July 13, 2012

Canadian Institute of Steel Construction hopes to entice all steel stakeholders

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) has set its sights on expanding its membership to bring all steel construction industry stakeholders into the fold.

“Our vision is to be the voice of the entire Canadian steel construction industry,” says president Ed Whalen. “We want to be an all-encompassing organization.”

At one juncture, the CISC was comprised of a “small, relatively elite group” of fabricators. But it now represents a broad-cross section of the industry — among them detailers, steel mills, service centres, erectors and suppliers as well as architects and engineers.

In an interview, Whalen said the institute, which currently has 665 members, wants to expand that membership base even further, “to bring all stakeholders on board as participants in the CISC world.”

To accomplish that goal, the institute is looking at various methods of enhancing the value of membership, including provision of additional services.

Whalen said the newly branded CISC Solutions Centre is one such tool. The institute aims to be a one-stop resource for framing solutions and technical information on designing steel buildings and bridges in Canada.

This group provides owners, developers, architects, engineers and project managers with a comparative cost analysis on using different framing systems in steel, concrete or wood in order to help them make “the most informed choice” for their project.

A “building project solution” includes development of a conceptual steel alternative package including steel frame, floor slabs, floor deck, fire protection and other elements required to integrate with the structural, architectural, mechanical or electrical components of the project.

At the same time, the institute continues to explore “new and innovative” ways to provide technical solutions to engineers and other users of steel in construction. The main channels are a help desk manned by staff engineers, a questions and answers technical column in the Advantage Steel publication, a seismic design corner also in the publication and an online technical forum.

“What we are seeing increasingly in the consulting world is that the (engineering) experts at the end of the hall (in a company) are retiring,” Whalen said.

“From our perspective, there is an opportunity and maybe a responsibility to be that expert that the younger designers can contact for assistance.”

Whalen said the institute, which held its annual conference in Ottawa in mid-June, is also looking at placing increased emphasis on advocacy efforts. The CISC operates as a technical, marketing and government relations organization.

“There are so many issues in front of the politicians these days that affect the steel construction industry,” he said.

“We are finding more and more that the voice of the industry needs to be heard by government.”

In the past year, advocacy efforts have focused on such areas as prompt payment, provincial natural resources procurement policies and trade.

One of the speakers at the institute’s June conference was federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. That represented the first time a senior federal Cabinet minister has addressed a CISC event, Whalen said.

“That was an exciting occasion for us,” he said, noting that the government recognizes the importance of the steel construction industry to the Canadian economy. “The government gets it.”

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