Cambium Blog - Consulting & Engineering

Cambium’s New Materials Testing Lab

03/1/21

The first stage of our big move began one year ago when we moved our lab services from our Queensway location over to Sophia Street. Our operations were outgrowing the space we were in, so finding a building that could house both our head office and lab was very important to us. Through our renovations and the incorporation of some great new features, we have been able to customize the space to fit our needs.

The new lab space has some great new features and equipment that can help us better serve our clients, such as:

Concrete Moist Room: The Moist Room is used to cure concrete test specimens. The room is maintained at 23 +/- 2 oC and relative humidity of not less than 95% according to CSA standards. This feature has allowed us to reduce the required floor space compared to water storage tanks while still allowing the lab to cure up to 1800 cylinders.
Dedicated rooms for equipment: We have built rooms to house specific pieces of equipment to help reduce noise and dust and the health & safety of our staff
Upgraded and larger fume hood for safe testing and processing of asphalt samples
A more thought-out design and overall layout of the lab to allow for better sample flow and improved efficiencies

We are excited to have our office and lab under one roof come this Spring! It will be great for our Peterborough team to be able to collaborate closer together in our new space.

Cambium’s New Office Space – 194 Sophia Street

02/22/21

At Cambium, we strive to practice what we preach. When we complete work for our customers, we want to leave the site with an environmentally positive impact. The same goes for our own personal project; the rejuvenation of our new Peterborough office, 194 Sophia Street. Not only does renovating an existing building generally have less of an environmental impact than building new or developing greenspace, but we have also incorporated several changes which help minimize our footprint.

Some of these changes include:

Daylight Harvesting: We have opened up the entire upper-level ceiling to capture as much daylight as possible from the high, vertical clerestory windows. This will drastically minimize the need for artificial lighting during the day. Though, we will also be installing all-new lighting with high-efficiency LED fixtures.
Heating and Cooling: We have installed new rooftop heating/cooling units which allow us to utilize more electricity for heating and minimizes our GHG emissions – electricity has much lower emissions than natural gas in Ontario.
Reusing Building Materials: Throughout this renovation, we have looked to reuse existing materials wherever we could. For example, during the demolition process, we reused a dozen doors and even some wooden wall studs, which were previously used to build storage shelves.
“Flowerpot”: Our renovations have included the addition of a passenger elevator to ensure that we have a fully accessible working environment. On the upper level, there is a fair bit of space between the top of the elevator shaft and the ceiling, where we plan to incorporate live vegetation on the top of the shaft. This feature has affectionately been named “the flowerpot” and will not only be a cool addition, but live vegetation in the office has been found to improve air quality and also team well-being.
Multi-Functional Roof: Looking towards the future, we have had a study conducted on the roof construction for the possibility of adding solar panels or a vegetated roof.

We are looking forward to our move-in date in the spring and will to share more with you all soon.

Project Profile: Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge

02/16/21

The Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge gets traffic from approximately 5,200 vehicles per day. The bridge was constructed in 1967 and was due for updates and maintenance, including replacement of decks and pier repairs. Our Construction Quality Verification team in Kingston has been providing quality control for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Aecon Group, and McIntosh Perry. Concrete and grout quality is one of the many factors our staff regularly monitor on this major project. These tests confirm whether the delivered materials meet the required construction specifications. For example, just a small change in water to cement ratio will diminish the strength of the cement making the concrete structurally unsuitable for the task. Small issues caught early will avoid bigger problems later.

The bridge rehabilitation will benefit the surrounding Prince Edward County and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory for generations to come. We are proud to have been a part of this project that will benefit the community.

Our five locations allow us to collaborate with varied clients in many different sectors across Canada. Interested in what other services we offer? Visit our website to learn more.

194 Sophia Street’s Legacy

01/25/21

Cambium Peterborough’s new home at 194 Sophia Street was once the home of the infamous Fisher Gauge Ashburnham Plant.

Fisher Gauge, later FisherCast Global, was founded in 1942, as a manufacturer of tools, gauges and diecast metal products at times employing approximately 300 people in Peterborough.

In more recent years, 194 Sophia has been home to Operitel and OpenText, both software management companies.

As we transform this building from its historic use to an environmental and cleantech future, we will strive to continuously support Peterborough and its community in a similar way.

We are excited that the opportunity to move came upon us and that Cambium can still operate in the vibrant East City community. Our move from 52 Hunter Street East office isn’t a far trek for us thankfully.

Sustainability is apart of our mission here at Cambium. It is engrained in the work we do for our clients, but we also hold ourselves accountable. We are dedicated to operating in the most environmentally sustainable way possible. Remodelling the building made more sense to us than tearing it down. With our renovations, we have been able to rejuvenate the building, and have created a bright open space for our staff and visitors.

Be sure to keep an eye out for future posts on the updates we have made to the building, such as our lab and office space!

Excess Soil Guidelines

01/13/21

Starting Jan 1, 2021 the excess soil rules come into force, with the online excess soil registry starting Jan 1, 2022. These two milestones don’t have a direct impact on landfills. Section 22 of O. Reg. 406 pertains directly to landfills and comes into force Jan 1, 2025.

Read more about the upcoming changes you might have to consider at Municipal Landfills:

Excess Soil Guidelines from Cambium Download

Cambium’s Move to Sophia Street

01/8/21

Our team has been growing year over year to meet the increasing demand for our services. What started in 2006 as a company of fewer than 10 professionals has grown to over 120 diverse experts at the end of 2020! It is no surprise that we have outgrown all our facilities in all our locations.

Over the past few months, we have been in the process of bringing our multiple Peterborough operations to our new location at 194 Sophia Street. We began by first moving our materials testing laboratory in 2020; not missing a beat in their service activities. We will be finalizing the relocation of our remaining operations to our newly renovated building in the coming months. This is an exciting revitalization of a location that carries the proud decades-long history of Fisher Gauge Limited.

This transition has been a long journey. We are excited to begin a new chapter for Cambium when all our Peterborough employees and operations are under one roof.

Keep an eye on our social media over the next few months to cheer us on with the renovations and our big move in Spring 2021!

Ontario’s Journey Towards a Circular Economy

12/30/20

Cambium’s Senior Operations Manager, Rob Arkell gave a informative presentation at the 2020 Ontario East Municipal Conference on the importance of municipalities in Ontario moving towards a #circulareconomy.

The presentation includes an overview of the Circular Economy, Ontario’s transition, and opportunities for rural municipalities

Know of any other companies following the circular economy approach? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Ensure Quality Building Structure & Envelope Sciences During Construction

02/28/19

Cambium’s Building Structure and Envelope Sciences Team – Providing construction engineering support services to help clients make better decisions.

Cambium Building Structure & Envelope Sciences Download

Cambium is proud to introduce our Building Structure and Envelope
Sciences team serving advanced construction projects throughout
Ontario. These services augment the inspection and testing
components of Cambium’s existing Construction Monitoring services.
Our team commitment and experience enhances client confidence in
each development project, which is best summarized by our mission
of Guiding Good Decisions.

Our goal is to contribute value to every project and assist our clients
to achieve successful outcomes. Cambium now offers further
construction engineering support services in the critical pre-design
stage, design tendering, and contract administration. Our team
understands the complexity of construction materials and techniques.
This understanding often translates to solutions for design constraints
and recommendations for better materials management.

As part of Cambium’s construction monitoring services, our qualified inspectors provide Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) onsite inspections to ensure that all components of the project are built to appropriate specifications. Our team includes certified Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) Inspectors, inspection staff with industry certifications in welding, coatings, steel, and concrete testing and inspection, including non-destructive testing (NDT), all experts in their respective fields.

Our Building Structure and Envelope Sciences team provide:

CSA S16 Structural Steel & CWB Certified Welding Inspections
Building envelope inspections including window and curtain walls, rain screen and cladding
Roofing Systems Design, Tendering, and Contract Administration
Roofing System Inspections and Reviews
Existing Asset Condition Reviews
Failure Analysis Investigations
Reinforcing Steel Verification
Machinery inspections and assembly reviews
Concrete (Grout/Mortar) Testing and Monitoring

We advocate for our clients that quality be built into the project from the start to avoid costly changes, correction, or delays. The investment in Cambium services is always a positive return for the project.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Municipalities and the New Used Tire Program.

02/26/19

Helping Municipalities through the transition of the Used Tire Program to the responsibility of the Producer.

Under the Waste Free Ontario Act (WFOA), the New Used Tire Program is first of four programs being transitioned towards an individual producer responsibility model.

Cambium Update Bulletin WFOA Used Tires Download

The Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) wound up its operations on December 31, 2018. Under the new tire regulation that came into effect on January 1, tire producers are required to meet mandatory collection and management targets. Collection refers to collecting used tires at their end of life. Management refers to reusing, retreading or turning tires into allowable processed materials. Producers have the option of setting up and managing their own collection and management systems or engaging the services of a
producer responsibility organization (PRO). Each producer is responsible for 85% collection target in weight of tires placed in market, as well as 85% Management target of tires collected each year. Registration remains open for new haulers and collectors only.

Cambium’s update bulletin outlines the changes from previous regulations and provides website links to the Resource Productive and Recovery Authority (RPRA) for guidance on tire collection requirements and drop off sites for residents for Municipalities that do not collect. Cambium’s waste management professionals stay current on changes to regulations and programs. Please give us a call if you have questions or need assistance with any of your municipal waste management needs.

My Cambium – An Inside Staff Perspective

10/19/18

An insider’s perspective on the unique culture, work and career opportunities with Cambium Inc., an employee-owned consulting & engineering company.

In light of Cambium’s recent Employer of the Year Award, we wanted to re-post the “My Cambium” video. We have an amazing team and we could not provide the quality and value of service that we do without them.

y Cambium - Staff Perspective

My Cambium, a staff perspective on the life and work at Cambium. This video is a heartfelt inside view from a staff perspective on the life, work and career opportunities with Cambium. Staff in the video have been with us since the start and others joined the team over the last number of years. The common thread throughout the video is the shared pride each person has and the opportunities they experienced since joining Cambium. It exemplifies more than words the experience and unique Cambium culture.

Since 2006, Cambium evolved from a small company of 10 employees to one that now employs over 100 across offices in Peterborough, Barrie, Oshawa, and Kingston. We have quickly become an industry leader and one of the largest and fastest growing independent, employee-owned consulting firms in Ontario.Explore your career possibilities with us!