VANCOUVER ISLAND – For Catherine Reimer, Construction Manager at Omicron Canada Inc.’s Victoria office, being a woman in the construction industry doesn’t seem unusual.
“Being a woman in this industry is great, and it’s becoming a lot more common,” she says. “We have several women working at our Victoria office, and we all feel like peers here. Nobody makes a big deal about our gender, and we are respected and treated well within the industry.”
This is Reimer’s fifth year with the company, an integrated firm, that designs, engineers, and builds projects throughout Western Canada in the residential, mixed-use, institutional, industrial, and commercial market sectors.
As a LEED Certified Project Manager, with a degree in Building Engineering, and over a decade of industry experience, Reimer believes women have a lot to offer when it comes to construction.
“Women tend to bring their own unique perspectives to this industry, and when that’s embraced, businesses and communities benefit,” she says.
Reimer is one of many women who thrive in Omicron’s collaborative environment.
With offices in Victoria and Vancouver, the company fields a team of 135 in-house real estate strategists, engineers, designers, architects, and builders who work together to deliver projects. Current Vancouver Island projects include the Marriott Hotel in Nanaimo, The James at Harbour Towers in James Bay, the mixed-use Eagle Creek Village development in View Royal, and a 19-acre mixed-use employment centre in Colwood.
“We’re really excited about The James at Harbour Towers,” says Reimer. “We’re transforming a hotel into 219 market rentals”.
“Some of the spaces on the top floors have been converted into two-level penthouses, which has involved a lot of careful planning. It’s an older structure and we are adapting it to modern requirements. When it’s complete, it’s going to be quite an impressive building.”
With Omicron’s design, engineering, and building staff all working under the same roof, collaboration is a major part of every project. As a result, clients are continually impressed with Omicron’s completed projects. Today, roughly 80% of Omicron projects come from repeat clients.
“Omicron is looking to the future when it comes to this industry. In addition to our integrated delivery model, our embracing technology is part of this vision. ” says Reimer. “This is especially evident in our design and development side. Recently, we’ve been using virtual reality in innovative ways, allowing clients to use VR goggles to walk through a space and get a sense of the final product.
“This not only gives the client an accurate vision of the finished product, but also allows us to save time and money by catching potential issues at an early stage.” At Omicron this focus on collaboration and integrating technology is what allows for a more effective flow of information between departments, connecting each level of the construction process from top to bottom.
For more information, visit www.omicronaec.com
