EP 14 · 2021-07-19 · 51:19
Inside Pomerleau: P3 Construction, BIM Innovation, and Building Culture in Atlantic Canada
Pomerleau's Atlantic Canada regional manager and two colleagues walk through 15-plus years of regional growth — healthcare P3s, BIM adoption, diversity strategy, and what a family-run national GC culture actually looks like on the ground.
LR
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:04Lorin Robar — career path and Pomerleau's Atlantic history — Lorin traces his path from UNB civil engineering to Pomerleau estimator to Regional Manager (since Jan 2018), and corrects the host's assumption that the Cape Breton wastewater job was their first — Pomerleau has been active in Atlantic Canada since the 1970s.3:20Current projects — Cape Breton Hospital and Newfoundland P3 — Lorin describes the Cape Breton Regional Hospital project (seven-year JV with Lindsay Construction, 20 months in) and the two 60-bed long-term care P3s in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor (Fengate sponsor, Pomerleau design-builder). He explains the year-long RFQ/RFP/financial-close P3 tender process and the labour market dynamics in Cape Breton.7:50Ashwin Rajendran — project portfolio and Pomerleau's three-pillar structure — Ashwin describes his move from Calgary during the pandemic (with 14-day quarantine and buying a house sight unseen), his current portfolio (wastewater treatment in Wolfville, Wabush, PEI Surrey, and hospital work in New Brunswick), and explains Pomerleau's three-pillar structure: CNI (Civil and Infrastructure), Quebec Building Operations, and Canadian Building Operations, with an Apex group for design-build and P3 and a sister company Borea for renewables.11:40Emily Surette — HR background and Pomerleau's family culture — Emily (anthropology BA + NSCC HR diploma) describes moving from manufacturing HR into construction because of Pomerleau's family-owned values. All three guests share stories about Francis Pomerleau's personal onboarding emails and Lorin's account of Francis calling personally after his daughter's broken femur — illustrating how the family culture scales.16:00Innovation — BIM, drones, Holobuilder, and the technology stack — Ashwin walks through Pomerleau's construction technology: early BIM adoption (2012), 3D clash detection, robotic total stations, drone and laser scanning, and Holobuilder AR — QR codes on site trigger 360-degree photo walkthroughs that let remote managers virtually inspect a building under construction. He gives a concrete example of identifying two-dozen drawing conflicts on an Alberta live-station project before any bucket hit the ground.24:50PX Cube, ESG, and diversity and inclusion — Emily explains PX Cube (Pomerleau's dedicated cultural onboarding facility in Quebec — all employees attend within six months), the Women in Construction cohort, an ongoing ESG report process (first publication planned for next spring), and a DEI engagement with external consultants. Lorin highlights CANS's industry-wide DEI efforts.30:10Branding — 'shaping the future' and contract delivery diversity — Lorin discusses Pomerleau's new VP of Marketing (Veronica, joined Jan 2021) and the 2025 strategic plan built around 'shaping the future'. He notes that each Atlantic Canada province operates in a different delivery model: Newfoundland (DB/P3), New Brunswick (lump sum), PEI (lump sum), Nova Scotia (CM). Pomerleau manages risk by staying adaptable across all modes.36:10Current project portfolio overview and sector success factors — Ashwin runs through the active Atlantic portfolio. Lorin explains that healthcare, wastewater, and recreation have been Pomerleau's strongest sectors — not by design but because the team is passionate about them and has built the right trade-partner recipes. He names successful past recreation projects (Marystown YMCA, Goose Bay Labrador Wellness Centre, Moncton Athletic Stadium, Moncton Intergenerational facility).41:50Community giving and philanthropy — Emily details Pomerleau's philanthropic commitments: the 'Love is an Essential Service' campaign raised over $600K during COVID, an emergency employee relief fund, community playground builds in Gander, a Gagetown integrated health project BBQ food drive, and a Bedford Highway Earth Day cleanup.47:30Industry outlook — automation, prefab, workforce transition, and talent war — Lorin forecasts more automation, prefabrication, and modular construction driven by an aging workforce. Emily responds on the 'war for talent': automation will not eliminate the need for people, so employer branding, values-led recruitment, and being a desirable place to work will be decisive competitive factors.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault sits down with three Pomerleau employees: Lorin Robar (Regional Manager, Atlantic Canada), Ashwin Rajendran (Project Director), and Emily Surette (Talent Business Partner). The conversation spans Pomerleau's history in Atlantic Canada (active since the 1970s, permanent office since 2003), current projects including the Cape Breton Regional Hospital (in JV with Lindsay Construction) and two P3 long-term care facilities in Newfoundland (with Fengate as sponsor), and how the company has navigated sector diversification across healthcare, wastewater, and recreation. Ashwin details Pomerleau's BIM and construction-technology stack — 3D clash detection, robotic total stations, drone scanning, and Holobuilder AR walkthroughs. Emily covers Pomerleau's people infrastructure: PX Cube cultural onboarding, a Women in Construction cohort, an ESG/DEI initiative with external consultants, and the company's community-giving programs. Lauren closes with a forward look at automation, prefabrication, and the looming workforce transition. The episode is a candid look at how a large national GC maintains a family-business feel at scale, with specific operational and cultural detail that resonates strongly with the show's Atlantic Canada belonging contract.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸A GC entering a new regional market for a large healthcare project should partner with a local GC that has both relationships and a permanent office in that area — the local knowledge and subcontractor access outweigh competition concerns.
“Pomerleau hasn't had a large presence in cape breton... certainly Lindsay is active there they have an office”
The P3 tender process is a year-long commitment from RFQ through financial close — operators should cost and resource it accordingly, not just as a bid.
“it's a year-long process start to finish easy”
In Atlantic Canada, winning sectors are often driven by team passion and project-type familiarity as much as strategic targeting — if your execution team loves building recreation facilities, that energy shows up at bid time.
“our team local in-house team they love working on those projects and they're passionate”
Atlantic Canada requires diversification across delivery models (P3, design-build, lump-sum, CM) because each province runs on a different procurement regime — a GC that can only do one mode cannot cover the region.
“Newfoundland is in a db p3 kind of market... New Brunswick is lump sum... Nova Scotia here is CM”
BIM-based clash detection, if run before mobilization, can surface two-dozen drawing conflicts on a typical institutional project — the cost to resolve each conflict pre-construction is a fraction of the cost mid-build.
“before we even had the first bucket in the ground we identified... probably two dozen issues”
Holobuilder-style 360-degree AR site documentation lets senior staff and owners virtually inspect progress without being on site — reducing disruptive site visits while maintaining oversight.
“we can log in and just see what happened last week what happened this week in a 360 view”
Large GCs can maintain family-business culture at scale if founders stay personally connected to employees during significant life events — the ROI is loyalty and discretionary effort from regional managers.
“just got a call from Francis said hey heard about... let me know if you need anything”
Cultural onboarding programs that bring new hires together in person — across regions, within the first six months — build the cross-company relationships that make large distributed organizations function as one team.
“they'll be flown to PX Cube to meet their peers from across the country... spend about three or four days”
ESG reporting is becoming a procurement prerequisite, not a marketing choice — some institutional clients are already limiting investment to ESG-compliant contractors.
“some clients now are only investing in opportunities sustainable that are”
The 'war for talent' in construction will intensify as baby boomers exit — automation partially offsets headcount need, but the people who run automated systems still need to be recruited and retained on employer-brand terms.
“the war on talent is real so we have to get competitive get creative with how we recruit”
In a booming regional market like Cape Breton (multiple large hospital and long-term care projects running simultaneously), labour supply is the binding constraint — resilience and advance subcontractor planning matter more than cost optimization.
“there'll be challenges with labour but yeah we're a resilient industry and we'll find a way”
Technology investment alone does not produce results — the knowledge transfer and training to ensure site teams know when and how to use the tools is equally important.
“it's not just having the technology but also having the knowledge and everybody understanding what we have”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
Sent to your inbox. The receipts included.
// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
Pomerleau raised over $600K during COVID through the 'Love is an Essential Service' campaign.
Confirmed: Pomerleau donated over $600,000 through this initiative, launched June 1, 2020, supporting healthcare, health research, and food support organizations. Personal donations by Pierre and Francis Pomerleau were included.
SOURCE ▸✓ VERIFIED
The Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor P3 long-term care facilities are 60 beds each, sponsored by Fengate, with Pomerleau as design-builder.
Fully confirmed. Both are 60-bed three-storey facilities. Financial close June 14, 2019. Fengate is developer/sponsor; Pomerleau is design-builder. DBFM contract model. Confirmed as first P3 project in Atlantic Canada.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Pomerleau Inc. ▸Lindsay Construction ▸Fengate Asset ManagementBorea ConstructionCape Breton Regional Hospital Expansion (CBRM Health Care Redevelopment Project)Gander Long-Term Care Facility (Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor Care Homes P3)Lorin RobarAswin Rajendran
// PROJECTS NAMED
Cape Breton Regional Hospital Expansion (CBRM Health Care Redevelopment Project)Gander Long-Term Care Facility (Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor Care Homes P3)Dartmouth Wastewater Treatment PlantWolfville Wastewater Treatment PlantWabush Wastewater Treatment Plant (design-build)Surrey PEI Wastewater Treatment PlantDumont Hospital SDU Unit (New Brunswick)Dumont Hospital 4B Unit (New Brunswick)Gagetown Integrated Health ProjectBuilding Rehab Halifax (DND)Port of Saint John Jetty CaissonMarystown YMCAGoose Bay Labrador Wellness CentreMoncton Intergenerational FacilityMoncton Athletic Stadium (2010 World Junior Track and Field Championships)Pomerleau Inc.Rideau (formerly Cardinal, now Bird)MRDC P3 Highway New Brunswick
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · jfcMSAp1gJg