VRCA marks milestones for provincial projects and itself

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) marked a double anniversary as it celebrated British Columbia’s best projects at its annual awards ceremony.

The VRCA marked both its 31st Gold Awards of Excellence and the association’s 90th anniversary at a gala event held at the Vancouver Convention Centre on Oct. 29. Over 123 projects were nominated representing more than $840 million in construction value. Fifteen Gold awards and 10 Outstanding Achievement awards given out over the evening.

“We’re seeing continued use of technology to help the industry grow faster, greener and more productively, seeing continued use of wood both inside and outside of both buildings and infrastructure as well as other innovative materials and we’re seeing a focus on sustainable building practices, whether it’s lean or BIM, really leveraging technology and trying to step it up and bring the industry forward,” VRCA president Fiona Famulak said.

The SFU Sustainable Energy Engineering Building received four Gold awards, including the General Contractors – over $50 million award for Bird Construction Group, the Trade Contractors – $2 million to $4 million award for Surespan Structures Ltd., the Mechanical Contractors – over $9 million award for Division 15 Mechanical Ltd. and the Electrical Contractors – $2 million to $8 million award for Canem Systems Ltd.

The SFU Sustainable Energy Building is a “spectacular work of art frankly from a construction, sustainability social and educational point of view,” Famulak said. “It really sets Bird apart from the competition, as usual the caliber of work was as high as it’s ever been and the judges had their work cut out for them, so I know there was some long debates around award winners but we’re delighted to present Bird with the big award tonight.”

Other winners included the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre, which won Graham Design Builders LP a gold award in the General Contractors – $15 Million to $50 Million category and a Mechanical Contractors – $3 Million to $9 Million win for Canstar Mechanical Ltd. The other gold winner in the Mechanical Contractor category was the Up to $3 million category for Black & McDonald Limited’s work on the VGH CESEI & VA CP Offices and Sleep Rooms project.

The other Trade Contractor winners were ESC Automation for the West Village District Energy Centre and Park in the Up to $1 Million Chairman’s Trade category and the Spearhead Inc. for 569 Great Northern Way in the $1 million to $2 million President’s Trade category. The Director’s Trade award, which goes to a trade contractor for a project of over $4 million, went to Vancouver Pile Driving for work done on G3 Terminal Vancouver.

In the General Contractors – Up to $15 million category Metric Modular won for their work on the Trinity Western University Jacobson Hall ‐ Student Housing Facility, and Smith Bros. & Wilson (B.C.) Ltd. won in the Tenant Improvement category for the Vancouver Central Library ‐ Level 8 & 9 Construction project.

Allteck Line Constructors won the Electrical Contractor – Up to $2 million award for the Seton River 60L021 Structure Relocation and in the Over $8 million category Western Pacific Enterprises Ltd. won for the Stanton Territorial Hospital. The Manufacturers and Suppliers award went to Marcon Metalfab for the Salton Road Pedestrian/Cycle Bridge.

Outstanding Achievement awards were also given out at the gala, including a Lifetime Achievement award for Ron, Dave and Wayne Fettback of Western Pacific Enterprises and a Life Member Inductee award for Ron Fettback. The Outstanding Woman in Construction award went to Susan Pospisil from Turner Construction Company and the U40 Excellence in Construction award was given to Matthew Robinson from Pitt Meadows Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Ltd. Wayne Hand of the British Columbia Institute of Technology won the Education Leadership award and Solid Rock Steel Fabricating Co. Ltd. took the Innovation and Productivity award for their Flying Gantry Crane.

The diverse group of award winners are reflective of B.C.’s top economic spot in Canada, Famulak said.

“B.C. is the crown jewel in the Canadian construction landscape,” she said. “On the books today, the province has over $261 billion dollars of work and in progress we have $114 billion, so the awards nominees reflecting $840 million dollars’ worth of construction is reflective of public and private sector projects.”

“A lot of provincially-funded infrastructure projects have been delivered and are in the process of being delivered as well as privately funded commercial and residential projects, and we don’t see that letting up anytime soon,” Famulak added.

The Safety: Superior Safety awards went to The Gisborne Group for Trade Contractor 100,000 to 199,999 person hours, Houle Electric Limited for Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours and Status Electrical Corporation for Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours. Turner Construction Company won for General Contractor 100,000 to 199,999 person hours, and Peter Kiewit Sons ULC for General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours.

The Safety: Zero Frequency Injury Rate awards went to BellPhillips Safety Group in the Trade Contractor 10 to 49,999 person hours category, Western Pacific Enterprises Limited for Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours, Graham Construction & Engineering Incorporated for General Contractor 100,000 to 199,999 person hours, and Omicron Canada Incorporated for General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours. Scott Construction Group won the Construction Workplace Health & Safety Innovation award for their Mental Health Committee.

Monte Paulsen of RDH Building Science won the in the new Zero Emissions Building Leadership category, and Ledcor was named 2019 Member of the Year.