Canadian Consulting Engineer January/February 2013 by Annex Business Media

For professional engineers in private practice

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

AECOM combines an LRT Tunnel with a Tower on Edmonton’s Station Lands Beauharnois Canal Bridge, Montreal Cloud Computing 101

DAMAGE DAMAGE CONTROL CONTROL HOW ENGINEERING COMPANIES IN A CRISIS CAN HANDLE THE MEDIA

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For professional engineers in private practice

contents

January/February 2013 Volume 54, No. 1

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

AECOM combines an LRT Tunnel with a Tower on Edmonton’s Station Lands Beauharnois Canal Bridge, Montreal Cloud Computing 101

DAMAGE DAMAGE CONTROL CONTROL HOW ENGINEERING COMPANIES IN A CRISIS CAN HANDLE THE MEDIA

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Cover: Responding to the public and the media. See story p. 26.

2013-02-06 7:09 PM

Epcor Tower above an LRT line in Edmonton. See story p. 18

departments Comment 4 Up Front

ACEC Review

Awards Call

Products

Advertiser Index

Next issue: district energy systems; ice arenas and fire protection, Toronto’s 2015 PanAm Games.

features A Tunnel and a Tower. An extraordinary collaboration took place to build the Epcor Tower above an LRT line in Edmonton. AECOM

Beauharnois Canal Bridge. On new Autoroute 30 near Montreal, the second longest incrementally launched bridge in the world crosses the St. Lawrence Seaway. ARUP Canada

Klemtu Access Road. Engineers helped develop a special asphalt mix for a road on British Columbia’s remote northwest coast. McElhanney Consulting Services

Damage Control. In crisis situations engineering firms need to plan carefully how they will respond to the public and the media. By Derek Holloway

Taming a Weir. A treacherous “drowning machine” in the Bow River in Calgary has been made safer by adding structures downstream. Klohn Crippen Berger

Cloud Computing 101. How does the latest phase in the information technology revolution impact engineering firms in Canada? By Jay Polding

on topic BUSINESS Construction Fraud. Ten areas where dishonest practices are hampering the construction industry. By Kelly Kolke, Grant Thornton LLP 10

January/February 2013

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CONVERSATIONS Bricks, Bones and the Heart. Dr. Nigel Shrive of the University of Calgary works to conserve historic structures — and to mend human bodies. 38

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

What to make of the Quebec inquiry?

he testimony given by Michel Lalonde at the Charbonneau Inquiry in January must have caused shock waves to reverberate around consulting engineering firms in Quebec. A consulting engineer himself, Lalonde implicated not only his own firm but several of Montreal’s large engineering companies in schemes to inflate construction contract prices and direct the extra profits to various political parties and influential bureaucrats. While these are unproven allegations, the damage to the prestige and reputation of engineering companies is already done. What are we in the consulting engineering industry to make of this turmoil? Many Quebec-based engineering companies have offices across Canada, so it’s not easy to dismiss it as a one-province issue. First, we need to remember all the honest, hardworking individuals who make up the vast majority of people in consulting engineering. So many of them devote themselves to clients’ projects, working days of overtime instead of going home to their families, and sincerely doing their very best to ensure that the infrastructure they design is safe and will improve people’s lives. Second, if the allegations are true, then companies have an obligation to tighten their internal systems to ensure that in future there is no possibility of things going awry. I’m not exactly sure what practical steps companies can take to ensure they acquire their projects by fair means or ensure monies aren’t diverted into the wrong channels, but it will require meticulous financial oversight and strong support at the executive levels. Company executives also need to have a strategy in place for handling the media. So says Derek Holloway in our cover story, “Damage Control” (p. 26). Though he wrote the piece well before the Charbonneau Inquiry, Holloway says companies need to anticipate what they would do in a scenario where the public and the media are barking at the gate and want answers. He strongly advises against hiding behind doors and trying to maintain a low profile. Instead, he says, firms have to be accessible, open and honest – but also careful not to say too much. One point Lalonde stressed during his testimony in Montreal is that the practice of paying officials in return for gaining influence was simply part of how things worked; it was a systematic aspect of doing business. I have heard engineers say something similar about doing business in developing countries. Paying agents a personal “commission” it is said, is part of obtaining contracts. But the practice can – and has – got Canadian engineering companies into trouble. Some say that it’s not a black and white issue. These commissioning agents are often benefactors in their communities, leaders who not only get bridges built and water treatment plants constructed, but who also use their personal fortunes to pay for the workers’ kids to go to university, to ensure old women get medical attention, and who provide the villagers with a much needed spokesperson and leader. Of course, the fact that a practice is systemic and part of a culture doesn’t make it right. It just explains how easy it is to get caught up in the wrong situations and to rationalize away any misgivings. Bronwen Parsons 4

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

Ellie Robinson 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. 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)

Alex Papanou

President, Business Information Group (BIG)

Bruce Creighton Head Office

80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9 Tel: (416) 442-5600 Fax: (416) 510-5134 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. EDITORIAL PURPOSE: Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine covers innovative engineering projects, news and business information for professional engineers engaged in private consulting practice. The editors assume no liability for the accuracy of the text or its fitness for any particular purpose. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada, 1 year $60.95; 2 years $91.95 + taxes Single copy $8.00 Cdn + taxes. (HST 809751274-RT0001). United States U.S. $60.95. Foreign U.S. $60.95. PRINTED IN CANADA. Title registered at Trademarks O ffice, 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, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. 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, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Member of the Canadian Business Press

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

January/February 2013

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up front

DATA CENTRES

Swords into data centres A top-secret underground bunker in Norway that was used to store torpedoes and mines for NATO’s North Atlantic Fleet has been converted into a data centre. The cavernous Green Mountain Data Centre sits adjacent to a fjord on the island of Rennesoy and draws on its frigid 8°C waters for cooling.

Fort York Visitor Centre, Toronto. BUILDINGS

Building at Toronto’s Fort York A national historic site in downtown Toronto — Fort York, the military birthplace of the city with buildings dating from 1812 — is being expanded with a dramatic new visitor centre. The centre is being constructed directly beside the Gardiner Expressway and was designed to engage with that monolothic structure, as well as Garrison Common to the north. The centre also sits on what was once the shoreline of Lake Ontario and has a long weathering steel facade that creates a new “escarpment.” The design was selected in a national competition and is by Patkau Architects of Vancouver with Kearns Mancini Architects of Toronto. Read Jones Christofferson are the structural engineers, Integral Group are the mechanicalelectrical engineers, and MMM Group are site engineers. The $18-million, 22,000-sq.ft. multi-purpose building is due for completion in 2014. BUILDINGS

Government spends on National Historic Sites The federal government renewed its commitment to funding for National Historic Sites at the end of January. Through Parks Canada’s cost shar-

ing program, the government reimburses non-profit, aboriginal groups, and other levels of government half the eligible costs for preserving sites, up to $100,000 per project. Since 2009, almost $17 million has been spent on 115 sites. Among a dozen projects across the country that recently received funding is one to restore a chimney on the east elevation of St. Patrick’s Basilica in downtown Montreal. This huge stone church was built in the 1840s in the

ENVIRONMENT

Mercury on the rise A UN Environment Program study shows that mercury is a rising threat to people in developing countries. Parts of Africa, Asia and South America are especially at risk, due mainly to small scale gold mining and the burning of coal for generating electricity. When released by industry, mercury can persist in the environment for centuries. EMPLOYMENT

St. Patrick’s Basilica, Montreal.

French Gothic Revival style. The pastor of the church said the financial support was “a true god-send.” Other projects on the fund list include the uniquely round St. George Anglican Church in Halifax, the Barkerville mining site in Williams Creek, B.C., and the No. 3 Coal Mine site in the Drumheller Valley of Alberta.

Baby boomer bust Engineers Canada is projecting that 95,000 professional engineers will retire by 2020 and the country will face a skills shortage as a result. A comprehensive picture of the future supply and demand of engineers across the country is given in the report: “Engineering Labour Market in Canada: Projections to 2020.”

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COMPANIES

SNC-Lavalin says it remains Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin announced major organizational changes in January, including the creation of a new “Resources and Environment Group” that will be the largest business unit in the company. It will combine the hydrocarbons and chemicals, mining and metallurgy, environment, and water divisions. The president of this new group is based in London, U.K. He is Neil Bruce, formerly executive director and chief operating officer of AMEC. The executive vicepresident of SNC-Lavalin’s new Global Operations group, Top: Robert Christian Jacqui, is Card. Above: Neil Bruce also based in London. CCE magazine asked whether these changes mark a major shift for SNC-Lavalin away from Montreal as the hub of the company’s activities. The senior vice-president of communications, Leslie Quinton, replied: “SNC-Lavalin is a global company with its roots in Quebec and we remain Montreal-based. We are enormously proud of our heritage and the part it plays in who we are today and will be in the future.” Among other announcements,

the project has already yielded drastic reductions in the volume of combined storm and sewer flow discharged to the Ottawa River. Other OPWA winners include the Wilson Street Reconstruction and Gateway (City of Hamilton/Dillon), Sudbury Wastewater Treatment Plant Lift Station Pump Upgrades (R.V. Anderson), Sherbourne Common (Waterfront Toronto/The Municipal Infrastructure Group), and the Greenway Wastewater Treatment Plant Ash Handling System (City of London/R.V. Anderson).

Patrick Lamarre has resigned as executive vice-president of Global Power. The corporate changes are being put in place by the president and chief executive officer, Robert Card, who joined the company from the U.S. last August. AWARDS

Stantec, Dillon, TMIG, R.V. Anderson win for infrastructure The Ontario Public Works Association gave out its Project of the Year awards in January. Winner in the environment category ($10+ million) was the Real Time Control and Flow Regulator project for the City of Ottawa by Stantec and Doran Construction. Together with BPR-CSO, Stantec designed a system to automate the operation of flow regulating chambers in the city’s combined sewer system. The work included retrofitting six major hydraulic flow control structures along the central interceptor-outfall. Completed in 2010,

PROFESSIONAL

Ontario repeals industrial exception An important exemption to the Professional Engineers Act in Ontario has been repealed. Starting March 1 this year, anyone doing engineering for a manufacturer’s production machinery or process must be licensed by Professional Engineers Ontario. Anneliis Tosine

up front

Combined wastewater regulator on Rideau Canal, Ottawa, part of Stantec/BPR-CSO’s Real Time Control and Regulator project.

PEOPLE

ACEC-BC has new president The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – British Columbia (ACEC- Keith Sashaw BC) has a new president and chief executive officer. Keith Sashaw was formerly the president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association from 2001 to 2012.

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business

By Kelly Kolke, CA, Partner, Grant Thornton LLP

Dishonest practices can undercut a construction project and its owners. Consulting engineers need to be aware of the potential dangers.

Construction Fraud

he growing prevalence of construction fraud is not a companies since they could compromise the long-term inmyth or the product of hype — it’s happening, and tegrity of the building. the stakes are high. Companies in all sectors of the 7. Falsifying payment applications by covering up the purconstruction industry are losing money to fraud perpetrat- chase of personal items or funneling money to a phantom ed by employees, contractors, subcontractors and venture company controlled by an employee. Other examples inpartners. A recent study showed the loss from fraud for Ca- clude inflating invoices beyond actual costs by using profit nadian companies was higher than the global average, and or mark-up formulas. this held true in construction, where the average loss was 8. Subcontractor collusion, including bid rigging, bribes, $628,500. That’s not small change. kickbacks, false or inflated change orders, undervalued deWhat factors can create the ductive change orders, or right environment for construcphantom subcontractors. CEOs may balk at the time tion fraud to take place? Things 9. Diverting purchases and and cost involved in implementing like economic pressures, a lack stealing equipment and of internal controls, increased tools, or billing for tools a substantive fraud prevention opportunity for collusion, not required by job specifiprogram, saying “It won’t vaguely-worded contracts, using cations. happen to me.” large amounts of cash, cost10. False representations, based contracting, not clearly which could involve using defining the scope of work, and risky joint ventures. undocumented workers; falsifying minority content reWhether they are acting on behalf of an owner, a design ports, test results or insurance certificates; non-complibuild contractor or another party, consulting engineers ance with environmental regulations; misrepresentation need to be aware of the problems in order to prevent and as as a small business. detect fraudulent activity. Below are 10 of the most common The benefits of understanding construction fraud risks fraud schemes in the construction industry. and taking proactive measures to combat them are many. Of 1. Non-payment of subcontractors and material suppliers by course, engineers are also bound by their professional lidelaying lien waivers, falsifying lien waivers or using project censing organizations to abide by a Code of Ethics. cash receipts to pay bills for other projects. At the same time, a strong fraud strategy can help you 2. Billing for unperformed work by overstating the units of avoid project delays or cancellations, maintain costs at stable production, the equipment actually used, or time spent. and predictable levels, and control risks to your reputation. 3. Manipulating the schedule of values and contingency acGiven current levels of construction activity and investcounts. This can be done in several ways, including: failing to ment in Canada, the industry needs to implement proactive, update schedule of values line items as buyouts or changes preventive measures. Individuals and organizations need to are made, or failing to associate subcontractors or vendors invest the time and money to put a fraud prevention and with specific SOV line items. detection plan into action – before they become a victim. 4. Diverting a lump-sum cost to time and material cost by And it’s going to require strong governance and leadership initially budgeting expenses as a lump-sum, then billing for – in other words, the push for fraud prevention has to start at time and materials related to change orders. the top of the organization. CEOs may balk at the time and 5. Substituting or removing material, including using lower- cost involved in implementing a substantive fraud prevention grade material that requires subsequent repairing or replac- program, saying “It won’t happen to me.” ing or that leads to a structural or system failure. Unfortunately, fraud exists, and it is becoming 6. Change order manipulation, including altering work more prevalent and sophisticated. Take action before CCE scope, removing scope descriptions, adding charges, omit- it happens. ting design specifications in the original scope of work, and improper price reductions for work substitution. Some of Kelly Kolke is a Chartered Accountant and partner with Grant these activities can be a major concern for engineering Thornton LLP in Nova Scotia. E-mail Kelly.kolke@ca.gt.com 10

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

ACEC Focuses on the Future

here is no question that the business of consulting engineering is changing. As consulting engineering firms adapt to the new realities of the business and regulatory climate in which we operate, there will be both risks and opportunities. The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC) will also need to evolve if it is to be an effective voice for the industry and deliver value to its members. This is why ACEC has thoroughly reviewed its governance and strategic priorities. Last year ACEC adopted a governance model that will focus the association on the future. In addition to its fiduciary responsibilities, the ACEC Board of Directors now spends more time addressing the major issues and trends facing our industry in the years ahead. This forward-thinking approach is also reflected in ACEC’s new strategic plan for the period 2013-2016. For example, building upon its success as an industry advocate with

the federal government, ACEC will be committing more time and resources to engaging with our clients in the private sector. Not only is this important to firms active in areas such as buildings, industry, energy and resources, it also recognizes that our client base is changing across the board. With changing project delivery models, even traditional public sector owners are delivering more projects through private sector organizations. And as we broaden our interaction and advocacy into multiple client sectors in addition to our strong government relations program, we will also be creating more opportunities for member participation. At the end of the day, if ACEC is to continue to be the recognized voice of the industry and help to make engineering firms more successful, we need to be relevant, proactive and agile. I believe our Board has the vision, our staff has the skills and our membership has the knowledge. This positions ACEC and our industry for continued success through 2013 and into the future. MURRAY D. THOMPSON, P.ENG. CHAIR, ACEC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MESSAGE DU PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL

L’AFIC se concentre sur l’avenir

l n’y a nul doute que l’industrie du génie-conseil change. À mesure que les firmes de génie-conseil s’adapteront aux nouvelles réalités de notre environnement et du climat réglementaire dans lequel nous évoluons, nous seront confrontés à certains risques mais nous bénéficierons aussi de nouveaux débouchés. L’Association des firmes d’ingénieurs-conseils - Canada (AFIC) devra aussi évoluer pour demeurer une voix efficace pour l’industrie et pour procurer une valeur tangible à ses membres. C’est pourquoi l’AFIC a réalisé un examen complet de sa gouvernance et de ses priorités stratégiques. L’an dernier, l’AFIC a adopté un modèle de gouvernance qui orientera l’association vers l’avenir. En plus de ses responsabilités fiduciaires, le conseil d’administration de l’AFIC consacre maintenant plus de temps à de grands enjeux et tendances de notre industrie dans les années à venir. Cette approche anticipative est également reflété dans le nouveau plan stratégique de l’AFIC pour la période 20132016. Par exemple, tirant parti du succès de ses activités de lobbying auprès du gouvernement fédéral, l’AFIC accordera plus de temps et de ressources à nos initiatives de représentation auprès de nos clients du secteur privé. En

plus d’être importante pour les firmes actives dans les domaines du bâtiment, de l’industrie, de l’énergie et des ressources, par exemple, cette initiative reconnaît aussi le fait que notre clientèle change et évolue. Avec l’émergence de nouveaux modèles de réalisation de projets, même les propriétaires du secteur public traditionnel réalisent de plus en plus de projets par le biais d’organisations qui appartiennent au secteur privé. En élargissant nos interactions et nos activités de représentation pour inclure des secteurs à clients multiples, en plus de notre programme de relations gouvernementales bien établi, nous créerons davantage de possibilités pour la participation de nos membres. En bout de ligne, si l’AFIC doit continuer d’être reconnue comme le porte-parole de l’industrie et d’aider les firmes de génie-conseil à mieux réussir, elle doit demeurer pertinente et proactive en plus d’être agile. Pour atteindre nos objectifs, je considère que notre conseil d’administration possède la vision, que notre personnel possède les compétences et que nos firmes ont les connaissances requises, ce qui positionne l’AFIC et notre industrie pour un succès continu en 2013 et au-delà. MURRAY D. THOMPSON, P.ENG. PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL D’ADMINISTRATION DE L’AFIC

January/February 2013

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

ACEC Receives Support from MPs on Infrastructure Annual Parliament Hill Day strengthens ACEC’s national profile

CEC’s continued call for a longterm infrastructure program is receiving support from Members of Parliament on both sides of the House of Commons in Ottawa. During ACEC’s Parliament Hill Day on October 23, 2012, representatives of the consulting engineering sector from across Canada were in Ottawa meeting with over 40 MPs, including Minister of State for Transport Steven Fletcher and Opposition Infrastructure Critic Olivia Chow. ACEC representatives brought three key messages to Parliament Hill. Firstly, a predictable, sustainable infrastructure investment plan will allow all levels of government, public agencies and private firms to appropriately develop and allocate resources to plan, finance, design, construct and operate infrastructure projects. These infrastructure investments are vital to Canada’s prosperity. Secondly, adoption of asset man-

agement practices by infrastructure owners will allow significant life-cycle savings. Owners will know the current state of their infrastructure in order to forecast and prioritize the potential demand for infrastructure and to effectively and efficiently allocate the required resources to maintain, operate and expand infrastructure. Finally, ACEC and its membership have extensive expertise in infrastructure to help ensure that a long-term infrastructure program is effective, efficient and provides value to Canadian taxpayers. ACEC’s message was well received by MPs, many of whom have written letters to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Denis Lebel endorsing ACEC’s position. In addition, ACEC President John Gamble, Chair-Elect Jason Mewis and Vice-Chair François Plourde presented ACEC’s message to national media

during a press conference on Parliament Hill. ACEC’s annual Parliament Hill Day is the foundation for the association’s advocacy efforts throughout the rest of the year, and showcases the breadth and scope of the industry to lawmakers and the media. Each fall, representatives of ACEC’s Board of Directors are joined on Parliament Hill by representatives of provincial and territorial consulting engineering associations and by ACEC member firms that are in Ottawa for the annual Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards. Parliament Hill Day ensures that ACEC and the Canadian consulting engineering sector remain a valued stakeholder amongst federal politicians and senior government officials when making federal policy. For more information about Parliament Hill Day and ACEC’s ongoing advocacy on behalf of the consulting engineering sector, visit www.acec.ca.

Right: During ACEC’s Parliament Hill Day ACEC held a press conference to raise awareness of current industry concerns (left to right) ACEC Vice-Chair, François Plourde; ACEC President, John Gamble, and ACEC Chair-Elect, Jason Mewis. Below left: ACEC representatives met with Olivia Chow, Official Opposition Critic for Transport and Infrastructure. Below right: The consulting engineering sector was well represented (left to right): ACEC Chair-Elect, Jason Mewis; Neil Cumming; Hon. Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport); Todd Smith; Allan Russell.

ACEC Member Organizations: Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - 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. 14

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

2012 Highlights: What We Are Achieving for Our Members

CEC advocates for a business and regulatory climate that will allow its members to be successful and the consulting engineering sector to prosper. While ACEC’s Parliament Hill Day continues to be an enormous success and a clear illustration of ACEC’s credibility and influence on public policy, it is only part of a comprehensive government relations program. This past year was a banner year for ACEC’s advocacy on behalf of its members, highlighted by a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In 2012, ACEC saw progress on a number of issues important to ACEC and the consulting engineering sector.

Developing a Long-term Infrastructure Plan ACEC and its provincial and territorial Member Organizations were prominent participants in the regional infrastructure roundtables organized by federal Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel. Representatives participated in St. John’s, Charlottetown, Québec City, Toronto, Edmonton, Regina and Kenora. ACEC was also invited as one of a select group of associations to participate in a national roundtable consultation in Ottawa. ACEC again made a formal submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance during its annual pre-budget deliberations. ACEC again supported the government for its commitment to a longterm infrastructure plan for Canada. The submission recognized the current need to balance much needed investment with current fiscal realities and called for a coordinated, long-term approach to infrastructure investment. Saving Firms Millions in Financial Guarantees In response to pressure from ACEC and the Canadian Council of Independent Laboratories (CCIL), the Ca-

ACEC representatives congratulate Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Committee Chair James Rajotte on the government’s successful stimulus investments and its commitment to a long-term infrastructure program.

nadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has shelved a proposal to require financial guarantees from all users of nuclear substances and radiation devices, including densometers. This postponement has allowed the industry to carry out a risk assessment to determine the risk to the Canadian taxpayer in the event of a licensee’s inability to safely terminate their licensed activities and dispose of their densometers. In this case, the CNSC would have to take control of the densometer(s) and arrange for safe disposal. The original proposal would have imposed a significant financial burden on ACEC firms in possession of licenced devices. The risk assessment projected that the expected annual financial risk to the CNSC would be approximately $16,000 compared to $14 million, the sum of the financial guarantees originally proposed by the CNSC. The CNSC has accepted the findings and acknowledged that the proposed financial guarantees were a disproportional solution to its risk. The CNSC will work with the industry to explore more realistic alternatives. Creating Opportunities for Firms to Participate in Foreign Aid In November, the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister for the Canadian

International Development Agency (CIDA) committed to refocus our country’s foreign aid priorities, creating an environment where the private sector and NGOs can work side-byside, leveraging their respective strengths and expertise. ACEC has long advocated a return to an emphasis on community and economic infrastructure that helps create long-term self-reliance. Many of ACEC’s member firms have firsthand experience with the significant impact federal aid programs can have in alleviating poverty and increasing self-reliance in developing countries. These programs also have the potential to showcase Canadian expertise and provide business opportunities for Canada’s engineering sector. ACEC and its member companies across Canada welcome opportunities to work closely with the government and NGOs as CIDA refocuses its foreign aid priorities. Fixing the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) ACEC and the consulting engineering sector are taking a leadership role in promoting interprovincial trade rules that will improve our industry’s ability to provide value to taxpayers and improve continued on page 16

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES | REVIEW

2012 Highlights: What We Are Achieving for Our Members continued from page 15

Mark Your Calendar

ACEC Summit 2013 June 20-22 Lake Louise, Alberta

oin your industry colleagues for ACEC’s Summit 2013, June 20-22, in spectacular Lake Louise! Planning is underway to ensure this year’s Summit is an exceptional industry event, featuring a high value business program that will benefit both you and your firm. Connect with industry leaders and experts from across the country to gain knowledge and insight on key issues that impact your business. Discuss challenges and opportunities facing the consulting engineering sector today and in the future. By attending the Summit, you’ll learn about industry trends and best practices. You’ll acquire tools and strategies for effective leadership. The Summit 2013 host property is the renowned Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Located in the heart of Banff National Park and within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this resort hotel is recognized globally for progressive environmental stewardship and responsible tourism. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and the National Park offer a wide range of outdoor activities amid breathtaking scenery, including hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, fishing, mountain biking and rafting. This year, plan to attend ACEC’s Summit – the national business meeting for Canada’s leaders in consulting engineering. For more information on registration and hotel bookings, please visit www.acec.ca.

Canadian Consulting Engineer

p13-17 CCE JanFeb13 ACEC_1.indd 16

the quality of life of all Canadians. ACEC and its Member Organizations are fully supportive of increasing the flow of goods, services, capital and people across borders in Canada. However, there are some very real challenges as a result of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) including pressure on public clients to treat professional engineering services as a commodity. Consequences potentially include reduced taxpayer value, i.e. higher construction, life cycle and procurement costs, risk to public health and safety, a weakened consulting industry and key expertise focused away from delivering public infrastructure. Renewed efforts by ACEC’s Member Organizations to re-engage their provincial governments have put this issue back on the political radar. To support its members, ACEC has facilitated information sharing and provided tools to its Member Organizations. Improving Public Procurement Price rather than “value” continues to be the determining factor in many public client procurement processes. This results in firms minimally interpreting the scope of work in order to be competitive. Instead, ACEC encourages the use of InfraGuide Best Practice for Selecting a Professional Consultant and the use of qualificationsbased selection (QBS). ACEC made significant progress with Defence Construction Canada (DCC) in making changes to how it evaluates and scores proposals in order to improve the quality of engineering services by reducing the influence of price in proposal evaluation. Early results suggest the changes have been successful. While not a true QBS system, it is a step in the right direction. ACEC and DCC have jointly presented this new process to other federal government departments and the Canadian Public Procurement Forum.

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transportation

A TUNNEL AND A TOWER

When designs for an LRT tunnel in the Station Lands of Edmonton clashed with plans for a new 28-storey office tower, an extraordinary collaboration took place.

AECOM

Above: construction under way. Right: with tunnel roof completed; integrating the two structures required complex coordination.

n 2007, when engineers were doing concept planning for the northern extension to Edmonton’s light rail transit system, they came up against a problem. A twin tunnel that is part of the North LRT Extension was in potential conflict with the first new tower on the Station Lands redevelopment area downtown. The Epcor Tower was approved for fast-track construction, but the new tunnel was aligned below it. The line passed very close to the existing CN office tower as well. To avoid potential structural conflicts between the tower and the tunnel, it was decided to design and build the Epcor Tower and tunnel in parallel. So while the LRT line project is not due for completion until the end of

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2013, the tunnel and tower were completed in 2011 By designing and building the tunnel and tower at the same time, the project is estimated to have saved the city of Edmonton $140 million (the current total cost of the LRT extension is $755 million). If the designs had not been coordinated, either the tunnel would have had to be realigned in a new location, or it would have had to be dug much deeper to avoid the tower’s foundations. A deeper tunnel would have needed to be longer and would have had steep grades. The new MacEwan station would have had to be built underground, and a link to Edmonton’s existing 1970s-era LRT system at Churchill Station might not have been feasible.

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transportation

AECOM

Once LRT trains start running on the extension in 2014 they will carry people from the existing Churchill Station through the new 700metre underground tunnel below the Epcor Tower, then climb to grade at 105 Avenue, near Grant MacEwan University. The line proceeds at street level from here to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), 3.3 kilometres to the north. Two owners, two design firms, two budgets The partnership to build and design the tower and tunnel required extraordinary cooperation between the players. There were two owners, two design firms and two budgets.

UMA was prime consulting engineer for the tunnel and Earth Tech was the structural engineer for the tower. As it happened, by the end of the project both these companies had become part of AECOM. Ledcor managed the construction of both projects. The tunnel costs had to be allocated two ways: costs of the tunnel itself of $18 million ($7 million below the original $25-million budget), and incremental costs to the tower continued on page 21 January/February 2013

p18-22 CCE JanFeb13 Edmonton LRT.indd 19

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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AECOM

transportation

continued from page 19

Above: partial plan of site, showing current build from gridline 1 to 14 and future expansion to the east.

because of accommodating the tunnel of $13 million ($2 million below the original estimate). Combining the tunnel and the tower projects made things complex, but it also provided benefits for the tower. The designers took advantage of the deeper raft slab now required for the tower and used this “found” space to accommodate a system of earth tubes. The tubes help to lower the building’s heating and cooling costs and reduce its environmental footprint. In addition, extended core walls were modified into a water tank to store rain water for use in the building’s sanitary system. Two structures The Epcor Tower has 28 floors above ground and is surrounded by a plaza. The plaza sits above four levels of underground parking and is designed to eventually support as many as eight floors above ground. The office tower’s columns are on a 9.144 metre (30 feet) square grid founded on spread footings. The tower structure has a central core founded on a raft slab. The lowest parking level at P4 is approximately 14 metres below grade. The LRT structure is a cut-andcover style box structure immediately below the P4 parking level. At its lowest point, the excavation for the base slab of the LRT tunnel is approximately 24 metres below grade, placing it well into a sand and gravel layer known as the Empress Formation. This formation extends to bedrock at approximately 35 metres.

Coordinating the designs To coordinate the designs, the 30-ft. grid system set up for the Epcor Tower was adopted for both projects. From gridline 1 on the west side of the building to gridline 9 located towards the middle, the LRT structure is aligned with the building above. This makes a somewhat larger tunnel cavity than would ordinarily be required for the LRT but it allows column loads

from the parkade and plaza to be taken directly on the tunnel walls. East of gridline 9 the curving LRT alignment made it impossible to align the cavity structure with the columns above. Support for the parkade and plaza columns is provided by 2.2-m deep transfer girders. From the perspective of the LRT tunnel, the major design issues were having to deal with (1) loads from the tower core foundation; (2) loads from the parkade and plaza columns within the LRT right-of-way; and (3) potential delays to the Epcor Tower project due to the LRT construction, which could have resulted in claims against the city. Accommodating the tower foundation loads Several approaches for handling the tower foundation loads were considcontinued on page 22

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transportation

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ered. Carrying the loads on the LRT would require a substantial structure. The innovative solution chosen was to avoid the problem by deepening the tower raft foundation and footings so that their bearing would not load the side walls of the tunnel. For the raft foundation supporting the tower core this was done with a combination of strategies. The raft foundation was lowered by 3.5 metres. In addition, an unreinforced concrete wedge running beneath the edge of the raft foundation and adjacent to the LRT base slab brought the foundation bearing of the tower to the same elevation as the LRT base slab. Column footings were also lowered, the amount depending upon their proximity to the LRT tunnel. The LRT base slab serves as a foundation for both the LRT and a number of parkade and plaza columns from the tower. Reinforcement for the LRT base slab made use of prefabricated cages complete with shear reinforcement. As a conventionally reinforced one-way slab, the thickness of the base slab, governed by shear, would be in excess of 1.5 metres. With the cages, the thickness of the base slab was reduced to 1.2 metres. Modular reinforcement was also used for the LRT roof slab and transfer girders. The modular nature of the reinforcement saved approximately eight weeks of construction time. Coordinating the structures east of gridline 14 was a major challenge so as not to compromise future developments on the Station Lands site. Critical for the tower in this area is a truck ramp for delivery access to the first parking level, P1. Maintaining delivery access during future development requires that the truck ramp be on structural supports to the full depth of the parkade. The design was complicated by the depth of the excavation, approximately 24 metres below grade, and the skew of the LRT alignment relative to the tower structure. This area is also where the LRT alignment has its nearest approach to the existing CN Tower. A number of other modifications were made to accommodate both structures. For example, the grades at the west end of the lowest parking level in the tower were adjusted to make it possible for the LRT alignment to reach grade at the new MacEwan Station. Also, the walls and roof of the LRT tunnel cavity were insulated to protect the P4 level from cold air within the tunnel. CCE To see a video of the project, visit http://www.edmonton.ca/ city_government/news/north-lrt-to-nait-video.aspx

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transportation

ARUP Canada

A 2.5-kilometre long new bridge over the St. Lawrence Seaway opened near Montreal in December, forming one of the last links on Autoroute 30.

Beauharnois Canal Bridge © NA30 CJV

he Beauharnois Canal Bridge, part of the last leg of Autoroute 30, opened to the public on December 15, 2012, completing a massive highway project that started construction in 2009 but has its genesis in the 1960s. The final western section of Autoroute 30 runs from Vaudreuil-Dorion to Chateauguay, bypassing Montreal via the south and providing a corridor to the Montérégie region. It is a four-lane tolled highway Above: bridge when under construction. It is currently the second longest incrementally launched that has cost a total of $1.5 bridge in the world and has a 38.5-metre clearance billion. Arup was lead engi- over the shipping canal. Right: bridge complete. neer for this western section, including the bridges. The $750-million Beauharnois Canal Bridge is one of two major crossings along the structed with 2-metre deep NEBT highway. The bridge spans over beams, the 45-metre spans are the St. Lawrence Seaway, the main among the longest ever achieved in shipping route between the Atlantic pre-stressed bridge construction in Ocean and the Great Lakes. It is a 2.5 North America. kilometre-long structure with a gradiWithin the canal, the footprint of ent of 3.5% that provides the necesthe bridge had to be minimized, both sary 38.5 metres of clearance above to limit the loss of fish habitat and also the shipping canal in the Seaway. to minimize any head-loss in the river flow that might affect a hydro-electricThe bridge’s eastern approach suity dam downstream. To achieve this, perstructure, including the navigation the bridge in this section has 82-metre span, is a continuous steel-concrete spans with pile caps that lie above the composite box girder. As of today, the water level. bridge is the second longest increRather than relying on the Canamentally launched bridge in the dian Highway Bridge Design Code’s world, with a total launched length of more conservative approach, Arup 1,446 metres, a figure only exceeded analyzed the soil conditions in a seisby the Millau Viaduct in France. mic response model at each of the The western approach has a total bridge’s foundations. The specific soil length of 1,095 metres, with interproperties varied significantly along mediate expansion joints. Con-

the length of the bridge, so this method resulted in a more accurate and efficient design and yielded important cost reductions. Arup is the designer to S.E.N.C. Nouvelle-Autoroute-30, the public-private international consortium that has a 35-year contract to design, build, operate, finance and maintain the entire highway and its structures. CCE Name of project: Beauharnois Canal Bridge, Highway 30, Montreal Client: S.E.N.C. Nouvelle-Autoroute-30 (Dragados Canada, Acciona Infrastructures Canada, Aecon,Verreault) Bridge design, geotechnical, project management: Arup Canada (Doug Balmer, Don Phillips, Andrew McAlpine, Roger Wood)

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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transportation

McElhanney Consulting Services

Engineers helped to develop a special “warm” asphalt mix for a road to a new ferry terminal on B.C.’s remote northwest coast.

Klemtu Access Road

he village of Klemtu is located on Swindle Island, 220 kilometres north of Port Hardy on B.C.’s spectacular interior coast. The community is home to 500 people in the Kitasoo and Xaixais First Nation, whose only access to the outside world is by air and water. Only one ferry a week visited the village until a new terminal and docking facilities were completed in 2011. McElhanney engineered the new ferry terminal which allows BC Ferries to send larger vessels to Klemtu, thus improving its economic prospects, allowing for easier transportation of goods, people, and hopefully increasing its eco-tourism trade. The biggest technical challenge was building the two-kilometre access road between the terminal and the village. The road follows an existing pathway through steep rainforest adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, crosses numerous creeks and is in an environmentally sensitive corridor and fish habitat. The area has extremely heavy rainfall, so good drainage and erosion control were critical. The road is used not just by the ferry passengers, but also by commercial traffic from the local fish processing plant, so it has a design speed of 50 km/hour. Because the project was partly funded under Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the design and construction had to be done within four months. This short time frame, together with the site’s remoteness, meant it was not feasible to do ground survey and geotechnical investigations. Instead, McElhanney designed the road using orthophotographic imagery and LiDAR data, with provision for minor design changes on site.

Above: aerial view of Klemtu including access road to ferry terminal. Left: access road before and after construction.

It was neither economic nor practical to process asphalt for the paving on site, so McElhanney worked with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the contractor to develop a special mid-temperature asphalt that could be mixed hundreds of kilometres away in Kitimat and transported to Klemtu without cooling and hardening. It took 18 hours to ship the asphalt mix by barge, and then eight hours to offload it. Two trips were necessary. The asphalt looks and behaves similarly to regular asphalt but incorporates a special additive and is prepared at a slightly lower temperature. Normal hot-mix asphalt is about 170 to 180o C, whereas this “warm mix” was loaded at around 148-150o C, and compacted at 128-130o C. The asphalt (50-mm) was laid over a standard road structure, but with an intermediate graded base course using materials from a rock quarry on site. McElhanney provided quality assurance testing for the road materials. The entire paving process was

done within a three-day window. Any errors would have resulted in wasted pavement at a cost of over $1 million. About 150 local people were employed on the overall project. Rain fell for more than 80% of the construction days, and in one eight-day period 1100-mm of rain fell. The team worked through gale-force winds and a tsunami warning that forced everyone to abandon site and hike two hours through deep snow up a mountain to reach safe ground. Despite the inclement weather, the work was completed in the fourmonth schedule and $4 million below the $25 million budget. CCE Client-Owner: B.C. Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure Prime consultant/project manager: SNC-Lavalin Engineer-of-record, terminal and access road: McElhanney Consulting Services, Campbell River, Surrey, Vancouver (Mark DeGagné, P.Eng., Santino Piriloo, P.Eng., Joe Vorlicek, Tavis McMullen, Don Hounsell)

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business

Whether it’s a problem with a project or allegations about your business practices, in crisis situations engineering firms need to plan carefully how they will respond to the public and the media.

DAMAGE DAM CONTROL CONTR BY DEREK HOLLOWAY

hen I began writing on crisis management, I decided to do a Google search for the word “crisis” under the news category and was flabbergasted when I got 57,500,000 hits. Obviously, we like to label events as crises. One definition of a crisis is an “unforeseen event that has a critical impact on your life, family, employer, community, nation or the world at large.” The key element is whether an event or situation is foreseeable. If it is foreseeable then it can be managed and how things are handled will determine whether a "crisis" ensues or not. How a consulting engineering company responds to an event or crisis will have an impact on the firm’s reputation. If you handle a situation poorly it could take years to re-establish your credibility, that is if the damage isn’t fatal to your

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firm. If you merely react to a crisis you will be doing so in a state of anxiety and therefore will be more prone to making errors in judgement or rash comments. There have been multiple instances in Canada where a firm has been forced to sell or disband as a result of a major event that was not handled in a manner acceptable to other parties, be they clients, government bodies or the public at large. On the other hand, a well thought out crisis management plan can help you stand out as a corporate leader. Remember, the best defence is sometimes a well planned offence – it never rains when you have an umbrella. Preparing for a corporate crisis There are two types of potential crisis that a firm needs to manage.

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business

CRISIS SCENARIOS Canadian Mining Company

AMAGE NTROL Nastco/iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Internal – If your firm hasn’t developed a disaster recovery plan to get systems up and running and communicating with clients, you should probably skip reading this article and concentrate on that task. The firm should also have a succession plan to deal with the unexpected departure or death of key personnel. External – What should you do if the mechanical system for a bank that you designed fails and floods the premises, forcing the closure of the bank? How do you respond if there’s an outbreak of legionnaires disease at a hospital you designed? What should you do and say in the event a structure you designed collapses, or a tailings pond fails, or there is an explosion at a plant you designed? How do you respond in the event of allegations of wrongdoing in your business practices?

When a piece of equipment specified by the consulting engineers failed, a large mining operation and ore processing plant had to be shut down for three weeks resulting in a multi-million dollar loss to the mining company. The CEOs of the engineering and mining companies met and while it was agreed that operation and installation issues were partly to blame, it was acknowledged that the equipment specified was not able to operate as required. The CEO of the mining company, in an effort to get the matter resolved and re-start operations, agreed to accept the engineer’s policy limits ($1 million) in full and final settlement if the matter was resolved in a week. Insurers initially were reluctant to agree to the settlement and only did so after the mining CEO issued an ultimatum. Intervention by a third party crisis management specialist could have expedited the process.

Algo Centre – Roof collapse When it was announced last June that rescue efforts at a mall in Elliott Lake, Ontario were being suspended due to safety concerns, the public outcry was immediate and fierce. Rescue efforts were subsequently resumed, but the damage caused by the initial decision cannot be reversed. When dealing with death and injury to members of the public, it is imperative to demonstrate that every possible option is being employed to rescue or recover the victims.

Leaky Condo Crisis When the outbreak of water infiltration claims arose in B.C. and elsewhere during the 1990s there were delays in responding to the crisis, finger-pointing, a lack of communication and leadership, and most importantly no formal consensus on how to deal with the problem. Consequently, there were a rash of claims and a variety of remedial options on how to deal with the problem. Sometimes, crises affect an entire industry (asbestos, urea formaldahyde, steel stud/brick veneer curtain walls, etc.) and the association representing that industry needs to implement a crisis management plan to protect the integrity and reputation of its members.

continued on page 28

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business

continued from page 27

These are critical scenarios for which you need to be prepared to respond quickly, efficiently and empathetically to minimize your firm’s exposure to allegations and prevent long-term damage to your reputation.

and critical judgements about your responsibility and liability for the situation.

Communication “Don’ts” There are many ways in which to respond to questions from Role of the CEO as leader the media and other outside parties. Here are some apLeadership is probably the responsibility of the firm’s CEO proaches to avoid: who should ensure that a crisis management plan is in “No Comment.” You may as well plead guilty and take the place. The leader and senior staff should have ongoing heat. At the very least, you should direct the party to a discussions on the types of exposure that the company spokesperson for the firm, or state that a formal response faces. They should evaluate the probability and quantify is forthcoming (be precise as to when). If you are in your the size of the potential failure. office and don’t want to speak to someone, don’t answer During a crisis situation the team leader must be ac- the phone. Being unavailable is less compromising than cessible at all times and facilitate access to resources for stating "No comment." communicating with clients and authorities. He or she “Did not return calls.” This means you are guilty and afraid also needs to establish an internal and external chain of to talk to anyone. Always have your spokesperson call even command. The leader should also arrange for a post- if you don’t have anything meaningful to say. crisis review of any im“Was out of the country.” pediments encountered This means you are hiding on in applying the plan. an island where you can’t be If you handle a situation found. Actually, this is a legitipoorly it could take years to mate excuse if it’s true. If it’s Message to not, be careful. the media re-establish your credibility, “We can’t” or “We won’t.” This is the most crucial In cases where peoples' lives element of crisis managethat is, even if the damage are at stake or affected, the ment. The firm needs to isn’t fatal to your firm. only thing they want to hear designate a spokesperson is that every possible option to serve as the voice to is being considered to rethe outside world, and solve the crisis — remember this is not necessarily a that the world is watching. role for the CEO to asComments to the effect that sume. We have witnessed nothing can be done, or that first-hand that these individuals are not always the best spokespeople. Who can for- “We have exhausted all avenues” are not acceptable when get the comments of BP’s CEO following the failure of its people’s lives are at risk. There is always something that can offshore rig: “I would like to get my life back too”? be done even if the chances of success are remote, so the It is imperative that the person chosen is well spoken, core message that needs to be conveyed is: “We will leave speaks in concise terms, can demonstrate believable empa- no stone unturned,” or similar statements that create a thy and is not going to crumble under a barrage of ques- level of comfort that you care and are doing your best to tions from the press and affected parties. The CEO may be deal with the situation. too emotionally affected or overly defensive in such situaDon’t be arrogant. You want to demonstrate that you postions. You need a spokesperson who is cool, calm and col- sess the expertise and sincere desire to correct the problem. lected, and who will stick to the official position of the firm You don’t want to be seen as dictatorial or superior. You are and not be distracted by loaded questions. sharing information with the public, not lecturing it. Many firms try to keep a low profile in a crisis situation Don’t speculate. You are responsible for dealing with the under the false belief that by doing so they will avoid nega- facts. The world is full of speculators and it is not your job tive publicity. That is a serious mistake. The internet and so- to defend yourself against speculation. cial networking put an end to that approach as a viable opDon’t provide inaccurate or misleading information. You will tion a long time ago. The firm must be visible and available be found out. The best possible outcome of not being transto speak to the public to maintain its status as a good corpo- parent and truthful in your statements is that you will be rate citizen and to avoid speculative and negative comments perceived as obstructionist and will fall out of favour with by others. People always remember the negative things they the other parties. At the other end of the scale, you will be hear about you, and forget or ignore the positive things. labeled as untrustworthy and your credibility on all issues Demonstrating leadership and taking immediate action will be questioned. Ultimately, your reputation and that of in the event of a crisis is the best way to avoid speculation your firm will be tarnished. 28

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business Don’t over-promise. Given the number of external factors and uncertainties intrinsic to a crisis situation, it is often impossible to give specific deadlines for achieving results. Firms are advised instead to respond to such questions by outlining what is being done and the expected timelines for each aspect of the resolution process. Don’t admit liability. This is the insurance rule. Don’t say or do anything that jeopardizes defences that are available to you. There are plenty of ways to address and correct a problem without admitting liability. Anyway, if you screwed up it will become public knowledge at some point in time. Communication “Do's” Make yourselves available. You want to get your message out before the speculation and finger pointing begin. If you are seen as an accessible and credible source of useful information, you will have created an environment in which you have greater control over the media and the message that is disseminated to the public. You will then establish your firm as one of the leaders seeking to resolve the crisis. Show empathy. Always begin by including a statement demonstrating the firm’s concern about those affected by the crisis and saying that the number one objective is the wellbeing of the community. State facts only. Speculation, criticism and unsubstantiated allegations will arise no matter what you do. If you spend your efforts in trying to ward off or deny such allegations you are only focusing attention on these issues, and you may in fact give some credibility to parties making the statements. Remember: the more you say, the greater the likelihood that something will be taken out of

context and misconstrued. Only provide explanations or elaborate when specifically asked to do so, and then be as precise and factual as possible. Be wary of the pregnant pause – the media will often wait after you have finished making a statement, hoping that you will continue to talk. Don’t fall into this trap. Your initial message should be concise and identify three things: who you are and your role; a statement outlining your concern for the wellbeing of others; and the immediate steps you are taking. Each of the statements should be factual and concise (some advise 27 words or less) and must be capable of being read in a message to the media. The spokesperson should not elaborate on any of the statements except to state that the firm will release all relevant details as they become available. You should also include the contact information for the spokesperson in an effort to limit the number of calls to random employees by media people who are seeking a salacious quote. Check social media. Facebook, which is no more than a glorified high school yearbook, now has over 500 million users. The Twitter universe comprises over 160 million users. Firms need to monitor these sites on a regular basis to search for comments posted about them and they should develop plans to deal with any vitriol as part of their overall crisis management plans. CCE Derek Holloway is principal of Spectrum Risk Services of Ottawa, professional specialists in risk assessment and management, contract negotiations, dispute resolution and crisis management. The author has also written a longer Guide to Crisis Management. E-mail spectrum.risk.services@gmail.com.

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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water resources

A treacherous weir known as “the drowning machine” in the Bow River in Calgary has been made safer by adding new structures downstream.

Taming a Weir

ince 1904, the structures that comprise the Western Headworks on the Bow River near Inglewood in Calgary have been diverting water into a canal that provides irrigation to the semi-arid region east of the city. The weir, however, was obstructing fish passage, and was very dangerous — so dangerous in fact that it was called the “Drowning Machine” even on posted signs. The weir includes an ogee profile (like a ski-jump) which created a submerged roller or circulating hydraulic to reduce energy and flow velocities down stream. Many people have perished at the weir, as it is extremely difficult to swim out of the circulating hydraulic forces. To help reduce the dangers and make the weir passable for kayaks and other non-motorized boats, Parks Foundation Calgary decided to redevelop the structures. Golder Associates and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants did a preliminary design, then in 2006, Klohn Crippen Berger in association with Northwest Hydraulics Consultants and Recreation Engineering and Planning were retained by Alberta Transportation and Alberta Environment and Water (which owns and operates the headworks) to do

the final design, contract administration and commissioning. The area has since been renamed the Harvie Passage, honouring the contributions of a local family. The new construction had to maintain the Western Headwork’s primary function of diverting water from the Bow River. Also it could not result in increased river levels upstream during a 1:100 year flood event. Another requirement was to facilitate the passage of fish. Even though a fish ladder had been incorporated in the weir when it was rebuilt in 1975, fish were not passing through. Aesthetics were also important: the new structures had to be in keeping with the natural beauty of the Bow River. Creating a pool and riffle The redevelopment could adapt the weir but not remove it. One big change done was to construct hydraulic “drop structures” consisting of large boulders just downstream that change the hydraulics over the weir from circulating to linear. The structures create a series of pools and “riffles” (rapids) that act as whitewater play areas for experienced kayakers and rafters.

Two channels were constructed. The Low Water Channel consists of six concreted boulder drop structures and five constructed pools. The High Water Channel (meant for the most experienced kayakers (Class III)) consists of five concreted boulder drop structures and three constructed pools. The two channels are separated by a constructed island which provides bird habitat and refuge for boaters. The island and drop structures have a low profile in the river and are designed to be overtopped by a greater than 1:2 year flood. This design ensures that the weir modifications don’t increase flood levels upstream in downtown Calgary. In other changes, a 4-metre long cast-in-place concrete section with a vertical drop was added along the downstream side of the weir to reduce the significantly submerged roller or circulating hydraulic. As well, portions of the existing weir were removed at four locations to create notches or entranceways into the low water and high water passages. Hydraulic modelling In preparing the design a comprehensive physical model of the entire project was constructed at a 1:50 scale at

Above: section drawing of Drop #2 in the high water channel. 30

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water resources Klohn Crippen Berger

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Above: aerial view of project under construction, with low water channels at left and high water channel at right; the Deerfoot Trail highway runs alongside.

Northwest Hydraulic’s laboratory in Edmonton. The model reproduced an 850-m reach of the river and was used to validate and compare pre-project and post-project conditions varying from a low flow of 44 m3/s up to the 1:100 year flood discharge of 2,750 m3/s. Flume models provided a more detailed indication of the hydraulic performance of the drop structures. A comprehensive digital terrain model was created of the hydraulic model and this helped in the generation of construction drawings, quantities and construction layout. The digital terrain model was later used by the construction contractor for laying out the complex structures to a specified construction tolerance of ±25 mm. Drop structures — construction The drop structures are in a turbulent hydraulic environment and are subjected to varying differential heads, ice action, and frequent freezethaw and wet-dry cycles. Consequently, the boulder size was critical. Boulders with an equivalent spherical diameter of 1 m (1.4 tonnes) to 1.8 m (8 tonnes) were used. Natural materials such as boulders, cobbles, and gravels were used whenever practical. Conventional hydraulic structure designs with the desired design life of over 50 years would typically

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consist of man-made materials of reinforced concrete, structural steel and steel sheet piles. Macro-synthetic fibre reinforced concrete was placed in the voids between boulders for structural integrity and to reduce the risk of people’s limbs becoming trapped. To allow people to walk barefoot on the structures, conventional steel fibre reinforcement was not applicable. Plastic fibre reinforcement was used to increase the tensile strength of the concrete, reduce thermal cracking, provide structural integrity, and speed up construction. Construction started in the summer of 2008 for $16.6 million and was completed in 2011. The project had to be carefully sequenced and involved isolating the different components from the river using cofferdams. CCE Name of Project: Harvie Passage, Calgary Bow River Weir Project Client/owner: Alberta Transportation, Alberta Environment Prime consulting engineers: Klohn Crippen Berger (Chuck Slack, P.Eng, David Mack, P.Eng, Corey Lukacs, P.Eng.) Other key players: Northwest Hydraulics (preliminary design and model studies), Recreational Engineering & Planning (project configuration and design), Golder Associates (preliminary design)

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CLOUD COMPUTING

101

BY JAY POLDING

HOW DOES THE LATEST PHASE OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION IMPACT ENGINEERING FIRMS IN CANADA?

hen Blaine Jansen, in the Calgary office of Entuitive wants to collaborate on a presentation for an upcoming conference with a colleague in Entuitive’s Toronto office he uses Dropbox, a popular cloud technology. ”Using Dropbox has been great to allow staff to collaborate with each other in multiple offices on things like marketing efforts and standards development,” says Jansen. “ It has also allowed us to effectively work in a truly mobile way. We don’t need to make sure that files are saved to a flash drive before leaving the office — they are just available wherever there is an Internet connection. In fact, [the service] has worked so well for us that we are in the planning stages to expand this type of technology to handle sharing of our project based files.” The term “cloud computing” refers to someone making use of off-site computing resources over the internet. They may do this to store and share files as is the case with Dropbox,

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p32-35 CCE JanFeb13 CloudProfDirProd.indd 32

or to speed up a certain function, like Autodesk 360 Render in Cloud. These off-site computing resources are stabled in large datacentres owned by IT giants like Amazon and Google. The increased complexity of computations, the increased bandwidth of the internet, and a mobile and global workforce are three developments that are making cloud computing more popular. Of course, the term “cloud” is being used generously by marketing departments at IT companies. They tout convenience and lower IT costs as the main benefits. But for companies who use cloud services, security and the physical location of data are concerns. What are the advantages? These days, with the increasing complexity of projects, engineering companies need to make large investments in hardware to run simulation and analysis. Even with large scale hard-

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IT ware, an engineer may wait for days for results. Cloud com- see the status of a project no matter where they are. puting makes these massive calculations possible for conOne example of software for project collaboration using sulting engineering companies of all sizes. Using the power cloud computing is the free iPad app for Navisworks by of their large data centres, software companies are offering Autodesk. It allows people to remotely view a 3D data-rich complex analysis resources that require only an internet model. Bentley offers a similar solution called Navigator. connection while posting the data. Autodesk, for example, These tools allow people in the field to compare directly offers cloud based simulation what they are building to for energy use, and building what is coming out of the destructural design. sign offices. Engineering companies The potential for tracking spend large amounts of rethe entire lifecycle of a project sources on upgrading softis a powerful concept. Cloud ware, which represents a sigbased Project Lifecycle Mannificant expense in IT-hours agement has the ability to link and hardware. But now that all of your systems, from design Microsoft, Autodesk, Bentley to accounting to commissionand others are releasing their ing and beyond. Some compaFILE SHARING most popular software in nies are currently making use Dropbox , Skydrive, iCloud cloud format as a "Software as of this in a “private cloud” scea Service" model (SaaS), users nario, where within the securiDESIGN DRAWING REVIEW can log into the service and ty of their network they are AutoCAD WS immediately have the latest able to manage the complex version running on their deflow of data in a multidisciNavisworks Mobile and Autodesk 360 mobile vice of choice. In some cases plinary engineering firm. Bentley Navigator Mobile the user needs continuous inThe notion of a private ternet connectivity, but for cloud can be attractive for adANALYSIS other cloud-enhanced feadressing concerns over secuRevit Structure Analyze in Cloud tures they may only need an rity and the ownership of Revit Energy Model or Green Building Studio internet connection while data, but it can be onerous to they are uploading critical inmanage. The private cloud by PROJECT LIFECYCLE formation for analysis. its very nature makes it diffiMANAGEMENT In order to increase the cult to allow other firms into Trimble VICO amount of specialized tasks, your network, thus making without tying up valuable syscollaboration more difficult. Autodesk PLM tem resources, the staff at EnOTHERS How secure is our data? tuitive frequently uses many The number one and two of the services available via Gmail, Hotmail, etc. concerns for companies using Autodesk 360. Presentation Quickbooks Online cloud technology are “Where quality images and renderings Autodesk 360 Render in Cloud is my data?” and “Who owns are completed in the Cloud. it?” When data is stored in the “In the past, we would be cloud, as is the case with very careful to schedule rendering work to happen during off hours in order to keep Apple iCloud, the ownership issue becomes foggy. Most staff as productive as possible," explains Jansen. "Using major commercial data centres are located in the U.S., Cloud technology we have been able to decrease the time it which may prove to be an issue for Canadian companies. takes to create great quality renderings while allowing our Does U.S. law enforcement have jurisdiction over Canausers to continue to work on regular project work. The net dian owned data that is located in the U.S.? The answer is result is better quality images and virtually no impact on our not yet known but, according to some, U.S. law may give it some jurisdiction. Canada has similar laws but some say ability to deliver our core services.” The speed and accuracy at which digital design data is they are not as intrusive. The other concern is over the level of responsibility the shared has a direct impact on company profits. Teams scattered across the country, the world, or even just work- data centre will share if your data is lost or compromised. ing from home, need fresh data to make decisions. The Banks personally guarantee online transactions. If you were cloud offers the possibility of all parties logging in to to lose money, likely the bank would reimburse you for it,

CLOUD TECHNOLOGY THAT ENGINEERS MIGHT USE

continued on page 34 January/February 2013

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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continued from page 33

dollar for dollar. It’s harder to place a value on data. The data may be returned to you but it may be after a critical deadline. At this time companies like Amazon, and by extension those who rent Amazon server space, will not provide a financial reimbursement for a data centre outage and the subsequent losses. Their current position is one of proactive protection and redundancy. At best, you will get your data back, someday, in the future. However, most cloud companies will provide hard copy backups of your stored data upon request. Cloud technology is here to stay whether we like it or not. Most of us already use it every day. While it solves many immediate business issues it also brings up new risks. Being able to access enormous amounts of computing power may be a game changer, but the cloud computing industry will have to listen and adapt their policies and practices based upon the rigorous needs of the engineering community. CCE Jay Polding is an applications specialist with SolidCAD, based in Toronto. He is an Autodesk Implementation Certified Expert and Instructor, a founding members of the Ontario Revit Users Group (ORUG.ca) and the author of the blog “Revit in Plain English.” e-mail jpolding@solidcad.ca

ENTER THE 2013 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS The deadline for submitting a Notice of Intention to Enter the 2013 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards is Thursday, March 14. This year there is even more chance for your firm to win! To reflect the growing excitement that these awards generate, this year the number of Awards of Excellence has been expanded to 20. As well, Special Awards will be designated by the jury from among projects entered in all categories. These Special Awards include the following: • Schreyer Award. This is the highest honour and is presented annually to the best technical entry. • T ree for Life Award (Prix Un Arbre à Aimer). The award is given annually to a project that demonstrates outstanding environmental stewardship. Now in their 45th year, the awards are run by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine and are the most prestigious mark of recognition for consulting engineers in Canada. They are given to projects that demonstrate a high quality of engineering, imagination and innovation. Eligible projects must have been completed in the period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012. To see more details and to download the Notice of Intention to Enter form (French and English), visit www.canadianconsultinengineer.com/awards Or contact Bronwen Parsons, Editor, Canadian Consulting Engineer, Tel. 416-510-5119, e-mail bparsons@ccemag.com

Urban Systems – A growing community Urban Systems welcomes a new senior government advisor to our team. Grant A. Lacmuth, AScT, RTMgr joins our Kelowna office after a well established 36-year career with British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Grant will leverage his in-depth and insightful knowledge of Design-Build and P3 procurement models, infrastructure management, and leadership for the benefit of the communities we serve. This integration with Urban Systems’ local government, engineering, and planning practices means a holistic approach to facilitating effective partnerships and generating community-driven solutions.

Welcome Grant Lacmuth 34

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Urban Systems is your partner for building vibrant and sustainable communities. Visit urbansystems.ca for further information.

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Grundfos GO is a new app that provides access to Grundfos online tools and wireless remote pump controls. Used on a smart phone, the app allows users to adjust pump settings, receive alarms, etc. It also gives a live data feed from the pumps directly onto the screen. www.grundfos.us The new WaterWell Monitor solution by Trimble Environmental Solutions enables the quick collection of groundwater level data for monitoring water wells at landfills and remediation sites. Includes GPS navigation. www.trimble.com January/February 2013

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Dr. Nigel Shrive has devoted his engineering career to two fields, the structural conservation of historic masonry — and the mending of human bodies.

Bricks, Bones and the Heart

t the University of Calgary, Dr. Nigel G. Shrive, P.Eng. is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and also Director of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health in the Faculty of Medicine. CCE spoke to him in January. Q. WHAT DOES THE STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING OF MASONRY HAVE IN COMMON WITH THE HUMAN BODY?

The basic engineering principles that apply to masonry are the same principles that you would apply to a ligament, to cartilage, to hard tissue. So structural engineering has huge applications in the medical field because your body is made up of structures. You could describe reinforced masonry as a fibre-reinforced viscoelastic composite. A ligament, or heart tissue, is also a fibre-reinforced viscoelastic composite. Q. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH BOTH STRUCTURAL AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING?

After I graduated in the U.K. in 1974 I couldn’t get a job so I came on a one-year contract to Calgary to teach structures and I’ve been here ever since. I was introduced to Dr. Cy Frank, who is an orthopedic surgeon, and we began working together in understanding how ligaments work, what their role is, how they perform their job, and how they heal. We’re especially interested in why grafted and transplanted ligaments are never as good as those that are undamaged. Then about 17 years ago a doctor in the cardiology group, John Tyberg, wanted to understand what was going on with the septum, the tissue wall that separates the left and right ventricles of the heart. With patients who have certain diseases the septum starts going sideways, flattening and inverting, closing in the left ventricle while enlarging the right. This doctor wanted to understand the mechanics of what was going on. I made a finite element model of the tissue and the doctor was amazed at what the model revealed. So we have done a whole series of studies on how the heart behaves structurally under normal and abnormal loading, both as it contracts and as it relaxes. We have examined how the various tissues interact. We found some really interesting outcomes that have made a difference to the way some cardiologists practice. Q. IS IT ALL COMPUTER MODELLING, OR DO YOU ACTUALLY WORK WITH FLESH AND BLOOD SOMETIMES?

Oh yes, occasionally we go to the butcher’s shop and get 38

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Above: Dr. Shrive, "For me, an old structure is a tangible piece of evidence of the skill of our ancestors."

bones and joints. We were using New Zealand lambs at one point. They’re young and have not got arthritis so you can do useful tests on their tissues. Q. WHAT ABOUT YOUR WORK IN MASONRY?

I’ve always been interested in the conservation of older structures. For me, an old structure is a tangible piece of evidence of the skill of our ancestors. If you knock a structure down, all you have is a picture, whereas I think that we need to give our successors some evidence of where we have come from, to give them roots. Q. WHAT ARE THE PROJECTS YOU HAVE DONE RECENTLY?

I worked on the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and currently we’re doing some work on the Prince of Wales Fort in Churchill, Manitoba. It’s a national historic site and Parks Canada is trying to find out why the walls have been bulging and collapsing. If I leave Canada with a number of historic buildings that are still standing through the work that I have contributed to, buildings that otherwise would have fallen down or been demolished, that would be something I would feel comfortable about. Q. WHERE DOES YOUR HEART LIE? WITH THE MEDICAL OR THE MASONRY WORK?

With both. I have often thought that I should give up one, but I cannot ever work out which because they’re both too close to home. CCE

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