Author: Kirsten Nielsen

As the economy slowly re-opens, businesses need to plan for restarting operations. Those who require their staff to work in a common location will need to ensure their employees, customers and partners feel safe and can trust that they will be returning to a healthy and clean work environment, both for the near future and for potential second or third waves of infection.

The spread of COVID-19 is generally understood to be through close proximity – by respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks,  and surface transmission. Transmission through HVAC systems is not adequately tested or documented, and available resources (such as ASHRAE) appear to favour an abundance of caution in making any recommendations due to this lack of testing. Our engineers and technology strategists have been exploring the impact of COVID-19 on building design. Here are some considerations for building owners and tenants.

As the economy slowly re-opens, businesses need to plan for restarting operations. Those who require their staff to work in a common location will need to ensure their employees, customers and partners feel safe and can trust that they will be returning to a healthy and clean work environment, both for the near future and for potential second or third waves of infection.

The spread of COVID-19 is generally understood to be through close proximity – by respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks,  and surface transmission. Transmission through HVAC systems is not adequately tested or documented, and available resources (such as ASHRAE) appear to favour an abundance of caution in making any recommendations due to this lack of testing. Our engineers and technology strategists have been exploring the impact of COVID-19 on building design. Here are some considerations for building owners and tenants.

Improving Air Quality In a typical office building, indoor air is comprised of roughly 25% outdoor air. The rest is recirculated and filtered. It will be important to understand what upgrades may be necessary for the building’s HVAC and Building Automation System (BAS), as well as current and emerging technologies to enhance these systems. Simple building operation and system adjustments A first stage of re-entry can include the following, relatively simple adjustments to normal building operation:

  • Assess the amount of additional outdoor air for occupied and unoccupied modes of operation to permit increased air exchange in the tenant areas and disable demand-controlled ventilation schemes.
  • Review the volume of additional outdoor air that could be added to the system based on current system capacity and further open outdoor dampers to eliminate or reduce recirculation. In milder weather, this does not necessarily affect thermal comfort or humidity, but will become more difficult in extreme weather.
  • Assess the site for possible addition of energy recovery units to offset some of the operational costs associated with an increase in outdoor air.
  • Make necessary adjustments to building control sequences and changes to set points, such as humidity, to allow for temporary flushing or extended operation of systems.

Design and selection of various filter options for your air handling systems

  • Investigate solutions to retrofit or add enhanced filter technologies in existing air handling systems such as higher MERV-rated filters, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, Active Particle Control filters, UVGI, and Bipolar Ionization.
  • Consider portable room air cleaners with HEPA filters.
  • Active Particle Control technology filters are claimed by their manufacturers to create collisions on a sub-micron level. This causes smaller particles to collide and stay together becoming larger, and providing the ability to collect the larger particles within normal MERV 13 or higher filters.
  • Consider ultraviolet germicidal irradiation to safely and effectively reduce bacteria, viruses and allergens, particularly in high-traffic areas such as lobbies, elevators, and cafeterias/kitchens.
  • Bipolar Ionization may also be a beneficial solution to improving air quality. Manufacturer literature states that it inactivates viruses and creates positively and negatively charged ions that attract to other particles and become bigger and heavier. These bigger heavier particles can now be better trapped by MERV 13 or higher-rated filters. Also, many small particles that are generated within a space will drop to the floor quickly, taking them away from where we breathe. It is imperative to understand that the above changes to system operations and addition of certain filter technology will have an associated impact to energy use and cost.

Cleaning of systems

  • Consider probiotic cleaning of existing coils and other components in contact with air streams.
  • Consider swabs of air handling unit interiors after cleaning and instantly test for presence of Covid-19.
  • Consider use of mobile and local air-cleaning solutions in congested areas.
  • Re-start and re-establish safe drinking water supply.
  • Establish process, protocols, and testing requirements for domestic water systems that have been stagnant during the COVID pandemic.

Technologies for Infection Control in Buildings  There are various technologies currently in use or emerging in the healthcare sector that could benefit and be applied to commercial real estate buildings. Real-time locating and monitoring systems

  • Hand hygiene compliance–technology such as infrared can be used to better monitor hand hygiene. Can be deployed at hand-washing stations and bathrooms.
  • Contact tracing apps can create a contact history log, based on location. They can allow you to accurately track the interactions between people, the facility and equipment. Knowing this information can help to slow the spread of the infection. However, there are privacy implications involved with contact tracing apps which should be carefully considered.
  • Occupancy sensors provide real-time information on occupancy and location to indicate whether social distancing or occupancy limits are being respected.
  • Building owners and tenants can also send instant communications and alerts through a mobile app to occupants, and provide information to first responders in case of emergencies, including specifying the exact location of the emergency.

Cleaning

  • UV lighting technology has improved to the degree that it can sanitize an unoccupied room in a few hours.
  • Cleaning robots (currently used in some hospitals) may become normal procedure to clean office buildings or hotels in off-peak hours.
  • Occupancy sensors can notify cleaning crews (or the aforementioned robots) that a particular area is vacant and can be sanitized before next use.

Touchless (Hands-free) control

  • To minimize potential infection from contaminated surfaces, occupants could utilize mobile apps (through their smartphones) to control security access/opening doors and elevator call. This could be rolled in with existing space management apps used for boardroom booking and office hoteling – which also play a role in effective social distancing.
  • Automated or proximity sensor door opening technology.

Social distancing

  • To better practice social distancing in the office environment, occupants may prefer to access amenities such as ordering food, dry cleaning notification, building gym occupancy, transit alerts and ride sharing services through an app – possibly one provided by the building owner that integrates in-building amenities and other local services.
  • Automated social distancing alerts through wearable technologies or smartphone apps.
How HH Angus Can Help Whether you are a building owner or tenant, we can help you plan your operational restart strategy. Specifically, we can:
  • Assess your HVAC systems and explore ways to minimize the impact of virus aerosols.
  • Work with the Facilities team to appropriately optimize building systems and controls.
  • Investigate and recommend technologies that can help mitigate the spread of infectious disease through sanitization, monitoring, social distancing and other means.
HH Angus has been involved in the design of healthcare facilities (both new construction, renovation/retrofits, expansions and maintenance) for over 75 years. We are a leader and innovator in all aspects of healthcare design. Our knowledge of hospital design and how to address challenges such as infectious disease control can be effectively leveraged into other sectors such as office buildings, retail, hospitality, educational facilities, airports, transit stations, entertainment centres and more. As well, many of HH Angus’ technical staff are actively involved in committees and associations that are continually developing industry standards for construction and renovation, including the CSA’s HVAC Standard, and the Catastrophic Events section of CSA Z8000 – Canadian Healthcare Facilities. On the technology front, our Angus Connect division is focused technology, including smart buildings technology, and is a leader in providing technology strategy and implementation in healthcare facilities. To learn more contact:

Kevin O’Neill, P.Eng., LEED® AP
Commercial Director
kevin.oneill@hhangus.com

Evan joined HH Angus in 2018, and is an Engineering Designer working with our Health Division.

Tell us your favourite thing about working at HH Angus.

This is an easy question – it is definitely the people! Within the first few months, I got this strong feeling of community and support from everyone. I found that everybody is happy to take the time to listen to any questions you have and always willing to help and to explain new design concepts. It came as no surprise to me that, within short time, you start to refer to your colleagues as your HH Angus family.  

What drew you to HH Angus and consulting coming out of school?

Consulting was an attractive option coming out of school. It allowed me to combine the technical engineering I’d been learning with some of the business-related aspects that go along with consulting, such as project management, coordination, working with clients and meeting their needs – that definitely made consulting attractive. As far as why HH Angus, the long history of the firm and the high-profile project list made it an attractive option; it was definitely a good sign to me to see all those accomplishments.

Where did you hear about the new grad openings at HH Angus?

It was through my university’s website. When I spoke with people from my program, they knew students who had done coop terms with HH Angus, and they gave the firm high reviews. So, it definitely got me excited to apply.

How do you personally contribute to design and construction here at the company? 

I started on the design side, working behind the scenes, running simple duct sizing calculations or working in CAD and building my foundation of the design knowledge that we use every day. Today, I am in a design-construction role for the Royal Inland Hospital project, living and working in Kamloops BC. I get to work with our design team and coordinate the actual design that is ongoing as we are building a hospital here. We also investigate site-related issues or as-built conditions that may need to be accommodated. I am helping with the design and coordinating with the construction, and I’m really enjoying this new role. 

So you are there working with the construction and contractors?

It has been interesting so far to see the other side of the work, which I used to see only from the design perspective. I am attending all the contractor’s meetings now, so I see a more holistic approach, where we need to not only focus on the best way to design the system but also focus on what will work for constructors, and to take that into consideration in the design process.

How has working at HH Angus helped you grow your career?

HH Angus has been a fantastic place to begin and grow my career in consulting. It has provided me with solid foundation to develop my engineering design knowledge. In addition, it has allowed me to receive a gradual introduction to those important business-related skills: whether it’s coordinating a project or liaising with the client, it’s been a great introduction to develop my fundamental technical knowledge while exposing me to some of the behind-the-scenes activities that our business is rooted in. 

What made you want to become an engineer or a designer?

My love for engineering came from my grandfather. He was a civil engineer. As I grew up and did more research, I learned that behind the engineering is finding the solution. That’s what engineering is! I found that I love to be handed challenges and then work out the solution within the unique constraints of that issue. Doing that is often challenging, but you feel rewarded after, when you are able to come up with the best possible solution. Getting to do that on a daily basis, when every day you face a new challenge or problem, that makes the work exciting.

As I grew up and did more research, I learned that behind the engineering is finding the solution. That’s what engineering is!

What are some of the projects that you are most proud to be involved in at HH Angus?

Working here in Kamloops on the Royal Inland Hospital project blew everything else out of the water. Getting this opportunity and seeing the value that it has for society makes me proud to know that I am contributing to the overall healthcare system of the country. We are not front line workers, but knowing that the work that I am doing will contribute to people’s lives being saved, ensuring that the building operates as it should and that all the systems keep running – that makes me proud of this project.

How has HH Angus' mobility program helped you with your new role in Kamloops?

Being given the opportunity to move across the country was a dream come true for me. Combining my love for new experiences with the new responsibilities and exposure associated with this role, I knew I had to jump on this opportunity. HH Angus' mobility program helped make my cross-country move seamless, with the numerous support measures and resources that were provided. That level of support still remains to this day and it almost feels as if I still work in the Toronto office

Is what you are doing at HH Angus what you expected to be doing when you graduated?

If you were to tell me two years ago that I would be on the other side of the country working on a construction site solving all these as-built and construction issues as they arise, I definitely would not have thought it would be the case! But, in terms of daily problem solving and those things that made me want to become an engineer, I am definitely doing that and getting the opportunities to solve challenges.

Evan's life

Evan's life in Kamloops

What are some of the things that you like about HH Angus, aside from work?

It does not apply so much here in Kamloops, but before I transferred out here, I would say the extracurricular activities that go on throughout the company. Whether it is the Friday afternoon hockey games, softball or volleyball … I love that. I looked forward to those days every single week. It really helped me grow friendships within the company, and it just makes showing up to work that much better when you can ask someone if they are excited for the game later, or chat about upcoming events and how it went last week, or go out and enjoy a beer afterwards. I really, really enjoy that.

What’s the best thing that you’ve learned on the job?

Perseverance. We’d all like to paint our job as some walk through the park with rainbows, but we can find ourselves in difficult situations that require hard work and critical thinking to get to a solution.  I find perseverance leads to success in the end - learning to push through those tough times.

What is your proudest moment here?

The proudest moment I’ve had so far happened when I had been at HH Angus only a few months.  I was working on generator report for a client, and it had been weeks and weeks of research, report writing, formatting, and implementing client feedback. The proudest moment was at the end, after I had poured hundreds of hours into this deliverable. We got the feedback from the client on the final report and it was glowing. They were so appreciative of all our work, they loved the content, and they were happy with the depth of detail. We received high praise.  Meanwhile, I was still at an entry-level role in the company. To have received such high praise directly from the client and knowing the hard work I had put into this report, that definitely was a very proud moment and I felt really good about it.

Tell us about an experience when a senior staff helped you, maybe early on in your career.

When I started working with my manager in Tech, he was always sharing wisdom with me, whether simple design tips or how to succeed in our role as engineers, things to look out for, and also life advice. When I told him about this current opportunity in Kamloops, he told me to jump all over it, that it would be a great experience for me. Having someone who is able to share their knowledge and experience with you has been really great, and it definitely molded me into the person that I am today with the firm. Numerous times, just having good advice passed down has helped me and led to my success.

When you are out with friends who don’t work in the industry, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you start describing the company?

We design electrical and mechanical systems for various buildings, from data centers to healthcare facilities and more. But, it’s not just the work. I also describe it as this fun-loving place where it feels like everyone is just hanging out together. You are surrounded by good company and you enjoy spending the day with your work friends; a lot of people get jealous when they hear that. All the extracurriculars that we do and all the fun that I have participating in them – everyone has a hard time believing that I leave work at noon on Fridays to go play hockey for an hour and the day is done after that. Just one of the many benefits of our flex-time policy!

You are surrounded by good company and you enjoy spending the day with your work friends; a lot of people get jealous when they hear that.

What inspires you?

Being able to make a difference. Sometimes it’s hard to see the direct impact your work has on a project and it is not until the structure is being built and the building is operating that you are going to see the impact that you made. In some cases, you are just add air conditioning into the building and it goes unnoticed for most of the people. But being able to make a difference and knowing that you put hard work into these system designs, providing solutions that keep the client happy, using the latest technologies – it’s rewarding even though you may not be getting direct recognition from end users. It’s knowing that the work you are doing is having an impact; that inspires me to work harder and think a little more critically versus taking the easiest route.

What are some of the trends and tech that excite you the most?

For me, it’s the increased awareness around energy and efficient operations of our systems. For example, I didn’t realize how much thought and effort needs to go into coming up with complex design sequencing in order to run air handing units. It may not necessarily be new technology but it is utilizing new and emerging methods of energy conservation and energy recovery, and we’re discovering how to incorporate those into the design. That’s what gets me and other people on this current project excited. It is a lot of work, and you definitely have to start thinking in new creative ways. But it is exciting to help build the future and make a difference on the energy front.

What skills or trait have helped you the most to advance in your career?

Communication skills - engineering is a discipline where people understand how things work, but being able to effectively communicate your understanding and your ideas - how you see things in your head - is an important part of what we do. Having strong communication skills has definitely led to my success on projects.

Is there something people will be surprised to learn about you?

I have a big appreciation for classical music, and jazz and blues … something not popular in my age group. I have appreciation for arts, I love taking time to visit museums.  

Eco_City_Banner

Low and zero carbon energy presents a substantial opportunity for the world. It will deliver significant benefits to the human health, well-being and prosperity, while improving the environment and sustainability of our planet.

The promise of harnessing emission-free energy is an engineering and economic opportunity that is hard to pass on. While eliminating carbon emissions has its health benefits to humans as we reduce air pollution and improve air quality in cities, the transformation to renewable and emission-free energy will help achieve a truly sustainable energy future for the world. This zero carbon energy revolution is coming. It will deliver jobs and reduce the impact of global warming on a wide variety of other important aspects of life. A Low Carbon Energy Transformation is a key component for an effective strategy to reduce greenhouse gases and boost energy security.

The Issue: Climate Crisis

Climate change took centre stage in 2019 as advocates around the world organized events and demanded government action to address the climate crisis. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommended to the United Nations that the world limit global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid adverse effects on both humans and the environment. This target is possible, but would require the world reaching zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, as well as fast-tracked and extensive changes in all aspects of society.

Looking to the future, the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050, according to the World Bank. In parallel, the world’s demand for raw materials could double by 2060, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. These factors, among others, introduce substantial pressure on the path to zero carbon energy. In order for the world to reach its climate targets, the main sources of emissions to be addressed are human activities related to transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and buildings. For the latter, achieving near-zero/zero carbon emissions involves tackling multiple aspects, such as building construction and retrofitting activities, building envelopes, and building energy systems.

Group of demonstrators on road, young people from different culture and race fight for climate change - Global warming and enviroment concept - Focus on banners

Challenging the Status Quo

Across Canada, one of the primary approaches to building heating is through fossil fuel combustion. Natural gas and fuel oils are burned to produce steam or hot water which are used for heating, or fuel is burned to heat air and sending it directly into buildings. As for cooling, buildings traditionally use refrigeration systems that rely on electricity from the grid, which may/may not use fossil fuel to generate electricity. In addition, when it comes to electric vehicles (EV), most buildings have yet to install EV charging infrastructure.

Reducing building emissions requires a focus on building energy systems, efficiencies, and strategies in order for buildings to achieve true zero carbon emissions. While ASHRAE standards 90.1 and 90.2 address building efficiencies, new smart and innovative building systems for heating and cooling must become mainstream in order to make tangible progress toward a zero carbon world.

Engineering Solutions 

The good news for building emissions is that there is a wide variety of engineering solutions and strategies available to provide emission-free heating and cooling.  Building owners, collaborating with engineering consultants, face the critical task of establishing evaluation criteria for each proposed emission-reduction solution or strategy, in order to determine which is most appropriate under constraints such as budget, time, and performance, and other practical considerations.

Heat Pumps
One solution is heat pump systems that can be used to satisfy both building heating and cooling loads. While heat pumps are typically powered by electricity, it is worth noting that, in Ontario, approximately 90% of electricity comes from low/zero greenhouse gas sources and has one of the lowest annual average emissions factors in Canada (31 g CO2eq/kWh electricity consumed). Heat pump systems commonly have a wide range of capacities. For heating, such systems are capable of providing heating capacities up to 30,000 MBH (8792 kW) per heat pump, and hot water of temperatures as high as 150°F (65.5°C). For large cooling loads, heat pumps have cooling capacities from 250 tons of refrigeration (TR) (879 kW) up to 1800 TR (6330 kW) per heat pump. These capabilities make heat pumps suitable for simultaneous heating and cooling of buildings in the shoulder seasons. 

Heat pump systems are also capable of providing full building heating in winter when they operate in conjunction with an appropriate heat recovery system. For peak heating loads, these heat pump systems can operate side by side with low emission condensing boilers in a low carbon scenario, or coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) systems in a zero carbon scenario. It is worth noting that, for colder climates, supplemental heating may be required to satisfy peak winter loads in order to achieve zero carbon building heating. This may be achieved with other zero carbon heating alternatives. For peak cooling loads, heat pump systems work in conjunction with high efficiency centrifugal peaking chillers or thermal TES systems. Heat pumps that use carbon dioxide as a refrigerant (R744) can provide both heating and cooling emission free, and could be a promising solution if they become mainstream.

Modern boiler room equipment for heating system. Pipelines, water pump, valves, manometers.

Solar Photovoltaic
Regarding on-site electricity generation, low/zero carbon electricity generation can be achieved by using solar photovoltaic (PV) systems coupled with battery storage in a zero-carbon scenario, or by utilizing small-scale low emission natural gas engines for electricity generation, which can also be coupled with battery or thermal storage in a low carbon scenario.

It is important to note that PV system capital costs have been falling dramatically in the past few years, with solar panel efficiencies up to 23%. In addition, battery storage system prices are becoming more competitive. They continue to decrease in cost and are destined to play a significant role in this market.These economic factors will significantly contribute to the zero carbon transformation for reducing building on-site emissions, as they will help to make projects financially viable.

For large-scale integrated applications, such as neighborhood-scale heating/cooling systems or institutional campuses, buildings can utilize an ambient water loop that operates between 50°F and 75°F (10°C and 20°C), or a resilient redundant thermal grid. This system uses an underground pipe network to supply a heat source/sink capability, which is then coupled with individual heat pumps in each building to either draw heat from the loop or inject heat into the loop. One caveat is that this may require retrofits for some buildings in order to accommodate lower water temperatures for heating. These retrofits may involve implementing measures such as re-insulation of the building envelope, high performance glazing, and upgrading the heating and cooling systems in the buildings.

Solar panel against blue sky

Energy Storage
On-site energy storage systems, such as battery storage or TES, assist both electrical and thermal grids in satisfying peak demand and increasing overall system reliability. Heat recovery is a similar solution that helps achieve zero carbon. These systems work by reclaiming/dispensing thermal energy from/to sources like wastewater, storm water, and open bodies of water.

Geo-exchange
For building heating and cooling, geo-exchange thermal energy is supplied to or extracted from the earth’s surface. The advantage of geo-exchange is that the earth’s temperature is stable over time; for example, in some regions of the world, soil temperature below the frost line remains a constant 45°F-50°F (7°C - 10°C) year-round. In other words, geo-exchange uses Earth’s outer layers as a rechargeable thermal battery. This strategy works best in specific climates and involves geotechnical, civil works, and landscaping considerations.

Geothermal Energy
Another promising solution is Geothermal Energy (which differs from geo-exchange). It uses thermal energy from deeper layers of the earth (2500 meters+) to provide higher temperature heat that could be used for process heat or to distribute thermal energy for heating on a larger scale.

Small Modular Reactors (SMR)
SMRs can be safely deployed in remote areas and would provide carbon-free electricity up to 600-1200 MWe per unit, in parallel with high-grade process heat (up to 1112°F (600°C) for capacities up 1.5 Billion BTU), or heat that can be used for city-wide heating.

The Challenges Ahead

Implementing any of the above-mentioned solutions carries challenges, the main one being economics. Any zero carbon solution has to deliver a competitive return on investment for cost per unit of energy, total capital cost, operational cost, and marginal cost for system reliability for mission-critical applications. These emission-free solutions may, however, offer future economic advantages when compared to traditional methods. 

The advantages become clear when considering economic risk factors such as carbon pricing, cost of depreciation of assets due to regulation, and legislative risk, as well as cost savings of new zero carbon technologies arising from future technological disruption. For example, the heat pump market has been changing rapidly in the past two years (2018-2020), introducing large-scale heat pump systems at lower cost which makes them financially competitive. 

Other challenges to zero carbon energy solutions may prove more problematic; for example, the challenges of business repositioning for some energy stakeholders, such as fossil fuel energy producers, distributors, resellers, and equipment vendors. Repositioning businesses to benefit from the zero carbon transformation can induce substantial resistance to change, perhaps due to accelerated time frames, as well as human capital problems, or due to changing demands for skills in the job market.

Planning and deploying an effective energy strategy, including creating and implementing resilient and adaptive energy roadmaps that can actively respond to changing economic and environmental conditions, is a solid start to a zero carbon energy transition.  

Our highly skilled energy consultants are available to discuss low/zero carbon energy options and the transformation solutions best suited to your needs.
For more information, contact lowcarbon@hhangus.com

Resources:

Summary for Policymakers – IPCC
https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/

A Clearer View on Ontario’s Emissions - The Atmospheric Fund, 
https://taf.ca/publications/a-clearer-view-on-ontarios-emissions-2019/

Deep Lake Water Cooling System - ACCIONA https://www.acciona.us/projects/construction/port-and-hydraulic-works/deep-lake-water-cooling-system/

 Geothermal energy - IRENA https://www.irena.org/geothermal 

Author:

Mike Hassaballa, MASc., P.Eng.
lowcarbon@hhangus.com

COVID 19-Response: Creating Healthcare Spaces for COVID-19 Patients

HH Angus invites you to join The Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities’ (CCHF) webinar, featuring a panel of healthcare leaders from across the country, including HH Angus’ Nick Stark. The panel will be discussing how they are addressing patient needs in this new environment, some challenges and solutions, and offering opportunity for insights and discussion.

Date: May 1, 2020

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 am Vancouver | 1:00 – 2:00 pm Toronto

Register in advance for this FREE webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yS8tlKOfQJSs9jghRYu5yA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Panelists:
Miriam Stewart, Regional Program Director Critical Care Vancouver Coastal Health/Providence Health Care, Chief Clinical Planning Officer, St. Paul’s Redevelopment, British Columbia

Nick Stark, Vice-President, Knowledge Management, HH Angus

Scott Olsen, Provincial Lead, Asset Management & Safety, Clinical Engineering – Centre of Expertise, Alberta Health Services

John Switzer, Strategic Capital, Space Management and Real Estate

Pierre-Marc Legris, Director Technical Services McGill University Hospital, Quebec

Michael Keen (TBC), Vice-President of Facilities and Planning and Chief Planning Officer, Unity Health Toronto, Ontario

Lynn Wilson Orr, Principal, Parkin Architects Limited

Moderator:
Gordon Burrill, Teegor Consulting, Fredericton, New Brunswick and CCHF Board President

Rita Patel joined HH Angus in 2010.

What is your favorite thing about working at HH Angus?

For me, it is the people and the interaction, and the general atmosphere in the office. It’s almost familial – everyone gets along, everyone is open, super nice and very helpful. You can walk into any VP’s office, or the President’s office, talk to them about anything, whether work-related or not. And the fact that, at least for me in my role, it is not a desk job – I get to go to site.

How do you contribute to design and construction of the built environment?

I do everything from initial concept design to detailed design, to seeing the project through construction and handover to the owner. So, all of it!

Why did you become an engineer?

I was applying to university and selecting courses, thinking the whole time that I wanted to go into some sort of bio-med or airline pilot program. But, the courses were all business courses and geographical courses – there was no math involved – and I began thinking, “I’m not going like any of this”. So, when we started picking the courses I liked, I was advised that I should be an engineer, because the courses I selected were all math related, with definitive answers and some challenges. That’s how I ended up in engineering.  So, a pilot was not what I wanted as a career after all!  I ended up doing that on the side instead.

My two mentors have taught me a lot; for example, how to behave in a meeting and how to interact with clients. They’ve always kept me involved and have helped me build client relationships.

What projects that you are most proud of?

I mainly engineer hospital renovations, and I am proud of most of those projects because they are so challenging to deliver within the space. In healthcare facilities, you can’t just go in and disrupt everyone.  The fact that we are able to do renovations in functioning operating rooms or operating theatres is great! I recall one OR project where we had to replace all the medical gases in eighteen suites over two weeks, and it went really well. I was quite nervous about that project, because it was an OR suite, so it would be very critical if anything went wrong. But, it turned out great and went exactly as planned.

You worked elsewhere before HH Angus - was that also in consulting?

No, it was in aerospace, where I was doing a lot of computational aerodynamics. I realized I wasn’t satisfied sitting at a computer doing essentially the same thing over and over. My sister was familiar with HH Angus and put me in touch with managers here, and that’s how I started working here.

So the big sell was that you wouldn’t be sitting at a desk?

Yes! Just the fact that I get to go to Sunnybrook Hospital, which is only 5 km away, made it exciting – I get to see construction, I get to see things actually getting built, which I didn’t get to do before.

Describe a typical day.

They’re never the same. Sometimes I come into the office, sometimes I go straight to a site. For me, that’s the great part – you never know what is going to happen from week to week, or even day to day. It is not a monotonous job where you just come in and do the same thing again and again.

What’s a special moment you’ve enjoyed recently?

Being promoted to Manager, Construction Services is a good one. I’m now working in both healthcare and construction. The great thing about construction is that I was already working closely with the inspectors, so it wasn’t much of a change for me. I already understood what they do, and being able to help them even more now is a good thing.

How have senior managers helped guide you?

My two mentors have taught me a lot; for example, how to behave in a meeting and how to interact with clients. They’ve always kept me involved and have helped me build client relationships. Now, they trust me with their clients. Technically, my mechanical mentor has provided the best guidance I could ever ask for. He just knows how to get things built, and he can solve any problem I have ever faced.

What advice would you give to somebody applying to work at HH Angus?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, because you don’t know what you don’t know. I see younger staff, especially new grads, being hesitant to ask questions because they think they should know the answer already. But there are literally no dumb questions, and no one will judge you for asking.

What is it about design that drives you?

It’s fun! Let’s say you are renovating a space - how do we get air supply to this space? We have to figure out how we are going to do that. It’s a challenge, especially in existing facilities. And then you get to roll it out and see that it works! I like going through the entire process because you know that you did the whole thing, from start to finish. Also, because I work in the healthcare sector, it is nice knowing that you are helping people.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. My other favourite line is – you don’t know what you don’t know. I see younger staff being afraid to ask questions because they think they should already know the answer. But, literally, there are no dumb questions, and no one will judge you for asking.

What trends are you excited about?

I am a member of the CSA HVAC Committee. We are constantly developing new clauses or new standards to help improve the quality of HVAC in healthcare facilities. Being part of this committee is really exciting. Also implementing those new standards; for example, providing extra air filtration for patients with immune system challenges - if you have low immunity, you need greater filtration of the air being pumped into the room. Also, implementing technology that helps reduce airborne infections. Hospitals risk many healthcare-associated infections, and we want to do all we can to minimize those risks, so we specify equipment such as copper toilet seats or UV lighting. Copper kills bacteria, so if you have a copper-infused toilet seat, airborne infectious matter in the vicinity will not survive.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I flew small planes for two or three years. It was fun, but probably gets more fun when you get to bigger planes.

What skills or traits help you most in progressing through your career?

People tell me that I am pretty efficient, and self-sufficient. If you give me something to do, I will find a way to get it done. And, most of the time, 99.9% of my work will be done on time and of good quality.

If you could change one thing how hospitals are constructed, what would it be?

I would tell hospitals to stop putting patients in buildings that are over 40 years old, where there are no HVAC systems. Regarding new builds, the biggest challenge we have is space – said every engineer ever! All the space tends to be taken up for clinical use, and mechanical/electrical infrastructure is often an afterthought. We are always struggling with service distribution.  So, I would ensure there was adequate space allowed for these essential building services.