BUILDING MORE THAN HOSPITALS

Build Nova Scotia’s EDI program ensures construction worksites reflect Cape Breton’s diverse communities

By Erin Forsey

Robyn Lee Seale describes her position as diversity and inclusion lead with Build Nova Scotia as “building support and bridging gaps.”

In her role, Seale works with government, diverse communities and industry to ensure construction sites in Cape Breton, N.S., are representative of communities that have traditionally been marginalized. The sites are part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) healthcare redevelopment project, which spans four communities and involves major expansions and renovations to existing hospitals, as well as building new healthcare infrastructure.

For an area that has been challenged by out-migration and economic downturn, the project is a chance to revitalize the region and engage underrepresented communities.

“This project is about more than new buildings; it’s about economic change and a transformation for the region,” says Seale. “These projects will support quality public services with modern facilities that will meet people’s needs for generations to come. With my role, there is an opportunity to involve more people from historically marginalized communities to develop business opportunities and create a new generation of diverse workers to support growth in the area.”

The goal of the equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiative is to work with underrepresented communities to ensure they are involved and benefiting from these large-scale construction projects. These groups include African Nova Scotian, Indigenous and other visibly racialized people; women; people with disabilities; and newcomers. Specifically, some of the EDI initiative work involves partnering with industry, community groups and other government agencies to develop mandatory diversity and inclusion orientation sessions; metrics for measuring equity and inclusion on sites; guiding principles for diversity and inclusion efforts for all sites; and monthly working group meetings. With support from two co-operative students, Seale is also working on developing a digital app to help managers expand their EDI capacities, as well as tools to support inclusive language and respective worksites.

“The initiative has been an opportunity to see a new generation of workers from Indigenous, black (and) newcomer communities, as well as people with disabilities and women on the project’s construction sites,” says Seale. “This is the first initiative of its kind for our province. Now that we see it’s working, we are focusing on building industry capacity.”

The target for the EDI initiative is for a minimum of 10 per cent of those working on construction sites in CBRM to be representative of diverse groups and communities. Currently, the EDI initiative is exceeding the diversity and inclusion target on all sites.

Continued on page 27

SUnDAY SEpTEMBEr 17, 2023

08:00-16:00 The Great CHES Golf Game – Sponsored by Miura Canada

Quarry Oaks Golf Club

(Bus time to be determined)

18:30-20:30 opening reception – Sponsored by Class 1 Inc. reception Entertainment – Sponsored by Precise Parklink

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

MonDAY SEpTEMBEr 18, 2023

07:00-08:30 Breakfast – Sponsored by IEM

08:30-08:45 Opening Ceremonies

08:45-09:30 KEYnoTE ADDrESS – Sponsored by Honeywell

Isha Khan

Isha Khan is a lawyer, educator and community leader dedicated to building a culture of human rights in Canada and beyond. She assumed her role as CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in August 2020.

Born in Winnipeg, she holds degrees from the University off Manitoba and the University of Victoria. She worked in private practice in Calgary before returning home to lead institutional development and change management at United Way Winnipeg. She served at the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, first as legal counsel and then as Executive Director, moving forward several important rightsbased initiatives and public education campaigns. Before assuming her role at CMHR, she was appointed by the Government of Canada to review the conditions of incarcerated people in segregation in federal penitentiaries.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Khan is a dedicated community volunteer who serves as Board Chair of United Way Winnipeg. Throughout her life, Khan has helped build communities where everyone is respected and empowered to reach their full potential. She continues that work at CMHR, engaging people around the world in a growing movement for hope and human right.

09:30-10:30 pLEnArY SESSIon - TrACK 1

Track 1: When is an Upgrade More than an Upgrade? rethinking Traditional Approaches to Healthcare Infrastructure renewal – Sponsored by Victaulic

Kim Spencer, P.Eng., LEED AP, Principal/Division Director, Health, HH Angus & Associates Ltd.

Edward Hood, P.Eng., Engineering Director, Health, HH Angus & Associates Ltd.

Julie Lawson, P.Eng., LEED AP, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Health, HH Angus & Associates Ltd.

As healthcare institutions grapple with significant challenges, it is increasingly important to not enter full ‘reactive mode’ but instead employ approaches that allow consideration of infrastructure upgrades as opportunities to improve the facilities and systems that support a safe, healthy, comfortable and productive environment for patients, staff and visitors.

10:30-11:00 refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

– Sponsored by Belimo

11:00-12:00 TrACK 2: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 2A, 2B

Track 2A: Leveraging Climate resilience needs when Upgrading Facility Systems

Lisaw Westerhoff, Introba

Gordon McDonald, Introba

Daniel Gagne, Introba

With an ever-increasing focus on climate change, governments are leading the way in preparing buildings to be ‘climate resilient.’ This takes many forms, from improved building envelopes to smart buildings. Perhaps this is most prevalent in healthcare as these buildings tend to be at the forefront of complexity, high expectations and media exposure. In this session, we will cover assessing existing facilities from a climate resilience perspective to implementing recomendations in facility systems.

Track 2B: Keeping the power on While replacing Critical Electrical Equipment

Jeff Hankin, PE, LEED AP, Senior Principal, Engineering, Stantec

Maureen Jackson, PE, Principal Electrical, Stantec

Facilities facing aging infrastructure and the need to maintain reliable, continuous power services must employ critical thinking/collaborative team innovations to develop upgrade/replacement plans that address key needs while keeping power on.

12:00-13:00 TrACK 3: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 3A, 3B

Track 3A: Digital Transformation roadmap to the Future Smart Hospital

Mike Maselli, Introba

Daniel Gagne, Introba

Leveraging digital transformation to plan and execute a smart hospital strategy to help the challenges healthcare providers face with high costs, changing care models, staff retention, consumerization of healthcare, decarbonization and cyber security, with steps every system can take to assess their current state and envision a digital future.

Track 3B: This is Exciting: Energizing Healthcare Facilities through CSA/ISo 50001 Energy Management Systems

Kate Butler, P.Eng., LEED AP, Executive Director, Energy Management, Service New Brunswick Health Services

Blaine Lynch, Regional Director, Facilities, Engineering and Property Maintenance, Horizon Health Network

Energy management systems, as per CSA/ISO 50001 guidelines, can support healthcare facilities as organizations rejuvenate their infrastructure and invest in capital while being environmental stewards that supports exceptional patient care. In 2021, Horizon Health Network implemented the guidelines across the organization at an enterprise and site level. This session will provide an overview of CSA/ISO 50001 energy management system guidelines, as well as share Horizon’s implementation with outcomes, experiences and lessons learned.

13:00-14:00 Lunch in Exhibit Hall – Sponsored by DuBois Chemicals

15:00-16:00

TrACK 4: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 4A, 4B

Track 4A: responding to a Water Management Crisis: “Green Water”

Michael Stanford, PMP, CHE, Executive Director, Alberta Health Services

Brian Flannigan, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Phigenics

An effective and efficient water management program can be used to assist in the restoration of services during a crisis. Learn how one organization responded and used a water management program to recover from the sudden development of “green water” in a brand-new hospital addition. This session will present a summary of the situation, resources required and how the lessons learned are being applied to future construction projects and ongoing water management.

Track 4B:

Applying Climate risk and Vulnerability Assessments to Healthcare Facilities

Lauretta Massimiliano, EIT, LEED AP ID+C, ISO 31000 Risk Manager, Mechanical EIT, CBCL

Martino Fanfani, CBCL

Climate change is posing wide-ranging and ever-evolving challenges to healthcare facilities across Canada. A core aspect of operating any facility sustainably is considering potential impacts of climate change and cost-effective adaptation strategies during both the design and operation of buildings. This session will discuss relevant climate projections for practitioners, as well as best practices for assessing risk and adapting to climate change through relevant case study examples in various locations across Canada.

16:00-17:00 ”Happy Hour” in Exhibit Hall – Sponsored by Trane

18:00-19:00

19:00-23:00 president’s reception – Sponsored by Tremco York Ballroom 2-4 & Concourse, RBC Convention Centre

Gala Banquet – Sponsored by Johnson Controls

Banquet Entertainment – Big City All Star Band

– Sponsored by SDI Canada York Ballroom 1, RBC Convention Centre

TUESDAY SEpTEMBEr 19, 2023

07:00-08:30 Breakfast – Sponsored by ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design

08:30-09:30 TrACK 5: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 5A, 5B

Track 5A: M&E post Disaster resilience rejuvenation

Collin Vaness, MCW Consulting Ltd.

This session will focus on upgrading/rejuvenating mechanical and electrical systems for medium to high-risk healthcare infrastructure located in environmentally unstable areas of Canada. It will also provide an overall roadmap that will help better prepare facility operators, architects, engineers and policymakers to deal with the challenges that will be faced when preparing for and operating after a major environmental disaster has occurred.

Track 5B: Future-proofing Toronto Western Hospital:

Decarbonizing Healthcare HVAC Infrastructure using Wastewater Energy

Songyang Hu, P.Eng., CEM, Patient Energy Manager, University Health Network

Campbell Quinn, P.Eng., Senior Project Manager, Noventa

Michael Kurz, P.Eng., CEM, Team Lead, Energy and Innovation, University Health Network

University Health Network (UHN) and Noventa will present their Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) project at Toronto Western Hospital, which uses wastewater as an alternative energy source and converts the hospital’s HVAC infrastructure from steam to hot water to reduce 8,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The session covers how the system works and how the project will accelerate similar initiatives in the future.

09:30-10:15

CHES national Annual General Meeting

CHES 2024 presentation

Island Health is developing a low carbon roadmap to 2030 and beyond in collaboration with our partners. The roadmap guides the organization’s pathway to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonization and electrification. It is a shared vision for prioritizing future capital projects on the basis of technical viability and cost-effectiveness in order to create a viable path to a minimum 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, with considerations for our future 2050 target of 80% emissions reductions.

14:15-15:15 TrACK 7: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 7A, 7B

Track 7A: Managing Infrastructure, Space and the relationship Between Them

Andy Santoro, P.Eng., President, Sansys Inc.

Scott Payne, William Osler Health System

For the most part, existing documentation used as a reference for managing space and infrastructure equipment consists of a hodgepodge of inaccurate, outdated as-builts, manuals and floor plans in both paper and digital media. Facility planning and maintenance staff rely on this information to maintain and operate infrastructure and manage space.

Tools are now available to provide a simple, secure and accurate representation of space and the equipment infrastructure that supports it.

Track 7B: Transitioning Central plants from Steam-centric, High Carbon to Integrated Low Carbon Systems

Ian Jarvis, Executive Director, Climate Challenge Network

Amandeep Deol, Technical Director, Climate Challenge Network

The transition to low carbon is changing the way we look at hospital infrastructure. Hospitals are at the frontline of the drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions, with central plants being a primary area for attention. Low carbon plants, including integrated heat recovery and air conditioning chillers, comprehensive heat reclaim, condensing boilers and renewable energy, are being designed into new hospitals. The challenge is to economically transition existing hospital plants to low carbon ones.

15:15-15:45 refreshment Break

– Sponsored by Camfil

15:45-16:45 pLEnArY SESSIon - TrACK 8

TRACK 8: Space Management Enabling the Launch of a Virtual Hospital

Martine Jacnicki, PhD, P.Eng., PMP, EDAC Director, Facilities and Land Development, Fraser Health

10:15-10:45

10:15-11:15

10:15-14:15

12:15-13:15

13:15-14:15 refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

CHES Manitoba Chapter Annual General Meeting

Exhibit Hall open

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall/Draw prizes – Sponsored by SMS Engineering

TrACK 6: ConCUrrEnT SESSIonS 6A, 6B

Track 6A: What’s in Your Ductwork? Lessons Learned from an operating room Event

Gordie Howie, ASHE President

This session will discuss events that led to a hospital in the United States immediately stopping performance of procedures in its operating room suite, what was identified and what actions were taken. Lessons learned that can translate across borders will also be examined.

Track 6B: A Low Carbon roadmap to Meeting 2030 and 2050 Emissions Goals pierre Iachetti, RPP, MCIP, PAg, LEED Green Associate, Director of Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Facilities Management, Island Health

Fraser Health space management was engaged to develop a built environment for an innovative virtual hospital to help address the unprecedented pressure on care sites and provide virtual services “post” pandemic. Upon assessment, existing corporate space in a commercial building was selected. Months of staff engagement, space planning, furniture purchasing and challenging infrastructure upgrades resulted in the successful launch of Fraser Virtual, Virtual — 24/7 virtual services by more than 100 administrative and clinical staff.

16:45-17:00 Closing Ceremonies

Abatement Technologies

Air Liquide Healthcare

Altro Canada, Inc.

AMG Medical

Amico Corporation

Aqua Air Systems Ltd.

Ascom

Atlas-Apex Roofing (Saskatchewan) Inc.

Austco

B.G.E. Service & Supply Ltd.

Belimo Aircontrols (CAN) Inc.

Bender Canada Inc.

Buckworld Western

Camfil Canada Inc.

Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care

Centura Western

Chem-Aqua

CHES

Class 1 Inc.

Construction Specialties, Inc.

Cool Air Rentals

CSA Group

Cypress Sales Partnership

Dafco Filtration Group

DCM Inc.

DDC Dolphin Ltd.

Delta Controls Inc.

Delta Faucet Canada

ECNG Energy Group

Erv Parent

ESC Automations Inc.

Finning Power Systems

Firestop Contractors International Association (FCIA)

FlashCove Canada

Flatland Inspection Services Ltd.

Flynn Canada Ltd.

Follett LLC

Franke Kindred Canada Limited

Global Plasma Solutions Inc.

Grundfos

Guard RFID Solutions Inc.

Hikvision Canada

Hippo CMMS

Honeywell ipcGUARD LTD

IEM Industrial Electric Mfg (Canada) Inc.

IRC Building Sciences Group

Islandaire

Johnson Controls

Klenzoid Canada Inc.

Levitt-Safety

MediaEdge Communications Inc.

MIP Inc.

Miura Canada Co. Ltd.

Mondo Contract Flooring

Morris Lee

OES Wellness Group

On2 Solutions

Pinchin Ltd.

Precise Parklink Inc.

Precision AirConvey Waste & Linen Conyeing Group

PRIMCO

Primex, Inc.

Rauland

Reliable Controls Corporation

Reliance Worldwide Corporation (Canada) Inc.

Saskatchewan Masonry Institute Inc.

Schneider Electric Canada Inc.

SciCan Ltd.

Smillie McAdams Summerlin Ltd.

Specified Technologies Inc.

Spirax Sarco

STERIS Canada Sales ULC

Swisslog Healthcare

Texcan, A sonepar Company

Thermal Insulation Association of Canada

Thermogenics

Thomson Power Systems

Tower Tech (Fiberglass) colling tower - Longhill Energy

Trane

Tremco

Umano Medical

Vernacare Canada Inc.

Victaulic

WESCO Distribution Canada

Willis/Corian Design

Window Film Canada

David Benoit, CEO of Build Nova Scotia, believes the initiative’s success is due to commitment from staff and communities.

“Robyn Lee‘s work on this initiative has made sure Cape Breton, and, by extension, Nova Scotia and its construction industry are at the leading edge of diversity, inclusivity and equity. She has helped prove how we achieve greatness only when we have contributions from everyone,” he says. “The government is delivering an ambitious program of reinvestment around the province and this part will have lasting positive implications for generations to come.”

For Seale, she credits the EDI initiative’s success to strong leadership and support at the grassroots level.

“We’ve been fortunate to have leadership from Build Nova Scotia and the local construction industry support the initiative within their teams, while diverse communities at the grassroots level helped build it,” she says. “Our equity communities have been engaged from day one, clearly stating their goals with the expectation that they would be fully at the table for this generational project. Through measurement, reporting and accountability, we share our learnings and together we are working to make our sites more safe, inclusive and diverse.”

The CBRM healthcare redevelopment project was announced by the provincial government in 2018. The project involves expansions and renovations to existing hospitals, as well as building new healthcare centres, long-term care homes, a laundry centre, school, new Cape Breton Cancer Centre and clinical services building that will house an emergency department, critical care department, inpatient beds, surgical suites and family/newborn services at the island’s regional hospital.