fall & winter 2013 The biannual newsmagazine of t he OSCO Construction Group OSCO construction group • Team Effort at IPP • Working on the Largest Building in NB • • Alt Hotel • Shipping Steel to Texas (then Peru) • Recognition Dinner • pg.6 pg.19 pg.31 What’s Inside... fall & winter 2013 3 Message from the President 30 Harbour Bridge Refurbishment, Saint John, NB priorities profiles 31 Group Safety News 21 Customer Profile: Erland Construction 32 OSCO Environmental Management System 24 Product Profile: Precast Infrastructure 33` Information Corner 33 Sackville Facility Renovations public & community 34 Touch a Truck projects 34 NSCC Foundation Bursary Award 4 Irving Pulp & Paper, Saint John, NB 35 Steel Day 6 Kent Distribution Centre, Moncton, NB 35 National Precast Day 8 Alt Hotel, Halifax, NS 36 Pte. David Greenslade Peace Park 9 Non-Reactive Stone at OSCO Aggregates 10 South Beach Psychiatric Center, Staten Island, NY people 11 Irving Big Stop, Enfield, NS 37 Event Planning Committees 12 Lake Utopia Paper, Lake Utopia, NB 37 OSCO Group Bursary Winners 14 Irving Oil Refinery, Saint John, NB 38 Employee Recognition Dinner 16 Jasper Wyman & Son Blueberries, Charlottetown, PE 40 OSCO Golf Challenge 17 Shipping Steel to Texas (& Peru) 40 Retirement Lane Gary Bogle, Gary Fillmore, Roland Froude, Raymond Goguen, Joyce 18 Rebar, misc. projects Murray, Raymond Price, Dale Smith, Brian Underwood, Alfred Ward 19 Pier 8 & Fairview Cove Caissons, Halifax, NS 42 National Safety Award for Strescon 20 3rd Avenue, Burlington, MA 42 Group Picnic 22 Miscellaneous Metals Division, update 43 Fresh Faces 22 Ravine Centre II, Halifax, NS 43 Wall of Fame 23 Hermanville Wind Farm, Hermanville, PE 43 Congratulations 29 Cape Breton University, Cape Breton, NS 44 Our Locations OSCO 29 Regent Street Redevelopment, Fredericton, NB construction 30 DND Explosive Storage Facility, Halifax, NS group CONNECTIONS is the biannual magazine of the OSCO on our cover... Construction Group, published every Spring and Fall to share news and information with our valued customers & employees Steel erection at the Irving Pulp & Paper Brownstock project: a team effort that also had contributions Comments and submissions are greatly appreciated and may be sent to the editor/designer: Tammy Legacy, c/o OSCO Construction Group from FCC Engineering, Marque Construction, OSCO 400 Chesley Drive, Saint John, NB • Canada • E2K 5L6 email: [email protected] 2 CONNECTIONS • Fall & WinterRebar 2012 and OSCO Concrete. See page 4 for story. www.oscoconstructiongroup.com Our electrical contracting businesses also Message from the President remained quite busy; particularly with the underground electrical work underway at As we approach the end of 2013, this year At the same time, we are seeing improved the Potash Mine in Sussex, NB. has been challenging for some of our market conditions in the eastern United business lines. Our Canadian structural States. This has allowed us to re-enter At our home office, we’ve also been steel business has been effected by the this market in a more aggressive fash- working to improve our communication slowdown in the resource sector. Several ion to counteract the Canadian market & knowledge retention processes. Our mining projects for iron ore, copper, zinc place. In preparation for the rebound in company records and library of corporate and potash located in western Canada the United States, we have continued to knowledge are both being migrated onto and in Labrador & Newfoundland have modernize our plants with new equip- the Microsoft Sharepoint platform. Great either been cancelled or postponed. ment, such as our plate processing center headway has been made in organizing and “lift-and-carry” conveyor systems. and storing this information for easy ac- In the oil & gas segment, efforts are Although our structural steel plants cess by our employees. underway to get pipelines approved to started this year slower than normal, with move oil from the tar sands west to the our re-entry into the USA, we’re confi- Our recruitment efforts are also being dent that we will configured to place greater emphasis on The OSCO Group has a culture that believes in once again have a ensuring we match prospective em- healthy backlog in ployees not only with our technical job getting the “details right” for every job; getting the near future. requirements; but also with our corporate the “real facts” before acting; and, executing, as culture. Often you may hear about the We saw good “culture” that exists in an organization. opposed to talking, to get things done. construction activ- What exactly does this mean? ity in Nova Scotia Pacific, east to the Atlantic and south into and Prince Edward Island. As a result, our An organization’s culture is the sum of the United States. Until some of these precast, rebar and ready mix businesses its shared values, beliefs and norms of transportation gateways to get oil out were very active in these areas. Our behavior. This is sometimes described as of Alberta & Saskatchewan have been new ready mix dispatching and vehicle the “corporate software” or social operat- resolved, many of the mega-projects tracking system in Halifax has worked ing system that humans use in organiza- planned for the tars sands are in a hold- extremely well and we’re very pleased tions to interact. It is matched with the ing pattern. with the improved customer service “corporate hardware” that includes such we are now able to offer. Several of our things as organizational structure, rewards Locally, the New Brunswick market has ready mix plants were also modernized to system, financial reporting, operational been slow with little to no activity in con- improve our quality of mixes and to meet processes and procedures. Together our struction; particularly in the southern part our corporate environmental standards. corporate hardware and software are of the province. designed and configured to allow us to We also have had a good year at OSCO execute our plans and strategic goals. All of the above has led to increased Aggregates selling sand and gravel prod- competition for structural steel across ucts into the local markets in Truro and The OSCO Group has a culture that Canada. In our home market in Atlantic Halifax. We plan to expand this segment believes in getting the “details right” for Canada, we have fabricators coming from of our business and are actively pursuing every job; getting the “real facts” before as far away as Ontario to compete for some additional opportunities. acting; and, executing, as opposed to larger projects. talking, to get things done. At the same continued on page 42... www.oscoconstructiongroup.com CONNECTIONS • Spring & Summer 2013 3 cover project contributed by LukE johnson P.Eng, candace galbraith, trevor Irving Pulp & Paper watters & davE Dunnett P.Eng FCC Leads Team Effort on IPP Brownstock Project are 50+ years old and nearing FCC Construction: Marque Construction: their end of life. IPP installed Since April of this year, a number of Marque Industrial Division is currently one new 700HP compres- OSCO Group members have been working at Irving Pulp and Paper on sor last year, and now working on the Irving Pulp & Paper several different projects. In addition to Marque Industrial is work- Brownstock Expansion project. Led the Brownstock Washer Project, Marque ing with Irving Pulp & Paper by FCC Construction’s Civil division in is also undertaking: the Air Compressor on Phase 2, which involves the role of Construction Manager, this Phase 2 Cable Tray and Main Feeders installing two more 700HP project involves a significant expansion Project; and the Bunker C Heat Tracing compressors plus two air of the Mill Process. and Underground Pipeline Project. dryers. Marque is supplying and installing the cable tray, Construction of a new building to house On The Brownstock Washer Project, tray supports and cabling; the new equipment has been keeping Marque’s Industrial Division is supply- and coordinating the instal- the team very busy. Various phases of ing and installing the grounding system, lations with the use of a 3D the building construction have been new LED lights, temporary power to model. This will allow IPP to completed, including: adjacent build- equipment and rerouting cables on all retire the 5 older compres- ing precast panel removal to access the three floors while maintaining a focus sors. In addition, IPP has existing structure; foundation construc- on minimizing the loss of production seven desiccant air dryers, tion; removal of existing slabs; and to IPP’s business. Once the new equip- along with their accompa- construction of new elevated slabs. ment is installed, Marque electricians nying pre and after filters, will be installing the permanent power that will also be taken out of Other OSCO Group contributors to this supply. Meanwhile, Marque instrument service. This project will be completed in project include: Marque Construction, fitters are relocating instruments and December this year. OSCO Rebar, Ocean Steel and OSCO tubing valves which require temporary Concrete. All components of the work air lines, to control valves while equip- The Bunker C Line is presently heat have been challenging from a schedul- ment and structural beams are being traced only by steam. Marque is install- ing perspective, but the Irving Pulp & relocated. Once the equipment and ing electric heat tracing as a back up Paper schedule has been maintained support are installed, then Marque will to the steam trace. The electricians are throughout the project. The current install permanent air lines. This project is also installing a leak detection system backlog of work should span into the expected to be completed in January. in a double wall Bunker C underground Christmas season, with additional work pipeline. This project will be completed anticipated that will take the construc- Air Compressor - Phase 2 Project - IPP at the end of September.