Reaching….

It was a full weekend with the girls.  We were out of the house early on both Saturday and Sunday. The days were full with park visits, art classes, breakfast at ‘my daddy and me’, a tap class, library visits, the ’Got Game’ open house at Ashtons, chinese food, the Life Centre and the Reach where Keshi made a drawing for Lynn and both girls had a chance to accompany the 2 visiting pianists.

Here is Carla getting creative at the MSA library in downtown Abbotsford.  Both girls have almost grown up there, so it will be an adjustment when the doors are closed later this year as the soon to be named new library opens beside Abbotsford Collegiate.

Here is an interior shot of the Reach.  We often visit on Sunday after meeting with our friends and family at the Life Centre.  We appreciate the recent addition of toddler size tables and chairs with handy pencil crayons and paper!  It was a much needed innovation!

 

enough people?

As Canada gets grayer, we wonder if there will be enough people in future years to keep the economy firing as it should.  Here is article on the subject from the Journal of Commerce:

May 28, 2012

Human capital sorely needed in B.C.

Guest Column | Kevin Evans

For perhaps the first time in B.C.’s history, the potential limit to our growth and prosperity isn’t financial capital, its human capital.

Industrial projects, developments in mining and, the oil and gas sector are about to fuel an economic boom.

Over the next decade, there will be more than one million job openings in B.C. and an estimated 104,600 of these will be in the trades.

According to a recent report by the Construction Sector Council, the province’s construction industry alone will need more than 40,000 workers to meet demand, due to increased economic development and a growing number of tradespeople retiring.

Kevin Evans

Much of this development boom is in the north, where there is an emerging shortage of carpenters, millwrights, electricians, heavy equipment operators and pipefitters – to name but a few.

B.C.’s industry training system is working hard to meet the demand. Nearly 8,760 Certificates of Qualification were awarded by the Industry Training Authority (ITA) for the 2011-12 year.

This is the highest number of certificates awarded since the ITA was established in 2004 and represents a 20 per cent increase over 2010-11.

Currently, the province invests more than $100 million annually through the ITA to support skilled trades training and certification.

The ITA provides more than 100 apprenticeship training programs in B.C., including more than 40 Red Seal trades.

More than 30,000 men and women are now in trades training in B.C.

Greater participation by under-represented groups in the trades will contribute to addressing the skills shortage.

Since 2008, ITA initiatives have helped hundreds of women, immigrants and Aboriginal people access trades training.

Meeting the challenge will require more employers discovering the “apprentice advantage” and choosing to become a sponsor of the next generation of our best and brightest. The business case for apprenticeship is compelling  – according to the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, the average return on investment for every dollar spent on apprenticeship training is $1.47.

In addition, the B.C. Government is extending the Training Tax Credit to 2014, giving employers who hire apprentices refundable tax credits and providing apprentices with personal income tax credits.

The stereotype that the trades are for those who can’t get into university is seriously out-dated.

As parents and educators, we need to convey a new narrative to our young people that speaks to the pride and potential of a career in the trades.

Our future depends on it.

Kevin Evans is the CEO of the Industry Training Authority. He is responsible for the governance, expansion and improvement of B.C.’s industry training system. He was appointed CEO in October 2007

 

Mill Lake Park

If there is a center to Abbotsford, it must be Mill Lake Park.  This central park with entries to it from all directions, numerous playgrounds, an outdoor pool, a waterpark, picnic shelters, an art gallery and a path that circumnavigates the lake is the central meeting point for many activities. More than any other spot, I feel that it gives an identity to this city in the country.

Tomorrow, the Run for Water will start and finish from there.  In August, we will have our 2nd annual company picnic there.  Last night, guess where we had our life group wind up bbq?  That’s right!  And the night before that we had an impromptu picnic there on the grass, softened by a couple of blankets.  Afterwards, we talked to Jeremy about Diamond, his peregrine falcon perched on his leather clad forearm, eyeing the geese floating in front of us.  The girls were more interested in carrying on with the bike ride than hearing about the incredible speed and hunting habits of this formidable bird of prey.

Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus. Shot at Eagle Heights Wildlife Park, Kent, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Here is a link with some photos of the park:   http://www.greatervancouverparks.com/MillLake01.html

We would likely be going there today if it wasn’t Niraj’s 7th birthday party.  With a 6 and a 3 year old in the house, we can’t be missing any birthday parties!  Kids have their priorities too!

 

Schools out plus Project management pointers

Now that summer is almost upon us and students are out of class, it is a good time to renovate and upgrade classrooms.  After unsuccessful tenders at UBC, Capilano and BCIT, we finally succeeded with a couple of projects for UFV in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.  For projects to succeed, they need to be well managed.  Here are some pointers from the Civil Engineer blog:

 

Role of a Project Manager Posted: 23 May 2012 10:05 AM PDT Project Managers play very important role in Construction Projects. A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful initiation, planning, execution and closure of a project. This title is used in the construction industry, architecture, and many different occupations that are based on production of a product or service. The project manager must possess a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve interpersonal conflicts as well as more systematic management skills. Key amongst his/her duties is the recognition that risk directly impacts the likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured throughout the lifetime of the project. Risk arises primarily from uncertainty and the successful project manager is the one who focuses upon this as the main concern. Most of the issues that impact a project arise in one way or another from risk. A good project manager can reduce risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open communication, ensuring that every significant participant has an opportunity to express opinions and concerns. It follows from the above that a project manager is one who is responsible for making decisions both large and small, in such a way that risk is controlled and uncertainty minimised. Every decision taken by the project manager should be taken in such a way that it directly benefits the project. Project managers use project management software, such as Microsoft Project, to organise their tasks and workforce. These software packages allow project managers to produce reports and charts in a few minutes, compared to the several hours it can take if they do not use a software package Roles and Responsibilities The role of the project manager encompasses many activities including: * Planning and Defining Scope * Activity Planning and Sequencing * Resource Planning * Developing Schedules * Time Estimating * Cost Estimating * Developing a Budget * Controlling Quality * Managing Risks and Issues * Creating Charts and Schedules * Risk Analysis * Benefits Realisation * Scalability, Interoperability and Portability Analysis * Documentation * Team Leadership * Strategic Influencing * Customer Liaison Last but not least, in order to be successful, the project manager must be given support and authority by senior management.

 

cost control

Courtesy of the Civil Engineer blog here is some good financial advice for everyone in the construction business:

The Cost Control in Construction Projects

Posted: 20 May 2012 09:17 PM PDT

During the execution of a project, procedures for project control and record keeping become indispensable tools to managers and other participants in the construction process. These tools serve the dual purpose of recording the financial transactions that occur as well as giving managers an indication of the progress and problems associated with a project. The problems of project control are aptly summed up in an old definition of a project as “any collection of vaguely related activities that are ninety percent complete, over budget and late.” The task of project control systems is to give a fair indication of the existence and the extent of such problems.

In this chapter, we consider the problems associated with resource utilization, accounting, monitoring and control during a project. In this discussion, we emphasize the project management uses of accounting information. Interpretation of project accounts is generally not straightforward until a project is completed, and then it is too late to influence project management. Even after completion of a project, the accounting results may be confusing. Hence, managers need to know how to interpret accounting information for the purpose of project management. In the process of considering management problems, however, we shall discuss some of the common accounting systems and conventions, although our purpose is not to provide a comprehensive survey of accounting procedures.

The limited objective of project control deserves emphasis. Project control procedures are primarily intended to identify deviations from the project plan rather than to suggest possible areas for cost savings. This characteristic reflects the advanced stage at which project control becomes important. The time at which major cost savings can be achieved is during planning and design for the project. During the actual construction, changes are likely to delay the project and lead to inordinate cost increases. As a result, the focus of project control is on fulfilling the original design plans or indicating deviations from these plans, rather than on searching for significant improvements and cost savings. It is only when a rescue operation is required that major changes will normally occur in the construction plan.

Finally, the issues associated with integration of information will require some discussion. Project management activities and functional concerns are intimately linked, yet the techniques used in many instances do not facilitate comprehensive or integrated consideration of project activities. For example, schedule information and cost accounts are usually kept separately. As a result, project managers themselves must synthesize a comprehensive view from the different reports on the project plus their own field observations. In particular, managers are often forced to infer the cost impacts of schedule changes, rather than being provided with aids for this process. Communication or integration of various types of information can serve a number of useful purposes, although it does require special attention in the establishment of project control procedures.

 

 

 

Picasso times two

Yesterday’s celebration of Kare’s 39 days of life was appreciated by all of us.  We had remembrances of her, the gospel message, choreography in white by Keshi’s troupe from Xtreme talent and Shiro’s self penned song to Kare and her sisters accompanied by the lady who encouraged her to write it.  Family and friends comforted us.  It was good to see some people that we hadn’t seen in years!  We are looking forward to viewing Tamara’s photos.

After todays service at the Life Centre, we stopped in at the Reach.  It was good to visit with Lynn, Erin and Kathy.  They appreciated our visit as well because the gallery would have been empty otherwise!  We noticed 2 Picassos among the featured art on loan from the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Vancouver Art Gallery from Georgia Street (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Coincidentally, there is a Picasso show exhibiting now at the Art Gallery of Ontario which will still be there when we visit in July.  We are looking forward to that summer holiday which will take us to Thunder Bay first to visit family and friends.

Vancouver Art Gallery, seen from below grade, Robson Square, Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

a long weekend

The first long weekend of the summer (if the weather co-operates) is upon us.  We start it with a memorial for Kare on Saturday at 2 pm.  With 2 projects starting we can take a break from bids and tenders for a while.  Here is some advice from the Civil Engineer blog:

Construction Bids and Tenders Tips

Posted: 16 May 2012 07:57 PM PDT

Invitation to tender

When all the preliminaries are completed and the owner has decided to proceed with the work, tenders are invited. Legally this is an attempt to check if there would be interested contractors to carry out the work within the estimated limit of time and finance. The invitation to Tender is not binding to the owner to proceed with the work and does not cause any liability for any expenses to which contractors would spend in preparing and submitting their construction bids.

Information to be given in a Call for Bids Notice

The notice must be as short as possible, but conveying an adequate idea of the nature and scope of the proposed work and all essential details. The text of a good advertisement should at least include the following information: Mode of submitted bids: Bidders should be asked to submit bids in sealed covers, in order to maintain secrecy of quotations. Form of Bid: It is advisable to get all offers in the same form to facilitate scrutiny, and comparison Name of the inviting authority: This helps the bidder know the persons he will have to deal with and the co-operation he may receive, if his bid is accepted, and such may also affect his quotation. Nature of the work and its location: If the nature and location of work is within his operating area, the prospective contractor will want to learn more about the job; else he may not waste time in reading further details Estimated cost of the work: This most briefly indicates the magnitude of the work and enables him o see whether it is too small to interest him or perhaps too large for him to handle. Time Limit: The time limit within which the work is to be completed should be mentioned. This will be of great help to the bidder to work out a realistic price of the work.. The time limit may influence the type and number of construction equipments and workers to be employed, and will vitally affect the contractor’s bid. The availability of Data and forms: where, from whom, at what cost and up to which date blank bid forms and specifications may be obtained and whether a refund will be made upon their return in satisfactory conditions. Earnest money required with the bid: The amount and form of security; whether the amount will be accepted i the form of cash, bank guarantee, check or others. Also the number of days within which the amount will be refunded to the unsuccessful bidder. Performance security: The amount, form, and procedure of recovering. Information regarding drawings: where and when drawings can be examined by bidders. Last date, place and time of receipt of sealed bid. The date, time and place and procedure of opening bids. Reservation to reject bids.

Tips for consideration in preparing construction bids

Careful study of the contract documents: The contract documents issued to the contractor or supplied for his inspection include general contract conditions, drawings, specifications, bills of quantities etc. These documents are to be studied carefully to check if any unusual conditions, specifications, or any feature of the work would demand special attention during pricing. Sub-contractor’s work: Make relative inquiries about prices with sub-contractors and material suppliers for their respective portions of the job. Site visit: This is important to ascertain the conditions under which the work has to be carried out and their impact on pricing.

* Difficulty to access the site * Limited space on the site for vehicle movements * Type of soil and depth of water table * Availability of space for storing materials on site * Availability of materials, their sources and prevailing market prices * Local availability of skilled and unskilled labor, prevailing wages for workmen * Source and cost of water needed for construction * Power and lighting source, and the cost of erecting, marinating and dismantling power connection to the site

Time for completion: The bidder then estimates the length of time the work will take and the number and category of permanent staff suggested by the nature of the work for construction management . This helps to calculate the establishment charges. Temporary works: The value of any temporary works needed to commence the construction and to clear away on completion, such as temporary office required for construction management purpose, store sheds for building materials, access road, water supply, depreciation of construction equipments, insurances, taxes, etc.

 

 

economic trends

Another beautiful summer like day, a busy office setting in the afternoon with Mark, Rob and Sherri meeting Momsie and Keshi who were awaiting Shiro.  Our office has never been so full!  It is a busy time with projects starting and finishing.

Courtesy of the Journal of Commerce here is some economic news for BC.

Tomorrow is the VRCA’s open house in Abbotsford beginning at 4:30:

Stronger investment and exports should quicken B.C.’s economic pulse in 2012/13

05/11/2012 by John Clinkard

At first glance, British Columbia’s economic complexion midway through the first half of 2012 appears rather pale. This observation is based primarily on the fact that employment in the Pacific province has been virtually unchanged over the past six months while the unemployment rate in the province has remained close to 7% since November of 2011.

By comparison, over the same period, the country as a whole has added over 80,000 jobs, 75,500 of which were full time.

Further, although the volume of home sales in B.C. increased slightly (+0.8% month over month) in March, year-to-date they are down by 11.8% compared to the first three months of 2011.

This weakening in demand appears to have led to a softening in average house prices which, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, slipped by 8.8% month over month, seasonally adjusted, in March and on a year over year basis they are down by 8.1%.

Although this decline in house prices may partly reflect a shift to smaller dwellings, the fact that on a year to date basis the average price of houses sold in B.C. was down by 5% suggests that housing demand has moderated through the second half of 2011 and into 2012.

Reflecting this evidence of moderating housing demand, the supply of existing homes for sale remained elevated at 8.3 months of inventory while the volume of housing starts tumbled by 27.1% month over month in March. Despite the lacklustre pattern of job growth and cooling housing demand over the past several months, consumer spending, reflected by retail sales, exhibited solid gains in both nominal and real terms in the first two months of the year and was up by 9.1% year over year in February.

While job growth in the province over the past several months has been quite disappointing, a number of more forward-looking indicators are pointing to a material improvement in the province’s economic health.

First, in February, Statistics Canada reported that public and private organizations in British Columbia planned to increase their capital spending in 2012 by 10.1%, more than three times the 3.5% increase in investment they planned to make at the beginning of 2011.

According to the StatsCan Survey, private organizations plan to increase their spending by 9.7% in 2012 primarily due to a 13.0% increase in construction spending. In addition, public sector investment is projected to rise by 11.6% as a result of significant projected gains in both construction spending (+13.5%) and investment in machinery and investment (+11.6%).

This positive investment outlook was reinforced by the most recent (Q4/2011) B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Major Project Inventory, which reported that the value of 349 projects started in the final quarter of 2011 was up by 18.8% compared to the value of the 328 projects started in the fourth quarter 2010.

Major projects which broke ground in late 2011 included the $200 million expansion of the Ridley Terminal, the $160 million upgrade to the Vancouver shipyard and the $475 million modernization to the Highland Valley Copper Mine.

Given this evidence of strengthening private sector investment, and a gradual improvement in both consumer spending and exports (driven by a steady pickup in U.S. demand, particularly for forest products), growth in B.C. should average in the range of 2.5% to 3% in 2012 and by 2.7% to 3.2% compared to an estimated increase of 2.7% in 2011.

Gross Domestic Product – British Columbia vs Canada

Data Source: Statistics Canada/Forecasts: CanaData/Chart: Reed Construction Data, CanaData.

 

 

shifting gears

We are shifting gears after a hectic bidding time these last few months to a time of getting 2 new projects up and running for the local university as well as preparing for our memorial service for Kare this Saturday at 2 pm.  Although her relatives in Kenya were invited,it’s unlikely they can make it.  Here is an article fom the Globe and Mail about recycling of sorts at the Nairobi dump.

Enlarge this image

Nairobi’s garbage dump pits pickers against neighbours

DAVID CONRAD

NAIROBI— Special to Globe and Mail Update

Weighted with two heavy sacks of discarded milk bags and meat bones slung across her back, a plastic bag of rotted cabbage in her hand, Rahab Ruguru walks through a smoky landscape of mountainous piles of burning waste, scavenging for a living.

“Working here is how I am able to feed my children,” says the 42-year-old mother of six, stooping to pocket a handful of discarded candy from the ground. “Of course it is not a usual job. Dodging pigs [and] used condoms, eating what I find. No, it’s not good for me. But it is a job and I have to persevere.”

Ms. Ruguru is one of an estimated 6,000 people who come daily to mine the Dandora city dump, a sprawling 12-hectare wasteland about 15 kilometres from Nairobi’s thriving central business district. They sort and place into large sacks waste that can either be eaten or sold to recycling companies – mostly metals, rubber, glass, milk bags, plastics, meat bones and electronics. Nobody earns more than $2.50 (U.S.) a day.

Nearly one million people live in the slums that surround the dump, the only one serving the Kenyan capita. While the Dandora garbage dump provides a source of income for some – Ms. Ruguru, for instance, says her scavenged items bring her money for her children’s food, school fees, books and uniforms – it is at the centre of a political controversy.

The trash pickers and their supporters do not want their only source of income to end. But most of the people living near Dandora want the trash site gone and have organized themselves into a grassroots campaign called Stop Dumping Death On Us.

“This isn’t just about trash,” says Aggrey Otieno, a human rights activist who grew up next to Dandora. “It’s about how our capital city is treating its most disadvantaged citizens.”

Father John Webootsa, another campaign activist, says the dump contaminates the lives of its neighbours. “The air we breathe here is acidic air, children are born with birth defects, the average lifespan is less than 50 years old, … the vegetables people take from here grow from polluted soil, the water we used to drink from the Nairobi River has turned tar black,” he says. “The facts are on the table. That dumpsite should not be there.”

A 2007 study by the United Nations Environment Programme found soil samples containing fatally high levels of lead in a community bordering the dump. It also found that 154 of the 328 children tested suffered from respiratory problems attributed to the site and had concentrations of lead in their blood that exceeded internationally accepted levels.

Dandora has been in operation since about 1975. Nairobi’s city council declared it full in 2001, but an estimated 2,000 metric tonnes of waste continues to be dumped there daily.

Local officials blame the city’s rapid population growth – Nairobi has grown from about 830,000 in 1979 to 3.4 million today – and an overwhelmed bureaucracy for keeping Dandora open. “Population growth has superseded our facilities,” says Mutabari Inanga, an environmental and public health officer who sits on Nairobi’s city council. Dandora, he adds, “has become an environmental and health crisis for which we have had no one to take responsibility.”

Mr. Inanga says the city is prepared to privatize waste management and relocate the site, but is waiting for the go-ahead from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The proposed new dump would be placed next to the airport, but officials have expressed fear the site will attract birds that will interfere with air traffic.

On most days, children skip school in anticipation of the truck coming from the airport, which they consider a particularly good source of treats. As it waits to enter Dandora, the older ones clamber up its sides to examine the unfinished salads, sandwiches, bread, yogurt cups and refuse from incoming flights. Younger children sort through waste tossed on the ground.

Once inside the site, dozens of men fight over the haul. Baked by the heat of the Kenyan sun and reeking of spoiled milk, the congealed food waste is either eaten on the spot or placed in Kenya Airways bags to be consumed later. An occasional fight breaks out between pickers over the most coveted items – a half-eaten brownie, an unopened container of yogurt.

Avoiding the frenzy, women pick through items the children and men have ignored.

Ms. Ruguru and many others who come daily to rummage and pick through the garbage for something saleable or edible fear the day Dandora is decommissioned. They have come to depend on it for their livelihood and income. “If this site moves then I will move with it,” says Ms. Ruguru

 

Welcome weekend

It has been an eventful week.  We bid a job on Monday got a verbal award and have made a good start on it.  Other projects are winding up to a conclusion.  Summer weather is expected all weekend.  Shiro and I took another step on the path of saying farewell to Kare when we witnessed her cremation today.  There were a lot of RCMP at the Victory Gardens this morning.  Were they looking for gangsters who were coming to mourn?  Shiro’s upscale look with lots of bling caught their attention.