We are pleased to announce that Aryian Farahani has been promoted to the role of Department Head of our Transportation Department in Saskatchewan.

Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Aryian has spent his entire professional career in the heavy civil infrastructure business, and is a passionate roadbuilder. What began as a summer job as a teenager has grown into a 15+ year career in roadbuilding and transportation engineering.

Aryian is formerly the co-founder and Principal of Soli Solutions Inc. (acquired by KGS in 2023). His leadership and guidance helped develop Soli Solutions into an industry leading transportation team in Saskatchewan.

Beyond Engineering, Aryian is most passionate about building teams and empowering those around him.

“I am looking forward to building on the existing success that KGS has achieved to help grow the transportation division within the company,” said Aryian.

Experience, advocacy for women in engineering and a growth mindset: Lindsay Ruel brings all of these with her to KGS Group as she begins her role as the Electrical Department Head in our Saskatoon office. Lindsay comes to KGS with 20 years of experience in electrical engineering consulting, including extensive experience in the Saskatchewan industrial sector.

Leveraging her close relationships with potash and uranium mining clients, Lindsay will be a key figure in advancing the growth of our Saskatoon office and further complimenting our mining expertise.

Lindsay is a strong advocate for women in engineering and funds a student award annually at the University of Saskatchewan for young women studying electrical, mechanical or civil engineering. She is also active in the community through volunteerism and post-secondary engagement and has spoken at or been a panelist for industry conferences throughout her career.

“I’m honoured and delighted to be joining the esteemed KGS team! I’ve already received such a warm welcome and am looking forward to bringing my experience and ideas to the table,” says Lindsay.

We are proud to share that Bruce Belmore, Principal and Transportation Department Head at KGS Group, has been named one of the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ (ITE) newest Honorary Members. This is the highest recognition of notable and outstanding professional achievement ITE presents to an individual.

With 35 years of experience in the industry and a profound dedication to helping private and public sector clients create better communities for all, Bruce is one of only six Canadians and 94 individuals to have been awarded this honour since the first Honorary Member was selected in 1933.

Bruce has had a significant impact on the transportation and ITE community since becoming a member after university. He has served in a variety of roles within the association at the section, district and international levels. Most notably, he was President of ITE Canada in 2008-2009 and ITE International President in 2019. He was also awarded ITE Canada’s H. Robert Burton Distinguished Service Award in 2021 for his outstanding achievements and service.

He is a dedicated member of ITE and supports their mission of improving mobility and safety for all transportation system users and helping build smart and livable communities.

A big congratulations to Bruce on receiving this prestigious honour!

To learn more about the award and why Bruce was selected, visit: ITE Website

KGS Group has acquired Soli Solutions Inc. – a Saskatchewan owned and operated civil engineering firm specializing in the design and construction of transportation infrastructure. The Soli Solutions team brings with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will create new opportunities for all.

“Soli Solutions is regarded as a prominent leader in transportation engineering in Saskatchewan,” said KGS Group President Rick Martin. “The Soli team will enhance our ability to deliver exceptional transportation services to our clients in Saskatchewan and beyond.”

With a strong focus on highways and infrastructure, Soli Solutions are seasoned experts in construction management and administration for large heavy civil projects, including highway construction projects. They share the same commitment as KGS to deliver high-quality services and are dedicated to excellence in engineering and project management.

“Merging our resources and expertise represents a significant milestone in our journey to be a leader in the transportation engineering market in Saskatchewan and across Canada,” said Aryian Farahani, Co-Founder and Principal at Soli Solutions. “We are excited to join KGS Group and for what the future holds.”

We are honoured to be recognized by the Canadian Dam Association as the recipient of the 2023 Corporate Award.

This award recognizes organizations who advance the state of practice, exemplify innovation and leadership, demonstrate international cooperation and provide other contributions that benefit the dam industry at large.

We are proud to be a champion for the Canadian dam industry as a whole and to pursue excellence in every project we do and relationship we build.

Our team accepted the award at the CDA Honors and Awards Gala at the Annual CDA Conference and Tradeshow in Winnipeg.

We’re excited to announce that KGS Group has won an Award of Excellence at the 2023 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards for the Caribou Falls Block Dam 2 Reconstruction Project!

Dami Adedapo, Jon Friesen and Kelly Fordyce from KGS Group and Jeff Myllyaho, Kris Chartrand and Darryl Flank from Ontario Power Generation accepted the award at the CCEA Gala in Ottawa. These awards are presented by the Canadian Consulting Engineer and Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Canada.

The Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards are the industry’s highest honour and are presented to projects that showcase incredible engineering feats and accomplishments. These awards recognize projects that demonstrate how consulting engineering firms use ingenuity and innovation to connect communities, grow the economy and improve safety and sustainability.

A big congratulations to everyone involved in the project!

The Caribou Falls Block Dam 2 Reconstruction Project

Ontario Power Generation retained KGS Group to design and supervise the reconstruction of the Caribou Falls Generating Station Block Dam 2 which sustained unexpected slope movements after 60 years of operation. Advanced techniques, innovative materials and sound engineering judgement were applied to design and construct a new earthfill dam. The design integrated constructability, risk mitigation and schedule saving strategies at the planning level. The dam and generation capacity were restored within budget and schedule, while preserving the pristine natural surroundings.

To learn more about the project, click here.

To learn more about the award, click here.

We are proud to announce that Dr. Hongwei Liu, Geotechnical E.I.T. at KGS Group, has been awarded an Honourable Mention for the 2023 R.M. Quigley Award, for his paper published in the Canadian Geotechnical Journal: Experimental investigation and numerical modeling of piezoelectric bender element motion and wave propagation analysis in soils. The paper was co-authored with Dr. Giovanni Cascante, University of Waterloo, Dr. Pooneh Maghoul, Polytechnique Montréal, and Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, University of Manitoba.

The R.M. Quigley Award is given out each year, as well as three honourable mention awards, to the best paper published in Canadian Geotechnical Journal. Bob Quigley was one of the leading geotechnical engineers in Canada and one of the founders of the discipline of geoenvironmental engineering. His high research standards were reflected in his winning of the Canadian Geotechnical Society’s best CGJ paper award in 1980 and 1993, and the award was then named in his honour.

The 2023 awards were presented at the Canadian Geotechnical Society’s Annual Conference – GeoSaskatoon Awards Banquet.

A big congratulations to Hongwei and all of the co-authors!

We are excited to announce that Bonnie Hoffensetz has been appointed Department Head of our Winnipeg environmental group.

Bonnie joined KGS Group as an Environmental Scientist in 1999, shortly after completing her B.Sc. in environmental sciences at the University of Manitoba. During her long tenure with KGS Group, Bonnie has advanced to become a Senior Project Manager, an Assistant Department Head and Associate Principal. She has shown tremendous growth to become a strong leader with excellent communication skills, technical proficiency and sound judgement. Bonnie also has a fearlessness in taking on challenging situations and demanding workloads.

Over the years, Bonnie has built strong relationships with many of our clients, focusing largely on contaminated sites with some involvement in nearly all the disciplines of environmental work we do at KGS. She also completed a Master of Science degree in environment and management from Royal Roads University in 2011.

Please join us in congratulating Bonnie!

International Women in Engineering Day is about celebrating the amazing work that women engineers around the world are doing to support lives and livelihoods every day. Today, we are recognizing the inspiring and talented women working at KGS Group who are helping build towards a brighter future.

KGS is committed to supporting Engineers Canada’s goal of having 30% of newly licensed engineers be female by 2030. To help reach this goal, the Women of KGS Committee was started in 2019 to support the community of women we have through professional development and networking opportunities. In addition to this, over 40% of our new hires in 2023, to date, are female-identifying, reinforcing our commitment to support and foster the growth of female engineers.

Meet some of the inspiring women we have at KGS and learn about their perspectives on the industry.

Nicole Mills P.Eng., Municipal Engineer, Saskatoon

Nicole has been working in the industry for over 16 years in the civil and land development fields. She has enjoyed a variety of work throughout her career from industrial water management projects and municipal engineering for communities to asset condition assessments and management systems.

At KGS, she works on larger municipal infrastructure projects for institutional clients and municipalities. Read below how she is helping to build towards a brighter future for women in engineering.

“I feel we all have a responsibility to lead by example. I hope that I can provide mentorship to young women in the industry. I enjoy working with young people to determine a career path that suits them, understanding that not everyone’s career goals are the same.”

Kathryn Black P.Eng., LPEI, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Regina

After graduating as one of five women in a class of 85 from the University of Saskatchewan, Kathryn was ready for a career of firsts as a mechanical engineer. At her first job, she was one of the first women to work on a mixed crew, holding positions from operations engineer to safety engineer. She was also the first woman boiler and pressure vessel inspector for the Government of Saskatchewan. With over 20 years of experience, she is passionate about seeing more woman in engineering and has worked with a lot of talented and capable female engineers.

Kathryn joined KGS in April and supports the Mechanical Group with proposals, designs, project work and business opportunities. She shares below what career advice she would give her younger self.

“Enjoy it and be the biggest sponge you can be, because the knowledge and skillset of the people around you are huge assets for your future. Never be too busy to take the time to build relationships, both career-wise and personally.”

Bianca Sharpe, Structural E.I.T., Vancouver

After graduating from the Civil Engineering Program at the University of Manitoba, she joined KGS Group as a Structural Engineer-in-Training and currently works in the Hydrotechnical Group. Her experience includes structural assessments of hydraulic structures, stability analyses and design of water retaining structures and dam safety reviews.

Below she shares what change she is still hoping to see in the industry.

“As more women choose to pursue degrees and enter the field, my hope is that this trend continues and that there will be more female leaders and mentors. I personally find it very inspiring to see a woman who is very dedicated to pursuing excellence in the engineering field.”

Kripa Mary Jose, Electrical E.I.T., Mississauga

Kripa is an electrical and computer engineering graduate specializing in power systems. Her research during her master’s degree focused on cybersecurity of substation automation systems and power quality. She also worked as a teaching assistant during the program and has previously worked as an electrical designer for conveyor system solutions in the manufacturing industry.

She joined KGS Group in May and spends her days working on specifications, transformer sizing calculations and drawings. Kripa shares her perspective on what change she has seen in the industry towards women.

“The industry has come a long way in supporting women and giving them equal opportunities. I’ve seen organizations step up with scholarships and cool groups like the Women of KGS Committee to help women engineers grow and succeed. As an electrical engineer myself, I’ve felt welcomed and even encouraged to go on site visits for hands-on learning. It’s awesome to see positive changes happening!”

We are excited to welcome Amy Deakyne and Samantha Faddis to the KGS Group U.S. team as we expand into California. We are growing our U.S. team to continue providing industry-leading service to clients in the hydropower and water resource sectors.

Amy has over 17 years of experience and has joined KGS as Regional Director Hydro Structures and Dams. She specializes in structural engineering and project management of water conveyance structures, spillways, tunnels, bridges, buildings and hydraulic structures. Amy is excited to support the opening of our new office in California, and looks forward to connecting with clients, new and old.

Samantha has over 11 years of experience and has joined KGS as Structural Design Lead. She specializes in water and wastewater infrastructure, water conveyance structures and industrial facilities. Samantha will be overseeing our structural team in California and supporting business development opportunities in the western United States.

Please join us in welcoming Amy and Samantha to KGS!

KGS Group won four Awards of Excellence at the annual Association of Consulting Engineering Companies Manitoba (ACEC-MB) Awards! Most notably, the New Museum Building for the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada project won the prestigious Keystone Award, which is presented to the firm that achieves the highest score of all projects and is deemed the best overall project.

KGS is honoured to have been recognized for the work done on these four projects. Congratulations to the teams who worked on these projects in all capacities, roles and responsibilities.

Read more about each of the projects and the work our team did below.

New Museum Building for the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada

Award of Excellence and KEYSTONE AWARD (Building Engineering Category)

The new Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is a world-class, state-of-the-art facility destined to become a signature attraction. At 86,000 square feet, the facility contains more than 20 aircraft, six of which are suspended, 14 galleries, meeting rooms, classrooms, a gift shop and an observation lounge that overlooks active runways.

A multidisciplinary team collaborated to achieve the complex requirements of the museum building and to bring interactive galleries to life, showcasing impressive aircraft displays. KGS Group experts designed an energy efficient facility that targets LEED silver certification and demonstrates a 39.1% annual energy savings in the final energy model.

Lafleche Dam Low Level Outlet Conduit Remediation Project

Award of Excellence (Municipal & Water Technology Category)

The Lafleche Dam in southwestern Saskatchewan was originally constructed in 1958. The dam’s reservoir (Thomson Lake) is used for municipal water supply, irrigation and recreation. The dam offers flood protection, and its low-level outlet (LLO) conduit is needed for reservoir management and riparian flow passage.

In 2018, an inspection of the conduit revealed severe deterioration of the pipe which presented a significant dam safety risk due to internal erosion. KGS developed a solution using an array of innovative conduit replacement and rehabilitation methods, including trenchless technologies coupled with state-of-the-art instrumentation to monitor the dam during critical high risk construction stages.

Pauingassi First Nation Landfill Expansion Project

Award of Excellence (Environmental Category)

The Pauingassi First Nation Landfill Expansion Project created a new integrated resource management centre for this remote community. Success was achieved even though the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021 forest fires impacted the schedule. An innovative design overcame challenging site conditions, integrated community requests, preserved local heritage resources and Traditional Land Use Areas, and mitigated existing environmental impacts.

The result is a practical, environmentally sound, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing waste management facility that also addresses waste diversion. This project is a model for successful collaboration between Indigenous communities, contractors, consulting companies and government agencies.

Fort Severn Winter Road Relocation Study

Award of Excellence (Transportation Category)

Winter roads are lifelines for remote northern communities. Climate change has severely reduced the serviceability and sustainability of the Fort Severn winter road that was constructed through organic terrain and lakes. Alternative winter road route options were developed with the community by using climate sensitive routing and construction strategies optimized through geotechnical investigations and a helicopter reconnaissance program. 

The study developed a plan for a climate-resilient winter road network that will enable vital access to the community despite the challenges of climate change. This new approach to winter roads considers environmentally and culturally sensitive areas while setting the community up for future all-season access.

We are proud to announce we are a sponsor of the 2023 Archaeological Society of Alberta and Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Joint Annual Conference and Gathering, on April 27-30, 2023 in Bodo, AB. Kristian Sullivan and Graeme Revering will be representing KGS Group.

This annual event brings together archaeological heritage professionals, avocational archaeologists and students to share current research, ideas, information and experiences.

Graeme will be presenting A Survey Reconnaissance of Eagle Creek: Identifying Place through the Archaeological Record. This study was focused on understanding the use and significance of the Stranraer Terrace, a large geographical landmark located along Eagle Creek in mid-western Saskatchewan.

For more information on the conference, visit: https://bodoarchaeology.com/2023-asa-sas-joint-annual-conference/