FMCA Calls on Government for Inclusion in Fort McMurray Rebuild

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Members of the Fort McMurray Construction Association (FMCA) are calling on the Alberta government to allow local contractors to be included in the procurement process and provided with an opportunity to bid on wildfire fighting and cleanup work. Read more.

Portal Helps Organizations Factor in Climate Change

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An Ottawa consultancy has unveiled a new online resource that’s designed to help organizations factor the impact of climate change into decisions relating to, among other things, infrastructure. Read more.

Construction Industry Goes Robotic

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The building site of the future is going to look very different to the one we are all used to today. Instead of men in high-visibility jackets and hard hats, there are going to be drones buzzing overhead, robotic bulldozers and 3D printers churning out new structures. That at least is the hope of those making technological solution. Read more.

Global Study Points to Needed Construction Productivity Boosts

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While productivity in other business sectors has surged ahead in the last half century, advances in construction have been “meager”, according to the World Economic Forum. In a new report, the Geneva-based business organization sets out a recipe of improvements the industry must follow to meet burgeoning global demand. Read more.

Dubai Announces Plan to 3D Print 25% of All Buildings by 2030

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Sheikh Mohammed described the 3-D agenda, launched only this month, as an “integrated and comprehensive strategy to exploit 3-D technology to serve humanity.” Within the construction portion of the plan, lighting manufacturing, humanitarian buildings, retail space, art galleries and homes will all be 3-D printed. Officials said 3-D printing takes 10% of the time that standard construction methods take. Read more.

Leading-edge Tech Uses Plants to Treat Sechelt Wastewater

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A new $25 million wastewater treatment facility located in the District of Sechelt, a small community on B.C.’s mainland coast, is leading Canada in innovative technology borrowed from Europe that utilizes the root bacteria from plants, located in a greenhouse over treatment tanks, to cleanse effluent. Read more. Maple Reinders Group of Companies also received the 2015 CCA Environmental Achievement Award for this project. Watch the video.

Can Trenchless Technology Burst through?

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Pipe bursting can cut the cost of water and sewer pipe installation by one quarter over open cut methods— yet the technology isn’t always getting a fair shake, says David O’Sullivan, president of PW Trenchless Construction of Surrey, B.C.. Read more.

Avoiding Pay When Paid Pain

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CDBI’s Risk Management Committee has published a new bulletin titled “Avoiding Pay When Paid Pain”. To deal with the uncertainties caused by cash flow issues, some parties have begun to insert “pay when paid” clauses into their contracts. Essentially, if the payor on a contract gets paid by its client (i.e. someone further up the contract pyramid), the payor will then, and only then, pay money owed to its payee. These clauses are not new, and given current economic uncertainties, these clauses have enjoyed a resurgence. Read more.

New Report on the Quality of Design Documents

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In 2015 the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) embarked on a series of “Quality of Documents” workshops across Canada to explore and discuss the issue of poor quality documentation, its potential causes, and, perhaps most importantly, potential solutions to address the issue. CCA is pleased to publish a summary report of both the workshops and the surveys conducted. Read more.