As more research is being performed and more knowledge is being shared about the importance of managing and controlling air leakage within the building envelope, leaders in the building design industry are stepping forward to collaborate with BETAC to ensure their structures are performing as they are meant to.

One of these leaders is ft3 Architects, who partnered with us on two projects.

Cornerstone Life Lease Estates

A seniors housing facility in northeast Winnipeg, consisting of 52 units for both independent and assisted living. The facility was designed by ft3 Architects, who are interested in monitoring the performance of the building and using the results to inform future designs and specifications for future projects.

Our Research

• BETAC, through its Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) funding, installed sensors within the buildings’ heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
• The data is gathered on an ongoing basis, allowing them to monitor the energy performance characteristics of the building.

St. Matthews Church

The church was newly renovated in 2014 and now serves a different purpose to the community. The worship and office spaces were transformed into 26 new housing units for families in the inner city neighborhood. They also created smaller worship areas for numerous congregations and a drop-in centre. The building is now referred to as the WestEnd Commons. During the renovation, the building envelope was modified with the addition of interior insulation to the brick structure.

Our Research

• BETAC installed moisture and temperature sensors within the wall sections (through NSERC funding), to monitor and compare the moisture and temperature levels against the performance levels generated from the computer model, and to ensure excess moisture is not accumulating over time within the brick façade.

Data will be provided to ft3 on an ongoing basis, as this information may serve to better inform design

BETAC is working in conjunction with Hatch’s Structural Consultant in Winnipeg for Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation. Gerdau is undertaking a major renovation of one of its buildings, the Melt Shop Facility at its Manitoba Mill located in Selkirk, MB.

Background

The building in question houses an industrial process with extreme process conditions (heat, particulate matter, corrosive materials) and is subject to a planned roof replacement.

The current roof has reached its intended life service target of fifty years, however the interior and exterior has corroded substantially. This has resulted in increasing heat loss in the winter as well as water ingress into the building.

Our Services

The research undertaken by BETAC addressed the building and material science uncertainties created by the extreme conditions from the industrial process and Manitoba climate.

Results

The final project report addresses the mechanisms that led to the roof damage, as well as the various design and maintenance considerations for this particular building that is subject to such extreme internal and external conditions.

BETAC worked with Synyshyn Architecture to support and further their evaluation of the building envelope system for The Ladco Lakepointe Apartments located in southeast Winnipeg.

Background

Air leakage and thermal bridging can significantly impact the efficiency, durability, and longevity of a building. Air leaks and thermal bridges affect the building’s energy costs, the comfort of the occupants, the efficiency of the HVAC system, and can even cause damage to the building’s structure and materials. Although air leakage can never be eliminated in a building, it can be managed and controlled to minimize a number of potential threats.

Services Provided

• BETAC conducted thermal scans of the building envelope from the exterior of the apartments and limited scans from the interior due to access. We also pressurized one apartment to further enhance the identification of air leakage pathways by thermography.

Results

• By identifying these deficiencies in the building envelope with respect to thermal bridging, heat loss and air leakage, this will assist Synyshyn Architecture with any future repairs and retro-fit programs.

Check out this article in the Winnipeg Free Press by Martin Cash. He shares the exciting and – perhaps to some – surprising news that Winnipeg has been ranked as one of the planet’s most intelligent communities for the second time.
Red River College (RRC) evidently played a prominent role in Winnipeg achieving this distinction.
Except from the article:
Another collaboration that makes Winnipeg look intelligent is New Flyer Industries’ development of an all-electric bus as part of a project that includes the provincial government, Manitoba Hydro, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Red River College and Winnipeg Transit.
RRC Research Manager, Brent Wennekes was in attendance at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and Econimc Development Winnipeg luncheon where Robert Bell, co-founder of the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum presented to the audience a number of examples of why Winnipeg is considered an Intelligent Community.
“Robert said that he hasn’t seen anyone else achieve what the College and its partners had achieved with the all electric transit bus project,” said Wennekes. “He also quoted the Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training in his examples along with a number of other collaborative activities.”
Learn more about some of RRC’s Intelligent City contributions:

Zero Emissions Electric Transit Bus

This video shares information about North America’s first all-electric transit bus prototype and rapid charging system, which passed the the test of real-world in-transit testing and demonstration in the coldest winter that Manitoba has seen in over a century.  Learn more about the project and its international consortium of partners by checking out this professional video (produced with the support of NSERC).

Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing

This video highlights the technology, capabilities, focus areas, and resources offered by Red River College to industry via the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing which include the Centre for Aerospace Technology & Training.  Check out the video (created with the support of NSERC) to learn all about it:

Green energy in one of the planet’s coldest cities

In February 2016, the RRC/Manitoba Hydro research partnership was recognized with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s prestigious Synergy Innovation Award at a ceremony held at the Governor General of Canada’s residence in Ottawa.
In its pilot issue, the Canadian Innovation News shared a few elements of this decade-long, award-winning partnership’s story.
Click the image below to access the full pilot issue to catch up on what’s been happening in Canada’s innovation scene. And don’t forget to check out RRC’s coverage on page 32!

 
 

Red River College has joined forces with the Western Canadian Innovation Offices (WCIO) consortium as part of an effort to connect Western Canadian industry needs with the array of research and innovation resources that exist in WCIO’s nearly 40-member consortium of universities, colleges and polytechnics across the West.
The WCIO is a Western Economic Diversification (WD) Canada-funded pilot project that seeks to enhance collaboration between academic research institutions, and enhance access to these institutions by prospective industry partners. The overall goal is improved engagement between industry and academia, in order to address industry-driven needs and challenges.
“Increasing R&D investment by Canadian business enterprises is definitely an opportunity for Western Canada,” says Ray Hoemsen, Director of Applied Research & Commercialization (AR&C), and WCIO steering committee member. “The WCIO initiative is working to be part of the solution by increasing the research and innovation-related engagement between industry and the post-secondary sector.”
RRC will support the WCIO with boots on the ground. Brent Wennekes, Research Manager with AR&C, has been seconded part-time — with direct financial support from WCIO — to perform as a business development specialist working with post-secondary institutions in Manitoba. Brent’s is one of eight such positions being created across the West.
“Brent is not only connected to Manitoba’s business community, he is also recognized by many local researchers via his experience with both RRC and Innovate Manitoba, and has developed an excellent understanding of Canada’s innovation ecosystem,” says Hoemsen.
WCIO currently has funding available for energy-related projects that include more than one institutional research partner.
“Strategically, with RRC’s research themes of sustainable technology and advanced transportation, our partnership makes a lot of sense,” says Hoemsen. “More importantly, businesses now have a go-to resource for tapping into the wide array of academic research that exist in the West.”
Under the theme of ‘Energy,’ WCIO includes the following research areas: clean tech/alternative energy, remediation/reclamation, hydrocarbons, hydroelectric, grid design and distribution, and socio-economic impacts.
The results of WCIO’s first call for proposals are expected to be announced imminently. A second call for proposals is anticipated later in 2016.
The WD funding for WCIO was initiated and is held by the University of Manitoba, the lead institution in the WCIO consortium.
Do you, or does your industry or sector,
have a problem that needs solving? Want to explore your potential for research capabilities across Western Canada?
To get started or learn more, contact:
Brent Wennekes
Business Development Specialist, Western Canadian Innovation Office
204.631.3323 | bwennekes@rrc.ca

On Feb. 6, 2016, Cypher’s President, Todd Burns was asked to speak with Kalen Qually on the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s BOLD Radio Show, which aired all across the province on 680 CJOB. Cypher Environmental was chosen as one of only two companies by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to discuss the topic of Manitoba leading the way in innovation.
During the interview, Burns cited Red River College as an example of why Winnipeg is a great place to do business.
“In terms of the innovation that we are doing, Cypher has a really great link with Red River College…Our technical staff are able to go and utilize their labs pretty much whenever we want. We sort of have a deal on a handshake – you break it, you fix it, and clean up after yourselves and don’t get in the way of the students. And it’s been phenomenal in terms of our ability to utilize resources that we don’t have in our small facility…It’s a great way to build on our capacity to do the research and innovation and grow the business.”
To hear the full conversation with Kalen Qually on BOLD Radio, please click the link below.
https://soundcloud.com/winnipeg-chamber/bold-radio-feb-6th

Top row: Rob Spewak, RRC BETAC Manager; Lloyd Kuczek, VP with Manitoba Hydro; Jose Delos Reyes, RRC Research Manager. Bottom row: Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science; Ray Hoemsen, RRC Research Director; David Johnston, Governor General of Canada; Neil Cooke, Dean, Teaching Excellence, Innovation and Research, RRC; Mario Pinto, President of NSERC. Credit: MCpl Vincent Carbonneau, Rideau Hall, OSGG

WINNIPEG, MB: A research partnership between Red River College (RRC) and Manitoba Hydro that focuses on sustainable building infrastructure and transportation has received Canada’s top honour from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) at a ceremony held at the Governor General of Canada’s residence in Ottawa.
NSERC’s Synergy Award for Innovation recognizes outstanding research and development partnerships between Canadian colleges and industry partners in the natural sciences and engineering. Only one Canadian college receives the award each year.
“This award is the highest level of validation a college can receive for the impact and lasting benefits of its research partnerships efforts,” said Paul Vogt, president and CEO of Red River College. “Our partnerships with industry stakeholders like Manitoba Hydro are critical to our mandate for supporting innovation in Manitoba and providing our graduates with the skills that industry requires.”
The partners have now spent more than a decade conducting applied research in sustainable building infrastructure and transportation, and there is plenty to show for it.
Two major projects associated with the collaborative research by Red River College and Manitoba Hydro include the award-winning Manitoba Hydro Place, which has added an iconic image to energy efficiency on Winnipeg’s skyline, and the development of a zero-emissions electric battery transit bus.
The ongoing four-year demonstration of the electric buses on the streets of Winnipeg is in partnership with the Winnipeg Transit, the Province of Manitoba, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and New Flyer Industries, the industry-leading Winnipeg-based manufacturer of transit buses in North America.
“The legacy of the relationship between Manitoba Hydro and Red River College will live on in our downtown office tower and zero emission buses operating within many North American cities for decades to come,” said Lloyd Kuczek, Manitoba Hydro’s vice president of Customer Care and Energy Conservation. “These projects provide daily reminders of what we can accomplish through collaborative research and of the importance of leveraging the capabilities of research partners like Red River College.”
The partnership was vital in validating the performance of innovative technologies showcased within Manitoba Hydro Place, resulting in the most energy efficient office tower in North America and the first LEED Platinum commercial building in Canada. Manitoba Hydro Place saves more than 70 per cent of the energy used in a typical office building while providing the highest quality of space for its occupants.
Red River College and Manitoba Hydro moved forward from this foundation into a number of ground-breaking initiatives including the formation of an international consortium that is developing, testing, and demonstrating an all-electric battery transit bus and high-capacity charging system — the first of its size in Canada.
“We now have a total of four buses in daily service in Winnipeg and New Flyer has already accepted orders for international sales,” said Ray Hoemsen, director of Applied Research and Commercialization at RRC. “Each in-service bus leads to a reduction of 160 tonnes of green house gases each year, as well as significant fuel savings.”
Manitoba Hydro’s partnership with the College has also been instrumental in the establishment the new NSERC-funded Building Envelope Technology Access Centre.
“Our partnerships with Red River College allows for sustainable thinking to become entrenched in the next generation of industry leaders,” said Dale Friesen, Industrial and Commercial Solutions Division Manager with Manitoba Hydro. “Students graduating from the College will bring an enhanced level of knowledge and understanding in energy efficiency to their future careers, benefiting our province for decades to come.”
The Synergy award grants Red River College up to $100,000 in funding for applied research tools and instruments and Manitoba Hydro will receive a $20,000 voucher towards any future NSERC-funded applied research project.
Earlier this year, Red River College was ranked as the top college in Canada in research partnership growth, and as a top 10 research college overall for the third consecutive year by Research Infosource. The college was also ranked as one of Canada’s greenest employers for the fifth year in a row.
Manitoba Hydro is the leading proponent of energy efficiency in Manitoba through its Power Smart demand-side management programs, which allows the Crown corporation to encourage and support the sustainable and efficient use of energy by the province’s residential, commercial and industrial consumers.
Fact Sheets: English | French
Additional Quotes:
“Polytechnics Canada heartily congratulates the Applied Research team at Red River on this well-deserved NSERC award,” said Nobina Robinson, CEO, Polytechnics Canada. “Red River’s Applied Research team has led the way in demonstrating that colleges and polytechnics have sophisticated research and development capabilities that lead to win-win outcomes for industry, for students and for federally-funded research through agencies such as NSERC.”
“The tremendous achievements of Red River College and its partners demonstrate the strength and potential of the applied research enterprise in colleges and institutes across the country”, said Denise Amyot, President and CEO of Colleges and Institutes Canada.  “Federal government investments in applied research are closing Canada’s innovation gap and benefiting students, industry and communities in every province and territory.”
NSERC Award Video:

Photos from the Ceremony:

Sustainable building infrastructure and demand side energy initiatives between Red River College and Manitoba Hydro were a contributing factor in the recent NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation announcement for both organizations.

Read about the award