This #WomenInConstructionWeek, ICBA is honouring some remarkable women who built this industry — and our association.
Cindy Kaufman of Fraser Burrard Diving Ltd. chaired the ICBA Board of Directors from 2001-02. Kaufman led ICBA during a pivotal time in our advocacy. The election of the BC Liberals in 2001 reversed the hostile labour conditions of successive, discredited NDP governments – returning fairness to government bidding practices. But it was more than just cold, hard advocacy; Cindy legitimately cared about the people she was working with and representing.
Her company, Fraser Burrard Diving Ltd., was the perfect example of a construction company flourishing in a niche market – underwater building and pile driving. When she retired, the company was sold to its employees, a tribute to the succession planning and professional development she brought to the company.
What is the one thing everyone needs more of? Time! If time is money, how much is lost to the bottom line simply because hard-working employees “don’t have the time”? When working on a project, timing is essential. If you get behind on one part of the project, the entire thing can be set back hours, or even days.
In this leading-edge Time Management Workshop you will gain a new mindset, skillset and toolset that will optimize your personal productivity learning how to produce greater results in less time. Improved time management skills mean increased productivity, met deadlines, and a positive impact on all aspects of your business.
Benefits of Attending
Participants learn how to gain and keep control of competing priorities, concurrent projects and critical deadlines.
Participants will learn powerful lessons about themselves, enhancing self-understanding so they can leverage their personal strengths and develop strategies to minimize the impact of their weakness.
The focus on practicality means that people walk out with ideas and techniques they can apply the next day.
This session is designed to be an interactive experience, similar to our in-person workshops. Participants should expect to interact with the instructor and other participants.
Instructor: Greg Campeau has delivered over 2,400 presentations and workshops throughout North America providing strategies and solutions that support both personal and organizational success. He has established a client list that includes organizations like Finning, Lafarge, NHL Coaches Association, BC Hydro, Rogers Wireless, APEG BC, SNC Lavalin, Klohn Crippen Berger and many more.
The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) is spearheading a fundraising effort in B.C.’s construction industry to help the people of Ukraine.
“For two weeks, we have all watched in horror as the Russian army attempts to conquer the independent, democratic nation of Ukraine. The largest military attack Europe has seen since the end of World War II is laying waste to vibrant cities and communities and indiscriminately killing innocent civilians,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President. “Our members have been asking us how they can help – so we are working to raise money for the Red Cross’ relief efforts.”
To get it started, ICBA made a $25,000 donation to the Red Cross. ICBA’s board of directors committed to matching that donation with another $25,000 in contributions of their own – for a total of $50,000.
Donations from individuals will be further matched by a federal government program, which means even more money will be raised to help the people of Ukraine who are desperate for relief.
ICBA’s members have also committed to helping any Ukrainian refugee who needs a job find work in the B.C. construction industry.
Canada has a special relationship with Ukraine. More than 1.4 million Canadians can trace Ukrainian heritage, and many of those people have family members in Ukraine, bravely fighting back against this barbaric Russian onslaught to keep their homeland free.
At ICBA, a staff member in our training department is one of those Ukrainian-Canadians – grief-stricken, she texts family and friends back home, hoping they are alive and safe.
“The images and stories coming out of Ukraine are absolutely heartbreaking,” said Gardner. “Our hope is that with millions of lives at stake, this campaign to help aid efforts will inspire others to act and help people in desperate need.”
The following is a ConstructConnect briefing on Canadian construction material cost inflation, by economist Alex Carrick.
A few days ago, ConstructConnect posted an article on U.S. construction material cost increases that can be accessed through clicking on this link.
Now it’s Canada’s turn.
Table 1
Table 1 below sets out Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) data from Statistics Canada. The IPPI material is the Canadian equivalent of the Producer Price Index (PPI) information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The table highlights year-over-year and latest-three-month results for 26 material or other inputs into Canadian construction projects.
Red arrows alert the reader to when the percentage change is +20% or more in the year-over-year column; and when the percentage change is +5% or more in the latest-three-months column (i.e., January 2022 versus October 2021).
The yellow arrows point to significant declines and presently only appear in the latest-three- months column.
There are a lot of red arrows. The count is 22 reds to only two yellows. Clearly, outsized input cost hikes are every bit as prevalent in Canada as in the U.S.
Graph 1
Graph 1 sets out what spiking in input expenses has meant for the cost of construction across Canada, although it only goes up to the final quarter of last year. Just the same, without even accounting for the latest input cost advances, the 11-major-city composite index for residential buildings leapt ahead by +21.7% in Q4 2021.
Contained within that +21.7% figure for total residential was a +25.7% y/y jump for single-family detached housing. Tower residential (i.e., above 5 stories) was +14.5% y/y.
The overall nonresidential buildings increase, while not as great as for residential, was still substantial at +11.2% y/y. The factory component was +14.8% y/y and warehouses were +13.4%.
And then there’s what’s happening with the price of oil, which is a bellwether for inflation throughout the economy. Nearly everyone and every business is touched, in the wallet or purse, by the cost of filling up at the gas pump.
The danger to the global supply of oil posed by Russia’s incursion into Ukraine has sent the price of Brent crude, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Western Canada Select (WCS) soaring.
They haven’t yet quite reached new record highs, but they appear (see Graph 3) irrevocably set on that course.
ICBA’s Jordan Bateman and TheOrca.ca‘s Maclean Kay discuss the BCGEU’s “chasm” with the NDP Government; minimum wage; John Horgan’s personal popularity, Ukraine, and the arrival of Russell Wilson to Maclean’s beloved Broncos.
Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
This month, ICBA Wellness looks at the link between mind and body, and how our physical health can impact our mental health.
We all know the physical benefits of drinking water. Humans, after all, are 60% water, and our blood is 90% water. Rehydrating is essential for our kidneys, improves our joints’ shock-absorbing ability, delivers oxygen throughout our body, and helps maintain our blood pressure. (Water does even more than that physically – click HERE if you’re curious.)
But did you know drinking water helps mental health too? I didn’t. But our brains are 73% water and being properly hydrated helps it work better. A 2018 study found that adults who drink more water are at a lower risk of anxiety and depression than those who drank less water.
Another study found that people who reduced the amount of water they drank felt less calm and content.
There’s an old Slovakian proverb that sums it all up perfectly: “Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine.”
Gotta run – all this water talk has me feeling thirsty!
ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 50 companies, and thousands of construction professionals, better understand mental health. The program is free for ICBA members — see icba.ca/wellness.
William Donnellan is an innovative Irishman who saw a hole in the construction industry’s supply chain and filled it with the creation of IRL Construction. His success as the owner of an independent contractor primarily comes because of his focus on ensuring that every job he does, is done right. This is a motto that he has passed onto his 50+ employees, and ten years later, it makes a difference as his company has grown from a small home office, into a central downtown player in the construction industry.
William moved to Canada with his wife Laura ten years ago, looking for better construction opportunities. He likes to joke that despite her multiple college degrees, it was his ability to provide vital labour skills that was attractive to the country. He worked as a superintendent of a Vancouver cement company for several years but noticed that temporary workers did not help the labour shortage. He was exacerbated by how many temps would show up without the right tools or the right PPE and saw firsthand how this negatively affected projects and their ability to complete jobs on time.
It was this problem that led to the creation of IRL Construction. The company opened in 2011 with a focus on providing reliable, intensely screened, and fully prepared temporary workers to construction companies across Vancouver. IRL purchased all tools and PPE to ensure that they received employees who were fit to finish a job when a company contracted with them. William stressed the importance of a strong work ethic, timeliness, and preparedness. As a result, his business has grown from a small idea into a trusted beacon of the Vancouver construction industry.
Today IRL Construction has three arms as the company has evolved over the last ten years to meet the market’s needs. William has worked with almost every big construction agency in town over the last ten years and commented that he can meet the needs of every client, which is why they always return to the company.
Instead of extensive advertising, William claims that a strong work ethic, friendly office manner, and excellent results are best to retain clients and gain new ones. He may be onto something as his company regularly works on $million+ contracts and has grown rapidly in just ten short years.
One stand-out attribute of IRL Construction is that the company also owns three pubs in downtown Vancouver. While that may seem like an out-of-place investment, William claims that hospitality is in his blood as one of ten children in an Irish family. He enjoys the ability to socially network with people throughout his clubs and attempts to give back to his community when he can by hosting free events at the pubs and supporting local charitable organizations.
Whether you are a Project Owner, Consultant, or Contractor, understanding the many different project delivery options for a particular project is critical to its success. Moreover, ensuring that all project stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities for the selected project delivery is fundamental for building trust, honesty and respect.
Through a team of multi-discipline trainers with decades of experience, this Workshop will discuss the characteristics, risks, benefits and disadvantages of the various project delivery methods. Each presenter will give you key insights to the success of each delivery method from the perspective of a Project Owner, Consultant and Contractor. In addition, they will draw your attention to a few key CCDC clauses that are critical to the effectiveness of each project delivery method.
Project delivery methods covered in this workshop include:
Design-Bid-Build
Design-Build
Construction Management for Services
Construction Management for Services and Construction
Integrated Project Delivery
Methods Involving Land, Finance, Operation or Maintenance
Using a hands-on, practical approach, this workshop will also give you an opportunity to apply what you learn by guiding you through an interactive exercise of assisting a “client” in determining an appropriate project delivery method.
A team of multi-discipline experts will provide you with exceptional feedback, great insight and actionable strategies. We look forward to sharing this expertise with you.
For each Project Delivery Method, you will:
Learn the key characteristics
Understand when best to use
Discuss projects that succeeded with the model and those that did not
Acquire key insights for success from the perspective of Owner, Consultant and Contractor
Demonstrate your knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages, risk mitigation and project approach
Who should attend:
This workshop was designed by an inter-disciplinary ICI team with the intention of fostering dialogue and understanding between stakeholders across the ICI sector. We recommend this workshop for:
General Contractors and Subcontractors:
Construction Company Owners/Managers
Project Managers
Commercial Managers
Business Development Managers
Project Owners
Third Party Project Managers (For the Project Owner)
This course is intended for students who have little to no familiarity with Microsoft Word. Participants will gain efficiency in using some of Word’s features to create and manage professional looking documents.
This hands-on course is taught by a certified Microsoft Master Instructor. You will need to have MS Word 2016 (or newer) desktop program downloaded and installed on computer. The web version will not be suitable.
Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
This month, ICBA Wellness looks at the link between mind and body, and how our physical health can impact our mental health.
The 250,000 men and women who are building this province every day are amazing people. They work hard and often deal with physically demanding tasks.
So it’s a little counterintuitive that our ICBA Wellness program includes a Toolbox Talk on physical fitness. But the link between regular exercise and mental health is so well-established that it was impossible for our team to ignore.
Exercise does a lot for our minds:
Decreases stress hormones like cortisol
Increases endorphins, which make us feel good
Helps get us thinking about things other than our problems
Often includes social interaction
Can build “immunity” against future stress
So go for a walk today – or throw the ball around with your kid. Or hit the pickleball court. Or go for a hike or pump iron or aquacise (seeing if you’re paying attention!) or whatever you need to do to get your body moving. It’s good for your body, your mood, and your mental health.
ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 50 companies, and thousands of construction professionals, better understand mental health. The program is free for ICBA members — see icba.ca/wellness.
