Ryan Verhelst joined MBC Group’s Environmental team in February this year after the company acquired Sure Hazmat and Testing, where he has worked for the previous ten years. Ryan started his career as a technician, working as a student intern at the lab while attending the University of Victoria, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with an Environmental minor. Ryan’s drive to be more actively involved in environmental initiatives led to his current role as a Senior Manager, allowing him to have a tighter control over the process, from quoting right to final review.

He is passionate about the work he does with the environmental team, especially focusing on projects related to Indoor Air Quality and Occupational Hygiene. Ryan recognizes that the COVID-19 climate has changed the way we work and go about our everyday lives. Environmental consultants are more critical than ever because they play an important role when it comes to educating others about environmental hazards. They ensure that everyone’s health and safety is a top priority in the workplace and at home. As a result of this acquisition, Mr. Verhelst and his team of technologists and advisors will now be able to expand their capabilities to a much broader audience across Canada. They are excited to be more involved in environmental management projects, concentrating on controlling, monitoring and mitigating the harmful impact biohazards have on our working and living environments.

Ryan has always been interested in environmental issues and pursuing a career that would allow him to make a positive difference in the world. His determination and drive to follow health and safety standards were one of the key reasons he became an Environmental Technician in the first place. For him, it not only gives an opportunity to provide more of the technical services him and his team are so proud of, but it plays a huge role in the Environmental sector. Legislations and guidelines allow standards to be maintained to ensure the health and safety of all people involved in a project involving hazardous materials, indoor air quality, and occupational hygiene.

Education is power, and Ryan is back at school taking his occupational health and safety certificate to gain an even better understanding and be able to properly build out these services on his team. On top of ensuring health and safety in the industry, he strives to ensure the health and safety of the air quality in his own home as well, keeping it safer for his son. When dealing with hazardous materials, there is a lot we cannot see with the naked eye, and this is where those guidelines and legislations come into play and can really guide our approaches not only on the job, but also in our daily lives.

When Ryan isn’t ensuring health and safety on his project sites, he is outside with his family, exploring the different trails around Vancouver. The “Beautiful B.C.” tagline does not do the province justice, as it provides a rugged backdrop for a variety of outdoor activities; whether it’s hiking up to peaks of the Rocky Mountains, driving along the Pacific coast, or getting lost in one of its many enchanted forests. Since there isn’t much else to do safely in a pandemic environment, Ryan has enjoyed discovering new places he hasn’t visited before. Ryan gets a lot of his ideas from places he sees online or on social media. He and his son enjoy spending quality time together by discovering new parks to play on, looking for more scenic views, and finding new places to explore. Ryan, much like his sense of adventure, is constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to improve environmental industry standards, as well as discovering and learning how to tackle new challenges with each new project that comes his way.

Koffi Deku started with MBC Group in June 2020 as the Director of Engineering, managing the day-to-day operations of the Engineering Division. Prior to joining MBC Group, Koffi worked as a Structural Engineering Manager, primarily designing a variety of buildings and bridges. He was drawn to MBC Group because of the company’s aspiration to become a leading engineering firm in Canada. “It’s great to be involved in the execution of that vision!”  says Koffi. “You get to be exposed to all types of work. Whether infrastructure design and management projects, providing expert opinions, or learning about the intricacies of mechanical and electrical engineering in complex reconstruction projects, MBC Group is very versatile in the engineering services it provides.”  In Koffi’s opinion, this is the perfect place to be for Engineers and others who are passionate and willing to take on new challenges because it is full of committed innovators trying different approaches to execute projects.

Koffi believes in the competence of his team and has yet to be disappointed by their high-level output. Engineering is such a broad category, that it can be perplexing for those who do not fully understand all the activities and functions that an Engineer performs on a daily basis. Koffi explains that structural engineering, for example, is a field of civil engineering which focuses on making sure structures or buildings can withstand loading conditions they will be subject to during their lifetime. In other words, Architects make it look good on paper, and Structural Engineers make it stand. A structure doesn’t just stand by itself; it takes a great deal of attention to detail to transform a vision into a reality.

What inspires Koffi in his role, is to contribute to construction projects that will be essential parts of the community. Koffi became an Engineer because he wanted to contribute to closing the gap in infrastructures availability between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. A gap he became aware of when studying in France in Year 2000. Originally Koffi had planned on becoming a pilot, but there was something about becoming a Structural Engineer that seemed much more useful. He didn’t want to be the type of person who just complained about lack of infrastructures; instead, he wanted to understand how things are effectively and sustainably designed and built so he could apply that knowledge to actively make a positive contribution to his community.

Koffi has an Engineer’s mind that is always trying to understand how structures are built and how they can be improved. He looks at bridges, ports, dams, and buildings a lot differently, always seeing what could be and how other people do it. Koffi enjoys driving on roads he has never been on before, seeking out landscapes he hasn’t yet seen in Western Canada and the United States, which he considers to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. From Koffi’s perspective, “We all do landscaping in our backyards, but for Structural and Civil Engineers, the world is our landscaping project.”

A brief look at the history of tools

The earliest record of tools found dates back 2.6 million years, mostly comprising of sharpened sticks and stones used for different functions of hunting and gathering. It was with the use of these basic tools that humans were able to accomplish tasks that were outside the realm of possibility with just their bare hands and enabled them to climb to the top of the food chain.

Tools in the present

Tools are an unavoidable part of our day, whether it be as simple as a whisk at home, the tools we use at work, or the newest smart phone and countless other advanced technological tools we have come to rely on. We ogle tools in the hardware store, kitchen shops, or online, and today, for Worship Your Tools Day, we are taking a moment to stop and appreciate the role tools play in making our lives and jobs easier.

With all the advancements in tools and what they can do, using these new technologies is not only efficient, but also a lot of fun! We asked some of our experts what tools get them excited about doing their work. The results? We’ve definitely come a long way from the days of using sticks and stones!

Thomas Morawiec, our Northern Alberta Manager, and a skilled Cost Consultant with MBC Group, loves when he can use one of our drones, a DJI Mavic 2, for his projects. “I love getting to use industry leading technology” he says of the drone. Beyond the impressive piece of technology it is, the drone has implications for the safety of workers during inspections. “It allows me to get detailed information while keeping my boots safely on the ground” Thomas tells us.

Specially designed goggles hold a mobile device and provides Thomas with a bird’s eye view to observe those hard-to-reach places live, so he can get every detail he needs at that moment. An added advantage is that it saves our clients time and money during more complex inspections.

Another technologically advanced tool our consultants love to use is a 3D camera, which allows us to bring the project site right to the client’s screen. The camera captures 360 degrees and generates a virtual file, where users can click through to see different angles and different areas of the structure. The file generated is comparable to a virtual dollhouse, that can be easily navigated by a quick click of the mouse.

Jeff Wright, a Senior Environmental Consultant with MBC Group, votes for his Leica DISTO E7300 laser measure. He uses it on nearly every job site, whether it be for moisture mapping, mould assessments, hazardous materials surveys, or asbestos bulk assessments. The laser measure calculates square footage to an accuracy within one tenth of an inch, saving the time of having to use a tape measure, or the inaccuracy of having to guess. “Square footage measurements are pertinent to outlining what needs to be removed during a hazardous material abatement,” says Jeff, “and the laser measure not only makes the job convenient, but it also makes our reporting that much more precise.” Jeff is enthusiastic about this tool and has found even more enjoyment of it outside of his sites, “I even used it to measure the distance of my firepit to my deck!”

We all know we couldn’t do what we do without modern technological advancements, so let’s take a moment today to stop and appreciate the tools that make your life and job easier every day!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool#:~:text=Finds%20of%20actual%20tools%20date,were%20studied%20and%20given%20importance

Christian Injates, MBC’s Senior Director of Environmental Services, looks back on his 27 years in the industry in reflection of how much has changed. The changes he has observed have not only been in health and safety, but also how there is more emphasis on retaining employees and creating careers for them, rather than the old model of filling spots for a project. Being thrown into the deep end himself at the beginning of this career, Christian has learned a lot about being a leader.

Christian started with MBC Group in March of 2020, with the mission of building the environmental division’s presence in Vancouver. He was drawn to MBC Group after meeting the senior leadership team, impressed by their energy for growth, and how they were all so different in character, each bringing something unique to the table. With the desire for a new challenge, Christian certainly got his wish, stepping in to build the Vancouver Environmental Services operation from the ground up, with a pandemic on his tail. Regardless of the challenges he has faced, Christian has built a strong team already, and watching them come together and work together has been a great accomplishment and what he is most proud of.

Christian looks for more than just education and experience when he is looking for new talent to join the team at MBC Group. He puts a focus on ensuring people fit into the culture of the company. MBC Group provides so much support for growth and innovation, something Christian believes to be unique in this industry. MBC Group’s exponential growth will continue to provide so much opportunity for anyone who has vision and can think outside the box. MBC Group encourages people to take initiative and to not be afraid to think critically and innovate their approaches to projects, finding new ways to increase efficiency.

Christian is excited about the evolution of the company, as well as the broader industry. The traditional model no longer works, and he is anticipating that there are a lot more changes to come. Even at MBC Group, there is a lot more youth in the company than the consulting firms he has worked for in his time.

A people person through and through, Christian loves to fit into new situations, interact with all different kinds of audiences, and observe people, right down to their watches. “When I meet someone new, I notice their watch immediately,” Christian says. “You can tell a lot about a person by the kind of watch they wear.” He has collected watches for a long time and for him, they are both functional and amazing pieces of art. There are no robots that can put together an automatic watch. The parts are so small that it requires the human touch to put all the intricate and moving parts together. Like a team, if one part isn’t working or fitting properly, the whole watch won’t work. In his role at MBC, one can observe how Christian puts this into practice in every decision he makes as the strong leader he is.

BURNABY, BC, FEBRUARY 8, 2021 – At MBC Group, our mission is to continually expand our service offerings to meet more of the needs of our clients. MBC Group’s most recent venture is a direct result of listening to the requests and feedback received from our valued clients. We are pleased to announce our acquisition of Sure Hazmat and Testing in Burnaby, BC. This key strategic partnership will allow us to offer in-house lab services which will reduce both costs and wait times for forensic analysis.

“The acquisition of Sure Hazmat will immediately strengthen MBC Group’s environmental capabilities in Western Canada” says Christian Injates, MBC’s Senior Director of Environmental Services. “We are more than excited to add ten professionals to our environmental practice and to be able to extend analytical laboratory capabilities to our current offerings in the region.”

As MBC Group continues to grow upward and onward, we want to ensure every project we undertake has dedicated scientific and industry expertise to guarantee successful completion of project milestones. Since 2003, Sure Hazmat has been dedicated to the cause of creating safe and healthy spaces for people to live and work in. Their well-rounded approach to hazardous material management takes place both in the lab through their knowledgeable laboratory personnel, and right on the project site through their experienced field technologists. Combining our team’s technical capabilities will ensure fast, accurate and first-class services, contributing to our national services while we continue to expand into new fields and adjacent markets.

“We are excited to have Sure Hazmat’s highly experienced and passionate team join our experts in our common goal,” says Ross Huartt, President of MBC Group, “they will be a key part in advancing our scientific initiatives and will allow us to broaden our client base and widen the reach and scope of our solutions.”

Acquiring Sure Hazmat supports MBC Group’s evolution by enabling us to offer increasingly inventive solutions nation-wide. Our Research and Development Division is moving into the next stage of growth, this acquisition coming in line with our recent announcement of our Integrated Laboratory for rapid testing and analysis, going live this Spring.

For more information, please email assignments@mbc-group.ca.

About MBC Group

MBC Group has been operating for over 20 years, serving clients from coast to coast. We are one of Canada’s leading multi-disciplinary Engineering Consulting Firm specializing in Structural and Forensic Engineering, Architecture and Design, Environmental Consulting, Major Projects, Appraisal and Quantity Surveying and Research and Development. We also offer forensic laboratory services and a wider range of forensic consulting services. Our mission is to provide a third-party independent analysis and streamlined reporting to assist our clients in making cost-effective solutions.

By: Dan Faraldo, Avigael Laeda, & Sarah Dahlqvist

Most New Year’s Resolutions focus on self-improvement in some way. Generally, people try to quit smoking, start exercising, or change their diets to include healthier food choices as ways to improve their health. However, most neglect to make resolutions about improving the air they breathe. It goes without saying that the air we breathe is vital to our health, especially during this critical time as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. A lot of us are working from home in the midst of the pandemic, and all of us are spending more time quarantined at home, so why not make 2021 the year you make your home the healthiest it has ever been!

Here are three ways to have a healthier home in the new year:

1. Focus on improving indoor air quality. This newfound focus will require many tasks – but they shouldn’t be hard to do. Regular vacuuming, dusting, and mopping will eliminate many of the dust particles that prevent our air from being at its purest. Buying houseplants would also be another great thing to consider, as they help to improve the oxygen content of the air we take in. As well, making sure to take your shoes off before entering your home will prevent excess dirt and grime to come in from outside. Our team of environmental experts at MBC specializes in Air Quality Services. We employ a number of trained individuals who all have strong understandings of the indoor environment. They maximize their inspection processes to target all areas of concern in your home or office. The air you breathe in your home, if not looked after, can cause health and wellness issues that can be avoided through thorough inspections.

2. Test for asbestos. Known for causing lung cancer, mesothelioma and other deadly respiratory diseases, asbestos is definitely a material you do not want in your home. This is not to scare you! Even if asbestos is present, it is not a danger unless the materials are disturbed. If you plan to do renovations, or if you live in an older home, our consultants can complete on-site assessments as well as sampling and analysis of the materials collected. Our team will be able to let you know if you should be concerned about asbestos, and if applicable, locate asbestos contained within such areas as your furnace, plumbing, electrical wiring, attics, cinder block walls, flooring, and ceilings.
3. Limit the moisture in your home. When you’re taking a shower – especially when you take those long hot showers during the winter – it’s important to get your exhaust fan running, and to leave it running for about 20-30 minutes after your shower is complete. When you’re cooking in the kitchen, running your exhaust fan is just as important. Limiting moisture in your home will help to prevent the growth of mould. Another helpful tip is to look at your windows and if there is a moisture build-up. If so, it might be time to consider addressing the problem. When mould spores are airborne, they can present many health hazards to our respiratory systems. Asthmatics should be especially aware of this.

Another service we offer is Moisture Monitoring Services, which evaluates buildings for moisture sources such as building envelop failures, leakage issues and occupant-based moisture sources that could be the cause of mould development. We also offer Mould Assessment Services that include inspections involving analytical sampling, moisture analysis and thermal scanning. If you have noticed mould in your home, or areas that have a lot of moisture, be proactive and reach out today.

Let’s work together to make 2021 your healthiest year yet! For more information on any and all of the above-mentioned services, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-547-0608 or email us at: assignments@mbc-group.ca to see how we can help.

Ismael Charrat is MBC Group’s Senior Manager in Vancouver, BC. Ismael originally obtained his bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Morocco, eventually making his way to Montreal, where he studied and received his Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering. Ismael holds the Professional Engineering designation and has made many strides in his impressive career, with a decade of experience working for contractor companies to complete large and complex commercial and residential projects.

In September of 2020, Ismael moved to Vancouver from Montreal in the wake of the pandemic to embark on a new adventure and expand his opportunities. When Ismael met Ross Huartt, MBC Group’s president, he recognized the drive for innovation and ambition to incorporate new technologies into current processes to refine and advance our service offerings for our clients. It was clear that as a company which is expanding so quickly there would be room for unlimited growth at MBC Group.

Ismael is currently evolving the systems in place to account for the growing company, working with efficient technologies to decrease turnaround times without decreasing the quality of work. For Ismael, the possibilities are endless, showcased by the upcoming acquisition of a lab in Vancouver as well as the opening of additional labs across Canada. For him, it’s very exciting and rewarding to be a part of that. Ismael’s team consists of 7 experts and works very efficiently, half who address insurance losses such as fires, floods, and impacts. This half of the team complete damage assessments and assist with acquiring building permits, among other tasks. The other team focuses on structural engineering, such as new buildings, repairs, and tenant improvements. And who can forget about Diane, their administrator who helps to coordinate the whole operation. Ismael is proud of the systems he is already helping put in place and knows he will be just as proud for the foreseeable future.

The nature of work at MBC Group is diverse, which keeps it exciting. From small repairs and renovations to very large design builds, there is never a dull moment! He encourages those with the same passion and drive for growth to look to MBC as their destination. Ismael calls for people who see further than themselves and have a great outlook on the future to join the team at MBC Group and be part of the culture of innovation. MBC Group experts must be passionate about what they do, have a great approach to communication with clients, and a drive for success and innovation that matches the leaders who are making it all happen.

When Ismael isn’t focusing on his work, he enjoys playing guitar. He sets the pre-pandemic scene we all yearn for by describing having his favorite people around the table, a cup of wine, and the strumming of some flamenco tunes, an influence from his home. Ismael, we are excited to see how you continue to fine-tune operations here at MBC Group!

Ismael can be reached at Ismael.charrat@mbc-group.ca or 1-800-547-0608.

MONCTON, NB, JANUARY 4, 2020 – With the addition of Ricky Cormier as our Senior Project Manager for the Major Projects team, MBC Group will increase its presence in Atlantic Canada and enhance the client experience. Ricky is based in Moncton and will be providing full bilingual services in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and other surrounding areas.

Ricky has over 20 years of experience in the construction and insurance industries, as a project manager, insurance adjuster, and contract specialist. Throughout his career Ricky Cormier has consulted on a wide range of complex insurance losses including residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural properties. Mr. Cormier has also been involved in a number of major projects across Canada including the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton and the Suncor Voyageur Village Complex in Fort McMurray. Over the years, Ricky’s experience has evolved to include a variety of specialized services that further strengthen Mr. Cormier’s credibility as a renowned consultant.

“Ricky will undoubtedly be a great asset to MBC Group’s growing presence in Eastern Canada. I am impressed by his expertise and know he will accomplish great things at MBC Group. Mr. Cormier’s broad, functional experience will help us further align and coordinate our efforts as we work to achieve our goals for customer success, category leadership, and growth.” says MBC Group’s President, Ross Huartt.

As MBC Group continues to grow and expand our service offerings, we are actively securing talented project management staff to meet the increased demand for our services and strive to exceed the expectations of our clients across Canada. We are excited to add Ricky and his wealth of knowledge and experience to our Appraisal team.

To strengthen our presence in these areas, Ricky Cormier will work closely with our Associate Director of Atlantic Canada, David Merks. For further information, Mr. Cormier can be reached at ricky.cormier@mbc-group.ca or toll free at: 1-800-547-0608.

About MBC Group

MBC Group has been operating for over 20 years, serving clients from coast to coast. We are one of Canada’s leading multi-disciplinary Engineering Consulting Firm specializing in Structural and Forensic Engineering, Architecture and Design, Environmental Consulting, Major Projects, Appraisal and Quantity Surveying and Research and Development. We also offer forensic laboratory services and a wider range of forensic consulting services. Our mission is to provide a third-party independent analysis and streamlined reporting to assist our clients in making cost-effective solutions.