Pomerleau wins Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award

Canadian construction company’s use of integrated advanced technologies accelerates project construction timelines by 33%.

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Esri User Conference—July 17, 2025—Esri Canada congratulates Pomerleau, one of Canada’s largest construction companies, for being recognized with the prestigious Esri Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award. Pomerleau was selected from thousands of Esri customer organizations worldwide for their innovative use of geographic information system (GIS) technology, integrated with building information modelling (BIM) and Internet of things (IoT) technologies, for the “Ciment Québec” project—which was completed 33% faster than planned.

“Bringing together GIS, BIM and IoT has allowed Pomerleau to reap valuable benefits and accelerate their construction projects,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “By harmonizing these advanced technologies, they have set a new benchmark in the construction industry and demonstrated how technology can optimize resource management, streamline operations and improve project outcomes.”

“Innovation is a key value of Pomerleau,” said Fernando Valdivieso, innovation director - Operation APEX and Civil & Infrastructure, Pomerleau. “We strive to deliver projects using alternative delivery methods that set new standards for our team and the building, infrastructure and civil engineering industry as a whole. We’re honoured that our efforts have been recognized by Esri. Combining BIM models with the powerful real-time location intelligence from GIS has transformed our process into a data-driven one, accelerating construction timelines, mitigating operational risks for our customers and improving situational awareness and decision-making capabilities for the site construction team.” 

The Ciment Québec project involved building a new concrete-crushing centre with seven 45-metre storage silos using slip-forming construction, where concrete was poured continuously to form the structure, over a planned period of nine consecutive days. Numerous steel plates and structural openings had to be placed precisely, requiring real-time monitoring of operations and round-the-clock coordination among 120 workers operating in 12-hour shifts. Any errors could have led to rework, resulting in substantial delays and additional costs.

To ensure everyone was on the same page, Pomerleau integrated digital BIM models of the new centre with location-based data in Esri’s ArcGIS technology, creating a dynamic digital twin of the construction process. This allowed for centimetre-level positioning accuracy and real-time visibility into the project's progress. Critical data was shared instantaneously with site personnel through mobile applications, ensuring accurate positioning of steel plates and openings, and facilitating timely work.

Pomerleau also used ArcGIS GeoEvent Server technology to tap into data streamed from IoT sensors attached to the slip form to record critical data, including position, orientation, elevation and temperature of the concrete—enabling real-time structural quality monitoring and precise concrete-curing processes. Custom GIS dashboards enhanced communication and coordination among team members and stakeholders, providing a comprehensive view of every storage silo’s construction progress.

“The GIS, BIM and IoT integration allowed us to improve process automation, reduce error rates and shorten construction timelines for the Ciment Québec project by 33%,” noted Mr. Valdivieso. “In fact, construction time for one of the storage silos was reduced from nine days to six. We look forward to applying this integrated digital construction management process and replicating this success in our future projects.”

Watch this short video on Pomerleau’s winning project:

See Pomerleau at the Esri Canada User Conference in Toronto on November 3-4, 2025. Register today

About Pomerleau
Pomerleau is one of Canada's largest construction companies, with approximately $6 billion in revenues. It delivers buildings, civil engineering works, and major infrastructure projects using collaborative models. With its research and development lab, Pomerleau integrates innovation in a vast majority of its projects and works in a sustainable way to build the living environments of tomorrow. Its subsidiary Borea executes close to 50% of the country's renewable construction projects, and its subsidiary ITC Construction Group is one of the largest residential construction companies in the West. Its investment arm, Pomerleau Capital, specializes in private infrastructure investment and financing. Founded almost 60 years ago, Pomerleau has over 5,000 employees and workers at over 200 sites from coast to coast. The company has been named among Canada's Top 100 Employers since 2020.
www.pomerleau.ca.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government, and education to make informed and timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions enable organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Esri Canada’s products and services help advance successful digital transformation. The company serves more than 14,000 organizations from 13 offices across Canada and is based in Toronto. Esri Canada has been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 13 consecutive years. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Pomerleau
Jean-Vincent Lacroix, (514) 531-1632
jeanvincent.lacroix@pomerleau.ca

Esri Canada
Joy Chan
press@esri.ca

From left: Esri Canada President Alex Miller with Rosemarie Francoeur, GIS Analyst and Anthony Le Guen, GIS Manager from Pomerleau; and Guillaume Pelud, Esri Canada Québec Region Director