On-Site March 2020

MARCH 2020

ADJUSTING YOUR MIX

IT’S NO LONGER ASPHALT AS USUAL

CONCRETE INNOVATION SHOW SEASON SHINES LIGHT ON NEW GEAR

GETTING CONNECTED www.on-sitemag.com

PM #40065710

TECHNOLOGY FACES A PEOPLE PROBLEM

Sand, water, sweat.

Just a day at the beach.

Conquer any job with the #1 best-selling medium-duty truck in North America: the Freightliner® M2 106.* Powered by the dependable Detroit® DD5™ or DD8™ engine, it’s born to run circles around any jobsite. And its comfortable, ergonomic cab makes driving a breeze. The M2 106 is whatever you need it to be, every day.

No matter what kind of sandcastle you’re building.

Get moving at Freightliner.com/Versatile

*Based on Polk new truck registrations in U.S. & Canada for class 6-7 vehicles from 2012-2019.

Competitive financing available through Daimler Truck Financial. For the Freightliner Trucks dealer nearest you, call 1-800-FTL-HELP. FTL/MC-A-1593. Freightliner Trucks is registered to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004.

Specifications are subject to change without notice. Copyright © 2019 Daimler Trucks North America LLC. All rights reserved. Freightliner Trucks is a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.

B O B C A T. C O M / N E W M A C H I N E S

From its outstanding quality to its incredible performance and comfort, the latest generation of Bobcat ® equipment is our best yet. Ask your dealer about new R-Series loaders and R2-Series excavators.

Bobcat is a Doosan company. Doosan is a global leader in construction equipment, power and water solutions, engines, and engineering, proudly serving customers and communities for more than a century.

Bobcat®, the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2020 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved. | 1405

VOLUME 65, NO.2/ MARCH 2020

COVER STORY 16 Heating up the RAP Climate change, cost savings driving gains in reclaimed asphalt pavement

IN THIS ISSUE 7 Comment Teck takeaways

16

9 News

The major developments

14 Construction stats The key figures

15 Mind the labour gap 307,000 workers short

20 Reprisal clauses Takeaways from a significant Supreme Court case

23 Climate changes It’s no longer infrastructure as usual

COLUMNS 40 Software

20

Enterprise connectivity – Are we there yet?

44 Risk

40

Construction in the time of coronavirus

46 Contractors and the law The unique challenges of carrying out construction work in Quebec

45 Index of Advertisers

CONCRETE ON-SITE 28 Concrete news

31

33

The latest developments in the Canadian concrete industry

No signs of slowing down at third Canadian Concrete Expo

That’s a wrap from Vegas. The highlights of World of Concrete 2020

Building momentum

Set for expansion

on-sitemag.com / 5

We improved equipment uptime to 95%.

That’s money in the bank.

BEN TUCKER – BARRIERE CONSTRUCTION

B2W Maintain

Break new ground, win more work and complete it more profitably with the unified ONE Platform for heavy construction estimating, operational workflows and business insight.

HEAR BEN’S SUCCESS STORY AND MORE AT B2WSOFTWARE.COM/BEN

COMMENT

Teck takeaways: It’s bad for construction, but don’t overlook the obvious

Get the latest construction news!

Follow us on Twitter @OnSiteMag

Teck Resources Ltd. saved the Liberal government from making a tough decision on the company’s long-debated Frontier Project late last month. The mining giant yanked the proposed oil sands mine from the regulatory process Feb. 23, just a few days before the federal government was set to rule on the $20 billion project that would have created some 7,000 jobs.

Teck blamed Canada’s failure to reconcile resource development and climate change, and a long list of project supporters were quick to criticize Ottawa for its attempt to walk the increasingly fine line between promoting economic development and taking steps to safeguard the environment.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was one of them. “[This] is what happens when governments lack the courage to defend the interests of Canadians in the face of a militant minority,” he said in a release, referencing recent rail blockades. “The timing of the decision is not a coincidence. This was an economically viable project, as the company confirmed this week."

There’s no question the project would have been highly beneficial for the construction industry and Alberta, but any comment treating the Frontier project as a foregone conclusion if approved by the feds is disingenuously overlooking long-time doubts about the mine.

Even Teck’s public position on Frontier is far less definitive than Kenney claimed. “Further evaluation of optimization opportunities including improvements to project technology and other operational improvements are ongoing and we believe will confirm that the project will be technically feasible and commercially viable,” the company said in its most recent earnings report, before pulling the plug three days later.

In the current political climate, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the complex and vitriolic debate over how climate and economic policies can be reconciled. In this case though, unsettled regulations are not the only culprit.

The Frontier mine was first proposed in 2011 – a time when crude oil prices were hovering comfortably above US$100 a barrel. Technology has advanced since, but the company still required oil prices significantly higher than the current going rate of about $50 a barrel to make the project viable. Estimates vary, but analysts point to a break-even rate of between $65 and $95 per barrel.

Ignoring the project arithmetic is simply unfair. Industry watchers have been less than optimistic about the mine’s future since the 2014 crude price crash. To think the company would make an investment of this magnitude in a new project that relied entirely on a significant crude price rally is delusional.

Despite this, Canada’s muddled climate policy should not be let off the hook entirely.

For construction, as well as the industries it supports, uncertainty breeds losses.

As Teck’s president and CEO, Don Lindsay, pointed out in an open letter to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the company supports “strong actions” that back a shift to a low-carbon future. Still, hitting targets isn’t achievable unless governments can agree on how to transition. “Without clarity on this critical question, the situation that has faced Frontier will be faced by future projects and it will be very difficult to attract future investment, either domestic or foreign,” Lindsay said.

In other words, it’s time our governments quit taking pot shots at one another and establish a way forward.

Even if crude prices don't reach their former highs and a new wave of building in the oilsands never materializes, hammering out clear climate policies now will create an investment environment in which companies in all industries can be confident Canadian regulatory decisions are consistent, fair and predictable.

David Kennedy / Editor dkennedy@on-sitemag.com on-sitemag.com / 7

CONTRIBUTORS

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE SAUL CHERNOS / Freelance Writer On the increasing role of reclaimed asphalt pavement: “Over the last few years, road builders across Canada and the U.S. have increasingly embraced RAP, which is scraped up, processed and recycled into a fresh new mix.”

www.on-sitemag.com / Fax: 416-442-2230

PUBLISHER | Peter Leonard (416) 510-6847 pLeonard@on-sitemag.com EDITOR | David Kennedy (416) 510-6821 dkennedy@on-sitemag.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR | Megan Hoegler (416) 510-5201 mhoegler@on-sitemag.com MEDIA DESIGNER - Lisa Zambri lzambri@annexbusinessmedia.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER | David Skene (416) 510-6884 dskene@on-sitemag.com

LAURA BRAZIL AND CHRISTINA KIM/ McMillan LLP On reprisal clauses in the wake of a recent court decision: “Contractors should think twice before suing municipalities in light of a recent Supreme Court of Canada appeal dismissal.”

JACOB STOLLER / Principal, StollerStrategies On how far enterprise connectivity has come: “The vision of the connected enterprise has been slow to arrive in construction, but the industry is catching up. The challenges that remain are more about people than technology.”

DAVID BOWCOTT / Global Director – Growth, Innovation & Insight, Global Construction and Infrastructure Group at Aon Risk Solutions On the impact of coronavirus on construction supply chains: “Just when you think you have wrapped your arms around [all] known risk areas, a new one shows up at your doorstep…

This new risk is a global pandemic severely impacting your supply chain.”

GABRIEL LEFEBVRE, AUDREY ALARIE AND DAYEON MIN / Borden Ladner Gervais LLP On the unique challenges Québec poses for contractors: “In light of the various regulatory requirements for carrying out construction work in Québec, contractors from other jurisdictions should prepare and consult with constructions law specialists long before they start work in la belle province.”

8 / MARCH 2020

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR | Kim Rossiter (416) 510-6794 krossiter@on-sitemag.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | Urszula Grzyb (416) 510-5180 ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com Vice President | Tim Dimopoulos (416) 510-5100 tdimopoulos@annexbusinessmedia.com COO | Scott Jamieson sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com Established in 1957, On-Site is published

by Annex Business Media 111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065710 ISSN: 1910-118X (Print) ISSN 2371-8544 (Online)

Circulation email: ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: (416) 510-5180 Fax: (416) -510-6875 or (416) 442-2191 Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada $49.50 per year, United States $113.00 per year, Other foreign $136.50, Single Copy Canada $13.50. On-Site is published 7 times per year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues.

Occasionally, On-Site will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.

Annex Privacy Officer privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 Content copyright ©2020 by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc may not be reprinted without permission.

On-Site receives unsolicited materials (including letters to the editor, press releases, promotional items and images) from time to time. On-Site, its affiliates and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, re-publish, distribute, store and archive such unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensation of any sort.

DISCLAIMER This publication is for informational purposes only The content and “expert” advice presented are not intended as a substitute for informed professional engineering advice.

You should not act on information contained in this publication without seeking specific advice from qualified engineering professionals.

MEMBER OF

Canadian Construction Association

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY>NEWS Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown delayed until ‘well into’ 2022; Metrolinx blames construction team The new light rail transit line crews are currently building along and under Toronto’s Eglinton Avenue will not open on schedule.

Blaming the construction team for the delay, Metrolinx president and CEO, Phil Verster, said the Eglinton Crosstown won’t be carrying passengers until “well into 2022.� “Like all transit riders in the region, we are disappointed that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will not be operational in September 2021,� he said in a Feb. 18 statement.

Verster said Crosslinx Transit Solutions (CTS), the consortium responsible for the P3 project, has run into a number of issues since signing the multibillion-dollar contract in July 2015. He pointed specifically to a nine-month delay at the beginning of the job and slow sign-offs on final design plans as two factors for the missed targets. “Although CTS has significantly improved its production rate since the 2018 agreement, it has achieved only 84 per cent of its target, meaning the project will be delayed,� Verster said.

The 25-stop line will cut east/west through uptown Toronto. Much of the 19-kilometre route will run underground and construction on the subterranean stations has disrupted Eglinton Avenue for years. “Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario are not making any precise predictions of the project completion date at this point, simply because CTS must prove to us that they can achieve the new production rates they say they can achieve,� Verster added.

Among other issues with construction, Metrolinx pointed to “an unpredictable, but safe� defect found under the TTC station box at Eglinton Avenue and Yonge Street.

The existing subway runs through the station and construction crews are adding

Construction firms ACS-Dragados, Aecon Group Inc., EllisDon Corp. and SNC-Lavalin Inc. make up the Crosslinx Transit Solutions consortium taking on the project.

a new platform for the Crosstown below the current station. The Ontario transit agency said a solution has been determined, but the problem will delay the station further.

Despite the timeline issues, the project

,%33 '2)0%

remains on track to meet its current budget.

Metrolinx did strike an agreement with the CTS project team in 2018 worth $237 million that added to the LRT’s original price tag, however.

-/2% '2)0

THE EASY WAY TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY.

Adrian Steel’s Grip Lock and Drop Down Ladder Racks are designed with ergonomics and user safety in mind. Whether you’re upfitting a single van or an entire fleet, Adrian Steel has just what you need.

Increased efficiency starts now.

AdrianSteel.com

Š Adrian Steel Company 2019, all rights reserved. Adrian Steel Company is an independent equipment manufacturer, prices may vary. Please visit AdrianSteel.com to contact your local distributor for further details.

on-sitemag.com / 9

INDUSTRY NEWS

Construction firms Acciona and Aecon Group Inc. have firmed up a $967.5 million contract to build a new four-lane bridge to replace the aging Pattullo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey, B.C. The province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure singled out the Fraser Crossing Partners as the preferred proponent for the project last December, and at a riverside event Feb. 10, officially finalized the contract with the Acciona and Aecon joint venture.

“The current bridge has needed to be replaced for years, and I’m proud our government is getting it done in a way that benefits the local community with good jobs and training opportunities,” John Horgan, B.C.’s premier, said in a release.

The price tag for the cable-stayed bridge totals $1.4 billion, factoring in the nearly $1 billion in construction costs, as well as other aspects of the work, such as project risk management and property acquisition.

PHOTO: PROVINCE OF B.C.

Acciona, Aecon finalize contract to build new $1.4B Pattullo Bridge in Vancouver area

Claire Trevena, B.C.’s minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Premier John Horgan made the contract official at an event alongside the Fraser River Feb. 10.

Early construction is scheduled to get underway in the Vancouver area shortly and run through 2023. Along with erecting the bridge itself, the project includes connections to roads in New Westminster and Surrey, grade separations on Highway 17 and the teardown of the more than 80-yearold Pattullo Bridge.

The replacement bridge of the same name will have four lanes, but the design leaves the door open to expanding it to six lanes in the future. A number of local

advocates have been pushing for the wider span to keep pace with the area’s growing population.

The build team will be aiming to complete the new Pattullo Bridge by 2023.

Once the new Fraser River crossing opens, demolition crews are expected to take about two years to remove the old through arch bridge.

The province is using its controversial Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) framework to deliver the project.

Alberta won’t await changes to Canada’s national building code before allowing developers to get moving on taller wood buildings.

The province’s Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu said Jan. 24 the Alberta government will allow for wood construction projects of up to 12 storeys — double its current limit of six.

“Not only will this decision support the forestry industry and land developers, it will provide affordability to homebuyers, bolster employment, and give Alberta a competitive advantage,” Madu said in a release. “We made this change knowing that mass timber products are safe and that these buildings will meet all necessary standards.”

The move comes as construction or planning of an increasing number of taller timber towers gets underway in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. British Columbia adjusted its building code last year, while it’s widely anticipated similar changes to the national building code will be written in this year. The evolving regulations mirror technological advances in wood building methods and materials.

Pre-empting the federal guidance will let wood builders in Alberta start going taller sooner. The province expects the move will also help lumber companies in the province increase production and create up to 400 new jobs.

10 / MARCH 2020

PHG PICTURES / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

Alberta jumps federal gun, will allow 12-storey wood buildings

PHOTO: PINNACLE INTERNATIONAL

Developer plots construction of Canada’s tallest condo tower in downtown Toronto

At 313 metres, the building will be the tallest in the country, assuming antennas are excluded from the count.

The big iron heads east for Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show One of Atlantic Canada’s biggest shows is returning to New Brunswick next month, coming off a record-breaking 2018. The Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show is scheduled to take over the Moncton Coliseum April 2 and 3, bringing together the region’s construction, forestry, aggregate and roadbuilding industries.

“Everything is full steam ahead for this colossal event,” Mark Cusack, national show manager for AHES, said in a release. “Over 200,000 sq. ft. of big iron and high energy at this show continues to bring exhibitors and customers back year after year.”

Nearly 15,000 attendees from across the Maritimes and beyond walked the floor at the biennial event in 2018 and a big crowd is expected in 2020 as well.

Featuring a wide range of heavy equipment, AHES has been running for more than two decades.

“More than 95 per cent of the floor space is already spoken for, and a diverse base of exhibitors promises a full show floor and a wide variety of offerings for our visitors,” Cusack added.

Doors are open on day one from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on April 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A new building project planned for downtown Toronto is poised to see the tallest residential tower in the country rise at the foot of Yonge Street.

Pinnacle International officially launched the 95-storey waterfront project Feb. 12.

At 313 metres, so-called SkyTower would top a pair of other new residential towers that are currently under construction and slated to take over the city’s, and country’s, tallest condo crown. At that height, the tower would also beat out First Canadian Place in the Financial District as the tallest building in Toronto, assuming the twin antennas on the office building built in the mid-1970s were not counted — an often contentious issue.

The building is the second phase in a multi-stage development at One Yonge — the site of the Toronto Star building. Pinnacle said the new building, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, will include 800 condo units ranging from 520 to 2,300 sq. ft.

The first phase of the development, a 65-storey condo known as the Prestige, is already under construction. A third residential tower, along with two office buildings and a hotel are also planned for the lakeside development.

More details about construction of the 95-storey building are expected shortly. Occupancies are planned for 2024.

π SHIPPING SUPPLY SPECIALISTS

OUR ZIPS ARE SEALED

ORDER BY 6 PM FOR SAME DAY SHIPPING

COMPLETE CATALOG

1-800-295-5510

uline.ca on-sitemag.com / 11

INDUSTRY NEWS

© AKHAR MARUNOV / ADOBE STOCK

Pomerleau puts new ‘Spot’ construction robot to work, a world first

Infrastructure bank takes on advisory role on proposed $1.6B power, fibre link between Manitoba and Nunavut The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) will be taking on an advisory role on a proposed project that would connect five remote communities in Nunavut with Manitoba’s power grid.

The federal institution said Feb. 5 it will engage with stakeholders and conduct market analysis for the $1.6 billion project backed by the Kivalliq Inuit Association, Sakku Investments Corp., Anbaric Development Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Along with supplying five Inuit communities with more reliable and cleaner power, the project includes installing fibreoptic cabling to boost internet speeds in the hamlets on the western shore of Hudson Bay. The project team says the 1,200-kilometre Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link would improve connection costs while vastly improving internet speeds.

Several mines in the region would also benefit from the linkage to Manitoba’s power grid, which relies overwhelmingly on hydro generation. As in most other remote northern communities, the area currently depends on diesel generators using shipped-in fuel Though still in the very early stages of development, the cost to construct the linkage is estimated at $1.6 billion.

PCL starts demolition work at Edmonton hospital, making way for $85M expansion A significant expansion project expected to take about three years is underway at Misericordia Hospital at the west end of Edmonton.

The project will add a new, approximately 50,000 sq. ft. (5,000 square-metre) emergency department at the west side of the hospital, effectively tripling the department’s current size and allowing for six ambulance bays, as well as waiting, treatment and diagnostic areas.

PCL Constructors Inc. is spearheading the project as the general contractor. Demolition and remediation work on the hospital, which opened in 1969, is expected to take about four months. The Misericordia Hospital’s current chapel, its west annex and a family medicine practice were relocated to make way for the new facility.

Costs for the wider expansion will run to about $85 million. The health care project is expected to created about 445 jobs during the construction phase.

12 / MARCH 2020

A construction project in Quebec has a unique new worker on-site.

Pomerleau Inc. said Jan. 29 it has deployed a cutting-edge robot known as ‘Spot’ near Montreal. It’s the first time the fully-automated robot has set out on assignment to an active job site anywhere in the world.

Ian Kirouac, the head of Transformation at Pomerleau, said the milestone will lead to collecting, integrating and making use of more accurate data. “Our industry is undergoing a profound transformation,” he said in a release. “We foresee robotics playing a large role in it.”

Spot is designed and built by prominent U.S. robotics firm Boston Dynamics and equipped with an autonomous tracking system capable of adapting to its surroundings by avoiding people and other obstacles.

The battery-powered unit’s main purpose is to collect data. With a 360-degree camera strapped to its back, it will track progress on the job site using a software platform known as HoloBuilder to compare the realworld building process to virtual design plans. Pomerleau said adherence to budget, schedule and quality standards are a few of the metrics it will be watching most closely.

With the construction industry making strides to keep pace with the ever-evolving technology market, testing out the new robot is part of the Quebec-based contractor’s wider strategy.

“It’s becoming clear that today, we must turn to technology to assist and enhance human potential,” Eric Lessard, the company’s chief digital officer, said in a release.

Pomerleau plans to assess Spot’s effectiveness and calculate the return on investment the robot offers over the next six months.

SMALL BUSINESS.

BIG OPPORTUNITY.

Whatever your business needs from a vehicle, Ford F-Series trucks have what it takes. The 2020 Super Duty has available class-exclusive Pro Trailer Backup AssistTM^ and a Military-Grade† Aluminum Alloy body. It can help take your business to the next level.

2020 SUPER DUTY • BEST-IN-CLASS Max. Available Payload of 7,850 lbs*.

• BEST-IN-CLASS Max. Available Diesel Towing of 37,000 lbs**.

• BEST-IN-CLASS Available Diesel Torque of 1,050 lbs.-ft.^^

Vehicle may by shown with optional features. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. ^Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. †6000-series aluminum alloy. *When properly equipped. Maximum payload of 7,850 lbs. on F-350 DRW Regular Cab Long Box with 6.2L gas engine and Heavy-Duty Payload Package. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. **When properly equipped. Maximum gooseneck tow rating of 37,000 lbs. on F-450 Regular Cab 4x2 diesel. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. ^^ When properly equipped. 1,050 lb.-ft. with the 6.7L Power Stroke® Turbo diesel engine. Class is Full-Size Pickups over 8,500 lbs. GVWR based on Ford segmentation. ©2020 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.

CONSTRUCTION STATS

PER CENT INCREASE IN NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COSTS

A selection of data reflecting trends in the Canadian construction industry

NEARLY 1.5 MILLION CANADIANS WORKING IN CONSTRUCTION WITH LATEST INDUSTRY JOB GAINS Three straight months of positive labour momentum have pushed the number of Canadians working in the construction industry to nearly one and a half million.

The building industry added about 15,800 jobs, or 1.1 per cent, in January, upping the total workforce to 1.497 million, Statistics Canada said in its most recent Labour Force Survey.

The latest seasonally adjusted monthly gain and a strong finish to 2019 translate to over 50,000 more workers on job sites across the country in January 2020 than during the same month a year earlier.

Workers Employed in Construction by Month 2018

January

1,433.9

February

1,433.9

March 1,452.2 April

1,433.3

May

1,420.3

June

1,447.5

July 1,435.2 August 1,418.8 September 1,446.8 October 1,443.4 November 1,458.2 December 1,453.4

2019

January

1,444.9

February

1,438.3

March 1,435.9

2020

QUARTER INCREASE

2017

Q1 0.9

Q2 0.8

Q3 0.6

Q4 0.8

2018

Q1 0.9

Q2 1.4

Q3 1.6

Q4 1.1

2019

Q1 0.8

Q2 0.6

Q3 0.5

Q4 0.4

BUILDING COSTS CONTINUE CLIMB TO CLOSE OUT 2019 Costs to build both residential and non-residential buildings continued to ascend in the final quarter of 2019, climbing 0.5 and 0.4 per cent, respectively, according to Statistics Canada.

The fourth quarter figures, the most recent for which data is available, reflect notable increases in buildings costs in Montreal in both the residential and non-residential segments.

Still, the pace of cost increases slowed down over the course of 2019 after peaking in the first quarter. Across the country, building costs increased 2.9 per cent for residential and 3.5 per cent for non-residential last year.

INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION CLOSES 2019 WITH SMALL DECEMBER GAIN Spending on building construction topped out at $181.8 billion last year, up about 3.4 per cent from a year earlier. Though total investments rose, spending was relatively flat year-over-year in constant dollar terms.

A small December gain of 0.5 per cent across the combined resident and non-residential segments capped off the year, according to Statistics Canada.

The annual gains were led by higher spending in six provinces, most notably Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario. Prince Edward Island posted a whopping 50.9 per cent increase in spending over the 12-month period.

INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Current dollars

Constant dollars

Jan-19

14261 11994

Feb-19

14334 12035

Mar-19

14510 12163

Apr-19

14887 12522

July 1,474.1

May-19

15278 12839

August 1,472.0

Jun-19

15196 12755

September 1,481.8

Jul-19

15295 12847

October 1,460.5

Aug-19

15453 12793

November 1,465.3

Sep-19

15591 12881

December 1,482.3

Oct-19

15491 12829

January 1,497.6

Nov-19

15511 12792

Dec-19

15582 12831

April

1,465.1

May

1,456.5

June

1,449.1

In thousands of workers, seasonally adjusted SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

14 / MARCH 2020

In millions of dollars SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

LABOUR

Mind the labour gap

Construction industry needs to recruit 307,000 workers over next decade

T

he construction labour gap isn’t getting much narrower. The impending retirement of a generation of workers and continued growth in the industry mean employers will need to coax more than 300,000 Canadians into lacing up steel toes over next decade to keep pace with demand.

Between 2020 and 2029, research organization BuildForce Canada projects 257,100 retirements and the creation of 50,200 new construction jobs across the country – enough for 307,300 vacant positions.

Of course, new recruits will also be stepping onto job sites during that time period. Even accounting for the expected entrants, however, the industry will likely come up well short of its labour requirements by 2029. Based on historical trends, BuildForce, which released its latest national labour forecast Feb. 10, expects the industry to see an influx of 227,600 new workers 30 or younger over the next decade. The recruits will fill about three quarters of available positions, leaving an approximately 80,000-job gap.

levels of unemployment that may lead to less workers being available for mobility to meet changing requirements across provinces,” the report notes. “This trend suggests that – even if the full potential of interprovincial mobility is realized – industry will likely still need to expand recruiting efforts for new workers from local sources of labour, from other industries, and from new immigrants to meet the industry’s long-term needs.”

Builders, industry associations, governments and educators all have a role to play in bolstering recruitment. In recent years, numerous collaborative efforts aimed at funnelling more students toward skilled trades and other construction careers have gotten off the ground. With 22 per cent of the current construction labour force expected to retire by 2029, the recruitment pushes are designed to buck the historical trends measured by BuildForce that forecast 227,600 new workers will enter the industry over the next 10 years.

Any additional recruits will help narrow the expected labour gap.

Wider demographic trends won’t make it easy.

Canada’s population is expected to continue growing in the coming decade, but

There are few easy solutions to the labour crunch as the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation ages out of the workforce. Still, BuildForce anticipates the industry will employ some stopgaps to get projects built in 2020 and 2021 with labour markets at their tightest. Relocating workers is one prominent example.

“Meeting anticipated peak employment demands in British Columbia and Ontario will likely require significant levels of interprovincial mobility,” says Bill Ferreira, BuildForce’s executive director, in a release.

“Accessing workers from provinces where market conditions have softened will be critical.”

This strategy has its limits. “As demographic conditions unfold, there is an expected downward trend in provincial

PHOTO: KOZMOAT98/GETTY IMAGES

TACKLING THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM

not as quickly as in recent years. Meanwhile, the country’s increasing number of retirees will lead to a fiercer competition for talent, tightening the labour pool. The construction industry will need to turn to traditionally underrepresented segments of the population to land more recruits.

BuildForce points to women, Indigenous people, and new Canadians as three key groups.

In 2019, for instance, the report notes just 191,700 women worked in construction – compared to about 1.25 million men.

While women accounted for 41.2 per cent of off-site roles, only 4.7 per cent of on-site staff were women.

Likewise, Indigenous people made up 4.9 per cent of the total construction population in 2019. With Indigenous populations being the fastest growing in Canada, it’s an important focus area for the industry.

Finally, the building industry needs to make strides to attract more new immigrants – traditionally a substantial part of the construction workforce – BuildForce says. Unlike past immigrant populations from Europe and the Americas, today’s immigrants, most of whom come from a range of countries in Asia, are less likely to take up construction.

Growth in the Canadian non-residential sector will outpace growth in residential building over the next 10 years.

on-sitemag.com / 15

ROAD BUILDING

HEATING UP THE

Climate change and cost savings driving pavement re-use

M

otorists who experience a sense of deja-vu while driving along North America’s expansive roadways might not necessarily be daydreaming behind the wheel.

Over the last few years, road builders across Canada and the U.S. have increasingly embraced RAP, or reclaimed asphalt pavement, which is scraped up, processed and recycled into a fresh new mix. Asphalt has been recycled in many jurisdictions for decades and the process has been gaining traction due to recognized environmental benefits.

For as long as roads have been built, raw materials have come almost exclusively from gravel pits and quarries.

Now, with climate change on the radar as a potentially life-altering disruptor, a society-wide rethink has been underway on multiple fronts.

Municipalities tight on landfill space are desperate to reduce volumes of waste aggregate. Jurisdictions are equally eager to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that come with trucking virgin materials hundreds of kilometres to construction sites. And the realization that natural resources are finite and extraction damages entire ecosystems are adding momentum.

Two years ago, the Toronto and Area Road Builders Association surveyed 25 Ontario municipalities about their use of recycled asphalt and concrete and found mixed results.

16 / MARCH 2020

BY SAUL CHERNOS

Large/coarse fraction of processed reclaimed asphalt pavement at Capital Paving Inc., with a $2 coin to show size.

plant, and process it, but that cost is less than what it is to mine and purchase new aggregate,” Eby explains.

In 2010, as construction manager for Wellington County, Eby drafted that municipality’s procurement specification for using RAP in new hot mix asphalt, guided

by Ontario Provincial Standards Specifications (OPSS), which allowed for up to 10 per cent recycled material in surface layers and 20 per cent in the underlying layers.

The specification was adjusted in 2012 to allow for up to 20 percent in surface layers and 40 percent (following OPSS) in base asphalts. Eby says two contractors have successfully paved projects with greater than 30 percent in the base.

When Eby moved to Brant in 2018,

The small/fine fraction of processed RAP at one of the heavy civil construction firm's Ontario facilities.

the county was already using RAP, but in lower percentages than in Wellington. So he’s working to boost Brant’s allowable recycled content.

Jim Musselman, a senior engineer with the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University in Alabama, says RAP has been used regularly since the late 1970s south of the border, and its use and sophistication are increasing.

In some cases additives are used as rejuvenators to enhance durability. While some are petroleum-based, they’re increasingly derived from natural sources such as tall oils, which are a by-product of the paper industry.

“There are several other bio-based rejuvenators,” Musselman says. “You can make them from vegetable oil, corn or soybeans.

Road surface of Wellington Road 41, with a toonie to show scale.

on-sitemag.com / 17

PHOTOS: MARK EBY, COUNTY OF BRANT

Reasons for relying on virgin materials varied. Some municipalities preferred to work with familiar ingredients. Others worried about impurities such as wood or even metal debris potentially contaminating recycled streams.

However, a rising understanding that reusing aggregate brings economic benefits as well as environmental ones has helped the recycling cause. Mark Eby, director of Infrastructure Services with the County of Brant in southwestern Ontario, says it’s cheaper to use even a small portion of recycled aggregate in an overall new mix than to use full virgin stock. On the contracting side, reduced disposal cuts tippage fees.

“There’s a cost to load [recycled pavement material], get it back to the

ROAD BUILDING

18 / MARCH 2020

Unprocessed RAP pile at Capital Paving Inc. in southern Ontario.

Wellington Road 41 (Watson Road South), with RAP content greater than 30 per cent in the base asphalt and 20 per cent in the surface.

attended, they would have learned about measures jurisdictions of all sizes are taking to enhance the quality and durability of reclaimed pavements.

Poor management of stockpiles is commonly cited as one reason agencies are reluctant to increase allowable RAP content in asphalt mixtures, Musselman acknowledged in his presentation. He recommended best practices such as inventory management, careful stockpiling and regular sampling and testing.

“It’s important to prevent contamination of the stockpiles right from the beginning,” Musselman advised. “And that involves clearly instructing all truck drivers hauling materials to the yard where to dump different types of materials.”

Screening is also a must, with recommendations decidedly technical. “If the maximum aggregate size of the as-received millings is small enough to use in the desired mix designs, there is no need to

further process them,” Musselman said.

“However, if the maximum particle size is too large for the desired mixes, then a contractor can either fractionate or screen the RAP into coarse and fine stockpiles, or they can crush the millings so that they will pass the desired screen size.”

For his part, Eby told ORBA delegates municipalities and contractors need to work together to build trust and ensure quality materials. Project owners can do quality assurance testing to determine they’re receiving what they’ve specified, while contractor quality control testing can enable prompt adjustments if needed.

The bottom line is finding the right balance and mixture for each segment of a particular project, Musselman said. “It’s a little bit like baking a cake. You’ve got to take care that you use the right ingredients, the right amounts and the right mixing processes to make sure you get the product you want.”

PHOTOS: MARK EBY, COUNTY OF BRANT

There are very sustainable processes to make these rejuvenators.”

The acceptance of RAP also varies among state transportation departments in the U.S. Some don’t permit any recycled content on road surfaces due to concerns about reduced pavement friction.

“Generally as you go deeper in the pavement structure agencies typically allow higher RAP content,” Musselman says, describing consideration to achieve proportions deemed suitable for various layers of the road surface and base as well as ideal mixtures for different volume levels of traffic.

According to a survey conducted by the National Asphalt Pavement Association, road projects in the U.S. averaged 21.1 per cent RAP content in 2018 – the latest year for which data is available – translating into 82.2 million imperial tons used in new pavements. That’s up from 15.6 per cent in 2009, which has saved more than $2.3 billion annually in raw materials and diverts more than 62 million cubic yards of waste from landfills.

While the numbers indicate strong benefits and increased market acceptance of RAP, both Eby and Musselman point to Japan, a global leader with an average 47 per cent RAP content. “It’s an island nation and they have a limited amount of natural resources, so they try to reuse materials as much as they can,” Musselman says.

A recent presentation Musselman and Eby delivered at the annual convention of the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) in early February in Toronto illustrates the challenge of continuing the momentum.

When Eby surveyed the room, asking attendees to raise their hands if they were municipal employees, just a single hand went up.

“The room was all contractors,” he says. “But the good contractors already know they can make a good pavement that’s going to last with RAP in it. It’s the people they’re paving for – the owners – that have to be willing to allow it to occur.”

There was discussion afterwards about the need to get the word out about RAP. But, had more municipal representatives

REPRISAL CLAUSES

THINK

BEFORE YOU SUE:

© ALISONHANCOCK / ADOBE STOCK

Lawsuits can disqualify bidders on new projects

BY LAURA BRAZIL AND CHRISTINA KIM

C

ontractors should think twice before suing municipalities in light of a recent Supreme Court of Canada appeal dismissal.

In the case J. Cote & Sons Excavating Ltd. v. City of Burnaby (Cote) the British Columbia courts allowed the City of Burnaby to disqualify a contractor from bidding on new work for the city. The city’s bidding rules included a reprisal clause disqualifying bidders who had sued the city in the previous two years. In an eagerly anticipated decision, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to overturn the disqualification. As such, we can expect to see Canadian cities continuing to use reprisal clauses and contractors should be aware of the impact this may have on their businesses.

In spite of the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Cote case, the decision may not be the final word on the broader issue. New Canadian trade laws may leave the door open for contractors looking to challenge reprisal clauses.

THE COURT DECISIONS In 2014, the City of Burnaby included a reprisal clause in its invitation to tender for new projects. The reprisal clause disal-

20 / MARCH 2020

lowed bids from companies that had sued the city in the two years before the tender closing date.

One of the potential bidders, J. Cote & Sons Excavating Ltd. (JCS), was a general contractor who had previously worked for the city. A JCS employee had been killed in an accident on an earlier city project, which led JCS to sue the city in December of 2013.

As a result of the lawsuit, JCS was barred by the reprisal clause from bidding on the 2014 invitation to tender.

JCS challenged the reprisal clause in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. It claimed that the reprisal clause discouraged lawsuits, which effectively limited its right to access the courts. It further argued that its right to access the courts was protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Constitution. JCS also claimed it was against public policy to allow municipalities to limit access to the courts in this way.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled against JCS. The court held that one’s right to access the courts may be limited. JCS had freely entered into a contract with a reprisal clause and none of its rights were infringed. Further, the court permitted the reprisal clause as there is no indication of bad faith and the municipality had the power to make such a clause.

BREAK UP WITH YOUR

SPREADSHEETS

Tired of endless spreadsheets, email trails and keeping track of agreements between general contractors and subs? GCPay is a cloud-based payment management platform that automates the payment application process and statutory declaration management while providing complete transparency between GCs and subs.

info.gcpay.com/onsite | (587) 402-4415 | info@gcpay.com A

SOLUTION

MADSCI / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

REPRISAL CLAUSES

JCS unsuccessfully appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Among other things, the Court of Appeal found that constitutional protections only apply to laws that affect the public generally. They do not apply to tender materials that only apply to potential bidders. As such, JCS’ constitutional arguments could not succeed.

JCS ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. On December 12, 2019, the Supreme Court refused to consider the appeal. This refusal suggests Canadian municipalities can likely use reprisal clauses without fear they will be overturned by the courts, so long as they are not used in bad faith.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTRACTORS The Cote decision may have a chilling effect on contractors’ use of the courts. Mary Van Buren, the president of the Canadian Construction Association said permitting the use of reprisal clauses places contractors in a position to “choose between pursuing their legal rights and bidding on city contracts.” Similarly, the President of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, Fiona Famulak, said reprisal clauses “effectively punish contractors for exercising their legal rights around contractual matters.”

In light of the Cote decision, contractors should always consider whether a municipality has a reprisal clause in its procurement documents before suing. This will allow contractors to make an informed choice about the potential loss of future work arising from a lawsuit. Contractors can locate reprisal clauses in procurement policies or by-laws, which are often available online. Reviewing the relevant clauses is particularly important if a contractor does a significant portion of its work for municipalities.

There are several important things to look for in a reprisal clause. Some reprisal clauses only block bidders who brought a formal lawsuit in the courts. Other policies block bidders who have taken “legal action” against the municipality, a term broad enough to include resolution methods such as arbitrations. Even

22 / MARCH 2020

disputes over non-payment under the prompt payment regime or starting a lawsuit to perfect a lien might result in being blocked from future work. Reprisal clauses may also only capture some types of claims, including ongoing (as opposed to past) litigation, large value (as opposed to small value) claims, and disputes about other projects (as opposed to the disputes about the procurement process from which the bidder may be blocked).

NEW TRADE LAWS SINCE COTE MAY REDUCE REPRISAL CLAUSES Despite the Cote decision, contractors may now be able to challenge municipal reprisal clauses under the new Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and the Canadian Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union (CETA).

These new trade laws apply to many Canadian municipalities.

Under the CFTA and CETA, bidders may only be disqualified if they lack the legal and financial capacities or commercial and technical abilities to carry out the job. Past lawsuits do not appear to be a basis on which bidders may be disqualified. However, a municipality may use subjective evaluation criteria, such as whether a prospective supplier is involved in litigation with the municipality. Further, financial capacity could be defined broadly enough to include the financial impact of any litigation that the supplier is involved in. As such, it remains to be seen whether a bidder could successfully challenge a reprisal clause using CFTA or CETA rules.

Full citations to all works referenced are available in the online version of this column.

Laura Brazil is a lawyer in McMillan LLP’s litigation group specializing in construction, real estate, and commercial litigation. Laura represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, material suppliers and other construction industry members.Christina Kim is an articling student at McMillan LLP.

CLIMATE CHANGES

IN THE

CROSSHAIRS

From carbon sinks to energy-efficient materials, MTO targets climate change

BY SAUL CHERNOS

W

ith a highway network stretching 17,000 kilometres, 2,850 bridges, 29 airports, 11 ferry services and numerous other assets to manage, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation is on the front lines when it comes to mitigating the effects of climate change.

At the annual convention of the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) in Toronto this February, Mike Pearsall, manager of MTO’s design and contract standards office, outlined impacts on the provincial transportation network and highlighted measures the ministry hopes will keep things running smoothly.

It was clear from the session description, Climate Change: Adapting Infrastructure in Ontario’s North and Beyond, that changes in climate norms are especially evident in Ontario’s far north, with thawing permafrost eroding the stability of roads, buildings and other infrastructure.

However, average temperatures are expected to rise two to three degrees by 2050, and even more in northern Ontario, with floods, ice storms and other extreme weather increasing in frequency and intensity province-wide.

“We have to respond,” Pearsall says, warning about potential new warm-weather diseases, changes in growing seasons and multiple transportation-related consequences.

If northern airports are rendered inaccessible due to prolonged freezing rain or forest fires, fuel and food deliveries and even emergency medical transport could be hampered, Pearsall says.

Thawing permafrost and warming temperatures are already shortening the winter ice road season, threatening to

isolate particularly remote communities from needed goods and services. “Ontario has 3,100 kilometres of winter roads,” Pearsall says. “That’s the largest network of winter roads of any jurisdiction in Canada.”

Pearsall outlined a number of measures MTO is planning and in some cases has implemented as part of Ontario’s climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy.

These include online tools to help predict the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. MTO’s Road Weather Information System is designed to provide real-time atmospheric and pavement condition data for winter maintenance decisions.

MTO is also converting its network of remote airports to solar and wind power and switching to energy-efficient LED lighting.

“Normally a lot of these airports were reliant on diesel generators,” Pearsall says.

“But that’s been one of these catch-22 situations – you run a diesel generator to have electricity to keep the airport open, but the diesel generator contributes to the greenhouse gases which contributes to the effect you’re trying to counter.”

Other measures include recycling road materials, including earth and rock right on-site and using energy-efficient materials and prefabricated bridge elements designed to expedite construction. Crews are also implementing at-source erosion control, trenchless technologies, planting roadside vegetation to provide carbon sinks and using pervious pavements to enhance drainage. Transportation planners are looking to reduce congestion, curb engine idling and promote carpooling and electric vehicles.

Still, significant challenges lie ahead.

Electric vehicles require considerably more charging infrastructure, particularly in the sparse north. Pearsall also wonders, “How long is it going to be before we see electric construction equipment on our sites?”

The measures are in keeping with the Ontario government’s 2018 climate change plans, aimed at reducing emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. They also stick to global accords.

“Through discussions with our counterparts at other transportation agencies across Canada, Ontario is seen as a strong leader in including climate change aspects in our highway activities, everything from procurement through to construction and operation and maintenance,” Pearsall says.

Ontario winter ice roads provide a vital link to the province’s most isolated communities.

PHOTO: ONTARIO MINISTRY OF ENERGY, NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT AND MINES

on-sitemag.com / 23

UNEARTH MORE

O UR DE A L ER S ENSURE T H AT E V ER Y T HING YO U NEED TO R UN YOUR WORL D IS CLOSER T H A N YO U T HINK .

JohnDeere.com/Vegas2020

Take the wheel Revolutionary control at your fingertips

Volvo Dynamic Steering makes driving easier. Driving strain is reduced because steering requires less effort. It compensates for sidewinds and removes vibrations from rough roads. Backing is simpler as well, thanks to the automatic return to center. With Dynamic Steering, it’s good to be in the driver’s seat.

Learn more at volvotrucks.ca

Dynamic Steering

MARCH 2020

GOING CLEAN

CONCRETE INDUSTRY TAKES AIM AT CARBON EMISSIONS 28

IN THIS ISSUE: www.on-sitemag.com 31 CCE picks

up momentum | 33 Innovation on the WoC show floor

CONCRETE NEWS

New deicing pad at Calgary airport marks largest use of clean concrete tech in Canada

PHOTO: CARBONCURE

With temperatures routinely falling into the negative double digits, deicing planes flying out of the Calgary International Airport is a major priority through much of the winter. Mobile deicing crews previously shuffled from gate to gate to prepare planes ahead of departures, but the recent addition of a new deicing pad at the Western Canada airline hub has centralized the process.

The major construction project also hit a new Canadian high water mark for the use of an increasingly popular concrete

technology capable of trapping carbon dioxide.

The pouring process for YYC ‘s East Deicing Apron took about two months and required 25,300 cubic metres of concrete.

All of that concrete was produced using Nova Scotia cleantech firm CarbonCure’s technology that injects CO2 into the concrete during the mixing process. The process sequesters the greenhouse gas, which is taken from waste streams at industrial facilities, lowering the overall carbon footprint of the concrete.

Crews poured concrete for the apron project at the Calgary airport over an approximately two-month period.

“This is yet another instance of CarbonCure concrete easily meeting rigorous performance standards, including the top-tier design and engineering standards required for airport paving,” Robert Niven, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a release.

To date, the tens of thousands of cubic metres required for the new deicing apron is the largest pour of the company’s concrete in Canada. Globally, it’s eclipsed only by an office tower project in Atlanta that used 33,000 cubic metres of the company’s CO2-injected concrete.

PCL served as the general contractor for the East Deicing Apron, employing an on-site batch plant to produce a steady steam of concrete at the airport in August and September last year. Outbound planes have begun using the new deicing facility in recent weeks.

In terms of emissions avoided compared to conventional concrete, the project trapped 160 tonnes of CO2, translating to the amount absorbed by a 209 acre forest over the course of a year, the company said. While CarbonCure’s process does not offset the emissions generated during the cement manufacturing process – a major contributor to climate change – it lessens the carbon footprint of concrete.

Lehigh studying carbon capture at Alberta cement plant, targeting up to 95 per cent of CO2 emissions A new study into the feasibility of commercial-scale carbon capture technology got underway last week at the Lehigh Cement plant in Edmonton.

Lehigh has teamed up with International CCS Knowledge Centre, a group founded by Saskatchewan utility SaskPower and mining firm BHP, on a project aiming to capture between 90 and 95 per cent of the carbon dioxide from flue gas at the cement production facility. The partners said it’s the first time in North America a full-scale carbon capture solution has been explored at a cement plant.

A subsidiary of the HeidelbergCement Group, Lehigh produces a range of cement products – the majority of which are used to make ready-mix concrete for construction. While concrete is a fundamental building material, it’s also a well-known source of carbon emissions. The energy-intensive cement production

28 / MARCH 2020

process is mainly to blame for this.

The new study builds on some of the lessons learned at the Boundary Dam 3 CCS Facility, which saw saw carbon capture technology installed at a coal plant near Estvan, Sask. in 2014.

Though successful in capturing 90 per cent of the plant’s CO2 emissions, the project was costly and SaskPower has not yet retrofitted further coal plants with the technology.

At the Lehigh facility, the study includes design, cost estimates and the mapping out of a business case for the use of carbon capture. A pre-feasibility study has already been completed and Lehigh estimates the project could capture 600,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

The company said capturing post-combustion flue gas from the cement plant will be similar to how the gas is captured at the Saskatchewan coal generating station.

WHERE CONCRETE

MEETS TECHNOLOGY

From the lab to the field, MAPEI knows concrete inside and out. Along with offering a complete range of admixtures for concrete, our team can satisfy the high-performance demands of our customers with custom-manufactured products.

With state-of-the-art laboratories and production facilities throughout North America, our experts are equipped to develop and deliver innovative, technology-driven solutions to our customers with unmatched service and technical support.

MAPEI Canada

Mack Granite Concrete Mixer ÂŽ

ÂŽ

Brains meets brawn.

When it comes to the science of a smarter jobsite, Mack delivers the trucks, tech and support that help you maximize uptime and build tough.

Visit MackTrucks.com/Granite to learn more.

CCE

BUILDING MOMENTUM

Third annual Canadian Concrete Expo shows no sign of slowing down

M

ore than 6,100 attendees and exhibitors from across Canada came out to see a diverse array of concrete-focused products, services, demos and educational sessions at the 2020 Canadian Concrete Expo.

The crowds packed the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. Jan. 22-23, pushing the annual show to new heights in terms of attendees, exhibitors and floor space.

“The growth that the show has experienced year over year since the inaugural show in 2018 demonstrates that we are officially Canada’s national concrete construction trade show,” says Stuart Galloway, president of 2020 Show Productions. “Also, the number of media outlets present at the show more than doubled year over year. Putting exhibitors in close contact with so many publications that are interested in concrete is a significant marketing bonus to our exhibitors.”

Ontario’s unpredictable winter weather also finally got the memo this year, sparing attendees the precarious slippery drive seen on day one of the show during each of its first two years. The concrete industry braved the weather then, and they certainly didn’t shy away from the expo this January, filling the show floor – about twice as large as last year’s – throughout the two-day event. Industry professionals on the lookout for the latest in safety equipment, formwork, mixers, pump trucks, loaders, mobile apps and curing solutions, were among the diverse crowd.

Attendees also got to take advantage of an expanded catalog of educational sessions and a pair of new networking events this year, while equipment demonstrations by the likes of Bay-Lynx, Manulift and BIK Hydraulics, ran through both days of the show.

Continuing to build a strong following from the concrete industry across the country, the Canadian Concrete Expo will be returning to the International Centre for its fourth edition Feb. 11-12, 2021.

Show organizer 2020 Show Productions is already planning a pair of new components for the show, including an aggregates section and a masonry pavillion.

“The show is also moving the show dates to Thursday and Friday,” Galloway says. “This gives people who fly into the show one more day at the office prior to the show and encourages attendees to tie their business trip with a weekend of enjoyment in Toronto.”

on-sitemag.com / 31

WOC

SET FOR EXPANSION World of Concrete closes out 45th edition, eyes 2021

A

blustery desert day in Las Vegas kept the biggest crowds indoors on day one of World of Concrete 2020 this February, but attendees fanned out across all 700,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space the remainder of the week as the Nevada temperatures inched back up.

Approximately 1,300 separate exhibitors and 54,000 registered professionals packed the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 45th edition of the annual event catering to the concrete and masonry industries. While that figure is down slightly from the crowd of about 60,500 that attended last year, show organizer Informa Markets is looking ahead to next year with high expectations.

“This year has been a very successful event – the industry continues to evolve and grow stronger as we enter a new decade,” said Jackie James, the group director for World of Concrete, in a release. “The construction industry remains strong along with the economy and we cannot wait until WOC 2021, with the new expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall to showcase our leading industry suppliers in this state-ofthe-art facility.”

Along with the busy show floor, as at past shows, this year’s event featured a comprehensive educational component.

Informa said it’s already booked in about more than half a million square feet of space for next year – enough to project World of Concrete 2021 will be the largest in more than a decade. Next year’s event will take place Jan. 19-22 in Vegas.

Canadian mason team takes second place Mario and Michael Alves of A&M Masonry in Hamilton, Ont. left Las Vegas last winter on a high. The mason and tender team earned first place in the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 – referred to in the industry as the “Super Bowl” of masonry.

The world champions were back to defend their title this year at the high-profile event as thousands of spectators gathered at the Bronze Lot looked on.

They faced off against more than two-dozen competitors, most from south of the border. With an hour to build a 26-foot-long brick wall as large as possible, with as few errors as possible, the competition tests skill, speed and stamina.

As the 60-minute time limit expired and masons laid their final bricks, the competition’s judges began to tally the scores.

Alves’s brick count sat at 735, a couple dozen shy of his total a year earlier. The Ontario team came close to repeating as champions, but finished just short in second place.

Instead, taking the 2020 crown were mason Fred Campbell and tender Tony Shelton, both from CreaOve Masonry in Greeneville, Tenn. The team from the southeast state laid 756 bricks over the course of the hour.

The win was familiar territory for 47-year-old Campbell, who has won the competition on two other occasions.

on-sitemag.com / 33

WOC

ON THE SHOW FLOOR

Equipment manufacturers and technology providers had a lot to show off at World of Concrete 2020 AQUAJET

BROKK

The 5,070-pound Aqua Cutter 710V was the centrepiece of hydrodemolition robot maker Aquajet’s booth at World of Concrete 2020. Capable of reaching as high as 23 feet, the 710V is equipped with a long-lasting ceramic nozzle. It’s able to remove as much as 35 cubic feet of concrete per hour using water jets up to 40,000-psi. The remote controlled robot cleans and descales rebar as it breaks up concrete, making it ideal for rehab projects.

Small enough to fit through interior doorways and work in confined spaces, the Brokk 70 remote-controlled demolition robot was among the highlights Brokk showcased at World of Concrete this year.

The compact electric robot is armed with a new intelligent power management system that delivers twice the power of its predecessor. With a base weight of 1,235 pounds it can be taken into regular passenger elevators, making it ideal for top-down demolition projects.

BOBCAT The new Bobcat R-Series compact loaders are a revolution in both form and function, the company says. Designed to tackle everyday work and the toughest challenges, these next generation loaders include several machine and feature changes focused on quality, reliability and durability. The R-Series loaders are designed for comfort with their all-around visibility, numerous options and roomy environment. Features include an optional clear-side enclosure, mesh-free windows and new cab design.

BAY-LYNX

DOOSAN INFRACORE

Built with Hardox 450 – a lightweight steel known for its flexibility – Ontario-based manufacturer Bay-Lynx showed off its new Titan volumetric concrete mixer at World of Concrete 2020. Being slimmer, the mixer can carry more material while saving on fuel. Meanwhile, its BatchPro Connect system automates the mixing process, translating to considerable time savings. Bay-Lynx says the Titan has twice the lifespan of a standard mixer.

Focussing on increased manoeuvrability, Doosan Infracore highlighted its new reduced tail swing DX62R-3 at this year’s show. The mini excavator has just 4.9 inches of side overhang, giving operators more flexibility in confined spaces. Among other changes, the company’s engineers moved the machine’s swing center forward 11 inches to improve reach while maintaining balance.

The DX62R-3 is designed to excel on the increasing number of projects in tight urban areas.

34 / MARCH 2020

GIATEC Concrete testing technology firm Giatec introduced an entirely redesigned version of its flagship SmartRock sensor at World of Concrete. Building off the success of its predecessor, the new version has a wireless signal five-times as powerful, capable of transmitting precise data as concrete cures and hardens up to 40 feet away. The company also released a new version of its mobile app based on the input of thousands active users.

HILTI

GOMACO Concrete paving equipment maker Gomaco has introduced a new high-production screed capable of advancing up to four feet in a single pass, dramatically speeding up the finishing process. The truss-mounted screed, designed for paving bridge decks, flat slabs and floors, compacts and finishes the concrete in a single pass using a five-foot finishing cylinder. A six-foot trailing screed provides the final finish to the surface.

With job sites going increasingly digital, tool maker Hilti is building out its technology offering. The company launched a new “smart” fastener system at World of Concrete that can digitally document anchors by leveraging the Internet of Things. The TraceFast system uses a data matrix codes to ensure every fastener is unique and identifiable. By powering up the company’s app, workers or inspectors can then scan the code using their smart phone, bringing up the fastener’s details.

NEW RB611T LARGEST JAW SIZE OF ANY BATTERY POWERED REBAR TYING TOOL ON THE MARKET. TIES UP TO #9 x #10 REBAR*. *Varies by rebar manufacturer.

MAX developed the World’s First battery powered rebar tying tool.

Since then MAX Rebar Tying Tools have revolutionized rebar tying all around the world. MAX has continued improving rebar tying technology, which led to the invention of the Twintier RB611T, a dual wire feeding rebar tier. The latest technology allows 4,000 ties per charge, while delivering just the right amount of wire for added productivity and cost savings. These innovative features make the Twintier the best and most innovative and efficient rebar tier in the industry. Today, MAX manufactures a full line of rebar guns that can tie between mesh up to #9 x #10 rebar.*

WWW.MAXUSACORP.COM | 800.223.4293 | PRESENT THIS AD AT A WORLD OF CONCRETE BOOTH (C3228 OR O31458) OR CONEXPO BOOTH (S65716) FOR Aon-sitemag.com FREE GIFT. / 35 OnSite_MaxUsa_March20.indd 1

2020-03-06 11:07 AM

MARCH 2019

FREE TO QUALIFIED SUBSCRIBERS! Please fill in the following and mail/fax today!* For faster service, simply visit on-sitemag.com and click on Subscribe

Y ES! I wish to receive/continue to receive Digital

Choose your edition:

absolutely FREE.

Print

Signature (required)

Both

/

Date DD

Name

Professional content for professional contractors

/ MM

YR

Title

Company Address City

Prov.

email

Tel

Do you wish to receive our E-Newsletter?

Yes

Postal Code

No

Please answer the following questions to renew your free subscription.

Incomplete forms cannot be processed.

What best describes your primary business?

(Choose only one)

Do you purchase and/or approve the purchase of Yes No construction products or services?

Contractor engaged in Highway & Heavy Construction Contractor engaged in Building Construction Distributors & Rental Houses Government & Public Works Other (please specify)

Do you rent equipment?

Yes

No

What is the approximate number of employees at this location?

Are you a contractor who works with concrete

related products and services?

Yes

No

If Yes, please indicate which products Earth moving equipment Compact Equipment Safety Equipment Paving Equipment Dump Trucks Used Equipment Pick-Up Trucks Trailers Generators Attachments Hand Tools Compressors Lifting Equipment Power Tools Welding Tools

On-Site Magazine Tel: (416) 510-5100 Fax: (416) -510-6875 Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 email: ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com *Publisher reserves the right to determine qualification & limit distribution.

visit

on-sitemag.com to subscribe today

WOC LIUGONG LiuGong North America showed off a range of equipment at this year’s World of Concrete, including its largest excavator, the 950E. With an operating weight of 105,822 pounds and 375.5 horsepower engine, the 950E has a bucket capacity of up to 4.2 cubic yards.

LiuGong also brought its mid-sized 915E, three wheel loader models and its first-ever compact track loader.

HUSQVARNA Equipment manufacturer Husqvarna used World of Concrete 2020 as a launching pad for a new lineup of eight floor grinders. The diverse new line ranges from the compact PG 540 to the PG 830, the largest and most powerful model. All eight models are sealed against dust and slurry and designed to handle easily. At the top end of the lineup, powerful motor options enable productivity up to 36 per cent greater than previous models.

The Advantage is KRYTON The ability to more easily monitor concrete as it cures is an increasingly important aspect on jobs of all sizes. With this goal in mind, concrete technology firm Kryton introduced its latest product, Maturix Smart Concrete Sensors, at this year’s show. The sensors can display temperature and strength readings in real-time via Sigfox’s IoT network. With the exception of a sacrificial thermocouple wires, the sensors are also reusable, allowing customers to keep costs low.

Experience For 20 years, Vacuworx has set the standard for vacuum lifting in the field. But we offer more than just the best vacuum lifting systems on the market, available to buy or rent and ready to ship when you need them.

We also deliver unparalleled service and technical support, backed by experience no one can copy.

Find out how much faster, safer and smarter your crew can be using Vacuworx lifting systems and put the Vacuworx Advantage to work for you.

vacuworx.com on-sitemag.com / 37

WOC QUIKRETE MAX More than 25 years after inventing the rebar tying tool category, Max is taking its next step forward with its TwinTier RB401T-E. The height adjustable, stand-up tool is designed to save workers from bending over or applying any pressure to tie rebar. It uses a contact trigger system and shoots a pair of ties in less than a second. The new TwinTier is expected to be available this summer.

Among a range of new products introduced at World of Concrete, Quikrete premiered a new version of its Rapid Road Repair line, this time with a new calcium aluminate cement based formulation that also features fast-setting cements and alkali resistant glass fibers. The company said Rapid Road Repair – CA gives contractors up to 30 minutes more of working time, as well as greater high-early compressive strength and increased tensile strength.

SOMERO

MINNICH MANUFACTURING A new gas-powered backpack concrete vibrator was the highlight at Minnich Manufacturing’s booth this February in Las Vegas. A 50 cc Honda GX50 general-purpose engine powers the backpack vibrator, which has a fully adjustable harness, relocatable throttle and weighs 20.5-pounds. The new vibrator joins Minnich’s current 35 cc model and offers easy starting, simple maintenance and low fuel and oil consumption.

The Somero Sky Screed 25 is the first knuckle boom, laser screed machine allow screeding on structural high-rise and slab-on-grade applications. The equipment manufacturer displayed the versatile machine designed to save time and deliver high floor quality at this year’s show. With three lower frame stabilizers and an upper frame and screed head that rotate 360 degrees, it’s engineered to work around obstacles such as columns while screeding in any direction.

PUTZMEISTER Concrete pump manufacturer Putzmeister is helping all its boom pump customers transition to smarter job sites. The company announced at World of Concrete it’s making its telemetry offerings, such as machine cockpit, standard on all its pumps. The system displays real-time information about key operating figures, shows warning messages and allows for remote diagnostics of machine faults. Along with coming standard on new pumps, Putzmeister said existing machines can be retrofitted to include the module.

38 / MARCH 2020

VACUWORX The next generation of battery-powered lifters from Vacuworx weighs in at just 25 pounds, yet it generates enough power to lift up to 2,500 pounds. The company showed off its PHD Portable Vacuum Lifting System at World of Concrete 2020.

Building off previous models, the new system includes a remote control and can be used on more host machines and in more applications. The PHD also features two dual-stage vacuum pumps to build vacuum faster.

WIRTGEN Offering a first look at its new WPS 62i placer/ spreader, Wirtgen displayed an inset concrete paving train at this year’s show.

Ideal for jobs with preplaced reinforcing steel, the company’s new WPS 62i/WPS 62 takes on the first position in the Wirtgen paving train, placing and spreading concrete fed from the side.

Available with two different scraping units, the machine can work with widths between 12 and 24 feet, laying concrete up to 20 inches thick.

ENTERPRISE CONNECTIVITY

ARE WE THERE YET?

The vision of the connected enterprise has been slow to arrive in construction, but the industry is catching up. The challenges that remain are more about people than technology

BY JACOB STOLLER

O

ne of the triumphs of networked computing is the enablement of global enterprises where knowledge, physical assets and human resources are managed cohesively across geographic and international boundaries.

Today, the enterprise dashboard screen is as familiar to many as the boardroom table.

While such a vision has obvious advantages for contractors, the industry has been late to embrace the connected enterprise approach.

On one hand, there has been a widely acknowledged reluctance to embrace technology. “Construction is looked at as

40 / MARCH 2020

the last bastion of enterprise software,” says Paul McKeon, CEO and founder of Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based B2W Software. “It’s been historically a laggard in terms of embracing technology.”

On the other hand, construction has obvious challenges when it comes to connectivity. Not only is there geographic dispersion and a need to operate in remote areas where telco coverage is poor or nonexistent, but job site locations are in constant flux, making it impractical to put permanent IT infrastructure in place.

Efforts to mitigate these constraints are central to construction’s progress in the

digital world.

“If you create a tool that is going to connect the field to the office in construction, you can start unlocking some of those efficiencies that other industries have seen over the past 20 years,” says Jas Saraw, vice-president, Canada for Procore.

Many contractors are moving in this direction. “I’ve been at Kiewit for nine years, and it’s amazing how much has changed in terms of connectivity during that period,” says Brett Bock, director of Data Centre Operations at Kiewit in Omaha, Nebraska. “The modernization of the business processes is happening, and

© SCULPIES / ADOBE STOCK

SOFTWARE

“If you create a tool that is going to connect the field to the office in construction, you can start unlocking some of those efficiencies that other industries have seen over the past 20 years.”

– Jas Saraw, Procore So we need to ensure that we’re using digital workflows that enable our teams and our project partners to have an immediate single source of truth which ensures that we’re executing the work as designed.”

Teams may be geographically dispersed as well, creating a necessity for all members to be connected. “There are members of the project management team that may not be in a remote area full time,” Peters says, “but they can pull up the latest daily report and site photographs on their screen in real time. So it’s both getting information out to the project site and getting the information quickly back to the central office as well.”

BARRIERS TO CONNECTIVITY The difficulty of getting service in remote areas has been greatly mitigated by improvements in wireless technology and

NICOELNINO/ ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS /GETTY IMAGES

they’re doing that with technology. So to be connected to that application is becoming more and more important, and really a necessity.”

A key factor has been the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) software, which is driving the digitization of design and planning processes and the accompanying expectation of more efficient workflows and faster iterations between job sites and the office.

“In this day and age, it’s extremely important that our project teams have access to all the latest project information, especially at the pace of change that we experience on our project sites,” says Mike Peters, manager of Operations Technology at Bird Construction in Winnipeg. “We no longer have time to wait to print out drawings and ship them to sites in order to act on changes and be able to complete work.

software’s ability to take connectivity issues into account.

“In our business, we’re often working where there’s not a lot of telco infrastructure,” Bock says, “but today you can do a lot more with wireless. You could do a lot with 3G, but with 4G and 5G, there are job sites where that’s the sole way we connect that job site to the rest of the world. Before, wireless was a temporary solution until we got a permanent solution in place.”

There are limitations though, and not just in remote areas. “Bandwidth is always key, and not just the download bandwidth but upload as well – getting the information back to our central repository, or even just getting it up into the cloud,” says Peter Czezowski, manager of Technology Services at Bird Construction in Winnipeg.

“It’s not just sites that are out there somewhere in the wilderness that are an issue – [you] can have dead zones even within an urban area where there are not good connectivity options.”

Often the answer is to have a patchwork of service providers. “We have to maintain relationships with multiple network providers, especially since we’re coast to coast,” Czezowski says. “Some-

on-sitemag.com / 41

PHOTO: BIRD CONSTRUCTION

SOFTWARE

Rapidly evolving technology has made it extremely important for project teams to have the latest information at their fingertips.

“Enterprise connectivity requires something that nobody wants to talk about, but that we really should be talking about as an industry, and that’s standardization.”

– Rosemarie Lipman, EllisDon

times we have the best internet services available from a very small local carrier.”

The other piece is that apps, increasingly, are designed to work well offline.

“If you’re in rural Alberta, we can’t guarantee that you’re going to have wi-fi connectivity at the job site,” Saraw says.

“But that shouldn’t be an impediment to using mobile tech in the field. Then uploading that data to the cloud once you receive wi-fi access – when you’re back in the trailer.”

Network management tools can also help by shaping traffic, Czezowski notes, thin client technologies like Citrix allow apps to communicate using less bandwidth. “We are presenting our apps via Citrix, and that helps,” he says. “However, you still need good bandwidth when somebody has to upload a document they’re trying to print to a local printer.”

ATTITUDES ABOUT TECHNOLOGY Getting the enterprise digitally connected is a critical step, but there is no guarantee that the resulting work processes will be cohesive. To achieve that, people in the organization may have to change how they approach and utilize technology.

42 / MARCH 2020

“Enterprise connectivity requires something that nobody wants to talk about, but that we really should be talking about as an industry, and that’s standardization,” says Rosemarie Lipman, chief innovation officer and senior vice-president of Digital and Data Engineering at Mississauga, Ont.based EllisDon. Putting a non-standard app on the corporate network is typically off limits in many sectors, but the practice is still widespread in construction. A common scenario is that a supervisor will have a particular problem on a job site – for example, keeping track of received materials – and find a great looking solution on an app store. The problem is, that solution may store all of the data in its own hosted cloud repository, making it unavailable to the rest of the enterprise.

“The market is completely saturated with startups and new technology from companies trying to solve these problems,” Peters says, “but you have to be intentional and work to solve your specific and maybe unique problems while ensuring applications have the ability to integrate with other tools that we have in place.”

“There should be a corporate mandate

to use tools correctly,” McKeon says. “Do you really want key workflows managed with outdated, siloed tools that make it hard to access the data? That’s not the way you want to run your company.”

Standardization isn’t just about retaining data, however – in order for a digitally-enabled process to produce the desired result, people need to use applications in similar ways so that the information flows from one project to the next.

“Job sites tend to choose technology based on what they need right now,” says Paula Dobrowolska, vice-president of Enterprise Tech Solutions at EllisDon,” but they’re not really thinking how to standardize across the enterprise so that all of our projects and all of our data can be used to inform any new projects during the design phase. You have to have the parameters in place in order to be able to use that information in the future.”

“We really want to push people to utilize things in a certain way,” Lipman says. “It’s not necessarily being the big brother pushing from the top down, but about mixing a little bit of that with standardization to ensure that everything flows and that we have a quality data set at the end of the day.”

Essentially, users need to follow a set of standards so the IT team can create and deliver high quality information services that benefit everybody in the corporation.

“The value proposition for them is that if they use a tool in a particular way, we are going to be able to visualize and analyze their data and give them that information that much faster,” Lipman says. “At the end of the day, quick and easy is not ‘what shiny tool can they use for the duration of this project?’ It’s ‘how can we deliver them the insights and the information that they need to perform their role?’”

The real work, therefore, is gaining a common understanding of the problems people face, and how better information can help them be more successful. “Technology is not the challenge,” Lipman says.

Jacob Stoller is principal of StollerStrategies. Send comments to editor@on-sitemag.com

The value of ONE Construction can be complex, but one construction software provider can manage these complexities and make your job easier. All From One Company.

Job Cost Accounting | Project Collaboration | Workforce Management Field Data Capture | Business Intelligence

Learn the significance of having one long term technology partner for all of your office, team and field needs. Learn the Value of One: VIEWPOINT.com/ValueofOne

Š 2019 Viewpoint, Inc. All rights reserved.

RISK

By David Bowcott

The impact of pandemic on construction’s supply chain: A new risk profile

T

here are many risks in today’s dynamic construction economy. Companies deal with issues related to contractual risk allocation, unforeseen ground conditions, faulty workmanship, errors in design and the impacts of extreme weather – just to name a few. Then, just when you think you have wrapped your arms around these known risk areas, a new one shows up at your doorstep. It is, after all, the nature of risk to be unpredictable.

This new risk is a global pandemic severely impacting your supply chain.

Thankfully, organizations like the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) are quick to help the community deal with this fast-growing risk. On Feb. 18, the industry group aired a webinar titled Coronavirus and Supply Chain Implications in Construction.

The session included three experts in supply chain risk: Peter Kapler of Aon, Cheri Hanes of AXA XL and Andrea Lee of Glaholt Bowles.

I highly recommend you have a listen to it on the CCA website, but if you don’t have a chance to take in the recording, hopefully the following column will be a helpful summary of what was discussed.

To start the session Peter Kapler provided some sobering facts related to this fast-spreading virus, which so far the World Health Organization has stopped just short of officially labeling a pandemic.

These facts are accurate as of the time webinar was aired: • 73,435 cases of Coronavirus (specifically COVID-19) worldwide • Communicable by direct contact and airborne droplets • Virus is alive on surfaces for up to five days • Aerosol transmission of virus • 60 million people in strict quarantine and 700 million in partial quarantine • Shanghai region: 80 per cent of companies did not have workers

to restart full-time production • Inland drivers in China required to quarantine for 14 days and

drivers refusing to perform inland trips • Warehouses, depots and ports in China operating with less than

50 per cent staff • Oil and base metals currently 10 per cent down from mid-Jan peaks • Steel demand down in China by 40 per cent year-over-year • Hyundai shutting down South Korean lines due to lack of

Chinese-made parts • Apple cuts quarterly revenue and profitability guidance on

Chinese demand and production challenges

After that reality check, Cheri Hanes from AXA XL took over, pointing to the regions of the world most exposed to Chinese manufactured goods exports. Of course, both Canada and the United States import a significant portion of their supplies from China.

Hanes laid out best practices those in the construction community can adopt to minimize the impact of supply chain disruption due to pandemic:

These are indeed sobering facts and it shows how quickly such a risk can develop and begin substantially impacting economic results.

As was stated in the webinar, the impact to the construction supply chain isn’t a question of “If” but rather a question of “when.”

Lee went on to expand on the case law related to force majeure events with a focus on epidemic events.

As this pandemic has made clear, risk can manifest quickly and often emerges from areas you least suspect. As of Feb 19, when

44 / MARCH 2020

SHORT TERM ACTIONS •

•

Perform a supply chain audit within your firm to understand how much exposure you have to China What is your “Plan B?” Identify alternatives to Chinese suppliers and move quickly to assess additional costs to change suppliers and the ability of alternatives to meet your demand

LONG TERM ACTIONS •

•

Plan for the next supply chain disruption by building a resilient supply chain Go from reaction to anticipation to collaboration to orchestration as quickly and effectively as possible

Building off these topics, Andrea Lee from Glaholt Bowles provided an overview of the legal and contractual ramifications of a supply chain shock event. The key theme of her discussion centred around the triggering of the force majeure clause within construction contracts – both the subcontractor/supplier contracts with a general contractor and the contract between a general contractor and an owner.

Force majeure is a clause found within most contracts allowing one party to the contract to excuse themselves from performance issues. The criteria under which a party to a contract can excuse themselves include: • Specified event is beyond control of claiming party • Event prevents or delays contract performance • Event makes performance of contract imprudent, substantially

more difficult or substantially more expensive • Event was not due to fault or negligence of the claiming party • Claiming party has exercised reasonable diligence to overcome

the specified force majeure event

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX & WEBSITES Adrian Steel.......................... www.AdrianSteel.com ........................................................ 9 B2W Software........................ www.b2wsoftware.com/Ben ............................................... 6 Bobcat.................................. www.bobcat.com/newmachines ......................................... 4 Brandt Tractor....................... www.brandt.ca ................................................................ 48 Ford....................................... www.ford.ca ..................................................................... 13 Freightliner........................... www.Freightliner.com/Versatile ...................................... 2, 3 GC Pay.................................. info.gcpay.com/onsite ...................................................... 21 John Deere............................. www.JohnDeere.com .................................................. 24, 25 Kubota.................................. www.kubota.ca ................................................................ 47 Mack..................................... www.MackTrucks.com/Granite ......................................... 30 ©FRESHIDEA / ADOBE STOCK

I was putting together this column, the coronavirus crisis is just eight weeks old and has had massive ramifications for the global economy. Many more are to come – and construction will not escape unscathed. Be prepared!

Mapei.................................... www.mapei.com .............................................................. 29 Max USA................................ www.maxusacorp.com ..................................................... 35 Quikrete................................ www.quikrete.com ........................................................... 32 Uline..................................... www.uline.ca ................................................................... 11 Vacuworx............................... www.vacuworx.com .......................................................... 37

David Bowcott is Global Director – Growth, Innovation & Insight, Global Construction and Infrastructure Group at Aon Risk Solutions. Please send comments to editor@on-sitemag.com.

Viewpoint.............................. www.VIEWPOINT.com/ValueofOne ..................................... 43 Volvo Trucks.......................... www.volvotrucks.ca ......................................................... 26 Wirtgen................................. www.wirtgen-group.com/technologies ............................. 19

EARN YOUR PLACE AT THE TOP

Ready to climb to the next rung of the ladder? Take On-Site’s annual

Top Contractors survey today

Learn more at on-sitemag.com/top-contractors/

on-sitemag.com / 45 OS_TOPCONTRACTOR_Half_MAR.indd 1

2019-03-05 11:19 AM

CONTRACTORS & THE LAW

W

By Gabriel Lefebvre, Audrey Alarie and Dayeon Min

Carrying out construction work in Québec: What you should know

ith far different regulations than most other Canadian provinces, Québec presents a unique challenge for contractors from other jurisdictions looking to take on work in the province. While it is by no means exhaustive, this article aims to summarize the particularities and requirements for carrying out construction work in Québec.

CONTRACTOR LICENSE In order to carry out any type of work, a contractor must obtain a construction licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. To obtain the licence, the company has to be registered in the province, offer financial guarantees and most importantly, demonstrate professional competency. Key individuals within the company will act as guarantors and undergo an evaluation of their professional competency.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND INTEGRITY REQUIREMENTS The Act Respecting Contracting by Public Bodies (ACPB) determines the conditions applicable to public contracts awarded to contractors. Public contract bidders must tender through the provided electronic tendering system and fulfill French language requirements.

To enter into a public contract, enterprises must obtain an authorization from the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP).

Contractors required to obtain an authorization from the AMP are those that are competing in a call for tenders or an award process for contracts with the Québec government involving an expenditure equal to or greater than the thresholds determined by the government. This requirement applies to each contract and subcontract flowing down from the public body. The AMP will refuse to grant an authorization if any of the majority shareholders, directors or officers of the company have been found guilty of an offence listed under the ACPB, such as bribery or fraud.

This process is a long and complex one that involves disclosing the business relationships of the parties controlling the company. If the authorization is denied, the company will be barred from entering any public contract or subcontract. An authorization granted to an enterprise is valid for three years.

LABOUR RELATIONS AND SOCIAL BENEFITS PLANS Québec’s labour relations system in construction is unique. The main characteristics of that special labour relations system are: • Province-wide and multi-trade negotiations • Working conditions applicable to the entire industry province-wide • Four sector-based collective agreements with common clauses • An obligatory vocational qualification system for workers The Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and

46 / MARCH 2020

workforce management in the construction industry (R-20) governs the industry. The Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) is the public body responsible for its application.

Under R-20, contractors must assume certain responsibilities such as registering with the CCQ and hiring workers who hold a competency certificate on a regional basis. Generally speaking, employers must also give priority to hiring workers residing in the region where the construction site is located before using workers from other regions, but there is an exception for construction employees coming from Ontario following an interprovincial agreement.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) is the body to which the Government of Québec has entrusted the promotion of labour rights and obligations. In the area of occupational health and safety, the CNESST aims to ensure health and safety is taken care of in the workplace, compensates victims of occupational injuries and provides for their rehabilitation.

Its constituent act, the Act respecting occupational health and safety (AROHS) deals with the prevention of work-related accidents and diseases. To ensure compliance with the laws and regulations it administers, CNESST appoints inspectors who visit workplaces and construction sites to verify compliance with safety standards. They have the power to enforce the law by issuing remedial orders, by ordering the suspension of work or the complete or partial shutdown of a workplace, and by affixing seals. Inspectors may also report non-compliance to CNESST, which can result in the issuance of statements of offence.

The AROHS applies primarily to employers and principal contractors and provides for obligations that are more general.

More specific to construction sites is the Safety Code for the construction industry (SCCI), which sets out a multitude of rules for employers and contractors. Some of these obligations arise even before work begins on-site.

CONCLUSION In light of the various regulatory requirements for carrying out construction work in Québec, contractors from other jurisdictions should prepare and consult with constructions law specialists long before they start work in la belle province.

Gabriel Lefebvre practices Construction Law, Audrey Alarie practices Labour and Employment Law and Dayeon Min is an articling student at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. This article is for information purposes only and may not be relied on for legal advice.

Please send comments to editor@on-sitemag.com.

BUILT FOR BIG DREAMS AND SMALL SPACES. With Kubota’s KX and U-series excavators, you no longer need to choose between power and fuel economy, size and utility. Both series offer variations in operating weight, dig depth and blade size along with the hydraulic power and spacious operator cab you’re used to. With Kubota, there’s no need to flip a coin between power and function. Look forward, dig deep and dream big with Kubota.

0 48 2 YEAR % FOR

MONTHS FINANCING OAC*

WARRANTY*

kubota.ca |

*Dealer may sell for less. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Prices, payments and models featured throughout may vary by dealer. Some restrictions apply. See your dealer for complete details. Offers valid only at participating dealers in Canada and are subject to change, cancellation or extension at any time without notice or obligation. For all offers: taxes, applicable fees (including, but not limited to, governmental environmental fees, administration fees, set-up fees, dealer fees, and delivery fees), insurance and registration are extra.

Freight is included. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. The minimum down payment of 10% required for financing offers on excavators. Specifications and features shown in this ad are based on the latest available information at the time of publication. Although descriptions are believed to be correct, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. We reserve the right to make changes at any time, without notice or obligation, specifications, accessories, materials, models, prices, payments and other information. Financing offer or cash discount available. KX040-4G with an MSRP of $78,884.27 financed at 0% APR equals $1,236 per month for 48 Months $19,533.14 down payment required. Cost of borrowing is $6,598 for a total obligation of $78,884.27. The cash discount will be deducted from the price before taxes; and (ii) may not be combined with special lease and finance rates offered by Kubota as part of a low rate interest program. All advertised finance rates are special rates. Cash Discount offers to take place at the time of purchase and are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Offer valid until May 31, 2019. See your participating Kubota dealer or visit www.kubota.ca for details.

VALUE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES. With our recent purchase of Nortrax, Brandt has united every John Deere Construction & Forestry dealership in Canada to bring you the very best equipment, backed by the hardest-working, best-equipped support team in the business, every single day. That’s Powerful Value. Delivered.

100+

800+

SERVICE POINTS

SERVICE TECHS

PARTS INVENTORY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

More equipment service locations than any other dealer in Canada.

Canada’s largest support team delivers maximum uptime for you.

Canada’s largest continuous dealer parts distribution network.

A certified professional is always a phone call away with your solution.

brandt.ca 1-888-227-2638

$

90m+ 24/7/365