Current Barrie Construction Association (BCA) members are benefiting from the accurate foresight of their visionary predecessors, says BCA executive director Barb Rousseau.
Seven or eight years ago, she asked her board of directors for a new photocopier, but was redirected to a machine that also had the ability to scan large documents and interface with her computer.
"He understood that all this technology was coming," she says of the past board member who initially made the suggestion. "It was a smart thing to do. Now we're ahead of the game."
The BCA, which serves the local Industrial Commercial Institutional (ICI) sector, was incorporated as its own non-profit entity in 1991. Prior to that, it was a function of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce.
Rousseau has been involved from the start, assisting contractors and tradespeople to access project drawings and specifications from a central location in order to put together their bids.
"It was time the plans room became a more organized group," she says of the shift to independence.
"We've gone from being all paper to having an electronic plans room (EPR), in addition to the hard copies."
The electronic services allow the association to provide better customer service, she adds.
"Estimators, who are very busy people, don't have to stop and go out of the office to look at drawings," she explains.
Instead, they can view all plans online, decide which drawings they want, order them by email and have someone else go pick them up. Or they can simply have them delivered.
"About half of the members are signed up for the electronic plans room," she says of the 320-plus BCA member companies, which span many sectors. "There are a lot of associations that have been around a lot longer than us who don't have one yet."
"It's a changing group of people," she says of the members. "There's a whole group of companies where the founder - like the father - is getting older. And now their sons and daughters are taking over or helping out.
"This has increased Internet use like email and websites. When I started 16 years ago, faxing was even a big deal - we've come a long way."
New BCA board president Scott Ward, owner of MOR Control Inc., enthusiastically agrees.
"The new-look electronic plans room has been integrated to be the number-one EPR in the region," he writes in the new BCA directory.
"With enhancements that include access to projects throughout the province, it continues to assist owners and members in securing competitive tenders as well as new project opportunities, drawings, specifications and addenda. Add our scanning and printing abilities and this truly makes us a one-stop shop."
However, BCA members, who hail from as far away as Brampton and Sudbury, now look to their trade association for more than a plans room, electronic or not.
Newly relocated to a larger facility at 156 Victoria Street, the BCA has a large training room with high-tech presentation equipment. In addition to being a rentable meeting space, this room allows the association to provide in-house educational courses that range from safety topics like first aid, WHMIS and fall arrest, to overall professional development.
The BCA partners with Georgian College to offer courses that count toward Gold Seal certification (a professional training standard set by the Canadian Construction Association).
In addition to formal training, BCA-sponsored events also include a full schedule of informational speakers, networking opportunities and social outings.
To keep its membership current on everything going on the BCA, Rousseau says weekly faxes are sent out to everyone.
For more information about the BCA, please call 705-726-5864
