The Ontario Construction Report – April 2009 – PAGE OCR 3
Both parties must LEED to ensure the dance goes smoothly
JOHNATHAN MONK – The OCR Construction Report
can be assured and what can all parties involved do to pro- design is to implement a points system. If a certain amount
tect themselves and ensure they’re not left holding the bag. of points is required to achieve the LEED certification
Recently, in the U.S., the construction industry experi- “First of all,” says LEED consultant Stephen Carpenter level, the client should aim for more points, allowing for
enced what may have been its first LEED-related lawsuit. of Enermodal Engineering, “it’s my understanding that in some leeway throughout the process.
The project in Maryland – a $7.5-million, 23-unit prop- the U.S. case the LEED component was a secondary issue. The best advice, he says, is to keep on top of the situa-
erty – had been targeted for LEED Silver certification by There were other problems and the LEED issue just got tion before it gets out of hand.
the building’s owner, thus allowing the company $650,000 dragged into it.” “If a certain paint is to be used on the walls and it’s not,
in tax credits from the state government. Carpenter says he’s not aware of any such cases in the builder is in breach of contract and once that paint’s
Unfortunately, the standards fell short. As a result, the Canada but says assigning blame to one party for failure on the walls you can’t take it back.”
general contractor filed a $54,000 lien against the owners to meet LEED standards is difficult. If everyone involved proceeds in a proactive manner,
for non-payment and, subsequently, a lawsuit against the “It’s a pretty grey area,” he says. “If you’re a contractor, problems can be avoided, Carpenter says.
owner. your obligation is to build within the specifications. How- “LEED standard requires everyone involved in the
The owner responded, filing a counter-suit to recover ever, it’s not fair to say, ‘you’re not building Silver.’ If the process to contribute to the design of a building, he says.
the damages for negligence, breach of contract and “failure owners didn’t design the building properly how can they “It’s as simple as that. It’s very much a shared responsi-
to construct an environmentally sound green building in achieve it?” bility.”
accordance with the LEED rating system.” Carpenter says one trick used to help ensure a smooth
While the case was settled out of court, the disagree-
ment brings to light the question of whether or not LEED
Skills Competition
Continued from page OCR2
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For his competition, Young was given a set of plans and
the necessary materials to complete his project. It was up to
him to figure out how everything went together, and com-
plete the project as close to the plans as possible. Before the
competition, he brushed on on his stair-building just in case,
and practiced other areas of the trade.
“At first I was just doing it because I enjoyed it,” he said.
“I’ve been doing this with my grandpa for years now. I was
originally going through for electrician, so it really helped
out now that I’ve decided to do carpentry. It really helped
my decision.”
Working with Skills Canada – Ontario was great, and
Young said he would recommend the competition to anyone
looking to get into the trades.
Helping young people get into the trades is another reason
the competition is so important, Smyth said.
“It’s well-known that there’s going to be a critical short-
age of skilled workers, even though we’re now in a pretty
serious recession,” she said. “Still, people who are working
in skilled trades have lots of opportunities to get jobs, and
when we come out of the recession, there’s going to be lots
and lots of opportunities for people working in skilled trades
and technologies.”
Last year, Smyth had nine liaison officers traveling the
province four days a week to talk about skilled trades and
technologies. They visited 5,200 classrooms, which trans-
lates to roughly 120,000 students, to promote those careers
and invite them to the competition.
The show wouldn’t be possible without a wide array of
partners, including the Ontario Mining Association who set
up a massive display at the competition to promote mining,
as well as Union Gas, who supports the young women’s con-
ferences, and Dickies Workwear, who will provide each
competitor with a t-shirt.
There are also 800 volunteers who help set up the com-
petition, as well as support from various colleges around the
province.
Over the years, the competition has grown significantly
from the 112-competitor event back in its first year, to the
over 2,000 competitors anticipated this year. Smyth said she
feels fortunate to have been involved since the beginning.
“This organization has been my passion because it really
does benefit young people who never before had a chance to
show off what they do, or never had a chance to compete,”
she said. “It really helps them with self-esteem, and helps
them realize they’ve made a good choice. They come home
and they’re so proud of what they’ve accomplished.”
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