Translator - Transfield Asset Management

FT
SERVICES
the
Translator
The Translator is a bi-monthly newsletter for FT Services and TAMSIL Employees working on the Suncor AMS contract
Dear employees;
Please join me in congratulating the entire Maintenance team
at Firebag for achieving one year without any serious injuries,
a milestone officially achieved on May 18, 2010. This is a testament to the strong safety attitude prevalent amongst all our
Firebag employees. I also want to acknowledge our Sustaining
Projects employees at Firebag who are continually improving their safety performance. Recently, Sustaining Projects at
Firebag achieved more than six months of continuous work,
recordable-injury free.
As we have shared previously Sarnia is continuing their excellent performance with zero-recordable injuries since their “go
live” date of August 28, 2008.
At Main Site we are making progress on several fronts and
have reduced eye injuries by 50 per cent from a year ago. I
believe we have made this improvement by focusing on the
proper use of eye protection with our employees who follow
our policy of close-fitting safety eyewear or monogoggles with
a strap in any of the plant areas. Ultimately it is up to each individual to wear the appropriate PPE for the task. These type
of safe practices lead to safe habits. We are now introducing
the same safety eyewear standard in Extraction.
David Robinson (left), Vice President, Operations responsible for the day-to-day operations of FT Services alliance
with Suncor Energy, and David Videroni, Executive
Account Manager responsible for the overall arrangements of the asset management services contract with
Suncor Energy.
This spring we rolled out across all sites a focus on hand-injury prevention as unfortunately, our people have sustained
injuries to their hands and fingers. We rely on our hands to perform the most basic and the most elaborate tasks, they are
fundamental to our livelihoods. It’s up to each of us to take “Safety into Our Hands.”
Identify the hazards on your FLRA and remember, if any of the conditions change in the job redo your FLRA again as a
new hazard may appear.
As an organization we are on an ongoing journey to improve our safety
performance and given the successes at Firebag and Sarnia they are proof
that all injuries can be prevented. At FT Services this is supported by a firm
commitment to protect the health and safety of all our employees and our
expectation for an injury-free workplace.
May/June 2010
Safety
Plant 5 Rebuild
A special thank you to the whole Asset Management Services team from
all sites and alliance partners who helped in the response to two significant
Better Ways Oil Sands
unplanned events at Main Site earlier this year. We are proud of the comNew Water Facility
mitment and teamwork from everyone during the response effort. The first
month of operation after return to service was a great result for the Upgrader Employee Spotlight
and you can all be proud of your contribution to that result.
Training Team
Lastly, a thank you to the training, resources and mobilization teams at Main New Digs at Firebag
Site who have trained more than 6,000 people from many different compaFirebag News
nies so far this year. This is a great achievement and is also contributing to
Sarnia Outage
the reduction in injuries at main site.
Employee Spotlights
Regards,
Olympic Experiences
David Robinson
David Videroni Corporate News
Vice President, Operations
Executive Account Manager
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Insert
Safety
Long and Long
Outdoors On-site Dress Code
It may be summer weather outside, but inside of Suncor’s gates
we cannot dress like we’re going to the beach.
How under-dressed we are under our coveralls is our business,
but once those coveralls are off, long sleeves and full length pants
are required if we are outside anywhere on-site. This is known as
the long and long policy.
Exposed skin increases the chances of injury, whether that mechanism of injury is from sharp edges or the rays of the sun. Every
hour of every day, people around the world are needlessly injured
because of under-dressing on the job.
Make sure you always arrive on site sporting long sleeves and
pants. Whether walking to or from a building or having a smoke
break, the long and long policy is in effect.
Remind your fellow workers to dress up if you spot them dressed
down outdoors. This standard will be enforced and must be
adhered to.
And remember that CSA safety boots and safety eyewear are
mandatory for all FT Services employees when outside anywhere
on site.
Depending on the scope of your work and your work area you
may require more PPE, but long and long, CSA safety boots, and
safety eyewear are the minimum PPE requirement for everyone.
Julie Carew and Josh Bradbury-Wiseman model
the minimum PPE required for FT Services
employees when outdoors anywhere on site.
Checked the Best Before Date of Your Tires?
When is the last time you checked the
“Best Before” date of your vehicle’s
tires? Yes, you did read that correctly.
Tires have a best before date, just like
milk and bread, although for tires
it is significantly longer. Dated tires
don’t turn odd shades of green and
become fuzzy growths in the back of
the fridge, but they can become safety
hazards.
Although tread wear is usually a good
indicator of whether or not a tire is
safe to use, often it is not possible to
determine through visual inspection
whether a tire is too old or dangerous. For tires that have been stored
for some time or installed on vehicles
which are infrequently driven, and
when buying new tires, be sure to
Page 2
check the date of manufacture. This is
a four digit number stamped on the
sidewall of the tire and it indicates the
week and the year the tire was manufactured.
How to check manufacture date of
tire
Step 1: Look for the tire identification
number branded in the sidewall of the
tire. This ID number starts with the
letters DOT followed by a combination of 10 to 12 letters and numbers. If
you see DOT plus just a few letters or
numbers, the full ID number is on the
other side of the tire.
Step 2: Note whether the last part of
the ID number consists of three or four
digits. If you see just three numbers,
the tire was manufactured before the
year 2000; jump to Step 5.
Step 3: Decode the tire manufacture
date. The four-digit number provides
the week and year the tire was manufactured. For example, if the digits are
4308, the tire was manufactured in the
43rd week of 2008.
Step 4: Determine the age of the tire
by subtracting the date of manufacture
from the current date. Remember that
a year has 52 weeks and each month is
approximately 4.3 weeks long.
Step 5: Properly dispose of any overage tires. Do not use tires which are
more than six years old.
Site News - Oil Sands
Teamwork Plays Pivotal Role in Plant 5 Rebuild
For most of February and March, FT Services’ Sustaining
Projects team under the leadership of Tim Phelan worked
as one team with Suncor Major Projects and alongside the
Upgrading Maintenance Team on the Plant 5 Rebuild Project. This collective effort demonstrated strong teamwork
and commitment to safety as Upgrader 1 was successfully
returned to Operations on March 28.
“Team alignment was one the keys to the success of this
project. The rebuild team was highly motivated and committed,” said Tim Phelan, General Manager, Sustaining
Projects. “Although the work was intense and challenging,
there was a high degree of collaboration within a complex
operating environment,” added Tim.
Over the course of 48 days, many people from different
teams were involved in the rebuild. FT Services mobilized
approximately 330 craft and 120 staff (Superintendents,
Supervisors, Quality Assurance/Quality Control, Safety,
Engineers, Project Controls, and Management) with an
additional 300 craft from other specialist subcontractors.
This is an amazing statistic considering the number of
work fronts and the congested area within Plant 5.
“Throughout the rebuild, safety was always our number
one priority. Communication was essential among all, and
it was a fantastic team effort from projects, maintenance
and operations as everyone pulled together and returned
the unit to operation in a very compressed time frame,”
added Tim.
The scope of work was significant and included a total of
113 work packages which were planned, executed and
signed off all within this time frame.
Ninety per cent of the staff and craft were mobilized within
a week and ensured work could go ahead without any
delays. FT Services and Safway employees were an integral
part of the effort, and together dedicated significant number of hours to the project.
“The ultimate proof of execution quality and thoroughness
was the plant start-up, it proceeded very smoothly which
reflects very positively on all your efforts,” said Anthony
Zoltenko, Vice President, Oil Sands Sustaining Projects,
Suncor.
“A high level of effort, engagement and care for each other
was very evident and very much appreciated,” added
Anthony.
“Every person involved in the U1 Plant 5 Rebuild reinforced our principles of quality, safety, and teamwork.
What made our team successful was that a group of many
hands acted with strong focus and with ‘one mind’ to
achieving safe and reliable operations. I am very grateful
to the team and their strong camaraderie and dedication.
There is no doubt that this enabled the plant to be returned
to service safely and reliably in such a short time frame,”
said Tim.
Tim Phelan (front row, far right) and a portion of the Plant 5 Rebuild team
Page 3
Better Ways - Oil Sands
Cost Reduction for Spent Catalyst
Better Way submitted by
Jason Moss, Maintenance Planner for Upgrading
Jason Moss, Maintenance Planner for Upgrading, saw an opportunity to reduce costs in the handling and metals recovery of spent catalyst change outs. Jason went after this opportunity with tenacity and the result was a dramatic reduction
in costs. The resulting improvement includes a reduction of costs for managing the shipment of spent catalyst as well as
a new contract to assume part of the profit for sale of recovered metals (mostly molybdenum and nickel). The resulting
cost savings is expected
to be in the range of
Hazardous Waste
Plant 7 – Naptha Catalyst Change Example
$600,000 per year!
Yard
unload
Flo-Bins unloaded – sit up to
7 days
spent catalyst
load
7C-2
load
Flo-Bins loaded onto 40ft trailer
Flo-Bin
fresh
catalyst
Flo-Bin
To Lynton Rail ~
65km
Flo-Bins on site 2
weeks prior to catalyst
change
Sometimes catalyst is
presulfided, requiring
additional Flow-Bin rental.
Cost saving opportunity
exists to compare gain on
start-up vs. rental
Cost saving
opportunity exists to
load flow bins and
ship directly
To Gulf Chemical
Freeport, Texas
5-7 days
Flow-Bins returned
(7 days CHEP
vs 1 day NRI)
To Gulf Chemical
Freeport, Texas
40-80 days
The Stanley Cup of Improvement
The Better Way team is like a hockey team. They continuously want to develop and find new ways to improve their
overall game. They recognize that although talent will help
you win, it is teamwork that will win you championships.
And like the hockey playoffs, the Better Way team at Oil
Sands is always striving to perform and become better.
just relax, give each other high fives and put their feet up…
right? Well, the problem in this approach can be loosely attributed to the second law of thermodynamics. The second
law, also known as the law of increased entropy, describes
how a system, when left alone, will tend toward a state of
disorder.
“The main focus of the Better Way program is to track and
acknowledge improvements made by employees in their
daily work, and advertise these improvements so that they
can be adopted by other areas,” said Timea Fleury, Better
Way Coordinator. “Other suggestions that have a broader
scope and affect multiple areas, crews, or contractors can be
grouped and supported using team based problem solving
and other continuous improvement processes. This way
we can ensure that all parties affected are involved and the
most viable and most innovative solution is implemented.”
What this means is that, even to simply maintain the current state, be it safety, production, quality or maintenance
and reliability, a certain level of improvement is necessary.
Continuous improvement is a culture that many businesses
strive for in order to maintain operational excellence and a
competitive edge.
What is Continuous Improvement?
Consider the start-up of a new plant for example. During the start-up and commissioning phases, there will be
plenty of improvements made to get the bugs worked out
and the line producing a good quality product. From this
point, the improvements will plateau and everyone can
Page 4
Creating a culture of continuous improvement requires a
conscious effort from all levels of an organization. The old
culture of management imposed changes is replaced with
a new culture of autonomous improvements by front-line
workers. This requires a clear commitment to teamwork,
open and honest communication, focused goals and support from management.
Every day we work is an opportunity to improve. And by
continuing to get better, we set ourselves up for the best opportunity to win the Stanley Cup of Success.
Site News - Oil Sands
New Drinking Water Facility for Upgrading
Perched between the UOB and UMB sits an ordinary trailer,
similar in appearance to dozens of trailers dotting the Oil
Sands landscape. But step inside and you will see that this
is a trailer with a difference.
It is sparkling clean inside. The faucets, sinks, and stainless
steel equipment glisten, and the counter-tops and floors
have a just-washed shine. This sanitary environment is
home to the new drinking water facility for
Upgrading. This is where the ubiquitous orange
water jugs go to be cleaned and re-filled.
facility built to his design specifications, secured a location,
sought approvals, and initiated safe drinking water protocols and rigorous testing procedures.
Both Upgrading 1 and 2 are supplied from this trailer,
which also has an ice machine so that crews can be supplied with cool water. The trailer operates 24 hours a day
with two 12-hour shifts.
The new facility is a major improvement over the
former method of getting drinking water into plant
areas. Previously a crew of labourers manually
filled the 38-litre water jugs by emptying water
cooler bottles into the jugs, a labour intensive and
time consuming process. After each use the water
jugs were shipped off site to be cleaned and sanitized. This sometimes led to a shortage of jugs as it
took time to transport them to and from site.
Now this is all done at the drinking water facility.
Facility staff washes the outside of the buckets to
remove dirt, mud, debris and then the rinsed water
jugs are placed in a bucket washer where they are
sterilized. They are then filled with fresh water and
ready to be transported into the plant.
“The new facility could result in significant savings,
with most of the cost savings coming from having
the water jug sanitization done on site,” said Rick
Burton, Labour Services Coordinator. He based
this estimate on the costs involved with supplying drinking water during the Plant 25 Outage last
autumn.
Above: Carmen Lewis (left) and Cindy Dugas prepare to sterilize water
When the facility first began operating in March, two jugs at the drinking water facility.
Below: Rocky Head (left) and Rick Burton in front the drinking water
400 gallon tanks, filled by CEDA, were used for its
drinking water supply. It has since been connected to facility.
the Suncor main water line, thus eliminating another step in the process and adding to the already
substantial cost savings.
“In order to be sure that the water we are providing
our workers is safe, we have EPCOR testing it on
a daily basis. This and the other standards in place
far exceed the health regulations set by the Alberta
Health Authority,” Rick said.
“This is one of the best things that we have on site,”
said Rocky Head, Labouring Coordinator, Rocky
coordinates the delivery of drinking water in Upgrading.
The idea for an on-site drinking water facility had
its genesis in a July 2009 discussion between Rocky
and Sean McGinn, former Senior Manager of Maintenance, regarding more efficient ways to provide
drinking water to workers in the field. The two then
approached Rick with the idea.
Rick took on the project enthusiastically. He had the
Page 5
Employee Spotlight
Employee Spotlight: Khairul Che Wan
Khairul Che Wan, Turnaround Assurance Manager
FT Services, Suncor Energy Oil Sands site
Recently Khairul aChe Wan was interviewed for Transfield Services’ Sustainability
Report and the following contains excerpts of that interview. - Editor
Khairul worked for Transfield Services Joint Venture company in Malaysia
in 2005 and joined Transfield Services directly in February 2007. He was
seconded to the FT Services Joint Venture in September 2007 and currently
is a Turnaround Assurance Manager with the 2010 Turnaround team at
Suncor’s main oil sands site.
What do you like about working for Transfield Services?
“I have a sense of belonging when I work for Transfield Services (FT
Services). There is a feeling of family and I get a sense that I am valued. I
have worked for many other multi-national companies and have found my
previous experiences with those companies to be strictly business. With
Transfield Services (FT Services) I am rewarded for my work and I believe
it is a strong two-way relationship. I want to give back to the company and
make a strong contribution.”
What have been your biggest career highlights and challenges?
“During my time at Transfield Services Joint Venture in Malaysia, Transfield
Services had a contract with Shell but we had no relationship with Petronas. Petronas is the biggest oil & gas company in Malaysia and operates
in 30 countries. I was responsible for the strategy and development of the
company’s business. Over a period of one year, I managed to introduce the
capability/competency and credibility of Transfield Services across various
Petronas plants until our company became the “talk” within their organization.
“I consider this the highlight of my career in TS because I did the above job beyond my comfort zone and outside my
expertise as an engineer. The job taught me to appreciate the importance of business development and maintaining the
company’s credibility in order to sustain the company business.”
Does TS provide you with opportunities to grow? How?
“Yes, I have been given opportunity to grow in my career. The Professional Development Process is not just on paper.
This plan is real and from my experience I have gained very positive exposure across many facets of our business. I have
received very good business training to help prepare me for my job and to allow me to be prepared for future roles.”
How do you feel about the environment you work in – is there trust, respect and support for your contribution?
“Yes, most definitely. I feel empowered to make a difference and to speak up. There is no bureaucracy here and my work
colleagues listen to me and are respectful of me.”
Do you feel a sense of belonging in the company? Do you feel valuable and valued?
“Yes, I do feel an excellent sense of belonging. There is more of a family feeling and I’m treated as though I am valued for
my contributions. Everyone within the company is approachable, including senior leaders. Again I believe the Professional Development Plan is not just on paper. It is up to all of us to make it real and leadership is sincere in their belief to make
it work. The PDP allows me to grow in my career and to set me up to face challenges and succeed.”
Do you feel challenged and encouraged to strive for excellence and high standards in service delivery?
“Yes, responsibilities are given to me and others – always challenging our capacity. Leadership is asking us to do more
and to push harder. We are given opportunities to do a more and the door is always open to do more to grow our careers
and to climb further toward excellence.”
What are your thoughts on diversity?
“I believe TS embraces diversity very well. I have always felt as though I was a member of a family by working for TS. I
know the company is serious about their commitment to diversity.”
Page 6
Site News - Oil sands
Exemplary Performance by Training Team
To say the first trimester of 2010 has been busy for the FT
Services training team is a bit of an understatement.
From January 1 to May 15, a total of 6,500 people received
training from the team, including 2,000 FT Services and
Safway direct employees. Training was also delivered to
another 4,500 employees of various contractors.
The training team (as well as many other FT Services
teams) started 2010 in reactive mode as it was assigned
the task of providing training to all new hire employees
for two significant unplanned events. “Although the team
came through and fulfilled the training requirements, it
would have been an easier task if the additional classrooms
had been available at the beginning of the year,” Greg said.
The team provided mandatory training required for presite access safety and job specific training, such as confined
space, supplied air and fall protection.
Training scope also included planned events such as the
Spring turnaround in Upgrading 2, and ongoing training of
new hires for Sustaining Projects and Extraction.
In essence the FT Services training team controlled site
access and delivered training to all non-Suncor new hires
within the Upgrading business unit.
In addition, the training team developed a Turnaround
Leaders orientation and delivered this to more than 500
turnaround leaders from FT Services, Suncor and various
contractors. The leaders’ orientation was comprised of all
the business fundamentals associated with the turnaround
project, including an opening presentation by the turnaround manager followed by presentations on EHS, Suncor
Operations, planning, project controls, quality assurance/
quality control, materials management, support services,
engineering and document control.
The number of employees receiving training is remarkable
by itself, but when one considers the cramped quarters
available for training it is even more impressive. Until April
there were only two classrooms available for training with
a total capacity for 75 students.
Since April seating capacity has increased with the addition
of four new modular classrooms. Now up to 250 students
can be trained at one time.
“The additional classrooms have greatly enhanced our capacity to provide required training in a timely and efficient
manner,” said Greg Jones, Resource Team Manager. “This
is especially important for unplanned events when a large
number of new hires need to be trained and on boarded
quickly.”
“We have created a flexible solution to provide all safety
training to support the Suncor Upgrading business unit”.
Greg noted that the training team has put in a huge effort
this year and they continue to work at improving service
and providing quality training in an efficient and timely
manner.
The Training Team strike a pose. Back row (from left): Mateusz Pawlowski, Greg Jones, Lindsay Wurmlinger, and Clay Watson;
Front row: Brittany Rhodes, Bobby MacLellan, Jessica Filder, Ben Bennett, Kim Hoddinott and Eliana Gross.
Page 7
Site News - Firebag
New Digs At Firebag
In the span of six years Firebag has evolved from a test plant for Steam Activated Gravity Drainage (SAGD) to a permanent facility that produces 60,000 to 80,000 bpd.
The evolution of Firebag continues with the addition of a large administrative complex and new camp facilities. Both are
slated to be completed by the end of July.
“We won’t be sitting in trailers any longer,” said Chad Thompson, FT Services Site Manager for Firebag. “The trailers
always had a temporary feel to them but this new complex lends a sense of permanency to the site. Firebag the remote
camp is transforming into Firebag the village.”
The new 170,000 square foot administrative complex
north of the FT Services office trailers will be home to
personnel who have shared responsibility for all three
stages at Firebag, as well as maintenance superintendents.
The administrative facility actually consists of several
buildings including the 57,000 square foot main administration double storey office block;, the 57,000 square
foot warehouse and maintenance shop, each with mezzanine levels; and the control room, permit room, lunch
room, and lockers/ washrooms.
The laboratory, heavy weld shop, light vehicle repair
shop, and a tote chemical storage facility are detached
buildings that are also considered part of the complex.
The complex has about 270 offices and workstations, in
a combination of offices with doors, single workstations,
and shared work stations to accommodate cross-shift
positions.
There are seven visitors’ cubicles on the main floor of the
office block as well as six more in the lunch room and
three on the mezzanine level of the maintenance shop.
The office block has four breakout rooms on the second
floor and a “town hall” with seating for 400 on the main
floor. The town hall can be divided into six separate
meeting rooms. Five other smaller meeting rooms are
scattered throughout the complex. All meeting rooms
have teleconferencing and some are equipped with videoconferencing, smart boards and overhead projectors.
Firebag SP Already in New Building
Sustaining Projects has already made the move to
a new administrative building, having taken up
residence in a renovated foreman’s building on
March 29.
“We were a little disjointed as we were spread out
over three or more buildings,” said Arnie Bechard,
Manager of Construction for Sustaining Projects at
Firebag. “Now, with all of Sustaining Projects under one roof, we have more face-to-face contact.”
The new building has bright, spacious offices, updated information technology has been integrated
throughout the building, and a conference room,
“which is not only a more efficient use of time, but
also helps create a sense of team,” said Arnie.
“The goal was to create a professional atmosphere, to create space for our people to work and
not have them jammed up in cramped quarters.”
Arnie sees the building as an indication that there
is a long term role for Sustaining Projects to play
in the growth and development of Firebag.
Kitchens, coffee stations, lunch rooms, and training rooms are located throuhgout the complex.
“This is a world-class facility,” said Chad. “Everyone is quite excited to see the finished building and is looking forward to
moving day.”
New Accommodation Facility
Meanwhile, work is progressing on new accommodation facilities west of the plant site consisting of an 84,000 sq. ft. central “village square” building.
The core building has a large kitchen, dining area with a seating capacity of 1,000, lockers for residents, two TV lounges, a
multi-purpose room, recreational room, a multi-purpose gym with indoor courts, men’s and women’s fitness rooms with a
good variety of cardio, strength and weight equipment, commissary (camp store), and vending machines.
From the core complex, arctic utilidoors lead to wings for Short Term Residences (STR) and Long Term Residences (LTR).
The STR has 11 wings with north and south dorms connected by a central corridor. Only two of the nine LTR wings are
being completed at this time.
All 812 STR rooms are occupied while work is progressing on the core complex and the 152 LTR rooms.
Page 8
Better Ways - Firebag
PSV & Mechanical Seal
Custody Sheet
Better way submitted by
Eric Nordquist, Warehouse Foreman
Pressure safety valves and mechanical seals are dropped off at the warehouse and from there shipped out for repairs. The problem is that those
who were dropping off the valves and seals often did not let the warehouse
people know the work order number. This resulted in valves and seals being lost in the system.
Eric’s solution to this problem was to create a custody sheet. Now anyone
who drops off a valve or seal at the warehouse must log it on the custody
sheet, along with the work order number. Potential savings of approximately $100,000 could be realized by eliminating the man-hours associated
with finding lost valves and seals.
Farewell Barbecue For Mickey Kanak
A farewell barbecue for Mickey Kanak was held at Firebag on April 14.
Mickey, who has a steamfitter background, joined the FT Services Firebag operations in March 2008 as a Construction
Superintendent. Previous to that, he had been working in the same position for Suncor at Firebag.
His steam fitting experience and his approach to others meant he quickly became an important team member. He subsequently become a Construction Advisor sharing his time between the engineering office and the field to help integrate
a construction approach in the design phase. This proved valuable on the water hammer and the HP steam-blow down
projects.
At the barbecue, Mickey spoke of the role of the father in a family, the significance of his father’s role in his life and the
importance of getting home safely. His powerful message was heart felt and registered with everyone at the barbecue.
Mickey enjoyed the camaraderie of the Firebag community. He will be remembered fondly by all those with whom he
worked with. All Firebag wishes him all the best in a happy retirement. May the fish always be biting.
Arnie Bechard, Manager of Construction for Sustaining Projects at Firebag, wished Mikey Kanak well at a retirement
BBQ held in Mickey’s honour at Firebag on April 14.
Page 9
Site News - Sarnia
Sarnia Safely Completes HCC and Crude Outage
Suncor, with the assistance of FT Services, Anderson & Webb, Aluma and other support contractors recently completed
an outage of the Houdry Catalytic Cracker (HCC) and Crude #1 units at the Sarnia refinery. The scope of work included
opening, cleaning and inspection of the main HCC reactor vessel, the Syn Tower and multiple heat exchangers. “Upon
completion of the outage, we recorded three first-aid injuries and zero medical aid and lost time incidents after more than
30,000 work hours,” said Stephen Atkinson, Maintenance & Construction Manager, Sarnia and lead
Execution Manager for the outage. “I’m pleased to
Feedback from FT Services
report we completed the outage on budget and reEHS Coordinator, Trevor Richard
turned the plant to service earlier than scheduled.”
The HCC unit is one of the last of its kind in the
world and is shutdown every 18 months for major
maintenance. Due to lessons learned from previous
outages and the condition of the coker, opening and
cleaning of the vessel was made easier. This was one
of the key contributing factors to early return of the
plant to operations.
“Overall the outage was successful due to the
turnaround practices applied, most importantly the
formation and efforts of the core team and regular
cross-functional communication including all contractors, maintenance, operations, reliability, safety,
supply chain and logistics,” added Stephen. “Efficiencies were identified, better ways were implemented and overall coordination was fantastic!”
The three first-aid injuries had common root causes
of body positioning and workplace design, which
was consistent with
information identified in
the Behavioural Based
Observations (BBO’s). The
challenge for us going forward is to better identify
and implement specific
opportunities to improve
from our BBO’s - the
leading indicator for firstaids. The upside of this is
timely, open reporting and
management of injuries
which is a good indicator
of the trend in site safety
culture.
“I would like to thank
everyone involved in the
outage for their focus on
safety, teamwork, professionalism and for the extra
hours away from home –
overall, everyone demonstrated a commitment
to get the job done,” said
Stephen.
Suncor’s Sarnia Refinery
Page 10
Our EHS program was very successful during the 2010
Crude and HCC Outage. We strived for zero work place
injuries, but unfortunately, recorded three minor first-aids.
Although the site never wants to see a worker injured, considering that our trades people worked an estimated 33,000
hours in a short duration of time, we are very pleased with
how safely the site operated during the Outage.
Positive reinforcement was given to the workers for reporting injuries that in the past may have gone unreported,
giving us an opportunity to be proactive to prevent similar
injuries.
Contributing factors for our accomplishments were the positive reinforcements for the safe behaviours witnessed in the
field and a robust training program that helped set our craft
up for success.
Employee Spotlights
Katie Lepore – Payroll Clerk, Sarnia
A new addition to the Sarnia team is Katie Lepore who received an Honours
Business degree from Wilfred Laurier University with a concentration in Human
Resources. Katie graduated on the Dean’s list and looks forward to applying her
strong work ethic at FT Services. Katie enjoys working at the Sarnia Refinery and
finds everyone to be helpful and friendly. She admits that it was a little overwhelming being hired on at the beginning of the outage. Learning the job with
double the amount of workers on-site made for some challenging days during
the first week of work, but Katie says she enjoyed the additional obstacles she
faced and wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“As time progressed I really enjoyed the fast work pace and I also appreciated all
the extra things I have had the chance to learn because of the outage. In the end
I am glad that I started during the outage because it gave me an appreciation for
the workload and how hard my colleagues work.”
When asked her opinion about how the Sarnia Refinery focuses on safety Katie
has kind words to say. Katie credits both workers and management for taking a
joint approach to influencing and maintaining a safe work culture. Katie says that
it makes her feel very safe knowing how much pride the people on-site take in
putting safety first.
This past October Katie returned home after working in Italy and Germany for
eleven months. Katie also graduated with a minor in German and can speak three
languages. She enjoys traveling abroad and learning more about the cultures and
languages that she studied in university. Aside from traveling, Katie also enjoys playing sports and reading. Katie has
recently joined a baseball team in Sarnia and looks forward to improving her skills in a new sport this summer.
Eric Dalziel – Maintenance Planner for Plant 2, Sarnia
Eric Dalziel has 30 years experience working in the valley at Nova Corunna with an instrumentation and electrical background. As a supervisor, Eric has always been involved
in the planning environment. Thus far, Eric really enjoys
his new position, the facilities and work environment at
the Sarnia Refinery. Eric describes his interaction with the
people around him as being a very positive experience
saying, “everyone I have met has been more then willing
to offer advice and help me along the way.” Although
the outage was planned before Eric arrived on-site, he
is pleased that he has been able to witness how the site
worked through it.
Eric was very impressed with how sincere the efforts onsite were to complete jobs safely while at the same time
maintaining the schedule and cost. “I was impressed at
how the shutdown transitioned plans, schedules and resources across each of the plants.” Most of all Eric appreciated the site’s respect for one another and each others’
areas of responsibility.
Eric feels that environment, health and safety are always
going to be areas that need ongoing attention and improvement. Eric says he has found that during his time at
the Sarnia Refinery people on-site look at safety as their
top priority: “From the Monday morning safety meetings
to each and every plan and operation carried out by the
tradesmen, it’s obvious that at the Suncor Sarnia Refinery
people care about safety.”
When asked why he came out of retirement to take the
position as maintenance planner, Eric said that he was simply not ready to retire. He enjoys interacting with work colleagues and the ability to keep exercising his mind in a goal-oriented environment. Outside of work Eric enjoys family
and as hobbies likes to dabble in the stock market, play golf and curling.
Page 11
Olympic Experiences
From Payroll Manager to Olympic Bobsleigh Race Director
There are very few people who can add Race Director, Olympic Bobsleigh to
their resume but after several years of true grit and determination Astrid Wolf,
Payroll Manager with FT Services, can add this distinguished title to her career
accomplishments.
“My Olympic journey began many years ago when I was a member of the first
Canadian Women’s Bobsleigh team, long before women were even recognized
in the sport,” said Astrid. “I love the sport and I was inspired to stay with it by
training to become an International race official.”
As Race Director for the Bobsleigh events in Whistler, British Columbia, Astrid
prepared for this important role for approximately two years. Astrid needed to
build her leadership team, ensure 150 volunteer officials were trained and work
several races to evaluate the volunteers in order to pick the final team for the
2010 Olympics. In addition, Astrid needed to understand fully the nuances of
the new bobsleigh venue – the Whistler Sliding Centre and liaise closely with
the governing body for bobsleigh, the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh
et de Tobogganing (FIBT).
A highlight of Astrid’s Olympic experience was seeing the Canadian women’s
bobsleigh team win not one but two medals with a gold and silver medal performance. “As a pioneer of the sport, when our Canadian women won a gold
and silver medal it was an especially gratifying experience, but the thrill of
bobsleigh did not end there as the following race the Canadian men’s team won
Astrid Wolf at the Whistler Sliding Centre
bronze in the four man competition.”
“I’m very proud I had the extraordinary opportunity to be the first ever female Race Director at the Olympics,” added Astrid. “I’m grateful for the support I received from FT Services to permit me to be away from work for an extended period
of time. It was an invaluable, once in a lifetime experience and a memory that will stay with me forever.”
Experience of a lifetime
Three months after the Olympics and
Jason Veltri is still pumped. Jason, was
a volunteer at the curling venue for the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. An
avid curler, Jason was excited to see the
enthusiasm of the spectators.
“For some it was the first time they had
watched a curling game. Some didn’t
know the rules, but they got into the
game, cheering and applauding loudly
after good plays.” The atmosphere was
so boisterous that on occasion quiet had
to be called before the curlers threw their
rocks.
Jason spent most of his free time was
spent taking in the Olympic events in
downtown Vancouver.
City Celebrates Gold
During the men’s gold medal hockey
game after the Americans tied the
game late in the third period to send it
into overtime, “an incredible hush fell
over the city. There was dead silence
for seven minutes”, Jason said.
“And then when Canada scored the
winning goal, it was like you had set
off a bomb. The entire city released
Page 12
“Downtown Vancouver was electric,
with Canadian gear in abundance, hifives, and cheers. The entire city erupted
when Canadian athletes won gold
medals. There were food vendors, art
exhibits, and every country attending
the Olympics had a ‘house’. It was very
cultural, I learned a great deal about
other countries.”
Jason said the 10 days he spent at the
Olympics was the experience of a lifetime. “It made me understand what the
Olympic movement is all about: a coming together of the world community
in peace and security, and contentment.
Everybody was
Jason Veltri joined the
one.”
crowds at the Olympic
Flame in Vancouver
its collective breath and exploded in a
cacophony of cheering and noisemaking. People grabbed anything to make
noise, they banged pots and pans, car
horns were sounded, the roar was
amazing.”
over because of all the people spilling
onto the streets (and running through
the bus) celebrating Canada’s win.
As he rushed to the terminal on foot,
Jason he was waylaid several times by
celebrants.
It was also a day when it was tough to
get to the airport. Jason was flying out
that Sunday and the bus taking him
to the Skytrain terminal had to pull
“Everybody was your best friend. It
was a day that everyone was proud
to be a Canadian, a celebration of our
country.”
Corporate Update
Exploring Trades & Technologies Careers
Many people follow the mantra,
“seeing is believing”, but at the recent Skills Canada Alberta competition in Edmonton, “trying is believing” is how more than 5,000 junior
and senior high school students
explored exciting career prospects
in the trades and technologies.
Earlier this spring, FT Services announced its partnership with Skills
Canada Alberta and its sponsorship
of the Girls Exploring Trades and
Technologies (GETT) conference.
The Skills Canada Alberta competition is the Olympics of the
trades and technologies, and brings
together more than 700 contestants
competing in 42 different competitions ranging from carpentry to
baking.
From left, FT Services/TAMSIL employees Samantha Allaire, Brandi Boily, Timea
Fleury, and Crystal Rutley participated as mentors at the GETT Conference in Edmonton on May 12 to 13.
At the GETT conference four employees with TAMSIL and FT Services participated as mentors for conference attendees
by sharing their stories, experiences and knowledge of their career choices. Samantha Allaire, who is a Steam fitter/Pipefitter at Suncor’s Oil Sands site recently received her Journeyperson certification after initially trying nursing at Keyano
College in Fort McMurray. Samantha said, “I decided to pursue steam fitting/pipefitting because of my Dad. My Dad is
a pipefitter and I knew I could do what he did. Today, I work hard at what I do and I take a great deal of pride in my
work,” Samantha added, “I know my Dad would be proud of what I have accomplished.”
The other three female mentors to travel to Edmonton to share their personal experiences were Brandi Boily, a Red Seal
Welder who works at Suncor’s Firebag site; Crystal Rutley, a Red Seal Insulator who now works as a Planner at Suncor’s
Oil Sands site and Timea Fleury, a Chemical Engineer and Better Way Coordinator at Suncor’s Oil Sands site.
“After a few random jobs, I had the opportunity to work as a welder’s helper. I started in 2006 and have stuck with it ever
since,” said Brandi Boily. “Now,
at 26 I’m a Journeyperson Welder
and proud of the career choice I’ve
made.”
For the 200 attendees at the GETT
conference, no doubt seeing and trying different trades will spur some
new career choices. For the young
women at the conference they spent
most of the day with the female mentors touring the skills competition
and trying their hand at welding,
roofing and insulating to name a few
of the skill challenges.
At the Skills Canada Competion in Edmonton on May 12 & 13 were, from left, Kevin
Kohl, Peter Parkinson (Transfield Services Group GM Labour Relations), Susan
Layman, Cheryl McNeil, David Reynolds, and Andrew Matthews.
Translator May/June 2010 Insert Page 1
The aim of the GETT conference is to
break down the stereotypes associated with different careers in the
trades and technologies. It opens
up a world of possibilities for young
women and girls. For FT Services,
the conference reinforces the increasingly significant role young women
play in the trades and technologies,
and to developing the workforce of
tomorrow.
Corporate Update
New President & CEO for FT Services
On April 6, Gerry Protti, Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors announced the
appointment of Michael Wandmaker as President and CEO for FT Services, effective May
17. Excerpts from this announcement are included below.
Previously, Mr. Wandmaker was Executive General Manager for Transfield Services
in Australia and has more than 20 years of global experience in senior roles in various industries including oil and gas; engineering and construction; maintenance
management; pulp and paper; mining; steel and rail.
With roles in managing businesses in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and
in Canada, Mr. Wandmaker will apply valuable insight and experience to FT Services as it continues on its high-growth path.
Mr. Wandmaker holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Monash University
in Melbourne, Australia. He also served in the Royal Australian Navy for 20 years.
One of the positions that he filled during his tenure with the Navy was that of a
Fleet Maintenance Management Officer (FMMO).
The Board is pleased that an executive with such esteemed credentials and extensive
experience is joining our senior management team. Mr. Wandmaker’s experience is
well aligned with our business objectives and we look forward to working with him
to continue to build our Canadian business.
New Chief Financial Officer for FT Services
On April 6, Acting President and CEO for FT Services, Peter Massey announced the appointment of Andy Brooks as Chief Financial Officer for FT Services commencing April 26.
Prior to this announcement, Gerri Protti, Director and Chairman of the Board announced
Peter Massey would be returning to Transfield Services as Executive Vice President Finance
for Transfield Services Americas in June reporting to Larry Ames. Below is an excerpt of the
announcement about Andy Brooks.
Mr. Brooks is currently Vice President, Business Operations for Flint Energy Services and has more than 20 years of executive finance experience in the industry. He
currently has oversight of Finance, Labour Relations, Human Resources and Recruiting. Prior to this he started at Flint as Director of Accounting and Finance.
Previous to his role with Flint, Andy worked at Lauren E&C as the CFO. Lauren is a
Texas based company with start-up operations in Alberta focusing on construction
in the Alberta oil patch.
Mr. Brooks holds an MBA, is a Certified Management Accountant and also is a
member of Certified Practicing Accountants, Australia.
Feedback Welcome
We hope you enjoy this issue of Translator,
our bi-monthly newsletter for FT Services/TAMSIL employees
at Suncor’s Oil Sands, Firebag, and Sarnia Refinery sites.
This newsletter is meant to serve you, so feedback is welcome.
Please send comments, questions, story and photo suggestions to:
Cheryl McNeil ([email protected], 780-790-2172) or
Michael Becker ([email protected], 780-788-4857)
Translator May/June 2010 Insert Page 2