Waste and┬áwetlands┬áThe heavily populated area to the east of Toronto has built a sewage system that is both fit for purpose and respectful of the residents and the natural scenery of Ontario, as John OÔÇÖHanlon discovers. The Greater Toronto Area has been growing massively since the 1960s and now has a population of 5.5 million, almost half of them born outside of Canada. And in turn, half of these immigrants have come to Canada in the last 15 years.

White Memorial Medical Center took a proactive approach to meeting strict new building codes. The result is a building that meets those codes and achieves high levels of sustainability and energy savings, as Keith Regan learns The 1994 Northridge earthquake that rocked the Los Angeles area left its mark on Southern California. But nearly a decade and a half later, the impacts are still appearing in new buildings erected under the significantly tougher building codes passed in the wake of the tremor.

Coping with change┬áNot every construction job goes smoothly, but goodwill and effort can go a long way toward minimizing the impact, as Jeff Daniels learns. In the coming months, the numerous individual facilities that constitute the resources of the Western Maryland Health System will become obsolete.

Clean and green┬áWaterFurnace International manufactures geothermal heating and cooling systemsÔÇöan environmentally friendly alternative energy source. Executive vice president John Groulik tells Linda Seid Frembes about good stewardship of the earth and of the workforce. WaterFurnace International specializes in the ultimate green technologyÔÇögeothermal heating and cooling systems for the residential market.

Securing the future┬áVanguard Security is showing the value of a different approach to security services, as Sean Flynn tells Ruari McCallion. ÔÇ£The security business is changing,ÔÇØ says Sean Flynn, president and CEO of Vanguard Security, Inc. And itÔÇÖs about time, many may feel. The popular image of security is not out of the top drawerÔÇöelderly men with dogs of uncertain temperament and parentage making once-an-hour checks on the fence, equipped with little more than a flashlight and a crackling walkie-talkie donÔÇÖt inspire confidence.

A matter of tension┬áContracted to build a six-story addition to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Vanbots Construction is using cutting-edge technology to strengthen the entire structure to withstand seismic activity. Errol Dube explains to Gay Sutton how this is being done. Any pedestrian walking down Murray Street or University Avenue in Toronto would be bound to see the construction work going on at Mount Sinai Hospital. Six new stories, some 150,000 square feet, are being built on top of the west tower, increasing its height from 14 to 20 floors.

Progress on schedule┬áKeith Regan talks with a Tulsa Vision Builders project manager to learn how keeping the Tulsa Vision 2025 project on schedule is key to keeping it on budget and clearing the way for future work.  Hoping to boost economic development for a generation to come, Tulsa County, Oklahoma officials convinced voters in 2003 to approve a one-penny, 13-year sales tax increase.

Trained on results┬áTestAmerica Laboratories, Inc. has seen steady growth in demand for its environmental testing services in recent years. Keith Regan learns how extensive training and investment in technology are key to meeting rising demand in a slowing economy.  The facility that today is the Buffalo, New York, laboratory of TestAmerica Laboratories, Inc. has a long history of serving clients with environmental testing needs. In its early years the lab was run by a local landfill company.

A ray of Sundyne┬áSundyne Corporation is a company with a long heritage and advanced, market-leading products, as Ruari McCallion learns from company president Phil Ruffner. If you go to a process industries facility, youÔÇÖll find pumps all over the place. The same is true at a drug production plant or a food-processing factory. They are so widespread that one could think they were on the verge of commoditization. So it may be a little surprising to find a company making a good living selling quite a modest amountÔÇösay, 7,500 units a year.

Paving the way to the future┬áStoney Trail Constructors is a joint venture formed to build the Northeast Stoney Trail outside Calgary. Keith Regan learns how the public-private partnership design-build-operate approach is reaping savings in both time and cost. Compared to their neighbors to the south in the United States, Canadian government agencies have become far more comfortable with the public-private partnership model of designing, funding, building, and operating highways, bridges and other┬á infrastructure under a single contract.