Elements... 2001 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards

A gala evening featuring a performance by Michelle Wright was the backdrop for the presentation of the 2001 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards held in Calgary, Alberta, hosted by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada in collaboration with the Association of Consulting Engineers of Alberta and the Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine.

"The 47 submissions to this year’s Award program help to illustrate the breadth of Canadian engineering that contributes to our quality of life and standard of living in all regions of Canada”, said Tim Page, President of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada. He added, "the projects demonstrate the innovative and value added role played by consulting engineers in responding to modern business and technical challenges while, at the same time, also contributing to Canada’s social and environmental objectives."

Congratulations to all of those who submitted this year. These awards are a great way to promote our industry and your past year’s successes. You never now when a project will surpass your expectations, so remember to take good pictures.

Click here for pictures of the Awards.

Winners

Honorable Mention

• Helping Hand, Roof Replacement, Shepherds of Good Hope
  Morrison Hershfield Limited
• Knowledge Management System
  A.D. Williams Engineering Inc.

Awards of Merit

• Burnaby Mountain School
  Stantec Consulting Ltd.
• Pearson Airport New Terminal
  Hatch Mott MacDonald
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Lagoon
  ADI Limited/Gemtec Limited
• Nortel Networks Manufacturing Clean Room
  J.L. Richards & Associates Ltd.
• Gas Atacama Pipeline
  Hydroconsult

Awards of Excellence

• Hong Kong Airport Traffic control & Surveillance System
  Delcan Corporation
• Quadrant Shiploader for Koch Carbon Inc.
  Lassing Dibben Consulting Engineers Ltd./UMA Constructors Inc.
• Weyerhaeuser Pulp & Paper Mill retrofit
  AMEC E & C Services Ltd.
• Leslie Station, TTC Sheppard Subway
  Yolles and Thurber Engineering Ltd.
• East Arrowwood Syphon Replacement
  UMA Engineering Ltd.

Schreyer Award

• Whittier Access Tunnel
  Hatch Mott MacDonald

Benjamin Torchinsky, P.Eng receives top individual consulting engineering honour

Benjamin B. Torchinsky, P.Eng., is 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 the Association.

In accepting the award at the 2001 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards in Calgary, October 27th , Mr. Torchinsky praised and thanked the employees and management with which he worked for almost 50 years in developing AGRA into Canada’s second largest engineering firms before its merger with AMEC p.l.c. of England in April of 2000.

Torchinsky said: "When I first started doing consulting work I was very conscious of my responsibilities both to my clients and to my employees. I was obsessed with giving good value to my clients, and once I hired an engineer or any employee for that matter, I was also obsessed with my responsibility to keep that person employed continuously. I looked on every employee as being not only one individual but rather a member of a family – a family whose welfare was my responsibility. When the work load dropped off, I was loathe to lay off people to avoid operating losses. I chose instead to open more and more offices in different parts of the country and even in different countries with the concept that if and when the work slacked off in one area, it would hopefully be expanding in another – so I could continue to offer constant employment to my people. Because of these obsessions I did build up a very extensive engineering company. But if anyone deserves kudos for contributing to the stature of the consulting engineering industry in Canada, it is the company employees themselves whose hard work and loyal service over the past 50 years made us what we are today."

Mr. Torchinsky is a past member of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada and of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario. Through his leadership and strong commitment to the industry he has played an influential role in strengthening the business of consulting engineering in Canada. By encouraging his various companies and employees to become engaged and to work actively on the Boards and Committees of the Association across Canada he has brought vitality, relevance and political credibility to the work of the Association.

For further inquiries, please contact Sylvie Rioux at 1-800-565-0569 or events@acec.ca.