Agriculture |
| |  | The Future of Agriculture: County of Strathcona | |
| | | The overall goal was to develop a realistic and implementable strategy, based on thorough research and community support, to ensure the sustainability of Strathcona’s agricultural sector. |
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Architecture |
| | | ADA in Public Schools | |
| | | Any architect involved with school design over the past decade has become very familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); legislation that went into effect in 1992. Although most architects are now thoroughly proficient in applying the standards of the Act, there are a number of details that continue to vex even the most accomplished designer. This article will outline a series of issues that are most commonly encountered in a school setting. |
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Environmental Benefits |
| | | Achieving Low Effluent Total Phosphorus Concentrations | |
| | | Recently, effluent total phosphorus (TP) concentrations lower than 0.10mg/L are being proposed for expanded or new WWTPs in Ontario inorder to meet the MOE Policy 2 requirements for surface water quality.For example, expansion of the Regional WWTP serving the Town ofNew Tecumseth will require that the Regional WWTP achieve an effluentTP concentration of 0.07 mg/L (Abraham et al, 2003). Similar or lowereffluent limits are expected to be imposed on the expanded InnisfilWPCP (Stantec, 2004) and Bradford WWTP (Stantec, 2004). Pilot scaleand demonstration scale studies have shown that these levels ofphosphorus removal are achievable; however, there is no full-scaleoperating experience in Ontario to show that these low levels ofphosphorus removal are achievable on a consistent basis.XCG and Stantec conducted a review of the phosphorus removalcapability of WWTPs in other jurisdictions to assess the capability of fullscale WWTPs to consistently achieve very low effluent TPconcentrations and the technology in use elsewhere to accomplish thislevel of treatment. This review identified several WWTPs in the UnitedStates that are reportedly achieving effluent TP concentrations of 0.1mg/L or lower on a consistent basis. Notably, three Colorado WWTPsreported achieving effluent total phosphorus concentrations of 0.01 mg/Lon average, while a WPCP in Virginia has reportedly produced aneffluent TP concentration of 0.053 on average. A review of the processconfiguration and performance of these facilities is provided. |
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| | | BNR Then vs. Now | |
| | | An advanced wastewater treatment plant was commissioned in 1992 for the City of Kalispell, which is located in northwest Montana and discharging to a sensitive Rocky Mountain watershed. |
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| | | Challenges in Implementing Natural Filtration and Enhanced Disinfection | |
| | | The City of Guelph (City) has undertaken a source water characterizationstudy that has identified several of the water sources at the Arkell SpringGround and Carter water supplies as groundwater under the directinfluence (GUDI) of surface water with effective in-situ filtration (WEF).This source water designation requires the provision of enhanceddisinfection under Ontario Drinking Water Regulation (O. Reg.) 170/03and forms the basis for treatment upgrades mandated by the Ministry ofthe Environment as specified in the City’s Certificate of Approval.Stantec Consulting Ltd., and their subconsultant Associated Engineering,were retained to conduct a Class Environmental Assessment (EA) toinvestigate options for providing this additional treatment. In addition tothe treatment upgrades, the City is proactively undertaking furtherupgrades to maintain the reliability and security of this supply. Several ofthese infrastructure upgrades were also addressed within this study. |
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| | | Elmira Infiltration Inflow - Total Solution | |
| | | Growth in the Community of Elmira, Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, has been limited in recent years by insufficient wastewater treatment capacity and capacity constraints within the existing system. |
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| | | Health Canada's New Perspective on Indoor Fungal Contamination in Public Buildings | |
| | | In the summer of 2004, Health Canada released its new guideline onfungi in public buildings entitled, “Fungal Contamination in PublicBuildings: Health Effects and Investigation Methods”. The Health Canadaguideline continues to validate the need to conduct mold investigationsand remedial efforts based on evidence of confirmed or potential healthconsequences. As mold investigation is still an evolving science, theinvestigator will continually need to rely on professional judgment whenreferencing some sections of the guideline and adopt practices that arebased on the best available technology. |
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| | | Implementation Of Primary UV Disinfection at the Mannheim WTP | |
| | | The Mannheim Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is a fully conventional surface water treatment plant owned and operated by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Region). |
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| | | Innovative Flow Equalization of Wastewater Treatment on a Regional Basis | |
| | | The Town of New Tecumseth was formed in 1991 through the amalgamation of the communities of Alliston, Tottenham, and Beeton. With this amalgamation, municipal services such as water and wastewater treatment were consolidated, bringing the problems of the individual communities’ treatment facilities into a larger planning focus. |
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| | | Mitigating the Impacts of Elevated Water Storage Tanks on Water Quality | |
| | | From an operational perspective, elevated water storage tanks are generally considered extremely beneficial to water distribution systems. These “floating” storage tanks reduce peak pumping rates, stabilize pressures, and increase reliability. |
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| | | Nitrification vs. Denitrification | |
| | | The Elmira wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) completed a fullupgrade/expansion to a biological nutrient removal (BNR) process in2002. The BNR process was designed to treat 7,800 m3/d average flowand features a two bioreactor Modified Johannesburg Processconfiguration with preanoxic, anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones withflexibility to operate in Bio-P, nitrification, and denitrification modes ofoperation. |
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| | | Optimization of the Pumping / Storage / Piping Relationship in Large Water Systems for Effective Master Planning | |
| | | In early 2001, the City of Ottawa retained the services of Stantec Consulting Ltd. to undertake an assessment of the short and long term infrastructure needs required to service a major portion of the City’s water supply system. |
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| | | Real-Time Flow Control for a Trunk Sanitary Sewer and Tunnel Relief System in the City of Ottawa | |
| | | This paper describes the design and implementation of a real time flow control system on a major trunk sanitary and relief tunnel system in the City of Ottawa. |
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| | | Tertiary Phosphorus Removal in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using the Densadeg and Actiflo Processes | |
| | | The Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located in the Town of New Tecumseth, Ontario, is required to meet a stringent future effluent total phosphorus limit concentration of less than 0.07 mg/L. |
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| | | Water Supply Risk Assessment and Contingency Planning Study - City of Ottawa | |
| | | This report was commissioned by the City of Ottawa’s Drinking Water Services branch as a preliminary step to help determine the potential threats and risks to the existing water distribution system and its customers, and then to develop a contingency plan to deal with such an event. |
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Industrial |
| | | A Simple and Robust Change Control System | |
| | | A Simple and Robust Change Control System OR How to Maintain a Focused View of Change in Healthcare Manufacturing |
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| | | Aggressive Furnace Practice Effects | |
| | | This paper reviews the effects of aggressive furnace practice and theimportance of complete combustion relative to the combustiongap/chamber design. CFD modeling presented in the background isused to visualize problems and review potential solutions. |
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| | | Is it Time to Take a Second Look at Your Machinery Safeguarding? | |
| | | There are a number of misconceptions about the requirements for machine safeguarding. This article discusses four of the more common misconceptions and provides some practical suggestions to help assess situations in which machinery safeguarding is required. |
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Landscape Architecture |
| | | Adrenalscapes: A Conceptual Design Model for Extreme Sport | |
| | | Authored by Stantec's Jack Vanstone, Adrenalscapes: A Conceptual Design Model for Extreme Sport was published in Landscapes/Paysages, a Canadian Landscape Architecture magazine. The article content is drawn from presentations given by various 2003 International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Congress participants and from the corresponding Student Design Competition. |
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Management Services |
| | | Project Management: An Overview | |
| | | Project management is the organization, management, and control of allaspects of a specific project throughout its duration, from initial concept to final takeover. The final product should achieve the Owner’s objectiveswith respect to a) successfully fulfilling the predetermined scope, function, and quality requirements; b) completion within the approved schedule; and c) completion within the approved budget. When project management is applied to a multi-project collection of work,we refer to this as program management. The principles of projectmanagement apply equally to program management. There has been a growing awareness of project management as a special skill and competency that is learned and applied, much the same as thetraditional specializations of engineering or architecture. Projectmanagement is quite different however, from the technical design,engineering, architecture or construction disciplines most readilyassociated with capital projects. Often, there are aspects of a project that fall outside the scope of these technical areas that need to be prudently managed in order to meet the broader project objectives. This has resulted in the evolution of project management as a separate and distinct CCfunction that is performed independently of, but in conjunction with, architects, specialty engineers, suppliers, and contractors (construction managers), each executing their respective project roles. |
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| | | Project Management–Trained People, Proven Processes, and Enabling Technology | |
| | | Project management is managing a project to achieve precise objectivesin terms of scope, time, cost, quality, function and performance. It is alsoabout properly trained and experienced people using proven projectmanagement processes and technology. It hasn’t always been that way.Throughout history man has undertaken projects and for manyorganizations, project management equates strictly to strong leadershipskills. |
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| | | Winning Project Approval: Writing a Convincing Business Case | |
| | | A well-researched and documented business case provides decision makers with data and information to improve decision quality. Business cases may be needed for approving the project or budget, obtaining finances from public or private sources, deciding on a facility location, or setting direction from a range of strategic facility alternatives.There are proven methods and techniques for researching and documenting an effective business case that will reduce time and costs, as well as produce a more comprehensive, convincing deliverable. Accurate time and cost estimation, scope definition, and effective organization of your team are critical for a successful launch. Knowing where to research information, and identification and evaluation of alternatives are critical in developing your first draft. Leveraging the capabilities of modern technology, and preparing yourself with strategies and tactics to address inevitable problems are key to completing your project to your customer's satisfaction, on schedule, and within budget. |
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Sustainable Design |
| | | Greening the Acute Care Inpatient Unit | |
| | | Healthcare architects have been talking about designing healing environments for a long time. More often than not, even in an integrated design process, the successful design team will have talked itself out of incorporating innovative properties and into using the same palette of building systems and finishing materials that will be criticized in the next proposal. |
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Transportation Benefits |
| | | City of Edmonton’s Newest LRT Extension: Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel | |
| | | In June of 1999, the Owner, together with Stantec (the Managing Consultant), prepared a scoping document outlining the planning objectives and project delivery for an 8.2 km extension of the existing LRT system to facilitate service to the City’s south side. In December of 1999, Edmonton’s City Council accepted the scoping document for information and voted to proceed with the planning of the C$600 million South LRT Extension Project. |
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| | | Development of a Network Level Structural Adequacy Index Model for NJOT PMS | |
| | | Many highway agencies plan their future spending based on the analysis performed by their Pavement Management Systems (PMS) in setting priorities for improvements. A major issue that always faces PMS is to differentiate between the structural and functional needs, as both approaches have significant limitations. |
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| | | Effects of Base Layer Drainage Conditions on the Response of Rigid Pavements | |
| | | The work presented in this paper is part of a large-scale research study sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation to study the seasonal variation in pavement properties and its impact on pavement response and performance. |
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| | | Enhancing Backcalculation Procedures though Consideration of Thickness Variability | |
| | | This paper outlines a developed procedure to account for the normal variability in pavement layer thickness and provides an implementation example. The paper also shows the impact of ignoring the allowed variability in layer thickness on the backcalculation results, as well as on the design pavement moduli used in the rehabilitation analysis and design. |
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| | | Enhancing the PMS Database through Incorporation of GPR and Core Data | |
| | | This paper details the incorporation of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and core databases into Pavement Management Systems (PMS) and their integration with the as-built database. In addition, the development and integration of the three types of databases within the PMS are highlighted and the benefits of integration for highway agencies is explored. |
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| | | Impact of Slab Curling on Backcalculation Analysis | |
| | | The work presented in this paper is a part of a large-scale research study sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to study the seasonal variation in pavement properties and its impact on pavement response and performance. |
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| | | Incorporating Reliability Factors in Backcalculation Analysis for New Jersey Pavements | |
| | | The reliability concept provides a means of incorporating some degree of certainty into the design process to ensure that the outcome will provide acceptable levels of service until the end of the intended design life. In pavement design, the reliability concept is applicable for the input parameters with a high degree of uncertainty. |
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| | | Integration of Preventive Maintenance into the NJDOT PMS | |
| | | This paper describes enhancements to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) pavement management system (PMS), including an overview of the current PMS and an upgrade to incorporate preventive maintenance activities. |
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| | | Risk Management Planning: An Essential QA / QC Tool | |
| | | The risk management plan is a key QA / QC tool in a proactive project management strategy. This paper explores the rationale behind the steps taken to achieve an effective work plan and the result of having a QA / QC tool at the disposal of the entire project team. |
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| | | The New Ontario Bridge Management System | |
| | | Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is responsible for the management of approximately 3000 bridges on the provincial highway network. The MTO in recent years has been evaluating developments in Bridge Management Systems (BMS) in relation to its own requirements. The Ministry decided to develop an all-new system, similar in network-level functionality to modern systems developed in other countries, but more detailed in its project-level capabilities than any existing system. |
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