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Month: November 2021

Continued excellence in Saskatchewan recognized with two awards

Posted on by Ryan (ODG)

Last week, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies Saskatchewan (ACEC-SK) hosted their annual Brian Eckel Awards to recognize project excellence and individual achievements by members companies in consulting engineering and geoscience in the province. We’re pleased to share that ACEC-SK presented Associated Engineering with an Award of Merit in Project Management for the Wanuskewin Heritage Park Bison Facilities project, completed for our client, the Wanuskewin Hertitage Park Authority. Accepting the award were Darrell Rinas and Doug Thomson. 

Watch the video shown during the awards gala, here.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park Authority-WHP Renewal Civil Eng.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park has become a world-renowned center to research, honour and educate others about the Indigenous tribes of the Northern Plains. In 2017, Associated Engineering was contracted to manage a project that would return a resident bison herd to Wanuskewin, starting with construction of facilities to manage and care for the animals. This project involved a cultural journey for our team as we participated in awareness activities set out by Wanuskewin and their elders. The success of this initiative highlights the unique collaborative effort that became a shared vision, echoing Indigenous collaborations of centuries past.

Earlier this fall, the same project won a 2021 National Trust Award.

Also, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways awarded Associated Engineering with the 2021 Consultant of the Year Award! Accepting on behalf of the company was Paul Pinder (3rd from left), and Ian Farthing (2nd from left). 

Clayton Reservoir awarded for design excellence

Posted on by Ryan (ODG)

We’re pleased to share the news that the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia recently announced their 2021 Architectural Awards of Excellence Program winners. Over 150 award submissions were evaluated by an esteemed jury and graded on five key elements. The program presented a Design Excellence Award for the Clayton Reservoir, which was delivered by a multi-discipline team and Associated Engineering served as lead engineer and prime consultant on the project.

Our project team completed the preliminary and detailed design of the new, two-cell, 22.5 million litre reservoir that provides additional drinking water capacity and improves resilience to warmer and drier summers in response to the changing climate. The work included public consultation support services to the City of Surrey’s Parks and Engineering Department and planning for a future Phase 2 reservoir.

The team also developed an innovative architectural and landscape concept to mitigate the reservoir’s 8.5 metre height and mass. On cloudy days, the white upper half of the tank blends with the sky, while the dark base grounds the project, connecting it with the surrounding environment. In addition, landscaping integrates the reservoir site with the surrounding community and Hazelgrove Park. 

Previously, the Clayton Reservoir also received a 2019 Canadian Architect Award of Merit.

Associated staff unite again for a great cause

Posted on by Ryan (ODG)

Supporting the United Way and their annual fundraising campaign is a long-time effort that staff in our offices have contributed to over many years. Despite the ongoing challenges faced by us all, our dedicated colleagues once again developed fun and engaging activities for us to enjoy and together we raised funds for this great cause. The incredible generosity of our staff resulted in a total of $60,640 being raised!

The campaigns were held virtually once again this year and led by our creative United Way committees. With the heartwarming support of our staff, our combined contribution will aid those living in poverty and help to build better communities.

In Edmonton, the committee of Aymee Smith, April Ziegler, Cailee McOrmond, Chris Parfitt, Li Wang, Candice Gottstein, Andrew Christopher, Rahul Jairath, David Ulliac, Hannah Graham, Sara Debaji, Rose Schneider, Kevin Carnagie, and Nikki Unsworth, Andrew Stewart, Laurel Richards, and chair, Imad Bazzi, organized events including several Engineering Days of Caring, a fitness challenge, a turkey raffle, a wine survivor raffle, and bingo. We’d like to thank our corporate sponsor, Helder Afonso, for his continued support of this annual campaign.

In Vancouver, the committee of Nicole Tamm, Juliet Hone, Fenella Cheng, Max Lauretta, Karine Poliquin, Arpan Grewal, Alex Hackney, Freda Deale, Sean Bolongaro, Robyn Casement, Nicole Scherer, Derek Desaulniers, Patrick Stancombe, Winnie Li, and chair, Rachel Allen, organized events including bingo, trivia, an island survivor raffle, and a gift card raffle.

Associated Engineering recognized at the inaugural Psychologically Safe Workplace Awards

Posted on by Ryan (ODG)

The health and well-being of our employees is one of Associated’s top priorities. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacting the mental wellness of many of us, we sought a means to effectively measure and better support the psychological safety of our staff.

Last month, we invited all staff to participate in a survey using the Mental Fitness Index, developed by Howatt HR, which evaluates the employee experience with respect to workplace mental health. The survey program is also part of the Psychologically Safe Workplace Awards, a Canada-wide, evidence-based annual competition that measures workplace mental health. As an organization, we saw value in gaining insight into what makes for a Psychologically Safe Workplace, and benchmarking our performance against the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, using the results to inform opportunities for improvement.

As an added benefit, thanks to the large number of our staff who voluntarily participated in the survey, we qualified for consideration in this year’s awards. Organizations were evaluated on several criteria, validated by an independent judging panel, and awarded at three levels – Gold, Silver and Bronze. More information on the awards may be found here.

On October 20th, Associated Engineering was invited to attend a special virtual conference and award event, where we received the 2022 Psychologically Safe Workplace Silver Award. The award recognizes employers in Canada for their leadership in workplace mental health. We are amongst just five other companies receiving an award this year. The awards were presented by Talent Canada with OHS Canada and Howatt HR.

We thank all of our staff who participated in the survey and helped contribute to the collective learnings received.