Keep reading to check out some of our recent milestones.

We are now a Living Wage member

Did you know that RJS is proud to be a member of Living Wage for Families BC?

As a certified Living Wage Employer, we ensure that each employee within our business is paid a living wage.

It’s important to recognize that more and more British Columbians work in low-wage jobs that do not pay enough to live on. A living wage calls on employers to meet a higher standard for both staff and major contractors, to ensure that wages reflect the true costs of living in a community.

As a business, we always look back towards our four core values as a guide. Out of the four, family and accountability are the two that have been a prominent theme that drive our business.

We like to view every person within our company as family and hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that each employee is supported so they are able to support their own families.

RJS expands into the education sector

This year, our team has worked hard to expand our range of projects and grow our business’ portfolio by working in different sectors within BC. We’re proud to say that education is now becoming a prominent piece within our portfolio. 

Do you live in Coquitlam? You might have caught a glimpse of our work while dropping off the kids. Currently, we are in the midst of an exciting expansion project for Panorama Heights elementary school. Once complete, four new additional classrooms will be ready to support the students. 

University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) has been another big part of RJS the past few years as one of our first projects within the education sector. Our recent projects included renovations to the Baker building and adding updates to some of the offices. Heading into the new year, we’ll be at the Abbotsford campus working in their Food and Agriculture Institute. 

Building a brighter future for our communities

As a member of our local communities, we want to hold ourselves accountable by doing our due diligence to help those needing support. We hope to make a positive difference in people’s lives and communities through building safe, affordable, and quality housing. 

Cougar Creek and Jennings Place are the two exciting projects that we have been working on as one of the trusted contractors for BC Housing. Once complete these two sites will provide affordable housing to those within our community. 

In the upcoming months, we’ll begin a new project for BC Housing at the American Hotel. This Downtown Eastside building will provide services to those who have been living in supportive housing and are ready to take the next step toward independent living.

Helping our local small businesses

As you have probably already seen, many businesses have struggled to stay afloat due to COVID-19 in the past year. However, with things slowly opening up, we’ve been hard at work to help local small businesses like Co-Brokr Mortgage, Enterprise, Toro Aluminum, and Belpar prepare for a post-COVID world.

For our Co-Brokr Mortgage site, we are moving through our routine inspections to start off the project. Getting the lay of the land is crucial before starting work on any building. It provides the team with an overview of what and how to tackle the project. In our next few phases, we’ll begin tearing down some of the structural components of the ceiling and eventually turning this space into the perfect office. 

Nothing says a fresh start like the beginning of a demolition.

Our team getaway at the lake

Last but not least, we wanted to take a moment to mention some team updates. At the end of September, our team had the opportunity to go on a fishing trip to Pinantan Lake Resort. 

It was a beautiful weekend with lots of laughs, fishing, and great views! 

We’re grateful to have this opportunity to not only catch the rare sunny weather, but have this time to be together again after so long. As a close knit team, we view ourselves like a family and it was a wonderful experience being able to catch up on each other’s lives. 

In the past year, COVID-19 has made it difficult for team bonding due to social distancing and limited indoor capacities. However, as things slowly open up, we hope to bring back more of our annual fishing trips to celebrate our team and all their hard work.

What’s next for RJS?

When one door closes, another opens. 

Our business is constantly expanding and growing as we take on new challenges. This year, we  wanted to hold ourselves accountable by helping our local community and this was reflected in all our projects. 

We’re already looking toward the future and are excited to see what 2022 has to offer.

Want to keep up to date with the projects mentioned in our blog? Give our social media a follow on our Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. 

Despite a few roadblocks, we at RJS Construction are extremely grateful to have been able to power through this rollercoaster year. Behind our fearless leader, Ryan Steward, we’ve fortunately been able to stay on schedule with new and ongoing projects due to his commitment to stay up-to-date with new COVID-19 protocols and prioritize the safety of our team and all workers on site and in the office.

As 2020 comes to an end, let’s take a look at some of our most memorable moments from this year.

1. Annual Winter Summit

After winning the Leader of the Year award in 2019 for outstanding leadership achievement, Ryan was invited to the annual Winter Summit in January to speak on a panel of small business owners. This two-day event, hosted by Breakthrough Academy, brought together hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs from across the province to speak about their experiences growing their business. Amid a weekend of snowmobiles, bob-sled races, and team-building exercises, Ryan took this great opportunity to exchange valuable advice with other small business owners and apply new strategies towards our growth here at RJS Construction.

2. University of the Fraser Valley Projects

We crossed quite a few things off the list with our University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) building renewal projects! Still ongoing, we’ve been busy updating their Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses with new department wings, student spaces, and renovations to increase the on-campus experience for all UFV students, staff, and faculty. Throughout the year, we’ve completed updates to the Criminology Department and constructed a new test kitchen for the Stó:lō Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Department (SASET).

The new culinary space, located inside the Trades and Technology Centre, is part of a new culinary arts program at UFV and even made it into the local paper! Read more from the Chilliwack Progress.

3. Cougar Creek – Red Door Housing Project

On the residential side, we started a major project in December 2019 with the Red Door Housing Society’s Cougar Creek neighbourhood in Surrey, where we will be doing a complete envelope remediation, remodelling, and both exterior and interior upgrades. This 45-unit complex provides fully subsidized housing to families, and we’ve been working extra hard to welcome these families back home to newly renovated and updated homes as soon as possible. Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, several units are close to completion as we keep on schedule into the new year.

4. End of Summer Team BBQ

It wasn’t our usual team getaway, but we still got to enjoy each other’s company at our Team BBQ! Taking advantage of the warm weather, we got together – at a safe, respectable distance – to hold a team social at our homebase in Surrey. Great food, warm weather, and some trash talk was definitely involved as a little competitive badminton broke out in the parking lot!

As we enter another round of social restrictions in BC, we’re grateful to be able to look back at these wonderful highlights spent with our team here at RJS Construction. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff, we’ve been able to keep everyone safe during this pandemic while abiding to the social restrictions put in place.

2020 wouldn’t have been possible without the support and dedication of every single member of the RJS family. 

Whatever 2021 throws at us, we’ll be ready.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to stay updated on our current and upcoming projects.

Now that summer is in full swing, BC construction companies are getting ready for a busy summer season. At this time, we have a number of projects we will be working on for the next few months. We’re, without a doubt, excited to share with you what’s coming down the pipeline.

That being said, this year has been a unique and challenging one for many. We had to delay a number of projects as the world fell into a COVID-19 freeze. Thankfully, construction in BC is considered essential work, and that allowed us to continue on many existing sites. However, it wasn’t business as usual, and to remain accountable to our staff and community, we carefully implemented the safety protocols of the Canadian Construction Association and the Government of BC. Overall, we’re proud to say that with the precautions we put in place, not a single staff or contractor on RJS was infected with the coronavirus. And we remain firm with sanitization and social distancing guidelines in order to keep it that way. 

Even with hurdles to leap over, this year we’ve broken ground with new construction projects happening around BC’s lower mainland.

In our last blog about our plans for 2020, we talked about construction on a number of buildings that would help the community expand on educational services, co-op housing and waste management treatment facilities. We are proud to say some of these are completed, including:

• Aevitas Waste Management Site in Maple Ridge 
• Trades and Technology Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
• Culinary Arts Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
• Criminology Department of the University of the Fraser Valley
• Enterprise car rental YVR
• Belpar loading dock

Now, coming up this summer, we have five more projects all being done in and around the city of Surrey. We’re definitely excited to assist in the growth and prosperity of our beloved community. Due to the fact that many of us on our team live and work in Surrey, and we know how much is offered to families here. We want to help keep the city vibrant with new work opportunities and new services and resources, which is why we’re so passionate about building in new innovative and sustainable measures. 

Thirstfirst Coffee Solutions in Surrey

We couldn’t start our list of summer projects without a little dose of caffeine.

Thirstfirst is a locally-roasted coffee wholesaler that’s proudly BC made. We began the tendering process of this project in late March and early April. We started with our plans for the location and put scaffolding up in May. We’re looking forward to breaking ground and setting up a roasting facility, right here in Surrey! 

This project is bringing in a lot of talents from local BC construction workers, contractors, and designers. We have Century Mechanical helping us with our machinery and we’ve included a local interior designer, Cassie Bowman Interior Design, to polish the finishing touches once the rough edges are sanded down. 

We keep updates of our projects during our tendering and construction process found on our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Watch how this project unfolds over the next few months. 

Gateway Pet Memorial in Surrey

Pet lovers will understand how important pets are to the family. It’s a huge loss in companionship when we lose our furry friends. Family-first is one of our values at RJS. Similarly, the pets we bring into our homes definitely become part of our family fabric we create.

Therefore, that’s why it’s meaningful to build a place for pet owners to honour the loss of their loved ones and give them a final resting place. We’re meeting up with the city of Surrey to begin our tendering stage of building Gateway Pet Memorial in Surrey and updates on our social media will be coming soon.  

Toro Aluminum in Coquitlam 

Toro Aluminum is a window and wall supplier for high-rise condominiums, office buildings, and hotels, across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In January, we began tendering their project of building them their newly renovated office space in Port Coquitlam. Now we’re ready to actually break ground on this project for the summer. 

To help with the drawings of the renovation plan, we’re partnering with Igel Architecture Ltd, a Vancouver-based architecture firm. 

Enterprise Car Rental in Tsawwassen Mills

If you’ve ever been to the Tsawwassen ferries, then you know how busy it can get. We’re trying to help commuters by building an Enterprise Car Rental in the Tsawwassen Mills Mall. This is a big project that we started in early June. We’ve gutted the interior of the site to make room for a full-scale renovation. We’ve managed to install plumbing in the first week of June, all with the help of PriceWise Plumbing and Mechanical. This project is going to be exciting and dynamic as it requires lots of moving parts to work, without a doubt, we’re stoked to get to be a part of it. 

Modu-Loc Office in Port Coquitlam

Modu-Loc provides efficient and effective fencing for companies anywhere in the lower mainland of BC. Many BC construction companies depend on Modu-Loc to make sure that their sites remain safe and secure when it’s not being used. Additionally, if you’ve kept up with us in the past, then you’ll know we’ve worked with Modu-Loc fence rental plenty of times. What better way to pay it forward than to help them with their own office space?

The past few months have been busy on the Modu-loc construction site. In May we installed windows thanks to Oasis Window. Now we are working on completing the structural columns and beams as well as working on finishing up electrical by end of week. 

Midway in June and there’s more to do

We’re at the midpoint of the year and there’s a lot to reflect on. What we’ve realized is that completion of our goals is not a 100-meter sprint, but rather a relay. We organize work for many small businesses and contractors in BC’s construction industry as part of a broader community of subcontractors and tradespeople.  Without everyone working in sync and passing the baton forward, we couldn’t have even made it to the half-way point of this year. For that, we thank everyone involved.  

We still have 5 more projects to add to our roster this year. BC Construction is booming now and in six months from now, we’ll have more to look back on and learn from.  More importantly, we’ll know we worked hard to make this year a successful one, even with the restrictions and uncertainties.

Want to know more about our upcoming projects? Follow us on our Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. 

May 22, 2020

Two months into the pandemic and RJS Constructions is still committed to the highest level of safety for our contractors on site.

With BC starting phase two of its careful restart plan, BC’s updated Public Health Act has given RJS new safety protocols to follow.

These construction protocols for phase two include:

• No more than 50 people on the same site in any circumstance.
• Where possible employees should maintain a distance of 2 metres apart from each other.
• Post signage that limits the number of occupants in any elevator to four people at a time.
• Reduce in-person meetings and other gatherings and hold site meetings in open spaces or outside.
• Increase the number of handwashing stations and post signage that identifies their location.
• Maintain a list of employees that are currently working on sites and update this list daily.
• All common areas and surfaces should be cleaned at the end of each day. Examples include washrooms, shared offices, common tables, desks, light switches, and door handles.
• Anyone with COVID-19 like symptoms such as sore throat, fever, sneezing, or coughing must self-isolate at home for 14 days.

At RJS Constructions, we work hard and tirelessly to get the job done while still adhering to the protocols and advice given to us by medical and safety professionals. As we move forward into helping restart and rebuild our economy, we look forward to doing our part in keeping contractors, and the people who get to enjoy the projects we create, safe during these unprecedented times.

March 19, 2020

Our concern for the health of our clients, employees, families and community is paramount at RJS Construction Ltd. As we continue to monitor the evolving risk of COVID-19, we are taking measures recommended by the World Health Organization, Public Health Agency of Canada and all other government agencies to help reduce the risk of transmission.

Preventative Measures

It is our expectation that any employee and trade staff that have been outside Canada or exposed to anyone who has travelled outside of Canada since the restriction on travel was imposed, stay home for fourteen (14) days from the date of the return or the date of contact of the person returning. Employees of RJS Construction or any trade employees who have been exposed to or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 will not be permitted to work on any RJS job site until the individual has been confirmed to be symptom-free which is normally demonstrated as a period of fourteen (14 ) days.

Any employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4 F [37.8 C] or greater), signs of fever and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom altering symptoms (i.e. cough, suppressants). It is recommended that employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e. cough, shortness of breath) upon arrival to work or become sick during the day should be separated from other employees and sent home
immediately.
All employees should cover their noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing (or into an elbow if no tissue is available). Employees should practice good hand hygiene by washing their hands fully and often, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Or use a hand sanitizer that
contains at least 60-95% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

We will continue to update our policies and procedures in accordance to any recommendations by the health authorities and government agencies as the situation develops.

106-18635 52nd Ave, Surrey BC, V3S 8E5
info@rjs-construction.ca 604-576-6166

RJS Construction Site Spread Prevention

• Speak to all your Sub trades to space them out so people are not working in the same space at the
  same time.
• Avoid physical contact. Stay a minimum of 6’ away from other individuals
• Use cell phones for communication even onsite so that min. distances can be maintained.
• Don’t share tools
• Don’t exchange anything by hand
• Avoid touching your face
• Use approved cleaning methods on items that have been passed between individuals

Government Resources Links
BC Center for Disease control

http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19utm_campaign=20200311_GCPE_AM_COVID_2_NOTIFICATION_BCGOV_BCGOV_EN_BC__NOTIFICATION
Federal Government- Information on preventing the spread

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/public-health-measures-mitigate-covid-19.html

Federal Government – Support for Canadians

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/canadas-covid-19-economic-response-plan-support-for-canadians-and-businesses.html#Support_for_Canadians

Best Regards,

Management
RJS Construction Ltd.

A month into 2020 and RJS has new projects to share, a new plan, along with the same teamwork and values you can rely on. 

In our last blog we talked about the projects we did in 2019 and the massive growth we were expecting this year with new projects and expansions. We want to share a couple of projects that we’ve been working on this past month. We also want to share our experience at this year’s Winter Summit at the Breakthrough Academy and what it taught us about teamwork. 

Without the committed team we have at RJS, going fearlessly toward the future couldn’t be possible. 

New Portfolios for 2020

We’re excited to announce that we have eleven new portfolios coming up this year! One of the major projects we began this month is the 45 unit townhouse owned by Cougar Creek, Red Door Housing Society  and BC Housing in Surrey. We’re doing a complete envelope remediation as well as re-piping, re-modelling and upgrades. Visit our social media regularly to see project updates. 

One of the portfolios we’ll be working on is the pet crematory at Gateway Pet Memorial. We understand how emotional it can be to say goodbye to our little furry friends, and it’s why we feel this is a much-needed service that gives families the best in pet aftercare. 

Another portfolio we’re happy to announce is the expansion of the office and warehouse of Thirst First Coffee in Surrey, BC. We know how much people love their coffee in BC, so we’re excited that Thirst First will be starting their own roasting site, right here in Surrey. 

Both Gateway and Thirst First will begin their permit process in May. You’ll notice that a lot of our projects this year are happening in Surrey. We’re very proud of the fact that more and more people look to Surrey for growth and opportunity, and we’re honoured to be supporting that growth with the best quality construction possible.

Winter Summit and Moving Forward in 2020

As we explained in our last blog, this year we will be increasing our company’s growth by 60%. But the question of how we move forward with that growth is one we’ve been navigating through.

We began to get our answers when we recently took part in the Winter Summit organized by Breakthrough Academy January 9th-11th. The summit brought together many of our peers and trades professionals to discuss strategy and growth using the BTA Management System. During the summit, our founder, Ryan Steward, was invited to speak on a panel where they discussed:  

• How to strategize a plan and move fast. 
• How to quickly implement that plan.
• The value of good teamwork.

At the summit, Ryan also heard from Brian Scudamore, founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK and Breakthrough Academy’s keynote speaker, who spoke about vision and teamwork. Brian said that at one point in 1997 he understood that in order for his company to grow, he needed a team that shared his same vision. So, he hired new staff committed to wanting to grow with the company and see it succeed. He even changed his tagline to one that would reflect his culture of his team: It’s All About People. Now, since 1998, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? has made over $105 million in revenue and is found in 150 countries. Brian said he attributes this success to a focused and valued team. 

The winter summit was a great opportunity for RJS Construction to network with other peers and strategize our plans for the future. After the summit, Ryan recognized now was the time to meet with the rest of his team and understand what they saw for themselves and for RJS in the next five years. He held a company-wide meeting to ask them what they thought.

How RJS values teamwork to move forward as a whole

A main theme at the meeting was how to keep good communication going among our team. In the last few months we’ve hired new employees and accepted new opportunities, and of course this new growth brings on it’s own set of challenges. We discussed how to revamp our Goal Setting Review meetings with each employee by making them more efficient and consistent. We also discussed having regular company wide meetings in order to become more transparent as a company. 

Another theme was continuing our company culture. RJS takes pride in every team member and we treat each other like family. Our staff explained this is a big reason why they stay with us and hope to continue these team outings as we grow larger. We agreed to budget for quarterly fun events organized by a different team member each time. We agreed this a great way to build morale and share in a little friendly competition on who can organize the best event. 

No matter how much we grow, RJS is a company that values everyone’s role on the team. We frequently host company wide fishing trips and camping trips to bond our staff together, and we’ll continue those traditions throughout the next five years. We do this because, as Brian Scudamore said, we can’t move forward into the future without our team looking in the same direction. 

At RJS It’s About the People

We feel confident about the future thanks in part to the winter summit, our new portfolios and our team vision. We are excited by the prospect of success in 2020 and we feel we have the right tools to see RJS thrive in the next 5 years.

When everyone looks forward in the same direction, then the sky’s the limit.

Read on to learn what contracts were most memorable for us this year, what our highlights included and which value we take most to heart.

Memorable Portfolios of 2019

Our Aevitas and BC Housing contracts were two huge sources of pride for our entire team this year. Our hard work paid off and thanks to our growing reputation within Metro Surrey, we were pre-selected for RFPs with Coquitlam & Surrey Schools, UFV and YVR Airport. 

We were deeply satisfied with the work completed on commercial projects like Shaughnessy Station, Cloverdale Curling Rink, and University of the Fraser Valley.

Our residential projects also increased this year, thanks to referrals from our fantastic clients. Small businesses like ours rely on referrals and it warms our hearts to know our clients recommend us to their friends and family.

You might notice that a great many of our 2019 contracts were for medium to larger organizations. We’re happy to say that this year we gained the trust of crown corporations and it led us to branching out into institutional contracts.

Awards and Recognition

In June, after months of meetings and quite a large presentation, we were selected as a contractor for the YVR Vancouver Airport. We’re looking forward to showing how we can help our local airport grow, based on mutual values and quality standards of our company.

We also attended the 2019 Construction Leadership Forum in Whistler, BC, last May. We came back with some amazing new insights and inspiration to help grow our business!

And, last February, we celebrated the success of our President Ryan Steward, who was featured in an edition of Renovation Contractor Magazine. Ryan was also awarded Leader of the Year Award from Breakthrough Academy for outstanding leadership achievement. Go Ryan!

Internal Development and Team Building

One of our core values is “family first.” This doesn’t mean just our families at home, but our work family too. As our business grows, it becomes more important to us in providing internal development opportunities and team building events for our staff. 

One of our recent staff outings was a fishing trip! Our staff were able to relax and let loose at Pinantan Lake Resort near Kamloops. It was a fantastic weekend of fishing, bonfires, some great poker games, and even a few beers! Our whole team looks forward to this annual trip each year.

We promise to continue these retreats and events as we move into the new year.

What We Have in Store for 2020

We’re on track to grow our business by 40% in 2020 but we couldn’t have done it all without your help. Word of mouth is a cornerstone to how we grew our business and we’re humbled by your support when you keep us in mind for referrals.

Going into 2020, our tight-knit team is dedicated to providing quality and integrity, good customer service and exceptional craftsmanship. Our office staff will be on the other end of the phone when you need them. Our on-site project managers and site superintendents will continue to be honest, respectful, accountable, and help you with all your renovation or construction needs. 

From our family to yours we wish you a very happy holiday season and a prosperous start to 2020!