This month, we caught up with our corporate member, Crosier Kilgour, to learn more about them and their experience in the commissioning market.
Tell us briefly about your company (history, locations, lines of practice).
Crosier Kilgour is one of Western Canada’s premier structural engineering and building performance firms. With over 70 years of engineering excellence, the firm has continually evolved to meet the growing demand for sustainability and corporate responsibility in the construction industry.
In 2019, Crosier Kilgour expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Integrated Designs Inc., originally founded in 1997 as Integrated Controls. This strategic addition brought a multidisciplinary approach to building performance, enabling the firm to deliver high-performance, sustainable buildings through building commissioning, energy modelling, sustainable design facilitation, including green building rating systems and net-zero energy consulting, and energy management, including energy audits and measurement and verification.
Our dedicated commissioning team consists of 15 professionals with expertise in both building systems and building envelope commissioning. Every member of the team has devoted their career to the field of building commissioning, a focus that distinguishes us in the industry. With offices in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, we have the regional reach and technical depth to deliver projects of any size, consistently exceeding client expectations.
Crosier Kilgour is committed to advancing a more sustainable building industry. We actively promote best practices and support organizations that share our vision. We are founding and continuing members of Building Saskatchewan Green, the Canada Green Building Council, Sustainable Buildings Manitoba, the Western Canada Building Commissioning Association chapter, and the Manitoba Building Envelope Council.
Do you have a commissioning, pioneering/success milestone you would like to share?
Over the last six years, we’ve developed whole-building commissioning expertise through the merger of our historical building systems group (Integrated Designs Inc.) and the talented building science group at Crosier Kilgour. We’re proud to offer a harmonized commissioning solution to our clients.
When and why did the company initially engage with the BCxA?
We initially engaged with BCxA to access resources to bring our processes in line with best practices. Our Principal, Phil Dompierre, volunt
eered on the inaugural board of directors for the Western Canadian Chapter around that time.
Tell us what it means to be CCF, providing a CCP for projects. If applicable.
We’re not yet a CCF, but it’s definitely part of the plan!
Can you share an interesting/important representative project example?
Although we’ve worked on many amazing projects over the years, two projects particularly stand out. The Manitoba Hydro Downtown Office project was one of our first major projects in Manitoba and remains one of the most energy-efficient office towers in North America (in a challenging climate zone, no less!). The Leaf at Canada’s Diversity Gardens was a project of national significance that involved commissioning a highly climatically responsive design across four unique biomes. Check it out!
Future of Cx – What are you seeing that is shaping the practice of commissioning in your markets?
The need for qualified commissioning providers has never been greater than right now, but in the face of rising project costs, the services are being treated like a commodity more and more. The great work organizations like the BCxA and ASHRAE are doing to educate the industry on best practices, and appropriate CxA procurement models must continue!
There is also the issue of talent acquisition and development within the field. Experience is such a vital part of the profession – with many of our senior colleagues nearing retirement, mentorship for junior/intermediate staff is going to be a critical challenge.
Commissioning is so much more than technical acumen. Focus on developing your relationship-building and leadership skills. We feel that these things ultimately lead to the best outcomes on projects – for all involved.