CCA’s 2018 awards showcase members’ accomplishments
BERMUDA, March 27, 2019 — The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) presented its annual awards in conjunction with its annual conference, held at the Fairmont Southampton hotel. These awards recognize the important contributions of individuals, companies and associations that promote and enhance the Canadian construction industry.
The 2018 Canadian Construction Association award recipients are:
Awards of Excellence
- 2018 CCA Person of the Year Award – Mary-Anne Bowcott, Westcom Plumbing, and Tom Rankin, Rankin Construction Ltd.
- 2018 CCA Excellence in Innovation Award – Emil Anderson Construction
- 2018 CCA Environmental Achievement Award – Maple Reinders
- 2018 CCA International Business Award – Aecon
- 2018 CCA National Safety Award – Gisborne Group
- 2018 CCA Partner Association Award – Vancouver Regional Construction Association
- 2018 CCA Community Leader Award – Tomlinson Group
- 2018 CCA Gold Seal Association Award – Winnipeg Construction Association
Awards of Recognition
- 2018 CCA General Contractor Award – Art Winslow, Graham Construction
- 2018 CCA Trade Contractor Award – Rhonda Collings, Glenn Collings Ltd.
- 2018 CCA Civil Infrastructure Award – Chris McNally, C & M McNally Engineering Corp.
- 2018 CCA Manufacturers, Suppliers and Services Award – Jean Pouliot, Produits Métalliques PMI
“I would like to congratulate the CCA award winners, who are an inspiration to all, and encourage everybody to apply for next year’s awards,” said Zey Emir, CCA’s chair. “It is a pleasure to highlight the innovative approaches of our members that raise the bar for the industry. It is also heartwarming to hear about how our members support their communities.”
More information, including videos from the awards ceremony and a list of past recipients, is available at awards.cca-acc.com.
About the winners
Person of the Year Award – Mary-Anne Bowcott, Westcom Plumbing, and Tom Rankin, Rankin Construction Ltd.
Mary-Anne Bowcott has accomplished much in a short period of time. As a small-business owner, journeyman plumber, class B gasfitter, and certified steep-slope roofer, Mary-Anne is living proof that hard work pays off. The owner of Westcom Plumbing, Mary-Anne is a shining example of the 10% of women that make up the trades in B.C. She has also contributed to increasing the number of women in the industry by taking on numerous female apprentices since the inception of her company in 2015. In a few short years, she has grown her business and garnered the respect of not only her clients, but of her community – taking home the Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce Trades and Skilled Labour Excellence Award in 2017 and 2018 and the 2018 BC Construction Industry Leader Award.
Tom Rankin has been an active and successful leader in the construction industry for decades. In 1978, Tom partnered with Dave Stephens to co-found Stephens and Rankin Inc., a heavy civil construction company, which later became Rankin Construction Ltd. He also created Rankin Renewable Power Inc. (RRPI) which was involved in the development of policy for wind power that balances the enablement of green technology with minimized impact on the local community. Tom has been an active donor to various organizations, such as Goodwill Industries Niagara, Jericho House, Pathstone Mental Health, Wellspring Niagara, and St. Martin Elementary School, to name a few. His numerous awards include an Outstanding Engineering Award, an Outstanding Business Award from the City of St. Catharines and a Niagara Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame Award, among many others.
Excellence in Innovation Award – Emil Anderson Construction
CCA is pleased to present Emil Anderson Construction (EAC) with the 2018 CCA Excellence in Innovation Award for its willingness to explore and implement innovative ideas and practices. A fundamental component of the EAC design-build team’s strategy for replacement of the Vedder Bridge located in Chilliwack and providing an important transportation link between adjacent communities as well as recreational areas was to construct the new bridge on land and launch the bridge into place over the river. EAC worked with consultant partner Klohn Crippen Berger to incorporate the innovative construction method of king-post cable stay support system – a first to the best of the knowledge of any project participants – to provide the arch structure with the additional strength needed to be moved into place. This approach reduced the total project manhours by as much as 35 per cent and working over the river at heights by over 98 per cent. In addition, the need for the instream temporary supports was eliminated, thus significantly reducing the environmental impact.
Environmental Achievement Award – Maple Reinders
CCA is pleased to present Maple Reinders with the 2018 CCA Environmental Achievement Award for their success in implementing environmentally-sound practices and its work in communicating sustainable approaches as viable options.
City of Edmonton’s High Solids Anaerobic Digestion Facility will be integrated into the operation of the existing facilities at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, expanding the city’s organics waste processing capacity and contributing to the goal of diverting 90% of waste from the landfill. Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., as the design-build construction manager, oversaw detailed design and construction of the foundations, building superstructure, installation of all equipment and fabrication of cast-in-place concrete; including digester and aeration boxes. The project also included the supply of Combined Heat and Power equipment. Methane generated from the facility will be used to generate both electricity and heat for the centre.
The Maple Reinders team designed the facility with a reduced footprint while allowing increased logistics for the material flow through the structure. In terms of environmental sustainability, Maple Reinders included a number of components that would classify for LEED® certification. Its design includes many environmentally-sustainable concepts, including processing and treating all wastewater through the composting process, minimizing residual waste and re-using the generated heat to heat the fermenters.
International Business Award – Aecon
CCA is pleased to present Aecon with the 2018 CCA International Business Award for its efforts in bringing together many countries on one project and establishing future relationships not only for its own business, but for foreign markets as well. For the L.F. Wade International Airport Redevelopment Project in Bermuda, Aecon was responsible for the finance, design, as well as the building of the new, larger, state-of-the-art airport terminal with improved traffic flow and newly renovated facilities/retail spaces.
Many companies from foreign markets such as United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, China and Israel have been directly involved in construction operations as subcontractors, through Aecon’s selection of top technical leads which perform vital portions of the project with the highest level of quality, safety and efficiency. This creates lasting positive benefits locally with respect to sustainable business development, workforce training, expanding service offerings and relationship building for future business opportunities.
A primary objective for Aecon as a Canadian company has been executing its program to use Bermudian resources for domestic purposes to increase construction business opportunities and engage the local workforce. At the peak of construction, it is projected that more than 450 full-time equivalent jobs will be created – many of which will be filled by Bermuda’s workforce.
National Safety Award – Gisborne Group
CCA is pleased to present the Gisborne Group with the 2018 CCA National Safety Award. Gisborne’s safety leadership in the industry is exemplified through the implementation and management of their comprehensive health and safety management system, which has resulted in 0 lost-time incidents for the past 5 years, and multiple awards for its safety program and records. This program’s management systems for safety have been consistently and successfully applied across its commercial, residential and institutional construction divisions. Gisborne believes that a key element of the organization’s success is its commitment to ever-improving its safety management systems.
Gisborne found that through the implementation of the Job Hazard Assessments (JHA), workers are more readily engaged in the development of new Safe Work Practices for specific tasks – a participatory process that puts new ideas into practice and connects the workforce in a positive way with Gisborne’s corporate culture.
Partner Association Award – Vancouver Regional Construction Association
CCA is pleased to present the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) with the 2018 CCA Partner Association Award for its work in addressing the individual members’ needs in education and communication, leading to increased engagement and its commitment to bringing new people into the industry. VRCA’s education program offers more than 65 classroom and upwards of 300 online courses per year. Its annual Construction Leadership Forum – now in its eighth year – is designed specifically to address the education needs of the industry’s middle-management tier.
In order to keep members up to date on its advocacy work, VRCA built topic-specific webpages to capture and share the status of its work. As a result, in the last 12 months, VRCA has grown member engagement on industry topics by 15 percent.
Since 2015, VRCA has partnered with 14 high schools and engaged more than 3,700 students. Its goal is to engage all elementary and secondary schools across the Lower Mainland.
In 2018, VRCA launched Canada’s first and only Zero Emissions Building Exchange (ZEBx), a collaborative platform to strengthen the public, private and civic capacities to deliver zero emissions buildings through relevant education, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, solutions-focused dialogues and access to a curated library of best practices.
Community Leader Award – Tomlinson Group
CCA is pleased to present Tomlinson Group with the 2018 CCA Community Leader Award for its dedication, through its numerous charitable endeavours, to growing its community. Since 1952, Tomlinson has remained a family-owned and operated business with strong ties to the Ottawa community. Tomlinson’s legacy of stewardship and support of the Ottawa community has evolved through the Tomlinson Family Foundation, Tomlinson’s Parks Initiative consisting of donating $1 million over five years toward park renewals and upgrades within the City of Ottawa and through various community projects, supporting a variety of initiatives, either through charitable donations or donations in-kind.
In 2018, the Tomlinson Group and its employees led or supported 90 local charitable and community stewardship initiatives, donating over $145,000 to Ring Side for Youth, CHEO Foundation, Kingston Youth Shelter, Malhotra Family Foundation, Queensway Carleton Hope Blooms, and several local minor hockey leagues. After the town of Dunrobin was seriously affected by the September 2018 tornados, Tomlinson’s “Red Army” of employees mobilized to co-host a fundraising event at the Dunrobin Eagle Creek Golf Club raising over $40,000 for the residents.
Gold Seal Association Award – Winnipeg Construction Association
CCA is pleased to present Winnipeg Construction Association (WCA) with the 2018 CCA Gold Seal Association Award for its dedication in working with Gold Seal at the committee level, in addition to its ongoing support of the program at its own offices. The Gold Seal Certification program supports the development of skilled construction & heavy civil management professionals across Canada and the award recognizes an association that has gone above and beyond in bringing this program to its members. The WCA has made great strides in making industry education and Gold Seal Certification a top priority in 2018. Through their extensive education program, their dedicated team provides a variety of online and in-person courses – many which are Gold Seal accredited. Having launched a new website, WCA took the opportunity to promote the Gold Seal program, highlighting the designations, the benefits of certification, and the path to achieving certification. The WCA also actively promotes the Gold Seal program through their online newsletter, their magazine and social media. They also support the monthly webinar program through consistent promotion and endorsement.
Consistently landing in the top reporting associations for applications and graduates each year, they have also continued to grow their number of applicants significantly. A proactive association, they took the initiative to help their members apply for the Gold Seal exam by creating their own interactive checklist, which helps their members calculate and track their Gold Seal credits, giving them a better understanding of where they stand in the process.
Their active participation on the Gold Seal Committee, and staff commitment to understanding and presenting the program has been a significant asset to the program. As Gold Seal moved towards its online platform, Winnipeg Construction Association was one of the first associations to offer its support, eagerly offering its services as the platform went through its many stages of testing.
General Contractor Award – Art Winslow, Graham Construction
CCA is pleased to present Art Winslow with the 2018 CCA General Contractor Award. With more than 25 years of construction industry experience, Art is highly experienced in coordinating high-performance teams, having managed large-scale, multi-phased projects with field and management teams of over 100. Chosen to lead Graham Construction’s Lean and integrated project delivery (IPD) journey, Art served as the project director for Canada’s first and largest fully-integrated Lean IPD project, the Moose Jaw Hospital. Art’s name has become synonymous with lean/ IPD delivery across Canada and as such, he has consulted with a variety of Canadian and provincial governments, infrastructure groups and NGOs as well as presented at many industry functions across North America. He served on the Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) taskforce that was responsible for creating CCDC 30 –Integrated Project Delivery Contract and was a founding member of the Lean Construction Institute – Canada, where he continues to serve as a committee member.
Trade Contractor Award – Rhonda Collings, Glenn Collings Ltd.
CCA is pleased to present Rhonda Collings with the 2018 CCA Trade Contractor Award. Rhonda has been an owner and operator of Glenn Collings Ltd., a mechanical contracting company, in Gander, Newfoundland, since 1997. At the local level, Rhonda’s focus has been enhancing the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association (NLCA) board governance and increasing engagement. As the 2018 Chair of NLCA, her goal was to ensure that members had the most up-to-date information and resources to remain competitive in an ever-changing business environment. Rhonda joined the Canadian Construction Association as a board member in 2016 and has proven to be just as an active and engaged participant at the national level. As a CCA board member, Rhonda serves on the Trade Contractors Council and the Business Market Development Committee. As such, she has assisted on various taskforces, including the cross-referencing taskforce and the education taskforce, ensuring that the trade contractors voice is well-represented at CCA.
Civil Infrastructure Award – Chris McNally, C & M McNally Engineering Corp.
CCA is pleased to present Chris McNally with the 2018 CCA Civil Infrastructure Award. Chris is a contractor from the Hamilton area, where his family business has been involved in underground tunneling since the 1950s. Chris became chair of the CCA Road Builders and Heavy Construction Council in 2008 and spearheaded a change to the council’s name to better reflect the work of the industry. He was also instrumental in the creation of several reports that proved crucial in obtaining substantive federal investments aimed at modernizing Canada’s aging public infrastructure. Chris also served as the chair of the CCA’s Industry Advocacy and Regulatory Affairs Committee and as a member of the CCA Executive Committee, becoming chair in 2017. Outside of the national association, Chris also served as chair of the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Association. He is deeply invested in education in the industry and was a founding member of the Ontario Construction Careers Alliance, where he continues to serve as a board member.
Manufacturers, Suppliers and Services Award – Jean Pouliot, Produits Métalliques PMI
CCA is pleased to present Jean Pouliot with the 2018 CCA Manufacturers, Suppliers and Services Award. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, Jean started his first business at the age of 16, but now serves as president of Produits Métalliques PMI, a position he has held since he took over from his father in 1988. Also serving as president for Prometek Inc, which designs and manufactures electrical transmission and distribution products, Jean still finds time to be a very active and committed member of multiple associations including CCA, having served as chair for Association de la construction du Quebec, l’association des entrepreneurs en construction du Québec as well as le Bureau des soumissions déposées du Quebec. Jean believes in sharing his expertise – he is chief mentor of the Rimouski-Neiget mentoring unit in addition to being regional president of the Network M. He has received le prix hommage de la Chambre de commerce et de l’industrie Rimouski-Neiget in recognition of his entrepreneurial achievements and his social involvement.