Construction Association
of Thunder Bay
Construction Association of Thunder Bay
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CONSTRUCTING MINDS TRAINING

CONSTRUCTING MINDS is an authorized and approved trainer by the Construction Association of Thunder Bay (CATB).
To REGISTER for any of the courses below, please contact CATB.

VIEW THE CONSTRUCTING MINDS TRAINING CALENDAR

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER (UNDERSTANDING A PROJECT’S LIFE CYCLE)

COURSE FEE: $600 (CATB Members), $700 (Non-CATB Members) - INSTRUCTOR LED, LIVE TRAINING

DATES: TO BE CONFIRMED

Every road that you drive on, every school that you attend, every office that you work in and every hospital that you receive care at was designed
and built by the people in the construction industry.

Construction is a team effort with owners, contractors, architects, and subcontractors performing key functions throughout the lifecycle of a project. 
This workshop delivers a step-by-step review of the project lifecycle, from initiation through close-out, with specific attention to the unique
roles and responsibilities of these stakeholders at each phase of the project.

Project Initiation → Design → Tendering → Pre-Construction → Construction → Project Closeout → Owner Occupancy

Throughout the workshop you will understand the processes and procedures of a construction project and how they all fit together by examining the roles
and responsibilities of the primary stakeholders as it all relates to the following:

Introduction to the Industry

  • Construction sectors
  • Stakeholders and their roles in the construction process
  • Different stages of construction from development through design

The Design Process – The Architect’s Role
Role of the architect through phases of the design process:

  • Pre-design
  • Schematic design
  • Design development
  • Construction documents

Project Delivery Methods

  • CCDC & CCA contract delivery types
  • Public-Private Partnerships (P3)
  • Lean Construction
  • Subcontracts

Pre-construction – General Contractor, Architect & Subcontractor Roles

  • General Contractor: Company organization, organizing the project by creating a Construction Execution Plan, Social Responsibility Plan
  • Architect: reviews agreements, schedules, organizes meetings
  • Subcontractor: Reviews subcontract & scope of work, obtains insurances and bonds

Project Initiation – The Owner’s Perspective

  • Financial planning
  • Feasibility studies
  • Functional programming
  • Design and engineering

The Tendering Process – Owner & Contractor Perspectives

  • Introduction to construction contracts and Canadian tendering law
  • The competitive tendering process and RFP’s
  • General contractor: estimating process
  • Owner: receiving & reviewing tenders

Contract Law
Basics of legal agreements used in construction

  • Contract components
  • Contract examples
  • Typical contract terms & conditions

Construction – General Contractor, Architect, Owner & Subcontractor Roles

  • General Contractor: all processes required to execute a construction project including mobilization, changes, monitoring schedule, delays & claims,
    payment, submittals, project deliverables meetings, testing & inspection, closeout & more
  • Architect: contract administration, changes, submittals, general review, deficiencies & more
  • Owner: Cooperates with GC, payments, meetings, cash allowances, changes & more
  • Subcontractor: mobilization, managing schedule, labour, materials & equipment, payments, changes, quality, deficiencies & more

Post Construction – General Contractor, Architect, Owner & Subcontractor Roles

  • General Contractor: close out of subcontractors, owner and internally, final commissioning & warranty
  • Architect: takeover procedures, commissioning & warranty
  • Owner: own FFE, final payments, warranty and operational readiness
  • Subcontractor: close out of sub-subcontractor & suppliers, reconcile financials with GC, respond to warranty issues

Manual: Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive 350+ page manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge and experience gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that will be your construction knowledge go-to.

Who Should Attend: This course is suitable for the newcomers to Canada who want to work in the construction industry as well as those who are transitioning into the construction industry. Also it’s suitable for subcontractors, general contractors, project managers/coordinators, superintendents, foremen, engineers, owners, municipalities, procurement professionals, operations and administration personnel in the construction industry.

This workshop is total 14 hours, and is worth 2 Gold Seal credits.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS VIRTUAL CLASSROOM WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION MEETINGS & MEETING MINUTES

Construction meetings are an important part of the successful management of construction projects. Regular site meetings on a project with well documented minutes can facilitate better communication and produce better results making it more likely that the project will be completed successfully.
Typically the responsibility of the General Contractor, proper meeting minutes of these construction meetings reflect the view of all stakeholders and should be a complete, reliable and accurate documentation of the current status of the project as well as the next steps, as agreed to by all parties. This, however, is not as easy at it sounds. Proper meeting minutes require effective listening, accurate recording and most importantly, the understanding of the risk involved if an action item is not completed as promised.

Topics will include:
• Conducting effective and efficient construction meetings
• Types of construction meetings and when to have them
• Recording accurate and factual construction meeting minutes
• Understanding what standard topics and other topics to discuss and document
• Importance of construction meeting minutes to manage deliverables and risk
• Engaging project stakeholders to deliver as recorded (promised)
• Managing actionable items
• Understanding how construction meeting minutes become permanent records
• Distribution and follow-up

Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this workshop participants will be able to:
• Create and implement a construction meeting protocol and meeting minute process and procedure
• Have a greater understanding of the need to listen effectively and to record accurate and factual construction meeting minutes
• Improve project outcomes and enhance project success by the actioning and delivery of project deliverables by stakeholders
Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
General Contractor and subcontractor Project Managers, Project Co-ordinators and field staff.

This workshop is worth .5 Gold Seal credit.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS VIRTUAL CLASSROOM WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
MASTERING CHANGE ORDER MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP OUTLINE

“Change is inevitable,” as the old saying goes. On construction projects, a more appropriate statement might be that “change orders are inevitable.” Changes in construction projects are the most significant source of financial increases and schedule delays for general contractors, subcontractors, owners, and consultants.
Are changes affecting your profitability and your ability to meet the construction delivery schedule? This workshop will provide participants with the knowledge to implement change management processes to minimize the impact of changes on construction projects.

Topics will include:
• Sources of Changes on a Construction Site
• Types of Change Documents
• Change Order Management Process
• Change Order Management Documentation
• Change Order Pricing: Evaluation and Verification of Costs
• Schedule Impact of Changes and Evaluation of Delays
• Contract Obligations
• Cumulative Effect of Changes

Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this workshop participants will be able to:
• Have a better understanding of how changes affect construction projects, profitability and client relationships, and subsequently business and professional success.
• Identify changes earlier and minimize any negative impacts of changes.
• Create and implement a change management plan, and process within construction projects to successfully manage changes.
• Improve project outcomes and enhance the success and profitability of construction projects.
Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
General Contractors, subcontractors, consultants and owners.

This workshop is worth 1 Gold Seal credit.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS VIRTUAL CLASSROOM WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
CLOSEOUT OF A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

Why would a Contractor, Owner Consultant or Subcontractor need to know Best Practices for closing out a construction project? The answer is simple – if you can’t get it done then you can’t reach Substantial Performance. If Clients are not able to use the facility as intended, then all involved will have to spend more time and money to wrap it up and all stakeholders’ payments will be delayed. Getting a project to Substantial Performance and then to Total Performance are two of the most difficult milestones in the construction process to achieve.
The principles of how organizing early, teamwork and communication work together to achieve a successful project closeout will be discussed.

Topics discussed will include:

Pre-Construction Closeout:
• Internal handover
• Principles of organizing early, teamwork and communication
• O&M manual development and tracking
• Closeout requirements and submissions
• Submittals requirements and submissions
• Permits

Construction Closeout:
• Substantial Performance requirements both contractually and regulatory

Post Construction Closeout:
• Final Completion requirements both contractually and regulatory

Subcontractor Closeout:
• Financial requirements

Internal Closeout:
• Internal review and lessons learned

Participants will be introduced to best practices and “tips and tricks” which will expedite and simplify the takeover of a project by its Owner from the Contractor, who managed the construction, so that the last 3% of the project is not 15% of the effort.
Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
Contractors, subcontractors, owners, consultants and allied professionals in the construction industry.

Virtual Classroom Sessions: 2 sessions of 3 hours each

This workshop is worth 1 Gold Seal credit.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
PROJECT PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Benjamin Franklin

Effective and thorough project planning prior to commencement of work on a new site is essential to the overall success of any construction project. Often focus is mainly directed at winning the work and a rush to start the job, rarely is there adequate time given to taking the time and planning the work in advance.

In general, the Construction Execution Plan answers these questions:
• What must be done?
• Who will do it?
• How will it be done?
• How long will it take?
• How much will it cost?
• What are the deliverables?
• How will quality be maintained?
• What is the schedule?

Without a Construction Execution Plan, a company has planned to fail and will most likely impact profitability.
This seminar will discuss the elements of creating an efficient and organized Construction Execution Plan which includes: understanding scope, contractual requirements and budget, assigning the best project team, site logistics, sequence of work, schedule, project resources and identifying risk and opportunity etc.. The Construction Execution Plan should effectively communicate, in simple language, the sequence of events required to construct the project and to meet key milestones. Once complete, it can be used to provide information to others about how the project will be managed and constructed, and as a “road map” for the project team members to identify how the project will be constructed.
Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
Subcontractors, general contractors, project managers, superintendents/foremen in the construction industry.

Virtual Classroom Sessions: 2 sessions of 3 hours each

This workshop is worth 1 Gold Seal Credit.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
TRADE CONTRACTS: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Benjamin Franklin opined “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Today subcontracts are becoming more and more confusing and onerous with the General Contractors pushing more and more risk, responsibility and liability onto the Trade Contractor, so it behooves the Trade Contractor to have a greater understanding of the contract before a problem threatens their business rather than after.

The Canadian Construction Association Trade Contractors Council published “CCA 53 – A Trade
Contractor’s Guide and Checklist to Construction Contracts”. This document was created to “draw the attention of Trade Contractors to certain clauses that frequently appear in construction contracts or subcontracts which can adversely affect the rights and obligations of trade contractors” and forms part of the discussion.
Using a manual filled with spreadsheets and checklists this workshop will discuss the Trade Contractor’s contractual responsibilities and will examine clauses regarding design responsibility, performance specifications, conduit or flow-down provisions, scope of subcontract work, payment, insurance, protection of work, warranties and temporary site facilities. Contract law, contract terms and conditions, incorporation by reference as well as many other terms will be reviewed and discussed.

A “Subcontract Handbook” will be developed by the participants so that the Subcontractor will better understand the contract requirements.
In addition, and using a green, amber and red-light system using actual subcontracts, participants will review and analyze actual subcontract clauses to identify those clauses to be on the look-out for when reviewing and attempting to understand the construction contracts they are asked to bid upon and sign.

Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
Subcontractors, general contractors, contract administrators, estimators in the construction industry.

Virtual Classroom Sessions: 2 sessions of 3 hours each

This workshop is worth 1 Gold Seal credit.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
RESPONDING SUCCESSFULLY TO A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

More and more frequently private sector companies and government organizations are releasing Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) as part of their procurement process and moving away from the traditional bid process. Construction companies will win or lose contracts based on their responses to these RFP’s. Responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP) successfully requires knowledge, understanding and a proposed solution of the subject, while convincing the potential Owner that your company is the best suited to build their project. Your response must not just be compliant, it must be compelling as well!

Through case study of an actual RPF and the development of the RFP response participants will:
• Understand the differences between a Request for Quotation (RFQ) and the typical prequalification in the bid process and how to respond to that RFQ. Your company must first pass the “RFQ” test 
   before being invited to participate in the RFP process.
• Learn to analyze your companies’ SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Threats) and how to leverage these for the RFP response.
• Learn how to analyze the RFP to:
    o Understand the Owner’s requirements both for the RFP response and the project
    o Demonstrate knowledge of the Owner
    o Understand how your company can best suit the solution
• Create a successful strategy for developing a winning response.
• Develop “win strategies”.
• Learn to prepare your written response effectively while following the guidelines set out in the RFP.
• Learn how responses to RFP’s are evaluated and how best to address the criteria.
• Learn engaging and effective presentation techniques.
• Create an RFP response to the Case Study – both written and presentation.
• Present your Team’s RFP proposal.

Exclusive to this workshop is a comprehensive manual that is used as a reference and guide throughout the sessions. The manual is based on accumulated knowledge gathered over 40 years in the construction industry. It is a valuable and effective tool that contains not only practical how-to’s, checklists and templates but will also be a foundation for new processes and procedures back in the office or on the jobsite.

Who Should Attend:
General contractors, subcontractors, architects, designers, engineers, consultants, Bid/Proposal Managers and allied professionals in the construction industry.

Virtual Classroom Sessions: 3 sessions of 3 hours each

This workshop is worth 2 Gold Seal Credits.

CONSTRUCTING MINDS WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
ETHICS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The Ethics in the Construction Industry course has been designed to help you navigate the often-murky waters of ethical decision making, to help you be aware of the ethical issues surrounding them and, finally, what to do about it. Ethical behaviour in the work place benefits you and your employer, providing you both with the reputation of trustworthiness and integrity when conducting your construction business.

Upon completing this course, you will:
 Understand the fundamentals of "ethical behaviour"
 Be aware of the importance of ethics in business
 Understand corporate social responsibility
 Know how to make ethical decisions
 Recognize ethics in the context of the law
 Understand and identify specific ethical issues facing the construction industry and how to manage them
 Understand the direct link between ethics and a company's success

Who should attend:
For everyone in the construction industry. This workshop is for Construction Management Professionals pursuing their Gold Seal designation and owners/clients, contractors, superintendents, project managers, foremen, owner’s construction managers and anyone who must deal ethically and professionally with employees, subcontractors, owners, clients, consultants, employers and the public.

Virtual Classroom Sessions: 2 sessions of 3 hours each

This workshop is worth 2 Gold Seal credits and is mandatory for challenging the Gold Seal exam

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Lee Kelly

 

Lee Kelly, M.A.A.T.O., P.GSC. With over 30 years of construction management experience under her belt, Lee has gained extensive knowledge and a solid foundation in construction practices, processes, and procedures. Lee was recently awarded The Construction Institute of Canada (TCIC) Chancellor's Award of Excellence.
https://www.constructingminds.ca/