Keeping an eye (and ear) on your critical materials, equipment and personnel is more important than ever. Luckily, technology in site security systems is advancing quickly. Gavin Daly of Axis Communications joins GlassTalk to talk about the principles of security systems: what are the objectives? What is possible and not possible? What threats and opportunities should you consider? He touches on the other uses of site surveillance, too, including controlling access, identifying safety risks and improving operations. With possibilities for audio pickup, networked speakers, low-light and high resolution cameras, facial recognition and remote monitoring, it’s not about getting a grainy black-and-white video picture any more.

The Ontario Construction Secretariat is the liaison between the unionized trades and employers in Ontario, so their CEO, Robert Bronk, is well positioned to discuss the big topic bedeviling all of us these days – skilled labour supply. Bronk used to train glaziers, so he knows this industry. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the sources of the present skilled trades shortage; the need for greater awareness in Ontario’s schools and homes; the effects of the pandemic and recovery; the outcomes of pandemic-fighting measures on Ontario jobsites; prediction for inflation and supply shortages; and much more.

We know the pandemic has done SOMETHING to our supply chains. But what? Michael Gabert and the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors are tasked with understanding the prices and availability of all manner of construction supplies and generating accurate estimates and forecasts for their clients. So he was the perfect person to have on the podcast to explain why it’s so hard to get the things we need for our jobsites and plants. Michael discusses how negative effects from the pandemic snowball as they roll down the supply chain, starting at mines and ships and ending up as big delays on our loading docks. We get into inflation, interest rates, aluminum futures shipping containers and the outlook for our globalized trading system.

The Buildings Show, Canada’s largest construction show happening Dec. 1 to 3 at the Toronto Convention Centre, has been a popular destination for glazing contractors because of the opportunity it affords to take in the broadest possible range of suppliers and conference topics out there. There’s always a nice selection of commercial glazing and façade construction products, but also HVAC, insulation, roofing, concrete and even property management solutions. This time, there’s a building envelope session but also many sessions aimed at “soft skills” in the construction industry: human resources, marketing, leadership, project management and other topics we know are critical but don’t always have time to think about. Since the Buildings Show is returning as a live event for the first time since the pandemic hit, we thought it was time to invite program director Teresa Baker to GlassTalk to give us the full FYI.

The young president of one of Canada’s iconic architectural glass fabricators, Antamex, joins Glass Talk to share his experiences through a period of whirlwind change for the company. From struggles, to ownership by international giant, Oldcastle, to independence and restructuring, Spurgeon and his team have been on a wild ride for many years. Now Spurgeon is leveraging the lessons learned and the company’s legacy of expertise to position it for the decades ahead, with modern business practices, automation, investment and careful market position. You’ll learn something from Glass Talk’s conversation with Ryan Spurgeon.

Bringing the view from (barely) south of the border, industry influencer Max Perilstein joins Glass Talk to shoot the breeze about everything related to architectural glass and beyond. No one love the glass business more or has been commenting on it for longer, so tune in for Max's takes on the supply crunch, energy efficient glazing, the AGC sale to Cardinal, float glass production, training and labour issues, the return of live events and much more.

We all know there’s a new world coming, but what will it look like? Francis Pomerleau, chief executive for national strategy at one of Canada’s largest construction contractors, has some ideas. Pomerleau has launched a brand initiative for Pomerleau locating the company’s focus in three key areas: collaboration, innovation and sustainability. He’s positioning the company to meet the next wave of challenges that will follow the pandemic, and beyond. He joined Glass Talk to share his insights with Canada’s glazing community, and weigh in on some of the big issues we’re all discussing.

At Top Glass in April, Canadian Premium Sand burst on to the Canadian architectural glass scene with an announcement that it was finalizing plans to build a float glass facility north of Winnipeg using high-quality sand from its deposit near Wanipigow, Man. Whether the new facility will produce architectural glass or glass for solar panels remains uncertain, but either way the return of primary glass production to Canada is an exciting prospect. CPS CEO Glenn Leroux recorded a in in-depth interview with Glass Canada editor, Patrick Flannery, to introduce the industry to his company and discuss their plans. The video version of this interview was originally recorded to appear on CPS’s virtual booth at Top Glass. 

Black Canadians have been part of our construction industry for as long as there’s been one, including many Black-owned contracting businesses. Now, a new organization known as the Afro-Canadian Contractors Association has come along to raise awareness of the good work they do, promote their inclusion and fair treatment and to help its members take advantage of the opportunities out there in our industry. Some grotesque incidents at Ontario jobsites last year attracted revulsion across the country, promoting construction leaders as high up as Geoff Smith at EllisDon to call for a focus on eliminating racism in Canadian construction. So it seemed like a good time to invite the president of the ACCA, Sephton Spence, to join Glass Talk to tell us all about the new association and the proud history of Black construction work in Canada.

Jay Polding of SolidCAD joins Glass Canada editor Patrick Flannery to talk about digital twinning. It’s the next iteration of building information modeling, turning the digital model of a structure into a living representation of the building including tracking of system performance, energy use, maintenance schedules, component failures and more. Building owners see their need for information about their assets’ performance growing, and the demand will shift downhill to façade fabricators and contractors in the years and decades ahead. Polding shares his knowledge of just what these systems are, how they are expected to help, and how your company can be ready for this next big trend.