Mechanical Piping Plumbing Journal 2008

ible work hours, plus management recruitment. Says Zimmerman, “it’s an industry-wide problem.” Dave Flamand, a partner with PEAK Mechanical Partnership Ltd. in Saskatoon, and president of MCA Saskatchewan, says while a lack of skilled labour was more easily anticipated, shortage of staff possessing management skills was not as easily prepared for by anyone in the construction industry. PEAK Mechanical Partnership Ltd., based in Saskatoon, provides high quality plumbing and sheet metal services. The company’s own fabrication shop allows it to custommake sheet metal to exact specifications. PEAK specializes in both commercial and residential needs for furnaces, air conditioners, heat exchangers, plumbing, refrigeration, as well as service. PEAK Mechanical was founded in 1999 by Flamand, Randy Steinhauer and Keith Weisgerber. Initially, the focus was on small-to-medium commercial renovation and new construction market, but in the past few years they have expanded operations to include the residential market. Flamand says thus far, because PEAK is relatively young, lack of management skills is not an issue within his company. He says younger staff is already being prepared to take over the company reins when their time comes. He, too, points to training as critical to preparing for any company’s future. Where Flamand sees most of the labour shortage is within the journeyman sector. He explains, “It is a problem fi nding enough journeymen to meet our apprenticeship ratio. It’s a big issue. You can only grow as you fi nd journeymen, and right now we cannot grow anymore until we fi nd them. We could have taken on more work last summer for example, but we could not get anymore journeymen.” And according to Arpi’s Industries Ltd.’s Barry Cousins, president of the Calgary Construction Association, recruiting from within your labour pool is one way to replenish the potential management pool of any company. Established in 1963, Arpi’s Industries Ltd. is the largest combined mechanical contractor in Western Canada. Arpi’s provides a single source for mechanical needs in commercial construction, fabrication, industrial, and building and plant maintenance. The strength of the company stems from the vast experience and knowledge of its people and resources providing quality and dedication throughout all of the skill trades and services it offers. According to Cousins, when it comes to recruiting management, there are “two schools of thought. You bring in people from the field, start them off as estimators, and move them up through project management. It still works. But the contracting end and contractual obligations are more sophisticated than ever. So, there are a lot more skill sets needed for a project Triple H Hydronics Inc. Mailing Address: 1303-42 Ave NE Calgary, AB T2A 3L2 Shop Address: 100-2840 58th Ave SE Calgary, AB Phone: (403) 236-1211 Fax: (403) 236-0013 E-mail: dewaal1@telus.net Mechanical Contractors Associations of Alberta, B.C., Manitoba & Saskatchewan 2008 37 http://triplehhydronics.ca/index.php

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mechanical Piping Plumbing Journal 2008

Mechanical Piping Plumbing Journal 2008 Contents MCA Canada Chairman MCA Alberta MCA British Columbia MCA Manitoba MCA Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Saskatchewan Manitoba Demographics & Management Employees Insurance – The Pros & Cons of Subguard® Construction Sector Council Data Richmond Olympic Oval Uses the Ice to Heat Things Up B.C.’s Hydrogen Highway™: The Hydrogen + Fuel Cell Alternative The Manitoba Hydro Tower Project Index to Advertisers

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