OVERCOMING CHALLENGES B.E. Atlas BUILDING A FAMILY LEGACY THAT LASTS Ball Construction CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE Mondev Construction OVERCOMING CHALLENGES B.E. Atlas BUILDING A FAMILY LEGACY THAT LASTS Ball Construction CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE Mondev Construction CONSTRUCTIONINFOCUS.COM OC TO BE R 2 02 2At home or on your phone, go to www.dougtarryhomes.com Renderings are artist’s concept. Prices, specifications and information subject to change without notice. E.O.E. Indoor Air Quality Occupant Comfort Climate Resilient Strategies Climate Reduction Strategies CARBON REDUCTION AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY Building award winning homes in St. Thomas and area, since 1954 2020 GREEN HOME BUILDER OF THE YEAR, MID RISE SUSTAINABLE HOMES the Doug Tarry differencethe Doug Tarry differenceEDITOR’S CORNER At home or on your phone, go to www.dougtarryhomes.com Renderings are artist’s concept. Prices, specifications and information subject to change without notice. E.O.E. Indoor Air Quality Occupant Comfort Climate Resilient Strategies Climate Reduction Strategies CARBON REDUCTION AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY Building award winning homes in St. Thomas and area, since 1954 2020 GREEN HOME BUILDER OF THE YEAR, MID RISE SUSTAINABLE HOMES the Doug Tarry differencethe Doug Tarry difference 3 In this issue’s Giving Employees the Ultimate Buy-In, Karen Hawthorne explores employee stock ownership in the face of what some are calling ‘The Great Resignation.’ Also known as the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle, this is a current economic trend that has seen employees voluntarily resigning from their jobs en masse, beginning in early 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeking more robust benefits—whether monetary or in the service of health, wellness or work/life balance—many employees are now comparison-shopping when it comes to employment, and employers, short on qualified staff, are responding. ESOPs, or Employee Stock Ownership Plans, are perhaps one of the most powerful tools in an employer’s arsenal, “proven,” Karen writes, “to provide positive perks for both employers and employees.” Indeed, “one of the biggest advantages of an ESOP is that it gives employees skin in the game. When they join the plan and start to earn shares in the company, there is a direct link between the success of the company and their personal wealth,” writes Karen. Of course, setting up an ESOP is no simple task, and perhaps not for everyone. In this issue of Construction in Focus, we explore the ins and outs. Jaime McKee Editor Suite 300, 7071 Bayers Rd. | Halifax, NS | B3L 2C2 | Canada P: 1-647-479-2163 | E: EDITOR Tim Hocken DEPUTY EDITOR Jaime McKee COPY EDITORS Thora Smith | Allister Havercroft CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Nate Hendley | Grace McGrenere | William Young David Caldwell | Robert Hoshowsky | Claire Suttles Allison Dempsey | Karen Hawthorne | Jessica Ferlaino DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS James Corbett CONTENT MANAGERS Erin McWhinney | Wendy Hood-Morris SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Luke Simms SALES TEAM Pamela Taylor | Morgan Culpepper OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Julia MacQueen GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Severina Gachparova GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Laura Pratt | Ashley Dowling Ebic Tristary | Yoana Ilcheva CONTROLLER Jen Hamilton PUBLISHER Jeff Hocken “ESOPs, or Employee Stock Ownership Plans, are perhaps one of the most powerful tools in an employer’s arsenal.”INSIDE OCTOBER FOCUS ON: ALL IN THE FAMILY GENERAL CONTRACTING EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS 4 Stock Ownership The pandemic has changed many things, but perhaps one of the most unexpected outcomes of COVID has been “The Great Resignation” wherein people took a hard look at their working lives and made changes. 5 CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS CMAA2022 (CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) 9 – 11 October, San Diego, CA Join CMAA in San Diego for three days of education, collaboration, and celebration for CMAA2022. This year’s event, a celebration of CMAA’s 40th Anniversary, will feature unmatched educational programming, solution and technology providers, invaluable connections and networking, and recognition of the projects and people that help define the construction management industry. For more information LEAN CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE 24TH ANNUAL LCI CONGRESS 18 – 21 October, New Orleans, LA Join more than 1,000 of your colleagues and industry leaders for the Lean event of the year. With the theme of, ‘Lean Gumbo: The Right Ingredients for Project Success,’ the LCI Congress is where the Lean community comes together for unparalleled knowledge-sharing across dis- ciplines. Gain new ideas and perspectives to enrich your work and drive your Lean practice forward. Earn continuing education credits, engage in cutting-edge Lean methods, and network with your peers and Lean leaders. For more information OUTAGE RESPONSE AND RESTORATION MANAGEMENT 2 – 3 November, Atlanta, GA Learn to ‘Prepare for, Predict and Perform Incident, Storm, and Wildfire Response with Optimal Resource Management, Tools, and Communication while Navigating Increased Regulatory Oversight,’ at Outage Response And Restoration Management. This conference will provide utilities with strategies for more effective restoration efforts in light of resource and supply chain constraints. The conference will explore specific case studies on incidents such as wildfires and storms, energize outage communications and stakeholder expectation management, and examine how to employ predictive and automated technology for more expedited restoration and improved reliability. For more information INTERNATIONAL POOL | SPA | PATIO EXPO AND DECK EXPO 12 – 17 November, Las Vegas, NV The International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo™, co-located with Deck Expo (PSP/Deck Expo) is where all segments of the industry (pool, spa, patio, decking, and outdoor living) gather to stay on top of the trends, market directions, and technology. Celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2022, the event offers industry professionals a large selection of educational sessions, an expo hall, and various networking opportunities. With an unpar- alleled educational experience and actionable insights for in-depth discussions with peers, this event is second to none. For more information THE BUILDINGS SHOW 30 November – 2 December, Toronto, ON The Buildings Show delivers the most cutting-edge, expert-led seminars, informative panels and thought-provoking roundtables. For 34 years, The Buildings Show has been the place where people connect through Construct Canada, PM Expo, HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo and the World of Concrete Toronto Pavilion. The Urban Planning and Strategies series of educational sessions will enlighten and inform, while the Main Stage provides an exciting focal point for high-level industry conversations. The demonstration areas have returned, bringing live presentations to the show floor. For more information INDUSTRY EVENTS 6 Are you planning an event relating to North America’s growing Construction Industry? To get your event listed in Construction in Focus, please contact us at least six to eight weeks before the event takes place at or call 1-647-479-2163INDUSTRY NEWS NEW MODULAR HOMES FOR DISABLED PERSONS UNVEILED Unlike traditional building methods, modular homes comprise components manufactured ahead of time, making them much faster to build then regular wood, brick and mortar housing, and requiring less labour. Recently, the Government of Nova Scotia unveiled two custom modular home designs for persons with disabilities. According to the province’s Department of Community Services, the new ener- gy-efficient homes will be erected more quickly than with traditional building methods, enabling disabled men and women to move in much sooner. With input from the Disability Support Program and input from staff and residents, the designs were devel- oped by RHAD Architects and DORA Construction Ltd. “As more people move to living in a com- munity, we want construction of new homes to be as efficient as possible,” said Karla MacFarlane, Minister of Community Services in a media state- ment. “Having these home designs in place supports our government’s commitment to community living and phasing out large institutions.” The building of the first five modular homes will start in the Annapolis Valley, South Shore, Halifax and Cape Breton areas, with expected move-in early 2023. Residents of the homes will be able to live independently, with daily assistance from staff. 7INDUSTRY NEWS NEW MONTREAL HOLOCAUST MUSEUM DESIGN ANNOUNCED Winners of the design competition for the new home of the Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM) have been announced. The team of KMPB Architects and Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker Architecture was selected out of four finalists for the MHM, to be built on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Plateau Mount-Royal. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the museum will comprise 45,000 square feet, and feature classrooms, exhibition spaces, a 150-seat auditorium, survi- vors’ testimony room, and a memorial garden. Funding for the new $67 million CAD MHM comes from various sources, including Heritage Canada, the City of Montreal, Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications, the non-profit Azrieli Foundation, and private donors. “We are delighted to share the designs of our new Museum which will be an important space of learning, action, and coming together,” said Daniel Amar, Executive Director of the MHM in a media release. “The brilliant design succeeded in creating a space of powerful architecture that remains respectful and sensitive to the difficult history of the Holocaust and its human rights legacy that will be transmitted within its walls. While we eagerly await our opening on Blvd. St-Laurent, we invite everyone to get involved today and give voice to help support their new Montreal Holocaust Museum.” CONSTRUCTION COSTS RISING According to U.S.-based investment firm and commercial real estate services company Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE), there will be a 14.1 percent year-on-year increase in construc- tion costs across America by the end of 2022. Representing the biggest increase to the industry since CBRE started creating cost projections back in 2007, it is predicted that even cost inflation will fall next year to 4.3 percent and 2.9 percent in 2024 as supply chain issues improve. However, other issues—such as not enough construction workers, semiconductor shortages, and delays in material deliveries— will remain. Shawn Goldberg / shutterstock.com 8INDUSTRY NEWS COULD ‘TIMBER CITIES’ DE-CARBONIZE EARTH? According to the latest research, using wood instead of other building materials like cement and steel could play an important role in cutting greenhouse gases emissions 50 percent by 2030. Recently published in Nature Communications, the paper “Land use change and carbon emissions of a transformation to timber cities” outlines how engineered wood products used in building can help to mitigate climate change. The paper illustrates how, if 90 percent of the new urban popula- tion were to be housed in newly built urban mid-rise wooden buildings, 106 gigatons of additional CO 2 could be saved by the year 2100. To achieve these goals of wood construction would require approximately 555,000 square miles of extra tree plantations along with harvesting unprotected natural forests. “Strong gov- ernance and careful planning are required to ensure a sustainable transition to timber cities even if frontier forests and biodiversity hotspots are protected,” states the paper, which is available at 9Next >