We’re delighted to share the news that Rahim Ahmad (Manager, Construction Services) in our Saskatoon office has been named as one of Canadian Consulting Engineer‘s Top 10 Under 40 Award winners! The awards program now in its third year, recognizes young professional engineers working in Canada as consultants in the construction field and who demonstrate diligence through hard work, mentorship, achievements, and education.

All of the award winners are recognized as up-and-coming professionals in the Canadian engineering industry and are selected by the Canadian Consulting Engineer’s editorial advisory board.

This award is Rahim’s latest individual recognition, following his previous FIDIC Future Leaders Award, ACEC-Canada Allen D. William Scholarship Award, and ACEC-SK Young Professional Award. Congratulations, Rahim!

The post Canadian Consulting Engineer names Rahim Ahmad as Top 10 Under 40 Award winner first appeared on Associated Engineering.

Since 1906, the City of Saskatoon has provided residents and businesses with drinking water from its Avenue H Water Treatment Plant. The facility is a conventional surface water treatment plant, drawing water from the South Saskatchewan River and providing coagulation, filtration, and disinfection treatment before distributing potable drinking water to the city and the surrounding area.

Since its construction, the plant has undergone numerous upgrades and expansions. In 2015, the City and Associated Engineering completed design and construction of the Avenue H Reservoir, ultraviolet disinfection, and high lift pump station. The project involved a temporary solution for transferring filtered water from the existing filter clearwells to the new facility, including modifications to the former high lift pumps.

The City recognized that a sustainable long-term transfer pumping plan was required for improved operational reliability and energy efficiency. Major electrical upgrades were needed at the plant to replace an aging 4160V/600V system and improve redundancy. In 2017, the City engaged Associated as the prime consultant to deliver preliminary studies and long-term plans; conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design; construction administration; resident engineering; and commissioning services for the project. The project is nearing completion.

The project includes design and construction of a new 450 million litres per day capacity transfer pumping station and electrical system upgrades with a new medium voltage electrical room, a low voltage electrical room, and two new 2-megawatt generators to match the existing generators at the plant. Co-Project Manager, Scott Miller, says, “The generators are designed as a ‘pooled’ system, working interchangeably to provide back-up power.”

Co-Project Manager and Process Mechanical Lead, Eric Gaudet, explains, “Several piping tie-ins were required to connect the plant’s existing filter clearwells with an underground piping network to convey water by gravity to each of the new transfer pumping forebays.” From the transfer pumping station, two 1200 millimetre steel pressurized pipelines supply the existing Avenue H high lift pump station. The structural design included a 10 metre deep pump station substructure complete with two isolated pump wells to allow for fully redundant operation. The facility superstructure includes the new electrical rooms, generator and pump room, and rooftop mechanical and electrical equipment.

“Due to the complexities of tying in to the existing water treatment plant facilities, the electrical and pumping systems were designed to allow closed system commissioning through a detailed functional testing plan while avoiding impact to the existing water treatment plant operation.”

Construction Manager, Josh Yohnke, says, “Several construction challenges were encountered when building the new facility within the confines of the existing plant site, involving both demolition, replacement, and tie-ins to existing infrastructure. Working in a century-old facility, there are many “unknowns”. We uncovered abandoned, below-ground structures and pipelines, and contaminated soils from an early 1900’s electrical power plant.”

The new transfer pumping station is designed for energy efficiency and long-term sustainability.

“It follows current guidelines and recommendations from the Hydraulic Institute with optimal pump selection, where the pumps’ best efficiency points correspond closely with the most frequent flow rate analyzed from historic data. This new system has resulted in significant and noticeable energy cost reduction and reliability for the City.”

Climate change adaptation was considered in the design of the HVAC systems, including free cooling for the low voltage electrical room with allowances for higher air flows, if required, for increased cooling days in the future. As well, the mechanical cooling system for the medium voltage electrical room was designed for projected increases in temperatures and cooling demands.

Our key personnel on the project include Scott Miller, Eric Gaudet, Josh Yohnke, Bob Hawboldt, Jared Suwala, Louis DeLange, Brody Masserey, Ashley Hodgson, Geoff Sarazin, Jason St. Germain, David Sorenson, Peter Hooge, Risto Protic, and Doug Olson.

The post Improving the efficiency and sustainability of Saskatoon’s drinking water supply first appeared on Associated Engineering.

The City of Saskatoon has a growing population and a traffic network that is under constant pressure to keep up with increased demand. 22nd Street is a major arterial roadway that is key to mobility in the city. A long railroad track separates the east and west sides of downtown and trains pass through three times per day, causing traffic delays of a half hour or more. In addition, with nearby residential developments along 22nd Street, at some locations, pedestrians avoid using the signaled crossings to get to the other side of road.

For a busy corridor such as 22nd Street, this practice had led to tragic accidents and fatalities. The City faced the challenge of solving the difficult issues of increasing traffic volume along 22nd Street, improving traffic management, and providing a safer environment for pedestrians. The City retained Associated Engineering to identify potential solutions. 

Early in the project, the Associated team recognized the value of involving City staff in the design process to improve our understanding of the issues and collaborate in the development of solutions. The pedestrian crossing issue had cost many lives. The City’s mandate was to create a traffic system that provides a safer road user experience for pedestrians, cyclists, and other active transportation users, while offering better service to all vehicular road users. Associated Engineering worked with the City to develop a priority sequence that would be followed to come up with a strategy. The priorities would be i) Pedestrians, ii) Intersection Operations, and iii) Traffic Flow. 

The project team collected data, created analysis files, and prepared tables and charts to define problem areas, such as collision patterns or non-compliance of signs and markings. Traffic Systems Discipline Lead, David Booker, advises, “We visited key sites at various times during the day to evaluate existing operational conditions. We then prepared an initial observations table to define deficiencies along the road.”

“Our traffic engineers employed various tools to complete an analysis of traffic operations, assessments of safety hazards, intelligent transportation system practices, and advanced traffic controller programming. Receiving support from the City to accept non-traditional timing practices was also very valuable.”

Most traffic engineering professionals are familiar with traffic tools such as Synchro, Vistro, and Vissum. However, TranSync is the newest analysis tool for signal coordination. A network Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) was developed through the Centre for Advanced Transportation Education and Research at the University of Nevada. Associated is the first engineering or consulting company in Canada to use this advanced program and Saskatoon has become the first municipal user of the software in Canada.

Traffic analysis tools alone cannot resolve issues. Creativity is required to come up with the right solution.

“Controlling traffic is like controlling a river. Once the road network is full, traffic will go wherever it wants. The key to successful signal timing is the control of traffic.”

Eliminating, or at least minimizing randomness, reduces unsafe conditions along a traffic network. From arrival rates and coordination patterns, to providing sufficient green time for each movement, and in the case of 22nd Street specifically, pedestrian timing and response, control is achieved through time-of-day plans which adjust the on-street timing of signals as volumes and composition of traffic change.

But changing signal timing by time-of-day was only the starting point. Traffic control tools were used to develop a robust solution. David tells us, “We developed Multiple Double Cycle patterns across the network. Local Zero Override allow really short-cycle lengths, and we used Pedestrian Recall by time of day so that during peak times pedestrians would not have to push the button as an automatic call was placed for them.” Vehicle platoons were kept compact, so each group could receive coordinated green signals as they approached each intersection. 

The final result is an efficient traffic network that makes people a priority over vehicles and leads to a 20% reduction in both delay and vehicular stops across the network throughout the day.

Our key personnel on the project included Jon Medori, David Booker, Ellen McLaughlin, Sabrina Chan, Erica Mthembu, Judy Yu, and Laurel Richl.

The post Traffic signal optimization helps alleviate congestion and improves pedestrian safety along Saskatoon’s 22nd Street first appeared on Associated Engineering.

At the age of sixteen, Rahim Ahmad, a Civil Engineer in our Saskatoon office, moved from Surrey, BC to Warman, SK, which at the time was Canada’s fastest-growing municipality. In Warman, Rahim’s passion for engineering and construction blossomed. Watching the community develop had a significant impact on Rahim. 

Since completing his engineering degree and joining the company in 2013, Rahim has worked on a diverse portfolio of municipal and industrial projects, including subdivision developments, raw water intakes, lift stations, water treatment plants, lagoons, and landfills. He takes pride in cultivating relationships with clients and colleagues, and believes that nurturing these relationships is critical to successful project delivery. It was this people-first attitude that also helped Rahim successfully fulfill his role as the Acting Manager of our Fort McMurray office, a role he undertook from August 2020 to March 2021. 

Rahim is also passionate about serving the community. Since returning to Saskatoon earlier this year, Rahim has volunteered with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, an organization that helps newcomers to Saskatoon connect, integrate, and build strong reciprocal relationships within the community. Rahim was recently elected to their Board of Directors and is serving a two-year term from June 2021 to June 2023. 

This summer, Rahim joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association for a blood donation drive and helped distribute water and snacks to the vulnerable during a July heatwave in Saskatoon.

When not working or volunteering, Rahim spends time with his wife, Alia, and daughter, Shaista. Together, they enjoy evenings and weekends exploring different walking trails in and around Saskatoon. 

Thank you, Rahim, for helping to shape our shared future!

The post Shaping our Shared Future – Rahim Ahmad first appeared on Associated Engineering.