July 6, 2009

BRADLEY FEHR

The devloper of Vancouver's Olympic Athletes Village claims poor water pipe installation was an isolated incident that has since been rectified.

Olympic Athletes Village

Union highlights deficiencies in construction of Vancouver 2010 Olympic village

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A union with members working on Vancouver’s Olympic Athletes village created a media firestorm after taking photos showing shoddy water pipe installation.

In May the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers took their concerns and photos to Hank Jesper, the general manager of the Millennium Water development, also known as the Olympic athletes village.

They were concerned that the installation could cost the development the LEED certification it’s seeking.

“At that meeting I presented a set of pictures to show what we see as deficiencies,” said Lee Loftus, the business manager for the union.

He specifically pointed out pipe installation by subcontractors, which did not meet the B.C. building code.

The hot and cold water pipes were placed next to each other without insulation. One of the photos shows fiberglass insulation in front of some pipes that appears to be improperly insulated.

The above photo shows how properly installed pipes should be insulated. The photo below shows water pipes at the athletes village.

After assurances that the problem was fixed, the union returned and took more photos of improper installations. The newer photos were provided to local media outlets, some of which claimed that mould could become a problem for the village.

However, the developer said the uninsulated pipes were an isolated problem that has already been fixed.

“We received photos taken by a third party with observations of poorly installed or incomplete work that did not meet industry standards,” said Roger Bayley, senior principal with Merrick Architecture. “The comments were passed on to the building contractors. The mechanical engineer went through the building and is satisfied the problem has been rectified. All these deficiencies have already been the subject of correction.”

He said that deficiencies occur on all construction projects because of problems with sequencing different types of work. However, the site is subject to a rigorous and stringent process of field reviews.

“Professional engineering and architectural consultants are charged, under the Vancouver building bylaw, with providing such reviews in support of the Letters of Assurance that each design professional is required to issue at the completion of the work...” he said.

However, the photos raised questions about whether or not the construction of the buildings is sustainable and energy-efficient.

Despite the developers assurances, the union insists that contractors are still performing shoddy work and taking short cuts.

“For one of the key pictures, the developer said it was a temporary problem,” explained Loftus.

“But, we went back two weeks after meetings to take a look and another series of pictures. We saw the same practices and deficiencies by the same workers.”

The union expected some opposition to its claims.

“We knew our complaints and reports would be challenged, so we got photographic evidence to prove there was a problem,” said Loftus.

“It is prevalent on this project. It is important to understand that if someone is telling them the problem has been fixed, someone is misleading them.”

The second and third series of photos weren’t submitted to Millennium, but were published along with several stories in the local media, which drew a lot of attention.

“In the example cited in the recent news story, the items identified have been acknowledged in previously issued field reviews submitted to the general contractor by the mechanical engineer,” said Bayley.

“The process to remedy such issues is an acknowledged aspect of building construction, where the professional consultant team acts on behalf of the public to assess compliance with both the City of Vancouver and provincial building standards.”

Bayley also said he has no idea where or when the other batch of photos were taken.

“We can’t determine at what point in the process this was or where it is and we have not been provided with this information,” he said.

Loftus said he believes that quality control is an extremely important issue for the development’s sustainability.

“The building’s mechanical installation is the heart and lungs of the project and they are critical for getting LEED certification,” he said.

“Without the mechanical systems in the building, the only thing left for the LEED project is a green roof and a paint job.

“If the heart and lungs aren’t healthy, all you have left is a sun tan.”

He also isn’t impressed with the developer’s latest response.

“If they say they don’t know where it is, it doesn’t give me any confidence that they know what they are doing,” he said.

According to Bayley, the City of Vancouver requires his firm to get two LEED points for energy reduction.

He said that they have improved the performance of the building beyond that and will get four and a half points.

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