McElhanney’s 100th anniversary has hit the newsstands, with the media publishing stories of our centennial, our history, and our successes. Have a look through the following and see what the press has to say about McElhanney.

• The Globe and Mail:
  
• BC Business
  
• Business in Calgary (page 98)
  
• Pipeline News (page B5)
  
• Now Jakarta Magazine (PDF)
  
• Smithers Interior News
  
• Nanaimo Daily News
  
• Alberni Valley Times
  

We are pleased to announce that McElhanney has received its second David Thompson National Geomatics award for “Unusual Applications in Geomatics” from the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors (CCLS).

Congratulations to our colleagues in Vancouver Survey, Mapping and the Prince George branches for their ingenious application of geomatics. McElhanney provided LiDAR and airphoto mapping for flood mitigation planning, after an unprecedented ice jam caused massive flooding in the City of Prince George during the winter of 2007/2008.

In 2007, we received our first “Unusual Applications in Geomatics” award for the Land Mine Administration project in Cambodia, and in 2008, received the “Contribution to Society” award for our Tsunami Reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia.

We are pleased to announce that McElhanney won the Consulting Engineers of BC Award of Merit for engineering excellence for our work on the Golden Ears Bridge project. The award submission was entitled "Roadways Linking Communities - The Golden Ears Bridge Project" and was presented at the annual CEBC award ceremony on Saturday, April 24th. There were over 500 engineers, clients and dignitaries present at the ceremony from around the province. This submission focused on the Solutions, Achievements, Technical Excellence, Innovation, Environmental and Social Sustainability and Aesthetics, wrapped around its benefits to the communities served by this network of roadways.

McElhanney made two very strong submissions;this GEB project and our highly successful 156th Street/Highway 1 Underpass project, and we were competing with ten other tough contenders. The other award of merit went to the Pitt River Bridge project with top honours to none other than the Canada Line Project.

GEB Project Manager Dave Fraser and two team members, Selena Wilson and Dave Dulay, were thrilled to be on stage to accept the award plaque. "To receive this award during McElhanney's 100th anniversary year is spectacular!" Dave Fraser said, with the biggest grin on his face.

We should all be very proud to be a part of a company of innovative people working on award winning projects locally and around the world. Past CEBC Awards include:

2001	South Surrey Interchange Design Build Project
2004	Land Administration in Mine Affected Areas Banteay Mean Chey Province, Cambodia
2004	Bob Brocklebank, P.Eng
2005	Capilano Suspension Bridge Treetops Adventure
2006	Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement (Design Build 2) Project
2007	Mount Lehman Interchange
2009	Young Consulting Engineer Award - Santino Pirillo
2009	Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project

The structural engineering department in McElhanney’s Terrace branch has been awarded the Wood Works! Design Award, for their brilliant design of the Jaffray Pub, a custom timber framed building. The award, sponsored by the Canadian Wood Council, is given to innovative designs from across British Columbia.

The 10,600 sq.ft. pub and restaurant is located in Jaffray, BC, near Cranbrook in the East Kootenays. The post and beam style system is crafted from Tamarack Larch with spans up to 52'8" (16m) provided by heavy timber trusses. The building includes a dining room, pub area and retail space, as well as three residential accommodation suites upstairs and storage space downstairs. The pub also utilizes a state-of-the art geo-thermal heating system with heat reclamation from all the various refrigeration units throughout the building.

Terrace’s structural department is led by Paul Bjorn, whose team, including Terry Myhr, Steve Dingman, Chris Houston and Jonathan Lambert, performed the structural design for the pub.

They are involved in approximately 20-30 building projects per year, ranging from new construction to major renovations, providing services to industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential clients.

Be sure to stop by the pub if you happen to be in the area to enjoy a beer and see the impressive surroundings!

What does Google Earth Street View have in common with Mobile Mapping Systems? Vehicle-based MMS is the latest introduction to fill the gap between airborne LiDAR mapping and terrestrial laser scanning systems. Offering precision details, MMS is quickly becoming the new technology tool for asset management, street surface information, detailed route profiles and road geometry data.

The easiest way to view MMS in action is to visit Google Earth Street View. That truck you see driving around with cameras is a perfect example of MMS technology. Engineers, planners and municipal managers are now asking for a precise level of detail and accuracy for street scene information. MMS can create images with exact horizontal and vertical geo-referencing information by integrating vehicle mounted, high resolution digital cameras with GPS ground control points. The results are 360° images captured as you drive along a road or utility corridor, such as a railway, waterway, transmission line or pipeline.

McElhanney’s MMS Vehicle with Cameras mounted on top

The captured images are processed with automated terrestrial photogrammetry techniques using GPS ground control to form the coordinate framework with common image points, mathematically “stitching” the individual frames together. The images are then ready for selective feature mapping and measurements, giving you quick and reliable access to geo-referenced street hardware, ground surface and building information to build your GIS database or CAD drawing. Road profiles, cross sections and plan view linework can be extracted for engineering design and road upgrades. GIS, public works and planning staff can see street hardware and improvements by simply displaying the photo image scenes and digital data on their desktops.

The system is a cost effective, safer alternative to conventional field survey techniques for topographic and feature pick-up – it keeps personnel off travelled lanes and minimizes traffic flow interruptions. Post-processed field data collected by the MMS can be manipulated at a later time, when seasonal conditions make office tasks more practical.

For more information on McElhanney’s Mobile Mapping System, feel free to contact Jim Christie and Dan Tresa, in our Vancouver office.

As part of McElhanney’s active participation in the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia (CEBC), the Ministry of Transportation – CEBC Liaison Committee organizes the Annual Winter Conference for Highway Design, using designs from the MoT’s awards.

This year’s activities included a tour of the new BCIT Transportation and Aerospace campus, a training session by the Ministry on new Engineer of Record and Coordinating Professional Engineer requirements, and technical papers. Jose Pinto and Steve Hobbs of McElhanney were pleased to present "Business Case Development and Economic Considerations for Transportation Projects in BC".

Their presentation highlighted early planning work on the McTavish and Sayward interchanges on Highway 17, and the Sorrento to Salmon Arm projects on Highway 1, describing the multiple account economic evaluation process and discussing benefit cost ratios.

In addition, as a means of further promoting investment in the BC Highway Network, they emphasized the significance of highways in tourism, with a taxation return on investment, and suggested upgrading Highway 7 along the north side of the Fraser Valley.

McElhanney is proud to be an active contributing member of the CEBC and looks forward to participating in future conferences.

Jim Christie of McElhanney had no idea he would be part of Olympic legend. His partnership with Brian Brown, BCLS, left its mark at the Olympic and Paralympic sites in Whistler. Read all about it in the feature story of February’s Professional Surveyor Magazine of North America.

“On July 2, 2003, when Brian Brown heard the news that his hometown of Whistler, British Columbia had won the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid, there was more than one reason to celebrate. A passionate skier, the land surveyor hadn’t missed a season at local ski resort Whistler/Blackcomb in nearly 50 years. He couldn't think of a better place in the world to hold the 2010 Games....

...Brown was up for the challenge, but he knew he couldn’t do it alone. He immediately called Jim Christie, manager of engineering surveys for McElhanney Consulting Services in Vancouver. “We had worked together many times before in the Whistler area,” says Brown. “I knew we’d make a good team for the bid.” Christie, also a land surveyor agrees. “McElhanney definitely wanted to get involved.””

Read the full magazine article

McElhanney’s Cambodian Project Manager and Environmental Specialist, Kan Vibol, has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal from Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Mr. Hun Sen.

The medal is in recognition of Vibol’s work as the Cambodian Project Manager on the LMAP-Canada program, which is a Canadian CIDA-funded project contributing to establishing land titles and a land registry throughout Cambodia. During the period of the Khmer Rouge regime all land records had been destroyed. As families resettled, they found themselves with no land entitlement. Occupation was not formally recognized or recorded, and there was no central land registry, as all records were kept with commune and village chiefs.

In 2002 McElhanney, in association with Geospatial International, created a pilot project funded by CIDA, establishing a process for land titling in areas rife with land mines. In 2004 the World Bank became involved, contributing funding for a country-wide land titling and land registry program. By 2007, McElhanney/Geospatial was awarded a full five year contract from CIDA to provide funding and technical assistance in various provinces, expanding the World Bank funded component. The new LMAP-Canada was created.

It has been a great success. McElhanney/Geospatial has provided invaluable planning and services to the people of Cambodia, including State Land Management, Gender Integration, Environmental, Condominium Legislation, Quality Assurance, Results Based Management, Technical Education and Land Valuation.

Thank you, Kan Vibol and your team, for your dedication and hard work in helping the Cambodian people.

It’s official – the largest zero emission bus fleet and maintenance facility in the world is open. On January 22, 2010, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Mayor of Whistler and the President of BC Transit were there to mark this historic event. McElhanney was instrumental in the successful launch of this project, and received high accolades along with several other companies who were involved. At the site is a stone engraved with McElhanney’s name marking this important achievement, and a copy of the plaque hangs on our company walls.

Just 18 months ago, McElhanney and other companies were given the enormous task of finding a site, then designing and building a completely new 50 bus facility. It also had to last the next four decades and support the 20 hydrogen bus test pilot project. It was not easy.

As you can imagine, property for a nine acre industrial facility is extremely scarce in Whistler. Only one area existed, at the major substation and hydro transmission lines site at the northern limits of Whistler. The property was deemed useless – polluted, piled with garbage, and in the flood plain on poor geotechnical conditions.

And then we met success. Overcoming these challenges, the project achieved the following key elements:

• World’s largest single hydrogen bus facility, accommodating 20 hydrogen buses, vs. three hydrogen buses in Europe’s largest facility
• Hydrogen fuel facility that is 20 time larger and faster than any that had previously existed
• A class-of-its-own maintenance facility that is sustainable and environmentally friendly.

British Columbia now holds the world’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell powered buses operating in a single location. The zero emission buses were developed as part of the Government of BC’s plan to reduce greenhouse emissions by 33% by 2020.

McElhanney is again demonstrating that we have the people, resources and excellence for leading the world to sustainability and a greener future.

McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. is pleased to announce its merger, effective November 2, 2009, with Armstrong Engineering and Land Surveying Inc., located in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

John Armstrong, BCLS, P.Eng., the principal of Armstrong Engineering, has been involved in the Engineering and Survey business in Cranbrook since 1980. Recent projects completed by John and his staff include:

• Geotechnical, civil and survey services to support the Cranbrook Airport Runway and Terminal Expansion;
• Geotechnical engineering services for the Kimberley Ski Hill Paralympic Center and Conference Center;
• Geotechnical assessments for excavation slopes and worker safety for the Aberfeldie Hydro Electric Generating Station on the Bull River, and
• Alluvial fan hazard, slope stability assessment, drainage assessment, flood protection works, and dewatering of subgrade for road and utility construction for the Mountain Shores Lakeside and Hillside developments on Kootenay Lake.

John will continue to manage the Cranbrook office with his staff as a satellite of the Calgary engineering branch of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. Utilizing resources from McElhanney's Calgary and Canmore offices, John and his team are looking forward to expanding our services in the Kootenay region of B.C. and being in a position to provide a broader variety of services to existing clients such as the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

For the second time, McElhanney has won a major award for a design/build project in Surrey, B.C. At the 2009 Canadian Design Build Institute (CDBI) conference held in Chicago, McElhanney received an Award of Excellence for the 156th Street Project. The award follows in the footsteps of one of the first Canadian design-build projects, the South Surrey interchange, also designed by McElhanney and the winner of the 2001 CEBC Award of Merit (Infrastructure Division) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (BC) Project of the Year.

Team leader Santino Pirillo said in his award winning submission that "no project is too small to provide significant benefit to a broad public". The City of Surrey and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure agreed, indicating that, even without considering McElhanney's competitive price for the project, the design had significant merits in several key areas, including functionality, aesthetics, longest term life expectancy, lowest capital and operating risks, greatest benefit to the community, enhanced fish habitat, virtually no detour or temporary "throw away" costs, and shortest construction schedule (fourteen months).

McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. is pleased to announce its merger with Mountain Engineering Ltd., located in Canmore, Alberta.

Ron Sadesky, P.Eng., the principal of Mountain Engineering, will continue to operate the Canmore location with his staff as a satellite office of the MCSL Calgary engineering branch, bringing the full-time staff complement in the branch to twenty-three.

Glen Furtado, manager of McElhanney's Calgary engineering branch, says: "This merger strengthens our commitment to land development and municipal engineering in Alberta and the B.C. Kootenays. With established transportation engineering services provided by our Calgary and Edmonton offices, McElhanney will continue to build on the many resort and municipal clients Mountain Engineering has attracted since its establishment in 2000."

McElhanney has once again been granted our reseller agreement for the TerraSAR-X RADAR for another year from Infoterra, our German-based world-wide distributor. We are currently the only provider of TerraSAR-X RADAR in all of Canada.

The TerraSAR-X imagery is unique in its ability to image down to 1m ground resolution, in addition to its 3m and 18m resolution images. RADAR can penetrate through clouds and smoke, and it can also image day or night, as it is an active microwave sensor. With these capabilities, an image for a priority project can be done in as little as six hours on an FTP site.

This type of imagery can be used for:

• Monitoring icebergs off the east coast of Canada
• Monitoring ice jams along rivers
• Monitoring forest fire progression
• Monitoring ground subsidence along pipeline corridors over time
• Detecting changes in terrain/slope over time (help monitor landslides)
• Mapping geological structures

McElhanney is proud to provide you with TerraSAR-X RADAR and of the exciting developments it brings.

For more information, contact:
Brendan Walashek, McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd.
bwalashek@mcelhanney.com
Tel: (604) 683-8521
www.mcelhanney.com/mcsl
www.MapsByAir.com

On February 13th, McElhanney won the prestigious Award of Merit at the 2009 Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) Showcase Awards with their very first submission. The award was granted for exceptional preliminary design work by Henry Devos, Transportation Planning and Division Manager and his team, for the Highway 63 Urban Freeway Project in Fort McMurray. Competition was tough, and only three awards were given out of nine submissions in our category: Services, Software and Special Services.

The event was well attended, with over 650 guests arriving from the Alberta consulting industry, municipal and provincial clients, and contractors. The Honourable Premier Ed Stelmach also acted as guest speaker for the evening.

This award represents a significant achievement, highlighting our expertise in transportation and road design. Our winning entry will be posted in Alberta Innovators magazine, and displayed in a 12-month road show in Edmonton and Calgary.

We are pleased to announce that Chris Newcomb, President of McElhanney, has been appointed Chair of the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) on September 11th at the Association’s AGM in Québec City.

The ACEC is a national organization which represents the business and professional interests of over 600 independent consulting engineering firms and 11 provincial and territorial organizations.

Chris is also chair of ACEC’s International Committee and Recruitment Video Task Force, and serves on the Discipline and Registration Committees of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC. In 2002/03, he served as the President of the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia (CEBC). Among other roles within CEBC, he has served as Chair of industry liaison committees with the Provincial Ministries of Transportation and Forests.

“This is a great honour and a big responsibility,” said Chris. He has targeted three areas of priority for his term in office. They are:

1. Addressing the issue of sustainability of human resources in the engineering industry. ACEC is intent on attracting “the brightest and the best” to the industry. It is spending more than $300,000 to produce a video illustrating that engineering is an exciting and rewarding career choice for students.

2. Promoting the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure (InfraGuide) best practice for selecting a professional consultant. The guide promotes the principles of qualifications-based selection rather than price-based selection as the best method for selecting professional engineers and other consultants.

3. Articulating the strategic role of consulting engineers in society. “This is the toughest one to grapple with. To a large degree, we end up putting into action other people’s ideas. Yet, we feel we have a lot more to contribute in terms of identifying what those ideas should be.”

It is an exciting year ahead, and Chris is looking forward to bringing both McElhanney, and the engineering industry as a whole, many important new developments.

McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. has received the Work Safe Alberta 2007 Best Safety Performer Award, for exceptional performance in workplace health and safety.

This is the third year that MCSL has earned this prestigious award, granted by the Minister of Employment and Immigration, and the Occupational Health and Safety Council. Of Alberta’s 140,000 employers, only approximately 700 were granted the designation.

MCSL has successfully met the following criteria in the Engineering category:

• A current Certificate of Recognition (COR) or a Partner in good standing under the Partnerships in Health and Safety Program
• 60 consecutive person years with no disabling injuries in the most recent years
• No work related fatalities in the previous three years, and no outstanding compliance orders under Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Legislation
• No violations of the OHS Act in connection with any incident investigated by Alberta Employment and Immigration during the past two years
• Not currently being prosecuted for a violation under Alberta’s OHS legislation.

With this award, MCSL is granted the privilege of using the “2007 Best Safety Performer” logo, and continues their commitment to the health and safety of Alberta’s workers.

The Board of Directors of The McElhanney Group Ltd. is pleased to recognise the outstanding contributions made by GARY TENCHA to the success of the company. Soon after joining McElhanney as a Project Manager in 1990, Gary made his mark as a brilliant and innovative highway engineer, helping to establish the company as a leader in the field in Western Canada. Subsequently, Gary led the initiative to establish successful engineering branch offices in Edmonton and Calgary, dedicating an enormous amount of his personal time and energy. Meanwhile, as Branch Manager, Surrey Engineering, and Vice President, Engineering, Gary provided the leadership and inspiration that has established McElhanney as the most sought-after engineering partner for construction firms pursuing transportation Design-Build and Public-Private-Partnership projects in British Columbia, winning numerous industry awards in the process.

This presentation commemorates over 18 years of unselfish service and outstanding achievement in the growth and development of The McElhanney Group Ltd.

Sara Renner has seen big changes happen to the environment. So now she’s making big changes to save it – she’s become one of Canada’s Climate Ambassadors.

Renner, Canadian cross-country skiing Olympic silver medalist and sponsored by McElhanney, joined 250 athletes, business leaders, educators, environmentalists and government officials from across Canada for a three-day intensive training session in Montreal on environmental science and solutions to the climate change crisis. Talks were led by former United States Vice-President Al Gore and climate experts, including renowned Canadian scientist Dr. David Suzuki. Organized by The Climate Project (TCP) Canada, participants returned home as Climate Ambassadors, armed with the most current information to increase public awareness of the growing climate crisis. She has already given her first televised presentation in Banff, on April 22, for Earth Day.

Renner has seen first-hand how our climate is changing, and not for the better. In her 12-year international cross-country skiing career, she has witnessed winter weather conditions grow increasingly unpredictable, and sees the unseasonable weather as a threat to the future of her sport.

“I am so used to racing on snow that has been trucked in from hundreds of hundreds of kilometers, and that snow they truck in is getting dirtier and dirtier every year,” said Renner. “It’s just so difficult for these organizers to pull off these [World Cup] races in Europe.”

The first place to begin fixing things is at home, and Renner is starting with her family. According to Renner, considering the environment doesn’t require drastic change. The easiest way for a family to reduce their environmental impact is to simplify their lives – eating local foods whenever possible, line-drying clothes and riding a bike all make a difference.

“As a mother, as an athlete and a Canadian, I have a huge responsibility to my daughter,” said Renner. “At a time when it’s so crucial, everyone has to do something for the environment. Everyone has to stand up and say ‘my children are important and I will not be remembered as someone who didn’t do anything.’”

“All these things that we do, and all the things that our culture has gotten suckered into, are taking away time from what is important,” said Renner. “It’s the same things that are taking time away from working out, time away from our families. By making your life simpler, you are reducing your environmental footprint, and in the end you are making your life happier for it.”

McElhanney has purchased a new laser imaging LiDAR system. It is one of the most versatile and powerful available.

The system is a Leica ALS50-II LiDAR with MPiA (Multiple Pulses in Air), which enables quicker and denser data collection as compared to older systems. LiDAR uses laser pulses (150 kHz) for distance measurement. When combined with GPS and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for aircraft attitude, the processed data provides a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) point cloud.

Further classification of the point cloud generates information such as bare earth Digital Terrain Model (DTM) or tree and building models, for integration with CAD and GIS data. Rasterized (intensity) images can be created for visually effective 3D models and for use in LiDARgrammetry. We anticipate the requirement for LiDAR 3D surface data to include projects where tree cover is substantial and where large areas or long corridors are needed.

The Leica ALS50-II LiDAR is a strong complement to McElhanney’s long-standing ability to provide control survey, large-format aerial photography and photogrammetric mapping, making us a true full-service geomatics provider.

Selena Wilson is learning to become an expert at designing roads. She’s also becoming an expert at business.

Selena, a Transportation Designer in one of our largest branches, located in Surrey, is the only Canadian participating in the Young Professional Management Training Programme, a component of FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (the acronym comes from the French, Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils), with world headquarters based in Switzerland.

For seven months, Selena will work with an international team to develop and present four case studies, culminating in a final presentation to the FIDIC Board during their four-day Annual Conference in Québec this September, 2008.

Each case study is based on a real-life situation. The first was in South Africa, which immediately involved political decisions, such as hiring practices. Teams analyse the situation, and then explore various options on how best to guide a company to success, or to resolve a problem. Rather than focusing on a final consensus, however, the goal is to understand the process of analysis, so that this process can be applied anywhere. They explore a maximum of workable options, broadening possibilities in a world where delays – and the unexpected – often happen.

The learning is tough. Up to 30 hours per month of class-work, combined with research, preparation and presentations, all web-based. Teams are led by a mentor, and are organized by time zone in groups of 10-15 people. For Selena, who is with the Central European group, this means logging on at 7:00 a.m. for teleconferences to join their 4:00 p.m. meetings.

Her team-mates hail from the Netherlands, Jordan, South Africa, Nigeria, the Czech Republic, and Ireland. And they are all there for the same reason: “to develop leadership, communication skills, new approaches to understanding management challenges and intercultural understanding.” As Selena says, working with international colleagues on international projects is “very beneficial – it engages a person both in how business works overseas and within a company.”

It’s a large order. And for Selena, it’s a whole new world. But one she wouldn’t trade for any other.

McElhanney is pleased to announce that we have three newly commissioned British Columbia Land Surveyors:

• Jonathan Austin, BCLS #819, of Penticton
• Graham Rankine, BCLS #822, of Surrey
• Brian Wardrop, BCLS #817, of Nanaimo

Their hard work and rigorous training paid off as they were presented with their certificates at the BCLS Annual General Meeting Awards Luncheon in Kelowna, on February 28, 2008.

McElhanney’s Surrey office has taken a step to making tomorrow’s air cleaner with the addition of McElhanney’s second hybrid vehicle to the current vehicle fleet.

The Ford Escape Hybrid will be added to the Surrey Inspection Department as a vehicle replacement for an older high kilometer vehicle. The hybrid produces near zero tailpipe emissions and exceptional fuel economy. With the increasing traffic problems and emissions concerns, this is an excellent example of McElhanney’s ongoing commitment to building great communities, the welfare of our employees, and their generations to come.

Sara Renner, three-time Olympian and contender for the 2010 Winter Games, has been named on the 2007 list of the Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity.

The Most Influential list is compiled by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS), which recognizes women who have made a significant impact in the world of sports. This year’s listing is a solid reflection of current achievements throughout Canada, as we prepare to host the 2010 Winter Games.

Sara’s many achievements include earning a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, smashing records during a triumphant 2005-2006 season with four World Cup medals, including a Team Sprint event in her hometown of Canmore, Alberta, and bringing home Canada’s first ever medal at the 2005 World Nordic Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. She is also a ten-year veteran of the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team.

McElhanney is a proud sponsor of Sara as she trains in her quest for the Gold, and receiving financial funding from McElhanney’s 2010 Centennial Program helps to maintain her rigorous training schedule.

McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Civic Engineering Services Ltd. of Kamloops, BC.

The merger of Civic Engineering provides McElhanney with an expansion of services into the Kamloops, Thompson and North Okanagan region, providing civil and transportation engineering, planning, surveying and mapping. Civic has been established for 23 years in Kamloops, providing service to First Nations, municipal and land development clients.

Mr. Chris Newcomb, President of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., notes that “the geographic expansion and integration of staff will provide McElhanney with the continued diversification and corporate growth that the company has experienced in the last five years”

Matt Hallat, a member of the Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Team, was quoted in a recent National Post article titled "No cash for medals for Paralympic athletes" -- View National Post Article. Although disappointed that he and his teammates would not have access to the money-for-medals program, he acknowledged the financial support of McElhanney and other official organizations and concluded by saying "It is the best that it has ever been".

Chris Newcomb, P.Eng., President of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., and Bruce Dalrymple, P.Eng., Principal of J & B Engineering Ltd., are pleased to announce the merger of J&B Engineering Ltd with McElhanney's Penticton office, effective September 1st, 2007. Lawrence Riding is joining the company from Winnipeg to take on the role of Engineering Branch Manager.

For the past several years McElhanney has operated a very successful survey branch in Penticton and with this merger the company will be able to carry out a wide range of land development, municipal, structural and building engineering. There are a number of new and exciting projects planned in the Penticton region, and we are looking forward to being involved in many of them.

The David Thompson National Awards Program is sponsored by the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS) & the Canadian Council of Land Surveyors.

At the gala dinner on the final night of the ACLS conference held in Quebec City on June 22, 2007, McElhanney was successful in being recognized in the three categories of this awards program:

• Innovation in Geomatics
  Finalist - Frank Slide GPS Deformation Monitoring Project.

• Contribution to Society
  Finalist – Cambodia Land Management Project.

• Unusual Applications in Geomatics
  Winner – Cambodia Land Management Project.

Congratulations to the McElhanney teams for their outstanding efforts on these projects which helped the company achieve recognition for its innovative approach to projects in the Geomatics industry.

For information on David Thompson, please visit www.davidthompson200.org

At the 2007 Consulting Engineers of BC Annual Awards on March 3rd, McElhanney received the Award of Excellence for design of the Mount Lehman Interchange, on the Trans-Canada Highway in Abbotsford. This was the top award out of 11 high quality submissions in the Transportation Category.

Coming less than a month after our two wins at the Ministry of Transportation Awards in February, this means that McElhanney has won all the first places in transportation design and construction in BC in 2007. This is an outstanding achievement that sets the bar as high as it can go.

Congratulations to Gary Tencha and Rob Parkinson who came up with the innovative design concept, and to the entire design team:

Gary Tencha, Project Director; Rob Parkinson, Project Manager; Dave Porterfield, Resident Engineer; Manfred Milewski, Resident Inspector; Dennis Karpluk, Bridge Inspector; Grant Stewart, Designer; Harold Smith, CADD; Jose Pinto, Traffic Engineering; Denny Leung, Signing Design; Jim Dumont, Drainage Design; Kent LaRose, Bridge Design; Parm Nahal, Quality Control; Ed Ho, Municipal Utilities Design

Read the Executive Summary of this submission

McElhanney is very proud to be the recipient of two outstanding awards at the recent 2007 Minister’s Awards Dinner hosted by the Ministry of Transportation and the Consulting Engineers of BC. The Honorable Kevin Falcon, BC Minister of Transportation, and Dirk Nyland, Chief Engineer for the Ministry of Transportation, presented a total of five Awards at the event. McElhanney’s awards were in recognition of:

1. Excellence in Construction Supervision Services - Ootsa Nadina Road Upgrading project; and
   
   
2. Excellence in Design & Contract Preparation – Roads for HWY97, Okanagan Lake Park to Greata Ranch 4-Laning project.

It was mentioned that the word ‘exceptional’ was used a lot in association with ‘McElhanney’ throughout the evening. Congratulations to Marcus Barber of the company’s Prince George office and Santino Pirillo of the company’s Surrey office for leading the winning teams on these two crowning assignments.

Read the Project Description

We are pleased to announce our sponsorship of 2006 Olympic Silver Medallist Sara Renner in her quest for Gold in the 2010 Games. Sara, in addition to Paralympic Athlete Matthew Hallat, will receive financial funding as part of McElhanney’s 2010 Centennial Program.

Sara is a 10 year veteran of the Canadian Cross Country Ski Team. She is a three-time Olympian who sprinted to a silver medal in the team event at the 2006 Winter Olympics Turin, Italy.

There were many notable placings leading to the silver in Turin. In 2005, Sara earned Canada's first ever medal at the World Nordic Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany with her bronze-medal finish in the individual sprint. In the following season, Sara also won 4 World Cup medals including a silver in front of a roaring hometown crowd in Canmore in the Team Sprint event.

This Golden Girl (born in Golden, BC) is currently taking a year off to start a family with husband Thomas Grandi, also an Olympian and leader of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. They live and train in Canmore, Alberta and are expecting their first child in February. Sara is very excited about being a new mom and confident that her new arrival will bring a balance to her life when she continues to pursue her dream to represent our nation and leading the Canadian Ski Team to deliver podium-level performance in 2010.

Learn more about our Golden Girl at www.grandi.ca and her thank you note to McElhanney.

Welcome to our McElhanney Family, Sara! And our very best to you and yours in 2007.

McElhanney is proud to extend financial support over the next 3.5 years to a world class Athlete vying for a spot on the podium at the 2010 Paralympics.

Matt Hallat was born in Vancouver in 1984. He lost his right leg to cancer just before his sixth birthday, but was skiing by eight. He is now living and training in Whistler towards his lifelong dream of becoming an Olympic Champion.

The first race for Matt was when he was 12 years old and he has been a serious contender ever since. He has been a member of the Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Team over the past 4 years and his first breakthrough came at the 2003 Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Championships in Kimberley, BC, where he ranked 1st in SL (Slalom).

His other achievements since include:

• 2005 Canadian Disabled Alpine Ski Championshps at Sunshine, Banff
• 1^st in SG (Super Giant Slalom)
• 1^st SL (Slalom)
• 1^st GS (Giant Slalom)
• 2^nd DH (Downhill)
• 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy (1st Paralympic Games for Matt)
• 31^st in SL
• 32^nd in GS
• 37^th in SG
• 1^st at Nor-Am SL and GS in Whistler, BC
• 10^th at World Cup SL in Shiga Kogen, Japan
• 11^th in World Cup SG and 12th in SL in Pyeong Chang, South Korea

For those of you who do not ski, maybe you could challenge Matt at the golf course; he is an avid golfer with a 6 handicap - not bad for a person who spends most of his time skiing all over the world!

We are certain that we will see a lot more of this outstanding athlete who shares our passion for excellence in our endeavours.

Welcome to the McElhanney Family, Matt!

Read more about Matt at www.matthallat.com
You can also email him at matty_goneskiing@hotmail.com

DISCIPLINES

Downhill: Skiers are timed as they race down a long, steep course that may include turns and jumps. They must pass through a relatively few number of gates that are used as checkpoints. The penalty for missing a gate is disqualification. Each athlete is allowed only one run down the course and athletes' times determine the order of finish.

Slalom: The Slalom is a technical event. The course is shorter than other Alpine Skiing events with a high number of gates (55-75 gates on a men's course and 40-60 on a women's course) that the athletes must negotiate. The penalty for missing a gate is disqualification. Each athlete completes two runs on the same day on different courses. Times from the two courses are added to determine the order of finish.

Giant Slalom: The Giant Slalom is also a technical event. In comparison to the Slalom, the course is longer, there are fewer turns, and the turns are wider and smoother. The number of gates is determined by the vertical drop and the penalty for missing a gate is disqualification. Each athlete completes two runs on the same day on different courses. Times from the two courses are added to determine order of finish.

Super Giant Slalom (Super-G): The Super-G is a speed event. The course is shorter than Downhill but longer than Giant Slalom and Slalom. The number of gates is determined by the vertical drop, with a minimum of 35 direction changes for men and 30 for women. Gates are set at least 25m apart and the penalty for missing a gate is disqualification. Each athlete is allowed only one run down the course. Athletes' times determine the order of finish.

Robert A. Brocklebank, P.Eng. was this year’s recipient of the Beaubien Award, the Highest recognition presented annually by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada (ACEC) for individual lifetime achievements and contribution to the engineering industry and to the Association.

Bob’s greatest technical expertise is in the field of geomatics related to aerial photography and mapping. He has played an important role in establishing Canada’s reputation as a world leader in the field of geomatics and in the logistics of carrying out projects in remote, inhospitable locations. Throughout his distinguished career he has also made significant public contributions in other fields of endeavour. His dedication and support for the Canadian Consulting Engineering industry is well known.

The McElhanney organization of today rests on the foundation fostered by Bob Brocklebank during his 30 year tenure as its leader. When Bob joined McElhanney in 1964 the firm was a modest survey partnership with a staff of 25. By the time Bob retired as President of the company in 1995, he had built McElhanney into one of Canada’s largest integrated engineering and geomatics companies, with a staff of over 500, offices throughout Western Canada, and a track record of successful projects throughout Canada and in over 70 other countries.

In his acceptance speech for the Award, Bob said “I have had an enjoyable, interesting and sometimes even exciting career. I can truly say that there were very few days when I didn’t look forward to going to work! I found particularly rewarding the many years of involvement with the Consulting Engineers of BC and later, the ACEC. Everyone should be so fortunate!

For making the last 40 some years rewarding and enjoyable, and for making the achievement of this award possible, I thank the present and past management and staff of the McElhanney Group of Companies. Except for their dedication and efforts, I would not be here.”

Read the Award Nomination

McElhanney, in association with GeoSpatial/Salasan Consulting, was awarded a CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) funded Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP-Canada) in Cambodia. This project was developed by CIDA as a follow on from the Land Management Program that our McElhanney-GeoSpatial Team undertook in 2003/2004.

The LMAP-Canada project was opened for competitive bidding Canada-wide. Our McElhanney-GeoSpatial Project Team was selected because of the ingenuity of our approach in the geomatics field and our extensive knowledge of the type of work gained from the successful implementation of the earlier project in the country.

Work is expected to begin in January 2007 and will extend over a 5 year period. The program provides technical assistance for establishing property parcels, land ownership and land titling. Technical input includes mapping, survey control, boundary demarcation, adjudication, dispute resolution, State land management and land valuation.

At the annual conference of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC in Victoria on October 14, McElhanney was honored with yet another award for the Treetops Adventure project. Art Williams and Chris Newcomb were awarded the 2006 Editorial Board Award for best article of the year in Innovation, the association’s monthly magazine. Unfortunately Art is in poor health, so the award was proudly received on his behalf by his grandson, Chris Fenje.

Click here to read the article.

Last week McElhanney signed a new contract with the Canadian Red Cross to substantially expand its tsunami resettlement work in Aceh, Indonesia, for another 15 months. We recently completed our work in Area 1, close to the provincial capital city of Banda Aceh, where we re-created and established ownership for over 2,000 residential land parcels in areas where villages had been completely eradicated, as well as carrying out environmental and geotechnical assessments. House construction is now under way, and the Red Cross aims to have as many homes as possible occupied in time for the second anniversary of the tsunami on December 26th.

Our new contract is for 19 villages in a more remote area on the southwest coast of Aceh, several hours by road from Banda Aceh. This was the area closest to the epicentre of the earthquake, and the first to be hit by the tsunami. In addition to parcel mapping, ownership, environmental and geotechnical services, we are also responsible for community planning and coordination of water supply, sanitation and drainage works being provided by others. Some of these villages require relocation, because the original sites are now submerged below sea level.

This increase in the scope of our work is providing us with many new challenges. It demonstrates the trust that the Canadian Red Cross has in our ability to deliver a complex range of services under extremely difficult circumstances. Congratulations to Francisco Goncalves and Tim Coulas, who have done an outstanding job representing McElhanney on the front lines of this project!

The University of Calgary has recently advised us that Ms. Rebecca McKillop Broten of Calgary has been selected as this year’s recipient of the McElhanney Scholarship. This award, jointly sponsored by McElhanney Land Surveys Ltd. and McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., is valued at $2,500.00.

Effective immediately Bill Cheung is appointed as Assistant Branch Manager of MCSL Branch 2341 in Prince George.

Bill was with the company at this Branch from 1991 to 1999 and he returned in 2004 after 5 years in Ecuador. He will still continue as manager of our municipal section in addition to his new duties.

Bill’s appointment is consistent with our move to provide a "Go To" person in MCSL’s larger branches for occasions when the manager is not available. Please join me in welcoming Bill into his new role.

McElhanney was a proud “silver” sponsor of The Mobility Cup, Canada’s annual International Regatta for sailors with disabilities. The Disabled Sailing Association of BC and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club hosted the event at English Bay in  Vancouver on September 11 - 15. Forty sailors of varying severity of disabilities from across Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand and Hungary competed in this challenging and highly competitive sport.

Check out “Event Summary, Background and History” for more info.

McElhanney Associates Land Surveying Ltd. and Kilbride Land Surveying Ltd. are pleased to announce the merger of Kilbride’s business with McElhanney. Gordon Kilbride, BCLS, the principal of Kilbride, and his staff will be located in McElhanney’s Prince George office in the near future. This merger emphasizes McElhanney’s province-wide commitment to land surveying and strengthens our capability to serve the communities in northern BC.

Gordon Kilbride received his commission as a BC Land Surveyor in 1973 and was President of the Corporation of BC Land Surveyors in 1993. He works closely with Dale Keown BCLS, who will also be joining the McElhanney team. Gordon, an ardent golfer, has been in business, and providing surveying services in Prince George, for over 30 years.

Chris Newcomb, P. Eng., President of McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd., and Brad Pollard, RP Bio, President of Acer Resource Consulting Ltd. are pleased to announce the merger of Acer with McElhanney’s Terrace office.

For the past decade Acer has provided environmental consulting services specialising in wildlife throughout northwestern BC. The merger will complement McElhanney’s existing environmental staff based in Smithers, specialising in aquatic studies. The combined staff of 8 environmental specialists will be able serve McElhanney’s clients at its other offices throughout BC.

From left to right these are Wayne Sheridan, Brad Pollard & Sam Buchanan in front of Acer’s office.

McElhanney is pleased to announce the opening of a materials testing facility for soils, concrete and asphalt at our branch office in Smithers.

We would like to welcome new employees Emily Davidson, P.Eng. and Bruce Garlick, C.Tech. to our growing Smithers branch office. Emily has 10 years experience in Geotechnical Engineering and Materials Testing; and Bruce has 20 years experience in Materials Testing, and Geotechnical field assessments.

McElhanney’s Smithers office provides a wide range of consulting services including specialists in Structural, Municipal, and Transportation Engineering; Fisheries and Aquatic Biology; and Surveying.

This week, almost exactly one year after the tsunami of 26 December, 2004, hit Indonesia, McElhanney signed a contract with the Canadian Red Cross to provide services for resettlement work in several villages east of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. The Canadian Red Cross wants to build 12,500 permanent new homes along the north coast of the island of Sumatra in villages that were completely destroyed. McElhanney leads a consortium that includes Golder Associates, Hatfield Consultants, Geospatial International and Whyte-Reynolds that will provide mapping, surveying, geotechnical, environmental, land titling and livelihoods services (livelihoods involves helping people to re-establish their small businesses) for the first 2,400 of these homes. The project will be managed by Francisco Goncalves of our Jakarta office.

For more photos showing what the area looks like today, click here (pdf)

We are pleased to announce that Translink has selected the Golden Crossing Group as the preferred proponent for the Golden Ears Bridge Project.

As a member of the Group, McElhanney Engineering Services Ltd. will be playing a major role, responsible for the detailed design of the north-south section, including several interchanges, traffic analysis, drainage and utilities.

Scheduled to open in June 2009, the Golden Ears Bridge will provide a six-lane toll bridge across the Fraser River, connecting Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge with Surrey and Langley. The new bridge and associated road network will result in improved north-south access to regional centres and major trade routes such as the Trans Canada Highway.

Last week McElhanney’s mapping department announced that our MapsByAir.com aerial photo link to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is now available to realtors. Through a subscription fee with McElhanney, a realtor’s MLS listings will automatically be attached with an aerial photo covering their for sale property. Aerial photos provide home buyers with a view of their new home, their neighbourhood, and surrounding parks, bus routes, schools and other services.

Overview of 7488 Salisbury, Burnaby, BC

Zoomed View of 7488 Salisbury, Burnaby, BC