On-Site October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

TECHNOLOGY

STAYING AT THE FOREFRONT

WORK TRUCKS

VOCATIONAL EVOLUTION

LEGAL ISSUES

NO-ORAL CHANGE CLAUSES

A SUPPORT NETWORK

UNDERPINNING ONE OF TORONTO’S BUSIEST SUBWAY STATIONS

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VOLUME 65, NO.6/OCTOBER 2020

2020 TECHNOLOGY REPORT 40 Staying at the forefront How Canada’s Top Contractors are preparing for the job sites of the future

46 Pay adjustment Prompt payment legislation could be a tipping point for new payment technology

13

50 Supply strain Digital delivery options help construction supply chain hold up through pandemic

IN THIS ISSUE 5 Comment

28

Get ready for another big player in Canadian contracting

7 News

The major developments

12 Construction stats The key figures

40

COLUMNS 52 Risk Exploring project loss insurance

54 Contractors and the law The enforcement of no-oral variation clauses

53 Index of Advertisers

13 Underpinning Eglinton

20

28

The challenging project to add a new platform beneath one of Toronto busiest subway stations

Code changes and evolving priorities give contractors opportunity in wood building

Electric models gain foothold in vocational market, with refuse models leading the way

A timber revival

Vocational evolution

on-sitemag.com / 3

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COMMENT

Get ready for another big player in Canadian contracting

Get the latest construction news!

Follow us on Twitter @OnSiteMag

It’s been a relatively quiet couple of years for acquisitions in the Canadian construction market. The proposed $1.5 billion takeover of Aecon Group Inc. by a state-owned Chinese company in 2017 is one exception, but of course, the federal government ultimately stepped in to block the purchase. Since then, the deals have stayed relatively small.

This changed at the end of July when Bird Construction Inc. agreed to buy Stuart Olson Inc. Both Canadian companies have century-long histories and each was already a significant player in the industry in its own right.

Bird and Stuart Olson ranked eighth and 11th, respectively, in our Top Contractors report this year, for instance. The result of the purchase will be a contractor firmly within the top 10 in the country, with combined revenues of $2.3 billion, based on fiscal 2019 performance.

In short, it’s the biggest shakeup in the market for quite some time, despite the less than eye-popping sticker price.

The $96.5 million cash and stock buyout is expected to boost Bird’s top line, give it a foothold in new geographies and industry segments, and expand its capacity to take on new work. The Mississauga, Ont.-headquartered firm said in July the deal will create a company with approximately 5,000 staff and a $3 billion backlog.

For Stuart Olson’s part, president and CEO David LeMay noted the COVID-19 pandemic and major changes within the Canadian economy have created considerable challenges for the Calgary-based firm. The company has been under pressure for some time. Known as the Churchill Corp. until 2014, Stuart Olson has been working on diversifying its business since Canada’s energy industry began squeezing spending in response to low crude prices more than five years ago.

Since July, the two companies have been working to finalize the tie up. The deal got the requisite green-light from the Competition Bureau in early September, followed by approvals from Stuart Olson’s lenders and shareholders Sept. 21. All lenders and nearly 95 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of the deal.

“We look forward to welcoming Stuart Olson shareholders to what will be a dynamic company, combining two strong, experienced workforces with substantially increased depth and breadth, well positioned to drive sustainable value creation and provide sustainable dividends to shareholders,” Teri McKibbon, the president and CEO of Bird, said following the vote.

Initially expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, the timeline for the deal was moved up to late September as the pieces fell into place. McKibbon noted that both companies are focused on integration planning leading up the Sept. 25 closing date.

The emergence of a beefed-up Bird Construction also comes at an interesting time for the industry. The past several years has seen a number of large international players move into Canadian construction, and the P3 market in particular. Some industry watchers have pointed to a dearth of large domestic contractors capable of taking on increasingly costly and complex projects as one reason for the encroachment.

In turn, another big player in the industry may translate to more homegrown companies taking the lead on these multi-faceted building projects. Time will tell.

David Kennedy / Editor dkennedy@on-sitemag.com

on-sitemag.com / 5

CONTRIBUTORS

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE www.on-sitemag.com / Fax: 416-442-2230

NATE HENDLEY / Freelance Writer & Author On the electric momentum in the vocational truck market: “Unlike vehicles with combustion engines, electric trucks produce no emissions and little noise. Electrified vocational vehicles could work at night or around private homes, schools, or hospitals without incurring complaints about exhaust fumes and loud engines.”

PUBLISHER | Peter Leonard (416) 510-6847 pLeonard@on-sitemag.com EDITOR | David Kennedy (416) 510-6821 dkennedy@on-sitemag.com MEDIA DESIGNER | Lisa Zambri lzambri@annexbusinessmedia.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER | David Skene (416) 510-6884 dskene@on-sitemag.com ACCOUNT COORDINATOR | Kim Rossiter (416) 510-6794 krossiter@on-sitemag.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | Urszula Grzyb (416) 510-5180 ugrzyb@annexbusinessmedia.com

JACOB STOLLER / Principal, StollerStrategies On addressing construction’s payment problem: “Existing and pending legislation specifies time frames for payment or notification of dispute, and requires general contractors to keep an audit trail of all matters related to payments. This may well be the tipping point where contractors decide that manual processes are no longer viable.”

DAVID BOWCOTT / Global Director – Growth, Innovation & Insight, Global Construction and Infrastructure Group at Aon Risk Solutions On a significant new offering in the insurance market: “Some insurers have decided to work with the construction sector to design products that not only provide more coverage for the risks faced by the industry, but offer the construction sector access to improved risk controls.”

COO | Scott Jamieson sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com Established in 1957, On-Site is published

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ERIN CUTTS / Borden Ladner Gervais LLP On issues with the enforcement of no-oral variation clauses: “Regardless of whether or not a contract contains a no-oral variation clause, contracting parties must pay close attention to their conduct and the representations they make to one another during the course of construction to ensure that they are not inadvertently agreeing to modify the terms of the original contract.”

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.

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Canadian Construction Association

6 / OCTOBER 2020

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY>NEWS

A shortlist consisting of a half dozen major contractors are preparing bids for Segment 1 of Calgary’s new Green Line.

The city shortlisted three construction teams and issued a request for proposals for the first phase of work on the approximately 20-kilometre light rail project in late July. The call for bids followed a month-long request for qualifications period.

City council sanctioned the P3 project in mid-June. The cost estimate for the transit line totals $5.5 billion, which includes $4.9 billion for construction and $640 million in financing costs to the city.

The three consortia preparing bids for Segment 1 of the project are made up of some of the largest domestic contractors, as well as several international firms. Graham-PCL Transit Partners, CityLink Partners and urbanTRANSIT will work through the competitive bidding process over the next year or so. Calgary anticipates picking a winning bidder for the design-build-finance contract next summer, with construction starting in late 2021.

Segment 1 of the new rail line runs from Shepard Station (126 Avenue S.E.) at the south end of Calgary, to the Elbow River, just east of downtown. It will run mostly at-grade and include nine stations.

An approximately one kilometre section of elevated track is planned between Inglewood/Ramsay to 26 Avenue stations.

The following phases, Segment 2A and 2B, will take the rail line underground through downtown and back above ground north of the Bow River. Construction is scheduled to start in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

Work on all three stages of the project is expected to create more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. The city describes the LRT as the largest job creation project

PHOTO:: CITY OF CALGARY

Three construction teams working on bids for first phase of $5.5B Calgary Green Line

A map of the planned light rail route.

in Calgary, noting more than 100 enabling works are already complete or underway.

Once complete, approximately 65,000 Calgarians are expected to use the transit line each day. Planners also forecast 30,000 tons saved in greenhouse has emissions each year as a result of the line.

Future expansions for the $5.5 billion LRT project are already in the works. Eventually city planners expect the Green Line to run 46 kilometres, with later phases of work stretching the line to the north and southeast.

Stage 1 of the Green Line, encompassing segments 1, 2A and 2B, is scheduled to open in 2027.

LEAD TEAM MEMBERS Graham-PCL Transit Partners Graham and PCL Construction CityLink Partners Aecon and Dragados urbanTRANSIT Salini Impregilo and Hitachi Rail STS

on-sitemag.com / 7

INDUSTRY NEWS

Following a positive investment decision from the project’s developers, PCL Construction and Overland Contracting Canada have a green light to start construction on a major new natural gas generating station in Edson, Alta.

Alberta-based Kineticor Resource Corp., along with a range of backers – Macquarie Capital, OPTrust, Axium Infrastructure and DIF Capital Partners – signed off on the $1.5 billion Cascade Power Project Aug. 27.

Construction is expected to start immediately, at a 52-hectare site on crown land, roughly midway between Edmonton and Jasper.

The combined cycle natural gas-fired generating facility will have capacity to produce 900 megawatts of power. Kineticor said the plant will support Alberta’s shift away from coal power, generating low

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PCL, Overland to start construction on $1.5B Cascade gas plant west of Edmonton

The new natural gas plant in Edson, Alta. will have capacity to generate 900 MW of electricity

emissions electricity to meet about eight per cent of the province’s power demands.

“With Alberta contributing over 50 percent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, Cascade is expected to result in one of the largest emissions reduction opportunities in the country’s electricity sector,” the company said in a release.

The plant will rely on two SCC68000H high efficiency gas turbines from industrial manufacturer Siemens Energy.

BPC, a construction consortium made up of affiliates of PCL and Overland, itself

subsidiary of U.S.-based Black & Veatch Co., is responsible for delivering the generating station under an engineering, procurement and construction services contract. Kineticor said experience on the two teams of contractors created a “winning combination” for the developers.

The project is expected to require about three million work hours, translating to approximately 600 jobs, at peak.

Work on the new gas plant is scheduled to take about three years, with the facility sending its first power to Alberta’s grid in 2023.

EllisDon wins contract to build new $259.4M outpatient centre in Halifax

PHOTO: ELLISDON

Construction is set to start this fall in Halifax on one component of Nova Scotia’s QEII New Generation Project.

The province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal said Aug. 21 it has awarded the contract for a new

8 / OCTOBER 2020

outpatient centre on the outskirts of the city to a construction team led by EllisDon. The contractor and its design partners – Parkin Architects and Fowler Bauld & Mitchell – will be responsible for the design, build, finance and maintain work,

which is scheduled to get underway this fall.

The Community Outpatient Centre in Bayers Lake will let patients avoid driving into downtown Halifax for services that do not require hospitalization, such as x-rays, blood work and post-surgery follow-ups.

Plans for the site include 17 exam rooms, 24 dialysis stations, as well as areas dedicated to diagnostic imaging.

The new facility is one part of the province’s major hospital renewal initiative, expected to cost approximately $2 billion.

The contract award follows more than a year of procurement. Nova Scotia issued a request for proposals to three bid teams in May 2019.

Construction on the outpatient centre in Bayers Lake is expected to take three years, while work on the wider hospital renewal project in downtown Halifax will run well into the 2020s.

Work is scheduled to start next year on the rehabilitation of a busy 1.5-kilometre highway tunnel under the St. Lawrence River at the northeast end of Montreal.

After years of planning, the Quebec Ministry of Transportation awarded a $1.1 billion contract for the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel rehabilitation project in late July.

The Renouveau La Fontaine consortium, composed of Eurovia, Dodin Campenon Bernard and Pomerleau Inc., is expected to start work on the project early next year. Eurovia, which is leading the construction team, and Dodin Campenon Bernard are both subsidiaries of France-based infrastructure giant Vinci. Quebec’s Pomerleau holds a 50 per cent stake in the design-build-finance project.

The LH Lafontaine Tunnel opened in 1967 and runs between Montreal and Longueuil on the eastern side of the St. Lawrence. It is the longest tunnel running underwater in the country and carries approximately 120,000 vehicles per day.

The scope of work covers major retrofits to the tunnel itself, the widening of Autoroute 20 and repaving about 25 kilometres of highways 20 and 25, which intersect on the Longueuil side of the river.

The build team will be required to keep the tunnel open to traffic during the four-year construction period. The Quebec Ministry of Transportation said repairs to various tunnel components, such as the concrete screed, walls, vault, joints and drainage, are included in the project. Along with repairs to the structure, Vinci said the work covers the installation of new fire protection facings, as well as modern electrical, ventilation and electromechanical systems.

The provincial and federal government will share some of the costs for

PHOTO: VINCI

Vinci, Pomerleau to tackle $1.1B rehab of Montreal’s Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel

A rendering of the rehabilitated entrance to the tunnel on Charron Island.

the project, with Ottawa committing $427.7 million to the retrofits.

Rehabilitation work on the more than

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INDUSTRY NEWS

In latest delay, construction at Toronto’s Union Station to drag on until at least end of 2020 The Union Station Revitalization Project may soon enter its second decade.

After about 10 years of ongoing construction, work at the rail hub in downtown Toronto faces yet another delay, according to a staff report released Sept. 4. The report blames earlier performance issues with the general contractor and slowdowns tied COVID-19 for the latest timeline adjustment.

Early construction on the station began in 2010, with major works getting underway in 2011. The facelift was originally scheduled to be complete by 2015, but the complicated revamp of the nearly century-old station has dragged well beyond schedule and jumped over its original budget. During a media tour last year, the city said it was now targeting September 2020 to complete the project.

That report last month adjusts the timeline for substantial completion until the end of 2020 and forecasts additional capital costs for 2021.

“Staff are working with the City’s consultant, contractor, its bonding company, and other stakeholders to complete the work as quickly and efficiently as possible,” the report notes.

Among other challenges, the city said the reduced availability of trades staff and physical distancing rules during the pandemic have slowed progress on Union’s Bay Concourse, the main portion of the job remaining.

Despite the delay, the most-recent budget estimate for construction costs at the station remains intact. The city expects to spend a total of $824 million on the work, shifting $18.4 million originally slated for 2020 to 2021.

Ontario has mapped out a preliminary route for A map of the new greenfield higha major new highway way northwest of Toronto. through the north end of the Greater Toronto Area.

Revived last year after being scrapped by the previous government, the greenfield highway would run southwest from Hwy. 400 in Vaughan, through Bolton, Caledon and Brampton, before turning south and terminating at the junction of Hwy. 401 and Hwy. 407, at the westernmost tip of Mississauga.

Any construction on the project remains several years away, but early plans for the route include up to six lanes, integrated transit with stations for passengers and truck parking.

“The Greater Golden Horseshoe is an economic driver for the province and addressing transportation needs in this region is essential to the competitiveness of our economy,” Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s minister of Transportation, said in a release. “The GTA West Corridor will help alleviate traffic congestion and improve the movement of people and goods across the province.”

The preferred route for the new 400-series highway released Aug. 7 integrates feedback from public consultations, as well as land use and environmental information.

The former Liberal government halted the planning process for the highway in 2018 after an expert panel advised alternative options would deliver “comparable” benefits without occupying the valuable lands northwest of Toronto.

The Ministry of Transportation said the full environmental assessment for the major road project will take until the end of 2022.

$198.6M project to repair aging Pie-IX bridge starts in Montreal A major bridge repair project is underway on the north end of Montreal.

After early works were completed in August, Transport Quebec announced Sept. 1 that crews have started on the first of three phases of repairs on the Pie-IX bridge.

The bridge, which was built in two segments, completed in 1967 and 1971,

10 / OCTOBER 2020

carries Hwy. 125 over the Prairies River. It links Laval with Montreal-Nord and is used by about 56,000 vehicles daily.

After half a century, the province said the bridge’s concrete slabs have reached the end of their useful life. Pie-XI’s steel beams will also be replaced for falling short of current standards. Along with the major series of repairs, the project

includes construction of a new dedicated bus lane.

Costs for the project total $198.6 million, with roughly $78.9 from Ottawa.

Construction on the project will take place in three stages over the next three years. The rebuilt six-lane bridge is expected to fully reopen by September 2023.

PHOTO: GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO

Ontario plots preferred route for major new highway through Toronto area

Three contractors shortlisted for $192.9M Ottawa library project

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA

The city of Ottawa has narrowed the field of bidders for a new library a few blocks from Parliament Hill to three contractors.

EllisDon, PCL and Pomerleau have been shortlisted for the $192.9 million facility, which will be shared by the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada.

While the final contract is not expected to be awarded until early next year, crews will get to work this fall on certain early works, such as shoring, excavation and site remediation.

Construction is scheduled to begin in earnest at 555 Albert Street next summer. The winning contractor will be aiming to hand over the completed federal-municipal library in 2024.

A rendering of the new library, which is a joint municipal-federal project.

20_1795_OnSite_OCT_CN Mod: August 20, 2020 3:21 PM Print: 09/15/20 11:17:53 AM page 1 v7

PHOTO: PMO

Construction starts on new $1.3B Côté Gold project in Northern Ontario Shovels are in the ground on a major new mining project outside of Gogoma in Northern Ontario.

Officials from mining firm Iamgold Corp. hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, among others, this September to inaugurate the $1.3 billion site.

The Côté Gold Project, located about 200 kilometres northwest of Sudbury, has spent years under review. Toronto-based Iamgold and its joint venture partner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. elected to proceed with construction on the project this June.

Construction of the open pit mine is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs over the next three years. Once open, about 450 full-time workers will be employed at the mine over its expected 18-year life span.

Scotland-headquartered Wood plc is taking on the EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) role for the project, Iamgold said.

Early construction at the site is already underway, with major earthworks expected next year. The facility is scheduled to open in late 2023.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Northern Ontario site Sept. 11.

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CONSTRUCTION STATS

Workers Employed in Construction by Month 2019

A selection of data reflecting trends in the Canadian construction industry

January

1,444.9

February

1,438.3

March 1,435.9 April

1,465.1

May

1,456.5

June

1,449.1

July 1,474.1 August 1,472.0 September 1,481.8

CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT HOLDS STEADY IN AUGUST, BUT REHIRING SLOWS

October 1,460.5

The Canadian economy created nearly a quarter million new jobs in August, continuing to regain ground lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada.

But construction employers hit pause after months of strong rehiring.

The industry added 4,500 jobs on the month, increasing its workforce 0.3 per cent. This compares to gains of 2.5, 6.7 and 6.3 per cent in July, June and May, respectively — translating to nearly 200,000 jobs.

Despite the slower August, the building sector has weathered the pandemic far better than most. After considerable April job losses, staffing levels in the industry have returned to about 91 per cent of their pre-COVID-19 highs. Year over year, the number of workers employed in construction is down 103,700, or seven per cent, from August 2019.

December 1,482.3

November 1,465.3

2020

January 1,497.6 February

1,489.7

March 1,487.5 1,173.9

April May

1,247.6

June

1,330.8

July

1,364.3

August 1,368.8 In thousands of workers, seasonally adjusted SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SPENDING CONTINUED TO REBOUND IN JUNE

SHUTDOWNS STALL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION COSTS IN SECOND QUARTER

After falling off a cliff in April, investment in building construction continued to bounce back in June. Spending was up in residential and all segments of the non-residential sector during the month, according to Statistics Canada.

On the residential side, spending increased 12.2 per cent to $9.4 billion, with gains in both single-family homes and multi-unit buildings. All three components of the non-residential market saw higher spending, combining for an increase of 11.6 per cent in June, the most recent month for which data is available.

Despite the gains, investment in building construction remains down about 3.1 per cent from its pre-pandemic level this February.

Widespread shutdowns for non-essential projects kept costs for non-residential building projects nearly flat in the second quarter of 2020.

The latest data from Statistics Canada shows an increase of 0.1 per cent during the three month period, compared to a gain of 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Along with regional shutdowns, the federal agency pointed to lower demand for commercial building, which led to fewer bidding opportunities and increased competition.

Residential building costs continued to climb, increasing 0.5 per cent as building activity bounced back in May.

PER CENT INCREASE IN NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COSTS

2018

RESIDENTIAL

+12.2%

COMMERCIAL

+14.7%

INDUSTRIAL

+7.7%

12 / OCTOBER 2020

Quarter Increase 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

INSTITUTIONAL

+6.6%

2020

Q1 0.6

Q2 0.1

TRANSIT Vehicle and pedestrian traffic at the busy intersection have complicated construction.

UNDERPINNING

EGLINTON

The complex process to add a platform beneath one of Toronto busiest subway stations

PHOTOS: METROLINX

BY DAVID KENNEDY

L

aying nearly two dozen kilometres of track along and beneath a densely-packed pocket of midtown Toronto has not been simple. Since pre-construction work began on the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit Project in 2011, crews have faced a steep series of obstacles – from tunneling under 10 kilometres of the busy east-west roadway,

to excavating stations and erecting an intricate elevated guideway.

But few aspects of the project have been as technically challenging as work at Eglinton Station itself.

Already a major hub along the Yonge-University subway (Line 1), Eglinton will become one of three interchange stations on the new LRT line. This required

adding a second platform below the current one. A complicated process known as underpinning was used, mandating that crews install massive beams capable of supporting the existing station during excavation.

To complicate the delicate process further, essentially all of the work was done during Toronto Transit Commission on-sitemag.com / 13

TRANSIT

A diagram showing the steps required for underpinning the existing station.

Over three millimetres would trigger a suspension of the line while an investigation was done in case there’d been any undo movement and danger to the public” – Geoff van der Lee, Crosslinx (TTC) revenue hours, meaning subway trains continued to roll through Eglinton as workers dug narrow pathways, known as galleries, beneath it.

“We would excavate basically a metre and a half deep and then we would shotcrete it and then we’d put some props in.

Then we would move forward and do the same process over and over throughout the gallery,” says Geoff van der Lee, deputy project director and implementation director, for Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the

14 / OCTOBER 2020

P3 team responsible for building the LRT project.

A series of sensors had been set up to detect the slimmest of movements.

“That automatically sends notifications to the team if we’re seeing anything untoward happening,” van der Lee says.

“Over three millimetres would trigger a suspension of the line while an investigation was done in case there’d been any undo movement and danger to the public.”

Through six months of gallery work, the trains never stopped. The monitors never picked up differential movement above 0.4 millimetres.

A SUPPORT NETWORK In late 2018, before crews got underground, heavy rigs on the surface at Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue drilled a half dozen piles about 40 metres down that would eventually be used to support the existing station box. Underground excavation crews then approached the Line 1 platform from the sides, installing huge support girders on each side of the box.

With the two girders fastened to the support piles, the precision gallery work

got underway.

It was slow going. Using walk-behind skid steers, crews dug out about 1.5 metres of earth at a time before spraying shotcrete, installing props and repeating the process.

“Once the gallery is complete, then we slide in what we refer to as a needle beam,” van der Lee says. The steel girder is then jacked up against the existing station box to support the load.

As is often the case on-site though, van der Lee noted, the work required some “bobbing and weaving.”

About halfway through excavation on the very first gallery, the team spotted deteriorated concrete in the Line 1 station box. Having been built in the 1950s, van der Lee said the concrete likely did not flow properly when originally poured, leaving exposed rebar. Because the degraded section would have been “directly bearing” on the needle beam, the team needed to work out a repair.

Crosslinx, which is made up ACS-Dragados, Aecon, EllisDon and SNC-Lavalin, consulted with the TTC to find a workable solution. Though the issue

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TRANSIT delayed work several weeks, crews patched up the old concrete and moved on with the project.

This May, after about six months of work, the sixth and final the needle beam was installed, securing the existing station and allowing the team to conduct excavation underneath.

Over the summer, crews completed the shoring and excavation process below the galleries, installing a series of approx-

imately five-foot by five-foot panels on either side of the excavation. They carried out the work in a checkerboard pattern in order to avoid creating too large an opening.

“That could potentially cause a failure of the existing ground because obviously it’s under compression and we didn’t want to provide an opportunity for a failure to happen that would cause movement within the box,” van der Lee says, adding

that tiebacks were then installed through the panels to stabilize the ground behind them.

In late August, attention turned to further shoring using an interlocking micropile process – a phase expected to last six to eight weeks.

“Once that is complete, we will go back and complete the excavation of the remaining fill under the TTC box,” van der Lee says. At the end of August, he esti-

Construction crews have been working on excavating beneath the TTC box and at both the east and west ends of Eglinton Station.

16 / OCTOBER 2020

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Once complete the new level at Eglinton Station will extend about 260 metres.

Once [further shoring] is complete, we will go back and complete the excavation of the remaining fill under the TTC box.” – Geoff van der Lee, Crosslinx mated about 70 per cent of the excavation has already been complete, with most of the remaining fill material at the centre of the station beneath the TTC box.

At both sides of the excavation, workers are also making progress. “We’re down to invert level at the east and west end,” van der Lee says. “In fact, we’ve already poured the first inverts on the west end

18 / OCTOBER 2020

and we have poured the mud slab for the inverts on the east end.”

At about 260-metres long, the station will extend below Eglinton roughly between Duplex Avenue and Holly Street.

UP AND RUNNING At Eglinton Station, crews are aiming to have the expanded station ready for the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, the team at Cedarvale Station – the other interchange station that required underpinning – has completed the underpinning process and begun pouring concrete.

“They’re now starting to work their way back up to grade again,” van der Lee says.

“It’s a long way from being finished, but they’re quite further advanced.”

While the process at the station at the bottom of Allen Road was similar, van der

Lee says the engineering specifics and soil conditions made the work simpler to complete. More space for access points and less vehicle and pedestrian traffic also simplified the process.

In total, the new Eglinton Crosstown includes 15 underground stations and 10 additional stops, from Mount Dennis in Toronto’s west end to Kennedy Station in Scarborough.

Construction on other aspects of the line has also continued to progress this summer despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, Metrolinx says the Crosstown is tracking for a 2022 opening.

It was previously scheduled to open in September 2021, but citing delays early in the project that the team was not able to overcome, the provincial transit agency pushed back the timeline for the LRT project this February.

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TIMBER

A

Timber Revival

Code changes and evolving priorities give contractors opportunity in wood building

BY DAVID KENNEDY

20 / OCTOBER 2020

B

y the middle of the 20th century, tall wood buildings seemed to have topped out. Canada’s “brick and beam” construction boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s had run its course, overtaken by new concrete and steel structures seen as both sturdier and more resistant to fire.

Decades later, wood building is undergoing something of a renaissance.

“There is a rebirth of the good old

heavy timber,” says Erol Karacabeyli, lead scientist in the Sustainable Construction group at FPInnovations, a non-profit forest products research centre.

In Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver many of the early brick and beam examples, with their solid timber posts and brick-andmortar exterior walls, have endured until today, Karacabeyli adds. Most have undergone significant retrofits to bring them up to modern fire and seismic codes and convert

Construction on Adera’s Crest development. The six-storey mass timber project has 179 units.

There is a rebirth of the good old heavy timber... If a construction company doesn’t have a wood strategy, I think they may miss some opportunity.”

– Erol Karacabeyli, FPInnovations

PHOTO: ADERA

GOING TO 12 STOREYS

their factory floor plans to office space.

Timber building methods have also evolved in the interim. The historical heavy timber process, for instance, has made way for the contemporary mass timber movement. Made up of products such as glued laminated timber (glulam), structural composite lumber (SCL), nailed laminated timber (NLT), dowel-laminated timber (DLT) and relatively recently invented cross-laminated timber (CLT), mass timber

projects are now common in Europe and are attracting an increasing amount of attention across Canada in recent years.

Karacabeyli, among many others, expects the market to reach new heights in the years ahead, presenting a growth outlet for contractors who gain early experience in the field.

“If a construction company doesn’t have a wood strategy, I think they may miss some opportunity,” he says.

Changes to the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) are expected to officially herald in the new area era of wood building later this year. The update will include mass timber towers as high as 12 storeys, up from six currently. Provincial and local guidelines, which typically use the NBC as a model, are expected to follow suit.

Some provinces, however, have already jumped the gun. The success of demonstration projects, such as the 18-storey Brock Commons in Vancouver and the 13-storey Origine in Quebec City, have prompted B.C., Quebec and Alberta to green-light projects up to 12 storeys. All cite potential benefits on the climate change file, and a boost to their local forestry industries.

Hardy Wentzel. CEO of Structurlam Mass Timber Corp., says the mass timber industry in both Canada and the U.S., is getting excited about the upward momentum.

Structurlam was a key supplier for Brock Commons, manufacturing hundreds of glulam columns and CLT panels for the 53-metre (174-foot) tower. Though the “lightning rod of change,” as Wentzel calls it, was built in Canada, the building code adjustments it helped advance were more ambitious south of the border. Starting next year, mass timber buildings in the U.S. will be allowed to reach 18 storeys.

Despite the smaller increase in Canada, Wentzel anticipates a flurry of activity in the industry. on-sitemag.com / 21

TIMBER Work on the 18-storey Brock Commons building in Vancouver. The project was seen as a major step forward for mass timber.

Your job site actually becomes an assembly site versus a building site. So your labour is way faster with fewer people.”

– Hardy Wentzel, Structurlam building known as Virtuoso in 2018. While beginning to explore taller towers, it is currently working on another six-storey, 179-unit project called Crest.

PHOTOS: STRUCTURLAM

THE PROCESS

An interior view of the Brock Commons hybrid timber tower.

“The bulk of square footage of construction, kind of the sweet spot, is in that nine to 12 range anyway, so it works out pretty good,” he says.

With the code changes, Adera Development, a Vancouver-based residential developer and builder is actively “hunting around” 12-storey projects, says Eric Andreasen, the company’s senior vice-president of Sales & Marketing.

Adera has a 50-year history in the

22 / OCTOBER 2020

Lower Mainland, mainly focused on light frame wood buildings. It has recently begun incorporating CLT into its builds, and also holds a small stake in Structurlam.

“If you’ve ever been in a [light] wood frame building versus a CLT building, they’re two different worlds altogether,” Andreasen says. “The CLT building feels like concrete. I mean, it’s solid as a rock.”

Adera completed its first mass timber project, a six-storey, 104-unit residential

Working out of four facilities in the Penticton, B.C. area, Structurlam buys a mix of standard and special grade lumber off of the commodity market to make its glulam and CLT. The lumber advances through a number of manufacturing steps – conditioning, finger jointing, planing and layup – before being introduced into a press, where the finished product truly takes shape. Incorporating information from a BIM model, the CLT panels then enter the CNC (computer numerical control) machining area, where mechanical and plumbing openings, among others, are punched.

The products go through a final finishing and quality control phase before being loaded and trucked to site. Like other modular, or pre-fabricated building materials, the mass timber components are hoisted into place on-site.

“Your job site actually becomes an assembly site versus a building site,” Wentzel says. “So your labour is way faster with fewer people. There’s less traffic, less people… faster construction.”

The speed of construction is one of the main selling points for mass timber. At Brock Commons, for instance, crews added two floors per week. And though CLT typically costs a little more, Andreasen notes,

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TIMBER

A CLT panel being hoisted into place on Adera’s Crest project.

the time and labour savings more than make up for the added material cost.

“At the end of the day, by bringing it in and erecting it up to 30 or 40 per cent faster than a typical stick frame product, we were saving money in the long haul,” he says.

Weight is another area mass timber can translate to cost savings.

“Wood is about one-fifth the density of concrete,” Wentzel says. “As a result, you get these tremendous weight savings, which result in cost savings in other areas of the project, like your concrete foundations, like your reinforcing steel bars that go in those foundations, and if you’re working in a tough geotechnical scenario, like you’ve got poor soil conditions, that’s a big advantage.”

In most cases, mass timber can take the place of a range of conventional elements, but concrete and steel remain important components.

Structurlam, for instance, uses a large number of steel connectors in its products, while both concrete and steel are also still

24 / OCTOBER 2020

typically integral to building foundations.

Taller timber towers often require a hybrid approach above ground as well. Brock Commons was built atop a concrete podium and includes a pair of reinforced concrete stairwell cores to provide lateral stability.

In fact, “acceptable systems” under the NBC changes will allow for towers that use 12-storey mass timber structural systems for vertical gravity loads, but not lateral loads, Karacabeyli notes. In high seismic zones, such as Vancouver, timber towers relying on lateral systems will only be allowed to reach six storeys, while they will be allowed to be built to 10 in low or moderate zones – Toronto, for instance. In other words, to reach the full 12 storeys under the new code, mass timber towers will either need to be hybrid, or face addition scrutiny from a municipality, or other authority, under what’s known as the “alternate solutions” path.

SEQUESTERING CARBON The environmental benefits of wood building are another part of mass timber’s value

proposition. Harvesting forests, trapping the carbon from lumber within buildings, and replanting the trees to capture still more of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, is widely seen as saving on carbon emissions compared to manufacturing steel and concrete, though it does need to be done properly.

Currently, about 13 per cent of all Canadian emissions come from carbon embodied within building materials and during construction, according to the Canada Green Building Council.

A life cycle assessment in the 2019 version of FPInnovations’ CLT Handbook found using CLT for a four-storey apartment building as opposed to concrete and steel would reduce the global warming potential of the building by between 40 and 60 per cent. Some studies question such findings, citing factors not accounted for in the life cycle analyses, but the main body of research points to fewer emissions for timber towers.

Despite advances in recycling in both the steel and concrete industries, among

other emissions-saving initiatives, Karacabeyli says the renewable property of wood is “difficult for other materials to beat.”

He stresses the importance of proper forest management, however. In Canada, where essentially every stick of lumber is accounted for and reforestation is mandated by law, sustainable harvesting is something of an afterthought. Not all other countries, certain developing nations, for instance, meet the same standards.

EMBRACING CHANGE With mass timber being a relatively nascent market, a number of sticking points remain.

Potentially high insurance costs for timber builders is among the steepest barriers to entry.

“The insurance industry is approaching this market with caution. Obviously, they want to reduce their risk,” Karacabeyli says, adding the mass timber industry has been working to tackle the issue and expects

premiums to decline over time.

A growing pool of suppliers may also help bring costs down.

It was a luxury the industry did not have a decade ago, Karacabeyli notes. “New players are coming to the game,” he says, pointing to four CLT manufacturers that are now operational across the country.

Residential developers like Adera and other owners are also driving the industry forward.

Over the past several years, new tall timber building announcements have become commonplace, particularly within the institutional sector. In Toronto alone, four separate colleges or universities are planning mass timber campus buildings.

For his part, Andreasen welcomes the added competition.

“Public opinion matters and if you don’t have a conversation about it, if it’s not something that’s a part of daily discussion, people just don’t really understand it well enough,” he says.

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TRUCKS

Vocational Evolution Electrics gain foothold in vocational market. Refuse models lead the way, but OEMs push forward with other applications

BY NATE HENDLEY 28 / OCTOBER 2020

V

ocational trucks have gone high-tech. Manufacturers are testing battery-electric models and adding a growing number of futuristic features to traditional vehicles.

Meanwhile, once cutting-edge solutions such as telematics and remote diagnostics

PHOTO: VOLVO TRUCKS

Electric models have begun hitting the pavement in the vocational truck market, though the segment remains in the early stages of adoption.

are increasingly the norm on new vocational trucks.

“Remote diagnostics, proactive diagnostics and over-the-air-programming will become more common in vocational applications,” predicts JP Davis, Vocational Segment manager for Freightliner Trucks.

Electronic safety features such as sensors, collision mitigation systems and display screens have also become commonplace.

“Across the entire industry, I think for vocational applications, one of the [growing] areas is applying technology solutions to improve the safety of vehicles,” says Tony Sablar, the Vocational marketing manager for Peterbilt.

This focus on advanced safety measures has helped propel the popularity of Automated Manual Transmission (AMT).

“We see automated manual transmission penetration continuing to grow, thanks to the many benefits AMTs bring to vocational customers, including improved performance, higher levels of driver productivity, and comfort and improved safety,” says Tim Wrinkle, the Construction Product manager with Mack Trucks.

In addition to these developments, electric trucks are starting to enter the market. The vocational sector is wellsuited for such vehicles, the OEMs say. In particular, travel distances are relatively short for vocational work compared with long-haul trucking, making limited battery range less of an issue.

“With vocational vehicles, a lot of them come back to a home-base at night and can be easily charged. They follow a predictable route. That really lends itself to electric vehicles,” Sablar says.

Unlike vehicles with combustion engines, electric trucks produce no emissions and little noise. Electrified vocational vehicles could work at night or around private homes, schools, or hospitals without incurring complaints about exhaust fumes and loud engines.

For all that, it’s a safe bet that gas and diesel engines will continue to dominate for years to come, even as all types of vocational trucks go “high-tech”.

With this in mind, here’s a look at what’s new and/or noteworthy in the vocational truck market: on-sitemag.com / 29

TRUCKS

The EconicSD, which premiered in 2018, features a cab-over engine design.

FREIGHTLINER

In 2018, Freightliner, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, introduced the new EconicSD waste collection truck.

With a cab-over engine design, the EconicSD is equipped with a new 7.7L in-line, six cylinder Detroit Diesel Corp.

DD8 engine capable of 350 horsepower.

The truck also features Detroit Connect Virtual Technician, a remote diagnostics solution which provides data about vehicle performance and health.

“With Virtual Technician, when an engine, aftertreatment or transmission component throws a fault code, fleet

management receives a notification of the fault event as well as the recommended service. Remote diagnostics help service managers stay on top of emerging service needs within their fleet,” Davis says.

EconicSD safety features include a panoramic windshield, low-seating position (for improved visibility), active brake assist, lane departure warnings and adaptive cruise control.

“Optional safety features include side guard assist and a built-in camera system with 360-degree views displayed on a flash screen monitor,” Davis says.

KENWORTH

Kenworth has introduced factory-installed twin-steer configurations for its flagship T880 and T880S vocational trucks.

The T880S Twin Steer features a set-forward front axle with a 61-inch axle spread to maximize payload. The T880 Twin Steer, meanwhile, boasts “set-back Kenworth continues to build advanced features such as adaptive cruise control into its vocational vehicles.

30 / OCTOBER 2020

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TRUCKS

Along with introducing an electric refuse model, Mack has upgraded its Granite vocational truck with a range of advanced features.

front axles” and is “ideal for crane, mixer and other vocational applications that require 86-inch axle spacing to meet local bridge laws and enhance overall load carrying capacity,” Kenworth, a PACCAR company, notes.

The T880 now comes standard with the PACCAR 20K front axle and features OnGuardACTIVE, a driver assistance program that provides adaptive cruise control and helps drivers mitigate rear-end collisions as an option.

MACK

Mark Trucks has unveiled the LR Electric model for garbage-collection purposes and enhanced its traditional Mack Granite vocational truck.

“The LR Electric is powered by Mack’s integrated electric powertrain with two 167-kW motors that deliver a combined 536 peak horsepower and 4,051 lb.-ft. of torque available from zero RPM.

32 / OCTOBER 2020

Power from the motors is sent through a two-speed Mack Powershift transmission to Mack’s proprietary drive axles. The truck has four NMC lithium-ion batteries [Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide],” says Scott Barraclough, Mack Technology product manager.

New features on the upgraded Granite vocational truck include Command Steer, a sensor-equipped active steering solution and latest version of Bendix Wingman Fusion. This braking system features cameras, radar, upgraded lane departure warning and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB).

Mack’s mDRIVE automated manual transmission has been improved, with a new auto neutral function that “automatically shifts the transmission into neutral when the parking brake is set, improving jobsite safety,” says Wrinkle.

Earlier this year, Mack also introduced the medium-duty Mack MD, an “all-new truck series” that “will meet the needs of

customers with applications requiring dry van/refrigerated, stake/flatbed, dump and tank truck configurations,” he adds.

PETERBILT

In January 2020, Peterbilt Motors Co. unveiled the battery-electric Model 520EV, a low-cab forward model designed for refuse collection duties.

Peterbilt recently announced that Meritor would supply electric powertrains for the 520EV and another truck, the heavy-duty Model 579EV. Powered by a Meritor/TransPower Energy Storage Subsystem, the Model 520EV is capable of 430 hp, has a range of roughly 100 miles and takes four hours to charge.

More traditional Model 520 vocational trucks with either a natural-gas powered CUMMINS ISL12-N engine or a PACCAR MX-11 10.8 litre diesel engine are also available.

Peterbilt enhanced its SmartLINQ

With vocational vehicles, a lot of them come back to a home-base at night and can be easily charged. They follow a predictable route.

That really lends itself to electric.” – Tony Sablar, Peterbilt

The 520EV is a new addition to Peterbilt’s lineup. It has a range of 100 km and can charge in four hours.

remote diagnostics platform so all trucks in its fleet with PACCAR MX engines – a category that includes the traditional Model 520 – can get engine and aftertreatment software updates wirelessly.

“The customer is informed an update is available,” Sablar says. “When they are ready, they go on a web portal to initiate the software download. It downloads to the truck while the truck is still in operation.

The customer doesn’t have to pull the truck out of service for an update.”

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TRUCKS

The upgraded VHD includes advanced features, such as a collision mitigation system.

VOLVO

Volvo Trucks has launched a “refreshed” version of the VHD, the company’s main vocational truck, says Andy Hanson, product marketing manager, Volvo Trucks North America.

The recently refreshed VHD has a redesigned grille, updated headlights with a de-icing option, handy for snowy nights, and improved remote diagnostics/remote programming capability.

“We’ve enhanced the number of parameters that can be updated over the air using remote programming,” says Ashley Murickan, product marketing manager, Volvo Trucks North America.

34 / OCTOBER 2020

The upgraded VHD is equipped with Volvo’s I-Shift automated manual transmission. Currently, roughly three-quarters of all VHD vocational trucks are fitted with I-Shift. T-Ride, a proprietary suspension system, and Volvo Dynamic Steering (VDS) are two other features. VDS adds torque to reduce steering strain while driving slowly and vibrations while driving over rough surfaces.

The new and improved VHD also boasts a collision mitigation system, which helps drivers prevent or mitigate front collisions.

“We’ve had it on our highway trucks since 2017, but just introduced it on the

VHD this year,” Murickan says.

This June, Volvo deployed a pilot VNR Electric truck as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project in Southern California. A partnership with over a dozen other groups, the LIGHTS project promotes the development of electric trucks. To this end, the VNR Electric is intended for urban distribution and drayage applications.

While Volvo has fielded electric trucks in Europe, the VNR Electric will be “our first electric product” in the North American trucking sector, says Brett Pope, director of Electric Vehicles for Volvo Trucks North America.

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TECHNOLOGY REPORT

WELCOME LETTER

W

e are very pleased to be sponsoring On-Site Magazine’s Construction Technology Report. Autodesk is proud to be at the forefront of helping contractors adopt digital technology and move towards a whole lifecycle approach for the built environment.

We often experience waves of technology innovation come out of moments of challenge such as the one we find ourselves in today. With the sudden shift to remote work and new and increased safety standards, we now see many contractors accelerating their switch from analog to digital workflows to support their projects. A recent survey, which is an annual partnership between AGC and Autodesk, found that nearly 40 per cent of responding contractors have adopted new hardware or software, such as project management, field collaboration and bidding technology, in the wake of the pandemic crisis.

It’s a great time to start rethinking how we build at every stage, and for construction firms to invest in a robust digital foundation that connects teams, data and projects from design through to operations. A strong digital foundation will position us to solve the systemic problems the industry is still struggling to overcome, and will also empower you to take greater advantage of what’s coming next – automation through machine learning and AI, IoT technology, generative design, digital twins and so much more.

It’s exciting to hear about how many leading contractors are adapting and thriving in this new innovative environment. We look forward to helping many of you on this journey.

Sincerely, Allison Scott Director, Construction Thought Leadership at Autodesk

on-sitemag.com / 39

FOR

40 / OCTOBER 2020

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

STAYING AT THE REFRONT How Canada’s Top Contractors are preparing for the job sites of the future

BY DAVID KENNEDY

BELARUS / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

F

ailing fast has become something of a mantra in the start-up scene. Making bold bets on risky new propositions and quickly finding success or failure defines the industry.

It is not a concept that lends itself particularly well to construction.

“We’re not encouraged culturally to fail fast, or fail at all, frankly,” says Chris Gower, COO of PCL Construction’s Buildings division. There’s good reason for the conservative mentality that pervades the industry, he adds, pointing to safety on-site and the need to deliver projects proven to last decades.

At the same time, Gower says builders need to find new ways to experiment – running into some inevitable fast failures

on-sitemag.com / 41

BOGDANHODA / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

“We’re not encouraged culturally to fail fast, or fail at all, frankly.”

– Chris Gower, PCL – to move the industry forward.

It is one in a range of insights from a panel hosted by On-Site this August.

Throughout the discussion, four industry experts shared how they have adapted their processes to better suit the digital age and detailed some of their plans for staying at the forefront as the industry evolves.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION The cloud is nothing new to most contractors. The migration to internet-linked systems has been underway for years, and recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the shift. For most, it is a starting point for wider technology adoption.

Yuri Bartzis, the Innovation Manager for

42 / OCTOBER 2020

Canadian Building Operations at Pomerleau, says many of the advantages revolve around communication.

“Having that common data environment really helps transfer information and communicate properly,” he says. “Version control is there – so everybody is up to date on the latest information to make the right decisions.”

Matt Gramblicka, vice-president of Information Technology & Enterprise Application at Graham Construction, agrees.

“Even something as simple as having plans on an iPad so that you’re having the latest version… there’s definitely a lot of advantages there,” he says.

Graham has already shifted a large

number of its systems to the cloud, but it is still working to integrate more of its processes.

At the same time, the cloud does have its limitations, Gramblicka says. “I don’t think all things lend themselves to the cloud,” he says, pointing to performance and connectivity challenges, particularly in remote areas.

Graham, Pomerleau and PCL are all working to tackle these sorts of network issues, turning to new advances in areas such as edge computing and 5G.

FINDING A BALANCE Even early adopters of new technologies caution against moving too fast too quickly.

At the same time, in a competitive market like construction, waiting too long can be even more costly.

“Technology is such a key component of innovation and in advancing important industry objectives like safety, productivity, risk reduction, cost reduction and inclusiv-

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SOLUTION

ity,” says Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA).

With the ongoing workforce shortage facing the industry, technology also provides a way for more segments of the labour market to find a place in construction.

“When you look at heavy lifting that often has to be done, technology can help take off some of that load and reduce some of the wear and tear, so that more people can be included in the industry,” Van Buren says.

Contractors need to find a way to weigh the benefits and risks and establish an adoption path that works for them, Gower says.

“You’ll fail a lot. So, you have to balance being innovative, being on the edge, with doing what’s practical and sensi-

ble and what solves problems,” he says.

Graham has turned to a pilot strategy to test new technologies. Rolling out an innovation on a single job site first, Gramblicka says the company looks at the return on investment it would provide, among other metrics, before taking any next steps.

“That’s kind of our approach to things versus taking a big bang, we’re going to put this in everywhere, which is very challenging – trying to get 200, 300 project sites all using things the same way,” he says.

Likewise, Pomerleau’s innovation team attends conferences worldwide to keep track of new ways of working. It implements promising technologies on single projects first, tracking ROIs, as well as how easily the innovation fits into its every-evolving building method.

“The biggest sweet spot would be how

“The biggest sweet spot would be how easily the technology can get integrated into your existing workflow.”

– Yuri Bartzis, Pomerleau 44 / OCTOBER 2020

easily the technology can get integrated into your existing workflow,” Bartzis says.

One such example is an ongoing pilot of a new robotic dog known as Spot, which has been prowling one of the company’s job sites in the Montreal area since early this year.

Workers were leery of the autonomous robot at first, Bartzis noted, but soon accepted it like any other piece of new technology. “People are able to get comfortable with robotics and other technologies in the same work area,” he says, adding that he anticipates more pilots like it in the years to come.

AREAS TO FOCUS Robotics represent one opportunity for contractors, but unlike in manufacturing, where machines now take on a substantial portion of the work, construction robots still have limited applications. Builders are likely to glean the greatest benefit by reaching first for some lower hanging fruit.

SEVENTYFOUR / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

“Instead of adding to their plate one more thing that they have to do, it should be one or two things that we’re taking away.”

– Matt Gramblicka, Graham Graham, for instance, remains focused on implementing a wholly integrated solution across all of its job sites.

“Just having that consistency across the board so if a project manager or a superintendent needs to move to one site to the next, they’re not asking, ‘What technology are we using here?’ It’s, ‘What work needs to be done?’ and focussing on those types of things,” Gramblicka says.

The shift will clean up the company’s processes and create a consistent approach across hundreds of different sites, Gramblicka adds.

It is also designed to make on-site management simpler.

“Our industry hasn’t improved productivity-wise,” Gramblicka says. “So, adding technology to our project sites, it has to add that business value, it has to make the superintendent’s job easier. Instead of adding to their plate one more thing that they have to do, it should be one or two things that we’re taking away.”

Having developed a software package largely in-house PCL has recently focused a considerable portion of its resources on job site sensor technology to track things like weather, temperature, humidity and leaks.

“There’s so much data that we can collect and that we can become more efficient and effective as an industry,” Gower says. “We can mitigate risk and simply be better builders.”

Drawing on information directly from superintendents and project managers, sensors also offer excellent value for money, he says.

“Rather than someone running around suite to suite checking humidity to ensure the millwork doesn’t delaminate, we have sensors that provide immediate alerts when things are out of norm. This applies to so

many different things,” Gower says.

PCL is also working to use artificial intelligence to analyze the data from its array of sensors to identify hazards before they can cause damage or safety risks.

The wider implementation of building information modelling (BIM) is another key area of focus for contractors.

Bartzis says adoption remains hit and miss throughout the industry, but that around 70 per cent of the projects Pomerleau takes on now run off 3D models – though it fluctuates from year to year. A model is often created before the general contractor gets involved, but he says in some cases Pomerleau goes out of its way to create a BIM model to help its crews follow their typical processes.

“The methodology is making sure you have that usage of the 3D model from design straight through to operations and for the full life-cycle of the building,” he says.

For Bartzis and the other panelists, it is clear the building industry will eventually fully adopt BIM, but the transition may prove to be a slow one.

A TIPPING POINT It’s no secret the construction industry lags others in terms of tech adoption. The fragmentary nature of the industry and contracting models that revolve around minimizing spending are often seen as the culprits.

“Generally what we see on bids is it’s the low-cost that wins,” Van Buren says.

“That creates little to no room to take a

risk on innovation, or the owner already prescribes what it is they want.”

With general contractors and subs often unable to implement new innovations – technology, materials, or otherwise – without jeopardizing their bids, the CCA is pushing owners to take a more active role in advancing the industry. In particular, Van Buren says the organization is asking the federal government to build more room for new approaches when preparing contracts for major infrastructure projects. Instead of punishing innovators for taking risks, the aim would be to reward forward-thinkers, eventually raising the level of the entire industry.

Gower agrees, pointing to the ubiquity of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards – and the government being an early mover on adopting them – as an example.

“I think there’s a way to move the industry toward forcing us all to pay attention and therefore do it and therefore include the costs and let it be borne by the end users as it was with LEED,” he says.

With help from government and increasingly appealing returns on investment for both new software and equipment, construction’s slow shift toward technology represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

On a scale of one to 10 – with one meaning just starting out and 10 standing in for technology being fully adopted, panelists ranked the Canadian industry’s progress adopting technology between a two and six.

There is substantial work to be done, but starting from a low base, technology offers contractors ways to dramatically improve their operations and provides a rare opportunity to do more with less.

“It’s the low-cost that wins. That creates little to no room to take a risk on innovation, or the owner already prescribes what it is they want.”

– Mary Van Buren, CCA on-sitemag.com / 45

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

FIXING CONSTRUCTION’S

PAYMENT PROBLEM

Prompt payment promises to correct imbalances in the industry. It may also force general contractors to automate their payment processes

BY JACOB STOLLER

I

The action is in response to industry pressure to take on the late payment problem that has plagued the industry for decades. According to PWC’s 2019/20 Working Capital Report, the average time it took a contractor to get paid in 2018 was 83 days.

Prompt payment legislation will impose

some much needed payment standards and discourage unfair practices such as withholding excessive payments unjustifiably as a pressure tactic and putting cashflow pressure on the subcontractors.

“GCs have historically had a very heavy hand to get their way with subcontractors,” says Glen Anderson, vice-president of

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n October of last year, Ontario became the first Canadian jurisdiction to make prompt payment on construction projects legally mandatory. Other provinces are expected to follow, and a federal statute mandating prompt payment on federal government contracts has been approved and is awaiting ratification.

Prompt payment legislation came into force in Ontario last fall. Federal rules are incoming, but have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Finance and Administration for Buildings at Edmonton-based PCL Construction.

“To give you an example, a contractor may withhold a million dollar payment on a subcontractor for a $50,000 issue just to get their attention. But that creates immense cash flow issues, and can force smaller businesses into bankruptcy for unfair reasons. So prompt payment is really to add a degree of fairness to the treatment of subcontractors by generals, and also by owners.”

The topic is not an easy one for many in the industry. “There are a lot of people who don’t want to touch this subject,” says Jas Saraw, vice-president, Canada, at Procore, “because it provokes a lot of emotion for obvious reasons. It’s people’s livelihoods.”

As Saraw points out, late payment may not be intentional, but the result of inefficient and complex payment processes.

“With myriad stakeholders that you have in

48 / OCTOBER 2020

construction, it becomes very challenging to manage all of the relationships and the payment obligations,” he says.

The persistence of outdated processes compounds the problem. “Construction is a fairly traditional business with manual processes, manual workflows,” says Mike Milligan, director of Global Marketing for Portland, Oregon-based construction software provider GCPay, “so it’s pretty human capital intensive in terms of back office management.”

When the work piles up, the back office becomes a bottleneck. “If you’re a general contractor and you’re managing a $200 million project, you might have 150 subcontractors,” Milligan says. “So imagine the number of applications for payment you’re going to see over the course of that project. It gets very hard to manage, and that’s one of the reasons late payment is such a big issue.”

The existing and pending legislation

specifies time frames for payment or notification of dispute, and requires general contractors to keep an audit trail of all matters related to payments. This may well be the tipping point where contractors decide that manual processes are no longer viable.

The Canadian Construction Association’s president, Mary Van Buren, is confident technology vendors will step up.

“What we find,” Van Buren says, “is that when there’s new legislation or opportunities, then an ecosystem will form in the technology sector to help the contractors with their issues or opportunities.”

The CCA is developing courses to help contractors understand and comply with the legislation.

RECONSTRUCTING THE PAYMENT SYSTEM Payment software is a specialized product that is typically integrated with construction

Construction is a fairly traditional business with manual processes, manual workflows, so it’s pretty human capital intensive in terms of back office management.”

– Mike Milligan, GCPay

think every human has a challenge with change,” Anderson says, “and this is by far the biggest change in the invoicing process in construction ever. We’re going from each subcontractor having their own accounting system and running invoices at month end and what have you, and then scanning, faxing, emailing, depending on the technology of the day. Now they go online onto our platform and develop their invoice through an electronic application process.”

Anderson notes that online payment platforms are becoming more prevalent in other industries, and may well be becoming the new normal. “For a lot of our clients in the industrial world, we have to go online and do a similar type of process,” Anderson says. “So it’s becoming more common. But the construction industry usually lags quite a bit, at least in the accounting technology.”

While many general contractors will feel pressured to automate their payment processes in order to comply with the pending legislation, Anderson suggests that they choose their technology carefully.

“There’s certainly no shortage of technology that people can adopt,” he says, “and it changes so rapidly that if you’re going to make a commitment to technology, you want to make sure it’s going to be a lasting technology so that you’re not changing platforms every two years.”

BOONYARIT / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES

workflow and accounting platforms. One payment software vendor is GCPay, which provides a complete workflow environment for managing payments to subcontractors.

The software is a cloud-based system that provides a portal for subcontractors, who, instead of invoicing, access the portal to apply for payment.

“If I’m a subcontractor and I’ve completed a certain percentage of the work in a project,” Milligan says, “I can submit an application for payment for that work. It can be created, submitted, managed, and reported all online. It automates the whole process.”

An attractive feature of the software is that it manages lien waivers alongside payments, making it easy for a contractor to manage all aspects of the subcontractor relationship on a single platform. This is particularly important since Canadian legislation combines mandatory scheduling of payments with the legal adjudication process.

Payment, however, is not an isolated function, but one dependent on access to job site data to verify that the subcontractor has delivered according to contract. “A lot of things payment-wise will be tied to deliverables,” Saraw says. Contractors therefore need to have job management systems in place to capture and present this information. Obviously, this becomes more critical in case of a dispute.

PCL took on the payment automation issue 10 years ago when Anderson led a team that created PCL’s platform based on

an application called Textura. That product was subsequently purchased by Oracle and branded Oracle TPM. “Overall, we are viewed to be good payers in the industry,” Anderson says. “We want to maintain that because our subcontractors are our construction partners, and we need to work together to make sure both of us are successful.”

The new platform has allowed PCL to maintain its payment standards with much less manual work. “It removed a substantial amount of data entry required when processing payments,” Anderson says. “It’s also more transparent than the old mailing in the invoice or emailing the invoice and adjustments being made without the subcontractor’s knowledge.”

The system also ensures that if there is a challenge to an application for payment, that gets communicated immediately. “If a subcontractor applied for a payment of $200,000 this month for work they have performed, the project manager would go through and validate that. If there’s an adjustment, that would be communicated the next day to the subcontractor. So that aligns with what is now required under prompt payment legislation.”

While the new system means less work for subcontractors and assurance of prompt payment, it may not be easy for them to discard their old invoicing practices. “I

on-sitemag.com / 49

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

SUPPLY

STRAIN

Shift to digital delivery options helps construction supply chain hold up through pandemic

BY DAVID KENNEDY

T

he construction supply chain strained under the considerable weight of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, but in spite of slowdowns at manufacturing plants, revamped procedures at Canadian borders and stricter protocols on job sites, haulers have, generally speaking, continued to deliver the materials needed to keep projects moving forward.

There are exceptions, and many contractors have reported disruptions or delays since early this year. But considering the scale of the crisis, logistics networks have proved relatively resilient, according

50 / OCTOBER 2020

to Jordan Thomson, a senior manager with KPMG Canada’s Infrastructure Advisory team.

“All in all… the supply chain has held together pretty well,” Thomson said in webinar hosted by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) in May. “It’s remained intact throughout the pandemic, although we have been hearing from our clients that there are issues, more so on the delays and just difficulties getting things actually to site.”

Thomson noted that key materials such as steel and concrete have remained available, but pointed to issues with more

specialized products, such as light fixtures and other manufactured finishes with longer lead times.

In a survey conducted this June, two thirds of Ontario contractors in the ICI (industrial, commercial and institutional) sector reported supply chain disruptions at a medium or high level. In three similar surveys carried out by the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) at different stages of the pandemic, contractors have consistently cited supply chain disruptions as an area of concern.

Particularly when dealing with international suppliers, Thomson said contractors

© PAMELA AU / ADOBE STOCK

should be actively engaging with vendors to identify any problems early and get ahead of delays. With the crisis expected to persist for some time, he also advised moving up shipment dates when possible to ensure material and equipment is available when needed.

Beyond these steps, problems with the global supply chain remain largely out of contractors’ hands. But on job sites themselves, builders are adjusting their delivery protocols during the pandemic and turning to new software providers to modernize what have often been pen and paper solutions.

“It feels a little bit like we’ve gone into a bit of time machine and jumped ahead a couple of years in terms of the industry’s propensity to adopt technology,” said Noah Dolgoy, the CEO and co-founder of Tread, in an interview this spring.

The Toronto-based tech company has built a digital platform designed to streamline material deliveries and make it easier for contractors and material suppliers to connect with haulers. By digitizing a system that’s relied heavily on phone calls and paper tickets in the past, the platform eliminates much of the human error from the equation.

It also allows haulers to stick to their cabs on job sites, avoiding the exchange of pens or physical invoices – a critical step during the pandemic. The CCA’s site safety guidelines, now well ingrained on sites across the country, advise nothing be passed between deliverers and receivers for the duration of the pandemic and many contractors have built this step into their own action plans.

With the added impetus, during the early months of the pandemic Dolgoy said a range of barriers – regulatory, administrative and culture – eroded.

“What we’re seeing is not only increased adoption, but increased technical literacy and increased comfort. Comfort with change and desire for change across the board in the industry,” he added.

Ottawa-headquartered GoFor Industries Inc. is another tech company that’s seen its business surge as COVID-19 reconfigures construction’s conventional supply chain.

Unlike Tread, which focuses on the movement of bulk raw materials, GoFor transports a wide range of products for retailers such as HD Supply, The Home Depot and Sherwin Williams. The company moves everything from paint and ABS piping to HVAC equipment and larger palletized materials. The majority of the its revolves around smaller-scale construction like renovations, but about 30 per cent of its deliveries now go out to large projects.

“In a lot of ways, we start out kind of filling their gaps – when they need it, or if it’s urgent,” Brad Rollo, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said this spring. “But if you start to look at the way we can do it versus somebody who owns their own vehicle or puts their own staff in it, we’re so much more cost efficient.”

Through GoFor’s app or website, retailers can supplement their own delivery fleet to get materials out to contractors quickly,

We’ve gone into a bit of time machine and jumped ahead a couple of years in terms of the industry’s propensity to adopt technology.”

– Noah Dolgoy, Tread or contractors themselves can secure a missing component without sending their own staff off-site. Rollo pointed to Pomerleau, Modern Niagara and Ainsworth as a few of the contractors it’s working with.

With many builders having adjusted their site protocols to eliminate any interaction with delivery drivers, GoFor has gone contactless as well.

“Everywhere that you have a point of contact we’ve reduced it to zero,” Rollo said, noting that paperwork has stopped changing hands and its drivers are now wearing masks as a precaution.

Moving forward, as the industry slowly returns to something resembling normal, Rollo anticipates its retailers will shift to a “delivery-first mentality” to compete in the post-COVID world, while contractors will place increased emphasis on the availability of digital storefronts and on-demand deliveries.

With COVID-19 forcing contractors’ hands, the construction industry looks likely to emerge from the pandemic with a firmer grasp of technology and a greater willingness to embrace it. The move to cloudbased construction management software is another example.

In the long run, Dolgoy expects the pandemic will help boost productivity across the sector by turning builders onto the advanced telemetric and artificial intelligence tools that Tread and other companies are offering.

“Those used to feel like dirty words when we talked to clients about them and now they’re so excited… I think it’s very much a harbinger of where the industry’s going,” he said.

on-sitemag.com / 51

RISK

T

By David Bowcott

Project loss insurance: Timely innovation in the face of economic uncertainty

he construction sector is amongst the riskiest sectors of the economy. Every project is unique, and these unique attributes make it very difficult for construction stakeholders to gain certainty around performance.

Design errors, bid errors, workmanship errors, unforeseen ground conditions, poor worker productivity and unpredictable weather conditions are just a few of the litany of risks faced by those in construction. Each of the industry’s risks can be managed using risk controls (engineered, contractual, operational, and technological) and a good portion can be transferred to risk finance capital like the insurance sector (property, liability, design, subcontractor/supplier failure, environmental, weather).

When it comes to risk finance or insurance, most reading this article have likely experienced an increase in your insurance costs as the insurance sector is experiencing what we in the biz call a “hard market.” Basically, the insurance sector has not been as profitable as they would like due increased losses and uncertain investment returns. As a result, they have to increase their premiums and restrict capacity. Thus, the ability to transfer risk to risk finance capital has become more difficult, leaving contractors with additional exposure to their balance sheet.

Thankfully some insurers have decided to work with the construction sector to design products that not only provide more coverage for the risks faced by the industry, but offer the construction sector access to improved risk controls (as required by the policies) to prevent and mitigate the risks covered under their policies.

One of those progressive insurers is Travelers and they are bringing to market an elegantly designed insurance solution called Project Loss Insurance, or PLI. It covers risks such as bad estimates, poor productivity, subcontractor failure/default, delay damages, price escalation, weather related delays and manufacturer/supplier failure (many of the top risks referenced above). This offering is a great compliment to the traditional suite of insurance used on a project (property damage, project delay costs due to property damage event, liability, design or professional errors, subcontractor failure, and environmental events). It is important to understand that PLI is intended to cover those losses that are not insured under other policies, so care needs to be taken to identify the cause of loss when making claims against your PLI and the other insurance coverage you have.

It is also worth noting that PLI does have significant retentions (deductibles and co-insurance), thus it is for catastrophic project losses. These retentions act as the contractor’s “skin in the game,” which ensures the alignment of the contractor (the insured) with the insurer (Travelers). This “skin in the game” ensures the contractor will adhere to those risk controls that

52 / OCTOBER 2020

prevent and mitigate the risks covered under the policy.

It truly is a more elegant insurance design, as it creates a partnership between the insured and the insurer whereby they are constantly seeking to find new ways to prevent and mitigate the risks covered under the policy as they will both benefit from not having these risks manifest on their projects. Further, by categorizing or classifying the risks by type, within the policy, PLI allows for more precise implementation of risk controls, thus improving the efficacy of the risk control prescriptions.

We have seen this design before with the Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) offering brought forward by Zurich Insurance and later adopted by several other insurers. SDI significantly improved the operational practices and tools that were put in place to prevent the risk of subcontractor/supplier failure and it was the very large retentions that drove the contractor to adopt these best practices.

Given this thoughtful combination of coverage and access to best-in-class risk controls, it would make sense for all eligible contractors to investigate this offering. You should catalogue your inventory of risk controls before applying to ensure you obtain optimal terms and conditions. A good risk advisor, in products of this nature, should be able to help you benchmark your operational practices and technology solutions to determine if you are ready for a solution like PLI. Such a pre-vetting of operational practices and tools would include looking at: • Go or no-go protocols • Escalation and sign-off protocols • Scheduling best practices • Internal/external peer review practices • Design/subcontractor/supplier pre-qualification practices • Bid levelling practices • QA/QC practices • Safety practices • Project closeout practices • Contractual practices • Insurance program review • Technology stack review It is great to see an insurer taking the lead on developing an innovative solution that not only offers a great suite of coverage but helps to make the construction sector better at managing risk.

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.

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CONTRACTORS & THE LAW

I

By Erin Cutts

He said, she said: Issues with the enforcement of no-oral variation clauses

n construction contracts, particularly large, complex building contracts, modifications will inevitably need to be made to the terms of the original agreement. Often, the contract requires that any amendments be recorded in writing and signed by the parties to the contract. These clauses have been termed “nooral variation” clauses.

The reasoning for such formalities may be obvious. The objectives of a no-oral variation clause are clearly to ensure contractual certainty and to prevent the parties from asserting fabricated or inaccurate allegations that oral amendments have been made to the provisions of the contract during the course of construction.

However, the enforceability of these no-oral variation clauses has been the subject of significant judicial consideration not only in Canadian jurisdictions, but also internationally. Some Canadian Courts have strictly enforced these clauses with very minor exceptions, noting that there is nothing unconscionable about these clauses and that the certainty granted by such clauses is to be desired. Canadian courts have also noted that there is no “overriding public policy” that would lead to the conclusion that a no-oral variation clause is unenforceable.

ing the manner by which the contract must be modified. The English Supreme Court concluded that no-oral variation clauses are, therefore, enforceable and, in fact, ought to be enforced unless some evidence, other than the informal agreement itself, clearly establishes that the parties unequivocally intended to amend the contract.

MWB has not been cited with any authority in Canada; however, Globe Motors was recently cited by Canada’s Federal Court in Oceanex Inc. v. Canada (Transport). In Oceanex, the Court held that where there is evidence that contracting parties have consented to an amendment (for example, by conduct), then no particular form of an amendment is required. Notably, Oceanex predates the decision in MWB and is generally lacking in substantive analysis on the enforceability of no oral variation clauses. Ultimately, the lack of recent treatment by the Canadian Courts in respect of these clauses has left the state of the law in this area in flux.

What is clear, however, is that the evidentiary bar for establishing an informal or oral amendment to a contract with a no-oral variation clause is high. The party alleging the existence of the amendment may need to prove that the parties had terminated or never even oper“Contracting parties must pay close attention to their ated under the original agreement or, at the very least, had agreed to invalidate or conduct... during the course of construction to ensure amend the no-oral agreement clause itself. that they are not inadvertently agreeing to modify Mere allegations of an informal or oral the terms of the original contract.” amendment in the presence of a no-oral variation clause are unlikely to suffice.

Regardless of whether or not a contract Other Canadian Courts, however, have taken a contains a no-oral variation clause, contracting parties must pay slightly different approach, highlighting the overridclose attention to their conduct and the representations they ing public policy of freedom of contract and holding that no-oral make to one another during the course of construction to ensure variation clauses will generally be unenforceable because two that they are not inadvertently agreeing to modify the terms of the contractors cannot by mutual agreement restrict their ability to original contract. Any discussions regarding potential modificacontrol their legal relationship by future mutual agreement. tions to the terms of the contract should be carefully recorded in The English Courts, while initially adopting the freedom of writing and should include the caveat that all potential modificontract line of authority, appear to have settled on the stricter cations are invalid until formally recorded in a signed amendenforcement approach. In Globe Motors Inc. v TRW Lucas Varity ment. Finally, all staff should be reminded of the risk inherent in Electric Steering Ltd., the English Court of Appeal held that parties allowing or causing deviations to the contractual terms during the may informally amend a contract even if the contract required all course of construction. modifications to be in writing and signed by the parties.

However, the English Supreme Court in Rock Advertising v.

Full citations to all works referenced are available in the online MWB Business Exchange Centres came to the opposite concluversion of this column. sion, finding that contractual certainty was to be preferred. In Erin Cutts practices Construction Law at Borden Ladner Gervais MWB, the Supreme Court held that the freedom to contract exists LLP. This article is provided for general information only and may only up until the contract is entered into. After that point, the not be relied upon as legal advice. parties are restricted by the contract in a myriad of ways, includ-

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