The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is looking to the future with the implementation of its new mass timber construction certificate, the first of its kind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was already pursuing mass timber in my career and this is pretty much the only real credential source in North America,\u201d Nick Skaperdas, student in the program and founder and managing director of Washington, D.C.-based Tekton Structures, told the Journal of Commerce.<\/p>\n
BCIT\u2019s Associate Certificate in 麻豆传媒高清ion of Mass Timber Structures program launched in January. The program aims to teach students the technical, practical and problem-solving skills needed to interact with and oversee mass timber construction.<\/p>\n
The program runs from January to June and can be completed entirely online except for one two-week practicum course at BCIT\u2019s Burnaby campus.<\/p>\n
At an event on June 27, Skaperdas said the program offers a great amount of freedom to explore and understand the various aspects of mass timber beyond the constraints of working on an actual jobsite.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis opportunity is a sandbox. It\u2019s irresponsible for me to play around and experiment on my own jobs, on the schedule of a general contractor or owner. But this is an opportunity to experiment with different connections, experiment with different rigging approaches, to take it slow and learn and possibly push the boundaries of the science,\u201d Skaperdas said.<\/p>\n
Dean of BCIT\u2019s School of 麻豆传媒高清ion and the Environment Wayne Hand said introducing the program is important for the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m most excited to see, as with any program that we offer, industry engagement and the industry sending their employees through the programming. That really validates the fact that it is needed,\u201d Hand said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized training around mass timber construction encompasses a wide range of trades, skills and workers.<\/p>\n
Steve Moore, senior superintendent with Ledcor, was at the event to see what the program was like in case Ledcor wants to send employees through it. He also said the need to train a wide variety of trades on how they interact with modular mass timber buildings is essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the projects we do are a mix between mass timber and steel. So, getting those ironworker trades in and trained up so there\u2019s some synergies between who\u2019s doing what is important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lots of decisions still need to be made in terms of how workforces will be designated when it comes to mass timber construction, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s going to be doing the installing? Will it be a specialized mass timber install crew or the carpentry union?\u201d<\/p>\n
BCIT\u2019s new program fills an essential training gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no education about how to do mass timber except for this. It\u2019s the first step to getting people engaged,\u201d said Moore.<\/p>\n
The current class consists of 16 students with various levels of experience and backgrounds in construction and the trades.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them have never erected a building and don\u2019t come from backgrounds where they\u2019re working heavy construction,\u201d Mike McKoryk, steel trades department head at BCIT and one of the mass timber program instructors, told the JOC.<\/p>\n
That made it easy for McKoryk to know where the lessons needed to start.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight off the top, we\u2019re emphasizing safety. We go through fall protection plans, we go through rigging plans, we go through our site safety plans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then we\u2019re working on basic building construction methodology. If they\u2019re used to light frame residential, well, this is a totally different animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said one of the challenging things about teaching mass building construction to people with a construction background is how methodical erection needs to be as most buildings are prefabricated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the feedback we\u2019ve gotten so far was students were surprised at the amount of detail in the blueprints,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinding details about how many fasteners need to go in, what type of fasteners, what kind of driver, do I need to install this or that? There\u2019s so many layers to it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s still room for personal knowledge and creative thinking application.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many sections where the drawing doesn\u2019t tell you how to pick something up, whether it\u2019s horizontally or vertically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Associate dean Steven Kuan said mass timber has solidified itself as a major part of the future of construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think mass timber is going to be the catalyst for a cultural shift in the industry and especially in building construction because it\u2019s a new way of doing things, new products, and a lot of different skills are involved even from an understanding and planning point of view,\u201d Kuan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMass timber is going to be here for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n