Into the Arctic
Battling Arctic temperatures, 24-hour darkness and shipping delays, the Ruskin team constructed an iron ore loading dock with great precision
Cold Front
Ground freezing technology builds in unshakeable stability By Heather Hudson Question: What ingenious consgruction technique has been around since the 1800s but is reserved for only the deepest, darkest jobs? Answer: Ground Freezing Primarily used to provide ground support, groundwater control or structural underpinning during construction, the technology is mainly used for mine shafts. But its simple, virtually fail-proof design has made it a more popular option for civil projects in recent years. “Ground freezing is still used a lot in mining, but we're seeing it used for civil work like water tunnels,” said Joe Sopko, director of ground freezing at Moretrench, a nationally renowned geo-technical contractor based in Rockaway, N.J.
Tougher Than Bedrock
GeoRocFor celebrates 30 years of drilling and new success in its XS overburden systems By Sarah B. Hood If you ask the folks at GeoRocFor Inc. how business is do-ing, they like to say they're “getting through the toughest conditions.” That's not because business is bad - quite the contrary: the Sherbrooke, Que.-based company is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015 as a leading manufac-turer of drilling tools and an industry leader in overburden casing systems.ebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015 as a leading manufac-turer of drilling tools and an industry leader in overburden casing systems.
Eliminating the Blind Spots
Operators can now put "eye" wherever they need them
Company Announcements, Key Events and Other News Important to Canada’s Deep Foundation Construction Industry
Industry News
New research is first to link CEO behaviours to workplace safety culture and injuries
The Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) recently announced publication of research it funded in the Journal of Applied Psychology, entitled “Safety in the C-Suite: How CEOs Influence Organizational Safety Climate and Employee Injuries.” The study's authors are Dr. Sean Tucker (University of Regina), Dr. Babatunde Ogunfowora (University of Calgary) and Dayle Ehr (University of Regina).
GRL Engineers author Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 12 – Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations
The recently released Geotechnical Engineering Circular No. 12 - Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations is the US Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) primary guidance and reference document on driven pile foundations.
DFI’s Testing and Evaluation Committee announces a new video
Static Load Testing of Deep Foundations Elements The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and the Testing and Evaluation Committee recently announced the release of a video on Static Load Testing of Deep Foundations Elements: Top-Down and Bi-Directional Static Load Testing.
Northstar Sharp’s Foundation Specialists: An amalgamation of two great companies
Northstar and Sharp's Construction join forces
Pacifica Piling Ltd.
After a year in the market, this steel supplier continues to pick up steam By Colleen Birchwood When Rick Cable and his then-girlfriend Melissa Butler left the East Coast and arrived in Vancouver with nothing more than a suitcase full of clothes in 1996, he never imagined that 20 years later he would be the president of Pacifica Piling Ltd.
Female Powered Industry
The construction industry needs to attract more women to the trades - one Canadian partnership is attempting to bridge this gap
Emergency Access
Formula Contractors stepped in to construct an emergency bridge when a rainstorm washed out an important thoroughfare By Heather Hudson When Mother Nature rages, Formula Contractors gets to work. British Columbia's Ministry of Transportation called on the Prince George, B.C.-based company, which specializes in innovative construction solutions for bridges, structures, foundations, civil construction, rental bridges and more, to restore access to a road after a massive weather event. It was their expertise in bridge construction that landed them the recent emergency job building a temporary bridge on pile foundations in British Columbia's Peace Region in June. An early summer rainstorm caused flooding, completely washing out twin culverts on Rolla Road, a well-travelled thoroughfare connecting two main highways.
Up to the Challenge
How innovative products from American Piledriving Equipment are proving their worth in the Canadian North By Mark Halsall It's called the Polar Penetrator. When it comes to piling work in the Canadian North, it's hard to think of another piece of equipment that's more aptly named. The Polar Penetrator drill bit was invented by American Piledriving Equipment (APE) and is part of the company's HD Driver system that's uniquely suited to deep foundation construction in cold, northerly locations. “It's a drill bit that executes typically in frozen tundra or ground with permafrost or discontinuous frost, and I tell you what, it's a game-changer,” said Colin Grindle, Canadian regional manager for APE. “We've been able to tackle any project in any terrain with our HD system.”
Meeting Arctic Demands
PND Engineers tackles tough projects in the north
Experienced Hands
For over 40 years, Waterworks Construction Inc. has been building its toolkit of experience and reliability By Kelly Gray When the chips are down and the needs are high, it's just another day for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based Waterworks Construction Inc. Since 1975, this Atlantic Canada company has been earning a solid reputation as the go-to guys for all types of piling and unique or challenging heavy civil infrastructure. Today, Waterworks undertakes projects all over the Atlantic Coast including Labrador and Nunavut, as well as the Northwest Territories. According to project manager Greg Kerr, his father started the business in the '70s while studying engineering at university.
Rigours of the North
Ledger Foundations has been doing deep foundation work for oil and gas projects - mostly in northern locations and under challenging conditions - for 10 years now By Mark Halsall Workers with Ledcor Foundations have been specializing in deep foundation work for oil and gas projects in northern Alberta and British Columbia since 2006. One of the things they've learned this past decade is that it takes a strong commitment to work in remote locations in the north. “It's tough on the people being away from home and in a work camp for 14 days straight. Not everybody wants to get out of bed, get on a plane and go to work for two weeks, and then only be back home for a week. It takes a commitment to work in this sector,” said Jerrod Dersch, operations manager for Ledcor Foundations.
Hard Roads, Tough Haul
Canada's remote northern communities rely on a network of challenging winter and ice roads. Transport firms have stepped up with logistics and experience to get goods to isolated residents. By Kelly Gray Canada has some very unforgiving northern territory when it comes to moving freight. The weather is brutal and the infrastructure is a constant challenge with thawing permafrost, heaving roadbeds and winter ice roads open fewer weeks than ever. Indeed, just getting cartons of milk to remote First Nations communities can be a daunting task. Consider the challenges of getting multi-ton construction piles, turbine blades or heavy equipment to sites that are accessible only during winter months along a network of ice and winter roads that add to the complexity of construction projects.
Filling the Gap
As baby boomers retire and the traditional labour pool shrinks, the construction industry is focusing on alternative workforces. Canada's young, fast-growing Aboriginal population is an attractive proposition for an industry eager to engage the next generation. By Lisa Gordon For years, analysts have sounded the alarm about the coming retirement of the baby boomers and how their exit from the workforce will impact the Canadian economy. According to a special report published in e Globe and Mail in November 2015, Canadian labour market growth is expected to stagnate in the 2020s as retiring boomers create vacancies that employers will struggle to fill, keeping real economic growth below two per cent annually over the next decade. Add to that the country's declining birth rate, and it's clear that something must be done to tap into and develop new labour sources. Many in the construction sector have turned their attention to the country's Aboriginal communities - including First Nations, Metis and Inuit people - who combined represent the fastest growing, youngest segment of the Canadian population. According to an article published by Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. of B.C., it is estimated that more than 600,000 Aboriginal youth will enter the labour market between 2001 and 2026.
Prepping Heavy Equipment for Remote Jobs
Lost time can be prevented by properly planning the project, having the recommended parts on site, and scheduling sufficient time for inspections and maintenance on the equipment By Lisa Kopochinski One needs only to watch the television show Ice Road Truckers - which features drivers who operate trucks across frozen lakes, rivers and tundra in both Alaska and Canada's north - to get an idea of the challenges involved when transporting equipment and supplies to remote locations in extreme and often treacherous conditions. These conditions also spotlight the importance of diligent planning to help ensure that heavy equipment will perform at peak capacity once they reach these locations. Machines must not only be prepped and maintained prior to transport, but inspected and maintained regularly on site.