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The magazine ofConsulting Engineersof AlbertaSpring 2015
Qualifications Based Selection
is on its way
PLUS! The 2015 Showcase Award Winners
The Built FuturePost-secondaries and firms take on the skills
shortage
Real World InnovationExperts weigh in
PM#4
0020
055
innovators15_p01.indd 1 2015-01-13 4:07 PM
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We are more than builders. We are construction partners who
deliver Albertas most exciting projects by understanding your
goals, bringing innovative solutions, and sharing your vision of
success.
ROGERS PLACE
GLACIERSKYWALK
SALINE CREEK PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
AIRPORT TRAIL TUNNEL
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2 2015-01-12 9:16 AM
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We are more than builders. We are construction partners who
deliver Albertas most exciting projects by understanding your
goals, bringing innovative solutions, and sharing your vision of
success.
ROGERS PLACE
GLACIERSKYWALK
SALINE CREEK PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
AIRPORT TRAIL TUNNEL
000AI-PCL-DPS.indd 1 2014-12-12 2:29 PMinnovators15_pg02-07.indd
3 2015-01-12 9:16 AM
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Congratulations to 2015 CEA Awards Winners!
Associated Engineering is a Canadian, employee-owned consulting
rm specializing in planning, engineering, environmental science,
and landscape architecture. We provide consulting services in the
transportation, infrastructure, water, environmental, energy,
building, and asset management sectors.
Sustainability is part of our business and part of every project
we undertake. This is our commitment to giving back to our
community, improving the environment, and reducing our carbon
footprint.
For more information, please visit www.ae.ca
000AI-AssociatedEngineering-FP.indd 1 2014-12-15 11:50
AMinnovators15_pg02-07.indd 4 2015-01-12 9:16 AM
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alberta innovators 5
AW
AR
DS 2015
Congratulations to 2015 CEA Awards Winners!
Associated Engineering is a Canadian, employee-owned consulting
rm specializing in planning, engineering, environmental science,
and landscape architecture. We provide consulting services in the
transportation, infrastructure, water, environmental, energy,
building, and asset management sectors.
Sustainability is part of our business and part of every project
we undertake. This is our commitment to giving back to our
community, improving the environment, and reducing our carbon
footprint.
For more information, please visit www.ae.ca
000AI-AssociatedEngineering-FP.indd 1 2014-12-15 11:50 AM
Presenting:
Fostering:
Supporting:
Contributing:
Patron:
innovators15_pg02-07.indd 5 2015-01-12 9:18 AM
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6 alberta innovators
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Engineering the Future Tomorrows engineers are created
today, by industry and academia
Features
Innovators of the Year Find out what it means to
be on the leading edge
Hand Engineered Woodworker Don Chambers creates another
masterpiece
Showcase Awards 2015 Excellence at work for Alberta
High Quality, Low Cost Factor in the life-cycle costs and find
out
what the lowest price really buys
Profile: Bob Gomes
Profile: Brian Pearse
20
PUBLISHED FOR:Consulting Engineers of Alberta
Phipps-McKinnon Building Suite 870, 10020 - 101A Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 3G2 Phone (780) 421-1852Fax (780)
424-5225Email: [email protected]
www.cea.ca
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND REGISTRARKen Pilip, P.Eng.
MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONSCEO, Ken Pilip; President, Matt
Brassard;
and Honorary Director, Ed Stelmach Consultant, Brian Stecyk
SPECIAL PROJECTS - PAST PRESIDENT Art Washuta
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONSLisa Krewda
EVENT MANAGERChantal Sargent
INFORMATION SPECIALISTCandace Diala
ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALISTDesiree Concepcion
ACCOUNTING SPECIALISTAdama Barry
PUBLISHED BY:Venture Publishing Inc.
10259 105 StreetEdmonton, AB T5J 1E3
Toll-free 1-866-227-4276Phone (780) 990-0839
Fax (780) 425-4921www.venturepublishing.ca
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ruth Kelly
DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM CONTENTMifi Purvis
MANAGING EDITORRobbie Jeffrey
ART DIRECTORCharles Burke
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORAndrea deBoer
PRODUCTION MANAGERBetty Feniak Smith
PRODUCTION TECHNICIANSBrent Felzien, Brandon Hoover
VICE-PRESIDENT, SALESAnita McGillis
CONTRIBUTING WRITERSCaitlin Crawshaw, Jen Janzen, Robbie
Jeffrey
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORSPedersen, Amy
Senecal, Randy Wiens
Cover illustration by Heff OReilly
Contents 2015 by Consulting Engineers of Alberta. No part of
this publication should be reproduced
without written permission.
Non-deliverable mail should be directed to CEA: Suite 870, 10020
- 101A Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 3G2. P
rinte
d in
Can
ada
innovators15_pg02-07.indd 6 2015-01-12 9:17 AM
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alberta innovators 7Prin
ted
in C
anad
a
MESSAGE FROM THE PREMIER
Jim Prentice, 2015
N BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ALBERTA, I AM PLEASED TO extend
greetings to the Consulting Engineers of Alberta for the
publication of the
Spring 2015 issue of Alberta Innovators magazine.Since its
founding in 1978, the Consulting Engineers of Alberta has ensured
engi-
neers and technologists meet the highest standards of their
profession while remaining at the forefront of innovation and
providing high-quality engineering solutions to clients across
Alberta and Canada, and around the world.
Albertas consulting engineering industry plays an integral role
in building our edu-cated and skilled workforce, enhancing our
communities and growing our economy.
My thanks to the Consulting Engineers of Alberta for sharing our
Governments commitment to building a stronger economic foundation
for our province and a better quality of life for all
Albertans.
Congratulations on the latest issue of Alberta Innovators, and
best wishes for your continued success.
O
Serving AlbertansCEA, CAA, ACA, ARHCA
innovators15_pg02-07.indd 7 2015-01-12 1:03 PM
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8 alberta innovators
KEN PILIP, P.Eng.CEO & Registrar, CEA
MESSAGE FROM CEA
ERVING ALBERTANS OUR THEME is short, and the concept appears
simple on the surface. It is a reminder as profes-
sional engineers that, first and foremost, we serve the public.
This is neither simple nor easy.
In the context of our industry in 2015, 37 years after the
inception of CEA, projects are technically more complicated, social
license rules the day, funding is scarce and unpredictable,
technology moves faster than policies and reg-ulations can react,
infrastructure and assets are not only aging but failing and firms
are increas-ingly operated by risk managers, accountants and
investors, further distancing engineers from those we serve.
Additionally, Alberta is facing tremendous growth pressure in
response to our strong econ-omy and its associated employment
opportuni-ties. Government of Alberta projects will add 2.2 million
people to the province by 2041 just over 80,000 per year, the
equivalent of building enough infrastructure to support the
population of Lethbridge or Red Deer every year. Add to that an
existing infrastructure deficit and a fairly tight labour market
and it quickly becomes clear that we, as Albertans, need to find
better ways to deliver infrastructure the backbone of our
economy.
Despite these challenges, we continue to deliver on our
obligation to the public. The Gala Awards are a testament to the
capacity and capa-bilities of the engineering professionals in the
consulting industry and our tenacity to contin-uously improve the
quality of life for Albertans. We must, however, remain vigilant to
forces that negatively inf luence our ability to serve the
public.
Three years ago, we recognized the unin-tended consequences of
the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA), and
now we see the dangers of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement
(NWPTA). We came together to resolve an issue that has plagued our
industry for decades the pro-curement of professional engineering
services through the use of price-based selection or some
modification of that same principle. We have made significant
progress by working with
Principled Serviceour sister organizations and preferred clients
to help shift procurement policies and guidelines towards
Qualifications Based Selection (QBS).
We believe that QBS will unlock trapped capacity in our
industry, unleash innovation and provide shared value to Albertans
the intersec-tion between society and corporate performance. We
applaud our clients shift towards this procure-ment best practice
and look forward to the results.
As such, it is with great pleasure that we pres-ent the
inaugural Presidents Award to Jennifer Enns, P.Eng. As a client,
Jennifer has had a sig-nificant influence on our industry by
reinforcing the City of Calgarys QBS procurement policy and
supporting our efforts to legislate QBS in Alberta. Her generosity
of time, insights, and experience have helped us demonstrate the
addi-tional value that Calgarians have received over the last 30
years by engaging professional engi-neers through QBS. We hope that
her continued efforts and support will lead to similar outcomes for
all Albertans and Canadians.
We would also like to recognize our Lieuten-ant Governor Award
winners Roman Wozniak, P.Eng., and Gary Mack, P.Eng., for their
distin-guished achievements in our industry. They rep-resent ISL
Engineering and Land Services Ltd. Roman founded ISL, but due to an
unfortunate medical condition had to step down as president. Gary
then stepped in as president and grew the company to what it is
today. Both Roman and Garys leadership and contributions to our
indus-try are appreciated. They have set the foundation for their
firm which is a perfect example of a local consulting company with
humble beginnings dedicated to serving Albertans.
On behalf of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta Board of
Directors, I would like to thank our member firms and their staff
for the contribu-tions we make on a daily basis to improving the
lives of all Albertans. It is a higher calling worthy of our talent
and effort. I would also like to thank the CEA staff for their
significant contribution to our industry. Their efforts allow our
organization to operate smoothly and facilitate our member firms to
focus their skills and talents where it mat-ters most serving
Albertans.
S
MATT BRASSARD, P.Eng.President, CEA
SERVING ALBERTANS
innovators15_pg08-09.indd 8 2015-01-13 4:03 PM
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alberta innovators 9
Principled Service
John D. Gamble, P.Eng.President & CEO
MESSAGE FROM ACEC
CInvesting in Success
O NSULTING E NG INE E R S OF Alberta is playing a key role on
the national stage with its efforts to create
a business and regulatory climate that will allow its members to
provide value and quality service to its clients. This is
especially true of its campaign to reform procurement and promote
Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) for pro-fessional engineering
services.
The contribution of the consulting engineer is an important
investment in the success of any project. Even though the planning
and design of a project represents less than two per cent of the
total life-cycle cost, decisions made during plan-ning and design
have ramifications over the entire service life of a project. The
owner will have to live with those decisions for decades, even
generations. For much of the last century this was generally
understood by most clients. Engineering was viewed to be an
investment to be leveraged rather than an expense to be
minimized.
However, when the economic boom of the 1980s abruptly gave way
to the harsh realities of the 1990s recession, everything changed.
We stopped investing in our future. We stopped investing in the
very things that create prosperity. Public investments in
infrastructure dramatically decreased from about six per cent of
GDP to less than two to three per cent of GDP. Similar short-term
thinking even began influencing the private sector. Private sector
clients shelved or outright cancelled projects (or went out of
business). Work dried up.
For those projects that did proceed, value became confused with
price. Consequently, emphasis on the lowest short-term cost
replaced long-term savings value. In this economic envi-ronment,
consulting engineering companies downsized or folded. Some dating
back to the turn of the century disappeared as the result of
mergers and acquisitions. Post-secondary enrollment in engineering
and other scientific and technological disciplines plummeted. Many
skilled professionals and experts were lost to the sector
forever.
The economic slowdown also created a short-sighted fixation on
low-price over long-term value and quality. This fixation remains
entrenched in the procurement practices in much of the public
and private sectors. Downsizing in the 1990s and fiscal
austerity have conspired to erode the amount of experience and
expertise available to deliver infrastructure and other major
projects in both the public and private sectors.
But as of late, it is not all bad news. Public investment in
infrastructure is on the upswing. There are potential opportunities
for the resource sector.
For the first time in decades, political leaders have begun to
acknowledge infrastructure as an investment in prosperity. But with
the ongoing fiscal challenges facing governments, how do we ensure
that taxpayers and the public receive value? The answer is QBS.
When selecting a consulting engineering firm for a project,
regardless of the delivery model, it is more important and more
cost effective to focus on the qualifications of the project team
and the mer-its of the proposal rather than on fees. An
appro-priate investment in professional services at the onset of a
project can potentially reduce capital, maintenance and operating
costs while improving reliability and extending service life. This
is the essence of QBS. Conversely, price-based compe-tition reduces
the investment at the design stage resulting in significantly
higher capital, operating and maintenance costs throughout the
service life of the project.
CEAs efforts to promote the adoption of QBS will result in
better infrastructure, significant life-cycle savings and better
value for taxpayers. Furthermore, it is also sending a strong
message across the country. We applaud CEAs leadership.
ABOUT ACEC - CANADAThe Association of Consulting Engineering
Companies - Canada (ACEC) is a national business association
representing nearly 450 companies that offer professional
engineering and related services to a wide range of public and
private sector clients. Organizationally, ACEC is a federation of
12 provincial and territorial consulting engineering associations,
including Consulting Engineers of Alberta. Collectively, ACEC
member companies directly employ nearly 75,000 Canadians.
The mission of ACEC is to promote a busi-
Anne Poschmann, P.Eng.Chair, Board of Directors
ness and regulatory climate that recognizes and rewards the
expertise of its members and their contribution to the quality of
life in Canada. ACEC supports this mission with a strong advocacy
program that engages with federal government and other national
stake-holders to shape public policy and to raise the profile of
the consulting engineering sector.
innovators15_pg08-09.indd 9 2015-01-12 9:05 AM
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10 alberta innovators
BY ROBBIE JEFFREY
Alberta Innovators conducts a panel discussion on what it means
to innovate in the real world
N N OVAT I O N WA S T H E B UZ Z WO R D
for Alberta in 2014. Our province under-went major economic,
political and social changes with each situation requir-ing bold
solutions and creative leaders.
Calgary emerged from the f loods of 2013 with custom-made
recovery plans and guides for the future. Edmonton unveiled radical
new plans for its downtown arena district, intent not only on
joining the ranks of world-class cities but also on impressing
them. The C.D. Howe Institute released a report titled Measuring
Innovation, claiming that Alberta outperformed Canadas other
provinces in pat-ent applications per capita, bolstered by
revo-lutions in the oil and gas sectors. And our new premier took
charge by, above all else, promis-ing an out-with-the-old style of
management. Innovation doesnt create a solution out of the blue;
its the process whereby we come to solutions through critical
thinking, collabora-tion, ingenuity and enthusiasm. Its not always
about providing answers but rather providing the right kinds of
questions to ask. Then we can build solutions to our problems
instead
of hoping to stumble upon them. Consulting engineers know this
better than anyone else, as the title of this magazine suggests.
But innova-tion is also just a concept, and while everyone
attributes our success in the future to innova-tive solutions, it
can be difficult to understand what that means in practical terms.
Alberta Innovators conducted a panel discussion hear-ing from both
inside and outside the engineer-ing industry on what innovation
means in the real world of engineers and the ways in which it will
shape our everyday lives in the future.
The City of Edmonton has more than $40 billion worth of public
infrastructure, and the maintenance, renewal, replacement and
expansion of that infrastructure cannot hap-pen without engineers.
Consulting engineers from industry and engineers on staff at
the
City of Edmonton have worked together to win national awards for
the dry pond in the Lendrum Place neighbourhood, and the Kennedale
wetland is an example of engi-neers working with biological
scientists to harness nature and treat storm water before its
released into the river. Thats also won a bunch of awards. And were
working with consulting engineers to erect the new Walterdale
Bridge, which is going to be a breathtaking feat of
construction.
With all these phenomenal growth pres-sures that Edmonton and
Northern Alberta are facing, we need the help of creative
engi-neers to figure out how to stretch our dollars farther. We
have 66 interchanges that we need to build within the next 50
years, so were going to require a number of different engineering
disciplines and designers and planners. Were going to require an
interdisciplinary response involving engineers, who are going to
have to be incredibly creative to even prioritize them. And for the
projects we cant build yet, theyll have to ask, What are the
innovative solutions that allow us to maintain the flow of goods
and
IDON IVESON, Edmonton
Mayor, on the future of the
Capital City and the role of
consulting engineers:
innovators15_pg10-15.indd 10 2015-01-12 8:44 AM
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alberta innovators 11
labour in the fastest-growing city in the coun-try, which is the
jumping point to the North and the engine of Canadas economy? So
were going to need all hands on deck.
Innovation has to be a community value. Add a healthy dose of
creativity and technical acumen and youve got yourself the right
ingre-dients to be able to do more than just think about things but
actually deliver on them. And a lot of that innovation comes from
engineers, many of whom have the benefit of coming out of the
University of Albertas School of Engineering, which is one of the
top schools in engineering in the whole country maybe on the
continent. So when you have that asset of that amazing engineering
school, when you have that entrepreneurial climate in business,
when you have growth imperatives hitting the public sector and when
you have a great cluster of engineering and design companies, from
Stantec to Williams, based right here in Edmonton, youve got all
the right ingredi-ents not just for the public sector innovation
but for innovation in business, social enterprise and
philanthropy.
In 2014, were in the process of rekindling the understanding
that the physical environment maybe doesnt determine the social
environ-ment, but it is in constant dialogue with it. And thats
right at the level which urban designers and planning consultants
and consulting engi-neers work how does the physical creation of
the world that we inhabit impact the society that we are and are
constantly becoming?
Our cities are in a period of epochal shift. Its taking shape
primarily as a conversation about the physical world we inhabit but
it also has tremendous implications in terms of our social,
political, cultural and environmental relationship with the world.
Across North America, cities are recognizing that weve got to build
more cost-effectively, and weve got to build cities that attract
the kind of cultural and economic activity that sustains cities
over time.
Were in an interesting time. Were talking about doing things in
a much more traditional way but also using the incredible suite of
tech-nologies available to us. Its everything from low-impact
development to using solar power to desalinate storm water.
But it takes more than political leadership. It takes
consultants who are willing to push their client in the right
direction and it takes vision-ary leaders from the private sector
to say, Im going to do something differently. And its working
towards a tipping point where were no longer fighting uphill and
its getting easier to do the right thing.
In the mid-1980s, the provincial flood maps that are now
ubiquitous first came out and there was a possibility for f lood
inundation along a very thin stretch of area in Inglewood. A f
lood-protection berm was written into policy; the community had
come together, discussed the issues and was able to work with the
City. And in 2013, Inglewood was the only river community that did
not receive overland inundation. It was because of physical
engi-neering solutions that took advantage of local
GIAN-CARLO CARRA, Ward 9,
Calgary city councillor, on the
social impact of engineering
and the floods of 2013:
innovators15_pg10-15.indd 11 2015-01-12 8:44 AM
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12 alberta innovators
With all these phenomenal growth pressures that Edmonton and
northern Alberta are facing, we need the help of creative engineers
to figure out how to stretch our dollars farther. Were going to
need all hands on deck.
Design with community in mind stantec.com
Our inventive and collaborative approach to problem solving
helps bring big ideas to life.
000AI-Stantec-FP.indd 1 2014-12-17 3:36 PM
context and actually protected communities. Its an example of
why engagement and citizen involvement is so important in any
project.
When I started engineering, my first project, which was in 1962,
was a school energy plant that used heat and electricity generated
by Caterpillar engines to heat and power and light the school. It
wasnt done anywhere else. I learned that a good consulting firm
funds research and development and sends their people to upgrade
their technical knowledge, because knowledge is changing rapidly.
And a good firm contributes to the initial stages of design to
provide input for the systems that will do the best for the owners
needs.
I insist that our people contribute in meet-ings rather than
take a passive approach and listen, because our success comes when
were contributing in the projects initial stages, rather than
coming back later when something doesnt fit or the owner thought he
was getting one thing and ended up with another. A great
engineering company also gets involved in proj-ects that really
require brainpower to pull them off. To be great, youve got to take
that step for-ward and take risks and spend some money on
development you may not know the answers, but you can use the
support of an owner who will invest and find the best
solutions.
A good architectural f irm engages the engineers from day one;
the engineer becomes a member of the design team as soon as the
owner says, Mr. Architect, youve got this project! And the
cross-pollination of archi-tects and engineers has improved
probably 200 per cent over the last 50 years.
In my mind, what distinguishes a good project from a great
project is collaboration. Its a bit of a buzzword, but its about
working on a project where there are good collaborations
between
clients and the engineering consultants. The idea that
innovation can come from a single person is interesting, but
usually its that indi-vidual bringing the whole team together,
mak-ing them collaborate. Theres usually one point of contact for a
project, so if that one person is collaborating with the whole
team, that makes it ultimately successful.
One example of collaboration leading to innovation is a project
were working on with a municipality and industry for water reuse
basically, taking waste water eff luent and using it for oilfield
applications. Thats inno-vative from a technology standpoint, but
also from a collaborative standpoint. We had two clients and a
complex design team as well. It was important to bring everybody to
the same table regularly and give everybody an update on where
theyre making sure were satisfied on all the things that are needed
to make the process successful.
JOHN CHOMIAK, president and
CEO of Hemisphere Engineering,
on going above and beyond
for clients:
JACKIE MYKYTIUK, project man-
ager at Associated Engineering,
on collaboration as a wellspring
of innovative solutions:
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson is excited to work with consulting
engineers on the new Walterdale Bridge.
innovators15_pg10-15.indd 12 2015-01-12 8:44 AM
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Design with community in mind stantec.com
Our inventive and collaborative approach to problem solving
helps bring big ideas to life.
000AI-Stantec-FP.indd 1 2014-12-17 3:36
PMinnovators15_pg10-15.indd 13 2015-01-12 8:44 AM
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How does the physical creation of the world that we inhabit
impact the society that we are and are constantly becoming?
Qualifications Based Selection (QBS), for example, opens up a
more collaborative environment which feeds into creativity and
innovation. When youre doing a typ-ical Request for Proposal (RFP)
process, the scope of the work is already defined and theres really
no opportunity for us as consultants to provide input. QBS is a
more conducive environment to allowing every-one to be innovative
and creative at the same table before defining the cost of a
project.
The definition of innovation can vary from one project to
another. What one f irm might consider standard fare might be
inno-
vative in another shops organization. The hardest part sometimes
is understanding what the technology can do and how you can
incor-porate it into your engineering and planning design. Its one
of those things were gradually learning how to make work for our
business. I think were continuing to learn what these technologies
can bring forward.
For one project in Calgary, we had two high-speed roadways that
were on high-skew angles to each other. If you were to build a
tra-ditional bridge structure out there, youd have to look at the
sorts of things you dont want on a high-speed facility. So by
constructing trellis structures, weve got girders going
per-pendicular to the roadway and you can put the deck anywhere on
that structure. From that perspective, it was a very innovative
solution. When those structures are widened in the future, they are
easy to accommodate because the infrastructure is already built
there.
Sometimes you complete a project so well that the client is
delighted with the outcome. Those are the times when someone will
write you a letter or someone will go out of his or her way to tell
you what a good job you did.
Usually, those kinds of projects come from an individual within
an organization; from time to time, you get an individual who does
it because somehow this project aligns with one of their values. We
forget that to have an exceptional project, the people working on
it have to get delight out of the project. Quite frankly,
innovation is hard, and it takes effort and discretionary effort on
the part of the peo-ple doing it so theyre delighted to be part of
that project. Sometimes its serendipity, when you get an overlap of
a client who wants this stuff and an employee that wants to give
it, and the project that allows them to do it.
Years ago we did a dam in the Northwest Territories where we
brought in innovative technology from Russia, where they looked at
the ability of freezing the core of the dam. We brought this
technology to Canada. To me, it was one of those things where
several people in our organization took a risk and the client took
a risk, and it allowed us to build dams rather than flood a lake.
It was a win for the client because it was a lot cheaper, it was a
win for science because now we can use these dams elsewhere and it
was a win for the environment because we didnt flood the lake.
But the company has got to set an envi-ronment where people feel
comfortable doing these kinds of projects and arent punished when
they fail. Quite often, innovation doesnt work, and punishment of
those involved is not setting the right environment for that.
KELLY YUZDEPSKI, vice-pres-
ident of transportation for
Western Canada at CIMA+,
on technological innovation:
PAUL RUFFELL, president
of Tetra Tech, on exceptional
individuals:
Several contributors cited the MacEwan Centre for the Arts as a
particularly captivating project.
tetratech.com
Smart Solutions for a Complex WorldTetra Tech is a leading
provider of consulting, engineering, project management,
construction, and technical services addressing the resource
management, development, and infrastructure markets.
innovators15_pg10-15.indd 14 2015-01-12 9:55 AM
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alberta innovators 15
Innovation is often best when you cant quite put your finger on
it. The Winspear Centre in Edmonton is one such case; though you
might not see it at play, engineers and architects have accounted
for a multitude of factors that influence your experience at the
world-renowned concert hall.
WITHOUT A SOUNDThere are no grills for air ventilation in the
concert hall. Grills create turbulence and turbulence creates
noise; the last thing you want to hear during a flute diminuendo is
wind moving through the air ducts. The oversized air ducts maintain
low velocities, and theres a slot that runs along the top hat of
the concert hall to deliver the air. Hemisphere Engineering, the
company responsible for the mechanical engineering of the building,
designed it so air adheres to the ceiling before slowly falling
down onto the seating area. The air is then returned behind the
seats at the upper levels and behind the stage.
UP AND AWAYThe concert hall was built on what used to be a
service station or automotive shop, so the ground was highly
contaminated with gases. Hemisphere engineered an exhaust fan, or
pump, to push air under the foundation and then up through the top
of the building. Underneath the ground floor is a piping grid that
draws air from a cavity and sends it to the fan a cost-effective
solution to a noxious problem.
PLAY IT BY EARThe acoustic requirements of the concert hall
drive the mechanical design. All the duct work and air handling
systems are located in a different building, separate from the
actual hall, so no vibrations are transferred. The concert hall is
a self-supporting structure with rubber thresholds spanning between
the buildings.
CO
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Innovation Live at the Winspear!
innovators15_pg10-15.indd 15 2015-01-13 4:04 PM
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16 alberta innovators
innovators15_pg16-19.indd 16 2015-01-12 8:42 AM
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alberta innovators 17
BY CAITLIN CRAWSHAW | ILLUSTRATION BY HEFF OREILLY
I
Qualifications Based Selection places a firms capabilities above
its price, raising the bar on project quality and driving down
lifecycle costs
N ITS ANNUAL SURVEY RELEASED IN NOVEMBER 2014, THE ASSOCIATION
of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) asked its members what
they considered the biggest issue facing the industry today. The
answer was nearly unanimous: 92 per cent of respondents identified
procurement. You
can see that this is an issue not just in Alberta, but across
the country, says Ken Pilip, CEO and registrar of the Consulting
Engineers of Alberta (CEA).
Consulting engineers have long been frustrated with the
traditional Request for Proposal (RFP) procurement method. In
addition to requiring companies to invest resources in a proposal
that may not bear fruit, the RFP approach uses selection criteria
that emphasize price. In the last 20 years, weve been on a slow
incline of price becoming more dominant in the criteria for
selecting consulting engineers for a project, he says.
innovators15_pg16-19.indd 17 2015-01-12 8:42 AM
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Pilip says that in Alberta, this issue spi-raled out of control
in 2010 when the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) came
into effect. The deal was meant to facilitate trade and
professional mobility - between the three western prov-inces.
Unfortunately, it treated engineering more like a commodity than a
professional service, which resulted in public sector
orga-nizations procuring engineering services in much the same way
they would trucks or paperclips. Instead of being a secondary
consideration in the evaluation of a consult-ing engineer, cost
became the most important consideration, he says. This is a very
danger-ous path.
WHY RFP DOESNT WORKWhen it comes to the RFP-based procure-ment,
there are plenty of variations on the theme, says CEA president
Matt Brassard.Sometimes, public sector organizations use a
two-envelope system, in which applicants are screened for
qualifications with the first envelope and for price in the second.
Theres also the design-bid-build model, in which an engineer and
contractor team up to create a proposal. RFPs can be solicited or
unsolic-ited, and either open to the marketplace or by invitation
only. For large projects, public sector agencies open RFPs to the
market in order to ensure there is sufficient competi-tion, as per
the legislation concerning gov-ernment procurement.
Regardless of the specific RFP process being used, cost is
always at the top of the procurement officers selection criteria
and it really shouldnt be, says Brassard. They dont realize that
infrastructure lasts 30, 40,
50 years you cant make a decision based on price alone, he
argues.
Its important to consider the costs asso-ciated with the entire
life cycle of a project, not just the engineering costs, which
consti-tute only one or two per cent of total costs. The right
consulting engineer can work with a client to define the scope of
the project in such a way that the long-term operational and
decommissioning costs are lower, saving tax-payers money, says
Brassard. But if an engi-neering firm must offer a barebones
proposal in order to earn the contract, theres no room for
long-term thinking.
Nor is there room for innovation in this model, argues Sheldon
Hudson, vice-presi-dent of Al-Terra Engineering Ltd. and former CEA
president: When youre in a cost-
In Alberta, QBS has been gaining traction its been standard
procedure at the City of Calgary for three decades.
prohibitive model, you hold back on innova-tion because youre
not selected on that basis. It doesnt make sense for a firm to give
away its secrets if it wont necessarily be chosen for the work.
This is why companies are hesitant to ask questions of procurement
officers while writ-ing their proposals; the questions and answers
are public and potentially give a competitor a leg up.
Pilip points out that this method of bidding can create an
adversarial working relationship between the consulting engineering
firm and the public sector client especially when the project
encounters bumps in the road. It isnt uncommon to hear about
high-profile public projects going over-budget or falling behind
schedule. Its easy to say its the engineers problem, but I always
say it takes more than
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innovators15_pg16-19.indd 18 2015-01-12 8:42 AM
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one person to dance together, he says. The bottom line is that
it means the project didnt get started properly and there are
unintended consequences.
On top of these concerns, the RFP pro-curement model is
expensive for everyone. Procurement agencies must spend time
putting together their RFPs, soliciting responses, and scoring
proposals according to specific criteria. From an engineering
standpoint, it takes time and, therefore, money to put together a
carefully consid-ered proposal. CEA vice-president Deon Wilner says
his company, ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd., invests seven
to 10 hours of direct labour costs into proposal work. If we say $1
million is spent work-ing for a client in terms of salary, we spend
$70,000 and $100,000 just procuring that $1 million of work, he
says. Thats very normal for our industry.
A BETTER WAY: QBSThankfully, theres a much better way to han-dle
the procurement of engineering services. Qualifications Based
Selection (QBS) awards contracts on the basis of whether or not and
to what degree a firm is qualified to execute a job. Clients put
out a Request For Qualifications (RFQ ) and consulting engineering
compa-nies submit proof of their expertise. This could include
personnel, the companys experience with similar projects, or
knowledge of the community where the project is being built.
Once the most qualified candidates have been identified and
ranked, the client sits down with the top firm to hash out the fine
details: the scope, schedule, and costs. If these negotiations
fail, they go on to candi-
date number two, says Wilner. Theres no playing one firm against
another. However, by the time the process reaches this phase, its
unlikely to fail, he says: Firms are going to provide an honest
price for an honest job at that point.
When projects move forward, they do so on a more positive
footing than the traditional model. Theres no push to save pennies
now at the cost of long-term project costs, says Wilner. As a
result, innovation can be explored early on, potentially saving
money down the line: Not just for clients but for taxpayers of
Alberta, as a whole.
Research confirms this, Pilip says: Its been shown in the U.S.
that, over the lifes-pan of a project, you actually save five to 10
per cent of the expenditure youd get if you used any other method.
Because the design work for a capital project is only about one or
two per cent of its long-term cost, using QBS to find the right
engineering firm pays off. If thats the savings, you get the
engineering for nothing.
CHAMPIONING QBS IN ALBERTAWhile its not yet the industry
standard in Canada, QBS is well-established in the United States.
In 1972 just a few years before CEA came into being the Brooks Act
was passed, requiring the federal gov-ernment to use the QBS
process to procure engineering services. Since then, most of the
individual states have adopted the method, as well. Beyond North
America, QBS is used by the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank.
In Alberta, QBS has been gaining trac-tion its been standard
procedure at the City
of Calgary for three decades. However, it still isnt commonplace
across the province. CEA has been advocating for QBS for many
years, but ramped up its efforts after NWPTA came into effect, says
Brassard: Were work-ing at both the bureaucratic and political
level to have it legislated. By enshrining the concept into law,
the organization hopes that the idea will survive the inevitable
changes to provincial leadership.
Education is an important piece, as well. CEA has been working
with public sector agencies to inform them about the procure-ment
method and encourage them to con-sider it. At the moment, CEA is
working with the Department of Transportation on a pilot project
that would implement QBS for specific projects. The idea is to see
if the department gets good value in it, Brassard says. And I think
they will.
For Hudson, this is an inevitable change. I think its key for
our industry to under-stand that this will happen, he says. Its not
a matter of if, its when. And it is going to be a major change in
how our industry does business in Alberta.
For one thing, consulting engineers will need to compete a bit
differently. Instead of undercutting each others rates, theyll need
to hone their specialties and collaborate with other firms with
needed qualifications in order to earn contracts. All of this is
only a good thing for raising the quality of engi-neering services
in Alberta something thats at the heart of what CEA does. We want
to raise the bar: increase value for citizens and the province, and
increase the performance level of our industry, says Hudson. I
think QBS accomplishes that.
innovators15_pg16-19.indd 19 2015-01-13 4:05 PM
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20 alberta innovators
BY JEN JANZEN | PHOTOS BY PEDERSEN
Engineering THE FUTUREA succession plan is critical for firms
struggling with an experienced P.Eng shortage
HANKS TO A BRISK OIL SANDS ECONOMY, ALBERTA HAS LONG BEEN
BATTLING a skilled tradesperson shortage. The government has been
plotting for a number of years to recruit more young people into
the trades, injecting more funding into apprenticeship programs and
brainstorming ways to draw skilled workers
from other countries. But the skilled trades arent the only area
struggling to find workers: according to a report recently released
by Randstad Engineering and Engineers Canada, thanks to impending
retirements and rising market demands, Alberta needs about 900 more
engineers each year than were currently able to produce.
Its a problem complicated by the fact that many companies are
looking for engineers with years of experience behind them, who can
quickly get to work on complicated projects. Contrast that with
what it takes a young engineer to simply gain P.Eng status: four
years of university and then another three or four years working as
an engineer-in-training (EIT).
innovators15_pg20-23.indd 20 2015-01-13 4:06 PM
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alberta innovators 21
Engineering THE FUTURE
EXPERT OPINIONS: Jeff DiBattista, P.Eng, PhD, MBA, LEED AP,
Principal and Marc Taala, engineer-in-training, structural
engineering.
innovators15_pg20-23.indd 21 2015-01-13 4:07 PM
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W hereas an apprent ice becomes a journeyperson after four
years, gaining work experience along the way, an engineer faces
double that amount of time. For folks who are going to do advanced
engineering work, it requires a masters degree, so thats up to 10
years, says Jeff DiBattista, principal of DIALOG, who holds a PhD
in structural engineering.
Derek Ciezki is an electrical engineer and a partner at SMP
Engineering, which has offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and
Vancouver. He says part of equipping students with the skills they
need is encour-aging universities to explore the technical side of
engineering within the industry. I didnt have much exposure to what
the con-sulting industry was all about, let alone how to navigate
through an electrical code book, before I got into the industry, he
says. That would have been a good skill to have. SMP is also
working with the Schulich School of Engineering at the University
of Calgary to assist with teaching an electrical design course to
better prepare the students for the building infrastructure
industry.
22 alberta innovators
Though experienced engineers are often the most sought after,
Ciezki says SMP hires between three to five new grads per year. You
need to have the right balance of junior and senior staff members
so you can provide the proper mentoring to the younger staff and
help them develop their skills, he says, but you need to keep
adding junior and intermedi-ate skill levels as part of your
succession plan. The company works with the University of Albertas
and Calgarys engineering program, which sets eligible engineering
students up with four-month internships or summer work terms.
DIALOG, which was recently named one of the 100 Best Employers,
also participates in four- and eight-month internships and
con-siders it an instrumental part of its recruitment strategy. It
allows us to get to know the stu-dents early on, and perhaps more
importantly, for the students, it allows them to figure out what
they enjoy.
At the University of Calgary, internships are 12 to 16
consecutive months long. A stu-dent can participate in an
internship after their third year of engineering studies is
completed.
The programs director, Jack Gray, has been at the helm for five
years and has seen a steady increase in participants. We really
promoted the program to the students and employers alike, he says,
adding that theres been about a 60-per cent increase in intern
placements in the last five years.
In 2008, 220 students were placed on internships, with an
average of 350 students completing internships in the last three
years. This year, says Gray, theres been another increase of 15 per
cent over last years application numbers. The students recognize
the value of gaining internship experience and theres been a pretty
strong pickup from employers as well. Its a great recruitment tool
for them.
The U of C doesnt match interns with jobs: the jobs are posted
and the students themselves once qualified and accepted into the
program are responsible for competing for opportuni-ties that
interest them. The level of competition varies by engineering
discipline, but Gray says this past year, there were more than 800
employment opportunities for the just under 500 students approved
into the program.
TEAM PLAYERS: Derek Ciezki, P.Eng., Partner with William Lo,
P.Eng., Electrical Engineer. William just recently received his
P.Eng. and works closely with Derek on projects.
innovators15_pg20-23.indd 22 2015-01-12 11:21 AM
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Ones quality of life is directly proportional to the number
of professional engineers per population.
Ken Pilip, CEO and Registrar, Consulting Engineers of
Alberta
DiBattista says if the Alberta government wants to permanently
address the engineer shortage, it needs to be prepared to invest in
the provinces post-secondary institutions. The investments we make
in young engi-neers will determine whether well have enough
engineers working here in 10 years, he says, pointing out that many
skilled engineers retire every year, adding to the labour shortage.
We ignore the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary
at our peril.
And its possible the tide is beginning to turn. Enrolments in
APEGA have been climbing over the last five years, and the
provincial government has been responding to the demand: this years
budget included $32.5 million earmarked for post-sec-ondary
institutions across Alberta to increase space for high-de-mand
programs, including engi-neering. Particularly, $11.3 million of
that went towards engineering programs at the Universities of
Alberta, Calgary, Lethbridge, as well as Red Deer College, Medicine
Hat College, NAIT and SAIT. In contrast, only $900,000 went into
apprenticeship training for tradesperson posi-tions. According to a
press release from the government, the extra dollars allowed an
extra 1,200 students to take engineering training in 2014-2015.
That number is expected to rise to 2,700 engineering students by
2017.
DiBattista says, in his opinion, the engineer shortage isnt as
dire today as it has been in recent years. More engineers are
graduating and more engineers are mov-ing to Alberta. Its been
easier to find good
people, but theres always a shortage of the best people.
He says f inding skilled workers with years of experience is
much more difficult and to fill those positions, well have to start
looking overseas. Two of DIALOGs senior engineers journeyed across
the ocean to work with DIALOG: one from Switzerland and one from
Ireland. Having immigration reg-ulations that allow talented
engineers to come here is vital, he says.
The engineer shortage is something that Paul Breeze, owner of
PBreeze Consulting and former president of the CEA, has known
about for more than a decade. In 2006, he led a recruiting
mission to the United Kingdom. CH2M Hill, the company he worked for
at the time, ended up hiring eight engineers from the UK. He says
the federal govern-ments fixation on temporary workers wont
encourage trained professionals to come here. My sense is that the
Feds will change the system to allow more foreign engineers to
become permanent residents, he says.
Of course, points out Ciezki, Canadian experience and an
understanding of local codes are definite assets to have. Local
experience is an asset and sometimes preferred for us, he says. In
some cases we want the
engineers to be able to get on the ground and start running
projects with very little transition.
Another challenge many Alberta engineer-ing practices face is
competing with the high pay of the oil sands. Every new grad wants
to make a good salary coming out of school, so theyll typically
move to a different city to get the best salary possible but they
dont realize the overall compensation package and long-term
employment opportunities within the commercial building industry,
Ciezki says. That means engineering firms which cant compete with
the strong demand of oil
and gas and related compen-sation need to provide new potential
candidates with a competitive compensation which includes good
ben-efits, f lexible hours and a work-life balance.
DiBattista says DIALOG works to be an exciting place for young
engineers. Many
of our co-op students come back year after year. They look at
our firm and say, I really want to work there because Im going to
learn a ton of stuff and work with great mentors.
DIALOG also emphasizes the type of work the company is involved
in. We try to improve the communities we practise in, DiBattista
says, mentioning that the firm is currently involved in some of
Edmontons most high-profile projects, such as Edmon-tons Walterdale
Bridge, the downtown arena, and the Valley Line LRT. When
prospective employees look at our portfolio, its quite exciting to
realize they could help build the Alberta of tomorrow.
Offering leading edge engineering, environmental and surveying
consulting services across Canada and around the world.
www.opussw.com
innovators15_pg20-23.indd 23 2015-01-12 11:21 AM
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24 alberta innovators
Don Chambers had an exceptional career in engineering. Now, hes
giving back to the industry in a style all his own
Excellenceby Hand
D ON CHAMBERS IS A PAST PRESIDENT of the CEA and founded Walters
Chambers & Associates, but since his retirement hes been
involved in more hands-on specialty projects, including
hand-crafting a Lieutenant Governors Award for the CEA. It turns
out that the physical prize is nearly as notable as the honour it
signifies. As an award recognizing engineers com-munity and
business accomplishments, no simple trophy or plaque would suff
ice.
BY ROBBIE JEFFREY | PHOTOS BY ROMY YOUNG
Instead, Chambers builds dazzling kaleido-scopes.
When the Lieutenant Governors Award was first introduced, the
executive director of the CEA knew Chambers liked to work with
crafty things. Indeed, Chambers taught pottery at the Parkland
Potters Guild in Stony Plain for 25 years, and dabbled in
woodworking. When he says, Ive always had something thats a little
artistic on the side, hes downplaying the tremendous
effort he puts into these endeavours. Each prize is handmade,
making it one of a kind. And while Chambers tries to keep the
pieces similar, the design has changed over the years he has been
building them. Its still a kaleidoscope, he says, but now I make
them bigger and more elaborate.
I used to source some materials out of England, but then that
place shut down, says Chambers, describing his procurement
practice. I started scouting around and found
innovators15_pg24-25.indd 24 2015-01-12 10:13 AM
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alberta innovators 25
AWARD
a store called Nellie Bly that specializes in kaleidoscopes. Its
in a small community on the side of a mountain in Arizona, in a
little town called Jerome. They sold me bits and pieces, but they
also put me in contact with someone from Boston. Ive also found
some parts for special mirrors in B.C. Its a long and involved
process, he says.
The wood comes from Canadian birch, with f lourishes of walnut
on the bottom of the kaleidoscope where the barrel turns on steel
bearings. The barrel is about 10 inches long and 2.5 inches in
diameter, and sits perfectly atop a 12-inch-wide accompanying stand
made of matching wood. The entire construction takes place in
Chambers shop in his condominium. Chambers also has the awards
laser engraved by a retired woodworker. If its sitting on a shelf
or in the
back of a room, it stands out, he says. Who wants another cup or
plaque? People seem to just glance at it, whereas the kaleidoscope
stands out.
Chambers originally got the idea for the Lieutenant Governors
Award after building a kaleidoscope for his grandchildren. As a
kid, everyone thought of kaleidoscopes as something quite cool,
Chambers says. And although he recently came back from an artisan
show in B.C. where people encouraged
Who wants another cup or plaque? A kaleidoscope
stands out.
him to commercialize his work, he doesnt plan on making it a
full-time endeavour. He says he completes each award project bit by
bit. Its a relaxed hobby thing, he says. I dont think my dollars
per hour would buy too much gas. The slow-burning approach has
certainly paid off, if not in dollars then in artistic acumen the
CEA recently asked him to build its Presidents Award, and was blown
away by the prototype.
Chambers has done justice to this years two award winners, Gary
Mack and Roman Wozniak. The awards are both tactile and visual. Not
only do they stand out, they invite people to pick them up, examine
their construction and look through them, just as the Lieutenant
Governors Awards encourage people to take a close look at the
careers of the winners and to be dazzled.
innovators15_pg24-25.indd 25 2015-01-13 4:08 PM
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26 alberta innovators
innovators15_pg26-29.indd 26 2015-01-12 8:37 AM
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alberta innovators 27
save the worst possible jobs for me, he says. Id have the worst
locations and the worst position every year. Ten years later I
talked to my brother-in-law, and he said, You didnt figure that
out? We didnt want you at all! But you kept coming back. It was a
pivotal experience for Gomes, one that instilled a tough-as-nails
work ethic and taught him that to get anywhere in life, you have to
work
hard for it. And he realized that surveying in the Northwest
Territories was the last thing he wanted to do.
Gomes graduated from the University of Alberta faculty of
engineering in 1978 and had dreams of travelling to California. He
said that if he couldnt find a job in Edmon-ton within one month,
hed move there; luckily, he was quickly hired by a local firm with
more than 120 employees. Then in 1981, when the National Energy
Program was instituted, the company downsized to
CA
REER PRO
FILE
Bob Gomes career has been one great leap after another, but hes
kept both feet on the ground
HERES NO FAST TRACK TO BECOMING
the CEO of a $3-billion company, and perhaps no one knows this
as well as
Bob Gomes, president and CEO of Stantec. Born and raised in
Edmonton, in a small
house in Bonnie Doon, Gomes went through the Catholic school
system knowing that hed go to post-secondary neither of his parents
went to university, and they made it clear that they wanted the
best for their chil-dren. Gomes initially studied to become a
doctor, before realiz-ing that for everyone else in pre-med, it was
going to be a career, he says. For me it was just an idea. I had a
lot of friends in engineering, so I remember sitting around campus
and talking to them about what they were doing, and thinking it
sounded interesting. Thats literally how the decision was made.
But Gomes needed a reason to go to uni-versity in the first
place, and several summers working at his brother-in-laws surveying
firm in the Northwest Territories did the trick. Gomes says it was
clear that the last thing his brother-in-law wanted to do was give
him a job, but he didnt take the hint. I remember thinking, These
guys must
BY ROBBIE JEFFREY | PHOTOS BY AMY SENECAL
Over the course of his career, Gomes has worked primarily in
land development, building the suburbs of Edmonton.
T
innovators15_pg26-29.indd 27 2015-01-12 8:37 AM
-
a mere 25 employees in about 18 months. Needless to say, says
Gomes, the early 80s was not a nice time to be in Alberta. He was
one of the last engineers when the owner told Gomes he was ready to
sell the company, and that Gomes should be a part of it because the
price was as low as itd ever be. But with three kids and a big
mortgage, Gomes had to decline the invita-tion. He looked for
another job and in 1988 was hired on at Stanley Associates, later
to become Stantec.
Over the course of his career, Gomes has worked primarily in
land development, building the suburbs of Edmonton. I did the
engineering, planning and design for most of the neighbourhoods you
know in Edmonton, he says. I worked on every subdivision developed
20 years ago mainly because at the time, Stantec was the biggest f
irm doing that. And it still is. Gomes would go on to become chair
of the Urban Design Institute, wherein he negotiated a deal with
the City of Edmonton on how to service new land. It was very costly
to put in big pipes and big roadways, and a lot of developers didnt
want to put that money up front without sharing that benefit with
other developers, he says. We were trying to get the development
industry and the City together to figure out how we could do this
in an economic fash-ion. And we came up with an idea thats still in
place today.
As CEO of Stantec a role he took over from his predecessor Tony
Franceschini in 2008 Gomes has seen the company through a
4,000-person increase in staff as well as an incredible rise in
gross reve-nue. All this, despite a recession. Inspired by
Franceschini, whom Gomes describes as iconic for transforming a
small, regional company into one of the largest f irms in North
America in 10 years, Gomes over-saw a rebranding of Stantec. Weve
bought over 100 companies in the last 20 years, and we are
continuing to do that, he says. But in hearing from our staff, we
asked, What does it mean? Is it just to get bigger?
It cant be growth just for growths sake. Visiting between 30 and
50 offices per year, he asked employees what they most enjoy about
Stantec. Invariably, theyd point to a job in their community a
project they can
show their friends and families and say, Im working on that job,
he adds.
In keeping with this sense of community, its worth noting that
Stantec later bought the company Gomes left in 1988. So in one way
or another, hes worked with the same people throughout his whole
career.
Gomes recalls driving around Edmon-tons suburbs with his family,
looking at the design of the communities and thinking about how
they could be improved. I grew up in a company really focused on
improv-ing the communities in which we serve, he says, so to put
that brand on the company and see it as a $3-billion company, its
been an amazing journey.
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Calgary Guelph Detroit Toronto London
403 208 7447
Curtis HaydamanMaster Paving Alberta Ltd.
The Alberta Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction
Association
would like to welcome our 2014-2015 Chairman!
Weve bought over 100 companies, says Gomes. We asked, What does
it mean? Is it just to get bigger? It cant be growth just for
growths sake.
innovators15_pg26-29.indd 28 2015-01-12 8:37 AM
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alberta innovators 29
Networking for the FutureThe CEAs young professionals face
limitless opportunities. They face them with limitless ambition
CO NSULTI N G E N G I N E E R I N G IS AN exciting and dynamic
career. One of the aspects that makes consult-ing engineering
exciting is its fluidity to the changes in our economy and
environment; each day of consulting is different from the next. The
dynamics of the industry are height-ened in Alberta, where we work
to service the communities and industries that make our province
thrive.
Young professionals (YP) play an import-ant role in the
consulting engineering indus-try today theyre the future of the
industry, consulting companies and our communities. Young
professionals offer a fresh perspective on industry norms and bring
a new sense of energy to projects they work on. I am fortu-nate to
be a young professional in Albertas consulting engineering
industry, where it seems opportunities are endless. The fast-pace,
ever-growing province has offered outstanding experience and
exposure to com-pelling projects to me and my colleagues.
CEA supports the development of young professionals in the
consulting engineering industry through their YP Committee. The
main objective of the CEA YP Committee is to enhance the growth of
the industry by promoting the participation and develop-ment of
young professionals. The CEA YP Committee encourages YPs to:
Contribute to the growth of the engineering consulting industry
within Alberta Better understand the function, role and business of
consulting engineers
Promote, grow and understand the relation- ships between clients
and consultants Create a network of cross-discipline young
professionals within the engineering consulting industry Actively
participate in the committees and events sponsored by the CEA
Promote the benefits of and increase the
membership of the Young Professionals Group.
One of the purposes of the formation of the CEA YP group was
development on a per-sonal and professional level, through
knowl-edge transfer from senior engineers, fellow young
professionals, other professionals as well as providing an avenue
for networking. It has been evident over the last few years that
the YPs have a lot of initiative and drive to continue the success
of the consulting engi-neering industry. Over the last few years
they have worked to establish new YP initiatives and connections to
highlight these attributes. The young professionals are the future
of the consulting engineering industry and it is important to
recognize and celebrate their contributions to the industry.
The Young Professional Committee continues to grow in size and
energy. Cur-rently there are over 40 active executive YP members
throughout the province planning technical tours, technical talks
and mixers. In May of 2014, the CEA YP Commit-tee hosted the first
YP Conference. The YP Conference initiative offers YPs a networking
and professional development opportunity in
JACKIE MYKYTIUK, P.Eng.Associated Engineering
YP Director
MESSAGE FROM THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
an environment where they are confident to express their
concerns, questions and general thoughts with their peers in the
consulting engineering industry. The 2014 event was a huge success
with more than 100 attendees. This year the CEA YP is hosting the
second annual YP Conference with an emphasis on leadership.
For more information, or to learn about YP events in Alberta,
visit the Young Professionals Group website under the committees
menu at www.cea.ca.
innovators15_pg26-29.indd 29 2015-01-12 8:37 AM
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diamconum enit irilis-sit eriustrud modipis doloreril ent volenit
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am, conullam ilis nulluptat el in velenibh er ad exerat niat wiscil
ulluptat. Ecte exer susto et vulluptatue vullaore facidunt ute
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ullandre con ent vent veliquisi.
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modolortie faccum
j
Myriad as an alternative to Scala? It could work, and might be
nicer, actually
Myriad for Display
Myriad call out style something like this. I think its pretty
good. What do you consider to be a fine font?
Myriad for DisplaySIDEBAR HEADRud dolobor sismodo loreet, velit
wisl exero od dolo-borperos am quis dolore eu facillandiat atum
dolor sequat illam, quis nostrud ming essequam dui blan-diate
dolortisi bla cor sequi tet alisl ea adigna com-molore
30 alberta innovators
LIFE IS
innovators15_pg30-33.indd 30 2015-01-12 8:35 AM
-
alberta innovators 31
CA
REER PRO
FILE
you gain comfort and confidence in that environment.
It was here that Pearse met someone who became a mentor, Nester
Chorney, a former assistant deputy minister with Alberta
Transportation. He has excellent people skills but also excellent
technical skills, says Pearse. That helped me create a foundation
and springboard. Pearse says
he appreciated the opportunity to see a proj-ect from the cradle
to the grave, and that Stewart Weirs small size forced him to see
the projects from every angle. Itd be nor-mal to be involved right
from gathering the information to doing the design, prepar-ing the
tender document and even being involved in the project management
or the construction management, he says. It was unique within the
industry and good for me from a foundational point of view.
In 2001, Pearse became vice-president of Stewart Weir, getting
in tune with all the different departments of the company and
becoming more involved with staff and the
Brian Pearse left his small town for the big city and kept his
eyes on the road
RIAN PEARSE, PRESIDENT OF OPUS Stewart Weir, is clearly the man
for the job. Pearse, who was already
three years into his post as CEO of Stewart Weir, took over the
blended compa-nys top job after Stewart Weir was acquired in 2013.
In fact, Pearse joined the company in 1986 and never left. But his
career could have taken another route; while attending Sturgeon
Composite High School and l iv-ing in Namao, a hamlet north of
Edmonton, he aspired to be a physicist. That dream came falling
back to earth, however, when he realized there was l it t le demand
for physicists. He became interested in engineering and planted his
feet firmly in the ground the same ground on which hed spend his
career building highways.
Pearse began working with a survey crew with Stewart Weir in
1986 and ended up on a highway project later that year, mov-ing
from survey assistant to party chief. He soon graduated from the
field into the office, working in water and wastewater until 1992,
before transferring into the highways engi-neering group. The move
over to highways was a great coming out in many ways, says Pearse.
Theres a lot of methodology to what they do. Today, I wouldnt say
Im all about regimen, but as a learning ground,
BY ROBBIE JEFFREY | PHOTO BY AMY SENECAL
LIFE IS A HIGHWAY
Before getting to know the CEA, I felt like we were competitors.
I discovered that we were more of a fraternity and a community.
B
innovators15_pg30-33.indd 31 2015-01-12 8:35 AM
-
Calgary403.262.5042
Canmore403.609.3992
Edmonton780.809.3200 www.McElhanney.com
Municipal Engineering | Transportation Engineering | Community
Planning | Landscape Architecture | Survey | Mapping
Integrated Solutions
buildingsustainableinfrastructure
Buildings | Earth & Environment | Energy | Industrial |
Infrastructure | Sustainability
exp comEdmonton +1.780.453.3662 Calgary +1.403.509.3030
Exp designs and manages the creation of places for people. We
cover many types of markets from land development and community
infrastructure to sustainable design, and take pride in helping
clients build places where people live and work.
Were a global consulting engineering firm providing
professional, technical and strategic advisory services to the
built and natural environments. Around the corner or halfway around
the world, we deliver successful projects from start to finish.
clients, and he developed an appreciation for mentoring. This
aligned with his feelings about the CEA. Before getting to know the
CEA in a deeper manner, I felt like we were individual competitors,
he says. I later dis-covered that we were more of a fraternity and
a community, and that we can take fate in our own hands by
developing strategies in terms of what we want to do as an
organization. Pearse went on to serve as president of the CEA in
2008. The move to CEO at Opus Stewart Weir in 2010 was another step
in what he calls the natural progression of his career.
There was another time when Pearses career could have changed
lanes: In 1989, Pearse thought the grass might be greener
somewhere else. He was interviewed for a position as a design
engineer, and when he asked about the salary, they asked, What are
you earning now? Well give you another dollar an hour. That
mentality didnt sit well with him, and he didnt take the job,
opting instead for a sense of community. He has also been a board
member of the Alberta Road Builders and recently joined Association
of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Albertas council,
where he is vice-president. I wouldnt have known this early in my
career, but Opus Stewart Weir has always been a family-oriented
organization, he says. It always felt like the right thing to do,
and it still does.
innovators15_pg30-33.indd 32 2015-01-12 8:35 AM
-
Did You Know?Anyone engaged in the practice of engineering or
geoscience in Alberta must be registered with The Association of
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.
This includes individuals, partnerships, corporations and
consultants practicing the professions in Alberta.
Its the law.
APEGAs Compliance Department will answer any questions you have
about reserved titles or practice and look into all suspected
violations you report.
[email protected] or call us toll free at 1-800-661-7020
we make a difference www.apega.ca
edmonton | vancouver | seattle | sacramento |
pasadenawww.nhcweb.com
nhcnorthwest hydraulic consultants
Our areas of expertiseinclude:
river engineeringhydrologyphysical modelingnumerical
modelinghydraulic designregulatory approvalsice engineeringcold
regions hydraulicsenvironmental hydraulicsriver surveys
Northwest Hydraulic Consultantsis an engineering firmfocused
exclusively onwater resources
Mining Environmental Hydrology Permitting & Licensing
Project Management Transportation (Rail, Roads, Air) Municipal
Engineering Planning & Land Development Risk Analysis Rights of
Way & Land Acquisition
Providing Scientific and Technical Solutions for the Earth and
its Environment
www.clifton.ca
innovators15_pg30-33.indd 33 2015-01-12 8:35 AM
-
Gord Johnston, P.Eng.ACEC Liaison
Stantec Consulting
Mike Koziol, P.Eng.Director
MMM Group
Rob Lonson, P.Eng. Director
Opus Stewart Weir
Matt Brassard, P.Eng.President
Urban Systems
Patrick Fleming, P.Eng.Director
KFR Engineering
Todd McGaw, P.Eng.Director
Hemisphere Engineering
Heinrich Heinz, P.Eng.Director
Thurber Engineering
Manoj Mistry, P.Eng.Vice Treasurer
Stantec Consulting
Jackie Mykytiuk, P.Eng.YPG Director
Associated Engineering
Ed StelmachHonorary Director
Paul Ruffell, P.Eng.ACEC Liaison
Tetra Tech
Grant Hallam, P.Eng.Director
McElhanney Consulting
Kelly Yuzdepski, P.Eng.DirectorCIMA+
Deon Wilner, P.Eng.Vice President
ISL Engineering & Land Services
Art Washuta, P.Eng.Past Presidents Director
Opus Stewart Weir
2014-2015
BO
AR
D O
F DIR
ECTO
RS
Linus MurphyCAA Liaison
S2 Architecture
Dick Walters, P.Eng.APEGA Liaison
Walters Chambers
Helder Afonso, P.Eng.Treasurer
Associated Engineering
Sheldon Hudson, P.Eng.Advisor
Al-Terra Engineering
Craig Clifton, P.Eng.Past President
Clifton Associates
Adrian Todeila, P.Eng.Director
NORR Architects
34 alberta innovators
innovators15_pg34-35.indd 34 2015-01-12 8:32 AM
-
innovators15_pg34-35.indd 35 2015-01-12 8:32 AM
-
Because youve earned it.
At TD Insurance we believe your efforts should be
recognized. Thats why, as employees of a member
firm of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta,
you have access to the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex
program, which offers you preferred insurance rates
and highly personalized service, along with additional
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Due to provincial legislation, our auto and recreational vehicle
insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Manitoba or
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active policies on July 31, 2014 of all of our clients who belong
to a professional or alumni group that has an agreement with us
when compared to the premiums they would have paid with the same
insurer without the preferred insurance rate for groups and the
multi-product discount. Savings are not guaranteed and may vary
based on the clients profile.
The TD logo and other TD trade-marks are the property of The
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Projet : Annonce MMI 2015
Client : TD Assurance
Dossier # : 16-MM9486-14_MMI.PR5.ENB&Wcea(8.25x10.75)
Province : Alberta
Publication : Newsletter
Format : 8.25x10.75
Couleur : B&W
preuve # : 2
Date de tombe : 12/11/2014
Graphiste : Marie-Jose Proulx
Hamelin-Martineau Inc. 505, boul. de Maisonneuve O, Bureau 300
Montral (Qubec) H3A 3C2 T : 514 842-4416 C :
[email protected]
ATTENTION : MERCI DE VRIFIER ATTENTIVEMENT CETTE PREUVE AFIN
DVITER TOUTE ERREUR/PLEASE CHECK THIS PROOF FOR ERRORS
Get more out of your CEA membership.
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000AI-TD_Insurance-FP.indd 1 2014-12-17 1:41
PMinnovators15_pg36-55.indd 36 2015-01-12 8:23 AM
-
FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
Roman Wozniak grew up on a farm near Wanham, Alberta, in the
Peace Country. One summer during his high school years, he was
working for the town of Rycroft, hauling boulders in wheelbarrows
to reinforce an ailing wooden dam the town used for its water
supply. One day, early in his summer of strenuous manual labour,
Wozniak saw someone wearing a short-sleeve shirt and sunglasses
drive up to the site in a gleaming yellow truck. The man came once
a week for about 10 minutes to inspect the project for the town. It
turns out he was an engineer for the highways department, says
Wozniak. I thought, Gee, thats the kind of job Id like to have. So
thats what started me off in engineer-ing. Today, Wozniak and his
successor at ISL Engineering and Land Services, Gary Mack, are both
receiving the Lieutenant Governors Award for Distinguished Service
from the CEA. And it turns out they both owe a lot to that engineer
in the yellow truck.
After attending Mount Royal College in Calgary for two years,
Wozniak went to Oklahoma, where he had aspirations of playing
base-ball. But the sport posed deep cuts to Wozniaks studying time,
and he soon focused on getting through his degree as quickly as
possible. Upon graduation, he had some job offers, but declined
them to move back to Canada. It was 1962 and the Vietnam War was
starting up, he says. I knew Id get drafted about two days after I
started work!
So Wozniak took off to Toronto, where he stayed for three years
work-ing in the engineering division of several large insurance
companies. But he soon felt he wasnt being challenged enough, and
when he saw an ad in the Globe and Mail for a job in highway
engineering, he jumped at the chance. In 1963, he started with the
company that would eventually become ISL Engineering. Wozniak was
the project manager for transportation and utility corridors around
Edmonton and Calgary a gigantic project spanning decades, for which
he deserves a large degree of credit. It took 30 years before
construction started, but the corridor was there, and in Edmonton
its now nearing completion, he says.
Tragically, Wozniak contracted multiple sclerosis and had to
retire prematurely, in 1998. But there was a clear successor that
could carry on his legacy. He had hired Gary Mack in 1986, and by
the time Wozniak retired, he says Mack had gained some good
experience and knew pretty much everything there was to know about
consulting.
Mack, who grew up in Bonnyville, Alberta, started his career
in engineering with the City of Edmonton after graduating from
the University of Alberta with distinction in 1973. For more than
three years, he worked in the engineering department in roadway
design. It was a very good learning environment, he says. But the
focus was very specific, and I had to decide, Am I going to spend
the rest of my life focused on this one part of engineering or is
there more out there?
Eventually, Mack moved back to Edmonton. In 1979, he began his
life in consulting engineering with a job at Delcan, which later
became a part of ISL Engineering.
Mack remembers the early days of the CEA fondly. It started with
a group of 10 consultants and engineering firms that banded
together to talk about common business problems, he says. Over
time, it evolved into what it is today a very strong organization
with a board and specific mandates, and a strong business
organization that tries to make the collective business of
consultants a stronger business.
Mack mentions two achievements of which hes particularly proud.
One of the things I got involved with over my career was developing
design standards for transportation engineering, and one of my
highlights was one of two principal offers for a national set of
guidelines for designing urban roads, done for the Transportation
Association of Canada. Mack says the manual of design guidelines
was used across the country as an example of how to design
transportation infrastructure, province-to-province, in a manner
that promotes safety.
The other highlight for Mack was his 12 years as president and
CEO of ISL Engineering, taking the company where he started then
with less than 50 employees into a company in excess of 300
employees in Western Canada. Today, as senior project manager, he
carries on in the tradition of his long-time partner, Roman
Wozniak. And it is an honour for the CEA to present these two
exceptional engineers with this years Lieutenant Governors
Awards.
Gary Mack, P.Eng, with Roman Wozniak, P.Eng
Partners in Success
AW
AR
DS 2015
SHO
WC
ASE
alberta innovators 37
Because youve earned it.
At TD Insurance we believe your efforts should be
recognized. Thats why, as employees of a member
firm of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta,
you have access to the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex
program, which offers you preferred insurance rates
and highly personalized service, along with additional
discounts. Request a quote and find out how
much you could save!
Our extended business hours make it easy. Monday to Friday: 8
a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
HOME | AUTO | TRAVEL
The TD Insurance Meloche Monnex program is underwritten by
SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY. It is distributed by Meloche
Monnex Insurance and Financial Services Inc. in Quebec, by Meloche
Monnex Financial Services Inc. in Ontario, and by TD Insurance
Direct Agency Inc. in the rest of Canada. Our address: 50 Place
Crmazie, Montreal (Quebec) H2P 1B6.
Due to provincial legislation, our auto and recreational vehicle
insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Manitoba or
Saskatchewan. *Average based on the home and auto premiums for
active policies on July 31, 2014 of all of our clients who belong
to a professional or alumni group that has an agreement with us
when compared to the premiums they would have paid with the same
insurer without the preferred insurance rate for groups and the
multi-product discount. Savings are not guaranteed and may vary
based on the clients profile.
The TD logo and other TD trade-marks are the property of The
Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Ask for your quote today at 1-866-269-1371 or visit
melochemonnex.com/cea
Home and auto insurance program recommended by
On average, professionals who have home and auto insurance with
us
save $400.*
Projet : Annonce MMI 2015
Client : TD Assurance
Dossier # : 16-MM9486-14_MMI.PR5.ENB&Wcea(8.25x10.75)
Province : Alberta
Publication : Newsletter
Format : 8.25x10.75
Couleur : B&W
preuve # : 2
Date de tombe : 12/11/2014
Graphiste : Marie-Jose Proulx
Hamelin-Martineau Inc. 505, boul. de Maisonneuve O, Bureau 300
Montral (Qubec) H3A 3C2 T : 514 842-4416 C :
[email protected]
ATTENTION : MERCI DE VRIFIER ATTENTIVEMENT CETTE PREUVE AFIN
DVITER TOUTE ERREUR/PLEASE CHECK THIS PROOF FOR ERRORS
Get more out of your CEA membership.
Get preferred insurance rates today!
000AI-TD_Insurance-FP.indd 1 2014-12-17 1:41 PM
innovators15_pg36-55.indd 37 2015-01-12 8:23 AM
-
38 alberta innovators
In 1972, Jennifer Enns emigrated from England to Canada, fell in
love with her new country and never looked back. This year she is
the second recipient of the CEA Presidents Award, given annually to
recognize and honour an individual outside of the consulting
engineering profession who has made an outstanding contribution to
the profession.
With a passionate interest in mathematics and science, Enns was
a natural fit to enrol in engineering at Carleton University in
Ottawa. She started her engineering career with Bell Canada before
working in consulting and other endeavours. In 2002 she arrived in
Calgary via Virginia, and when the opportunity arose to return to
Ottawa, the family decided to stay in the West to enjoy the
mountains and Calgarys dynamic business environment. Calgary was
now home.
Joining the City of Calgary in 2006, she was thrust into the
excite-ment of dealing with growth first in Transportation Planning
and then as Leader of Professional Practice, where she grew the
Citys EIT Rotation Program into one of the largest and
best-in-class programs in the country. Jennifer also became heavily
involved with the con-sulting industry on issues of common interest
and in supporting the Citys prequalification of engineering and
architectural consultants. This, along with many years working both
in consulting and for own-ers, exposed Jennifer to the need for
ensuring the right people do the right work, and the evidence that
this is better facilitated using Qualifications Based Selection
(QBS).
For the last few years, Jennifer has been the Manager of the
Corporate Engineering and Energy Services team. Her team provides
engineering support to the City and civic partners, develops and
implements innovative energy and sustainability solutions,
pur-chases all the natural gas and the 100-per-cent-green
electricity for the City, and maintains Calgarys energy contracts
and its Sustainable Building Policy. The team currently provides
support for over $750 million in buildings, and recently developed
Calgarys Corporate Energy Strategy. They also maintain strong
relationships with industry, both contracting and consulting, and
present the Annual Partnering with Industry Symposium.
Jennifer is a strong proponent of working collaboratively with
industry and using QBS; the City of Calgary has used QBS since the
1970s. QBS works because it sets up a collaborative team
approach
from the outset. Working as a team and providing the design
consultant with the resources to be innovative has positive impacts
on the construction and life-cycle costs of infrastructure, she
adds. Jennifer has, over the last few years, shared her time and
expertise on procurement of engineering services and QBS in
speaking engagements and in support of a major Ontario QBS
pilot.
Jennifer is an enthusiastic judge for the annual CEA Awards of
Excellence. Every year I am impressed with the quality of the
projects, the innovation that goes into them and how they
contribute to the quality of life of Albertans, she says.
Another of Jennifers passions is encouraging young people to
pursue careers in the sciences and engineering. She is a strong
proponent of science fairs and has been both science fair chair and
judge over the years. It is amazing to see what these young people
can do. When you see what the next generation can accomplish and
the passion they bring to their projects, you know the world is in
good hands.
When not at her desk, Jennifer serves on APEGAs Practice Review
Board, and she is APEGAs representative on the University of
Calgarys Schulich School of Engineering Faculty Council. She is
also the public member on the Alberta Association of Architects
Practice Review Board.
Jennifer Enns has made an extra-ordinary contribution to
consulting engineering in Alberta and Canada, says Matt Brassard,
P.Eng. President, Consulting Engineers of Alberta. I am