Medicine Hat Regional Hospital – New Tower Expansion

Medicine Hat Regional Hospital – New Tower Expansion

Medicine Hat Regional Hospital – New Tower Expansion

The Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services (AHS) have broken ground on this project, which will renovate and expand the hospital to improve patient services and reduce wait times. When complete, the $200-million redevelopment will expand available ambulatory care space and will allow more space for the emergency department, surgical suite, maternal/child care, and include a rooftop helipad.

HCM Contractors Inc. was successful with its’ proposal that included 100 Belled Caissons at depths up to 100 feet, 7000 ft2 of caisson wall, and the underpinning of 7 major columns to support the additional load imposed by the new structure. The underpinning is particularly challenging because much of the work is to be completed inside of an operational hospital with limited access and noise and vibration concerns. HCM employed a unique method of transferring the load from the column footings to the micro piles that ensured a good bond and efficient design.

This project comes on the heels of the newly constructed MHRH Energy Centre, another successfully completed project by HCM in the fall of 2012.

Client: Stuart Olson Dominion Ltd.
Location: Medicine Hat, Alberta

Centre 10

Centre 10

Centre 10

Two attempts had been made by others to build two high-rise condo towers on the site of the former Gaslight Square retail strip at 10th Ave and 4th Street SW, Calgary, Alberta. Centron, a developer, decided to buy it and changed the concept to a single building, mixed-use office retail development. The site was already excavated and seven levels of underground parking completed so a considerable amount of structural redesign was necessary; which includes the upgrade on the existing foundation system.

Designed by RWH Engineering, 80 micropiles are installed 20 to 30 feet below the existing footing to support the additional load. As the installation was undertaken in a 7th floor underground parkade, HCM had to deal with limited access and low overhead clearance. Man-portable drilling equipment was used to compile with these limitations.

Despite the challenges, the project went well with HCM scope of work being completed on schedule. The pile capacity is confirmed by one verification test and five proof tests.

Client: Centron
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Great Lakes Copper Plant

Great Lakes Copper Plant

Great Lakes Copper Plant

The Great Lakes Copper Plant in London, Ontario, posed a technical challenge in shotcrete shoring. HC Matcon helped to facilitate the installation of a new copper roll press. The shoring was completed inside a fully operational copper plant at night and on weekends. Special care was taken to ensure dust and overspray was contained within the work area causing minimal clean up and ensuring the plant was fully functional throughout the process.

HC Matcon, along with Blue-Con Excavating and McKay Cocker (GC), completed the 2,200ft2 shoring in less than three weeks.

Client: MacKay Cocker
Location: London, Ontario

Siemens Energy Blade Plant – Phase 2

Siemens Energy Blade Plant – Phase 2

Siemens Energy Blade Plant – Phase 2

HC Matcon’s project at the Siemens Energy Blade Plant consisted of the design, supply & installation of 70 helical piers within the existing plant location in Tillsonburg, ON.

As the project was located in an existing, active manufacturing facility, extra care had to be taken on the part of HC Matcon to work within the confines of the building space, which included tight egress for our equipment and limited head room clearance (20′+/-).

Safety is always a number one priority, but additional attention had to be paid as the work was being completed within an active plant with live personnel maintaining scheduled productions.

Some unforeseen obstructions were encountered during helical installation, but with quick decision making and our crews efficiency, HC Matcon was able to complete the project on time and on budget.

Client: Grassmere Construction
Location: Tillsonburg, Ontario

The Fuse at Evolution

The Fuse at Evolution

The Fuse at Evolution

Following years of planning by the City of Calgary, construction on the anticipated East Village Development has started. The proud owners of the first land deal in EV in over a decade have committed to building about 700,000 sq. ft. of mixed-use residential property starting with The Fuse at Evolution.

HCM Contractors Inc. proposed an alternative design-build excavation shoring system that resulted in significant schedule and cost savings. With its’ local geotechnical knowledge and utilizing its two new Bauer BG24 drill rigs and segmental casing system, HCM showcased its ability to design, execute and bring a quality product to its’ client, Embassy Development Ltd.

HCM has also secured contracts on the next two East Village developments that include the long anticipated National Music Centre and First Condominiums. HCM is proud to be a part of this landmark development which is considered to be a turning point in East Village history and a transformative moment for EV.

Client: Embassy Bosa Inc
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Love Condos

Love Condos

Love Condos

This project involved approx 41,000 sf of piles and lagging temporary shoring system. The project was broken into two phase both consisting of piles and lagging with both rakers and tiebacks in order to avoid conflicts with neighboring properties. HCM along with RWH design and constructed the shoring system to meet the project scheduled and owners budget. By using in house engineering HCM was able to respond to changes in of the project quickly and effectively to ensure the project was completed on time.
Included on this project is:

• Pile and lagging walls

• Prestressed soil rock anchors

• Rakers and struts

• Regular monitoring

HCM worked closely with the General Contractor to ensure the shoring systems were built efficiently and as per the designs and specifications. In addition, together we were able to accelerate the overall project schedule.

Client: 59 Project Management
Location: Markham, Ontario

London Mental Health

London Mental Health

London Mental Health – Structural Shotcrete

HC Matcon completed a 1,650ft2 structural shotcrete wall in just two days of shooting concrete. The wall had a depth of 0.450m thickness and was (on average) 10m in height.

The first day, Matcon placed a scratch coat at 0.400m thick, and then a surface coat at .050m thick on the second day. Since no form work was used, there was no need for stripping and finishing the wall.

This was the first structural shotcrete wall for both HC Matcon and EllisDon Construction.

Client: EllisDon Construction
Location: London, Ontario

St. Thomas Courthouse

St. Thomas Courthouse

Alternate Methods Stop Running Sands

HCM was retained to design, supply and install a complete shoring system to facilitate construction of the new St. Thomas Court House for EllisDon. Construction of the proposed shoring was initially for soldier piles and lagging with a single level of bracing using tiebacks.

The existing structures were initially designed using conventional underpinning. When excavation reached the underside of the existing structures it had been determined that soils were not what expected in the geotechnical report. The existing soil conditions were flowing wet sands and HCM was asked to provide an alternate method to the conventional underpinning.

HCM implemented a shotcrete underpinning system including positive support of the existing rubble foundation to allow us to support the structure and lateral pressure of the earth while excavation proceeded to base of the new structure.

With the assistance of RWH (an HC Group of companies) our ability to react and provide an alternate design solution allowed HCM to complete successfully the shoring and foundation works within EllisDon’s budget and schedule.

Client: EllisDon Construction
Location: St. Thomas, Ontario

St. Thomas Courthouse - Shotcrete, Soldier Piles & Lagging

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

Weston Tunnel Grade Separation

HC Matcon achieved a significant milestone on the Weston Tunnel project, allowing for the GC to accelerate the schedule and make up for project delays. HCM mobilized 5 large diameter drill rigs and in seven and a half weeks installed 311 soldier piles (12,000 linear feet) drilled into bedrock up to 60 feet deep and approximately 620 filler piles (7,000 linear feet). The work was completed with an average of 30% downtime as drilling was carried out between two operational train tracks.

Client: KO Constructors
Location: Etobicoke, Ontario

Bluwater Condominiums

Bluwater Condominiums

The Pemberton Group is adding the luxury waterfront Bluwater Condominiums to its portfolio. The 22,000 SF area of shoring area will accommodate the construction of three eight-story buildings on the banks of Lake Ontario.

The job was tendered with numerous systems; soldier pile and lagging, caisson wall and shotcrete shoring. The excavation depth was 7.5m with soils on the site comprised of 3m of overburden underlain by shale bedrock.

HC Matcon (HCM) in conjunction with Isherwood Associates completed the shoring using shotcrete shoring. Shotcrete shoring system allowed for significant cost savings and quicker installation over a conventional shoring system.

Client: Saddlebrook Management Consultants Inc.
Location: Oakville, Ontario

 

Bluwater Condominiums

Canada Post Micropiles

Canada Post Micropiles

No Emissions, No Problem

The Canada Post McKnight Mail Processing Centre Expansion project involved the installation of micropiles to support a renovation within the facility in northeast Calgary, Alberta. As the project was undertaken in an active mail processing facility, the execution presented a number of challenges. Due to the nature of the building, HCM had to deal with limited access and low overhead clearance.

Notably, there was a requirement that forbade any emissions within the building from operating equipment. This resulted in restrictions on the mobilizing of equipment, where fuel-powered engines could not be used. To solve this problem, the equipment was moved into place using an electric forklift. To satisfy the zero emission policy during work, a ducting system was conceived that vented the exhaust from the operating machines to the outside air via a connection through the roof of the building.

The nature of the facility also meant that work had to be conducted on weekends, when operations at the mail facility are light. HCM’s crew had to abide by security restrictions which limited access to specific parts of the building.

Despite the challenges, the project went well with HCM’s scope of work being completed in two days. To achieve the required capacity of the micropiles, post-grouting was required. Seven days after the installation, the piles were load tested to 150%.

Client: Scott Builders
Location: Calgary, Alberta