TRM Documents

	TRM documents

Innovative Technologies for Canada's Civil Infrastructure System Technology Road Map (TRM) Project Statement Introduction The prosperity and economic growth of our nation, and the health and safety, and the overall quality of life of its citizens, greatly depend on our productivity and on the efficiency and safety of the transportation and marketing of our goods and services, as well as an effective worldwide communication system. Without an on-going investment in Canada's infrastructure, our economy will fail to grow and Canada will cease to remain competitive internationally. It must be emphasized that ignoring our infrastructure results in a double jeopardy - loss of productivity and international competitiveness, and higher costs of repair or replacement due to extensive deterioration after a prolonged neglect. In addition, the quality of life is strongly dependent on the quality and appropriate functioning of our community assets and institutions, which can make our country a desirable place to live, invest, work and visit. Therefore, each citizen has a stake in the upkeep and operation of our existing infrastructure and in the construction and maintenance of new infrastructure. The CIS industry Civil infrastructure systems (CIS) also referred to as physical infrastructure, represent close to half (48%) of the entire construction industry GDP (the residential sector comes at 33% while the industrial/commercial/institutional sector produces 19%). In addition to a strong economic contribution, these systems ensure Canada's public safety, security, and quality of life. Indeed, they are Canada's lifelines. The industry however is facing a number of challenges: skilled labour shortages and ineffective succession planning, a low-bid procurement - initial cost system that inhibits innovation and does not account for life cycle costs, a lack of technology transfer, inadequate technologies, and growing international competition. An additional challenge comes from the fact that more than 80% of the industry's activities are in the field of repairs, rehabilitation and renewal of structures while most technology and education developments have focused on new construction. A common link among the above challenges is technology. Unfortunately, the development and use of innovative, cost effective, and accessible technologies in Canada has been sporadic at best. Current context There are a number of initiatives dealing with civil infrastructure systems underway or being planned by a number of organisations across the country. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation recently awarded a number of grants to universities (e.g., Waterloo, Laval) for facilities that will support research in a number of CIS fields. Some universities have also taken steps to add rehabilitation courses to their curricula. However, these initiatives are pursued in relative isolation of one another and a common vision will undoubtedly increase their impact on industry. At the Federal Government level, there has been a realisation of the importance of CIS, which has led to a number of activities, including a new Federal Minister of Infrastructure who oversees the Infrastructure Canada Program, is responsible for the Strategic Infrastructure funds. Furthermore, Canada will benefit in a few years of a tool to disseminate best practices through the National Guide to Sustainable Municipal Infrastructure. The Guide, under development through a collaboration between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and NRC with funding from Infrastructure Canada, will produce guidelines that will include decision making and investment planning for municipal infrastructure. Finally, the Federal Government's just released Innovation Strategy provides an ideal and timely forum for the presentation and discussion of the needs and challenges, in terms of science and technology, the civil infrastructure systems industry faces. Objective The objective of the project is to develop a technology road map (TRM) to identify the technological needs and challenges the CIS industry will face in the next 10 years. End users, owners and operators, and the scientific community will participate in the process. The resulting technology road map will allow stakeholder organisations develop S&T action plans for the construction, renewal and management of infrastructure to maximize Canadian investments and bring the industry to the international forefront. In the context of this project, CIS will be limited to: - Transportation structures (including roads, bridges, sidewalks, airports, etc. but not the transportation fleets such as buses, airplanes, etc.) - Environmental structures (including drinking water, storm and wastewater systems, solid waste recycling and disposal facilities, etc.) Elements of information technologies (IT) and environmental technologies will, when appropriate, be considered in the above infrastructure systems and considered in the study. The TRM will aim at answering key questions related to CIS: " In the next 5 to 10 years, what will the needs of owners, operators, and builders of CIS be in terms of technology? " What are the technology challenges associated with the needs identified above? " Related to the above technology challenges: o What are the needs in terms of R&D? o What are the needs in terms of transfer and adoption of these technologies? Key players There is a large number of organisations/associations with CIS S&T activities: these will be asked to participate in the discussions and included in the consultations. The lead organisations have been chosen to represent the widest range of stakeholders; they are: - Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE): Project Manager, composed predominantly of civil engineering academics and consultants. - Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE): regroups the Provincial/Territorial associations of professional engineers; also responsible for engineering labour mobility and accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs. - Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA): majority of members are public works officials from municipalities and provincial governments; membership also includes consultants. - National Research Council (NRC): home of the leading construction research program in Canada with strong programs in urban infrastructure. Manager of Canada's Industry Research Assistance Program (IRAP) whose clients - SME's, are key to bringing innovation to the market. Participants: - Universities - Federal departments/Agencies - National and regional associations - Consulting firms, construction companies, manufacturers and suppliers - Provincial/Territorial governments, municipalities Benefits The expected outcome of this exercise is a consensus by the stakeholders of the CIS industry in terms on S&T needs and challenges the industry will face over the next 10 years. There are a number of real benefits to such outcome, including: 1. A common vision will support the development of practical technologies which can be readily used by the industry; 2. Stakeholder organisations will be able to develop strategies and initiatives that support the needs of the industry; 3. The common S&T direction will facilitate the development of education and training programs leading to a higher qualified labour in terms of the use of innovative technologies; and 4. It will position the CIS industry as a key player in the innovation framework in Canada. Process In view of a tight timeline dictated by the schedule of the Canadian Innovation Strategy, the project has been phased: " Phase 1 will consist of compiling and analysing existing documents on needs and technology challenges from various sources (e.g., NSERC, NRC, CPWA, CSCE, etc.). The analysis of these data, summarised in a report for stakeholder distribution, will be used in 2 Town Hall type meetings (Saskatchewan and Ontario) for validation and to define the broad actions to develop a more technology innovative CIS industry. " In Phase 2, the priority themes defined in the previous phase will be subject to a more detailed analysis and a second round of validations through stakeholder consultations and Town Hall meetings (possibly in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and New Brunswick or Nova Scotia). The stakeholder input will be incorporated in the final TRM recommendations, The development of the TRM will be science and technology driven. The process will be overseen by a Steering Committee composed of representatives from the sponsors of the study: NRC, CPWA, CCPE, and CSCE. This Steering Committee will create a TRM Panel chaired by a prominent CIS business leader and composed of recognised and respected CIS scientists and practitioners from Canada and abroad, if needed. The panel will hold public consultations through Town Hall meetings in five regions (Pacific, Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada). Key associations may be asked to develop advisory papers on specific selected topics to be presented to the panel (e.g., Transportation Association on roads; Water and Wastewater Association on water). Invitation to participate in the Town Hall meetings will be broad-based in order to obtain the expected needs (from users and buyers of technologies and engineering services) and the technology challenges associated with those needs (from academia and research organisations). Participation will also be possible through a TRM Website. The Panel will then prepare a draft TRM document for further public input based on the town hall meetings. A preliminary results report will be ready for thesubmittes in November 2002 as a response ti Canada's Innovation Stategy (Phase 1 report) final document (edited and translated) issued in the spring of 2003 (Phase 2 report).