanded processing capacity, and a higher quality effluent, without increasing the footprint of the physical structure. The existing plant was built in 1960 and needed expanding to service new residential developments in the northwest quadrant of the city. The upgrades have made it one of the largest membrane bioreactor (MBR) municipal pollution control plants in Canada. But more importantly, the expansion has doubled the plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capacity to treat sewage flows from average 10,000 to 20,000 m3/ day, all while costing the city less money for a better quality of filtering. Benefits of the MBR solution A membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a wastewater treatment process that combines the physical filtration of matter from water through a porous barrier (membrane) with a biologically active environment which breaks down bacteria (bioreactor). The MBR system provides tertiarylevel filtration, while traditional means would only provide secondary levels for the same amount of space. It also provides a lower capital cost for tertiary filtration than secondary filtration via traditional means, with

Aerial view of the plant on its constrained site near a busy road and a prestigious golf course.

improved effluent quality, and lower sludge thickening costs. Minimizing the impact Located on the banks of the Thames River, the plant sits beside Oxford Road, a major arterial roadway into the city. The site is also near new residential areas and the presti-

gious Hunt Club golf course. As an MBR plant requires a much smaller footprint, the use of the system eliminated the need to expand into the sensitive neighbouring lands and was a logical fit for this site. Meeting effluent limit targets was a concern, specifically achieving the low

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monthly limit of total phosphorus at less than 0.5 mg/L and summer total ammonia at less than 1.0 mg/L. By using MBR technology, the plant was able easily to achieve the phosphorus limit, and alkalinity concerns were addressed by including anoxic zones in the aeration tank. Screens help membrane The new preliminary treatment process eliminated the conventional de-gritter systems by implementing above-grade fine mesh (2 mm) rotary drum screens for the removal of fibrous materials and grit from raw wastewaters. To the best of Stantecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge, this design concept has not been used at any other pollution control plant, but it is necessary at this facility to allow the membranes to function more efficiently. The

fine screening will extend the life of the membrane in this cold climate application. Stantec also developed an activated sludge thickener employing membrane filtration systems to achieve a 4.5% sludge density. Two existing structures were repurposed: the existing de-gritter tanks were converted into a pump station and a flow splitter box, and secondary clarifiers were converted into membrane tanks using a novel pump layout.

The engineering involved many other features, including an oversized raw sewage lift station, a new headworks building (120,000 m3/d capacity), expanded primary clarifiers, a new aeration tank and the conversion of two aeration tanks (doubling their capacity from 2,200 to 4,000 m3/day each), a new electrical system and a 1-MW emergency generator. A new chemical storage system and new administration building were also designed and constructed. CCE

Project name: Oxford Pollution Control Plant Upgrade, London, Ont. Award-winning firm (prime consultant): Stantec Consulting (Elvio Zaghi, P.Eng., Rob Hughes, P.Eng., Sergio Stevandic, P.Eng., Oliver Ng., P.Eng., Kirby Ouderkirk, P.Eng., Mike Manning, Simon Jeater, James Klassen) Owner: City of London Other key players: Golder Associates (geotechnical), Hayman Construction (general contractor), Comstock (electrical & mechanical subcontractor) Suppliers: GE Water, Eaton.

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GE congratulates Stantec for the award-winning project at the Oxford Pollution Control Plant using MBR Technology.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

ISL ENGINEERING AND LAND SERVICES

Chateh Water Treatment Plant This award went to a team that ensured a new water treatment plant met the needs of a First Nations community struggling with poor water quality in the far-reaches of northern Alberta.

The community of Chateh is located in the far northwestern corner of Alberta, about 105 kilometres west of High Level in the boreal forest region of Canada. This is Dene Tha’ reserve land. Like many First Nations and other small remote communities, contending with water quality issues is a fact of life. First Nation communities tend to have inadequate water, wastewater and waste servicing. They have aging facilities and equipment, and due to their isolation they have difficulties finding experienced water treatment plant operators. In Chateh’s case, the water appeared and tasted undrinkable and came from some of the worst source water in Canada. The community faced frequent boil water advisories, stemming largely from a turbidity problem. The unique client needs spurred ISL to apply innovations to every component of the Chateh Water Treatment Plant project. The new plant has the first dual-membrane water treatment system for a First Nation in Canada. It has an easy to operate system, with a lower lifecycle cost than other systems. The plant uses micro and nano filtration for 100% treatment, removing colour, aluminum, iron, manganese and total organic carbon (TOC), effectively preventing the generation of harmful disinfection by-products (THMs). In addition, this project is one of the first to test the 2006 Design Guidelines for First Nations Water Works issued by Aboriginal and Northcontinued on page 54

Top: nanofiltration equipment in the new easy-to-operate plant. Above: members of the Dene Tha’ First Nation celebrate opening day. October/November 2011

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ern Development Canada (AANDC) for the design and construction of a water treatment plant. Incorporating energy efficiency into the building design and features made the facility suitable for the cold winters and reduces the lifecycle cost of running the facility. Thanks to different strategies including a renewable source of energy for the lighting, the building is expected to use 62% less energy and at 65% less cost than a comparable building using Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) standards for construction. Working with the community The approach to working with First Nation communities is very different from the conventional one. It is more relationship-based and hands-on. ISL’s team went beyond a normal project management scope for this client, seeking solutions that would solve the water quality issues and also fit with the community. These approaches ranged from helping with funding applications, to equipping the plant with basic tools and safety gear. The engineers

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also provided training videos, standard operating procedures, and a custom information and management system that enables remote troubleshooting. To keep critical momentum going on the project, ISL facilitated ongoing communication and meetings between stakeholders. These included AANDC, Health Canada, First Nations-Technical Services Advisory Group and members of the Dene Tha’. The use of Basecamp project software provided transparency with the project’s funders, AANDC. Accommodation was constructed in the community for the contractors, which saved two months of time that they would have otherwise spent in commuting. The accommodation — an asset worth $800,000 for the community — is

now being used by the school teachers, most of whom come from outside the community. In order to tender for the best equipment, ISL developed the evaluation criteria in collaboration with the Dene Tha’ First Nation in order to identify what was important to them. The chosen equipment manufacturer had the lowest overall cost considering capital, operational, maintenance and replacement costs over 20 years. The choice of equipment resulted in numerous efficiencies for the job and reduced the level of risk to the owner. Commissioned in mid-December 2010, the plant now produces excellent water quality that exceeds standards. The new building also has an attractive design, revitalizing Chateh’s downtown core. CCE

Project name: Chateh Water Treatment Plant, Alberta Award-winning firm (prime consultant): ISL Engineering and Land Services, Edmonton (Deon H.J. Wilner, P.Eng., Ashraf Rayyan, P.Eng., Gavin Cheng, P.Eng., Robert Perrault, P.Eng.) Owner: Dene Tha’ First Nation Other key players: Manasc Isaac Architects (architects), Ptarmigan Engineering (structural), Canadian Consulting Group (electrical), J.R. Paine & Associates (geotechnical), SKMG Construction (contractor).

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

AGM PROGRAM MANAGERS (HATCH MOTT MacDONALD, IBI GROUP, MMM GROUP)

GO Transit Rail Improvements This award was given for a complex seven-year program of work to improve commuter rail service in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

The GO Transit Rail Improvement Program (“GO TRIP”) was the largest commuter rail project in Canada’s history. The $700-million, seven-year initiative (funded by three levels of government) increased the capacity and reliability of the GO Transit rail service throughout southern Ontario, where it carries nearly 55 million passengers annually. A critical component of the program was to develop new rail overpasses to eliminate conflicts between GO trains, and CP and CN freight rail traffic. The existing at-grade crossings had limited the expansion of the train service and caused service delays for GO Transit. The program also expanded the GO train service to the city of Barrie, and it improved the Georgetown rail corridor so as to accommodate an Air Rail Link between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Union Station in downtown Toronto. Overall, the GO TRIP project comprised 11 major projects. These included 100 kilometres of new track, three grade separations, 16 new bridges, two layover facilities and 17 station expansions to accommodate new track and longer trains. There were also two feasibility studies for new lines. AGM Program Managers, a consortium of Hatch Mott MacDonald, IBI Group and MMM Group, provided overall management of the program’s design and construction services. Specifically, AGM managed environmental assessments, public consultations, government agency and stakeholder coordination. AGM also managed the

Snider rail-to-rail grade separation. A major part of the program was developing overpasses to avoid conflicts between the GO trains and freight trains on CP and CN rail lines.

procurement, technical reviews, environmental compliance and operational analysis, as well as overseeing the design and construction. Detailed programming and 80 contracts AGM’s goal was to minimize the impacts of construction on the daily operations of GO Transit, which was a challenge due to the size and complexity of the initiative. Physical constraints along the rail corridors also created construction difficulties. Intricate planning and programming was required for staging the individual components of the program. Eight major environmental assessments were involved, with stringent permitting and approval processes

regulated by the provincial and federal governments, as well as local conservation authorities. The program entailed over 80 design and construction contracts. The AGM team also had to reconcile widely diverse and often conflicting stakeholder concerns, including those of residents along the rail corridors, GO Transit customers, rail companies and three levels of government. Expenditures were rigidly controlled through processes such as value engineering and innovation. AGM Program Managers also introduced alternative procurement processes to GO Transit, including design-build contracts. An integrated design and project

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management approach engaged GO Transit, CN and CP Rail, consulting engineers, contractors and key stakeholders, resulting in the successful delivery of this complex and challenging program on time and within budget. Technical innovations and environmental benefits GO TRIP involved the first major application of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls for rail embankment support. As well it included the first significant use in Canada of the Giken press-in piling method, which allowed the vibration-free installation of pipe piles within the congested rail corridor. Another innovation was the jacking into place of a pre-assembled bridge span over the Credit River. This was a cost-effective, quick and safe method of installation, carried out overnight

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without interrupting commuter service or the recreational use of the river. AGM also facilitated a special collaboration with the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton where the widening of a rail embankment evolved into a program for protecting an environmentally sensitive area, with restoration using native vegetation. As a result of the program, on-time train performance and travel times for commuters were improved and the system’s capacity was increased.

Additionally, several stations were upgraded and made “step-free” accessible. On a broader scale, improvements to this public transit service have helped reduce vehicular traffic and related road congestion, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. GO TRIP resulted in over 4,000 person years of work, mainly in the consulting and construction industries, as well as enhanced economic opportunity in the communities that were added to the network. CCE

Project name: GO Transit Rail Infrastructure Improvement Program (GO TRIP) Award-winning firm (prime consultant): AGM Program Managers / Hatch Mott MacDonald, IBI Group, MMM Group (Geoffrey Bubbers, P.Eng., Fouad Mustafa, P.Eng., Terry Kelly, P.Eng., Bob Nairn, P.Eng., Paul Nimigon, Margaret Tyszka, M.Eng., Mark Armstrong, P.Eng., Imants Hausmanis, P.Eng., George Karam, P.Eng., Philip Murray, P.Eng., Achille Ferrusi, P.Eng., Darney Mamman, P.Eng., Ivan Windsor) Owner: GO Transit, A Division of Metrolinx. Other: R.J. Burnside & Assoc. (Barrie S. & Mt. Pleasant Stn. design/construction supervision).

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It’s about making a difference...

At MMM GROUP we are passionate about creating HEALTHY CITIES and SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES THAT’S WHY WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN THE GO TRANSIT RAIL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (GO TRIP). Innovative solutions and precedent-setting, integrated approaches ensured that the program made a positive impact on the communities it affected. By creating enhanced economic opportunities, improving the commuter experience, reducing traffic flows and the associated greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint, and developing protection and restoration for the natural environment, GO TRIP made a positive difference to GO Transit, and to the quality of life for commuters and residents in the neighbouring communities. MMM Group, as part of AGM Program Managers, provided overall management of engineering and construction services for GO TRIP.

www.mmm.ca

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2011 AWARDS

W I N N E R S ’ G A L L E RY

CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS 2011

Congratulations to the Winning Teams

5 Schreyer Award 1. Gaspé Mines Rehabilitation, Quebec. GENIVAR. Clockwise from top left: Sylvain Labrèche, ing., Carl Gauthier, ing., Kaddour Tounsi, ing. (Genivar), L. Jacques Moulins (Xstrata Copper Canada).

Tree for Life Award 2. A Grander View office building, Kitchener, Ont. Enermodal Engineering. Left to right: Tim Dietrich, Stephen Carpenter, Richard Lay. Awards of Excellence 3. St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton. DIALOG. Left to right: Jim Montgomery, Donna Clare, Jeff DiBattista. 4. Queen Elizabeth Theatre Acoustical Renovation, Vancouver. Aercoustics Engineering. Left to right: Kiyoshi Kuroiwa, John O’Keefe, Daniel Ruvalcaba. 5. Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, Coquitlam, B.C. AME Consulting Group & IMEC Mechanical. Left to right: Rob Walter, Jeff Weston, Ian Hall, Scott Campbell, Darcy Hart.

In many cases the photographs only show a few of the key team members from the winning firms. For a complete list, see the project features on the preceding pages.

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W I N N E R S â&#x20AC;&#x2122; G A L L E RY

2011 AWARDS

6. Chateh Water Treatment Plant, Alberta. ISL Engineering and Land Services. Left to right: Ashraf Rayyan, Deon H.J. Wilner, Robert Perrault (kneeling). 7. Dufferin Street Underpass, Toronto. Delcan. Clockwise from top left: Jonathan Werner, Brent Archibald, Thomas Woods, Joanne McCall. 8. Trafalgar Street Elevated Roundabout, London, Ont. Delcan. Left to right: Henry Huotari, Marla Browning, John Riggs. 9. Petite-Nation River Bridge, Lochabar, Quebec. CIMA+. Left to right: Munzer Hassan, Marie-Claude Michaud, Aleksander Mossor. 10. Oxford Pollution Control Plant Expansion, London, Ont. Stantec Consulting. Left to right: Geordie Gauld (City of London), Elvio Zaghi, Ted Humbey, Todd Atkinson (Stantec).

11. Coast Meridian Overpass Design-Build Project, Port Coquitlam, B.C. SNC-Lavalin Constructors (Pacific). Left to right: Allen Tanagho, Dave Weatherby, Blaire Squire. 12. G O Transit Rail Infrastructure Improvement Program (GO TRIP), Toronto and Hamilton, Ont. AGM Program Managers (Hatch Mott MacDonald, IBI Group, MMM Group). Left to right: Geoffrey Bubbers, Fouad Mustafa, Paul Nimigon.

12 October/November 2011

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2011

WINNERS CIRCLE

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S T O A L L T H E W I N N E R S O F T H E 2 0 1 1 C A N A D I A N C O N S U LT I N G E N G I N E E R I N G A W A R D S

d r aw i n g o n e x p e r i e n c e ...

proud to provide civil and Structural engineering, and indoor air Quality Services for

a grander View

Ptarmigan Engineering extends their congratulations to ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd on their Canadian Consulting Engineering award winning project the Chateh Water Treatment Plant.

MTE Consultants Inc. Kitchener 519-743-6500 Guelph 519-766-1000

Burlington 905-639-2552 Stratford 519-271-7952

www.mte85.com ...B u i l d i n g o n St r e n gt h

1952 | ENGINEERING TEAM

MTE Consultants Inc. Publication: Canadian Consulting Engineer Magazine Size: 3 3/8" x 4 1/8"

CELEBRATING OUR ACHIEVEMENT

2010 | COAST MERIDIAN OVERPASS

SNC-Lavalin is proud to have designed and constructed the Coast Meridian Overpass for the City of Port Coquitlam in BC. Employing award-winning innovative design and construction solutions, the team built the overpass over an active rail yard that allowed for very limited access. The Coast Meridian Overpass was the longest pushlaunched structure in North America, and it has significantly improved accessibility for the people of Port Coquitlam.

SNC-Lavalin Inc. Transportation Division 1800 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1075 West Georgia St. Vancouver, British Columbia Telephone: 604-662-3555 EVOLUTION

EXPERIENCE

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www.snclavalin.com

EXCELLENCE

October/November 2011

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islengineering.com

Inspiring Sustainable Thinking Committed to integrating sustainable solutions into our project work and our corporate culture, ISL Engineering and Land Services delivers planning and design solutions for transportation, water, land and environmental projects. Inspiring Sustainable Legacies ISLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water team works to resolve a wide variety of engineering and environmental challenges by providing expert assessment, design, construction and commissioning services for water, wastewater and stormwater systems.

Chateh Water Treatment Plant We are proud to have worked with the Dene Thaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; First Nation to deliver the first dual-membrane water treatment system for a First Nation in Canada.

EDMONTON LANGLEY

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CALGARY BURNABY

LETHBRIDGE SQUAMISH

RED DEER

GRANDE PRAIRIE

KOOTENAY

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2011

WINNERS CIRCLE

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S T O A L L T H E W I N N E R S O F T H E 2 0 1 1 C A N A D I A N C O N S U LT I N G E N G I N E E R I N G A W A R D S

FRPD Congratulates SNC Lavalin Constructors (Pacific) Inc. on their Award for the Coast Meridian Overpass Design Build Project

Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc. has played a meaningful role in building British Columbia. Since the early days of 1911 when we drove piles using horses on the Alouette River and then steam driven pile drivers to build Fraser Surrey Docks – to where we are today – an organization with a highly skilled work force and a modern well-maintained fleet of dredging, land foundation and marine construction equipment, FRPD has been and will remain firmly committed to providing our customers with unsurpassed quality and customer service. 1830 River Drive, New Westminster, B.C. Canada V3M 2A8 Ph. (604) 522-7971 • Fax (604) 521-7530 • www.frpd.com • info@frpd.com

A PROUD PARTNER OF SNC-LAVALIN CONSTRUCTORS (PACIFIC) INC. EBA, A Tetra Tech Company (EBA), is proud to be the lead pavement engineering consultant for the Coast Meridian Overpass Design Build Project. EBA offers engineering and environmental services focusing on the transportation, mining, energy and development sectors. As part of Tetra Tech, our capacity extends to every province and territory in Canada with 3,800 employees and over 13,000 employees worldwide. www.eba.ca

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WINNERS CIRCLE

2011

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S T O A L L T H E W I N N E R S O F T H E 2 0 1 1 C A N A D I A N C O N S U LT I N G E N G I N E E R I N G A W A R D S

Congratulations to:

GO Transit / Metrolinx and AGM Program Managers on your award winning project (GO TRIP):

GO Transit Rail Improvement Program

Burnside is proud to have provided you with

supporting engineering design and construction related services on projects in the GO TRIP Program.

w w w. r j b u r n s i d e . c o m

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS OF THE 2011 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS

Simple Solutions. Inherent Sustainability.

Canadian Aquatic & Recreation Specialists

Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex, Coquitlam, BC

Services Include: HVAC Plumbing Fire Protection Energy Audits Building Systems Audits

Sustainable/LEED Swimming Pool Hydraulics Arena Refrigeration Energy Modeling Thermal Modeling

Victoria: 250.382.5999 |Vancouver: 604.684.5995 | www.amegroup.ca The AME Consulting Group Ltd| Mechanical Consulting Engineers

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business

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energy efficiency business

THE BY PETER KENTER

or consulting engineers, participating in public-private partnerships (P3s) can be hell -- or heaven -- depending on whether firms are positioned to negotiate the complex requirements of these contracts. That’s the message of Understanding Public Private Partnerships in Canada, a guidebook published by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC). The book amasses the collected wisdom of current participants in Canadian P3 projects, the procurement model that involves the private sector in designing, constructing, and often owning and operating public buildings and infrastructure. The ACEC guide includes input from ACEC members, owners and other stakeholders -- even those who hate the P3 model -- to present a list of ways to analyze the risks and rewards of this procurement practice. “When P3s go well, they go well big time, but if you’re not prepared, they can also go wrong big time,” says John Gamble, P.Eng., president of ACEC. “It may be difficult for some firms with strong expertise to watch a P3 project proceeding, feeling like they’re on the outside looking in. But P3s aren’t for everyone. There will still be plenty of work offered under conventional delivery models.” One of the strengths of the P3 model is that it can create projects that might not have proceeded at all under conventional delivery. “P3s tend to be large projects with a lot of certainty once financing is in place,” says Brian Watkinson, former executive director of the Ontario Association of Architects and principal of Strategies 4 Impact!. Watkinson was a consultant to the ACEC P3 task force. “Once an engineer demonstrates a successful track record on P3s in Canada, there are a lot more opportunities, both domestically, and internationally where Canada is seen as a leader in P3s. The prestige of being involved in these projects can also lead to more work in conventional projects.” The shorter term of many fast-track P3 projects can also

Downs

Ups& PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS OFFER THE LURE OF BIG PROFITS, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE LOTS OF HAZARDS THAT CONSULTING ENGINEERS NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR.

P3s

have a positive impact on a company’s bottom line. “If you’re completing a 10-year project in four years under a P3, there could be interesting results on the profitability side,” says François Plourde, executive vice-president of Quebec-based consulting firm CIMA+. Plourde was chair of the ACEC P3 task force. But the first question an engineering firm should ask itself is whether it wants to participate in a P3 project at all. Some of the most critical markers include the company's size and staff availability, its tolerance for risk, and the size of the company’s nest egg. Joining the right team If a company decides to become involved in a particular P3 project, how does it feel about the team it is being asked to join? “There’s the old line about the chain being only as strong as its weakest link,” says Watkinson. “Be extremely careful about which team you want to play on.” Gamble notes that many consortiums are now singlepurpose business entities, each with its own personality. “Who are the players involved?” he asks. “Discern their DNA by looking at the individual players. Find out who you’re getting into bed with contractually.” As with a high stakes poker game, a consortium pursuing a P3 project will want every player to demonstrate that continued on page 66

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continued from page 65

“

THAT SEAT NEVER GETS COLD UNTIL THE PROJECT IS

FINISHED. IT’S 24 HOURS A DAY. ONCE THE PROJECT STARTS MOVING, YOU’RE ALWAYS TRYING TO KEEP UP.

they’ve got the stamina and resources to assume some of the high costs of pursuing the contract. “Engineers and architects may be required to produce 75 to 80 per cent of the design before knowing whether they’ll be awarded the project, and a consulting engineer may have to work for up to a year without seeing much compensation, or [may be] working below market rates,” says Plourde. “Firms should assess whether they’re up for this. If you have 100 people working for a year, can you absorb the cost of not winning the contract?” Gamble puts it succinctly: “Some consulting engineers can afford to lose a potential P3 project once -- but not twice.” Engineers can protect themselves by negotiating fees that adequately compensate them for pursuing the project and allow them to perform their job well. And as Gamble points out: “Owners are becoming more generous with honoraria and other compensation for pursuit costs. By making pursuit more financially palatable, they’re encouraging bidders to put more meat on the bones of the submission. In turn, they receive higher quality submissions that give them greater price certainty.” Some consortiums will encourage engineers to take on an equity position in the project. While involvement in P3s is potentially profitable, even a small equity position in a large project can expose a firm to considerable financial risk. “You need to assess your risk tolerance accurately,” says Plourde. “Only a few of the big players have that capability, while most consulting engineering firms do not.” Risks and the Alpha Dog The biggest game in P3 projects is allocation of risk. When that’s done well, risk is allocated to parties who know how to carry it and know how to monetize it. Done poorly, risk is allocated to the party with the weakest negotiating skills. “Often, a partnership can include an Alpha Dog who tries to offload too much of the risk on whoever will accept it,” says Gamble. “For example, you wouldn’t want to warranty the actions or lack of actions of a third party with which you have no contractual arrangement, or to guarantee that environmental approvals can be achieved by a certain date.” Consulting engineers should negotiate ownership of the designs they produce, whether or not the consortium is awarded the contract. “Intellectual property rights need to be expressed clearly,” says Gamble.

”

Gruelling pace Once a P3 project gets moving, the game strategy switches from poker to a horse race. The pace can be gruelling, with the project often proceeding out of normal sequence. Structural construction may begin, for example, before the electrical system drawings are completed. “While researching the guidebook, I interviewed an architect on a P3 project in the U.K.,” says Watkinson. “He pointed to a chair in the production office and said: ‘That seat never gets cold until the project is finished. It’s 24 hours a day. Once the project starts moving, you’re always trying to keep up.’” Failing to keep pace has a price, with the consortium assuming heavy penalties for failing to meet negotiated deadlines. Because capital costs on P3 projects are fixed, engineers may find themselves pressured to adjust the engineering solutions to maintain the budget. And if owners bundle a number of conventional projects into P3 projects, when traditional delivery models would have better served the owner and the public, then engineers should be wary of the project. “It doesn’t serve our members to get involved in a project that may fall victim to faulty planning,” says Gamble. P3s are creating other situations that require careful consideration. For example, if consulting engineers provide advice related to the maintenance or operation of an asset once it’s built, under an agreement intended for design and construction, they may find that they have unwittingly extended the discovery period under statute of limitations legislation, thus extending their vulnerability to professional liability suits. Another tricky scenario arises when a consulting engineer that is working with a consortium on one project may have to decide whether to work as part of a compliance team monitoring that same consortium on a different project. “Engineers are all about getting the job done and focusing on solving problems, sometimes to the exclusion of considering the optimum business practices required to benefit most from the contract,” says Gamble. “To succeed in P3s, consulting engineers will need to pay far more attention to their business relationships.” CCE Peter Kenter is a freelance writer based in Toronto. To obtain a copy of the ACEC guide, Understanding Public Private Partnerships in Canada, visit www.acec.ca.

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engineers & the law

By Tamara Farber Miller Thomson, LLP

Wind Turbines and Health Courts uphold wind energy developments

anna v. Ontario (Attorney General) was at the centre Tribunal to overturn or amend the approval. Hanna sought leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal but of some controversy amongst those in the Ontario was denied leave in late June 2011. environmental and renewable energy industries. What seemed to start out as an attempt by a local resident to potentially quell wind power development in his Next chapter in the story – Part I community, turned into a full blown assault by his legal In July 2011, the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) reteam on how the Ministry of Environment came up with a leased a decision in another case involving wind turbines policy for setbacks on wind turbine development. The case — specifically, whether an approval should have been began as a judicial review in the Ontario Divisional Court granted in Erickson v. Director, Ministry of the Environchallenging various sections of the Renewable Energy Ap- ment. The case involved an appeal of the Ministry of Enviprovals regulation under the Environmental Protection Act ronment’s decision to issue a Renewable Energy Approval that sets out the minimum setback requirements for wind to Suncor Energy Services to establish a 20-MW wind facility in Chatham-Kent (known as the energy developments. He claimed that the Ministry Kent-Breeze Project). The heart of the challenge was The Kent-Breeze project was that the government failed to had no medical studies in one of the first approved under abide by its own requirements to support of the recommended the Green Energy Act, 2009. The “take every reasonable step to en550-m setback requirements. appeal was sought by Chathamsure the Ministry of EnvironKent Wind Action and Katie Brenment’s Statement of Environmental Values (SEV) is considered whenever decisions that da Erickson on the grounds that the project would “cause might significantly affect the environment are made by the serious harm to human health,” a statutory test set out in Ministry.” Hanna claimed that the Ministry’s SEV required section 142.1 of the Environmental Protection Act. During it to use a precautionary approach in decision-making to the course of the hearing, the ERT heard evidence from protect human health and the environment. He claimed more than two dozen expert witnesses on the subject of that the Ministry had no medical studies in support of the potential harm or unknown harms from wind turbines. The recommended 550-m setback requirements for industrial Tribunal reasoned as follows. wind facilities (generating power in excess of 50 kW), and that as a result, it did not have sufficient information to Not enough evidence on serious harm The issue was whether indirect impacts would be caused at make a decision that was protective of human health. The Divisional Court rejected Hanna’s application in a level that met the “serious harm to human health” threshMarch 2011, holding that the legislative requirements old, as the appellants argued. The Tribunal noted: [The simply require a minister to “consider” the SEVs in deci- appellants] provided evidence that the Tribunal finds to be exploratory in nature, even if given significant weight… It sion-making. The initiative of the Renewable Energy Approvals is, therefore, no surprise that the legal test, which requires regulation1 itself, being the generation of clean energy proof of harm, has not been satisfied when the applicable and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, seemed to scientific evidence is in such an early stage of development." qualify as a component for consideration for the Ministry Nevertheless, the ERT was careful to note that “the science of Environment’s SEV. in this area is evolving and it is hoped that future studies will The Court also held that in this case it was not their shed additional light as to possible impacts on human health.” call as to whether the approval was proper — redress They concluded that there was: could have been sought to the Environmental Review • insufficient evidence for a finding that serious harm to continued on page 72 1 Renewable Energy Approvals under Part V.0.1 of the Act, O. Reg. 359/09 made under the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E. 19 as amended.

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