The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is set to conduct a practice review of the City of Calgary. A suspended N.B. engineer faces 4th lawsuit over alleged building design flaws. A civil engineer will serve as the new chair of the board of directors for Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). A UBC engineer is tackling the issue of sustainability in construction. These were the most-read stories in the Daily Media Report at the beginning of August.
APEGA is conducting a practice review. The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is set to conduct a practice review of the City of Calgary in light of the Bearspaw water feeder main break in early June. They will inquire into the city’s engineering processes and practices through its obligations under the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act. If the review shows unskilled practice or unprofessional conduct contributed to the failure, APEGA said the matter would be referred for further investigation.
Suspended N.B. engineer faces 4th lawsuit. A fourth lawsuit has been filed over alleged design flaws in a building by a suspended Moncton structural engineer, Hélène Thériault, and her firm, Match Engineering. Three other cases have been filed this year alleging flawed design work by Match and Thériault. The filing outlines a list of repairs needed on a building after construction including: digging up a sidewalk to expose the buildings footings, a component of its foundation; removing portions of the concrete parking garage slab to install footings; cutting and removing walls and ceilings on multiple floors to install steel; removing "surfaces" in residential units to add steel plates; and installing new patio columns on 12 apartment and two commercial unit balconies.
A new chair for Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority. Effective August 1, Arjan Arenja, P.Eng., will serve as the new chair of the board of directors for Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), an administrative authority that acts on behalf of the provincial government. Elected to ESA’s board in 2019, Arenja has chaired its audit and investment committee and its people, culture and governance committee. He has also chaired Engineers Canada’s human resources (HR), CEO search and finance, audit and risk committees. ESA administers electrical safety regulations, licenses electrical contractors and master electricians, supports electrical safety training and education and oversees the safety of electrical products and electricity distribution systems.
Sustainability in construction. UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Shahria Alam hopes to tackle the building industry’s climate challenge through more sustainable materials. The construction industry has a large carbon footprint that comes from extracting resources, manufacturing, transportation and final construction. Dr. Alam is exploring more sustainable methods such as using waste products to create concrete, exploring alternative materials, and recycling resources.
