Category: Technology

Key Takeaways:

• Plantd creates carbon-negative building products out of fast-growing grass.
• Plantd plans to establish their agriculture supply chain and build a modular automated continuous press for engineered building materials.
• They are currently working with U.S. builders and architects to integrate their materials into projects.

The Whole Story:

There’s a new player in the sustainable building materials market.

Plantd out of North Carolina has announced its $10 million Series A funding round. Led by American Family Ventures, the funding supports Plantd’s work on carbon-negative building materials.

“We are thrilled to back this exceptional and visionary team,” said Kyle Beatty, managing director at American Family Ventures. “Plantd is creating fundamentally better construction materials that are cost-effective and truly carbon negative. We have been impressed by how they have reinvented every step of the production process from first principles, all the way from input material to logistics.”

Plantd’s production team is led by co-founders and engineers Huade Tan and Nathan Silvernail, who worked together for years at SpaceX designing and building key systems and components of the Dragon cargo and crew spacecraft. Together with co-founder and CEO Josh Dorfman, Plantd is is looking to redefine the value chain for engineered building materials.

Plantd’s proprietary low carbon-emissions production technology uses fast-growing perennial grass to create durable, carbon-negative building materials. The company says its products can outperform competitive products on key attributes, including strength and moisture resistance. 

Starting with structural panel products for walls and roofs, Plantd will fabricate building materials that are a direct substitute for traditional home construction products and require no alternative installation techniques. 

The company explained that by cultivating fast-growing perennial grass instead of cutting down trees and pioneering novel production technology to minimize carbon emissions, Plantd’s structural panels retain 80 per cent of the atmospheric carbon dioxide captured in the field, which is then locked away inside the walls and roofs of new homes. 

“We can’t move quickly enough to solve climate change unless we develop profitable methods to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,” said Dorfman. “We’re going to change an industry by offering builders a better product at the same price and, in the process, scale a business that can help save the planet.”

Plantd plans to use this round of funding to establish their agriculture supply chain and build the first-of-its-kind, modular automated continuous press for engineered building materials. The company says it is currently working with the nation’s largest builders and architects to integrate these materials into their projects and quickly make them a standard in the industry.

Plantd officials stated that their ultimate vision is to build the factory of the future, ensuring that new homes and buildings contribute to reversing the effects of climate change.

Key Takeaways:

• German construction tech company KEWAZO has raised roughly $20 million total in funding.
• KEWAZO’s vision is to automate and digitize the entire on-site logistics — from the arrival of materials at the construction site to their utilization.
• A dozen of the company’s initial product, LIFTBOT, have been working on European sites since 2021. 
• LIFTBOT’s tasks initially focused on scaffolding assembly, but the team believes it could be used for insulation, painting and other on-site material transport. 
• The company noted that this technology not only helps ease labour crunch pressure, it reduces the risk of accidents. 

The Whole Story:

Construction robotics firm KEWAZO announced the closing of its $10 million Series A funding round, bringing the total funds raised to-date to approximately $20 million. The round was led by Fifth Wall, with notable participation from Cybernetix Ventures, Unorthodox Ventures as well as the construction software company Nemetschek. 

Existing investors True Ventures and MIG Capital AG also participated in the round. This round comes on the heels of Kewazo’s $5 million Pre-Series A that closed in September 2021.   

“We have an excellent group of partners coming together that will enable us to keep building a leading company in construction robotics,” stated Artem Kuchukov, CEO and co-founder of KEWAZO. “This influx of capital will propel us to expand our sophisticated robotic fleet across Europe and North America, in tandem with enabling us to build out our additional digital services.”

KEWAZO both automates and digitizes the on-site material flow via state-of-the-art robotics and data analytics. The company’s initial product LIFTBOT, an intelligent robotic hoist for construction and industrial sites, is empowered by data analytics platform ONSITE. Since 2021, a dozen LIFTBOTs have been active on European construction sites and leading industrial plants in the oil, gas, energy and chemical industries, including with key industry names like Bilfinger and Altrad. 

“Labor shortage continues to be the most acute challenge facing the construction industry today,” said Miguel Nigorra Esteban, partner at Fifth Wall. “Artem and his entire team at Kewazo are laser-focused on solving this head-on, bringing much needed automation and robotics to the trillion dollar construction industry. We’re thrilled to be a part of their category-defining growth.”

Upon inception, KEWAZO initially honed in on scaffolding assembly, a $50 billion industry in which more than 80 per cent of projects are still undertaken completely manually. 

According to KEWAZO, their robotics can save 70 per cent of man hours for these tasks. Their team believes this approach not only addresses construction’s critical labor-shortage, but reduces the risk of accidents and improves overall working conditions on-site.

By being involved in critical on-site activities, LIFTBOT collects key operational data. This data is then processed and provided to customers as actionable insights via the data analytics platform. This enhances transparency of what happens on-site at construction sites and industrial plants, leading to a multitude of advantages, including data-driven and proactive project management.

With minor adjustments, the technology may be applied to allied activities such as insulation, painting and other on-site material transport. KEWAZO’s vision is to automate and digitize the entire on-site logistics — from the arrival of materials at the construction site to their utilization.

“I think it is very useful that companies like KEWAZO are disrupting our business. We will have problems in finding and keeping good personnel – this will be our main focus in the coming years and decades. These innovations are very helpful in attracting and motivating our coworkers and help us to provide our customers with cost-effective and safe services, ” said Bart Gyssels, chief innovation officer at Altrad Services Benelux.

Digital tools are helping the industry not only save time and money – they are enabling teams to come up with even better building solutions. 

Duanne Render, a senior associate and design manager at global design and architecture firm Gensler, has been using data crunching tools to great success. He was part of a team that developed a tool capable of identifying vacant office buildings that have a high likelihood of being successfully converted into housing. What normally takes weeks can be done in minutes. 

While it started as an effort to identify suitable buildings in Calgary, where office vacancy rates have reached as high as 32 per cent, the tool has since expanded and Gensler’s team continues to make improvements. 

“We’ve made various advancements in terms of accuracy and fine tuning based on the data we’ve got from locations in North America,” said Render. “ We have analyzed around 500 properties in different cities from the west coast, east coast and central areas. We are even looking at European and UK properties.”

Failing fast

Render said the tool’s  success in Calgary has spurred a lot of interest in cities who want to do something similar to address office vacancies.

“Because of all the work we have been doing with cities and developers to look at properties and portfolios and assist them, we have all this data and information that has assisted us in fine-tuning how the tool works and it is getting more accurate over time,” he said.  

Render noted that Gensler tells its clients that the tool is not a silver bullet, it just gives a good indication of whether or not something is worth looking into further and if there is a high likelihood of a building succeeding as a conversion.

Render explained the typical process for identifying suitable projects often takes months. It involves a developer working with an architect on a feasibility study that investigates the floor plan, layouts, essentially conducts a conceptual design phase that would then go to a cost consultant. Then it would be determined if it’s financially viable and a decision is made to proceed or not. 

“What this process does is it helps us fail fast. If we get raw data we can give you a good indication of if it is likely to succeed or not. Let’s say you are looking at ten properties and want to get it down to the two best ones for development, this gives an opportunity to put a better product out there because energy can be focused into the right places.”

Duanne Render

Addressing the housing crisis

Digital tools like this can be particularly useful when applied to problems like housing. 

“If you look at the housing crisis you can break it down into a couple of different challenges,” said Render. “One is the amount of housing we need to provide in a period. To build ground-up residential condos or rental is going to take significantly longer than converting an existing office building. The second thing is, if you convert in downtown areas, you’re also looking at improving the quality of cities by adding vibrancy, activity and creating that 24-hour space. By converting, you assist in doing that.” 

He added that not only can you get to market fast, you can utilize office building characteristics that are less common in the residential sector. 

“Floor heights are generally higher in offices, which gives you the opportunity to get natural light deeper and in some cases provide larger, better quality units,” he said.

Encouraging development 

Render notes that despite the benefits, many cities have room for improvement when it comes to incentivizing this type of work. Gensler offered examples of how some progressive cities are tackling it: 

• The city of Calgary has made $100 million available to assist property owners to convert offices to residential through a grant funding mechanism that made $75/sf available to eligible projects. This scheme is set to increase the downtown population by 23 per cent, increasing the tax base and injecting new life into the city, improving activity, vibrancy, and safety.
• The city of Chicago is focusing its efforts on the LaSalle Street corridor making state and federal tax credits and Cook County Tax incentives available to the selected properties. Further financial assistance may be available through Tax Increment Finance for projects that meet specific criteria such as a minimum of 30 per cent affordable housing.
• The city of Portland has also started looking into this concept and are considering a broad incentive package which may include, among others, exemption of system development charges (SDC’s) within a centralized geographic boundary, property tax exemption for seismic upgrade costs, fast-tracking tenant improvement permitting, and expanding a floor area ratio (FAR) density bonus for certain projects where it would be of value.
• Following a task force report, New York mayor Eric Adams announced his plans to make it easier to convert offices to residential use. The report focuses on relaxing planning and zoning regulations making it easier for conversions to take place.

Reducing friction for better solutions

The conversion tool isn’t the only one Gensler has developed. They have found the method is applicable in a variety of situations. 

“It’s about removing friction to make processes easier in order to allow it to happen faster and with more accuracy,” said Render. “It’s so we can cut out a lot of the back and forth and the uncertainty.”

Gensler developed gblox and gfloorz to carry out test fits with real-time participation and feedback from clients. This is done in a simulated, data-rich environment where teams can envision, implement, and evaluate the implications of design decisions instantly.

“You understand what the developable area is – the area you can fit on a site within the zoning parameters,” said Render. “That generally needs to go to clients and get comments and go through cost consultants and more. What we did with gblox is automate that process to a large degree. You enter your parameters and then there is another level of customization.”

For example, if a client needs to hit a certain metric to achieve a project’s financial goals, that can be put into the toll and a dashboard will show how close or far certain approaches are from it. 

“That gave us the opportunity to get to a solution in a few days with some live sessions,” said Render. “I also believe it gave us the opportunity to come up with a much better product. You can get there so much faster and give a much better quality design, not just for the client but for the urban environment and the users.”

Needing answers quickly

Render believes data crunching tools like these are just one part of how construction is changing to an accelerating world. 

“If you look at society generally, people are needing answers quickly,” he said. “That in itself almost is a driver to develop tools like this. Everything is moving faster and faster and everybody needs to keep up with the pace at which things are happening. In some ways, construction is being forced to advance and I think it’s going to accelerate due to external factors like sustainability”

Render added that various levels of government are implementing more stringent sustainability requirements and have carbon-neutral commitments. 

“I think those external factors will force the industry to advance,” he said. “If you look at conventional construction, does this mean we need to do more modular construction, mass timber construction and other things in order to deal with sustainability? Does that become more commonplace? From my perspective, yes, it has to.” 

Canada is facing a housing crisis. The construction industry is struggling to find enough materials and labour to get projects done. Remote or harsh environments, like the Arctic, make traditional construction far more challenging.

What’s the solution for these challenges? Many believe it lies in modular construction.

According to the Modular Building Institute, modular construction is a process the involves constructing a building off-site under controlled plant conditions. Projects use the same materials and are designed to the same codes and standards as conventionally built facilities – but in about half the time. Buildings are produced in “modules” that when put together on site, reflect the identical design intent and specifications of the most sophisticated site-built facility – without compromise.

Here are some of the most innovative companies in Canada leveraging the advantages of modular construction:

15. NRB Modular Solutions 

Affordable housing in Hawaii, seniors housing in Kamloops, large homes for Montana – NRB is building communities all over North America. NRB Modular Solutions says it’s the largest modular builder in Canada with over 45 years of modular construction experience. Their work is turning heads. Just last year, the Modular Building Institute recognized three NRB projects during its annual awards.

14. CHOU Consulting and Development

Extreme conditions are where modular techniques can really shine. The company was formed after Amanda Doiron and Stuart Rostant found the supply of homes in the Arctic to be lacking. The harsh winter conditions, lack of local skilled labour and extremely short construction season made modular a smart choice for rapid home building. Everything – the size of the furniture, the foam/steel panels used and the weight of the units – is carefully designed and chosen for Nunavut. 

13. ATCO Structures

ATCO Structures has been in business for 75 years and the experience shows. They have manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Chile and Australia where they build housing, hotels, medical facilities, schools, multi-family housing and more. Recently, they acquired Triple M Modular Housing, the largest modular housing provider in Western Canada as part of its North American business strategy. ATCO has big plans to rapidly build homes in Canada and will certainly be a company to watch in the coming years.

12. 720 Solutions

The 720 team have used their experiences living in subsidized provincial housing, sleeping in tents while tree planting in Canada’s North and providing emergency shelter for First Nations to build a successful company. Late last year they put up a 28-unit building for the Canadian Mental Health Association in Charlottetown, P.E.I. It took them 13 months, catching the attention of government officials who believe it could be a model for addressing the the island’s housing supply.

11. ED Modular

The largest general contractors in the country also see the potential of modular construction and are working to create their own solutions. ED Modular is a vertically integrated division of EllisDon. Here’s how ED Modular’s senior vice president, Tom Howell put it: “Modular construction is not just a trend, it’s always been a part of the process, but it’s currently happening on a whole new scale. With the skills to provide guidance and leadership on modular/prefabrication projects of any size, ED Modular is determined to make prefabrication and volumetric modular construction in the factory and off-site assembly of building components mainstream.”

10. Due North Housing

Due North is harnessing modular technology to help solve the unique housing challenges faced by Indigenous people, particularly students and elders. The company is currently collaborating with Iroquois Falls in Northern Ontario to build a modular home facility. Its first phase could produce 300 units each year, said Alexander Bimman, Due North’s president and CEO.

9. SRI Homes

The first SRI factory (Shelter Home Systems), located in Estevan, Sask. began building homes in back in 1978.  In 1985, the second SRI factory (SRI Regent), in Lethbridge, Alberta was acquired.  Rounding out the Western Canadian factories (SRI Kelowna), the Kelowna factory began producing homes in 1992. To date, over 45,000 homes have been built between the three factories. SRI also has a sister company called Gibraltar Building Systems which handles larger, multi-unit projects like hotels, worker accommodations and facilities for seniors.

8. Nomodic Modular

Nomodic noted that its value lies in establishing a synergy between partners, suppliers, contractors and other stakeholders to maximize productivity and efficiency.  Their work includes affordable and Indigenous housing, resorts and hotels, seniors and student accommodations, commercial and industrial buildings, and more. The company was launched in 2012 by Kevin Read who was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in Canadian Construction in 2018.

7. RCM Group

Founded and managed by construction specialists, RCM Group designs and manufactures every type of modular building with three objectives in mind: comfort, durability, and superior quality. They also stepped up during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To address a bed shortages in Quebec, RCM and Pomerleau Construction built a 96-bed facility only five months after landing the contract.

6. Kent Homes

The Kent story goes back to 1881 with a sawmill in Bouctouche, New Brunswick. In the mid-1900s K.C. Irving visited his logging camps was unhappy with the workers’ living conditions. He had the idea to prebuild better homes offsite, and transport them to the logging camps. He found this increased the morale and productivity of the workers. Many decades later, the company has evolved into a homebuilder that has embraced the modular method.

5. ANC Modular

ANC Modular is the brainchild of construction pioneer and 2022 Top 40 Under 40 in Canadian Construction winner Andrew Neill. He made the move to modular homes after a newspaper article inspired him to begin work on a prototype. After achieving CSA A277 certification for the modular units, ANC Modular Inc. has gone on to manufacture design-build projects for municipalities and government-funded affordable housing projects, mostly as part of Canada’s Rapid Housing Initiative. Most recently, Neill has developed an international patent pending design incorporating a modular volumetric and concrete superstructure. The Modular Building Institute called Neill’s innovation an “ingenious” system that can build multi-unit housing in mere weeks.

4. Prestige Homes

From mini-homes to multi-unit, Prestige does it all. The New Brunswick company has been manufacturing modular homes since 1973 from its manufacturing facility in Sussex. Its reputation brought it into the Shaw Group of companies in 1999. They don’t even offer ready-to-buy models as they are confident in their ability to customize designs to customer needs.

3. Fort Modular

Fort is doing it big out West. They boast the largest manufacturing capacity in Southern B.C. with operations in Metro Vancouver and the Okanagan. They are the province’s largest, locally and privately-owned supplier of new, used, and renovated site office trailers, affordable housing, steel office containers, camp accommodations, portable classrooms, and other temporary or permanent modular buildings. They also are harnessing the business to help others. Last year the unveiled Movember-themed units to help raise money for men’s health issues.

2. Supreme Homes

Modular building is nothing new for Supreme Homes. Established in 1983, the family owned business has 160 dedicated employees in Tracadie, New Brunswick and around twenty independent retailers across the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. Over the years, they have worked on more than 5,000 projects at their 80,000 square-foot factory.

1. Stack Modular/Bird Construction

In 2017, Bird Construction acquired a 50 per cent ownership of Stack. The partnership provides structural steel modular systems for multi-family residential, hospitality, senior and student housing, and resource clients. According to Bird, Stack Modular is the only North American-owned company with a wholly-owned China-based modular facility certified to build for North America. The modular systems are local code-compliant while still offering international manufacturing and supply chain economies of scale.

Key Takeaways:

• An international team of researchers has been investigating why Roman concrete is so durable.
• They discovered that lime clasts and hot mixing methods gave the material super durable properties.
• They are using their research to create more durable concrete formulations.

The Whole Story:

Ancient Roman construction techniques could help create more resilient concrete for modern builders. 

An international team of researchers has spent decades working to unravel the secrets that made ancient Roman concrete structures so durable that many remain standing. 

The Pantheon, which has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome and was dedicated in A.D. 128, is still intact. Some ancient Roman aqueducts still deliver water to Rome today. Meanwhile, many modern concrete structures have crumbled after a few decades.

The investigation focused on structures that endured harsh conditions, such as docks, sewers, and seawalls, or those constructed in seismically active locations.

A team of investigators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, and laboratories in Italy and Switzerland, announced it has discovered ancient concrete-manufacturing strategies that incorporated several key self-healing functionalities. The findings were published in the journal Science Advances.

For many years, researchers assumed that the key to the ancient concrete’s durability was based on one ingredient: pozzolanic material such as volcanic ash from the area of Pozzuoli, on the Bay of Naples. This specific kind of ash was even shipped all across the vast Roman empire to be used in construction, and was described as a key ingredient for concrete in accounts by architects and historians at the time.

Concrete with a hint of lime

Under closer examination, researchers found that ancient samples also contain small, distinctive, millimeter-scale bright white mineral features, which have been long recognized as a ubiquitous component of Roman concretes. These white chunks, often referred to as “lime clasts,” originate from lime, another key component of the ancient concrete mix. 

“Ever since I first began working with ancient Roman concrete, I’ve always been fascinated by these features,” says Admir Masic, an MIT professor and one of the authors of the research paper. “These are not found in modern concrete formulations, so why are they present in these ancient materials?”

Previously disregarded as merely evidence of sloppy mixing practices, or poor-quality raw materials, the new study suggests that these tiny lime clasts gave the concrete a previously unrecognized self-healing capability. 

“The idea that the presence of these lime clasts was simply attributed to low quality control always bothered me,” said Masic. “If the Romans put so much effort into making an outstanding construction material, following all of the detailed recipes that had been optimized over the course of many centuries, why would they put so little effort into ensuring the production of a well-mixed final product? There has to be more to this story.”

Evidence of self-healing

Upon further characterization of these lime clasts, using high-resolution multiscale imaging and chemical mapping techniques pioneered in Masic’s research lab, the researchers gained new insights into the potential functionality of these lime clasts.

Historically, it had been assumed that when lime was incorporated into Roman concrete, it was first combined with water to form a highly reactive paste-like material, in a process known as slaking. 

But this process alone could not account for the presence of the lime clasts. Masic wondered if it possible that the Romans might have actually directly used lime in its more reactive form, known as quicklime.

Studying samples of this ancient concrete, he and his team determined that the white inclusions were, indeed, made out of various forms of calcium carbonate. And spectroscopic examination provided clues that these had been formed at extreme temperatures, as would be expected from the exothermic reaction produced by using quicklime instead of, or in addition to, the slaked lime in the mixture. Hot mixing, the team has now concluded, was actually the key to the super-durable nature.

“The benefits of hot mixing are twofold,” Masic says. “First, when the overall concrete is heated to high temperatures, it allows chemistries that are not possible if you only used slaked lime, producing high-temperature-associated compounds that would not otherwise form. Second, this increased temperature significantly reduces curing and setting times since all the reactions are accelerated, allowing for much faster construction.”

During the hot mixing process, the lime clasts develop a characteristically brittle nanoparticulate architecture, creating an easily fractured and reactive calcium source, which, as the team proposed, could provide a critical self-healing functionality. As soon as tiny cracks start to form within the concrete, they can preferentially travel through the high-surface-area lime clasts.

This material can then react with water, creating a calcium-saturated solution, which can recrystallize as calcium carbonate and quickly fill the crack, or react with pozzolanic materials to further strengthen the composite material. These reactions take place spontaneously and therefore automatically heal the cracks before they spread. Previous support for this hypothesis was found through the examination of other Roman concrete samples that exhibited calcite-filled cracks.

Modern applications possible 

To prove that this was indeed the mechanism responsible for the durability of the Roman concrete, the team produced samples of hot-mixed concrete that incorporated both ancient and modern formulations, deliberately cracked them, and then ran water through the cracks. 

Within two weeks the cracks had completely healed and the water could no longer flow. An identical chunk of concrete made without quicklime never healed, and the water just kept flowing through the sample. As a result of these successful tests, the team is working to commercialize this modified cement material.

“It’s exciting to think about how these more durable concrete formulations could expand not only the service life of these materials, but also how it could improve the durability of 3D-printed concrete formulations,” said Masic.

Through the extended functional lifespan and the development of lighter-weight concrete forms, he hopes that these efforts could help reduce the environmental impact of cement production, which currently accounts for about 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Along with other new formulations, such as concrete that can actually absorb carbon dioxide from the air, another current research focus of the Masic lab, these improvements could help to reduce concrete’s global climate impact.

The research team included Janille Maragh at MIT, Paolo Sabatini at DMAT in Italy, Michel Di Tommaso at the Instituto Meccanica dei Materiali in Switzerland, and James Weaver at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. The work was carried out with the assistance of the Archeological Museum of Priverno in Italy.

Key Takeaways:

• hyperTunnel conducted a large-scale demonstration of their swarm robot technique.
• The technology is being investigated for use repairing old rail infrastructure.
• The startup has received investment from VINCI and the European Innovation Council.

The Whole Story:

A tech startup wants to put robot swarms to work digging the tunnels of tomorrow. 

UK company hyperTunnel revealed this fall the world’s first underground structure built entirely by robots

The Peak XV tunnel was entirely robot-constructed at a research and development facility in the North Hampshire Downs.

hyperTunnel stated that its automated construction method is designed to build tunnels more than 10 times faster and at half the cost of conventional methods. Their team added that approach is significantly friendlier to the environment and will use sustainable materials such as low-carbon concrete. It also limits the potential for injuries to humans. 

Using swarm construction methods according to a digital twin of the tunnel, a fleet of hyperBot robots enter the ground via an arch of HDPE pipes. Once inside, the robots 3D-print the tunnel shell by deploying construction material directly into the ground. 

The 6 metre-long, 2 metre-high and 2 metre-wide Peak XV pedestrian-scale tunnel has been delivered as part of a project for Network Rail and revealed at the British Tunnelling Society Conference & Exhibition in London.

The Network Rail project has been demonstrating the hyperTunnel process, investigating the technologies that are key to low-disruption tunnel repairs for the UK’s regional railway infrastructure, which includes approximately 650 Victorian age tunnels.

“Our large portfolio of Victorian tunnels requires increasing levels of work to meet the needs of the railway network,” said David Castlo, Network Rail’s network technical head. ”However, we want to reduce the level of disruption to our passengers so we are constantly searching for new approaches to enlarging or repairing tunnels that reduce the length of time a tunnel will be closed to trains. Peak XV moves us a step closer to that goal and, crucially, with a method that reduces workforce safety risk.”

Steve Jordan, co-CEO and co-Founder of hyperTunnel, said the  large scale demonstration tunnel is a big step, not only for hyperTunnel, but for the tunnelling and construction industries. “While using robots exclusively to build underground structures is dramatically different, the contributing technologies, such as digital twins, robotics, 3D printing and digital underground surveying, supported by AI and VR, are all well-proven in other industries,” said Jordan. “In fact, the hyperTunnel in-situ method is all about de-risking construction projects.”

Earlier this year, hyperTunnel received funding of 1.88 million Euros from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator scheme, Europe’s flagship innovation program. The company also received a financial investment from VINCI, a global leader in concessions, energy and construction businesses.

Video: See how the tunnelling process works

https://youtu.be/a4WL4eLPkic

Key Takeaways:

• The Cat MineStart Command for Hauling system will be implemented on 77G trucks at the Bull Run Plant in Virginia.
• It is Caterpillar’s first deployment of the technology in the aggregate sector.
• The company said data collected from the site will help it better tune its technology for future aggregate applications.

The Whole Story:

Caterpillar Inc. is looking to push vehicle automation forward with a new collaboration in the aggregate sector. 

The heavy equipment supplier is working with Luck Stone, America’s largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel, to deploy its autonomous solution to the Bull Run Plant in Chantilly, Virginia. It will be Caterpillar’s first autonomous deployment in the aggregates industry and will expand the company’s autonomous truck fleet to include the 100-ton-class (90-tonne-class) Cat 777 .

Looking to accelerate autonomous solutions beyond mining, Caterpillar will implement its existing Cat MineStar Command for Hauling system at the Bull Run quarry, on a fleet of 777G trucks. Caterpillar officials say this will help it gain greater insights on quarry operations in order to tailor the next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications.

The company added that the project will support the acceleration of autonomous technology for operations with fewer mobile assets, making projects safer and more productive. 

“Luck Stone and Caterpillar’s partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years,” said Charlie Luck, president and CEO of Luck Companies. “Together we believe that safety, innovation and a commitment to people are critical, not only to propelling important projects like this, but to ensuring our focus on the future and all of the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry. Our collaboration will provide opportunities for associates to learn and grow, improve safety and result in production efficiencies. We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar to achieve this ‘first’ for our industry.”

The current autonomy solutions will be implemented in 2024. Caterpillar currently boasts the world’s largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks, now numbering more than 560 trucks. These trucks have traveled more than 187 million kilometers and autonomously moved more than 5.1 billion tonnes without a single zero lost-time injury.

“Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we look forward to working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry. We’re excited to get in the dirt and work alongside Luck Stone’s innovative team, so we can learn how to scale our already proven mining solution for another industry,” said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar Group president of resource Industries.

One hundred and ninety three.

According to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, that’s how many construction workers died on the job in 2020.

Everybody should go to work and come home safe. It’s that simple.

As construction projects and sites have grown more vast and complex, companies and organizations have sought to keep up by creating new ways to ensure workers are kept safe. Below are some of their stories.

1. Kenzen

What if you could know when your workers are overheating or need to take a break? Kenzen is making this data a reality. It provides heat and safety monitoring of key physiological indicators for each worker, such as core body temperature, heart rate, and exertion levels. The Kansas City-based company’s approach has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which recently awarded them $161,000 in funding.  

2. Ramtech

Ramtech Electronics has been supplying wireless solutions since 1990 from its Nottingham headquarters. They soon saw that their technology could apply to the jobsite and began developing wireless temporary fire alarms for construction. They also created the REACT system which gives construction teams a simple and secure means of communicating fire, medical and other site emergencies to affected personnel, both on and off site. Their team recently published a white paper exploring the modern fire and life safety solutions for construction in North America.

3. Hexoskin

It’s not quite Ironman’s suit, but it still could help keep you safe. Hexoskin Smart Garments include textile sensors embedded into garments for precise and continuous cardiac, respiratory, and activity monitoring. The Montreal company’s users can visualize, report, and analyze their data with the Hexoskin Connected Health Platform. In Australia, the technology is being used to monitor the health and vitals of truck drivers to study the impacts of driver fatigue. 

4. Blackline Safety

It’s all about the internet of things (IoT) with Blackline Safety. The Calgary company says its connected safety devices and predictive analytics helps companies drive towards zero safety incidents and improved operational performance. Blackline provides wearable devices, personal and area gas monitoring, cloud-connected software and data analytics for companies in more than 100 countries. Blackline Safety recently closed its largest contract to date in the Middle East with a three-year value of almost $500,000 with OQ Oman, a global integrated energy company operating in 17 countries.

5. SmartCap

You have to give a tip of the hat to this team. An active job site or the highway is no place for a nap. SmartCap’s wearable hat technology was developed using electroencephalography as it is unaffected by glare, humidity, head turns, eye disease, or behaviour. SmartCap’s tech is predictive and does not require post processing or live monitoring of data to provide real-time operator alerts. The Australian company has caught the attention of the mining sector. In 2021, SmartCap was acquired by Wenco International Mining Systems, a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery. This video demonstrates how the product can be used. 

6. Boston Dynamics 

In addition to progress monitoring, BIM model comparison and digital twin creation, Boston Dynamics’ robots are advancing construction safety. Builders can use the Massachusetts-based company’s Spot robot to survey confined spaces and keep workers out of hazardous environments. They can also feed image data on programmed routes into specialized downstream software to detect health and safety issues. General contractor Pomerleau currently uses Spot to track project progress with HoloBuilder site documentation software.

7. SolePower

These boots have a brain. SolePower has developed a proprietary sensor platform that can be installed in standard construction work boots to measure the worker’s indoor and outdoor position, step count, speed, time spent in work areas and more. The data is delivered to a front-end visualization for managers to gain awareness of the workflow and status of their workforce anywhere in the world. The Pennsylvania-based company was founded out of Carnegie Mellon University Engineering and boasts a team of former NASA and manufacturing engineers. They have already successfully delivered test units to the US Army under two consecutive contracts.

8. BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA)

To help builders in B.C. keep workers safe from silica dust exposure, the BCCSA developed the Silica Control Tool. The tool assists employers in conducting appropriate risk assessments and implementing effective controls and safe work practices where respirable crystalline silica dust may be an occupational hazard. The tool relies on scientific studies and data collected from a team of medical researchers. With this it can predict the expected exposures to workers under similar conditions. 

9. North American Traffic 

Flagging is one of the most dangerous jobs in the industry and every year flaggers are killed by vehicles. But what if a flagger didn’t have to be on the road at all? North American Traffic’s automatic flagging solution has been around for many years but it’s still worth noting. Peter Vieveen, the company’s founder and president developed the device while working in the construction sector and witnessing the dangers flaggers face firsthand. 

10. myComply

Founded in 2015, Saskatoon and Brooklyn-based myComply is a technology platform that ensures construction site compliance and provides worker analytics. myComply is looking to transform how training certifications are managed and verified on construction sites. The platform combines intelligent hardware with easy-to-use software used to verify safety training. Just last year, the New York City Department of Buildings hired myComply to build and administer the software behind an innovative construction safety database for more than 150,000 workers.

11. Construction Ontario

Construction safety training is beginning to go virtual thanks to training providers like Construction Ontario. Construction Ontario provides ready-to-go, out-of-the-box virtual reality (VR) and interactive e-learning training that uses Microsoft’s Holo Lens 2. Each course is designed with experts in training, and all training modules include active user instruction, reinforcement of OSHA principles, and corrections/tallies of incorrect actions. Construction Ontario noted that studies show VR students learn faster, are more focused and feel more confident than traditional students. 

Biolift

Not all construction injuries are sudden and severe. Many creep up on you over time. Montreal-based Biolift wants to give your body a break with its exoskeleton tech. Using compressed air springs, the system stores the mechanical energy of the body when you bend your back and redistributes it when you stand up. By supporting up to 20 kg, the exoskeleton relieves the back to prevent injury and fatigue. Since 2019, the Biolift team has been working with the workers from Eurovia Québec and multiple construction companies to refine the technology.

It started off as another job for brand strategist James Faulkner, but it soon turned into a project to help transform construction. Before he was the CEO and founder of construction management software company SiteMax, Faulkner was running a successful agency rebranding blue-chip companies across Canada. Everything changed while on a project for a general contractor in the construction sector. 

Branching off

“I was contracted to rebrand them and also build a web application for them. It started off with daily reports – laptop to laptop,” said Faulkner. “I suggested we put large TVs around the concourse of their office to show some project consciousness of what’s going on out in the field. And it sort of evolved from there. One of their subtrades walked in, saw the images on the TV screen and said, ‘hey, what is that? I would like that.’”

Faulkner saw the potential in digitally connecting the construction industry and applied his workflow and technology approach. In 2017, seed financing was raised after several years of incubation, and SiteMax was unleashed on the broader construction world. 

The company offers a software product designed for the field-to-office communication needs of a commercial general contractor. The essential construction management software solution has generated millions of daily logs, safety reports, photo records, time entries and more worldwide.

But construction isn’t your average industry, and its software can’t just be like any other software. SiteMax knew it had to be built by builders, for builders.

Built for the construction sector

“Knowing how the mind of a construction professional works is essential to any successful software built for the industry,” said Christian Hamm, SiteMax COO. “Use the wrong wording, size text wrong or put buttons in weird spots, you’ll lose their engagement. Builders want to build, not manage software.”

Hamm has construction experience in spades. Before SiteMax, he spent a decade as a construction project manager on commercial, light industrial, hospitality and multi-family residential projects. When he heard about what SiteMax was doing to digitize the construction process, he knew he wanted to be a part of it. 

“I started out of high school swinging a hammer doing formwork and framing,” said Hamm. He adds, “My mother had a cut-out from a Vancouver Sun article featuring SiteMax and what they were doing for the construction site. I read through, and it made a ton of sense, and I believed there was a real need for this.”

Keeping it simple

Simplicity and ease of use for builders have guided the system’s development. Hamm explained that while customers will always want new features – and SiteMax has ensured that the essentials are there – the software’s daily use drives the product.

“Simple is easy to say, but simple is hard,” said Hamm. “The construction industry is full of complex challenges. If anything creates wasted time, including the use of software, people will move on to that which provides a more expedient resolution to the matters at hand.”

Schedule, budget and compliance drive all construction work. Hamm explained that the most significant benefits of digitizing construction documentation and process are found in those key areas. Reducing paper and improving communication can save time, money and the headaches of not having your ducks in a row regarding compliance. 

In the case of Fusion Projects, a design-build tenant improvement firm in the Lower Mainland that specializes in creating customized work environments, SiteMax helped boost their health and safety efforts and achieve COR Compliance. 

“The greatest success we have achieved to date with SiteMax is our COR certification,” said Fusion. “Being able to develop, implement, manage and track the success of our health and Safety documentation digitally has had a profound impact on our ability to achieve COR certification. Through our use of SiteMax, we have also been able to improve our results year-over-year.”

And they aren’t stopping there. Next, Fusion says it plans to integrate its vendors/subcontractors into its SiteMax platform so they can drive information directly between them and the Fusion team.

The next phase of innovation

While cloud-based construction tech solutions have existed for nearly two decades, SiteMax believes significant greenfield space still exists. 

“Anything that will bring further ease to collaboration and communication to achieve desired timelines and project outcomes will have a shot at mass adoption,” said Hamm. 

And SiteMax wants to be that solution. They currently work with hundreds of general contracting businesses and their subcontractors, or tens of thousands of construction professionals, daily, providing them with their essential app for daily construction operations. 

In their effort to create even more community and connection in the construction sector, SiteMax also launched the Site Visit Podcast, which focuses on construction leaders and their day-to-day experiences in the industry.

Looking ahead, the SiteMax development team is focused on the general contractor and subcontractor relationship.

“Our strategy for the year ahead lies in creating more meaningful ways to streamline interactions between the two, broadening our reach within the industry,” said Hamm. “We believe that workflows, automation and predictability are critical to the success of this interaction moving forward.” 

As work to refine SiteMax’s digital tools continues, Faulkner is optimistic about the road ahead. 

“In the early days of SiteMax we were pioneers, with many firsts in the digital transformation of construction,” he said. “Today, we have grown significantly and are excited about our next phase of innovation. It is who we are and how we are built.”

To keep up with SiteMax’s journey, follow them here.

Key Takeaways:

• General Motors of Canada converted its CAMI manufacturing facility in Ontario.
• The car company is spending $2 billion converting its CAMI and Oshawa plants.
• The plant has begun producing BrightDrop Zevo 600s, a light commercial vehicle that runs on a lithium ion battery.

The Whole Story:

General Motors of Canada is opening its first full-scale electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant in Ingersoll, Ont. With support from the province, GM Canada has transformed its CAMI manufacturing plant into an all-EV manufacturing facility, the first of its kind in Canada. Officials say the project could help secure Ontario’s position as a global automotive hub with the vehicles of the future being built by local workers, from start to finish.

“Today’s exciting, made-in-Ontario milestone is more proof that there is no better place to build the cars of the future from start to finish than right here in Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford. “From the critical minerals in the north to our manufacturing excellence in the south, Ontario has every advantage and will continue to build on our legacy as a global automotive leader for decades to come.”

The CAMI plant will be GM Canada’s designated EV hub for its new all-electric commercial vehicle brand BrightDrop. As part of this month’s grand opening, the first BrightDrop Zevo 600s also rolled off the CAMI EV line.

In April, GM Canada announced an investment of more than $2 billion to transform its CAMI and Oshawa manufacturing plants and improve operations across all of its manufacturing and R&D facilities in Ontario. This investment was supported with $259 million in funding from the province.

“This is truly an exciting day for Ontario as we celebrate the grand opening of GM Canada’s transformed CAMI manufacturing plant and the first all-electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Canada,” said Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job Creation and trade. “Watching the first BrightDrop vehicles roll off the assembly line, it is clear that Ontario will build the cars of the future. Our government continues to attract transformative investments by creating the right economic conditions and reducing red tape.”

Going digital is getting easier for the construction sector thanks to an influx of federal funds. 

Digital marketing agency SitePartners, which specializes in construction clients, is one of the latest companies to be recognized as a digital advisor by the federal government as part of the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). 

Andrew Hansen, founder and CEO of SitePartners, explained that the industrial sector is in a period of change and digital must play a role in how companies operate. He added that he believes the CDAP program is a great option for industrial companies wanting to get the process started. 

“I know first hand how hard everyone in our industry works. It can be hard to find the time to think on the business rather than in the business,” said Hansen. “The CDAP program is a great resource to help start the digital journey for any industrial company. The $15,000 grant can really help begin the journey of what digital can look like in an industrial business. Our team at SitePartners lives and breathes the industrial sector and can really help be a trusted advisor to drive results.”

CDAP grants cover up to 90 percent of the eligible cost of retaining the services of a digital advisor up to a maximum grant value of $15,000 to develop a digital adoption plan. Eligible businesses must meet the following criteria:

• Be incorporated federally or provincially or a be Canadian resident sole proprietor.
• Be a for-profit, privately-owned business. 
• Have between 1- 499 full-time equivalent employees.
• Have at least $500K of annual revenues in one of the three previous three tax years.

Part of the application process involves a digital needs assessment which leads to the selection of a digital needs advisor who can do an even deeper evaluation and make recommendations for a digital adoption plan. Once the plan has been completed, the business submits it to the grant program for payment processing. 

The CDAP program was launched in March and it will provide $4 billion over four years to help busineses leverage e-commerce opportunities, upgrade or adopt digital technologies, and digitize their operations. 

“Small businesses have shown incredible resilience over the last two years as they faced unprecedented challenges from the pandemic,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Supporting them has been – and will continue to be – a top priority for our government. That’s why we’re launching the Canada Digital Adoption Program to empower small businesses with the digital tools they need, while helping them create good jobs, particularly for young Canadians.”

Hansen urged any company interested in accessing the program to contact the firm at hello@sitepartners.ca.

More information about the program can be found here. Those interested in applying can get started here.

*Editor’s Note: Andrew Hansen is a co-founder of SiteNews.

It’s clear that some industry innovation is needed to to hit sustainability goals, overcome labour shortages and address cost challenges. But will that change come rapidly and disrupt the sector? Or will it be a more gradual process?

Darren Sauer, director of development at Wales McLelland, gave his thoughts on the state of industrial and commercial work in Western Canada where Wales works exclusively doing commercial and industrial projects.

He believes innovation is moving at a manageable pace, thanks to the regulatory environment, maturity of the construction sector and the conservative nature of the industry.

“Overall the construction industry is pretty conservative,” said Sauer. “These are huge capital outlays. Like other industries, you’ll get some early adopters for business or marketing reasons. They will be able to absorb the long payback or the upfront capital. We are constantly analyzing things like mass timber, solar panels, electrification and we aren’t seeing any of it on a mass scale yet.” 

Sauer said this means there is time for companies to adjust as different technologies and methods are being proven in the field. 

He explained that Wales believes builders will see incremental change occurring where use cases are tested on select projects, lessons learned are gleaned, and actual ROI is quantified and understood before wider industry adoption. The following are some technologies and methods that show promise for wider adoption in the future. 

Some electrical innovations now standard

Things like LED lighting, integrated lighting controls and occupancy sensors that used to be considered innovative are now becoming ubiquitous thanks to the adoption of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards.

“These things were cutting edge 10 to 15 years ago,” said Sauer. “They were extremely expensive and nobody was doing it in warehouses. But the cost came down significantly and with stricter ASHRAE codes they became spec. All had plenty of time to understand it and make it standard. There isn’t a new building now that isn’t LED.”

However this still isn’t the case for solar panels, which remain expensive. But Sauer said he is seeing some clients anticipating the future of electric vehicles by installing underground conduit for future charge station upgrades. 

Mechanical systems get more efficient

Mechanical systems have seen a similar trajectory. As energy bylaws are changing with ASHRAE, manufacturers continue to upgrade and improve the efficiency of mechanical units. As a result,  units are much more efficient than they were five years ago. Sauer explained that reducing energy consumption continues to be the main focus of sustainable initiatives in mechanical systems. For example, suppliers are able to provide the same amount of air flow but now with less horsepower on the motor with little added cost.

“In Vancouver in particular, the bylaws are almost mandating you go all electric,” said Sauer. “In multi-storey it certainly makes a lot of sense to use all electric mechanical systems, heat pumps and VFV refrigeration systems. Again, we are seeing that technology potentially being applied to larger scale industrial projects like warehousing and distribution. But there is a huge capital premium up front so you really have to run analysis on the payback to see if that makes sense.”

Reflective roofs bounce heat away

Wales has seen groups installing white high-albedo TPO roofing in lieu of ballasted EPDM at a premium. 

“This is important to industrial developers and users,” said Sauer. “White TPO is a $5 to $7 premium over traditional options so if you have it on a 400,000 square-foot warehouse, that’s a huge premium of over $2 million. But it has a lot of benefits.”

He explained that white reflective roofing reduces the heat island effect by reflecting solar energy away from the building. In theory this also reduces the heat gain on the building during the summer months, reducing cooling load and improving occupant comfort. LEED points are also available with high-albedo roofing. 

Sauer added that he is also seeing a shift away from the installation of green roofs as they are proving to be a maintenance issue for users and come with a significant premium. For example, Port Coquitlam rescinded their green roof bylaw several years ago in favour of improved stormwater management practices.

Government tightens stormwater management

Municipalities across the Lower Mainland are mandating stormwater be managed in such a way that limits pre- and post-development flows. Stormwater detention that stores site runoff to a certain design event and releases slowly back into the ground aquifer are now common. 

“All the municipalities have mandated pretty high-level requirements which add hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to a project,” said Sauer. “This is no longer a new initiative. It’s just being built into the cost and design of projects. It’s something that was considered a premium or an environmental standard that is now just table stakes.”

Concrete innovating to reduce carbon emissions

According to Sauer, many of the more interesting innovations are happening in concrete as efforts to decarbonize the material pick up steam.

Sauer explained that suppliers are looking to reduce their environmental impacts caused by their operations. For example, increasing the amount of Portland limestone cement to concrete mixes reduces the amount of general Portland cement that needs extracting, lowering the overall footprint of the product. 

He noted that the global cement producers have either announced net zero commitments or are moving towards making these pledges. Groups with large multi-national client backing have successfully implemented carbon sequestration into concrete through injecting CO2 into the concrete mix at the batch plant.

“The massive, multi-nationals aren’t going to take this transition lying down and they are spending billions to innovate,” said Sauer. “The big suppliers want their own technology and innovation. Each group is pursuing their own better mixes, extraction processes and carbon capture on their plants.”

He believes this could make it difficult for tech companies like CarbonCure to break into established markets like the Lower Mainland.  

“Mass timber loves talking about how bad concrete is and how they produce huge amounts of C02 each year,” said Sauer. “But they aren’t sitting idle. They are actively trying to improve their systems and I think that’s a space that’s going to be watched and it will be super interesting.”

Emerging innovations to watch

Sauer offered the following list of project delivery innovations worth keeping an eye on: 

• New delivery methods borrowed from manufacturing and software such as Lean and Agile
• BIM and clash detection software
• Virtual Realty
• Document manage software
• Drone surveying
• Artificial Intelligence in Estimating and Project Management (auto quantity takeoffs, machinery and equipment tracking sensors, wearables, etc.)
• Cloud based design and project management collaboration tools
• Cloud based contract management (reviewing and editing contracts, e-signing, automation of
• progress payments)

Sauer noted that this list of material innovations is also worth tracking:

• Use of mass timber for the super-structure (medium term time horizon)
• Use of modular construction (Wales has seen an increase in this delivery method in residential but with little to no use cases as of yet for industrial work)
• Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of buildings to understand the asset holistically
• Smart Buildings (increased use of data sensors, BAS, internet of things applied to buildings)

Construction has become so much more than just hammers, shovels and hardhats. Companies have begun to wield computers, artificial intelligence and virtual reality as well. Modern projects are getting so big and complex, and the pressure to find labour, materials and savings is so great that high tech solutions are popping up left and right. And many of them are right here in our backyard. Here is just a sample of Canadian digital horsepower being let loose on the industry.

Faber Connect

General labour, framers, concrete formers, carpenters – whatever worker you need, Faber wants to connect you to them through their app. Faber has created a marketplace where employers select what kind of worker they require and then find matches based on ratings for skills, experience, references and more. The Vancouver company drew its inspiration from DoorDash and gig economy work. The company is now looking to expand in Canada and even the U.S. 

PayShepherd

PayShepherd’s initial mission was simple: give operations teams at industrial facilities a tool to efficiently and effectively manage contracted services. The result was something that ensures that a facility is billed the right amount, avoids overages that can escalate quickly, improves communication between facilities and contractors and more. According to PayShepherd, most billing overages are small, valued at an average of $100. The problem is, there are hundreds or thousands of these billing discrepancies every year. They believe their platform can help facilities save 15 per cent a year on maintenance costs. Back in July, the company announced it had secured US$3 million in seed funding led by Nashville Capital Network, with participation from existing investors Thin Air Labs and the Accelerate Fund, managed by Yaletown Partners with support from the A100.

Sitemax

Sitemax is a software product designed for the field-to-office communication needs of a commercial general contractor. The full construction management software solution has generated millions of daily logs, safety reports, photos records, time entries and more, all over the world. And they are starting to turn heads. This November, Plank Ventures announced an investment in the business and GroundBreak Ventures welcomed SiteMax into their portfolio of companies.

Mercator AI

This start-up recently raised a $1 million pre-seed round to expand its technology beyond Calgary and Toronto. Their goal is to help the business development teams of general contractors identify project opportunities early on. Mercator does this by using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI mines and analyzes millions of data points across the construction process to identify indicators that signal early project development. In a recent interview, the Mercator team explained that without their tools, finding new business in the industry usually requires a mix of grinding out manual research and dead-end cold calls. 

Serious Labs 

Imagine being able to train heavy equipment operators without needing to use any heavy equipment? Serious Labs does just that. The company says its simulators are 97 per cent predictive of actual operator skills, allowing users to build competency and even earn credentials – all in convenient, risk-free virtual reality. 

CostCertified 

https://youtu.be/Ycuo2JwrGMk

This all-in-one platform enables the consumer to buy construction services with a similar e-commerce experience to what they are used to when buying other goods and services online. And it allows the contractor to provide interactive, accurate quotes in minutes. According to CostCertified’s team, the core platform has allowed payment facilitation and automation for the first time, meaning the consumer has full visibility over their funds. 

Biiibo

They have the cutest mascot of anybody on this list and it’s not even close. Finding building supplies is one of the industry’s biggest challenges. This company’s team has created an on-demand, digital marketplace and platform to buy construction supplies and then get them delivered. It’s basically UberEats but instead of pizza and tacos, it’s drywall and lumber. The company began in Toronto but expanded into Vancouver in 2021.

Salus

The future of construction safety is digital and Salus wants to help lead the charge. Their platform enables digital forms, asset management, certificate management, tracking corrective actions, incident management and more – all without a scrap of paper.

Bridgit

The company was co-founded by Mallorie Brodie and Lauren Lake in 2014 with the goal to boost profits and reduce risk for general contractors.. The result was the Bridgit Bench platform. It is designed to simplify project allocations, capacity management, project tracking, utilization reporting, forecasting, skills tracking, and more. Bridgit is a privately held company, having raised over $35 million USD in equity financing, with capital from investors such as Autodesk, BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund, Camber Creek, Export Development Canada, IAF, Nine Four Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Sands Capital, StandUp Ventures, Storm Ventures and Vanedge Capital.

The hosts of The Site Visit podcast, which highlights construction leaders and their perspectives, discussed the origins and goals of SiteNews in their latest episode.

Andrew Hansen, one of the co-founders behind the publication, spoke about leaving a career at Ledcor to start a specialized marketing firm, SitePartners, which focuses on construction-related clients. 

As the business grew, Hansen found himself wanting to do more to elevate the construction sector and share its stories. 

“We feel there are phenomenal stories in the industry, Canadian construction specifically,” said Hansen. “There is phenomenal talent – commercial, industrial, residential, infrastructure. And we want to build a platform – a medium – that celebrates those stories.”

Hansen noted that this kind of coverage is particularly important right now as layoffs are sweeping through the tech industry. This creates an opportunity to recruit more talent and focusing on the exciting things happening in the construction sector could help.

Hansen told hosts Christian Hamm and James Faulkner his strategic vision for the brand which includes a user-friendly website, a regular newsletter and future podcasts. 

“Our goal, number one, is to build a good content engine to tell these stories,” said Hansen.

The full podcast is available below. The SiteNews conversation begins at 1:02:00.

Key Takeaways:

• Many major construction and engineering companies were included in the agreements.
• CNL stated that the agreements allow it to more confidently plan the billions in work it intends to carry out in the coming years.
• The agreements also include components of environmental sustainability, Indigenous relations and local sourcing.

The Whole Story:

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), announced a series of partnership agreements to enhance and build the necessary capabilities and capacity to ensure the delivery its corporate strategy. 

The partners included AECOM Canada Nuclear Services, Aecon Nuclear, Bird Construction, Bird – Chandos CDP Joint Venture, ECC, ES Fox Limited and Tetra Tech Canada Joint Venture, Hatch Limited, Johnson Controls Canada, M. Sullivan & Son, Stantec Consulting, and WSP Canada. 

Boosting confidence to get work done

CNL stated that the agreements will enable it to more confidently plan and deliver its program of work, but also achieve broader organizational objectives including company-wide sustainability targets, improved engagement with Indigenous Peoples, and economic development through the use of local suppliers in the delivery of its projects.

“With a significant program of work on the horizon at the Chalk River Laboratories campus, it is critical that we have a reliable supply chain in place to safely deliver this work on time, on schedule, and according to the high expectations of CNL, AECL and the Government of Canada,” said Joe McBrearty, CNL president and CEO. “These agreements will facilitate improved engagement and relationships with our supply chain at a business-to-business level, which will strengthen our performance and the execution of the work. We can also leverage these agreements to prioritize the use of local suppliers and Indigenous businesses as part of our commitment to more sustainable operations.”

Fred Dermarkar, president of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), stated in the announcement that that the quality of the supply chain is essential to the success of both CNL and AECL, which owns the Chalk River Laboratories. 

“Reliable partners who can enable the site’s renewal and advance Indigenous reconciliation are key to CNL’s success in achieving its corporate strategy,” said Dermarkar. “I welcome these partnership agreements and look forward to the progress that we shall achieve together.” 

Agreements to address environmental and social concerns

CNL officials explained that while most of the work that will be carried out under these agreements will be construction-oriented, the partnerships were established to encompass a much broader program of work, from large-scale environmental impact assessments to energy efficiency improvements. 

The agreements aim to prioritize the use of local resources in the delivery of the work, which includes the hiring of local vendors that live and work in the Ottawa Valley, and the use of Indigenous contractors. 

As part of its commitment to sustainable operations, CNL has also made it a requirement that environmental stewardship and sustainability are integrated into all areas of the work, including the use of environmentally-friendly materials, practices and organizations, in order to limit the impact of this work on future generations. 

CNL also hopes that the agreements could lead to more commercial opportunities for CNL, which plans to leverage these relationships to pursue collaborations on outside projects as a potential delivery partner. 

Billions in work on the horizon

In addition to CNL’s existing 10-year capital program, which is funded through a $1.2 billion investment from AECL on behalf of the Government of Canada, and includes the construction of a series of new buildings, such as the Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre (ANMRC), CNL is poised to commence a multi-billion dollar program of work. This includes site-wide infrastructure upgrades to improve energy performance; a new facility to advance research related to nuclear medicine, radiopharmaceuticals, and low-dose radiation; ongoing environmental remediation and restoration activities as part of the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI); and, the construction of at least six major facilities representing over $2 billion in support of restoring and protecting Canada’s environment. 

CLN noted that proceeding with all of these projects requires the collaboration and support of many different companies and contractors, all of which are now in place.

“CNL not only has a series of major projects poised to begin, but many of them are also concurrent, which means that we have to carefully plan and resource these projects if we want them to proceed efficiently,” said Brian Savage, CNL’s vice-president of capital projects, and one of many senior CNL executives who will be involved in managing relations with the new partners. “These strategic delivery partnership agreements gives us long-term clarity on these projects, and cultivate stronger relationships with our supply chain, so we can ensure that they are being effectively managed. Overall, I think these agreements represent a more sophisticated and reliable supply chain strategy, and you will see that reflected in the delivery of the work.”

Key Takeaways:

• Carbon Engineering has started design work on a carbon capture project in Texas.
• The project is expected to be a model for other facilities in the region.
• The company also said it is on the verge of a breakthrough that could improve capture efficiency by 20 per cent.

The Whole Story:

Carbon Engineering (CE), a B.C.-based carbon capture technology company, is booming in the South. 

The company announced it has started front-end planning and engineering for direct Air capture (DAC) facilities at a second site in the U.S., in Kleberg County, Texas. 

Company officials stated that the site is expected to provide access for the potential construction of multiple DAC facilities that would be capable of collectively removing up to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually for dedicated sequestration.

Additional facilities on the horizon

The company has been contracted by its U.S. development partner, 1PointFive, for the front-end planning and engineering of a one-megatonne DAC facility that is intended to be replicated into multi-million tonne deployments. 

The design is being adapted from the first large-scale, commercial facility to use Carbon Engineering’s DAC technology, which is already under construction in the Texas Permian Basin, and is anticipated to form the basis of accelerated large-scale deployments in the U.S.

The company explained that these additional DAC facilities will be located in the Gulf Coast region, which they say provides another site with ideal pore space for dedicated sequestration. At this location, the DAC facilities will be paired with standalone geologic sequestration to deliver secure and verifiable CO2 removal. 

Project timelines accelerating

The company noted that this allows for a cost-effective solution that hard-to-decarbonize industries can combine with emissions reduction programs to achieve true net zero.

Using its recently-announced deployment approach to enable global build-out of plants, CE says that it is performing this work at an accelerated pace. CE expects to complete this work roughly 50 per cent faster than earlier projects. Once complete, CE will have produced the required materials to be ready to replicate megatonne DAC trains within multi-megatonne facilities.

“This work brings together all our progress from the past months to get us ready for major deployment in the U.S.,” said Daniel Friedmann, CE’s CEO. “Working hand in hand with our partners at Occidental and 1PointFive, we’ve been focused on building an accelerated deployment approach, while simultaneously beginning construction of the first, large-scale commercial facility in Texas. Now, with this ‘copy and paste’ megatonne DAC facility, we’re working towards widespread, multi-million tonne deployments across the U.S.”

More research underway

The company continues to research carbon capture, utilization and story at its technology development and Innovation Centre in Squamish, B.C. CE is also continuously improving its DAC technology. CE officials said they are currently testing an improved capture material at the centre and expects to validate this development for commercial rollout by the end of the year. Initial tests indicate this new material could produce an approximately 20 percent improvement in capture efficiency, which could result in further energy and cost savings for commercial facilities.

“The Innovation Centre has been instrumental in validating technology improvements at scale,” said Scott Willis, CE’s VP of technology and engineering. “The centre is designed to provide our scientists, engineers and technicians with an environment where they can continuously test and prove technology advancements which can be placed into commercial plant designs. It operates on a ‘run-replace-run’ philosophy, validating commercial operation over extended periods and continuously improving our future plants.”

CE officials added that the U.S. carbon capture industry could see a major boom following the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which includes increased incentives for U.S. DAC projects. 

Lisa Tobber is on a mission to transform Canada’s built environment to withstand catastrophic earthquakes. But it’s going to require the construction sector to transform as well. 

Tobber is a civil engineering professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan’s School of Engineering (UBC) where she leads a research group that is investigating how to design and construct disaster-resilient buildings. 

“One thing that always struck me is that the construction industry is very slow to do any research and development compared to other sectors,” said Tobber. “We are in a situation where we are having to build more sustainably, meet targets and mitigate disaster damage. We also have to build more quickly due to the housing crisis. Our old, traditional way of building will not work anymore.” 

Tobber is particularly interested in concrete – a material of choice in high-rise buildings for its durability and versatility.

Tobber was recently awarded the BC Housing Professorship in Resilient Reinforced Concrete Buildings. The two-year professorship will focus on the following topics: 

• Seismic and wind performance of typical reinforced concrete buildings in B.C.
• Solutions for maintaining functionality of reinforced concrete structures after strong earthquakes.
• Seismic design methods for precast concrete construction for mid-rise and high-rise buildings.
• Structural performance of new concrete materials (i.e. green concretes, recycled concrete, ultra-high strength) in B.C. building construction.
• Practical design of connections for hybrid systems (using different materials for lateral-force resisting systems and gravity force-resisting systems) in BC building construction.
• Identifying specific challenges faced by reinforced concrete buildings in terms of climate adaptation.
• Identifying other possible research areas and create interdisciplinary collaboration (i.e., air quality, equitability, energy efficiency).

The research is expected to result in multiple reports, best practices and webinars.

Tobber explained that while concrete is long-lasting, it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and concrete construction is time consuming and requires specialized labour.

The research will look at ways to reduce the environmental impact of concrete construction while creating more resilient structures through the seismic design of precast buildings, using hybrid systems, integrating new and more sustainable kinds of concrete materials and adopting earthquake-resilient structural systems and technologies. One solution she’s investigating is the use of innovative coupling beams and damped outrigger systems that dissipate energy and reduce damage to core walls.

These and other technologies are being co-developed through a three-year, $6.6-million research partnership with the TEBO Group, an international engineering procurement and construction provider, with the aim of raising best practices in sustainable, resilient building construction.

Tobbert is able to conduct tests at a high bay lab with a crane and thick concrete floor. This allows for large-scale tests which can show how well materials and methods hold up. Then researchers use that data in computer models to see how a whole building would behave. 

Tobber explained that shifting the built environment now will pay dividends in the future, not only saving lives but preventing damage that could cripple a region. 

“The current way we design buildings absorbs the earthquake through damage,” she said. “People can escape but the building may not be able to be occupied for years.”

Research by the Insurance Bureau of Canada suggests that B.C. could face $75 billion in earthquake damage and Tobber noted that recent floods in B.C. show how a disaster can bring a region’s infrastructure to a halt. But it goes far beyond B.C. 

“We don’t just have to design for earthquakes in Vancouver,” she said. “We have to do it across Canada. On the West Coast it’s talked about the most but we have seismic hazards across Canada we have to design for.” 

Tobber noted that other countries with seismic risks have already implemented high-tech systems. 

“A great example is base isolation where buildings sit on bearings,” she said. “This decouples the building from the earthquake and it can make your building basically damage free. This technology has been around for decades and has been implemented a lot in places like Japan.” 

Tobber said she often wonders why the construction industry isn’t innovating or adopting technologies like this. She encouraged the sector to be more proactive.

“What we often do in construction is we wait for the policy to change and then we react to it but research gives us the opportunity to be proactive,” she said. “Let’s drive those changes and let’s push the solutions.” 

Key Takeaways:

• The Boston-based firm announced its second fund will continue to support startups that are wanting to improve the built environment.
• Since the firm began in 2018, it has seen growth in property tech and climate tech but believes there is still massive room for more.
• Building Ventures noted that it’s critical to assist these startups in their ‘sapling’ stage so they can be given the resources they need to grow.

The Whole Story:

A Boston-based venture capital firm has closed its second fund with $95 million in new capital that will be spent supporting innovation in the built environment.

Building Ventures began in 2018 with a $53 million debut fund. Its goal was to invest in early-stage startups working to create a better built world. 

“We knew that the area needed focus, innovation, and capital in order to improve our physical spaces to meet the needs of our growing population and combat the significant impact buildings have on our climate,” stated the firm. “Over the last four years, we’ve seen massive growth in investments in and increasing adoption of construction and prop tech along with the rise of climate tech. But there’s still work to do.”

The firm explained that while the industry has become increasingly hungry for innovation, spurring the creation of new firms focused on contech, proptech, and climate solutions, buildings still pose what it calls “the 40 per cent problem.” The processes of constructing, operating, and maintaining buildings significantly contribute to landfill waste, raw material consumption, energy use, and emissions. 

The group said their second fund will continue to invest in exceptional entrepreneurs leveraging technology throughout the full building lifecycle to bring innovation to the design, build, operate, and experience phases.

“Building Ventures was the first investor who committed to Dandelion—before any other investors had said yes, before we had the market traction or the press we now have,” said Kathy Hannun, founder of Dandelion Energy, the nation’s largest geothermal company. 

Building Ventures explained that its timing and approach targets the “sapling stage”.

“We like to invest when a company is still early enough in its formative development that our team’s experience, expertise, and network can help it to attract the best talent and optimal early customers to help it grow and reach its potential,” said the firm. “This also means we’re not limited by the typical conventions of Seed or Series A investments.”

As its “saplings” mature, the firm also pursues opportunities to connect with larger institutions across the building lifecycle. 

The company plans to host its Fall Summit in Boston next month, where experts will gather to explore the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on designing sustainable offices, the use of IoT in the most data-forward development in the Boston area for life sciences, and more.

Key Takeaways:

• The 253 MWp solar plus 1,000 MWh battery energy storage project is currently in mid-stage development.
• Once completed, it’s expected to displace more than 263,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year.
• The project is a major step for Chile to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Digging In:

The sun is shining on Canadian Solar.

The Ontario-based company was recently awarded the Zaldivar solar and energy storage project in Chile. 

The company manufactures solar photovoltaic modules, provides solar energy and battery storage solutions, and develops utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects. 

Canadian Solar won the 253 MWp solar plus 1,000 MWh battery energy storage project through a tender held by Chile’s Energy National Commission (CNE). 

The CNE awarded a total of 777 GWh/year of new generation backed by three different new renewable projects, of which the Zaldivar Project will account for 16 per cent.

The Zaldivar Project, located in Chile’s Antofagasta Region, is currently at mid-stage development. The project is expected to start construction in 2024 and reach commercial operation in 2026. Once in operation, part of the electricity generated by solar will be purchased by a pool of distribution companies under 15-year U.S. dollar-dominated power purchase agreements (PPAs), and the remaining will be purchased by private energy off-takers.

Canadian Solar stated that the Zaldivar Project will make a significant contribution to Chile’s carbon emissions reduction targets, while improving the reliability of the local grid. 

Canadian Solar expects the project to displace more than 263,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Additionally, the battery storage component of the Zaldivar Project will help improve the reliability and stability of Chile’s grid by providing firm capacity, ancillary services, and energy trading services, while enhancing the long-term value of these projects by creating diversified sources of revenue.

“Chile is one of the most promising renewable markets in Latin America,” said Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar CEO. “This solar and battery storage project awarded to Canadian Solar will reinforce our leading position in Latin America, particularly in Chile where Canadian Solar has a backlog of 600 MWp of solar projects and 2.2 GWh of battery storage projects. We will continue to expand our project pipeline in Chile, helping the country meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.”