Author: Russell Hixson

Key Takeaways:

• Shipping containers with the stadium pieces arrived this month and the facility is expected to be ready in May.
• The stadium’s modern and improved modular design was partially inspired by Vancouver’s Empire Field which was a temp facility while construction was being done on BC Place.
• The soccer-specific stadium, a first in the Lower Mainland, will offer as many as 6,560 seats for fans.

The Whole Story:

Soccer fans won’t have to wait long for a new Vancouver FC stadium in Langley. 

Construction on the stadium will only take a few months thanks to prefabricated modular building techniques. 

The first shipping containers housing the club’s flat pack stadium arrived at the Port of Vancouver on Wednesday. Work is underway to lay the concrete foundations and site services that will support the prefabricated modular structure.

“The modular stadium system dramatically reduces onsite construction time and allows municipalities to create professional and intimate soccer-specific venues for a fraction of the budget typically spent on arenas and concrete stadiums,” said Dean Shillington, managing partner of SixFive Sports & Entertainment, parent company of SixFive Stadium Experience and Vancouver Football Club.

The stadium’s modern and improved modular design is based on the likes of Empire Field.  Empire was a multi-purpose stadium that stood at the Pacific National Exhibition site at Hastings Park. The temporary field was built to allow a new retractable roof to be installed at BC Place in 2010 and 2011. More recently, flat packed stadiums have been used for Olympic events as the stadium can be packed up and moved elsewhere once games are over.

The soccer-specific stadium, a first in the Lower Mainland, will offer as many as 6,560 local soccer fans an immersive game day experience during the club’s first season in 2023.

The stadium, located at Willoughby Community Park at the Langley Events Centre, is designed to grow with the club and its surrounding community, and is able to expand in capacity and amenities to serve its supporters now and in the future.

“We hope to create a true, authentic soccer destination for all,” said Shillington. “This stadium will become the heartbeat of the community for years to come and is a very flexible amenity that can expand as the sport of soccer continues to grow in Canada.”

Vancouver FC today revealed the first rendering of its new stadium ahead of the launch of ticket sales for the club’s inaugural season in the coming weeks. Vancouver is scheduled to host its inaugural home match on Sunday, May 7 at 4 p.m. PST against Cavalry FC. 

“We are delighted to share our vision for our future home with our fans, who can expect a stadium to rise before their eyes in the coming months as we look ahead to hosting our first match in club history later this year,” said Rob Friend, president, Vancouver FC. “We are excited to provide a proper football experience for every fan that walks through our doors, and to see this stadium come to life in the near future.”

The south end of the stadium will be home to Vancouver’s supporters’ groups. The east grandstand will be home to a Cabana Club, while VIP dining and Tunnel Club-style experiences will be offered below the west grandstand.

Vancouver’s youngest fans will be entertained in the Family Zone, located at the north end of the stadium. There will be several entertainment plazas located throughout the stadium, including an area designated to house a mini food truck festival on each match day, offering a selection of eats from local businesses.

Key Takeaways:

• The one-time funding opportunity is for all 188 municipalities in B.C.
• It’s meant to help communities prepare for future growth and build the amenities needed to support new home construction.
• It is the largest single provincial investment in communities in the province’s history.

The Whole Story:

What could $1 billion do to transform communities across B.C?

The province is about to find out. Grants totalling $1 billion are on the way to help local governments build infrastructure and amenities. 

The province announced the new grants are intended to help communities meet the demands of unprecedented population growth.

“B.C.’s strong economy and natural beauty continue to attract people from across Canada and around the world. Cities and towns need support to build thriving, livable communities,” said Premier David Eby. “The new Growing Communities Fund will help local municipalities improve roads, build more arenas and water facilities, and improve recreation options for families.”

The Growing Communities Fund will provide a one-time total of $1 billion in grants to all 188 of B.C.’s municipalities and regional districts, which they can use to address their community’s unique infrastructure and amenities demands – such as recreation facilities, parks and water-treatment plants, as well as other community infrastructure. It will help communities prepare for future growth and build the amenities needed to support new home construction, especially with the Housing Supply Act where targets are set.

“Addressing B.C.’s housing crisis requires a variety of responses, including increasing the supply of available housing which, in many communities in B.C., requires investments in community infrastructure and amenities,” said Anne Kang, minister of municipal affairs. “Today’s announcement demonstrates a cross-government co-operation to address the unique aspects of the housing crisis in each community, ensuring they can thrive into the future.”

These grants will complement existing infrastructure funding (such as sewer, water and recreation facilities) and will be distributed to B.C.’s 188 municipalities and regional districts by the end of March. The Growing Communities Fund will come from the surplus shown in the Second Quarter Financial Report.

“I thank the province for this investment into much-needed community infrastructure,” said Brenda Locke, mayor of Surrey. “As we know, Surrey is the fastest-growing city in the province. With that growth, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to work together to create livable communities and create a variety of housing options. This investment will ensure the quality of life in Surrey is not only maintained, but improved. From recreation facilities to parks to roads, this investment will benefit the residents of Surrey both now and well into the future.”

Officials noted that there are six times more requests for funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program Community, Culture and Recreation stream than what is available. This one-time fund supports the priorities of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).

“Today’s announcement provides the largest single provincial investment in communities in our province’s history,” said Jen Ford, president, UBCM. “This unprecedented transfer will help meet the needs of growing populations through the expansion of facilities and replacement of aging infrastructure. It will also support climate adaptation to sustain service delivery and safeguard residents from the risks of extreme weather. By delivering the funds with maximum flexibility, the province is ensuring that they will be directed to urgent local priorities. This shows tremendous commitment from the province and is welcome news for residents in all communities.”

Kiewit is hitting the ice with the NHL. 

As part of a multi-year sponsorship, Kiewit will become the official helmet decal sponsor of the Colorado Avalanche home, away and alternate uniforms appearing during all practices and games. Kiewit will appear prominently at Ball Arena and the Colorado Avalanche practice facility. 

Kiewit stated that the partnership extends its brand, demonstrates the company’s commitment to the Rocky Mountain Region, and will help it attract and retain the best engineering and construction personnel. The company called the partnership a great fit for Kiewit and its deep commitment to safety and supporting mental health awareness – what’s “under the hat” – in the construction industry and beyond.

“Kiewit is excited to be the Official Construction and Engineering Sponsor of the Avalanche, an organization – like our company – committed to excellence, teamwork and making a positive impact in our communities,” said David Miles, executive vice president, Kiewit Corporation. “It’s exciting to have our brand displayed on Avalanche helmets, much like the Kiewit name on our people’s hard hats and protective equipment that help keep them safe on the job – because nothing is more important. Our company looks forward to supporting this elite hockey organization and making the most of this strategic partnership in Colorado and across North America.”

Michael Ceilley, SVP of partnership marketing & media sales for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment stated that Kiewit is renowned within the construction and engineering industries for building innovative projects and communities, including their new regional headquarters in Denver. 

“The Kiewit core values of people, integrity, excellence, and stewardship, align with the attributes of our talented Colorado Avalanche hockey club, and their continuous pursuit of excellence on and off the ice,” said Ceilley. “We look forward to furthering this community and Colorado-based sponsorship for many years to come.”

Kiewit noted that throughout the life of the sponsorship, they plan to develop and implement fan-facing marketing and community programs that celebrate hockey and support the local Colorado community.

Key Takeaways:

• Aecon will help build the Oneida Energy Storage project in Ontario. 
• The project is the largest of its kind in Canada and amongst the largest in the world.
• Construction is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2023, with anticipated completion in 2025.
• The facility will draw and store existing surplus baseload and renewable energy during off-peak periods and release that energy back to the grid when demand is at its peak. 

The Whole Story:

Aecon Group Inc. announced that Oneida Energy Storage Limited Partnership (Oneida LP), a consortium in which Aecon Concessions will be an equity partner, has executed an agreement for an energy storage facility in Ontario. 

The consortium entered into an agreement with Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to deliver the Oneida Energy Storage Project, a 250 megawatt / 1,000 megawatt-hour energy storage facility near Nanticoke, Ont. 

Under the agreement, Aecon has been awarded a $141 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Oneida LP. The value of the contract was added to Aecon’s Construction segment backlog in the fourth quarter of 2022.

NRStor, the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation (SNGRDC), Northland Power and Aecon Concessions will be the owners of Oneida LP, which will provide electricity storage services to the IESO through a 20-year agreement and receive fixed availability payments from IESO for capacity services, as well as revenue from energy sold into the Ontario electricity grid and operating reserve. Tesla is the battery supplier and has executed a battery supply agreement with Oneida LP.

According to Aecon, the project is the largest of its kind in Canada and amongst the largest in the world. It will provide a gigawatt-hour of much needed capacity to the Ontario grid, while prioritizing local Indigenous partnerships and environmental benefits. The scope of work includes designing the facility, procuring balance of plant facility equipment, installing equipment foundations, electrical houses, battery transformers, switchgears and underground cabling, as well as constructing a high voltage substation, and commissioning and startup activities. Construction is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2023, with anticipated completion in 2025.

“As a leader in the energy transition, Aecon is working at the forefront to build and operate sustainable infrastructure and the battery energy storage market offers robust opportunities for continued growth in a significant global market,” said Jean-Louis Servranckx, president and CEO of Aecon Group Inc. “We are pleased to combine the multidisciplinary expertise of Aecon’s Construction and Concessions teams to deliver this sustainable project that will improve electricity management during peak demand, reduce GHG emissions, and support economic development and long-term partnerships with Indigenous communities – creating energy savings to meet the needs of future generations. Building on our existing Aecon-Six Nations joint venture with the SNGRDC, this partnership is a natural progression, and we look forward to working with all partners to deliver this innovative project.” 

The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.1 million tonnes – the equivalent of taking 40,000 cars off the road every year. The facility will draw and store existing surplus baseload and renewable energy during off-peak periods and release that energy back to the grid when demand is at its peak. In addition, Aecon stated that it will help stabilize Ontario’s electricity sector by providing important grid balancing services and benefits to provincial ratepayers, including reducing the need and cost associated with using gas-fired power plants during times of peak demand.

Aecon noted that the Canada Infrastructure Bank has played a key role supporting project development and is collaborating with the Oneida Energy Storage Project on an investment agreement. Natural Resources Canada has provided $50 million in funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program. The project contributes to Canada’s ongoing transition to a net-zero economy by 2050 and commitment to achieving a 100 per cent net-zero-emitting electricity system by 2035.

Key Takeaways

• Gravity Climate is stacking up partnerships to enhance its carbon footprint tracking tools.
• They recently announced partnerships with Procore and Xometry.
• Gravity officials believe there will be more and more demand for empirical data in construction, particularly on the materials side.

The Whole Story

Gravity Climate, a company helping industrial businesses and their supply chain partners manage their carbon footprint, is lining up partnerships to enhance its services. 

Last fall they announced a technology integration with construction management software giant Procore. Procore users can leverage Gravity’s sustainability insights in project planning and bids via an embedded app with one click.

“The timing of this partnership is crucial,” said Kris Lengieza, vice president of global partnerships and alliances at Procore. “Technologies like Gravity make it possible for Procore’s customers to incorporate emissions data into their business planning and project management. We’re excited to work with Gravity to solve this problem for the industry.” 

This month, Gravity Climate also announced a partnership with Xometry, a global online marketplace connecting enterprise buyers with suppliers of manufacturing services. The new integration, powered by the Gravity API, instantly calculates carbon emissions estimates for Xometry order requests in real-time. Gravity Climate purpose-built the database for Xometry, incorporating the latest climate science and data related to product material, manufacturing processes, mass, and geography.

Gravity Climate launched last year with $5 million in seed funding from Eclipse Ventures and several new customer engagements with mid-sized manufacturers and industrial-focused private equity firms. 

The motivating factor for building Gravity was the opportunity to apply new technology to industrial supply chains, which are responsible for over 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Founder Saleh ElHattab explained that he started Gravity after spending years working for companies like Salesforce and Samsara. 

“I ended up expanding to cover physical operations with hardware and software and I fell in love with the physical industry and the data,” he said. “We help some of the most carbon intensive industries through the entirety of the building’s lifecycle. This is choosing materials, construction and then the actual building management.”

He believes that working with existing software providers makes it easier for the industry to access decarbonization tools. 

“There are major benefits to working with a large company like Procore or any organization that has a significant consumer base and data that aligns with our mission,” said ElHattab It lowers the barrier of entry for organizations who don’t have the time or budget surplus on consultants or internal hires. We want to make it easy if you are already familiar with these systems.”

ElHattab believes there will be an increasing demand to measure the emissions impact of materials beyond measuring utilities or fuel. 

“I think there is going to be a massive trend towards empirical data. Even just a few years back, early adopters who reached out to supply chains couldn’t get the info needed to get high quality estimates,” said ElHattab. “The trend we are seeing is that more and more of these construction and industrial companies are starting to be market compelled to find and elevate empirical data about their emissions, consumption of fuel and raw materials.” 

Kids now have another way to learn about construction in Canada. 

You’ve heard of PAW Patrol, but are you ready for Rubble & Crew? 

Spin Master and Corus Entertainment have premiered Rubble & Crew on Corus’ top kids network Treehouse and STACKTV. The show is a spin-off series from preschool franchise PAW Patrol that follows the adventures of fan-favorite English bulldog Rubble and his construction crew family.

“As a proud member of the PAW Patrol, Rubble has stolen the hearts of preschoolers around the world with his loyal, optimistic nature and penchant for treats,” said Jennifer Dodge, Spin Master’s president of entertainment and executive producer. “Our new series expands Rubble’s world with storytelling that digs into amazing construction projects and the importance of family, combined with high-stakes action, fun adventures and messy demolition that preschoolers will love.”

Set in the community of Builder Cove, a neighboring town to PAW Patrol’s Adventure Bay, Rubble & Crew centers on Rubble, the funny and optimistic leader of the construction crew. In the small, quickly growing town, lots of things are still needed for the community to come together, including a bigger airport, train station, bridges, tunnels, schools, fire stations, parks and more. Rubble and his construction pup family – his pup cousins Mix, Wheeler, Charger, Motor, along with Grandpa Gravel and Auntie Crane – must work together to tackle and build all the projects the town needs.

“For the last decade, PAW Patrol has won over the hearts of families everywhere and established itself as a beloved pre-school favourite,” said Jennifer Abrams, senior vice president of networks and programming at Corus Entertainment. “As we warmly welcome Rubble & Crew to Treehouse, we look forward to continuing to showcase the best in Canadian animation for our viewers.”

Their projects are massive, their techniques are innovative and some of their roots go back more than a century. Building Design has released its annual list of the biggest architecture firms. The list is based on the number of fee-earning architects a firm employs.

We dug into the top ten to find out where they come from, what projects they are building and if they have any roots in Canada.

10. HKS

HKS is a global firm of architects, designers and advisors. They have 1,500 employees in 26 offices across the world. While they don’t have offices in Canada, they have a significant presence in the U.S. Their work on the LA Rams’ SoFi Stadium won first place in the 2022 World Architecture Festival’s Completed Buildings: Sports category. And Emory Musculoskeletal Institute (EMSK) was a finalist in the Completed Buildings: Health category. They are also working on an 80-story, 1,035-foot residential skyscraper planned for Austin, Texas.

9. DLR

This firm is 100% employee owned and their motto is simple: elevate the human experience through design. Founded in Nebraska, the company now has 30 offices from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts in the United States, and several international locations. Some of their recent work includes a new subway station in San Francisco. Last year the firm received American Architecture Awards for two international conceptual designs – the Theatre of Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the Culture and Sports Complex in Xiamen, China.

8. Heerim Architects & Planners

Founded in 1970, this South Korean firm has 15 branch offices and more than 1,400 employees. Their offices span the globe in countries like Cambodia, Qatar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Last year their work on Incheon International Airport Passenger Terminal 2 won them an International Architecture Award. They also won a Prix Versailles award for work on Qatar Al Thumama Stadium.

7. HAEAHN Architecture

Also a Korean firm, HAEAHN was established in 1990. It has since grown to more than 1,300 employees. Some of its award-winning projects include Namyangju Wangsuk S-20BL, Pohang International Exhibition & Convention Center and the Jang-Ju Art Centre.

6. Perkins Eastman

While this international firm is headquartered in New York City, they still dip their toe across the border into Canada. Some of this includes the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, modernizations for Vancouver’s SkyTrain system and Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga. The firm has 24 studios across the globe in cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Austin, Shanghai, Dubai, Los Angeles and Chicago.

5. AECOM

AECOM launched as an independent company formed by the merger of five entities. While its official founding was in 1990, many of its predecessor firms had distinguished histories dating back more than 120 years. Since then, more than 50 companies have joined and, in 2007, it became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Their impact in Canada has been vast. Their resume includes Réseau Express Métropolitain in Quebec, Toronto York Spadina Subway Extension in Ontario and a massive terminal expansion at the Calgary International Airport. 

4. Sweco

This European firm was founded in 1958 and swears by the Sweco model. The model is based on four cornerstones: client focus, the best employees, internal efficiency and a decentralized organization. Sweco operates in eight business areas representing 13 countries in Northern Europe. Recently, they have been doing work on the UK’s largest Antarctic science research hub, a net-zero office building redevelopment near London Bridge and the new Aarhus stadium in Denmark.

3. Nikken Sekkei

Just last year, a Nikken joint venture was selected as the winner of China’s largest transportation hub architectural competition. They also saw their Kumamoto Railway Station Building win International Living Future Institute’s 2022 Biophilic Design Award. But their history goes deep. They have compiled a detailed history of their work that goes back to their founding in Japan in 1900.

2. HDR

HDR specializes in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services with more than 200 offices in 13 countries. Their site stats that they are most well-known for adding beauty and structure to communities through high-performance buildings and smart infrastructure. It’s hard to pick which Canadian projects to highlight from HDR because their list of work here is extensive. They are advising on the Ontario Line Subway, did work for the long-awaited McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant and were involved with the award-winning John Deutsch University Centre.

1. Gensler

With 2,692 architects on staff and more than $1 billion in fee income, Gensler easily soared to the top of Building Design’s list. They also topped it in 2021. In Canada, they are leading the push to convert vacant office buildings into housing. They are identifying these projects using a data crunching tool that helps identify prime candidates for conversion. They also have digital tools to enhance their design process. The Gensler team has done work on the striking Central Park House in Metro Vancouver, BMO Field in Toronto and the GE Innovation Centre in Calgary.

I wanted to reflect on some sad news we received over the weekend about the loss of an icon in our industry, someone who gave much to the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), the construction industry, the open shop movement, and to British Columbia.

Over the weekend, Lark Group founder and ICBA Life Member Larry Fisher passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

Larry was an incredible supporter of ICBA and open shop construction from our earliest days. When he formed Lark in 1972, he quickly became a strong and outspoken advocate for free enterprise – for the investment, jobs and opportunity that result from open and fair bidding on government tendered projects and on an economy founded on free markets.

Not one to stand on the sidelines, Larry’s passion for getting things done and building B.C., led him to unapologetically support Social Credit and, later, the BC Liberal Party.

It’s impossible to overstate how important Larry and Lark Group have been to open shop construction. Larry was one of the leaders who successfully pushed to open EXPO 86 to non-union construction companies. It was a simple proposition – if companies and their workers had the skill and experience to get the job done, why shouldn’t they have an opportunity to work on taxpayer-funded projects? And he practiced what he preached: Lark sites have a healthy mix of open shop and building trades sub-contractors working on their projects. It was hard work and results that mattered to Larry.

His affection for ICBA never wavered, and he always looked back fondly at his work in the 1980s: “Convictions were so strong that we just believed in what we were doing and if you ran across a concrete wall, you’d step back, go sideways and find a hole in the wall and just keep marching on,” he told ICBA in 2016.

I first met Larry in 1990, when he invited Kevin Falcon and me, university students at the time, to meet with him at 6AM in his office in Surrey to talk about politics. Not one for small talk, he got to the point, and our meeting was over in half an hour. While short, it’s a meeting I will never forget.  I will also never forget Kevin and I, who lived on the North Shore and in Vancouver, looking at each other following the meeting and one of us saying, “It’s 6:30AM in Surrey – now what do we do?”

From that first meeting onward, when it came to discussions about construction, building the province or what was happening at City Hall, in Victoria or in Ottawa, Larry’s voice was never too far from the conversations.

In 2019, ICBA wanted a long-term solution for its head office, and we were looking at sites in Burnaby (where we had been for more than 20 years) and Surrey, (where, in our early days, we had a single room office in a basement), so I called Larry. Lark Group was building City Centre 3 across from Surrey Memorial Hospital. And, two weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown, we signed an agreement to purchase the 8^th floor of the new building. The timing was interesting to say the least, but like Larry, we never looked back.

In the summer of that year, Larry called us with the idea for a photo opportunity that only he could have come up with. After workers poured the 8^th floor of our building, he had a desk craned up and placed in the exact location where my new office was to be located. I will always cherish that amazing photo of he and I, in full PPE, proudly standing behind a desk in the open air, with the Lark Group CC1 building looming behind us.

A couple of months ago, as he was fighting cancer, he called me. “Chris, I’m just on hold waiting for the results of my most recent tests, so I thought I would give you a call. I want to talk about what’s happening in Victoria and Ottawa.”

That was Larry – ever driving, persistent, principled, and always fighting for what he believed in.

As I think about Larry now, I am so glad that I answered his call and had an opportunity to speak with him for a few minutes. I will think of him often as I pass by ICBA’s Builders’ Wall and glance up at his name.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Larry’s family, the Lark Group team, and his many friends. He was an incredible builder and a remarkable person. We mourn the loss of a true icon.

Cooper Equipment Rentals Limited, a Canadian-owned and operated construction equipment rental company, has purchased 100 per cent of the shares of Toronto-based Hub Equipment.

Established in 1946 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Hub Equipment moved its operations into Southern Ontario in the 1950s and is recognized today as a leading provider of specialized heavy equipment, offering brands such as CAT, Volvo, Hitachi, John Deere, Komatsu and more.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of the Cooper organization from coast-to-coast, and to grow our legacy with a diverse, larger and rapidly growing organization that shares our common values and vision,” said Hub President Tom Stevenson.

Hub Equipment will operate as a specialty division of Cooper under the leadership of Stevenson and Raegan Fatouros, general manager.

“Hub’s prime location and facility in Etobicoke intensifies our coverage in the important Greater Toronto market and their strong presence in Alberta enhances our ability to serve customers better in Western Canada,” said Darryl Cooper, president & COO, Cooper Equipment Rentals.

Cooper CEO Doug Dougherty said he was pleased to welcome Hub Equipment into the Cooper family.

“The Hub family have built a fine business with a reputation for quality and integrity in the construction equipment industry,” he said. “Consistent with the growth vision for Cooper Equipment Rentals, this acquisition is a further step towards Cooper firmly establishing itself as the only Canadian-owned, nationally positioned, rental company.”

SALUS CEO and founder Gabe Guetta never had any grand plans to start a digital health and safety platform for builders. It was born out of necessity. 

Right out of high school he worked in construction as a labourer and rose up in the business. At 25 he was running a Metro Vancouver subcontracting business specializing in high rise window installation that employed more than 100 people.

Guetta saw a shift happen around seven years ago when a major shift in compliance happened. 

“The companies we were working for were being forced to track a deeper level of compliance,” he said. “They had to prove they were following rules and requirements and prove it by filling out forms. They also were forced to ensure their subs were doing this.”

Overnight Guetta and his team were having to produce and create a safety program as well as daily, weekly and monthly forms proving compliance. This put the company in a reactive state as the entire workforce had to change on a dime. 

“The legal ramifications were huge and I always had this anxiety around liability,” said Guetta. “We continued in that reactive state for a few years.”

His fears were realized when a 14-foot piece of steel was dropped from the 14th floor of a build onto a pedestrian parking lot. Nobody was hurt, but after an investigation revealed some forms were not properly filled out, Guetta was personally written up. 

Better than paper

“We wanted to take that experience, that failure, and elevate the business,” said Guetta. “But I couldn’t find a way to progress in this reactive paper state. That’s where the journey began as we started to look for software.” 

The search left Guetta unsatisfied. While site documents and e-compliance existed, he felt that there wasn’t something that was built specifically for construction. 

“If you understand the industry, you have to replicate the physical workflows of an individual,” he explained. “If technology can’t do that, paper is more powerful. Can a worker start that form on a laptop then go into the field, share it with other people and work on it together digitally, even out of cell service, finish it, auto-share it with the GC, share so others can sign? If it can’t do that, it is just a roadblock in the physical workflow. It has to be better than paper.”

Guetta worked with SALUS co-founder and full-stack developer Rob Clifford to build a program that digitally replicates the existing hierarchies and workflows of the industry. 

“It’s a single source of truth,” he said. “As companies work in the system together and share it allows the natural flow of the industry to happen.”

The team was new to the software as a service industry and it was a momentous task to get started. 

“We didn’t know what software as a service (SaaS) meant,” said Guetta. “We didn’t know truly how complex and how much work it was. We just started to climb that mountain. I knew exactly what the industry needed for success and Robbie knew how to build it.” 

The first priority was field adoption from workers so the team started with a mobile app and got it into the hands of crews. This meant making it as easy as possible to access through a web page or even just scanning a QR code. 

“A worker’s job is to go from point ‘a’ and ‘b’ to build something,” said Guetta. “If we stop them and don’t adapt to their natural flow or make it more efficient, we are losing. You have to get into the trenches and build a product from the eyes of the industry from their side of the fence.”

Collaboration gone digital

Projects are a team effort and Guetta explained that while building SALUS, the team knew that it would have to be able to function in a collaborative environment. 

“You can’t just run one thing, you have to pull it all together in a cohesive way,” he said. “First we built an architecture that maps out the workflows and hierarchies. It allows us to replicate the physical workflow so well that adoption is elevated. Then you pull all feature sets into one platform for health and safety and from that point you can connect companies together.”

This means that if a general contractors has subs and thos subs have subs, you can connect them. 

“In our platform it’s all interconnected,” he said. “It connects to existing profiles, maps out the hierarchy, creating almost a metaverse. We aren’t revolutionizing anything. We are just putting this all into a digital space.” 

Guetta believes that digitizing this creates the opportunity for the entire construction community to be more collaborative when it comes to keeping workers and the public safe. 

He imagines a scenario where all of Vancouver is connected to SALUS. The community could know that a truck driver is carrying a hazardous load. The entire metaverse knows it’s happening and the safest route can be determined. Nearby sites can be notified. 

“Imagine what can happen if there is more collaboration, if we know where high risk activities are on a dashboard,” he said. “Now you aren’t being reactive. You are proactive.” 

Guetta also believes that the data generated from SALUS could be used to identify trends and emerging risks that could be dealt with before a serious incident occurs. However he stressed that it would be done in such a way that personal information regarding workers and companies is hidden. 

Guetta said SALUS has worked with more than 1,800 companies across North America and Australia and in the coming year intends to focus on Canada and the U.S.

“We have so much more room to innovate and as we are doing that we are listening,” said Guetta. “The future is SALUS is truly allowing an industry to come together and solve health and safety problems in a collaborative environment and not a competitive one.”

Vancouver-based construction waste disposal company GB Group started back in 2004 with just one truck and 20 bins. Now they have 18 roll-up trucks, roughly 400 bins in all shapes and sizes, and about 35 employees. The family business is run by Bryan VanderHoek and his son Tyler with a focus on supporting employees and advancing sustainability. 

SiteNews: What does sustainability mean to you and GB Group?

Tyler VanderHoek: My family has always been outdoorsy. We go camping all summer, ride mountain bikes and hike, so we believe in treating the outdoors with respect. It’s also why we are starting a brand new tree planting initiative where we plant one tree for every bin used. If you dump a bin with us, we plant a tree. And a tower project can generate 250 bins a year. We want to bring more forest into the world and that’s why it’s cool to us. We have a direct relationship to the environment.

Why do you place so much importance on your employees?

Our drivers are the ones doing the work. If we don’t have them, we don’t have anything. We believe in building careers that people can be proud of. You can roll up in a brand new Peterbilt and make 20 per cent more than our competitors. We like to bring on board young people and then promote them because it is an aging industry. 

What sort of data do you track for clients?

We track every single thing that goes into the bin – cardboard, metal, plastic, garbage. We then provide those metrics in percentages for the clients so they can see what’s in there. Those reports are called LEED reports. We track LEED on every site whether you ask us to or not because then we can provide waste assessments. Seeing higher garbage percentages in a report indicates to us that more materials could be recycled.

Why should companies hire GB Group? And how should they get in touch?

We are truly solutions focused and family driven. We have been doing this for over 20+ years and have the size, scale and specialization that can be counted on for complex projects. Our clients are building some of the biggest projects in Western Canada – and we are trusted to deliver. We are not a big multinational but a family business that always stands behind our brand and people. To get in touch, call 604-468-2467.

Key Takeaways:

• The CO2 was collected using direct air capture technology. 
• The carbon won’t return to the atmosphere, even if the concrete is demolished. 
• The team believes that CO2 storage in concrete could be a major asset to achieve climate goals.

The Whole Story:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) captured via direct air capture (DAC) has been permanently stored in concrete for the first time in a demonstration project led by CarbonCure Technologies and Heirloom.

The team announced that Heirloom captured CO2 from the atmosphere using their DAC technology at their headquarters in Brisbane, California. Technology developed by Nova Scotia-based CarbonCure was used to to inject the captured CO2 into the process wastewater at a Central Concrete batch plant in San Jose, California. Central Concrete used the CO2-treated wastewater to make fresh concrete, which was produced for a range of construction projects across the Bay Area. 

Stored forever 

The team explained that the CO2 is sequestered in the concrete as calcium carbonate, and will not be returned to the atmosphere, even if the concrete is demolished. 

Heirloom runs America’s only operational DAC facility. It uses limestone, an abundant, easy-to-source and inexpensive material, to pull CO2 from the air. 

The team explained that this is done by harnessing a cyclic process. The limestone is broken down into calcium oxide rock and CO2 gas using heat from a renewable-energy powered, electric kiln. The calcium oxide is spread onto vertically stacked trays where it acts like a sponge – pulling CO2 from the air before it is returned to the kiln and the process begins again. The captured CO2 gas is then permanently stored safely underground or embedded in concrete.

Using Canadian technology 

CarbonCure Technologies licenses a suite of carbon mineralization solutions for hundreds of concrete plants globally. CarbonCure’s reclaimed water technology was used to store Heirloom’s CO2 at Central Concrete. The technology injects CO2 into reclaimed water (recycled water collected from washing out concrete trucks) at concrete plants. When injected, the CO2 immediately reacts with cement in the water and mineralizes, permanently storing the CO2 and stabilizing the cement for reuse. The CO2-treated slurry is then used in new concrete mixes.

Central Concrete was the first concrete supplier in the Bay Area to adopt CarbonCure’s technologies for ready-mixed concrete. 

“This demonstration project is a global milestone for carbon removal technology that confirms concrete’s enormous potential as a climate solution that can permanently store carbon in our most essential infrastructure – from roads and runways to hospitals and housing,” said Robert Niven, chair and CEO of CarbonCure Technologies. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Heirloom and Central Concrete on this groundbreaking world first.”

“The science is clear: In order to reach climate goals we must remove billions of tons of already emitted CO2 from the atmosphere each year,” said Shashank Samala, CEO of Heirloom. “This is an important step toward that future and shows the promise of DAC technologies combined with smart, permanent methods of sequestration.”

Looking to a zero-carbon future

The team stated that the application of a DAC-to-concrete solution is a significant step forward in permanent atmospheric CO2 removal. 

“As the world moves toward zero-carbon energy generation, DAC technologies will play a key role in remediating past emissions, and helping to decarbonize industries as they develop and scale carbon-cutting solutions,” they said. 

They noted that even the most aggressive emissions reduction projections from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will require the removal of 6-10 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2050 to stick to a 1.5 C warming pathway. 

“DAC technologies are some of the most promising methods of carbon dioxide removal, and have recently received large investments from the U.S. government through the Department of Energy’s $3.5 billion DAC hub program and the Inflation Reduction Act,” they said. 

The added that the world’s most-utilized building material, concrete provides an important repository for permanent CO2 storage. With the global building stock expected to double by 2060 – the equivalent of building another New York City every month – concrete presents a key opportunity to store immense quantities of carbon dioxide in our built environment.

Improving the performance of our buildings is a major part of combatting climate change.

According to the World Economic Forum, buildings are responsible for about 40 per cent of global energy consumption and about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

This has led many to pursue Passive House, a method of design and construction that can create buildings that consume up to 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than conventional work. According to Passive House Canada, it is the only internationally recognized, proven, science-based energy standard in construction.

The history of Passive House in Canada goes all the way back to the 1970s, with the Saskatchewan Conservation House in Regina. The visionary project had no furnace but still performed three times better than traditional builds at the time. According to the University of Regina, it was one of the first conservation demonstration houses constructed in North America.

Since then, Passive House buildings in Canada have got far more ambitious and more high-tech. We went through Passive House Canada‘s database to highlight some of the many projects under construction or recently completed across the country.

University of Victoria Student Housing and Dining – Victoria, B.C.

The Student Housing and Dining project includes two new buildings on campus, and is the largest capital project in the university’s history. The new buildings provide 783 total student spaces, with 398 beds for students in Building 1. In addition to student housing, Building 1 features the Cove dining hall that is open to the entire campus community. Building 2 provides 385 student beds, two 225-seat classrooms, and an Indigenous student lounge and meeting rooms. The project team includes Perkins & Will, EllisDon Kinetic (joint venture), Integral Group, Fast+Epp and RDH Building Science.

Anstruther Lake cottage – North Kawartha, Ontario

Little details are available on this project, other than that it is a cottage designed by MOSS SUND Architects on Anstruther Lake. The lake sits in the the municipality of North Kawartha, Peterborough County in Central Ontario, Canada, between the community of Apsley.

Shady Mile Passive House – Nanaimo, B.C.

This is the second Passive House targeting project of its kind by Ora Homes. The single family home’s main room features an abundance of solar gain through an asymmetry of windows that encircle a fireplace that incorporates a water vapour LED electric fireplace insert. The home has wood cased windows and doors made in Finland by Vetta Windows that are Passive House certified. The architect is Java Designs.

Evolve Vancouver – Vancouver, B.C.

The first of its kind on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus, Evolve aims to be one of the most energy-efficient multi-family residential buildings in Canada. In addition to being a 110-unit facility for students and staff, it will be used by the school to study the benefits and trade-offs of Passive House construction, and share the learnings for the public good. The project, completed last fall, was designed by ZGF Architects and built by Peak Construction Group.

Passive House: S – Nominingue, Quebec

This 3-bedroom single-family home offers views of Nominingue lake through large windows to the south with a triple glass door leading to a large outdoor terrace. Walls are comprised of double frame in 2×4 with 19″ of cellulose and Eco4 wood fibre panels in exterior intermediate covering. The project includes a 14″ thick insulated structural slab on grade. The developer and contractor is Construction K. Laporte.

The Narrows – Vancouver, B.C.

Bee lovers take note. with green space for pollinator colonies. This one comes Steiner Properties is developing the Narrows is a six-storey, wood-frame building with 48 rental homes. The project sites in Vancouver’s Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood at the corner of Cassiar Connector and East Hastings Street. Cornerstone Architecture also made sure to give The Narrows a large private courtyard.

Brackendale Passive House – Brackendale, B.C.

This one is for the outdoor adventurers. Located near the hiking paradise of Squamish, the design includes south facing windows to soak up low winter sun, while rolling cedar blinds can be adjusted for solar gains in the summer. According to the international Passive House database, the windows on the north side are placed minimally, allowing for cross-ventilation and natural light. The west facade features an oversized lift and slide patio door. This gives the covered deck area a seamless extension of the open-concept kitchen and living space. WHM Structural Engineers is handling the engineering and MIZU Passive House Consulting is the Passive House consultant.

Azilda PH – Sudbury, Ontario

This single-family home is being constructed with slab on grade with insulated concrete form walls using a Legalett Thermal Wall system. The second floor will use Hambro steel floor joist with 4″ concrete topping and typical roof trusses. The design situates the house due south with for forest views. For heating, the home will use two energy recovery ventilators for each unit and heat pumps.

Lakewood – Vancouver, B.C.

This project is a collection of 24 townhomes and is one of two Passive House communities being developed by Dimex Group in Vancouver’s Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood. Dimex says the energy-efficient homes aim to reduce heating costs by $15,000 over 10 years with triple glazed windows, 7 inches of increased airtight insulation and Passive Home heat recovery systems. Gwill Symons is the architect and Solomon Fung is the mechanical engineer.

Bears Paw Heights Passive House – Golden, B.C.

This single family home features structurally insulated panel walls from Collective Carpentry and a heel truss roof. It’s windows are from Innotech. The mechanical systems feature heat pumps and a humidity recovery core. The developer/contractor is Zimmerman Construction

Dulai – Mississauga, Ontario

Passive House 43 Architecture is mixing the old with the new. The firm stated that the Dulai project aims to work harmoniously with the natural environment. The 4000 square-foot home draws inspiration from traditional Ontarian farmhouses, but actively incorporates contemporary styles and modern design strategies which protect and promote the ecology of the surrounding conservation area.

Bird’s Wing Passivehaus + Duplex – Vancouver, B.C.

Now here’s a project that is spreading it’s wings. Naikoon Contracting, the project’s developer and contractor, says the home is positioned in the single-family RS-5 zone over on the West Side of Vancouver. It combines the thermal performance of Passive House with stylish, minimalist design. The design includes two primary dwelling units and flexible lock-off suites. The project team includes One SEED Architecture + Interiors.

Blind Bay PHilo – Carling, Ontario

According to the project’s architect, Passive House 43 Architecture, this generational home aims to preserve and promote the pristine setting of Georgian Bay. The design features framed views to draw attention to the shoreline while a strategic material palette allows the building to blend with the exposed Canadian Shield and dense forest. In addition to Passive House, the building is targeting off-the-grid capabilities. The project team also includes Interactive Construction and Blackwell Engineers.

Pontoon Cove Eco House – Victoria, B.C.

ONE SEED Architecture + Interiors. They wrote that Pontoon Cove Eco House is a modern home perched above the ocean on a rocky point on Vancouver Island. The design embraces sustainability holistically, including environmentally and healthy materials in and out, as well as a photovoltaic array on the roof which should result in net zero operating energy demand. They are are using Passive House certified fiberglass windows manufactured in B.C., as well as a certified front door and huge wood sliders manufactured on Vancouver Island. The home is built above a crawl space, so the design was able to avoid rigid insulation within the primary envelope of the house all-together.

Norra Hem – Lac Supérieur, Quebec

This home’s builder, Constructions PSB, explained that the design was constrained by the specificities of the land so the team opted for an inverted floor plan: bedrooms on the ground floor and living space on the first floor. Large openings are strategically placed to ensure maximum daylight and solar gains despite the complexity of the terrain. The house is mainly heated by radiant heat on the two floors according to dedicated zones, and is equipped with a powerful centralized ventilation system.

Koshoshiki – Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, B.C.

It’s another one from the team at ONE SEED Architecture. They explained that the name “Kōshōshiki no ie” in Japanese roughly translates to “stilt house” which is apt for this design. The minimalist home is built on a series of posts that give it great views and minimize its impact on the environment. It means less concrete and rigid foam insulation. Creating a structural steel grid on which to sit the house, allowed for floors, as well as the walls, and roof to be prefabricated off-site. This minimized the need for equipment on site and disruption to the surrounding ecosystem.

Neu on 3rd – North Vancouver, B.C.

Who doesn’t love a cool cross section shot? Neu on 3rd includes five buildings with a total of 27 Passive House townhouses. The project features homes with garages, private front doors, and rooftop patios. Each individual home has their own Zehnder HRV system, Passive House rated windows and doors, and double exterior wall construction. The challenge is to incorporate district hot water to the homes and meet Passive house certification. The project team includes architect Marken Design and contractor Levu Development. Western Development is the owner.

Bau-Biologie House – Port Stanley, Ontario

According to Passive House Canada, this project is a design-build ultra-performing home that addresses building biology concerns for the naturopath owners and their family. Design and material selections were also selected to give the owner the opportunity to either manage or physically perform significant elements of the finishing themselves. The family worked with Evolve Builders on the project.

Chamberlain – Victoria, B.C.

Fold Architecture explained that this project enabled a young family to build their dream home by redeveloping an under-utilized urban property. The owner’s wish-list included enlarging the existing home with a garden suite for extended family, a new, three-bedroom revenue suite and an accessory workshop. The contractor on the project is Interactive Construction.

Affinity House – Wasaga Beach, Ontario

Koko and Robert Saar began researching Passive House design and construction in 2016 and eventually decided to build their own by forming their own company, CedarValley Passive Homes. The couple says they faced challenges including delays in window deliveries from Poland, budget overruns, trades needing continuous onsite supervision, birds and cement pouring at -10 C.

Pacific Passive House – Cobble Hill, B.C.

Want to feel motivated and inspired? Consider the story of this project. Lucas Tubman, owner of Limitless Carpentry, built this project with no experience in Passive House design or construction. The house is situated on a three-acre lot oriented due south with a gentle slope making it perfect for a walk-out basement. It has wide open views of Baldy Mountain and plenty of trees for shade and privacy. The lot was originally full of fir and cedar trees. In order to take advantage of the southern exposure and solar gain, the team had to clear half of the lot. The trees were milled, producing 50,000 board feet which is being used as timber framing, siding, flooring, soffit and some ship lap feature walls. The team noted that the main challenge was learning insulating concrete forms. They didn’t adequately stage all 20 tons of rebar which added time and cost to the project as they had to sort through and handle the steel.

Meadowbrook Place – Windsor, Ontario

Meadowbrook Place is a new 145-unit development and Ontario’s largest Passive House. It will provide a mix of market-rate, affordable and subsidized units. The building provides unit sizes that are in the highest demand: bachelor, one-bedroom and three- bedroom units. The architect is Kearns Mancini Architects Inc.

WHA Passive House Employee Apartments – Whistler, B.C. 

Integra Architecture worked with the Whistler Housing Authority (WHA) on an employee housing project committed to environmentally sensitive practices. They expected it would be the first multi-family building with Passive House certification in Whistler. The development is located in the Cheakamus Legacy Area. The building consists of 20 rental units that WHA will be able to maintain at a lower cost meaning low rent for local employees. Finding affordable housing for workers that serve the popular tourist area has long been a major issue.

LV Residence Passive House – Vancouver, B.C.

Designed and built by VictorEric Premium Homes, this custom single-family house is situated on a southeast corner site in the Westside of Vancouver. Atop a basement level and two storeys, the roof deck captures views of the Northshore mountains.

Baker House – Gibsons, B.C.

According to Passive House Canada, this single-family home is a collaboration with and for Linda Baker Architect by CX Contracting. The team stated that they were looking for new efficiencies in super-insulated building technique, and so they extended the capabilities of a panel system that CX has been developing for the past six years. They decided to pre-clad the the structural wall panels. Inspired by the Brock Commons building at UBC, the team thought it could be possible to push the boundaries in residential construction and move to an exterior finished system, controlling many of the airtightness issues, in shop conditions. Passive House Canada records noted that the team faced challenges with adhesives, substrates, cladding and temperature/moisture changes, but they are now confident that these issues have been resolved to produce a robust system.

Gerri Carroll Hope Centre – Regina, Saskatchewan

Passive House buildings aren’t just for the rich and famous. They can also help the community’s most vulnerable residents. In 2018, the Gerri Carroll Hope Centre was officially opened. The new 17-unit affordable rental housing development serves individuals who have complex needs and are unable to secure and maintain housing without supports. It was a momentous task the first involved cleaning up a site contaminated with lead and acid.

Ripple House – Gibsons, B.C.

Little details could be found on this project except that the uniquely designed wood-forward project was delivered. The drawing above will have to tell the story. That sure is one heck of a roof.

Blossom Park – Woodstock, Ontario

According to Natural Resources Canada, construction of the Blossom Park multi-unit residential complex was completed in 2020. The building follows the Passive House approach of high levels of insulation and a focus on air sealing the building envelope. For the walls, Christian charity Indwell used the Build SMART prefabricated wall panel system, built offsite in a controlled factory setting and delivered to be assembled at the building site. Passive House-certified triple-pane windows and insulated, thermally-broken doors were selected to complete the envelope. To ensure airtightness, a quality assurance program was put in place, including training for sub-contractors and periodic inspections of envelope detailing. The project was designed by Invizij Architects

Pretty River Passive House – Collingwood, Ontario

This project entailed constructing a 2500-sq-ft,  two-storey contemporary home attached to an existing cedar shingle log house and a new garage via breezeways in the Collingwood area north of Toronto. According to Passive House Canada, the team sought to use conventional framing methods with advanced insulation products to comply with Passive House criteria. The project was designed by William Dewson Architect Inc.

The Heights – Vancouver, B.C.

This 85-unit apartment complex, designed by Cornerstone Architecture, is one of the largest Passive House projects in the country. According to the Pembina Institute, this building uses 35 cm-thick, double R40 walls with a 2×6 external insulated wall, a two inch layer of polystyrene insulation and an inside insulated 2×4 wall where all the plumbing and wiring goes. A continuous layer of polystyrene insulation protects the building from the outside world and all fresh air comes through a heat recovery system that is 85 per cent efficient. Each unit is heated by small electric resistance heaters that use about one third of the energy of a single hair dryer.

Lancaster Passive House – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Lancaster Passive House is an infill project in the Montgomery area of Saskatoon, shows Passive House Canada records.  This project is designed to be a low-energy Passive House building modeled to use 26 kWh/m2 annually. The house is a two-unit building with a large 1650-sq-ft lower area. All the energy required for the build is electric.

Clayton Community Centre – Surrey, B.C.

This is a big one. Clayton Community Centre is North America’s first Passive House certified community centre, and the largest non-residential certified project in Canada. The building combines arts and culture programming including music studios, recording studios and a community rehearsal hall, with recreational activities including a gymnasium and fitness centre, and a branch library. It was designed by HCMA Architecture + Design Business. EllisDon completed the project in 2022.

Alberta St. Passive House – New Westminster, B.C.

This is another mysterious Passive House with little information. All that we know is it was built by Lanefab, an integrated design/build company that crafts custom homes and laneway houses. Their approach to construction and design has been covered by the New York Times, Forbes and TEDx.

Atlantic Coast Passive House – Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia

Finally some Nova Scotia in the mix. This project is a modern style bungalow with a walkout basement located on oceanfront property in Indian Harbour. Passive House techniques allow to be heated with minimal mechanical equipment, including a single mini-split ductless heat pump. According to Sawlor Built Homes, the project’s contractor, the home features a “Butterfly Metal Roof” system that collects rain water from both buildings and stores it in an underground cistern. The cistern is equipped with a water treatment system which then treats the rain water and supplies the house with fresh water. A photovoltaic system on the roof uses cells to convert sunlight into electricity. According to the project’s blog, after one year it achieved a 4,275 kWh energy surplus.

Spire Landing – Vancouver, B.C.

Completed in 2019, Spire Landing is one of Canada’s largest Passive House multi-unit residential developments.  It is situated in the City of Vancouver’s South Side where Fraser Street and East 57th Avenue intersect. This high-performing six-storey rental building consists of 95 rental units and features numerous amenities including shared common rooms, roof-top terrace, and bike spaces. Designed by Cornerstone Architecture, the building combines increased insulation values with high quality air barrier materials and detailing.  The mechanical system consists of multiple heat recovery ventilation (HRV) systems, each unit providing multiple suites with fresh air. Windows and doors are triple glazed, passive house certified and south facing openings have exterior sun shading to assist with solar heat gain.

Vancouver Fire Hall 17 – Vancouver, B.C.

According to architect HCMA, Vancouver Fire Hall 17 is the first building of its kind in Canada to earn the Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) design certification, and the first project to be certified in B.C. It offers a 99.67 per cent reduction in operational carbon emissions compared to the existing Fire Hall 17. It is also one of 16 projects to pilot the Canada Green Building Council’s new ZCB standard.

After decades in the Manitoba and Ontario construction industry, an injury sidelined David Peters. He used it as an opportunity to create ConstructionClock, a new app that automatically tracks labour hours.

The app shows exactly how many hours are being spent on each job and how many hours to pay each person. At the end of each pay period ConstructionClock generates employee work logs. These reports will list the projects they worked on, notes of what they did each day and total hours they worked in that period for payroll processing.

SiteNews: How did you get involved in the construction industry?

David Peters: I spent the first 20 years of my career in the construction industry. First through the trades program in my small community high school which led to a variety of construction jobs from roofing to concrete before starting my own construction company that mainly served remote developments in Northern Manitoba and Ontario.

How has that experience informed ConstructionClock?

Through a deep understanding of the construction industry, and an injury that left me unable to physically do construction work, ConstructionClock was born. 

What convinced you that there was a need for labour tracking in construction? 

Based on personal experience of running my own construction company, and after talking with dozens of small to medium sized companies about the idea, I realized that there was a huge need for smart labour tracking specific to the construction industry. And after launching in the summer, it’s become even more clear that the demand exists based on the uptake of the app.

What was the process like to build this app?

Building an app has been an amazing learning experience. It’s one thing to have an idea, but another thing to bring it to life. We’re fortunate to have built a talented team from around the world that all share the same passion and are incredible dedicated to making ConstructionClock the best it can be for our customers. We’re also fortunate to have a team of investors that believe in this idea as well. In November we won the Startup TNT Summit in Manitoba which not only helps us grow but also validates that our business is disruptive and that we’re equipped for growth. We’ve also received a lot of support from other incubators, accelerators, advisors, and government associations to help us grow the right way. It has truly taken a village to get to this point and we’re so grateful to have that type of support.

Tell me about the ‘hands free’ aspect of this tool and why that’s important.

The owner can set up multiple projects on a map so when a crew member enters the zone, the clock starts ticking automatically. The app leverages technology that every crew member already has in their pocket. It literally couldn’t be easier as your phone is the one tool that you never leave on a job site. The app is basically forgettable to the crew. And at the end of the pay period, the owner or foreman can simply send the summary to the bookkeeper for payroll where the hours are organized by crew, project and employee. Most crews are currently using paper timesheets or a shared spreadsheet of some sort which relies on each person to enter their hours based on how they tracked them. Our app eliminates that and provides hours that are 100% accurate with no user input required.

What sort of considerations have to be made when building apps for construction as opposed to other industries?

We’ve been building ConstructionClock entirely based on user feedback. We just launched version 3.0 which had updates like the ability to organize your team into crews, to add progress site photos to your notes, and to view your team and projects on a map, all of which were features that our customers were asking for. We’re also currently working on the ability to use the app offline for remote projects or spotty connections, the ability to refine the project size on the map, and integrations with accounting software like Quickbooks. Everything that we’ve built is with the construction crew in mind, especially with it’s ease of use. It’s built by construction workers, for construction workers.

What kind of businesses will benefit from this app the most? 

We’ve built ConstructionClock for small to medium sized companies that primarily work on projects. but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest we get from larger companies, including those who do service type calls. As we’re finding out, there are more and more companies out there who can benefit from having their hours accurately tracked by location. For example, we have a lot of renovation companies who charge their customers based on a cost+ model so it takes the guesswork out of the labour component of that formula. Our app is also the most affordable option out there. Alternative options offer a one-stop-shop app that gives companies a bunch of features that they may not be interested in, whereas ConstructionClock eliminates one major pain point very well at a very reasonable cost.

What has been the response from the industry to this new tool?

It’s been amazing. We have a 4.9 star rating in the app store which speaks for itself. We are getting to the point where we need to put better internal processes in place to handle the demand which is a problem we’re lucky to have to solve. Our Instagram account is a true testament to the feedback we get from our customers so if you want to hear what our users think, make sure to check it out. We’ve been incredibly humbled by the positive feedback, and it has only forced us to make it better every day. We’re growing quick and more new features are getting added on a regular basis and it’s all thanks to our customers. We hear on a regular basis how our app gives construction company owners more time to spend with their families and that’s a powerful reason that gets us up every morning. 

How would you like to see ConstructionClock grow and develop in the coming years?

We think we have the best time tracking app in the construction industry and our goal is to keep it that way. We’re hyper focused on eliminating the challenge of tracking labour for construction crews so our app will continue to add features that help solve that problem. We can proudly say that we are making construction sites better every day and that’s what it’s all about.

Cost estimates for the Coastal GasLink Project in B.C. have risen by billions and could rise more.

TC Energy Corporation announced it now expects the project to cost $14.5 billion instead of $11.2 billion. The company gave the following reasons for the increase:

• Material cost pressures
• Shortages of skilled labour
• Impacts of contractor underperformance and disputes
• Drought conditions
• Erosion and sediment control challenges.

Company officials said a comprehensive cost and schedule risk analysis (CSRA) was conducted to assess current market conditions and potential risks and uncertainties facing the remaining project scope. As a result of the CSRA, TC Energy’s estimate of the costs to complete the Project has increased to approximately $14.5 billion. TC noted that the estimate excludes potential cost recoveries and incorporates contingencies for certain factors that may be outside of its control such as labour conditions, contractor performance and weather-related events.

TC Energy expects to fund the incremental revised project costs and is actively pursuing cost mitigants and recoveries that may partially offset a portion of these costs, some of which may not be conclusively determined until after the project is in service.

They added that Coastal GasLink is working closely with its prime contractors on implementing productivity improvement strategies targeting mechanical completion by year-end 2023, with commissioning and clean-up work continuing into 2024 and 2025. The CSRA review also considered the potential impact of an extension of construction well into 2024. In that event, costs would increase further by up to $1.2 billion. Due to the increase in the expected cost of the project and the additional funding required, TC Energy said it will recognize an impairment to its equity investment in Coastal GasLink LP in its fourth quarter 2022 financial results.

The company said that despite the challenges, project continues to make significant progress having reached approximately 83 per cent overall completion. The entire route has been cleared, grading is more than 94 per cent complete and over 485 km of the approximately 670 km pipeline has been backfilled with restoration activities underway in many areas. The Wilde Lake Compressor Facility has commenced commissioning work with the introduction of natural gas expected in March. Once complete, Coastal GasLink will be Canada’s first direct link for LNG deliveries.

TC Energy’s overall 2023 capital expenditure outlook has been revised to approximately $11.5 to $12.0 billion, reflecting the deferral of certain project spending, expected cost-saving initiatives and incremental funding requirements associated with Coastal GasLink.

“We are disappointed with the increase in the Coastal GasLink Project costs. We continue to be laser-focused on safely completing this critical piece of energy infrastructure at the lowest possible cost, which will enable Canada’s first direct path for LNG exports,” said TC Energy president and CEO François Poirier. “The Project will provide substantive benefits for Indigenous and local communities across the Project route, our customers, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, as well as playing a vital role in enabling global energy security and emissions reduction contributing to global climate goals.”

Poirier added that TC Energy remains committed to growing its dividend at an annual rate of three to five per cent and accelerating our deleveraging target from 2026.

As previously announced, the company is advancing a $5+ billion asset divestiture program this year. Officials stated that they anticipate a combination of strong market interest and compelling valuations will support upsizing the program to fully fund the capital program and achieve the company’s deleveraging target. Poirier stated that the company will maintain its intent to cease the discounted Dividend Reinvestment Plan following the dividend declarations for the quarter ending June 30, 2023.  

“Our strategic priorities for 2023 remain unchanged. Our focus is on safe project execution and operational excellence, strengthening our balance sheet and financial flexibility, enhancing returns on our assets, and advancing our decarbonization and low-carbon opportunities,” said Poirier.

It’s hard to imagine what we did on long drives or flights before podcasts. They can be informative, entertaining, funny, short, long and everything in between. Here’s a quick list of some of the podcasts people in our sector are listening to.

Rory Kulmala, Vancouver Island Construction Association CEO

The Way I heard It – Mike Rowe

He tells some great stories that include unknown facts and some surprising endings in a way that only Mike can do!

– Kulmala

Michael Scott, building division vice president, Impact Recruitment

Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People – Earwolf and Chris Gethard

Every human has a story and people have some really ‘odd’ things happen in life. By being able to talk about your life things anonymously for an hour and not be judged is a great healing thing and helps us all to realize that weird stuff happens all around us and to all of us.

– Scott

Yasir Ali, Self Perform Operations at Turner Construction Company

Acquired – Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

This podcast is a long format episode ~3 hours each compared to the traditional 30-40min episodes of most podcasts. It does a really good job doing a deep dive behind the inception of a business/start up to where it is today with a focus on the people behind it. Would really recommend for an in-depth understanding and behind the scenes decision making that happens when businesses get acquired to also understanding multiple pivots that businesses make in being sustainable and relevant in an ever-evolving market.

– Ali

Shane McKernan, director of construction at Chard Development

Vancouver Real Estate Podcast – Matt and Adam Scalena

This podcast has had great insight to local market conditions and forecasts. They have some really good guests on too that’s worth a listen.

– McKernan

Erik Backstrom, Senior Planner for City of Edmonton

The Ezra Klein Show – Ezra Klein

A podcast with deep, insightful conversations about a wide variety of meaningful issues. 

– Backstrom

Nicholas Tountas, sheet metal worker at Orzech Heating and Cooling

Spitten Chiclets – Barstool Sports

As a huge sports fan I love the Spitting Chiclets Podcast. I love the other side of sports commentary (the absence of cookie cutter responses) and enjoy personal recollections of athlete’s journeys. Dark Topic is a podcast my girlfriend recently got me into. It’s a true crime genre where the hosts cover 911 calls and provide humour to obviously unsettling circumstances.  The banter is great, the stories are often quite disturbing, and the delivery of the show itself always keeps me wanting to hear the next episode.

– Tountas

Thomas Bamber, Air + Light technical lead, Integral Group

Crackdown – Crackdown Productions

It’s a podcast made by and about people in the downtown east side. I have lost track of how many people I’ve recommended this too. I just really admire the people who’ve made it. It has generated a lot of momentum towards helping people like me be less ignorant about the downtown east side community.

– Bamber

Sebastien de Ghellinck, SkillSignal founder and owner

Business Wars – Wondery

I love Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, but you never know when the next series will come out… so I’ll also mention Business Wars. It makes business history accessible and we can even listen to it as a family on road trips.

– de Ghellinck

Mary Van Buren, Canadian Construction Association president

How to speak so that people want to listen – Julian Treasure

We are all bombarded with communications and much of it is ignored.  In this TED Talk, the speaker points out some simple ways to be more effective.

– Van Buren

Russell Hixson, SiteNews Editor

More Perfect – WNYC Studios

If not for Sebastien mentioning it, I would have chosen Hardcore History which is far and away the greatest podcast of all time, in my opinion. However, as a former crime journalist who spent countless hours in courtrooms, I have a soft spot for anything that digs into the legal system. More Perfect does this.

– Hixson

Bird Construction Inc. has agreed to acquire Trinity Communication Services Ltd., a diversified telecommunication and utility infrastructure contractor.

Based in Ontario, Trinity provides services to major national and regional telecommunication, utilities, power, and internet service providers. The total consideration for the transaction is being funded 90 per cent through cash on hand, with the balance coming from Bird common shares. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in 2023. All transaction agreements have been completed, and the transaction will be effective at 12:01 a.m. on February 1.

Trinity specializes in underground, aerial, commercial inside plant, and multi-dwelling unit installations. According to Bird, these self-perform capabilities enable cross-selling opportunities to Bird’s national client base across multiple sectors.

The company said vertical integration in its buildings business is achieved with Trinity’s commercial inside plant and multi-dwelling telecom, fibre, and security expertise. Together with Bird’s Centre for Building Performance, Bird will be equipped to provide a comprehensive, integrated suite of smart and sustainable building services for major developers across sectors.

The company added that Trinity’s capabilities complement Bird’s electrical service offering and serve as a growth catalyst for Bird’s utilities portfolio, currently active across Canada and in select U.S. states. 

“Trinity’s scalable operations align with our tuck-in M&A strategy to seek out high growth potential businesses with strong margin and cashflow profiles. To that end, we will progressively grow the business throughout our core markets, consistent with our successful track record on recent acquisitions,” said Teri McKibbon, president and CEO of Bird. “We are pleased to welcome Trinity’s team of industry experts to Bird and are excited to work closely as we continue to grow our portfolio of high-demand specialty services.”

Key Takeaways:

• SNC-Lavalin is partnering with Ontario Power Generation to build Canada’s first grid-scale small modular reactor. 
• The project will be built using an alliance contracting model that includes Aecon and GE-Hitachi.
• Officials say projects like this are critical for reaching Ontario’s zero-emission power goals. 
• It will be Canada’s first new nuclear reactor in 30 years. 

The Whole Story:

Candu Energy Inc. a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group has entered into an agreement with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to deliver the Darlington New Nuclear Project.

The project is spearheading the deployment of the GEH BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor (SMR) before the end of the decade. It will be the first grid-scale SMR deployed in Canada.

“SNC-Lavalin is a strong proponent for the necessary role of nuclear power in the Net Zero energy mix,” said Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO, SNC-Lavalin. “As we’ve laid out in our Engineering Net Zero report, Canada’s 2050 Net Zero commitments will require large-scale electrification of transportation, buildings and heavy industrial processes. That electricity needs to be generated from clean, reliable, and cost-efficient sources, whose employment in the energy mix will not weaken energy security. Our involvement in what will be Canada’s first SMR to come to market, and its first nuclear new build in roughly 30 years, reaffirms SNC-Lavalin’s leading position in the nuclear energy market, for both existing and new nuclear technologies.”

The project will be delivered using a six-year alliance agreement approach. SNC-Lavalin said this in itself is an innovation for a nuclear project in North America. As part of an alliance with Aecon and GE-Hitachi, SNC-Lavalin will provide OPG with a diverse range of expertise for the engineering and build of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station’s SMR. This is expected to include deploying project management, licensing, engineering, design, procurement, construction support and commissioning, as well as digital delivery capabilities in both the nuclear island and balance of plant scopes for the project.

“Following our on-time, on-budget success working with OPG on the refurbishment of Darlington’s existing CANDU reactors, we are very pleased to contribute our expertise with our alliance partners on this exciting new build,” said Joe St. Julian, president, nuclear, SNC-Lavalin. “Canada was the second country in the world to ever generate commercial nuclear power. Together with our alliance partners, we will ensure Canada again leads the way to advance an exciting new frontier in nuclear energy. We continue to work with SMR vendors in Canada and around the world to bring more of these reactors online, coinciding with a rise in interest from jurisdictions looking to use nuclear power to decarbonize their energy mix, while maintaining their energy self-sufficiency.”

SNC-Lavalin says it plans to leverage its Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission licensing expertise and experience as a reactor developer. As the original equipment manufacturer of CANDU reactors, SNC-Lavalin is the only company to have a technology pass all three phases of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s pre-project design review, and will leverage its extensive nuclear new build expertise to drive a successful outcome for this first of a kind project.

“SMRs will play a key role in helping to reinvigorate Ontario’s economy and further support the province and Canada as we work toward meeting our climate change targets of zero-emission electricity,” said Ken Hartwick, president and CEO of OPG. “Canada’s ability to lead in global SMR deployment is enabled by our strong nuclear supply chain, as evidenced by the on time, on budget delivery of the existing Darlington Refurbishment Project. Building on our relationship as part of that refurbishment, we are pleased to welcome SNC-Lavalin and its expertise to the team that is deploying the BWRX-300 as the first SMR to be commissioned in North America.”

Canadian Solar Inc. announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar Co., Ltd. has entered into a multi-year investment agreement with the municipal government of Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province, China. Under the Agreement, CSI Solar plans to add vertically integrated high efficiency wafer, cell, and module capacity, as well as battery system manufacturing capacity, in Yangzhou’s clean energy manufacturing industrial park.

The project plan will be carried out in three phases, with phase I being 14 GW of wafer and cell capacity. 

Phase I is expected to commence production in the second half of 2023, while the implementation of phase II and III is subject to change, at the company’s discretion, based on market conditions and the company’s assessments.  With this announcement and considering the solar supply chain‘s demand and supply backdrop, the Canadian Solar updated its 2023 year-end capacities to 20 GW of ingot, 35 GW of wafer, and 50 GW of cell and modules.

Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world’s largest solar technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development.