The Ontario Concrete Industry would like to acknowledge excellence and innovation with the Ontario Concrete Awards. Large or small company, the Ontario Concrete Awards honours the visions of some of the most creative projects the province has to offer.

Click here to access more information.

The latest issue ofthe OEL Newsletter is now available. Click here to access.

League of Champions Members and Patrons are invited to the OGCA Safety Awards on September 20, 2019.

Please watch your Inbox for more details.

The League of Champions is proud to welcome another Safety Leader to our team, Stuart Olson Industrial Constructors Inc.

Stuart Olson Industrial Constructors is located in Sudbury, Ontario and serves many clients across Canada. Over the past several years, they have developed strong and trusting relationships with their industrial clients across all sectors: petrochemical, power generation, forest product companies, mining, oil & gas, nuclear, solar & wind, steel, engineering firms and OEMs.

Stuart Olson Industrial (SOI) believes that everyone is responsible for safety. In all matters, especially about safety, employees are encouraged to bring forth their concerns. The success of their HSE Management Program depends on the involvement of its employees.

Thank you, Stuart Olson Industrial, for joining the League of Champions. Together, we are making a difference for safety in Ontario construction.

Please visit their website for more information about Stuart Olson Industrial Constructors Inc.

Is your company or organization a Safety Leader? Do you want to be a part of a group that has a mission of creating a safety culture in the workplace? Are you a Safety Champion and want to make a difference for safety in Ontario construction? Please visit www.theLOC.ca for more information about the League of Champions. To apply to become a Champion, please contact Marjorie Javier by email at Marjorie@theLOC.ca or phone 905-671-3969.

On September 20, 2019, OGCA will celebrate our best safety results ever by awarding members for their outstanding achievements at our Safety Awards Breakfast.

OGCA members scored a record low LTI frequency in 2018 of .22 compared to .71 in the ICI Contractors rate #723. This is an amazing reduction against an already low frequency of .34 in 2017.

The ICI Contractor rate LTI frequency rate is the lowest of all construction rates and OGCA members are only 30% of that rate. This has been accomplished while LTIs have increased by more than 10% across the Ontario WSIB system over the last three years.

Our focus on safety and the use of programs such as COR and the League of Champions have created a culture in our membership that focus on a commitment that all our workers return home safe every day.

This an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to all who have contributed to this success! Let’s keep getting safer.

On Friday, September 20, we will be meeting at the Verdi Conference Centre on Derry Road in Mississauga, to present the 2018 OGCA Safety Awards.

Winners of Categories 1, 2 and 3 will be presented, along with several plaques for those who have achieved over 1 million derived hours worked, and over 500,000 derived hours worked.

Congratulations to all and we hope to see you there to receive your award in person.

Among those invited to speak during the ceremony are the Minister of Labour, the Chief Prevention Officer and other dignitaries.

The League of Champions will also be presenting Charters and jerseys to their newest members.

Congratulations to Eastern Construction which was selected on August 1 as the winner of the OGCA Photo Contest.

All names were entered into the contest based on the number of entry photos submitted.

Thank you all for participating in the contest and for providing more photos for our archives!

The OGCA is excited to announce the launch of its Technology Committee.

Technological advancements have always driven construction forward, so it’s odd that so many companies are slow to adopt new tech.

We’re able to build stronger, taller, and more energy efficient structures. Technology has made construction sites safer and workers more efficient. It has allowed us to increase productivity, improve collaboration, and tackle more complex projects.

Our committee will focus on ways to improve: productivity, software, offsite construction, AI and machine learning, safety and training, among other areas of emerging technology.

The OGCA Technology Committee will learn, share ideas, and promote technology to all members of the Ontario General Contractors Association. For more information, please email steven@ogca.ca to get involved.

Coffee With Colleagues by FCA Insurance & Miller Thomson LLP – A FCA Insurance event

Where: 180 Attwell Drive, Suite 280, Toronto

When: Thursday, September 19 at 8:00 AM

For tickets, please click here. 

The Clock is ticking for getting COR™ certified in Ontario

Today, COR™ certification has reached a stage where you just cannot remain registered anymore, especially since January 2019. The luxury of just remaining registered and bid for projects has vanished. Therefore, it’s time to take quick action.

CLICK HERE to check the latest COR™ requirements of various organizations published by the IHSA.

Get to know more about COR™ and how to make it easier to achieve COR™ in Ontario from Expert COR™ Consultant | Associate External COR™ Auditor of the IHSA at the COR™ Breakfast Seminar held at the OGCA. 

Next one is on September 11, 2019 at the OGCA.

CLICK HERE to book now. 

HALF-DAY INTENSIVE WORKSHOP

Increasingly, requests for accommodation in the workplace focus on mental, not physical, disability.  Yet, understanding when a mental health issue may be a disability and how far the duty to accommodate a mental disability extends can be challenging for an employer.  

This practical, half-day workshop provides participants with the knowledge and tools to confidently assess and respond to a request for mental health accommodation in the workplace.   

Using interactive learning and real life-scenarios, topics include:

• Mental Disability vs. Workplace Woe: When does an ailment such as stress or anxiety require accommodation (and when does it not).
• Medical Documentation: How to obtain useful medical documentation related to mental disability.
• The Accommodation Process: How accommodation of a mental disability differs from accommodation of a physical disability, and ways to accommodate mental disability.
• Leaves of Absence and Termination of Employment: When is an employer justified in placing an employee on a leave of absence, or terminating the employment relationship, for reasons related to a mental disability. 

DATE and TIME:          Each workshop is from 9:00am – 1:00pm

Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019

LOCATION: Sherrard Kuzz LLP, 250 Yonge Street, Suite 3300, Toronto

COST: $525 plus tax

REGISTER: Click Here

This is a small group workshop; space is extremely limited

The latest Legislative Reports are now available on the OGCA webiste under Government Relations. For issues prior to December 2018, please contact the OGCA.

There are a couple of sessions being planned for September and November.

The first is a session with Travelers (one of our APP members and strong supporter of OGCA events).

On Thursday, September 26, OGCA and Travelers will be holding a joint event at Verdi Conference Centre. This event will consist of a breakfast, then a panel discussion on Adjudication and Prompt Payment, and how members, architects, engineers and consultants will need to be prepared for what is coming in October. Speakers on the panel include Matt Ainley, Ray Bassett, Paul Raboud, John Ratzenberger and Mario Pecchia. The format will consist of some scenarios after which Ray Bassett will ask each member of the panel to comment on how they see their members responding to that situation. More information will be sent in the coming weeks.

The second session is currently being planned by David Frame, on a session to provide members with an update on WSIB, a Health and Safety Update, Rate Framework, and a COR 2019 introduction. This will be a half day session, possibly at the OGCA offices. More information will be sent once a date has been confirmed.

We hope to see many of you at the OGCA's 81st AGM and Conference at the JW Marriott The Rosseau in Minett, October 3 - 6, 2019.

Unfortunately, the rooms at the JW Marriott were sold out prior to the cut off date, so many people have had to book at the Clevelands House next door. OGCA is arranging for a shuttle to take people back and forth so that no events at the AGM are missed.

If you are still planning to register, please send in your registration forms to mary@ogca.ca and be sure to book your accommodations at Clevelands House (use OGCA2019 as the booking code).