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Occupational Health and Safety

February 13, 2012

Ontario College of Trades will drive up infrastructure costs: Conservative leader Tim Hudak

At the Ontario Road Builders’ Association’s (ORBA) 85th annual convention, provincial Conservative leader Tim Hudak reiterated his calls to disband the College of Trades and establish one-to-one apprentice ratios

February 10, 2012

Toronto employer fined over worker using metal pliers in electrical panel

An Ontario court has fined the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre $70,000 for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act over a May, 2010 incident. A maintenance worker attempted to use metal pliers to remove a fuse from an electrical panel, resulting in an explosion and the worker suffered first, second and third-degree burns.

February 10, 2012

Masonry contractor Limen Group suspends site work for safety training day

Today masonry contractor Limen Group will simultaneously suspend work at every one of its project sites across the country and the company’s clients are on board with the decision. About 50 personnel received Competent Person Training as mandated by the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard Z797-09 (Code of Practice For Access Scaffold).

February 9, 2012

Toronto Construction Association presents ‘Best of the Best’ awards

The Toronto Construction Association (TCA) has saluted outstanding achievements by both member companies and individuals in its 14th annual “Best of the Best” Awards. Two PCL Constructors projects, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind residence in Muskoka and a 38-storey high-rise in Toronto were winners.

February 9, 2012

Construction plans heated up in December 2011: Statistics Canada

Construction plans heated up strongly in December as municipalities issued $6.8 billion worth of building permits, the highest level since June 2007. Statistics Canada said on Feb. 7 that was a jump of 11.1 per cent over November and was driven mainly by increased plans for apartments and condos in Ontario and commercial buildings in Alberta.

February 8, 2012

SNC-Lavalin Nuclear awarded Romanian contract

SNC-Lavalin Nuclear of Montreal recently signed a contract with Societatea Nationala “Nuclearelectrica” to install reactor containment filtered venting systems (CFVS) at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania.

February 8, 2012

British Columbia lines up Aboriginal learners with jobs

In British Columbia, the Aboriginal Training for Employment Program helps participants pursue further studies and employment opportunities such as construction workers, health-care assistants, chefs, entrepreneurs, tourism operators and in many other occupations.

February 7, 2012

World Plumbing Day gets promotion nod from Canadian senator Don Plett

For Manitoba senator and former plumbing contractor Don Plett, World Plumbing Day is an event near and dear to the heart.

February 7, 2012

Police charge woman after fatal collision in Windsor, Ontario with construction vehicle

A woman faces impaired driving charges after a fatal collision in Windsor, Ontario. Police say a pickup truck collided with a parked construction truck and trailer. A 23-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

February 7, 2012

Family of woman killed in Toronto bus crash launches $4.25-million lawsuit

The family of a woman killed in a Toronto Transit Commission bus crash has launched a $4.25-million lawsuit.

February 7, 2012

Ottawa construction firm fined after worker receives electric shock

The Ministry of Labour announced that an Ontario court fined Marathon Drilling Co. Ltd. $65,000 over charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act relating to an incident in October, 2010. During a drilling project, a worker was holding chains attaching an auger to hook of a boom truck when the truck came into contact with an overhead electrical conductor. The worker received an electric shock and was seriously burned

February 6, 2012

Ontario labour blitz to focus on musculoskeletal disorders

Hazards involving manual materials handling that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the focus of an Ontario Ministry of Labour blitz this month. Inspectors will target workplaces in the construction, health care, industrial and mining sectors.

February 6, 2012

Brazilian officials allege illegal construction in Rio de Janeiro high-rise building collapse

An official with Regional Council of Engineering, in charge of building inspections in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, says illegal projects could have led to the collapse of three buildings.

February 6, 2012

Benson Steel faces transport challenge on Toronto Yorkdale Mall construction project

At Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Benson Steel faced a challenge: how to transport nearly 30 tonnes of steel girder over a 300-foot stretch atop the roof of one of Toronto’s busiest shopping malls. The general contractor is Carillion.

February 3, 2012

ASHRAE, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials plan to cooperate on codes, standards

ASHRAE and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) specifically detailing ways in which the two organizations can work together to advance and promote mutual interests in built environment codes and standards. A memorandum of understanding was signed during ASHRAE’s 2012 Winter Conference in Chicago.

February 3, 2012

Burlington, Ontario announces preferred hospital redevelopment site

The City of Burlington, Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, McMaster University and the Regional Municipality of Halton announced that Brant hospital is the preferred site for the Halton McMaster Family Health Centre. The hospital will begin the redevelopment phase with request for proposals and tender on Phase 1 in 2012 and construction in 2013.

February 2, 2012

Ontario 2011 construction fatalities decline, safety improvements made, report shows

The number of workplace fatalities and critical injuries in the Ontario construction sector declined in 2011, compared to the year before, an Ontario Ministry of Labour report says.

February 2, 2012

Aluma Systems director Ian Steer to chair Toronto Construction Association

Birmingham native Ian Steer, director and general manager of Aluma Systems Inc., is the new chair for the Toronto Construction Association for 2012. He succeeds lawyer Glenn Ackerley, a partner with WeirFoulds.

February 1, 2012

New Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board law will level the playing field: OCS

Under new Ontario legislation, Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage is mandatory for independent operators and some other individuals carrying on business in the construction industry, beginning in 2013. The Ontario Construction Secretariat, Council of Ontario Construction Associations and Merit OpenShop Contractors Association of Ontario weigh in.

January 31, 2012

Former Stantec consultant to head environmental review for Kincardine, Ontario radioactive waste site

Environment Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced a joint panel will examine the environmental effects of an underground facility for radioactive waste storage and management that Ontario Power Generation wants to build near Kincardine, Ontario. The panel chair is Stella Swanson, owner of Calgary-based Swanson Environmental Strategies Ltd. and a former consultant for Stantec. The other members are Queen’s University mining engineering professor James F. Archibald and Gunter Muecke, a retired Dalhousie University geology professor who worked for Shell Canada as a field geologist in the early 1960s.

January 31, 2012

New Brunswick to review health and safety violation fines

New Brunswick’s health and safety authority, WorkSafeNB, is conducting a stakeholder consultation to see if a demerit system would help enforce employers’ compliance with regulations. Currently, WorkSafeNB enforces compliance through penalties under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

January 30, 2012

Thomas Sullivan of Arnprior, Ontario remembered as “industry icon”

Industry icon Thomas E. Sullivan, chairman of Arnprior, Ontario construction company M. Sullivan & Son Limited, passed away on Jan. 14 at the age of 80.

January 26, 2012

Quebec construction firms found guilty of tax fraud

Construction Louisbourg and Simard- Beaudry Construction have had their licences suspended by the building regulator in Quebec. The companies were fined $4.1 million in December 2011 for defrauding Revenue Canada

January 26, 2012

Three construction firms in Fortune’s 100 best companies

Denver-based PCL Construction ranked 29th on the Fortune magazine 15th annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list, moving up from 38th last year.

January 26, 2012

Ottawa launches environmental assessment for new Montreal bridge

The federal environmental assessment phase of the project to build a new bridge over the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, led by Transport Canada, has officially been launched. The government said it will continue to invest in the safety and security of the federally-run Champlain Bridge.

January 25, 2012

How the Calgary construction industry is improving its understanding of wind

High winds have always been a constant challenge facing construction workers in Calgary, particularly for those erecting high-rise buildings. They now employ a new early warning weather system, dubbed Envision, that can be so precise as to predict wind gusts within a city block. It was created by RWDI of Guelph, Ontario.

January 24, 2012

PCL works on Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto

Exterior work is progressing on the Bridgepoint Health Campus of Care at the Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto, formerly known as Riverdale Hospital. PCL Constructors Canada Inc. have completion of the 10-storey, design-build project with over 500 beds scheduled for March 2013. It was designed by HDR Architecture Associates Inc./Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc.

January 24, 2012

Toronto council approves $1.1 billion in capital projects

Toronto City Council has approved a capital budget that was essentially unchanged from that recommended by the executive and budget committees recently.

January 24, 2012

Construction access and fall protection equipment continue to be areas of concern

Safe use of access equipment and fall protection continue to be the two major health and safety concerns related to access equipment on construction projects, according to the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

January 23, 2012

Plans in the pipe for World Plumbing Day March 11

Plumbing organizations across Canada are teaming up with the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC) and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) to celebrate World Plumbing Day. The March 11 event is dedicated to helping the general public better understand the vital role the plumbing industry plays in protecting public health and safety.

January 20, 2012

Bolton, Ontario Sneath Road Bridge rehabilitation project required careful work

When compared to the numerous multi-million dollar construction projects currently underway in Ontario the $230,000-restoration of the historic Sneath Road Bridge in Bolton might be considered somewhat minor.

January 19, 2012

Windsor-Essex Parkway on track: Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Construction of the Windsor-Essex Parkway is on track, says the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. The project is an 11-kilometre addition to Highway 401, connecting to the Windsor- Detroit border.

January 18, 2012

Aecon plant in Cambridge, Ontario gets nuclear accreditation from American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Aecon Group Inc.’s (TSX:ARE) fabrication facility in Cambridge, Ontario has been awarded nuclear accreditation. Known as the N-Stamp, from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the accreditation confirms Aecon.’s capability to produce nuclear-grade components in accordance with the applicable codes and standards. The N-Stamp is an internationally recognized U.S. industry standard in quality assurance for the construction, inspection and maintenance of nuclear facilities.

January 17, 2012

Standardized certification for Canadian plumbers

Certification for Canadian plumbing officials will soon be standardized to ensure consistent enforcement and quality nationwide.

January 17, 2012

Toronto IIDEX trade show to have renewed focus

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) will be a co-presenter of this year’s IIDEX/NeoCon Canada conference and expo, which has traditionally been a contract furniture show but will start placing a greater emphasis on construction products, architecture and technology, the event organizer has announced.

January 17, 2012

Brook Restoration safety training includes swing stage, hazardous materials

Brook Restoration recently opened its own safety centre. In addition to regular safety training like WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), Brook offers training in aspects such as swing stage, boom and elevated work platform, asbestos, lead, Bobcats and confined spaces.

January 16, 2012

PCL expands into Australian market with Grocon, Plenary Health

The PCL family of companies and its Australian joint venture partner Grocon are part of a consortium headed by Plenary Health Australia that will deliver the $1 billion (AUD) Victorian comprehensive cancer centre in the city of Melbourne.

January 13, 2012

Alternative Financing and Procurement key for Ontario government construction

Infrastructure Ontario’s principle method for most project management has been Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP), which allows IO to transfer risk to the private sector and thus deliver value for money. Since its merger with the Ontario Realty Corporation, IO manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in the country and requires a strategic focus to manage it.