INNOVATION January-February 2018

L E T T E R S

Letters to the editor containing your views on topics of interest are encouraged. Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily endorsed by Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Letters should be 300 words or less and can be emailed to innovation@egbc.ca. Find information at egbc.ca/Submitting-to-Innovation.

SKILLS TO HELP THOSE IN NEED How’s your retirement going? Are you missing the involvement in a worthwhile project? Even if you are not retired, do you have spare time to help needy clients? Back in 1998, brothers Neil Griggs and Dr. Bill Griggs asked themselves those questions and decided to act. They founded Builders Without Borders (BWB) Foundation, a Vancouver-based registered charity. Initially the aim was to create a forum where retirees with construction experience could contribute worldwide to those most in need, particularly in the rebuilding of shelter and community facilities after natural disasters.

is also being considered for managing a housing project in Bella Bella. Since its inception, Builders Without Borders has participated in over 50 projects in over 12 countries including Turkey, India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Algeria, Ghana, Laos, India, the Philippines, Haiti, Nepal, and Canada. You can see more of this work at builderswithoutborders.com or email me at bboone2004@hotmail.com to talk about joining our ranks. — Brian Boone, P.Eng. Vancouver, BC

In the intervening years, BWB has grown and not only expanded its expertise and services, but also now includes various members of both the retired and working communities. We are engineers of all disciplines, architects, planners, and retired professionals with a lifetime of learned skills. BWB is currently working on a $2 million construction trade school in Port au Prince, Haiti, a house re-building programme in Nepal after the country was struck by the 2015 earthquake, and a couple of women and children-serving transition facility projects for Chimo Community Services in Richmond. BWB

DECLARE YOUR CPD HOURS FOR 2017 Have you declared your professional development hours? Members are asked to indicate whether they have met the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Guideline for the 2017 calendar year. If you did not complete this step during your 2018 membership renewal either by hard copy form or online, you can do so at any time by logging into your account on the Engineers and Geoscientists BC website. Once you have logged into your account, navigate to “Manage Professional Development,” then “Declare your Professional Development Compliance.” There are two steps for declaring your CPD compliance. You will be asked to check one of the options for your declaration, then asked to enter the total number of hours you would like to declare. Supporting documentation such as receipts or certificates, or activity reports do not need to be submitted, but should be kept on file. Members who have declared compliance with the CPD Guideline are recognized as “Declared CPD compliant” in the public member directory on the association’s website. For more imformation, contact cpd@egbc.ca or call 1.888.430.8035

MEG joins Tetra Tech Tetra Tech is pleased to announce that MEG Consulting

Limited has joined the Tetra Tech family. MEG is a highly specialized geotechnical and marine engineering firm that has

grown under the leadership of John Sully and Ender Parra with strong technical support from Lothar Chan and Gordon Fung. Over the past 20 years, MEG has built a reputation for leading with technical excellence and delivering client-focused solutions to complex challenges as a worldwide provider to the transportation and infrastructure sector, oil and gas developments, and the mining sector for both onshore and offshore projects. Tetra Tech is a leading consulting engineering firm with over 16,000 staff located in more than 400 offices worldwide to serve our clients’ most complex needs. The geotechnical and marine engineering expertise that MEG brings to Tetra Tech enhances our ability to serve clients with the most complex and challenging projects locally and worldwide.

tetratech.com/canada

I N N O V A T I O N

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

5