Offsite Construction Handbook
Course Overview Offsite construction is transforming the building industry by shifting key processes from traditional sites to controlled factory environments. This approach enhances productivity, quality, and sustainability, addressing challenges like labor shortages and environmental impact. The delivery process emphasizes early collaboration, integrated design, and robust project management to optimize efficiency and risk management. Durability and energy efficiency are achieved through advanced material selection, moisture management, and airtight, highly insulated assemblies. Construction logistics, quality control, and commissioning are tailored for offsite methods, ensuring rapid, reliable project delivery. Life cycle analysis shows offsite construction can reduce embodied carbon and waste, supporting climate goals. Canada’s evolving policies and market trends position offsite construction as a key solution for affordable, sustainable housing. Learning Objectives Understand how offsite construction improves the durability, moisture control, and energy performance of wood building systems. Identify the structural and sustainability benefits of early design integration in offsite wood construction projects. Evaluate the role of life-cycle analysis and embodied carbon in positioning offsite wood construction as a solution for sustainable and affordable housing in Canada. Course Video Speakers Bio Dorian Tung Manager, Technology Assessment FPInnovations Dorian Tung is currently the Manager of Technology Assessment at FPInnovations. Prior to this, he worked as a structural consultant in Canada and the US. As a manager, he has been working with scientists on projects related to structure, seismic, durability, energy, fire, acoustic, and vibration. With the evolving ecosystem, Dorian is active in many working groups to facilitate discussions, remove duplicates, accelerate processes, with the goal to maximize impacts for the forest industry NOW using research data. He is also the editor of the Offsite Wood Construction Handbook published by FPInnovations. Helen Goodland Principal. Head of Research and Innovation SCIUS Advisory Helen Goodland is an architect registered in the UK and has an MBA from the University of BC. Helen is firmly committed to achieving truly sustainable buildings within the next decade. She is also passionate about advancing leadership opportunities for women in construction technology. To this end, she participates on numerous boards and committees. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of Building Transformations (formerly CanBIM), the BC Digital Advisory Council, the BCIT Mass Timber Education Advisory Board and the University of Victoria’s Green Civil Engineering Advisory Council. She is also past chair of the UN Sustainable Buildings Initiative’s Materials Technical Committee. Adam Robertson Co-founder and Principal Sustainatree Adam completed his Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto and also holds a Master of Applied Science degree from the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia. He is the past Chair of the CSA Subcommittee on Permanent Wood Foundations and acted as a primary author and editor during the update and revisions to the Canadian Wood Council’s Permanent Wood Foundations publication. He is the co-founder and principal of Sustainatree Consulting, a small firm specializing in sustainability and engineering design of wood building systems. Prior to opening his own practice, Adam was previously employed by the Canadian Wood Council and has also worked as a consulting structural engineer and within the building development and construction management fields.
Offsite Construction in Ontario: A Practical and Diligent Path Forward
Course Overview From the housing supply deficit to affordability issues and labour challenges, several conditions have been supporting a renewed interest for innovation in construction practices. Offsite construction is often identified as a promising approach to improve the way we build. This session explores the current market characteristics which are conducive to offsite practices, including the consistent shift towards multifamily construction in Ontario. It also identifies the numerous potential benefits of shifting the construction process from site to factory. The speakers will discuss underlying assumptions and conditions and questions such as: Are the promised benefits tangible and quantifiable? Do savings actually reach a project’s bottom line? Do all of the benefits apply to specific applications? Learning Objectives Identify market, labour, and housing conditions in Ontario that are driving interest in offsite and wood-based construction systems. Evaluate the practical benefits and limitations of offsite construction using mass timber and panelized wood systems. Assess when offsite construction provides measurable value at the project level, including cost, schedule, quality, and risk considerations. Course Video Speakers Bio Mike Schmidt President Auto Construct Incorporated A Tool & Die Maker with a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration, Mike understands manufacturing from the ground up. He spent his formative years as an executive in the automotive industry; working for world-class, multinational corporations such as Magna International and ArcelorMittal. In 2017, Mike established Auto Construct Incorporated (ACI), a management consulting firm, to accelerate the industrialization of residential construction. Specializing in the conversion from stick-built to offsite construction, Mike has led and facilitated the growth of several companies to become dominant players in their respective fields. ACI provides education, guidance, and implementation support in the areas of business development, manufacturing systems, technology selection, and factory start-ups. ACI serves a broad range of land developers, construction firms, homebuilders, and manufacturing companies throughout Canada and the United States.
Design Best Practices for Mid-Rise Light Wood Frame Structures
Course Overview Light wood frame (LWF) construction is an accessible, cost-effective, low-carbon solution for mid-rise multi-family buildings. This session will clarify fundamental differences in approach between traditional low-rise LWF construction and modern mid-rise construction methods. LWF is an attractive option for mid-rise development and participants will gain practical insights into design efficiencies, from meeting seismic demands and other key structural considerations to how engineered wood products and specialty hardware can be used to optimize design. The session will also explore prefabrication strategies, highlighting the challenges and opportunities offsite construction presents for streamlined, higher-quality construction. Whether attendees are new to mid-rise wood design or looking to optimize their next project, this session will share valuable information they can apply to their next mid-rise building. Learning Objectives Distinguish key differences between traditional low-rise and modern mid-rise light wood frame construction, including changes in design loads, seismic requirements, and code updates. Apply practical design strategies to optimize mid-rise wood structures—such as efficient stacked framing, engineered wood products, specialty hardware, and solutions for wood shrinkage and differential movement. Evaluate prefabrication and offsite construction methods for mid-rise projects, identifying both challenges and opportunities to improve construction quality, speed, and coordination. Course Video Speakers Bio Sean Henry Director – Mid-Rise, Principal Tacoma Engineers Sean is the Director of Mid-Rise and a Principal at Tacoma Engineers, bringing 20 years of structural engineering experience to the role. Since joining the firm in 2005, Sean has led the design of a wide range of building types, with a particular focus on mid-rise developments including multi-family, seniors and affordable housing projects. He is especially recognized for his expertise in light wood frame construction with multiple projects designed and built since the adoption of 6 storey wood framed buildings in Ontario. He also has extensive experience with cold-formed steel, structural steel, reinforced concrete, precast, and concrete block building systems. Sean focuses on delivering practical, efficient structural solutions that support design intent while meeting the demands of constructability and cost-effectiveness.
From Trees to Keys: Scaling Industrialized Wood Construction
Course Overview This session brings together a panel of experts to discuss lessons learned and visions for wood-based manufactured housing solutions. The panel will address key challenges in scaling modular and panelized wood construction, including design for manufacture and assembly, systems integration, workforce transformation, and product standardization. Innovators throughout the supply chain will explore requirements for bringing scalable mass timber housing into the mainstream, from procurement to policy and from urban infill to supply chain readiness. The discussion will focus on how factory-built housing and wood innovation can contribute to addressing Canada’s housing crisis. Learning Objectives Assess practical lessons learned from implementing modular, panelized, and mass-timber housing projects, including challenges related to design coordination, manufacturing constraints, and on-site assembly. Explain how integrated approaches across structure, envelope, and mechanical systems enable scalable, high-performance wood-based housing solutions, drawing on examples from factory-built and turnkey delivery models. Evaluate the roles of standardization, procurement models, workforce capabilities, and policy alignment in advancing wood-based manufactured housing as a viable response to Canada’s housing crisis. Course Video Speakers Bio Hailey Quiquero Technical Manager WoodWorks Ontario Hailey is a structural engineer and has focused her career specializing in sustainable architecture and the advancement of timber building systems. Hailey spent several years of her career in research on the behaviour and fire safety of mass timber, as a structural designer with Entuitive in Toronto, and working to develop affordable housing products built of high-performance timber panels, contributing to the successful completion of several turnkey housing projects with Assembly Corp. (previously R-Hauz). In her current role as a Technical Manager for the Canadian Wood Council’s WoodWorks program, Hailey works with the team to aid project teams with technical support and to bring resources and education to industry stakeholders, advocating for the successful implementation of a beautiful and sustainable building material in our built environment. Ben Chicoine President Fab Structures Ben Chicoine is an accomplished entrepreneur with over 20 years of hands-on experience in the construction industry. As the co-founder of Fab Structures, he has built a multi-million dollar company specializing in mass timber and panelized construction, with energy efficiency at its core. Certified in Passive House design, Ben now consults on high-performance building strategies, championing innovative solutions that push the boundaries of sustainable construction in Canada. Kyle Power Director of Construction Assembly Corp. Kyle is Director of Construction at Assembly. He brings 15+ years of end-to-end construction management experience with Canada’s largest general contractor. Kyle held key leadership roles in the delivery of several high-profile projects in the GTA, including commercial high rise, complex retail renovations, and high rise residential. He is responsible for successful project construction delivery from the pre-construction planning stages to close-out. Kyle successfully executes the construction of Assembly’s unique end-to-end housing product and the delivery strategy underpinning its mission of creating faster, more sustainable housing. Cara Sloat Mechanical Principal Hammerschlag and Joffe Inc. Cara Sloat brings over 20 years of increasingly complex experience in high-performance mechanical design and energy efficiency expertise to Hammerschlag and Joffe. She has worked extensively with decarbonizing building portfolios, including for Fortune 50 companies, and has worked in high-performance mechanical system design, with a career focus on energy efficiency, energy exchange, and indoor environmental quality. In our current housing crisis, she is also passionate about finding better mechanical solutions for the Canadian housing market. She delivers projects at every scale, and believes every building deserves a quality and well thought out mechanical system. She has LEED certified over half a million square feet of new construction real estate projects, and provided energy audits for over 5 million square feet of commercial properties, identifying millions in potential energy savings.
Timber and Off-Site Construction
Course Overview Join WoodWorks and prefab panel supplier, Ron Anderson + Sons, as they discuss strategies for navigating the world of off-site construction, explaining the challenges and benefits of prefabrication and how they impact the design and construction process. Learn about different strategies for navigating code compliance and coordinating with a prefabricated component supplier. The discussion will also cover common constraints like high seismic forces and high efficiency envelopes and how to address these with off-site construction. This one-hour presentation will provide a deeper understanding of the off-site construction process and its implications for your role in designing and constructing wood buildings. Learning Objectives Learn when off-site construction can deliver cost and schedule savings. Learn how to ensure design coordination and specifications align with project requirements and prefabricated component supplier constraints. Learn how construction strategies and detailing are affected when using prefabricated components and how to ensure successful project outcomes. Course Video Speakers Bio Derek Ratzlaff, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., PE Technical Director WoodWorks BC Derek began his career in the wood industry in high school working on single and multi-family light wood frame construction. After university, and almost 20 years of structural consulting experience, Derek has worked in all types of wood construction and played key roles in the delivery of iconic BC wood structures including the Richmond Olympic Oval and Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. He brings his experience in design and construction to support the industry as a Technical Director for Woodworks BC. Jack Downing President and CEO Ron Anderson and Sons Ltd. Wood Framing Jack’s journey in the framing industry spans over 20 years. He joined RAS in 2012 and his adeptness in orchestrating large sites and coordinating multiple crews immediately made him an invaluable asset to the company. His dedication and strong leadership led to his appointment as President and CEO of RAS in 2019. His journey from a skilled professional to respected industry leader exemplifies the ethos of growth and opportunity that defines RAS’s company culture. Under Jack’s leadership RAS is poised for continuous growth and innovation in the construction industry.
