Trenchless Technology Canada Editor’s Message – Happy Holidays, So Long 2020

I wanted to start out by saying, on behalf of Kelly Dadich and Deborah McManus and myself, Happy Holidays and a joyous New Year to you and your families.

It’s crazy to think that 2020 is drawing to a close, and much of the work we have done here at Trenchless Technology Canada has been remotely. And we are not alone. Save for the trenchless crews in the field getting their hands dirty, everyone has spent most of the year working remotely. Unfortunately, all the folks who I talk to don’t see that changing anytime soon. Too bad all those Internet memes about the fact that Halloween 2020, a full moon and turning clocks back all happening at the same time would be the ctrl-alt-del that the world needed were false.

While this pandemic scenario is not one to take lightly, it is refreshing to hear that many trenchless crews working on municipal, regional and provincial utility projects and consulting firms are busier now than they were before the pandemic. It’s success stories like these that provide a silver lining to these most uncertain times. This is the case for Andrews.engineer, the focus of our cover story.

Conferencing in 2021

One of the highlights of February is attending the WWETT Show in Indianapolis. It is a great avenue for me to check-in with the many Canadian manufacturers and suppliers serving the sewer cleaning, inspection and rehabilitation industries. Unfortunately, the conference was moved to May. More information is available at wwettshow.com. Fingers crossed; we’ll see each other then. If you can’t wait until May and are looking to discuss new products or services. Give me a call or send an email and I would love to hear from you.

You’ll see a short news item and it is repeated again in our Association Updates section, we have decided, along with the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT), to pivot the 2021 Trenchless Technology Road Show to a virtual event. The decision was made from an abundance of caution for our attendees and the realization that many will still be under strict travel restrictions in May. More info on this revamped virtual event will be available shortly. Bookmark catt.ca and trenchlesstechnology.com/canada for the latest updates.

As for the NASTT No-Dig Show 2021 in Orlando, Florida, all plans as of today, are for the show to take place as scheduled at the end of March. As always, I encourage readers in these times to keep conference websites bookmarked and check back weekly as changes to scheduling are happening quickly. For information on the No-Dig Show visit nodigshow.com.

Looking to August, I am actively involved in the marketing for the UESI Pipelines 2021 conference, which is set to take place in Calgary at the Telus Convention Centre. Conference co-chairs are Jason Lueke, Ph.D., P.Eng, M.ASCE, national practice leader – trenchless, Associated Engineering and Christine Malaka, P.Eng, director, business development, ATCO Energy Solutions. We are in the beginning phases of planning for the event and are actively looking for volunteers. More information is available at pipelinesconference.org/about/volunteer.

Other Thoughts

Looking at our evolving coverage, we want to incorporate more stories that focus on construction industry-related issues into this magazine. These stories could include workforce development, safety, insurance, project funding, equipment procurement, etc. If you, or someone you know, could speak to these or any topics, drop me a note and I’ll add the contact info to my list.

In general, whether you are a distributor, contractor, engineer or manufacturer, my door (well in this case email inbox) is always open. Feel free to reach out to me with news and story ideas or other ways in which we can improve the magazine.

While I am not sure what the future holds in terms of travel to shows – the first quarter of 2021 isn’t looking so hot – I hope to connect with you in the coming months. I’d love to hear what you have in store for next year. Let’s connect virtually whether it be Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or any of the other video conferencing applications. I am always available to chat about this growing, and ever-changing industry.

I hope everyone stays safe, stays healthy and stays happy heading into 2021!

Mike Kezdi

Managing Editor

Trenchless Technology Canada

E: mkezdi@benjaminmedia.com

O: 330-752-1916