The Technology & Green Design Issue · 2020-04-27 · The Technology & Green Design Issue With stories about technology adoption and data use across our industry, and how two organizations

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GRAND VALLEY CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION • VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 2 • MARCH/APRIL 2019

The Technology & Green Design IssueWith stories about technology adoption and data use across ourindustry, and how two organizations are designing spaces for thefuture. Plus, former Region of Waterloo Chair Ken Seiling (pictured)is inducted into GVCA’s Hall of Fame.

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GVCA Journal March/April 2019 3

The official publication of theGrand Valley Construction Association

MARCH/APRIL 2019 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 2

Publisher: Martha George

Editor: James Raiswell

Contributors: Ted DreyerPaul KnowlesJonas PostonsPaul Struthers

Photography contributor: GVCA staff

Layout and design: Patrick KilbornKymberly BurchellMoreSALES

Advertising sales: Sandra [email protected] 519-622-4822 x129

Subscription inquiries and letters to the editor: [email protected]

GVCA Journal is published six times yearly by theGrand Valley Construction Association ©2019 . All rights reserved.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #42259531; ISSN 2368-2930; in Canadian Periodical Index.

GVCA Journal subscription is a benefit of Grand ValleyConstruction Association membership and is includedin membership fees.

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Return undeliverable addresses to:Grand Valley Construction Association,25 Sheldon Drive, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 6R8

© 2019 Grand Valley Construction AssociationAll rights reserved. The contents of this publicationmay not be reproduced by any means, in whole or inpart, without prior written consent of the publisher.

DEPARTMENTSFEATURE ARTICLES

12

18

22

24

Construction2.0

Technology is changingconstruction, the industry

must change with it.

Record-Setting

Ken Seiling leaves the regional chair position as an important

influencer, and a community builder.

evolv1Where SimplicityMeets Bleeding-Edge Innovation

27 What theTech!

26 Check outour newWebsite!

28 Form andFunction

Inside Walters Group’sNew Head Office

4 MESSAGE FROMTHE CHAIR

4 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

5 CRYSTAL BALL REPORT

6 LEGAL

8 FINANCIAL

10 SIGHTINGS

16 SAFETY

30 GVCA EVENTS &EDUCATIONCALENDAR

30 ADVERTISERS’INDEX

It is an honour toserve as Chair of theGVCA for the next year.

Having spent four years onthe Executive Committee, I have had a chance towatch and learn about allaspects of the industry andthe importance of connect-ing. Each Chair bringssomething unique to thetable, and I want to followthis tradition.

My focus for the year aheadis innovation and technol-ogy. We will continue pro-moting collaboration withall stakeholders in the in-dustry, and encourage inno-vation and technology tohelp us get there. We will dothis by continuing to lookfor new ways to connectwith industry stakeholders.We will continue to engagemembers in forums andevents to help members

become aware of opportuni-ties that can be incorporatedinto their business practices,and help them search outthe tools they need to remain competitive.

We all know that change ishere. We need to keep pacewith it while still runningour businesses. We also havemultiple generations in ourbusinesses, and we need tolearn to draw on the

strength of each generation,because they all bring expertise and unique view-points to the table.Let GVCA be the conduitfor you. Your association isconstantly looking for waysto help members. Please donot hesitate to reach out if I can help in any way.

In this issue, we focuson technology and inno-vation. These are words

we hear all the time, but weseldom take the time tothink about these ideas andhow we can best use themto our advantage. Is that be-cause we don’t know whereto start, or how such changewill affect us? Possibly.

Change is constant. We allknow that. And we’ve seenthe effects of changethroughout our lives: in theweather, in finance, in socialcircles—and everywhereelse. The challenge for us asbusiness owners and em-ployees is to understand thescope and potential impactsof technological changes in

our working lives. What canthe gig economy, orblockchain, or artificial in-telligence do for us? Howcan we leverage them, orany other innovation, to ouradvantage?

My answer to you is this:you won’t know if you neverstudy these trends. Take the

time to explore technology.Understand its implications.Use it wisely. Because if youdon’t, someone else will.And that person (or com-pany) will be better positioned than you to succeed.

4 GVCA Journal March/April 2019

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Martha George, GSC

Technology is the Conduit

Explore. Prosper.

Josh Heller


CRYSTAL BALL REPORT

11-storey buildingat Weber andScott streetsKitchener, ONValue: $17,000,000Project detailsThis project will add 173mainly one- and two-bed-room apartments. Construc-tion should begin by the endof 2019, with occupancy in2021. The 1.8-acre site is anassembly of parcels on awedge-shaped site on thenortheast corner of Weberand Scott streets. It includestwo buildings on the city'sheritage register: a two-

storey office building at 82Weber Street East occupiedby EIWO property manage-ment, and a two-storey brickhouse at 87 Scott Street.Those buildings will remain,although there are plans torenovate the two rental unitsin the house. There are noplans for affordable housingin the building, but the development will add life toa long-vacant lot, with apublic plaza and pathwayconnecting Weber and PearlPlace, and a landscape bufferclosest to homes along Pearl.The developer hopes to see acoffee shop or restaurant

open on the ground floor.

University ofWaterloo DavisCentre foodservicesrenovationprojectWaterloo, ONValue: $1,500,000Project detailsThe University of Waterloo isseeking prequalification sub-missions from general con-tractors for construction asso-ciated with a renovation tothe existing Food Service Facility in the Davis Centre

at the Waterloo Campus. Thework is at 200 University Avenue West and will com-mence in early spring 2019.All work for this projectmust be completed by Au-gust 19, 2019. The workconsists of the renovation of approximately 1700 sq. ft.of interior space within theexisting facility.

Crystal Ball Report: Unmatched Construction Intelligence

GVCA’s Crystal Ball Report is a unique and insightful member service. Updated daily byGVCA staff, the report tracks planned projects during the pre-bidding phases, followingthem from concept to design to prequalification, construction and completion.

For more informationor to have your proj-

ect profiled, contact

GVCA’s pre-bid

reporter Rob Agley at

[email protected]

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Preparing for

adjudication

Prompt payment and adju-dication are scheduled togo into effect for contractssigned with an owner on orafter October 1, 2019, andany related subcontracts.

An adjudicating nominat-ing authority will overseethe training and certifica-tion of adjudicators. Theprovincial government hasnot yet selected the nomi-nating authority, but theprocurement process forthe authority started in late January.

Most Liberalemployment law

reforms were repealed

Bill 47 repealed most of theemployment law reforms introduced by the previousLiberal government in Bill148. Among the highlights ofBill 47 is that the minimumwage will remain at $14 perhour instead of increasing to$15 per hour. The 10 days ofpersonal emergency leave hasbeen repealed and replacedwith three days of unpaid sickleave, three days of unpaidfamily responsibility leave, andtwo days of unpaid bereave-ment leave. The three-hourminimum pay for on-call employees was also repealed.

Prompt payment on

federal projects

In August, the federal gov-ernment released a report bylawyers Bruce Reynolds andSharon Vogel recommend-ing a system of prompt pay-ment and adjudication forfederal construction projects.In its November 2018 eco-nomic statement, the Liberalgovernment announced thatit would introduce legisla-tion to implement the rec-ommendations. Look for thefeds to reaffirm their com-mitment to prompt paymentand adjudication in the up-coming federal budget.

Apprenticeratios

were reduced

The regulations to the Ontario College of Trades andApprenticeship Act, 2009 im-pose maximum ratios of jour-neypersons to apprentices forseveral construction trades. In November 2018, the Fordgovernment reduced the ratioof journeypersons to appren-tices to one to one.

The Ontario Collegeof Trades is

winding down

Bill 47 also repeals the Ontario College of Trades andApprenticeship Act, 2009 on a date to be proclaimed. TheOntario College of Tradeswill continue to operatewhile the ministry develops a replacement model.

LEGAL


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A Legal Recap

The news cycle has been turning a little faster than usual. Here is a recap of various newsstories that we have been following at the GVCA.

A BC court rules that reprisal clauses

are valid

Various municipalities havepassed by-laws that preventcontractors from bidding onmunicipal contracts if thecontractor is engaged in liti-gation with the municipality.In August, the B.C.

Supreme Court ruled thatthese so-called reprisalclauses are valid and en-forceable provided that theyare enacted in good faith.

"Fair and opentendering" is on the

horizon

On December 6, Bill 66passed first reading. If it becomes law, this omnibusbill would amend the LabourRelations Act to deem mu-nicipalities, school boards,hospitals, community col-leges, and universities to benon-construction employers.Bill 66 would open up ten-dering on all municipal proj-ects to both union and non-union contractors.

LEGAL


Ted Dreyer is a construction and insurance lawyer at Madorin, Snyder LLP in Kitchener. He can be reached at 519-744-4491. This article should not be relied on as legal advice.

Update on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency

Act

The September/October 2018 issue of the GVCA Journalincluded an article calling for amendments to the federalBankruptcy and Insolvency Act to preserve the priority ofconstruction creditors over trust funds in a bankruptcy.However, a legislative amendment may not be necessary after all. On January 14, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in A1 Asphalt v. The Royal Bank of Canada. The effect of the case is to overturn the earlier Atlas Block caseand restore the priority of construction creditors over bankswith respect to trust funds in a bankruptcy. It remains to beseen whether the Royal Bank will apply for leave to appealto the Supreme Court of Canada.

FINANCIAL


Have you ever received or submitted an expense report and thought to yourself, “there must be a better way”? Well, there is. Expensify is a company that has built its business around improving the expense reporting process. Filling out and approving expense reports isn’t everyone’s favorite task, but it’s something that we all spend a considerable amount

of time doing. From a business perspective, this is a necessary evil that eats away at your bottom line. You need to be able to offeremployees the ability to submit legitimate business expenses for reimbursement, but the process needs to be seamless and time-efficient to keep employees focused on their job rather than their expenses.

These days, everyone and their dog has a smartphone. With a well-designed app and functionalworkflow, Expensify allows users to quickly snap a picture for their receipts and send them totheir supervisor or accountant for approval and reimbursement. Users can submit individual receipts or submit a batch of receipts that are all related to the same task. It’s also useful for small businesses that have trouble tracking their expenses, as users can simply snap a picture of the receipt and tag it based on category. The app is so good that it can recognize text andnumbers on the receipt to automatically input the amount of the expense, as well as guessing the category of the expense. This makes it easy to tally all the expenses at the end of the year and can save you some costly fees by making things easier on your accountant.

Expensify integrates with your daily life and doesn’t require too much additional effort on yourend. It does a great job of tracking mileage for business purposes using your phone’s built-inGPS. Expensify works with businesses of all sizes to offer a variety of features that are uniquelytailored. It’s easy to set up an expense limit for meals and accommodations while also applyingyour business’s standard mileage rates for reimbursement. In addition, Expensify works with your company-issued credit cards to reconcile the transactions on the card with the employee’ssubmitted receipts. The customization features are endless and provide you with ability to tweak the software to suit your company.

Businesses can often take upwards of a month to reimburse simple expenses such as a mealwith a client, or mileage to and from a meeting. Expenses begin to pile up and can cost sub-stantial amounts in administrative labour to catch up. Expensify provides a single repositoryfor expense reports, easily sortable by employee or category. It also seamlessly integrates withmost of the top accounting software, such as Quickbooks, Sage and Xero as well as all majorcredit cards. This allows you to spend less time on expenses and more time on your business.

Simple

Integrated

Seamless

Simplify Your Expense Reporting

Expensify allows users to keep track of expenses and reimbursements.

FINANCIAL


Written by Jonas Postons, Senior Accountant at RLB LLP. Contact him at 519-822-9933 or visit rlb.ca.

So what?Expensify is one of the top solutions

for streamlining expense reports.

So why should you care?

Aside from saving you and your

employees time and money, Expensify

will cut down on your accounting costs

by providing your accountants with a

seamless and secure repository of

expenses. In the event of a CRA audit,

you’ll never need to worry about an

expense being disallowed because the

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The company continues to get rave

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JBKnowledge, a Texas-based construction-technology consultancy, recently published itsseventh Construction Technology Report.

Produced annually, the report provides a snapshot of howbuilders across North America plan to implement, have im-plemented, and are using technology across their operations.The 2018 edition of the survey polled more than 2,800 respon-dents. Nearly 80 percent were subcontractors, general contrac-tors or construction managers. Nearly 60 percent hailed fromlarge companies—those with at least 100 employees, and somewith more than 1,000.

The annual survey of builders’ adoption and use of technology reveals someencouraging trends—significant IT expenditures included—and some stubborn

resistance (an unwillingness among some to adopt new ideas).


IT strategies: budgets are small,resources linked to company sizeOne of the report’s principal findings is that constructioncompanies spent more on information technology resourcesin 2018 than they did in 2017. About 68 percent of respon-dents said the companies they work for spent between $21million and $500 million on IT last year, a fact that alignsclosely with the significant number of large companies thatresponded to the 2018 survey.More telling, perhaps, is the percentage of annual sales volume companies allocate to their IT budgets. As in 2017,46 percent of respondents indicated their companies spentless than one percent of their annual sales volumes on tech-nology. Meanwhile, more than 41 percent indicated theircompanies did not bill IT expenditures to projects.The good news is that a large number of companies employdedicated IT personnel. Better than 65 percent said so.

Having said that, the number of people they dedicate to thetask is small—only between one and five people. Respondentsindicated that the size of their IT staff is still directly dependent on the number of people who work at the company overall, rather than the number of solutions to support or scope projects.Asked whether they had the IT support they needed to dotheir jobs, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they did.

Interestingly, half of those surveyed said that the trainingthey receive on new technology is adequate. Data-security trends are revealing. A significant number ofcompanies are using employee training and mobile devicemanagement as their principal means of securing data in thecloud. This suggests that companies are giving their employeesthe power to change their approaches to data security, as op-posed to acting passively through means such as cyber liability insurance coverage. The survey also asked whethercompanies had been the victims of data breaches in the pastyear. Seventy-eight percent said they had not. This figurestands in contrast with a June 2018 report from Risk & Insur-ance that showed that more than 75 percent of companies inour industry had experienced a cyber attack in the past year.


Mobile strategy and appsMore builders say mobile capabilities are important to theireveryday workload. Fully 84 percent said mobile strategies wereeither important or very important, which is a slight increasefrom previous editions of the survey. That said, there isn’t muchin the way of consensus about securing mobile devices. Morethan half of respondents said they secure employees’ mobile devices or don’t allow their people to use their own devices atwork. A third of the companies have no mobile-data securitystrategies. By far the most used mobile technology was thesmartphone; laptops and tablets followed.When it comes to apps, builders are using their mobile devicesfor a variety of functions. The survey revealed that they mostcommonly use apps for taking photos and videos, for daily reporting functions, and for time, plan and safety management.

Workflow strategyBuilders love their spreadsheets. And while use of these toolsas a principal means of data integration is dropping, spread-sheets are still used for critical business functions such as esti-mating, accounting, project management and bid management,and project scheduling. That said, there is a growing trend toward using dedicated software packages for functions such as accounting, estimating, project management and projectscheduling. Change, it seems, is coming—slowly.

The number of software solutions builders used remainedstatic in 2018. Most reported using two, which is down from ahigh of six in 2012. This fact could be a clue that builders arestreamlining the technology they use. It could also mean thatthey don’t have processes in place for evaluating and exploringnew solutions.Of those applications they use, very few integrate. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said none of their principaltechnology solutions integrate; nine percent said one did,26 percent said two did. Only seven percent said all of theirsolutions integrated. The question then becomes, whensoftware packages don’t integrate, how do staff transfer datafrom one application to another? More than half said theydid so manually. A further 44 percent said they usedspreadsheets.

Building information modellingWith BIM taking sectors of the industry by storm, the surveyasked whether companies have strategies in place to adopt orrefine their processes for BIM. Twenty-eight percent said theydon’t even bid on projects involving BIM; 24 percent said theyhave a BIM department, and 22 percent said they have one ortwo people on staff that can work with BIM.


Of those companies that use BIM, more than 61 percent reported using the technology for coordination and clash detection; 47 percent say they use it for visualization, and another 47 percent said they use it for project planning. In 46percent of the cases, respondents indicated they let generalcontractors take the lead on using BIM.What are some of respondents’ biggest challenges to usingBIM? They struggle with: • finding qualified BIM staff • communicating and getting buy-in from project participants • setting and agreeing to reasonable timelines • budgeting for resources and training of existing staff • consistency of use and knowledge of BIM tools throughout

the project • integrating changes without perpetuating a never-ending

feedback loop • allocating BIM staff costs and overhead • owner buy-in and enforcement

InnovationThe survey concluded with a look at innovation. It askedwhether respondents had dedicated research and developmentbudgets in their organizations. Nearly 57 percent said they didnot. This was a slight increase from last year’s survey when 54percent said they had no such funds allocated for investment.

On balance, a third of respondents have between two and fiveemployees dedicated to R&D; 29 percent said they had none.

Some of the factors limiting respondents’ adoption of new tech-nology included a lack of staff to support the technology, a lackof budget, hesitance on the part of employees and management,and a lack of knowledge about the technology available.Drones are one of the more commonly used technologies inour industry—and one of the simplest to adopt. Yet 59 percentof respondents said they don’t use drones at all. The survey alsoasked which technologies could give their companies a strate-gic advantage. More than 42 percent said none. Nearly 38 per-cent said prefabrication, and 28 percent said augmented real-ity/virtual reality applications.

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Civility and Respect in theWorkplaceEditor’s note: this infographicwas created by the CanadianCentre for OccupationalHealth and Safety. For more information, visitwww.ccohs.ca.

Saying hello, giving your full attention, expressing

appreciation—in a respect-ful workplace, everyone iscourteous and considerate in their interactions witheach other, as well as with customers, clients and the public. A civil and respectful work-place is related to many posi-tives, including greater jobsatisfaction, improvedmorale, enhanced relation-ships, and reduced sick leaveand turnover. In a stressful,frustrating or toxic work environment, politeness and support can give way to resentment, rudeness, and even bullying and harassment. There are manyactions that employers cantake to champion and prioritize workplace civility.This infographic explainshow civility and respect isrelated to a more positiveworkplace culture, whatemployers can do to promote respectful behav-iours, and small, everydayacts that can help workersfeel safe, comfortable and valued at work.

The challenge was clear, ifnot easily mastered: build aspectacularly innovative build-

ing while keeping costs under control.That was the mandate for everyone in-volved in the construction of evolv1,the Cora Group’s 100,000-square foot,multi-tenant office building in theUniversity of Waterloo’s David John-ston Research & Technology Park.

The building had to be the first inCanada to earn a Zero Carbon designdesignation from the Canada GreenBuilding Council. And it had to be affordable, in order to attract tenants.

That was the task presented to the architects and designers at Stantec, andto the builders at Melloul Blamey.

According to Jeff Shantz of MelloulBlamey, construction managers and general contractors on the project, “basicconstruction methods were kept simpleto achieve economies of scale… theoverall design from Stantec was about as standard as you can get,” while com-pletely non-standard green innovationswere built in, everywhere.

The result, according to RichardWilliams, a principal at Stantec, whohas written about the project, is

“Canada’s first commercially-driven,net-positive, zero-carbon building. Simply put, it produces more energythan it consumes, while producing nocarbon emissions.”Williams adds that in addition to beinghealthy for the environment, evolv1 isalso a healthier space for the people who occupy it. He wrote, “While we’re extremely proud of evolv1’s zero-carboncertification and net-positive energy sta-tus, that’s just one piece of a larger story.We’re really making a difference in howbuildings support our communities andhuman wellness – something we believeis essential for a sustainable future.”Many of evolv1’s green features imme-diately evident, like the three-storey living wall – a vertical indoor gardenthat Shantz describes as “one of the

Canada's first zero-carbon building produces more energy than it consumes


By Paul Knowles

Where Simplicity Meets Bleeding-Edge Innovation

evolv1

focal points of the building, beautifuland also an air filter. And it’s been upand operating for six months.”Other key green features that are imme-diately noticeable include the south-facing solar wall, and photo-voltaic installations in the parking lot and on the roof. Williams will tell you that features thatmake the place much more occupant-friendly are the large, triple-pane win-dows allowing maximum natural light.The location is enviro-friendly, too –three minutes from an ION Light RailTransit stop.Some of the innovations are not imme-diately on display (although there is adigital read-out of the energy being putback into the grid, there for all to see).


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The building includes a state-of-the-artmechanical air exchange system (in-stalled by Stecho Electric), and a uniquemethod of tapping into geothermal heat,using only “one pipe in and one pipeout,” according to Shantz.There are also more typical environ-mental touches – LED lighting, andENERGY STAR compliant appliances.All of this adds up not only to theGreen Building Council designation,but also to designation as a LEEDTriple Platinum building.Shantz underlines the significance ofthis achievement. “This project, TriplePlatinum LEED, net-positive buildingis the first in Canada to be designed.”The Cora Group and Stantec called inMelloul-Blamey “in the mid-stages ofdesign,” says Shantz. “We workedthrough design, contracting, rightthrough construction.”He says that his company’s experiencewith LEED certified projects, and with“very complicated mechanical-electrical”

designs were essential background, butas a project moving beyond anythingthat had come before, evolv1 nonethe-less presented “some unique challenges.”But the challenges were met. From acontractor’s perspective, says Shantz, themost significant requirement was cost.“We worked with the design engineersfrom Stantec to ensure cost certainty. So we had some assurance we weren’tgoing to go sideways on project costs.”Shantz quotes Adrian Conrad, chief operating officer with the Cora Group,who has touted evolv1 as a totally inno-vative building “they were able to mar-ket because of the simplicity of thebuilding.”The first tenants moved in October. To-day, the building is nearing full occu-pancy (95 percent, according to Shantz),and the final touches are being com-pleted. The promise of being net-posi-tive is being met, on an annual basis.Shantz explains that the ratio of powertaken from the grid and contributedback to the grid changes according to

the weather, but on a yearly calculation,the building wins. More goes to the gridthan is taken.

Shantz says that Melloul-Blamey wasthrilled to be part of evolv1. “The op-portunity to be involved in somethinglike this doesn’t come along very often.We’re proud to be chosen to be a part-ner in this… It’s a feather in our cap.”

Cora’s Conrad, speaking to the CanadaGreen Building Council, has said,“When we heard about the CaGBCZero Carbon Building certification, wesaw a tremendous opportunity to meas-ure our efforts against a progressive newbuilding standard and to pilot our proj-ect within a program that is capturingattention from across the country andindeed, around the world.”

He added, “We envision a day wherezero carbon building design will be on the top of a tenant’s wish list whensearching for office space.”


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Construction 2.0Technology is changing construction,

the industry must change with it

The construction industryin Canada is experiencing atransformation. New technolo-

gies tailored to the space are creatinggreater efficiency, but labour gaps areincreasing, access to capital is shrinkingand a trade war with the U.S. hasbegun. To adapt to this changing land-scape, all parties involved in construc-tion need to become more connected.As a major industry for Canada, con-struction is already near its capacityutilization rate. Referencing a reportfrom Statistics Canada, Bloomberg recently pointed out that the construc-tion industry’s capacity utilizationreached 92.4 percent in the first quar-ter of 2018. In order to sustain this, the industry must go through its ownremodel—one that leans on informa-tion as its lead material.Data is king when it comes to manag-ing a successful construction project,with the amount of information digi-tally recorded on construction sites

growing exponentially over the last 10years. From job site photos and infor-mation on materials used to tracklabour hours and equipment utilizationdata, the ability to capture informationwithout the worry of a paper trail is adriving force for change.Construction sites are no longer simplya place for diggers, bricks and concrete;they are changing the world—physi-cally and theoretically. As a hotbed ofall sorts of data, construction sites arebeing leveraged to drive operations andimprove efficiencies in the industry.Take field data tracking, for instance.What used to be a tedious and man-ual process that involved clipboardsand filing cabinets has becomestreamlined through mobile, cloudand big data analytics technologies sothat users can capture and analyze thedata in near real-time. The digitiza-tion of that process now means con-struction workers can easily gatherand share data with key stakeholders,

both on-site and back at headquarters,using a range of tools including apps,smartphone cameras, drones and evenrobots.Modern construction sites are collect-ing data through mobile devices as astrategy for success for today’s digitalage. Information reported and accessedusing handheld equipment is no longerseen as a “nice to have,” but rather avaluable resource to help firms staycompetitive and understand how resources can be better leveraged to get work done.

AI for actionableintelligence on the job siteThe mass adoption of digital techniques,and the transition to a digital economy isalso playing an important role in trans-forming the construction industry. By facilitating better planning and prepara-tion for “what if ” scenarios, constructioncompanies are looking to technology tohelp make projects more profitable.

Implemented effectively, businesses willbenefit from both greater transparencyand fluidity with their information.This will help ensure that decisions canbe made at the appropriate levelswithin the organization, so that theback office can concentrate on strategyrather than tactical planning.

For construction, it’s all about embrac-ing the benefits of new technologiesand creating a plan for using them in away that complements the workforce,rather than replacing it. With increasedcommunication and faster responsetimes, business growth and world-classcustomer service can be possible.


Editor’s note: This article was written by Paul Struthers, executive vice-president and managing directorof Sage Canada, and was originally published in July 2018 on the On-Site magazine website. Wereprint it here with permission. For more information, please visit www.on-sitemag.com.

Historically, information has beenstored in myriad different places—floppy disks, compact discs, USBs,spreadsheets and even the humanbrain. But as data volumes becomelarger and the demand for actionableintelligence from these receptacles ofinformation grows, the need for ade-quate capturing and processing tech-niques will also increase.For example, in 2010, 1.2 zetabytes(one trillion gigabytes) of data werecollected from smart building sitesworldwide. By 2020, that figure isprojected to be a massive 37.2zetabytes. Processing massive volumesof data to provide actionable insightsis the perfect use case for machinelearning and Artificial Intelligence(AI), as it allows human manpower tofocus on what really matters. Linkingman with machine will provide theconstruction industry with formerlyhidden insights into data that wouldhave previously taken weeks ormonths to process and find value in otherwise.

Technology should beseen as an ally, not areplacementBy enabling new levels of efficiencywhen it comes to data processing, AIcan complement and enhance manyjob opportunities for today’s work-force. Too often, artificial intelligenceis perceived as a monumental threatto human jobs. In reality, the use ofAI can enable businesses to becomemore productive—allowing employeesmore time to expand on their skillsets.For the construction industry specifi-cally, AI presents an opportunity tooptimize processes and improve re-sults.

Focus on integrationThe key to getting the most out ofemerging technologies is integratingthem effectively with the company’s existing systems, processes and humancounterparts.Technology is only ever as good as itsecosystem. This means we need to seecloser coordination between the backoffice, vendors and those in the field.

Walters Group is a family-owned steel construction company that designs, fabricates, and constructs commercial and industrial projects throughout North America.

With a multitude of environmental considerations and features, our Head Office is an inspiring and collaborative space.

Creating Inspiring Spaces.

www.waltersgroupinc.com

@waltersgroupinc

There can be no question thatKen Seiling has left an indeliblemark on the Region of Waterloo.

In fact, he may not be done yet.Seiling stepped down from the role ofRegional Chair last fall, after serving for33 years in that position – a record thatwill almost certainly never be broken.In the months before he retired, he wascoy about what lay in the immediate future. With good reason. Only weeksafter his final meeting as head of Re-gional Council, he was appointed, alongwith former deputy minister MichaelFenn, to head up a review of Ontariomunicipalities. The men’s mandate: tolook at the future of 82 municipalitiesacross the province. Including, of course,the Regional Municipal of Waterloo.So when it comes to making a mark in this region, Seiling is probably notdone yet.But as Seiling emptied his office at Waterloo Region headquarters on Fred-

erick Street in Kitchener, dealing with 90 full boxes that awaited sorting, therewas no doubt that the Region was facing the end of an era.He leaves the role as Chair to almostuniversal commendation. Early in hislife, Seiling was curator of the Welling-ton County Museum and Archives, soit seems appropriate that Regionalcouncil re-named the Waterloo RegionMuseum, the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum. And in late 2018, itwas announced that the annual Barnraiser Award would go to Seiling.And now, in an unusual but universallyapplauded decision, this retired munici-pal politician is being inducted into theGrand Valley Construction AssociationHall of Fame.GVCA President Martha George explains, “GVCA inducts an individualinto our Hall of Fame each year at ourannual general meeting. The candidateis someone who has made a contribu-

tion to the construction industry, to ourassociation, and to the community. Kenchecks all those boxes. He has beengood to the construction industry be-cause of his vision to grow the region.Under his leadership, we have prospered. “He has been good to and for the com-munity by leading us in an honest, ethi-cal, thoughtful way. He is mindful ofgrowth, respects the rural areas, and is agenuine person. He has supportedGVCA events, and spoke often aboutthe growth of our region. I have tremen-dous respect for him as a leader, and as a person.”George added, “Ken is very well respectedin the Waterloo Region, and is very wellaware of the challenges in the construc-tion industry. The region was successfulin holding development charges at bay,and used money wisely to maintain ourexisting infrastructure.”Seiling described his induction into theGVCA Hall of Fame as “an honour.”


Record-SettingKen Seiling leaves the regional chair position as an important

influencer, and a community builderBy Paul Knowles


“I think it speaks to the way that the industry and local government in Water-loo Region have had a good relationshipwhich is professional, open and transpar-ent,” he said.Throughout his career, Seiling has assumed a humble, team-first approach,both with his council colleagues, andwith regional staff. Asked to reflect onhis personal contribution to the thriv-ing construction scene in the Region,he unsurprisingly deflects the attentionfrom himself, and talks about hisbeloved Region.“I am really reluctant to take a lot ofcredit for a lot of this stuff. It’s really ateam effort.”He adds, “On one side of the ledger, tohave ongoing construction projects onthe scale we see in the Region is a com-ment on the Region’s ability to providegood and timely infrastructure whichsupports development, both greenfieldand redevelopment. The Region’s rapidtransit project (ION) provided muchwork and also has seen to date over $3billion in construction in the corridor.”And he acknowledges a change that istaking place, involving a controversialissue within the construction industryitself: “In addition, the Region itself hasdone much construction and has

worked with the industry to ensuregood tendering and bid processes. Current legislation before the provinciallegislature will soon re-open bidding toall qualified contractors.”Seiling lives in Elmira, and althoughclearly an adept politician who hasheaded a largely urban municipality, hisrural roots have shown through on manyoccasions. He has been an avid propo-nent of the “countryside line” legislationthat prevents urban sprawl, and points tothe heart of Kitchener-Waterloo—homeof the ION rapid transit system—as thekey to keeping the countryside green.He said, “Building the LRT was the keytool to implementing our growth strat-egy which is based on urban intensifica-tion and stopping greenfield sprawl. Thiscan be seen by a drive down the corridor.The restructuring of the bus system willalso better encourage development in

other areas given better access to transit.”While the incredible growth along theION corridor may be the most spectacu-lar result of Seiling’s leadership, from aconstruction industry perspective, theformer Chair might argue that it’s whatyou don’t see that is equally important.You don’t see urban sprawl, you don’t seecities encroaching on farmland.And there’s something else you’re notgoing to see, going forward: estatefarms—developments of that includeonly huge, single-family mansions. Theregion has changed that whole develop-ment scene entirely, with rules that nowinsist on infilling and intensification,both dependent on the skills of the localconstruction industry.Ken Seiling may have moved on, but hislegacy on the Region of Waterloo con-struction scene will continue to be builtin bricks, stone and glass, for decades tocome.

Ken Seiling may havemoved on, but his legacyon the Region of Waterlooconstruction scene willcontinue to be built inbricks, stone and glass, for decades to come.


If you haven’t visited GVCA.orglately, you’re in for a surprise. Ournew website went live on February

26, and we’re excited to show it off.

What’s new?In a word, everything. We’ve completelyreimagined the site architecture to makethe site far easier to use—on mobile ordesktop.We understand how people like to useinformation on the web. They want toget to the information they want asquickly as possible. We listened and weresponded. Our new architecture getsyou where you want to go with as fewclicks as possible.Need to search for something? There’s asearch bar smack in the middle of yourscreen when you arrive. Underneath,you’ll find a handful of hot links to afew of the pages on our site that weknow our members visit most often: ourhealth and safety, education, plansroomand magazine pages.

Check below the scrolling video foradded functionality. You’ll find a TopStories news feed that brings you thelatest in news and developments fromaround our industry, as well as one-clicklinks to more of the top items our mem-bers use on our site everyday: our calen-dar of events, our online store, our mem-ber directory, and our groups listing.Further below are links to our socialfeeds, and information on health andsafety, CCA and CCDC documents andseals, and Gold Seal certification.

Talk to us!For the first time ever, we’ve introduced achat box on our site. Click this interac-tive feature to ask questions and get re-sponses from GVCA staff members dur-ing office hours. Further proof of howwe’re here to help you when you need it.

Uniquely GVCAThe look of the site is completelyfresh. For example, all the photographyand video loaded on the site come

direct either from the GVCA officesor from our members. These are shotsof real people doing real things.There’s not a single stock image any-where on the site. And going forward,we’ll integrate more video—from ourevents and tutorials of the informationyou want to see. The site will also bepopulated with blogs, white papers andnews of the day.

Measuring and refiningEven more exciting—from an intelli-gence point of view—is the back-endfunctionality we’ve introduced. We’recapturing data on which pages are usedmost often, and refining our site as wego to make those pages that are mostpopular even easier to find.Check out the new GVCA.org. We’resure you’ll agree, whether on mobile oron your desktop, this site is far simplerand easier to use than ever before.If you have any questions about thenew site, contact us anytime.

Check out our new Website!


We’ve scheduled the nextinstalment of our What theTech! series for May 1 at

Catalyst137 on Glasgow Street inKitchener. It’s an event you won’t want to miss.

The innovation vacuumThe simple reality today is that con-struction lags behind so many other industries when it comes to technologyand innovation. Collectively, we’re reluctant to bring new ideas into the office or onto the jobsite, and that’shurting our productivity and our abilityto evolve.With that in mind, innovation is verymuch the theme of the May What theTech! event. Our guest speakers, will discuss some of the challenges that contractors face today. They’ll look atthe decisions we as an industry havemade over the past 30 years to get us tothe point where we are today, and they’llhelp us understand how those decisionscan be reversed so that we can teardown the barriers that prevent us fromleaping forward.

Process changes neededIn some ways, our industry is the victimof its own stagnation. Most of us sell ourservices, and our clients expect to buy ourservices, on the basis of low price only.

This approach does us all a huge disserv-ice. It not only entrenches old processes,but also discourages innovation. Mean-while, global trends are pulling us in exactly the opposite direction.We cannot continue to ignore climatechange, for example, in our work, andwe have the opportunity to respond tothese kinds of big-picture issues in waysthat add value for our clients, and posi-tion our businesses as innovative andresponsible.

Join us!What the Tech! will invite leading speak-ers, and technology exhibitors to provideattendees with the information theyneed to understand the push and pullfactors for and against innovation, andthe tools they need to break our indus-try-wide resistance to change.Join us for this important exhibition.Watch for program details and registra-tion information on the GVCA websitein March.

What the Tech!Join us on May 1 at Catalyst137


Form andFunction

Inside Walters Group’s New Head Office

Walters Group threwopen the doors to its newhead office in Hamilton

last May. While the company’s goalwas to create a space in which all of itsemployees could come together under asingle roof to collaborate, the story ofthe building’s design speaks to form,function and end-user comfort.

Flexibility built itEarly on, the choice for the building’sstructure was clear. Structural steel notonly is high-quality and robust, but alsoallows for a range of flexibility in design.Steel offers consistent high-qualitystandards, precision products and guar-anteed strength and durability in themost challenging environments. From a design perspective, steel also allowsfor longer spans, larger bays and widerframe spacing than wood or concreteconstruction. This allows for maxi-

mized usable floor space and large interior spaces that can be constantlyadapted to cope with the changing requirements of the occupants. Thesefactors were all important considera-tions for the Walters team.Walters employees designed, fabricatedand erected the 160 tons of structuralsteel required for this building. Its fieldservices team helped to coordinate theerection of the building, once it com-menced in the summer of 2016.

Functionality comesstandardWalters’ high degree of attention to detail and creativity has resulted in abuilding that is a highly functionalwork space. Employee comfort andquality of work life was at the forefrontof design considerations. Huge win-dows surrounding the building allow a significant amount of natural light to

enter the open concept layout. Ambientwhite noise machines located on theceilings and felt sound-baffling dividersat each workstation were also put intoplace to lessen noise disruptions. Aswell, there are plenty of eclectic spacesto encourage inter-departmental inter-actions and socializing, ample room forseating with various seating styles, adjacent outdoor patios, and severalcoffee bars and informal meetingspaces located throughout the office. “We wanted to create a great space thatreflects the work we do and feels likeWalters,” shared Walter Koppelaar,Walters Group CEO & chairman. “Iam proud to say that with the inputand hard work of many people, I feellike we have achieved our goal.”

A new home for Walters Group speaks to sustainabledesign, flexible form and end-user function.


Thinking about the end userEnvironmental considerations werealso very important when constructingthe office. Each workstation was builtwith natural materials without any off-

gassing. Canadian maple was sourcedfor solid wood desks; no plastic lami-nate was used. Chilled water bottle re-fill stations and ‘Bean-to-Cup’ coffeemachines were implemented to reducewaste. Energy efficient LED lighting

was installed throughout the building,along with low-E windows to mini-mize the amount of heat transferthrough the glass which includes UVprotection for energy efficiency.With over 40,000 square feet, the Walters team is delighted that its newoffice space reflects its work. With amultitude of features, including cus-tom-made workstations, a feature stair-case created in-house, and meetingrooms with the latest technological (or hi-tech) features, this office will be a great space for the team for yearsto come.


EVENTS CALENDAR

March 23 – 28CCA Annual Conference, Bermuda

May 1What the Tech Event

May 9Women in Construction Spring DinnerThe Pines, Cambridge

June 20GVCA Golf Tournament

July 18Leaders in Construction (LinC) Golf Tournament

August 22Women in Construction (WinC) Golf Tournament

Note:To view a complete list of upcoming events and to register, please visit www.gvca.org/calendar

EDUCATION CALENDAR

March 28Construction Industry Ethics (Earn 1 Gold Seal Credit)*Mandatory for Gold Seal Certification

April 9Approved Working at Heights

April 9Healthy Minds, Healthy Workplace - Psychological Health & Safety inthe Construction Industry

April 10Close-out of a Construction Project (Earn 1 Gold Seal Credit)

April 12Approved Working at Heights REFRESHER

April 11 & 18Construction 101 (Earn 2 Gold Seal Credits)

April 17How Does Your Business Compare with Others in Ontario?

May 14Approved Working at Heights

May 17Approved Working at Height REFRESHER

May 22Cyber Security – Are You Prepared for a Breach?

NoteAll education & training will be held at GVCA -25 Sheldon Drive (unlessnoted otherwise). To view a complete list of upcoming education and toregister, please visit www.gvca.org/calendar

REGISTRATION REQUIREDfor all courses and events. To register, or request additional information please contact [email protected] or call519-622-4822 X120 or go to: www.gvca.org.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

AQ Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 2ACL Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Baywood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Buildsafe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Conestoga Roofing . . . . . . . 6Cowan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Duncan Linton . . . . . . . . . . 19EBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5 Star Paving . . . . . . . . . . . 11JDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Knells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6KW Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15LiUNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Melloul Blamey . . . . . . . . 10Miller Thomson . . . . . . . . . 13Strassburger . . . . . . . . . . . 21Walters Group . . . . . . . . . 23

Highly trained, safety-conscious and skilled, LIUNA members are the right people for the job.

Employers know that LIUNA provides more comprehensive, advanced training for its members than any other union in Canada. LIUNA is committed to training and has created partnerships with employers including investments by our pension fund in P3 projects.

Hands-on training through the Construction Craft Worker (CCW) Apprenticeship Program is available for all LIUNA members to ensure a safe, productive workforce. Members are ready to work safely from their fi rst day on the job, making them a valuable asset to employers.

LIUNA represents more than 80,000 members in all sectors of the construction industry in Ontario including; industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI), residential, roads, gas pipeline, sewer and watermain, electrical power systems, demolition, utilities and heavy engineering.

Visit liunaopdc.org/affi liated-local-unions to fi nd a LIUNA local affi liate near you.

YOU NEEDWORK-READYEMPLOYEES. WE’RE HERETO TRAIN THEM.

Documents

The Technology & Green Design Issue · 2020-04-27 · The Technology & Green Design Issue With stories about technology adoption and data use across our industry, and how two organizations