Life is a Highway - OSCO Construction Group

Transcription

spring & summer 2010
The biannual newsmagazine of the OSCO Construction Group
Life is a
Highway:
OSCO
construction
group
Profile on
Transportation
Projects
Picadilly Potash Mine • Bayers Road Parking Garage • P3 Schools
• Irving Refinery • Engineering Spotlight • 2010 OSCOR Nominees
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pg.8
pg.16
pg.21
What’s Inside...
what we do
24
Pouring it On: Ready-Mix Update
ummerside Seawall Repair; Summerside Waste Treatment; Crandall
S
University
3
4
Message from the President
Life is a Highway - Transportation Profile
25
Irving Oil Refinery Dehexanizer
Marque Industrial performs Electrical and Instrumentation installation
Fairview Overpass; Larry Uteck Boulevard Interchange; One Mile Interchange; Princess Margaret Bridge
26
York Miscellaneous Metals Division Updates
8
Picadilly Potash
Ocean Steel calls on all three plants for Sussex, NB project
10
135 North Street
FCC Civil; Strescon Precast; Ocean Steel; and FCC Electrical team up on
Bridgewater, NS office building
how we do it
27
Group Safety News
28
Engineering Spotlight
East Saint John Terminal Dock
Steel Division Engineers; UNB Engineering Tour; Stantec Tour
OSCO Group team effort helps bring together Canaport project
30
25 Year Club Dinner
13
Garden Stone Place
OSCO Group inducts largest group ever to long-service club
Strescon provides architectural precast for mixed-use development
31
OSCORS:
Bayers Road Parking Garage
OSCO Group celebrates its employees with recognition dinner
12
14
who we are
Strescon precast helps Halifax developer solve parking issues
16
Projects in the Precast Pipeline
Strescon Pipe offers complete package to Twin Brooks subdivision;
Strescon Pipe provides stormwater solution to new Costco
32
Helping Hands:
18
Customer Profile: Bird Construction
32
Haiti Relief: $9883.50 in combined employee/corporate donations
19
Two Green P3 Schools for NB
32
The Give
Strescon precast helps Rexton and Moncton schools achieve LEED
certification
20
All Wired Up: FCC Electrical & Com Cabling Updates
33
33
Throwing a Lifeline: Ocean Steel employee saves coworker’s life
Take Our Kids to Work Day
Acadia Broadcasting; MSD Sand & Gravel Plant; Canada Post
34
Curling Bonspiel
20
Marque Industrial Project Updates:
East Saint John Marine Terminal; Irving Oil Refinery; Irving Pulp & Paper; Irving Paper; Lake Utipia Paper; Potash Mine
34
Coming Events
34
Irving Hockey League: FCC Chiefs take championship
21
Martins Point
Strescon design-builds garage underneath Portland, ME health center
35
Strescon Ski Night
22
Rebar Update
Eastern Wastewater Treatment Facility; NBCC Allied Health Center; CFB
Gagetown tunnels; misc projects
35
35
36
Fresh Faces
Congratulations
Our Locations
on the cover...
OSCO Concrete’s Nova Scotia plants pump
ready-mix for the Fairview Overpass project
in Bedford, NS.
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spring & summer 2010
OSCO Group community contributions
OSCO
construction
group
CONNECTIONS is the biannual magazine of the OSCO
Construction Group, published every Spring and Fall to share
news and information with our valued customers & employees
Comments and submissions are greatly appreciated and may be sent
to the editor: Tammy Legacy, c/o OSCO Construction Group • 400
Chesley Drive, Saint John, NB • Canada • E2K 5L6 • email: legacy.tammy@
oceansteel.com
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Message from the President
Today’s reality is that our customers expect us
to perform to a higher standard than ever before.
This is not unique to our construction group; nor
to our industry. As individual consumers we expect
this same high standard no matter what we buy.
Just ask Toyota if they would like to have a “doover” on how they handled their recent vehicle
problems! Like our customers, we all have expectations with respect to pricing, use of our time and
quality. Given that one of our CORE VALUES is to
FOCUS ON OUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS, we understand the importance of maintaining loyal and
repeat customers.
At the same time, we have to respect the
hazardous environment in which we work relative
to most other industries. Construction projects by
their nature involve assembling a large workforce of
individuals, who in many cases have never worked
together before. These trades people perform several simultaneous tasks using products which can
cause severe personal injury or property damage if
mishandled or improperly installed.
For this reason, it’s important that we all clearly
understand what choices to make in dealing with
the overlapping requests of the Group and our customers.
Usually there are four competing areas that employees are often asked to prioritize: safety, quality,
schedule and cost. Although it can be difficult to
have to pick one over the other, the wrong choice
can lead to unintended consequences; both for the
Group and our customer.
To ensure that we always follow the right path,
I want to make it clear that in all circumstances we
should prioritize our work as follows:
1st – Health & Safety: Never endanger yourself,
any other employee nor any other parties
under any circumstance
specified so that quality is never compromised!
We take great pride in doing a quality job.
3rd – S
chedule: We work very hard keep our
promised delivery dates; but never at the
expense of taking safety shortcuts or doing a
poor-quality job.
4th – Costs: We all have cost budgets to meet;
but our budgets are meant to allow for our
employees to perform their work in a safe
manner, in a 1st class fashion and within the
scheduled time frame as agreed to.
The above priorities are extremely important to
remember when performing any activities for the
Group. Sometimes we may lose our focus while trying to save some money or to speed up our performance. This thinking if at the expense of safety and/
or quality is not in keeping with how we want to run
our businesses. We must never compromise on this
principle no matter who is demanding that you do
so. You can quote me personally on that one!!
Eastern Canada continues to be an active and
relatively healthy market whereas the east coast of
the USA is still experiencing severe difficulty. Jobs
are few and far between, mostly in the public sector
using stimulus funding, with contractors fiercely
chasing market share by underbidding each other.
We remain fortunate that our reliance on the United
States has diminished to the point that we can withstand this upheaval for some period of time. We’re
looking forward to better days in late-2011 to reenter the American market. In the meantime, we’ll
stay focused on the work we have and look forward
to more opportunities in the future.
Sometimes we
may lose our
focus while
trying to save
some money or
to speed up our
performance.
This thinking, if
at the expense
of safety and/
or quality, is not
in keeping with
how we want
to run our
businesses.
Hans O. Klohn
President, OSCO Construction Group
2nd – Quality: Do the work as designed and/or
www.oscoconstructiongroup.com
CONNECTIONS • Spring & Summer 2010
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SECTOR
TRANSPORTATION
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Life is a
Highway
with contributions from:
ANDREW LEVATTE
TRACY DOBSON
DAVE DUNNETT
& GRANT MAXWELL
Strescon Precast & OSCO Concrete
FAIRVIEW OVERPASS
Strescon Limited and OSCO Concrete contribute to the
refurbishment of the Fairview Overpass in Halifax, NS
The Fairview overpass is part of the busy Bedford, Nova
Scotia Highway on which thousands of people travel to and
from work daily. Soon after the much publicized 2006 collapse
of a Montreal bridge, the Nova Scotia Department of
Transportation (NSDOT) did a survey of all their bridges in Nova Scotia to see if any were similar in design
(cantilevered abutment). It was determined that the
older section of the Fairview overpass was indeed
similar, so NSDOT quickly came up with a plan to
replace the bridge and YMCL Engineering was hired
to come up with a design for the new structure.
There were many issues for Tom Mosher and
his team at YMCL to deal with during the design phase.
Height restrictions became one of the main issues, so they had
to use a precast section that would meet all their needs. The
new overpass design consisted of three spans arching over
Joseph Howe Drive and railway tracks.
OSCO CONCRETE - COLUMNS
The Fairview Overpass project required 1500m3 of High
Performance Concrete Mix (HPC) and needed to be completed
between January 5, 2010 and April 1, 2010. The HPC requires
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the use of non-reactive stone (approximately 1600T) which
was supplied by OSCO Aggregates and Tercem3000 cement.
The first stage of the project required OSCO Concrete to
supply ready-mix concrete to footings in -15C temperatures.
Drivers and batchers were challenged to keep the temperature
of the concrete within the correct range to ensure proper set
times, strength gain and code compliance. The largest single
pour was 208m3 for the columns that would support the girders.
STRESCON PRECAST - BOX GIRDERS
Strescon’s Bedford plant supplied the thirty-six prestressed
box girders with post tensioning ducts that were required to
support the deck structure of the Fairview Overpass. The box
girders were 33” high by 48” wide with lengths of 68’, 78’ and
84’ long and used 45 MPa HPC mix; which is standard for all
new bridges being designed for NSDOT.
Girder production began on December 8, 2009 and was
completed on February 5, 2010. Due to traffic restrictions, delivery could only be done between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm during
the weekdays and anytime during the weekends. The first round
of deliveries started on March 1st, 2010 and by 3 pm on March
2nd, twenty-one girders were loaded, shipped and placed. As
Joseph Howe Drive had to be closed down in order for the
cranes to place the center span and the remaining part of the
first span, the remaining fifteen girders were loaded, shipped
and placed in less than eight hours on Saturday March 6, 2010.
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OSCO CONCRETE - BRIDGE DECK
The bridge deck was scheduled to be poured early on the
morning of March 24, however due to high winds and a bright
sunny day the pour had to be delayed until 3:00 pm and was
not completed until 10:30 pm. This helped to prevent shrinkage cracking in the surface of the fresh concrete, due to the
sun exposure and high winds. The deck required 181m3 of
HPC concrete and was placed using OSCO’s concrete pumps,
the 52 meter long boom pump at one end of the bridge and
the 36 meter long boom pump at the other. The bridge is
expected to open mid April.
Larry Uteck Boulevard
Interchange
Bedford, Nova Scotia has experienced spectacular growth
over the past few years. Between the continued growth of
Hemlock Ravine Sub division and development of The Parks
of West Bedford - a the new residential/business district, the
Bedford highway has to accommodate an ever-increasing traffic flow. To help relieve some of the congestion it was decided
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that a new overpass was needed to reduce the traffic on the
existing infrastructure and divert it to Route 102 - the Bicentennial Highway.
CBCL Limited along with Harbourside Engineering was
hired by NSDOT to design the solution - 102 Exit 2B - Larry
Uteck Boulevard Interchange, located between Kearney Lake
Road and Hammonds Plains Road, Halifax County, NS. The
new interchange connects Larry Uteck Boulevard with Highway 102. The plan also includes a multi-use trail to provide pedestrians and cyclists a safe and convenient
crossing of the Bicentennial Highway.
PRECAST CONCRETE
Strescon’s Bedford plant supplied sixteen
prestressed, New England Bulb Tee girders (NEBT)
girders for the two spans over Highway 102. The 90’
long, 1400mm deep girders were produced with a 55
MPa High Performance Concrete Mix for Dexter Construction and the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and
Infrastructure Renewal.
Strescon started production on December 1st, 2009 and
finished on January 18th, 2010. Delivery started on February 4th,
continued next pg...
Take on Transportation Projects
Photos this page: Fairview Overpass
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Larry Uteck Interchange
... continued from previous pg
2010 with twelve girders being loaded, shipped and placed
in less than eight hours. Due to lack of daylight hours, the
remaining four girders were placed on the following day.
READY-MIX CONCRETE
OSCO Concrete was contracted to pour concrete for
the Larry Uteck Overpass, which required a total of 1500
meters of ready-mix. Pouring began October 2009. All the
concrete supplied was High Performance Concrete (HPC).
The speciality cement powder - TERCEM3000, was a blend
of Type 10 cement, Slag, and Silica Fume, which was supplied by Lafarge Canada.
The entire project is expected to be completed by the
fall of 2010.
ONE MILE INTERCHANGE
One Mile Interchange
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The sight of cranes on the Saint John, NB skyline has
become a common sight, as work continues on the One
Mile House Interchange. Construction of the One Mile
House Interchange represents an estimated total investment
of $65 million, including related costs - a joint effort of the
governments of Canada and New Brunswick who are working together to improve transportation infrastructure across
the province.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in the spring of
2009, consisting of grading road work and soil stabilization
valued at more than $3.7 million. Phase 2 began in the fall
of 2009, and includes a 600-metre structure and associated
ramps and roadways that will connect Route 1 to Bayside
Drive, and cross the CN rail yard, Marsh Creek and Rothesay Avenue. Fundy Contractors Ltd. of St. George was the
selected bidder to build the viaduct substructure for the
project, with the work valued at more than $31.5 million.
The entire project is expected to be complete by the fall of
2012.
SECTOR profilE: TRANSPORTATION
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READY-MIX CONCRETE
Princess Margaret Bridge
Strescon Ready-Mix’s Saint John Plant has been supplying
Fundy Contractors with a special mix for the One Mile Interchange, alongside Valley Concrete (owned by Fundy Contractors). The pours have been extremely large, so 2 plants are
needed to keep a continuous round the clock flow. The first
The Princess Margaret Bridge is a 2-lane highway bridge
crossing the St. John River at Fredericton, New Brunswick,
named after HM Queen Elizabeth II’s sister. Opened in 1959
as part of a Route 2 Trans-Canada Highway bypass project
around Fredericton, the bridge now carries Route 8, the prima-
Lavalin has chosen Strescon to produce and deliver approximately 250 pieces of
full-width deck sections, with a contract value of almost $5 million.
pour was completed on March 10 - 11th and ran for
about 30 hours. The pour consisted of about 1800
cubic metres, with Strescon supplying 700 metres.
The challenge was to keep other customers supplied, as well as keeping drivers fresh. The drivers
worked 12 hour shifts until the job was done.
A second pour took place the following week,
consisting of approximately 1200 cubic metres over a
21 hour period. A third pour is expected to happen sometime in
April or May, which will be in the 2800 cubic metre size.
PRECAST PIPE PRODUCTS
Subsurface work is also needed on a job of this size, especially since it is being constructed basically inside the city with
all the normal underground infrastructure that entails. Before
work could be started on the abutments and building the
ramps, the underground piping had to be moved and modified. Galbraith construction undertook this work in 2008 with
supply from Strescon Concrete Pipe Division of 76 pieces of
18” (450mm) concrete pipe and 20 manhole structures in sizes
of 42” (1050mm) to 48” (1200mm) for both sanitary and storm.
When the current phase of the work started, Strescon supplied storm catch basins and manholes to pick up the storm
drainage, to Fundy contractor on the Rothesay Avenue end
of the project, as well as storm pipe and manhole T-bases to
Debly on the route 1 end of the work.
Safety is always a major issue on any size piece of work
but on something this large with the quantity of vehicles and
speeds traveled, concrete barriers were needed to keep the
workers safe. Fundy Contractors purchased over 100 M-6
median barriers from Strescon’s Concrete Pipe Division to enclose the site from passing traffic. Debly Enterprises have also
purchased 30 concrete barriers to delineate traffic.
ry Fredericton-Miramichi highway. The steel truss structured
bridge measures 1075 m (0.7 mile) in length, with a clearance
of 25.6 m (85 ft) in the center.
There has been a lot of public concern in recent years as
to the safety of the bridge. Due to its age and condition, its
weight limits had to be reduced from 62,500 kg to 43,500 kg
in November 2009.
This past February, the NB Government announced that
SNC Lavalin had been awarded a $77.3 million contract to
refurbish the bridge. SNC-Lavalin Construction’s mandate will
include removal and replacement of the bridge deck and floor
beams, replacement of the bridge guardrail, concrete removal,
capping of the bridge piers and abutments, painting, and upgrading and refurbishment of the structural steel work.
With the deck deteriorating rapidly and weight restrictions
in place, the schedule is of great importance. SNC Lavalin began
work this spring and will be phasing the project over two construction seasons, with an expected completion date of December 2011. During the 2010 season, the bridge will be closed to
traffic beginning June 19th and reopening on August 8th.
PRECAST CONCRETE
Lavalin has chosen Strescon to produce and deliver approximately 250 pieces of full-width deck sections, with a
contract value of almost $5 million.
Strescon has ordered three new steel forms to produce
the required shapes and meet the schedule. Typical units
weigh approximately 57,000 lbs, with some special units hitting
100,00 lbs. The units will be poured inside Strescon’s Saint
John, NB shop to ensure quality control and curing time lines
are met. The units will then be shipped to the site, where they
will be erected and post-tensioned in longitudinal sections
along the bridge spans to produce a new high-performance
concrete deck which will extend the life of the bridge for many
years to come.
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Picadilly Potash
Ocean Steel calls on all
three plants for Sussex,
NB project
contributed by BERNIE BLAKELY,
JEFF KEITH & JASON PRESLEY
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Salt Storage on the left & Wet Mill Phase 1 on the right
The Picadilly Potash Mine Project has continued to be the driving force
in the Steel Sector. This project has fed all three of our steel plants
throughout the end of 2009, and will continue to do so well into the
foreseeable future of 2010.
A
s with most multi-thousand ton,
heavy industrial projects, circumstances can sometimes change
fairly quickly. Ocean Steel has shown its
strengths in adapting to these changes
by working closely with AMEC to consistently provide an on-time, quality product. All three of our fabrication plants,
as well as our in-house Engineering, and
Detailing Departments have contributed
greatly to the success of this project.
Our Paint Shops have also done a great
job in keeping up with the three-coat
paint system required.
Wet Mill Building
Erection of Phase 1 of the Wet Mill
Building began on November 30th,
2009. This portion of the building will be
a Storage Area for tailings (materials left
over after the raw ore is processed). This
phase of the Wet Mill Building required
2250 tons of structural steel & 83,000
square feet of roof decking.
In this structure there are 42 shop
welded trusses made from WF shapes.
Fourteen of the trusses are 110’ long
weighing 16 tons each. These trusses
were shipped in 2 pieces and assembled
on site. The 66’ long trusses at 8 tons
each and the 88’ long trusses at 14
tons each were shipped to the site as
one piece. This project was detailed
in-house, fabricated in all three plants
(Saint John, NB; Fredericton, NB; and
Conklin, NY) and is being erected by
Ocean Steel’s Erection division.
Phase 2 of the Wet Mill Building is
expected to begin in the summer of
2010. This Phase will consist of a 3000
ton Grinding, Flotation and Regrinding
Area and a 705 ton Reagent and Electrical Area.
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these groups was just one of the many
challenges faced by Ocean Steel in bringing these two head frames to completion. Both of the head frames towers not
only had to be supplied with structural
steel that was required for the future
permanent mining operation, but the
structural frame also had to incorporate
steel items which would be used during
the two year long shaft sinking phase.
Some of the permanent steel which has
been designed and detailed cannot even
be installed until after the sinking phase is
complete and the mine shafts are ready
to be set up for their permanent daily
processes. It has been a real team effort
with steel fabrication being provided by
all three of our fabrication shops.
The fabrication of this steel, especially the steel items required for the shaft
sinking phase, has been challenging.
Taking on this work meant the fabrication
and supply of many miscellaneous items
such as fully assembled dump doors,
backsplashes, machined lifting plates
and lugs, rubber isolators, chutes, bins,
hinged stairs, etc. All of this specialized
work required a lot of coordination, not
only from a fabrication point of view, but
also in coordination of details for shop
drawings and material procurement.
Erection of these projects has been
shared between the Ocean Steel and
MQM erection crews. Ocean Steel’s ironworkers installed steel for the Collar and
Sub Collar levels, while MQM’s ironworkers erected the exterior buildings and
steel within the head frame towers. The
The erection of steel within the two towers has been
especially complex, as the crane operator has had to
operate blindly while flying steel down into the 300 ft
high concrete towers.
Headframes
Ocean has supplied over 2,400 tons
of structural steel, 37,000 lbs of metal
decking, and 1,400 FRP stair treads for
the Service and Production head frame
complexes. Each head frame complex is
made up of several buildings outside of
the concrete head frame tower, as well as
structural steel and miscellaneous items
(chutes, gates, sheaves supports, etc)
within the tower.
Structural steel for these structures
was designed by multiple structural engineering groups. The interface between
erection of steel within the two towers
has been especially complex, as the crane
operator has had to operate blindly while
flying steel down into the 300 ft high
concrete towers. The toughest erection
is yet to come as both towers are fit with
a steel framed enclosure which sits upon
the top of the head frame concrete wall.
Detailing services for these projects
has been completed by various companies including our own Ocean Steel
detailing office, ProDraft, Trusquin and
MQM. Design and detailing of the leave
out steel is still ongoing.
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BRIAN MATTHEWS
& ANDREW LEVATTE
contributed by
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FCC
Construction is currently
working with Tom Johnson
Architects, assisted by Fundy Engineering and MCW Maricor to design and
construct a new 20,000 square feet, two
storey office building for Commercial
Properties Limited. Located at 135 North
Street, Bridgewater, NS,
Construction Management
FCC’s Project Manager for the
building is Brian Matthews, while
on-site work has been overseen by
FCC Superintendent Dan Griffin.
The base building consists of a
steel frame, clad with architectural
precast concrete panels. The concrete panels will be complimented by
glazed aluminum curtain walling, providing the overall finished appearance.
The project scope also includes: new
entrance roads; parking lots; retaining
walls; and new landscaping to match
the existing surroundings. Building
construction and fit-out projects are
currently ongoing and FCC is looking
to complete the project by June 2010.
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North
Street
Architectural Precast
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distinctive image.
The use of architectural precast concrete also offers years of maintenance
free operation. Quality precast concrete,
produced and erected under stringent quality controls, effectively resists
corrosion and damage and retains its
good looks for years with no significant
staining, discolouration or surface decay.
Required maintenance is low - saving the
owners significant money and inconvenience over the life of the structure.
Structural Steel
Ocean Steel fabricated and erected
the steel on this project under steel
Project Manager, Theresa Leblanc. In
total, OSCO supplied 86 tons of Structural Steel; 225 squares of metal deck;
and 20 tons of joists. Erection was completed in the Fall of 2009.
Electrical
FCC Electrical is currently working
on the base building electrical contract
for the Bridgewater office. This electrical project involved the installation of
a new 600amp, 600volt main power
service entrance, four separate tenant
utility metering units, exterior parking lot
lighting, new interior power distribution
system, base building interior lighting,
exit lighting, and power for all mechani-
Strescon’s Bedford, NS plant supplied unique Architectural Precast wall
cladding on this project. The developer wanted the new office building to
blend into local surroundings,
which is mainly traditional brick This project is a prime illustration of
construction, so Strescon used
the diverse architectural effects that
rubberized brick formliners to
create a base master-mold.
precast concrete can provide.
From this mold, 12 foot wide
precast wall panels were produced with
cal systems. FCC supervisor Rick Heththe impression of brick. The 57 panels
erington, site foreman Delbert Noble
(approximately 13,000 square feet) will
and their team of electricians have been
be stained on site, making the panels
working diligently towards the scheduled completion date.
virtually indistinguishable from real brick.
This project is a prime illustration
The ground floor (10,000 square
of the diverse architectural effects that
feet) will be occupied by Canada Post
precast concrete can provide. Rich
and used as the main sorting office for
aggregates, decorative shapes, reveals,
the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The
attractive stone, masonry veneers
space will also include a retail outlet
and now formliner treatments can all
which will serve as the main Post Office
be employed to express a wealth of
for the town of Bridgewater.
architectural detail in virtually any finish
The first floor of the building (5000
or texture. Precast concrete is not only
square feet) is to be occupied by Acadia
compatible with all structural systems,
Broadcasting, known locally as CKBW
it can be designed to harmonize with
radio serving the South Shore. The reand complement all other materials.
mainder of the space is to be let to a yet
Designs can range from historical to
unidentified tenant.
contemporary and project a strong,
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East Saint John Terminal Dock
OSCO Group Team Effort Helps Bring Together Canaport Project
contributed by
T
he landscape has changed drastically
in recent months at the Canaport East
Saint John Terminal Dock in Saint John,
NB, where new substation and pumphouse
buildings have been erected on the property owned by Irving Oil. The buildings
were completed under the management and supervision of FCC Construction, who began work on the structures
in October of 2009. Other OSCO Group
team members participated in the project as
well, including: Strescon, who provided the precast
concrete panels; Ocean Steel, who
fabricated and erected the
structural steel; OSCO Rebar; and OSCO Concrete,
whose Strescon-SJ plant
provided the ready-mix.
Substantial Completion of the project was on Feb
26th, 2010. FCC’s Project Manager for the project was Luke
Johnson, while Dick Babcock
served as Site Superintendent.
These structures have
been built as part of a larger
modernization project on the
East Saint John Terminal. The
modernization includes
construction of a new terminal building, installation
of a new vapour reduction
system and expansion of
fire fighting capabilities.
LUKE JOHNSON
building design
Both the substation
and pumphouse are of
similar construction. The
buildings are mounted on
concrete foundations and
consist of structural steel
frames supporting concrete precast panels on the
bottom two thirds of the
building exterior. The upper
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portion of the building exterior consists of aluminum louvers and insulated sheet metal liner panels.
The roof consists of a steel deck and a modified
bituminous roofing assembly with stucco covering
the roof curbs and soffits. These buildings are not
only architectural unique but will prove to be highly
functional and durable additions to the Canaport
East Saint John Terminal Dock.
SUBSTATION
The Electrical Substation was built to house
the switch gear , motor control center, variable
frequency drives and other electrical equipment
for a new Vapour Recovery Unit (VRU) adjacent
to the building. The VRU will connect directly to
the gas tanks on docked tanker ships and draw
gas fumes out of the tank to prevent them from
entering the surrounding air. The fumes will then
be filtered and the filtered material will be added
to the refinery process.
PUMPHOUSE
The second building is a Fire Water Pumphouse
to supplement the existing fire fighting capabilities
on the East Saint John Terminal Dock. The pumphouse will house pumps and other equipment. It
will also link to an adjacent product tank that has
been remediated to provide fire water storage.
PRECAST
Strescon Precast’s Saint John plant supplied 23
insulated precast panels for the projects, including 12 panels (1,320 sq.ft.) for the pump-house and
11 panels (1,320 sq.ft.) for the substation. Due to
excessively busy schedules for Strescon’s erectors,
weekend erection was required for this project,
which took place on Saturday Nov 21st, 2009. The
precast Project Manager was Brendan Clancy.
STRUCTURAL STEEL
Ocean Steel’s Saint John plant provided 34
tons of Structural Steel and 34 squares of deck,
which was erected in November, 2009. Steel Project Manager was Jill Layton.
REBAR
OSCO Rebar supplied & installed of 7.1 Tons
of rebar for the structures.
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G
arden Stone Place is a seven-storey, mixed-use, commercial/retail/residential development located in the Hydrostone District; a Canadian National Historic Site. The project
is located on the Southwest corner of Kaye and Isleville Streets, in
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The building will include 9000 sqft of retail space on the
ground floor and 10,000 sqft of commercial on the second floor.
The five level 30-unit residential apartment complex is located
above the retail and commercial floors, set back approximately 15
feet, to provide a landscaped open space and leisure areas for the
residents. The new development also houses two levels of underground parking, accommodating approximately 50 vehicles.
Michael Napier, Architect for the project, noted the articulation
of the narrow shop fronts with protection from the elements. The
large areas of glass and frequent entries at grade, all form the basis
of a pedestrian oriented commercial environment. The zero lot-line
setback on Kaye Street corresponds to the traditional retail street
found at the Hydrostone Market.
The exterior building material for the two-storey commercial
base is masonry, while the residential tower is clad with Architectural Precast concrete, combined with metal panels and fibre cement siding encompassing the balconies.
The Architectural Precast concrete adds class and dignity to
the residential tower. The addition of a cornice feature, combined
with a horizontal band at the seventh floor, adds interest to the
building, while providing style and grace to the overall complex.
Each apartment unit will have either a full balcony, a french balcony, or a terrace, with metal rails articulating the residential façade.
Strescon Limited’s Bedford, NS plant supplied approximately
100 architectural precast concrete panels which were installed in
less than six days - WOW that is equal to a floor a day! What other
building material can enclose a building that quick?
Precast Project Manager: Steve MacDonald
Garden Stone Place
contributed by
ANDREW LEVATTE
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Bayers Road Parking Garage
contributed by
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ANDREW LEVATTE
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The Background: One of the main shopping districts in
Halifax in the 1980’s, the Bayers Road Shopping Center once
held 91 stores, along with a cast-in place parking garage. By the
1990’s however, a shift occurred in the way people shopped,
when a newly developed big-box store area became the hot
spot. The Bayers Road Shopping Center declined rapidly and
soon changed ownership. The new owners tried modernizing.
They gave the complex a European flavor and renamed it “The
Village at Bayers Road” but the changes were not enough to
prevent tenants from relocating. To add to the problems, the
cast-in-place parking garage had to be torn down, because the
concrete structure was quickly deteriorating and became a hazard for the general public. This spiraling demise continued until
the early 2000’s when the complex was sold to the Ramia family.
Turning it Around: Everyone who knew the Ramia’s told
them they were crazy for buying the shopping center, but the
Ramias had a vision. Joe, George and family quickly converted
the complex to what it was named - a village. Offices were introduced where stores were once located and the empty spaces
quickly filled up. To keep up with demand, they added a 5-storey
office building in the parking lot. Once the mall’s last anchor
store moved out, the Ramias capitalized on growing demand
and built a modern, 5-storey glass office tower with approximately 275,000 square feet, where Zeller’s once stood.
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tee beams; 6 shearwalls; 16 litewalls; 3 stair panels; and 16 stairs
with landings) was completed as the site work wrapped up.
Erection Challenges: By mid November, Strescon’s
erection crew was mobilizing on site to start installation of the
new parking garage. The garage’s proximity to the high tension
power lines presented a big challenge. Garages are typically
installed with large conventional crawler cranes, but this location required the crane to swing very close to the power lines
to install loadbearing precast components directly underneath.
Chris Greer, Strescon’s Erection Manager, devised a plan to
erect this precast first, with two smaller 66-ton RT hydraulic
cranes, but it would require the power to be shut down for a
week. Numerous meetings between Nova Scotia Power, Rank
Inc and Strescon were required to coordinate. When Project
Manager, J.P Lachance; Bedford Plant Manager, John Fraser;
and Chris Greer; all of Strescon, met one final time with NS
Power to hash out the details, November 12th was finally
agreed as the first day of erection. The first piece of precast
was installed that morning, and two and a half days later, all the
loadbearing precast components under the power lines were
installed so the large 400 ton crawler crane could be moved
into place to erect the main portion of the garage. All 316
pieces of precast were installed in less than four weeks - that’s
an average of more than twenty pieces a day!
T
urning a derelict shopping center into a high-end office complex takes a lot of vision - something the
Ramia family (Rank Inc) has plenty of. Over the past few years, they’ve done just that to the former Bayers
Road Shopping Center in Halifax, NS. This past fall, they took the next step when they hired Strescon’s Halifax
plant to build a new three level Total Precast parking garage to compliment the complex.
Design & Planning: Knowing they would soon need
more parking, George Ramia contacted Strescon about building a
total precast parking garage. After looking at numerous locations
for the garage it was finally agreed to put it near the high-tension
power lines between Petro Canada and the new glass tower.
When the Ramia’s construct a new building they do not
take it lightly. They research every option to make sure they are
building exactly what is required for their needs, with the best
quality materials. Many layouts were looked at for the garage
before a three level, single-helix, two-way traffic design was
picked. The resulting 500 x 117 foot garage would add just over
700 parking stalls - giving them more than 2000 stalls on the
entire site, while allowing for future expansion.
To make sure the design would fit in with their new complex, a 3D model of the site was constructed including the
parking garage, so the whole family could review the proposal.
Architect Noel Fowler went through numerous spandrel designs
before the optimum design was found. With the design finalized,
construction could finally start.
In September 2009, Eisener Contracting broke ground. The
foundation work started soon after, with formwork contractor
Lead Structural Formwork Limited at the helm. Strescon started
construction on the precast components at the same time site
work started. In less than two months, production on the 316
precast components (200 - 10ft double tees; 24 columns; 40
loadbearing spandrels; 9 non-loadbearing spandrels; 4 inverted
The Needs - Why Precast?: The Ramia’s decided on
precast due to a number of factors. They wanted a high quality
garage with little maintenance which could stand up to the
coastal Halifax climate. They also wanted an open garage with
few obstructions, so tenants could feel secure when coming to,
and leaving work. As with all projects, cost was also a factor.
How did PRECAST meet those needs?
Quality & Maintenance: Special high-strength concrete mixes
were used to prevent chloride attack. Pretopped doubletees drastically reduce the maintenance required with site
topped tees or cast-in place garages.
Security: Strescon’s specially designed litewalls and shearwalls
provides many openings through the concrete walls so
there are no blind spots where people can hide.
Cost: The design allowed the spandrel panel height to be
increased, which removed the need for perimeter railings.
Stairwells were also designed inboard of the structure to
reduce the number of pieces.
Everything considered, this garage will have many generations of service life. Strescon has built numerous total precast
parking garages throughout the Maritimes and Eastern U.S., and
even with the Atlantic freeze-thaw cycling, they are still standing tall. A number of them now have over 30 years of service in,
with many years of life left. Why would anyone choose any other
material?
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P I P E D I V I S I O N U P D AT E • Wo r k i n g W i t h C l i e n t s t o P r o v i d e N e w a n d
GRAVITY WALL:
Precast segmental retaining wall components are
stacked to form a facing on
the compacted soil behind
the wall; making them stable
enough to resist any lateral
soil forces due to their mass
and the force of gravity.
MSE WALL: Precast
segmental retaining wall
components are stacked
to form a facing on the
compacted soil, but also
incorporate a geo-grid
anchoring system to develop the soil mass behind
the wall and resist the soil
forces, rather than relying
on gravity alone.
WHICH TO USE?
The height and construction of any wall is influenced by the nature of the
existing foundation soil;
the soil being retained; and
the topography of the site.
When the practical limits of
height for a gravity wall design are reached, it can be
converted to an MSE style
wall. By offering larger precast concrete blocks, higher
walls can be constructed as
gravity style walls without
requiring geo-grid. In some
cases, this assists in pushing the wall closer to the
property limits without the
need to excavate further for
geo-grid installation.
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Projects in the
Precast Pipeline
Strescon Pipe Offers
Complete Package
contributed by
DAVID WEBB
In October 2009, Strescon’s Nova Scotia
Pipe division received an order from ACL
Construction Limited, to supply material on
Twin Brooks Subdivision Phase 3. The project
is a fourteen hectare addition to an existing
development located off Jackladder Drive in
Middle Sackville, N.S.. The order consisted of
supplying precast concrete pipe, manholes,
headwalls and ReCon retaining wall system.
Strescon was selected as supplier, in part, due
to our ability to provide both the concrete
pipe infrastructure, as well as the precast segmental retaining walls for the customer.
The site development plans by KVM Consultants Limited called for thirty-six new precast manhole structures as well as reinforced
concrete pipe, the site conditions also required
four retaining walls be installed. The largest
of the walls was bordering the back edge of
four lots on a cul-de-sac and was planned at
approx 4.5m height. This wall was required to
push the back edge of the lots as close
as possible to the property line in order
to maximize the developable space - a common requirement for clients, to economize
their site development. By planning a wall that
was a combination of straight gravity wall and
MSE wall, Strescon was able to offer an economical solution that met the requirements of
this particular site.
Strescon collaborated with Strum Environmental to prepare the design and detailed
construction drawings for the largest of the
four walls. Shipments began to the site in
November of 2009. ACL Construction crews
worked steadily on construction into December and before Christmas the wall had been
completed. The other three walls, designed
in-house as gravity walls, are slated for installation in Spring 2010 along with the balance of
pipe and manholes. In total, Strescon will be
supplying over 1200 ReCon Blocks - approximately 6500 SF of wall, along with 36 manholes, catch basins and pipe.
By offering a complete package of
infrastructure and drainage products to our
customers, along with innovative designs and
the functionality of a big-block segmental retaining wall system like ReCon, Strescon Pipe
Division was the supplier of choice on this and
future projects.
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Customized Solutions
Storm Water Storage? Call Strescon!
With limited infrastructure in the ground; flooding from
more frequent and heavier storms; land infill programs in municipal areas; higher liability costs of ponds; and more expensive land; the need to take storm water underground is becoming more apparent and prevalent. Once a rare occurence,
underground water storage is now becoming common.
An example of such a system was recently implemented for
the new Costco store In Saint John, NB. The large bulding and
parking lot replaced a formerly grassed and treed area. Natural
surfaces, trees and grass allow water to soak into the ground
and hold it from running off, so their removal result in potential drainage problems. In the city of Saint John, the municipal
“Storm Drainage Design Criteria Manual”, stipulates a zero-net
change in storm water runoff. This means the quantity of the
storm runoff from the site cannot be any worse after development than it was prior to development. There was therefore a
need at the Costco site to store the water and release it slowly.
Stormwater ponds, once the norm for this kind of development, are rapidly falling out of favour. In addition to the obvious loss of land, there is the liability of having open water, the
poor aesthetics of both the fencing and the garbage that gets
trapped; and the eventual maintenance requirements.
contributed by
STEWART TOTTEN
On the Costco site, there was a need to store almost 1000
cubic meters of water. The designers, wanting a proven product
and long term life cycle, chose concrete pipe.
The site services contractor, Debly Enterprises of Saint
John, contracted Strescon to supply: nearly 400 pieces of
1200mm diameter pipe; six concrete T’s; and four 2100mm diameter manholes. Installation started in mid October and lasted
approximately two weeks. Once the initial sections were installed and properly
aligned, installation went very quickly and easily. Installing pipe
in this configuration was the same as any other pipe installation - by placing the gasket on the pipe then homing the pipe
together. Line and grade were constantly checked at each joint
by the use of a laser level. The structures were all pre-benched,
ensuring a smooth flow through the system. Once backfilled
and paved, visitors to Costco will have no idea they are driving
on top of a large pool of water (equivalent to ½ an Olympic size
swimming pool).
The balance of the job included: fourteen storm manholes
ranging in size from 1050 to 1500 mm diameter; twelve 1050
mm sanitary manholes; a Stormceptor STC-4000; and numerous catch basins.
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customer
BIRD CONSTRUCTION
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Bird Construction
contributed by
ANDREW LEVAT TE, STEWART TOT TEN & RENÉ BÉL ANGER
About Bird Construction
A highly respected company operating throughout
Canada, Bird Construction Company is recognized for its
strong commitment to the growth and prosperity of both its
clients and its people. They offer a number of contract delivery
methods to their clients, including: design-build; construction
management; pre-construction services; and public/private
partnerships.
Company History
Bird Construction was founded in 1920 by H.J. Bird as a
small partnership in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Over the past
ninety years, Bird has expanded to include locations in: Calgary
& Edmonton, Alberta; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New
Brunswick; Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; and
Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company recently exceeded annual
billings of one billion dollars.
Long a Western Canadian phenomenon, Bird Construction
entered the Atlantic Canadian market in 2008 with the acquisition of Rideau Construction. Rideau Construction had been
a major player in the construction industry since 1993, when
John Furneaux and Jim Brennan set up shop in Bedford, Nova
Scotia. From day one, Rideau was successful with steady growth
and profitability. In 2003 Rideau Construction of Nova Scotia
and Cardinal Construction of New Brunswick came together as
one of the largest contracting companies in Atlantic Canada.
The new enterprise operated under the Rideau brand until their
acquisition by Bird Construction. Rideau now provides Bird with
strong operations from coast to coast. Operations in Atlantic
Canada currently operate as Bird/Rideau Construction.
Building Relationships
Over the years, members of the OSCO Construction Group
have had the pleasure to work on Bird/Rideau, Rideau and Cardinal
projects both directly as well as indirectly through subcontractors.
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Strescon Pipe:
Strescon’s Pipe
Division normally works
with subcontractors to the
general contractor and as
such, over the years have supplied product over most of the
territory Rideau services. A few New Brunswick projects
include: the St Stephen Border Crossing; the new Kent Store
in Grand Falls; the Walmart in Bathurst; the Miramichi Power Center; the Shoppers Drug Mart in Sussex; St Joseph’s
Hospital in Saint John; and the Home Depot in Fredericton.
Strescon Pipe has also supplied numerous projects in the
Nova Scotia market including: Honda Canada’s regional office and the O’Regans Auto Mall.
OSCO Rebar: OSCO’s Rebar Division has worked on numerous Rideau projects over the years, but a few of the major
projects since the Bird/Rideau partnership include: the
St-Stephen N.B. Border Crossing; Sobey’s Fairville Blvd in
Saint-John; several projects at PCS Picadilly and Penobsquis sites; and the Saint John Law Courts.
Strescon Precast: Strescon’s Precast Division has provided
products to both Rideau and Cardinal
over the years, including: Irving Pulp in
Saint John, NB; Springhill Sewage Treatment Plant in Springhill, NS; UNBSJ’s KC
Irving Hall in Saint John, NB; Woodstock
NB Canadian Tire; and Fredericton Home
Depot. Most recently, Strescon’s Precast
division was contracted by Bird Construction to provide exterior panels for
two new P3 schools located in Moncton
and Rexton, New Brunswick.
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Both schools were erected
at the start of the harsh New
Brunswick winter season.
Rexton was erected in an
astounding eight days, while
Moncton took only slightly
longer, at eleven days,
Two Green P3 Schools for NB
Strescon Precast Panels to Help in Achieving LEED Certification
The Province of New Brunswick
recently entered into a Public-Private
Partnership (P3) to design, build, operate and maintain two new schools,
located in Rexton and Moncton North.
The estimated combined capital cost of
both projects is $40 million. Design and
construction is being managed by Bird
Design-Build Ltd. of Saint John, NB.
The agreement required the sale
of school properties on Ryan Road in
Moncton and Albany Road in Rexton, to
the developer for $1.3 million. Brunswick Learning Centres Inc. will lease
the facilities back to the province for $7
million per year. The lease fee includes
all costs associated with the two facilities, including taxes, energy costs and
maintenance. It is estimated that the
agreement will result in savings to government of about $12 million over the
30-year lease term.
REXTON SCHOOL
The Eleanor W. Graham Middle
School in Rexton will be about 5,574
sq. metres (60,000
sq. feet) in size, and
will accommodate
300 students. It
will include: 13
classrooms; three
resource teaching
rooms; a resource
centre; a music
room; a technology education
room; a science
room; a visual arts
room; a computer
room; a cafeteria and kitchen; and a
native cultural centre. The community
has made a contribution of $100,000
toward construction of a larger gymnasium. The new school is scheduled to
be open for the fall term of the 2010-11
school year.
MONCTON SCHOOL
The new school in Moncton North
will be about 10,219 sq. metres (110,000
sq. feet) in size, and will accommodate 650 students from kindergarten
to Grade 8. The school will include: 27
classrooms; a literacy support room; a
resource centre; a technology education room; a cafeteria and kitchen; a
science room; two gymnasiums; two
music rooms; two visual arts rooms;
two resource teaching rooms; and
three team teaching rooms. The school
is expected to be complete for the second term of the 2010-11 academic year.
STRESCON PRECAST
In the summer of 2009 Durck deWinter of Bird Construction approached
Strescon Limited to see if we were
interested in bidding the exterior panels
for the P3 school proposal. Working
very closely with their design team, FBM
Architects and BMR Structural Engineering, a winning design was created.
The panels for Moncton North
School were insulated sandwich panels
with 4” of rigid insulation. 75 panels
were precast non-loadbearing around
the classrooms and 58 precast loadbearing panels around the gymnasiums with
a total square footage of 35,270 sq ft.
Eleanor Graham Middle School also
utilized insulated sandwich panels but
with 5” of rigid insulation. In all, 89 precast non-loadbearing panels were used
around the classrooms while 27 precast
loadbearing panels were used around
the gymnasiums, for a total square footage of 21,540 sqft.
Both schools were erected at the
start of the harsh New Brunswick winter
season. Rexton was erected in an astounding eight days, while Moncton took
only slightly longer, at eleven days, allowing Bird Construction to concentrate on
the interior. Strescon’s Project Manager
on the project was Brendan Clancy.
LEED CERTIFICATION
As part of the government’s Green
Buildings Program, both schools have
been designed to achieve a silver rating
under the principles of Leadership in
Energy and Environment Design (LEED),
a rating system used to measure green
building performance in Canada. The
LEED system rates and scores projects
based on everything from site selection;
to building systems; to material selections; to construction practices and
energy efficiency.
PRECAST & LEED
With more and more builder interest in LEED certification, precast has
become the clear choice for many. Precast components provide a number of
“green” advantages when seeking LEED
certification, such as: plant proximity; energy efficiency; recyclability; and
minimal waste.
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All Wired Up...
FCC Electrical & Communication Cabling Updates
Electrical & Communications Cabling
Acadia Broadcasting Fit-Up
Location: Saint John, NB
General Contractor: FCC Civil
In December 2009, FCC began renovating the 4000 sq ft interior office space
of Acadia Broadcasting’s existing facility
located on King Street in one of Saint
John’s historic buildings. Anytime renovations take place in one of these types
of buildings, many interesting challenges
are encountered.
The FCC Electrical & Communications
team led by Ron Rathje and Nick Kilpatrick worked with the owner’s technical broadcasting team to insure proper
placement of wiring and equipment was
accomplished for the new broadcast
booths, news and recording studios.
Along with these areas, new washrooms,
café/lunch area, and office spaces were
renovated with all areas getting new
custom indirect lighting and decorative
pendent fixtures, as well as custom track
lighting. The team has been working
towards an April 2010 completion date.
contributed by
ROXANNE WALSH
motors and site lighting. Work is currently well underway with a scheduled
completion of April 2010.
Electrical & Communications Cabling
Electrical
New MSD Sand and Gravel Plant
Location: Glenholme, NS
General Contractor:FCC Civil
In November 2009, FCC Electrical began
work at the new Sand and Gravel plant
in Glenholme, NS. The FCC team, led
by supervisor Jim Johnson and site
foreman John Arnold were tasked with
the installation of a new NS Power high
voltage underground duct bank, as well
as the electrical fit up for the new facility’s control room which houses a new
1200 amp service entrance, and 600
amp, three section motor control center.
All new power feeds and control wiring
were installed from the new control
building out to conveyors, hoppers, belt
Canada Post Fit-Up
Location: Bridgewater, NS
General Contractor: FCC Civil
FCC has been awarded the Canada Post
tenant fit up contract for their new 3000
sqft office located at the new office
building in Bridgewater Nova Scotia.
This project involved the installation of:
a new 200 amp, 600 volt main service
entrance; specific tenant interior lighting
fixtures; and branch power and communications cabling for the new office
area, mail sorting area, and operations
areas within the building. FCC supervisor Rick Hetherington, site foreman Delbert Noble and their team of
electricians have been working diligently
towards the scheduled completion date.
Marque Industrial Updates
contributed by
TOM COUGHLAN
East Saint John Marine Terminal:
Marque is working on the new Vapour
Recovery Unit at the terminal. Our scope
includes the installation of a 2 MVA transformer (large enough to supply 80 homes
with electricity), 600 volt Switchgear, 2
- 600 volt Motor Control Centers, cable
tray, power & control cables, a Programmable Logic Controller, Variable Frequency Drives, and a cable bus system.
Irving Oil Refinery: We are in the process of installing a 650KVA Emergency
Generator and its associated Automatic
Transfer Switch in the #3 Crude Unit.
This project also requires the addition of
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an MCC section and all required cabling
and grounding.
Irving Pulp & Paper: The electrical &
instrumentation contract for the Dreggs
Washing Project has been awarded to
Marque. This project involves installing 13 Variable Frequency Drives, cable
trays, cables, process instruments, air &
process tubing, and all terminations.
Irving Paper: We are nearing completion on the TMP Line 1 Bins project. This
was an energy efficiency upgrade at the
mill. We performed both the electrical
and the instrument scope of work.
Lake Utopia Paper: Marque recently
started working on the new Utility Building at the Lake Utopia mill. To date we
have completed the installation of an
electrical grounding grid and will soon
begin working on the building electrical
services.
Potash Mine: Marque has accepted
a sub contract from Comstock Canada
to assist them with their Compaction
Plant project. Our scope is to complete
the instrumentation portion. We are
installing instruments throughout the
plant, fabricating & installing instrument
stands, installing process & air tubing.
We started in January of this year and
expect to complete this portion of the
project by this summer.
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with photos & info from
GERALD K. GRASSBY
& BILL GATELY
Martin’s Point
Martin’s Point Health Care is a not-for-profit health care organization based in Portland, Maine. Martin’s Point Health Care Centers and
their affiliates: Evergreen Woods Primary Care; and Bowdoin Medical
Group; serve eight communities in Maine and New Hampshire.
In April of 2009, Martin’s Point Health Care received approval from
the Portland City Planning Board to build a 42,000 square-foot, stateof-the-art primary care medical center at the company’s main campus
at 331 Veranda St.. The location, from which the company derives its
name, is better known as Martin’s Point, a 12-acre tract of land at the
northeast boundary of the city that juts into Casco Bay.
The new building will provide all medical services on a single
top-level floor. Two lower levels will be used for parking. The building
will incorporate the latest in environmentally friendly technology and
has received recognition as a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) medical office building.
Boulos/CB Ellis Company has served as owner’s representative
for the project planning. Architectural, engineering and interior planning work has been done by SMRT Structural Engineers, and Pizzagalli
Construction Company is building the facility, which is scheduled to be
completed and open to business in December 2010.
PRECAST: Strescon Limited was contracted by Pizzagalli Construction to design-build a single deck garage to support the 2-storey structural steel building. Rapid construction of the garage to accommodate
structural steel erection was critical, but despite tight building tolerances
and a crowded jobsite, Strescon successfully rose to the challenge .
Precast wall panels were used as enclosure and support walls
for both stair towers from garage to building structure. A series
of precast ledger beams were used on 3 sides of the
garage, which serve as both a support element
and tie-back for the composite cavity wall
veneer. Strescon also supplied and installed
precast components for the parking deck,
including: double tees; inverted tee beams;
shear-walls; wall panels; and ledger beams &
columns.
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Rebar Update
Industrial
Institutional
VBU/VRU Foundations, East Side Terminal, Saint John, NB; Gulf Operators Ltd. 94
Tons of rebar
Inverary Manor Link, Inverness, NS;
JonelJim/Pomerleau JV, 3 phases, totalling
422 Tons of rebar, 51,000 SF of mesh
Truck Dumper, Lake Utopia Paper, St.
George, NB; Gulf Operators Ltd. 35 Tons of
rebar
Burnt Church School, Burnt Church, NB;
Dora Construction, 48 Tons of rebar, 11200
SF of mesh
Bio Mass Energy Project, St. Leonard Saw
Mill, St. Leonard, NB; JD Irving Ltd. 100
Tons of rebar
Applied Science Building, Holland College, Charlottetown, PEI; G.E. MacNeil
Const. 30 Tons of rebar
Service Shaft Slabs, Potash Mine, Penobsquis, NB; Cementation Canada, 84 Tons
of rebar.
E Block, NBCC Moncton, Moncton, NB;
RCS Const. 26 Tons of rebar.
Production Shaft Slabs, Potash Mine,
Penobsquis, NB; Cementation Canada, 85
Tons of rebar.
Westwood School, Charlottetown, PEI;
Williams Murphy MacLeod Ltd, 26 Tons of
rebar. 16160 SF of mesh
Allied Health Centre, UNBSJ, Saint John,
NB; Avondale Const. 68 Tons of rebar
Commercial
Confederation Court Hotel, Charlottetown, PEI; Williams Murphy Macleod Ltd, 74
Tons of rebar, 94080 SF of mesh.
Bridges & Wharves
Harbour Development, Black’s Harbour,
NB; Fundy Contractors Ltd, 84 Tons of
rebar
Margaree Harbour Wharf, Margaree, NS;
Albert MacDonald Ltd, 24 tons of rebar
Madawaska Dam, Edmundston, NB; CRT
Const. 491 Tons of rebar
Southeast Correctional Centre, Shediac,
NB; Pomerleau Const. 50 Tons of rebar
Eastern Wastewater Treatment Facility - City of Saint John
According to the Atlantic Coastal Action Program
(ACAP), Saint John, New Brunswick currently discharges
16 million litres of raw sewage into its harbour and streams
every day - the equivalent to six Olympic-sized swimming
pools every 24 hours. Although Saint John is not the only
municipality in Canada that dumps untreated wastewater
into its environment, it is unique in that is has open sewers
that run through the centre of the city, creating thirdworld conditions in Canada’s oldest incorporated city.
The Saint John Harbour Cleanup refers to the infrastructure project that will bring an end to the practice
of discharging raw sewage into its waterways. The $88
million initiative involves completing a third wastewater
treatment plant in east Saint John, and diverting existing
outfalls to it through lift or pumping stations.
A pivotal component in the Saint John Harbour
Clean-Up initiative, work began on Saint John’s Eastern
Wastewater Treatment Facility in April of 2009. Pomerleau Inc. of Dartmouth, NS, is constructing the $51 million
plant. The new facility, a 35,000 m3/day secondary-level
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contributed by
GREG TIMS
conventional activated sludge treatment plant, will service
the East and South central areas of the city. It is located on
Red Head Road in Saint John.
The Program is comprised of two major project
components: the Eastern Wastewater Treatment Facility;
and a Wastewater Collection System. Design work on the
Wastewater Collection System is continuing and completion of construction for the overall Wastewater Collection
System is anticipated by 2012.
OSCO Rebar is currently supplying and installing 1423
Tons of rebar on the project. They began installing rebar
in August of 2009 and expect to be complete by late summer of 2010.
Strescon Concrete’s Pipe Division has also been involved with this project, through the supply of infrastructure products. To date, they have provided 35 structures
ranging in size from 30”/750mm (catch basins) to 120”
/3000mm (valve chambers) as well as almost 100 pieces
of concrete pipe ranging in size from 18”/450mm to
48”/1200mm.
wh at
NBCC Allied Health Center
Ocean Steel’s Rebar
division recently worked
on the new Allied Health
Center at NBCC in Saint
John, New Brunswick
for Avondale Construction. Ocean Steel will
be providing 68.24 tons
of rebar for the project
which began in January,
2010.
The New building
will be located close
to UNBSJ in Tucker
Park and will house the
New Brunswick Community Colleges Health
Program. Ocean Steel
completed their work in
March.
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CFB Gagetown:
Main Tunnels
Ocean Steel’s Rebar division is currently working on the upgrading of the
utility tunnel in Gagetown, New Brunswick
for Philson LTD Contractors.
Ocean Steel began installing the 107
tons of rebar in early November, 2009 at
the CFB Gagetown Military base. The job
not only required rebar installation but
also demolition of the existing tunnels.
Ocean Steel expects to be finished with
the project in April of 2010.
Strescon’s Concrete Pipe Division has
also supplied product to this site, including 33 manhole and catch basin structures, a concrete headwall for an outfall
pipe and 2 Stormceptor 750 gallon units.
text
23
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Summerside Waste Treatment
Schurman concrete recently completed pouring 200 cubic
meter of 35 MPA floor mix concrete for the City of Summerside’s new Waste Treatment Plant. The contractor requested
a low shrinkage concrete mix design, which Schurman
obtained by using a series of special admixtures. The
project consisted of three concrete pours beginning
on March 23rd, 2010 and completing April 5th, 2010.
Summerside Seawall Repair
Schurman Concrete has been pouring concrete for the
Summerside, PEI Seawall repairs for Central Prince Construction. The original seawall consisted of steel sheet pile
which had deteriorated over the years and is now being
replaced with a concrete seawall. Schurman started the first
round of pouring on November 5th and wrapped up for the
winter on December 21st, 2009.
The contractors discontinued the project until spring
2010, due to winter weather conditions. Underwater divers
have to help install the form panels, as well as monitor the
concrete underwater as the pours take place, to ensure that
there is no concrete going into the harbour.
Upon completion, the project will consist of repairing
an 800 foot length of seawall at a depth of 18 feet . The
concrete being used is a 35 Map strength, with 25% fly ash
and super plasticizer added to the mix to help in the flow
ability. Underwater concreting is pumped thru a tremie
pipeline to the bottom of the forms which are submerged in
water.
Approximately 400’ of the seawall was poured during
the first stage. The second stage, for the remaining 400’ of
seawall, was scheduled to begin pouring concrete on April
8th 2010, with a 100 cubic yard pour, followed by approximately the same amount the following week. It is expected
that the project will completed by the middle of May.
24
Pouring
Ready-Mix
It On Update
Crandall University
Strescon’s Moncton plant has been supplying the concrete for the Crandall University (formerly Atlantic Baptist
University) project in Moncton, NB, under General Contractor,
Acadian Construction. The foundation work was completed in
the late fall of 2009, and Strescon started supplying concrete
for the floors in early March. The floors are to have a “Polished Concrete Finish”, which required a special 25 Mpa mix,
designed by Strescon’s Quality Control department. The mix
was designed to minimize shrinkage as much as possible.
To date, Strescon has supplied approximately 1200 m3,
with another 300 - 400 m3 remaining.
h owwh awt e wdeo di ot
contributed by
TOM COUGHLAN
Irving Oil Refinery: Dehexanizer
Irving Oil has begun work on a Dehexanizer Unit at its
Saint John Refinery. The new unit will reduce the amount
of Benzene and other aromatics from the gasoline refining
process. This is necessary to meet upcoming environmental
regulations. The project began in late 2009 and will be complete by June of 2011.
Marque Construction’s Industrial Division has been
working on the project since it began, providing construction support and just recently was awarded the Electrical and
Instrumentation installation contract for the unit.
Construction Support
Marque’s construction support scope began in December of 2009 and will continue until the end of the project. It
involves providing temporary power for all trades and support
personnel, installing lighting in the work areas, investigative
work for the Engineering Group, identifying Electric Heat
Tracing Points and relocating existing Instruments and other
devices that are in the way of construction.
Electrical & Instrumentation
The Electrical and Instrumentation Contract started
March 1, 2010 and is scheduled for completion in June, 2011.
It requires the installation of all electrical and instrumentation
required for the new unit. A small sampling of the tasks required include installing cable trays along the pipe racks and
throughout the unit, installing cables (some of which weigh
more than 12,000 lbs per run) in the cable trays, performing
and testing thousands of wire terminations, installing and
testing control instruments and their associated process and
air tubing, installing electric heat trace systems, and providing
the necessary permanent unit lighting.
In addition to tradespeople, Marque’s project team includes foremen, general foremen, quality control technicians,
planners, project administrators, a safety co-ordinator and a
project manager.
Working Safer; Working Efficiently
Marque has introduced a pre-work Stretching Program
for this project which involves stretching exercises at the
start of each shift. The goal is to warm up the tradespeople’s
muscles and help to prevent strains and pulls that occur when
performing strenuous tasks. We encourage our people to
do a few stretches throughout the day as well. This program
began in late March & an unexpected result has been a huge
boost in morale. By the end of the exercises, all participants
are in high spirits.
All our work at the Irving Oil Refinery is performed on a
four day a week, ten hour a day schedule, Monday through
Thursday. This shift began in September of 2009 and since
then, the requirement for overtime has lessened and absenteeism been dramatically reduced. In addition, the number
of times employees arrive late for work has also significantly
dropped.
Irving Oil Refinery Fast Facts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
First Canadian refinery to make high octane gasoline
without the use of lead additives.
First to offer low-sulphur gasoline, 5 years ahead of
regulation.
First oil company ever to receive the US EPA Clean Air
Excellence Award.
First and only Canadian refinery to be recognized by
Hart World Fuels as “Refiner of the Year”
First and only Canadian refinery on the east coast of
North America to receive crude oil from The Acropolis, a
ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier)—the biggest of supertankers at 410,000 dwt, holding 2.6 million barrels of
crude.
First refinery in Canada to install CD Tech technology
which makes ultra-low sulphur gasoline.
First refinery to own and operate the largest product
tankers in Canada
First Canadian refinery to offer low sulphur diesel ahead
of regulations
First in Canada to use a Belco™ scrubber which removes
sulphuric acid and particulates
First in Canada to regenerate sulphuric acid on-site for
use in the refining process.
First Canadian oil company to own and operate double
hulled tankers.
25
contributed by
CHRIS BANKS,
CET
• Long Wharf Pile Cap Plates, Saint John, NB, Irving
Equipment, 11.6 tons of plate
• Bunker Storage Room Roof, Moosehead Breweries, Saint John, NB, John Flood & Sons, 4.4 tons of
struct. steel
• Lake Utopia Truck Dumper, Lake Utopia, NB, Gulf
Operators, 4.9 tons of misc. metals
• Dead End Structures, Grand Falls, NB, NB Power, 4.2
tons of struct. steel
• Lifting Plates for Precast Bridge Girders, Bedford, NS & Saint John, NB, Strescon, 18.8 tons of plate
• East Saint John Terminal Vapour Recovery, trenching & grating, Saint John, NB, Gulf Operators, 5.9 tons of
misc. metals
• NBCC Moncton Campus, camber customers beams,
Moncton, NB, Titan Metal Group, 17.6 tons of struct. steel
• NBCC Fredericton Campus, camber customers
beams, Fredericton, NB, Titan Metal Group, 97.3 tons of
struct. steel
• Manhole Steel Form, Saint John, NB Strescon, 1.3
tons of plate
• PCS Potash (old mill) - Replacement of Platform &
Stair, Penobsquis, NB, , 1.7 tons of struct. steel
• PCS Potash (new mill) - Pile Cap Plates, Penobsquis,
NB, Irving Equipment, 4.8 tons of plate
26
Maritime Docks Ltd supply’s Floating Docks
for Atlantic Pilot Authority, Port of Saint John
York Steel provided the pile guides & misc metals painted black
(10.9 tons of steel) to Maritime Docks Ltd of Pennfield, NB to
complete the job at the Saint John Wharf at Pier II on the west side.
(above)
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Group Safety News
contributed by
ROB FELTUS
Congratulations to
AllStar Rebar for working
12 months
without a lost time accident!!!
Congratulations
to Borcherdt
Concrete
Products
for working
12 months
without a lost
time accident!!!
Setting a Higher Safety Standard
OSCO Group Joins ISNetworld
The OSCO Construction Group has been working since
last October, towards getting several of its operations approved
through ISNetworld, for work with two “Owner Clients” – Irving
Oil Refining and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.
ISNetworld describes itself as the global resource for connecting corporations with safe, reliable vendors from capitalintensive industries. ISN collects self-reported conformance information from vendors, verifies its accuracy, and then reports
the results in an easy-to-follow format. This allows corporations to select those resources that best meet internal and governmental requirements, while providing vendors and suppliers
the opportunity to centralize their conformance information,
while saving time and gaining presence in the marketplace.
Through its innovative data-systems, superior customer
service, and global reach, ISN fosters safer work environments,
stronger partnerships, and a healthier bottom-line.
The OSCO Construction Group is not unfamiliar with
third-party auditing services. A couple of our operations were
involved with the now defunct Risk Management Services,
based on the International Loss Control Institute format. We
also have been active, for over ten years, with the Certificate
of Recognition (COR) programs provided through NSCSA and
NBCSA. Currently we hold CORs for eleven of our business
units. Participation in these programs has provided the benefit
of improving our safety management systems.
The process through ISNetworld is very detailed and,
considering that we are providing inputs for eight separate
operations, has been quite a challenge, requiring changes and
additions to our practices and procedures. We are also now
tracking new statistics and performance indicators. This is not
to imply that we were behind the curve on these issues. Our
recent initiatives, involving Fleet, Environmental, and Quality
management systems essentially put us on a parallel course
with the standards required by ISNetworld. This process has
provided us with additional incentive to continue with our goal
of continual improvement.
27
CAREER SPOTLIGHT: ENGINEERING
contributed by
BERNIE BL AKELY
An Engineer is a person
in your neighborhood…
There’s a lot of thinking behind that
Steel. The OSCO Construction Group employs several Professional Engineers; 14 of
which are in the Steel Sector alone; and not
all are designing gusset plate thicknesses or
weld sizes for connections. While most are
familiar with this important aspect of the
fabrication process, several have taken their
problem-solving, analytical minds to other
departments. Our customers thus receive a
well thought out solution, no matter what
stage of fabrication their project is at.
Steel Sector Engineers
Front row (l-r): Abdul Maftah, Jr.
Design Engineer; Jingnan Liu, Jr. Design
Engineer; Nihad Balihodzic, Design Engineer; Li Lan Pook, Contracts Mgr; Jill Layton, Project Mgr; Lori Li, Design Engineer
Middle row (l-r): Harrison Wilson, General Mgr (Canada); Melanie MacCormick,
Jr. Design Engineer; Alex Gamble, Jr. De-
UNB ENGINEERING TOUR
The OSCO Group hosted a tour for 34
UNB Fredericton Civil Engineering students
this past February. Organized by the HR
Recruiting Team, this event provided the
opportunity to introduce our Companies
and products to the students first-hand.
The students spent the day learning
about the processes and operations at our
steel and concrete plants, as well as about
future employment opportunities in the Construction industry and with our Group. The
students were divided into two groups, with
one spending the morning at OSCO Head
Office, while the other was taken to Strescon,
28
before alternating locations in the afternoon.
OSCO Head Office: These
sessions began with a greeting from the Steel
Sector’s General Manager, Harrison Wilson, followed by a presentation by Design
Engineer, Nihad Balihodzic and Operations
Manager, Bill Gates. Following that, Bernie
Blakely, Business Development Manager, and
Bill Gates took the students on a tour of the
steel plant. The group was then turned over
to the Construction sector, where Project
Managers, Abbey Duguay, Bill Woodhouse
and Luke Johnson, as well as Estimator, Jordan Thompson, showed off some
sign Engineer; Bill Gates, Operations Mgr;
Jeff Underhill, Assistant SJ Plant Mgr
Back row (l-r): Andrew MacKenzie, Fred.
Plant Mgr; Troy Hawkes, SJ Plant Mgr;
Daniel Aube, Steel Checker; Ben Smith,
Design Engineering Mgr; Bernie Blakely,
Bus Development Mgr; Don Pellerin, Sr.
Design Engineer
Missing: Rod Macintosh, General Mgr (US);
Lisa Frazee, Engineering Drawings Mgr
contributed by
VIVIAN CHIASSON
recent accomplishments of FCC & Marque
Construction with an impressive time-lapsed
video from the Picadilly project. The students
were also presented with information on
other projects and Engineering career opportunities with the Construction sector.
Strescon: The Strescon sessions
included tours of the Precast Plant and
Inspection Lab by Production Scheduler, Peter Adams; Safety Coordinator, Jim Milton;
and Inspection Manager, Doug Murphy.
Following this, the students finished with a
tour of the Pipe Plant, lead by Plant Superintendent, Dave Kierstead, and Strescon Sales
Associate, Stewart Totten.
how
“On behalf of Stantec’s entire Civil/
Structural Engineering group in
Fredericton, I would like to thank
you for the wonderful afternoon
we spent with your folks at your
office and fab shop. Everyone in
our group was very happy to have
been part of the experience and
are grateful for the insights and
knowledge gained. We deeply
appreciated the time you and
others in your staff took to inform,
explain, guide, and teach. Our
group has grown stronger because
of the generous offering of your
time to us. Additionally, our connection with Ocean Steel and its
people has also been strengthened.
This I am sure will serve both of
our companies well in the future.
Again, thank you very much!! ”
At noon, the students were brought together for
a networking lunch with our Group’s resident UNB
Engineering alumni, along with representatives from
each of the sectors.
The students were very responsive and interested to see the concepts they learn about being put
into action. The tour was considered to be a great
success. The HR Department wishes to thank the
employees who represented our Group so well, and
made this day informative and interesting for the students; this is exactly the kind of effort that is needed
to attract important new talent to the organization,
which will position us for our future growth.
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Stantec Tour
contributed by
BERNIE BL AKELY
Since it’s incorporation in 1955,
Ocean Steel has fabricated most of the
large, complex heavy industrial projects in New Brunswick. Several of those
structures have been designed by the
Engineers at Stantec (formerly Neill &
Gunter) specifically in the areas of Power
Generation, Lumber & Wood, and Pulp &
Paper.
As a result of these many successful projects, the staff from each
company has gotten to know each other
fairly well, with some relationships going
as far back as their University days.
In an effort to continue this successful working relationship, Ocean
Steel provided a tour of their main plant
in Saint John for the current Structural
Engineering Department of Stantec’s
Gordon J.W. Boneschansker,
Fredericton office.
M.Eng., P.Eng.
Senior Detailer Brad MacPhee
Team Leader - Civil/Structural
showed how Ocean initially brings the
Engineering - Stantec Consulting
design stick-model to life with the 3D
modeling system SDS2/Design Data,
where the Engineers were surprised at the level of detail
- right down to the individual washers at connections.
Tour guides Harrison Wilson (General Manager),
Bill Gates (Operations Manager), Troy Hawkes (Plant
Manager) and Bernie Blakely (Business Development
Manager) then gave the group a first-hand look at how
that electronic information is used to fabricate the individual components in Ocean’s modern state-of-the-art
facility.
West Point team’s
29
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25 Year Club Dinner
OSCO Group Inducts its Largest Group Ever to Long-Service Club
contributed by
Human Resources Department
The annual OSCO Construction Group’s 25 Year Club Dinner was set at the elegant Delta Brunswick in Saint John on
November 13th, 2009. This was an extraordinary year for the
Group, as we welcomed 34 new members into the 25 Year Club.
The evening began with a reception where guests
gathered to greet many long time friends and get reacquainted,
followed by one of the largest group photos in 25 Year Club
history. Before dinner began, George Paisley graciously blessed
the meal as he has done in the past, followed by a moment of
silence for employees who had passed away. Guests were then
treated to a wonderful dinner buffet put on by the Delta staff.
The President, Hans O. Klohn, then unveiled a new time-lapse
video production showcasing the record-setting 14 day construction of a very large Service Shaft building on the Picadilly
Project involving many Companies within our Group. The award
presentations began soon afterwards.
Strescon General Manager, Don Isnor took the stage next,
to present Strescon inductees their awards. The new members welcomed into the club from Strescon-Saint John were:
Michael Atkinson, Michael Belding, Michel Roy, Lorenzo Sr.
Savoie, Bruce Gogan, Malcolm Belding, Anthony A. Watson,
Norman D. Hazelwood, Gary Bogle, and Christine Boyd.
There was also one new member welcomed from Strescon-
30
Bedford, which was David A. Hume. Ocean Steel General Manager, Harrison Wilson took the
stage next to present awards to the Ocean Steel-Saint John
inductees, which were as follows: Bruce Beckett, Mike Lewis,
Douglas Oliver, Carl Parlee, and Kenneth Parlee.
Schurman’s 2008 inductees were then acknowledged and
a speech was given by General Manager, Bill Davis before each
of the inductees were brought on stage for a group photo, they
were as follows: Alfred J. Condon, John A Hume, Kenneth R.
MacLean, Wayne Smith, Paul Biggar, William Davis, Edmund
Gallant, David Murray, Lawson Murray, Charles Wedge, Keith
Wedge, Ken O’Donnell, Steven Dyer, and Wayne Gaudet.
Harrison Wilson then took the stage once again, to induct
the newest members of Ocean Steel-Fredericton into the 25
Year Club and they were as follows: Linda Dixon, Randolph
Pollick, Francis Levesque, Merlin Colford, W. Wayne Morgan,
Michael D. Eroh, John Sparks, Daniel Jordan, Robert Betts,
Stephen Handrahan, Arthur Wooden, Andrew Jordan, Marven Jordan, Robbie Roden, James F. MacFarlane, Fernard
Duguay, Hollis Golden, and Brian Underwood.
The evening was put to a close with remarks from the
President and drawing for door prizes by Mr. John Irving, while
Connections magazines were handed out to each guest as they
left. Congratulations to all our 2009 25 Year Club Inductees!
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A Night Celebrating OSCO Group’s Stars...
contributed by
Robin Kilpatrick
2010 kicked off a new decade so we thought it was time
to hold our Employee Recognition Awards, namely the “OSCORS”, at a new location befitting the stars of our industry
– OUR EMPLOYEES! Every year seemingly gets bigger and
better and this year is no exception. It is our opportunity to
thank our employees for the hard work and dedication that
they show throughout the year.
This year the red carpet will be rolled out at the new
Marco Polo Cruise Terminal on Saint John’s beautiful waterfront. The evening will begin with an amazing buffet style
dinner. It will then be time to recognize those employees that
truly were stars within each of our four sectors (concrete,
construction, group services, and steel). Service Pins will also
be given out during the event, to those who have achieved
milestone years of service with our Group. We will also honor
our commitment to Safety by recognizing the Plants with the
best safety records over the past year. Last, but not least, we
will recognize those employees who have furthered their professional development through certifications and licensures.
On a less serious note, our favorite game-show host,
Steve Adams (OSCO Group Services), will then call up members of the audience to compete for cash prizes in a series of
challenges from the newest, hottest game show on television,
“Minute to Win It”!
Congratulations to This Year’s Nominees:
Best Actor/
Actress
STEEL:
• Cathy Parker
• Margo Hibbard
• Debbie Keyes
CORPORATE:
• Kelly Adams
• Rebecca Codling
• Chris Carmichael
• Karen Gatien
• Duanne Shanks
CONSTRUCTION:
• Dwight Edgett
• Janie Dysart
• Shelley Rogers
• Daryl Ross
• Roxanne Walsh
• Allister Mood
CORPORATE:
• Jody Corbin
• Keri Tyner
CONCRETE:
CONSTRUCTION:
• Brendan Clancy
• Xiangning (Simon) Li
• Peter Adams
• Stewart Totten
• Serge Boudreau
• Greg Gormley
• Shonda Burgess
• Jordan Thompson
• Luke Johnson
Best New
Actor/Actress
• Christine Gilbert
• Jeremiah MacLeod
STEEL:
• Josh Dugas
CONCRETE:
Best Director
STEEL:
• Terry Arseneau
• Ron Estabrooks
CORPORATE:
• Ian Hudson
• Monique Walsh
• Jennifer Gregoire
• Amy Shanks
CONSTRUCTION:
• Rick Williston
• Ron Rathje
• Robin Young
• Dan Mazerolle
CONCRETE:
• Gaetan Vaillancourt
• Rebecca Patterson
Career
Achievement
• Terry Arseneau: Steel
• Brad MacPhee:
Steel
• Valerie LeBlanc:
Corporate
• Abbey Duguay:
Construction
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OSCO Group & Employees Donate
Combined $9883.50 to Haiti Relief
contributed by
Vivian Chaisson
T
Helping Hands
The OSCO Construction Group values its relationships with the
communities they live and work in. In addition to the many smaller
charitable and sponsorship contributions they’ve made over the past
year, the following are groups who have received larger donations:
Canadian Cancer Society - $675.00
Berry Fund Charitable Foundation - $10,000.00
Kennebecasis Lions Club - $1100.00
United Way - $5000.00
Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick - $750.00
Saint John Regional Hospital Neonatal Unit - $500.00
St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation - $15,000.00
A
he OSCO Construction Group responded
to the recent Earthquake disaster in Haiti by
offering an Employee Donation Match Program. Our generous employees in both Canada and the US, donated a total of $4883.50
through individual donations,
bake sales and group
collections. OSCO
then matched the employees’ contributions
with a Corporate donation of $5000.00 to the
Canadian Red Cross.
We know that this
donation will be used to
assist those left suffering after this devastating
event and wish to thank
all employees who donated and supported the
various fundraising efforts
employees held in the
company.
my Shanks works in the HR Department as a recruiter
for OSCO Construction Group and below is her family. Amy’s sister, Erin Appleby, was diagnosed with breast
cancer at the age of 28 which she fought for 2 years. Amy
and her father, Ed, were watching Erin lie in her hospital bed
worrying about how her bills where going to be paid when
they made the decision that a fund needed to be started to
help those that are sick with paying common household
bills. “There are foundations for wigs, prosthetic breasts but
contributed by
32
Robin Kilpatrick
nothing to help those who may be
facing losing their home because
they are too sick to work.”
Erin Appleby passed away at
the age of 30, but with our help, and
the continued dedication of Amy
and her family, Erin’s legacy will
live on through the gift of helping
others. All of the proceeds given
to this Fund are distributed by the
Atlantic Health Sciences Centre’s
social workers, who see to it the
bills are paid. Amy and her family
raise money throughout the year
by organizing and taking part in
various fundraisers. There are many
ways in which you can help be a
part of this much needed Fund;
such as volunteering (if interested,
please e-mail Sydney Peacock at
[email protected]);
by giving a monetary donation (this
can be done easily at www.thegive.
ca, just click on the Erin Appleby
Fund, receive a receipt via mail); and
something as simple as spreading
the word (join the Erin Appleby Fund
Facebook page). On behalf of Amy
and the Appleby Family we thank
you in advance for your support.
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Throwing
a Lifeline
OSCO Shop Employee
Dan Vienneau Recognized
for Saving Co-Worker’s Life
contributed by
Dan Farren
L-R: Hans Klohn Sr., Dan Farren and Harrison Wilson presenting a plaque to Dan Vienneau.
O
n September 21, 2009, in Ocean Steel’s Saint John, NB lunch room,
the guys were playing cards during their lunch break, when someone told a joke and everyone started to laugh. Harold Cavanaugh, who
had just taken a bite of his sandwich before he started to laugh, began
choking. At first nobody noticed, thinking he was just laughing along
with the rest of the group. When a fellow employee asked Harold if he
was choking, Harold nodded his head yes, and the employee immediately attempted to perform abdominal thrusts without success. From
Take Our
Kids To
Work Day
contributed by
VIVIAN CHAISSON
T
he OSCO Construction Group participated in the National Take Our Kids to
Work Day program once again this year.
The event was held for students in Grade
9 on November 4th, 2009.
To observe this special event, OSCO
Head Office and Strescon-Saint John
played host to 13 students for a day of
learning about the steel, concrete and
construction industries, as well as about
the career opportunities available. In addition to the students who participated in
Saint John, students registered at three of
eyewitness accounts, Harold at this point started to
turn purple (he had already passed blue). Dan Vienneau noticed this going on from the other side of the
lunch room and rushed over to help. He gave Harold
one good abdominal thrust and dislodged the food
from Harold’s throat.
Harold was still emotional the following day in
describing the events in the lunch room. He believes
without a doubt that he would have died in that lunch
room if it had not been for Danny.
On March 18, 2010, Dan Vienneau was presented
with a plaque from the Red Cross to honour this selfless act.
our other locations as well: Ocean Steel
in Fredericton; Borcherdt Concrete; and
Strescon-Bedford. The students at these
locations job-shadowed employees for
the day, learning the different day-to-day
tasks involved in our operations.
The Saint John students spent half the
day in presentations and half the day job
shadowing. This year we were fortunate
to have even more staff volunteers for
presentations, which really made the day
worthwhile for the students. Dan Farren
(Ocean Steel) provided them with an interesting safety presentation, which highlighted our Group’s commitment to safety.
Bernie Blakely (Ocean Steel) provided a
tour of our Saint John Steel Plant, which
the students always report to be the greatest part to the day. Seeing the production
hands-on can be fascinating for those
who don’t do it every day and Bernie always provides a lively interactive tour that
is enjoyed by all. Our Human Resources
Coordinator provided the students with a
presentation about our Group of Companies and hosted a lunch for the students.
New this year, was a credit presentation,
given by Credit Manager, Steve Adams.
This showed the students the process of
ensuring our customers accounts are kept
up to date and the importance and commitment the Group has to maintaining
great customer relations.
The students were then given tours
of various departments to learn how each
one works. Ian Hudson discussed Accounting Department processes; Jason
Comeau spoke on behalf of the Information Technology Department; Ann Eagles
showed off some graphic programs
used in the Steel Detailing Department;
and Deb Flewelling explained the CNC
Programming side of production to the
students.
The day went very well and was
greatly enjoyed by the students. We appreciate all the help from the employees
who made the day so memorable and
informative for the participants.
We wish all the students who participated the best of luck in their future
chosen careers and hope that we were
able to provide them some guidance in
this regard.
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Curling
Bonspiel
The annual OSCO
Construction Group Curling Bonspiel, held this year
on March 12th, was once
again a huge success. The
Thistle St. Andrews Curling
Club was filled with enthusiastic curlers ranging from
beginner to expert. Donnie
contributed by Robin Kilpatrick
Ritchie started the night
off with a brief lesson for
beginners. It was also decided this year that “sweeping” would
be kept strictly optional. Slipping on the ice was not a fear for a
team of four from Ocean Steel, Lori Li, Peter Dougay, Ron Estabrooks and Roxanne Walsh. They came prepared, sporting
pink hard hats decorated with many lovely sparkling stickers.
Many laughs were shared and memories made amongst the
64 curlers during the eight ends of curling that evening. COMING EVENTS
Aug 7:.......Company Picnic
Sept 18:....Group Golf Tournament
Nov 3:.......Take Our Kids to Work Day
Nov 5:.......25 Year Club Dinner
Nov 13: ...OCAL Holiday Party
Nov 29:....Bedford Holiday Lunch
Nov 30-Dec 9: Saint John Holiday Lunches
Dec 10:.....OSCO-Fred Holiday Lunch
Dec 14:......OSCO-Conklin Holiday Lunch
ST
AUesGWedUThurs Fri
Tu
n Mon
Sat
ER
S E PTuTes EWedMThurBs Fri Sat
Sun Mon
5 6 7
4
1 2 3 4
3
1 2
4
1
3
1
10 11
11 12
6 7 8 9
5
8 9 10
1
2
17 18
8 19 20
16O17V1E M B 28 12 13 14 15 16
15SuN
ER
27
n Mon Tu
25
3 2E4R
4es 2W5ed 2Th6urs Fri Sat 9D2E
21 E22M2B
0 C
1Sun Mon
22 23 2
Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat
1 2 3
4 5 6
1
3
28 29 30
0
3
7
2
9
6
2
27
1 2 3 4
8 9 10 1
1 12 1 3
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
14 15 16
17 18 19 2
0 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
21 22 23
24 25 26
27
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
28 29 30
26 27 28 29 30 31
34
When the curling was over and the points were being
tallied, pizza was being enjoyed by all. Was it the confidence
from the hard hats, luck, or just pure skill that made the decked
out team from Ocean Steel this year’s winners? Not sure, but
this savvy curling team rose to the top of the points scale and
walked out with full bragging rights. A much deserved congratulations to the four of them! Great times were had by all
and everyone
walked away with
The winning team (l-r): Peter Dougay, Lori Li,
Roxanne Walsh, & Ron Estabrooks
a prize.
Much thanks
to Donnie Ritchie
(Ocean Steel) for
taking the time to
organize this event
again this year. It
is greatly appreciated.
FCC Chiefs Take Championship
contributed by
Vanessa Klohn
The Irving Hockey League is a
local recreational league that runs
from October through March on
Sunday afternoons at the Lord Beaverbrook Rink (LBR) in Saint John,
New Brunswick. The regular season
runs 14 weeks (all teams play against
each other twice).
The league consists of 8 teams:
FCC; Ocean Steel; Strescon; Gulf
Operators; Irving Oil; Irving Refinery; Jacob’s; and Irving Equipment.
The general rule is that 50% of the
team’s players must be employed
from the Irving affiliate sponsoring
the team.
Upon completion of the regular
season, the league is separated into
two (2) divisions, with the top four
going into division 1, and the bottom
four to division 2. An elimination
playoff round decides which teams
move on to a best of three round to
decide the years league champions.
This year’s division 1 winners
were the FCC Chiefs, who defeated
last year’s champions Irving Equipment, 2 games to 1.
FCC Roster:
Pat Bagley, Ben Kilpatrick, Dave
Harrison, Clint Graham, Colby
McDermott, Gary Chamberlain,
Jason Johnson, Steve Adams,
Scott Graham, Ernie Roy
Ocean Steel Roster:
Randy Gallant, Peter Dougay,
Vince Davis, Mike Jones,
Ryan Starkey, Adam Fraser, Len
Andrews, Nick Hatt, Jason Brown,
Fred Oulette, Pat Oulette,
Germain Martin
Strescon Roster:
Eric Gautier, Peter Adams, Chris
Greer, Brendan Clancy, Derek
Millar, Wade Osmon, Gerald Hebert, Jason Boyne, Frank Godsoe,
Gavin Bungay, Tom Hinam, Jamie
Brown, Matt Patterson
w h o
w e
ar e
FRESH FACES congratulations!
OCEAN STEEL - SAINT JOHN
Chris Fulton............................. Contracts Administrator
Brenda Lariviere............................... Document Runner
Family Additions:
Jamie Bennett (York) and
Sarina Merrett welcomed son
Madison James Bennett on
March 19th.
OCEAN STEEL - FREDERICTON
Heather Wilson (Promotion).... Purchasing Specialist/Sales
STRESCON - SAINT JOHN
Troy Hawkes (OSCO-SJ) and
his wife Michelle welcomed
10 lb, 3 oz. son, Thomas Ryan
on April 14th
Cara Dawn Miller ................................ Design Engineer
Andrew Gabriel ........................................ QC Inspector
Sheri Fanjoy ............................................... QC Inspector
Lois Coholan (Transfer) . ......... Exec. Admin. Assistant
Aaron Jewett (York) and
Natalie Brewer welcomed
daughter, Adyson Christina
Jewett, on Jan 10th.
OSCO GROUP SERVICES
Ashley Dooks ................................. Recruiting Assistant
Pam Ogden ...................... Payroll and Benefits Analyst
Robin Kilpatrick .......Human Resources Coordinator
Scott Patterson ........ Accounts Receivable Specialist
Jennifer LeBlanc . .......... Payroll and Benefits Analyst
Amanda Legere ..........................Accounting Specialist
Darrin Brundage (Strescon
Bedford) and Ashley Murray
welcomed 7lbs 10 oz, Lilly Brynn
Brundage on Oct.8, 2009.
Josh Fowler (Allstar Rebar)
and Rachel Weare welcomed
7lbs 5oz., William Tyler Fowler
on March 29th.
STRESCON-BEDFORD
John Doyle . ............................................... QC Inspector
FCC CONSTRUCTION
Gerry Higgins became a
Grandfather for the first time
on March 8th, with Elizabeth
Louise (Ellie), born to Daughter
Amanda and Shayne Graham
Karen MacVicar ............................... Scheduler/Planner
Sajjadul Haque (Strescon)
and Laboni Haque (Strescon)
welcomed baby girl, Aribah
Afreen Haque on March 7th.
Kerri Scott (OSCO Group
Services) and husband, Colin,
welcomed Kyle Colin Scott on
February 11th.
Jason Brown (OSCO Group
Services) and wife Laura (Isnor) welcomed Allison in December, 2009. Allison’s arrival
also made Don Isnor (General
Manager of Strescon) a proud
first-time grandfather!
Adam Brochu (FCC Electrical)
and wife Julie welcomed baby
girl, Zoe on April 19th.
Andrew Biggs (FCC Electrical)
and wife Jill welcomed Lauren, 6lbs 2oz, on March 20th.
Len Andrews (OSCO-SJ) and
his wife Kalie welcomed 2nd
child, Sebastian at 10lbs 1oz
on April 24th.
Applause:
Congratulations to the following Ocean Steel employees
who received their NACE
Coating Inspector - Level
1 certifications: Jay Guiles
(Conklin); Lorne Hanson
(Fred); Joe Odo (Fred); Dave
Lang (SJ); Tim Latter (SJ)
Jeff Underhill (SJ); Kristy
Waalderbos (Saint John)
Strescon Ski Night
contributed by
Robin Kilpatrick
On Saturday, March 13th, Strescon employees, along
with OSCO Group Services employees who frequently
work on Strescon’s behalf (Accounting, Contracts, IT, HR,
& Inventory Systems) were invited to Poley Mountain in
Sussex, NB for an evening of winter fun. Skiers and snowboarders hit the hill with much excitement and enthusiasm!
This event was held to foster growth as a team, and
bond with individuals who deal with each other on a daily
basis, but rarely get to connect one-on-one. Once the
hills were all ripped up, everyone gathered at the lodge for
a fun snowball competition, which was won by the team
of Brendan Clancy, Nick Hatt, Vivian Chaisson, and
Duanne Shanks. Great job guys! Everyone was treated to
a marvelous meal, a gift card, and many, many laughs!
L-R: Tyson Martin, Mike Redmond, Sheri Fanjoy, Cory Vail, Andrew Gabriel and Andrew
O’Donnell. Missing: Matt Skerry
New Certifications for Inspectors
Congratulations to the following Strescon-Saint John Quality Inspectors
who received new certifications this past March: ACI Level One: Sheri
Fanjoy; Cory Vail; Andrew Gabriel; Andrew O’Donnell; Mike Redmond; Matt Skerry • PCI Level One: Tyson Martin
35
Our Locations
STRUCTURAL STEEL:
OCEAN STEEL
Corporate office & SJ plant
400 Chesley Drive, Saint John, NB • CA
Phone: (506) 632-2600
Member Since • 1955
OCEAN STEEL - New England Sales Office
25 Burlington Mall Road,
Burlington, MA • USA
Phone: (781) 221-2152
YORK STEEL - Plant & service center
550 Wilsey Road, Fredericton, NB • CA
Phone: (506) 444-7989
OCEAN STEEL CORPORATION
Office & plant
53 Shaw Road, Conklin, NY • USA Phone: (607) 584-7500
REBAR:
OSCO REBAR SERVICES
Saint John plant
Phone: (506) 632-2600
ALLSTAR REBAR NOVA SCOTIA
Office & plant
48 Duke Street, Bedford, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 832-0917
PRECAST:
STRESCON LIMITED
Corporate Office & SJ plant
101 Ashburn Rd., Saint John, NB • CA
Phone: (506) 633-8877
STRESCON LIMITED
Bedford office & plant
131 Duke St., Bedford, NS • CA Phone: (902) 494-7400
STRESCON LIMITED
New England Sales Office
25 Burlington Mall Road,
Burlington, MA • USA Phone: (781) 221-2153
BORCHERDT CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Office & plant
RR#4, Hardscratch Road
Yarmouth, NS • CA Phone: (902) 742-7811
READY-MIX (OSCO Concrete):
STRESCON READY-MIX
Saint John plant
101 Ashburn Rd., Saint John, NB • CA
Phone: (506) 633-8877
STRESCON READY-MIX
Moncton plant
1212 Berry Mills Rd, Moncton, NB • CA
Phone: (506) 858-7110
SCHURMAN CONCRETE
Summerside office & plant
240 MacEwen Rd, Summerside, PE • CA
Phone: (902) 888-4331
SCHURMAN CONCRETE
Charlottetown office & plant
412 Mount Edward Road
Charlottetown, PE • CA Phone: (902) 628-0127
GLENHOLME READY-MIX - plant
RR #1 • Debert, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 662-3722
ANNAPOLIS VALLEY READY-MIX - Plant
20 Park Drive, Windsor, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 798-2291
TRISTAR CONCRETE - plant
23557 #7 Hwy
Sheet Harbour, NS • CA Phone: (902) 885-2358
SACKVILLE CONCRETE
Nova Scotia Office & plant
17 Estate Drive, Lower Sackville, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 864-3230
BEDFORD READY-MIX - plant
414 Bluewater Rd., Bedford, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 835-0882
OSCO AGGREGATES
M.S.D. Enterprises
Little Dyke Rd, Glenholme, NS • CA
Phone: (902) 662-3722
GC CARTAGE
Phone: (506) 632-2600
CONSTRUCTION:
FCC CONSTRUCTION - office
Phone: (506) 632-7800
MARQUE CONSTRUCTION - office
Phone: (506) 634-1144
KENNEBEC CONSTRUCTION - office
Phone: (506) 632-7800

Life is a Highway - OSCO Construction Group

Transcription

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