Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 74

New name, new era
As the decade opened, Defence Construction Limited
had become Defence Construction Canada (although
it would prove some years before the new moniker was
in regular use within the Corporation). As the 1980s
progressed, the newly named DCC came under renewed
scrutiny, particularly during a time of economic recession,
government restraint and federal government changes.
The organization was certainly busy—the 1980–81
figure of $122.5 million in contract awards was at its
highest level since 1952–53 (although part of that dollar
value was due to the effects of inflation, which was
sending labour and material costs soaring, and creating
additional pressures for the construction industry). By the
mid-1980s, that figure stood at $238 million, increasing
to $466 million in 1990–91. But at the same time, all
was not as it should have been in terms of cooperation
between DCC and the Construction Engineering branch
of the Canadian Forces, and this came to a head in the
early 1980s.

Clarifying rules and roles
In 1980–81, the difficulties that DCC and DND were
experiencing led the two organizations to each contrib-
ute three representatives to a joint committee looking
into the adequacy of DCC inspections. Their analysis
showed that “Overall, DCL performs its inspection
functions in a satisfactory manner which produces
cost-effective results. Notwithstanding, areas requiring
improvements were identified.”
• ensuring that DCC inspectors were familiar with the
project drawings and specifications; and
• developing better procedures for enforcing implemen-
tation schedules.
In addition to revising the MOU, by February 1984 DCC
had circulated a plan within the company for implementing
the “acceptable” major changes recommended by
the committee.
As the committee was working on the situation at a
national level, changes were taking place at a regional
and site level, too. When Brigadier-General (Retired)
Dave Edgecombe looks back at when he first
encountered DCC, he found the two organizations often
at loggerheads, particularly when it came to changes or
quality issues on contracts. There was reason for
optimism, however, as the Jetty 2 project—part of the
Ship Repair Unit (Atlantic) project—launched in the
early 1980s.
A joint team with DCC was formed in the Halifax office,
and that was tremendously successful. There were
permanent DCC staff assigned… That’s when it
changed from ‘them and us’ to ‘we.’ We said, ‘we’re
going to build this thing, the biggest industrial facility
built in Eastern Canada.’ SRU Jetty 2 rebuilt a big
chunk of the Halifax dockyard and it was brought in
under budget, which was the significant benefit. That
was where the whole approach changed—it wasn’t
instantaneous, but it was there.
These included:
• establishing standards for inspection;
• developing common procedures to notify DCC of
proposed construction and maintenance programs;
64
He then proceeded to Ottawa, eventually becoming
DND’s Director General Construction, where he had the
opportunity to work with DCC again.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA