Hire ‘mad scientists’ to spark change in construction firms

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When technology comes into play in the construction industry, it’s often associated with the word disruption. But it’s important to define the term to truly understand its effect. In a recent webinar, “Fostering Mad Scientists: How Construction can Create a Culture of Innovation,” JBKnowledge CEO James Benham borrowed Brett Young’s definition: Disruption is a business model change within a particular industry to which specific companies or segments cannot adapt. Read more.

Industry slams Trudeau on ‘gender impacts’ comment about male construction workers

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A comment made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the recent G20 Summit in Argentina has caused a stir in the Canadian construction industry, with several stakeholders taking to social media to voice their views and opinions on the matter. Read more.

Give the gift of access this holiday season

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Donate your used phones to CNIB’s Phone It Forward campaign. Read more.

CANS members: Help enact prompt payment legislation

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Our province needs a prompt payment solution that works for everyone including tradespeople, contractors, government and consumers. While this serious problem is being felt now in our industry, there is a serious risk to Nova Scotia’s competitiveness long-term if we do not take action to fix the issue. Read more here: http://nspromptpayment.ca 

Beet juice to cover slick streets as Winnipeg expands pilot program throughout city

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The City of Winnipeg is expanding a pilot program that will see beet juice sprayed on slippery city streets this winter. The public works department started a trial run in 2015 using beet juice as an ingredient to help melt ice on Winnipeg roads. Read more.

Contractor panel suggests ways to evolve P3 model

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As public-private partnership (P3) projects get bigger and more complex, owners must be prepared to relax requirements on risk transfer and ought to be willing to spend more time on the collaboration process, recommends a panel of experts. Read more.

Lost for 325 years: Quebec City fortifications found

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Archaeologists in Quebec City have discovered the first fortifications built in 1693 to protect New France from a major attack, in what is considered the first reinforced palisade of that era. Read more.

Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Building Code

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Proposed Changes to the Nova Scotia Building Code. See Schedule A and Schedule B proposed public changes to the regulations for consultation until December 14, 2018.

NS Prompt Payment Coalition calling on provincial government to enact prompt payment legislation

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Newly formed Nova Scotia Prompt Payment Coalition calling on provincial government to enact prompt payment legislation in Nova Scotia.

Halifax, NS – (09/12/2018) Payment delays are unacceptable in Nova Scotia’s construction industry and the newly formed Nova Scotia Prompt Payment Coalition is calling on the provincial government to enact appropriate legislation.

“Our province needs a prompt payment solution that works for everyone including tradespeople, contractors, government and consumers,” says Tim Houtsma, board member of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction and a member of the Coalition. “While this serious problem is being felt now in ourindustry, there is a risk to Nova Scotia’s competitiveness long-term if we do not take action to fix theissue.”

“The existing law in Nova Scotia – the Builders Lien Act – is costly, cumbersome, and inaccessible to 65 per cent of the construction industry (small and medium-sized family-owned companies consisting of 50or fewer employees),” says Duncan Williams, president of the Construction Association of Nova Scotia and another member of the Coalition. “It addresses non-payment as opposed to delinquent payment andthe lien rights of many in the industry will expire long before they realize they will not get paid.”

Read more.

This crazy concrete ceiling could revolutionize how we build

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Swiss engineers have developed a construction technique that could change how buildings are designed and built. It’s called a “Smart Slab:” A mixture of concrete, rebar, and carbon fiber that form a super-light, super-strong slab ceiling. It’s an entirely new way of building structural elements, and even at less than an inch thick and less than half the weight of a conventional concrete slab, its creators at the Digital Building Technologies group at ETH Zürich claim it can support more weight–surpassing Swiss building code standards. Read more.