DWB Consultants of Piedmont, Quebec, has taken on new personnel and projects since Construction in Focus last profiled the integrated engineering firm in August 2024. While DWB continues to offer mechanical, industrial, civil, electrical, and structural engineering—plus energy and sustainability services—the company also has a new goal: DWB aims to develop internal procedures to guide growth without compromising the firm’s independent spirit.
“We’ve grown quite a bit in the last year—we added something like 30 employees. Things are growing pretty quickly,” notes Jean-François Landry, engineer and head of the firm’s energy and sustainability team.
Collaboration rules
Over 150 people now work for DWB (up from 120 at the time of our previous profile) in over a dozen offices based in Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. The company still operates in a decentralized, non-hierarchical fashion. Collaboration between offices and departments is strongly encouraged, which helps explain recent growth, says Landry.
“Let’s say the structural department is doing a new building, and they need somebody to do energy modelling, so they ask me to do the model. As one department grows, the other departments grow too because they bring more work for all the other departments,” he says.
An eco-friendly company, DWB also excels at energy modelling (using computer programs to forecast energy use in a building that hasn’t yet been constructed) and retro-commissioning. In a retro-commissioning study, DWB personnel examine HVAC, control, and electrical systems in an existing building with an eye to finding efficiencies and saving energy, Landry explains.
The firm can handle a wide array of specific tasks including project management, cost analysis, feasibility studies, preliminary and final plans, estimates, and site supervision. This “one-stop shop” model is highly appealing as it means customers enjoy multiple services from a single source.
From a zoo to the bowels of the Earth
The company’s burgeoning popularity also stems from its ability to accommodate a wide range of assignments: “We’re getting more and more robust in the services we offer, taking on larger and larger scale projects,” notes Landry.
One of these larger projects involves the Zoo de Granby (the Zoo) located in the city of Granby in Quebec). DWB has also been hired for a big job at the LaRonde complex in northwest Quebec. For the Zoo de Granby assignment, which commenced in April, DWB is performing “a large-scale energy saving study where we look at the entire site. It’s an interesting site because they have three different areas: there’s the Zoo and also a water park and amusement park.”
Open year-round, the Zoo facility houses over 1,800 animals grouped by geographical origin. The water park, open in the summer, features pools and slides, while the amusement park accepts visitors in the summer and fall, and boasts a carousel, rollercoaster, and a “7D movie theatre” among other attractions. The Zoo facility has “huge ventilation requirements” thanks to the presence of vast numbers of animals, Landry tells us. This system consumes plenty of energy, as does the air conditioning infrastructure in buildings throughout the entire Granby site; the pools in the water park also need to be heated.
The Granby locale already utilizes hydroelectricity, geothermal wells, and heat recovery solutions; as such, DWB’s mission is to go beyond what they’ve done already. “The study is about halfway done. We are hopeful they will be able to save a lot of money and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
Owned by Agnico Eagle Mines, the LaRonde complex mines gold and, to a lesser extent, silver, copper, and zinc. The LaRonde mine features a shaft that extends 2.2 kilometres below the Earth’s surface—the deepest single-lift shaft in the Western Hemisphere, according to Agnico. Some of the mine’s operations extend even deeper, to over 3 kilometres. “When you go that deep, it gets pretty warm, so they have a very sophisticated ventilation and cooling system to keep the mine cool so the miners can work in safe conditions,” notes Landry.
For its part, the processing plant produces doré bars (bars containing a mixture of precious metals, usually silver and gold) and other services.
DWB began working at LaRonde complex in January of this year. As with the Zoo de Granby, DWB is carrying out a large-scale energy study at the site, which uses natural gas and hydroelectricity. Mine management wants a precise accounting of energy use in all the buildings at the complex. “We’re proposing an energy management system that would look at the energy consumption of each building every 15 minutes and natural gas consumption every 15 minutes, so they can better understand who uses the most energy and then act on it and find ways to save energy.”
Making buildings better
Some projects that were underway at the time of our previous profile have since been completed or extended. These include a retro-commissioning study at the University of Waterloo in Southern Ontario, a study that began as a pilot project and has grown since then. “I think we were pretty successful with the pilot because they decided to go with a second round of retro-commissioning,” says Landry. “We’re seeing quite a bit of potential to save energy, but also to improve the comfort of the users and students, and improve the overall operation of the buildings. We found lots of stuff that can be done.”
DWB also wrapped up a campus-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction study at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). The firm compiled its findings regarding emissions and energy conservation into a document which was presented to TMU. “I think TMU is now taking that information and working with partners to be able to implement some of those measures,” says Landry.
A finished project cited in the previous article involved a building at L’Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) campus in Mont-Laurier, Quebec. This innovative structure features geothermal power and ample use of natural light. DWB has completed its work at UQAT, which happens to be based in Landry’s hometown.
“I worked on the life cycle analysis at the end of the project. It makes me very proud that my company worked on that project,” he shares. “It’s probably one of the most beautiful buildings in my hometown now.”
A life cycle analysis aims to estimate the long-term impact a building will have on the environment. Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels were used in the construction of the UQAT building for their positive environmental impact. CLT panels are fabricated by glueing together multiple layers of lumber, making them both sturdy and sustainable, and as wood can store carbon, the carbon footprint of wooden buildings is smaller than structures made from concrete, steel, and other materials.
DWB has embraced Cross-Laminated Timber as part of its green ethos. Staff from DWB recently gave a presentation about the merits of CLT at the Cecobois Conference in Quebec, which showcased low-carbon and bio-based construction methods and materials.
And the firm’s caring mentality extends beyond the environment. DWB is highly supportive of its staff, with offices offering side benefits in the form of ping pong, video games, yoga, and organized sports, depending on the locale. The goal is to provide some relaxing diversion and encourage interpersonal relationships.
With a branch in Moncton and having recently opened an office in Ottawa, the company is pondering whether to offer additional services in Ontario and New Brunswick. Currently focused on eastern Canada, DWB will take on tasks farther afield. A page on the company website highlighting completed projects cites a 450 cubic meter water tank the company worked on for a mining complex in Nunavut Territory, in Canada’s Far North.
Growing differently
Ironically, DWB’s success has presented a new set of challenges.
“As the company is growing, we are trying to add structure and some new procedures,” says Landry. The goal is to provide more of a template outlining roles and responsibilities regarding hiring, IT, and other aspects of the business. At the same time, DWB wants to continue to “do things a little bit differently so that people feel like it’s a nice place to work and they want to belong,” he adds.
As for the type of employee DWB hopes to attract, “We’re looking at people who want to grow, people who are creative and curious,” he shares.
An independent mindset is also a big asset at DWB Consultants; if someone has a good idea, DWB is prepared to provide them with the budget and tools required to bring their vision to fruition. DWB staff have the authority to open new offices in new locales if the market warrants such a move.
Regarding the future, the company’s preference is for natural growth, with, as Landry hints, no limits. “Ideally, we’ll continue to grow organically. At some point, maybe we start new offices. It could be as far as Calgary, Vancouver, who knows. Currently, that’s not in the plans, but if there’s an interest and some of our folks want to open new offices out West, that’s always possible. Technically, we could embrace the entire Canadian market,” says Landry.
