2020 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
BCIT North Campus Infrastructure Project
R.F. Binnie & Associates
Rain gardens and seating areas for students were added along the new English Walk.
“Sustainability seemed to be a major driver and, from a social point of view, the project improved campus life.” –Jury 58
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As aging electrical infrastructure at the north campus of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Burnaby, B.C., neared the end of its serviceable life and posed a critical risk of failure, R.F. Binnie & Associates provided project management and acted as the owner’s representative in delivering upgrades. Consequently, BCIT became the first educational institution anywhere in Canada to earn an Envision award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). Project management process BCIT is one of the largest post-secondary institutions in its province, with ambitious plans for future growth. In 2015, however, a condition assessment of underground utilities found much of the existing infrastructure needed to be replaced. To address these findings, BCIT set up the North Campus Infrastructure Project (NCIP) to deliver a $50-million upgrade, ensure reliable power supply and distribution and establish a foundation for future development. Binnie’s project managers addressed business continuity (competing construction and cutovers without affecting scheduled campus programs, courses and services), safety (co-ordinating with BCIT’s campus programs), risk management
(tackling unknown conditions with underground infrastructure) and stakeholder management (extensive communications). On a regular basis, the team also needed to balance the benefits of additional, maintenancedeferring improvements against scope creep and increasing project costs. Binnie tracked risk items throughout the project while ensuring the budget could be maintained. The project managers focused on creating personal connections with key stakeholders, meeting with each of them to understand their priorities, constraints and requirements relating to to their individual buildings and programs. This became an iterative process. The teams successfully completed the project—including the installation of nine new electrical substations, 5.5 km of new linear infrastructure and corresponding streetscape and landscape improvements—several months ahead of schedule and on budget. Integrated design The project posed a high degree of difficulty in terms of completing the necessary scope within a short timeline while keeping the campus fully open and without affecting scheduled courses and activities. To address this challenge, BCIT and Binnie worked together to implement an integrated
October/November 2020
2020-10-05 9:16 AM
