Articles
Steeling for a trade war: Canada’s dangerous, unavoidable dependence on foreign steel
October 2, 2018 Saul ChernosAn ongoing trade spat, which has seen the U.S. slap tariffs on a list of imports, has shone a spotlight on the Canadian construction sector’s dependence on foreign steel. When U.S. President Donald Trump introduced the tariffs in March, he…
Elevating your game: New regulations and focus on safety redefining working from heights
October 2, 2018 David KennedyWith their feet planted on an elevated work platform 40 metres (130 feet) above the Ottawa River, a pair of employees with marine construction contractor O.D.S. Marine set to work replacing a series of 10 high-voltage power lines on an…
Shifting gears: Vocational truck makers are not prepared to sit in neutral
October 2, 2018 Nate HendleyVocational vehicles aren’t sitting idle. The priorities of safety, performance and comfort may have stayed the same, but manufacturers have embraced new ways to bolster everything from air brake stopping times to headlight performance. With an emphasis on technology, improved…
Nipping job site impairment in the bud: Construction industry grapples with cannabis legalization
October 2, 2018 by Jillian MorganLeft high and dry, Canada’s construction industry is tackling recreational marijuana legalization with few proven tools at its disposal and the deadly threat of impairment lurking in the haze. “Cannabis changes nothing and cannabis changes everything,” says Andrew Pariser, vice…
Bridging Canada’s busiest road: Crews cap off distinctive pedestrian span over Ontario Hwy. 401
October 2, 2018 David KennedyLeapfrogging 14 of the busiest traffic lanes in the country, six railway tracks and a city street, the pedestrian bridge over Highway 401 in Pickering, Ont. is one of the longest enclosed footbridges in the world. After nearly eight protracted…
Managing heavy equipment: Making sense of equipment operation data
October 2, 2018 Jacob StollerConstruction, it is frequently observed, has not enjoyed the technology-driven productivity gains that have occurred in manufacturing over the past two decades. A partial explanation for this is that manufacturing equipment operates in a static environment, making it relatively easy…
Certificates of completion: The purpose, process and pitfalls
October 2, 2018 Krista Johanson and Siobhan SmallCompletion certificates play an important role in any construction contract or subcontract. This article sets out how certificates of completion influence projects, details how to issue a valid certificate and explores some common mistakes that can postpone the lien period.…
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.…
Infrastructure Report 2018: Canada’s spending plan starts hitting its stride
August 9, 2018 by David KennedyIt may have been a little slow off the proverbial mark, but the federal government’s $180 billion infrastructure plan is now off and running. As of August 2018, the federal government has approved funding for thousands of projects across the…
From the editor… Cut Ottawa some slack
August 9, 2018 by David KennedySlagging slow-moving government projects and the lumbering Ottawa bureaucracy is a treasured Canadian pastime. I’m far from an exception, and enjoy heaping some well-deserved blame on Parliament Hill as often as it has it coming. Occasionally though, I’m willing to…
Closing the loop: Builders of Calgary ring road moving rivers to stay on schedule
August 9, 2018 Saul ChernosCalgary’s new ring road is well on its way to becoming a full-fledged loop. Northeast and northwest sections opened to motorists wanting to bypass the city in 2009, and a southeast section was added four years later. If all goes…
Ottawa tech firm takes on ‘primitive’ concrete testing
August 9, 2018 Jillian MorganWith a little resistance from an industry sometimes seen as being set in its ways, Giatec Scientific Inc. is working to bring the world’s second most consumed material into the 21st century. Its smart concrete testing products offer an alternative…
Starting small: Hybrid and electric equipment looks to earn its place
August 9, 2018 Nate HendleyA new breed of compact equipment is starting to inch its way onto the job site. This April at Intermat, German manufacturer Wacker Neuson revealed the all-electric EZ17e mini-excavator. One of the first machines of its kind, the EZ17e performs…
Formless: How shotcrete is changing timelines, concrete crews and the jobsite
August 9, 2018 David KennedyFormwork has been a mainstay on construction sites for generations. The familiar timber, metal or plastic forms that support freshly-placed concrete as it sets aren’t about to go extinct, but they’re facing increased pressure from a method that can shave…
Virtual models that support maintenance and operations
August 9, 2018 Jacob StollerA bid team at EllisDon recently received a two-sentence RFP addendum pertaining to documentation requirements. “It stipulated that the as-built model we were to produce had to be at the level that would allow the owner to operate and…
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…
Lien claims: How much is too much?
August 9, 2018 Krista Johanson and Lindsey von BloedauWhen an owner or contractor seeks to remove a claim of lien from title to land by securing the lien with money in place of the land, a debate sometimes arises as to whether the claim of lien has been…
Tall wood buildings on the rise for Canadian universities
June 12, 2018 by Jillian MorganThe University of Toronto has unveiled plans to construct a 14-storey wood building on its St. George campus, located in the city’s downtown. Slated for construction at the end of 2019, the tower is expected to be the tallest mass…
From the editor… Canada’s Top Contractors lay the groundwork
June 11, 2018 by David KennedyAnother tough year for the construction industry in 2017 showcased the dogged resilience and gritty determination Canada’s Top Contractors are already well known for. In many parts of the country, where federal infrastructure cash remained little more than a promise,…
Construction innovation: Shedding the old paradigms
June 11, 2018 Jacob StollerThe term “innovation” conjures up images of drones, virtual reality, state-of-the-art sensing technology and leading-edge building materials. These products, however, are only enablers—the real innovation is in the changes companies have to make to adopt them. Unlike manufacturers, contractors don’t…