Home renovation and outdoor adventurists can get excited as the return of Truro’s favourite kickoff to spring event is opening this weekend! The 2024 Truro Home and Outdoors Show powered by Nova Scotia Power will move into the Rath Eastlink Community Centre for 3-days of inspiration and deals, April 26-28. “This is an event that the community already knows and loves.” said Sean Miller, Show Manager. “We can’t wait to welcome back all of our incredible exhibitors and see what they’re bringing to the show floor this year.” Visitors can take advantage of the FREE seminar stage with presentation f ..read more

There are over 20 rental shops within a 30-minute drive of Coquitlam, B.C. Into that competitive market, Kerry McIntyre opened Iron Mountain Equipment rentals in 2007. A recent story sums up why he had great success from the start. It was early October 2023. As Iron Mountain general manager, Dylan Silvestri, explains, all Iron Mountain customers have his and McIntyre’s cell numbers. The time was 2 a.m. “A watermain crew in Vancouver was doing a night shift and they’d been using one of our compressors,” says Silvestri. “It was a new compressor and they called about an issue with it not being po ..read more

Our cover story this month is about autonomous compaction technology, which mostly concerns asphalt and trench rollers because they seem to be the closest to reality. When and if all the bugs are ironed out and the cost is reasonable, we should be able to rent our customers a roller that does the job itself without an operator dedicated to it. That’s a pretty sweet savings for a contractor, and a homeowner or farmer would get a better job done than they can do themselves.  That’s the promise of AI as applied to construction equipment. There are other applications related to collecting dat ..read more

Self-operating vehicles and construction equipment seems like one of those technologies that is always 10 years away. Ten years ago, it looked like by now we’d all be taking a nap on the way to the office while our automated Tesla did the driving.  Instead, at the last ConExpo where Tesla was supposed to be showing off its self-driving technology to ferry people through Elon Musk’s tunnel under the convention centre, the cars still had drivers.  That didn’t stop the exhibitors at ConExpo from leaning hard into automated versions of their equipment. Excavators, loaders, skid steers, g ..read more

Gas-like powermilwaukeetool.caThe Milwaukee MX Fuel 20-inch plate compactor is engineered for maximum productivity and reliability in compaction tasks. With its gas engine-like power and fast travel speed, it hits harder and travels faster without compromising compaction, covering 5,000 square feet per battery charge in just 35 minutes. Say goodbye to gas headaches with push-button operation, zero emissions for indoor and trench compaction and no priming or choking. Users enjoy greater control with forward and reverse compaction, accessible push-button controls and a slow speed setting for pre ..read more

Let’s talk trade shows! I am a true believer that trade shows can not only help you find new leads and close more business but also check out what the competition is doing. I know of several companies that only do trade shows to find new business and they’ve been successful for many years. I highly recommend them as a way to build your rental business, but you need to do them right. Here are some dos and don’ts. 1) Pre-order carpet, tables or any other decor way ahead of time if you are renting them. Show decorators charge a different price if you order something on-site as they have to have e ..read more

Personal protective eye equipment is arguably the most misused and ignored safety precaution on construction sites from coast to coast. In my experience, there wouldn’t be much of an argument. Eye protection is probably one of my favorite topics, simply because it’s an opportunity share some valuable information. Let’s get into it: eye protection types, eye protection uses and all things eye protection. The most common error workers have when it comes to eye PPE is just not wearing any. The purpose of eye safety protection is to prevent injuries from a variety of injury sources and often unant ..read more

When we think of training, we automatically think of training our staff. You can’t train your customers because they are always right…right? In fact, we should also be thinking of training existing and potential customers to optimize the experience for both the customer and the company. Some areas we may want to focus on developing with the customers are how to properly and efficiently place orders; best practices for accurate orders and transactions; setting clear expectations regarding communication on both sides; and how to use equipment properly and safely. It may seem intimidating to “tra ..read more

You may or may not have noticed, but there is a lot of chatter happening these days about the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).  Dubbed “forever chemicals” for being nearly indestructible, this family of thousands of synthetic chemicals can be found in an abundance of products, including many that our industry interacts with on a regular basis. Why does that matter? It’s because there are many legislative and regulatory changes being brought forth to restrict the use of these chemicals in the future due to potential health risks they pose. PFAS reporting requirements are ..read more

The WSIB has longstanding experience adjudicating claims for work-related cancers and other occupational diseases and helping those people and families affected. In 2023 alone, the WSIB approved over 23,000 occupational disease claims* and provided $79.5 million in benefits and supports to those affected. Of these, 329 claims were for work-related cancers, making up $32.7 million of the benefits paid – almost half of the total paid for all occupational disease claims.   To continue to help even more people with work-related cancer, the WSIB needs them to be aware that their illness may ha ..read more