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INDUSTRY NEWS

Federal economic statement indicates government is ‘listening to industry’

Construction stakeholders at the national level agree the government’s fall economic statement contains a number of positives for the industry, with prompt payment, the accelerated depreciation of equipment and investments in training and export-enabling infrastructure topping the list.

Visit https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/associations/2018/11/federal-economic-statement-indicates-government-listening-industry to view the full article online.

Feds remove regulatory barriers to trade, hope provinces will follow suit

The federal government is taking immediate steps to remove some regulatory barriers to trade across the country, hoping to persuade provinces to follow its example.

Visit https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/government/2018/11/feds-remove-regulatory-barriers-trade-hope-provinces-will-follow-suit to view the full article online.

HRAI requests feds to act on low-carbon transition

The Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) was on Parliament Hill recently asking for a federal plan to make homes and buildings more energy efficient to ensure businesses are more competitive and Canadians feel relief on energy bills.

Visit https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/associations/2018/12/hrai-requests-feds-act-low-carbon-transition to view the full article online.

Tradeswomen share first-hand experiences working in a male-dominated industry

A woman’s voice can and will be heard on a construction site, whether men want to hear it or not.

Visit https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/labour/2018/11/tradeswomen-share-first-hand-experiences-working-male-dominated-industry to view the full article online.

LEADERSHIP, EDUCATION & TRAINING

CEC Estimating Conference – Project Procurement and Strategies

CEC is pleased to announce that it will once again offer its highly acclaimed Estimating Conference in Calgary, AB from February 27 to March 1. This conference focuses not on how to estimate, but rather project procurement and strategies. Sessions covered will include deal breakers, project risk and go/no-go strategies, putting together a proposal, what a general contractor looks for in its selection process—to name a few.

Visit http://mcac.ca/cec/programs/estimating/ to view the full article online.

Have you signed up for the Advanced Project Management course?

The Construction Education Council is pleased to announce the launch of its brand-new Advanced Project Management course. The program builds on the teachings in the highly successful 10-day program, and provides 28 hours of Gold Seal-accredited, industry-specific, advanced-level project management training.

Graduates will bring back to their companies’ strategies for making their projects even more successful. Senior project skills that will be covered include:

The Art of Facilitative Leadership
Organizational Planning – Portfolio Management
Financial and Basic Accounting Principles for Project Managers
Principles of Lean for Construction

INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY

What does blockchain really mean for construction?

Randall Newton cuts through the hype and explores what impact the distributed database technology could have on BIM, contracts and even people.

Visit https://aecmag.com/component/content/article/59-features/1723-what-does-blockchain-really-mean-for-aec to view the full article online.

How cost estimators are disrupting the construction industry and enabling full BIM execution

According to McKinsey, the global construction industry at large can boost productivity on projects by some 50 to 60 percent. This includes American construction companies. Here’s the good news: some GCs are already deep into new ways of working – and they are tapping into their cost estimators to improve productivity.

Visit https://builtworlds.com/news/how-cost-estimators-are-disrupting-the-construction-industry-and-enabling-full-bim-execution/ to view the full article online.

Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada