Author: Kirsten Nielsen

 

Robots to the Rescue: Streamlining Hospital Operations to Lighten the Load on Staff

Preethi Sethi, Senior Consultant with HH Angus | Angus Connect, will be presenting at the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo (HCD 2025) alongside:

  • Henry Feng, Senior Manager, Engineering & Facilities Management, Providence Health Care
  • Pam McTeague, Global Clinical Operations Consultant (USA)

Also attending from HH Angus – Megan Angus, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Digital Services | Vice President Angus Connect.

As hospitals navigate ongoing staff shortages, this session explores how advanced logistics technologies—including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), mobile robots, and pneumatic systems—can help streamline operations, automate routine tasks, and allow healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most: patient care.

Drawing on real-world lessons from the New St. Paul’s Hospital project, the discussion will highlight how early planning, smart design, and collaboration are key to successfully integrating automation into hospital workflows. The team will also compare design-build-finance (DBF) and public-private partnership (P3) models, sharing strategies for effective change management and staff engagement.

By embracing intelligent automation, healthcare organizations can create more resilient, efficient, and patient-centred environments—lightening the load on staff while improving quality of care.

 
 

CSA (Canadian Standards Association) standards are critical to engineering practice because they ensure consistency, safety, quality, and legal compliance.

Today, Nick Stark, Executive Vice President at HH Angus & Associates Ltd., and Gordon Burrill, President of Teegor Consulting Inc., are at the 2025 CCHF Conference in Quebec City, leading a session on the CSA Healthcare Facilities Standards Update. They are providing insights into the ongoing development and evolution of national standards that guide healthcare facility design and operations across Canada.

Their discussion explores updates and revisions to several cornerstone standards:
 ✅ CSA Z8000 – Healthcare Facilities Design
 ✅ CSA Z317.2:19 – Special Requirements for HVAC Systems in Healthcare Facilities
 ✅ CSA Z8008 – Assessments of Healthcare Facilities, Services, and Building Systems

Nick is Vice-Chair of CSA Z8000 and Technical Sub-Committee Chair of CSA Z317.2, and continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the standards that influence infection prevention, patient safety, and engineering excellence in healthcare facilities.

Gordon is Chair of the CSA Technical Committee and Strategic Steering Committee for Healthcare Standards, and brings decades of expertise in healthcare facility operations, infection control, and compliance.

The CCHF Conference provides an important opportunity for professionals nationwide to collaborate, share best practices, and strengthen the delivery of healthcare projects during a time of financial and operational pressures.

 
 

Last evening's 2025 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards shone a spotlight on a very special volunteer project involving HH Angus and partner organizations.

We are delighted to announce that the INITIATE2 Infectious Disease Treatment Module (IDTM) was honoured with both the Award of Excellence in the Community Outreach category and the Philanthropy Award!

Our congratulations go out to all the dedicated team members, led by Meagan Webb, who contributed time, expertise, and passion to this important initiative. 

The Award of Excellence is a testament to the power of collaboration and the impact that engineering can have on communities around the world. The prestigious Philanthropy Award is presented to the “project that best demonstrates donation of a firm's time and/or services for the benefit of a community or group”. 

Developed in partnership with the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme, the IDTM is the first project in a 5-year effort to create innovative, standardized solutions that strengthen global readiness and response to health emergencies. Designed as a portable facility, the module enables rapid deployment and setup of field treatment centres when infectious outbreaks first emerge—helping save lives when it matters most.

This marks the fifth WHO project where HH Angus has proudly volunteered engineering and design services as a Téchne member under the International Federation of Healthcare Engineers. We’re deeply honoured to contribute to this meaningful work, and so proud of our team and partners for this outstanding recognition.

To read more about the IDTM project on our website, click here.

 
Spirit Garden
 

The Spirit Garden at Nathan Phillips Square was recently honoured with an 'Award of Excellence' from the Toronto Urban Design Awards, and a '2025  Wood Design & Building Award' from the Canadian Wood Council.

Opened one year ago in Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto, the Spirit Garden fulfills the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 82 - establishing a permanent monument in Canada’s largest city to honour residential school survivors and the children who did not return.

Congratulations to the City of Toronto and the project team behind this important installation, creating a contemplative space for teaching, sharing, and healing, with meaningful features such as the limestone turtle sculpture, Teaching Lodge, Spirit Canoe, Inuksuk, Three Sisters Garden, and Kaswentha/Two-Row Wampum walkway.

HH Angus is proud to have contributed technical services - mechanical and electrical engineering, IMIT design, security design, and commissioning - ensuring the Garden’s systems supported its cultural and experiential vision. We’re gratified that the Spirit Garden is recognized not only as an award-winning project, but as an enduring place of remembrance and reconciliation.

To learn more about the project, visit our website at the link below:
https://hhangus.com/projects/city-of-toronto-nathan-phillips-square-spirit-garden/

 
 

Co-operators' new Guelph Headquarters building was recently honoured with a 2025 Toronto Section Award from the Illuminating Engineering Society. 

These awards recognize professionalism, ingenuity and originality in lighting design. Congratulations to our Lighting Design and Commercial teams, The Co-operators, and other members of the design team, including HOK, NEO Architecture, and Ecovert.

The lighting design was honoured for its success in enhancing the building's materials, function, and structure. An element of the client’s Net Zero strategy, it also infuses the building with natural daylight, maximizing energy use, and reinforcing the firm’s commitment to sustainability, for example by employing all-LED lighting and intelligent controls.

The all-electric project has been certified a ‘Zero Carbon Building – Design Standard’ by the CaGBC and is pursuing Net Zero Performance. It has also achieved LEED Gold and WELL Platinum certifications, and is targeting BOMA Best certification. 

HH Angus’ scope of work also included mechanical and electrical engineering, and IMIT consulting. To learn more about the project, click on the link below:
https://hhangus.com/projects/the-co-operators-headquarters-in-guelph/

To view other projects featuring the work of our Lighting Design team, click here:
https://hhangus.com/projects/?_service=lighting-design