• Cancellation Policy

Seminar Description

This seminar is presented in partnership with Engineers Canada. To view a promotional video on this upcoming session, please visit: http://www.engineerscanada.ca/files/pievc_seminar.wmv

The climate is changing.  Changing climatic conditions could affect the way engineers, in many  of the disciplines, go about their professional practice. 

Participants at this one-day workshop will learn about future climate change impacts in British Columbia and how those impacts may affect the performance of engineered systems.  Based on this foundation, the workshop will introduce participants to a standardized methodology for assessing the risks imposed by climate change on the physical systems upon which society depends.  Engineers have a primary responsibility to ensure the safety of the systems that they design.  Climate change imposes risks upon those systems.  This workshop will assist engineers in British Columbia, attain a greater understanding of those risks and inform the consideration of climate change within their day-to-day professional practice.

Engineers Canada, in partnership with Natural Resources Canada, has developed and tested the PIEVC Engineering Protocol.  This tool is a structured procedure using standard risk assessment methodologies to assess and fully document the vulnerability of infrastructure to the impacts of future climate change. Two facilitated group sessions will demonstrate the steps of the Protocol through hands-on, small group exercises that take participants through the assessment of a hypothetical infrastructure system.   Participants will define the system components and climate parameters and execute a risk assessment.   Finally, the workshop will present four real-world applications of this methodology and allow participants the opportunity to discuss the process with the engineers who executed these studies.

This workshop will be of interest to engineers and geoscientists who are involved in the pre-design, design, operation, maintenance and management of physical systems and infrastructure and who need to consider climate change for these activities.  The methodology will be of interest to those professionals responsible for new infrastructure or for rehabilitating or retrofitting existing infrastructure.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of the Workshop, participants should:

• Have a basic understanding of risk assessment processes as they pertain to climate change and physical infrastructure systems,
• Have hands-on experience with the application of climate change risk assessment to a real-world example.
• Recognize the benefits of a multi-faceted team to address the complexities of climate change.

Instructors:

Joel Nodelman, P.Eng.
President, Nodelcorp Consulting Inc.
He has been actively engaged in the ongoing Engineers Canada work on engineering assessment of the vulnerability of Canadian infrastructure to climate change; initially in his role of Chair of the Engineers Canada Environment Committee, followed by day-to-day project coordination as part of the Engineers Canada Vulnerability Committee Secretariat and finally as a technical advisor to seven case studies conducted under the auspices of the Engineers Canada initiative.  Since 2007 he has had a central role in the drafting and ongoing refinement of the PIEVC Engineering Protocol for assessing the engineering vulnerability of public infrastructure to climate change.

Brent Burton, P.Eng.
Senior Engineer, Metro Vancouver
His focus is on utility issues, primarily water supply and wastewater, and increasingly also on the impacts that climate change are having on these utilities.  As well as coordinating a team that prepares detailed analytical assessments, Brent is largely responsible within his division for communicating information and recommendations concerning utilities to both the member municipalities and the elected Board of Directors. Brent was the Metro Vancouver Project Manager for the two PIEVC engineering vulnerability case studies for two of their sewerage districts.

Dirk Nyland P.Eng.
Chief Engineer, BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Dirk Nyland has over thirty years experience in transportation engineering.  Throughout his career he has provided input and expertise on transportation issues in many roles within the Ministry of Transportation in British Columbia. Mr. Nyland started with the Ministry of Transportation in 1973 as an Engineering Assistant. Since that time he has served in the positions of Geotechnical Engineer, Regional Geotechnical and Materials Engineer, Regional Manager Planning and Professional Services, and Regional Director.  Since 2001 he has been the Chief Engineer for the Ministry. Some of the specific provincial transportation responsibilities of Mr. Nyland include: engineering and management work involving roads, bridges, natural hazard evaluation and mitigation, maintenance contracts, engineering and safety standards, capital budgets, service procurement, project management, development approvals, community liaison work, aboriginal relations and negotiations, and personnel management.

Roger Rempel, P.Eng.
Senior Environmental Engineer Principal, TetrES Consultants Inc
He is an environmental engineer with over 17 years of experience specializing in environmental modeling involving air quality, quantitative risk assessment and water quality dynamics. Mr. Rempel was the Assistant Project Manager for the Portage-la-Prairie Water Treatment System PIEVC Case Study.

Brian Kyle, P.Eng.
Acting Director Innovations and Solutions Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada
Brian was the Federal Government Project Manager for the Ottawa Tunney’s Pasture buildings case study and is currently Chair of the Buildings Expert Working Group of the PIEVC.

Paul Whitfield
Scientist Environment Canada, Meteorological Service of Canada
He is also an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University.Hisspecific areas of expertise are applications of statistics to the analysis of environmental data. Most recently focused on climate variability and changes in land use and the impacts on hydrology, and ecology in BC, Canada, the Arctic, China and Arid areas. He is a member of a number of national and international organisations dealing with environmental monitoring and environmental education including : International Standards Organization, World Meteorological Organization Commissions on Climatology and Hydrology and Arctic Climate Impact Assessment,  He is an author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles about water and environmental sciences.

Cancellation Policy

Registered attendees unable to attend the event may designate a substitute, provided APEGBC receives written notification at least one business day prior to the event. Registration information for the substitute attendee should accompany the notice. If notice of cancellation of registration is received:

•  5 business days or more prior to the event, a refund will be processed
•  Less than 5 business days prior to the event, no refunds apply

Substitute registrants are permitted up to the day of the seminar and member/non-member fees will be applied. The organizers reserve the right to cancel the event if less than the minimum required participants have registered. Liability limited to registration fee.

have registered. Liability limited to registration fee.

This seminar is presented in partnership with Engineers Canada.

APEGBC is an AIBC/CES registered provider offering an AIBC-Accredited activity for 6.5 Core Learning Units.

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