Alberta Construction Magazine Spring 2013

Spring 2013 | $8.00

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lean, green machinehow one builder is reducing wasteP A G E 2 2

new kid on the block$5.7-billion refinery’s green componentP A G E 4 1

greener generationmore projects set for constructionP A G E 2 7

PLUS | Coverage of 2012 Top Projects gala luncheon PAGE 73

Experts offer ways to help you lower energy consumption, build smarter

10 tips for a greener project

ssueGREEN

KPMG Canada’s Building, Construction and Real Estate practice offers relevantaudit, tax and advisory services to a wide range of clients within the industry

We provide insights and tailored services including:

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© 2013 KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

In his new book Sun Rise: Suncor, the Oil Sands and the Future of Energy, former Suncor chief executive officer Rick George devotes great detail to his efforts in the 1990s to increase oilsands production and cash flow by using trucks and shovels—a novel approach then—rather than bucket-wheels.

“I took a lot of heat once the project was launched, especially when the original estimate of $2.2 billion ballooned into a final tab of $3.4 billion,” he writes. To complicate matters, oil was selling for around $12 a barrel at the time, and some “experts” were predicting oil would drop to $5.

George’s “Big Bet”—as he described it—paid off, of course. Oil prices ended up shooting higher and demand grew.

George doesn’t say, but I have to wonder if there were a few times when he awoke in the middle of the night and thought to himself, “Did I make the right decision? What if…? What if…?”

As I have said before, fortune favours the bold. And the results of George’s decision are still being felt today.

As a businessperson, choosing where and when to make investments has never been easy. Think back to when the green building movement was beginning. In those early days, it must have seemed a bit of a fad to some. Today, however, it is the price of admission to securing work on many fronts.

It has been 10 years since the City of Calgary became the first municipality in Canada to adopt a sustainable building policy. And as difficult as it is to believe—at least for those of us who have been around a while—there are many who can’t recall a time when sustainability has not been a priority in the construction industry.

And that reminds me of something else I read in Sun Rise.“Business is an organic life form that either grows or withers on the vine,”

George writes, “and I had no interest in withering.”Neither should you.

Coming next issue: The materials issue

Alberta Construction Magazine | 3

Chaz Osburn editor’s note [email protected]

editoriaLEditOr

Chaz Osburn • [email protected] EditOr

Joseph Caouette • [email protected] writErS

Jim Bentein, Godfrey Budd, Diane L.M. Cook, Nordahl Flakstad, Tim Mavco, Bob Robinson, Amy Smith, R. P. Stastny

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featuresCOMMERCIAL

22 Lean, green machine Factory processes combine with lean-building principles to

reduce waste at Edmonton builder’s plant

By Joseph Caouette

27 Greener generation A shift away from coal-fired power could create an opening for

wind power in Alberta

By Godfrey Budd

INSTITUTIONAL

30 Coming up short Alberta technical schools are churning out skilled workers, but

not fast enough to avoid a second wave of the labour shortage

By Jim Bentein

INFRASTRUCTURE

36 From the ground up Calgary’s airport expansion incorporates geothermal in

its sustainable design

By R.P. Stasny

INDUSTRIAL

41 New kid on the block The $5.7-billion Sturgeon Refinery marks a milestone for North

America. But how it will help environment is why it’s worth paying attention to.

By Jim Bentein

BUILDING BLOCKS

69 Veg out Adding that green touch to the rooftop is not difficult

By Nordahl Flakstad

ssueGREENCOVER ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY: ©ISTOCKPhOTO.COM/AKINDO

4 | Spring 2013

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editor’s note

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project update

9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nuts & bolts

51 . . . . People, Products & Projects

59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ACA report

64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CCA report

69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . building blocks

73 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012 top Projects

75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . legal Edge

76 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . time Capsule

45 10 tips For a GrEENEr projECtExperts offer ways to help you lower energy consumption, build smarterBy Diane L.M. Cook

27

INSIDE

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Cover STORY

Gasification unit

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contents Volume 33 Number 1Published Spring 2013

North Lrt expansionEdmonton’s latest expansion to its light rail transit (LRT) system is chugging along. The North LRT to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) project—an extension from Churchill LRT Station in downtown Edmonton northwest to the NAIT campus that will be known as the Metro Line—is the first seg-ment of a planned expansion to the city limits near St. Albert. The project includes construction of a two-storey station at Grant MacEwan University.

seven things to know:1. Total project cost is $755 million2. The extension is 3.3 kilometres3. The LRT station at Grant MacEwan includes an overhead ped-

estrian walkway connecting to north and south pathways, a fully accessible five-car platform and two heated waiting areas

4. Two other stations are being constructed—one at Royal Alexandra Hospital and another at NAIT

5. A multi-use trail will connect all the new LRT stations6. The construction management team is North Link Partnership7. Construction is expected to be complete in December with

the line open to the public in 2014 PhO

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Construction proceeds at the

LRT station at Grant MacEwan University.

6 | Spring 2013

project update

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nEwS briEFS FOr thE buSy COnStruCtiOn PrOFESSiOnAl

nuts & bolts

How green was tHe valley

At least anyone who gets lost won’t be bored.with over 160 kilometres of trails,

Edmonton’s river valley offers residents plenty of opportunities to lose their way. A new slate of projects will provide those wayward wanderers with a few more sights and activities—and a few more paths in and out of the valley.

A $90-million investment will fund five new capital projects aimed at expanding access to the river valley. the provincial and federal governments will each kick in $30 million, while the river Valley Alliance will provide the final third, including a $24.3-million investment from the city. All of the projects are expected to be com-plete by 2016.

terwillegar park Footbridgethis new bridge, priced at $24.5 million, will extend from terwillegar Park to the north side of the north Saskatchewan river.

West-end trailsFive kilometres of new paved and gravel trails will be added to the main river valley trail, at an estimated cost of $3.5 million.

East-end trailsAnother 14 kilometres of paved and gravel trails will also be added to the eastern end of the valley, including links between goldstick and hermitage parks. the cost is esti-mated at $8.5 million.

Boat launches and docksthis $2-million project will add three boat launches and seven docks to the river valley.

Mechanized river valley access and touch the Water promenadeAt $34.4 million, this project is the largest of the five initiatives. it includes mechan-ized access between Jasper Avenue and the rossdale area on the riverbank, as well as the touch the water Promenade around the new walterdale bridge, featuring plazas, walkways and other amenities.Ph

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The City of Edmonton has lined up $90 million in funding to add more trails, a new footbridge, a

promenade and other features to its river valley.


nuts & bolts

sweet jazz

Bee’s Knees t13-11

jazzy jade t13-12

Flapper Dance t13-13

Heavy sugar t13-14

shanghai peach t13-15

Feeling blue? don’t worry, you’re not alone. Colour experts in the united States have declared 2013 to be the year of blue.

“global and environmental issues regarding water, clear skies and even the political atmosphere are driving factors in the blue movement,” explains kate Smith, owner of consultancy Sensational Color. “Just as macaroni and cheese is considered a comfort food, we’re finding that people gravitate to blue as a comfort colour for their lives and homes.”

Much like green—its neighbour on the colour spectrum—blue is seen as a natural colour, Smith argues. From azure skies to aquamarine rivers, blue tends to be associ-ated with clean, calming images.

behr Process Corporation agrees and says blue is the colour family to watch in 2013. the paint company is highlighting the use of blue shades in several of its four major colour schemes: Classic Caprice, Color Metric, Sweet Jazz and Après Ski.

“behr’s 2013 colour choices are modern, with inspiration pulled from historical style, particularly from the ’20s and ’30s, includ-ing art-deco furnishings and the whimsi-cal essence of The Great Gatsby,” says behr director of colour Erika woelfel.

while the whimsicality of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel is debatable—mur-der, suicide and the death of the American dream are rarely cheery subjects—the book’s iconic cover does feature the outline

of a woman’s face against a midnight-blue sky. with a stylish film version being released this summer, the story’s art-deco setting and evocative use of colour will likely be a strong influence on interior design trends this year.

behr’s four colour schemes have each been designed to suit different situations. Classic Caprice offers an update on trad-itional colour patterns intended for formal rooms. Color Metric combines neutral tones with bright splashes of colour. Sweet Jazz, as the name suggests, evokes the cool colour palettes of the Jazz Age. described by behr as “an electric woodsy style,” Après Ski adds colour to rooms containing more rustic features, such as stone fireplaces and exposed wooden beams.

ringing in tHe blue year

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aprÈs ski

pine Cone pass t13-16

timber town t13-7

ski patrol t13-18

Gnome Green t13-19

Folk song t13-20

cLassic caprice

Daah-ling t13-1

Empire porcelain t13-2

Black Lacquer t13-3

Golden age t13-4

Belladonna t13-5

coLor metric

twilight t13-6

tan-gent t13-7

Matrix t13-8

Electrify t13-9

plum orbit t13-10

10 | Spring 2013

Agland Corporation Lloydminster

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Ag-Plus Mechanical Ltd.Medicine Hat

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Bobcat of Calgary Calgary

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Bobcat of Edmonton Edmonton

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Bobcat of Fort McMurray Fort McMurray 780-714-9200

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Brooks Farm Centre LtdBrooks

403-362-8222

Drumheller Equip. Sales Drumheller

403-823-8383bobcatofthebadlands.com

Evcon Farm Equipment LtdLethbridge

403-329-6011evconequipment.com

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nuts & bolts

tHe undercover executivePay no attention to that man behind the moustache.

he’s not anyone remarkable at first glance. his name is Eddie green, a recent transplant to western Canada from the Ottawa Valley. After years away from the construction industry, he has come to Clark builders to relearn the business and return to the field.

he’s also the man who started the company.Eddie green is actually Andy Clark, founder and executive chair-

man of Clark builders. After over 30 years out of the field, the execu-tive traded in his tie for a hard hat in order to see first-hand what life is like on the frontlines of his business for an episode of Undercover Boss Canada. the normally clean-shaven Clark hid his identity from employees with a false moustache and tinted glasses.

having started out in the field himself, Clark is no stranger to a tool belt, but years in the boardroom have left his skills rusty. throughout the episode, he struggled to keep pace with the often-physical work. At one point, he even unwittingly pointed a nail gun towards himself.

the ruse proved successful with all of the employees who took Eddie green under their wing. indeed, Clark may have been a little too good at convincing people of his inexperience on the job site. “it’s like you’re a girl right now,” one female colleague teased him. “you don’t want to get dirty.”

the episode aired on the w network late in January and can also be found on the network’s website.

Andy Clark (left), executive chairman of Clark Builders, disguises himself for an episode of Undercover Boss Canada in order to learn more about life on the ground in his company.

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12 | Spring 2013

nuts & bolts

wHy picking tHe rigHt size for a project matters

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Call it the goldilocks theory of oilsands construction.

Projects that are too small are usually not economically viable, while projects that are too big almost invariably fall prey to cost overruns. the trick is to find projects that are “just right.”

As a mechanical engineer with over 15 years’ experience in building oilsands and power projects, rick koshman has seen first-hand what happens when a project gets too big for its own good. he suggests that oilsands projects over 40,000 barrels per day risk cost escalations, if history is any indication.

“Certainly my personal experience is dir-ectly in line with this, that once you go above 1,500 people on site, you lose your ability to maintain line of sight with the job, your con-trol of it,” says the vice-president of projects and thermal operations at Athabasca Oil Corporation in a Daily Oil Bulletin report.

“Once you’re below that [number], it seems cost escalation history in Alberta is not nearly as bad as what people think,” he says. “Smaller projects have much better performance.”

this philosophy has led to Athabasca Oil’s phased approached to construc-tion, koshman explains. For instance, the company’s 80,000-barrel-per-day hangingstone project will be built in three phases, starting with 12,000 barrels per day before moving on to two phases each totalling 35,000 barrels per day.

the first phase of the project is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2014, while the final phase should be completed by 2018. koshman notes that the project is actually ahead of schedule as the company finishes work on the sanctioning design.

So what’s the secret to keeping an oil-sands project ahead of schedule? For one thing, finishing a procurement plan during the early stages of the project is a big help, the engineer explains. his company already has a plan laid out by the time detailed engineering begins, leaving more options open for the project and allowing for longer lead times on major items.

koshman also warns that once the pro-ject hits the field and the labour force is hit-ting its peak, the risk of cost escalation is at its greatest. wherever possible, Athabasca Oil removes work from the field to prevent this danger, he says.

Finally, if you design it, make sure you can build it. Constructability needs to be built into the design, and engineering and procurement need to work in harmony with the construction team.

“being an engineer, i can say i’m sure i’ve designed things in the past that were not exactly constructible, and it’s great when you have a construction manager or a construc-tion supervisor sitting alongside with you to say, ‘why don’t you do this, that or the other,’ and he corrects you early on,” koshman says.

nothing in life is certain, least of all con-struction schedules. but koshman strongly urges companies to avoid “pulling the trig-ger” on major field construction before everything else is ready. if engineering isn’t on schedule or materials and equipment are missing, there’s no point in playing catch-up with overtime and double-time shifts. “that ends up being more panic driven than schedule driven,” he says.Ph

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Drilling begins on two initial well pads at the hangingstone oilsands project. Owner Athabasca Oil Corporation believes a phased approach will help keep the project on time and on budget.


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nuts & bolts

waste-to-energy plant readies for summer opening

the fuel tanks are still empty, but the payroll is starting to fill out at Edmonton’s soon-to-be-open biofuel facility.

when completed, Enerkem inc.’s waste-to-fuels plant will con-vert up to 100,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste into 38 million litres of ethanol annually. Most of that waste comes from recycling and composting residue, which would otherwise go into landfills in the Edmonton area.

Construction is not yet complete, but the company has already hired and begun training the majority of the 30 permanent staff positions needed to run the facility.

Once open, the plant is expected to help Edmonton divert up to 90 per cent of its waste. Currently, the city diverts 60 per cent.

“with plant commissioning expected to begin this summer, it’s exciting to see the facility’s first employees join the Enerkem team and start their technical training,” says Vincent Chornet, president and chief executive officer of Enerkem.

the $80-million project has also received an additional $37-million investment from waste Management Corporation and Eb investments llC.

Enerkem Inc.’s biofuel facility in Edmonton is preparing to launch later this summer.

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14 | Spring 2013

1.800.661.7673

nuts & bolts

end of tHe roadEver been tired of waiting a few months for road construction to wrap up? try waiting a decade or two.

it’s been years in the making, but the twinning of highway 43 is almost at an end. the government expects to complete work on the last section by the fall of 2014, finishing a four-lane route that will run 432 kilometres from grande Prairie, Alta., to the highway 16 junction west of Edmonton.

“when completed, northwest Alberta will have a fully twinned, safe and efficient roadway to move people and goods, a project that was started in the 1990s,” says ric Mciver, minister of transportation for the province.

the Alberta government has signed a $78-million contract with Petrowest Construction lP to complete the last 20-kilometre leg of the project. the Sturgeon lake Cree nation helped arrange the deal, which also includes two pedestrian underpasses, and bridges and culverts for goose Creek and Pelican Creek.

“it’s been a long time coming, and we look forward to start-ing and completing the project,” says Sturgeon lake Chief richard kappo.

the highway is part of the CAnAMEx trade Corridor, which stretches all the way from Alaska to Mexico. Alberta’s portion of the corridor will be completely twinned once work on the final section of highway 43 wraps up.

new distribution centre in planning stage

Acklands-grainger has plans to expand in Alberta.Company president Eric nowlin says the company is look-

ing for a site to build a new distribution centre in the Edmonton region. the centre will eventually stock 300,000 products.

Acklands-grainger is headquartered in richmond hill, Ont. it currently has six distribution centres and 175 branches across Canada. with annual revenue of about $1 billion and more than 2,200 employees, the company bills itself as Canada’s largest distributor of safety, industrial and fastener products.

blacksmith dudley Ackland founded the company in winnipeg in 1889. the first branch, in Calgary, opened 15 years later.

Speaking at the works—an annual event and trade show held in Calgary earlier this year—nowlin and other company executives said Acklands-grainger is also getting ready to launch the largest expansion yet to its product line.

today, the company offers about 120,000 items. they range from work gloves and earplugs to safety harness equipment to tools.

kinder morgan preps second pHase of facility expansion

kinder Morgan Canada terminals lP has begun lining up contracts for the second phase of its Strathcona County facility expansions.

the $112-million project is slated to begin with the construction of new tanks later this spring, bringing another 1.2 million barrels of capacity to the facility. the planned completion date is late 2014.

work is already underway on the first phase of the project and is expected to con-tinue until late 2013. Costing $308 million, the phase will add 3.6 million barrels of stor-age capacity to the terminal. Once both phases are complete, the facility will have a capacity of 9.4 million barrels.

the facility first came on stream in early 2008.PhO

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2,724number of projects posted to the Edmonton Construction Association’s plan room in 2012, marking an all-time high for the organization. roads, bridges and other civil structures made up the largest project category with 13.4 per cent of the total.

SOURCE: EDMONTON CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION


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nuts & bolts

eca announcementthe board of directors of the Edmonton Construction Association (ECA) is pleased to announce the following appointments for 2013:

sCott EMErsoN to chairman of the board.

Emerson, general manager, inland Concrete, has served the industry and the association as a director for eight years.

MarViN oLaNsKy to president.

Olansky, general manager, A&h Steel ltd., has served the industry and the association as a director for five years.

incorporated in 1931, the ECA represents 1,146 member firms including general contractors, trade contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers of goods and services to the commercial, institutional, industrial and road building construction industry.

16 | Spring 2013

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In the Middleof Nowhere,Or in the Middle of Everything.

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PreSidenT dave SmitHCalgary Construction Association

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DElivEring thE bEst lEaDing EDgE sErvicEs

AROUNDCANADA

“Canadian construction workers will benefit not only from the initial build, but also from oil and gas infrastructure expansion in Alberta of Canada’s reserve of petroleum products. As we already know, when oil and gas investment is made in Alberta, all regions of Canada benefit. When the [Northern] Gateway [Pipeline] is finished, it opens up new markets to Canadians in every industry.”

— robert Blakely, director of Canadian affairs, building and construction trades department

SNC-LavaLiN StrikeS goLd (projeCt)SnC-lavalin group inc. has been awarded a contract by Opinaca Mines ltd. to provide project management, detailed engineering, procurement and construc-tion management services for the Éléonore gold project in northeastern quebec.

the value of the project was not disclosed.the Éléonore mine is in the James bay region, 350 kilometres north of

Matagami and east of the Opinaca reservoir. the process plant will be designed to process 7,000 tonnes of ore per day.

SnC-lavalin’s scope of work includes the engineering and design of the min-eral processing plant, all plant infrastructure, tailings management facilities, a permanent camp, service buildings and facilities, and an industrial water treat-ment plant.

CaNada’S LargeSt radio teLeSCopeConstruction is underway on Canada’s largest radio telescope—and it’s the first research telescope underway in the country in more than 30 years.

the new telescope, with a footprint larger than six nhl hockey rinks, will “listen” for cosmic sound waves and help scientists understand why the uni-verse has expanded rapidly. Part of the $11-million Canadian hydrogen intensity Mapping Experiment, the radio telescope is being built at the dominion radio Astrophysical Observatory in Penticton, b.C.

“we plan to map a quarter of the observable universe,” says university of british Columbia astrophysicist Mark halpern, the project’s principal investigator. “this is an ambitious, made-in-Canada endeavour.”

the telescope boasts a 100-metre-by-100-metre collecting area filled with 2,560 low-noise receivers built with components adapted from the cellphone industry that, collectively, scan half of the sky every day.

the Algonquin radio Observatory currently bills itself as being Canada’s lar-gest radio telescope. it has a 46-metre antenna.

year the proposed kitimat lng facility is expected to come on stream.

SOURCE: DAily Oil BUlletin

Marshall Mountain homes ltd. plans to build a 37-storey tower in delta, b.C.

delta mayor lois Jackson told Business in Vancouver that her region’s tallest buildings are three 14-storey residential tow-ers. the new building would be located across 80th Avenue from two of those 1980s-era towers, near Scott road.

delta is the latest municipal government in the region to approve increasingly tall towers as a way to make housing more affordable and to give residents a way to downsize as they ease into retirement, the paper reported. A price tag for the project was not available.

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When’s the last time you saw a corporate executive go dump-ster diving?

Most likely never, unless you happen to be an employee at Landmark Group of Builders’s Edmonton factory. Curt Beyer, vice-president of the home-building company, recalls the last time he had the urge to go stomping around the garbage bins.

“We just had a challenge go through our plant where we did what I call a dumpster dive,” he explains. “One day, I saw the dumpster was really full of wood, so I asked some of the key people in the plant to join me in the dumpster.”

Following this close inspection of the plant’s trash, Beyer and his employees realized most of that waste didn’t need to be there. The staff took that epiphany and turned it into a wood-recycling program called “You Make the Call.” In the first week alone, waste produced by the plant dropped by 30 per cent.

Lean, green machine

Factory processes combine with lean-building principles

to reduce waste at Edmonton builder’s plant

By Joseph Caouette

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“It seems kind of hokey, but when you come into our plant and you disrespect a piece of wood, somebody’s going to clob-ber you,” Beyer says.

The Landmark staff takes its recyc-ling seriously, as does the company itself. Every day, workers at the Edmonton plant pass underneath a banner proclaiming the company’s mission statement: “To be a major North American housing solutions

auto inspirationTurning home building into an assem-bly line production is something of a strange concept for many in Alberta still used to traditional construction meth-ods. But Beyer finds his inspiration in the auto industry, the template for any-one looking to enter the world of factory manufacturing.

“If Ford came to your driveway and dropped a whole bunch of parts off on the concrete or on your driveway and said, ‘Call a mechanic and put this together,’ would that make sense?” he asks. “So why does it make sense with your largest investment to throw a whole bunch of sticks on the ground and call somebody to put it together?”

Modular construction typically calls to mind an oversized Lego set. In con-trast, Landmark’s panellization process more closely resembles a 3-D jigsaw puz-zle. While roofs are built in the factory as interlocking sections, the walls and floors come off the assembly line as individual panels to be joined together on site.

Such a system demands great accur-acy—one overlong wall could easily throw everything off schedule—and so Landmark relies heavily on computed numerical control (CNC) machines to handle the cutting and nailing. To Beyer’s ears, the rat-a-tat-tat of the twin auto-mated nail guns sounds like a symphony, and he affectionately refers to the plant’s CNC cutting machine as Gladys.

Clearly a busy girl, Gladys produces one 40-foot wall section every eight min-utes. Later, these sections can be split into smaller segments, depending on what wall lengths are required. As the section trav-els down the line, insulation is added and windows are even installed.

Elsewhere in the plant, stair cages are built and floor panels are finished. On one side of the building, workers stand atop roof segments, working just a few feet off the ground and comfortably out of the ele-ments. When completed, all of these parts will be loaded onto trailers and shipped to the job site, where they will be put together in four to six hours, Beyer says.

By bringing so much of the work out of the field and into a controlled environ-ment, Landmark can more closely mon-itor the raw materials going into a project, as well as the finished parts coming out.

provider for sustainability and for lead-ing a revolution in the industrialization of housing construction.”

Landmark’s sustainability initiatives would be unthinkable without its efforts to industrialize construction. Over 40 employees work on the floor of the com-pany’s Edmonton plant, churning out the walls, f loors and roofs that will later be assembled on site into a new home.

ENtEriNG tHE NEtZEro arENathe concept of a home that produces as much energy as it uses is not exactly new. it’s called netzero housing, and examples can be found across north America, including in Edmonton and Calgary.

landmark group of builders is just the latest construction company to take up the challenge of bringing the idea to the marketplace. the company’s first netzero show home opened in Calgary in March 2012, and work is already underway on finishing one intended as a prize for next year’s Full house lottery in Edmonton.

with $499,200 in funding from the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation lined up, landmark is now ready to push ahead with its $2.5-million netzero project. the first generation of homes will feature solar photovoltaic panels, triple-pane windows, energy-efficient appliances and plenty of insulation. in total, there will be 10 netzero houses built around the province, as well as 10 more netzero-ready houses (all that’s needed are the solar photovoltaic panels).

landmark’s panelization plant in southeast Edmonton is a lynchpin of its netzero strategy. the plant allows for the use of spray foam insulation, a more effective—albeit more expensive—alternative to standard batt insulation. Spray foam becomes much more affordable when it can be applied as part of a larger assembly line, according to dave turnbull, product development manager at landmark.

“the spray foam really helped us out with the building envelope,” he explains. “it seals everything up nicely and it’s something that we can do in our shop.”

Preventing heat loss is particularly important for netzero homes in Alberta’s cold climate, but choosing the right energy source is also crucial. After comparing differ-ent forms of alternative energy production, landmark settled on solar photovoltaics because of their affordability and low-maintenance requirements.

“i don’t think we want to be in the habit of producing homes that somebody needs an engineering degree to run,” turnbull says.

Following the completion of the first generation, landmark plans to do a post-mortem and move on to an improved second generation of 30 houses. turnbull is optimistic that the company will continue past the initial 50-house plan.

“we build about 1,000 homes a year,” he says. “we’d like to do 1,000 homes like this.”

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“Because this is not IKEA, there can’t be any parts left over,” he says. “Everything that goes into the floor has to be there.”

Getting leanWhat Beyer is describing is more commonly called lean building. Landmark is an avid proponent of the lean approach, which pushes companies to standardize processes, slim inventories and cut out waste. Paul Dauphinee, Landmark’s lean-manufacturing specialist, believes the marriage of “lean and green initiatives” is crucial to his company’s sustainability efforts.

Beyer may cite Ford, but Dauphinee is apparently a Toyota man, at least when it comes to analogies. “Like a lot of compan-ies, we’ve looked at the Toyota production system, and we’ve adapted what they’ve defined as waste and overproduction,” he says. “We don’t want to produce an item until we need to produce it.”

This means reducing the amount of inventory—both finished product and raw materials—in the factory at any given time. The time it takes a wall panel to be con-structed and hit the job site is typically one or two days. Raw materials, while offering a greater logistical challenge, also usually wait at the plant for no more than two days.

“Your suppliers have to be on board in a lean program, so they’re part of how we schedule,” Dauphinee says. Landmark’s business requires materials come in just in time—early enough that everything is there when needed, but not so early that it starts collecting dust.

The company has forged strong rela-tionships with suppliers in order to foster its lean strategy. For example, Landmark relies exclusively on All Weather Windows Ltd. for its windows, regularly meeting with the company to ensure everyone stays on schedule. According to Beyer, All Weather knows three weeks ahead of time before a panel is supposed to go through Landmark’s shop.

Such precise timing can only be achieved after years of fine-tuning and learning from the inevitable mistakes that arise from any untried production process. Perhaps that’s why Beyer’s mantra when it comes to industrializing construction is to do it wrong until you can do it right.

“We used to buy a lot of windows,” he says. “All Weather Windows is very wealthy on the amount of windows that we broke.”

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Wind-generated electricity could become a large part of Alberta’s power mix in the future. But don’t look for a boom in wind farm construction in the next two or three years—especially when natural

gas prices are still low and are expected to stay that way for a while.

When it comes to adding new power generation, wind is the second-cheapest option after cogenera-tion natural gas–fired power, says Paula McGarrigle, a principal at Solas Energy Consulting Inc. This, how-ever, is rarely enough on its own to get a new wind farm launched in Alberta.

That said, between about 400 and 800 megawatts (MW) of new wind-power generation should be built in the province in 2013. Having long-term power pur-chase agreements in place is key to adding generat-ing capability.

With some 4,000 MW of coal-fired power- generation capacity in the province on track to be retired over the next eight to 12 years, and overall capacity expected to increase by 50 per cent between now and 2022, there could be an opening for wind power. Just how big that might be remains to be seen. At present, besides low natural gas prices, Alberta has some hurdles that could impede wind-power

growth, which provincial governments in British Columbia and Ontario have removed. The good news for its proponents here, however, is that Alberta, as a potential wind-power resource region, is in the top quartile globally.

In 1993, Alberta became the first province in Canada to start a wind farm; however, now the prov-ince lags behind Ontario and Quebec in wind genera-tion. As of December 2012, Alberta had total capacity of 1,116 MW of wind-sourced electricity, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

In much of the last six or seven years, wind-power has accounted for 30–40 per cent of additional grid capacity in Europe and the United States. China is also on a steep growth curve in the wind-power depart-ment: wind-power capacity grew there from 1,260 MW in 2005 to 62,000 MW by 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Capacity is expected to hit 100,000 MW by 2015.

In Alberta, on the other hand, growth in additional wind-power capacity has been minuscule for much of the past decade. Still, the last three years have finally seen an upswing in new wind power, with capacity added in 2010 and 2011, and construction of a 150 MW wind farm near Halkirk, Alta., in 2012—cur-rently the province’s largest.

a shift away from coal-fired power could create an opening for wind power in albertaBy Godfrey Budd

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Alberta is thriving, fed by a steady supply of skilled SAIT Polytechnic grads that know how to hit the ground running. Programs taught by instructors with real world experience and designed through industry collaboration have the potential to deliver thousands of additional skilled trades people, technicians, technologists and degree graduates over the next decade. SAIT offers bright futures in Energy, Business, Information Technology, Media, Hospitality, Health and Public Safety, Manufacturing and Automation, Transportation and Construction. Our commitment to transforming student lives is what makes them successful. Our reputation as a provider of training solutions to organizations across Canada and around the world is what makes us a leading Polytechnic.

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THIS CHANGESEVERYTHING.

EDUCATION THAT’S BEEN BUILT TO MEET DEMAND.

Changing landscapeOne or way or another, if the province’s power requirements are to be met, a lot of new electricity needs to come on stream over the next decade or so.

No one is sure what the mix will be by then, but McGarrigle believes it could be quite different from today’s—perhaps with much less coal-fired power. And so does the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), a not-for-profit corporation that runs the province’s electric power grid and helps manage its whole-sale electricity market.

At the end of 2011, total generation capacity in the province was 13,659 MW. Approximately 46 per cent of this total was coal-fired, 39 per cent gas-fired, six per cent hydro and six per cent wind, according to AESO.

AESO expects electricity demand in Alberta to reach about 19,600 MW by 2022. New federal rules affecting coal-fired power, expected to be in force by 2015, could see as much as 4,500 MW of power generation retired by 2032.

“The future generation mix in Alberta is expected to shift from a predominantly coal-based fleet to a natural gas–based fleet with the majority of generation additions to come from combined cycle, cogeneration and wind facilities,” says AESO’s 2012 Long-term Outlook, published last year.

The environmental reasons for shifting from coal-based power are compelling. Alberta, along with Saskatchewan at about 70 tonnes per year, has among the highest per capita CO2 emis-sions in the world. Only two U.S. states—North Dakota and Wyoming—have higher emission rates per capita.

“Alberta contributes about one-third of Canada’s greenhouse gases,” McGarrigle says. “About one-half of that third comes from Alberta’s coal-fired power generation.”

Future growthAbout 20 wind-power projects totalling roughly 3,000 MW of increased capacity are in various stages of development right now, according to AESO. Some of these projects are set to be built this year or next, while others are little more than a gleam in an entrepreneur’s eye.

NaturEner Energy Canada Inc. has a 200-MW wind-farm project near Medicine Hat, Alta., in the works. “We expect to start construction on Wild Rose 1 by the end of 2013. I’ve never been as confident about a construction schedule as I am today,” says Greg Copeland, vice-president of wind-energy develop-ment at NaturEner.

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A 115-MW wind farm near Provost, Alta., is now in the approval process as well. “If this time frame holds, with a deci-sion in June granting a go-ahead, construction should start in the third quarter,” says Kelly Matheson-King, vice-president of regulatory and communications at BluEarth Renewables Inc.

A power purchase agreement with a commodity-purchasing consortium that represents a group of school boards is a key fac-tor in making the project financially feasible.

“Our advantage is that we can provide price certainty into the distant future. Our operational costs are relatively low,” Matheson-King says. “Although our capital costs are substan-tial [about $250 million], they’re predictable. Our prices are very competitive over the long term, otherwise the school boards wouldn’t be interested.”

Another substantial wind-power project should see a con-struction start later this year or in 2014. Greengate Power Corporation’s 300-MW Blackspring Ridge 1 project is being developed on 46,000 acres of land in the Vulcan-Carmangay area. It is being financially backstopped by an agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

As Matheson-King and others point out, over the long term, wind power is insulated from the vagaries—and risks—of con-stantly shifting commodity prices. In Alberta’s deregulated electricity market, with electricity generation largely gas- and coal-fired, a steep rise or drop in the price of, say, natural gas, can play havoc with power bills, profit margins and budgets.

so what’s the holdup?Some would think that, given the strength of the resource, wind-power development in Alberta would be a slam dunk. However, Allan Ingelson, director of the energy management program at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, points out one of the holdups: “There’s a lost opportunity for wind develop-ment in Alberta because of the lack of a wind-leasing framework on Crown lands.” And while companies in Canada and the United States have been interested for years in the tremendous wind-power potential of Crown lands in southeastern Alberta, no private sector wind project in the province has ever proceeded on Crown land.

The hesitation of McGarrigle and others regarding the sec-tor’s prospects becomes understandable, given the holes in the provincial government’s policy framework for wind and the fact that other provinces, like Ontario, British Columbia and the Maritimes, are showering the sector with incentives—something we have yet to see in Alberta.

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technical school

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30 | Spring 2013

if you want job security for the next decade or so, become a pipefitter, crane operator, insulator, welder or boilermaker.

That’s because in the next decade, large resource development projects in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland-Labrador, and min-ing and utility-related projects in Ontario, are expected to suck up as many skilled construction workers as Canadian trade schools can train.

That’s the scenario envisioned in a study by the Ottawa-based Construction Sector Council (CSC), which represents companies involved in Canada’s construc-tion industry.

Alberta technical schools are churning

out skilled workers, but not fast enough to

avoid a second wave of the labour shortage

Coming upBy Jim Benteinshort

institutional


The study, Construction Looking Forward 2013 to 2021, follows the release of a similar study that predicted demand for skilled construction workers and supervisors for the period from 2011 to 2020 would challenge the ability of apprenticeship programs to meet the industry’s needs.

The previous study concluded that a combination of impending retirements and a need for additional workers in Alberta’s oilsands and the energy and mining sectors in other provinces would mean Canada might need to import work-ers to meet its needs.

The newest study paints a similar pic-ture, says Rosemary Sparks, executive dir-ector of the CSC. Retirements continue to

be a challenge for the industry, with about 210,000 workers expected to retire by 2021.

The CSC also continues to see a need for a significant number of new skilled workers and managers by 2021. Some of those workers would be needed to cope with industrial project growth in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Newfoundland-Labrador in this decade, with the refurbishment of nuclear power plants and other industrial development in Ontario compounding the challenge later in the decade.

The CSC has estimated that there are 150,000 skilled tradespeople or

administrative and management staff employed in the Alberta construction industry, with about 107,000 of those employed in the non-residential sector.

The Edmonton-based Construction Owners Association of Alberta (COAA) has estimated at least 40,000 new skilled and administrative workers will be required in Alberta’s construction indus-try from 2013 to 2021.

May the best man win“We have $200 billion in projects [mostly related to the oilsands] on the order books in Alberta,” says Larry Staples, spokesman for the COAA. “Meanwhile, there are $20 billion in power and energy projects going ahead in Newfoundland-Labrador

[a source of skilled workers for Alberta in the past].”

This is good news for Newfoundland-Labrador and the Atlantic provinces, where massive new hydro projects, off-shore energy development and shipbuild-ing contracts will fire up those economies, but Sparks sees it creating additional chal-lenges for western Canada. “Alberta will be competing with other provinces [for workers],” she points out.

Sparks also sees a potential trouble spot with the thousands of skilled work-ers that have moved to Alberta from Newfoundland-Labrador and the Atlantic

provinces over the past two decades: “Will the Newfoundland workers who moved to Alberta stay in Alberta, or will they return to their home province?”

In addition, skil led workers in Newfoundland-Labrador are older than the Canadian average and may not want to move outside the province in the future, especially as there is more local work available. In the past, booming Alberta could count on the mobility of skilled workers from other parts of the country, but Sparks says it won’t be able to in the future. “Over the long term, Alberta will be competing for workers with British Columbia, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Ontario,” she says.

Another challenge is that the growth and related demand for workers will be “lumpy,” she says, predicting that 2013 will be a year of expansion in Alberta, 2014 will be active and then activity will plateau in 2015 before seeing substantial growth—mostly oilsands related—from 2016 to 2021.

The CSC expects there to be a slowing in residential construction in many parts of the country, such as the Vancouver area and downtown Toronto, as Canada’s recent housing boom ends, but that won’t necessarily free up tradespeople for the industrial sector. “The skills aren’t trans-ferrable,” says Sparks. “An electrician or a carpenter who works in housing can’t necessarily work in the oilsands.”

Yet another issue industry is facing is competition between workers who build new projects and those who maintain, repair and operate (MRO) large plants. It’s expected that MRO expenditures for oilsands-related plants (including refineries, upgraders and oilsands off-gas plants) will soon reach about $20 billion a year, the same amount spent on new oilsands construction.

Canada’s largest construction com-pany, PCL Constructors Inc., which owns MRO firm Melloy Industrial Services Inc., is already having to import foreign work-ers to meet its demands for boilermakers, pipefitters and industrial electricians—and that demand continues to grow, says Roger Keglowitsch, senior vice-president of heavy industrial with PCL. “To service the maintenance and turnaround work required at existing facilities in Alberta today, it would take all the unionized tradespeople in the province,” he says.

the two bellwether trades are welders and electricians. when we see the demand for these trades rise, we know it will happen with other trades, and that is what is happening.— gordon nixon, vice-president, SAit Polytechnic Calgary

institutional

32 | Spring 2013

sait GoEs For tHE GrEEN By Godfrey Budd

A green building lab planned at SAit Polytechnic seems likely to mark something of a step-change from the current arrange-ment, and, once it is built, will provide office space for staff and more infrastructure to support applied research.

“the purpose of the green lab is to encourage advances in industry and [also] introduce students to industry and innova-tion,” says david Silburn, research associate for green building technologies in the applied research and innovation services department at the college.

the final design and construction tender process for the new green building technologies lab and demonstration Centre have yet to be completed. Silburn hopes for a construc-tion start on the $2.2-million project this August or September.

A schematic has been done, however, and this provides a good idea of the new facility’s essentials.

the main structure will consist of a three-storey building built mostly from shipping containers. Silburn says that it is on valuable Calgary real estate “that could accommodate a $200-million structure.” hence, a modular facility that can be disassembled.

it will include a collection basin for research on rainwater harvesting and reuse as well as infrastructure to support research in solar thermal heating and photovoltaic systems.

the ground floor, about 32 feet by 20 feet, will house a dem-onstration centre for research projects and a waste-water treat-ment system that Silburn calls a “living machine.” Sometimes simply called a solar aquatic system, it involves a kind of green-house for treating grey water and consists of a series of water tanks replete with suitable plants, fish, snails, soils and other constituents so as to clean the water. this applied research explores sustainable methods and technologies that might reduce the burden on a city’s water supply and waste-water treatment systems.

Silburn and an eight-person team—working from an AtCO group trailer adjacent to a parking lot at the college—work with industry partners on various aspects of this and other research and development programs, includ-ing performance evaluation of research pilots and experiments.

the second floor will consist mainly of office space while the third will include a library, small conference room and a testing device for evalua-tion of fall systems. this has a “hot box” on one side and a deep freeze on the other. “the wall goes in the middle to test performance,” Silburn says.

Funding for the green building centre has come from the Alberta government, the federal government and the royal bank.

Funding supports improved infrastructure for testing and other green building technologies development, including the design, construction

and monitoring of netzero homes, or single-family residen-tial structures that, over a year, produce as much energy as they consume. using a parking lot facing the trans-Canada highway as a staging area, staff and students, with help from Avalon Master builder, have built—and then sold to local home-buyers—three single-family netzero homes in recent years.

the main structure of the current green building lab, a 60-foot-by-72-foot tent that is used as a workshop, will be retained for the new facility.

but a green or vegetative roof atop the three-story mod-ular building will be an addition. this, too, will be the focus of research and development with industry participation.

the benefits of some research projects at the lab may, at first sight, seem either rather modest or far off in the future. but with green roofs, at least in some north American cities, they have already arrived, and they’re huge, according to experts. increasingly, city planners and water experts across the con-tinent are taking a serious interest in them.

why?quite simply, they can obviate the need for additional infra-

structure to cope with huge storms and very heavy rains. in recent years, cities like toronto have passed bylaws requir-ing green roofs for certain types of buildings because, it is reckoned, by getting owners to spend a few million, cities can potentially save billions on extra infrastructure they would otherwise need.

depending on its design, a green roof can retain more than 90 per cent of the downpour that lands on it for up to several hours.

the soon-to-be-built green building technologies lab and demonstration Centre at SAit, and the funding to run it, might be about to support a sustainable building initiative every bit as significant as green roofs are starting to prove in the u.S. and Canadian hurricane zones.

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From the bottom upPeter Lawlor, dean of trades at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), says his institution, which trains about 12,500 apprentices a year, offers 34 of the 50 apprentice positions that exist in the province. NAIT has the capacity to train about 16,000 apprentices a year—most of them involving four years of train-ing. The institute is currently seeking provincial funding to expand its facili-ties and training capacity.

Lawlor says some changes in work-place requirements, such as allowing two apprentices to work with each journey-man (past requirements were one appren-tice per journeyman), should allow more tradespeople to enter the workforce.

However, Lawlor says the “mindset” of Albertans must also change—more parents need to encourage their children to enter the trades rather than academic training, since there will be huge oppor-tunities in the trades.

Gordon Nixon, vice-president, aca-demic at SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary, says the institution has about 7,800 apprenti-ces now in the 33 trades it offers training

for. In 2008-09, the peak year for appren-ticeship training at SAIT, it had 10,500 apprenticeship students.

Since then, SAIT has added a new $400-million trades training facility, which would allow the school to sub-stantially increase the amount of training offered were it not for funding limitations from the province. One way the school is getting around this is by offering theor-etical training, usually two months of classes at SAIT, in an online form, which will increase student numbers and allow students to continue working while they learn, instead of relying on unemploy-ment insurance.

Nixon says he has already seen the increased need for apprenticeships. “The two bellwether trades are welders and electricians,” he says. “When we see the demand for these trades rise, we know it will happen with other trades, and that is what is happening.”

SAIT isn’t the only educational insti-tute seeing issues with funding limita-tions. The MacPhail School of Energy, which trains petroleum engineering tech-nologists and power engineers, only has

funding for 500 students a year. In 2011, it received 1,800 applications and in 2012 it saw 2,800.

Raymond Massey, chair of the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board, says there are about 60,000 regis-tered apprentices in Alberta, with about 10,000 new tradespeople being certified yearly. “All the numbers show we’re going to have a severe shortage of skilled work-ers in the province,” he says.

Massey says the organization is work-ing with the federal government to tap its Temporary Foreign Workers program. “We’ll need more temporary foreign skilled workers, especially on the larger projects,” he says.

The organization is also working with employers to increase the number of apprenticeships, Massey says, pointing to studies that show the return on invest-ment for every $1 spent on an apprentice is $1.47.

Massey predicts the greatest demand will be for electricians, plumbers, boiler-makers, carpenters, steamfitters, pipefitters, welders and millwrights. “We have a sig-nificant challenge ahead of us,” he says.

institutional

34 | Spring 2013

Restricted access for your tender documents

Provided by COOLNet Alberta - contact your local construction association

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infrastructure

36 | Spring 2013

When the Calgary Airport Authority began planning for the $1.4-billion

termina l ex pa nsion at Ca lga r y International Airport (YYC), it developed a mechanical and electrical master plan focused on sustainability and low operat-ing costs. Geothermal heating and cool-ing became a key component of that plan, but it relies upon many other progressive design elements.

“The geothermal system in and of itself is a run-of-the-mill system with nothing fancy about it,” says John Munroe, vice-president, western Canada for AECOM, who engineered the expansion’s HVAC system. “How it ties into the holistic approach of this entire project is what makes it unique.”

Munroe explains that without a good building envelope (in this case, a triple-glazed double curtain wall separated by a 30-inch air space fitted with adjustable louvres and venting at both the bottom and top of the curtain wall’s space) and without good lighting (light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, throughout most of the terminal), a low-grade ground-sourced heating and cooling solution wouldn’t work.

“You have to look at the building as a whole,” he says. “Without the LED light-ing, the double curtain wall and shading, you would have either tremendous heat gain or heat loss.”

Lacking these temperature extremes, the heating and cooling system can oper-ate at lower temperatures, which improves operating efficiencies.

From the ground up

By R.P. Stastny

Calgary’s airport expansion incorporates geothermal in its sustainable design

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“Rather than heating your water up to 200 degrees [Fahrenheit], this sys-tem is operated at about 90–100 degrees [Fahrenheit],” Munroe says.

Leading edgeThe latest YYC expansion includes a parallel runway that will be Canada’s longest com-mercial runway, and a new international concourse with 22 aircraft gates and almost two million square feet of space over five stories, including a 300-room hotel with spectacular views of downtown Calgary, the Rocky Mountains and airport activity.

To appreciate just how important sus-tainability is to the terminal’s design, Bruce McFarlane, director of air terminal development for the Calgary Airport Authority, lists just a few of the expan-sion’s other green features:• A roof that harvests and stores half a

million litres of rainwater for flushing its low-flow washroom fixtures;

• A new baggage handling system that requires only 30 per cent of the energy a traditional baggage system uses (its first installation in North America, although it’s already in use in Europe and Asia);

• Motion sensor occupancy controls for HVAC and lighting; and

• Finishes with low-volatile organic compounds.

“We went through a study that iden-tified five levels of sustainability,” McFarlane says. “The first level [V1] is status quo, which isn’t an option today…. We’ve ended up at level V4.”

The only thing that separates the pro-ject from a level V5 sustainability rat-ing is that it won’t generate its electric power through photovoltaic panels. The necessary rough-ins, however, have been included so that this option is available in the future.

The end result is a facility at the very forefront of emerging airport design in North America.

DetailsThe YYC’s terminal facility geothermal system comprises 581 holes drilled ver-tically below the building footprint to a depth of up to 400 feet.

“We’re using a distributed heat/cool plant system in the building, so there are actually four mechanical rooms serving

YYc’s green sidethe Calgary international Airport expansion incorpor-ates several sustainability features, including:

• geothermal heating and cooling, including reuse of heat created by airport generators

• A triple-glazed double curtain wall

• lEd lighting throughout

• low-flow washroom fixtures that reuse rainwater

• A reduced-energy baggage system

• Motion sensor–controlled hVAC and lighting

• Finishes that use low-volatile organic compounds

• A ground-up displacement ventilation system

infrastructure

38 | Spring 2013

the terminal and each has a geothermal plant in it,” Munroe says.

Continuous 1.25-inch plastic piping loops with no joints were fed into the five-inch drilled hole and secured in place with thermal grout.

“The loops are all pre-made with built-in spacers to keep the pipes separated as to go down the hole,” Munroe notes.

A mixture of ethylene and water was the chosen circulation f luid over the more standard glycol mixture because of its superior thermal characteristics and ease of pumping.

Heat pumps, which are essentially refrigeration devices that extract or inject heat from the ground-source fluid, transfer that energy to a closed-loop plastic tubing system embedded in concrete radiant floors.

“The system accomplishes about 60 per cent of the heating load and all of the cooling load in the building,” Munroe says. “We have supplementary gas-fired condensing boilers to accommodate the additional 40 per cent of the heating when required.”

Fluid is moved through the tubing by electric pumps. Small natural gas–fired

cogeneration units in each of the four mechanical rooms generate power. The heat from those generators is also utilized as heat in the building.

“So it’s a cascaded approach,” Munroe notes. “You use your most efficient, clean-est source first, then move down the line.”

Since the radiant floor handles heat-ing and cooling functions, the terminal’s ventilation system can be decoupled from its typical twin duty of temperature con-trol and fresh-air delivery.

“When the air system only has to han-dle the ventilation component, you reduce the air volumes significantly,” Munroe explains. “We’re using a displacement ventilation system. It’s been around for a while, just not used in the commer-cial world very much. It was a technique developed for the industrial world to get rid of air contaminants.”

Displacement ventilation fills interior spaces with fresh air from the ground up, making it quieter and more efficient, espe-cially in a terminal building with 50-foot ceilings in some places.

“You get numbers in the range of 50 per cent less energy consumption than

you would normally use along with bet-ter indoor comfort,” Munroe says.

Laying it downThe new YYC expansion is a good example of the sort of innovation an integrated design approach can yield. Integrated design requires extensive front-end col-laboration among all the teams, includ-ing the owner, designers and contractors.

Collaboration on the YYC project also paid dividends in the construction process. Despite the general contractor’s unfamili-arity with geothermal and having to tip-toe around some 660 kilometres of radiant floor plastic tubing without damaging it before it was set in concrete, the geother-mal installation actually turned out to be one of the least challenging aspects on site.

“Clean Energy [Technologies, Inc.] drilled the holes and did the installa-tion, and it went exceptionally well,” says Marvin Messner, project director, EllisDon Construction Services Inc. “It came down to getting to know the process and understanding its sequencing, so we could work around their work and install everything correctly.”

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THE ComplETE flEET managEmEnT SoluTion.

The Sturgeon Refinery that will begin construction in earnest this spring has a green side that goes far beyond its

$5.7-billion price tag—it will be the first refinery to incorporate CO2 capture in its initial design.

“We will be capturing enormous quantities of CO2,” says Ian MacGregor, founder and chairman of parent company North West Upgrading Inc. “Initially, we will be capturing 3,500 tonnes of CO2 a day, but with all three phases, we would be capturing up to 11,000 tonnes. That’s equal to the emissions from all the cars in Alberta.”

The go-ahead for a long-planned refin-ery to upgrade oilsands bitumen was made last November. MacGregor says the Sturgeon Refinery, to be located in a rural industrial park 45 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, will create a peak construction workforce of 8,000.

But what does a refinery have to do with CO2 capture?

While the project will employ technol-ogies commonly used in upgrading and refining, in a key departure, it will also use gasification technology.

The advantage of using gasification is that it doesn’t produce dry coke as a by-product. Rather, waste is transformed into “99.5 per cent pure CO2,” MacGregor says.

Most CO2 from conventional upgraders is diluted in a steam containing mostly nitrogen and other elements, which make it unsuitable for enhanced oil recov-ery (EOR). However, in the case of the Sturgeon Refinery, the pure CO2 it will

produce will be a valuable product that will eventually generate billions of dol-lars, MacGregor predicts.

Co2 for saleThe captured CO2 will be sold to Enhance Energy Inc. (MacGregor is also chairman of that company’s board), which is devel-oping a complementary project that will include the 240-kilometre long, 16-inch

the $5.7-billion Sturgeon refinery marks a milestone for north America.

but how it will help environment is why

it’s worth paying attention to.

New kidoN the

blockBy Jim Bentein

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This artist’s rendering shows the various units that will comprise the Sturgeon Refinery.

Construction is set to begin this spring.

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diameter Alberta Carbon Trunk Line. The line will eventually transport this CO2, along with CO2 from the Agrium Inc. fertilizer plant near Redwater, Alta., to be used for EOR in depleted oil res-ervoirs in central Alberta. Access to the CO2 could revitalize depleted oilfields in central Alberta, adding billions of dollars to the economic benefits of both projects, according to MacGregor.

He also says the Enhance project would be adjusted to fit with the schedule of the Sturgeon Refinery. The trunk line will be designed to move 40,000 tonnes per day of CO2. MacGregor believes the project will ultimately lead to more investment in Alberta. Enhance has received a com-mitment of $495 million from the Alberta government’s carbon capture and seques-tration fund for its $1.3-billion project.

Billions in benefits“I can’t even estimate the total eco-nomic impact, but it will be in excess of $50 billion and closer to $100 billion and beyond,” MacGregor says, commenting on the November 8 announcement that the board of the North West Redwater

Partnership had agreed to proceed with the first phase of the project.

The partnership is a wholly owned subsidiary of Calgary-based North West Upgrading and Canadian Natural Upgrading Limited, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Canadian Natural Resources Limited.

The first phase of the project—North America’s newest refinery in three decades—will take three years to build. It is designed to process 50,000 barrels per day of bitumen.

Canadian Natural Resources will provide 12,500 barrels daily of that bitumen, and the balance will come from the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, which collects bitumen from oilsands producers in lieu of royal-ties, under the province’s Bitumen Royalty in-Kind (BRIK) program. The North West Redwater Partnership has signed 30-year processing agreements for the bitumen.

MacGregor says the company plans to eventually expand the project to process 150,000 barrels daily. He says the company, which has been planning the project since 2004 and has 300 employees working on design, procurement and other aspects of

At A glAnCEthe new Sturgeon refinery will:

• be the first new north American refinery in three decades;

• produce diesel, not gasoline;

• have a carbon-capture component, potentially removing the equivalent of the emissions from all the cars in Alberta from the environment;

• have a peak workforce of 8,000 people; and

• upgrade bitumen under the province’s brik program.

industrial

42 | Spring 2013

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the refinery, views it as a vital step toward adding value to bitumen production and at the same time reducing the environmental footprint of oilsands development.

But, he says, the project makes eco-nomic sense too, because of its value-added component.

MacGregor stresses that the company isn’t just building an upgrader, deploying conventional coking technology to convert Alberta bitumen into lighter crude ready to be refined into gasoline, lubricants and other petroleum-based products. “Most refineries in North America were designed to produce gasoline, but we are respond-ing to the market in western Canada,” he says. “We’re producing 40,000 barrels a day of diesel [from the first phase], and diesel is a high-margin product that is in great demand in western Canada.” The partner-ship’s studies have shown there is a market in western Canada for all the diesel that the project would produce from the first phase.

Another important aspect of the gasifier-based technology North West will use is that, aside from producing ultra-low-sulphur diesel, it will produce significant volumes of diluent, used in the

oilsands industry to prepare bitumen for pipelining; ethane, which is a key petro-chemical feedstock; and naphtha, butane and propane, all petrochemical feedstock. There are existing markets for all of these products in North America.

He says it would also produce 10,000 barrels per day of lubricants, which could spawn the development of a lubricants plant in Alberta.

No shortage of skilled labour?Availability of skilled labour to build the plant is a concern, MacGregor says; however, a recent slowdown in oilsands expansion suggests there may be more tradespeople available than otherwise might have been the case.

That’s also why the company decided to build the project near Edmonton, where there is a greater availability of workers than in other parts of the province. The company believes it will be a magnet for older, more experienced tradespeople.

“One of the reasons we are locating it near Edmonton is we think it will be a pro-ject that appeals to workers aged 45–60, who want to be home at night,” he says.

“That way you can get a more productive workforce.” The site for the plant, located near the Agrium fertilizer plant, would have a peak workforce of about 3,000, he says. The balance of the peak workforce of 8,000 would work at Nisku, Alta., and elsewhere assembling modules.

Neil Shelly, executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, which promotes growth in the Heartland region near Edmonton, including the North West site, says the announcement was “very good news” for the Heartland area and the province.

A recent study by the association showed the Sturgeon Refinery would gen-erate $1.2 billion in direct provincial and federal taxes. However, when the royalties from future EOR projects are included, Shelly says the benefits would be worth many billions of dollars over time.

In addition to the direct full-time jobs the plant will create in the Heartland and Edmonton areas, he says it’s safe to assume the multiplier effect will create three times that many jobs, with everything from con-sultants to logistics firms to local restau-rants benefiting.

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10 tipsfor a

greenerproject

Experts offer ways to help you lower energy consumption, build smarter

By Diane L.M. Cook

we aLL kNow that buiLdiNg greeN is the price of admission for landing many, if not most, construction projects these days. So to help you, we asked some experts to offer their suggestions on ways to make your construction projects more environmentally sustainable. Here are 10 tips.

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One of the easiest ways to predict energy savings is to have an energy model done of your building, whether it is a 1,000-square-foot house or a 150,000-square-foot warehouse. the results of energy modelling will affect design decisions that can produce the largest savings with the least investment.

Energy modelling is a skill that takes knowledge and experience to enter and interpret the data. it is not an exact science. you might get slightly different answers from different consultants and even different programs. but if your goal is to reduce building energy use, energy mod-elling will help you achieve that goal.

Energy-efficient lighting can be easily applied to a new build or a retrofit. in existing buildings, estimates are that up to 30 per cent of commer-cial lighting in north America today is reliant on t12 fluorescent lighting. t12 fluorescent light-ing is no longer being manufactured, so build-ing owners will have to decide when, not if, they will address how to change or upgrade this type of lighting. Common options include fluor-escent t5, fluorescent t8 and t5 high output. less common, but much more energy-efficient options are lEd and induction lighting, which are gaining traction in the marketplace.

when choosing lighting, consider the total cost of ownership of a lighting system over a minimum of 10 years. usually, the more-costly initial solutions are less expensive over time.

For example, although fluorescent t5 and t8 lights save energy, the cost for maintenance (bulbs, ballasts and labour) usually offset the energy savings, giving the building owner new lights but no decrease in total operation costs. instead of paying the utility, the owners are pay-ing the electrician or maintenance people. And the payback on fluorescent t5 or t8 options can easily be eight years or longer.

because lEd and induction lighting are so much more efficient, the average payback per-iod is four years in a retrofit and about two years for a new build.

when many owners think of energy-efficient lighting, they think of fluorescent lighting such as fluorescent t5, fluorescent t8 or compact fluorescent lighting (CFl). wherever possible, consider CFl with lEd. the actual cost of pur-chasing seven to 10 CFl bulbs over a lifetime is similar to lEd, and the incandescent options can cost much more. Over the lifetime of 35,000 hours of operation (the average life of a high-quality lEd), it costs $36 for electricity to oper-ate the lEd, $73 to operate the CFl and up to $262 to operate the incandescent. For a building with a large number of bulbs, these costs can add up quickly. And in commercial buildings, it costs much more for maintenance than what the bulbs cost, so the savings is even greater.

target the major energy consumers first, including energy for space heating and lighting. three strat-egies include:

• design measures that tar-get more than one energy end use. For example, orienting the building to maximize natural sun-light reduces the energy required for space heating and lighting.

• reduce space heating. For example, insulate effect-ively with a tight building envelope including effi-cient glazing systems, and perform ongoing main-tenance of the building envelope.

• design measures to reduce lighting electricity. For example, using energy- efficient lighting and daylight and occupancy sensors that limit electricity use to when you need it.

you are well aware that sustain-ability certifications and govern-ment regulations are constantly changing. without someone tracking these changes alongside a building design or portfolio of strategies, the most up-to-date criteria can cause unforeseen consequences for a project.

From the start of the design process, a team must communi-cate and collaborate on all things related to the sustainability objectives. this is most effect-ively done with both design- and construction-phase sustainabil-ity champions. these designated personnel maintain a close eye on the minutia of the project while keeping the big picture on track.

Often, one or more key stakeholders are left out of the loop, and the repercussions of a specific decision are not realized until it is too late. by engaging the sustainability champions at the outset, projects can avoid costly changes and successfully meet expectations. Effective management helps to forecast potential problems, save money and, ultimately, achieve sustain-ability goals such as leadership in Energy and Environmental design (lEEd) certification.

1make a model

measures matter

choose champions3

Look to lighting4

46 | Spring 2013

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Taking The “Cold” ouT of Cold WeaTher ConsTruCTion!implement a project site environmental

compliance assessment.by putting in place a comprehensive,

pre-project review of environmental regulatory guidelines, acts, codes, laws and regulations applicable to the pro-ject jurisdiction, a company can ensure that all environmental guidelines and criteria have been met on a project. these might also include development requirements, sustainability plans and regionally integrated environmental protection plans (for example, water-shed protection) specific to the muni-cipality or region that a company is working in. Special consideration may be given to ecologically significant fea-tures or elements such as endangered species, protected habitat, wetlands, stream banks and riparian areas.

having the proper controls in place ensures that projects are being built while taking into account environ-mental sensitivities, and environmental protection measures are implemented and enforced throughout the time on the project.

do an assessment


feature

implement site-specific environmental management plans.Environmental management plans are project specific

to the site you’re working on, and are designed to meet the individual needs of the client and authority of jurisdiction. by implementing a comprehensive set of standard operat-ing procedures, site controls and work practices, the natural environment can be protected during construction.

A company can develop environmental management plans itself, but usually it is in conjunction with a third-party specialist consultant. these plans may include stormwater management, water-quality protection and management, erosion and sedimentation control, groundwater protection and management, tree protection, soil management, waste management, hazardous materials management, contamina-tion discovery and management, contaminated site manage-ment and monitoring, spill response and release reporting, indoor and outdoor air-quality protection, noise manage-ment and site restoration.

building to a high- performance standard like netzero (where a building saves as much energy as it uses) does not necessar-ily mean you have to stop building stick frame. what you should do is re-evaluate your details. the hierarchy of details to re-evaluate are:

• Air tightness—this has the largest effect on energy use, upwards of 60 per cent

• insulation

• thermal bridging

the most troublesome areas are corners, connec-tions and casings: anywhere you have connecting or intersecting elements. thus, a simple design is often more efficient.

implement sustainable construction management systems, or SCM in industry parlance. SCM systems are based on a strong environmental-compliance and quality-management founda-tion aimed at building green, environmentally friendly buildings for occupants. Many of these initiatives have outside governance such as lEEd.

the use of SCM systems is integrated into project pursuit, consultant retention, design, procurement, construction and close-out/handover. this comprehensive approach to sustain-ability involves facilitated team coordination and communica-tion, supported by monitoring and improving measures with the design team and stakeholders to bring a true integrated design approach that is environmentally sustainable to the project.

when Stantec Consulting ltd. and lafarge Canada inc. partnered to lead the design and construction of a prototype netzero duplex in Edmonton for habitat for humanity, they learned a lot about how buildings can be built more green. Each 1,050-square-foot unit of the duplex used the stan-dard floor plan developed by habitat for humanity in Edmonton, with precast con-crete as its primary building material, and is expected to save as much energy as it uses on an annual basis. A few lessons learned from this project include:

• use an integrated design team. this project included many partners with spe-cialized knowledge to ensure the final vision was achieved.

• Everything starts with a high-quality envelope. the precast panels produced off-site pro-vided a strong barrier against the severe Edmonton climate and are expected to last at least 75 years.

• Collect data to verify your design in the real world. this project is targeting lEEd for homes Platinum certifica-tion by the Canada green building Council, and per-formance data will be col-lected by the Massachusetts institute of technology in boston and compared to the design models and other habitat homes.

Metering and monitoring are critical steps towards sustainability. you can design and build a build-ing to be as efficient as possible, but without post-occupancy data, you cannot manage what you don’t measure.

Encourage your cli-ents to install metering systems or hire organ-izations that will review quarterly consumption rates and provide guid-ance to stay on target. As soon as your build-ing is operational, track utility performance and compare it back to the energy model or projec-tions provided by the design team. Are you on target? if not, how come? go back and investigate. A commis-sioning agent is a great resource to find prob-lems and offer solutions.

Be specific6monitoring

Meteringand

re-evaluate the details

7

Implement SCM

8 Lessons learned

10

48 | Spring 2013

REGISTER at asbs2013.cabefore April 15 and save!

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Sustainable BuildingSYMPOSIUM

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Meet tHe eXPertSAlberta Construction Magazine assembled its tips for a greener project by drawing on the expertise of the following:

rachel wong, a sustainability analyst at Stantec, who specializes in energy auditing and LEED facilitation in the commercial and institutional building industries

klaas rodenburg, a past chair of the Alberta Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council, who is a certified engineering technician at Stantec Consulting Ltd., where he leads the company’s Sustainable Design Steering Committee

Lindsey teare, LEED specialist at Graham Group Ltd.

stephani carter, principal of EccoAmmo Sustainable Consulting Inc.

tracy grills, P. Eng., president of Green Building Initiatives

miranda gardiner, a senior sustainability specialist at Stantec, with extensive experience in consulting, writing and research within the sustainable design sector


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HOW TO submit items

does your company have news about personnel changes or new products? Or did it just land a new project in Alberta? we want to know about it. here’s how to get your news to us.

eMaiL iteMS to: [email protected]

or SeNd it to:Assistant Editor, Alberta Construction Magazine,220-9303 34 Avenue nw, Edmonton, Ab t6E 5w8

or FaX to: 780-944-9500

Please include the full name and location of the company.

Royal treatment for PCL employeesit’s not a party with the queen, but it’s the next best thing.

Construction industry leaders from across the country have been awarded the queen Elizabeth ii diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of their contribution to the commun-ities in which they live. the medals are part of the 2012 celebrations of queen Elizabeth ii’s 60 years on the throne.

John Schubert, chair of the Canadian Construction Association, lauded the recipients, saying, “the achievements of those being recognized have helped to build the Canada of today and the Canada of the future.”

in total, 38 members of the construction industry received medals, including 10 current and former employees from PCl Constructors inc. Some of the recipients are likely familiar faces to Albertans, such as:

• Paul douglas, president and chief executive officer;• Peter Stalenhoef, president and chief operating officer, heavy industrial;• roger dootson, retired vice-president and district manager; and• doug Stollery, general counsel.

the other recipients from PCl were dwight brown, garth tomlinson, Alfred Schleier, Anibal Valente, John Volcko and brad nelson.

St. Albert contractor taken under Bird’s wing

general contractor bird Construction inc. is spending $12.8 million to purchase nason Contracting group ltd., a company based out of St. Albert, Alta.

Over the past 40 years, nason has pro-vided multi-discipline construction services to projects across western Canada and the north. Much of its work has focused on the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation side of water and waste-water facilities.

darrell Stang, president of nason, calls the pairing of the two companies “a great fit.” bird Construction provides gen-eral contracting services on a number of water and waste-water projects, which is expected to complement nason’s own spe-cialization in that area.

nason’s 65-person staff, including managers, is expected to stay on to oper-ate the business.Ten past and present employees of PCL Constructors Inc. received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond

Jubilee medal in recognition of their community contributions. Front row (left to right): Garth Tomlinson, Brad Nelson, Paul Douglas, John Volcko and Doug Stollery. Back row (left to right): Dwight Brown, Peter Stalenhoef, Anibal Valente, Roger Dootson and Alfred Schleier.

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people, products & projects

It helps to have a plan.

Register online at: www.wcb.ab.ca/employers/seminars.asp

or call: 780-498-4694

toll free: 1-866-498-4694 (in Alberta)

Upcoming FREE seminars:

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Fort McMurray Wednesday, Sept 4

Lethbridge Wednesday, Sept 18

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Pro-V changes name, ownershipPro-V Mfg. inc. has become Pro-V Manufacturing lP and is joining the ranks of one of Canada’s largest steel fabrication and construction companies.

Supreme group lP has fully acquired the company, after first purchasing a majority stake in 2010. the pair have worked together in the past on a variety of industrial module construction projects, such as Cenovus Energy inc.’s Christina lake oilsands operations.

located in Acheson, Alta., Pro-V provides industrial design, manufacturing and con-struction services, with a particular focus on piping and pressure vessels—all of which will complement Supreme group’s steel-fabricating business.

“in combination, we will be able to provide significant enhancements to our capacity to supply the burgeoning industrial sector in Alberta and beyond,” says John leder, pres-ident and chief operating officer of Supreme group.

beyond the name change and ownership shakeup, it will likely be business as usual for Pro-V. Current president greg Prinsen is expected to remain at the head of the company.

One-stop construction supply shop

A new construction material supplier is coming to southern Alberta, cour-tesy of integrity building Products.

located in Okotoks, Alta., the new store will serve as a one-stop shop for contractors looking to bol-ster their inventories. integrity also offers delivery services for builders too busy to shop in person.

the store features a wide range of construction materials, including lumber, drywall, siding, roofing, floor joists and power tools.

For more information, visit integritybuildingproducts.com.

Edmonton crane company picks up Grizzly

An Edmonton-based crane and heavy haul company is expanding into northeastern british Columbia with a new acquisition.

nCSg Crane & heavy haul Services has purchased grizzly Crane ltd. for an undis-closed amount. the deal will allow nCSg to service the various mining, wind and shale gas projects occurring around tumbler ridge, b.C., where grizzly is based.

will howe, founder of grizzly, will stay on as branch manager for the location. Ph

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A manifold skid produced by Pro-V Manufacturing LP for an oilsands project north of Peace River, Alta.

people, products, projects

52 | Spring 2013

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We Listen. We Think. We Deliver.

9th Annual Construction Conference Thursday, April 25, 2013 TRANSFORMING HOW CONSTRUCTION LEADERS THINK

Ron Magnus | Managing Partner, FMI Corporation

CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE

John Schubert | 2012 Chair, Canadian Construction Association

ALBERTA CONSTRUCTION ECONOMIC UPDATE

Brad Ferguson | President & CEO, Edmonton Economic Development Corp.

BILL 26: DRINKING & DRIVING REGULATION AND CORPORATE LIABILITY

Edmonton Police Service | Bryan & Co. | SureHire

CONSTRUCTION WORKPLACE SAFETY

Spencer Beach | Construction Safety Officer & Motivational Speaker

We at Lloyd Sadd are proud to host this exclusive

event at the Edmonton Marrio at River Cree Resort, which is open to forward-thinking

business owners and execu ves in the Alberta construc on industry. This event is part of our

ini a ve to bring our clients and guests current and relevant informa on to help them lower

their companies' total cost of risk.

For details on registra on, please contact Chris ne Tenove at [email protected]

i n s u r a n c e b r o k e r s

A little bit of vinyl on the side

Calgary contractors now have another option when it comes to siding selection.

Ply gem Canada inc. has added Variform by Ply gem vinyl siding to its product portfolio. the company celebrated the move with a mid-January launch at its newly opened siding centre in Calgary.

the product line encompasses a wide range of items, such as vinyl and polymer siding, aluminum soffit, trim coil, rain-ware and shutters. builders will be able to choose from several different siding pro-files, including traditional lap, dutch lap, board and batten, polymer cedar shake, and shingle and insulated vinyl.

More information is available at plygem.ca.

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toP: Vinyl siding is displayed like paintings in a gallery at the new Calgary home of

Ply Gem Canada Inc.

BottoM: Ply Gem’s Calgary siding centre will offer a wide range of vinyl siding options to southern Alberta builders.


54 | Spring 2013

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Spray foam welcomed to Canadian marketplace

the Canadian Construction Materials Centre has decided Convenience Products’s touch ‘n Seal spray foam is fit for the domestic market, granting the product a Class i rating under its thermal insulation standards.

the two-component spray foam can be used on a wide range of construction media, including wood, concrete, gyp-sum board, metal and more. According to Convenience Products, the foam dries in less than a minute and is fully cured within an hour.

it is also compatible with other fibre insulation systems, such as cellulose, fibre-glass and rock wool.

Find out more at touch-n-seal.com.

The Touch ‘n Seal line of spray foams has been approved for use in Canada.

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Good vibrationsless fuel consumption and lower vibration levels are just two features of Atlas Copco Canada inc.’s newest hydraulic breaker.

the Sb 702 breaker comes with a solid body and has been designed for use in landscap-ing, construction and demolition applications. the company notes that the machine should produce less noise than other breakers in the 700-kilogram class.

the breaker also uses an energy recovery system to decrease its fuel consumption. this process absorbs the impact energy and channels it into the breaking process, lowering fuel consumption while reducing wear and tear on the machine.

Visit atlascopco.ca for more details.

EntrEC Corporation has a new addition to its executive team: John hudson, who will serve as vice-president of safety, train-

ing and risk management.before joining the lift and transport company,

hudson was chief executive officer of dEtAC Corporation, a consultancy focused on competency programs. in addition to his previous work as vice-

president, hSE and risk management at Peak Energy Services ltd., he is also a former chair of the Job Safety

Skills Society, which promotes safety education in Alberta high schools.

New safety vice-president at ENTREC


56 | Spring 2013

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Milwaukee Electric tool Corporation’s M12 line of jackets is notable for the heat-ing elements embedded around the chest and upper back. lined with fleece and powered by a battery hidden in the back, the jackets provide extra warmth for work-ers out in the field.

the latest generation of M12 jackets fea-tures several noteworthy additions, such as heated pockets. A button on the lapel allows wearers to adjust the temperature of the pockets separately from the rest of the jacket.

Customers can even opt for a jacket sporting a power gauge on the battery pack or a uSb port for charging portable electronic devices, such as cellphones.

Visit milwaukeetool.com for more information.

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By Bob RobinsonChairman, Alberta Construction Association

18012 - 107 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5S 2J5 • Phone: 780.455.1122 • Fax: 780.451.2152E-mail: [email protected] • Web Site: www.albertaconstruction.net

lOOking bACk At whAt wAS AChiEVEd in 2012 And thE ChAllEngES AhEAd

aca report

Progress was achieved in 2012 in each of the Alberta Construction

Association’s (ACA’s) core services.

Government advocacyA major focus was on provincial invest-ment in infrastructure, through minister-ial meetings, letter writing and the ACA’s caucus dinner. The association recom-mended that the 2013-16 capital budget be maintained at $6 billion to $7 billion per year—an amount that reflects per cap-ita investment averaged over the business cycle and adjusted to remove the effects of inflation and to address current levels of population. ACA advocacy for sustained infrastructure investment will continue in 2013.

ACA also urged the government to commit to long-term planning for community infrastructure, full life-cycle costing and a separate capital account, all of which contribute to sustainable, predictable and consistent levels of investment.

The association focused on five work-force areas in 2012:• Immigration reform.• Workforce strategy through building and educating tomorrow’s workforce.• Recommended changes in the K-12 system and participation in Alberta Education’s Curriculum Policy Advisory Committee.• Opposing public funding of private delivery of apprenticeship training.

• Promoting wider adoption of essential skills training in partnership with the Alberta Workforce Essential Skills Society.

immigrationACA chairs the Alberta Coalition for Action on Labour Shortages (ACALS) with the immediate priority of reform of fed-eral and provincial immigration policy and programs. The ACALS coalition represents 23 organizations accounting for the bulk of Alberta’s economy. Collective advocacy has proven effective, with the following recom-mendations being adopted:• A permanent immigration stream specific for skilled trades.• Streamlining of the immigration sys-tem with the introduction of accelerated


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nEw bOArd ElECtEdhere are the new members of the Alberta Construction Association’s board, elected at the annual general meeting on February 1.

• Bob robinson (westcor Construction ltd.)—Chairman

• scott Matheson (PCl Construction Management inc.)—Senior vice-chairman

• Dave Kinley (Concept Electric ltd.)—Vice-chair

• Brian Freemark (lee’s Sheet Metal (2007) ltd.)—Past chair

• serena Holbrook (Pockar Masonry ltd.)—Calgary Construction Association

• rob otway (PCl)—Calgary Construction Association

• Myron Borys (Synergy Projects ltd.)—independent member

• Charles iggulden (trade Skills global inc.)—Fort McMurray Construction Association

• steve osborn (kodiak drywall ltd.)—grande Prairie Construction Association

• roger simpson (Simpson Plumbing ltd.)—lethbridge Construction Association

• Bernal Ulsifer (Creative glass & Aluminum ltd.)—lloydminster Construction Association

• Buck Heath (Pad-Car Mechanical ltd.)—Medicine hat Construction Association

• josh Edwards (Scott builders inc.)—red deer Construction Association

• Kerry powell was the 2012 recipient of the ACA Chairman’s award for his contributions in the areas of standard practices. Former chair kees Cusveller of graham Construction was recognized as recipient of the Outstanding Service Award for ongoing contribu-tions at the local, provincial and national levels.

labour market opinion approvals for approved employers, the expansion of the list of labour market opinion–exempt occupations and the move to an expression-of-interest system to better meet employer needs.• ACALS is also seeking a pilot program in which so-called semi-skilled National Occupation Code C occupations receive fast-tracking for Temporary Foreign Worker and Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program streams. ACALS is proposing a pilot project for energy sector occupations, before extending to other sectors.• Merit Contractors and ACA have part-nered to lobby for changes to restric-t ions under the Alberta nominee program for optional trades. The prov-ince introduced the requirement for optional trades to require the Alberta Qualif ication Certif icate, without recognizing the value of specialized skills within broader occupations—for example, concrete form workers within carpentry. This advocacy will continue in 2013.

A small ACA delegation joined a BC Construction Association mission to

aca report

60 | Spring 2013

Ireland in February 2012. The intent was to understand transferability of skills for Irish workers to Alberta requirements. ACA completed information guides on various immigration pathways, guidelines to hiring a recruiting agency and a list of recommended agencies, and published these on the ACA website.

ACA and Alberta Infrastructure part-nered on industry meetings in March and September to review material and labour costs and industry capacity. This dialogue is continuing in 2013.

safety/WCBACA provided input to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) on leading/lagging indicators, occupational disease strategy, review of the radiation regulation and potential items for code review. As a member of the Coalition of Employers for Workplace Safety, ACA met with the min-ister and/or OHS staff three times. While partnership with OHS was strengthened with the sharing of compliance data with industry, ACA was very disappointed by the passage of Bill 6 in November 2012 and the introduction of administrative

penalties. The introduction of these mon-etary penalties lacks any justification or evidence from elsewhere that they improve safety. OHS has yet to undertake a review of what works and doesn’t work in their set of compliance tools. ACA will continue to advocate for sound, evidence-based policy.

ACA continued to utilize its member-ship in the Industry Task Force on Workers Compensation as a means of advancing construction industry concerns about workers’ compensation. Ongoing advocacy proved successful on two fronts in 2012: The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) introduced an employer appeals advisor capacity in response to ACA and Industry Task Force (ITF) lobbying to educate and level the playing field for employers given the existence of worker advocates. The WCB also shelved plans for the proposed “Return to Work” Partnerships in Injury Reduction incentive in the face of ACA and ITF opposition because while all employers would pay, only a few could benefit.

standard practicesACA recommended two changes to Alberta’s Builders’ Lien Act (BLA):

mandatory annual progressive release of holdback and Crown bound to BLA.

ACA met with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to advocate for AHS adoption of industry standard practices. This advo-cacy began to bear fruit through a review of ACA recommendations for changes to AHS contracts and an AHS agreement to move to public tender openings for imple-mentation in 2013.

Contrax Consulting Inc. completed the following work for ACA in 2012:• Updated the Supplementary General Conditions (SGC) for the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) CCDC 2 (2008) contract for use in Alberta to align with the Alberta BLA and to create SGC for CCDC contracts 3, 4, 5b, 17 and 18.• Updated Form A Supplementary Conditions 16 (Insurance) and 17 (Hold Harmless) to better align Form A with the provisions of CCDC 2 (2008).• Development of a new sub-subcontract Form B to align with Form A.

As a result of ACA advocacy, Alberta Infrastructure (AI) is finalizing formal adoption of CCDC 2, with other CCDC

aca report


build, sustain, and connect your knowledge

visit www.extension.ualberta.ca/sciencesor call 780.492.3116

construction administrationenvironmental resource managementoccupational health and safety

standard documents as appropriate. ACA recommendations concerning the cat-egorization of directly reimbursable and overhead items, and the appropriate per cent markup that general contractors can charge on the work of subcontractors for change orders will continue in 2013 in advance of AI making a final decision.

ACA contacted a number of tender authorities to express concerns about the use of non-refundable deposits.

research and technologyACA’s partnership with Productivity Alberta for improved adoption of informa-tion and communication technology was initiated through a successful pilot with the Calgary Construction Association. The program outreach extended to Lethbridge Construction Association in November 2012.

ACA is working with Productivity Alberta to determine how to expand its

offerings to Alberta’s construction indus-try. ACA’s effectiveness in serving industry has always relied on the generous contri-butions of expertise from its volunteers, drawn from the membership. ACA con-tinues to work at improving connections with the grassroots to better understand your needs and work to your benefit. With your continued support, we will share con-tinued success and meet the uncertainties of tomorrow.

ACA provided input to Occupational health and Safety (OhS) on leading/lagging indicators, occupational disease strategy, review of the radiation regulation and potential items for code review.

aca report

62 | Spring 2013

Over 150 women and a few brave (or very smart) gentlemen signed

up to see what the Calgary Construction Association’s (CCA’s) inaugural Women in Construction (WIC) luncheon had to offer. Serena Holbrook, 2012 CCA chair, was at the helm of the event held on January 24 at the Blackfoot Inn.

Holbrook, general manager and co-owner of Pockar Masonry Ltd., had the desire during her tenure as chair to create a forum where industry women could network, share experiences and socialize with one another. As the first woman elected to chair the CCA, it was fitting that the event welcomed other prominent women in the construction industry to a luncheon in honour of—you guessed it—women.

By Amy Smith

CELEBratiNG WoMEN iN CoNstrUCtioNCCA inaugural luncheon offers attendees chance to share ideas, experiences

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Luncheon attendees put their heads together as they look to advance the interests of women in the construction industry.

Serena holbrook of Pockar Masonry, the 2012 CCA chair, welcomes an enthusiastic crowd of 150 people at the inaugural Women in Construction luncheon held on January 24 at the Blackfoot Inn.

64 | Spring 2013

cca report

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“I think it’s important to give women the opportunity to share their ideas about the construction industry and what they can do to enhance women’s experiences in a male-dominated indus-try,” says Holbrook.

In early 2012, Holbrook formed the WIC committee comprised of seven inspiring women who wanted to con-nect with other women in the construc-tion industry and hear ideas from them on a go-forward basis.

The attendees of the inaugural WIC luncheon engaged in round table discus-sions and shared what they saw as some of the obstacles that women in the con-struction industry face and how they overcame those obstacles. Conversation around showcasing the trades and con-struction as viable and rewarding career options to young females also took place.

The networking opportunities the event provided were well received, and the room was a constant buzz of activ-ity and excited voices. The group also came to the general consensus that the industry could benefit from a mentoring program that would provide a plat-form for connection, comfort and con-tingency. Many of the women present identified the desire to have this oppor-tunity and recognized the value of their own mentors when they first entered the intimidating world of institutional, com-mercial and industrial construction.

The event, as a forum for women to be among others who share similar experi-ences, was a resounding success and appreciated by all those in attendance.

The WIC committee met again in early February to uncover the collected feedback and look ahead to what might be feasible for the group’s future.Ph

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Women in Construction committee member Julie Pithers of DIRTT Environmental Solutions (left) assisted with the facilitation of brainstorming activities at the luncheon.

cca report


More funding for r&Dindustry and government show support for u of C research project

A university of Calgary project is attempting to save the construc-tion industry billions of dollars by improving productivity in the areas of labour and management issues.

Over 30 students, led by professor Janaka ruwanpura of the Schulich School of Engineering, have worked on the “top ten targets for improving Construction Productivity” pro-ject since it began in 2004. the project has produced more than 25 innovative tools and best practices, and trained over 4000 construction industry professionals to implement the new methods. deliverables have included ideas, concepts and real-world devices, such as the second-generation i-booth, that are used on job sites regularly to enhance tool time and increase productivity.

At the Calgary Construction Association’s (CCA’s) Chairman’s tour breakfast in november, it was announced that the pro-ject’s cost of over $1.5 million would receive help from Ellisdon Construction Services inc., graham Construction and Engineering inc., PCl and Stuart Olson dominion Construction, who each contributed $100,000. Support has also come from the natural Sciences and Engineering research Council of Canada in Ottawa, and the CCA, who contributed $45,000 towards the next phase of the research project titled i3P—innovation, improvement and issues on Productivity.

A month earlier, it was announced that ruwanpura, who holds a past as director of the Centre for Project Management Excellence at the university of Calgary, would also be a recipient of funding through the Canada research Chair.

“Our government’s top priority is creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity,” said ted Menzies, minister of state (finance), who announced the university of Calgary recipients of $8.2 million in new research funding through the Canada research Chair Program. “by investing in talented people through programs such the Canada research Chairs, our government is supporting cutting-edge research in Canadian post-secondary institutions. this fosters innovation by helping researchers bring their ideas to the marketplace, where they can touch the lives of Canadians.”

ruwanpura expects the next phase of the project will enrich discovery, creativity and innovation while enhancing the col-laboration between industry stakeholders and the university in training future generations with practical skills and knowledge that can be applied in the workforce.

ruwanpura’s goal with the 2013-16 research program is to develop a world-class research program that produces deliv-erables that contribute to Canada’s construction industry with potential for future commercialization.

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Dr. Guy Gendron, dean of the Schulich School of Engineering (at left in each photo), and Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura (right in each photo), accept $100,000 cheques from Rob Otway of PCL (photo 1), Doug harrison of Stuart Olson Dominion Construction (photo 2), Vince Davoli of EllisDon Construction Services (photo 3) and Colin Aitken of Graham Construction & Engineering.

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66 | Spring 2013

cca report

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An agronomist, Dobson holds a Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation through Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Such accreditation suggests there is much more to vegetated roofing than merely sodding a roof. An effective and durable vegetated roof requires careful planning, design and construction.

Green roofing brings to mind actually growing plants on a roof. But sometimes the definition stretches to cover any roof where sustainable design, construction, durability, recyclable materials, water-handling or energy savings yield environ-mental benefits.

In Europe, modern green-roof concepts took root some 30 years ago, and they became more apparent in Canada about 15 years ago. Alberta also has seen heightened interest in green roofing—including from architects, engineers, landscape architects, contractors and building owners/man-agers. Often it originates from desires for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada Building Environmental Standards (BOMA BESt) accreditation and taps into benefits such as:• Enhanced stormwater management: municipalities seek lessened loads on

sewer and treatment infrastructure. Depending on precipitation intensity, green roofs can delay or retain up to 90 per cent of the downfall.• Reduced heating and cooling: air-conditioning costs especially can be cut by 25 per cent or more. Plants absorb moisture and, through evaporation, cool off their surroundings by releasing water into the atmosphere. Adding green “lids” lessened heat-island effects in urban areas predominated by dark rooftops. With evaporative cooling, industries facing zero-runoff rules can better manage water on site.• Extended membrane lifespan (possibly by 50 per cent): the vegetation lessens tem-perature fluctuations and protects against degradation by ultraviolet light, which is important in Alberta with many struc-tures located a kilometre or more above sea level.• Increased aesthetics and recreational value: accessible rooftop garden spaces enable expanding buildings’ footprints and rentable space while still meeting required green-space ratios. Green roofs become selling points in competitive condo markets.

ranking roofsDepending on intensity, uses and vegeta-tive cover, green roofs are ranked as:• Extensive: covering a sizable area with a fairly simple selection of plants, but with-out general employee or public access—still the most common design.

• Semi-intensive: generally deeper soil level and greater plant variety—possibly has barriers and pathways allowing for safety and public or employee access.• Intensive: allows employee or public access, but looks much like a ground-level garden.

Intensity impacts project costs, but so do underlying features required on green roofs. Soprema’s system includes waffle-board-like drainage panels positioned on top of the roofing membrane to prevent water penetration onto the latter. Another essential component is a barrier to stop roots reaching the roofing membrane. The third critical element is engineered soil meeting specifications for drainage-pore size, particle size and organic matter, plus a weight suitable for a specific roof and durability of 20–30 years.

Soprema doesn’t supply plants, but recommends what to use. According to Dobson, costs vary greatly, depending on whether the roof is intensive or exten-sive, with material costs starting in the $5–$8-per-square-foot range.

Alberta’s variable climate, with greater freeze-thaw cycles, calls for thicker grow-ing media. Structural engineers must take into account such load factors in new designs and (rarer) retrofits. While Alberta may require a six-inch cover, weighing 45 pounds per square foot when fully water-saturated, Vancouver might get by with a four-inch layer and hence a lower price tag. Warmer, dryer areas also can get by with a thinner layer. With workarounds such

Adding that green touch to the rooftop is not difficultVeg out By Nordahl Flakstad

building blocks


as using a deeper medium and region-specific palette of hardy plants, green roofs still are finding their place under the Alberta sun.

LiveRoof LLC has a network of 26 licensed North American growers (four in Canada) that cultivate and market vegetative cover for green roofs. Eagle Lake Landscape Supply Ltd. in Calgary and its associated turf farm at Strathmore are LiveRoof licensees for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Originally developed in Michigan, the LiveRoof system employs a carefully designed growing practice adapted to yield plant material ideally suited to specific climates.

Jan Bjerreskov, Calgary-based sales and marketing manager with LiveRoof, explains his company’s heavy reliance upon sedum varieties—succulent, water-holding plants—suited to Alberta’s dry and variable conditions. Furthermore, sedums are fire-resistant and easily regenerate. Plants grown outdoors are delivered 95 per cent vegetated to the construction site and set to work immediately in LiveRoof’s custom-designed growing media (95 per cent rock and five per cent organics).

Economics come secondIt’s important to cultivate understanding and to weed out trepidations about green roofs. Bjerreskov says, “I work closely with the architectural community so they understand what the green roof will do in our climate. In trying to sell green roofs to property owners, I centre on the long-term effect. The aesthetic is a bigger selling feature than the immediate eco-nomic benefit.”

Close cooperation is needed between designers, contractors and suppliers to ensure plants are ready for the roof and the roof is ready, during the growing sea-son, for the plants.

Green roofing is, and, for some time is likely to remain, a somewhat special-ized market. Yet, says Soprema’s Dobson, “Perhaps the highest growth rate in green-roof installation in the country is occurring in the province of Alberta.” Meanwhile, Bjerreskov reports that his LiveRoof Alberta franchise has doubled its green-roof project count each of the last three years.

Among Soprema green-roof projects are the intensive-use Ted and Lois Hole

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70 | Spring 2013

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Healing Garden at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, the City of Calgary Water Centre, the Innisfail Public Library and the Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary, where patients look over a relax-ing stretch of rooftop greenery. Completed LiveRoof projects include the John Janzen Nature Centre, the University of Alberta’s North Medical Clinic (7,000 square feet covering a roof and two courtyards) and PCL’s recently completed Building 5 office complex—all in Edmonton—plus a 2,000-plus-square-foot roof at the University of Saskatchewan.

While vegetated roofs offer longevity and other advantages, they do add costs, notably for maintenance. That includes applying a slow-release fertilizer yearly to complement nutrients from decaying plant matter. Green roofs should be weeded every couple of weeks to prevent unwanted vege-tation from taking root or from drying and becoming a fire hazard. Bjerreskov stresses that weeding and watering can easily be done by existing building-maintenance per-sonnel following minimal training. But he cautions, “If you don’t want to do the main-tenance, don’t install a green roof because you’re just asking for trouble.”

Other green features, such as solar panels, can be integrated into vegetated roofs. Apart from the danger of the panels causing roof penetrations, increasing wind load or raising electrical-safety issues, attention is needed to ensure photovol-taic installations don’t deprive plants of appropriate sunlight and moisture. But, Bjerreskov notes, since vegetated roofs are cooler than conventional ones, the photo-voltaic systems function more efficiently.

As part of its warranty program, the Alberta Roofing Contractors Association (ARCA) has developed roofing application standards for vegetated roofs.

ARCA technical officer Trevor Sziva says, “The standards lay out what is required to reduce the risk of problems with the roof, typically roof leaks, and what to do with them. We looked at the safety aspect of a vegetated roof—for fire, wind and maintenance personnel. We want to provide a good-quality system assembly that’s going to perform and be durable.”

He adds that other than some instan-ces arising from inadequate maintenance, green roofing hasn’t resulted in roof fail-ures in Alberta.

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xylemwatersolutions.com/ca 1.800.588.7867 (PUMP)

Xylem is your comprehensive site dewatering solutions provider offering a wide range of surface-mounted and submersible pumps. In addition, Xylem offers accessibility to the world’s largest rental bank of portable, self-priming and electrical submersible pumps and spare parts. Every pump is backed with TotalCare Services for secure, optimal operations.

recogNiziNg 2012’s top projECts

Movers and shakers in Alberta’s con-struction industry got an inside look at modern NHL hockey arenas

from a leading expert during Alberta Construction Magazine’s 2012 Top Projects Awards gala luncheon last December 4.

Dan Vaillant, the project executive for ICON Venue Group in charge of Edmonton’s new downtown arena pro-ject, was guest speaker. About 200 people attended the event at the Derrick Club in Edmonton.

The Top Projects Awards gala luncheon celebrates the creativity and inventiveness

of Alberta’s construction community. In addition to awards in the commercial, civil, institutional, industrial and design categories, the 2012 awards included a new feature: project of the year. The win-ner was SAIT Polytechnic’s Trades and Technology Complex.

The premier sponsor of the event was KPMG LLP. ICS Group was the innovation sponsor. Bronze sponsors were Alberta Blue Cross, Brock White Construction Materials, IronPlanet Inc., Lloyd Sadd and National Concrete Services Ltd.

Clockwise, from top left: Top Projects winners with their awards, Don Vaillant of ICON Venue Group, attendees listen to the guest speaker, Vaillant speaks about Edmonton’s new arena and Craig Sneddon of KPMG, the event’s premier sponsor.Ph

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top projects

Oilfield purchasing technology is changing rapidly

In Canada’s Western Canadian Sedimentary

Basin, explorers and producers are changing

the way they work. In many plays, their

focus is on repeatable, factory-like approaches

to drilling, completion and tie-in of new wells,

and to the service and operation of existing

wells. More and more, they are focused on effi-

ciency and cost control.

Engineers, planners, managers and buy-

ers are using new approaches and technolo-

gies to make sure they purchase services and

supplies at the lowest possible cost. Just as

important, they are making sure that services

and supplies are delivered when they are need-

ed. Time is money in the oilfield, and they’re fo-

cused on saving both.

To save time and money, a buyer needs to

have more than one option—they need choices

in products and vendors.

They may have information on some vendors

in their accounting, enterprise resource plan-

ning and compliance systems. That’s usually not

enough—they must extend their search for sup-

pliers, so they need other sources.

However, finding what a buyer needs in Can-

ada’s oilfield is a complex process. The service

and supply industry is made up of over 3,000

companies, and they are constantly changing.

Mergers and acquisitions and company start-

ups and closures happen frequently. Vendors

change the products and services they offer,

and move their head offices or open and close

branch locations.

Luckily, the Canadian Oilfield Service and

Supply Database (COSSD) is constantly up-

dated, so a buyer can count on it to find what

they need. They can use the COSSD for free,

and it’s available in six ways: website, smart-

phone, iPad, Garmin GPS, digital edition and print.

Whether in an office or in the field, it’s proving

to be a buyer’s best source for vendor informa-

tion—that’s why its usage is growing so rapidly. In

2012, over 53,000 people used its print or digital

edition. The fastest growth is in digital usage—in

2012, over 118,000 used it through the website,

smartphone, iPad and Garmin GPS. That’s more

than 170,000 in total.

COSSD is also proving to be a vendor’s

best choice for connecting to their customers.

Buyers are now using COSSD.com on their

web browsers and iPhone, BlackBerry or

Android smartphones. They can search a ven-

dor’s company profile, product catalogue, dis-

play advertisements, categories of service and

locations. They’re also able to use its proximi-

ty search features to find a service or product

close to a town, city or even their smartphone’s

current location.

An analysis of 1,000 companies who visited

COSSD.com in the second to third quarter

of 2012 showed that many were primary

buyers—explorers and producers such

as Encana Corporation or Talisman Energy

Inc., and pipeline operators like TransCanada

Corporation. Many more are secondary buy-

ers—service and supply companies such

as Weatherford Canada Partnership and

Halliburton.

If you’re a buyer, visit COSSD.com to learn

how this database can help you. If you’re a ven-

dor, use the COSSD to ensure 170,000 or more

buyers can find you.

Become part of this fast-growing buyer/

seller community—email Christopher Kuntz

at [email protected] or call

403.516.3492.

Purchasing patterns are changing in Canada’s oil and gas industry, and buyers are using technology to access more and better information. The COSSD, a new database of service and supply companies, is helping them con-trol costs and maximize productivity. In 2012, more than 170,000 people used it.

June 30, 2009 June 30, 2010 June 30, 2011 June 30, 2012 December 31, 2012

140,000

120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0

iPad (downloads)Smartphone (unique visitors)Website (unique visitors) Garmin GPS (downloads)

LefT: Digital usage of the COSSD has grown substantially since 2009. ABOVe: Many of Canada’s leading explorers and producers use COSSD.com—as do many other primary and secondary purchasers of oilfield services and supplies.

Company type Per cent of total visits

Primary purchasersExploration & ProductionEngineeringPipelineConstruction

Refining & Petrochemicals/ Gas Processing

Total—primary purchasers 22Secondary purchasersService & SupplyTransportationManufacturing & FabricationElectrical, Instrumentation & ControlHealth, Safety & EnvironmentalTotal—secondary purchasers 21Occasional purchasersLegal, Financial & InvestmentGovernment, Agencies & Consulates

Universities, Research Institutions & Public Libraries

OtherTotal—occasional purchasers 57From a sample of 1,000 companies who visited COSSD.com in Q2-Q3 2012.

advertisement

By Tim MavkoReynolds, Mirth, Richards & Farmer LLP

COntrACtS nEEd CErtAinty

In the 1948 comedy Mr. Blandings Build s His Dream House , a

Manhattan ad executive, played by Cary Grant, wants to build a big house in Connecticut. In one scene, Grant stands in the partially framed and increasingly expensive house, work-ers sawing and banging around him. A foreman asks, “The second-floor lintels between the lallies, you want they should be rabbeted?” Clueless about lintels, but worried about the skyrocketing costs, Grant says with mock authority, “No, no, I guess not.” “OK,” yells the foreman, “Rip them up!” And days of installed woodwork is torn out.

Vague designs and uncertain terms make good comedy. But in real life, they can make a project expensive, difficult and long. And the legal consequences can be worse.

That is why the essential terms of a construction contract must be certain. If something essential is missing, there is no contract. It doesn’t matter if the parties shook hands and thought they had a deal. Nor does it matter that they wrote out a document and signed it, intending to be bound by what it said. If an essential term is vague, uncertain or missing, the parties don’t have a contract.

What’s necessary will vary from con-tract to contract, job to job. But at the very least, there has to be certainty about who is to be bound (i.e., the parties), what they

are to do (i.e., the work), and what is to be paid (i.e., the price). If someone reading the agreement cannot figure out these key items, the contract is void. In legal terms, it never existed.

This is not a new idea. It is a basic prin-ciple of contract law with a long history. For example, a century ago, the Alberta Court of Appeal found that a supposed contract to build and lease a bank building was void for uncertainty (see Bank of Nova Scotia v. McDougall & Secord). Missing from that contract was the date that the bank was to take possession. Worse yet, the description of the building to be built omitted most particulars. Although both sides thought they had a contract, the court found that enough was missing and uncertain to render the contract void.

One hundred years later, people still make the same mistake. Last year, the Alberta Court of Appeal made a decision on Seong Yun Ko v. Hillview Homes Ltd. Here, the owner wanted the builder to sell him a lot and build a house on it. They pre-pared a written agreement that properly identified the parties and clearly set the price (about $1.2 million). The idea was to use existing plans and specifications belonging to one of the builders, which were listed in the contract document. So far, so good.

But the lot was in a ritzy neighbour-hood, and that neighbourhood had architectural guidelines. Houses had to

be big—at least 4,500 square feet. The builder’s existing plan for the house, as specified in the written agreement, was too small—by about 1,666 square feet. So they added an addendum, which said simply that 1,666 square feet would be added to the house, at a cost of $80 per square foot. No drawings. No details. No specifications.

Well, even before construction began, disputes arose. The builder refused to start. The owner sued.

At the trial, it became clear that no one had a clue about how the extra 1,666 square feet were to be added to the house. The builder said the extra price was merely for more floor area, not for any particular type of room. The owner had a hazy idea of adding an extra left half of the house to the right side, but this made little design sense and would require radical revisions to the existing plans.

The document the parties signed cre-ated impossible mysteries: what to build and where? To quote from the decision of the Court of Appeal: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. But no one has any idea what this pudding would have tasted like, nor whether it could even have been cooked or eaten.”

The $1.2-million contract between the owner and the house builder was clearly uncertain and, because it was uncertain, it did not exist. And because it did not exist, there was nothing to sue on.


the legal edge

TIME CAPSULE

rUtHErForD HoUsE PrOVinCiAl hiStOriC SitE

L o c a t e d o N e d m o N t o N ’ s sask atch ewaN dr ive with a breathtaking view of the North Saskatchewan River Val ley, the Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site was home to Alberta’s first pre-mier. As premier from the prov-ince’s inception in 1905 until 1910, Alexander Cameron Rutherford’s Liberal government established the administrative and legislative founda-tions of Alberta, including selecting Edmonton over Calgary as the capital. He also established the University of Alberta in 1908 after he initiated the enabling legislation.

Although rutherford’s first family home in Edmonton was a rather modest wood-frame, Victorian-style home, after he became premier, the family decided a more opulent, larger residence would better fit his prestigious public life. So in 1910, construction began on a two-storey red brick and sandstone mansion. rutherford lived in the house from 1911 until 1940, when he sold the house to the delta upsilon fraternity. After serv-ing as premier, rutherford returned to his law practice, sat on the university of Alberta Senate from 1911 to 1927 and served as university chancellor from 1927 until his death in 1941.

Salient, character-defining features include the porch and balcony—which project over the main entrance with coupled columns, a balustrade of white-painted wood, front concrete steps and approach, and parapetted gables—a steep gable roof and corbelled chimneys. its grandeur captured rutherford’s prom-inence in public life and served the family well as they entertained influential visitors.

the university of Alberta acquired the house in 1966 and planned to demolish it for campus expansion; however, public protests persuaded the government of Alberta to lease the building from the university in 1970. the Ph

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Rutherford house, built a century ago, was home to Alberta’s first premier.

time capsuletime capsule

76 | Spring 2013

KEY FaCts

• Construction date: 1910-12

• architectural style: Georgian and Jacobethan revival influences

• iMPortaNt date: in 1979, the rutherford House was designated a Provincial Historic resource.

SOURCES:

DOUGLAS R. BABCOCK, A GentleMAn Of StrAthCOnA: AlexAnDer CAMerOn rUtherfOrD, (CALGARY: UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY PRESS, 1989).

WALTER h. JOhNS, A hiStOry Of the UniverSity Of AlBertA, 1908-1969, (EDMONTON: UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS, 1981).

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA CENTENARY, 2008: ALL TRUE ThINGS: CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF AChIEVEMENT IN PUBLIC EDUCATION [WEBSITE], ACCESSED 23 JANUARY 2013, AVAILABLE AT hTTP://WWW.UALBERTACENTENNIAL.CA/

government then renovated the house, restoring it to its 1915 appearance and the rutherford house opened as a museum in 1973.

today, the furnished Edwardian-era home offers visitors a glimpse of the rutherford tradition of hospitality and the heady early days of the province of Alberta. Costumed interpreters offer guided tours, and the rutherford house hosts special events. Visitors can dine year-round in the Arbour room, which is operated by the Friends of rutherford house Society. the restaurant includes the family breakfast nook, the den and the sun porch.Ph

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brock white Canada Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Calgary Construction Association . . . . 20, 35 & 58

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Canadian western bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

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78 | Spring 2013

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