Trenchless Technology Canada Editor’s Message – Webinars, Virtual Conferences Abound

Unless you have a crystal ball, who would have known that 2020 would turn into the year without a face-to-face conference?

Our one last hope for a face-to-face trenchless gathering in Canada was that the virus would subside enough that the combined No-Dig North and NASTT No-Dig Show would take place as planned. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition. NASTT made the decision to reschedule No-Dig North at the Vancouver Convention Centre to Nov. 8-10, 2021. More information is available at nodignorth.ca.

As we continue to make our way through these decidedly uncertain times, we are witnessing the rise of remote work, virtual events and a bevy of virtual learning opportunities. One of the first to jump on the virtual event train was the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT). Shortly after the pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020 Trenchless Technology Road Show in Niagara Falls, CATT, Benjamin Media Inc. (our publisher) and the Road Show sponsors worked together to create the Virtual Trenchless Technology Road Show series.

Webinars are planned monthly through April 2021. Thus far there have been three webinars — moderated by yours truly — and the fourth “Driving Efficiencies and Cost Savings in Trenchless New Pipeline Installations,” sponsored by Avertex, is set for Sept. 22. For more information on the Virtual Trenchless Technology Road Show webinars, visit catttrenchlessroadshow.ca. The webinars are free to attend for Trenchless Technology Road Show registrants. For those not registered with the show, each webinar is $50 for CATT/UESI members and $75 for non-CATT members.

The first two webinars in the series, “Styrene CIPP Lessons Learned” and “Rehabilitation of Trunk Sewers,” were sponsored by Capital Infrastructure Group. You can read more about Capital Infrastructure Group here.

Not a company to let a pandemic sideline its events, Benjamin Media pivoted its three late-summer and fall conferences — Water Finance Conference, Breakthroughs in Tunneling Short Course and the Pipeline Leadership Conference — to virtual events.

The sixth annual Water Finance Conference, which exclusively covers financing in the water utility sector, will now present two-hour online sessions on Sept. 8, 10, 15 and 17. The Water Finance Conference caters to executive-level water utility professionals, including directors, general managers, superintendents, CEOs, CFOs and finance managers. Content is also geared toward consultants, financial advisors, attorneys and service providers involved in the financing of municipal water, wastewater and stormwater systems.

The 13th annual Breakthroughs in Tunneling Short Course will be held Oct. 5-9. The course features a strong lineup of speakers that cover all aspects of tunneling from planning and design through to construction.

The Pipeline Leadership Conference, now in its sixth year, brings together pipeline operations, engineering and construction senior executives who are driving transformation and innovation in pipeline and distribution system design, construction, and operations. Sessions will be held Nov. 10, 12, 17 and 19.

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 to better suit your needs.

While I am not sure what the future holds for the remainder of 2020, I hope to be able to connect with you before the end of the year. If an in-person meeting is not in the cards, let’s connect virtually whether it be Skype, Zoom or any of the other video conferencing applications. I am always available to chat about this growing and ever-changing industry.

Cheers!

Mike Kezdi, Managing Editor

E: mkezdi@benjaminmedia.com

O: 330-752-1916