- This event has passed.
April 19, 2017 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
About the Presenters:
Les Yard, Technical Sales Representative – Western Canada
Dow Building Solutions
Les Yard is a Senior Technical Sales Representative for Dow Building Solutions covering Western Canada. Les is a frequent speaker and has co-authored a number of technical articles. Les is the current Past President of the British Columbia Building Envelope Council and the co-chair of the Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology. He has been a technical sales representative in the construction industry for over 20 years the last 14 with Dow Building Solutions. Les has been recognized as a top performer within The Dow Chemical Company. In 2006 he received the Pinnacle Award recognizing the top 4 percent of the Dow corporate sales family. Les was also a key organizer responsible for Dow Chemical Canada’s sponsorship of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver-Whistler.
Keith Calder, Technical Director Canada
Jensen Hughes
Keith Calder provides leadership with his expertise in building codes, fire safety standards, specialized fire protection systems, and performance-based design. He focuses on assisting clients with alternative solutions for complex and innovative designs. In particular, he specializes in the use of computer fire modelling to assess new construction design with regard to smoke control and people movement. He has led our computer modelling team on our most significant transportation projects, including the Canada Line project in Vancouver, LRT and Airport expansion projects in Calgary, and Sentosa Tunnel and International Cruise Ship Terminal projects in Singapore. Mr. Calder has developed a vast knowledge of the application of current and historical building codes, which assists with conducting complicated design audits, specifically, where the design and construction of a facility or group of integrated structures spans several decades and editions of the applicable codes. Complementing his design expertise, Keith has a wide background in forensic fire investigation. He has investigated and analyzed many fire and explosion incidents, and has conducted forensic audits of building design and construction. An active researcher, he continues to coordinate and assist with our ongoing live burn research program.
About the Topic: NBC Code Tool for Above Grade Walls
As a global leader, many industry stakeholders have been subtly encouraging Dow to help bridge the gap between building and energy codes. Dow has helped to support the code and innovation agenda in the US and many have wanted to see something similar in Canada. The rub is that the Canadian Building Code is challenging. Although the model NBC code cycle is updated every 5 years (continuous process) and there has been significant effort and improvements over the past few cycles, the code itself remains complex. Regional differences in terms of how much of the NBC is adopted and modified by each province offer additional challenges to the designer, code consultants, code officials and manufacturers alike. Adding complexity to this are differing professional opinions, interpretations of the code, local municipal silos and varying degrees of AHJ involvement ….
Dow recognized that industry need for a means to navigate this complexity so that construction professionals could clearly understand and state with confidence what the code said. Luckily a world-leading code consultant, Jensen Hughes had the depth and concurrent interest in the Canadian code environment. Dow and Jensen Hughes have partnered to develop a code tool based originally on the upcoming NBC2015 that provides clarity on what the code states and clearly provides the answer as to when and under what conditions foam plastics can be used in above grade walls. The results are revealing and initial response has indicated that this is a deep unmet need in the industry.
The tool has been demonstrated with selected national architects, engineers, code development people to validate a Canadian response to its legitimacy and value. Based on industry feedback it was clear that there was a strong immediate demand for the tool to be used and as a result current versions of ABC, BCBC, VBBL, OBC and QBC have been added.
Presentation Agenda:
1. Code Tool Development and History (Static Tool and Web Tool) Yard
2. Code Tool Introduction and Use (Design Utility and Limitations) Calder
3. Introduction to Dow Above Grade Wall Assembly Options (Interactive Wall Presentation and Dow Wall Energy and Cost Analysis) Yard
Seminar Presentation:
| NBC Code Tool for Above Grade Walls | Les Yard Dow Building Solutions
Keith Calder |
April 2017 |  |