Category: Technology

Jeevan Kalanithi, CEO and co-founder of OpenSpace AI, has seen artificial intelligence grow from a small, emerging field of technology into a powerhouse set to disrupt countless global industries. We spoke with the San Francisco-based tech entrepreneur about how he has seen the field of AI change and what areas of construction it could disrupt.

Be sure to catch Kalanithi and other industry experts in Vancouver, B.C. for the 2023 Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) Construction Innovation Summit on Oct. 30th and 31st.

SiteNews: What is OpenSpace?

Jeevan Kalanithi: OpenSpace exists to simplify the lives of builders and what we do is pretty straightforward. Our core capture product makes it really easy to have a full visual record of any space, indoors or out. Think of it like Google Street View. You can image it as much as you want to, every day or every week, so you can see what is there without having to physically be there. And you can see what was there yesterday, a week ago, two weeks ago, five years ago. And the point of it is very simple. We want to create a record of what is actually happening on a job site. You don’t have to wonder what is there and you can replace the opinions, memories and really laborious workflows. Think of any RFI or change order issue, if you could just look and see what’s there you could resolve it in seconds instead of with a mountain of paperwork. What we built on top of it are AI-powered tools to understand what is actually in that imagery and reality data, and then classify and quantify it. We call it OpenSpace Track and with it can do things like tell you how much drywall you’ve hung versus taped versus framing and compute the percent complete and tell you if you are ahead of schedule or behind. You can start to really answer those productivity questions that are really at the heart of what builders do.

How did you get involved with AI?

AI was something I’d been interested in since college really. I did a degree called symbolic systems that was unique to where I went to undergrad. Think of it as a very technical cognitive science major. I did two concentrations, on in philosophy and the other was artificial intelligence. Then I went to graduate school and further pursued studies in artificial intelligence. So I have been doing AI stuff academically since college and, entrepreneurially, I have been applying these techniques to buildings since before OpenSpace. 

What are some misconceptions people have about AI?

First, AI is not just one thing. The way we think about it today is this text-based, generative AI system where you put text in and you get a bunch of text out or an image or something. But AI was a term coined in the 50s. Back in undergrad I took a class from a guy named John McCarthy, one of the “fathers” of AI. And in grad school I had one with Marvin Minsky, the other “father” of AI. It was pretty cool to see what those guys were working on. It was totally different stuff actually than what you see today. If you even go back and think about robotics and autonomy, that’s AI too. And it’s what has powered self-driving cars. Here in San Francisco, they work and I routinely take them around town. But that’s pretty different than generative AI. Even further back to the systems that beat Garry Kasparov at chess. Those were a totally different flavour of AI. It’s not just one thing and the different sub-branches will that different applications for builders. The second misconception is that these systems think like human beings do. They don’t really. The latest AI systems don’t really. One way of thinking about it is that they don’t know what they are talking about. They give very knowledgeable and cogent responses but it’s not clear that they have a deeper conceptual understanding of what they are talking about. The third misconception is that we have a good understanding of how these technologies will influence how we live and work. We don’t. These things are going to evolve in ways that are shocking and surprising and that we can’t even think of today. 

How might these emerging technologies change how we build things?

I think architecture is going to change a lot and engineering too with generative design. These systems are getting really good at taking plainly spoken parameters and turning them into designs. So these armies of junior architects doing detail work, that might go away. It would be great. It would empower architects to do the more creative design work that we actually want them to be doing. I also think there will be applications for robotics on the job site to help alleviate labour shortages, but I don’t think it’s going to be “Terminator” robots building the way people are building. They will just look like tools that are a bit more autonomous. Think about the evolution from hammer to nail gun. That was a big deal. Using a hammer is pretty annoying if you are used to a nail gun. I think these robotic solutions will feel that way. It’s not going to be doing general purpose things, it will be specific. I also think the ability to have a clear, indisputable record of the project to make decisions is going to get a lot better. Computer vision and AI is going to allow us to not need to go to these job sites and make reports. We can have the answer at our fingertips no matter where we are. I think this will really change how labour is distributed. And by labour I mean both white collar jobs and people actually doing the building. Lastly, and I think this will be pretty transformative, I think the amount of paperwork has a chance to go down significantly. Because so much of the reporting and paperwork in construction is based on trying to have an accurate record of what’s there. Think of RFIs as an example of that. AI has the opportunity to put real data at people’s fingertips and get rid of a lot of that unnecessary paper pushing. I think that will change a lot of roles for people who have construction management degrees. They will be able to spend more time out in the field helping get things built. It may even help us contract differently. There could be less need to divy up the risk into buckets. You could have an AI-powered transparency layer that can more effectively allow people to prove their work and share the risk. 

How has AI changed and evolved over the years?

When I was studying AI in college, some of its true pioneers were there. It really was the cutting edge at that time. But AI at that time was very much about rules-based logic systems, like a system that can do logical proofs was what people thought of as being AI. That changed a lot once I got to grad school. The focus was really on machine learning or statistical methods. It’s just about recognizing patterns. The math of that was different and it was also enabled by the amount of data generated by the internet. So you could actually start training these pattern recognition systems in a way that wasn’t practical in the 80s and 90s. I remember my first neural network I built as an undergrad. It sounds amazing but it was just a classroom assignment. It was able to recognize pictures of letters and classify them as an “A” a “B” or a “C” and so on and classify it. The level of sophistication for that vs. what I did in grad school vs. what we are doing now is almost the difference between a single celled organism and a tiger. The amount of change is absolutely insane and I would say that the biggest change between grad school and now is the amount of computing power we can dedicate to AI problems now would have been ridiculous and impractical even 10 or 15 years ago. So a lot of the methods and math that people knew about back then was just theoretical. But now you can actually build a system that does that. The amount of data these systems can consume and the amount of computing power we can devote to them was unimaginable even a few years ago. That’s creating huge unlocks where you can create systems with unbelievable sophistication that wouldn’t have been practical even two or three years ago. 

How can builders prepare for the changes AI could bring?

Focus on your business and the actual problems you want to solve. There is so much BS and snake oil out there, which is true of so many industries, including technology ones. Don’t be afraid to focus on your issues and don’t worry too much about missing the boat. Second, pay attention to the more tech-interested folks on your team and see what they are messing around with. That doesn’t mean they will be right about everything but they can be your antennae to hear what’s out there. You don’t need to be going to computer vision conferences yourself. Reading is good. Subscribe to the MIT Technology review. It is written in plain english and has great articles in it. It gives you a sense of what is going on. Thirdly, don’t be afraid to experiment with new things, especially things your team is bringing to you. Give it a shot and see if it actually helps you. Lastly, see what your competitors are doing. You don’t need to be an expert in AI. You are an expert builder. That is what you should focus on and why you are awesome for society. You don’t need to try everything, just things that help you run your business more effectively.

Get tickets to see Kalanithi and other cutting edge construction leaders at the ICBA Construction Innovation Summit here.

Key Takeaways:

• The fifth Woodrise International Congress will take place Sept. 22-26 in Vancouver in 2025.
• This year’s congress is taking place in Bordeaux, France and has 3000 participants from 20 different countries.
• FPInnovations will serve as the Canadian organizer for the 2025 event.

The Whole Story:

The world’s mass timber community is coming to B.C. 

Global experts in mid- and high-rise timber construction will gather in Vancouver from Sept. 22-26, 2025, for the fifth Woodrise International Congress.

Started in 2017, Woodrise brings diverse stakeholders together around a shared goal of low-carbon construction and sustainable cities.

“I am proud that Vancouver will host Woodrise 2025. B.C.’s entrepreneurs and construction industry professionals are excited to showcase their work and our local talent,” said Premier David Eby. “Our province is a leader in wood and mass-timber construction. This is a perfect match between event and location.”

Officials noted that per capita, B.C. has 11 times more mass-timber buildings than the rest of North America and is a leader in wood and mass-timber construction. In addition, Vancouver is a centre for North America’s leading timber design and engineering professionals.

“Mass timber is a strong, clean building technology that is at the centre of our province’s future construction blueprint,” said Brenda Bailey, minister of jobs, economic development and innovation. “Through our Mass Timber Action Plan, the B.C. government, First Nations and industry are taking a leadership role in wood construction.”

FPInnovations is part of the international Woodrise organizing committee, along with FCBA, a technological institute dedicated to promoting the forest and wood products sector in France, and the Japan International Association for the Industry of Building and Housing. As the Canadian organizer of Woodrise, FPInnovations is a private non-profit organization specializing in the creation of solutions that support the global competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector.

FPInnovations’ team of researchers has produced numerous guides and reference tools that have helped evolve building standards in Canada and around the world in recent years. FPInnovations has research and development laboratories in Quebec City, Montreal and Vancouver, and technology-transfer offices across Canada.

“Canada has a rich portfolio of projects in the field of mid- and high-rise timber construction,” said Stéphane Renou, CEO, FPInnovations. “The construction of the Brock Commons Tallwood House building, an innovative 18-storey hybrid building, which was the tallest mass-timber building in the world, was the just the beginning of innovative leadership for B.C. in the mass-timber industry.”

It is not the first time Canada has hosted. The conference was held in Quebec City in 2019.

Key Takeaways:

• Vancouver is looking to speed up development processes with digital tools.
• Last month they launched the interactive digital Project Requirement Exploration Tool (PRET) and its first iteration is streamlining laneway home development.
• Vancouver is also asking the province for statutory changes to simplify procedural requirements for rezoning so more projects may proceed without the need for rezoning.  

The Whole Story:

The city of Vancouver is looking to streamline laneway home construction. 

Last month the city launched the interactive digital Project Requirement Exploration Tool (PRET), which allows applicants to research and understand all regulations and requirements associated with their site. 

The first iteration of PRET’s digital features helps applicants in residential, single-family zones explore if a laneway house is allowed on the property, identify required permits and determine if construction of their laneway is feasible, all before they submit an application. PRET helps applicants ensure their projects are consistent with zoning requirements, which officials say will significantly reduce the time required to process and issue those permits. 

“We’re proud to unveil a digital permitting tool to simplify, speed up and modernize permitting,” said Mayor Ken Sim. “By launching the PRET for laneway homes we are taking an important step, bringing us closer to the 3-3-3-1 goals for permitting approval timelines and meeting the provincial housing targets, underscoring our all-hands-on-deck approach to getting homes built faster.” 

As part of the launch process, the city invited frequent laneway house applicants to evaluate the interactive technology and provide feedback. Participants commended how the tool’s eligibility check and tailored list of required documents supported them in submitting complete permit applications.

“We are grateful to industry members who took part in testing the Project Requirements Exploration Tool (PRET),” said Andrea Law, general manager, development, buildings and licensing. “The City will continue to work with residents and businesses as we evolve PRET to include more project types in more zones in Vancouver.”

Upcoming improvements to Vancouver permitting in the near term include:

• Expanding PRET to include more project types and areas in Vancouver.
• Expanding the fast-track renovation permits to include commercial renovations. 
• Further simplifying land use policies and guidelines, and recommending council revoke several existing land use policies.
• Eliminating a significant number of additional development permit conditions.
• Expanding the auto-issuance of some sprinkler permits online.  

In addition to this work, the city is advocating to the province for statutory changes to simplify procedural requirements for rezoning so more projects may proceed without the need for rezoning.  

Key Takeaways:

• B.C. is working on developing a new digital building permit tool to position it as a North American leader in digital permitting and construction.
• The tool is intended to simplify the submission of building permits, speeding up the approval process and ensuring compliance with the BC Building Code.
• The tool is expected to begin testing in partnership communities by March 2024, with plans to expand its use to other communities. 

The Whole Story:

B.C. is working on a new digital permitting tool to speed up the development of homes. 

“People will soon see new homes approved faster as we make good on our commitment to position B.C. as a North American leader in digital permitting and construction,” said Ravi Kahlon, minister of housing. “We are excited to start work together with our partners to design and then implement this new digital building permit tool, so we can speed up the delivery of new homes and create the types of housing options people need in B.C.”  

Currently, many jurisdictions in B.C. rely on a paper-based application process for new housing developments that leads to delays and slow approval times. The latest municipal benchmarking study commissioned by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of BC found that it takes on average 13-14 months to approve rezoning and development permits and over 20 months for a subdivision application.

Once completed, the new digital building permit tool is expected to make it faster and simpler for builders and developers to digitally submit building permits for new housing and for local governments to receive and process the application. The tool will also automatically review the submission to ensure it is compliant with key parts of the BC Building Code to prevent any delays with the submission process.

Officials stated that establishing a provincial building permit submission tool is the first step toward a modern housing development process that embraces innovation and digital collaboration technologies like building information modelling (BIM). 

The Ministry of Housing is also working with the National Research Council of Canada to make construction codes machine readable, which will allow for more automated and faster permit reviews in the future.

“A fast, efficient permitting process is key to ensuring infrastructure projects are able to move forward in a timely manner,” said Lisa Beare, minister of citizens’ services. “Citizens’ Services staff are lending their expertise to help develop the new digital permitting tool which will help make this happen.”

The tool is being developed through a pilot partnership between the province, 16 local governments and one First Nations government that will implement the new digital building permit tool. The tool is expected to begin testing in partnership communities by March 2024, following which it will be expanded into other communities.

In addition, the province has also created a new digital advisory council to provide strategic advice. The council will include representatives from 12 leading organizations across the housing development system, such as construction organizations, engineers, architects, local governments and the tech sector. The council will begin regular meetings this fall.

“Digitizing the BC Building Code and building permit processing will help builders more efficiently obtain approvals to deliver the homes and job spaces British Columbians need,” Anne McMullin, president and CEO, Urban Development Institute. “UDI is pleased to participate on the digital advisory council for this pilot partnership and is committed to working with the government on innovative solutions like this.”

These projects follow efforts to digitize the BC Building Code and establish a single-application portal for provincial housing permits and authorizations, which was launched in September 2023. Ministries are working to integrate different types of permits across the housing development process, with a common goal of making permitting processes for housing more transparent and easier for homebuilders and developers to understand how to comply with permit and regulatory requirements.

“This is an important initiative that is designed to help get more housing built faster and to mitigate costs related to delays,” said Tom Dyas, mayor, Kelowna. “The City of Kelowna has been working on a similar system over the past year and is eager to share our learnings as well as learn what else can be done by working collaboratively across governments.” 

Kelowna has partnered with Microsoft to develop AI tools to help developers get through the permitting process faster. 

Key Takeaways:

• STACK Construction Technologies was chosen for its platform’s data availability, cloud collaboration, data security, and integration capabilities.
• STACK also features an open API to help streamline workflow.
• The Ohio-based tech company was created by a former roofing contractor who also helped create construction data company ConstructConnect.

The Whole Story:

PCL Construction has chosen STACK Construction Technologies to optimize its preconstruction process. 

PCL officials stated their team connected with STACK after they recognized a more powerful preconstruction solution was needed to support their continued growth and profitability.

“As we broaden our capabilities and move further into the GC space, this partnership validates that STACK is a serious player in construction technology,” said Phil Ogilby, CEO and co-founder of STACK, cloud-based construction platform. “STACK is one of the most intuitive and collaborative preconstruction platforms in existence today. We’re thrilled to be able to offer STACK’s open API to help streamline the PCL workflow in a way that no other solutions on the market can.”

PCL said it chose STACK based on the platform’s data availability, cloud collaboration, data security, and integration capabilities. They added that STACK is streamlining the preconstruction processes with its innovative and hyper-accurate takeoff feature that enhances estimating capabilities.

“As part of a modernization of our estimating solutions, experts within the PCL estimating team did a broad market scan for quantity takeoff solutions,” said Brad Ens, preconstruction manager for PCL in Calgary. “Our hands-on approach of evaluating several competing products included functional verification that ultimately led us to select STACK as our tool of choice for quantity takeoff.”

By leveraging STACK’s open API, PCL is able to easily integrate their existing workflow to produce better estimating data. STACK explained that PCL will have unparalleled flexibility and accessible data, increasing the precision of estimates, minimizing manual processes, and supporting better-informed decision-making. With over 30 offices across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the Caribbean, STACK will also further empower PCL’s team collaboration.

“A key decision criterion for PCL was based on the fact that STACK is built on a modern cloud technology platform which enables improved collaboration during the quantity takeoff process,” said Kevin Sundquist, senior relationship manager, business technology at PCL Construction. “Equally important, STACK comes with a modern integration layer that allows us to realize efficiencies for our estimators by integrating takeoff into the rest of our estimating solution suite. This cloud-first approach aligns with our overall technology strategy, driving both technology and business efficiencies.”

Coordinating technology at one of the country’s biggest general contractors is a big job.

As chief information officer for PCL, Bryant is responsible for the strategic and innovative advancement of information technology (IT) within the PCL family of companies. He has more than 30 years of IT expertise, having served in the financial services, software, manufacturing, and AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industries.

He is a recipient of numerous awards over the last decade including being named one of ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers in 2018, and in 2019, Canadian CIO of the year for the private sector category, by the Information Technology Association of Canada.

We spoke with Bryant about how large contractors are implementing technology, what sort of technology is on PCL’s radar and how we can make construction smarter.

Be sure to catch Bryant in Vancouver, B.C. for 2023 Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) Construction Innovation Summit on October 30th and 31st. He and many other industry experts will be discussing how to push the construction sector forward.

SiteNews: How do you approach modernization efforts at PCL?

Mark Bryant: I am in my 11th year now with PCL. When I joined, we were called systems and technology. But we rebranded and rethought how to deliver technology. Internally, today, we are called business technology. That is critical because my approach has always been to not deliver IT products from a technology perspective. It has been to partner with the business and their needs and marry with the business process by working with people. I get my hard hat and boots on and I walk the site with the team. I bring people that write code, people that do the help desk and others, we ask questions and we see how people in the field use our technology and software. We get to hear from people in the field: “I wish I could do this.” 

What do you think are some of the most promising new technologies that have applications in the construction sector?

Microsoft recently announced Copilot. It’s not available in the wild right now and it uses ChatGPT. We actually just signed an agreement with them recently. We will be able to onboard a private preview for 300 users and the license lasts a year. It’s all shiny and new. I think the term “AI” gets thrown around quite a bit without actually being AI. It’s just mining data. What ChatGPT and Microsoft are doing with Copilot will allow us to mine our data easier. That’s what I am really excited about. I believe it’s going to enable knowledge management to adeptly and smartly mine PCL databases so we can make smart decisions and access knowledge across the company. I see it as an internal knowledge platform where we can privately and securely mine our own databases. That excites me. It’s akin to having Google but just for PCL. Copilot allows us to connect disparate data sources and ask PCL-specific questions. 

What are some of the biggest challenges construction companies face when they begin digitizing their operations?

The cost of digitization and taking that leap to make the investment. The second, and it’s not necessarily in this order, is the change management component of people. You have people who have always done something a certain way and when you replace that with technology, that change is a challenge, a big one, and it’s not unique to construction. When you are investing in technology projects, you have to make sure it includes training employees. And you also have to make that training consistent, attainable and available years down the road. What happens in 12, 24 or 36 months when you hire hundreds more people? How do you get those people trained? 

What prompted PCL to create its own team to develop software in-house?

We are an underserved market and now companies are wanting to service it. They see a massive amount of capital but they don’t understand the margins in construction. They see big numbers like $500-million buildings, but margins are relatively low and that’s why digitization hasn’t seen a major pickup. Startups often over-price their product and they often don’t understand construction. Our take on this is if our people have the intellectual property of what they want and if we have people internally that can build it, we can do it cheaper and better than the market can. We have multiple vertices and very unique construction products. When we build something internally we have more knowledge, so let’s just take out the middleman and the headache.

What steps do you think the industry needs to take to make construction smarter?

Lots of information is passed around and the efficiency of how that information passes isn’t great. Standardizing how things get handed off and built is one of the first things that should be tackled. In the UK, BIM is mandated but there is no structure around that in North America. It’s a free-for-all. Certain business processes could be leaned and the technology could be used both more effectively and efficiently. When it comes to safety, many use different products from a tech perspective. And probably all have slightly different processes. Maybe 80% are similar and 20% do something different based on things that have happened. It’s not necessarily a framework that drives consistency. And you have companies like Procore and Autodesk trying to own the complete lifecycle that compete. So there’s a lot of bifurcated standards and products from job to job which makes things challenging. There is no easy button. I would also say that if you look at the engineering space, it’s been consolidating rapidly. When I was at MMM Group, there were about seven acquisitions and then they got swallowed up by WSP. In Canada there are essentially two major ones: WSP and Stantec. You haven’t seen much of that in construction and there are pros and cons to that. The industry is very complicated, large and diverse. You have big and small players, thousands and thousands of companies. It’s a completely bifurcated industry with a complex supply chain. It’s mind boggling and it’s the oldest profession in human kind. We have always built as humans. And that’s what excites me… it’s constantly evolving and maturing and we will get there one day. 

Sign up to attend the Construction Innovation Summit Oct. 30-31 where you can hear more from Bryant and other construction leaders.

Key Takeaways:

• Modern Niagara has chosen to partner with Vroozi.
• The parties will work together to simplify the procurement process while enhancing control and visibility.
• Modern Niagara noted it that challenges often arise when it comes to procuring essential materials for construction projects and managing on-site inventory.

The Whole Story:

Procure-to-pay platform Vroozi is partnering with Modern Niagara — one of Canada’s largest national mechanical, electrical, building services, and integrated building technology contractors — to simplify the contractor’s procurement process while enhancing control and visibility.

“We are thrilled to partner with Modern Niagara to revolutionize procurement and accounts payable within the construction industry,” said Shaz Khan, CEO and co-founder at Vroozi. “With our flexible and intelligent no-code platform, Modern Niagara’s on-site personnel can easily purchase the materials they need for projects, while central procurement can maintain control and visibility over spending. This partnership will not only enhance operational efficiency but also generate substantial cost savings.”

Modern Niagara specializes in constructing state-of-the-art buildings with a unique approach. By pre assembling essential components, such as pipes and sheet metal, in their warehouses, Modern Niagara says it drastically improves construction efficiency and expedites project timelines. 

However, they noted that challenges often arise when it comes to procuring essential materials for construction projects and managing on-site inventory. Recognizing this hurdle, Modern Niagara sought a forward-thinking solution that would simplify the procurement process and provide more visibility into spending across their job sites. The company landed on Vroozi, whose platform offers a mobile interface that eliminates the need for extensive technical know-how and exposes cost savings opportunities by project.

“The world of construction is evolving rapidly, and to keep pace, it’s imperative we incorporate tools that optimize our processes end-to-end,” said Mo Abdelrahim, senior director of national procurement at Modern Niagara. “Partnering with Vroozi is a strategic move in this direction. We believe this step will not only elevate our procurement and payment workflows but also set a benchmark for the industry.”

What gets measured, gets managed.

That’s thinking from Procore Technologies when it comes to helping transform the construction sector. 

The construction management software provider is on a mission to identify and generate hard data on how builders are faring and areas that can be improved. 

The Procore team recently released its second How We Build Now report. More than 500 industry stakeholders were surveyed about general sentiment of the Canadian construction industry, the digital maturity and adoption of construction technologies, as well as the challenges and opportunities that businesses face.

Data fuels proactive decision-making

The first iteration of the report was released in 2020 right as the COVID-19 pandemic was throwing construction and every other sector into uncertainty. It also came at a time when many other topics were coming to the forefront, including digital adoption, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, labour shortages and supply chain constraints. 

“What we found is that construction is going through a big period of transformation,” explained Nolan Frazier, a sales leader at Procore. “And it’s useful to look at multiple areas at once when thinking about this industry.”  

And while these are things that the industry has been aware of for some time, Frazier noted that having quantifiable data on them is important. When companies have access to real-time and historical data, it allows them to be proactive in making business decisions rather than reactive.

“Our company mission is to improve the lives of people who work in construction,” he said. “We are a member of this industry, and whatever we can do to support as it undergoes this transformation, that’s what we are here to do in every way we can.”

Both iterations explored the general sentiment of the industry, but the first report did have some focus on the impacts of the pandemic. Now that the pandemic’s impacts have been waning, the 2023 report was able to be broader in scope. 

“Those types of events don’t happen as frequently,” said Frazier. “Whereas, what we are dealing with now, people have gone through this cycle before, and some people in the industry are used to moving through this type of situation when it comes to inflationary pressures, interest rates, skilled labour constraints, supply chain constraints and what not.”

Emerging themes

One major data point from Procore’s latest report is the impact of rework.

“Most builders would tell you that rework wastes a lot of their time,” said Frazier. “In this report we were actually able to get metrics for it.”

The survey shows 27% of the total time spent on a project is spent on rework or rectifying issues. The report also found that 25% of executives at general contractors and owners that were surveyed are women. And just 4 in 10 of the companies surveyed have a diversity, equity, inclusion policy in place.

These are just two examples of areas that the industry has been concerned about, but now there is a baseline of data to track growth. 

“This gives us something that we can act upon as an industry,” said Frazier. “We can work on how to move those numbers.”

Zooming in to regions

Procore’s latest report is also offering a unique look into Canada’s specific construction markets. 

Frazier explained that the report shows how the thinking and issues of builders fluctuated by province. 

“When we hear the news, we can all make assumptions about B.C. versus Ontario and so on, but to see the data come out with the survey results, it’s something more quantitative that helps us further the conversation,” he said. 

In the coming months, Procore plans to team up with The Home Depot and industry associations to take their report on the road. They will host panel discussions and networking events around their findings with industry leaders. 

“We are really looking forward to meeting with Canadians in these markets and talking about the issues that they face every day,” said Frazier. 

Self improvement 

He added that connecting with the industry through the report and the resulting discussions plays a critical role for Procore itself. 

“We look to these builders and stakeholders to let us know where they want to go,” said Frazier. “And our role in that is to help them get there. So understanding their priorities, their areas of focus and their strategic priorities helps us understand what we need to be working on and what we invest in as a business.” 

The data shows the industry has immense demand and builders are beginning to embrace technology as a way to deliver more work and overcome some of the limitations of labour, time and budget.

“We are seeing a consistent desire to modernize the industry and the tools it uses,” he said. 

“From the first survey, the results around the adoption of technology, and people involved in software evaluation has increased. As an industry, I think a lot of the builders are accepting that technology isn’t something that is just nice to have. They know that they need to find a way to adopt it and incorporate it into their businesses.” 

Get your own copy of the report and check out its findings here. 

Key Takeaways:

• The funding round included participation from Clean Energy Ventures, its angel investor collective CEVG, Amplify Capital, and strategic investors, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, CRH Ventures, and Cemex Ventures and others.
• The funding will be utilized to deploy multiple commercial projects, including two co-located directly at cement plants.
• Carbon Upcycling’s technology sequesters industrial CO₂, reduces the carbon footprint of cement, and improves concrete performance. 

The Whole Story:

Calgary-based decarbonization company Carbon Upcycling Technologies Inc. has closed a $34 million Series A funding round co-led by BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund and Climate Investment.

The syndicate includes participation from existing financial investors, Clean Energy Ventures, its angel investor collective CEVG, Amplify Capital, and strategic investors, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, CRH Ventures, and Cemex Ventures, which are all enhancing their financial support with commitments to strategically-relevant projects. 

Company officials explained that the funding will be utilized to deploy multiple commercial projects, including two co-located directly at cement plants. They expect the projects to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of Carbon Upcycling’s all-electric solution that mineralizes CO2 emissions from industrial facilities and upcycles industrial byproducts into materials that reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. 

“Closing this round is a major milestone on the road to becoming the most impactful carbon tech company of this decade,” said Apoorv Sinha, founder and CEO of Carbon Upcycling. “Over the next year, our mission is to demonstrate our technology’s versatility, scalability, and operational elegance. Proving significant, cost-effective decarbonization potential in the cement industry is possible without a green premium.”

Pascal Lanctot, a partner with BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund said that Carbon Upcycling is a prime example of a Canadian company addressing a high-emitting sector.

“BDC’s role is to drive economic benefits for Canada by growing one business at a time. Apoorv and his team have positioned Carbon Upcycling for rapid growth,” said Lanctot. “The scale-up of the company’s technology will enable cross-industrial collaboration between cement, steel, mining, and other heavy industries and help build a clean, low-carbon, circular economy. This is exactly what our Climate Tech Fund II aims to do.”

Technology is changing every aspect of construction. As computers become smaller, cheaper and more powerful, they are being implemented in every corner of the sector. In the case of heavy equipment operation, developers can create powerful simulations that help new operators prepare for the field without fear of hurting themselves, other people or machinery. We reached out to Quebec-based CM Labs to learn more about how these training systems are developed and where the technology is heading.

SiteNews: What services does CM Labs provide for the construction sector?

CM Labs: For more than 25 years, CM Labs has focused on heavy equipment operator simulation training. With over 1,000 simulation installations in 39 countries, CM Labs offers an incredibly realistic experience through patented Smart Training Technology and a motion-enabled platform. Our Simulation Training Packs provide a comprehensive immersive simulation learning program for the safe training and assessment of operators.

CM Labs Smart Training Technology and motion-enabled platform provide users with an incredibly realistic experience. CM Labs offers three types of platforms: a desktop version, a motion-enabled single-screen option, and a fully immersive experience with up to five-screens.

CM Labs sells Simulator Training Packs for use with the platform for earth moving and lifting equipment. Clients can also benefit from our consulting services, SimGuide with our SME for integration, curriculum and to make the most of their CM Labs training. Additionally we offer engineering services that can add additional exercises (such as IBEW and ETA have their own curriculum on Boom Truck), white label training solutions (such as Tigercat), as well as full turnkey solutions through our Partnership Program for OEM’s such as John Deere.

How has the technology for training simulators changed since CM Labs was founded in 2001?

Over the past 20 years we have seen the following changes: 

• Improved graphics resulting in better learning retention and more realistic scenarios.
• More efficient CPUs and GPUs allow us to be more accurate with our models and our physics
• Higher resolution, lighter, thinner displays mean simulators can be more immersive and portable
• Improved data processing capabilities allow us to gather additional insights from trainee performances, assessment, and operator benchmarking.

What are the most difficult environments or industries to simulate?

Generally, environments where you are able to deform terrain (soil) can be very challenging to simulate and very few simulators get it right. When simulating deformed terrain, you must take into account dozens of soil properties, like how much air content is found within the soil, how much does the soil spread out compared to other materials, what are the moisture properties of the soil, etc. Then, when you have large fields of deformable terrain, this requires lots of computational strength to compute at over sixty times per second. Our soil simulation is the most accurate simulation of its kind and part of what makes our simulation training so unique and accurate.

Aerospace is generally very difficult to simulate accurately. The laws that govern fluids like air are very complex and have many variables. This makes it require lots of processing power to simulate in real time, since all of those variables must be updated sixty times per second. Then, when you factor in the mechanical properties of the plane itself, with wings that are not perfectly rigid, the difficulty of simulating this environment increases exponentially.

Has demand for this type of training increased?

Absolutely. Over the years simulation training has become more normalized, in part due to the successes of flight simulators (one of the first industries to adopt simulation training). In the aviation industry, simulator time counts towards the time required for the pilot to acquire their pilot’s license. The training industry has taken note of that success, and over the last ten years CM Labs has continued to grow and remained the leader of training simulation. We hope to lead the way into a safer future where simulation plays a regular role in operator training.

What is the Vortex platform and how was it developed?

Our innovative simulation platform, Vortex Studio is the only software on the market that provides the complete package of high-fidelity real-time physics, native support for equipment controls and hardware integration, and user-friendly tools for the creation of rich virtual environments. Along with real-time simulation, engineers can model individual components, including cable systems, powertrain, ground interaction, steering, suspension and brakes, for more accurate simulated vehicles, with real-time simulation of deformable terrain. It is with cutting edge technology, that our patented Smart Training Technology was developed for our simulation training.

CM Labs’ Smart training Technology accurately replicates real-world machine and materials behaviour,  resulting in effective, efficient operator training. Comprised of proprietary and patented algorithms, the simulation delivers careful modeling and reproduction of machine data that interact with the environment and materials just as they do in the real world. Its precision is backed by more than 20,000 automated daily tests and ongoing research and development. Trainees gain a better feel for engine transmission, crane boom, and jib bending/torquing, as well as wire rope and crane block spin and environmental factors (like wind, precipitation, day and night settings). Learning hook and load management, reducing pendulums, snags, and collisions, operators improve cycle times, and which can ultimately reduce production costs. 

What are some of the advantages of this kind of technology?

Operator training is a critical component of improving safety and limiting liability for all heavy equipment users, especially utilities. Incorporating simulation into a training program offers a safe haven for failure without consequences while easing the transition from theory to practice. CM Labs simulation offers a sustainable solution that prevents novice operators from developing negative habits from unrealistic training situations, which could potentially cause dangerous problems when operating real equipment.

CM Labs solutions present a safer alternative for initial training while mitigating the increased fuel costs and wear and tear that typically result from novice handling. A cost-effective method to train and assess operators, organizations can standardize operator-training practices by tracking, measuring, and benchmarking performance. Trainees practice challenging real-world operations in complete safety, while key operating performance metrics (such as safety violations, load control, and operational efficiency) are objectively logged and recorded throughout training.

The full-motion platform is tied, in real-time, to the simulation and accurately replicates much of an operator’s day-to-day experience: driving on uneven terrain, engine vibrations, throttle, etc. Trainees improve their muscle memory ultimately to be “one” with their equipment: feeling the platform bowing down as they drill or dig, pitching at risk of tipping, or feeling engine vibrations through the seat to avoid choking the throttle. The simulation replicates true engine sounds (including fails and stalls), variable engine RPMs, horns, fork scraping and shifting, alarms and other work site sounds that are important audio cues for safe, steady, deliberate, and precise operations.

Today’s simulators are data and analytics-driven, which is essential to optimizing training time and correcting unsafe behaviours. This means that training techniques move away from a checklist approach, and instead target specific skills that make people more efficient and safer. The company’s patented Smart Training Technology provides real data accuracy and reporting insights. Companies and trainers now can use data collected for each student to analyze past behaviour and then apply that information to create specific learning paths that develop the most appropriate skills. This approach also makes training more personal. With data analytics, training can tackle skill deficiencies for each person, which elevates their individual skill sets to a much higher level, rather than applying a single learning objective across an entire classroom. 

What sort of research goes into the development of a specific training program to ensure that it gives the user a realistic experience?

CM Labs has its roots in R&D, and has a 65-strong in-house research team of engineers, PhD physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. The company has ongoing collaborations with international educational institutions including McGill University and research industry partnerships with NATO, Bombardier, Leddartech, and CNH.

Where does CM Labs see the future of simulation training going in the coming years?

Whether simulated practical testing in North America will be accepted by certification bodies as equivalent to practical testing on real equipment is yet to be seen. But a 2020 study by NCCCO suggests that this type of testing is “a highly reliable measure for predicting a passing score on an actual crane.” 

In Germany, however, the Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV) published guidelines approving the use of simulations for certification. Watch this video to learn more about use of CM Labs simulators in operator training and certification in Germany. 

Simulators are certainly an effective way to practice for certification testing. A number of CM Labs customers report seeing higher success rates for operators who have practiced for a certification exam on a simulator than those who practiced only on live equipment. The Electrical Training Alliance uses its crane simulator to prepare operators for the certification program through Electrical Industry Certifications Association (EICA). The simulation exercises, inspired by the certification requirements, mirror exact applications, such as auger control, and pole control and setting, rather than generic scenarios. This translates directly into higher success rates as trainees are better prepared for both written and practical exams. 

In the future, we will likely be seeing training paths customized to fit individual operator learning profiles. 

While other industries, like aviation, have approved the use of simulation for certification, the construction industry, except in Germany, has not. CM Labs solutions include simulation exercises to prepare for certifications for forklift, as well as the NCCER and NCCCO testing for cranes. Electrical Training Alliance (ETA), the curriculum arm for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), collaborated with CM Labs to add additional specialized training scenarios for boom truck and crane for utility industry certifications.

With the current labor shortages and energy costs, these latest developments in simulation certification look promising for health and safety governing bodies, such as OSHA, and other organized labor groups to consider as alternatives to measure the proficiency of operators.

Years ago, builders on the Las Vegas strip faced a problem: heavily congested work sites. 

In an effort to speed up work, safety was thrown out the window and bodies began piling up. 

It wasn’t a news aggregator, blogger or even the government that dug into the issue. It was boots on the ground reporting. 

It took a year of writing and more than 50 stories by reporter Alexandra Berzon and her editors at the Las Vegas Sun to get the attention of the nation. The result was a series of congressional hearings and new state mandates for safety training and oversight for construction sites. 

For their effort, the community newspaper beat out giants like the New York Times, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and others for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, media’s highest honour. 

In Canada, not only is this kind of journalism dying out, the work that is being done will soon be much harder to find.

The government recently passed Bill C-18 which essentially requires tech giants like Google and Meta to pay for Canadian news content if they want to include it in their various services. The tech world has dubbed this the “link tax”. 

The result so far has been a tit for tat between these tech giants and Canadians. Google and Meta announced that rather than negotiate deals with news providers, they will just wipe all Canadian content off their services. Firing back, the federal government and Quebec stated they would pull all advertising from Meta. 

The impact on our country’s ability to know things could be devastating. We have come a long way from the days of ink-stained fingers and printing presses. Nearly half of Canadians get their news from social media. With local, original journalism already struggling, this could create a gaping blindspot for the public. How can people know what is happening in their own country if it never shows up in their feed?

Just zooming in on the construction sector, a firehose blast of project announcements, research reports, policy changes and more is happening everyday and it’s a struggle enough as it is to keep up. That chore just got harder because now one of the tools to help people discover relevant content will be gone. 

For most in the media industry, this is just the latest battle in a journalism war that has been raging for decades. Newsrooms all over the world have been shrinking as the industry struggles to figure out how to adjust its business model for a world with the internet. The result has been reporter layoffs, newspapers closing and a consolidation of what is left. Others have shifted to become entertainers rather than informers. 

We would argue that despite the media’s challenges, it remains a critical part of democracy. The alternative is that governments, public officials, law enforcement, companies, advocacy groups and other newsmakers get to disseminate their own narrative that few have the time to question. 

Although the federal government has shown good intentions in trying to support the news industry, the resulting backlash has ironically caused more harm. Attempting to force modern tech giants into a century old media model may simply be a lost cause.

The solution isn’t clear, but what Canadians can do before the bill goes into effect is to make sure they are following and subscribing to all Canadian media that they find useful and informative. In our case, if you want to keep getting Canadian construction news, sign up for newsletter. 

If there is a local news organization that you want to keep up with, accessing their content directly may soon be the only way you ever see them.

One of Canada’s largest general contractors is on a mission to harness the power of data. 

Graham Construction has embarked on a journey to create a new data platform aimed at transforming data into an enterprise-level asset that will improve the company’s efficiency and deliver better outcomes for project owners.

Data is rising in the construction sector

Annette Cooper, director of data and analytics in Graham’s IT and enterprise applications department, is part of the team leading the project. She explained that like many other industries, construction is becoming digitized. 

“I think construction is no different from any other industry,” she said. “As society becomes more digitized, more data is available. The thing I always say is that data is the byproduct of a business process. So the more we digitize our business processes, the more data we have to track them. There’s just more and more data available in construction.”

The internet of things (IOT) combined with technology like sensors, trackers etc. is adding to the amount of construction data in addition to some of the more traditional data sources. Although Cooper noted that some of these new technologies are not as common as people might think. And often the implementation is in patches. 

“It’s one of those things where if you can harness the opportunity you can do a lot, but it can be very complicated to get some of those things on site and working properly,” she said.

Cooper noted that even if you get these data gathering systems in place, putting that data to work can also be a challenge. The new data platform is being designed to draw in and combine data from disparate systems. The eventual goal is to get up the “analytics maturity curve” to the point where predictive and other kinds of insights can be gleaned. 

Finding structure in the unstructured 

“There was this notion roughly ten years ago that data was this new gold or oil that everyone was going to ride,” said Cooper. “And everyone was going to use machine learning models and the whole business would be automated and predictive. But where society is at now, we have created a bunch of digital swamps that we have to figure out how to clean up and make useful.” 

While the amount of data being generated in construction is growing, there are only pockets of the industry where it is being utilized to a high degree.

One of the keys to achieving this often has more to do with support and buy-in from leadership than figuring out the details of the technology itself. 

“Do we know the decision we are trying to make or the action we are trying to drive from this data and are we actually going to make the decision? Are you at a level of organizational maturity where you are actually going to let that data really inform that decision? I actually think that’s the thing that more often gets in the way than the technical stuff,” said Cooper. 

In Graham’s case, its project began after the company saw it was running behind and didn’t have a formal strategy for what it was doing with its data.

“We wanted to think about where Graham is going to be in five years and what that data profile will look like,” said Cooper. “We were managing mostly numeric data – ones and zeros – but it hadn’t occurred to anyone what to do with unstructured data.”

Unstructured data in construction includes things like plans, pictures, bids or anything else that can’t be easily retrieved and utilized by some tools and systems.  

 “To leap to new technology we had to be able to make room for the unstructured data and its potential down the road,” said Cooper. “Basically we have created a new cloud data platform which utilizes much more modern technology suites to get data out of source systems.

Cooper explained that Graham has been growing by mergers and acquisitions, and every time you bring a new company in, they have their own systems for finance, project management and other aspects of the business. Often, these systems are not fully compatible with each other. 

“Our answer is to pull that data out and put it somewhere else,” she said. “This was an opportunity because Graham didn’t have a lot of this stuff already in the works, it didn’t have to go through the process of decommissioning a bunch of old stuff. We were able to just leap to the new technology.”   

Improving those data ‘muscles’

Graham’s experience building its own project management system in the past gave the team the confidence  to combine several tools to meet its needs, including Databricks and Azure Data Factory. 

“It’s this idea that you don’t have to buy one tool that you pretend is going to do everything. Graham is open to this notion of making sure you are using the right tool for the right job.”

“It’s like this new muscle Graham is trying to build and we will just be building that muscle forever.” 

The first step in the process was assessing what Graham was trying to do with its data and where it was in terms of data management maturity. The first year of the project was also spent being very careful about choosing which technology to use.

“Cloud sounds really good but it can also be incredibly expensive if you aren’t careful about how you are managing your computing,” said Cooper. “So it’s putting things through paces, doing proof of concept with different kinds of technology to understand their ingestion. They all say they can do it but they don’t all do it or do it nicely.”

But what about artificial intelligence, machine learning and these other technologies grabbing headlines recently?

Cooper explained that she sees a lot of consultants out there selling machine learning and artificial intelligence. But the core problem facing many construction companies is essentially a boring one: finding the data, cleaning up the data and putting it somewhere it can be used. That is the work that must be done before some of these emerging technologies can be used. 

“You can’t magically sprinkle machine learning onto something and then all the sudden it is working,” said Cooper.

There is potential for things like AI and machine learning to predict the success of a project plan before shovels are even in the ground.

“Those are the kinds of things we want to get into, but in order to do that you have to have your data in order,” said Cooper. “You have to have enough, the right kind and stored in a way that machines can be trained on it. There are the hopes and dreams of things like AI and then there is the reality of where the technology is at.”

But before things like machine learning or AI, one of the biggest benefits the team wants to realize is simply making information available much more quickly to the people who are making decisions. As Graham has grown massively in the past decade, get information up the chain has become more and more complex. 

“Often, problems take much longer to surface because they just can’t get up the chain quick enough,” said Cooper. “Just being able to have those things escalated and get productivity increases means that we’re delivering faster to owners, we’re safer, less going back and fixing things. I think that is the first challenge for this.” 

Cooper noted that while there is a lot of speculation about how technology and data could impact the construction process, at the end of the day it’s people who build projects. 

“Does this completely change how the construction industry does what it does?” she said. “No. I think that at the end of the day you still have people wielding hammers and pouring concrete. What we want to do is optimize by matching the project that’s coming up with the right team of people, making sure we have the right levels of supervision and how do we do all that in a much faster way.”

Key Takeaways:

• 502 construction owners, general contractors and subcontractors were surveyed.
• 9 out of 10 of respondents expressed confidence about industry conditions over the next 12 months.
• Respondents said hiring and retaining skilled labour is one of their top concerns going forward.
• Diversity, inclusion and sustainability were also cited as priorities for the industry.

The Whole Story:

A new report digs into general sentiment of the Canadian construction industry, the digital maturity and adoption of construction technologies, as well as the challenges and opportunities that businesses face.

Procore Technologies, a global provider of construction management software, released their construction industry benchmark report How We Build Now: Technology and industry trends shaping Canadian construction in 2023.

In early 2023, Procore partnered with Censuswide to survey 502 construction industry stakeholders in Canada across owners, general contractors and subcontractors. Questions provided to the participants were focussed on market conditions, top challenges, digital transformation and technology adoption.

Industry confident about the coming months

9 out of 10 of respondents expressed confidence (44% very confident) about industry conditions over the next 12 months, with 7 out of 10 construction businesses expecting an increase in the number (70%) or value of projects (72%) over the same timeframe.

A recent poll reveals 92% of Canadians agreed there is an urgent need to build more or update current infrastructure in Canada over the next two years. This new How We Build Now (Canada) report shows:

• 43% of those who work in the residential sector expect to build more housing units in 2023 compared to 2022
• Over half of respondents from B.C. (51%) and Alberta (55%) who work in the residential sector expect to build and deliver fewer housing units in 2023 compared to 2022. This is a stark contrast in comparison to Ontario where 60% of respondents expect to build and deliver more housing units in 2023

Labour shortages, supply chain problems key concerns

The survey found that that companies believe hiring and retaining skilled labour as one of the top challenges they face over the next 12 months.

• 29% report they have been unable to take on more projects in the past three to six months due to labour shortage
• 27% agree it is hard for construction to compete with other industries for good employees
• 27% agree there is too much competition in construction for talent
• 32% fear that some of their most experienced people will retire within the next few years and take valuable knowledge with them

Supply chain problems are also impacting respondents to a different extent across the country. Québec-based respondents report the highest impact, with 41%reporting significant delays due to supply chain issues, compared to 35% of respondents from Ontario and just a quarter of respondents in B.C.

Digital transformation critical to overcoming challenges

Firms stated that they believe digital transformation is required to overcome the labour shortage. 22% of respondents consider themselves a digital-first business and 51% are “well on the way” to adopting digital formats and workflows.

Construction decision makers recognize that technology provides benefits, particularly around resource efficiency through less rework, an enemy of sustainability. The survey shows 27% of the total time spent on a project is spent on rework or rectifying issues. Other findings:

• Almost half of all projects go over budget (50%) and over schedule (49%) according to respondents
• Over 30% of respondents identify needing new technology to improve operational efficiency and cost controls amid economic volatility
• Paper remains a common medium for Canadian construction decision makers. About a quarter of respondents (23-28%, depending on the workflow) still use paper-based records or non-digital processes as part of their workflows

Struggling to harnessing the power of data

According to the report, the industry realizes the value of data yet they are not able to leverage it to the fullest. 41% of respondents feel that they would be able to make better decisions if they had better access to real-time and historic information on project performance.

• Respondents believe they could save up to 12% of their total spending on projects if they captured, integrated and standardized data more efficiently
• Respondents report spending 17% of their time on a typical project searching for data or information – clearly too much time on low productivity tasks
• Half of the respondents say they have a foundation in place to begin learning from their data but don’t necessarily have a dedicated data team in place.
• One in five say much of their data exists in spreadsheets or on paper and they do not leverage data to drive business outcomes

“We are encouraged to see the Canadian construction industry’s leaders express optimism as they look to consolidate and build on post-pandemic progress,” said Nolan Frazier, regional sales director, Canada, Procore. “In particular, this survey shows half of the respondents see a need to embrace greater collaboration in projects among stakeholders; half of them are also well on their way in their digital transformation journey.

Frazier noted that ultimately, smarter construction empowers construction businesses to have better control of their projects and deliver higher quality builds.

The future of construction technology

Respondents rate construction management platforms, clean technologies involving green, sustainable or innovative materials, and next generation BIM as the top technologies that will drive change in the construction industry over the next three years.

• Over half of respondents (56%) are either currently using (29%) or plan to adopt a construction management platform (27%) over the next 12 months
• More than six out of 10 (62%) of Canadian organizations are either currently using (26%) or plan to adopt (36%) clean technologies over the next 12 months

Builders are eager to be more sustainable

Overall, the industry is keen to adopt more environmentally conscious and sustainable building practices. Approximately half of the respondents (50%) have started to focus on strategies like prefabrication and improved material selection to reduce the carbon footprint of their projects. 4 in 10 are either currently tracking or plan to start tracking (within the next 12 months) carbon emissions on their construction projects.

Focusing on diversity and inclusion

Currently, women make up a minority of the construction workforce, particularly in executive roles (24%). Subcontractors have the lowest ratio when it comes to having female members on staff. Only 22% of executive staff at trade contractors are female compared with around 25% at owners and general contractors.

• Almost 4 in 10 (38%) of construction decision makers believe that there is a need to improve diversity and inclusion in construction workplaces to attract women, minorities and historically underrepresented groups
• Only 41% of respondents have a diversity and inclusion policy in place with another 45% planning to implement one in the next 12 months

Many organizations recognized the need to improve the well-being of their workforce. 4 in 10 (41%) report having a wellness and mental health practice or policy in place to reduce the likelihood of burnout; 46% plan to implement a process in the next 12 months.

Despite some fundamental labour challenges, respondents are optimistic about the future. Approximately 8 in 10 are confident they will have enough people to meet their organizational needs (79%) and the necessary skills to meet demand (80%) over the next 12 months. For more information, download the report.

Key Takeaways:

• The British Columbia Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association is embarking on a three-year mission to attract more people to the industry. 
• A $3.9-million grant will fund a tour that takes simulators across the province to give jobseekers a taste of highway maintenance and road building careers. 
• Implementation of the talent attraction program is targeted to begin in Spring 2024 and reach completion in Spring 2026.

The Whole Story

A digital, immersive road building experience is coming to a B.C. town near you.

Jobseekers across the province will have the opportunity to learn more about highway maintenance jobs through a $3.9-million grant to the British Columbia Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association (BCRB&HCA).

The three-year grant will provide funding for BCRB&HCA’s talent attraction program, which will utilize innovative training technologies to showcase key jobs within the industry. With a focus on hiring, training, and retaining new employees for the highway maintenance and road building industry, the program seeks to address a critical shortage of skilled workers for trained highway maintenance positions.

“Helping employers remove barriers to the workplace means more people can work and participate in their communities,” said Sheila Malcolmson, minister of social development and poverty reduction. “Our government is funding this skills training so that more people can get good in-demand jobs in the highway maintenance and road building industry.”

The association explained that highway maintenance contractors in B.C. are facing a shortage of plow truck drivers, heavy equipment operators and mechanics. As part of the program’s outreach to groups that are currently underrepresented in the industry, it will seek to establish pathways for sustained employment and aim to engage women, Indigenous Peoples, veterans, new immigrants, and individuals under 40 years of age via training and partnership opportunities.

Using simulator technologies that place prospective jobseekers in the driver’s seat of snow plows and other types of heavy equipment, the program will travel across the province and provide hands-on opportunities for participants. The roadshow will include:

• A customized 34’ trailer featuring simulators and virtual reality technology.
• Realistic and safe training environments on five different simulators that replicate different models of heavy equipment and attachments
• A participation certificate that recognizes involvement and engagement in the program.

“Investments like these are vital for the strength of communities in BC,” said Matt Pitcairn, vice president, BCRB&HCA. “We look forward to how this program will raise the profile of these jobs, and how they can be an important catalyst for the economic health of the province.”

Implementation of the talent attraction program is targeted to begin in Spring 2024 and reach completion in Spring 2026.

Key Takeaways:

• The companies believe the rapid nature of modular housing and high-tech materials will get housing to communities much faster than traditional methods.
• The materials used are also designed for high thermal performance, meaning lower carbon footprints.
• Production on the homes for the initiative is expected to start this year.

The Whole Story:

ROC Modular Inc., a provider of offsite construction solutions, is partnering with building technology company ZS2 Technologies Ltd. to launch a new initiative that aims to get Indigenous and northern communities badly needed housing fast. 

The initiative aims to take a modular approach to developping many housing units at a rapid rate. The team added that by using the latest proprietary material science from ZS2 Technologies, the homes will be more resistant to the elements, pests and mold.

Utilizing ZS2 Technologies proprietary TechBoard and TechPanels, the homes will also boast superior thermal performance, reducing the embodied carbon footprint of each home.  

“More than ever the need for rapid and accessible housing is a critical need for communities across Canada,” said Scott Jenkins, ZS2 CEO and co-founder. “Together with ROC Modular, a true industry leader, we are offering a thoughtfully designed approach that combines modular construction with leading-edge  materials based on low-carbon proprietary cement technology. This means not only highly resilient homes that can be rapidly deployed, but also houses that are highly efficient and healthier for the families that will call them home.” 

“I am delighted that we can work with ZS2 Technologies to expedite rapid modular residential housing production and provide improved fire resistance, especially in a time of increased wildfire activity,” said Joe Kiss, ROC Modular president and CEO. “Our collaborative offering is uniquely positioned to provide sustainable homes with rapid and cost-effective delivery of much needed housing solutions. This will enable us to deliver a great solution that will provide long-term value to our customers while advancing the sustainability and safety of the off-site construction segment which continues to grow rapidly.” 

The collaboration will begin with the construction of the new modular homes at ROC Modular Factory located in Bow Island, Alta., with production starting in 2023. 

Here are some facts about Indigenous housing conditions from Statistics Canada: 

• In 2021, more than one in six Indigenous people (17.1%) lived in crowded housing that was considered not suitable for the number of people who lived there.
• Indigenous people were almost twice as likely to live in crowded housing in 2021, compared with the non-Indigenous population (17.1% versus 9.4%). However, the gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population narrowed by 1.7 percentage points from 2016 to 2021.
• Multigenerational households were the most common living arrangement among First Nations people living in crowded housing (34.5%), followed by couples living with children (21.7%). Among Métis and Inuit living in crowded housing, the most common living arrangement was couples living with children.
• In 2021, 16.4% of Indigenous people lived in a dwelling that was in need of major repairs.

Key Takeaways:

• Research shows the city’s average approval timeline for developments is 15.2 months.
• The tools will help applicants determine if their applications are complete and compliant.
• They also can identify potential costs, map out timelines, and determine project feasibility before submission.
• The city is also implementing changes to make regulations simpler.

The Whole Story:

Vancouver is partnering with an Australian technology firm that specializes in artificial intelligence to help speed up building permitting. 

Officials announced that they are launching a Project Requirements Exploration Tool (PRET) and eComply. These two new digital tools are expected to reduce staff manual review time and provide residents and businesses with confidence that their application is compliant and complete. 

PRET will allow applicants to explore and understand regulations and requirements for locations throughout Vancouver. Applicants can identify potential costs, map out timelines, and determine project feasibility – all before they pursue a potential application. 

eComply is an online design compliance check tool, developed by Archistar. eComply will allow applicants to upload their designs and drawings, check if they meet city regulations, and receive a compliance report. 

According to the city, Vancouver is the first municipality in North America to partner with Archistar to improve its permitting process. The first iteration of PRET is slated to launch later this summer, while eComply’s initial component will be available early next year.

“Embracing technology for permitting will have a huge impact for Vancouver’s residents and businesses,” said Mayor Ken Sim. “Applicants will receive feedback on any items that are incomplete, missing or not permitted so they can resolve it before they submit their application.”  

The complexity of some applications can result in multiple rounds of manual review between staff and applicants. The interactive PRET and eComply will help to reduce this complexity. 

“Our partnership with the City of Vancouver will help Vancouver residents and businesses to assess land potential at the click of a button,” said Ben Coorey, Archistar chief executive. “Anyone will be able to instantly pre-check their plans for compliance, ultimately making the approval process faster, easier, and cheaper.”

In addition to the tools, Vancouver is also looking to make its regulations simpler.
“On average, more than 70% of the processing time for laneway and low-density homes remains outside of the city with applicants,” said Andrea Law, general manager, development, buildings and licensing. “To help applicants, we continue to simplify policies and guidelines so the application process is less complex.”
Here are some of the actions the city is taking:

• Exploring options to simplify and align existing regulations across all low-density (RS) zones by removing 17 design and administrative requirements so housing can be built faster.
• Streamlining engineering review requirements in all development permit (DP) applications, including removing 20 per cent of conditions and moving an additional 25 per cent to risk-based review.
  Proposing shifting rainwater management requirements from the DP application process to the plumbing permit for new complex buildings in Vancouver so that applicants begin work on their projects sooner.
• Providing in-person permitting info sessions at the Development and Building Services Centre for applicants to meet with staff about their specific project.
• Creating supports to help applicants quickly pay and resolve deficiencies so their application can be processed.

“Feedback from some members of late have noted improvements on permit processing with one member citing a turnaround for comments from city of Vancouver in less than 16 days,” said Ron Rapp, CEO of the Homebuilders Association Vancouver. “With the recent announcements
from the Province the need to develop effective and positive working relationships between the City and our members is more important than ever.”

While staff prepare to launch PRET and eComply, applicants are encouraged to book an appointment with the Services Centre to address any questions or concerns before submitting their application. Future info sessions for those interested in learning more about commercial and residential renovations, laneway homes, secondary suites, and multiplexes will be available in early fall.

Vancouver has been criticized for its long permitting process. According to the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA), the city’s average approval timeline for developments is 15.2 months.

Key Takeaways:

• The project simulated large earthquakes on a 10-story mass timber building, the tallest ever tested on a shake table.
• RJC’s role was testing the energy performance of the building envelope before and after an earthquake.
• The firm said this information is critical for B.C. where a building energy performance requirements are getting higher.

The Whole Story:

What happens to a mass timber building’s energy performance when it is hit by an earthquake?

RJC Engineers, a Canadian-based building structure and enclosure engineering firm, aims to find out. 

The firm was recently in San Diego participating in the historic Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) TallWood research project. The project is a National Science Foundation-funded research effort that aims to investigate mass timber buildings’ earthquake resilience by simulating large earthquakes on a 10-story mass timber building, the tallest ever tested on a shake table. 

Terry Bergen, managing principal at RCJ, explained that part of the firm’s team bumped into the test’s organizer’s and asked if they could participate. 

The tests will provide information on how a compromised building envelope leads to decreased energy efficiency, and what can be done in the future to mitigate a loss of energy through new design decisions.

“Being a structural engineering firm, everybody was more than happy to have us but testing the envelope wasn’t initially part of the program,” said Bergen. “They were just kind enough to let us exercise our curiosity as well.”

The building includes 3-stories of enclosure systems to assess their interaction with the structure to develop and validate seismic design methodology, while also researching the impact on building enclosure. This first-of-its-kind initiative is expected to transform sustainable building design, and reduce the carbon impact of the construction industry in Canada.

RJC’s team is studying the impact of the earthquake testing, ranging in magnitude from 4 to 8, on the integrity of windows, a critical component to the overall energy efficiency and safety of a building. 

“We want to learn how well the envelope will work afterwards and how it will affect performance,” said Bergen.” The energy performance might not decline, and things may or may not be visible. We want to determine if there is a degradation of performance and if we can see it insitu. If they don’t perform well post-event, we would really like to know.”

The firm noted that the Insights gleaned from the testing are particularly crucial in B.C., where new code changes require developers to commit to greenhouse gas intensity targets, with Canada as a whole currently targeting harmonized implementation by the 2030 code cycle. Following a seismic event, even if unbroken, windows can sustain damage causing air to escape through the seals, leading to unseen breaches that are expensive to repair. If state-of-the-art building energy performance schemes stop working as a result, this could drive up carbon emissions through fuel consumption and require repairs.

“When we consider that our carbon-reduced future will require high-performance buildings, none of those envelope systems used to manage our interior climate will work without enhanced air tightness and moisture control,” said Bergen. “If that fails, it isn’t optimized and operational carbon loads go up and it defeats the purpose of energy efficiency codes.”

Bergen said the team has returned from the tests and is currently working on writing up the results. 

Key Takeaways:

• The survey included 275 construction companies
• 73 per cent think that the construction industry in Canada lags other countries in digital technology adoption
• Approximately 80 per cent of construction firms expressed excitement and support for new technologies

The Whole Story:

Canadian builders believe digital technology can help solve some of the industry’s largest challenges. 

A recent survey by KPMG found that Canadian construction companies are counting on digital technology to help address the backlog of Canadian housing and infrastructure projects bogged down by unprecedented demand and a chronic shortage of skilled labour.

The accounting firm’s survey of 275 companies shows that nearly nine in 10 say the lack of skilled labour or trades is impacting their ability to bid on projects and/or meet project deadlines and that digital technology can help make their labour force more effective to address these shortages. 

The survey respondents included general contractors (38 per cent), owners (28 per cent), suppliers (13 per cent), subcontractors (11 per cent) and consultants, such as engineers or architects (11 per cent).

“Technology can help the construction industry address Canada’s housing and infrastructure challenges,” says Tom Rothfischer, partner, and national industry leader, building, construction, and real Estate, KPMG in Canada. “Digital tools, if used smartly, save time and money, reduce waste, and improve worker safety and productivity. In short, they help get projects done on time or ahead of schedule and on budget.”

Rothfischer noted that many technologies employed in the manufacturing sector can be deployed by the construction industry to increase productivity and reduce costs. He cited several examples:

•  3D printing has been adapted to lay concrete and build complex steel shapes. Robots can lay bricks and tie steel reinforcement bars. 
• Drone-based surveying can help contractors quickly and accurately layout work, measure quantities, and monitor progress. 
• Building information modelling (BIM) allows project teams to collaborate more effectively to develop innovative solutions to optimize project cost and schedule. 
• Digital twin technologies build on BIM to integrate real-time data from a built asset with its exact 3D virtual replica to test ‘what-if’ scenarios, including the impact of design changes, construction sequencing, weather disruptions, and operational changes.

KPMG stated that, as in other countries, Canada’s construction industry has been slow to adopt new digital technologies. However, the firm noted that the pandemic, combined with the intensifying labour shortage, has proven to be the catalyst the industry needed to rethink how they go about their business.

“We’re seeing a definite recalibration taking place in the construction sector,” said Rothfischer. “While many are still just at the beginning of their digital build, leaders see the power of technology to reshape the way they work and plan to invest heavily in the coming years. But having the technology is only half the battle. The real advantage will come to those firms who effectively integrate it into their operations – from the back office to the construction site.”

KPMG’s key survey findings:

• 73 per cent think that the construction industry in Canada lags other countries in digital technology adoption
• 67 per cent say the impacts of the pandemic prompted them to invest in technology
• 86 per cent agreed that disruptive technologies can generate savings and efficiency, of whom 50 per cent agreed strongly
• 85 per cent believe disruptive technologies could make their companies more competitive
• 81 per cent say their management and back-office teams and 80 per cent say their project teams and labour are excited about and supportive of new technologies and approaches
• 46 per cent plan to spend more than 11 per cent of their corporate operating budget on tech and digital transformation, 33 per cent anticipate spending between 6-10 per cent, and 20 per cent plan to spend up to 5 per cent.

“Leading firms are already adopting technology to improve productivity and project management, safety on worksites, and decision-making,” said Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA). “There is a cost however to investing in digitization that isn’t necessarily shared among all parties in the procurement process. Margins are slim in construction, especially for the small- and medium-sized contractors, making it increasingly difficult for them to adopt these types of innovations in their business operations. This is why CCA continues to work with federal departments in an effort to modernize procurement processes that encourage innovation by supporting shared risk.”

“Leading firms are already adopting technology to improve productivity and project management, safety on worksites, and decision-making. There is a cost however to investing in digitization that isn’t necessarily shared among all parties in the procurement process.”

Mary Van Buren – Canadian Construction Association president

The KPMG survey found a Canadian construction industry grappling with a double whammy of unprecedented increased demand for housing and infrastructure projects, and a severe labour shortage that’s challenging the ability of companies to bid on projects and/or meet project deadlines.

To address this, almost all contractors are examining ways to alleviate current labour constraints to meet demands.

“The efficient allocation of trades is one of the industry’s most-pressing challenges and opportunities,” says Jordan Thomson, senior manager, infrastructure advisory, KPMG in Canada. “Many companies are deploying or planning to deploy digital tools to better improve efficiency on site and do more with less. The application of data analytics, wearables, and internet of thing sensors, and BIM can help to improve productivity, schedule efficiency, and quality, minimize waste, and improve worker safety.”

Thomson noted that as companies embrace technologies, the composition of the workforce will also need to undergo change to incorporate new roles, such as software engineers, BIM designers, data analysts, and drone operators into the project team. 

“With so many construction projects on the horizon, the only way companies will be able to compete, and finish the job on time and within budget is by digitizing and modernizing their operations and ensuring they fully harness the potential of digital technologies,” he says.  

Other survey findings:

• 90 per cent of construction companies are currently experiencing a shortage of skilled labour or trades
• 86 per cent say that the shortage of skilled labour or trades is impacting their ability to bid on projects and/or meet project deadlines
• 86 per cent say that given current labour constraints, they may need to consider other alternatives, such as prefabrication and modularization and/or innovative new tools and machinery
• 89 per cent agree that better project management tools, such as analytics, BIM, digital twins, helps to address labour shortages and improves employee productivity
• 91 per cent believe the education system needs to be “much more flexible” to allow young people to pursue the trades
• 77 per cent say that digital transformation will require hiring new talent within their organization to a “great” and “considerable” extent (44 per cent), and to a “moderate” extent (33 per cent)

The respondents included general contractors (38 per cent), owners (28 per cent), suppliers (13 per cent), subcontractors (11 per cent) and consultants, such as engineers or architects (11 per cent).

Key Takeaways:

• Kelowna officials are partnering with Microsoft to develop AI tools that make building permitting faster.
• The tools include a chatbot to answer bylaw questions and an AI tool that checks applications in real time.
• The city says the tools could speed up the process by 20% to 30% right off the bat.

The Whole Story:

There’s a new project development ally at the city of Kelowna that wants to help get you building – and it’s not human.  

The city has partnered with Microsoft to be one of the first cities in the world to use artificial intelligence to speed up its project development process. The project includes two areas of focus. The first is an information bot and the other is AI assistance for applications. 

“Each municipality, including Kelowna, have their own bylaws that relate to building, their own nuances that can make it tough to understand what applies to your building,” explained Jazz Pabla, the city’s director of information services. 

The information bot can receive inquiries and, based on what is written, give answers comparable what a human would. Rather than having to pore over bylaw documents, users can simply ask the bot. 

“This first part of the project is purely informational,” he said. “It breaks down the barrier between information the government has and what information people want. It’s a more conversational approach to getting that data.”

The second phase of the project aims to put a dent in building permit wait times by trimming down the back and forth between the city and builders. This tool shadows applicants as they fill out their forms and tells them in real time if they are compliant or not. 

“If you can get the application close to 100% compliant and stop the back and forth, what happens is it goes through the system quicker.” 

Pabla said the city is hoping to have some product to show by the end of the year as right now the focus is on the information bot piece. 

The city is also modernizing its back-end system to include the ability to tag applications coming through with AI assistance. Pabla said the thinking is that since those applications are likely to be more complete than other ones, it could change in how the city handles them. 

Another time saver will be the fact that the AI tools can be available online, anytime. 

“24/7, 365, there could be an assistant with stuff to get you going,” he said.That is beneficial as not everyone is available between 8 a.m and 4 p.m.” 

Kelowna’s team is working directly with Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters on the project. The goal of the project, which  is to take the project

“They recognize that this could significantly increase the amount of housing available in communities if the black and forth were to stop and permits could get out quicker.” 

The city plans to share their solutions, which have been funded by grants, with other municipalities. The city also intends to look at doing automated plan checking which would check for initial application drawings for compliance to eliminate time spent going back and forth there as well. 

“For something as basic as a deck, why would you ever need to talk to someone at City Hall?” he said. “Especially if the drawing and application are done correctly. We should be able to issue that right away. That is the goal: to issue as fast as we can. We want to make developers’ lives easier and we see AI doing that significantly. We also want to make sure we are building well-constructed stuff so we want to balance that.” 

Pabla believes that the tools are likely to generate 20% to 30% time savings right off the bat and that is likely to improve as they get better. 

“We get confidence scores on answers it delivers and we are updating it daily where if it gets an answer wrong, we point it out,” he said. “There could be a world where the applications that come in are fully done properly in AI. It could be sped up and there is a really good use case to have that.”