Office Closure – February 16, 2017

Due to weather, CANS offices in Dartmouth & Sydney will delay opening on Thursday, February 16, 2017 until 10 am.

Moving Toward a National Mandate for Building Information Modelling

The Canadian architecture, engineering, construction, owner, and operator (AECOO) community is ripe for change. Building information modelling (BIM) provides a framework to prompt and guide this transformation. Many countries around the globe have put forth BIM mandates to support the collaborative process’ deployment—the goal is to improve the performance and value generated by their respective design, construction, and asset management sectors. Read more.

CITT Recommends Drywall Tariffs Be Dropped to 43 Per Cent

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) ruled this month that drywall products imported from the U.S. have injured the Canadian construction industry. But much lower tariffs and a break for those in fixed-priced contracts is being recommended. “The CCA is pleased that the panel has recognized that the imposition of a duty did create a hardship on our members working under fixed-price contracts and they have recommended a solution which we hope government adopts,” said Bill Ferreira, CCA vice-president of government relations and public affairs. Read more

Global Net-zero Energy Building Market to Reach $1.4T by 2035

The world’s net-zero energy market for both commercial and residential projects is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2035, according to a Navigant Research report.Read more

New from the Transportation Association of Canada: National Guidelines for Work Zone Safety

National Guidelines for Work Zone Safety promotes and facilitates consistent work zone safety practices across Canada by providing information that addresses common work zone issues from human factors and safety perspectives. Read moreor attend a webinar on Jan. 26

New Technologies Could Save Time on Costly Concrete Repairs

Building owners and developers have options other than costly, lengthy and disruptive concrete and reinforcing steel repair projects, members of the Building and Concrete Restoration Association of Ontario told attendees at a Construct Canada seminar held late last year. Read more

IPD Approach Showcased on Oakville Arena Project

The Town of Oakville, Ont. is the first municipality in Canada to use a full Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach coupled with lean principles for its Oakville Arena redevelopment project. Read more

Lean Projects Are Three Times More Likely to Complete ahead of Schedule According to Dodge Data & Analytics’ Research

Dodge Data & Analytics recently benchmarked the current state of capital project delivery performance and found a statistically significant correlation between use of Lean methods and better project outcomes. Read more

TFW Program’s ‘Four-in, Four-out’ Rule Scrapped

Ottawa has done away with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s four-year cumulative duration rule. The cumulative duration rule was put in place in April 2011, limiting work for some temporary foreign workers in Canada to four years, who then became ineligible to work in Canada for the next four years. “We think it’s quite positive,” said Bill Ferreira, CCA’s vice-president of government relations and public affairs. He added that while the CCA will still wait and see what the changes look like, they are excited the government is looking to create a pathway. Read more

10 construction industry trends to watch in 2017

From new technologies to collaborative project delivery methods, experts say these trends will shape the industry in the coming year. Read more.