CIQS Podcast – Knowledge Counts

During this episode of “Knowledge Counts”, Wendy and her guests, Griffin Simony and Josh Peill, discuss ways to break down the stigma of making residential homes accessible and making it possible for homeowners with disabilities to remain in their homes. They offer options to create an accessible home without making it feel like you are in a hospital when you step into your own home. They discusse...

During this episode of “Knowledge Counts”, Wendy and her guest, Milan Niksic, discuss why possessing strong soft skills is just as, or perhaps more, important than some hard skills. Even though soft skills are not directly relevant to a job such as having a fundamental understanding of budgeting project for a quantity surveyor, without strong communications skills, it can be difficult to make a su...

During this episode of “Knowledge Counts”, Wendy and her guest, Alex Marsh, discuss the two main types of Value Engineering, CapEx (capital expenses) and OpEx (operational expenditures). Value engineering may be perceived as solely cost cutting or replacing designer recommended material with comparable material at a lower cost. Mr. Marsh explains that although this is part of the equation, there i...

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a way of resolving disputes without going to court. The three most commonly-used methods of ADR are negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Reasons for choosing ADR instead of a court proceeding would be lesser costs, more private proceedings, or the need for a speedier resolution. Over the next 30 minutes, Níamh will discuss the differences between claim an...

Carla Ciepliski is an industrial engineer, consultant and coach with over 20 years of multi-sector experience including 6 years in the design and construction value chain. She helps companies along their transformational journey by improving business performance and building processes/systems to simultaneously achieve results, develop people and improve the operating culture. Carla’s career was gr...

Arif Ghaffur is the President and Founder of Lakeland Consulting Inc. and Adjudico Inc. He is a Professional Quantity Surveyor and Chartered Quantity Surveyor with specializations in Commercial Management and Dispute Resolution. Arif has over 35 years of international experience in the construction industry in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, China, the United States and Canada. Arif is the Editor o...

Gerard McCabe graduated from the University of Ulster (Belfast, Ireland) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantity Surveying and has practiced in Canada since 1987. Gerard was a founding partner of cm2r and led the merger of cm2r with Turner & Townsend in 2010. With over 32 years of experience specializing in Budget Control & Cost Planning and Project Management, Gerard has extensive experienc...

Cliff has over 15 years of professional experience in the public and private sectors, dedicated to the creation and implementation of planning and building policy for land development. He possess an urban planning degree with knowledge and experience in multidisciplinary planning and building approval process, planning laws and guidelines such as the Alberta Municipal Government Act, Alberta Safet...

Ross Huartt has over 15 years experience starting his career in the construction industry in the United Kingdom. After relocating to New Zealand, he immersed himself in quantity surveying. In 2013 he finally settled in Canada and quickly applied his experience and professionalism in the post-loss appraisal industry—working on claims of all sizes and complexity. Ross enthusiastically shares his kno...

Penelope joined SAIT as an instructor in 2016 with a PhD and 11 years of structural engineering experience. She’s pursuing a career that has included many diverse roles, responsibilities and experiences. Penelope’s project experience has covered projects in many building sectors and includes structural design, analysis, assessments, contract administration and structural monitoring. Her main inter...

As the owner of Cambrian Management Services, Roy provides commercial support to the construction and energy sectors. Originally a product of the construction industry in the United Kingdom, he has been an active quantity surveyor in Canada since 1977 and currently resides in St. Mary’s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. He attained his Professional Quantity Surveyor designation from CIQS in 1993, an...

Diane Standen-Downie is a P.Eng with over 19 years experience in Engineering and Project Controls. She has lived and worked in many parts of the world including Alberta, Egypt, France, UK and is currently living and working in Toronto, Ontario. She has extensive experience in Cost Management, Schedule Management, Change Management and Estimating in the Oil & Gas, Transmission Line, Pipeline, Water...

Niamh is a Senior Managing Consultant based in the Calgary Office of Berkeley Research Group (BRG). She holds a degree in Civil Engineering, an MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution and is Chartered with the Institution of Civil Engineers and also the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Niamh’s experience includes project management, contract management, procurement, bid management...

Carlo Velcic has been in the wood industry for over 30 years. He graduated from the Civil Engineering Technology at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1978 and later continued his education at Lakehead University where he received his Bachelor of Engineering. His expertise is in Engineered Wood Products, residential and light commercial construction. He is currently an Instructor at S...

Karla is the current vice president of Mayfield Renovations Ltd., and will become president by the summer of 2018. She is a graduate of SAIT's Civil Engineering Technology program. In 2004, she began working in the construction industry as a summer laborer at Mayfield. She and her team are passionate about providing creative solutions on how to modify wood frame structures to better reflect the li...

Taher Hassan is an Instructor at school of construction, South Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Calgary. He received her B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, and M.Sc. in Surveying and Photogrammetry from Ain Shams University in Cairo in 1996 and 2002 respectively. He also received his Ph. D. in Geomatics Engineering from The University of Calgary in 2009. Taher acted as Secretary working group I/3...