Category
Business & Professional
A Piece of the LNG Pie?
British Columbia has set its sights on a billion dollar LNG industry. While consulting engineers are already reaping benefits doing early preparatory work, they wonder how much work will be sent offshore.
Caution: Limitation Clauses May Not Apply
A decision by the Alberta Court of Appeal means that engineers and architects are not protected by a limitation of liability clause in two surprising situations.
Marital Breakdown
Engineers are not immune from the devastating impacts of marriage breakdown, but using “collaborative negotiation” can help ease the division of assets and the impact on your business.
Consulting engineers in Alberta asked to hold fee levels
In response to the decline in oil prices and the impact on Alberta’s economy, Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) has asked its member firms to hold their fees at 2014 rates. Matt Brassard P.Eng., president of CEA, made the announcement…
Keeping Up: Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programs
Are mandatory continuing professional development programs necessary to show that engineers are competent? Some engineers support them, and others are passionately against.
Acquisitions
If you are considering acquiring another firm as a way of expanding your business,
here’s advice on different steps you need to consider.SNC-Lavalin issues statement following charges
SNC-Lavalin contests the federal charges by the public prosecution service of Canada, and will enter a non-guilty plea.
Ontario launches review of Construction Lien Act
Review comes in the wake of a skirmish in the construction industry following the introduction of the Prompt Payment Act in 2013.
New Brunswick to tender projects with fees of $10,000
The Association of Consulting Engineers – New Brunswick (ACEC-NB) has sent feedback to the province’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure regarding changes it is implementing in hiring consultant design services. The association is suggesting that the threshold for inviting tenders…
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Alberta consulting engineers face worrisome future
Ken Pilip, P.Eng., Consulting Engineers of Alberta’s chief executive officer, reflects on what the downturn in the oil sector will mean for engineering companies in the province.
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OSPE report points to underemployment among engineers
Report “A Waste of Talent? Underemployment Crisis Among Ontario’s Engineers” finds big difference between Ontario and Alberta.
Number of engineering graduates rises sharply
Engineers Canada releases report on enrolments and degrees granted in engineering over the five years between 2009 and 2013.
Governments act to ease entry for immigrants, including engineers
Canadian Government launches “Express Entry” system. In a related story, small business owners are concerned about finding qualified employees.
ACEC-BC coming to grips with client-consultant contract issues
Concerned about the growing problems occurring with engineering firms’ contracts with clients, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – British Columbia (ACEC-BC) has developed a report on the subject with recommendations for action. The basis of the problem lies in…
Comment: Elliot Lake – a litany of neglect
Justice Paul R. Bélanger’s report on the travesty at the Algo Mall in Elliot Lake in 2012 makes for excellent — if unhappy — reading (see p. 23). Part I of the report describes the litany of bad decisions and neglect…
Opinion: Specialization – or Not?
Professional Enginees of Ontario (PEO) is considering making regulatory changes to create a Structural Engineering Specialist designation to ensure “… that incidents like the Algo Centre Mall collapse are not repeated.”1 PEO defines a…
Personal Tax Tips
Canadian professionals pay a lot of tax, which is why individuals — including shareholders of professional corporations — and members of partnerships are always looking for ways to reduce their annual tax burden. Luckily, there are…
Strategies for Training New Managers
“We promoted a great performer to a new manager’s role and they are not working out. What can we do?”
Advice to managers: don’t overreact
In his latest newsletter, “Monday Morning Brilliant Manoeuvres,” consultant, author and executive coach, Richard Martin provided 10 tips on what makes effective leaders.
Note to engineers: improving soft-skills is not a waste of time
Do you fall into the “stereotype” of being an expert engineer who struggles to communicate your message with others in a clear, impacting way?
Mental health issues – What are the employer’s responsibilities?
As a boss, what do you do if your administrative assistant is clinically depressed? Give yourself a second to think about it. What would you say? And how would you say it, now that reports are piling up and she’s still on YouTube? You…
Micromanaging vs. Coaching – Advice for Business Leaders
One of the greatest misunderstandings in leadership and coaching is the term “micromanaging.” Most leaders never want to be thought of as a micro manager. In fact, it could be considered an insult or weakness of any manager.
Engineering firms cited as good employers
Several Canadian consulting engineering companies were among the Globe and Mail’s “Top 100 employers for 2013.” Announced October 9, the list includes AMEC Americas, Oakville, Ontario; DIALOG,Vancouver; Golder Associates, Calgary; Knight…
ENGINEERS & THE LAW – Defence Against Wrongful Dismissals
Several recent decisions have seen employees penalized for failing to accept reasonable offers of new or alternative employment after they are dismissed.
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HUMAN EDGE: Stantec’s Olympian
Mark de Jonge is an engineer-in-training with Stantec Consulting in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. On August 11 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he won a bronze medal in the Men’s Kayak Single 200 metres race. CCE spoke to him in early…
Employment: Subtle Messages
It was clearly an unsafe situation. Jack (not his real name), a geotechnical engineer who had recently immigrated from China, believed that the work crew shouldn’t be operating in that part of the open pit mine after dark.
Young Professionals and Managing “Up”
One of the rites of passage for a junior consulting engineer is her first assignment as a project manager. Often it is the first exposure that a young professional (YP) has to being a manager in the “real world,” and like taking her…
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The Human Edge: Designing a World of Hope
If you told me 10 years ago that I would be volunteering my time to develop master plans for non-profit organizations around the world, I’d have called you crazy. But that’s exactly what I’ve found myself doing. What’s…
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The Demands of P3s
British Columbia’s first pUBLIC-Private partnership (P3) acute care hospital was the largest project completed to date in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. It also challenged the design team with the strictest energy requirements…
How to keep staff after a merger
According to PSMJ, the business management experts for the architecture and engineering industries, “the long-term success of a merger or acquisition hinges largely on how well the combined entity retains its staff.”
