National Awards Recognize Outstanding Engineering Achievements

OTTAWA, Oct. 23, 2013 /CNW/ - A total of twenty-six awards were handed out at last night's annual Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Gala. Consulting engineering firms from across Canada received top honours for their work on projects that connect communities, improve safety and enhance the quality of life in Canada and around the world.

Now in their 45^th year, these awards are the highest recognition for excellence in the Canadian consulting engineering industry. The awards program is a joint initiative of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Canada (ACEC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine. Commenting on the significance of the awards, ACEC president John Gamble stated, "These awards showcase the important role of Canadian consulting engineers in every aspect of our lives."

A record twenty projects, in a range of categories, were recognized with Awards of Excellence. Five special achievement awards were also presented for projects that demonstrate superior technical innovation, environmental stewardship, Canadian expertise abroad, engineering that enhances Canadians' quality of life, and company benevolence in Canada or internationally.

In addition, ACEC presented its Beaubien Award, an honour bestowed on an individual each year for exceptional service to the association and the consulting engineering industry.

Award winners were selected by a panel of 12 independent jurors with varied backgrounds and knowledge of the industry.

ACEC represents companies in Canada that provide professional engineering services to both public and private-sector clients. These services include planning, designing and executing all types of engineering projects, as well as providing independent advice and expertise in a wide range of engineering and engineering-related fields. For more information about ACEC and the 2013 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards, please visit www.acec.ca.

Canadian Consulting Engineer is a bi-monthly magazine for engineers in the construction industry. It is a division of BIG Magazines LP of Toronto. The award-winning projects are described in full in the October-November 2013 issue of Canadian Consulting Engineer at www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/issues/de.aspx.

BACKGROUNDER: 2013 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

SCHREYER AWARD - presented to a project that best demonstrates technical excellence and innovation:

West Edmonton Sanitary Sewer Stage W12; Edmonton, Alberta
SMA Consulting Ltd. & Associated Engineering

The Rat Creek Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) was responsible for 60-80%, or 2 billion litres, of Edmonton's annual CSO into the North Saskatchewan River. Associated Engineering designed a tunnel siphon crossing under the river to carry overflow to treatment facilities. SMA Consulting delivered decision support and project controls for the tunnel's planning and construction. From November 2011 to July 2012, the W12 tunnel reduced Rat Creek CSO by 100% and provided much-needed capacity to accommodate Edmonton's booming growth.

TREE FOR LIFE AWARD - presented to a project that best demonstrates outstanding environmental stewardship:

Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Oven Sites Remediation; Sydney, Nova Scotia
AECOM and CBCL Limited

The Sydney Tar Ponds in Sydney, Nova Scotia are the result of over 100 years of steel production that left behind by-products and contaminants in the soil, groundwater, and sediments. The Sydney Tar Ponds Agency engaged an AECOM-led team, including primary subconsultant CBCL, to perform detailed design and construction oversight of the $400 million remediation. The project has won numerous awards and was voted Discovery Channel's feature story of the year (2008). It was completed on budget and ahead of schedule and is the signature federal Canadian contaminated site remediation project.

AMBASSADOR AWARD - presented to a project constructed or executed outside of Canada, which best showcases Canadian engineering expertise:

Allain Duhangan Hydroelectric Project; Hymachal Pradesh, India
AECOM

AD Hydro Power Ltd. engaged AECOM to perform the detailed design and construction supervision for a 192 Megawatt underground run-of-river hydroelectric project high in the Northern Himalayas of India, located at about 2,500 meters above the sea level, harnessing the flow of two rivers. AECOM's professionals managed sizeable natural and human constraints to deliver this strategic, low environmental impact project. The plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5 million tons over 10 years and supply electricity to populations struggling with frequent shortages.

ENGINEERING A BETTER CANADA AWARD - presented to a project that best showcases how engineering enhances the social, economic or cultural quality of life of Canadians:

Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for BC Schools; Various Locations, British Columbia
Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., Bush Bohlman & Partners, Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., GENIVAR

The British Columbia Ministry of Education's billion-dollar-plus seismic mitigation program for school buildings involved APEGBC managing the University of British Columbia and consultants to develop new performance-based Seismic Retrofit Guidelines and a unique state-of-the-art web-based Seismic Performance Analyzer. Using these developed-in-BC guidelines, structural engineers are able to rapidly and consistently determine the seismic risk of existing buildings and optimize retrofits to achieve "life-safety" seismic performance. A nationally and internationally recognized initiative, this ground-breaking work was a unique collaboration between government, academia and the engineering community.

OUTREACH AWARD - presented for a company's role in donating their time and/or services for the benefit of a community or group either in Canada or on the international stage:

Golder Associates Charitable Initiatives; Calgary, Alberta
Golder Associates Ltd.

Golder Associates' purpose, "Engineering Earth's Development, Preserving Earth's Integrity", reflects a commitment to sustainable development, commonly defined as "...development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." To uphold this, Golder continually strives to make positive contributions to local communities, their own Golder Trust for Orphans, and other national or international non-governmental organizations.

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Buildings:
	Construction of the Centre for Sustainable Development; Montreal, Quebec Bouthillette Parizeau Inc.
	Redevelopment of Maple Leaf Gardens; Toronto, Ontario exp Services Inc.
	Surrey City Centre Library; Surrey, British Columbia Fast + Epp
	Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre; Waterloo, Ontario Halsall Associates
Transportation:
	Winnipeg's First Rapid Transit Corridor - Southwest Transitway; Winnipeg, Manitoba Dillon Consulting Limited
	Squamish Pedestrian Overpass; Squamish, British Columbia Hatch Mott MacDonald Ltd.
Water Resources:
	Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant Expansion; Mississauga, Ontario AECOM with GENIVAR
	Exshaw Municipal Water System; Exshaw, Alberta ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd.
	West Edmonton Sanitary Sewer Stage W12; Edmonton, Alberta SMA Consulting Ltd. & Associated Engineering
Environmental Remediation:
	Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Oven Sites Remediation; Sydney, Nova Scotia AECOM and CBCL Limited
	Harvest Energy Garden; Richmond, British Columbia Opus DaytonKnight Consultants Ltd.
Natural Resources, Mining, Industry & Energy:
	Allain Duhangan Hydroelectric Project; Hymachal Pradesh, India AECOM
	Palo Viejo Hydroelectric Project; The Municipality of San Juan Cotzal in the Department of Quiche, Guatemala Hatch
	Alexandra District Energy Geothermal System; Richmond, British Columbia Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Special Projects:
	Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for BC Schools; Various Locations, British Columbia Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc., Bush Bohlman & Partners, Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., GENIVAR
	Rewriting the History of the Khmer Empire; Siem Reap Province and Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd.
Project Management:
	Deh Cho Bridge; Near Fort Providence, Northwest Territories Associated Engineering
	Calgary's West LRT Project; Calgary, Alberta Hatch Mott MacDonald Ltd.
International:
	SIEPAC Network - Engineering, Construction Contracts Management and Works Supervision; Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama Dessau International Inc.
Community Outreach & In-House Initiatives:
	Golder Associates Charitable Initiatives; Calgary, Alberta Golder Associates Ltd.

BEAUBIEN AWARD - for exceptional service to ACEC and the consulting engineering industry:

Norm Huggins, P. Eng., is known for his outstanding leadership and his contributions to the consulting engineering industry. He is highly regarded by the many colleagues who have developed their careers under his tutelage as well as the communities that have benefited from his expertise.

Norm started his career at CH2M HILL, formerly known as Gore and Storrie, as a summer student in 1966. He joined the company full-time upon graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering from Queen's University and this year, as Senior Vice-President, he celebrates his 45th year with CH2M HILL.

Norm has given a lifetime of service, since 1972, to ACEC and Consulting Engineers of Ontario, advocating in the interest of engineers to governments, clients and the public. Throughout his career he has also dedicated time and effort with the Toronto and Ontario chapters of the Engineering Institute of Canada and the Pollution Control Association of Ontario.

During his tenure on the Board of ACEC-Canada and as Chair, Norm was a strong advocate for the use of Qualifications-Based Selection for the procurement of professional engineering services. During this time, ACEC collaborated with the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure, also known as InfraGuide. As a result, when InfraGuide released its best practice for selecting a professional consultant, Qualifications-Based Selection was the recommended procurement method. This is one of the most important achievements of the consulting engineering sector in recent memory. To this day, ACEC continues to promote InfraGuide and Qualifications-Based Selection.

One of Norm's greatest interests has been to encourage more young people to enter the consulting engineering industry. He identified building human capital as one of his goals as Chair of ACEC-Canada and is known as a great mentor and model to other engineers for his quiet leadership, ethical behaviour, and strength in bringing groups together to accomplish common objectives.

As a recipient of the Beaubien Award, Norm joins a list of over 30 individuals who have been identified by their peers for their outstanding contributions to the consulting engineering industry and engineering profession. The award was created by ACEC in 1984 in honour of Dr. James de Gaspé Beaubien, who founded ACEC in 1925.

 

 

SOURCE: Association of Consulting Engineering Companies

Laura Allardyce, Communications Specialist
Association of Consulting Engineering Companies
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Bronwen Parsons, Editor
Canadian Consulting Engineer
[email protected]
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