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NWT
When it comes to outdoor construction, it is no secret that as the temperature dips, so does productivity.

Clarke Builders is the construction management contractor for this downtown project, a four-storey, 15-unit apartment development at the corner of 51 Avenue and 47 Street. Mild winter weather has made construction productivity easier this winter. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

So the relatively mild winter so far this winter – including a record-shattering 3 C earlier this month—is very welcome to the industry.

But some members of the construction industry are wondering, what's the point of easier work and higher productivity when construction activity is in decline?

"Members are talking casually about how the mild weather has made the construction season easier," said Phil Moon Son, executive director of the NWT Construction Association.

"The milder weather is definitely welcomed by most of the members of the association and there are some sectors that have seen an increase in activity on average because of it, but I don't want to give the impression that our association is in a boom cycle right now."

In its last Territorial Outlook publication, the Conference Board of Canada projected a 30 per cent drop in construction output for the NWT, but the construction association pegged last year's decline in construction output at more like 50 per cent.

The conference board boiled the decline in the construction sector down to a slowdown of government infrastructure spending, and members of the construction association are now feeling the pinch, Son said.

"There are a lot of members constantly calling us to say there's not enough work out there, they're not busy," he said. "The economy's not that great right now so they're basically doing whatever they can to get by."

While the warmer winter helps because the work is more pleasant and the costs are lower, the cost savings are usually passed on to the customer, said Dale Johnson, project co-ordinator for Clark Builders.

With about six projects of various sizes on the go right now in Yellowknife, including the executive-class four-story apartment building being developed at the corner of 51 Avenue and 47 Street for Toro Ventures Ltd., Clark Builders is definitely reaping the advantages of a warmer winter.

"It's been great for all trades," said Johnson. "I mean, warmer temperature makes everything easier."

Timelines for some projects are speeding up with the warmer temperature, as opposed to extreme cold temperature, when outdoor work productivity slows for many reasons, he said.

Cold people work slower, with heavier clothing and gear required, including larger jackets, pants and gloves slowing workers down.

More labour is required to accommodate indoor warm-up rotations, and buddy systems for even simple one-man projects that are riskier with extreme cold.

Equipment tends not to work as well in colder temperatures, Johnson added, as trouble with lifts and other heavy equipment increases.

Heating costs skyrocket in colder weather, with tents and other structures often supplemented by oil fired heaters and other fuel burners on site.

But before the work site burners are abandoned, Environment Canada is forecasting the temperature to drop today to a low of minus 32 C, with sunshine and lows hovering around minus 30 C through the weekend into Monday.

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