Construction Business * May/June 2020

May/June 2020 Vol. 17 No.3

BOUNDARY BAY FIRE HALL JOE WROBEL, JPW ROAD AND BRIDGE | TECHNOLOGY GREEN BUILDING | UNITED AGAINST COVID

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Inside May/June 2020 | Volume 17 No 3

06 Connections Joe Wrobel has extensive experience in the road and maintenance industry. He also volunteers many hours to the industry sitting on association boards. He is the current CCA chair.

PUBLISHER

MANAGING EDITOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Dan Gnocato dang@mediaedge.ca Cheryl Mah Kris Troppmann Morgan McDonald Rebecca Melnyk

09 Feature Project

Gord Rajewski Ronald P. Schwenger

The new Boundary Bay Fire Hall uses exposed glulam beams and post disaster wood frame throughout the interior millwork.

Steve Williams B.C./ALBERTA SALES

13 SPECIAL BCCA’s 50th Anniversary

Dan Gnocato Tel: 604.549.4521 ext. 223

PUBLISHED BY

PRESIDENT Kevin Brown

Industry Focus 16 Green Building Where there is Uncertainty, Collaborate Building Electrification Changing Storm Water Management

20 Technology The Dawn of Mixed Reality Attracting a New Generation of Workers

22 COVID Construction sector united in fight against COVID-19

Departments 04 Message from the Editor

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Cover Photo Boundary Bay Fire Hall features a state-ofthe-art training and operations centre in Delta, B.C. FEBRUARY 10 & 11, 2021 Construction Business is British Columbia and Alberta’s construction magazine. Each issue provides timely and pertinent information to contractors, architects, developers, consulting engineers, and municipal governments throughout both provinces. Complimentary copies are sent bi-monthly to all members of the Architectural Institute of B.C., B.C. Construction Association, B.C. Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association, Consulting Engineers of B.C., Construction Specifications Canada — B.C. Chapter, Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, B.C. Ready-Mixed Concrete Association, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C., Urban Development Institute of B.C. and Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

NOVEMBER 4 & 5, 2020

Editor’s Note

Physical Distancing

T

he coronavirus has disrupted our lives in unimaginable ways. Closures of schools, recreation, retail and more have meant big adjustments and thinking of new ways to do ordinary activities with physical distancing rules. For our family, going from a busy schedule to a sudden halt has been strange. But it has also meant more time — more time to be together.

Playing Monopoly is huge in our house. Whether it’s playing board games, working from home, baking or cooking, everyone has found ways to adapt to the current conditions.

While the pandemic presents many challenges, it is also driving innovation and new insights. Construction was deemed essential during the pandemic, pushing the industry to adopt new protocols and

technology quickly to comply with health regulations. Smaller groups on site, adjusting schedules, hand sanitizing and other strategies were implemented to maintain productivity on projects while respecting physical distancing. Associations at all levels were also quick to respond to members with resources, and lobbying the federal government on strategic spending to support the economy.

The current chair of the Canadian Construction Association is Joe Wrobel, our profile in this issue. Assuming the national chair role at the same time as the pandemic has been challenging, but Wrobel says it’s also an opportunity to rethink strategies and policies.

Also in this issue, we focus on green building and technology — two topics that have come to

the forefront of conversations about the impacts of COVID. Our built environment is more important than ever, and the drive to a low-carbon future will be critical to reduce risk and protect our health.

From the beginning of the crisis, we’ve been keeping on top of all the policies, issues and impacts of COVID-19 with continuous coverage on our website. Please visit www.reminetwork.com/tags/covid-19/ if you have not already done so.

Cheryl Mah Managing Editor

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Connections

ROAD TO

BY CHERYL MAH

SUCCESS

With a construction career spanning more than 40 years, Joe Wrobel has done his fair share of travelling around B.C., and knows firsthand what it takes to keep roads safe and reliable.

The president and general manager of JPW Road and Bridge has extensive experience in the road and bridge maintenance industry.

“The maintenance industry in B.C. has done a great job. Both the contractor and the government work together to keep roads and bridges clear and safe for the public,” says Wrobel. “It’s important work and I’ve had such a wonderful experience in the industry.”

Born and raised in Vancouver, Wrobel graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Geological Engineering in 1976. He 6

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began his career at a groundwater consulting company and worked in several areas in northern B.C. and Saskatchewan. In 1977, he joined the geotechnical and rock-work section with the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure working out of Burnaby, Prince George and Kamloops. During that time, he worked on the Coquihalla Highway, the most ambitious highway project in the province’s history.

“I was involved in all the field investigations for the project and had the opportunity to walk most of the highway alignment. It was a fabulous project and great experience for a technical engineer,” recalls Wrobel.

He was then promoted to district highway manager for Fernie highways district before even-

tually becoming regional manager of maintenance operations in Terrace, responsible for five highway districts.

In 1988, the year the B.C. government began the privatization of highway maintenance contracts, Wrobel decided to move into the private sector.

“I was planning on staying with the Ministry but took the position with the contractor who won the highway maintenance contract for service area 11,” he says, noting the decision was mainly a family driven one — not wanting to be on the road as much and away from his young family.

He joined Emcon Services in 1992 before moving onto HMC Services as president and general manager in 2004. While at HMC, he

Connections

JPW Road & Bridge crews managed the contract for Okanagan-Shuswap (area 13).

worked on another high profile project: the Kicking Horse Canyon Highway Improvement Project. The P3 contract was awarded in 2005 with HMC as the operations and maintenance partner.

In 2013, the opportunity to purchase assets and the service contract from Argo Road Maintenance (North Okanagan) led to the launch of JPW Road and Bridge.

“There has been other ownership opportunities over the years but the timing wasn’t right.

With Argo wanting to sell...we knew the area and people and decided to do it,” says Wrobel, who took over the contract for Okanagan-Shuswap (area 13).

JPW Road and Bridge managed the area for six years which encompasses the communities of Vernon, Armstrong, Spallucheen, Falkland, Enderby, Salmon Arm and Sicamous.

From battling Mother Nature to drainage and repairing potholes, maintenance crews work around the clock to keep goods and people moving efficiently.

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Connections

Show off the Plow program at local elementary schools raise public awareness

With more than 150 employees, JPW provided high quality, cost effective, safe and environmentally conscious highway and bridge infrastructure construction and maintenance.

“It’s challenging work, with crews working 24/7 to make sure we are meeting or exceeding the service level requirements set by the Ministry,” he says. “When we do our job right, few people will notice. If we don’t do it right, they will definitely notice, especially in winter.”

At the end of the service contract in 2019, Wrobel made the difficult decision not to continue in the business and started a new venture.

“We have now started JPW Earthworks with a small gravel pit and rock quarry. We will start small and slow, focusing on the civil infrastructure field with some aggregate and rock production,” says Wrobel, adding they are still winding down the road and bridge maintenance business. “We also have another company called Traction Innovations Ltd. which distributes Diamond Grid, a surface stabilization and erosion control system.”

He attributes the road maintenance company’s success to a good team. “We had a very energetic, young team. I’m proud of what they were able to accomplish,” says Wrobel.

“We also supported a number of apprenticeships in a short period of time and transformed our mechanical crew in six years.”

The company also had a strong commitment to safety and the community, which was recognized with Deputy Minister’s Contractor of the Year Awards. JPW won a safety innovation 8

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award in 2014 and a community service award in 2018.

“We believe in being part of the local fabric — part of the community and volunteering where we can,” he says.

Wrobel believes in giving back and has personally contributed countless hours over the years to the construction community by serving on various association boards. He is current chair of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) and one of his key goals during his term is member engagement.

“As an industry, we’re only as strong as the relationships we build with our local and provincial construction associations,” says Wrobel, who joined the CCA board of directors in 2011.

“Working collaboratively with our partner associations to strengthen the services provided to members is essential to broadening membership and driving member value.”

Wrobel chaired a working group in 20182019, which was instrumental in modernizing the governance for the association. The new streamlined system, in effect this year, separates engagement from governance and includes a reduction of the board of directors to 20 members and from three membership classes to one.

Starting his term at the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic, Wrobel says the new governance model has allowed the association to respond more nimbly and effectively.

“The board is keeping in touch virtually to discuss how to help the industry, support staff and stay current with COVID-19 issues

and concerns,” he says. “Our staff has done a fantastic job of providing resources and assistance to our members.”

To allow construction to continue while keeping workers safe, the CCA released a set of standardized COVID-19 job site protocols.

While the pandemic presents numerous challenges, it is also an opportunity for the industry to innovate and to re-think strategies and policies. Wrobel says the crisis is accelerating change and pushing the industry to adopt technology overnight.

“The pandemic is pushing us in directions that we were already headed, like more virtual meetings and working more from home,” he says.

Wrobel is also currently on the board of directors for the BC Construction Safety Alliance and B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association. He has been involved with BCRB&HCA for more than two decades.

“I really enjoy the people I get to meet, and the ability to learn from others inspires me,” he says of his industry involvement.

At 66, Wrobel is not contemplating retirement any time soon, but is trying to slow down as he looks to move the family business onto the next generation with Earthworks.

“I love what I’m doing. We live in a wonderful province and the best country,” he says.

Outside of work, the father of two lives on a small acreage in Vernon, enjoys learning to play the guitar, tinkering with British sports cars and spending time with his four grandsons.

Feature Project

MEETING

COMPLEX NEEDS

BY REBECCA MELNYK

Boundary Bay Fire Hall is a new two-storey, 11,000-square-foot, post-disaster double bay drive through fire hall and central fire department training centre. Unitech Construction Management completed the project in May 2019.

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Project

Fire halls require highly specialized systems that must meet code requirements and energy efficiency standards.

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Delta, B.C. is a wide-open landscape of quiet neighbourhoods and sprawling farms and migrating birds that gather near the coast of Boundary Bay. A network of three communities, combined with a population of about 100,000 people, the city is also home to one of the largest, developing industrial lands in the Greater Vancouver Area.

With this growing market near an airport and two provincial highways, a small, aging fire hall couldn’t keep up with the community’s emergency response needs. Also lacking was a proper emergency operations centre (EOC). During an event, such as a flood, rooms in city hall were cleared into makeshift workspace for 30 to 40 people overseeing different functions.

“When you’re dealing with disasters and emergencies, tensions are running high,” says Michel Latendresse, Delta deputy fire chief.

“That doesn’t serve a one-room model where phones are ringing and people are trying to have private conversations.”

Delta commissioned a new building, and in 2019 the Boundary Bay Fire Hall was unveiled. Led by west coast firm Johnston Davidson Architecture, the facility blends wood design with human-centric, functional spaces. It brings together a multi-purpose satellite fire station, a live-fire training build-

ing, and a municipal EOC that flips into a corporate training facility, depending on the needs of the day.

Each function of the EOC, from planning to logistics, has its own dedicated spot, all connected through technology. When not being used for emergency purposes, city staff reserve the rooms through a centralized booking system for training or meetings.

“As a building user, it’s very functional how the rooms communicate with one another, yet provide intimacy and quiet workspaces,” adds Latendresse. “It’s also a really comfortable training environment. Since opening, it’s been so popular; everyone wants to come because of the technology, room lay-out and acoustics.”

DISASTER READY For Kimberley Johnston, principal at Johnston Davidson Architecture, function transcends into the structural elements, from controlling storm water run-off on a former greenfield site to choosing wood (80 per cent above grade) as a primary building material.

Using plywood sheeting and woodto-wood connections, the resilience of the design permits the facility to remain operational during a catastrophic event.

More than aesthetic, large glulam beams and

Feature Project

post-disaster wood frames are visible in the structure throughout the interior millwork.

Since the facility had to comply with postdisaster standards, withstanding 1.5 times the seismic forces of a regular building, the soil presented a challenge.

“Because of the liquefied soil on site, we had to create a really interesting raft slab foundation,” says Johnston. “If there was an earthquake and the soil liquified, the whole building would move. The thick slab allows for subtle movements found in seismic conditions, but it is also revealed on the main floor as a final finish throughout.”

Through her experience with wood design—more than 50 fire halls across Canada—Johnston found that integrating similar materials makes for good seismic conditions.

“Wood walls with wood roofs is a good combination; the building moves at the same rate during an earthquake,” she notes. “The tricky part is the way it’s put together; unlike your average house framing, post-disaster framing is much more intense. Getting people around that mind-set is always a challenge.”

To ensure a fast and cost-effective process, the designers worked alongside the subtrades through a series of digital meetings, zoning in on close sections of the building

model to refine crucial details before the wood elements arrived on site. Recently earning a 2019 Wood Design & Building Award in the Canadian Wood Council Award category, Boundary Bay Fire Hall is helping to bring mass timber into the mainstream.

“Speed, innovation and technology have made a huge difference in how people understand where to use wood,” says Johnston.

“Where once it was seen as a residential product, it’s now moving into larger institutional and civic projects.”

She believes as contractors become more familiar with the variety of wood products and how they remain viable outside the residential realm, this will open the door for more trades and a larger workforce on a project, which helps with better bidding.

Outside its durable qualities, Johnston says she really wants occupants to “feel the wood” because of its great health benefits. Research has long shown that visual exposure to natural materials like wood reduces stress and elicits feelings of comfort.

ENLIGHTENED FACILITY FOR FIRST RESPONDERS As is the case with many innovative facilities, wellbeing was top of mind during the

Boundary Bay Fire Hall design. Firefighters are living with much higher rates of suicide and mental health issues compared to other professions. Regularly facing life-and-death situations can lead to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Delving deeper into these issues was key to various design choices.

Large windows in the facility frame views of the greenhouses in the field, sweeping natural light across every room. Structural elements contrast with the brightness of the white walls reflecting the light, with a smash of blue and red colour added to key locations.

The comfort of the facility extends into the kitchen, with natural wood cabinetry and cool water tones of a blue floor and grey countertops. The strict use of LED lighting throughout the entire hall takes on various forms, from long, linear pendant lights to under cabinet valences.

“LEDs are warmer than they used to be, so we worked with lighting designers to make sure the rendering of colour the light is giving off feels warm and comforting, rather than stark white,” Johnston says.

An outdoor patio on the upper level is an immediate place to decompress and gaze out at the field. The training rooms feature a fine, carpet-like material of brushed nylon

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May/June 2020

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Project

Top photo: Brightly coloured linoleum flooring helps delineate sleeping quarters.

Bottom photo: A municipal emergency operations centre flips into a corporate training facility, depending on the needs of the day.

that gives a softness to the room and provides comfort for any hand-and-knees firstaid training. The brightly coloured linoleum dorm floors, reflecting the range of danger levels, add a pop of colour and help crew members with wayfinding.

RISKY BUSINESS Outside the fire hall, crew members learn how to control modern-day fires in a very modern structure—a four-storey burn building fashioned from steel shipping containers.

The lego-like, modular design houses a flexible interior for live-fire scenarios with balconies, rooftops and confined spaces. Skills are honed in a simulated, pollution-free environment with natural gas as a heat source and theatrical smoke. Props can be operated remotely from a separate control room.

“With the advent of building construction and modern technology and early detection systems, fires are becoming less common,” says Latendresse. “But the risk to firefighters is becoming greater because they’re not practicing as often.”

When fires do occur, he muses, they’re larger and complex. Soundproofing and air tightness are causing more confined buildings. Synthetic materials are more toxic, and heat can quickly build up if an early detection system isn’t in place.

Delta Fire & Emergency Services helped inform the burn building design, as well as the mechanical building systems inside the hall itself. Fire halls require highly specialized systems that must meet code requirements and energy efficiency standards. It can often be tricky to blend the objectives of an engineer and architect with a facility that works for the firefighters.

“That’s one thing we can never lose sight of,” says Johnston. “You want to be concerned with aesthetics, sustainability and energy efficiency, but it can’t be at the cost of functionality. We worked really hard to blend those elements.”

Rebecca Melnyk is editor of Canadian Facility Management & Design.

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BCCA Anniversary

BCCA AT 50: THE PATH TRAVELED BCCA’s first offices were in Construction House, on 11th Avenue and Oak street in Vancouver.

T

his spring — March 25, to be exact — marked the 50th anniversary of the B.C. Construction Association (BCCA), the largest association serving all employers in B.C.’s industrial, commercial, and institutional construction industry.

Needless to say, the gala dinners, toasts, award ceremonies, and other celebrations could not be held. For the organization created to be the single voice of B.C.’s construction industry, COVID-19 has been as significant and urgent a call to action as there has ever been.

Today BCCA is not only the largest but the most diverse construction association in the province, serving over 10,000 employers of all labour affiliations through a network of four Regional Construction Associations and a broad suite of direct services to the industry.

In 1965 then-president Howard Hume of the Vancouver Construction Association (today VRCA), said that a strong province-wide organization was the only solution to the many problems facing the industry.

But there was still a long way to go: five years of meeting and wrangling and voting down motions and proposing new ones, exploring new alliances and possibilities for amalgamation.

The history can get confusing at times. But one thing is clear: the existence of BCCA is a significant achievement for the construction industry in our province.

Finally, in 1968 the formation of BCCA was approved in principal. The first offices were in Construction House, on 11th Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver. The members were only the mixed associations. The trade contractor associations could participate through membership in the mixed associations.

In 1969 the first officers were elected: Henry Cruezot from PG, Herb Fritz from Vancouver, KA Kenyon from Kelowna, and Don Mott from Vancouver. The executive director was Joe Bishop.

In 1970 incorporation was granted and things were finally underway for BCCA as the single provincial representative for B.C.’s construction industry.

At around the same time, B.C. elected its first socialist government and there are many parallels to the hot topics today, at least prior to the coronavirus pandemic. In the 70s the NDP put forward initiatives including a new labour code, the Agricultural Land Reserve Act, a revised Lien Act, a scheme for licensing contractors, and government car insurance.

They were in power for three years.

Integrated membership between the regional association, the provincial association, and the national association was introduced in 1973, also the year that BCCA moved into the Board of Trade Tower at 1177 West Hastings Street. The offices would stay in Vancouver until 1981 when BCCA moved to Victoria, where they still are today.

Now, in 2020, B.C.’s construction industry has been declared “essential” and continues to operate throughout the state of emergency. Representing nearly 10 per cent of B.C.’s total workforce, it’s a rare family that doesn’t have a friend or relative earning a good living from our industry. If construction had not been able to operate safely and successfully in the midst of coronavirus, the consequence to B.C.’s population and economic health could have been far more dire.

Throughout this public health emergency the BCCA has been in the thick of it, working closely across all levels and government and with multiple stakeholder groups and partners to ensure that in-

dustry could keep operating, advocating for action to reduce risk and keep people working safely.

Even as the industry has grown by 252 per cent in terms of workforce size and the value of construction projects has skyrocketed over the last 50 years, a core network of visionary, community-minded employers has volunteered to represent the best interests of their construction community on the BCCA board.

They are a rare breed. And they are essential, too.

The BCCA board history reads like a who’s who of B.C.’s construction industry. The Motts, Houles, PCLs, Farmers and Campbells. Often the names of these companies are synonymous with their individual founders. Their leadership is a touchstone for those who seek to advance our industry into the next 50 years.

With support and guidance from these titans, it is the network of regional, provincial, and national construction associations that take on the tough issues, advocating on behalf of industry with government leaders regardless of political or labour affiliation, planning for the future and dealing with the right now.

It’s easy to feel like the time we are currently in has challenges that are worse than any time previous, yet the decades have shown that the employers and tradespeople will withstand it all, in part due to the support of the non-profit organizations like BCCA. And so, during this pandemic, when construction plays such a crucial role in the economic and population health of our province and country, the BCCA has done what it does best — representing industry to make sure it gets what it needs to get the job done.

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Green Building

Where there is Uncertainty, Collaborate

BY MORGAN MCDONALD

At a transit-oriented development site in Vancouver, city officials were concerned about scaffolding potentially obstructing traffic signs. Ledcor’s Virtual Construction Services team used LiDAR technology to create a 3D point cloud model, then augmented the proposed design using a gaming environment VR of the area and presented this to the city in an online meeting. This detailed and interactive visualization helped the city officials understand the geometry, validate the line of sight, and approve the design.

T

he real estate and construction industry is facing an unprecedented combination of new conditions that are disrupting our work: physical distancing requirements have changed the way we communicate and construct; there is an uncertain future for design, utilization, and investment in buildings where people gather in large numbers; and oil prices have plummeted, causing further uncertainty in the future direction of our economy. Many of us are left wondering: Which projects will get built? What will they look like?

And how will we build them?

On top of this, the need and demand for green and high performance buildings hasn’t gone away.

These projects can draw people into unfamiliar waters at the best of times, and so the path forward may seem especially tough to navigate.

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In times of uncertainty, having a trusted team is critical for ensuring open communication and alignment on the project vision. Collaborating with an integrated design and construction team is more important than ever before. But trust and collaboration aren’t enough — the other key ingredient is timing.

If questions aren’t asked and issues aren’t resolved in the proper order, then a collaborative team can end up burdened with too many competing priorities, with each one influencing the other and a lack of clarity on how to move forward. Fortunately, there are people, programs, and technologies that can help with all of this.

In Alberta, there is support available for project teams looking to apply innovation on green buildings and infrastructure. Ledcor is a member of the Smart, Sustainable, Resilient Infrastructure Associa-

Green Building

tion (SSRIA) with funding from Alberta Innovates.

We’re collaborating with owners, designers, trades, and suppliers, looking at new build and retrofit opportunities to leverage this funding to apply new technologies, new processes, or both.

“We believe we can revolutionize the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure by applying advanced technology and innovative products and processes to improve building performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Pamela Goertzen, executive director of SSRIA. One of the critical aspects of their approach is to match experts with owners to identify, validate, and demonstrate success in applied innovation. “By fostering collaborative partnerships of experts from all fields of the building industry and funding innovative demonstration projects, comprehensive energy conservation solutions can follow an evidence-based pathway to market transformation,” says Goertzen.

In British Columbia, a new program was created to specifically address the scope and timing challenges associated with high performance building projects. ZEBx has teamed up with Living Future Vancouver to provide project visioning and predesign charrettes to support project teams with their sustainability objectives. Owners will gain access to Vancouver’s top subject matter experts for project

“We believe we can revolutionize the design, construction, and operations of infrastructure by applying advanced technology...” planning and achieve the highest levels of stainability considering site-specific constraints.

“Our program aims to improve the quality of early collaboration on projects,” says Paul Reynolds, chair of Living Future Vancouver.

“This up-front work is truly a best practice, but it’s often skipped because owners need to manage early spending. We’ve eliminated the cost barrier so more owners can have access to this valuable step in their development planning process.”

Project teams everywhere can also be strategic in how they apply technology to enhance their

collaboration efforts. Regardless of whether teams are constrained by social distancing requirements, some technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can bring clarity and focus to critical issues throughout the project design and construction lifecycle. When used in a collaborative environment, this can support decisionmaking and help identify cost savings and efficiencies, paying for itself many times over.

Change can bring risks and rewards. Smart, structured collaboration can help you minimize the former and maximize the latter.

Morgan McDonald is director of operations with Ledcor Renew and leads Ledcor Construction’s Innovation Lab.

PARTNER. PERFECT. COLLABORATION IS THE LEDCOR WAY. At Ledcor, we partner with you at every stage of your project and treat everyone like a valued member of our team. Because we believe your project is more than just concrete, wood, and steel: it’s about people and the power of partnerships.

WWW.LEDCOR.COM

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Green Building

Building Electrification

BY CHERYL MAH

L

owering carbon emissions from the building sector is critical for achieving a decarbonized economy. Interest in the electrification of buildings is increasing with modern high-performance buildings trending toward all-electric mechanical systems.

“In B.C., the main way to reduce carbon is to use electricity. Natural gas is 17 times more carbon intensive than electricity. That’s why decarbonization equates with electrification,” said Andy Chong, managing principal at Integral Group.

Chong shared insights on building electrification, trends and best practices in a session for Buildex Vancouver.

He started with the rationale for the trend toward electrification, discussing the evolution of building codes and the need to reduce cost and energy. The trend and conversation today is about reducing carbon emissions. Fuel switching (from fossil fuels to electricity) is a necessary step to meet climate action goals.

He cited an IPCC special report on the global impacts of 1.5 °C warming above pre-industrial levels, noting that all three levels of governments in Canada are missing the mark despite setting climate change targets.

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“We’re cruising past 1.5 C. Whether you believe that’s important or not, carbon is a conversation right now,” said Chong.

When looking at electrification of building mechanical systems, Chong says it’s about satisfying end uses of energy with electricity that were coming from somewhere else such as cooking and space heating. Furnaces and boilers constitute one of Canada’s largest sources of carbon pollution.

“Decarbonization is an unavoidable theme in our industry right now,” he said. “In B.C., under specific conditions, it means weaning ourselves off fossil fuels for the end uses in buildings that electricity can be used for.”

The biggest challenge is electricity is expensive.

“If making a decision purely on operation costs to-day, it’s hard to make those numbers work,” he acknowledged. “But when we look at carbon cost — it’s huge. There is a huge difference [with electricity] against even the highest efficiency gas systems in terms of carbon.”

He cited a hypothetical 100,000 square foot commercial building as an example, illustrating that electricity annual cost is three times more than high efficiency gas.

But in terms of carbon emissions, electricity

Green Building

is significantly lower at 17 times. Heat pumps offer even more carbon reduction.

Heat pumps are an important technology in the push to decarbonize. Chong provided an overview of how heat pumps work and the different types of pumps available: air to air, air to water and water to water.

“Are we ready to move from fossil fuel appliances to all electric systems? Combustion is really simple and convenient and cheap. Boilers are dead simple at their core,” he said. “Heat pumps are complicated.”

Performance, complexity, operating costs, reliability, maintenance, and limitations in cold-climates are some of the challenges with heat pumps.

“It’s important that we don’t treat them as oversimplified, silver bullet, black boxes connected to a pipe in the ground with unlimited energy. They’re not,” he cautioned. “They are a great application — great solution to some of the problems that we have but they take some sophistication to do right.”

Making heat pumps work requires following best practices with careful treatment of compressors being number one.

“Compressors are the heart of a heat pump system and we have to treat them well. We need to design and specify with redundancy, backups and maintenance in mind,” said Chong, advising to purchase equipment that comes with service and 10-year warranty for compressors.

For a 100 ton heat pump system, he recommended using 10x10 modules where compressors can be worked intermittently (and not overworked) to meet f luctuating heating and cooling loads.

“Another easy solution is to put in a buffer tank. The buffer tank strategy is simple and will save your compressors,” he said.

Heat pumps also need a better robust cold weather strategy because they don’t “like operating in cold.” Chong cited a project where the heat pump was connected to two sources of energy as a cold weather strategy: an air heat source pump on the roof is used in warm weather while a geothermal field under the parkade is used in cold weather.

Another tip was to be opportunistic with energy sources. Chong highlighted example projects such as the sewage waste heat recovery at Olympic Village; heat recovery from the data centre for

Telus Garden; and heat recovery from product refrigeration systems at a Whole Foods store in Victoria.

“Refrigeration loads are a great source of energy. Heat rejected can heat other buildings on site or go back into heating system for make-up air,” he said about the Whole Foods project.

Synergies with other high-performance building technologies can help maximize heat pump performance. Many radiant heating systems are coupled with heat pumps because of their lower design temperature. The lower the design temperature, the higher the performance of a heat pump, explained Chong.

“Pairing a heat pump system with a good building envelope and a lower temperature application like radiant systems is a match made in heaven,” he said. “The heat pump is there to replace the heat you are losing through the skin of the building in the first place. Reducing the demand for heat pumps in the first place is super key.”

He concluded by saying: “Heat pumps can be very efficient part in decarbonizing and electrifying our buildings. But if you use a heat pump, it’s not an unlimited black box of energy.”

May/June 2020

CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS

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Green Building

Changing Storm Water Management

BY RONALD P. SCHWENGER AND STEVE WILLIAMS

W

ith climate change on everyone’s mind these days, progressive, forward-thinking municipal planners and bylaw writers have started looking much closer at water management at the project site level rather than just focusing on an infrastructure approach to urban water management.

Increased flash floods in North American cities, coupled by longer periods of drought in summer months, have made managing seasonal water a priority. Fortunately, there are excellent options using innovative new technologies that will make site water management easier to design and implement.

WHY SITE WATER MANAGEMENT NOW? A 2017 report from the Munk School of Global Affairs has sited that flooding is far costlier than fire to home owners and building owners in urban Canada. It is estimated that more than 2 million households and buildings are very high risk of flooding with costs projected to exceed $650 million dollars annually.

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Contrarily, summer months often see longer periods of drought leading to greater and greater levels of water use restrictions, in particular for landscaping purposes. This trend shows no signs of letting up over the coming years. Municipal planners and infrastructure managers realize this and also concede that they do not have the capacity or the budgets to perpetually increase infrastructure spending in an attempt to manage the ever-increasing storm water management burden. So municipal leaders are pushing back at the design and development industry with stricter site water management criteria with hard storm water retention and water conservation metrics than ever seen in history.

Architects, landscape architects and builders must now look to tradition methods along with new engineered product innovations pertaining to storm water mitigation and water capture or conservation to meet these increased metric demands from the municipalities.

Green roofs, high performance storm water capture systems (both traditional and new technology), permeable hardscaping,

onsite rainwater harvesting and passive irrigation systems designed to work in an integrated fashion provide for the site water management solutions that are needed.

NEW INNOVATIONS AND INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS There has been such a dramatic increase in requirements for low impact development and creating sustainable environmental conditions that the industry has been creating new technologies that can benefit society, and development, in conjunction with one another. However, there is also the municipal perspective where funds are tight with the understanding of the value created and the return on investment front of mind.

That has led to not only new technology but also new design methodology. What do we mean by that?

Well let’s look at innovative methodology and how that can be combined with technology to achieve environmental sustainability utilizing stormwater.

If you could take all the stormwater that traditionally runs off a site into pipes, that

Green Building

water could provide benefits such as: lowering the urban heat island effect, providing evapotranspiration to cool ambient temperatures thereby lowering the temperature of asphalt to cool stormwater discharging into tributaries, mitigate the effects of carbon by sequestering as much as we can, recharge groundwater aquifers and utilize the water to provide passive irrigation.

Even gray water scenarios to flush toilets etc are very beneficial.

These are all important components to provide environmental benefits to society and create value for cities and developers.

The new methodology comes into play when the use of the storm water for these areas is to catch, treat it, store it and reuse it! That means catching it on the roof and keeping it on the roof. If we can catch, keep it, and use it on the roof, the water becomes an asset not a liability.

Now only in extreme events will water move off the roof and into the infrastructure system.

If we can infiltrate and recharge aquifers, we are using that water to provide a benefit. If we can turn every impervious area into a pervious area we can solve many problems for designers.

What if you could take all that storm water and send it your trees, or send it under green space and use it? So what is the value provided?

• For the municipality, none of that water is going into their pipes, it’s all pretreated so they don’t need to have additional treatment cost. Municipalities don’t have to dig up roads and put bigger and bigger pipes in the ground.

• For designers and developers, they don’t need ponds, they get valuable land back and that land can provide even more environmental benefits.

• Building owners get buildings with lower operating costs, healthier exterior green space and potentially credits for reducing water usage as well as discharge rates.

One of the newest technological product advancements is Permavoid. Manufactured by Advanced Building Technologies. Permavoid is actually patented as a sub-base allowing for installation directly under impervious areas. The system is multifunctional. It has extreme loading capability, stores water, conveys water, and can infiltrate water and with a membrane can provide passive irrigation as well.

You can take all the stormwater off a parking lot, put it underneath the parking lot and provide environmental stainability.

Permavoid can be used for tree pits, bioswales, bioretention systems, and under permeable pavements.

Whether through permeable surfaces or innovative permeable subbases, increased

infiltration on project sites and within our urban spaces is a critical first step to promoting the natural water cycle and ultimately in protecting our fresh water.

CONNECTED BLUE GREEN ROOFS Connected blue green roofs were developed with one simple idea in mind: take all of the water management benefits attributed to blue roofs and use them to overcome the shortcomings of green roofs.

Traditionally, green roofs used very shallow growing media to prevent excessive building loads but with the desire for more native and diverse vegetation, increased the need for available water. Logically, more soil was seen as the straight forward solution.

While successful, returns were small, with great cost in structural loads.

The Permavoid bluegreen roof overcomes this concern through a lightweight structure with extremely high void space that makes stored water available through wicking cylinders and natural capillary action. This means huge volumes of water are available to vegetation without the need for pumps, sprinklers, drinking water and energy. Successfully converting stormwater into a resource in this way adds many important benefits including: • Protect our drinking water • Prevent CSO’s • Reduce flood risk • Mitigate the urban heat island • Support native/diverse vegetation • Increase biodiversity INTEGRATED APPROACH PROVIDES THE BEST RESULTS Applying an integrated approach to site wa-

ter management will always bring the best results. Combining traditional and bluegreen green roofs with high performance storm water catchment systems, rain water harvesting, permeable hardscapes and smart controls, we can use water very productively for the building and the site.

SUSTAINABLE BENEFITS AND LONG TERM PAY-OFFS Site water management provides for many long-term benefits in particular when it comes to sustainable development. Firstly, every time municipal crews dig up existing storm water infrastructure for expansion or repair, it is not only costly from an economic perspective, there is a significant carbon footprint to this activity. So by reducing the need for remediation, repair and replacement, there is a positive impact on the urban environment.

Additionally, by reducing water use at the site level for landscape irrigation and reusing site retained storm water during wet seasons through traditional or passive irrigation, we are not only managing storm water but we are conserving water during drier seasons.

When we utilize the available new smart technologies for managing water at the site, we dramatically reduce the environmental footprint and save city tax payers millions of dollars of infrastructure expenditures.

Changing the nature of storm water management is unquestionably the natural choice moving forward.

Ronald P. Schwenger is principal of Archtek SBP Inc. and Steve Williams is environmental manager of ABT Inc. May/June 2020

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Technology

The Dawn of Mixed Reality A remote worker support solution

BY GORD RAJEWSKI Core Features and Specifications Fully Encrypted and Highly Secure — The RemoteSpark platform and all calls made through the system are encrypted, end-to-end boasting a bevy of additional layers of security to meet and beat an organizations security requirement.

Low-Bandwidth Capabilities – The platform is ideal for remote environments only requiring 256 kbps to operate a full, MR support call.

Annotations — SME user can mark-up the remote user’s field of view to guide a task.

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s the world navigates through the COVID-19 pandemic, and as travel to remote sites becomes ever more restrictive and costly, professional service firms are looking to innovative technology for solutions. This article introduces an example of an industrial grade mixed reality remote worker support solution.

Have you ever had to contend with the challenge that your company’s subject matter experts may not always be able to offer their expertise in-person to support project activities in remote locations? Have you ever been in a situation where a worker in the field may lack the background or experience required by a remote assignment? Would it not be nice to provide remote staff with an “expert on their shoulders”?

Before we can address how technology may be able to provide solutions, let’s first provide some background and definitions.

The smart glasses use safety rated glass, that do not obstruct the user’s field of view. They can be attached to a hard hat for use in industrial or construction site settings. The glasses are quite robust, and both droprated and dust-rated. They can be used in various environmental settings both inside and outside and will continue to function in temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius.

Mixed Reality “Mixed Reality is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time.” (Milgram and Kishino in “Taxomony of Mixed Reality Visual Displays”).

Mixed reality blends the best attributes of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to create a fully immersive experience. It overlays images or videos over a screen showing reality through smart glasses. It allows you to see yourself in the world around you even as you interact with a virtual environment using your own hands.

RemoteSpark is a communications platform designed for the Microsoft HoloLens by Kognitiv Spark. This industrial augmented reality solution brings support to field workers, without the need for subject matter experts to travel onsite. This effectively increases task comprehension and eliminates travel cost, plus reduces down-time in trouble shooting and maintenance/repair scenarios.

By blending RemoteSpark with HoloLens technology, subject matter experts located anywhere in the world can provide guidance to field personnel through live “see-what-I-see” audio/video connection. The process begins when the remote worker “calls” the subject matter expert via the HoloLens device. A live audio/video feed is established. The subject matter expert sees a first-person view from the HoloLens. The subject matter expert can offer support, including live photo capturing and ink annotation that the remote worker can access in real time. The expert can also transfer Microsoft office files, PDFs and task relevant, animated holograms that all appear as digitally in the remote workers’ real-world environment.

Microsoft HoloLens — Microsoft HoloLens is the Mixed Reality smart glasses hardware developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens was the first head-mounted display to run the Windows 10 computer operating system. HoloLens incorporates next generation sensing and imaging technologies.

When combined with MR software, it allows the user the ability to simultaneously span the real world and the digital world, offering an experience that truly enhances how various work tasks can be performed.

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Kognitiv Spark is a Canadian company, based in Fredericton, NB. They are a global leader in industrial augmented reality task support software. Partnered with leading hardware providers, the company uses mixed and augmented reality to deliver holographic remote worker support with interactive 3D content, artificial intelligence and live LoT data. Their mission is to empower workers to achieve more operational productivity.

Microsoft Office Document Imports — Documents can be imported and are automatically converted to 3D content within the remote worker’s field of view.

Windows 10 — The subject matter expert provides guidance to the remote worker from a Windows 10 device.

Interactive Holograms — CAD files (saved as glTF) can be dragged and dropped into a call appearing as interactive 3D holograms. These assets can be multi-step animated to visually communicate a complex task.

Off-Line Inspection — The remote worker can continue to use all of the holographic elements from any given support call enabling a level of self-service before a remote worker would have to call an expert.

NoAdditionalSoftwareRequired — RemoteSpark is not reliant on additional software or further integrations.

Virtual Site Review Disclaimers Organizations utilizing mixed reality technology in scenarios where subject matter experts appear on site to conduct reviews virtually, must be careful to limit their exposure to risk. Until the use of this technology becomes more common, and the legal profession has had an opportunity to consider the potential of these remote project solutions, it is recommended early adopters adequately state the limitations of the work being undertaken.

Conclusion Mixed reality remote worker support solutions have finally evolved providing a potential solution that will enable remote workers with the ability to perform tasks like experts, provide improved knowledge transfer, and reduce expert travel to remote sites.

These solutions provide service organizations with real options for negotiating the new world.

Gord Rajewski is the national practice leader, Building Science and Sustainability for Pinchin Ltd.

Technology

Attracting a new generation of workers How technology can offer a competitive edge

BY KRIS TROPPMANN

T

here is a lot of talk about the future of construction and where the industry is headed. BuildForce Canada predicts the industry will see an influx of 222,600 workers under 30 over the next decade, but that will only fill a portion of the positions required, leaving a gap of more than 80,000 unfilled jobs in the construction sector. According to the Canadian Construction Association, Canada is also due to lose nearly a quarter-million construction workers in the next decade due to retirement alone.

Even in times of uncertainty, demands on the construction industry continue to grow. Though technology plays a crucial role in that development, the industry will always require people. As machines become more intelligent and projects become more complex, the industry will need to ensure it has the necessary workforce in place to meet demand.

This is why the industry needs to rethink how they attract and retain workers and what they can do to encourage millennials to pursue careers in construction.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ATTRACT A WIDER POOL OF TALENT With the existing labour shortage, and so many set to leave the industry in the coming years, contractors face extreme pressure to ramp up hiring and encourage the next generation to pursue careers in construction. Technology is providing an opportunity to fill that gap, and companies embracing this new way of doing business are seeing the benefits — , not just saving time and money but in attracting a new workforce.

Companies thinking about new ways to attract that potential workforce are already revising their training, apprenticeship and recruitment initiatives, to align with new technologies and changes in the industry. Modifying recruitment strategies include turning to tools like social media and influencers to connect with millennials, and revising job postings to focus on technology and the new skills required for careers in the industry.

INDUSTRY EVOLVING THROUGH TECHNOLOGY Technology is fast becoming an indispensable part of each and every function in construction — from keeping track of maintenance schedules, records, inventory and parts to the operation and management of equipment. Earthworks, once done manually, can now be done semiautonomously with extreme accuracy; site surveying took days when done manually and can now be completed in hours or just minutes using drones to fly the site; and GPS technology gives operators instant access to a detailed and accurate view of the terrain. Plus, increasingly, government tenders, large contractors and large

projects are demanding the use of certain technologies as a requirement to win jobs, which means contractors not using the technology are no longer able to compete.

There is a growing awareness that those same technology tools that are helping companies keep costs down, operate more effectively and gain an advantage over the competition, can also help make the industry more attractive to the younger generation.

ADVANCEMENTS IN EQUIPMENT CAN PLAY A KEY ROLE Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) machine control allows inexperienced operators to effectively operate equipment with a minimum level of instruction. It can also facilitate twoway teaching. Less experienced operators can teach more experienced operators how to use the technology to be more efficient, allowing the more experienced operators time to train new operators on the nuances of general machine operation.

When construction companies invest in leadingedge equipment, it doesn’t just provide improved cost savings and greater efficiency, the machines themselves are much easier to maneuver and don’t require the same physical endurance to operate. On-top of that, technologies such as telematics and remote monitoring help prohibit bad habits like speeding, excessive idling and overloading, which leads to increased safety on the jobsite, reduced wear and tear and increased machine efficiencies.

Improvements in business management tools for those overseeing the jobsite now allow contractors to manage their fleets remotely and utilize the technology to gain efficiencies on the operations side. Technology has also significantly changed management roles, lending additional opportunities for the next generation to apply their skills and follow a different career path in the industry.

SAFETY A FACTOR IN HIRING THE BEST TALENT Safety has, and will continue to play a major role in attracting employees to any job. Employees want to know first and foremost that their health and wellbeing is their employer’s top priority and their safety is of paramount importance. The construction industry is no different.

With improvements in regulations, personal protection and companies investing in better training, tools and technology, it is making the jobsite a much safer place. Smart cameras mounted on equipment detect dangerous hazards and improve visibility, increasing awareness and safety on site. New developments in fatigue technologies are also playing a role in increased safety. Mounted inside the cab, they work by monitoring eye-closure duration and head poses, sending immediate alarms to operators and

site-managers. There are also wearables to alert operators and workers on site of proximity to potential dangers. All contribute to improved safety in the industry and provide assurance companies are vested in their employees.

Today’s advancements in machine technology and increased use of semi-autonomous machines on construction sites are allowing for operators of all abilities, experience and skills to quickly learn to operate the equipment safely and efficiently. Decreasing safety risks and providing better protection for workers on the job demonstrate how heavily invested the construction industry is in employee safety.

ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES Advancements in GPS, telematics, artificial intelligence and automation have resulted in projects being built faster, safer, more efficiently, and cost effective with fewer risks involved. But with a large ageing workforce set to leave the industry in the next few years, more needs to be done to stem the labour shortage. Strides have been made in terms of promoting gender diversity and there may be more women in this typically male-dominated industry, but they are still dramatically under-represented. The industry itself needs to continue its work in attracting not only a younger generation but also a more diverse workforce. Some of this could be achieved by rethinking recruitment efforts.

With the construction industry changing - and technology levelling the playing field - it is the ideal time for companies to invest in finding new ways to attract the next generation of workers to construction. Offering challenging and fulfilling jobs creates opportunities for this generation to experience longterm, rewarding careers in the industry which could also lead to success in bridging the labour gap.

Kris Troppmann is regional technology manager at Finning Canada. Finning Canada is a division of Finning International Inc., the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer.

May/June 2020

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COVID-19

United Against COVID-19

BY MIKE MCKENNA

Full list of organizations Mike McKenna, Executive Director, BC Construction Safety Alliance Chris Atchison, President, BC Construction Association Dr. David Baspaly, President, Council of Construction Associations Ken McCormack, President & CEO, Construction Labour Relations Association of BC Mary Van Buren, President, Canadian Construction Association Chris Gardner, President, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association Ron Rapp, CEO, Homebuilders Association of Vancouver Kim Barbero, CEO, Mechanical Contractors Association of BC Deborah Cahill, President, Electrical Contractors Association of BC

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s the provincial government announces a phased recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic under B.C.’s Restart Plan, many sequestered businesses and workers may be facing a reopening with a mix of optimism and concern about working safely. Declared an essential service by the provincial government, B.C.’s construction industry has been working through the pandemic, developing and improving safety practices and protocols that demonstrate that businesses can work safely, even as they face unfamiliar challenges.

When a public health emergency was declared in the province on March 17, little was known about COVID-19. Industries and services considered essential started off in the same place, understanding the general health threat posed by the coronavirus, some of the ways in which it causes infection, and some of the strategies that were already working to slow its transmission.

As an essential service, the B.C. construction industry understood its responsibility to the province, continuing to build essential infrastructure to serve its people, ensuring that construction projects already underway were taken to a point where they were safe and secure and ensuring that the core of the province’s economy continued to operate. Given an opportunity to retrench or move forward, many construction companies and their workers continued to report for work voluntarily.

The primary concern of construction industry employers was the health and safety of its more than 220,000 workers, including the 183,000 tradespeople who can’t work from home. Yes, it was scary at first. But the industry pivoted quickly to developing new safety practices and protocols from the ground up, not only to protect workers and their families, but to demonstrate that the industry could work safely through the pandemic without straining government health resources.

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Physical distancing became the new normal as workers were deployed to maintain the strict limits recognized by health authorities. Schedules were adjusted, splitting construction crews into day and night shifts where possible, maintaining productivity while increasing physical distance. As experts in personal protective equipment, the industry deployed facemasks for workers and established additional handwashing and hand sanitizing stations at worksites. Work crew transportation was limited to fewer workers per trip and a number of worksites introduced non-contact temperature screening to identify possible symptomatic carriers. Construction workers were also assigned to isolated work “pods” in which they would only work with a small group of workers each day. If any worker believed they were infected, only the workers in that pod needed to self-isolate. Innovation was key to completing everyday jobs. For example, how do two workers cooperate to hang a door that measures five feet across and still achieve the goals of physical distancing? A forced air respirator proved essential to completing the task for one work team.

Companies shared their hard-won safety knowledge with each other, with industry associations, and with jurisdictions across the country. We worked closely with WorkSafeBC to establish new protocols and educate employers and workers on what they needed to do to work safely.

The construction industry’s response has not always been perfect, but it has been successful to date. So far, no outbreaks or clusters have been reported, and as of May 13, WorkSafeBC has recorded only one incident of a construction worker contracting COVID-19 on a job site.

But we also recognize that the job isn’t finished. The construction industry will continue to adhere to these critical safety measures and adapt and improve them as new information comes to light.

Paul de Jong, President, Progressive Contractors Association Bob Sloat, Western Canada Regional Director, Surety Association of Canada Bryan Wallner, CEO, Roofing Contractors Association of BC Chris Maskell, CEO, National Floor Covering Association Kelly Scott, President, BC Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association Kim Barbero, Manager, Mechanical Industrial Relations Association Neil Moody, CEO, Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia Anne McMullin, President & CEO, Urban Development Institute Scott Bone, CEO, Northern Regional Construction Association Fiona Famulak, President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association Rory Kulmala, CEO, Vancouver Island Construction Association Scott Wild, CEO, Southern Interior Construction Association

As B.C. positions itself for a phased re-opening over the next 18 to 24 months, the construction industry provides a template for doing so safely. We offer our hard-won knowledge as a resource so that we can work with other businesses and industries to lead an economic recovery — with a mix of optimism, caution and expertise — together.

Mike McKenna is executive director of the B.C. Construction Safety Alliance and issued this piece on behalf of 20 organizations representing more than 40,000 employers and over 220,000 workers in B.C.’s construction sector. Originally appeared in the Vancouver Sun.

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