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JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND GEOSCIENTISTS OF BC MAY/JUNE 2013

Engineering Awards of Excellence

AntarcticEmergency Solutions

Biogas Cleaning in BC

Member Satisfaction Survey Drawing Contest Winners OQM Certifications Issued


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ctts

fts14 From Trash Heap to Technicolour

Suzanne Morphet

18 2013 ACEC-BC Awards for Engineering Excellence

20 How Hard-wall Expandable Containers Helped Brazil Recover from an Antarctic Disaster Konrad Mech, P.Eng., CD

ws

MAY/JUNE 2013 [VOl.17 nO.3]

4 Presidents Viewpoint Does One Size Fit All?

6 Association Notes 2013/2014 Council Election Nominees;APEGBC-led Ini tiatives Aim to Speed up Integrat ion of Internationally

Trained Professionals; 2013/2014 Budget; 2013 Annual Conference

and AGM; Revised APEGBC Sustainability Guidelines Now Available;Resource Sector Engineering and Geoscience Bursary

9 Members Rate their Satisfaction with APEGBC

11 Engineering and Geoscience Community Reaches Out to the Public

12 Seismic Retrofit Guidelines Recognized with Award for EngineeringExcellence

13 Task Force Explores Geotechnical Engineering asRegistration Discipline

17 First APEGBC Quality Management Certifications Issued

dptmts23 Discipline and Enforcement 23 Membership 25 Careers

26 Professional Services 31 OQM Certification

ON THE COVER:

King George Island,

Antarc tica. A BC-based

company brings

its expertise to the

extreme terrain of a

polar region. Page 20.

Photo: iStockphoto.

com/cunfek.

Brazils

Commandante

Ferraz Antarctic

Station prior to the

February 25, 2012 fire.

20

i n nova t i on May/ June 2013 3


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v iewpoint

4 M ay/ Jun e 2 0 13 i n nova t i on

president@

apeg.bc.ca

Does

One Size

Fit All?

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC

Suite 200 - 4010 Regent Street, Burnaby, BC Canada V5C 6N2

Tel: 604.430.8035 Fax: 604.430.8085

E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.apeg.bc.ca

Toll free: 1.888.430.8035

2012/2013 COUNCIL, APEGBC

President M.D. Isaacson, P.Eng., PhD, FEC

Vice President M.B. Bapty, P.Eng., FEC

Past President J.H. Holm, P.Eng., FEC

COUNCILLOrS

A.E. Badke, P.Eng.; S.M. Carlson, P.Eng.;

J.J. Clague, P.Geo., PhD; A Fernandes, CIM, FCSI;

H. Hawson, P.Eng., FEC; D.M. Howes, P.Eng.;

H.G. Kell,y P.Eng.; G.D. Kirkham, P.Geo.;

J. Martignago; A.J. Mill, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FEC;

K.E. Savage, P.Eng., FEC; M. Waberski, BCLS;

M.C. Wrinch, P.Eng., PhD, FEC; S. Wynn, PhD

ASSOCIATION STAFF

A.J. English, P.Eng. chief executiVe Officerand registrar

t.M.Y. chong, P.Eng. chief regulatOrY Officerand dePutY registrar

J.Y. Sinclair chief OPerating Officer

M.L. Archibald directOr, cOMMunicatiOnsand stakehOlder engageMent

J. Cho, cga directOr, financeand adMinistratiOn

d. Gamble directOr, infOrMatiOn serVices

A. Lim A/directOr, MeMber serVices

P.r. Mitchell, P.Eng. directOr, PrOfessiOnal Practice, standardsand deVelOPMent

D. Olychick directOr, MeMber serVices

g.M. Pichler,P.Eng. directOr, registratiOn

G.A. Thiele, llb directOr, legislatiOn , ethicsand cOMPliance

r.M. filipiak, P.Eng. assOciate directOr, adMissiOns

V. Lai, CGA assOciate directOr , financeand adMinistratiOn

J.J.G. Larocque, P.Eng., llb assOciate directOr, PrOfessiOnal Practice

Melinda Lau Managing editOr

EDITOrIAL BOArD

S. Chiu, P.Eng.;

r.Gupta, P.Eng.,Phd; C.L. Hall, P.Geo.;

S.K. Hayes, P.Eng.; K.S. Hirji, P.Eng.;

M.A. Klippenstein, P.Eng.;

I. Kokan, P.Eng.; M.E. Leslie, P.Eng.;

B. Thomson, P.Geo., FEC (Hon)

Advertising material should reach the publication by the 5th of the preceding

month (e.g., January 5 for the Jan/Feb issue).

Advertising Contact: Gillian Cobban Tel: 604.929.6733

Fax: 604.929.6753 E-mail: [email protected]

Design/Production: Fusion FX Design & Marketing Inc

Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press Ltd on recycled paper

Subscription rates per issue $4.50; six issues yearly $25.00. Annual

subscriptions of Associat ion members are apportioned from membership

dues in the amount of $15 per member (rates do not include tax).

Innovation is published six times a year by the Association of Professional

Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia. As the official publication of

the Associat ion, Innovation is c irculated to members of the engi neering and

geoscience professions, architects, contractors and industrial executives. The

views expressed in any article contained herein do not necessarily represent

the views or opinions of t he Council or membership of thi s Associat ion.

All material is copyright. Please contact the Managing Editor for reprint permission.

Submission Guidelines: Innovation encourages unsolicited articles and photos.

By submitting material to Innovation, you grant Innovation a royalty-free,

worldwide license to publish the material in Innovation magazine; and you

warrant that you have the authority to grant such rights and have obtained

waivers of all associated moral rights. Innovation reserves the right to edit the

material for length, clarity and conformity with our editorial guidelines (www.

apeg.bc.ca/resource/innovation/editorial.html) and is under no obligation to

publish any or all submissions or any portion thereof including credits.

ISSN 1206-3622

Publications Mail Agreement No 40065271. Registration No 09799.

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Innovation,

Suite 200 - 4010 Regent Street, Burnaby, BC V5C 6N2.

US Postmaster: Innovation (ISSN 1206-3622) is published bimonthly for $25.00 per

year by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British

Columbia, c/o US Agent-Transborder Mail, 4708 Caldwell Rd E, Edgewood, WA

98372-9221. Periodicals postage paid at Puyallup, WA, and at additional mailing

offices, US PO #007-927.POSTMASTER send address changes (covers only) to

Innovation, c/o Transborder Mail, PO Box 6016, Federal Way, WA 98063-6016.

D. Michael

Isaacson,P.Eng., FECPresident

May/June 2013 VoluMe 17 nuMber 3

I have interacted with many proessionals across the ull spectrumo engineering and science disciplines, including the more tradi-tional branches o engineering as well as newer areas such as sowareengineering and mechatronics. Tis has given me an appreciation othe breadth o our two proessions and the diversity o engineeringand geoscience cultures. In this context, our council has expressed

the view that the association should strive to become more relevantacross the ull range o sectors. But, what are the implications o this?

APEGBCs regulatory roles arise in a variety o ways: as relatingto applications or membership, enorcement procedures relating tonon-members undertaking engineering or geoscience practice, dis-ciplinary procedures relating to inappropriate proessional activitiesby our members, practice reviews o the work o some members,and so on. And, beyond regulation, APEGBC seeks to oster highstandards o proessional practice, or example, by making avail-able an Organizational Quality Management Program and throughthe development o practice guidelines. And nally, the associationalso serves our members through advocacy or the proessions, andthrough a range o member benets and engagement opportunities.

But, here is the dilemma. On the one hand, some sectors opracticethose that are more obviously associated with publicsaetyrequire APEGBC to play a rigorous regulatory role. On theother hand, in some other sectors membership is oen not seen as arequirement and APEGBC may be viewed as having, in eect, littleor no regulatory role to play. Usually these are sectors that relate tothe development and/or manuacturing o devices and products thatoen have their own regulatory requirements.

Tese very proound dierences raise important questions. Shouldthere be an attempt to reduce the ambiguity as to when enorcementprocedures applied to non-members are or are not appropriate? And,recognizing the need to attract members rom diverse sectorsas distinct rom catering to those seeking membership primarily

because o employment requirements in more traditional sectorsis there a need or the association to shi its emphasis o some oits membership engagement and regulatory activities? Certainly theassociation should continually strive to enhance its service-oriented,user-riendly interactions with members. And, clearly it cannot andshould not take on the roles o the technical societies, the productregulators, and the developers o codes and standards across the ullrange o sectors. But, given the need to attract a more diverse mem -bership base, to what extent should the various regulatory tools beuniormly applied? And i so, should they be modied in any way?It is noteworthy that, even at present, practice reviews appear toocus on some disciplines more than others, and specic proessionaldevelopment requirements are mandatory or some members (i.e.,those that are also Struct.Eng.) but not others. So, or example, woulda new mandatory proessional development requirement across allsectors be equally benecial, and would this have the eect o attract-ing or alienating non-members in some sectors?

I do not pretend to have the answers to these kinds o questionsand I am not advocating or one approach over another. Rather, I raisethese as important issues to be debated as the association evolves inseeking to become more relevant across the ull range o sectors.


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A closer look at health and disability insuranceHow coverage can help the self-employed, contractual and underinsured

APEGBC Members can learn more and apply for:

Health and Dental CareDisability Income Replacement

Sponsored by Engineers Canada

www.manulife.com/APEGBC/DI

1-877-598-2273

(Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET)

With no supplementary health coverage, you would have to payout of your own pocket for common expenses like prescriptions,dental care, vision care, therapeutic services and more.

If your spouse doesnt have coverage at work, your out-of-pocket medical expenses can get even bigger, especially if youhave children.

Private health insurance can be more affordable than you think.Plus, if youre self-employed, you may be able to deduct the costof your health insurance premiums from your business income.2

Disability insuranceDisability insurance helps to replace a portion of your incomeif you become ill or injured and cant work. These plansprovide monthly benefit payments, based on a percentage of

your monthly earnings, while you are disabled and unable toperform your occupation.

Unlike employee disability plans that end when you changejobs, some association-sponsored disability plans canprovidecontinuation of coverage between jobs so you are not left without

coverage while unemployed. If you become disabled within12 months of your last job, you remain eligible for a monthlybenefit payment.

Look for a disability plan that offers coverage for differenttypes of disability, such as total disability, partial disability,residual disability (you are able to return to your regular

occupation but in a limited capacity), and catastrophic loss.And if you pay your own premiums (not your partnership),your monthly disability benefits may be tax free.2

Are you among those with protection?Across British Columbia, many residents have chosen toprotect themselves with supplementary health and disabilitycoverage. Make sure youre protected as well.

Cost is a common reason offered by those who are not covereby any plans to explain the lack of coverage.

Affordable coverage is available for professional engineersthrough the Engineers Canada-sponsored plans. This allowsyou to enjoy many of the benefits of a group plan (e.g., lowercost) so you can focus on your recovery, not on the bills.

1 Average household annual spending (Source: Statistics Canada, 2010 Survey ofHousehold Spending, April 2012).

2 Contact your financial advisor or the Canada Revenue Agency for details.3 Percentages are based on persons covered at end of 2011 (Source: Canadian Life an

Health Insurance Association, Facts & Figures, Life and Health Insurance, 2012 Editioand 2011 provincial population figures (Source: Statistics Canada).

Being ill or injured can be challenging enough withoutworrying about being driven into debt.

With health and living costs rising steadily, those who are self-employed or dont have coverage at work could face financialhardships. Without an employers group insurance benefits,you are left to your own means when it comes to protecting

yourself and your family.You dont hesitate to insure your home, car and other valuablepossessions, so why wouldnt you insure those that are muchmore valuable than all those things your health and yourability to earn an income?

Health insuranceSupplementary health insurance starts where governmentcoverage ends.

Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. Manulife, Manulife Financial, the Manulife Financial For Your Future logoand the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license.

Sponsored by:

42%of British Columbia residentshave supplementary

health coverage3

22%of British Columbia residentshave disability

income protection3

British Columbia household health spending1

(Annual, excluding health insurance premiums)

$598 $361 $234 $153

Dental Vision PractitionersPrescribed

Drugs

Other than physicians, dental and vision care professionals


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6 May/ June 2013 i n nova t i on

sscit i ts

Role of the Nominating Committee

Te Nominating Committee ischarged with seeking and selecting thecandidates or Council that they believebest demonstrate the qualities neededor strong leadership o the association.Te Nominating Committee consistso the immediate Past President(Chair), eight branch representatives,and three members-at-large appointedby Council. For details on the type ocandidate characteristics assessed bythe committee, visit www.apeg.bc.ca/about/council/nominationcriteria.html.

Under Bylaw 3(b), the committeenominates candidates or the oceo President i they have served on

Council or at least two ull years priorto taking oce, and or the oce oVice President, i they have servedat least one year on Council prior totaking oce.

2013 Nominating Committee

Je Holm, P.Eng., FEC,Past President, Chair

Branch AppointeesDon Williams, P.Eng.

(Central Interior Branch)

Martin Fandrich, P.Eng. PhD(Fraser Valley Branch)Stephen OLeary, P.Eng., PhD

(Okanagan Branch)Horst Unger, P.Eng. (Sea to Sky Branch)omer Curiel, P.Eng. (ri-City Branch)Yuko Suda, P.Eng. (Vancouver Branch)Lee Rowley, P.Eng.

(Vancouver Island Branch)Elroy Switlisho, P.Eng.

(West Kootenay Branch)

Council AppointeesLindsay Bottomer, P.Geo., FEC (Hon.)

Angus English, P.Eng.Glenn Pellegrin, P.Eng., FEC

2013/2014 Candidates for Election to CouncilIn accordance with Bylaw 3 o the association, notice is hereby given o the nomineesor the 2013/2014 Council o APEGBC. he 2013 Nominating Committee selected the

ollowing nominees:Discipline Branch

Presidential Candidate

M.B. (Mike) Bapty, P.Eng., FEC Mining Vancouver Island

Vice Presidential Candidates (one to be elected)

J.J. (John) Clague, P.Geo. Geology Sea to Sky

G.D. (Garth) Kirkham, P.Geo. Geology Burnaby/New Westminster

Councillors (five to be elected, six should a position become vacant as a result of the election)

C.I. (Claudio) Arato, P.Eng., FEC Chemical Vancouver

D.I. (David) Harvey, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FEC Structural Richmond/Delta

H. (Herb) Hawson, P.Eng., FEC Civil Fraser Valley

D.M. (Donna) Howes, P.Eng., FEC Civil Sea to Sky

H.G. (Harlan) Kelly, P.Eng. Civil Vancouver

C.S. (Craig) Merkl, P.Eng. Mechanical Okanagan

N.F. (Nathan) Ozog, P.Eng. Electrical Vancouver

F. (Ferenc) Pataki, P.Eng. Mechanical Fraser Valley

Continuing Councillorshe ollowing Councillors are entering the second year o a two-year term:Arnold Badke, P.Eng.; Shiloh Carlson, P.Eng.; Garth Kirkham, P.Geo.;

Andy Mill, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., FEC; and Karen Savage, P.Eng., FEC.

2013/2014 Council ElectionIn accordance with Bylaw 3 o the Association, there are two ways by which amember may be nominated to stand or Council election: 1) by the NominatingCommittee or 2) in writing by any 25 or more members in good standing.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Nominations by 25 members must be

received at the association office by 5 pm

Friday, July 12, 2013

Nominees' Statement of Candidacy must be

received at the association office by 5 pm.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Election package and ballots will be available

online to all members by this date. Paper

ballots available upon request.

Friday, October 11, 2013, 12 noon

All ballots must be submitted and

received by noon.

Election results will be posted to the APEGBC website by Wednesday, October 16, 2013.

Important Dates

Nomination by 25 MembersMembers are reminded that nominations or President, Vice President and Councillors mayalso be made in writing by any 25 or more members in good standing. Such nominations,signed by members making the nomination and accompanied by the written consent o thenominee must be received by the Registrar at the association oice no later than 5:00 pm,Friday, June 21, 2013.

he orm or nomination by 25 members is available online at www.apeg.bc.ca/about/council/nominationcriteria.html or by contacting Simmarin Manhas at [email protected] 604.412.6059.


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Mentoring, CP Program,

Regulatory Outreach Featured

in 2013/2014 BudgetOn a yearly basis, the associationsbudget is created within clear

guidelines set by Council. Followingscrutiny and revision by the ExecutiveCommittee o Council, it is thenbrought orward or examination by allmembers o Council. At its most recentmeeting in May, Council approvedAPEGBCs operating budget or2013/2014.

Te approved budget refects theSustainable Financial Policy, and alignswith APEGBCs Strategic Service Planand Council Work Plan. Tere will beno increase to membership ees in thebudget, and a $10 annual ee will nolonger be applied to APEGBC membersand licensees secondary proessionalliability insurance coverage. Te2013/2014 budget will operate with adecit o $114,000. Monies rom thegeneral operating und will be used tomitigate this budgeted decit.

hrough the budgetary reviewprocess, eiciencies and economiesequal to $458,000 were applied in 12dierent areas o operation. hese

eiciencies enabled the inclusiono 35 program initiatives totalling$513,000. hese include expansion othe mentoring program to support theproessional registration o members-in-training and applicants, administra-tion o the Certiied Proessional (CP)program, a member compensationsurvey, regulatory outreach to employ-ers o APEGBC members, and theimplementation o recommendationsto support the recruitment and reten-tion o women in the engineering and

geoscience proessions.

APEGBC-ledInitiatives Aim toSpeed up Integrationof InternationallyTrained

Professionals

In November 2012, theBC provincial governmentannounced $4.6 millionin unding or initiativesaimed at assisting theintegration o internationally trained proessionals into the Canadian labour market. Atthat time, APEGBC submitted unding proposals to the BC Ministry o Jobs, ourismand Innovation or a number o initiatives aimed at addressing several high priorityareas or the qualication assessment and recognition o skilled immigrants. Fundingapproval has been received rom the ministry or three projects, and APEGBC is pro-ceeding with this work.

In cooperation with the ministry, APEGBC will be leading three projects aimedat addressing key areas that can delay the ull participation o internationally trainedengineering or geoscience proessionals in the BC labour market: matching proession-al qualications to the appropriate career, understanding proessional practice require-ments in a Canadian environment, and language competency.

Online Assessment Tool or Equivalent Engineering Occupations - o assistinternationally trained proessionals in determining the equivalent Canadian occupa-tion or their skill sets and education, APEGBC will work with the Applied Scienceechnologists and echnicians o BC (ASBC) on the development o a web-basedsel-assessment tool that will direct the user to the appropriate engineering career andproessional body based on the inormation they submit. Te online tool is intendedto more quickly and eectively route skilled immigrants to engineering-related careers

that best match their skills and qualications.Review o One-year Canadian Experience Requirement - Currently, Canadian engi-

neering regulatory bodies require a minimum one-year o Canadian or equivalent workexperience or registration. Tis requirement is aimed at ensuring that all registrants havebeen exposed to aspects o Canadian engineering practice including proessional supervi-sion; training; legal requirements such as climates, codes and standards; and customaryCanadian engineering ethics and practice. APEGBC will work with Engineers Canadaand other partners to review the current experience requirement with the goal o clearlydening and articulating the competencies and expected outcomes or the internationallytrained proessional, in support o preparing those proessionals to enter the Canadianlabour market in their chosen proession.

English Language Assessment Pilot - APEGBC will work with Engineers Canada

and other partners on a easibility study to examine how an existing Engineers CanadaEngineering Language Assessment could be used cost eectively within Canada to testEnglish reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Te study will identiy transparentand air selection criteria or who would be required to take the test.

Tese projects aim to contribute strategically to improving the e ciency andeectiveness with which skilled immigrants are integrated within the BC economy asully participating members o the labour orce in their trained proessions. Tey alsoreinorce APEGBCs commitment to ensuring responsible regulation o proessionalengineering and geoscience through the admission and licensing processes.

Work on the three initiatives is currently underway with project delivery dates inall o 2013 and spring o 2014. Questions about the projects can be directed to GillianPichler, P.Eng., FEC at [email protected] or 604.412.4857.


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associat ion notes


Sustainability Guidelines in Effect January 2014APEGBC Council approved revisions to theAPEGBC Sustainability Guidelines at theirNovember 30, 2012 meeting. Having now undergone legal and editorial review, theguidelines are now available online and will come into eect in January 2014.

Te Sustainability Guidelines will provide an important ramework, ounded on

the principle o holding paramount the publics interest, which will guide APEGBCmembers in their proessional practice. Te approval o this document is an importantrevision to the existingAPEGBC Sustainability Guidelines, which had not been updatedsince 1995.

Te primary obligation o the guidelines is that members must discuss with theirclients or employers the opportunity to incorporate sustainability into the project orwork. Sustainable options would only be presented i the client or employer wishes toproceed. I the client or employer declines, the members obligation is complete.

Te Sustainability Committee undertook an extensive consultation period withcommittees and divisions, and through an online survey and a webinar presentationor members. Based on eedback received, changes were made to the guidelines torefect member input.

raining and educational seminars and webinars on the revised guidelines will be

organized by the Sustainability Committee and APEGBC, and oered throughout theprovince as continuing proessional development opportunities. A presentation on theSustainability Guidelines will also be oered through the environmental engineeringproessional development stream at the APEGBC Annual Conerence and AGM inWhistler, BC in October 2013.

Te revised Sustainability Guidelines are available online at www.apeg.bc.ca/pprac-tice/ppdocs.html. For more inormation contact: [email protected].

sscit i ts

www.notarius.com/APEGBC

YOUR OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS HAVE TO BE DULYAUTHENTICATEDPaper documents need to bear your wet stamp and signature. Electronic documents require your official

digital signature certificate issued by APEGBC. Today, over 5000 engineers across Canada have traded their wet stamp

in favour of their official digital signature certificates. Get more information on how to authenticate your electronic

documents by contacting Sales at 1-888-588-0011 and select option 2, or visit www.notarius.com/APEGBC.

Annual Conference and AGM

to Take Place in Whistler, BC

October 24-26, 2013

APEGBCs 2013 annual conerence and annual

general meeting will take place October 24-26 in

Whistler, BC. Te conerence and AGM will beheld at the Whistler Conerence Centre and will

be the venue or two days o proessional develop-

ment sessions, networking opportunities and a

tradeshow, ollowed by the 94th annual general

meeting o the Association o Proessional Engi-

neers and Geoscientists o BC.Tis years proessional development sessions

will eature the ollowing streams: management,

better business, geotechnical, structural engi-

neering, energy eciency and renewable energy,

young proessionals, engineering and geoscience

in the resource sector, municipal engineering

and environmental engineering.Te annual general meeting o the asso-

ciation will be held at 8:30 am on Saturday,October 26. All members are welcome and

are encouraged to attend. Tere is no charge

to attend the AGM business portions o the

annual conerence.

More inormation on conerence sessions

and activities, as well as online registration, is

available on the conerence website at www.

apeg.bc.ca/ac2013/. A print brochure is includ-

ed as a pull-out insert in the centre o this issueoInnovation.

Conerence sponsorship opportunities areavailable at a variety o levels with benets to

meet the needs o businesses, including recog-

nition on site, at events, on promotional mate-

rials or online. For inormation on sponsorship

opportunities, please contact Jennier Chan at

[email protected] or 604.412.4861.

Resource Sector Engineering and Geoscience Bursary

Te Division o Engineers and Geoscientists in the Resource Sector (DEGIRS) is

pleased to oer a $2,000 bursary aimed at advancing engineering and geoscience edu-

cation and practices in BC. Te bursary is intended to provide nancial assistance to

students in an accredited postsecondary or postgraduate program at a degree-granting

institute in BC. Studies should relate directly to proessional engineering and/or geo-

sciences/geotechnique in the resource sector.

Te deadline to submit applications is June 30, 2013. Bursary applicationguidelines are available at www.apeg.bc.ca/students/scholarships/degirsbursary.html.

For additional inormation please contact Jason Olmstead at [email protected].


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Te results are now in or a survey conducted by APEGBC in Febru-ary 2013 to assess members level o satisaction with the associations

regulatory and member service unctions. A total o 3,031 memberscompleted the survey and provided valuable eedback through per-sonal comments.

As an engaged and supported membership is crucial to APEG-BCs task o protecting and serving the public interest, the surveygauged satisaction in six main areas: association mandate and gov-ernance; registration; proessional practice; investigation and disci-pline; proessional development; and communication and memberservices. Several questions asked members to rate their level osatisaction rom very satised to not at all satised, while othersasked members to provide comments.

Findings showed that the highest levels o satisaction were inter-actions with sta at over 79.1% either satised or very satised, the

content oInnovation at 79.6%, and the APEGBC website at 75.9%.Areas or improvement indicated by survey results were the processor initiating complaints, with 45.8% either satised or very satised;events and activities organized by local branches at 48.4%; and Coun-cil consideration o member input at 49.3%.

Overall, the survey ound that the member satisaction across allquestions amounted to 76% (satised or very satised). For almostall satisaction rating questions (16 out o 17), the majority o re-spondents indicated that they were either very satised or satisedwith APEGBCs eorts in the six areas identied.

Association Mandate and Governance

Te mandate o the association is to regulate the practice o proes-sional engineering and proessional geoscience in the province oBritish Columbia. When those surveyed were asked i APEGBC ismeeting this mandate, 78.9% agreed. Tose respondents who eltthat APEGBC is not meeting this mandate voiced a desire or anincrease in representation o members interests. Tere were alsosome concerns regarding the protection o proessional titles againstother practitioners. Further eedback indicated that some memberseel that APEGBC is over-reaching its mandate.

Tree questions aimed to gauge members satisaction with variousaspects and duties o Council. Te rst asked whether Council is set-ting policies that achieve the vision statement o the association: to bethe innovative regulatory leader respected by community and govern-ments while striving or proessional excellence through an engagedand supported membership. About 60.4% o respondents expressed

satisaction with Councils policies inaccordance with the vision statement.

Te second Council-related sat-isaction question addressed mem-bers access to Council in order tovoice their ideas, comments andconcerns. At 53.4% satisaction,some members were unsure ohow to access Council while otherscalled or improvements to meth-ods o communication betweenCouncil and the membership.

Finally, 49.3% o respondents indicated that they are satisedwith the way in which Council considers member input. O the

remaining, 14.2% were somewhat satised, 6.4% were not satisedand, most notably, 30.1% were unsure.

In regard to association voting, 52.1% o those surveyed said theyparticipated, while 25.2% only do so occasionally and 18.9% do not(the remaining were those not eligible to vote). Respondents citedI dont know enough about the issues/candidates as the top reasonwhy they hesitate to vote.

Registration, Professional Practice, and Investigation

and Discipline

Te survey indicated that 498 respondents had registered withAPEGBC within the last two years. Tese newer members wereasked to rate their satisaction with the process o registration. Temajority (73.7%) answered that they were satised or very satised,while 15.5% were somewhat satised, and 7.2% were not satisedwith their experience.

In general, 69% o members responded that they were satisedwith the available proessional practice guidelines, quality

Members Rate Their Satisfaction with APEGBCMojan Farshchi

st i s fct i sv

Do you feel APEGBC is

fulfilling its mandate?

Yes78.9%

No6.4%

Dont know14.8%

BCIT engineering students complete capstone

projects to gain practical skills and valuable

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Our four-year degree students specialize in:

> Civil Engineering

> Electrical Engineering

> Mechanical Engineering

Please consider BCIT students for your next

engineering project.

bcit.ca/engineering

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NEXT GENERATION

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10/32


s t i s f c t i s v

managementguidelines andtechnical bulletins.About 255 membersprovided personalinput with regard to

how these resourcescould be improvedby APEGBC inthe uture. Atotal o 64.5% omembers statedtheir satisactionwith the amount o

inormation that APEGBC makes available regarding the practicereview process, while 12.6% were somewhat satised, 3.4% were notsatised, and 19.5% were unsure.

A signicant number o members (46.1%) said they were unsureabout the process or initiating complaints about the proessional con-

duct or behavior o other members. Tis trend also holds true whenmembers were asked to rate their satisaction with the amount o avail-able inormation about the process o investigation and discipline, with33.7% indicating that they were unsure. When asked how the processor initiating complaints could be improved, members suggested asterand more rigorous response to complaints and making the process lessadversarial. With regard to the process o investigation and discipline,many members asked or the process to be made more transparent.

Professional Development

Hal o respondents answered that they were satised with APEG-BCs proessional development course oerings. Approximately26.9% o members were somewhat satised and 14.4% indicatedthat they were dissatised. Several members expressed a need or a

wider variety o topics appealing to their diverse disciplines. Someelt that the courses are too expensive and need to be oered morerequently outside o the lower mainland.

Te majority o members (73.7%) indicated that they do notattend the APEGBC Annual Conerence. Te top reasons cited bymembers or not attending were lack o time, high costs, travel dis-tance, and that seminar oerings are not relevant to their practice.

A total o 48.4% o respondents were satised with their localbranch events and activities. However, 33.4% o members indicat-ed that they do not attend local branch events largely because theyare out o the areaeither traveling or work too oen or residingtoo ar away.

Communication and Member Services

Members were asked to rate the eectiveness o several APEGBCcommunication outlets. Respondents rated the associations journal,Innovation, the most eective means o communication with mem-bers, ollowed by broadcast emails, Connections e-newsletter and theAPEGBC website, all rated somewhat eective.

Te survey ound that 88.3% o respondents read Innovation. Othese, 79.6% stated their satisaction with the content, while 17% saidthey were only somewhat satised and 1.8% were not satised. TeAPEGBC website received a 75.8% satisaction rating and 16% omembers indicated that they were somewhat satised. Members ratedthe registration and licensing inormation and association newson the website as the sections they visited most oen.

O the 28.5% o members who take advantage o APEGBCs anity

programs, 71.6% were satised with the range o products and servicesoered. From those respondents who subscribe to the service, the ca-reer listings e-mail service received a 68.2% satisaction rating. A totalo 35.2% o respondents ound APEGBCs bi-annual CompensationSurvey very valuable, while 43.7% ound it somewhat valuable.

Members who have contacted the APEGBC oce to resolve a ques-tion or concern withinthe last year were askedto rate their satisactionwith their experience.O these respondents,87.8% were satisedwith the manner in

which they were greet-ed, 81.1% were satisedwith the time in whichtheir concern was re-solved, and 79.1% weresatised with howtheirconcern was resolved.

Volunteerism

About 22.1% o respondents have volunteeredwith APEGBC, and o these members 41.1%are current volunteers and 58.9% are ormervolunteers. Tose who have never volun-teered cited two main reasons: not enough

time and not aware o existing opportunities.Among ormer volunteers, top reasons ordiscontinuing involvement were not enoughtime and travel concerns.

Next Steps

Council has reviewed the results o the Mem-ber Satisaction Survey, and APEGBCs Leader-ship eam will utilize this inormation in im-proving program areas. o monitor memberssatisaction with the association on an continu-ing basis, the Member Satisaction Survey willbe repeated in 2015.v

How satisfied are you with the current professional

practice guidelines, quality management guide-

lines and technical bulletins that are available?

Satisfied59%

Very Satisfied10.1%

SomewhatSatisfied

18.4%

Not at all Satisfied3.7%

Dont Know8.91%

Rate your satisfaction with the process

of registration.

Satisfied45.6%

Very Satisfied

28.1%

SomewhatSatisfied15.5%

Not at all Satisfied7.2%

Dont Know2.8% Other

0.8%


11/32


National Engineering and Geoscience Month (NEGM) was March2013, and BC engineers and geoscientists celebrated with substanceand style. During this time, dierent initiatives and activities around

the province sought to engage both the public and APEGBC membersin order to highlight career choices in engineering and geoscience,and raise awareness o these proessions.

Tis year 13 branches participated in 16 NEGM events across theprovince and succeeded in involving more than 2,800 people in unengineering- and geoscience-related activities. Popsicle stick bridgecompetitionswhere bridges are built with nothing but 100 popsiclesticks, glue and ingenuitywere held by the Central Interior, FraserValley, ri-City, Burnaby/New Westminster, Richmond/Delta, SouthCentral, Peace River, Sea to Sky, West Kootenay, Vancouver Island andNorthern Branches. Other activities such as the edible car competition

hosted by the Okanagan Branch and UBC Okanagan, as well as theVancouver Branchs annual E-est at the Vancouver Public Libraryrounded out the oerings.

Initiatives such as the Ten and Now photo campaign invited

members to send in photos o themselves to show how their interestwas sparked as children to choose a career in engineering or geosci-ence. Tis resulted in an inspirational online gallery, and a print adthat illustrated how a meaningul career can start with inspiration.(Both the gallery and ad can be ound at www.apeg.bc.ca/about/negmthenandnow.html).

Te Water Works Challenge, a contest asking teams o students andproessionals to design and build a speedy water-transporting appara-tus with mystery items, brought out enthusiastic participation romthe engineering and geoscience community: members, students andcompanies around the province and even as ar as Australia. WaterWorks Challenge entries can be viewed on APEGBCs Youube chan-nel: www.youtube.com/APEGBC1, including the winning video rom

eam Smart Snake o Fluor Canada, whose contraption achieved abreathtaking time o 2.9 seconds.Tank you to everyone who played a part this year, helping to show

their pride and share their passion or the proessions o engineeringand geoscience. NEGM 2013 has been a great success, owing largelyto the posi-tive receptionrom APEGBCmembers, bothparticipantsand volunteers.

Engineering and Geoscience Community Reaches Out to the Public

c wss

Ages4-5

1st Place - Hannah Musooli, Age 5

Branch volunteers organized National Engineering and Geoscience Month

events around BC

Ages6-8

1st Place - Arianna Ralph, Age 8

Drawing Contest Encourages Kids to Think

about Science Careers

Ages9-12

1st Place - Erika Lieu, Age 10

Finding dierent ways o reaching out to thepublic about engineering and geoscience is akey part o APEGBCs career awareness strategy.With this in mind, APEGBC and the AppliedScience echnologists and echnicians o BCteamed up to hold a drawing contest that askedchildren, ages 4 to 12, to draw something orsomeone that uses science to do something neator a chance to win a $50 Chapters gi card.Tis year, we received over 150 submissionsrom around BC. Here are the winning entriesin each age category:


12/32


Te Seismic Retrot Guidelines or the Perormance-based SeismicRisk Assessment and Seismic Retrot Design o BC Low Rise School

Buildings have been recognized with the Lieutenant GovernorsAward or Engineering Excellence. Te honour was given atthe Association o Consulting Engineering Companies BritishColumbia (ACEC-BC) 2013 Awards or Engineering Excellenceon April 6, 2013, where the Guidelines also received the Award oExcellence in the category o So Engineering.

In 2004, BCs Ministry o Education initiated a $1.5 billionprogram or the seismic mitigation o public school buildings.Te ministry retained APEGBC to manage the developmento new perormance-based technical guidelines or structuralengineers to use in carrying out seismic risk assessments andretrot design.

What resulted were ground-breaking, innovative technicalguidelines emerging rom a unique collaboration between

government, academia and the engineering community.Following extensive research, development and review,interim guidelines were published in 2005 and 2006, and in2011, the 1st edition o the Seismic Retroit Guidelines wasreleased. A second drat edition was released in 2012 with acompanion web-based Seismic Perormance Analyzer tool.he Guidelines allow users to eectively and consistentlydetermine the seismic risk o an ex isting building, andoptimize the extent o new structural components required toachieve a lie-saety seismic perormance.

Te Seismic Retrot Guidelines were previously recognizedwith the Canadian Society or Civil Engineerings Excellence in

Innovation in Civil EngineeringAward. Te methodology is also beingutilized by the US Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA).

Te Seismic Retrot Guidelinesstand as a remarkable example ohow engineers contribute towards thepublic saety and wellbeing o BritishColumbians. APEGBC extendscongratulations to all those involvedin the guidelines development:

BC Ministry o Education(Project Owner)

GENIVARBG SeismicDavid Nairne and AssociatesAlkins Project ServicesAUSENCOBush Bohlman and PartnersRead Jones ChristoersenEarthquake Engineering Research

Facility, UBC Department o CivilEngineering

John A. Wallace EngineeringDr. Farzad Naeim, PE, SE, Esq.Dr. Michael Mehrain, PE, SEDr. Robert D. Hanson, PE.v

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i n nova t i on M ay/ Jun e 2 0 13 13

ws

Task Force Explores Geotechnical Engineering as a Registration DisciplineIn Canada, there is currently no discipline or registration ingeotechnical engineering in any proessional engineering regulatoryassociation. APEGBCs Registration Committee created theGeotechnical Engineering ask Force (GEF) in 2010 to explorethe potential o geotechnical engineering as a new and separate

engineering discipline or APEGBC registration. Te ollowing is areport on the task orces progress to date.Proessional Registration o

Geotechnical Engineers - In BC,proessionals who practice geotechnicalengineering are most oen registeredwith APEGBC in the disciplines o civilengineering, geological engineering,or mining engineering. Tis is becausethere are no geotechnical engineeringundergraduate degree programs in anyCanadian universities. Since registrationin APEGBC, as in other Canadianproessional engineering associations,is based largely on ones undergraduatedegree, there are no established minimumacademic and/or experiential requirementsthat a geotechnical engineer must meet.Resultantly, this can put both APEGBCmembers and the public in jeopardy.Some engineers who practice geotechnicalengineering may not appreciate that theyare working outside their area o expertise,contrary to APEGBCs Code o Ethics;and the public who retain geotechnicalengineers have no way o knowing i theseproessionals are appropriately qualied to

do the work required.Defning Geotechnical Engineering -

Te term geotechnical engineering isused in some BC legislation and othero cial documents, and many APEGBCmembers have reerred to themselves asgeotechnical engineers; however, there is nocommonly agreed upon o cial denitionin this province, or in Canada. Followingconsultation with APEGBC members in2011, and at the beginning o this year, thetask orce reworked APEGBCs denitionas ollows: Geotechnical Engineering is

the application o the principles o soilmechanics and/or rock mechanics, andassociated applied geological sciences.

Next Steps - Over the next ew months,the task orce is planning to dra minimumacademic and/or experiential requirementsor registration as a geotechnical engineerin BC. Te task orces thinking is thatthese requirements can initially be used bymembers or sel-evaluation to determinei indeed they should reer to themselves asgeotechnical engineers, and by APEGBC inthe case o an investigation. In the uture,

these requirements could orm the basis o an APEGBC evaluationprocess or a more ormal geotechnical engineering designation, anda geotechnical engineering discipline i the need is warranted andshould the APEGBC Registration Committee so decide.

For more inormation on the work o the GEF, please contact

Ray Filipiak, P.Eng., at [email protected]

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14/32


Considering how long landlls around the province have been seen as

only passive receptacles or waste, developments in the past decade

particularly, the past ew yearsseem almost too good to be true.First there was Maxim Powers groundbreaking project in 2003 to

turn methane gas rom Vancouvers landll in Delta into electricity

and heat. Te 5.6 MW electric and 6.7 MW thermal co-generation

acility was later expanded and ollowed by a smaller 1.6 MW power

plant at Victorias Hartland landll.

hen, in 2009 Cedar Road Bioenergy demonstrated a

modular system or converting biogas into energy at smaller

landills, such as the one in Nanaimo.

Last February, Vancouver-based Quadrogen Power Systems

announced it had received a million dollars towards a $7.9 million

project to take some o the biogas rom the landll in Delta and

turn it into electricity, heat, hydrogen and greenhouse-quality

carbon dioxide.And, by November o last year, FortisBC announced it was

in on the action. Aer years o planning, it was successully

capturing biogas rom the landll in Salmon Arm and upgrading

it to pipeline-quality natural gas. en days later, it announced it

would duplicate the process at the Kelowna landll.Suddenly, it seems, biogas is big.

Teres been some undamental changes in energy pricing,

explains Michael Weedon, Executive Director o the BC Bioenergy

Network. Oil or most o this century has been about $10 a barrel

but now its $100 Tat now has made it more attractive or even

us in BC to look at biogas collection.

Buying into BiogasBiogas is the modern moniker or the gas thats produced when

organic matter rots in an anaerobic environment such as a land-

ll. Other sources o biogas include wastewater treatment plants

and animal manure.

All biogas contains a variety o gases, mainly methane, carbondioxide, nitrogen, some oxygen anddepending on the source

a number o impurities. In some countries, where other orms

o energy are in short supply, the methane in biogas has been

used or decades, i not centuries.

In Europe, or over 30 years theyve have been capturing

biomethane in agricultural applications, so its well estab-

lished, says Weedon. In BC we havent been doing that

until recently.

BC firm Quadrogen is taking Biogas Cleaning to the Next Phase

Suzanne Morphet

f t s

Quadrogen plans to clean piped gas from

the Vancouver Landfill in Delta for energy use

in Village Farms Internationals commercial

greenhouse operation.

From Trash Heap to

The Quadrogen Biogas Clean-up Unit installed at Orange County

Sanitation District Waste Water Treatment Plant has been successfully

removing pollutants on an impressive scale.


15/32

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Bakerview Ecodairy in Abbotsord is not just BCs butCanadas rst small arm to experiment with collecting and usingbiogas. It received $240,000 rom the BC Bioenergy Network in2010 to install an anaerobic digester to process the manure romthe arms 50 cows, along with milk waste, over a period o 21 to30 days. Te biogas is converted into electricity using a 20 kW

generator. Enough power is created175,000 kWh per yeartomeet all the arms energy needs.

But converting cow manure intouseable biogas is easy compared withconverting the relatively dirty biogasrom landlls.

On a scale o one to 10, with tenbeing the most challenging, landll gasis 10 out o 10, says Alakh Prasad, P.Eng.,president and CEO o Quadrogen PowerSystems. Its very challenging.

And cow manure?Tats a two out o 10.

Which might make you wonder whyQuadrogen and others have set theirsights on landll gas, with all its impuri-ties. Because landlls contain man-madewaste along with organic waste, theycontain contaminants that arent presentin biogas rom only organic sources.Siloxanes are particularly troublesome.Teyre added to many consumer prod-ucts including cosmetics, shampoos anddetergents, so they end up in landlls andwastewater treatment plants.

I siloxanes arent removed beore the

biogas is processed, theyre convertedinto a material that chemically and physi-cally approximates sand, causing signi-cant damage to turbines and generators.

According to Dick McCarrick, ananalyst with Environmental Leader, atrade publication in Colorado, thereare six main technologies or remov-ing siloxanes, among them activatedcarbon (the most commonly used),activated alumina, rerigeration andmembrane technology. o date, none othem is ideal.

He writes, the primary criterion ora biogas cleaning technology is e -cacy, or instance the ability to removesiloxanes to a level where the biogas isno longer a danger to use in delicatemotors. Ideally, this would be below the100 parts-per-billion range.

McCarrick also notes that accord-ing to one report, removal o siloxanescan save a ve million-gallon-per-daywastewater treatment acility $60,000 to$130,000 per year in operating costs.

Investing in PotentialGiven the number o landills and wastewater treatmentplants around Canadaand the worldthe potential mar-ket and proits are huge, which explains why Quadrogen isstaking its uture on inding an economical way o cleaningbiogas. Prasad igures the global market or clean-up systems

is $15 billion.


16/32


Without divulging the details o Quadrogens answer to the

100-million dollar question o how to do it (Quadrogens goal, lit-erally, is to make $100 million per year) Prasad says his companyhas ound the ultra-cleaning solution. Its a unique and patent-pending process that combines traditional cleaning strategies withnew ones. And thats why hes busy lling orders or custom-built,

scalable equipment even though he has yet to pick up the phoneand make a sales call.

Te analogy he uses is a television set. Suppose youve beenwatching black and white television. Now, somebody has comeout with a colour television. People go or the colour television,

right? We are selling a colour television.Te BC Bioenergy Network is also condent Quadrogen has

ound the answer; so condent it has loaned the company $1.5million or its demonstration project in Delta. Quadrogen hasalso received $1 million in unding rom the BC Innovative Clean

Energy Fund and $2.91 million rom the ederal governmentthrough Sustainable Development echnology Canada.

Michael Weedon explains the all-round optimism saying, Te

pollutants hes removing are removed to less than 100 parts per bil-lion and normally theyre measured in 100 parts per million.

he particular project that convinced the BC BioenergyNetwork to invest in Quadrogen is in Caliornia, at the OrangeCounty Sanitation District Waste Water reatment Plant. here,Quadrogens clean-up system delivers biogas with siloxanes

below 100 parts per billion and sulur below 30 parts per bil -lion to a FuelCell Energy Direct FuelCell power generationsystem. he system has been running well or more than twoyears without any maintenance, conirms Prasad. (On his scaleo diiculty, he pegs gas rom a wastewater treatment plant at

about an eight.)Orange County is Quadrogens rst ultra cleaning project. But

the Delta project is more complex, more costly and involves morepartners. Te plan is to use 100 standard cubic eet per minute oalready piped pipe gas rom the Vancouver Landll in Delta to

a site about three kilometers away, where Village Farms Interna-tional has a commercial greenhouse operation.

Tere, Quadrogens Integrated Biogas Clean-up System and H2Booster systems will be integrated with a 300 kW Direct FuelCell

power plant rom FuelCellEnergy o Connecticut to generaterenewable electricity, heat, and hydrogen. It will also separate outthe carbon dioxide and clean it so thoroughly that it can be usedin the ood-producing greenhouses.

I successul, it will be the rst project where uel cells convertgas rom a landll into energy. o date, these high eciency, yet

contaminant-sensitive uel cells have not been able to use landllgas due to the signicant challenge o removing all the contami-nants in the gas, explains Prasad.

Te uncertain outcome is why this project is being describedas a demonstration.

What hes attempting to do is a worlds rst, says Weedon, sotheres risk associated with that and theres a possibility he will ail.We dont believe he will ail. Were investing our money in his projectand hes assembled a very impressive team to work on that project.

A Growing DemandIn BC, part o the impetus or converting biogas rom landllsinto renewable energy is politically driven. In 2009 the prov-

ince announced that owners and operators o small-to-mediumlandlls will be required to collect gas by 2016. As well as creatingodours and possible explosions, the methane in landll gas isabout 21 times more harmul than carbon dioxide in terms o itseect on global warming.

But why fare all that methane when it can be converted torenewable energy that customers want? Tat was the thinkingbehind FortisBCs initiatives in converting landll gas in SalmonArm into pipeline quality natural gas.

Customers wont even see the dierence, says Scott Gramm,P.Eng., Business Development Manager or FortisBC. Tatsbecause methane is methane, no matter whether it comes romunderground in the orm o natural gas or out o a landll.

Furthermore, some o FortisBCs almost one million custom-ers are willing to pay more or the satisaction o knowing thatsome o their natural gas comes rom renewable sources.

About 70% like the idea; 15% are willing to pay more vol-untarily is how Gramm sums up the demand. o date, thatstranslated into about 5,000 customers since the renewableenergy option was introduced in June 2011. On average, thoseresidential customers in the Lower Mainland pay an extra ivedollars per month or having 10% o their natural gas desig-nated as renewable.

It is signicant when you think about it, says Gramm. Wereseeing demand growing and weve asked or approval or an addi-tional our projects and that is under review by the BC Utilities

Commission today.FortisBC is also interested in what Quadrogen might be

able to do or them, but its still too early. One o our criteriawould be that youve proved it and they havent yet, saysGramm. I think they will. I know Alakh personally. Iveworked with him. I think highly o him and I think he wontmake claims he cant substantiate.

For his part, Prasad is calmly condent, saying hes shunningpublicity, simply concentrating on doing the hard work at hand.And will he succeed?

You are asking me i we can put this color television in eachhouse. Tis will not happen in 5 years. In 10 years? Sure.v

f t s


17/32


Representatives from OQM Certified Organizations commemorating the

issuing of the first OQM Certificates.

APEGBCs Organizational Quality Management (OQM) Programhas issued its rst certications to 14 participating organizations.Te OQM Certication recognizes those organizations that have

successully implemented quality management policies and proce-dures consistent with the requirements o the Engineers and Geosci-entists Actand APEGBC Bylaws.

Te OQM Program supports organizations employing APEGBCproessionals in developing or adapting in-house quality managementpolicies and procedures through training, reerence materials andother resources. Tis not only benets the organization, but also theirclients, the APEGBC proessionals they employ, and the public at large.

Geo McDonell, P.Eng., is with Integral Group, one o the 14now OQM-certied rms: While we already had a number o in-house quality management tools, the OQM seminar and certica-tion process really helped us package up our quality managementprocess, and clariy what we needed to do in order to make it easy

or everyone in the organization here to use our design and deliv-erables checklists, and have a clear understanding o the qualitymanagement task and goals.

Newly certied organizations will be listed in APEGBCs journal,Innovation, and a complete list o all OQM-certied organizationswill be made available on APEGBCs website. OQM-certied organi-zations can also be identied by the licensed use o the OQM logo ontheir website and other materials.

Te ollowing organizations have now received certicationrom APEGBCs OQM Program:

In the seven months since the launch o the OQM Program,over 100 organizations have now registered or the program. Teorganizations currently participating represent a broad cross sec-tion o employers o APEGBC proessionals, including manuac-turing, government and consultingrom sole practitioners tolarge corporations.

For more inormation on the OQM Program visit www.apeg.bc.ca/oqm or e-mail [email protected].

ws

First APEGBC Quality ManagementCertifications Issued

Introducing Our New Principals

Weve been giving our clients leading-edge structural

solutions for almost 50 years. And, with the appointment

of Anthony El-Araj and Levi Stoelting as principals, were

ready to provide answers for another generation.

Anthony brings exceptional problem-solving abilities

and technical experience to every project he works on.

He loves finding the most efficient solutions for complexstructural challenges. During his 13 years with us, hes

worked on such landmark projects Vancouvers Telus

Garden and the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Levi has worked on an incredible range and scale of

projects during his 12 years at Glotman. Simpson.

He considers his most memorable project to be the

seismic upgrade on Vancouvers historic Hotel Georgia.

Levi believes that every great engineering solution exists

in a context that helps to solve all of a clients problems,

not just the structural ones. He loves collaborating with

clients who ask him to push his boundaries.

With problem solvers like this now stepping up to lead

the Glotman . Simpson team, were ready to help build

anything our clients can dream of.

With the right partnershipyou can build anything.

Anthony El-ArajLevi Stoelting

V A N C O U V ER . S U R R EY

604 734 8822

glotmansimpson.com

Associated EngineeringCIMA+ CanadaEBA Engineering Consultants

Gage-Babcock & AssociatesGeoclima Mechanical EngineeringGES GeotechHedgehog echnologies

Integral GroupKlohn Crippen BergerMetro Group o Companies

Opus DaytonKnight ConsultantsR.F. Binnie & AssociatesSacr-Davey EngineeringSimpson Strong-ie Canada


18/32


2013 ACEC BCAwards for Engineering Excellence

The Awards for Engineering Excellence celebrate outstandingachievement in BCs consulting engineering industry. This

year, the Association of Consulting Engineering CompaniesBritish Columbia recognized the following projects for

innovation and technical excellence in five award categories.

BuildingsAward of Excellence

UBC Faculty o Pharmaceutical Sciences

Consultant: Glotman Simpson ConsultingEngineers | Owner/Client: UBC Properties rust

Te UBC Faculty o PharmaceuticalSciences building combines our structurallydistinct buildings into a single complex.Te design required a structural solutionthat combined individual elements, makingthem behave together as a single entity

seismically. Glotman-Simpson integratedthe buildings structural elements throughthe use o thin-link slabs. Tese slabs wereintegrated into the overall design, andtranser loads throughout the structure.Building inormation modeling (BIM)was incorporated into this project, withcompletion in under 34 months. Opened inSeptember 2012, the building is pursuingLEED Gold certication.

Award of Merit

Tsingtao Pearl Visitor Centre

Consultant: Fast + Epp Structural Engineers |Owner: China Vanke Co. | Client: StructureCratBuilders and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architects

Welcoming visitors to Qingdao, the28,000 sq. . singtao Pearl Visitor Centre

highlights Chinas natural beauty. UsingCanadian wood, the Fast + Epp teamdeveloped 39 solid-laminated wood roopanels to be abricated on site usingordinary lumber. Concurrently, 93 glue-laminated wood columns o varyinglength were individually milled anditted with custom universal connectors,and shipped to China. hanks to

extensive preabrication and planning,western designers were able to achieveinnovative vision executed in detailwith sophisticated design and buildingmaterials unamiliar to local constructionpartners in just eight months.

MunicipalAward of ExcellenceBridgeview Sewer System

AECOM Canada Ltd. | Owner/Client:City o Surrey

Surreys Bridgeview was home to some othe poorest soil conditions in the LowerMainland and an existing vacuum sewersystem plagued with low reliability. Inorder to minimize costs and the numbero pump stations that a conventionalsewer system would require, AECOMdeveloped an innovative replacementstrategy that combined conventionalsewer installation with GPS-basedtrenchless technology in a manner thathad never been used or municipal sewerservicing in BC. AECOMs solutionresulted in a highly reliable sewer servicethat saves the city $1 million per year.

Award of Merit

Harvest Energy Garden

Consultant: Opus DaytonKnight Consultants |Owner/Client: Harvest Power

he Harvest Energy Garden, inRichmond, BC, uses an innovative high-solids anaerobic digestion technologyto process solid organic waste materialinto biogas and high quality compost.Opus DaytonKnight worked withGICON and Harvest Power to deliverthe project through design, construction

and commissioning. At design capacity,the acility will process approximately30,000 tonnes o mixed ood and yardwaste annually, and will generate over 8.0million KWh o renewable, GHG neutral,electrical energy or sale to BC Hydro. Itwill also contribute to reduced emissionso approximately 23,000 tonnes o CO

2.

TransportationAward of ExcellenceSouth Fraser Perimeter Road -

Eastern Section

Consultant: Stantec Consulting with expservices | Owner: BC Ministry oransportation and Inrastructure |Concessionaire: Fraser ransportation GroupPartnership | Client: FG Constructors


19/32


Te South Fraser Perimeter Road is a newour-lane, 80 km/h route rom DeltaportWay in Southwest Delta to 176th Streetin Surrey. Te Eastern Section in Surreyopened to trac on December 1, 2012and Stantec has led the multidisciplinary

design team providing project management,electrical engineering, environmentalservices, landscape architecture, municipalengineering, trac engineering,transportation engineering, and waterresources engineering.

In delivering the project, the designteam aced signicant design constraintsincluding: limited right o way, poorground conditions and an acceleratedschedule.

Award of Merit202 Street Bus Rapid Transit Project

Consultants: Hatch Mott MacDonald withMMM Group; McElhanney ConsultingServices; Delcan; CMS Focus | Owner/Client: ransportation InvestmentCorporation

he 202 Street Bus Rapid ransit (BR)Project was completed to accommodateregular scheduled bus service overthe new Port Mann Bridge. he scopeincluded a new transit exchange,a 679-stall park and ride lot, road

alignment, highway overpasses, on-and o-ramps, and expanded wildlie/isheries habitats. he consultant teamdeveloped cost-eective and innovativesolutions, managing costs and schedulewhile maintaining quality. echnicalchallenges included compressiblesoils, traic management, drainage,environmental protection and propertiesacquisition. Project operation began onDecember 1, 2012.

Natural Resource, Energyand IndustryAward of Excellence

Wilson Farm Habitat Enhancement

Consultants: Kerr Wood Leidal Associates | Owner/Client: ransportation Investment Corporation

Te Wilson Farm Habitat EnhancementProject within Colony Farm Regional Parkencompasses 178,000 m2 o aquatic andriparian habitat enhancement or sh andwildlie. Te goals were to re-establish the tidal

connection and sh access to the foodplainchannels, improve drainage or wildliehabitat, and minimize disturbance to parkusers. Kerr Wood Leidal completed hydraulicmodelling o habitat channels and preparedthe detailed engineering design or the tidegates, overshot gate, and channels. Te tidegates were opened in November 2011, andin 2012, biologists ound young salmon inabundance in the reconnected channels.

Award of MeritGibraltar Development Plan 3

Consultant: Ausenco | Owner/Client: GibraltarMines Limited

Ausenco provided engineering, procure-ment and construction management servicesor the third phase o the development and

modernization o the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine, located in McLeese Lake,BC. Tis project will increase the millingcapacity at the Gibraltar mine with minimalinterruption to existing copper and molyb-denum production. Te project included theconstruction o a new standalone concentra-tor, as well as a standalone molybdenumseparation plant. Te GDP3 project will in-crease Gibraltars overall processing capacityto 85,000 tons per day with an annual copperproduction averaging 165 million pounds.

Soft EngineeringLieutenant Governors Award of Excellence;

Award of ExcellenceSeismic Retroft Guidelines

Consultants:Ausenco with

Bush, Bohlman& Partners;GENIVAR;Read JonesChristoersen |Owner: Ministry oEducation | Client:APEGBC

In 2004 the Ministry o Education initiateda $1.5 billion seismic mitigation programor public school buildings. A unique col-laboration between government, academiaand the engineering community resulted

in the 300+ page Seismic Retrot Guidelinesand companion web-based Seismic Peror-mance Analyzer. Tis Analyzer accesses adatabase containing millions o non-linearincremental dynamic analyses or dierentstructural systems and high-risk partitionwalls, evaluated or earthquakes expectedto occur in BC. Users can rapidly and withprovince-wide consistency determine theseismic risk o an existing building, and op-timize the extent o new structure requiredto achieve lie-saety seismic perormance.

Award of Merit

Deh Cho Bridge

Consultants: Associated Engineering | Owner/Client: Government o the Northwest erritories

Te Deh Cho Bridge spans the MackenzieRiver. Originally begun as a P3 project, theGovernment o the Northwest erritories as-sumed control aer construction had com-menced, appointing Associated Engineeringas Project Manager. Te project manage-ment team acted quickly to maintain projectcontinuity and resume control over sched-ule, budget, quality and risks. Quality wasaddressed by developing a comprehensivequality program and a risk matrix was devel-oped, constantly monitored and updated toensure no surprises. Schedule and budgetwere quickly brought under control throughmeticulous monitoring and teamwork.v


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f t s

Brazils Estao Antrtica Comandante Ferraz(Commandante Ferraz Antarctic Station or EACF),is located on King George Island, part o the SouthShetlands chain in Antarctica. On Saturday, February25, 2012, an explosion occurred in the base electrical

generating plant. Te resulting re went out o control, orcing

the bases 58 surviving occupants outdoors. Nearby Argentinean,

Chilean and Polish personnel rescued the survivors and assisted

in the recovery eorts. Te re resulted in 2 deaths and one

injury, and 80% o the EACF base was completely destroyed in the

inerno. Te only structures le intact were three remote researchmodules and a 28 m by 28 m steel-decked helipad. But, Brazil was

determined to rebuild the EACF base as a national priority.

As a signatory to the Antarctic reaty, Brazil aced unlimited

liability or all environmental damage resulting rom the re.

Brazil had to take immediate action to remediate actual damage

and mitigate urther damage. With the entire nation and the

press watching, Brazil s response to the situation was put under

the microscope.

Brazils Antarctic program is administered by the Secretariat

o the Interministerial Commission or Ocean Resources

(SECRIM). SECIRM commissioned the design, supply and con-

struction o Emergency Antarctic Modules (MAE) in mid-2012,

or a 5-year mission. Te purpose o the project was to house up to

66 personnel, including support workers, scientists and research-

ers. Te modules would provide a temporary base while Brazil

designs, constructs, and commissions a new permanent base.

Project ChallengesTe project posed many challenges throughout its lie cycle.

Project requirements imposed design constraints or wind veloci-

ties and snow loads, weight restrictions on modules and material

to be transported to site, restrictions on environmental impact

during site preparation and construction, waste management

obligations in compliance with the Antarctic reaty, and a very

tight construction schedule window at site due to severe weather

conditions. Cultural and language dierences added manage-

ment complexity on top o a technically challenging project. Te

available construction window was less than ve months, with the

bid process taking time away rom the ront end o the available

construction window.

Specializing in the design, manuacture, and site construc-

tion o redeployable shelter systems or commercial, military

and governmental clients, Burnaby-based Weatherhaven Canada

Resources was selected to provide services or the design, manu-

acture, delivery, construction and commissioning o a completelysel-sustaining, sel-supporting camp complex or 66 personnel.

With shelters in service on every continent, including

Antarctica, Weatherhaven was selected or its expertise in polar

climes, and on the technical merits o the proposed complex. In

particular, SECIRM was interested in Weatherhavens solution

due to the advantages o its patented HERCon, a steel-ramed,

hard-wall paneled, expandable, redeployable containerized

shelter that directly responded to the project constraints. Te

HERCon was the key component that would orm the core o

the EACF complex.

Innovative Solutions for a Hostile Environment

Weatherhavens analysis o the site constraints during the bidphase led to the proposal o an integrated modular complex, with

the main living complex erected on the surace o the existing

helipad, and utilities located near the complex. Te MAE complex

is based on a combination o standard, modied, and expand-

able HERCon shipping containers, each 20 eet long. Te ship-

ping containers comply with the standards o the International

Organization or Standardization (ISO), allowing the entire base

complex to be transported by standard reight carriers.

Te layout consisted o HERCon modules outtted at the

actory with equipment, xtures and urnishings; and modied

shipping containers with washrooms, laundry, clothes changing

Konrad Mech, P.Eng., CD

Shipping containers were unloaded according to a pre-planned

sequence and transported to shore by barge by Brazilian Navy personnel

HowHrd-wllexpdbl

CotirsHlpdBrzilRcovr from atrcticDisstr


21/32


vestibule, kitchen make up air unit, etc. Tese were connectedwith a corridor or spine constructed o standard shipping con-tainers tted with doors and insulation to create one contiguousliving complex.

Te HERCon containers were used or modules requiring largeusable foor space equipped with integrated urnishings or ea-

turesplumbed sinks, toilets, cabinetry, and kitchen equipment.Furnishings and equipment were secured inside the HERConsprior to shipment, an approach which provided shipping ecien-cies by reducing container count.

During design, environmental and climactic conditions had tobe considered. Antarcticas unique fora and auna are protectedby onerous restrictions o the Antarctic reaty. Weatherhavenwas restricted in allowable sites or erecting the modules. Duringconstruction, movement o heavy equipment at site and exca-

vation and oundation work had to be minimized, driving thedesign to minimize the ootprint. Using 20-oot modules or thecomplex minimized oundation work requiring excavation, andmaximized space utilization on the helipad.

Design had to allow or 200 km/h winds as well as snow load.With temperatures ranging between -28C and +16C, snowand ice-loading issues are exacerbated by the reeze-thaw cycle.Heavy snowalls also require ongoing shoveling o the roos andaround the modules.

One major challenge or Weatherhavens engineering depart-ment was to conrm the ability o the existing helipad to with-stand the loads transerred rom the modules erected on thehelipad decking to 30-year-old ootings constructed on the gravelbeach. Mike Crozier, P.Eng., conducted Finite Element Analysison the complex and structure, and conerred with Brazilian Navalengineers prior to acceptance o the design. Wind loads, anchor-ing arrangements to secure the modules to the helipad, and con-

stantly shiing wind directions had to be considered. Tere wasalso concern about potential degradation o the helipad integrityaer 30 years exposure to the elements, particularly aggressivecorrosion rom marine salt-spray.

o mitigate risk, Weatherhavens Construction Manager fewrom Burnaby to Antarctica to inspect the helipad steel deckplating, steel support structure, and concrete ootings. Landingby military helicopter with sustained 90 km/h winds, his totalallowed time at site was 12 minutes, during which he drilled testholes in the decking, and inspected and photographed the sup-port structure and ootings.

Te HERCon required many design changes due to the projectrequirements. Te author was sent to South Arica last all toassist the plant with design changes required to meet the snowloading and wind loading conditions. Karl Kenny, P.Eng., devel-oped cross bracing supports or the HERCon core roos and swingroos to enhance the modules capability to withstand expectedsnow loading. Supplemental insulation or the HERCons requiredan innovative approach or simple eld installation to the exterioro the modules in harsh conditions.

One key advantage o the camp design was the small num-ber o containers required or such a sophisticated complex.ravelling by ship rom Punta Arenas, Chile, to site involvesa our-day transit o the Drake Passage, inamous or makingpassengers and crew alike violently seasick. Te Brazilian Navy

chartered a ship specically or this mission, so minimizingthe number o required containers was also important. Makingmultiple trips to and rom Chile was not an option, nor did transittime and weather make this viable. Further, weight limitations oneach module were restricted by the load-carrying capacities o theunloading crane and barge used to transport each container rom

ship to shore.Te total number o containers sent to site was 39, including

bulk materials and tools. Because the HERCon deploys rom astandard 8-oot by 20-oot shipping container conguration toan open-plan unit, Weatherhaven provided 366 square eet ousable foor space per module, signicantly reducing the numbero containers. welve HERCons when deployed provided a totalusable foor space o 4,392 square eetthe equivalent o 36 ISOcontainers. When the high logistical cost and eort to trans-port containers to site is considered, the benet o reducing thenumber o shipping containers by 24 is signicanta reductiono almost 40% o logistical eorts and costs.

Construction constraints were not limited to equipment

Weatherhavens construction manpower was limited to 15 per-sonnel due to the time, distance and expense o deploying themto site and supporting them. Schedule delays could not be com-pensated or by simply increasing the amount o workers on theproject. Communications were challenging at times, and delaysoccurred when the construction manager needed conrmationor data rom the engineering department in Burnaby. However,site construction was completed in 28 days, including commis-sioning o electricalpower generation andreticulation, potablewater treatment,sewage treatment, and

occupancy orthe client.

Each shipping con-tainer was unloadedaccording to a pre-planned sequence andtransported to shoreby barge by BrazilianNavy personnel. Tecontainers were thenpositioned onto thehelipad using a boomcrane mounted on atracked vehicle. Tecrew constructedinsulated cribbing tothermally insulatethe modules romthe steel decking othe helipad. HERConmodules weredeployed, taking threemen less than onehour to ully deployand secure each


ABOVE: Modules being loaded on to a

barge for transport to the site.

BELOW: Temporary base deployed on

and around the existing helipad. Site

construction was completed in 28 days.


22/32


module. Te modules were secured together and then anchoredto the decking. Te HERCons and corridor were insulatedusing a eld-installed exterior insulating system battened tothe exterior and the helideck surace. Final nishing includedrunning o power through the corridors, running blue, grey andblack water lines to and rom the water and sewage treatment

modules, and heat tracing and insulating all lines.Key aspects o the delivered camp due to the previous re

are saety, reliability and redundancy. Te winter crew o 20Brazilian personnel are completely isolated or seven months othe year, and are resupplied by C130 Hercules parachute drop,three or our times a year. Te MAE complex is constructedto the Canadian Building Code or re protection in livingquarters. Corridors, washing acilities, and sleeping quartersall have modications in wall construction and door designto ensure occupants have multiple points o egress, the abilityto trigger alarms, and plenty o re-ghting capability. Manydesign changes were made at site to ensure occupants could beevacuated rom modules via multiple escape routes.

A Proven Approach For Polar RegionsTe order or the Brazilian MAE Camp Complex was ormallyreceived by Weatherhaven on September 12, 2012 with projectcompletion on March 8, 2013. Considering the transit time by sea to

site was sevenweeks, includ-ing weatherdelays in theDrake Passage,this project was

delivered tocustomer expectations in a remarkably short time. Actual construc-tion time at site was 28 days.

Tis design demonstrates that end users now have the capabil-ity to rapidly deploy sel-contained camps in severe environ-ments, using standard equipment, with a minimum o containerhandling, erection labour, and a high degree o saety. As aurther advantage, on completion o the mission, the entire campcomplex is redeployable to another location or other purposes. v

Te author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Cristina Engel de Alvarez,Commander Alexey Bobrof Daros, Captain (N) Geraldo Gondim

Juacaba Filho, om Seaboyer and Maria Flavia Arantes de

Carvalho Foggiato or their contributions to this article.

Konrad Mech, CD, P.Eng., B.A., MBA, PMP, is ormer MilitarySales Director Latin America, or Weatherhaven CanadaResources Ltd. He is now Principal o Executus Consulting.

Furnishings and equipment were

secured inside the modules prior to

shipment, such as this kitchen, for

greater efficiency of transport.

f t s

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mmshi p

disc ip i d fcmt

Disciplinary Hearing - Chi Bun (Ray) Chan, P.Eng., Richmond, BC

A complaint was received by APEGBC regarding an independentstructural design (concept review) perormed by Mr. Chan. Tematter was reerred to the Investigation Committee or urtherinvestigation. Te Investigation Committee recommended a

disciplinary inquiry be held into Mr. Chans ailure to identiymajor gravity and lateral load deciencies in the structuraldrawings he reviewed.

On January 23, 2013, a disciplinary inquiry relating to thedetermination o liability was held. Mr. Chan appeared in person atthe inquiry and denied the charge. Te discipline panel ound the

allegations were proven and, aer considering the evidence, oundthat Mr. Chan had demonstrated unproessional conduct.

A hearing on penalty and costs was held on April 9, 2013, and

the discipline panel ordered that Mr. Chan:

a. Receive a reprimand;b. Not perorm concept reviews until the requirements in

sub-paragraphs (c) to (e) have been completed;

c. Undergo a practice review at his own expense;

d. Pay a $5,000 fne; and

e. Pay $16,001.85 o APEGBCs legal costs.

Copies of the Determinations of the Panel, as well as information on our complaint, investigation and discipline processes, can be found on the

APEGBC website at www.apeg.bc.ca, or by contacting the association at 604.412.4869 or toll-free at 1.888.430.8035 ext. 4869.

IN MEMORIAMTe Association announces

with regret the passing of thefollowing members:

W.G. Corley, P.Eng.Structural (B.S. Illinois,Urbana-Champaign58, M.S. Illinois,Urbana-Champaign60, Ph.D. Illinois,Urbana-Champaign 61)

R.A. Cuddeord, P.Eng.Electrical (B.A.Sc. UBC50)

P.. Edwards, P.Eng.Mechanical (B.A.Sc. UBC74)

A. Ganesan, P.Eng. Electrical(Dipl. Brighton College oech. 62)

N.J. Goode, P.Eng.Civil(B.A.Sc. UBC 41, M.S.Johns Hopkins 50)

E.J. Higueras Herrera,P.Eng. Electrical (Ing.National U. o Engineering,Lima

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