Articles
Excavators that suck
February 20, 2018 Nate HendleySince 1995, Ontario Excavac has offered vacuum excavating services, primarily for municipalities and hydro companies. Much of the Vaughan, Ont.-based company’s work involves “potholing”— that is, locating underground utilities then removing enough soil in non-destructive fashion to expose pipes and…
Digging deep
February 20, 2018 Corinne Lynds with files from MetrolinxOriginally conceived as the Line 5 Eglinton by Toronto Mayor David Miller and TTC chair Adam Giambrone back in 2007, the $6.6-billion Eglinton Crosstown LRT is one of the largest transit infrastructure projects underway in North America, and it’s progressing…
Ahead of the curve
February 20, 2018 Jacob StollerNational Research Council Canada (NRC) released a paper in 2008 titled Systems Integration and Collaboration in Construction: A Review. Its authors, Weiming Shen and colleagues, concluded “systems integration and collaboration are believed to be the key enabling technologies to help…
Saskatchewan, Alberta trade dispute risks investor uncertainty
February 20, 2018 by Jillian MorganSaskatchewan has lifted its ban on Alberta license plates from government road and building project sites in the province. The decision came 12 hours before an independent panel under the New West Partnership Trade Agreement would strike a rule on…
Canadian Concrete Expo: letter from the president
December 15, 2017 Stuart GallowayWe started researching this project back in the summer of 2016 and reserved the Hall space at the International Centre the following September. From there, many customer survey calls were made to potential exhibitors and companies that might attend the…
First annual Canadian Concrete Expo is coming to Toronto February 2018
December 15, 2017 by On-Site MagazineThe Canadian Concrete Expo (CCE) is an industry only trade show that will feature more than 250 exhibiting companies on 200,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space. CCE will foster commerce, partnerships, education, and face-to-face meetings. Exhibitors from across the country will be able to…
Anticipation builds for World of Concrete 2018
December 15, 2017 by On-Site MagazineThe most important annual international event of the year for concrete and masonry professionals, WOC 2018 expects to attract 60,000 professional registrants and 1,500 leading suppliers from around the world. Taking over the Las Vegas Convention Centre from January 22…
2018 pickup trucks report: the right truck
December 15, 2017 Jill McIntoshYou always want “the right tool for the job,” and that includes one of a contractor’s most important tools, the work vehicle. It can be hard to choose with so many on the market, but that also gives you a…
The value of disciplined project contingency development
December 15, 2017 David BowcottThe primary defense against margin erosion is the project contingency. Construction is not a predictable business, and the project contingency is that all encompassing pool of capital dedicated to each project, which provides much needed funding when the unexpected happens.…
What is the holdback anyway?
December 15, 2017 Dirk LaudanOne of the basic elements in builders lien law in British Columbia is the 10 per cent mandatory holdback. Anyone making a payment on account of a construction contract or subcontract is entitled to retain, from those payments, 10 per…
How safe is your data?
December 15, 2017 Jacob StollerIn late October, just in time for Halloween, a Finnish security company, F-Secure, released a study involving the CEOs of 200 of the world’s largest corporations. Results show that 30 per cent have had their log-in credentials exposed, and 81…
Anatomy of a tax fight
December 15, 2017 Dan KellyYou can’t blame business owners for feeling like they’re being bombarded by government. Increased EI premiums, new environmental levies, minimum wage hikes: announcements about new taxes and regulations became a common occurrence in 2017. But perhaps the most significant tax…
2018 forecast: vacancy rates vary
December 15, 2017 Saul ChernosDowntown office vacancy rates in Calgary were as high as 27 per cent compared with just 4 per cent in Toronto and 8 per cent in Vancouver this past fall. Altus Group, a real estate services firm, tracks real estate…
2018 forecast: regional outlook
December 14, 2017 Saul ChernosFrom Sea to Sea may be a Canadian motto and unifying force. However, economic conditions vary considerably across the country. On-Site looks at prospects for 2018 region by region. British Columbia Vancouver and the province are faring quite well. However,…
Top 10 construction trends in 2018
December 14, 2017 Saul ChernosMichael Atkinson met in late summer with a group of Canada’s top construction leaders to gauge the state of the industry. With another year-end in sight, the now-past president of the Canadian Construction Association recounted a range of concerns —…
2018 forecast: green infrastructure sprouting up
December 14, 2017 Saul ChernosWith scientists forecasting increasingly turbulent weather, builders developers and governments can expect heightened pressure in 2018 to green their infrastructure. The Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, for instance, is developing new measures for stormwater run-off volume control. “It…
2018 construction forecast: a look ahead
December 14, 2017 Saul ChernosAll eyes are on the year ahead, as a tumultuous 2017 winds down. Oil prices remain low, edging towards a mild recovery but not expected to come close to the highs of 2013-2014. And prospects for pipeline construction remain mixed,…
From the editor: future-proofing infrastructure
December 14, 2017 by Corinne Lynds“When people tell me they don’t believe in climate change. I ask them: ‘Do you believe in gravity? The destructive power of climate change is the same as the strength and reality of gravity,” stated climate change guru Christian Figueres…
8 factors to consider when buying a mobile generator
November 17, 2017 Clayton CostelloThe mobile generator you choose for your job site needs to be able to provide the dependable power your job requires, plain and simple. And because applications vary so widely, mobile generator selection should be taken on a case-by-case…
BIM drives productivity gains in construction sector
September 7, 2017 David BowcottEveryone has seen the graphs that show construction on a downward productivity trend while other industries boast solid productivity gains. The following is a productivity graph that was produced by McKinsey & Co. that compares productivity in construction to that…