FIN D it - Vancouver Regional Construction Association

VRCA news feature
J u ly 1 2 – 1 8 , 2 0 1 6 v R ca . b c . ca
Standing out sustainably
elements behind stuart olson’s 745 thurlow
lead the redefinition of sustainability
Hayley Woodin
A
s they make their way to one of
eight elevators just off of the
building’s stunning 26-foothigh lobby, tenants and visitors at 745
Thurlow move with such collective
smoothness that foot traffic on the
premises might be mistaken for a flawlessly choreographed dance.
Helping guests navigate the 23 storeys of commercial spaces built by Stuart Olson is Destination Dispatch. The
smart elevator system features two
digital directories, and the elevator
cars themselves house no buttons.
It’s the behind-the-scenes technology
that ensures foot traffic in the almost
fully leased building is handled as efficiently as possible on two fronts: in
saving people time and in saving the
building energy.
“Through the spirit of collaboration
the entire project team worked closely to find opportunities to do things
better, and to give greater value for
the dollar spent,” said Clint Undseth,
vice-president of innovation at Stuart
Olson, which is a member of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA).
Since Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification came to Canada in 2003, what it
means to build green has expanded
beyond green roofs and patios – although 745 Thurlow has both – to include design, electrical and mechanical
elements that meet targets in the areas
of water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, location, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
Designed to achieve LEED Gold certification for core and shell development, Stuart Olson incorporated a
variety of elements to increase 745
Thurlow’s operational sustainability,
reduce waste and save energy.
For example, 93.5% of the project’s
construction waste was diverted from
landfills, and the energy model for
the project called for a self-contained
thermal dynamic, which means little
to no need to use natural gas heating.
Thanks to LED lighting, the building’s minimum level of energy use is
.48 watts per square foot – a significant improvement on the .98 watts per
square foot standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers. A
controlled lighting system and motionactivated lights across the building’s
bathrooms and parkade also increase
operational efficiency.
continued on page B2
Opened in 2015, 745 Thurlow incorporates leading-edge technologies to
optimize energy efficiencies. Construction in Vancouver takes a closer look
at this new building, built by general contractor Stuart Olson | Bob Young
FINDit
Photography
constructive comment B3
Innovation deficit threatens
B.C.’s construction industry
Legal Specs
Pay-if-paid clauses
B7
BC’s Leading Construction Law Firm
From pencils to pixels
B4
RoundtableB10
Collaborate or stagnate
B6
Living in and building for
local communities
Canada’s construction and building
industry is becoming “lean”-er
B12
B8
Cross-Canada “quality of documents”
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B2news
standing out
Continued from page B1
Another key element of 745
Thurlow’s sustainability program involved reducing volatile organic compounds within
sealants, paint and carpet to
improve the indoor air quality
of the Bentall Kennedy-managed
building.
According to Stuart Olson,
multiple elements – including
triple-glazed windows with an
advanced coating – combine to
make the building 20-25% more
efficient than a comparable new
structure of the same size in
Vancouver.
“The latest and greatest has
been used here, whether in electrical or mechanical,” said Aldo
Pulice, senior superintendent
for 745 who is overseeing some
of the work that remains on the
building. It’s expected to be completely finished by the end of the
year.
“You don’t want a building to
last three or four years,” Pulice
said. “Stuart Olson came at this
looking to build something that
will last 100 years.”
Located on the south side of Alberni, 745 Thurlow quite literally
stands out. Between its upscale
street-level tenants and a rooftop
garden that collects 100% of the
water needed for its irrigation,
the building juts out 14 feet over
Thurlow Street.
What stands out most about
the building, however, are the
sustainability-oriented features
that are as attention-grabbing
in Stuart Olson’s key performance indicator data as the building’s near-panoramic views of
Vancouver.
“We want to enable real-time
reporting of the tangible impact
of building performance,” Undseth said. “I’d like to see realtime reporting of what’s behind
the building certification plaque
– what’s LEED in real time?”
Undseth says the company
uses analytics to enhance and
optimize the products, systems
and features of their projects. For
example, Stuart Olson’s Centre
for Building Performance, which
tests and develops many sustainability-focused innovations
that end up in the company’s
projects, first implemented converged infrastructure – multiple
information technology elements
grouped into a single optimized
package – on its Telus Garden
project, and did so for the second
time at 745 Thurlow.
“Converged infrastructure
will now always go in a building that we do,” said Undseth,
noting that it reduces time and
materials during construction.
“It allows us to anticipate and
facilitate change of the future,
and to eliminate design debt.”
With an expanded definition of
sustainability that aims to quantify the real-world impact of its
projects, Stuart Olson often looks
beyond LEED to social, economic
and ecological efficiency elements that collaboratively lead
to tangible, quantifiable and sustainable results in construction.
“I think what Stuart Olson is
doing today is really the tip of
the iceberg in terms of where
innovation needs to go,” said
Helen Goodland, principal of
Brantwood Consulting and an
adviser to the BC Construction
Association on sustainability and
innovation.
G ood l a nd recent ly help ed
launch the Construction Innovation Project, a 12-month research
process that is aiming to raise the
benchmark for innovation within
the B.C. construction industry.
“What we’ve found is there is
a tremendous lack of innovation
investment within the industry
by businesses themselves,” she
said, adding that Stuart Olson’s
R ich mond-based Centre for
Building Performance is a bit of
an industry anomaly.
“It’s very refreshing to see what
Stuart Olson has committed to
do and they should get tremendous credit for that.” •
aldo pulice | senior superintendent, 745 Thurlow
The latest and greatest has been used here, whether
in electrical or mechanical
There is a lot of state-of-the-art, sustainability-focused computer technology behind the stylish walls
of 745 Thurlow, a commercial tower built by Stuart Olson | Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership architect
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special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
July 12–18, 2016
B3
Constructive comment
Innovation deficit threatens B.C.’s construction industry
Province has proved itself as a green-building and wood technology leader, but further investment and education is crucial
Fiona Famulak
B
ritish Columbia has emerged
as the bright spot of Canada’s economy. Building on
strong performance over the last
two years, B.C. is predicted to
lead all other Canadian provinces
in 2016 with impressive GDP and
employment growth. The construction industry is playing a
key role in driving this economic
activity and job creation.
The importance of the construction industry to our economy cannot be overstated. This
multibillion-dollar industry generates 8% of the province’s wealth
and employs more than 200,000
workers, making it one of B.C.’s
largest employers.
It is also one of the world’s oldest industries. For millennia,
knowledge has been handed down
from master to apprentice in the
age-old tradition of craft. It is
large, slow moving and wary of
change.
However, unprecedented economic, demographic and technological pressures are profoundly
affecting the construction industry. Costs are escalating.
People, raw materials, land,
energy and water are not the infinite resources they once were.
Twenty-five years from now, we
will be expected to deliver projects that perform better – that
is carbon neutral or close to it,
using substantially less labour
and materials.
Without putting too fine a point
on it, we need to embrace construction innovation because
“business as usual” doesn’t cut
it any longer.
So what exactly does construction innovation mean? Simply,
it’s the successful introduction of
new technologies and processes.
It will require private and public
investment in R&D, education
and equipment so that our industry can respond to future opportunities and challenges.
Businesses that invest in innovation will improve their productivity and their resiliency to
challenging market forces, and
Businesses that invest in
innovation will improve their
productivity and their resiliency
to challenging market forces,
and enhance the quality and
performance of their projects.
Governments that embrace
innovation will squeeze the
most value from every taxpayer
dollar spent
enhance the quality and performance of their projects. Governments that embrace innovation
will squeeze the most value from
every taxpayer dollar spent. It’s a
scenario that ultimately benefits
our economy, our communities
and our families.
Without innovation, we will see
valued-added work and jobs lost
to other regions and countries,
and we will see more out-of-market players reaping the rewards.
All that said, our industry has
been innovating. B.C. has established itself on the world stage as
a leader in green-building techniques and wood technology.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Canada
started in B.C. and we are the first
to build passive-house projects.
We are also the first to build tall
wood structures.
We’re demonstrating that we
have the capabilities and confidence to manage market dynamics, be they demand-supply
challenges or labour shortages.
In the face of these obstacles our
people are developing innovative
project delivery methods, policies and processes. And many
of B.C.’s tech darlings, such as
BuiltSpace, Pulse Energy, Multivista, Optig and dPoint, market to
the construction industry. The
industry is becoming increasingly
sophisticated, to an extent that
may surprise many.
But it hasn’t been enough. Federal and B.C. governments’ lack of
investment in innovation generally is well documented (by the
Conference Board of Canada and
others). Industry has also failed
to step up. According to Statistics
Canada data from 2012, Canadian
construction companies invest
only one-tenth of a penny for
every $1 contributed to GDP in
R&D – the lowest rate among any
of Canada’s major industry sectors. Government and business
need to come together – today
– to talk seriously about investment in construction innovation, otherwise we risk being left
behind.
Construction innovation can
touch all facets of what we do,
from design and construction
processes to products and technologies. While it has the power
to be incredibly disruptive, innovation can also help us learn
from the small creative solutions we deploy every day. The
result will be greater resiliency
and profitability for construction
businesses and the communities
that support them – because the
benefits to society will far outweigh those afforded to the individual businesses.
It will take a clear vision, a willingness to work together, commitment and money. Innovation
is fundamental to the future success of this vital industry. Let’s
start the conversation now. •
Fiona Famulak is president of the
Vancouver Re gional Cons truc tion
A s s o ci ati o n , th e l a rg e s t re g i o n a l
construction association in B.C., which
re p re s e n t s c l o s e to 70 0 m e m b e r
companies.
July 12–18, 2016
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
B4news
INNOVATION: From pencils to pixels
How changes in estimating technology have supported the creation of better buildings
Jim Taggart
C
lark Campbell remembers
a time when an estimator’s
tool kit included a foolscap pad, a set of coloured pencils
and an adding machine, and the
accuracy of an estimate relied
largely on the methodical takeoff of quantities and meticulous
double-checking of calculations.
Campbell, chief estimator with
Smith Bros. & Wilson (BC) Ltd.,
observes that while much has
changed over the course of his
long career, some things remain
the same.
“Estimators still have to be
methodical, but now they work
with tablets, clouds and electronic
spreadsheets,” he said. “All this
technology is essential to deal
with the increased complexity of
today’s buildings, and the more
detailed information required by
clients and consultants.”
For Campbell, digital technology has also changed the role of
the estimator, creating a specialty
that rarely existed before.
“Estimators also used to be project managers, continuing their
responsibility for cost control onto
the site. We had to bear the consequences of our own mistakes.”
Now the need to be experts in the
use of estimating software has
tended to separate the role of the
cost estimator from that of the
project manager.
An estimate is built up from
quantities taken off architectural
and engineering drawings, and
requires a comprehensive knowledge of building specification and
construction sequencing. In addition, there may be site constraints
relating to access, staging, hours
of work and other factors that can
significantly affect the cost of a
project.
Taking-off quantities can be a
complex undertaking. Lines on
drawings may represent more
than one thing: the edge of a concrete slab, the face of a drywall
partition and even the paint that
must be applied to it. Traditionally, the use of coloured pencils on
Today’s technology allows multiple sub-trades to work collaboratively to build up a comprehensive estimate for a complex building | goodluz/
Shutterstock
a paper drawing helped estimators
keep track of what attributes they
had counted. They used figures
rather than scaled dimensions
for accuracy.
Today, that same information is
obtained by clicking a mouse (for
example) on all the corners of a
concrete slab, inputting a thickness and allowing the computer to
calculate the volume and cost, and
to catalogue the information in
an electronic spreadsheet. This is
undoubtedly quicker and arguably
more reliable – but interestingly
less precise than the hand method.
Far outweighing any potential
shortcomings in the accuracy
of individual calculations, today’s technology allows multiple
Elias Tkachuk conTracTing lTd.
sub-trades to work collaboratively
to build up a comprehensive estimate for a complex building.
It is these opportunities for
collaboration that excite Stephan
Blank the most. Blank is senior estimator with Kinetic Construction
Ltd., and uses digital technology
in all his work. Blank downloads
the drawings for a new project
onto his tablet and makes notes
on them as he tours the site. Any
photos he takes can be keyed to
specific locations on the plans,
and the whole package shared
with sub-trades via a cloud-based
server. Blank can then itemize
every aspect of the scope of work,
and provide each sub-trade with
a template with which to prepare
its bid.
When the bids are submitted,
omissions and overlaps can be
readily identified, duplications
eliminated and gaps filled in. The
result is a bid that is complete and
comprehensive.
“The ability to share detailed information electronically with subtrades reduces uncertainty, and
hence risk, for all those involved,”
Blank said. “With this reduced
risk comes lower and more consistent pricing for clients.”
These technological advances
also benefit the general public.
Lower pricing allows municipalities to fund additional community projects. Software exists
to consolidate deliveries and so
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Digital technology has ushered
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we will be doing take-offs from 3D
models in which the attributes of
all the elements have been embedded by the designer.”
The era of the pencil has come
to a close but that of the pixel has
just begun. •
Jim Taggart is editor of Sustainable
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UBC’s new Pharmaceutical Sciences
Building claims six awards
For Nick Maile, the only thing better than having a building he helped plan and develop win a series of major
architecture awards, it’s seeing the people who use the building truly enjoying it. The development manager for UBC
Properties Trust believes the university’s new Pharmaceutical Sciences Building is “architecturally pleasing, but any
building, no matter how beautiful, if it doesn’t work for the students and faculty, it’s not a success. This one, though, is
incredibly lively – people like to be in it and they use every space.”
“At UBC, we are trying to be on the leading edge of sustainability and energy efficiency,” says Nick, “but it’s definitely
a challenge with a building like this, where there is a data centre in the basement plus a lot of a lot of laboratories and
many fume hoods.” (Fume hoods limit exposure to hazardous chemicals or toxic fumes, but they are energy-guzzlers:
one fume hood alone can use more energy than three typical B.C. homes.)
For help, UBC turned to BC Hydro’s New Construction Program, which provides funding for an energy-modeling study –
a simulation of how a building might function throughout a full year if it’s designed and built with a variety of energy
saving measures – along with additional financial incentives for implementing those measures.
The energy-saving measures include capturing waste heat from the data centre and recycling it into the building,
as well as daylight sensors and a low temperature water system. Together, these measures are estimated to add up
to about 1.2 million kilowatt hours of savings every year over a similar building that does not include them.
In addition, says Nick, “The incentive from BC Hydro for installing these measures really does help. It may be a small
percentage of the overall construction budget, but we can give that money back to the Pharmacy people to use for
long-term operations. So not only does the university win by saving on energy use, the department wins as well.”
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A15-104c
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July 12–18, 2016
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
B6news
INNOVATION: Collaborate or stagnate
When it comes to innovation your competitors could be your friends
Helen Goodland
E
ffective collaboration is key
to the successful delivery
of a construction project.
Collaboration is also crucial to
advancing innovation. Yet this is
a different and far less comfortable form of teamwork. In fact,
the most disruptive innovation
happens when unlikely partners – such as competitors – join
forces.
Why would companies want
to share their confidential innovation activities with their
competitors? Because they know
that, like it or not, sharing on a
more or less universal scale is
already happening.
The reality is that no company
operates in a vacuum. The construction workforce is transitory
and so company knowledge is
equally mobile. Construction is
highly visible and any new idea
can be seen as soon as it appears
on the construction site.
So if sharing already goes on,
how can innovative companies put that process to best use?
Here are some reasons why construction companies might want
to collaborate more today, and
why they might want to think
differently about the “why,”
the “how” and particularly the
“with whom.”
•Many innovation challenges are common to all companies. Whether it is finding new
ways to improve public image
or dealing with evolving regulatory demands, companies can
work together to forge a common understanding of market
trends and amplify their voice
when it comes to engaging with
investors and governments.
Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance
(COSIA) does this. It
is an alliance of oils a n d s p ro d u c e rs
focused on accelerating the pace
of improvement
in environmental performance
in Canada’s oils a n d s t h ro u g h
collaborat ive a c t ion a nd
innovation.
•Researching
and developing new
technologies can be
expensive and risky.
It makes sense to team
up, even with direct comp et itors, to sh a re R & D
expenditures. This is particularly true for small businesses. Since launch in 2012,
COSIA member companies have
shared over 800 distinct technologies that cost almost $1.3
billion to develop. Collectively,
the innovations create a body
of knowledge that would be impossible to develop in isolation.
The risk as well as the reward is
shared. Everyone wins.
•Radical solutions come from
radical partnerships. Not every
innovative process requ ires
full industry participation. It
is therefore important to think
about who your partner should
be in your research collaboration.
How, where and why companies
collaborate varies according to
time frame, degree of commitment and level of interdependence. Indeed, collaborating with
people who think in the same way
is never going to produce anything radical. So truly creative
companies will seek out “unusual
suspects” for partners. For example, the video gaming industry
has had a tremendous impact on
the development of building visualization technologies.
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Many companies believe
that the “best learning” (a.k.a. problem
solving) happens
when pressures
of budget and
schedule are
most acute.
This means
t h at i nnovation
occurs at
the point
that is
le a s t resourced
in terms
of funding
and ex pertise. Industries with
established
innovation processes such as
pharmaceutical,
automot ive, a g r ifood, etc. w i l l f i rst
def i ne t he problem,
then over-resource the
innovation processes
necessary to achieve a
solution. Properly planning for innovation steers
companies away from the
pitfalls of short-term thinking, which layers on unnecessary risk.
•Open source innovation
is key. The rise of open innovation, crowdsourcing
and the sharing economy
demonstrates the power of
collaboration across commu n ities. Brea k th roug h
Released in February 2016, the
innovation happens when
British Columbia Construction
con necti ng prev iously
Construction
A s s o c i a t i o n ’s
u ncon nected bod ies of
I n n ovati o n
P roj e c t
re p o r t
knowledge. Continuing to
discusses innovation’s positive
collaborate with the same
effect on business and economic
people, from the same congrowth in B.C.’s construction
text and in the same way is
industry | BCCA
not going to achieve that.
There are many areas, such
•Collaboration with competi- as health and safety, where new
tors forces companies to “think ideas would benefit from indusoutside the project.” Innovation try-wide feedback and, if they rein construction mostly hap- duce injuries, should be adopted
pens in a crisis on a project. universally. In fact, there are only
positive reasons why large companies that have the resources
to undertake R&D should share
what they learn with the companies that work with them. Yet
it’s not just large companies that
are spearheading the conversation. Members of the Vancouver
Regional Construction Association are actively collaborating
to address issues and solutions
for the betterment of the whole
industry.
•Collaboration does not dilute
your position as a leader. In fact,
collaboration intensifies your
reputation as a thought-leader.
Companies that are strategically
engaged with innovation understand that it is not a one-time
deal. In fact, they are fully invested in an ongoing endeavour of
problem identification, research,
development, testing, implementation, evaluate and repeat. It is
the sustained effort that will keep
them ahead of the competition
and carve out their unique value
proposition to the market.
So collaboration is the smart
way forward. Starting with engagement up and down the supply
chain and then across to other
companies with similar challenges, there are tremendous
opportunities for quickly and
effectively dislodging some of
the systemic barriers to productivity and performance. Clearly
defining barriers to major market
opportunities can help innovation supporters, such the BC Innovation Council, to facilitate
access to expertise, capital and
equipment necessary to find good
ideas. •
Helen Goodland is principal of Brantwood
Consulting and co-founder of Building
Technology Innovations. She recently
completed the BC Construction
Innovation Project for the BC Construction
Association. She serves on the Canadian
Construction Association’s CSR Taskforce
and is chair of the United Nations
Su s t aina ble B uilding a n d Clim ate
Initiative’s Materials Technical Advisory
Committee.
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special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
July 12–18, 2016
B7
Legal Specs
Pay-if-paid clauses can carry unreasonable risks
Contractual proviso saddles trade contractors with unfair burden
BY Norm Streu and
Christopher Hirst
P
A pay-if-paid clause
purports to transfer
a risk to a trade
contractor that it cannot
meaningfully assess or
take steps to mitigate
ay-if-paid clauses are used
widely on B.C. construction
projects. These clauses attempt to restrict the obligation
to pay a contractor to the receipt
of payment by the payer. In other
words, these clauses say: my
obligation to pay you only arises
if I get the money with which to
pay you. While such clauses may
initially seem rational, a closer
consideration shows that they
unreasonably allocate payment
risk on a construction project. For
this reason, they can be difficult
to enforce as courts have been
reluctant to apply them in all but
the clearest circumstances.
The argument in favour of payif-paid clauses is seductively simple. Without the money received
from the owner first, how can a
general contractor pay a subcontractor for work performed? A
general contractor will say that
it cannot be expected to have the
resources to pay trades out of its
own pockets: it needs to rely on
payment from the owner first. In
some cases, without the money
from the owner, the general contractor would find it financially
devastating to meet an obligation
to pay out trades. Many say they
do not have pockets deep enough
to carry this obligation.
This makes sense if the issue is
only the timing of the obligation
to pay. A general contractor may
say, “First I need to get the draw
from the owner, then I can flow
the money to the trades.” This is
what is typically referred to as a
paid-when-paid clause.
However, a pay-if-paid clause
goes further. It says that if the
money is not received from the
owner the obligation to pay the
trades does not exist. The act of
non-payment by the owner nullifies any obligation of the general
contractor to pay trades.
This type of clause is what is
often referred to as a condition
precedent in a contract. Condition
precedents are not in themselves
unusual or unreasonable. For example, a general contractor may
include a clause that unless appropriate insurance documentation
or bonds are submitted, there is
no obligation to pay.
What is unusual and unreasonable about a pay-if-paid clause
is that the non-payment arises
from a circumstance that the
trade contractor has no control
over. A rational division of risk
under a construction contract assigns the risk to the party that is
in the best position to carry that
risk. In the case of payment, it is
the general contractor who is in
direct meetings with the owner
and in a position to assess the risk
of non-payment by the owner. A
trade contractor is completely in
the dark and knows nothing about
the risks it may be assuming with
respect to the owner. Further, a
trade contractor is most often
specifically precluded from gathering the information it would
need to properly assess that risk.
Virtually no owner is willing to sit
down with each trade and explain
the financial plan for the project
and provide detailed confirmation
of his or her ability to pay. It is only
the general contractor that is able
to insist upon such information.
In short, a pay-if-paid clause
purports to transfer a risk to a
trade contractor that it cannot
meaningfully assess or take steps
to mitigate.
For this reason, courts have
taken a dim view of such clauses.
The case law in both Canada and
the U.S. suggests that only the
most explicit and clearly drafted
pay-if-paid clauses will be enforced by the courts.
For example, the Nova Scotia
Court of Appeal in Arnold in Construction & Forms Ltd. vs. Alta
Surety Co. (1995) refused to enforce a pay-if-paid clause, noting
that “an intention so important
cannot be buried in obscure language that would not alert the
subcontractor that payment ...
was conditional on the owner
paying the [prime] contractor.”
If you are a trade contractor,
you should look closely at whether you are willing to accept a payif-paid clause. If you are a general
contractor and are using such
a clause, you should know that
their use has been questioned,
and their enforceability will likely depend on whether the trade
contract clearly transfers this risk
to the trade contractor. •
Norm Streu is the president and chief
operating officer of the LMS Reinforcing
Steel Group. Christopher Hirst is a partner
and the leader of the construction and
engineering group, Alexander Holburn
Beaudin + Lang LLP.
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July 12–18, 2016
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
B8news
COMMUNITY: Living in and building for local communities
VRCA members help build vibrant and healthy neighbourhoods across the region
Hayley Woodin
O
ver the life of the company
his father first founded,
Kevin Mierau says, Mierau
Contractors Ltd. has renovated, upgraded or built many of
the pools, municipal projects
and schools within the city of
Abbotsford.
“T hose are proud achievements, as they are longstanding
buildings that will impact every
student that goes through those
schools,” said Mierau, who took
over as company president when
his father retired, and sits on the
Vancouver Regional Construction
Association’s (VRCA) board of
directors.
D u r i ng su m mers a nd over
school breaks, Mierau cut his
teeth in construction locally,
earning his Red Seal in Carpentry through an apprenticeship at
his dad’s company, and courses at
the University of the Fraser Valley
(UFV). One of his proudest career
achievements came years later
when Mierau Contractors won the
bid to build UFV’s first student
union building on the university’s
Abbotsford campus.
“I was excited to work on the
project, and UFV was also excited
to hear that a university alumnus
was building their new student
union building,” said Mierau,
adding that the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold building has
been “buzzing with activity”
since it opened in September.
With 46,700 square feet over
three floors, the project creates
space for a gymnasium-sized
multi-purpose room, restaurants,
bookable rooms and a variety of
student services. It is a vibrant,
student-focused hub that didn’t
exist in Mierau’s days.
“There was a radio station in a
separate building, but there was
nothing to bring all of the students together in the way the student union building now does,”
he said. “Whether we realize it
or not, we are shaping the community through the construction
The LEED Gold-certified student union building on the University of the Fraser Valley’s Abbotsford
campus was constructed by Mierau Contractors Ltd. | Mierau Contractors Ltd.
With construction spearheaded by EllisDon Corp. and completed in
2014, the $512 million Surrey Memorial Hospital Redevelopment and
Expansion project included the completion of a critical care tower and
the construction of a new emergency department | EllisDon Corp.
of schools, hospitals, universities,
pools, auditoriums and other municipal facilities. These all impact
the lives of everybody that works,
learns or lives in the community.”
Like Mierau, VRCA board chair
David McFarlane agrees that there
is something special about building close to home.
“I think you naturally take pride
in things that you build for your
community,” said McFarlane,
who is also the vice-president and
area manager for EllisDon Corp.
in Vancouver.
A Surrey resident for the past
nine years, McFarlane worked
on the Surrey Memorial Hospital Redevelopment and Expansion project, an initiative that
increased the hospital’s regional
bed capacity to 650, doubled the
capacity of the neonatal intensive
care unit and expanded stroke
and intensive care units.
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“Of course when you have a kid
that needs medical attention,
you try to take them to the best
place you have – and inside Fraser
Health territory, I’m positive Surrey Memorial is the most cutting
edge,” said McFarlane, who, as a
parent, has relied on the hospital’s
services for the birth of one of his
two children. Both have also had
minor day surgery at the hospital.
Completed in 2014, the $512
million project included the
completion of a critical care
tower and the construction of
a new emergency department
– Canada’s second-largest and
B.C.’s busiest.
It was the largest health care
project in the history of the province, and its economic benefits to
the region have snowballed.
“The hospital has been a catalyst for a clustering of good jobs,
and good private sector developments that have created a health
precinct in that part of downtown
Surrey,” said Don Luymes, the
City of Surrey’s manager of community planning.
“It’s sort of a virtuous cycle
where one really good project like
that has a ripple effect. It in turn
creates new developments that
also spawn further investments,”
he said.
For McFarlane, his work with
the hospital continues. On behalf of EllisDon Corp. and the
local trade community, he made
a million-dollar donation to the
Surrey Hospital & Outpatient
Centre Foundation, of which he
is a board member.
The company is also the presenting sponsor for Champion of
the Crescent, a stand-up paddle
board event in South Surrey that
will raise funds for a new mentalhealth-focused children’s unit at
Surrey Memorial.
“That’s part of my ongoing giving back,” McFarlane said. “EllisDon always tries to give back to
the communities where they work
and they build. I live in Surrey
so it was natural for me and my
family to become involved in the
hospital.” •
Special rates
offered to VRCA
members
To book space
or for answers to
your questions,
please call
604.688.2398 or
email [email protected]
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
July 12–18, 2016
B9
news
COMMUNITY: Giving back to community organizations
VRCA members contribute time, donations and resources to worthwhile initiatives
Hayley Woodin
A
t th is yea r’s Su n Ru n,
members of the Vancouver Regional Construction
Association (VRCA) Under 40
Network (known as U40s) helped
set a new record.
With a 50-person team that
ran, jogged and walked in support of KidStart – an organization that supports vulnerable
ch i ld ren a nd youth th rough
strong mentor relationships –
the U40s helped raise a recordsetting $8,000.
“It’s amazing,” said Jen Graham, manager of development
and communications for PLEA
Community Services Society of
BC, the organization behind the
mentorship program. “It’s the
most we’ve raised so far and we
do the Sun Run every year.”
On its ow n, t he V RCA h as
raised over $16,000 for K idStart through a variety of member events and fundraisers. The
funds largely support the organization’s mentorship program for
children aged six to 12.
“The reason why the VRCA
U40 Network is so important to
us is because the individuals believe in the power of mentoring,
just like we do,” said Graham,
adding that on average, KidStart
supports 230 mentor relationships each year in the Lower
Mainland, Fraser Valley and on
Vancouver Island.
A strong belief in mentorship
also underscores the U40s’ enthusiasm for the Zajac Ranch
for Children, which gives youth
suffering from chronic, lifet h reaten i ng or debi l itat i ng
conditions the chance to attend
camp.
Each year, local suppliers donate the materials, while members of the U40 Network lend
ti me, ex pertise a nd helpi ng
hands to expand and fix-up the
Mission-based site.
“It’s a great day for all of us,”
said Stephan Blank, chairman of
the U40 Network. “We get out of
the boardroom and get to work.
Everybody gets dirty, everybody
tackles a project that’s handson. It’s really what construction
is all about – giving back what
we’ve been trained to do.”
While the VRCA’s involvement
with Zajac Ranch is a relatively
new venture, some of the association’s charitable work goes
back decades.
T he V RC A b e ga n f u nd i n g
BIV_Quarter-page-2016 copy.pdf
1
2016-07-05
KidStart
scholarships for students attending the British Columbia
Institute of Technology (BCIT) in
1969, and today has an endowment of over $61,000, the interest from which allows VRCA to
award scholarships to students
in the school’s architectural and
building engineering technology
program.
Starting with a donation of
$250 i n 1988, the V RCA has
now contributed approximately
Mentoring for
children and youth
$177,000 to Spinal Cord Injury
BC (SCI BC).
“The bottom line is that the
VRCA’s contributions have been
vital in allowing us to continue to
provide our core support services
and information services,” said
Chris McBride, executive director of SCI BC. “Without donations, we would really struggle.”
The association has also donated funds to both the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and the Lower
Mainland Christmas Bureau.
A n o t h e r l o n g-s t a n d i n g
VRCA engagement is the association’s commitment to raising awareness and informing
young students about careers in
construction.
Education committee members regularly volunteer time to
visit local school districts and
offer presentations at tradeshows. Earlier this year, members entered the classroom and
spoke with six teachers and 120
students at New Westminster
Secondary School to share the
opportunities available in the
construction industry. Currently
in development is a summer program that will tour high school
students around construction
sites and offices to teach them
about the industry.
Bl a n k a l so recent ly sp oke
with a group of Syrian refugees
looking to begin a career in construction as part of a Welcome to
Workplaces in Canada presentation set up by WCG Services and
Mosaic.
“Every month, through the
education committee and the
U40 Network, we’re giving back
to the community in a real way,”
Blank said. •
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July 12–18, 2016
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
B10news
ROUNDTABLE: Building the future
on the foundations of the past
In 25 years Vancouver’s construction industry has changed for the better
Peter DeVries
“On tender day, everyone was on phone
duty,” Campbell said. Phones rang off their
hooks and bids flew across desks like they
were in a windstorm.
Though the principles underlying tendering have remained the same, the format is vastly different. A contract used to
mean subcontractors had a relationship
with contractors. They knew each other
by name and deals were sealed in person
with a handshake.
N
ineteen-ninety marked the year
leaded gasol i ne was ba n ned.
Roxette topped the music charts,
Vancouver hosted its first Indy race, and
an unprecedented surge in downtown
construction saw new office buildings go
up at a rate of one every 84 days. The boom
lasted three years before it began to taper,
36 months that had general contractors,
trades workers and owners falling asleep at
their desks with the warble of their office
phones still echoing in their ears.
Back then people had proper offices. And
phones connected to cords. The construction industry looked different too. “It was
a smaller community back then,” said
Clark Campbell, chief estimator and senior
project manager at Smith Bros. & Wilson
(BC) Ltd.
Campbell is sitting at a boardroom table,
flanked by a collection of estimators, contractors and sales directors from a sampling of regional companies. Collectively
they represent a cross section of the Lower
Mainland construction industry – some
veterans, others industry newcomers.
Invited by the Vancouver Regional
Construction Association to a moderated
roundtable discussion about key issues
currently facing the industry, the group
has an air that reflects its industry pedigree; a little tired, wryly humorous and
seemingly unflappable. They’re problem
solvers.
They have to be. Nowadays construction
is a wildly variable, ever-changing venture.
New building technologies and materials,
volatile market prices and a real estate
environment that’s world-renowned for
its logic-defying value increases during
the last 15 years have demanded unfailing
versatility from industry players.
And then there are the changing methods of business. A quarter-century ago
everything was slower and simpler. Picture
the general contractor’s office back then,
It Must Have Been Love straining from
the boxy radio in the back corner, rows of
phones with coiled cords and oversized
handsets. And teletype machines. And
paper – lots of paper.
Quality of documents
Back then, general contractors had to get
paper copies of original plans in order to
price out and bid on jobs. They would provide the drawings to their tradespeople,
who would submit prices for their parts
of the build. Estimators would interpret
and analyze the drawings, a crucial step
in being able to properly estimate costs.
They would then assess incoming bids
for reasonableness, the overall project for
viability and profit margins, and finally
price out the entire build for tendering.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago, we’d have to get
a copy of the plans from the architect,”
said Kevin Mierau, president of Mierau
Contractors Ltd. That meant a face-to-face
exchange. “All the bidders around the table
Shutterstock
would have a set, we’d all do our takeoffs,
and whoever was successful would get the
contract.”
Today, architects send a link to an FTP
site where contractors download the drawings and print them off themselves. The
drawings have become much more complicated and detailed, too.
“It started with using AutoCAD in the
’90s,” said Michael Whitely, estimator at
EllisDon Corp.
“Now you have all sorts of 3D modelling. Technically the documents should
be in much better condition. You can draft
quicker, so you can spend more time on
detailing.”
But complacency, said Whitely, has led
to shortcuts. “There’s a disconnect from
how things are actually built.”
Mike Wallis, chief estimator at Flynn
Canada Ltd., agreed. “The biggest problem
we see in the quality of documents is the
copy-and-paste phenomenon. It’s so easy
to copy and paste from a master specification now. Whereas before, if you had to
retype it out you’d catch a lot of things that
you’d realize made no sense for the project.
Now those conflicts might be missed”
Mierau has seen that too.
“Last year we built a church,” he said.
“It had over 80 drawings and more than
700 pages in the specifications.” A wall
specification duplicated from another
project might call for, say, drywall on a
wall that has floor-to-ceiling windows.
As a result, contractors, estimators and
tradespeople must pay attention to detail
like never before.
Embracing complexity
“Buildings are also more complex – mechanically, electrically,” Mierau said. “More
details for envelope. More details for
everything.”
Consultants will often add components to
drawings that risk going unnoticed. Technology has helped mitigate these problems
somewhat, said Campbell. “There is technology today that will help you identify
conflicts.” Copies of drawings coming back
from various trades can be digitally overlaid
and software will identify their differences.
But technology has also complicated
things. In the past, contractors could
manage one or two active jobs and simultaneously build an estimate for a third,
Campbell said.
“With building information management, where you’re checking for conflicts
between, say, mechanical and electrical
construction, you need to have special software.” It’s a more onerous process that
demands more attention than it used to.
It also requires specially trained software
technicians, and not just for the construction components. Common business operations have grown more complex as well.
“The software we have internally to simply manage documents is far more complex
than it was even five years ago,” Mitchell
said. Today, on large jobs a dedicated staff
member will deal exclusively with document control for the duration of the build.
That’s also created an entirely new overhead for estimators in the form of software
licenses. The programs used to manage
increasingly complex building projects
require users to purchase software licenses
that often require annual renewal.
“We actually have a guy in Toronto whose
sole job is to manage thousands of software
licences,” Wallis said.
Such advances have dramatically decreased turnaround times for project bidding. “The whole industry has been sped
up through technology,” Campbell said.
Tendering
It wasn’t always so. Tender day, when all
bids come in from subcontractors, has
always been a big deal. Twenty-five years
ago, it was a day that turned the office into
a facsimile of the trading floor at a stock
exchange.
Managing risk
Face-to-face meetings started to decline
back when the fax first appeared. That’s
around the time the exclusion phenomenon
started. The fax machine, and now to an
even greater extent email, made it easy
to send a bid with six pages of exclusions,
clauses that abdicate responsibility for
everything from cleanup to the management of materials.
Before that time, contracts were simple
enough that estimators could comfortably review and ratify them. Eventually
the complexity of those contractual exclusions surpassed estimators’ ability to
comfortably assess them. Missing even
one or two details, potential future costs
that by default are the responsibility of the
contractor, might all but erase an already
tight margin. The net effect was increased
risk for the contractor.
Enter the lawyers. Even before bidding,
contractors have those contracts reviewed
by legal experts.
“Nowadays we often get outside legal
counsel to review contract documents even
before we bid on a job,” said Craig Mitchell,
director of sales at Britco. “We’re not going to go into a project blind. So we’re now
spending money just to make a bid.”
The narrowing of the estimator’s function has pushed estimators to become more
productive, submitting a greater number
of bids at an increased level of efficiency.
Clicking vs. talking
The doubling down on the details has
changed the face of project estimating,
turning it into a highly technical, individualized exercise. In that sense, the industry
offers a reflection of the modern age.
“Society’s changed a lot too – there’s a
lot more reluctance to pick up the phone,”
said Wallis.
In the past, when an architect was working on a technical drawing and had a question about something, he or she would
make a call.
“They’d ask one of the tradespeople
they had a relationship with, ‘Hey, how
do you build this?’ Now they might email,
but more likely they’ll just Google it and
go with what they think looks the best.”
The change in mentality has led to a
proliferation of unnecessary emails.
“People email simple questions that
would take 30 seconds to call somebody
up and ask the same question,” Whitely
said.
Stephan Blank, senior estimator at
Mike Wallis, Chief Estimator at Flynn Canada Ltd.
Clark Campbell, Chief Estimator and Senior Project Manager at Smith Bros. & Wilson (BC) Ltd.
The biggest problem we see in the quality of documents is the
copy and paste phenomenon
Prefabrication, modulization, pre-engineered systems will
inevitably decrease the costs to the homeowner or building owner
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
July 12–18, 2016
B11
news
Kinetic Construction Ltd., added, “Fifteen times, back and forth and you still
haven’t got the right answer.” That got
the table chuckling, though only ruefully.
Contractors of the past would personally
interview bidders. It was an exercise that
offered them a valuable opportunity to
get a sense of their level of expertise, and
perhaps more importantly, integrity. “It
was a smaller community back then,” said
Mierau. “Today, you’re not establishing
those relationships that you would have
had with people in your area who would
constantly come by to review drawings.”
Reducing waste
Today, hundreds of pages of drawings end
up in the recycling bin.
“We go through more paper now than we
ever have,” Mierau said. Historically, paper
was one of the first business commodities
diverted for recycling, years before the
construction industry started looking
more closely at the three Rs: reduce, reuse,
recycle.
Today, industry changes on that front are
both well established and widely understood. A good deal of publicity has focused
on the methods used in construction to recycle everything from metals to concrete.
For those in construction, the mindset of
the past is almost cringeworthy. “Even
when we started the transition in the ’90s,
superintendents just didn’t see it,” said
Campbell. “They’d tell us, ‘Just load it
and get it outta here. Burn it. Bury it. It’s
costing me money.’”
Now diversion is just part of the deconstruction planning process. From demolition to construction, all materials are
assessed for salvageability and recycling
capacity. Concrete, asphalt, plastics and
metals can be crushed, processed and reconstituted in new ways; ducting, steel
beams and insulation can be reused, and
old wood can be repurposed as decorative
accents.
“It costs a little bit more, doing the sorting instead of throwing it in one bin,” said
Wallis, who doesn’t bemoan the added
cost. None of the others do either – a testament to the changing attitudes of those
working in the industry. “It’s just become
the idea of what construction should be.”
Going modular
During the build process too, technological
advancements have devised ways to use
materials more efficiently. Modular construction in particular optimizes materials
usage, reduces waste and improves quality
control.
“The quality will be the same, if not better, because you’re building this stuff in a
controlled environment,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell sees other benefits.
“It’s more exact with material takeoffs
and utilizing stuff that might otherwise
sit out in the yard, rotting,” he said.
He offered the example of two-foot cut
ends; these are short, otherwise discarded
pieces of lumber that are often used as
bracing between wall studs. Computer
software used in modular construction is
designed to catalogue every inch of material used, ensuring the most efficient
cuts to minimize waste, and making sure
those ends get used somewhere else.
Shutterstock
Modular construction also dramatically
reduces construction time, helping keep
pace with increased demand. The use of
automation, 24-hour factory shifts and
twin assembly lines all magnify this effect,
decreasing build times, reducing on-site
costs through the need for fewer personnel
and enabling construction companies to
spread resources across a greater number
of jobs.
However, many people are yet to fully
appreciate the benefits of modular manufacturing, and liken it to low-quality Legoblock construction.
“People figure it’s just this cookie-cutter stuff that’s sacrificing quality and
flexibility and layout,” said Mierau. “But
everything they’re doing is custom, per
project. You’re getting exactly what you
want.”
Campbell echoed the sentiment.
“Prefabrication, modulization, pre-engineered systems will inevitably decrease
the costs to the homeowner or the building
owner” he said, adding that he sees those
benefits extending to industry players as
well. “It will decrease our costs, decrease
risk and increase our capacity to make a
profit along the way.”
Greening processes
Modular construction also facilitates some
of the certification standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED), the preeminent rating system for
green-building construction. Although
LEED considers many factors outside those
touched by modular construction, those
well within its control, such as material
handling, optimal construction conditions
and environmental control during construction, can all contribute to attaining
LEED credits.
Advancements in the development of
environmentally friendly building materials is helping as well. Better-designed
products can reduce maintenance costs
during the life of a building while improving energy conservation and building lifespan. Safer materials can better preserve
occupant health. And the ability to design and mock up a three-dimensional
representation of architectural drawings
helps architects design improvements
such as the use of natural light and air-flow
principles in place of carbon-dependent
lighting and heating.
Kevin Mierau, President of Mierau Contractors Ltd.
Buildings are also more complex. Mechanically, electrically. More
details for envelope. More details for everything
Pressing on
Amid all the chaos, the level heads of those
standing behind the crews prevail as the
region continues to grow exponentially.
According to the Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corp., this past year saw a 46%
increase in multiple-unit urban starts
– significant demand from a growing
community. To keep up, the construction
industry is modernizing.
Even if deals once struck in person at an
office are now done while holed up in the
cab of a truck, hovering over a smartphone
with a cold, half-finished drink in the coffee holder, the homes and businesses built
on those deals continue to meet ever-increasing needs.
“At the end of the day,” Campbell said,
“the owner gets a building, the contractor’s
done a good job and the public gets something that they can say is good for their
neighbourhood.” •
Craig Mitchell, Director of Sales at Britco
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documents even before we bid on a job
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July 12–18, 2016
special news feature | Vancouver regional construction Association
B12news
CONSTRUCTION: Canada’s construction and
building industry is becoming ‘lean’-er
Lean Construction Institute of Canada aims to enhance productivity and efficiency across the industry
Ken Lancastle
T
he Canadian construction
and building industry is
constantly looking to improve productivity and reduce
waste, and the principles of lean
construction are providing a new
set of tools to do just that.
While the concept of “lean”
has been around for a number
of years – its roots are in the
automotive and manufacturing sectors – its introduction to
the Canadian construction and
building industry is being spearheaded by the newly formed Lean
Construction Institute of Canada
(LCI-C).
The institute, which was established in 2015 as a special
committee of the Canadian Construction Association, is committed to fostering a culture of
continuous improvement in the
design, construction and building industries. The membershipbased organization is hoping to
see lean principles and philosophies adopted across the country
and by all industry stakeholders.
“The principles behind lean
construction are designed to
find value throughout the construction process, including in
the design and actual building
of a project,” explained LCI-C
co-chair Serge Massicotte. “At its
core, the objective behind the implementation of lean construction is a pursuit of perfection. We
are aiming to enhance productivity and continuously improve our
industry’s performance.”
The construction and building
industry in Canada has lagged
behind other industries in terms
of its productivity improvements, partially due to the disjointed nature of the industry
and the multiple individuals and
stakeholders involved in any
given project. Lean construction, meanwhile, promotes an
environment of collaboration,
while providing the means and
methods to reduce wastef u l
processes.
In addition to ongoing collaboration and communication, there
are a number of other principles
embedded in lean construction,
such as defining project value,
mapping the value stream, creating flow in the design and construction process, establishing a
pull schedule and pursuing perfection throughout the process.
Simply put, lean construction
aims to capitalize on efficiencies,
while eliminating inefficiencies
and waste.
“W hat is also important to
note about lean construction
is that it can be applied in any
project delivery method, on any
project,” said LCI-C co-chair
Kathleen Lausman. “All stakeholders, whether they are project
owners, designers, consultants
or contractors, can benefit from
lean construction and the culture
of efficiency that lean principles
promote throughout a project.”
Un l i ke t rad it ion a l project
delivery environments, a lean
construction project encourages dialogue between all project
participants.
As with the automotive and
manufacturing industries, lean
construction promotes the reduction of wasteful practices
through a variety of value-added
activities and advanced planning. By involving all stakeh o l d e r s a n d p ro m o t i n g a n
environment of collaboration in
that planning process, it makes
it easier to align around common
project objectives.
Today, lean construction continues to see growing interest
from the entire construction and
building industry in Canada.
Early results from lean construction projects have seen faster delivery times, greater satisfaction
from project participants, improved productivity and reduced
costs.
Outside of the industry, the
general public and end-users of
construction projects can look
forward to improved time frames
on projects and higher quality,
as well as reduced disruption
from construction projects. And
since lean construction brings all
stakeholders into the process, the
needs of the public and end-users
are part of this ongoing process.
Today, as more individuals
and firms become interested
in lean principles, LCI-C looks
forward to the implementation
of lean education and training
opportunities across the country.
“One of our key objectives is to
educate the industry, challenge
traditional thinking and create
awareness about lean construction in Canada,” Massicotte said.
“We are excited to see the interest in lean already growing, and
encourage firms and individuals
in our industry to consider LCI-C
membership to help gain a competitive advantage through lean.”
As part of this education, LCI-C
held its inaugural annual conference in Calgary in April. In total,
more than 100 delegates attended
the conference, the theme of
which was Lean for Extraordinary Results. The event attracted a
variety of stakeholders, including
owners, consultants and contractors, all of whom can benefit
from utilizing lean. •
Ken Lancastle is associate director of
industry practices for the Canadian
Construction Association. More
information about the Lean Construction
Institute of Canada is available at www.
lcicanada.ca.
Serge Massicotte, Co-chair, Lean Construction Institute of Canada
At its core, the objective behind the implementation
of lean construction is a pursuit of perfection
CONSTRUCTION: ‘Quality of Documents’
workshops engage industry stakeholders
Cross-Canada roundtables provide insight on important industry issue
Ken Lancastle
T
he issue of poor qu a lity documentation in the
Canadian building industry is one that has been discussed
for a number of years, with all
stakeholders understanding how
important high-quality and complete documents are to the successful delivery of a construction
project.
Simply put, poor quality or incomplete documentation can lead
to confusion or inaccurate information being passed among the
owner procuring the project, the
consultants tasked with designing the project and the contractors responsible for building the
project. This can lead to multiple
changes during construction, delays or cost overruns, all of which
can ultimately impact the endusers and general public.
“We have often likened project documentation to a flight
plan,” explained John Bockstael, chairman of the Canadian
Construction Association (CCA)
Standard Practices Committee.
“Construction documentation
represents the guidelines that
need to be followed in order to
ensure the successful delivery
of a project.”
Because of the importance of
the issue, and recognizing it as an
issue that affects project owners,
consultants and contractors
alike, the CCA recently embarked
on a series of “Quality of Documents” workshops across Canada
to further explore the topic.
In total, 12 workshops were
held across the country, involving participants who represented
all stakeholder groups in the industry, to discuss the causes and
potential solutions to poor-quality or incomplete construction
documents.
“It was extremely important
for us to ensure that an entire
cross-section of industry participants was available to participate
in these workshops,” Bockstael
said. “We have continued to emphasize that this issue is one that
affects all of us, and that no party
is infallible. All stakeholders have
an important role to play if we are
to develop comprehensive solutions to this issue.”
Throughout the workshops, a
number of themes emerged. It
was noted that all parties have a
role to play, and need to understand their responsibilities as
they relate to the construction
project and the coordination of
high-quality documentation.
At the same time, lack of education, training and experience
are potential impediments to
improving quality, particularly
as experienced employees reach
retirement age or leave the industry. Additionally, because technology, while helpful, can also be
a hindrance to quality control, as
it can supress critical analyses of
constructability, its proper use is
essential. Workshop participants
also noted that standardized industry best practices, as well as
communication, trust and collaboration, are all key to improving the quality of documents.
As part of the workshops, participants were asked to complete
a questionnaire on the 12 potential issues that affect the quality
of documentation on construction projects. Analysis of the results highlights key themes and
causes of poor documentation
that include:
•Lack of final coordination,
Maksym Dykha/shutterstock
checking and proof-reading
•Insufficient time for design
•Lack of coordination between
architects and engineers
•Owners’ (unnecessary) pressure
•I n s u f f i c i e n t f e e /d e s i g n
contingency
With the workshops complete,
CCA has published a summary
report of both the workshops and
the survey on its website (www.
cca-acc.com).
“We are extremely pleased with
the progress we have made so
far on this file” Bockstael said.
“Most importantly, we look forward to working with our partner
associations and other stakeholder organizations across the
Canadian building industry so
that we may help improve the
quality of documentation and
ultimately the performance of
our collective industries.” •
Ken Lancastle is associate director of
industry practices for the Canadian
Construction Association. Established
in 1918, the Canadian Construction
A s s o c i a t i o n ’s (C C A ) v i s i o n i s t o
build Canada with ethics, skills and
responsibility. CCA’s mission is to be
the national voice for the Canadian
construction industry.