the human resources & labour relations issue · you haven’t taken the time to pay attention...

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GRAND VALLEY CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION • VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 6 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

The Human Resources &Labour Relations IssueWith stories on cannabis in the workplace (and on site), goal setting,performance-evaluation best practices, and community benefits. All these, plus a profile of two GVCA members that won WSIB Awards.

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Health &Safety?

Making 2019 a Success

PerformanceReview Habits

GVCA Journal November/December 2018 3

The official publication of theGrand Valley Construction Association

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018VOLUME 7, ISSUE 6

Publisher: Martha George

Editor: James Raiswell

Contributors: Sandra ArthursFrank CarrereChristine HolmanDavid PeckBenjamin Revoy

Layout and design: Patrick KilbornKymberly BurchellMoreSALES

Photography: Joseph Paul Bergeljpbphotography.com

Advertising sales: Sandra [email protected] 519-622-4822 x129

Subscription inquiries and letters to the editor: [email protected]

GVCA Journal is published six times yearly by theGrand Valley Construction Association ©2018. All rights reserved.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #42259531; ISSN 2368-2930; in Canadian Periodical Index.

GVCA Journal subscription is a benefit of Grand ValleyConstruction Association membership and is includedin membership fees.

Magazine Subscription: Canada $28/yr (incl. 13% HST).US/International $32/yr (Cdn).

Return undeliverable addresses to:Grand Valley Construction Association,25 Sheldon Drive, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 6R8

© 2018 Grand Valley Construction AssociationAll rights reserved. The contents of this publicationmay not be reproduced by any means, in whole or inpart, without prior written consent of the publisher.

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURE ARTICLES

10

14

18

20

12

4 MESSAGE FROMTHE CHAIR

4 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

5 CRYSTAL BALL REPORT

6 FINANCIAL

8 LEGAL

16 SAFETY

24 SIGHTINGS

30 GVCA EVENTS &EDUCATIONCALENDAR

30 ADVERTISERS’INDEX

28 Win Gold & Silver WSIBAwards

Collaborationis Innovation

PhilanthropyBuilds BetterCommunities


4 GVCA Journal November/December 2018

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

These great people needguidance, direction, comfortand information. They wantto be included, consulted,rewarded and recognized. Ifyou haven’t taken the timeto pay attention to themood and temperament ofyour organization—yourcompany’s culture—youcould be in trouble.Culture happens whether

we set it or not. In the absence of direction, theblanks get filled in, and staffas a group develop theirown culture. You only needone person unhappy, onenegative nelly with a strongpersonality and all of a sud-den, you are trying to findreplacements for people inkey positions. Don’t let thishappen. Look for subtle

hints of unhappiness, discontentment and nega-tive attitude. These could besymptoms of possible stress,family, money or healthproblems. They may havelittle to do with the workenvironment, but you andyour organization will takethe brunt of it.Maybe you are just a happyperson, and assume that

everyone else is content, butthat may not be the case.Take the temperature, walkaround, listen to how yourstaff communicate witheach other and with yourcustomers.

Make it a monthly effort at a minimum to make sure your work environmentis healthy.

As business owners, we often get so wrapped up in our own business affairs that we lose sight of the very people that make our organizations great.

Martha George, GSC

Take Your Company’s Temperature

From Good to

Great!Going from good to greattakes effort, thought, perse-verance, commitment andpassion—and sometimesoutside help.

If you are a small firm with-out active working partners,you probably don’t have anyone to talk to except yourfurniture. You could however

easily have a working groupthat could provide advice toyou, bring you a differentperspective from the indus-try, or be a sounding boardfor your new ideas.

Hanging out with peoplesmarter than you is necessary.You can easily assemble agroup of trusted advisors

such as your lawyer, yourbanker, an insurance agent,and a successful businessperson. If you were to meetwith this group four times ayear, and use them as yourboard of directors, you wouldget a leg up on running yourbusiness, and collect impor-tant advice on how to increase sales, reduce costs,

expand your market, or im-prove in some other way. Ifthis group can’t help you, youshould be rethinking whoyou hang out with, and whoyour business partners are.

GVCA is always here to helpyou by connecting you tospecific people who can ad-vise you. Call me anytime.

Steve Stecho, GSC

We are all pretty good at what we do, but how often is someone in awe of what we do?



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Project details

The owners of the Super 8in Port Elgin are happy toannounce the addition ofanother hotel to SaugeenShores. The new propertywill be located to the south

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kitchen, separate bedroomand living room, ideal forextended stays.

Saugeen Shores Councilapproved site plan bylaw on October 9.

CRYSTAL BALL

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GVCA’s Crystal Ball Report is a unique and insightful member service. Updated daily byGVCA staff, the report tracks planned projects during the pre-bidding phases, followingthem from concept to design to prequalification, construction and completion.

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Employers, rightly so, wantto be able to track and predict how many personalemergency days their employees are taking for personal illness, family emergencies and bereave-ment leave, and how this isimpacting the business’ bot-tom line. Employers haveturned to studies such as theWorld Health Organization’s(WHO) Workplace Healthand Productivity Question-naire (HPQ) which haveshown that employees areabsent from work an averageof four days per year. The associated cost? Close to$150 billion annually in the US alone. However, as overwhelmingas these numbers may be, absenteeism represents onlya fraction of the costs associ-ated with presenteeism, a real but often ignored anduntracked phenomenon. Presenteeism occurs whenemployees show up to workbut don’t perform at their

full capacity due to illness,stress, mental health condi-tions or lack of engagement.

Employees who come towork sick are also likely to

infect others leading to fur-ther instances of presen-teeism. The same aforemen-tioned study conducted bythe WHO showed that em-ployees were unproductive

on the job for 57.5 days peryear – almost three workingmonths which equated to astaggering cost of $1,500 billion annually in the US.

Clearly, it’s time that em-ployers begin to track andmanage not only absen-teeism, but also presenteeismrates in their workplace. But how?

FINANCIAL


The Trouble with Coming to Work

With the introduction of Bill 148 (A Plan for Fair Workplaces andBetter Jobs) on January 1, 2018, and the proposed Bill 47 (MakingOntario Open for Business Act, 2018), there has been a renewed interest in tracking worker absenteeism and its associated costs.

To begin, employers needto get a sense of the extentpresenteeism is impactingtheir employees’ productiv-ity. Formal surveys can beadministered; the HPQShort Form Absenteeismand Presenteeism Ques-tions is a great free tool,and more options are avail-able for purchase online.

These formal surveys how-ever may not capture all ofthe information that employ-ers want to know or allowthem to identify the primaryroot causes driving presen-teeism in their specificworkplace. Informal sur-veys conducted in-housemay deliver more relevantdata, however employees

may be hesitant to providefull disclosure to their em-ployer regarding their per-sonal productivity rates andissues impacting their abil-ity to work to capacity.

Luckily, many of the symp-toms of presenteeism arein fact observable and em-ployers who “take thepulse” of their organizationcan begin to identify areasof concern. Ask:

• Do you see or hear em-ployees at work who areclearly ill?

• Are project and workdeadlines being missed?

• Do employees seem tocare less about work out-comes?

• Are employees repeat-edly taking additional orextended breaks andlunches?

• Has the behaviour orconduct of employeeschanged? Are they moreirritable, more subdued,less focused?

• Has the morale in theworkplace worsened?

• Have you noticed an increase in benefits utilization which may indicate an increase in health concerns?

• Is there an increase inworkplace accidents, injuries or illnesses?

Measuring Impact


While the answers to thesequestions may not provideemployers with an exactrate of presenteeism, theywill provide an indication of how illness, stress, men-tal health conditions andengagement levels are impacting employee’s pro-ductivity. From there, it istime to take action. Whilethe plan will differ from employer to employer, bestpractices to reduce presenteeism rates can include:

• Develop and implement a workplace wellnessstrategy that includes

an emphasis on physicaland mental well-being,work-life balance and stress reduction techniques.

• De-stigmatize mentalhealth conditions. Helpemployees feel comfort-able discussing the impact that chronicstress, depression, anxi-ety or other mental healthconditions may have ontheir work. Provide support rather than judgment.

• Provide your employeeswith an Employee and

Family Assistance Plan to allow them to accessresources related to coun-seling, financial and legalassistance, child andelder care, career plan-ning, and health services.

• Provide your employeeswith paid sick days anddon’t penalize employeeswhen they use them.

• Establish and communi-cate guidelines regardingcoming to work sick. Helpemployees understandwhen they should stayhome and when they areokay to come to work.

• Allow employees whenpossible to work fromhome when ill.

• Develop and implement aworkplace engagementstrategy that formallytracks employee engage-ment. Gather feedbackfrom employees throughsurveys and focus groupson what is driving en-gagement (both positivelyand negatively). Developa plan to address em-ployee concerns andcommunicate this plan to employees.

FINANCIAL


This article was written by Christine Holman, CHRP, HR Generalist at RLB LLP. Contact her at 519-822-9933 or visit rlb.ca.

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Reducing presenteeism


LEGAL


As I write this, the applica-ble rules are those passedby the previous Liberalgovernment as they appearin the Cannabis Act 2017and Smoke Free OntarioAct, 2017. Liberal policy asreflected in those acts was

to treat the public con-sumption of recreationalcannabis like the consump-tion of alcohol, only witheven more restrictions. Theconsumption of recreationalcannabis in any form isprohibited in any work-

place, public place, or in anyvehicle.The PC government hasintroduced Bill 36 –Cannabis Statute LawAmendment Act, 2018 toamend the Cannabis Act2017 and Smoke Free On-tario Act, 2017. PC govern-ment policy as reflected inBill 36 generally treats theconsumption of recreationalcannabis like tobacco. Thesmoking of recreationalcannabis is generally per-mitted anywhere you couldsmoke a cigarette, except in motor vehicles.

Should cannabis beregulated like alcoholor tobacco? The consumption of alco-hol in public is generallyprohibited in Canada. Thetraditional rationale forprohibiting drinking inpublic is that it is needed tohelp maintain public order.The prohibition is thoughtto discourage the overcon-sumption of alcohol in thefirst place, and it tends toreduce the anti-social be-havior that can accompanypublic intoxication.

Mind if I

Smoke?Cannabis was decriminalized on October17, and on the eve of legalization the rulesabout where cannabis may be consumedwere poised to change. The proposedchanges highlight interesting policychoices made by the PC and Liberalgovernments of Ontario.


LEGAL


Frank Carere is a labour and employment lawyer at Madorin, Snyder LLP in Kitchener. This article should not be relied on as legal advice.

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The modern restrictions onthe smoking of tobacco aredriven by the health con-cerns of non-smokers. It isgenerally acceptedthat second-handsmoke is a carcino-gen, and the objec-tive of the SmokeFree Ontario Act isto prevent non-smokers from being exposed totobacco smoke. To me, cannabis isunlike alcohol in the sensethat it does not pose a par-ticular threat to public order. Smoking a joint doesnot put you on the pathwayto public mayhem the sameway as submerging yourselfin a bathtub full of Purple

Jesus, or so my acquain-tances tell me. From thatperspective, the PC policyof treating cannabis like

tobacco makes sense.

An employer's perspective In the context of the work-place, however, cannabis isjust like alcohol because

they raise similar issuesconcerning impairment,safety, job performance,drug testing and human

rights. These issues willcome up regardless of rulesregarding consumption.One virtue of the Liberalpolicy is that it would tendto minimize the consump-tion of recreational

cannabis to the extent that was possible through restrictions on where youcould smoke, vape, or eat

cannabis. If theoverall levels ofconsumption ofcannabis are re-duced, then itstands to reasonthat workplace issues concerningcannabis would bereduced somewhattoo.

If the PC policy of liberal-izing the rules concerningconsumption of recreationalcannabis tend to increasethe consumption ofcannabis overall, employersmay find themselves feelinghungover.

In the context of the workplace, however, cannabisis just like alcohol because they raise similar issuesconcerning impairment, safety, job performance,

drug testing and human rights.



Think of performance reviews as ways to strengthen your relationship with your employees and to create open channelsof communication. They help you check the pulse of our organization and they give your people valuable feedback abouttheir role in, and their contributions to, your business.Performance reviews can be formal or informal—just as youlike—but they should be taken seriously and they should beconducted with care. Plan closely to maximize effectiveness.

With the end of the year approaching, part of your attention as a leader and amanager will turn to per-

formance reviews. These are important toolsfor two reasons. First, they ensure that yourpeople are meeting their job requirements.Second, they give staff an opportunity to pro-vide important feedback on the work they’redoing and the overall climate of the company.

Have You Reviewed Your

PerformanceReview Habits?

Here are some best practices.

A coach’s job is to improvethe performance of theteam. You’re not a judgewhen you conduct a per-formance evaluation. Thatrole suggests you’re there to assess. What you reallywant to do is guide yourpeople along the path thatyields the best outcomes foryou and them.

1. Be a coach.

Have a system in place—thesame system for everyone. Bedirect, factual and detail-ori-ented. Talk about things youcan measure. And documentdetails. Doing all this soundsrobotic, but it helps you trackemployee performance fromreview to review, which iscritical for assessing ongoingperformance.

2. Be systematic.



A performance review is nota one-way street. It’s anopen and honest discussionin which both sides sharetheir opinions. Listen tolearn—not just to be polite.Ask questions. And aboveall, be comfortable with theuncomfortable. Reviewsaren’t always sunshine and roses.

3. Have a discussion.

The old saying goes, “youdon’t know what you don’tknow.” Which is to say thatyou might have your ownthoughts and feelings aboutsomeone’s performance, buttheir colleagues may thinkanother way entirely. A 360-degree performance evalua-tion considers peer feed-back, and the employee’sown assessment of theirperformance.

4. Collect feedback from others.

No one likes to be blind-sided. Performance reviewsare stressful enough. Feed-ing employees yourthoughts ahead of yourmeeting with them will putthem more at ease and allow them to prepare tospeak to the issues you planto discuss.

5. Share before the review.

We all have biases. It’s important you know yourswhen it comes to assessinga worker’s performance.Some biases that can creepinto performance evalua-tions include:

• Recency bias – focusingon recent behaviour only.

• Similarity bias – sharingpersonal similarities withthe employee andfavouring him or her as a result.

• Halo bias – rating anemployee high in all areasbecause he or she doesone thing well.

• Horn bias – rating anemployee poorly in all areas because he or shedoesn’t do one thing well.

Check your biases at thedoor. They have no place infair and open discussions.

7. Know your biases.

It’s well and good to think ofperformance reviews as an-nual (or semi-annual or quar-terly) processes, but the factof the matter is that if youwait too long to raise an issuewith an employee, you maycause more harm than good.If you’re communicating reg-ularly with your people, issueswill come to the forefront asthey arise—and you can (andshould) deal with them then.There should be no surprisesfor anyone when performancereview time rolls around.

9. Don’t wait.

Ask direct and clear ques-tions that lead to clear anddirect answers. Be specificabout the examples youbring to the table. Doing soallows people to understandexactly what is—and isnot—expected of them.Avoid words like “always”and “never”. They’re general-izations and although theyseem strong, they actuallyprovide little in the way ofuseful information.

11. Be clear.

A performance review istime wasted without an action plan. Set clear nextsteps for the employee tohelp him or her improve performance. Build a planaround what should happennext. Set goals and deadlinesso everyone understandswhat has to happen next.

12. Agree on the next steps.

Put the next meeting on thecalendar. Doing so does acouple of things. It commitsyou both to the next meet-ing, and it shows your em-ployee that you’re seriousabout his or her growth.

13. Book the next meeting.

Praise good performance—never downplay it. Don’t everattack someone’s work. Focuson the outcomes they created. And always chartclear paths for success, evenin difficult situations.

8. Be positive.

Focus your questions onthose that matter most toyour company. Ask peopleto highlight the accom-plishments they were mostproud of, the goals theyhave for the next perform-ance period, their own development goals, the obstacles that might keepthem from their goals, andmost importantly, how yourperformance as a managerhelps or hinders them inachieving these goals.

6. Ask better questions.

A performance reviewshould be one of many toolsyou deploy to help keep peo-ple on track. Consider differ-ent types of performance-re-lated meetings to help youkeep the pulse of your peo-ple. Some examples are goal-setting meetings, career-de-velopment discussions, andsimple monthly check-ins.All will go a long way towardstaying on top of your peo-ple’s ongoing development.

10. Meet regularly.


I know that after a long year, and duringthe home stretch to the holidays, it’seasy to get stuck in reactive mode, andto tell yourself you’ll think about goals“later.” Don’t! End-of-year/start-of-new-year goals and resolutions are justwhat the doctor ordered. They refocusus on the big picture, and reconnect uswith our ideals. They energize us.Case in point: Recently, I completed aseries of CEO calls focused on goal-setting, as part of my executive coachingpractice. The process was as illuminatingas it was invigorating so I wanted toshare the exercises we went through together.My hope is that they will help you makethe most of the season: get out of yourdefault-reactive mode… and raise thebar on your proactive goal-setting modefor 2019. Because, once in place, yourshort list of business goals and objectiveswill seriously increase your odds for success by helping you and your teamfocus on what’s really important—and tune out the rest.

Setting business goals:Make it real and keep itsimple—and achievableNo matter what, or whom, you lead, thefirst rule in setting goals is to assumethat your organization’s existence depends on them. (Because, in a very realway, it does.) The goals you pick will focus your department or organizationon where to spend the vast majority ofenergy, attention, and efforts next year.This exercise recognizes that your organ-ization is a mosaic of people—and thatits success and sense of cohesion are in-timately tied to the hearts, minds andactions of the professionals that chooseto come to work every day. Your people.Set aside some undisturbed time to reflect on what’s most important to youand your employees in the year ahead,and periodically revisit those goals. Bethorough and clear, and pick a shortlist—no more than five key goals for the year ahead.Below you’ll find some tips on how to

design your goal shortlist for the newyear. As you read through them, keep inmind that some of these can take theform of one-on-one interactions, andsome will be more appropriate for exec-utive team discussion once you’ve gottenyour initial responses.

1. Think bottom-up and top-down.

No one employee—including noleader—has all the answers. So youshould not only identify your businessgoals, but ask the people reporting toyou to do the same—and then ask themto repeat the exercise with their reports,and so on, throughout the organization.This will be essential data for settinggoals that are credible and achievable.

2. Clean out your blind spots.

Every organization has them—and sodoes every leader. Here again, you canand should draw on your colleagues andreports for help. The questions below aredesigned to help you and your employ-ees find the blind spots that can leadyour organization or group astray—soyou can clean them out and chart a clearcourse forward:• What have we tried to achieve in

2018 that we must accomplish in2019, and how will that be rewardingto you and your team?


Five Leadership Goal-setting

Tips for Making 2019 a Success

You can’t underestimate the importance of organi-zational goals—especially in turbulent times.Goals set and measured are goals achieved andtreasured. And achieving meaningful annual goals

requires setting a high bar, well in advance. December is agreat time to do that.



• In thinking about our outcomes (results, quality, customer engagement,etc.), what targets are we hitting—andwhich ones are we missing due to ourown actions as executives?

• What am I not hearing or dealingwith as a leader that I need to address?

• Is there anything I can do to get outof the way of— and indeed, acceler-ate—our success?

3. Lessons learned thisyear… to incorporateinto next year.

The turn of the year offers a perfect opportunity for a business to evaluate its performance, and adjust course. Consider these questions:• What new lessons has 2018 taught

us—and what lessons from 2018 and prior years have we yet to fullyaddress? Are there endemic issuesthat need to be looked at?

• How has our business ecosystem—market, products, customers,providers, partners, costs, competitionor regulatory landscape—changedsince last year? How well did ourstrategy track in response to—or inleading those changes? And what dowe need to adjust in 2019?

• How have our SWOTs (strengths,weaknesses, opportunities andthreats) evolved in 2018—and whatshould that mean for our goals in the new year?

• What are the most relevant metricsfor today? What do success, neutraland failure look like in 2019? Whatshould our measurable goals be going forward?

4. Make them relevant toyour bigger picture.

Once you’ve settled on your goals for2019, ask yourself: how aligned are thesegoals—and our people—with our

organization’s business plan and three-year strategic priorities? With its largermission and vision? This is a good opportunity to check your direction before plunging into the new year.

5. Communicate!Decide the best way to package yourgoals, and then communicate themthroughout your organization. How willyou cascade these messages, and ensureeveryone is crystal clear on the goalsyou’ve worked so hard to design?

When it comes tosetting business goals,don’t settle for “doable”The turn of the year offers a perfectopportunity to set your course for thenext 12 months—and beyond. So don’tsettle on “doable” for 2019. Use thesetips to hone down and choose the rightthree to five goals that will have youfeeling like you hit it out of the parkwhere it really matters.

David Peck is a Senior Executive Coach and Head - Western and Central US Regions for Goodstone Group, LLC, a global executive coach-ing firm. He also writes the Leading Others Well blog, and is author of Beyond Effective. He can be reached at [email protected].

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I guess for me it starts with my concernfor the people around me: concern thatsomeone will get hurt or worse. I havenoticed H&S even back from my timeas a paperboy when people did notshovel their driveways and I slippedwith 50 pounds worth of papers and flyers over my shoulders in negative 20-degree weather. That hurt.My concern grew when I worked brieflyin factory environments and shops andsaw H&S placed far further down theline on a regular basis. I had been on the

joint health and safety committee in justabout every workplace. I often madesensible suggestions that sometimesplaced certain managers and supervisorson their toes because to do the job safelywasn’t quite as easy or quick as they desired.I was 20 when I made my first work refusal for a Cambridge textile ware-house. My supervisor asked me toclimb on the roof and knock the iceaway that was hanging off the 40-footroof over the entrance. No gear and no

training and no assistance provided. I refused, got laughed at, was callednames. I believe my supervisors sawthis as a challenge to their authorityrather than my wanting to stay alive.They started asking me to do increas-ingly dangerous tasks where I would beforced to do a work refusal. This gavemy supervisors the chance to say that I was just being difficult and refusingto do everything. Of course manage-ment had to back them up or admitthat a productive supervisor had aproblem with their H&S.At this time I taught myself the law. Istarted taking night classes in health andsafety and left that employer, but theH&S bug had caught me. I also had aburning desire to help people with men-tal health issues especially in a residen-tial care setting and with a focus on

Iwas recently asked why I chose a career in Health& Safety (H&S). For me this was a very good question because I could have, and have done, many other things, but my focus has shifted

towards health and safety evermore as my career evolves.

Why a Career in

Health &Safety?

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suicide prevention, but that’s a wholeother story. That passion howeverpaused my H&S goal which was to be aH&S worker for a company—any company that would give me a chance.While goals can be placed on pause, theycan also come back when you least expectthem. Over the years I applied regularlyto H&S postings hoping someone wouldtake a chance on me, even though my education and experience in the area wasslim at best. In 2007, one company didcall me in for an interview, but it camedown to me and another candidate. Ididn’t get the job. It was discouraging as I really wanted the job, but I waited a fewweeks before writing a letter stating howI was happy to have had the chance forthe interview. Then while vacationing inCuba, I got an email. The guy who beatme out for the job was not working outand they wanted me to come in ASAP.Within a couple months I was theirH&S Coordinator, a role I’ve held to thisdate for over 10 years with what I woulddescribe as excellent success both measurably and on an anecdotal basis.During this time, I completed Con-estoga College’s Occupation Health & Safety program through part-timestudies in the evenings. I’ve takendozens of other classes and courses, butmost importantly, I’ve done the job Iwanted, dreamed about and realized.That is a huge reward in of itself.What have I learned? Mostly that H&Sis a balancing act. Often people see it as management versus workers. The assumption is that management wantsto squeeze every ounce out of theworker and the worker just wants to belazy and do nothing challenging. I don’tbelieve either assumption. I believe thatwe all want to make a living and we allwant ourselves and other workers to gohome in one piece. We are only on opposite sides when we are against H&S.I look at safety as a win-win for all whobuy in. Safety promotes morale, produc-

tivity and many other cost-saving attrib-utes. I also often say that when I am doing my job right and safety is working,nobody will know because nothing willbe happening. Nothing happening inH&S is generally a good thing.I would like to think that my career has

not just put food on my family’s table,but that it has also made a difference inthe lives of those I work with and for. I would like to believe that their life hasa greater quality because in doing so I believe that I have a greater purposeother than just earning a living. That iswhat got me here and that is what getsme out of bed each day. Challengescome and go, but H&S is here to stay.That’s why.

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Benjamin C. Revoy is a Health & SafetyCoordinator with PM Contracting Ltd.

I often made sensible suggestions that sometimes placedcertain managers and supervisors on their toes...


SAFETY



SAFETY


and Impairmentin the Workplace

Editor’s note: this infographicwas created by the CanadianCentre for OccupationalHealth and Safety. For more information, visitwww.ccohs.ca.

We often think ofimpairment as a result of substanceuse or an addictionor dependence toalcohol or drugs,whether legal or illegal. However,impairment can bethe result of anynumber of issues,from fatigue tomedical conditions,to traumatic shockand life events. Regardless of thesource, impairmentat work can affectour ability to do our jobs safely.The legalization of recre-ational cannabis in Canadaon October 17 has height-ened the focus on issues regarding impairment inthe workplace. This info-graphic outlines its effects,what employers and work-ers need to know, and thekey elements of an impair-ment policy.

Cannabis



His company, HIP Develop-ments, has changed the faceof downtown Kitchener and Waterloo with such notable

projects as the Post Office site in Water-loo, the 90 King Street North site inKitchener, and the Gaslight Districtproject in Cambridge.Higgins is passionate about the KWRegion. He opened GVCA’s PACESymposium on October 30 by discussing just what needs to happen to create a high-functioning team.“You need to know your community andyour market and you need to hire con-sultants that know your community andmarket. People like working on projectsthat matter and with owners that careand can deliver,” he said. “Your team mustcollaborate well, have a shared vision, andfunction with mutual trust and respect.”Everyone involved needs to be transpar-ent on project timing, tender, specifica-tions and drawings from the get go.There also needs to an efficient payment-certification and fund-releasesystem in place.“To me, procurement implies steward-ship over a process rather than a vested

interest in the result,” he said. “It can’t be about team procurement. It has to beabout team performance. Change theculture by changing the language.”

Three changes to curecommon problemsGVCA president Martha George spokenext: about three changes that can fixcommon construction problems. Heradvice to the attendees comes from 13years’ experience in communicating withassociation members.“Clarity has to cut across everything wedo—from design of a project through tothe bidding documents, project award,on-site work, and completion. Everyoneon the team must clearly see the projectvision and what the end results and goalare,” she said.Open, honest communication with adesire to solve problems and share information is paramount, she added.“Choose your projects carefully andwork with the general contractors andtrades that you trust. You need clear information that is upfront and readilyavailable and you need to be very carefulwith market prices.”

Procurement: IPD and LeanPaul Eichinger, vice-president of MTEConsultants, acted as moderator for apanel discussion about the integratedproject delivery (IPD) and Lean con-struction processes. He asked ArtWinslow of Graham Construction,“How can owners ensure the value theyreceive respects their budget?”Winslow responded that choosing aproject-delivery method is the owner’sprerogative. At the end of the day, thepreferred method always comes down tobudget and objectives and the need tofind the best value for that budget andthe best team that meets those objectives.“I have been immersed in Lean andIPD for the last seven years, workingwith owners at the schematic designlevel very early on in the project,” hesaid. “I have found that often times theowners do not really understand whatthey need—but they can learn if theyare challenged by the right team.”The is key to success, he added, it is notnecessarily about getting the right price.An owner really needs to understandwhat their objectives and values are.This will usually dictate what deliverymethod they will choose.

Collaborationis InnovationGVCA PACE Symposium

Scott Higgins has seen the future and is intent on building it.



Winslow then explained a bit about the key difference between IPD andConstruction Management. The latter,he said, is a relationship contract basedon trust and respect. Contractors are obligated to be collaborative and cre-ative, and if they do not perform in thisway, they are actually in breach of theircontractual obligations.

“The owner is looking for the best teamthat collaborates well and bring the bestvalue to the project,” he said. “My mainfrustration with design teams is thatthey think differently. Contractors thinklinearly while design teams will chal-lenge and engage the team often to pro-vide positive changes and better results.”

Before turning the discussion over to

David Dow of Diamond Schmitt Architects, Eichinger asked what can be done to improve design integration.Dow commented that in the design integration process, the most importantthing is the adoption of technology andtrying to improve efficiency. Technology,he said, has opened up massive opportu-nities for everyone in the constructionindustry. Yet, given the complicated nature of buildings today, success is notassured unless teams collaborate.He pointed to IPD as a model in whichtime and effort spent on administrationand preparation at the beginning paysoff long term.“The IPD model is not nirvana,” he said.“Things will still happen, but the atmos-

phere created is one of cooperation andless finger pointing. Record keeping during the process is essential if youwant to improve things along the way.There still seems to be a lot of psycho-logical hurdles, such as cost sharing, thatpeople in the industry need to get over.”

Intelligent buildingsPeter Crawley of PCC Integrates, acompany that specializes in smart buildings and smart technology, statedthe real challenge now is to build an efficient workplace environment that responds to digital transformation.

Building infrastructure is now shiftingto Power over Ethernet technology andzone cabling. This is a standards-basedapproach to support convergence of delivery. It creates a flexible, future-proofinfrastructure for voice, data, buildingdevices and wireless access points.“We are now using power over Ethernetlighting with catalyst switches and sen-sor-based access to workplace analyticswith fixture-level visibility,” he said. “Byconverging five networks into one, wegain greater energy efficiency.”Crawley said there is now a demand fornew customer experiences and a basicworkforce innovation mandate for improved efficiencies.


Supporting the nextgeneration oftradespeopleThe Cowan Foundation is a philan-thropic body with many ties to the indus-try. It has a formidable record of charita-ble work. This October, the Foundationunveiled one of its largest donations todate. It pledged $4 million, which is thehighest private donation ConestogaCollege has received in 50 years, to support the College’s $58 million expansion of their Waterloo Campus.


Bill C-344, a proposed community-benefits require-ment making its way through the Senate, has elicitedvocal opposition from the Canadian Construction Association (CCA). The bill would enact a number of

unfair changes to the procurement process. While the industrywaits on the final decision, many companies continue doing thecommunity work they’ve always done—regardless of govern-ment policy. These four stories highlight just a few of the manyways southern Ontario benefits from the construction industry.

Philanthropy Builds Better CommunitiesConstruction Industry’s



“The idea for the project began whenmany Syrian refugees were coming toCanada,” says Maureen Cowan, chairof the foundation board. “We asked,what can we really do to help all newcomers so that they can have successful lives here?”The answer, the board decided, was tosupport language training, career coun-selling and skilled trades training thatwould lead to meaningful work. Thecompanies owned by the Cowan family,including The Guarantee Company ofNorth America and Cowan InsuranceGroup, work closely with many con-

struction companies, and a commonconcern in recent years has been lack ofskilled labour.

“Society at large has tended to focusmore on general university education asopposed to trades education,” Cowanexplains. With an entire generation oftradespeople approaching retirement,securing workers for the future is anongoing challenge.

The Conestoga project will provide theskilled trades training and career coun-selling, not only to newcomers toCanada, but also to anyone seeking a

The answer, the board decided, was to support language training, career counselling

and skilled trades training that would lead to meaningful work.


career in the skilled trades. The new campus will bring to life thevision of Dr. John Tibbits, President ofConestoga College. He has long wantedto see the college support the skilledtrades even further by offering state-of-the-art facilities and programming.In his honour, the Cowan Foundationdubbed the new campus the John W.Tibbits Campus of Conestoga College.The expansion will accommodate morethan 2,500 additional students each year.

Promoting the region’scharitable causesS.G. Cunningham is a family-ownedconstruction business that has operatedin Waterloo formore than 30 years.Sisters Georgia and Beverley have supported manycharitable initiativesover the years.“Georgia has spent30 years being so active in the commu-nity,” says Beverley. “She’s shared herleadership and her vision, and it natu-rally inspired our Cunningham Corner project.”The project, which is still in its fledg-ling stages, began when the companypurchased a former car dealership to

on signage. The Cunninghams arehopeful that because they would be donating the promotional space, theycan circumvent that technicality.“We think we have a good argument,”says Beverley. The company is in con-tinued talks with the sign company andthe next step will be to pitch the plan

to the city council. If all goes well, thesign will go live in 2019.“What I love is that we’ve all really putaside our business hats,” Beverley says.“We just want to do something withthis amazing property that we’reblessed to have our business on.”

Providing youthmentorship throughathleticsThree years ago, the National BasketballLeague of Canada had 10 franchises. Jason Ball, president of Ball Construc-tion, saw an opportunity to give back tothe community by making it 11.

“We had attendeda championshipgame in Londonand the arena hadprobably 7,000people in it,” Ballexplains. “It hadthe atmosphere of

the NBA, and so many other greatthings. We decided to put up themoney to start a franchise in Kitchen-Waterloo.”Ball Construction put forth 52 percentof the cost, with the remainder pro-vided by two partners. The KW Titanswere officially founded in 2016. The

become its new office. The intersectionis a bustling part of the city. The Cun-ninghams immediately thought abouterecting a sign to act as a sort of urbanbulletin board.Georgia says, “We thought, wouldn’t itbe great if it could be a fabulous cornerwhere not-for-profits would be able tolet us know what they’re doing for thecommunity?”Early discussions of the idea gained sup-port from St. Mary’s Hospital Founda-tion, the local food bank and others. Theonly obstacle is securing the necessarypermissions from the city council. A by-law restricts third-party advertising


Cowan Insurance donated $4 million to Conestoga College, and named the school the John W. Tibbits Campus of Conestoga College.

He has long wanted to see the college support theskilled trades even further by offering state-of-

the-art facilities and programming.


first year, Ball and his partners put mostof their effort into building awareness ofthe team. As support builds, the fran-chise is able to do even more. Each gamepromotes a regional charity initiative. This year, the carpenters’ union teamedup with Renos for Heroes to raisefunds in support of accessible housingfor veterans. Much of the team’s com-munity work, though, is focused onyouth mentorship.“Every year, we have the players visitschools to visit kids,” says Ball. “All the players are trained in suicide pre-vention, mental health and bullying.”The players spend time in the gymshooting hoops while also providingsupport in these areas.“We’ve had teachers send letters to saythank you,” he says, “There’s just a lotof great interaction.”

Giving children the giftof readingPaul Seibel, president of ACL Steel,has a very talented daughter: AmySeibel published the children’s bookYou’re All Mine last year. Paul decidedthat he wanted to share his daughter’stalent in a way that would benefit thecommunity.This November, Paul will donate more

than 80 copies of the book to childrenof GVCA members. The books will begiven out at a children’s Christmasparty that GVCA began last year togreat reception. Amy Seibel will attendto read from the book and do signings,which Paul feels is a great opportunityfor the children.“I think it’s always nice for them to seesomeone other than construction work-ers that are there,” he says.ACL Steel also covers the attendance

fee for all of its employees, so that allthe employees’ children will have anopportunity to take part.“We really like to support the GVCA,”says Paul. “There’s always so manythings going on.” In fact, the Christmas party donation isjust one example of ACL Steel’s com-munity contributions. The staff are long-time participants in the Ride for Cancer,as well as a number of other events thatdonate to cancer research.


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KW Titans players work with local children to provide mentorship, and aretrained in suicide prevention, mental health and bullying.

Example of ACL Steel’s community contributions.


GVCA SIGHTINGS


GVCA Educational Excursion to Puglia, Italy

PACE Symposium

2018 Provincial Apprenticeship Contest


GVCA SIGHTINGS

Construction 201 PM and Field Personnel MasterClass Leadership Skills


Kevan Thompson Industry Leader,

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Phone: 519-650-6363 ext. 41552 Toll free: 1-866-578-6030

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S.G. Cunningham won the gold levelaward. Beverly Cunningham says herteam was excited just to be short-listed for the award.“When we won, it reinforced a strongsense of achievement and sent a ripple of pride throughout the entirecompany,” she says. “We’ve been working on developing

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s(WSIB) Small Business Health and SafetyLeadership Awards recognize outstandinghealth and safety programs in small businesses

with fewer than 50 employees. WSIB supports smallbusinesses that believe workplace health and safety is a priority.

GVCA Members

Win Gold& SilverWSIBAwards

Georgia Bolger and Beverly Cunningham accept the Gold Small BusinessHealth and Safety Leadership Award.



CONTRACT REVIEWPROCUREMENT/TENDER DISPUTES

CONSTRUCTION LIENSCONSTRUCTION LITIGATION

45 Erb Street East, Waterloo, ON | www.kwlaw.net | Tel: (519) 886-3340

Providing legal and business solutions for over 150 years

best practices in safety, and it waswonderful to be recognized. Manycompanies aspire to high standards,but this award acknowledges that we are actually performing at an exceptional level. That means somuch to our clients, to our team andto the professionals at WSIB. We’reso pleased and we believe this willpropel us to even greater heights.”Zero Environmental won the silverlevel award. Michaela Zehr says thecompany is honoured to be presentedwith the award.“Health and safety have always beena top priority in our business and westrive to blaze the trail for others aswell,” she says.“As a company that works with hazardous material daily, we feel animmense obligation to our workers,our community, and the environmentto practice safety in all elements ofour work. Winning this award allowed us to expand our health andsafety program even further and giveback to our conscientious and hard-working employees.”

Leigh Ann Stinson and Michaela Zehr accept the Silver Small Business Health and Safety Leadership Award.

Health and safety have always been a toppriority in our business and we strive to blaze

the trail for others as well.- Michaela Zehr, Zero Environmental



CONTACT MARTHA GEORGE AT 519-622-4822 X 123, OR [email protected]

ATTENTION CONSULTANTS, PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS, AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL.

Construction is complicated!Whether you are in the public, or private sector, GVCA is here to help.We’ll help you unpack issues like various procurement methods, contractor selection, calling bids and awarding contracts, and in-depth understanding of the New Lien Act. If you have a procurement issues you need tackled, just ask.

GVCA WILL FACILITATE A SESSION FOR YOU AT NO CHARGE. We will organize, facilitate, and even provide the coffee.

EVENTS CALENDAR

November 17Kids Christmas PartyDeer Ridge Golf Course

November 20Introduction to Safety Groups – Free information sessionTwo sessions: 12:00pm and 4:30pm GVCA office – 25 Sheldon Drive

December 6WSIB Safety Group Rebate CeremonyHoliday Inn, Fairway Rd Kitchener

December 6Annual Christmas LuncheonHoliday Inn, Fairway Rd Kitchener

January 17CTRL V (Virtual Reality) - hosted by the Leaders in Construction (LinC)group. Waterloo Location.

January 18GVCA 4th Annual Curling BonspielWestmount Golf & Country Club

February 26Annual General Meeting, Business Heritage Awards and Hall of FameAward. Hacienda Sarria, Waterloo.

Note:To view a complete list of upcoming events and to register, please visitwww.gvca.org/calendar

EDUCATION CALENDAR

November 15*NEW! Close-out of a Construction Project (Earn 1 Gold Seal credit)

November 26Approved Working at Heights

November 28Construction Industry Ethics (In-Class Portion) (Mandatory for Gold Seal certification)

November 29 & 30Responding Successfully to a Request for Proposal

November 30Approved Working at Heights – REFRESHER

December 10Approved Working at Heights

January 25Gold Seal Exam

February 12 & 19Construction Drawings and Specifications (Earn 2 Gold Seal credits)

NoteAll education & training will be held at GVCA -25 Sheldon Drive (unlessnoted otherwise). To view a complete list of upcoming education and toregister, please visit www.gvca.org/calendar.

REGISTRATION REQUIREDfor all courses and events. To register, or request

additional information please contact [email protected] or call

519-622-4822 X120 or go to: www.gvca.org/eventscalendar.

ACL Steel Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Alliance Roofing . . . . . . . . . . . 28Ball Construction Ltd. . . . . . . . . .7 Baywood Interiors Ltd. . . . . . . 28Canadian Concrete Masonry . .26Capital Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19CLAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Conestoga Roofing . . . . . . . . . 19Cowan Insurance Group Ltd. . 25Duncan, Linton LLP . . . . . . . . . 29Gallagher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

JDI Cleaning Systems . . . . . . . . 8 Knell's Door & Hardware . . . . 23K-W Door Installations Inc. . . 25Liuna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Miller Thomson LLP . . . . . . . . 14Osgoode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PCPM Construction . . . . . . . . . 20RCT Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Sherrard Kuzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Strassburger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX


Highly trained, safety-conscious and skilled, LIUNA members are the right people for the job.

Employers know that LIUNA provides more comprehensive, advanced training for its members than any other union in Canada. LIUNA is committed to training and has created partnerships with employers including investments by our pension fund in P3 projects.

Hands-on training through the Construction Craft Worker (CCW) Apprenticeship Program is available for all LIUNA members to ensure a safe, productive workforce. Members are ready to work safely from their fi rst day on the job, making them a valuable asset to employers.

LIUNA represents more than 80,000 members in all sectors of the construction industry in Ontario including; industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI), residential, roads, gas pipeline, sewer and watermain, electrical power systems, demolition, utilities and heavy engineering.

Visit liunaopdc.org/affi liated-local-unions to fi nd a LIUNA local affi liate near you.

YOU NEEDWORK-READYEMPLOYEES. WE’RE HERETO TRAIN THEM.


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