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DECONSTRUCTION vs. DEMOLITION FITNESS CENTRE OPERATIONS
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VOL. 27 NO.3 May 2012
C a n a d a s P r e m i e r m a g a z i n e f o r B u i l d i n
g o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r s
Turnover & Renewal
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EstablishYOUR CREDENTIALSwith an RPA or FMA Designation
Are you A ProPerty or FAcility MAnAger?
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Register today by calling:
1-888-821-9319 416-977-8700Email [email protected]
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StatuS quo for Gen Y and the New Millennials is embedded in
technological norms and widely held attitudes that were marginal to
non-existent when Gen X and the Boomers were coming of age. In
general, its seen as a sign of progress that the mainstream has
caught up with what were once considered innovative practices and
unconventional views. Nevertheless, the vanguard of that change
sometimes looks back at the past a little wistfully.That includes
early practitioners of green building design who
were asked to reflect on their experiences at the Green Real
Estate conference in Toronto earlier this spring. As with most
movements, some of its originators perceive that its purism has
eroded in the transfer from the few to the many.What we were doing
15 years ago was really exciting design and it was cool, and
the rest of the industry wasnt doing very much at all, recalled
Mark Lucuik, Director of Sustainability with Morrison Hershfield
Consulting Engineers. The green pie has got bigger, but it is less
green.That said, he pointed to many positive advancements in his
area of expertise in
building materials and the building envelope. Notably,
materials, coatings and furnishings now contain markedly fewer
volatile organic compounds (VOCs).Fifteen years ago it wasnt even
on the radar, Lucuik said. Thats one thing that
has changed a lot in the industry: all the materials have gotten
better. LEED can probably take a lot of credit for that.Our
Construction/Renovation feature delves further into the theme of
reducing the
environmental impact of building materials and components,
highlighting a CSA guideline and standard for sustainable
construction practices. Federal, provincial and municipal lawmakers
will no doubt be interested in the newly released CSA Z783 standard
for deconstruction, which sets out procedures for recovering
materials and minimizing waste that could be conveniently
referenced in regulations, codes or by-laws.From the end of the
building cycle, we turn to the end of the work cycle with Human
Resources features exploring termination, resignation and
retirement. In particular, service providers to the real estate
industry may want to take a closer look at Quebecs proposed
voluntary retirement savings plan (VRSP) program, which, despite
the name, would have some compulsory requirements for designated
employers. The federal government is also attempting to give
Canadians another mechanism to
save for retirement with the recent introduction of Bill C-25,
the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act. However, under Canadas
constitutional division of responsibilities, it will be up to the
provincial governments to enact similar legislation before such
pooled plans could be widely available.Quebec is leading on that
front, while Ontarios 2012 Budget expressed some
reservations about the concept. Then again, other initiatives
would seem to indicate that provincial government prefers for its
constituents to hand their money over to the Ontario Lottery and
Gaming Corporation.
Barbara [email protected]
editorsnote
4 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
VOL. 27 NO. 3 MAy 2012
Editor-in-Chief Barbara Carss [email protected]
Publisher Sean Foley [email protected]
Contributing Writers Kendy Bentley, Lisa Carlson, Cal Fairbanks,
Suzanne Kleinberg, Michael Kreimeh, Mike Sawchuk
Senior Designer Annette Carlucci Wong [email protected]
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President Kevin Brown [email protected]
Accounting Manager Maggy Elharar [email protected]
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Published and printed (eight times yearly as follows: Feb./Mar.,
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Copyright 2012Canada Post Canadian Publications MailSales
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DECONSTRUCTION vs. DEMOLITION FITNESS CENTRE OPERATIONS
WORKPLACE RSPs MANAGING STAFF DEPARTURES BOMA BEST 2011 DATA
WATER-EFFICIENT CLEANING
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Agr
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4006
3056
Turnover & RenewalStrategies for Human and Material
Resources
VOL. 27 NO.3 May 2012
C a n a d a s P r e m i e r m a g a z i n e f o r B u i l d i n
g o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r s
Turnover & Renewal
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contents Focus: Human Resources17 Workplace Retirement Savings
Plans: Both the Canadian and Quebec government are
exploring ways to capture employees not currently enrolled in
company-sponsored programs.
20 Just Cause Termination: Employers generally carry burden of
proof when they dismiss workers without notice or severance
pay.
24 Managing Emotional Resignations: Employers should clarify
intent, extend the opportunity to resolve conflict and ask for
written confirmation before concluding the employee is
departing.
Articles:
8 Reducing Construction/Demolition Waste: CSA standards address
the design and deconstruction stages to find ways to reuse, recycle
and recover building materials, while ultimately rethinking the
process.
12 Fitness Centre Risk Management: Operators should consider
facility access, training equipment and on-site personnel.
14 BOMA BESt Update: Highlights from the 2011 report on 415
newly certified buildings achieving Level 2 to 4 status.
28 Carpet Encapsulation: Quick-dry cleaning process gains new
prominence due to improved product formulation.
30 Contractor Management: Automated systems help monitor
regulatory compliance.
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6 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
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constructionrenovation
New Standard Formalizes Steps to Reduce Construction/Demolition
Waste
By Barbara Carss
TacticsDiversion
-
Canadian Property Management | May 2012 9
constructionrenovation
The CSA standard is a very, very important step in helping the
regulatory bodies realize that there are tools they can use.
Tactics
SuStainability is al ternately framed as a challenge and a
mission in two ambitious initiatives with a 2030 target date. It
also poses something of a paradox since the programs are
philosophically compatible yet could practically conflict.Design
and building professionals are
taking up the 2030 Challenge, which Architecture Canada has
endorsed, to dramatically reduce the global warming potent ial of
new and renovated buildings. This has green building s p e c i a l
i s t s e y e i n g a g i n g , underperforming
industrial/commercial/institutional and multi-residential stock.The
future of sustainable design is
going to be about reimagining existing buildings, Vivian Manasc,
President of Edmonton-based Manasc Isaac Architects Ltd., told
seminar attendees at the Green Real Estate conference in Toronto
earlier this spring. We will actually be seeing a large makeover of
the existing environment.Meanwhile, a coalition of business,
environmental, public sector and community interests that
comprise the Construction Resource Initiatives Council is
spearheading Mission 2030 to halt the disposal of construction,
renovation and demolition waste into landfill. Sustainability
specialists focused on the final stages of the building life cycle
hope the term deconstruction will come to replace demolition.Were
trying to shift our language.
More importantly, its not just the shift in language, its the
shift in thinking, reflects Vince Catalli, Vice Chair of the CSA
Groups Technical Committee on Sustainable Construction Practices,
and Business Development Manager with
the environmental consulting firm, Golder Associates.Two CSA
standards now address
this task, with the aim of reducing waste from a buildings
conception to demise. The newly released CSA Z783-12,
Deconstruction of buildings and their related parts, reinforces and
formalizes procedures to recover materials and minimize discards.
Its a follow-up companion to CSA Z782-06 , Gu ide l i n e f o r d e
s i gn f o r disassembly and adaptabil i ty in bui ldings , which
urges owners , developers, architects and engineers to consider how
a building might be modified or dismantled in the future and to
make design, component and mater ia l choices to ease those
opportunities.You can think of Z782 as a
guidance document for people sitting at a drafting table
contemplating design of a new building, while Z783 is the standard
thats carried around the worksite while a building is being taken
down, explains Dwayne Torrey, the Project Manager with CSA Group
who coordinated the development of the new standard.
CONSISTENT PARAMETERSInitially, at least, CSA Z783 is most
likely to be used in projects that werent designed in accordance
with CSA Z782 principles. It sets out an organized process for
identifying, saving and sorting non-hazardous recoverable
materials, and outlines a consistent best-practices approach that
owners can specify when they call for tenders. For owners,
specifying the standard
should eliminate a variable and allow them to more accurate ly
weigh competing bids. For contractors, it should ensure that they
are competing evenly, based on the pledge of comparable services.
Beyond that, it might even provide insight to give savvy adopters a
business edge. When they bid these contracts, the
difference between high and low bids could be in how resourceful
they can be reclaiming, reusing and recycling the mater ia ls .
Thats where the competitiveness lies, Catalli says. The standard
also provides credible
guidance for on-site supervisors and workers. For project
managers, CSA Z783 essentially could be a key document in a
deconstruction project,
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10 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
p rov id i ng no t on l y n ece s s a ry requirements, but also
a checklist of all the things they are going to have to be dealing
with, Torrey suggests.Proponents are promoting both
standards as effective mechanisms that could be referenced in
building codes, other federal or provincial regulations, municipal
by-laws and voluntary certification programs. Some fairly obvious
applications for CSA Z783 might inc lude as a requirement for
obtaining municipal d emo l i t i on pe rmi t s , a ch i ev ing
provinc ia l was te d ivers ion and recycling targets or securing
credits in LEED programs.The building industry is ready for
this. The CSA standard is a very, very important step in helping
the regulatory bodies realize that there are tools they can use ,
says Rene Gra t ton , President of the Construction Resource Ini t
iat ives (CRI) Council and a member of the CSA Technica l C o mm i
t t e e o n S u s t a i n a b l e Construction Practices. We needed
to have a standard or something official
to open the dialogue on the importance and urgency to improve on
building industry practices. The CRI Councils model has more
elements than the conventionally known 3Rs in an effort to
further diminish the final tier of remnants that ends up in
landfill or hazardous waste facilities. It adds Rethink and Recover
and includes an e n e r g y - f r om -w a s t e o p t i o n
something tha t CSA Z783 a lso covers, with information on the
potential thermal value of carpet, for example.Thats kind of the
last alternative,
Catalli stresses. There is a hierarchy to it. If you can recover
for reuse, that is the best option. Recycling is the next in line.
Energy-from-waste is third and, as a last resort, there is a
landfill.
FRONT-END CONSIDERATIONSTypical ICI refurbishment and renovation
projects offer more opportunities at the preferred end of the
scale. Reworking interior features and configurations, or
even gutting the entire space, is almost always simpler than
replacing or dismantling the structural framework and systems. In
future, if CSA Z782 design principles become more common, Catalli
predicts it should become easier still.Interiors are a layer of the
building
that can accommodate disassembly quite nicely, he observes.
There are c a s e s whe r e t h e ma t e r i a l s we disassemble
can be reused on site.However, despite increased adoption
of the integrated design philosophy and general acknowledgement
of its record for producing efficient operating systems and finding
capital savings, demolit ion/deconstruction is st i l l largely
separated out from design functions. Catalli contends that there
should be plenty of time to develop creative reuse and recycling
strategies during the design phase of most renovation and
redevelopment projects.Usually demolition comes up in
conversation about a month before they are ready to tender so
theyve wasted about a year when they could have been thinking about
it. There is a lot of time when the design activity is taking place
when there could also be a team in place to do a better job on the
deconstruction side, he says.Its perhaps an even greater leap
to
envision a buildings deconstruction in sync with its design,
which may be one of the obstacles that CSA Z782 has faced. It has
not been prominent in the six years since its release, but
advocates are optimistic it can garner more attention as a package
with CSA Z783.Z782 should address the reduce
component of the 3Rs. If you look at the way buildings are built
now, were not there yet, but you cant just regulate it all at the
tail end. It has to start at the front end in the design phase,
Gratton asserts. The first Rs have to be the focus now. zz
For more in format ion about the CSA standards for sustainable
construction practices, see www.csagroup.org. For more i n fo rma t
ion abou t t he Cons t ruc t i on Resource Initiatives Council and
Mission 2030, see www.cricouncil.com. For more information about
the 2030 Challenge, see www.sustainability2030.com.
Untitled-7 1 12-05-04 3:38 PM
constructionrenovation
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ExErciSE can bE a positive force in the workplace to support
health, productivity and stress management. Likewise, on-site
fitness centres can be an amenity that helps to draw and retain
tenants, but building owners and managers should be diligent in
addressing the risk that such facilities pose. Its not a simple
matter of installing some treadmills and bikes in vacant,
unsupervised space.Exercise related injuries are not
uncommon. Providers of facilities must understand their exposure
to risk and carefu l ly cons ider des ign and management of the
fitness space. Many owners/mangers will choose to outsource the set
up and operations of fitness centres to a specialized contractor.
Appropriate equipment selection, vigilant
maintenance, cleanliness and safety are critical. On the
administrative side, effective scheduling and creative programming
are key to customer satisfaction. Qualified
personnel, in tune with the needs and abilities of a range of
users, are essential.Facility operations, equipment and
personnel represent three major sources of risk.
OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATIONSignage posted at the facility
entrance should clearly state who is allowed access, how to become
a member/user and whether the facility is supervised. Ensure
controlled access so only registered users can use the
facility.Once inside, users should be required to
attend instructional orientation sessions on proper equipment
use, disinfecting after use, guidelines for personal physical
activity programs and facility emergency procedures. Signage should
communicate emergency procedures and proper equipment usage.
Install emergency call systems in exercise
areas and locker rooms (buttons, intercom, phones, etc.) and/or
video surveillance in exercise areas. Provide added security in
Risk Management Critical for Fitness Facilities
12 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
By Kendy Bentley
amenities
Exercise Diligence
-
locker rooms via a mechanical keypad with different codes for
mens and womens rooms. Women, especially, can feel vulnerable at
non-peak times. Install easily accessible First Aid and
Automated External Defibrillator (AED) kits. Develop a written
emergency plan and test it. Perform regular safety and cleaning
audits and record them.Provide forms for informed consent and
waiver of liability for all users to read and sign. Risks of
activity must be documented and users advised to seek clearance
from their health care provider. This waiver must be signed and
witnessed. Many facilities use a standard pre-screening form called
PAR-Q or Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire. Provide access
to drinking water. Install
non-slip floors or appropriate matting in shower areas.HVAC is
important. There should be
proper balance of air circulation and temperature (19 to 22 C)
and sufficient air changes in locker and shower areas so users dont
get overheated.
EQUIPMENTSelection of equipment suitable for the facility design
and the users is imperative. Regular maintenance will identify
potential problems so that damaged equipment can be repaired or
replaced. Proper documentation of both inspection and repair is
critical to risk management. Select only commercial grade
equipment
and avoid used equipment. Implement a preventative maintenance
program and checklist, which includes keeping detailed
Canadian Property Management | May 2012 13
maintenance records for all equipment. Records will be key to
defending against claims that an injury is due to malfunctioning
equipment. Develop a system to inform users of
broken equipment so injuries are prevented. This can be an out
of order sign to hang on equipment.Properly install equipment
according to
manufacturers instructions. For example, a common error is the
placement of a treadmill too close to a wall or other equipment
when a five-foot clearance is required. Putting a mat on the wall
to soften the impact is not the answer! Contracted equipment
maintenance firms
should have WCB and adequate, current insurance and follow all
specified safety procedures. Consider requiring the contractor to
provide a certificate of insurance naming the facility as an
additional insured. A minimum of $2 million comprehensive general
liability insurance policy is suggested, while $5 million is the
standard. Pay attention to those with disabilities. For
example, provide wheelchair accessible space between
equipment.
PERSONNELStaff or contractors, such as personal trainers and
group class instructors, should be properly certified, insured and
competent and knowledgeable in their field of instruction. Trainers
should also have current CPR, AED and First Aid training and a good
insurance policy. There are several certifying organizations
in Canada that proclaim they are leaders in
education and certification. However, since there is no
licensing body, anyone can call himself or herself a personal
trainer. Some trainers are certified through weekend workshops.In
contrast, the Canadian Society of
Exercise Physiology (CSEP) is a reputable nationally recognized
body that confers the Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) and
Certified Exercise Professional (CEP) designations. The CSEP CEP is
required to have a
university degree in exercise science or related area and 300
hours of related experience just to qualify for the training and
exam. A CSEP CPT is certified to work with healthy people and must
have a two-year college diploma or university credits in six core
competency areas. Ideally, on-site staff should hold one of these
credentials.Stories abound of overzealous and/or
inadequately qualified trainers who may push clients beyond
their physical limits or venture into advice on nutrition and
supplements sales that may cause harm. Allowing tenants to bring
their own trainers on-site may expose building owners/managers to
that risk. zz
Kendy Bentley, BScN, RN, is President of KBA Group, specializing
in the design and management of corporate fitness centres and
organizational wellness strategies and programs. For more
information, see the web site at www.kbagroup.ca.
amenities
-
14 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
Half of tHE 336 surveyed office buildings were constructed
between 1960 and 1989. Nearly three-quarters are small or mid-sized
buildings comprising less than 250,000 square feet, while larger
buildings in excess of 500,000 square feet made up 11% of buildings
that received BOMA BESt certification Levels 2 through 4 in
2011.BOMA BESt office buildings tend to
perform better in terms of energy intensity
(i.e. the amount of energy consumed per square foot) than the
national average of 36.65 ekWh/ft2/yr, identified in the Natural
Resources Canadas (NRCan) Office of Energy Efficiency,
Comprehensive Energy Use Database, 1990 to 2009. The average for
BOMA BESt certified buildings is 30.8 ekWh/ft2/yr. When grouped
regionally, BOMA BESt
office buildings in all regions show average annual energy
intensities better than
NRCans national average. Office buildings that have higher
overall BOMA BESt scores tend to also have better energy
performance than those that have overall lower scores. BOMA BESt
carbon intensities show regional variations, with highest carbon
intensities in Atlantic and Central Canada and the lowest in Quebec
and British Columbia.
DATA CENTRE LOADS DISTORT AVERAGEThe majority of BOMA BESt
office buildings (66%) certified in 2011 have energy intensities
that are better than the BOMA BESt average. The overall BOMA BESt
average is being negatively impacted by a few buildings that have
large additional loads such as data centres. This suggests the need
for a more detailed classification of buildings that have
applications such as data centres, which is now being addressed in
BOMA BESt version 2.By ordering all the BOMA BESt certified
offices according to their energy intensity and dividing the
samples into four groups, the following benchmarks are obtained:
Top performing 25% of buildings: 10-21 ekWh/ft2/yr
Upper middle 50-75% of buildings: 22-26 ekWh/ft2/yr
Lower middle 25-50% of buildings: 27-34 ekWh/ft2/yr
Lowest performing 25% of buildings: 35-92 ekWh/ft2/yr
Average energy consumption in 2011 at 30.8 ekWh/ft2/yr is better
than it was in 2008 (31.52 ekWh/ft2/yr). However, the current rate
of improvement signals that significant effort on the part of
industry is still required if ambitious targets such as the 20 x 15
target, which aims to achieve 20 ekWh/ft2/yr of total energy use in
office buildings by 2015, are to be met.There appears to be some
correlation
between office building size and energy intensity. The smaller
buildings those less than 100,000 ft2 average 27.7 ekWh/ft2/yr
BOMA BESt InductEES PIck uP thE PAcEEnergy Performance Improves
in 2011 Sample
operatingefficiencies
A snapshot of the 415 buildings that achieved at least BOMA BESt
Level 2 status in 2011 reveals energy intensity levels that are
better than both the presumed national average and the average for
previously certified BOMA BESt buildings. Water consumption data
for 2011 also shows more efficient use, overall, for last years
program inductees versus the buildings analyzed in the BOMA BESt
Energy and Environment Report (BBEER) periods for 2010 and 2009.The
following key findings from BBEER 2011 summarize performance data
gathered
from January 1 to December 31, 2011 for 336 office buildings, 46
light industrial buildings, 24 enclosed shopping centres and nine
open-air retail projects. It categorizes the results by quartile,
provides context for the findings and points to opportunities for
further improvement Editor.
-
Canadian Property Management | May 2012 15
or about 18% less than medium to large buildings (250,000500,000
ft2), which average 33.9 ekWh/ft2.On the other hand, very large
buildings
buildings greater than 500,000 ft2 also use less energy (29.1
ekWh/ft2) than medium-large buildings. A possible explanation could
be that the largest buildings have dedicated energy management
teams to ensure optimal performance.
GAPS REVEAL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT There is a significant range
between the energy consumption of the best performing office
buildings and that of the worst performing offices. The median for
energy per- square-foot in the best performing quartile is 17.75
ekWh. The median for energy per-square-foot in the worst performing
quartile is 38.35 ekWh. This represents a large standard
deviation.The total carbon dioxide from all of the office
buildings, representing 82.2 million square feet of office space
certified to Levels 2 to 4, is 560,814 metric tonnes. If these
buildings were performing at the national average, they would be
emitting 667,332 metric tonnes. The difference is 106,518 metric
tonnes, which is equivalent to 20,886 cars not driven for one year
or 22,712 acres of pine forest storing carbon dioxide for one
year.By ordering all the BOMA BESt certified
office buildings into quartiles according to their water
consumption (measured in m3 water per m2 of area), the following
benchmarks are obtained: Top performing 25% of buildings: 0 0.2
m3/m2
Upper middle 50-75% of buildings: 0.21 0.54 m3/m2
Lower middle 25-50% of buildings 0.55 0.97 m3/m2
Lowest performing 25% of buildings 0.98-8.85 m3/m2
These performance ranges suggest that over half of the buildings
have significant room to improve their water consumption.The
results for 2011 show that office
buildings less than 500,000 ft2 in size use less water per
square foot than buildings that are 500,000 ft2 or more in size.
This may be due to the presence of food courts, cooling towers,
water cooled HVAC systems or other special uses in larger
buildings. Also, newer office buildings tend to use less water per
square foot, perhaps due to newer, more efficient water
fixtures.
WASTE & POLLUTANTSAbout 42% of office buildings in the
sample size of 336 buildings divert between 60 and
90% of their waste from landfill. However, many office buildings
(23%) have not reported their exact diversion rate. Results
indicate that there is a higher incidence of better waste
management practices in buildings constructed after 1990.There is a
strong culture and
management infrastructure to support environmental management in
the industry. Policies and protocols are well establ ished for
managing
pollutants such as emissions from boilers, and hazardous
materials such as those found in cleaning products, lubricants,
water treatment chemicals, fuels and pesticides.While there are
well-established
refrigerant management practices such as properly maintaining
inventory of ozone-depleting refrigerants and providing training to
staff, there is still room for refrigerant replacement,
particularly in office buildings built prior to 1960. Almost
operatingefficiencies
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all office buildings use certified contractors to do refrigerant
maintenance. 70% of office buildings in the top-scoring
quartile use only refrigerants with low ozone-depleting
potential. However, results indicate that the vast majority of
office buildings still have room to improve.Many still use
refrigerants with high
ozone-depleting and global-warming potential although most
reportedly have a phase-out plan. Although three quarters of
buildings that use ozone-depleting,
16 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
CARMA_CondoBusiness_01-19-2009_CS2--F.pdf 2/3/09 5:41:35 PM
11002_Carma_2011.indd 1 11-05-02 11:09 AM
global-warming refrigerants do have recovery systems for use
during system servicing, repairs or disposal, the majority (71%) of
buildings in the very lowest quartile lack refrigerant leak
detectors.Fewer than 40% of buildings have
low nitrogen oxide (NOx) boilers. However, about two-thirds of
buildings do have a regular documented schedule for cleaning
burners, monitoring controls and analyzing flue gas.
AMBIENCE & EDUCATIONThe majority of office buildings score
very well in terms of indoor environment, which includes air
quality, lighting and acoustic privacy. The average indoor
environment score achieved by office buildings is 88.5%.Almost al l
(99%) of the office
buildings in this sample size of 336 have documented env i
ronmenta l policies and communications strategies with tenants to
explain the environmental practices being implemented in the
building, and to encourage tenants to support such initiatives.
OTHER BUILDING TyPESIn 2011, 46 light industrial buildings were
certified to BOMA BESt Levels 2 through 4, representing the second
largest category in the program. The majority (86%) of light
industrial buildings covered in this report are smaller than
100,000 ft2 in size.24 enclosed shopping centres were
certified to BOMA BESt Levels 2 through 4. The majority (67%)
were 250,000 to 750,000 ft2 in size. Only nine retail plazas
received BOMA BESt certification at Levels 2 through 4 in 2011. The
majority (78%) of these buildings were smaller than 250,000 ft2 in
size.BOMA BESt certified enclosed shopping
centres tend to perform better in terms of energy intensity than
the typical annual energy intensity of 30.98 ekWh/ft2 (1.2 GJ/m2)
identified by NRCan. BOMA BESt-certified enclosed shopping centres
have an average energy intensity of 23.40 ekWh/ft2 (0.90
GJ/m2).Initially, open air retail buildings were only
reporting energy consumption in common areas. As this does not
provide sufficient basis for benchmarking, the updated BOMA BESt
Version 2 now requires full energy consumption to be reported,
including the tenants data. While recognizing the initial
difficulty in obtaining a full data set, this requirement may lead
to better cooperation, understanding and dialogue between tenant
and landlord with regards to the joint objective of reducing energy
use.Light Industrial buildings certified to
BOMA BESt Levels 2 to 4 consist primarily of warehouses. They
tend to perform better in terms of energy intensity (15.97
ekWh/ft2/yr) than the typical annual energy intensity identified by
NRCan for the transportation and warehousing sector (35.9
ekWh/ft2). zz
The complete text of the BOMA BESt Energy and Environmental
Report, 2011 can be found at www.bomabest.com.
operatingefficiencies
-
EffortS to Spur Canadians to save for retirement may also
deliver a new pool of capital for real estate investment. Recently
proposed schemes to capture workers not formally enrolled in
company pension or group retirement savings plans would presumably
also generate more opportunity for various asset classes.There
should be some uptick of funds
looking to real estate. Certainly, Australias mandatory
superannuation is one reason why its LPTs are world travellers,
observes Michael Brooks, a Partner and Real Estate Practice Group
Leader with Aird & Berlis LLP.Notably, the government of
Quebecs
prescription for voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs)
comes with mandatory requirements for employers. As of early May,
affected parties are waiting for draft legislation to flesh out
statements in this springs provincial budget, which targeted
January 1, 2013 for the rollout of the program.As proposed,
employers will have until
January 1, 2015 to offer VRSPs in designated workplaces i.e.
those with at least five employees who have one year of
uninterrupted service, and where no pension/group retirement
savings plan currently exists. Employer contributions to VRSPs will
not be compulsory, but they will have to choose a fund
administrator, implement the process for enrolling their workers,
calculate and withhold salary-based contributions for all who opt
to participate, and remit that money to the VRSP administrator.The
result is a pool of money, explains
Daniel Hayhurst, a Partner who heads up the pension department
at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. Its not going to be a single
employers plan. There will be a large number of employers enrolling
many people into larger plans.The discussion paper released on
March 20th in conjunction with the Quebec budget envisions
potential participation of nearly two million workers, or
approximately 50%
of the provincial labour force, who are not currently part of a
company-sponsored plan. This includes about 950,000 prospective
enrollees from the designated business sector, whose contributions
will be deducted from their pay by default unless they officially
withdraw from the VRSP program. Up to one million other
self-employed workers or personnel in companies with fewer than
five employees would also be eligible to opt in. Meanwhile, the
Canadian government
is attempting to encourage a similar retirement savings
instrument, known as pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs). Bill
C-25, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act, introduced in
November 2011, would apply only in federally regulated workplaces,
but also provides a framework that other provincial governments
could adopt.
AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT, SCOPED OPTIONSIn concept, its the same
product, but, assuming it becomes law as proposed, we will see a
different outcome in Quebec than we may see in other jurisdictions
because it will be mand a t o r y f o r employers to offer it,
Hayhurst says. All eligible
workers will be
automatically enrolled in a VRSP by their employers and will
then have 60 days to formally withdraw. After that period, they
would be deemed automatic contributors at an established rate,
which the discussion paper pegs at 4% in January 2017 after yearly
phased increases from the 2% launch rate in 2015. Employers will
also have the option of contributing to their employees VRSPs and
will receive applicable federal and provincial tax deductions for
doing so. As with any other registered retirement
savings plan, contributors will be able to withdraw funds at any
time, but will be subject to provincial and federal tax on the
amount withdrawn. Theyll also have some flexibility to revise their
contribution rate, temporarily
Employers Enlisted to Prompt Workers SavingsReal Estate Well
Positioned in Investment MixBy Barbara Carss
humanresources
Canadian Property Management | May 2012 17
-
18 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
halt contributions, or choose from a small range of alternatives
to the default VRSP. Only entities licensed by Quebecs
Autorit des marchs financiers will be able to administer VRSPs,
which are essentially the same financial institutions and
investment fund managers already overseeing other existing
retirement savings plans. The discussion paper indicates that they
will be expected to keep management fees in line with those charged
for institutional pension plans of comparable size.The funds,
themselves, are to be life-cycle
or target-date funds, which reduce exposure to risk as the
contributor ages. This would be the default option, or the fund to
which contributions would be automatically remitted unless the
participant instructs otherwise. However, the discussion paper
proposes that VRSP administrators should offer up to five other
investment options from which contributors may choose.
In terms of the financial institutions that will be offering
these products, they are struggling with it because they dont have
the draft legislation yet to give them direction, and January 1 of
next year is really soon, Hayhurst notes. They are going to be
competing against themselves in some respects. Any of them that
have a large proportion of the marketplace will not be thrilled
with this concept, but some of the smaller players may see it as an
opportunity to get in.
RISK REDUCING TRAJECTORyMany Quebec-based corporate owners and
managers of real estate will not be affected by the pending
legislation since they typically already provide pension or group
retirement savings plans for their employees, but many contractors
who provide services to the real estate industry will likely be
required to establish VRSPs.
Cleaning and security personnel, for example, rarely have such
work-related benefits.With the mandated aspect of it, it will
increase retirement savings overall in the province, Hayhurst
predicts. There would be a lot of money going into a particular
plan over a course of time.Census 2011 results reveal that
Quebecs
population is one of the oldest among Canadian provinces a fact
that could work in real estates favour in a life-cycle fund
designed to reduce risk as contributors get closer to retirement.
The asset class has already attracted more institutional investment
during recent volatile times.Most pension funds and life
insurance
companies have increased their allocation to real estate,
reports Bill Argeropoulos, Vice President and Director of Research
with Avison Young (Canada) Inc. Over the past decade, they have
gradually increased their allocation from 5 to 7% to as much as 12
to 13% and reduced their exposure to equities. zz
For more information about Quebecs proposal for voluntary
retirement savings plans, see
http://www.budget.finances.gouv.qc.ca/Budget/2012-2013/en/documents/retirement.pdf.
For more information about Bill C-25, the Pooled Registered
Pensions Plans Act, see
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=638359.
humanresources
There would be a lot of money going into a particular plan over
a course of time.
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Untitled-2 1 12-05-16 11:31 AM
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Just Cause, soft
ConCept
Room for Interpretation in Defining Misconduct By Suzanne
Kleinberg and Michael Kreimeh
JuSt cauSE iS a legal term that means an employer is justified
in terminating an employee without providing termination notice or
termination pay. There is no clear-cut method of determining what
will constitute just cause. Each case is unique and must be
reviewed with attention to all of the facts of the situation.When
resolving whether there is just
cause for dismissal without notice, Courts will look at
answering the following two questions: 1) was misconduct by the
employee proven? and 2) was the level of the misconduct justifiable
to dismiss the employee without any notice?If the answer to both
question is: yes,
then just cause dismissal is reasonable. However, if an answer
to either question is: no, then the employer is obligated to give
reasonable termination notice or termination pay. A number of
factors contribute to the determination.Firstly, a Court will look
at whether
the employees misconduct caused an irreparable disruption in the
employment relationship by either violating an important condition
of the employment contract or destroying the employers trust in the
employee. If the misconduct resulted in either of these outcomes,
there is just cause.Secondly, a Court will consider the
seniority of the employee in the organization. The more senior
the employee, the more serious the conduct.Thirdly, a Court will
examine
whether the employer gave warnings (wr i t t en o r ve rba l ) p
r io r to termination. Where there was no warning prior to the
dismissal that the misconduct was connected to, except in the most
serious cases (e.g. stealing, violence, leaking corporate secrets
etc.), it will be more difficult for the employer to prove just
cause.
20 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
humanresources
Just Cause, soft
ConCept
-
By Suzanne Kleinberg and Michael Kreimeh
Lastly, Courts will look at whether the employees misconduct was
tolerated prior to the dismissal. If misconduct occurred and the
employer tolerated this behaviour through inaction i.e. not
providing the employee with a formal warning that misconduct would
not be tolerated then the employers actions will be under scrutiny
if the employee was dismissed without notice.Not every act of
misconduct should lead
to termination. It must be serious enough to end the employment
relationship. The types of conduct that the law recognizes as
justifying termination have included: incompetence; insubordination
or disobedience; abusive language or behaviour; violence; chronic
absenteeism; persistent lateness; intoxication; dishonesty; theft;
destruction of property; and sexual harassment. When there is a
cause for termination, the employer has no obligation to provide
the employee with notice or termination pay.
DishonestyThis is not only theft or fraud, but any form of
untrustworthy behaviour. This includes conduct previous to the
start of employment (e.g. untruthful representations in a resume),
during the course of employment, or in relation to matters
unconnected with employment. In determining when just cause for
dishonesty exists, the Courts are primarily concerned with whether
the conduct of the employee is such that she or he can no longer be
trusted or depended upon by the employer.Misrepresentation at time
of hiring
occurs when an employee is hired on the basis of a skill,
experience or educational achievement that he or she professed to
possess, but in reality does not. The employee is such a case may
be dismissed with just cause for misrepresenting the skill.
Breach of TrustThis occurs when someone in a position of
confidence violates the trust invested by someone else. In an
employment situation, it typically occurs where the employee
demonstrates misconduct that promotes his/her own interests instead
of the employers interests. Where the employees misconduct was
motivated by a conflict of interest, the natural trust placed in
the employee will have been destroyed. However, attention needs to
be paid to the specific facts to confirm is a breach of trust has
occurred.
InsubordinationIf an employee refuses to acknowledge and accept
the authority of the employer and refuses to comply with the
employers clear instructions, policies and procedures without
reasonable justification, it may be considered insubordination.
Usually, the Courts will not allow an employer to fire an employee
for a single incident of insubordination, unless it was of major
significance.
Absenteeism & LatenessAbsenteeism is defined as occasional
absences, while lateness refers to reporting for work after
scheduled hours of work have begun. Even in establishments where
there is no formal attendance policy, repeated lateness without a
legitimate reason may be regarded as a serious breach of the
employees responsibility to the employer. Where the employee cannot
justify his/her persistent lateness and the conduct persists after
the employer has issued warnings, the employer will be able to
terminate legally.An employer will not be able to establish
cause for dismissal where an employee is unable to attend work
due to illness. In such circumstances, an employer will need to
determine whether the employee is indeed sick. To do so, an
employer has the right to request that an employee provide a
doctors note where the employee has been absent on a significant
number of days.An employer would, in most cases, be
required to formally warn an employee before proceeding with
outright dismissal under the grounds of absenteeism. The employer
could not justify firing an employee who was late on only one
occasion. However, chronic lateness and absenteeism may justify
dismissal if the employee had been given sufficient warnings and
still failed to correct this behaviour without valid reasons.
IncompetenceAn employee is obligated to display a reasonable
level of competence in relation to the job for which he or she is
hired. Where it is clear that the individual demonstrates that he
or she is not up to the task or has misrepresented his/her
qualifications and/or ability, the employer may have cause for
termination. Employers are obligated to advise
employees if there are performance related concerns and provide
a private opportunity to address them. Courts have repeatedly
indicated that the mere expression of disappointment with an
employees work is not sufficient. The employee must be aware of
the
expected standard of performance and notified that she/he has
failed to meet that standard. An employee must be given a
reasonable amount of time to improve performance and be warned that
failure to do so could result in termination. Courts have indicated
that criticism of an employees performance must be constructive and
will only be deemed so where the employer has provided practical
guidance on how to improve.
Intoxication vs. AlcoholismAn employer may be justified in
terminating an employee without notice based upon a single incident
of intoxication most likely
humanresources
Canadian Property Management | May 2012 21
-
22 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
in a case where the individual is employed in a position where
safety of co-workers and/or the public at large depends upon the
employees decisions and/or actions. The mere fact that an employee
exhibits signs of alcohol consumption while at work will not
exclusively justify dismissal. It needs to be shown that the
consumption of alcohol negatively impacted upon the employees
ability to perform his/her job.The Courts will take a different
approach
if it is found that the employee is suffering from an underlying
illness: namely, alcoholism. The distinction between drinking to
excess on occasion and alcoholism is, of course, medical, not
legal. Alcoholism is recognized as a disease marked not by the
level of alcohol consumption, but by its chronic and uncontrollable
use.Alcoholism has been found to be a
disability and therefore one is protected from discrimination by
the Human Rights Code. Termination in such circumstances,
therefore, will be unlawful.
InsolenceIn determining whether insolent behaviour justifies
cause for termination, the Courts would review whether the
misconduct reflects a brief lapse of judgment, which
may be rectified with a cooling off period and an apology.
Courts have indicated that the more appropriate response for an
employer in these circumstances might be to proceed through
progressive discipline, beginning with a warning to underline that
repeat episodes of such conduct would not be tolerated.Courts will
also consider whether the
misconduct in question involves profanity. The use of foul
language is not cause for dismissal especially when such language
is commonly tolerated in the workplace.
ProbationThis is defined as a trial period of usually three or
six months during which the employer will review and evaluate the
employee to determine if she or he is suitable for ongoing
employment. Under no circumstance does this status convey the right
to discriminate against or harass the employee, but the conditions
for dismissal may be less rigorous.An employees probationary status
must be
established within the written offer of employment and agreed to
before the employee begins to work. If the employee accepts a
verbal offer of employment that does not specify a probationary
period, then no probationary period applies.
humanresourcesThe burden is on the employer to prove an
alleged probationary period. An employer may not unilaterally
extend a probationary period without the consent of the employee.
An employer has the right to terminate
a probationary employee without notice or severance where the
employer can establish that it acted fairly and with reasonable
diligence in determining if the proposed employee was suitable in
the job for which he or she was being tested. The employment
standards in most provinces allow the employer to terminate an
employee on probation with no notice or pay in lieu of notice.
Temporary LayoffAn employee is on a temporary layoff when an
employer cuts back or stops the employees work without ending
his/her employment (e.g. laying someone off at times when there is
not enough work to do.) An employer may put an employee on
temporary layoff without confirming a date on which the employee
will be recalled to work. zz
Suzanne Kleinberg is a Toronto-based career coach. The preceding
article is excerpted from her recent book, Employee Rights &
Employer Wrongs. For more information, see the web site at
http://www.potentialtosoar.com
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Untitled-1 1 12-05-08 3:14 PM
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Doing our best for you. Delivering our best to your tenants.
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for in an entertainment provider. Thats why with us, youll get
personalized support through a dedicated Account
Executive. Theyll ensure your tenants are completely satisfied
with our innovative Cable TV, Internet and Home
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with experts you can really count on.
Trademarks of or used under license from Rogers Communications
Inc. or an affiliate. 2012 Rogers Communications.
Call a Rogers Account Executive today at 1 866 567-5778
or visit rogers.com/cma for more information.
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Call a Rogers Account Executive today at 1 866 567-5778 or visit
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Untitled-6 1 12-04-09 5:44 PM
Untitled-2 1 12-04-17 10:42 AM
-
RASh StAtEMEntS PROvIdE InAdEquAtE
24 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
humanresources
two rEcEnt dEciSionS by the British Columbia Supreme Court
illustrate the difficulties in determining whether an employee has
truly resigned his or her employment. If the situation is
ambiguous, employers should not assume that an employee has
resigned. Even where an employees actions and words indicate a
desire to quit, employers should still be cautious and take steps
to clarify the employees intention.In Haftbaradaran v. St. Hubertus
Estate
Winery Ltd., the employee had worked as a winemaker for the
employer for approximately two years. In the course of a heated
discussion, the employee refused to leave the owners office as
requested, alleging that he was undervalued and unappreciated. The
owner became agitated and told the
employee that if he was so unhappy he
should look for another job. The employee placed his keys on the
owners desk, shook his hand and stated: Good luck making wine
before gathering his belongings and exiting the premises. That
afternoon the owners sent the
employee an e-mail outlining that his departure would have to be
coordinated, and advised that they needed a response from him by a
certain date. Otherwise they would assume he had already resigned.
The employee claimed he never intended to quit and alleged that he
was wrongfully terminated.The Court agreed with the employee,
finding that a reasonable observer would not conclude from the
employees words and actions that he had clearly and unequivocally
quit his job, but rather that it was a heated situation and
Emotions Cloud Distinction Between Resignation and TerminationBy
Lisa Carlson
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26 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
The employee had a two-week vacation scheduled starting that
day. Upon his return home from vacation, he found a Record of
Employment (ROE) from the employer indicating that he had quit. The
Court concluded that there was no
clear and unequivocal evidence that the employee had intended to
resign, as his statement in the meeting and subsequent departure
were consistent with the fact that it was the end of the work day
and he was scheduled to commence a vacation. The Court concluded
that handing in his keys and laptop occurred under emotional
stress, and that the plaintiff was in a rush to leave for
vacation.The Court noted that the employer did
not request a letter of resignation from the employee in
accordance with company policy. This was evidence of the employers
uncertainty about the situation, and the employers failure to take
any steps to clarify the employees intention before delivering the
ROE. The Court concluded that the employer
should have followed up by phone or e-mail or by sending a
letter. By simply delivering the ROE, any obligation for the
employee to contact the employer had
been extinguished. The seven-month employee was awarded two
months pay in lieu of notice.Both cases involved
emotionally-charged
circumstances where no chance was presented to the employees
afterwards to reconcile with their employers, and the employers
took no steps to seek clarification from the employee.Employers
should follow up with
the employee immediately or very soon after the incident to
clarify or confirm the employees intentions to r e s i g n , a n d
r e q u e s t w r i t t e n confirmation of resignation, especially
where it is normally the employers policy to do so. They should
also p rov ide the employee wi th an opportunity to resolve any
conflict or differences with the employer. zz
L i sa Ca r l son p r ac t i ces l abou r and employment law wi
th Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Vancouver. The preceding article is
reprinted from BLGs Labour and Employment Law News, Winter 2012.
For more information, see the web site at www.blg.com.
humanresources
the employee was seeking praise. The Court also found that the
winery owners words in the meeting were an attempt to get the
employee to leave his office and were not consistent with an
intention to terminate him.However, the Court concluded that
the employers e-mail following the meeting terminated the
relationship because, instead of referencing the ambiguity of the
situation and offering an opportunity for reconciliation, the
employer made it clear that the employee was not wanted back. This
mistake proved costly, as the employee was awarded pay in lieu of
reasonable notice of eight months based on his specialized skills
and the time it took to secure new employment.A similar situation
arose in Balogun
v. Deloi t te & Touche LLP . The employee became very upset
over the employers refusal to give him a raise and claimed that no
one at the company was qualified to evaluate his work. When the
employer asked what this meant for the future, he replied, Im out
of here and left the premises after turning in his keys and
laptop.
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Untitled-2 1 12-03-15 10:56 AM
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Canadian Property Management | May 2012 27
Untitled-1 1 12-05-11 11:44 AM
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Quick-Dry Carpet Cleaning Easily Applied Detergents Enclose and
Crystallize SoilBy Mike Sawchuk
tHE EncapSulation mEtHod of carpet cleaning is neither a new
technology, nor one that could formerly be defined as sustainable.
However, improved product formulation now makes it a competitive
alternative to shampooing or extraction. The low-moisture procedure
also reduces the potential for mould and mildew growth that can
occur if carpeting does not dry promptly.New chemistries some now
in green-
certified products and application methods have largely erased
the residue once left behind by cleaning chemicals, which often
contributed to rapid resoiling of the carpet. Many
property/facilities managers and cleaning professionals are now
testing and reassessing encapsulation after largely abandoning the
technique in the 1980s and 1990s due to problematic products that
left a chemical film on carpet and raised health and environmental
concerns.We are now in the third generation of
this technology, and most of the bugs that came up with the
older methods have been eliminated, reports Mark Warner a cleaning
specialist who has served as
President of the Low-Moisture Carpet Cleaning Association
(LMCCA).Perhaps confusingly, low-moisture carpet
cleaning does not refer to the amount of water used during
cleaning or the extraction of moisture from carpets. Rather, it is
any method of carpet cleaning that ensures carpets dry in
approximately two hours after cleaning under moderate climate
conditions. The encapsulation method uses chemical
detergents that work their way into carpet fibres, where they
loosen and begin to enclose soils. Some encapsulation products also
dehydrate soils so that they no longer adhere to carpet fibres,
making them easier to remove through vacuuming.These chemical
detergents can be
applied using a microfibre bonnet pad, a shampooing device or a
cylindrical machine. When the chemicals have dried, typically in
less than 24 hours, they are vacuumed up along with the soils
theyve trapped. Routine vacuuming continues to remove any remaining
chemical/soil traces resulting in what some managers and cleaning
professionals
report as carpets actually looking cleaner over time. To begin,
as with all carpet cleaning
methods, the area to be cleaned should be pre-vacuumed with an
effective high-performance vacuum cleaner. Capturing the dry
removable soil to the greatest degree possible will allow the
encapsulation chemicals to more effectively loosen and dissolve
embedded soils. Next, chemicals are applied to the
carpet, either by hand, with a sprayer or with a rotary or
cylindrical brush machine. The chemicals then need to be agitated
to work them into the carpet. A rotary or cylindrical brush machine
is recommended for this step.Chemicals crystallize within 30
minutes
to an hour after application, and carpets are then vacuumed to
remove these crystals and the soils. This dry-process cleaning can
be carried out much faster than other methods, to clean as much as
5,000 square feet of carpeting in an hour. Because it takes less
time to clean large
areas, the encapsulation method can prove to be very
cost-effective. The machines used to agitate carpeting especially
cylindrical machines are relatively simple to use. Likewise, the
encapsulation cleaning method is fairly easy to perform and does
not require much special training.Nevertheless, not all
encapsulation
chemicals can be classified as green. Just as when selecting
other cleaning products, purchasers are advised to look for
encapsulation products that have been certified by GreenSeal,
Canadas EcoLogo program or recognized as safer by the U.S. EPAs
Design for the Environment Program. Additionally, products that
have earned the Seal of Approval from the Carpet and Rug Institute
(CRI) have been identified as effective carpet cleaning solutions
and equipment. zz
Mike Sawchuk is Vice President and General Manager of
Enviro-Solutions, a manufacturer of green cleaning products based
in Peterborough, Ontario. For more i n f o rma t i on , s ee t h e
web s i t e a t www.enviro-solution.com.
28 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
maintenancehousekeeping
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Quick-Dry Carpet Cleaning
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30 May 2012 | Canadian Property Management
operatingefficiencies
OutSOuRcIng OvERSIght Contractor Management Part of Corporate
GovernanceBy Cal Fairbanks
contractorS and SuppliErS must comply with applicable regulatory
requirements. Failure to do so could expose the building owners and
managers who have hired them to litigation and fines. Beyond that,
employers have societal and business obligations to safeguard
against workplace injuries, loss of life, environmental damage,
financial mismanagement and substandard work.Good corporate
governance involves more
than simply meeting regulatory requirements. It should examine
relationships with contractors, suppliers and contracted workers
throughout the procurement life cycle. That covers prequalification
and health, safety and environmental approval through the bid
process, mobilization, operations and completion of work, including
feedback loops and continuous improvement. Prequalification
procedures gather relevant
information and documentation for
contractors and suppliers in advance of actual contracting or
procurement. This should be an ongoing practice.In Canadian
jurisdictions that allow
on-l ine clearance of worker 's compensation coverage, software
is now available to automatically check workers compensation status
of contractors/suppliers a service that should also benefit
suppliers and contractors by streamlining the provision of valid
clearance letters to prospective employers and ensuring that they
don't lose work due to an expired clearance letter.On-line
questionnaires and flexibility for
contractors/suppliers to upload required documents simplifies
the process. These documents can also be securely shared with other
internal and external users to track communication flow between
employers and contractors/suppliers and other data on individuals,
assets and processes.
Project completion sign-offs, invoices and other transactions
should be evaluated against master service agreements, statements
of work, service level agreements and other requirements. This can
simplify the process of collecting feedback on projects,
performance and deficiencies. Tracking performance measurements
over time helps employers to see a fuller picture of what
contractors and suppliers bring to the business. Meanwhile,
tracking deficiencies and opportunities for improvement is a key
step that is too often overlooked. A life cycle approach to
procurement and outsourcing closes the gap between the last payment
and the next bid call. zz
Cal Fairbanks is President and CEO of ComplyWorks Ltd., a
supplier of contractor/supplier management software systems. For
more information, see the web site at www.complyworks.com.
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