The following email was sent to ICBA members on December 3, 2020.
Message from the President
It’s almost cliché to say that 2020 was a year like no other. “Unprecedented” was a part of nearly every sentence as we dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic shutdown.
This year, British Columbia’s open shop construction companies rose to every challenge. We continued to work safely in the spring, keeping the 250,000 men and women who work in construction on job sites so that they could support their families and their communities and keep building our great province.
Open shop contractors responded to the designation of construction as an essential service by protecting workers through new COVID-19 protocols – to date, WSBC has determined that there has been only one instance of COVID-19 being contracted on a job site.
As I write this, the UK has announced they will begin vaccinating frontline workers next week. The United States and Canada are set to do so over the coming months. It seems clear that we are finally at the beginning of the end of this long, dark, pandemic tunnel. The economic fallout, however, will be felt for some time – the long-tail of COVID-19 will be with us throughout much of 2021 and beyond.
2021 will present a new set of challenges for open shop contractors – uncertainty over the pipeline of new projects, an aging workforce, continued shortages of skilled and talented new workers, and profit margins under enormous pressure.
At ICBA, beginning in January, we will be launching a new set of programs and initiatives designed to help open shop contractors meet many of these new challenges.
As we begin to close the book on 2020 and start fresh in 2021, never hesitate to reach out to myself or other members of the ICBA team for help.
On behalf of the entire team at ICBA, please have a safe and happy Christmas and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2021.
Chris Gardner
President, ICBA
PS: During their fiscal update Monday, the Trudeau government announced a new Home Energy Retrofit program, to begin in 2021. Homeowners will be eligible for up to $5,000 for work to improve the energy efficiency of their home. We will share details as they are rolled-out.
Safety Merits Award
Workplace Safety is a team effort – and ICBA is again going to reward one of our members’ workers for their safe work practices! All ICBA members are invited to submit the names of their safest workers — as long as they meet the criteria below.
The winner, drawn at random from all the workers’ names submitted, will win $1,500 from ICBA!
The submission deadline for ICBA’s annual Safety Merits Contest is noon Pacific, Thursday, December 17, 2020. Don’t miss your chance to submit the names of your company’s safest workers.
Entrants must be employed below the superintendent level (office staff are not eligible) and must have worked a minimum of 2,500 hours without any time lost due to an accident. Check out all entry details and rules HERE.
Be Our Neighbour?
Next year, ICBA is excited to be moving to our permanent new home, and we’re looking for a neighbour!
In August 2021, ICBA will move its office to the 8th floor of the 10-storey Central City 3 (CC3) building, part of a rapidly growing, high profile community sprouting up between Surrey Memorial Hospital and the King George SkyTrain station. CC3 is a design-build project by Lark Group, founded and owned by ICBA life member Larry Fisher.
ICBA is looking to lease 2,886 sq. ft. on our floor, and we’d love to have a member right beside us! Please take a look at this marketing brochure and let us know if you’re interested.
Lincor Wins Gord Stewart Award
Congratulations to Lincor Enterprises Ltd., which has won the 2020 ICBA Gord Stewart Award for its outstanding Industrial Athletes Injury Prevention Program.
The Gord Stewart Award is presented annually by ICBA and WorkSafeBC to acknowledge individuals and companies for their efforts in the prevention of workplace incidents, injuries and illnesses. The award recognizes the employee or team of employees who come up with an innovative program, policy, tool or project that demonstrates a proven accomplishment in the area of health and safety for the construction industry sector. The Award comes with a $5,000 prize.
In 2020, Lincor Enterprises started a pilot program using technology and a team of contracted physiotherapists to provide a personalized, engaging and comprehensive physiotherapy program. This innovative new program initiative is designed to add value to their existing Health and Wellness program by connecting staff with a unique set of services not previously available to construction companies in British Columbia.
Congratulations to Jon Walker and the Lincor team!
Mass Timber Introduction
For members looking to learn more about mass timber construction, BCIT has launched a FREE, online course called Introductory Studies in Mass Timber Construction. This all-online, short credential would be of interest to carpenters, ironworkers, quantity surveyors, construction managers, 3-D modellers, developers, manufacturers and designers – virtually anyone within the construction field with an interest in expanding their expertise to mass timber.
The pilot offering of this online program is free! It takes place January 28, 2021 to March 24, 2021, over an 8-week, flexible, part-time timeframe, and the registration fee of the successful applicants is fully funded through a grant from the provincial government.
For more details, click HERE. For an application form, click HERE.
Upcoming Courses
Earned Value Management (EVM) for Construction (Live Online Training)
December 9, 2020
Gold Seal: 1 Credit * BC Housing: 7 CPD Points
More information and registration
Overview of CCDC Contract Documents (Live Online Training)
December 10, 2020
BC Housing: 1.5 CPD Points
More information and registration
FREE Virtual Townhall with Technical Safety BC – Meet your Northern Team
December 15, 2020
More information and registration
Time Management Workshop (Live Online Training)
December 15-16, 2020 (Mornings)
Gold Seal: 1 Credit
More information and registration
RTFC – Read the Full Contract – A Deep Dive into CCDC-2 (Live Online Training)
December 16, 2020
BC Housing: 4 CPD Points
More information and registration (Morning Session)
More information and registration (Afternoon Session)
Microsoft Project (Live Online Training)
December 16-17, 2020 (Mornings)
Gold Seal: 2 Credits
More information and registration
Managing Shop Drawings, Samples and Submitting (Live Online Training)
December 17, 2020
BC Housing: 4 CPD Points
More information and registration (Morning Session)
More information and registration (Afternoon Session)
The HR Series: Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace – Employer Rights and Obligations (Live Online Training)
December 18, 2020
More information and registration
Swing Stage Awareness Training (Richmond/Mitchell Island)
December 18, 2020
BC Housing: 7 CPD Points
More information and registration