Short answer: a vending machine for a construction site makes sense on a large, long build: a crew of 25 or more, working for many months, with trailers and power. In BC that's mostly mid-rise and high-rise residential, hospitals, schools and big industrial buildings. From January to September 2026, Vancouver issued 56 new-building permits worth $5 million or more and Surrey issued 30, together about $6.1 billion of construction. A drink-and-snack machine by the site trailers serves the crew at breaks and before the first shift, when nothing nearby is open.
This report is for general contractors, site superintendents and developers in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. It's built on the two cities' open permit data and WorkSafeBC's rules for construction sites.
How many big builds there are
| New-building permits, Jan–Sep 2026 | Vancouver | Surrey |
|---|---|---|
| All new-building permits | 709 | 728 |
| $1M–$5M | 176 | 184 |
| $5M or more ("large") | 56 | 30 |
| …of which $20M or more | 39 | 20 |
| …of which $50M or more | 27 | 9 |
| Combined value of large permits | $3.30 billion | $2.81 billion |
| Median value of a large permit | $42.7M | $24.9M |
Construction values as stated on each permit. Source: City of Vancouver and City of Surrey issued building permits, extract 2026-10-12. VendFynd analysis.
Most new-building permits are houses, suites, duplexes and townhouses under $1 million (477 in Vancouver, 514 in Surrey): too small and too short for a machine. The large ones are where crews stay for a long time.
Vancouver is ahead of last year. From January to September 2025, the City issued 929 new-building permits, 49 of them worth $5 million or more ($2.25 billion). The same months of 2026 brought fewer permits (709) but more large ones (56, $3.30 billion).
What the large builds are
| Large permits ($5M+), Jan–Sep 2026 | Permits | Combined value |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | ||
| Apartments and mixed-use residential | 39 | $2,461.1M |
| Hospital and care facilities | 6 | $374.4M |
| Schools | 3 | $129.0M |
| Industrial | 2 | $84.0M |
| Offices | 3 | $45.3M |
| Other (a hotel, a community centre, a utility building) | 3 | $210.1M |
| Surrey | ||
| Apartments (2,528 units) | 18 | $861.0M |
| Warehouses | 7 | $126.7M |
| Offices | 2 | $36.6M |
| Hospital | 1 | $1,700.4M |
| Student residence | 1 | $80.2M |
| Daycare | 1 | $5.3M |
Surrey's figure is dominated by one hospital permit of about $1.7 billion. Leave it out and Surrey's other 29 large permits total about $1.11 billion, more than three-quarters of it apartments.
How long these builds run isn't in the permit data, but government project announcements give a sense of it: the Province's release for UBC's 1,508-bed student housing project put construction start at fall 2026 and phased openings from fall 2028 to fall 2029. Multi-year jobs like that are the ones worth equipping.
What BC's rules say about site amenities
- Big sites have their own washroom rules. Since October 1, 2024, WorkSafeBC's regulation defines a "specified construction site" as one where "25 or more workers will be present at any time during the undertaking of the construction project" (s.20.3.1). There, the employer must provide enough flush toilets (or chemical toilets if flush ones aren't practicable), enclosed, lit, ventilated, heated where practicable, with handwashing and cleaning records (s.20.3.2). On a multiple-employer site, those duties also apply to the prime contractor.
- Eating areas only in some cases. Under s.4.84, the employer must provide an area suitable for storing and eating food only where food could become unwholesome because of workplace contaminants, or where eating is restricted at the workplace.
- Keep site structures out of the drop zone. Temporary washrooms, offices "and similar structures" must sit outside areas where falling materials could hit them, or under protective canopies (s.20.9). A vending machine belongs with the trailers, not by the hoist.
- Meal breaks, not meals. The Employment Standards Act requires an employer to ensure "no employee works more than 5 consecutive hours without a meal break" of at least half an hour (s.32). Nothing requires food on site, which is the gap a machine fills, especially on early starts.
Setting one up on a site
- Size it to the peak crew. 25 workers is the line WorkSafeBC draws for a big site; a machine starts to make sense from about there, rising with the trades on site. Our site-fit scorer gives a quick read.
- Put it in or beside the lunchroom trailer, on a level base, sheltered from rain and outside any falling-material zone. Check the door and route: a full-size machine is 72 inches tall and weighs roughly 490–690 lb (space and power checklist, door-fit checker).
- Power: a standard grounded outlet on the trailer's supply. A refrigerated drink machine uses about 3.7–4.0 kWh a day (power cost calculator).
- Card readers need signal. Most crews pay by card or phone; check cell coverage at the trailer. For cash versus card, see does card-only lose customers.
- Match the agreement to the job. A build ends, so month-to-month terms with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal matter more here than anywhere. With VendFynd that's standard. Compare offers with the agreement checklist.
The same logic as our warehouse shift-work guide applies: long days, fixed breaks, nothing open nearby. A machine is $0 to the contractor: the operator covers the machine, delivery, stocking, service and removal, and you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power). See if your site qualifies.
About this data
- Datasets: City of Vancouver issued building permits and City of Surrey issued building permits, extracted 2026-10-12. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver and the Open Government Licence – Surrey.
- Method: permits for new buildings only (Vancouver "New Building", Surrey "New"), issued January 1 to September 30, 2026; Surrey's open dataset starts January 5, 2026, so there's no Surrey 2025 comparison. Values are construction values stated on permits. Use groups come from each permit's use fields; a mixed-use permit is grouped by its main use.
- Limits: a permit isn't a start date, and permits don't state crew sizes or durations. Alterations and renovations aren't counted. No builder or project is named.
Sources
- City of Vancouver, Issued building permits: https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/issued-building-permits/
- City of Surrey, Issued Building Permits: https://opendata-surrey.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/surrey::issued-building-permits
- WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 20: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/law-policy/occupational-health-safety/searchable-ohs-regulation/ohs-regulation/part-20-construction-excavation-and-demolition
- WorkSafeBC, OHS Regulation Part 4: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/law-policy/occupational-health-safety/searchable-ohs-regulation/ohs-regulation/part-04-general-conditions
- BC Employment Standards Act: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96113_01
- BC Government, UBC student housing release (2024-08-20): https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024PSFS0036-001343
- Open Government Licence – Vancouver: https://opendata.vancouver.ca/pages/licence/
All accessed 2026-10-12.