40TH YEAR: 2008 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards

The large — even colossal — scale at which consulting engineers do work is much in evident in this year’s awards. For engineers it must be truly awe-inspiring to watch their plans for giant civil structures such as the Karun III hydroelectric works in Iran (Hatch), or the Niagara Tunnel Intake Works (Morrison Hershfield) being constructed and beginning to take shape.

But at the other end of the scale, we see consulting engineers working with plants and ecosystems, and operating within a very human and social context for the “Trees for Tomorrow” project in Jamaica (Tecsult).

Technical innovation is one of the priority criteria of these awards and this year there are several North American “firsts.” The award-winners in the transportation category, for example, are all designed in innovative ways to ensure speedy erection. The North Arm Bridge to carry trains in Vancouver uses the first “extra-dosed” design (Buckland & Taylor). A crossing on 90-metre high columns in the Kicking Horse Canyon in B. C. was the first incrementally launched curved girder bridge (Golder and Delcan). And the Highway 417 Overpass Bridge Replacement in Ottawa (McCormick Rankin) was the first use of rapid replacement technology on a major highway bridge. In an astonishing feat, the bridge’s superstructure was completely replaced overnight! Building ever more quickly and using prefabricated elements is now an area in which Canadian engineers are proving to be experts.

Two neighbouring projects in Mississauga, west of Toronto, won awards in the water resources category. The (Lakeview) Water Treatment Plant Phase 1 (CH2M Hill) and the G. E. Booth Lakeview Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion (AECOM) both apply new processing technologies at an unprecedented scale.

Another outstanding technically advanced and large-scale project is the NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology (Cohos Evamy). This research laboratory at the University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of very few “ultra-quiet” buildings in North America.

A community centre and arena for the Cree community of Mistissini in northern Quebec (Dessau), and a run-of-river hydroelectric project on the Khudi River in Nepal (BPR), both promise life improvements for remote communities. And finally Cohos Evamy won its second award for its in-house professional development program.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Schreyer and Tree of Life Awards

This year presents a bit of an anomaly in the awards program, as we are not announcing the winner of the Schreyer Award — the top technical award — until early next year. All the projects are presented here as “Awards of Excellence,” but at the awards gala held by the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) on February 24 in Ottawa, one of the projects will be named as winner of the Schreyer Award as well. Watch for the February 25 announcement in Canadian Consulting Engineer’s E-Bulletin and the March-April print edition. Until February you will be kept in suspense!

Another exciting announcement that will be made on February 24 is the winner of the first Tree of Life

award. This award is being given to a project that demonstrates outstanding environmental stewardship. Rjean Breton, ing., founding president of the consulting engineering company BBA in Montreal, and a former chair and member of the board of ACEC, has been a tireless promoter of the idea of giving such an award to recognize the contribution of consulting engineers to sustainable development. Mr. Breton has also arranged for the design of a special trophy. The Tree of Life award is administered as part of the Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards and the winner is selected from the projects entered in that program. For more details, see the 2009 awards criteria and entry forms soon to be posted at www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/awards. — BP JURY CO-CHAIR

Martin Holysh, P. Eng.

Martin Holysh has spent 16 years with Suncor Energy in Fort McMurray and Calgary. He is currently Suncor’s Manager of Environment, Health and Safety for the Voyageur Project, a major expansion of Suncor’s oil sands facility.

Mr. Holysh acted as Suncor’s representative on the CO₂ Capture project, a multi-million dollar effort of eight international companies investigating carbon dioxide capture and storage. He also managed the environmental impact assessment for Suncor’s Project Millennium expansion.

Mr. Holysh graduated in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto.

For two years he was chair of Alberta Ecotrust. He has been a judge on the Showcase Awards of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta for several years, and was a juror on these awards last year.

JURY CO-CHAIR

Ghani Razaqpur, P. Eng.

Dr. A. G. Razaqpur is Chair and Director of the Centre for Effective Design of Structures, and is Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at McMaster University.

He is also immediate Past President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Razaqpur has published over 160 articles, and has been involved in a wide range of consulting activities in both the public and private sectors.

He graduated in civil engineering at the University of Beirut in 1973, and went on to obtain an M. Sc. from the University of Hawaii, and a Ph. D from the University of Calgary. He was a juror on these awards last year also.

JURORS

Damiano Albanese, P. Eng.

Damiano Albanese, P. Eng. is Director of the Transportation Division, Environment, Transportation and Planning Services, with the Region of Peel in Ontario. His previous roles include Director of Engineering and Construction with the Region of Peel Public Works Department, and Manager of Infrastructure and Environmental Planning in the Transportation and Works Department of the City of Mississauga. He graduated from the University of Toronto in civil engineering in 1970. He was chair of the Ontario Provincial Standards Joint Committeee from 1995 to 2001.

John Braam, P. Eng.

John Braam, P. Eng. is the Division Manager for Water and Sewer Operations at the city of London, Ontario. A graduate from the University of Waterloo in 1980 in civil engineering, he has worked in consulting, industry and public utilities. He was previously manager of water and wastewater services for Oxford County before he rejoined the city of London in 2006.

John is currently Vice President of the Ontario Water Works Association. He received the Norman J. Howard Award for dedication and leadership in the water industry.

Ron Britton, P. Eng.

Dr. M. G. (Ron) Britton, P. Eng., is the Associate Dean (Design Education) in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. In 2001 he was one of five individuals who were awarded inaugural Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Chairs in Design Engineering.

Professor Britton is a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba (APEGM) and served on the board of directors of Engineers Canada (formerly the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, CCPE).

He is a 3M Teaching Fellow and his many awards include: the CCPE Medal of Distinction in Engineering Education; the University of Manitoba Dr. & Mrs. H. H. Saunderson Award for Excellence in Teaching; and the Dr. & Mrs. D. R. Campbell Outreach Award.

Yves Filion, ing.

Yves Filion, ing. is president of the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE), an organization with over 8,000 members from more than 80 countries. He is also Vice-Chair of the Board of the Montreal Port Authority.

A graduate in applied science from the Universit de Sherbrooke, M. Filion joined Hydro-Qubec in 1972 and held various executive positions with the organization. Most recently he was President of Hydro-Quebec Distribution and President o
f Hydro-Quebec TransEnergie, ending in 2006.

He is a member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engi- neering. In June 2004, the Universit de Sherbrooke granted him the title of Herald of the university. The Association de l’industrie electrique du Quebec awarded him the Prix Jean- Jacques-Archambault in 2007.

M. Filion was a juror of these awards also in 2000.

Mike Greidanus, P. Eng.

Mike Greidanus is Senior Vice President with the Ontario Realty Corporation in Toronto. He is responsible for Project Services and Strategic Sourcing. Previously he was a vice president with Brookfield LePage Johnson where his role included national project management, strategic sourcing, corporate strategy and business development. He is a professional engineer with a mechanical engineering degree from McMaster University, and an executive MBA from Queen’s University.

Andre-Lise Mthot, ing.

Ms. Mthot is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fonds d’investissement en dveloppement durable (FIDD)/Cycle Capital Fund, a sustainable development investment fund in Montreal. She is co-chair of the Task Force “Integration of Social Aspects into Life Cycle Assessment” of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). She is also a member of the advisory committee of the “Centre qubcois d’actions sur les changements climatiques (CQACC).”

Ms. Methot has a master’s degree in science from the Universit de Montral and a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from Universit Laval. She was a juror on the awards last year also.

Ronnie Murphy, ing.

Ronnie Murphy is Director of Substation and Transmission Engineering at Hydro-Qubec in Montreal. He has been with the organization for 28 years. Currently he is engaged in modernizing the engineering process for substation and transmission lines, managing 250 engineers and technicians, many of whom are new graduates and people with less than five years’ experience.

Mr. Murphy graduated in electrical engineering in 1980 from the Ecole polytechnique de Montral. Recently he was chair of a hydro-electricity generation conference and is a published author.