🚺 These women are crushing it

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Good morning! Visiting job sites for photos is both weather dependent and a lot of work. So why not let artificial intelligence whip something up? Tools like Lensa and Open AI have made generating images easier than ever and are currently topping app store charts. We asked Open AI to to generate  “a construction worker holding a Canadian flag” and this is what we got:

…Maybe we stick with human-created content for now. Generate your own construction art here and send it to [email protected] 

Speaking of art, we have fresh SiteNews merch. Read to the bottom to learn how to get some for free!

- Russell Hixson, editor

MARKETS

*Stock data as of last market close; currency, oil and crypto data as of 10:30PM ET Dec 12th

Economy: According to Statistics Canada, Canadians are in a world of debt. For every dollar of disposable income households have, $1.83 is owed. This includes $2 trillion in mortgage debt. Economists say this is the first time the country has seen wealth declines like this since the 2008 global financial crisis.

THE BIG STORY

Meet the female leaders crushing it in Canada

Increasing female participation in construction has long been an industry goal. According to BuildForce Canada, only 11.6 per cent of the entire Canadian construction workforce is female.

SitePartners and On-Site Magazine recently highlighted some of the industry’s best and brightest stars for their Top 40 under 40 in Canadian Construction. Nearly one quarter of them were women. Here are some of their stories:

Agnes Wietrzynski - President and CEO of QM Environmental

Wietrzynski first arrived in Canada as a refugee and immigrant. After more than a decade in the environmental sector, her sharp leadership abilities caught the attention of Wes Hall from CBC’s “Dragons’ Den”. Hall put her in charge of QM Environmental, an environmental and industrial services company with more than 600 employees. She also finds time to serve as a board member of the Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA). 

Briar Beers - Vice president at Cutting Edge Consulting Inc. 

Beers joined Cutting Edge after working as a senior project manager. She developed its safety program and helped it achieve COR certification. She also developed the company’s project management and estimating programs and fostered its growth over a five-year period from a single employee to a company with more than 60.

“What an honour this has been for me,” wrote Beers. “Thank you SitePartners and On-Site Magazine for this opportunity. Congratulations also to a partner/client of ours Rick Morrison from Quattro Constructors for also being selected.”

Cayley Van Hemmen - Interiors and special projects division manager at Canadian Turner Construction Company

Van Hemmen began her Turner career as a business unit intern in 2013 and worked her way up to being in charge of a whole division which she helped restructure. She also serves as the co-chair of the mentorship committee at the Urban Land Institute.

“I feel very honoured to have been selected for the Top 40 Under 40 in Canadian Construction award this year,” wrote Van Hemmen. “It's been an incredible ten years working for Canadian Turner Construction Company and seeing this company grow from 7 people in Vancouver to the 145+ strong force we are today. Can't wait to see what the next ten years looks like!”

Mi Kim - Senior Commercial Manager at Jacob Bros Construction

Kim, who is also a professional engineer, is experienced in project controls including contract management, schedule analysis and cost control. Kim is passionate about mentoring young female engineers and is active with Women in Engineering at the University of British Columbia. 

“Truly humbled and honoured to have been selected as part of this group of talented individuals in Canadian construction by On-Site Magazine and SitePartners,” said Kim. “Congratulations to the Class of 2022 Top 40 Under 40. A big thank you to all of those who have guided and supported me along the way and let us all continue to strive for excellence in this beautiful industry.”

But wait, there’s more: the full list of 40 winners included nine women. Read all their stories at SiteNews.

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

💰 The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) announced a $100,000 private bounty for information that results in the arrest of those who those who organized a violent attack at the Coastal GasLink LNG worksite near Houston, B.C. last February. 

💎 Get those shovels ready. The government of Canada has unearthed its minerals strategy, which includes efforts to cut red tape so critical major projects can move through the process faster. In a release, officials noted that complex regulatory and permitting processes can hinder the economic competitiveness of the sector and increase investment risk.

📈 Here we go again! The Bank of Canada announced that it has increased its target for the overnight rate to 4.25 per cent, with the bank rate at 4.50 per cent and the deposit rate at 4.25 per cent. Our reporting shows the hike was higher than experts expected. The bank announced it is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening. The rate hike was the seventh this year. 

🚑 The CNESST, Quebec's workplace health and safety board, is investigating a construction worker death. Officials say the 31-year-old died after an incident with a backhoe at a Montreal construction site. 

🏘️ Toronto Mayor John Tory has released a sweeping housing action plan to achieve or exceed a new provincial target of 285,000 new homes in the city over the next 10 years. The plan would include zoning bylaws amendments to allow more density both on major streets and within neighbourhoods.

SPONSORED

How to simplify job site management

Downloading every promising app you hear about just creates indecision and a bunch of unwanted bills. Instead, builders want their apps to focus on one thing: driving performance.

That’s why when it comes to jobsite management, Christian Hamm - COO of construction software company SiteMax - believes it’s about keeping things simple. 

Application overload: “Why pay for three to four or even five different apps when you could save time and money with one and avoid the headaches and fragmentation of many?” says Hamm, noting that SiteMax’s platform consolidates the most commonly used single feature or point solution apps to create an essential digital toolkit. 

Visibility off-site: Keeping a finger on the pulse of projects is important as managing multiple projects simultaneously is now the norm. SiteMax offers customizable daily site reports, safety and QA checklists, digital time cards and complete media management of progress photos and videos.

“With this amount of effortless detail at your fingertips, get ready for your projects to race to the finish line, on time and on budget,” said Hamm. 

Give it a shot: Hamm said that the main focus of SiteMax has always been to streamline jobsite activities so critical information gets into the hands of key project stakeholders. That’s why they’re offering one month of service for free. 

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Nisutlin Bay Bridge to upgrade Yukon infrastructure 

New span makes history: Graham Infrastructure LP is working to replace an aging bridge in the Yukon. The $160-million Nisutlin Bay Bridge project is the largest capital project in the territory’s history. The original bridge was built in 1953 and traffic along the Alaska highway has increased. The new bridge was planned with input from the community and in collaboration with the Teslin Tlingit Council. Indigenous art is being incorporated into the design. Work is expected to wrap in 2026.

PROJECT UPDATES

Toronto tower, 100 Queens Quay East, earns LEED Platinum.

Ascot Resources announces $200M in mining project financing.

SMS Equipment starts work on $30M Ontario facility.

Calgary Cancer Centre handed over to Alberta Health.

Nova Scotia announces $4M in road projects.

Market Lands project in Winnipeg to begin next year.

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

READ:🏢 Top 5 community housing projects in Canada.

TWEET:🧑‍🎄 This gantry is decked out for the holidays.

READ: 🏡 Plunging home sales led to this new strategy.

WATCH: 🤖 Six-axis machine creates architectural models.

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