News
NEWS:
Design Optimization & Constructability Workshop for St. Catharines (QEW) Skyway
Leadership and Organization
Skyway Bridging Partners appointed Tom to lead the Design Optimization & Constructability (DO&C) workshop, with a focus on the twinning of the St. Catharines QEW Skyway structure.
Workshop Summary
Held in July in St. Catharines, the workshop brought together over 60 subject matter experts (35 in person and 30 remotely), including participants from Skyway Bridging Partners, Infrastructure Ontario, and the Ministry of Transportation. This involved evaluating proposals to optimizing the design for the proposed twinning of the 2.3 KM Garden City Skyway Signature Bridge. The structure is located on the major traffic corridor of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and spans the Welland Canal, a vital link in the federally controlled St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes waterway system. This structure is one of the two major structures on the QEW that connects Toronto to the international crossing at Buffalo, NY.
Project Overview
The project follows a progressive design-build approach, allocating two years for design and four years for construction The design and construction is planned to last six years, culminating in the new signature bridge.
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1006040/ontario-to-award-contract-to-twin-garden-city-skyway
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NEWS:
USAV Symposium
Tom had the privilege of attending the US Advocacy Forum on May 14-15, 2025, in Washington DC. The theme of the symposium was Maximizing Value Delivery: Efficiency and effectiveness in the Business of Government. Over 200 people attended the event either in person or virtually including attendees from several government departments including US Corps of Engineers and Department of Defense.
This was one of my final duties on the SAVE International executive before my term expired in June 2025.
The attached picture from the event includes Dr Hussien Al-Battaineh, CVS, incoming President of SAVE International for 2025-26.
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NEWS:
“Tom has been approved as a VMB 1B Course Instructor by SAVE International. This is the recently updated VE course that is being offered to people interested in understanding the VM/VE structure and potentially pursuing a career in Value Methodology/ Value Engineering. Tom had conducted several successful VMA courses in the previous iterations of this training in addition to leading Value Management/ Engineering workshops in Canada, USA and Internationally.”
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I was invited to attend and make a presentation at the Saudi Arabia Government Expenditure & Efficiency Forum, in Riyadh, November 11-12, 2024. The 2-day forum was attended by over 3500 participants interested in seeing how the Saudi Government has put measures in place to achieve their goals as outlined in VISION 2030.
The opening speaker was the Minister of Finance who reaffirmed the government’s commitment to achieving maximum value for money, continuous improvement and eliminating waste. Speakers from other Ministries presented several examples of projects that have utilized Value Management / Value Engineering methodology achieved these goals.
I was representing the Executive Management team from SAVE International to reaffirm how the Value Management/ Engineering best practices helps EXPRO achieve these goals throughout the broader public sector. I was also able to meet with several members of the Gulf chapter of SAVE International.
Congratulations to EXPRO for organizing such a very impressive Government Expenditure and Efficiency forum.
NEWS:
Tom Fletcher P.Eng., CVS is serving his second 2 year term on the SAVE International Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Management Team as the Secretary Treasurer and other duties related to Business Process Improvement.