July 27, 2005

London CA

Legal red tape bogs down deals

$10M contracts used to be signed with a handshake

PEGGY HILL

staff writer

Tom Dool says he is disappointed by “the CYA (cover your ass) factor” that has crept into the construction industry.

“Over 18 years I’ve gone from seeing jobs of $10 million go on a handshake and now they’re bound up by two feet of legal documents,” says the executive director of the London & District Construction Association.

What’s most worrying to the association’s members is the amount of downloading of liabilities. Dool says the large amount of documentation is just ammunition for owners’ lawyers, and members aren’t generally large enough to have the legal capacity to protect themselves.

The LDCA is fighting the issue through the Council of Ontario Construction Associations and the Ontario General Contractors Association.

Dool has headed the LDCA since 1987. He got into association management in 1976 when he started the Sault Ste. Marie Construction Association.

Tom Dool

He left there in ’82. His varied work experience includes elementary teacher, locomotive engineer and, briefly, a navy cadet officer training candidate.

Dool credits the person in charge as the driving force of the association and says they should stay as long as they generate the change that’s needed.

For him, one of the biggest changes over the years has been technology.

The association developed an electronic plan room about five years ago.

He says it’s more efficient for members who want to access plans and specifications after hours and without the need to travel to the LDCA’s office.

About 230 of the association’s 530 members have signed up for the online plan room. Total membership is at a record high.

The previous record, 529, was in the “boom days” of 1990. Like many other associations, membership shrank through the ‘90s, bottoming out at about 420, and began to recover about five years ago.

Dool says the high volume of work across the ICI sectors brought it back. He noted that the City of London has an aggressive program to bring in economic development.

Both hospitals in the area, London Health Science Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Centre, have had large expansions.

Current projects include a 100-bed residence for the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Subcontractors can file an expression of interest for the $20-million Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) facility until Aug. 3.

Dool says there has been regional growth as well, such as in St. Thomas, Stratford, Wingham and Woodstock.

He says the recently announced Toyota plant in Woodstock is not that significant to his members because the plant itself will be restricted to very large contractors. The major benefit will be the spin-offs of small parts plants. “They’re the ones that will really boost the economy around here.”

While the region is enjoying strength right now, Dool says many in the construction industry are concerned that a downturn in the commercial sector is coming. However, he hopes activity in the industrial sector will carry most contractors through.

“We’re optimistic, but cautious.”

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