CIRI announces science advisory council

The Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) is a not-for-profit, educational, science and research organization in the worldwide professional cleaning, facilities, and building maintenance, Jansan and disaster restoration industries.

CIRI’s updated Science Advisory Council (SAC) consists of leading scientists and researchers serving the cleaning and disaster restoration industries:

Steven M. Spivak, PhD., is the SAC chair. Spivak has served in this role since 2008. He succeeded Michael Berry who founded the council. Spivak has served the cleaning and restoration industries for more than three decades. He is an Emeritus Professor with the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland where he served more than 30 years as teacher-educator, researcher, student advisor, and mentor. Simultaneously, Spivak served as a consultant and technical advisor to the Restoration Industry Association (RIA and its predecessor, ASCR International).

Eugene C. Cole, PH. is the director of research for LRC Indoor Testing & Research, Cary, N.C. Cole’s research focuses on the ecology of indoor environments, with special emphasis on identification and reduction of pollutant reservoirs and sources, bioaerosols, human exposure assessment and control, product evaluation, cleaning and restoration, mold and sewage remediation, and biocides. He has been a contributor to multiple editions of the IICRC S500 Water Damage Restoration Standard and the IICRC S520 Mold Remediation Standard. He holds both a master’s of Science degree in public health microbiology and a doctor of public health degree in biohazard science & occupational health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, Cole is a Fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

Richard Shaughnessy, PhD., is an expert in indoor air quality (IAQ) and the director of the indoor air quality research program at the University of Tulsa. Shaughnessy is internationally recognized in air quality, environmental quality, and measurement systems in buildings and facilities. He is an officer with ISIAQ for their triennial international research conference on indoor air quality, with environmental quality measurement and health. He maintains many global research collaborations, especially with researchers in Finland and Scandinavia.

Greg Whiteley, PhD., is a specialist in cleaning science, hygiene, disinfection, and mitigating Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). Whiteley is chairman of Whiteley Corporation, a formulator, and distributor of infection control and disinfection products and processes, and also an Adjunct Fellow in the School of Medicine at Western Sydney University in Australia. He is the Collaboration Partner Study Director for an iMCRC Grant with the School of Medicine at Sydney University, which is investigating novel solutions for biofilm-mediated infections and other forms of biofilm contamination and remediation. This is especially critical in hospital ICUs as an antagonist against HAIs.

Ralph Moon, PhD., is a principal with GHD Services, Inc. and manages the Building Sciences Group within the Forensic Engineering Department of GHD. Moon’s research interests are varied and address questions that arise during insurance loss investigations. He frequently publishes both scientific and technical articles of interest to the insurance and remediation communities. He received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University and master’s and PhD from the University of South Florida.

John Richter, MSME graduated from the University of Dayton with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. He entered the cleaning industry in 2006 when he joined Kaivac, Inc. as technical director. At Kaivac, Richter conducted scientific studies and research in the areas of cleaning effectiveness with respect to various cleaning methods using ATP measurements, bacteria counts, and tribometry. In 2014, he accepted a position as Clinical Faculty Member with the Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In addition to teaching multiple engineering classes, he also is an active engineering consultant in the cleaning industry.

Individual memberships in CIRI are open to scientists/researchers and trainers/instructors, and partner memberships are available to trade associations.

Stuart Olson buys Calgary-based Tartan

Stuart Olson Inc.has acquired Calgary-based Tartan Canada Corp. for approximately $12 million, expanding its reach in the industrial maintenance, construction and plant turnaround business.

Tartan, which primarily serves clients in the industrial and energy industries, was founded in 1953 and employs about 400 workers. Tartan will be fully integrated within Stuart Olson’s industrial group. Bob Myles, Stuart Olson’s industrial group’s chief operating officer, who was previously Tartan’s president and CEO up until January 2016, will lead the process of integrating Tartan into the company.

“This acquisition represents an important milestone for our Industrial Group to further its abilities as an integrated solutions provider,” said David LeMay, president and CEO of Stuart Olson. “Our growth strategies are centred on building both scope and scale by targeting the addition of complementary trade services.”

Tartan has a backlog of approximately $50 million and posted revenue of about $70 million for the 12 months prior to Sept. 30.

“Tartan is very excited to be part of the Stuart Olson family and now have access to its large industrial customer base. Tartan brings a strong reputation of providing safe, high quality, cost effective and on time heavy industrial services,” said Doug Lautermilch, president and CEO of Tartan.

Stuart Olson operates office locations and projects throughout Western Canada, Ontario and the territories. Stuart Olson was recognized as one of Alberta’s Top 70 Employers in 2018 for the second consecutive year.

Real estate primed for low-carbon vanguard

Real estate and infrastructure top a list of five sectors that prominent Canadian analysts have tagged as the most obvious prospects to deliver returns on investment in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving resilience to climatic extremes. Even so, the recently released interim report from Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance suggests there is more untapped opportunity than coordinated action in a market grappling with emerging imperatives for climate-related financial disclosure and integrating ESG (environmental, social, governance) measures.

“The Panel witnessed remarkable institutional commitment to progress; important pockets of growth in sustainable finance; and widespread confidence in Canada’s opportunity to prosper in the global movement toward clean, climate resilient economic growth. Yet, overall, Canada’s sustainable finance market is not growing in a manner that reflects the dialogue,” the report states.

The Panel, which reports to Canada’s Ministers of Finance and Environment and Climate Change, is chaired by Tiff Macklem, Dean of University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and includes senior executives from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Royal Bank of Canada. After widespread consultation with the financial services industry, they maintain that investors and their key advisors lack appropriate structured guidance, benchmark indices are not incorporating sufficient sustainability criteria and lenders fail to adequately focus on the long-term impact of climate change.

“The majority of investors remain confident that they can adjust their portfolios if or when climate impacts become more tangible, and are not meaningfully adjusting their investment strategies today,” the interim report submits.

The Panel cites “transformative importance and economic potential” as reasons for categorizing real estate and infrastructure among the low-carbon vanguard, but the two sectors are also making progress in filling in some of the informational gaps that the interim report decries. GRESB, the assessment and benchmarking program tracking the ESG performance of commercial real estate and infrastructure portfolios worldwide, again extended its reach in 2018.

Beginning with just three European pension funds in 2009, this year’s real estate results reflect data collected from 903 participating entities that hold 79,000 assets in 64 countries, collectively valued at about USD $3.5 trillion. This includes dozens of the largest REITs, direct property holders and private equity firms globally.

“There is a huge amount of global activity. The real goal is having more and more common language,” Neil Pegram, GRESB director for the Americas, told a gathering in Toronto earlier this fall, as he drew connections to initiatives like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, UN Sustainable Development Goals and various national and sub-national targets and policies for reducing GHG emissions, conserving water and energy, and safeguarding ecosystems. “We’re always looking from the perspective of the investor and how they need sustainability KPIs (key performance indicators) to work for them.”

Peer-to-peer ESG benchmarking

GRESB participants report in seven variously weighted categories — management; policy and disclosure; risk and opportunity assessment; environmental monitoring/management; performance indicators, including energy and water consumption and waste diversion; building certifications; and stakeholder engagement — to provide a picture of their strategy-level environmental commitment and oversight, implementation rigour and measurable outcomes. For investors and asset managers alike this offers a means to track ESG compliance and delineate linkages to other elements of portfolio performance.

Submissions are scored and then benchmarked within peer groups based on global regions, asset types and listed or private status. Participants that score at least 50 on the scale of 100 also earn a star rating, prorated to their quintile of performance within the total field.

“Increasingly, social and environmental responsibility is seen as not only positive branding, but also a moral and market imperative,” says Michael Brooks, chief executive officer of the commercial real estate industry association, REALPAC, which partners with GRESB in Canada. “GRESB is the key global tool to identify relative performance through peer-to-peer benchmarking, driving increased corporate accountability, responsibility and morality.”

Six Canadian based organizations are among the current contingent of fifty-eight investor members, collectively representing more than USD $18 trillion in institutional capital, that have access to GRESB’s comprehensive results database. Speaking at the Toronto release of this year’s results, Dan Winters, GRESB head of the Americas, affirmed that institutional investors “are the players at highest level of our pyramid”, but expressed no surprise that private equity firms are also on board.

“For value-add funds, that’s exactly where the rubber meets the road,” he asserted. “In a tight time horizon, that’s really where sustainability pays off financially.”

In recognition of what’s commonly acknowledged to be an arduous reporting process, first-time participants are offered confidentially for their initial results, keeping them off-limits to GRESB investor member scrutiny. “There is a lot of work, particularly in the first year. The first year is a heavy lift,” noted Pegram, who brings participants’ insight to his role, having served as Morguard’s head of sustainability prior to joining GRESB earlier this year.

However, when called out of the audience to comment on her company’s recent experience as a newcomer, Anushka Grant, vice president, sustainability and asset efficiency at RioCan, voiced no regrets. She pointed to internal and external drivers that bolster the case for making the effort.

“Last year, we took advantage of the grace period. The struggle (to report) is real, but we are really happy with the progress we have made,” she said. “We have our senior leadership team strongly supporting our sustainability program. It also helps that investors are asking more and more questions.”

Burgeoning infrastructure investment opportunities

In light of such questions, the scope of GRESB analysis has been widening — via new topics within the real estate assessment and with the 2016 launch of a separate infrastructure assessment. Alberta Investment Management Corporation and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan were among 10 founding members of the infrastructure benchmark, which, this year, draws on data from 75 funds reporting on 280 assets, collectively worth an estimated USD $500 billion.

“Globally, we are seeing more infrastructure and the need for more infrastructure. In some ways, it’s the sexy new asset class,” mused Rick Walters, GRESB infrastructure director.

In Canada, that coincides with the federal government’s commitment to invest $180 billion over a 12-year period. That includes a $5 billion Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to be awarded via a competitive bid process, which is open to both public and private ventures valued at a minimum of $20 million. All bids will be vetted for alignment with ISO standard 14067 for greenhouse gas mitigation and ISO 31000 for risk management and climate change resilience.

“The condition our assets are going to have to endure over time are changing,” Emily Partington, project director, sustainability and energy, with the engineering consulting firm, WSP, advised the gathering. “What’s changed in the market is our ability to actually anticipate some of these trends, down to the asset level. We have the ability to know what the world is going to throw at us.”

Together, provincial and municipal governments currently own the overwhelming majority of existing infrastructure assets in Canada. However, the confluence of oft-documented vast requirements for renewal and replacement, new funding and prospective investors previously shut out of the market sets the scene for a shift. The Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance again stresses that better information is needed.

“Canada’s major public pension funds are among the top infrastructure investors in the world and have had a longstanding appetite for investment in domestic infrastructure. Because private infrastructure investment has not been widely pursued in Canada, these funds are largely invested offshore,” the interim report states. “Greater shared access to reliable, consistent, timely information and more modern assessment methodologies would both eliminate redundant effort and cost, and enhance risk comfort among investors, lenders, insurance underwriters and developers.”

GRESB is a potential source of that information, which many of the targeted investors are already using for real estate. “It’s terrific that GRESB is now dealing with infrastructure because these lines (between real estate and infrastructure) blur,” Brooks maintained.

“We have to think more about the resilience piece,” concurred Thomas Mueller, president and chief executive officer of the Canada Green Building Council. “There is going to be billions and billions and billions of dollars that communities are going to invest in resiliency — because they have to.”

Evolving assessment

Meanwhile, 13 per cent of real estate participants chose to report under a new voluntary resilience component designed to gain insight into their portfolios’ vulnerability to, and ability to endure, environmental upheaval. Over the course of the three-year pilot, GRESB administrators will further refine the questions and their approach to interpreting collected data.

This mirrors the evolution of the health and well-being module, offered as a pilot from 2016 to 2018. Volunteer respondents, representing fully one third of the database this year, have helped to shape the assessment for the future.

“When we started, we didn’t know how to ask questions about it,” recalled Chris Pyke, research officer with the U.S. Green Building Council, who has been leading both pilots. “The best working of the health and well-being indicators will now graduate to the core program and the rest will hit the road.”

Barbara Carss is editor-in-chief of Canadian Property Management.

Toronto loses bid to host Amazon’s second headquarters

After a year-long search, Amazon has chosen New York City and Arlington, Va., as the locations for its second headquarters out of 20 short-listed cities. They join Seattle as the company’s three headquarters in North America.

Amazon also announced Nashville, another HQ2 finalist, as the location for its new Operations Center of Excellence, responsible for the company’s customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities.

Amazon plans to invest $5 billion into the new locations and in addition, create more than 50,000 jobs. Nashville will benefit from 5000 jobs and over $230 million in investment. Amazon expects to begin hiring early next year.

The 4-million square feet office space in Arlington, Va., will be located in National Landing – a community three miles from downtown Washington, D.C. In New York City, the new office of the same size will be located in Long Island City.

The online retailer will receive performance-based direct incentives based on the company creating jobs in both locations. The company revealed other tax breaks and grants it will receive in its blog post.

Amazon also explained it picked more than one location for recruitment purposes. “We were looking for a location with strong local and regional talent — particularly in software development.”

Canada and European Union sign MRA for architects

Canada and the European Union have signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), giving architects opportunities to work across the Atlantic.

The Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities (CALA) and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) have confirmed the ACE-CALA Mutual Recognition Agreement for the Practice of Architecture among member states in the European Union and Canada. The agreement comes into force in 2019.

“We have been working on this initiative with our European counterparts for a number of years. This mutual recognition agreement will provide new access for Canadian architects to undertake projects in the European Union,” explained Peter Streith, FRAIC, chair of the International Relations Committee of CALA.

The agreement represents a decade of negotiations, bringing trans-Atlantic recognition of professional credentials under the auspices of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free-trade agreement between Canada, the European Union, and its member states.

Qualified architects from each country who satisfy the requirements of the agreement will be granted a credential that will lead to a license to practice architecture in the host country. The agreement opens doors to qualified architects as the world and architectural practices become more globally connected.

This pact outlines specific requirements that architects must satisfy when pursuing mutual recognition. These include education, internship and work qualifications, as well as submitting documentation to confirm the individual’s credentials.

The basic eligibility requirements include:

A qualified architect from the EU and Canada shall be registered or licensed or otherwise recognized and is a member in good standing in their home jurisdiction and have completed a minimum of 12 years of education, training, and practice in the field of architecture, in one or more of the states, provinces or territories of their home jurisdiction, of which a minimum of four years shall be post-registration/licensure experience;
Proof of “Good Standing” in the home jurisdiction, as verified by the local regulatory authority;
Knowledge of the codes, laws, and other matters applicable to the practice of architecture in the host country;
Mobility across borders in the European Union and across provinces and territories in Canada and;
European architects seeking licensure in Canada must complete a 10-hour online course on Canadian domain-specific requirements in architecture.

Architects interested in pursuing the opportunity for licensure outside of their home country should review the eligibility requirements and program information available on the CALA website cala-roac.ca as of January 2019.

Tips for outsourcing compact portfolios

A compact portfolio puts an FM much closer to facilities and services compared to a regional, country-wide or international portfolio, where they are spread out and more difficult to manage directly in each of the different locations.

When a relatively modest-sized portfolio is managed in-house, it may cost too much to pay for specialty resources such as energy specialists or maintenance management software that are not required full-time. And even if a small organization could hire its own specialist, providing for his or her ongoing certification, training and development is more challenging than in a larger organization.

As such, FMs overseeing compact portfolios may consider outsourcing. However, since there are both advantages and disadvantages, there are several factors to weigh in choosing an approach. There is no one single solution, so it’s important to consider the specific circumstances of a situation.

The objective of an outsourcing initiative is important to this decision. This is related to the reasons organizations outsource, such as achieving economies of scale, and which of them are relevant to the situation at hand. Just remember that not all the reasons for outsourcing will apply or generate the same benefits. It is important to assess objectives against the different approaches to outsourcing.

Beyond objectives, what are the specific issues being targeted for improvement or change? Is it costs, service, internal resourcing, challenges managing multiple contractors, lack of experience or technology? How will outsourcing specific services solve those issues?

If an organization already contracts most of its services, a bundled FM outsourcing approach would be easier to do, but cost savings may be lower. The key benefit is that the organization would procure and manage fewer suppliers by engaging a larger outsourcing company who can get economies of scale for subcontracted services. If the organization has in-house staff performing some of its services, it requires more effort to manage in-house but, depending on in-house costs, outsourcing could either be a cost benefit or add to costs due to added overhead and profits from the supplier. If the organization has sufficient in-house management to oversee multiple service providers, a fully bundled outsourcing approach may not be needed unless in-house management is reduced or reassigned to other activities. If internal staff already can’t manage the current workload, outsourcing can shift the effort of managing multiple subcontracted services or in-house resources from the organization to the new provider.

In weighing the alternatives, it’s important to consider how to maximize outsourcing advantages and minimize its disadvantages. Think of the services as a bunch of blocks and the FM needs to decide which blocks to put together. It’s possible to outsource the services that make sense as a bundle to one provider and continue to sub-contract services or self-perform services the FM is better positioned to oversee and manage and for which bundling provides fewer benefits.

What to bundle?

Here are some of the factors to use when deciding on what to bundle into an outsourcing initiative and what to continue subcontracting and therefore managing internally:

Complexity

The more complex and specialty the service is, the more likely you should not manage it directly, and therefore it should be bundled.

Connected/coordinated services

The more connected and coordinated services are, the more likely they should be bundled and included in a single contract with overall management of those services by one service provider as an outsourced service.

Spend

The higher the cost of single service the less likely it should be bundled. Small spends or seldom-used services that are harder to procure in smaller scale are more likely to be bundled.

Control and organizational impact

The services with the highest impact and visibility to an organization should remain under its direct control instead of bundling them. The exception is usually highly technical specialized services that are better managed and coordinated with other technical services by an organization with the skills, experience and knowledge to deliver the services better.

Resources and administration

The fewer resources and administration an organization has available to manage multiple contracted services, the more things should be bundled into an outsourcing initiative.

Investment (equipment, tools, training, etc.)

Specific services requiring special equipment, special tools or intense training, re-training and certification are more likely to benefit from being sub-contracted, whether individually contracted or bundled into an outsourcing initiative based on other factors. Overall services that require software, resources or specialized management (maintenance management software or a 24-hour help desk are examples) can be expensive to implement for a compact portfolio but less costly when outsourced, particularly when bundled with other services.

Bundling options

Here are a few different bundling options that illustrate how services can be split out to do in-house, to subcontract directly and to bundle as an outsourced FM contract. The decision factors above may be used to help decide which is best for a particular organization. This example only includes a small range of possible services. The same principle applies to all other services an organization may require.

Fully outsourced

This is the classic fully outsourced model. It bundles the delivery of all services together under one outsourced FM provider. This is more likely to be seen in a larger, geographically dispersed portfolio. Depending on whether the organization owns the building or not, some of these tasks may be done by the landlord and the service provider interfaces with the landlord to ensure services are delivered as expected by the lease. Note that while the service delivery is outsourced, the strategic activities, including financial planning, capital planning and space planning, for instance, remain in-house.

Outsourced and in-house

In this model, certain activities are retained in-house. A split between in-house and outsourced services is common in larger portfolios where organizations have the resources to perform the functions in-house and where those services are more strategic or critical to their core business. This example keeps space and project-related activities in-house but some larger organizations may keep the help desk or security in-house, for instance, or have their own staff delivering cleaning or providing grounds services (landscaping).

Outsource and in-house and individual contracts

This is a mixed approach to maximize advantages and minimize disadvantages. This alternative takes larger, standalone services out of the outsourced bundle. These are services that may not benefit from being bundled under an overall provider in a compact portfolio. The items here would depend on an organization’s specific objectives and issues as described further above.

The in-house services are the same as the previous example.

The bundled services remaining include maintenance, CMMS (maintenance management software) and the help desk. The maintenance is bundled because it has many coordinated specialty services. The CMMS is bundled with maintenance because it is closely related to maintenance and requires significant investment and resources. The help desk is included for the same reason.

The individually subcontracted services are not closely coordinated or linked to the other services or each other except for grounds and snow and ice, which can sometimes be contracted out to a single provider who does both winter and summer services. In addition, the individually subcontracted services can be high cost due to the volume of activity (such as cleaning) or because they have a direct and visible impact on occupants and visitors to the facility. They are also easier to manage as standalone services.

FM outsourcing is a viable option for compact portfolios. However, applying it to the entire range of services without considering the issues and options may not achieve the best results. As with any business decision, step back and look at all the factors along with the advantages and disadvantages of each alternate approach before finalizing an approach to outsourcing an organization’s facilities services.

Michel Theriault is principal of Strategic Advisor, a facility, property and asset management consulting firm. The preceding article is excerpted with permission from the white paper Outsourcing Compact Portfolios, which can be accessed in full at www.fminsight.com/white-papers/.

What’s new under WELL v2?

What’s new under the WELL v2 pilot launched by the International WELL Building Institute?

The WELL Building Standard™ (WELL) was the first tool of its kind to focus exclusively on human health. Since the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) first launched in 2014, WELL has been used in nearly 1,000 projects across 37 countries around the world. At its core, WELL takes a rigourous, performance-based approach with the aim of maximizing the impact of healthy buildings.

The projects that have become WELL Certified to date have provided valuable insights, including post-occupancy metrics that demonstrate the value of designing for health. CBRE Canada found that in its WELL Certified offices, the total employee turnover rate has fallen by almost one third and the hiring rate for new talent has doubled. A report from World Green Building Council concluded that Cundall’s new office (WELL Certified Gold), which focused on improved indoor air quality, including continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds, has saved the company £200,000 due to a reduction of four sick days per year per employee.

IWBI plans to regularly update WELL based on input from the growing movement, expanding evidence base and new research. To that end, on May 31, IWBI unveiled the WELL v2™ pilot, the next version WELL. This second iteration is designed to advance IWBI’s global aim to build a healthier future for all by taking a number of measures:

Consolidating several existing pilot programs (multifamily residential, commercial kitchen, retail, education facilities and restaurants) in one universal set of features.
Identifying the most pressing health issues in different geographies around the world to address local opportunities and imperatives. For example, many feature criteria are linked to risk factors addressed by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database, which provides national-level data for countries around the world estimating disease burden and associated risk factors.
Expanding the concepts that make up WELL to include Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials and Community. These concepts have been introduced separately to better acknowledge significant aspects of health that have always been a part of WELL.
Expanding feature strategies, which project teams can select based on what will have the greatest impact and provide the most value. WELL v2 operates on a points-based system, which is determined based on the extent to which a feature addresses a specific health concern or provides opportunity for health promotion.
Introducing an early phase review, WELL D&O, so project teams can confirm they’re on the right track as they make ongoing and incremental improvements.

What hasn’t changed in WELL v2 is that the program continues to emphasize scientific rigour, technical excellence and verified performance in the design of healthy buildings. Stay up to date on WELL v2 at https://v2.wellcertified.com.

Jessica Cooper is chief commercial officer at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). She was one of the first WELL Accredited Professionals and a WELL Faculty. Jessica keeps herself healthy by seeking yoga wherever she may be, having practiced at studios in more than six countries and 15 cities around the world! #WeAreWELL

Alberta investing $1B for Edmonton Valley Line LRT

The Alberta government has announced that it is investing $1 billion of the city’s expected $2.6-billion Valley Line West LRT expansion cost.

The route expansion will move 60,000 Edmontonians between downtown and Lewis Estates every day, providing a faster commute which will mean more time to spend with families and friends.

The province is also investing in the Metro Line expansion from NAIT to the new Blatchford community, which will serve thousands more commuters daily. The province’s commitment to the Metro Line totals $131 million of the $328-million project.

The finished route will bring suburban communities and the city’s core together, running from Mill Woods through downtown to the west end, with connections to LRT and bus routes covering the entire city. The 14 stops include West Edmonton Mall, the Misericordia Hospital and the Brewery District.

“We are planning and building a city for more than a million people, and with commute times getting longer each year, now is a critical time in Edmonton’s growth to ensure we have a robust transit network in place,” said Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.

The construction of the Valley Line West project is expected to support 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in Alberta with an additional 5,300 jobs in the rest of Canada, during construction, operations and maintenance phases.

The Valley Line is projected to be complete in 2026 and will move 40,000 passengers daily in 2027 and 60,000 in 2047.

Diamond Schmitt among Canada’s top employers

For the fourth consecutive year, the 250-person architectural firm, Diamond Schmitt Architects has made the list of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. Now in its 20th year, the competition recognizes employers with exceptional human resources programs and forward-thinking workplace policies.

“We have experienced considerable growth in our company in the past year and we strive to ensure we have the most progressive programs to both engage and maintain the well-being of our talented staff,” said Lilia Kiriakou, human resources director at the design practice, in a press release. “Through the solicitation of continual feedback, we pride ourselves on knowing what’s really important to our employees and encourage our staff to be part of driving innovative initiatives.”

An example of this innovation is the launch of Diamond Schmitt University (DSU), a learning program of fundamental to mastery level courses delivered by both staff and external partnerships. The firm also encourages fun with a summer family picnic on Toronto Island, a paid day off to ski and snowshoe and an annual in-house pie tasting competition.

Employers are evaluated based on eight key criteria and then compared to similar organizations in their fields to figure out which company is doing the best. The criteria include:

Physical Workplace
Work Atmosphere & Social
Health, Financial & Family Benefits
Vacation & Time Off
Employee Communications
Performance Management
Training & Skills Development
Community Involvement

This year’s competition saw a record number of employers take part in the selection process. Mattamy Homes Ltd., Canada’s largest residential home builder and Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc., a property management firm based in Montreal, also made the list.

Canada’s Top 100 Employers is an annual national competition. Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada may apply regardless of size, whether private or public sector.

CF Chinook Centre unveils new food court

Cadillac Fairview has completed its $17-million renovations of the food court at Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre. Construction started in January 2018.

The new dining hall is 30,000 square feet, seats 835 guests and features 20 dining options. The renovations also included new sorting stations for disposing of organic waste, recyclable and non-recyclable materials, enhanced décor elements, including tiling, upgraded furniture with communal tables and banquets. The outdoor patio area was also revamped

“We are excited to officially open the new Dining Hall at CF Chinook Centre. The transformed space provides a premium dining experience and a diverse range of exciting food choices for everyone to enjoy,” said Paige O’Neill, general manager, CF Chinook Centre in a press release.

“At CF Chinook Centre, we’re committed to making long-term investments in the City of Calgary and we are constantly looking for ways in which we can improve and elevate the in-property experience for our valued guests and tenants.”

Avison Young acquires UK-based GVA

Avison Young has entered into an agreement with global private-equity firm, EQT to acquire GVA, a U.K.-based real estate advisory-led businesses. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019.

“We are incredibly impressed with the strategic positioning of GVA, represented by its depth of consultancy and transactional services and long-standing client relationships,” said Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young.

“We are excited by the international collaboration potential and the opportunity to continue to build our unique partnership model. This transaction will restore GVA to its partnership roots and provide additional opportunities to cross-sell clients across Avison Young in the U.K. and globally. Moreover, joining forces with GVA will provide us with a greater level of scale and capabilities to fuel our growth to an even wider audience, and offer an expanded breadth of services to our clients. We look forward to welcoming the highly experienced senior leaders of GVA as Principals and owners of Avison Young, and to working with our new colleagues and clients across the globe.”

GVA has 1,500 employees in 15 offices in the U.K., Ireland, and Poland. Upon the closing of the deal, Avison Young will combine GVA with Avison Young’s existing U.K. operations.

A safer melting product

With the winter season’s approach, DIY and environmentally-oriented magazines are advising consumers about the green alternatives to snow/ice melters. Who knew natural ingredients like pickle brine, alfalfa meal (commonly used as an organic fertilizer), sugar beet juice, coffee grounds, fireplace ashes or a mixture of white vinegar and warm water could melt ice?

For facility managers with much larger areas to treat, using these homemade solutions is not feasible. Yet, managers, like consumers, are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they use and are searching for alternatives.

Sodium chloride-based products, also known as rock salt, have long been known to commonly leach into lakes, rivers and streams, increasing the salinity of these fresh water sources. One report estimates that after a spring thaw, the concentration of salt in fresh water increases to approximately one-third of the salt levels found in the ocean.

These raised salt levels impact the health and survival of fish, amphibians and other animals and aquatic plants. In fact, most chloride-based products cause some form of harm to humans, pets, plants and aquatic life.

When cats and dogs walk on surfaces treated with sodium chloride products, they often experience painful burning, inflammation and cracked pads. If they lick their paws and ingest the salt, they may experience symptoms such as excessive thirst, vomiting and diarrhea.

When sodium chloride spreads from sidewalks and driveways into nearby soil, it interferes with plants’ ability to absorb vital nutrients, including water, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Calcium chloride-based products, another common de-icer/anti-icer, can burn human skin on contact. If inhaled, dust particles can cause severe irritation and bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. They irritate dogs’ paws and are poisonous to canines. When spread into gardens and on to vegetation, calcium chloride can have a defoliating effect on trees and other plants.

Magnesium chloride-based products are considered to be better for the environment than those made from sodium and calcium chloride, but they cannot be considered environmentally friendly because they still contain a high percentage of chloride salts.

Beyond health and environmental concerns, chlorides also are corrosive to metals and, to varying degrees, concrete, asphalt and stone walkways, and will reduce the functional life of structures such as railings and doors.

An alternative to chloride-based granular ice melt products are liquid de-icers. One such product based upon potassium formate technology is 100 per cent chloride-free and readily biodegradable. It is safer for pets, plants, metal, concrete and other surfaces. Its toxicity rate is significantly lower than that of calcium chloride, calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), rock salt and potassium acetate.

Facility managers have been attracted to liquid ice melt/de-ice products in recent years largely because they are much easier to apply. There is no need to carry a bag of granular product across walkways and up and down stairways to administer — and no need to continually reach into the bag to scoop out de-icer. Spray applications are far more efficient, easy to use and provide for very precise application rates.

Because children and pets are not typically walking or playing on the grounds of commercial buildings, facility managers may view consumer concerns about child and pet-based eco-friendliness as of secondary importance. But a building’s indoor environment is also negatively impacted by some de-ice/anti-ice materials. When tracked into a facility, sodium chloride de-icers leave a white residue that can dull the finish of floors and fade the colour of carpets. Calcium and magnesium chloride-based products coat floors with an oily, slippery residue that damages wax and urethane finishes, posing a safety risk to employees and visitors.

By contrast, the neutral pH formulations of certain potassium formate technology deicers eliminate tracking, leaving no residue. This reduces near-term labour costs associated with manual cleaning, estimated at $50 per entrance per day, according to the ISSA’s Clean Management Institute. And with no tracking and no residue, the building’s floors and carpets are safer to walk, too.

Outdoors, potassium formate technology de-icers create a safer environment for pedestrians more quickly than chloride-based de-icers. For example, some potassium formate technology de-icers have a speed of melt of 30 to 50 seconds by reducing the freezing point to temperatures as low as minus 53 C. These de-icers quickly and reliably remove thin layers of ice and prevent new snow and ice from accumulating. By contrast, chloride-based granular de-icers take a minimum of three to five minutes to achieve an acceptable melt, and as much as 10 minutes.

Most users will achieve a lower application cost per 1,000 square feet with liquids than with granular de-icers because of the ease and speed of application and the reduced amount of product needed to produce an acceptable melt.

Combined, the benefits of liquid de-icers based upon potassium formate technology are making it easier for facility managers to create a clean, safe environment.

Nate Clemmer is CEO of Branch Creek, the maker of Entry — the chloride-free liquid
ice melt that eliminates the mess of salt. He can be reached at 1-888-408-5433 or [email protected].

National housing starts trend decreases in October

The trend in housing starts was 206,171 units in October 2018, down from 207,809 units in September 2018, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“The national trend in housing starts declined for a fourth consecutive month in October, which leaves the trend at its lowest level since February 2017,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist, in a press release. “However, despite declining for several months, the trend remains slightly above its long-run average because it follows historically elevated levels of activity in 2017.”

In the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), housing starts trended lower in October 2018 as the number of single-detached and multi-family projects declined. The City of Vancouver accounted for over half of all housing starts in the CMA, with several major projects underway. As the region’s resale home market has softened over the course of the year so far, new home construction for the year is expected to be slightly below the total for 2017.

Housing starts in the Victoria CMA trended down in October 2018, drawing year-to-date totals down by six per cent year-over-year. The annual changes in October housing starts are large, due to the timing of major multi-family projects. The trend in housing starts remains elevated overall.

In Calgary, the trend in housing starts decreased in October, compared to one month before. Declining new construction was largely driven by lower apartment stars, as inventory levels for apartment units remain high. However, so far this year, total housing starts last month were three per cent up compared to year-ago levels.

The trend measure of housing starts climbed last month in Regina after local homebuilders increased production of apartment units. However, the overall pace of new home construction is well below October 2017, especially in single-detached starts, where high levels of inventory has resulted in slowing production. Multi-family construction through October fell 34 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Toronto’s CMA saw total housing starts trend higher in October following strong starts in the multi-family sector. Booming pre-construction sales of more affordable townhomes and condominium apartments over the past two years contributes to housing starts in 2018. Meanwhile, the downward trend in single-detached starts remained into October, leading to its lowest level this year, reflecting the slowdown in their pre-construction sales over the past year. The rising cost of land and lack of serviceable land have hindered new sales centre openings recently, resulting in fewer starts.

In London, the trend measure of housing starts declined by nearly 10 per cent in October 2018. Last month’s drop was a result of fewer apartment projects starting and the continued slowdown in single-detached starts. The number of single-detached homes finished but unsold has trended higher in 2018, which is likely causing fewer starts as builders can satisfy some of the demand using existing inventory.

The trend in total housing starts reached a five-month high in October in the Belleville CMA. The pace of new home construction climbed for both single-detached and multi-unit homes. One third of the total starts were rental apartments. All apartments that are currently under construction are purpose-built rentals, representing 35 per cent of total units under construction. Falling vacancy rates encouraged builders to build more rental units.

Total housing starts since the start of 2018 are showing a slight increase in Montreal. An aging population in this CMA continues to fuel seniors’ housing construction. Meanwhile, relatively low vacancy rates on the rental market also stimulated the construction of rental units in the metropolitan area.

The Trois-Rivières region saw housing starts trend higher in October 2018. Condominium and rental housing construction accounted for this increase, including the start of construction on a 118-unit seniors’ housing development. The declining inventory of unabsorbed new condominiums along with employment growth helped in supporting the need for new units in this market segment, while the aging population continued to cause demand for seniors’ housing in the region.

The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas of the country was 205,925 units in October 2018, up from 189,730 units compared to September 2018. The SAAR of urban starts climbed 806 per cent in October to 191,964 units. Multiple urban starts jumped 16.8 per cent to 145,442 units last month, while single-detached urban starts fell by 10.7 per cent to 46,522 units. Meanwhile, rural starts were estimated at a SAAR of 13,961 units.

Bill 47 aims to modernize Ontario’s apprenticeship system

On Oct. 23, 2018, the Ontario Government introduced its Making Ontario Open for Business Act – Bill 47. This series of regulatory and legislative changes would repeal significant amendments to the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act – Bill 148, which was passed by the previous Liberal government under former Premier Kathleen Wynne.

If passed, Bill 47 aims to address the backlog in Ontario’s skilled trades by replacing the province’s previous model with a one-to-one journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio for every trade where ratios apply. The Ontario government says that currently, the province’s ratios are among the highest in the country, limiting the number of apprentices an employer can train, relative to the number of journeypersons they employ.

This move is supported by the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA), which has recommended lowering apprenticeship ratios for about a decade. “This means our industry will finally have a system in place to close the trades skills gap across Ontario. This means employers can finally bring apprentices into their small businesses and train the next generation of skilled trades workers. This opens thousands of new opportunities for youth, and people looking for new employment opportunities,” said Rick Martins, OHBA president, in a press release. “The one-to-one ratio will enable thousands of home builders and renovators to hire and train new apprentices. Our members are ready and excited to hire and train the next generation of skilled tradespeople.”

The legislation also plans to modernize the apprenticeship system by winding down the Ontario College of Trades, which the province says remains a source of unnecessary and burdensome complexity for skilled trades employment in the province. The Ontario government believes apprenticeship must be modernized and transformed to better meet the needs of apprentices, employers and industry.

If passed, the government intends to support an orderly transition and ensure services continue to be provided to employers, workers and apprentices. The Minister would be given special powers in legislation, including the authority to take control over the College’s Board of Governors and to appoint an administrator to act on her behalf. The province plans to develop a replacement model for the regulation of skilled trades and apprenticeships in Ontario by early 2019.

However, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO), is concerned by the decision to wind down the Ontario College of Trades. For one, said the Council in a statement, the Ontario College of Trades was originally intended to professionalize the trades while removing government involvement in the regulation and administration of the trades. The College’s ratio decisions are based on a variety of evidence-based factors that affect each trade, meaning the resulting apprenticeship ratio is specific to each trade, the Council noted.

“Ontario has the most advanced training system in the country, if not the continent. The ratios dramatically impact the industry’s ability to attract and retain apprentices, resulting in the most productive and safest workforce across all jurisdictions,” said Jim Hogarth, PBCTCO president, in a statement. “The proposed changes to apprenticeship ratios should be concerning to all Ontarians. Apprenticeships touch on worker and consumer safety and are a cornerstone to quality construction in this province. Each trade is unique and having the appropriate apprenticeship ratio ensures that apprentices get the right training to qualify as journeypersons.”

The province also wants to implement a moratorium on trade classifications and reclassifications, which it says are burdensome and can affect the decision to hire new staff, as well as companies’ ability to compete in the global marketplace. The moratorium would mitigate the risks of climbing regulatory burden and costs for businesses.

“There are many tremendous and vibrant opportunities available in the skilled trades in Ontario. In fact, one in five new jobs in the next five years will be trades-related. But in Ontario today, employers can’t find apprentices and apprentices can’t find jobs,” said Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, in a press release.

Bill 47 is expected to come into effect by Jan. 1, 2019.

Traylor Bros, Aecon awarded water tunnel contract

Aecon Group and Traylor Bros Inc. in joint venture have been awarded a $267 million contract by Metro Vancouver for the Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel project in British Columbia. Traylor, a U.S.-based contractor, holds a 60 per cent stake in the partnership with Aecon holding the remaining interest.

The scope of work includes construction of two shafts, one on each side of Burrard Inlet, connected by a 1,100-metre tunnel. The north entry shaft will be in North Vancouver and approximately 60 metres deep, while the south exit shaft will be in Burnaby and approximately 110 metres deep.

“We look forward to successfully and safely delivering this complex, multi-year project for Metro Vancouver to ensure the continued, reliable delivery of clean drinking water to member jurisdictions,” said Jean-Louis Servranckx, president and chief executive officer, Aecon Group Inc.

“This award further advances Aecon’s recognized reputation as a partner-of-choice for tunnelling projects, while expanding our solid presence in Western Canada working on large-scale critical infrastructure projects.”

The tunnel will be one of five new water supply tunnel crossings in the region built to withstand a major earthquake. When complete, the tunnel will increase the capacity of the existing system to ensure the continued, reliable delivery of clean, safe drinking water in a growing region, and will meet current seismic standards.

Work will commence in November 2018 and the project is expected to reach completion by the end of 2023.

National Bank breaks ground on new HQ

Construction kicked off for the National Bank’s new head office in Montreal on Nov.7, 2018. The headquarters will be located at 800 Saint-Jacques Street West.

According to a press release the 40-floor building will feature a business centre, conference centre, two-level cafeteria, daycare centre, gym, 400 bicycle parking spaces, 80 charging stations for electric cars and an outside garden on the top floor.

“We’re glad the National Bank isn’t building just a new head office in Montreal but a tower designed to meet the strictest global standards in terms of both sustainable construction and the well-being of its occupants,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

“Montreal proudly welcomes this new building, located at the gateway to downtown, as well as these new green spaces which will blend beautifully into our city and reflect our leadership in sustainable development.”

The project will cost over half a billion dollars, Montreal’s largest real estate investment in 25 years. Menkès Shooner Dagenais Létourneux Architectes will be designing the banks new head office, Broccolini will be the general contractor and project manager, while Pomerleau is the structural contractor.

Construction is expected to be completed by 2022.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, the bank also announced it will invest $20 million to renovations at its Toronto offices at 130 King Street.

New app helps users with energy benchmarking

A free app for members of the design and construction community in Ontario called the energyCompass.design tool – Compass for short – officially launched Nov. 7, 2018. The platform aims to streamline energy benchmarking and reporting during the design phase of building development projects.

“Previously, data available through energy simulation studies has not been leveraged en masse to analyze performance trends or to benchmark similar buildings to improve energy performance,” said Mike Williams, principal at RWDI in a press release.

Compass translates the extensive data of building energy simulation models into easily understood graphic presentations, like ecoMetrics ( launched by Diamond Schmitt Architects and developed in conjunction with RWDI). The intention of both tools is to improve energy literacy and inform green building design towards a zero-carbon future.

“The design and construction industry is almost exclusively comprised of small companies and we are tasked with trying to solve some of this generation’s biggest problems, such as climate change,” Williams said. “Our thesis with Compass is that if we can find ways to begin to share data, effectively working together, we will be able to develop real solutions faster.

Funding for the benchmarking initiative was provided by The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) and the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO).

Visit energyCompass.design to learn more about the tool.

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