This report documents the instrumentation installed for monitoring moisture, indoor air quality and differential movement performance in a six-storey building located in the City of Vancouver. The building has five storeys of wood-frame construction above a concrete podium, providing 85 rental units for residential and commercial use. It was designed and built to meet the Passive House standard and, once certified, will be the largest building in Canada that meets this rigorous energy standard. Although the design and construction focused on integrating a number of innovative measures to improve energy efficiency, much effort was also made to reduce construction costs. One example of the design measures is the use of a highly insulating exterior wall assembly that integrates rigid insulation between two rows of wall studs as interior air and vapour barriers.
This monitoring study aims to generate data on long-term performance as part of FPInnovations’ effort to assist the building sector in developing durable and energy efficient wood-based buildings, which is expected to translate into reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions from the built environment. The monitoring focuses on measuring moisture performance of the building envelope (i.e., exterior walls, roof, and sill plates); indoor environmental quality including temperature, humidity, and CO2; and vertical differential movement between exterior walls and interior walls below roof/roof decks. In total, 79 instruments were installed during the construction.
The next steps of this study will focus on collecting and analysing data from the sensors installed, and assessing performance related to the building envelope and vertical differential movement. FPInnovations will also collaborate with CanmetENERGY of Natural Resources Canada to monitor heat recovery ventilators and to assess whole-building energy efficiency and occupant comfort. This is expected to start after the mechanical systems are fully commissioned during occupancy. Results of these upcoming phases of work will be published in future reports.
Objectives include determining the threshold fire intensity at which helicopter bucket drops no longer have the desired effect and building a matrix to show how many gallons of water per hour is required to reduce the HFI class of a wildfire.
The main focus of this report is to provide recommendations regarding what parameters could be measured in the field to assess the environmental and structural performance of wetland crossings. A secondary focus of the report is to make general recommendations for structuring a potential monitoring program, including factors such as frequency/timing of monitoring, personnel/training considerations, and reporting and data management. To collect the information required to make these recommendations, we completed a literature review, six interviews with reosurce extraction companies and regulatory agencies, and field tours of two forestry companies' wetland crossings.
The forested landscapes in Canada feature numerous wetlands, such as fens, bogs, and swamps that present both environmental and operational challenges during the planning and construction of resource roads. In 2013, FPInnovations documented the construction of a section of resource road built across a treed bog and established a 700-m section for long-term monitoring. The road presented in this Info Note is located in the Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries’ Forest Management Agreement area in northeast Alberta.
This Info Note describes the results of the road elevation and culvert surveys following two years of monitoring.
Further information on the construction techniques used at this site is available in Winter road construction for all-season access across a wetland (Gillies, 2014).
The focus of this guide is on the planning, construction, and maintenance practices for resource roads that cross wetlands. Poor bearing capacity soils and an abundance of water are characteristic of wetlands. This guide focuses on two primary issues: 1. Ensuring that resource roads that cross wetlands function at the required design and performance levels to allow forest access and hauling operations in a cost-effective manner; 2. Reducing the impacts of resource roads on the flow characteristics of wetlands. This guide involves FPInnovations and Ducks Unlimited Canada.
Les paysages forestiers canadiens regorgent de milieux humides (tourbières minérotrophes, tourbières ombrotrophes et marécages) qui présentent des difficultés sur le plan environnemental et opérationnel lors de la planification et de la construction de routes d’accès. En 2013, FPInnovations a documenté la construction d’une route d’accès aménagée dans une tourbière boisée et a établi une section de 700 m pour un suivi à long terme. La route présentée ici est située dans le territoire de l’accord d’aménagement forestier d’Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, dans le nord-est de l’Alberta.
La présente Infonote décrit les mesures de l’élévation de la route et les résultats de l’étude des ponceaux après deux ans de suivi.
On trouvera plus d’information sur les techniques de construction utilisées à ce site dans le document intitulé Winter road construction for all-season access across a wetland (Gillies, 2014).
Ce guide porte sur les pratiques liées à la planification, à la construction et à l'entretien des routes d'accès qui traversent des milieux humides. La faible capacité portante des sols et l'abondance d'eau sont des caractéristiques des milieux humides. Ce guide vise à fournir l'information qui permettra de :
S'assurer que les routes d'accès qui traversent des milieux humides offrent la capacité portante nécessaire à la conception et aux opérations de transport avec un bon rapport coût-efficacité;
Atténuer les impacts des routes d'accès sur les caractéristiques d'écoulement des milieux humides.
La surveillance des opérations sylvicoles par GPS est une méthode efficace pour mesurer les superficies et assurer un suivi du rendement de l'équipement. FERIC, qui évalue depuis plusieurs années l'utilisation du GPS pour surveiller l'équipement sylvicole, a préparé le présent rapport qui documente les leçons pratiques que nous avons tirées de cette recherche.
Le rapport présente les résultats d’une étude portant sur l’utilisation d’un système de bord pour surveillance par GPS, aux fins de cartographie des blocs de coupe. Les systèmes actuels de surveillance par GPS peuvent servir à enregistrer le déplacement des abatteuses-groupeuses mais ne tiennent pas compte des mouvements du mât; donc, ils ne permettent pas nécessairement de calculer les superficies et de localiser les limites des blocs avec assez de précision pour répondre aux exigences de la réglementation.
