Topic
Risk Management
Ontario begins safety blitz inspections, focusing on construction sites
February 5, 2020 by Megan HoeglerOntario workplace inspectors are launching a safety blitz focusing on construction sites. The ‘blitz’ was announced by Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development for the province, on Feb. 3. “We’re doing this to save lives,” McNaughton said…
2020 Construction Forecast: Positive momentum to continue, but industry needs to embrace change
December 18, 2019 David KennedyA steady stream of building projects in most regions of Canada, and particularly within its big urban centres, have kept the construction industry busy through the second half of 2019. Though concerns about how long growth can continue persist, much…
Is tech forcing the built world to evolve its procurement models?
December 17, 2019 David BowcottUnlike the manufacturing industry, where environments can be tightly controlled and products are often carbon copies of one another, construction projects will likely always face a degree of uncertainty. Advancing technology and enhanced computing power, however, are helping to usher…
Keeping score: How Toronto’s Bespoke Metrics is standardizing data and helping to de-risk construction
December 12, 2019 David KennedyThe tech company’s prequalification tool lets GCs vet subcontractors to ensure they’re capable of taking on various aspects of major projects
The level playing field assumption: A ‘go or no-go’ cautionary tale
October 7, 2019 David BowcottYour construction company is about to bid what you believe to be a very attractive new project. Your firm has been prequalified along with three others, the RFP document has been issued and you are set to compile your best…
Doing things differently: Getting ready for prompt payment and adjudication
August 20, 2019 Arif GhaffurThe Striking the Balance Report, delivered back in 2016, was the catalyst for Ontario to modernize its Construction Lien Act, which had been last reviewed in the early 1980s. As part of a wide-ranging review, this report also addressed the…
Handling big data has become a significant challenge for construction firms. AI is helping them cope
August 13, 2019 Jacob StollerMuch of the popular discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) is concerned with the question, “Will a computer take over my job?” While the farther-reaching answers are subject to speculation, it’s undeniable that AI out-performs humans at handling large amounts of…
Firming in the construction insurance market
August 13, 2019 David BowcottTo manage risk, you and your company draw on two key risk management areas. The first is the use of risk controls and other solutions that prevent and mitigate risk. The second is risk finance solutions, which provide capital in…
Asset management comes to North America
April 19, 2019 David BowcottThe construction industry is moving towards a more integrated approach. Though this column primarily focuses on construction and its associated risks, I’ve been interweaving the concept of asset management into my articles over the past several years to highlight a…
Connecting the dots between technology and capital
March 12, 2019 David BowcottYou may have noticed that a number of articles I’ve penned in the last year have had a strong technology leaning. It isn’t a coincidence. There’s absolutely no doubt that over the last few years Silicon Valley has discovered the…
From the editor… Tech keeps trucking
December 5, 2018 by David KennedyIntegrating fully autonomous vehicles certainly won’t become standard on work sites for several years, but the prospect is no longer science fiction
Lean Construction: Getting past the silos
December 5, 2018 Jacob StollerToronto’s Humber River Hospital, completed in 2015, is an award-winning facility featuring fully integrated digital infrastructure, compliance with LEED, a natural people-friendly environment and floor layouts that support Lean workflows. What’s not immediately obvious is the project’s diverse input from…
Integrated Asset Delivery: Risk management for the entire lifecycle
December 5, 2018 David BowcottIn recent years there has been a resurgence of the Integrated Project Delivery model in the North American construction marketplace. This method traces its origins to the heyday of North Sea oil exploration, when owners, design firms and contractors created…
Managing risk through business development
October 2, 2018 David BowcottIt used to be that the construction business was relatively straightforward for contractors. You staffed your operations with estimators, project managers and superintendents, and then pursued business through a tendering process in which the low bid would win the job.…
Putting focus on job site technology, EllisDon to implement Fieldwire on all Canadian projects
August 27, 2018 by David KennedyThe traditional clipboard, and other rudimentary jobsite tools like it, are living on borrowed time
Managing risk: Getting your workforce on board
August 9, 2018 David BowcottTo be truly effective at managing risk, you must master the complex world of risk controls. Put in place before incidents occur, risk controls are the contractual agreements, the operational practices and the tools and technologies used to prevent or…
Project to build two 23-kilometre flood prevention channels gets $540M from feds, Manitoba
June 18, 2018 by David KennedyST. LAURENT, Man.—A major infrastructure project that will manage high water levels in Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin northwest of Winnipeg has been green-lit by the provincial and federal governments. The two tiers of government committed a combined $540…
The power of project monitoring in preventing and mitigating risk
June 11, 2018 David BowcottYour construction project is made up of several sources of capital that turn concepts dreamt up on paper into tangible structures. Without these sources of capital, and the people behind that capital who believe in your project’s success, your project…
Fundamentals of materials liens: Payment for materials in construction contracts
June 11, 2018 Alexander J. SpraggsIn a typical subcontract, a subcontractor will periodically, throughout the duration of their work on or supply for the project, apply for payments at a value proportionate to the amount of the subcontract work performed and/or the materials delivered to…
Panel looks for increased transparency in Canadian construction through new standards
May 21, 2018 Amie SilverwoodThe Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Canadian Institute Of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS) and The Canadian Association of Consulting Quantity Surveyors (CACQS) held a joint information session earlier this month about the International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS), which included a…