THE LINK
Volume 1, Issue 1
Volume 12 Issue 1 November 2015
April 2016 Alaska Highway Contract Underway Inside this
issue:
Alaska Highway
2
Quesnel Bridge Crew
3
President’s Note
4
Keeping Roads Safe
5
New Employees
6
Jacquie’s Retirement
7
Employee Highlights
Winter Festival
8
9
Culvert Cleared
10
Campout Information
10
Sign Repair
11
Beaver Stop Installed
11
Rock Slides
12
New Vactor Truck
13
Sun Aware
14
Community Support
15
CAT Training
16
New Sign Truck
16
Litter Receptacles
17
Sanborn Road
18
Workshops
19
Employee Highlights
20
Quinn Creek
21
Alaska Hwy Convoy
21
New Crusher
22
Merritt Shop
22
Winter Debrief
23
Safety—Fatigue
24
Fort Nelson Emcon Headquarters The Alaska Highway contract has officially started! As of April 1, 2016, Emcon Services Inc., under the management of Kevin McDonnell, took over from Yellowhead Road & Bridge as the area contractor. The contract area encompasses 456 highway kilometers with 5 yard sites—Fort Nelson, Prophet River, Sikanni Chief, Steamboat, and Wonowon. Currently there are 21 employees working with Emcon on the Alaska Highway contract. Fort Nelson Shop Steamboat Wonowon Alaska Highway
Yard Sites Prophet River Steamboat 2 Sikanni Chief Quesnel Bridge Crew Keeps
the Track Safe
The Quesnel Bridge Crew had to chip soffit concrete before it fell onto the train tracks. The crew worked in conjunc on with CN rail. The job took two days to complete. In the basket is Kevin Kimme and Jesse Doern. CN employees monitor the train traffic. 3 A Note From the President Frank Rizzardo Spring 2016 saw us start the Alaska highway contract for client PWGSC (Public Works and Government Services of Canada ). The transi on could have been smoother , but all in all our crews are working well at ge ng set up and performing the works within our contract . We were successful in nego a ng a long term contract with the BCGEU, ( done via Skype with connec ons at Ft . St. John , Dryden and Merri ) that will see labour stability in the area. We will be working with staff to see what addi onal works we can take on that will increase annual hours for staff and much needed addi onal revenue for the company . Both employees and staff will have seen or heard of Teresa Brewer, Safety Coordinator. She is working hard to immerse herself in all aspects of our opera on across the country. One of her main goals is to assist the many assembly sites at reducing accidents. The increases in WorkSafe BC premiums has the poten al of derailing our company . We need to really focus at all levels to reset outr safety outlook . We need to use all the tools at our disposal to iden fy and eliminate hazards, focus on proper orienta on and training of our crews and plan our work programs to ensure safety is a key component. Our long held view is that safety is a responsibility of the whole group, not just supervisors, not just employees, not just management I am hopeful we can achieve a significant reduc on in accidents, whether me loss or not . Our requirement of repor ng near misses, our requirement to do accident inves ga ons that go to the root cause are mandatory. We cannot delay our inves ga ons, we cannot delay the training or orienta on. It is a mandatory component of our daily opera ons. YOU, WE are charged to effect change . I am confident we can do it . 4 Area 9 Crews Keep
Roads Safe Ken Santano shoulder clearing on Highway 3 between Castlegar and 3B junc on in February. The Paulson Pass saw its fair share of snow this season and kept Area 9 crew members on the go. The new Hyundai 730 loader is put to use on Highway 3Y by Craig Buckley, on February 1. He is clearing the brake check area. Kim Marshall winging at Idabel Lake on February 3. Jim Kastrukoff sal ng on the Paulson on February 1. The snow has piled up over the season! Snow depth on the Paulson Pass. Craig Buckley from Birchbank , snow blowing on Hwy 3B on February 2. 5 DEBBIEPETERSON
Payroll Clerk Corporate Office Merri Debbie Peterson was born in Williams Lake, BC. She a ended NVIT and VIU, where she obtained her degree in Business Administra on. Her hobbies include: reading, wri ng, art, and sewing. She enjoys hiking, health and fitness, photography and family me. Debbie has recently moved from Vancouver Island back to Merri , and is looking forward to her me in the Payroll office. Charlo e was born and raised in Merri . She has a background in banking and management. Charlo e loves spending me with her husband and two crazy daughters. She enjoys having backyard BBQ’s and camping with family and friends. Charlo e is looking forward to many years to come working alongside her fellow payroll gals. CHARLOTTENELSON
Payroll Clerk Corporate Office Merri CAITYHUGHES
Payroll/ Admin Clerk Corporate Office Merri TERESABREWER
Safety Coordinator/ HR Asst Corporate Office Merri Caity was born and raised in Merri . A er high school she moved to Pen cton and recently moved back to Merri in the fall with her husband and daughter. She loves spending me with her family and friends, walking , cooking, camping and recently biking. Caity is very happy to become a member of the Emcon team and looks forward to her me working with everyone here. Teresa comes with Administra on, Safety, IT, Payroll and HR experience in the construc on industry. Born in Cambridge, Ontario, she has lived in Alberta, Saskatchewan and as well has spent many years in the Merri area. She enjoys wide open spaces, horses and family me; who are ac vely involved in snowboarding, gymnas cs, dirt biking, lacrosse, swimming and camping. Teresa and Jacquie made a great team the month they had together and they are big shoes to fill. She dwells on the fact that everyone at Emcon has made her feel welcome, she looks forward to mee ng everyone and aiding in our commitment to Safety. 6 Jeremy Benterud was raised in Fort St. John B.C. on a 500 acre farm. In 1994 he started trucking for a local oilfield transporta on company and began his 4 year appren ceship with them in 1996. Jeremy completed his inter‐provincial exam and received his Red Seal mechanics cket in 2003. Jeremy relocated to West Kelowna in September of 2008. Jeremy resides in West Kelowna with his family of 5. His hobbies include snow‐
mobiling, dirt biking, camping, fishing and hiking. JEREMYBENTERUD
Mechanic District of West Kelowna Congratulations to Jacquie on her retirement!
A er 28 years with Emcon, Jacquie has re red. She certainly deserves it. We will miss her boisterous laugh, her passion for work and her perse‐
verance. Jacquie was a valuable asset to our compa‐
ny, she always came to work early, was a hard worker, extremely organized and embodied not only the safety side, but all of her work. While we are saddened to see her go, we know that she will find the same success and happiness in re rement with her volunteer work and her love of card making. We wish her all the best for a fun and frui ul re rement. 7 Andy Daws of Revelstoke, pictured taking part in a recent Avalanche Course. The course was held in Nelson in January. Employee Highlights Ken Lawson presenting Seth Edwards with his
certificate for Journeyman Bridgeman/Pile driver.
Congratulations Seth!
L to R—Ken Lawson, Area 9 Division Manager and Seth Edwards. A Traffic Control Course was recently held April 6‐7, 2016 in Quesnel. There were 12 par cipants in the course. Thank you Mike Davidson for pu ng on a great program! 8 Emcon Lends A Hand At
The Courteney Winter Festival In January, the Cumberland Road Crew provided the “winter” se ng for the Winter Fes val. The crew hauled several loads of snow from Mt. Washington for the Fes val, making the Winter Fes val fun for kids of all ages. The Mt. Washington area received its fair share of snow this past season. Finding snow for the Fes val was not a problem. Road crews keep the roads safe for the community during a January snowfall. 9 Culvert Area Cleared
After Heavy Rainfall Rick Isenor operated the truck and excavator for the project. Tsitkia Valley at 266 km, near Woss, was the site of a culvert that was causing problems due to the inlet being covered from heavy rainfall. On January 28 and 29th, two Island crew members, Rick Ise‐
nor and James Delisle were able to complete the job before the culvert was completely buried. Rick Isenor is opera ng the excavator and James Delisle is on the side of the road. EMCON CAMP OUT
COME JOIN IN THE FUN: June 24,25,26,27, 2016
At: Elks Lodge Campgrounds, Harmon Lake, B.C.
Located about a 20 minutes drive south of Merritt.
PLEASE RSVP BY: JUNE 10/16 so we can get a rough head count on who is attending.
RSVP TO: [email protected]
10 Emcon Employees
On The Job Michelle Bush (Sign Installer), Brent Douthwright (Crane/Hiab) and Don Bri ain (Back Hoe). Vandals had recently knocked down a few signs along HWY 19A in North Qualicum. Emcon dispatched a crew to restore signage in the area. Beaver Stop Installed on Crimmen Creek
Beavers are a con nual challenge in most areas. Area 18 is no excep on. We installed this 1500 mm beaver stop at Crimmen Creek on the Nazko Highway a er 1.5 years of beaver issues and costly removals. These beaver stops were part of the Kelowna BCRBA booths last September 2015 and our local MoTI agreed to quan fy the costs of the beaver stops to help rec fy the problem. They were installed including travel me in under seven hours on April 5. 11 Rockslides Keep Crews Busy A rockslide 5 km east of Chris na Lake occurred on February 17. Area 9 crews had to have several trees above the site removed, as root systems were now compromised . Once the danger tree hazard was removed, For s then had to repair down power lines. Emcon removed approximately 500 m³ of rock and de‐
bris from the area. Gerry Campbell driving the tridem truck. MOTI inspec ng rock fall a er February 17, 2016 rockslide. A rock fall was reported on Hwy 23N ON March 11, which totally blocked Highway 23. The Area 12 crew responded quickly and had it open to traffic within a very short me. 12 New Equipment at Work
The new vactor truck is working on Highway 19 in Nanoose. The crew, Brent Douthwright and Don Bri ain , were doing rou ne catch basin maintenance. Reg Dyer Eric Hedstrom The new vactor truck working on Highway 19, in Campbell River, near Cranberry Lane on March 21, 2016. Crew members are comple ng rou ne catch basin maintenance. Crew members are Eric Hedstrom Road Foreman, and Reg Dyer, Senior Machine Operator. 13 14 Community Involvement The Golden Road Crew are assis ng the Golden Food Bank this year when opportunity allows. We sent some crew to assist with unloading a truck for them on Saturday. We also treated all the volunteers to coffee and doughnuts. A nice break from winter ac vity. (L TO R) Tom Joy, Dave Higginson, Bill Crashley, Rick LeGrand, Randy Tress and Jus n Baun. Golden Road Crew Volunteers A nice Thank you card received in Birchbank! Great job over there guys! It’s great to see that our team is doing a great job and the community appreciates what we are doing. 15 CAT Training
CAT Loader & Mower training was held at the Parksville yard on April 5, 2016. The training consisted of a thorough overview of both machines, as well as prac cal hands on training. The new Loader & Mower is a great addi on to our fleet and will be u lized mostly in the Port Alberni Foreman area and mid‐island (Area 2). New Sign Truck In Area 18
A big thank you to all of the mechanics that contributed to ou i ng the new sign truck. (L to R) Mike Remple and Calvin Edwards Calvin Edwards next to the new truck. Mike is the welder that put the most me in welding and fabrica ng the sign truck and again it shows what “teamwork” can achieve. Calvin has been the “sign guy” for many years and is very proud of the new truck. 16 Litter Receptacle Bases Take Shape
With the mobiliza on of the Alaska highway project came many challenges. The bridge crew of area 18 was tasked with one this past month. The comple on of 44‐5’ x 6’ concrete slabs to mount li er receptacles along the en re 500 km stretch of the highway. At the onset the project seemed a li le daun ng given the typical temperatures of February and March nights in Quesnel, with no indoor space to facilitate this. With the help of an El Nino year, the project moved forward with only minor challenges. The work was all done outdoors underneath a temporary shelter between two 40’ shipping containers. The slabs were formed on plas c for the inability of concrete to bond to it. It also made clean up between pours quicker and mess free. The concrete was then placed using an 80’ boom pumper truck. Temperatures were monitored throughout the curing process as it becomes stagnant at temperatures below 4°C. To help combat this, the slabs were covered with insulated tarps through the nights. A er curing for 7 days, which brings the concrete to approx. 70% of its 32mpa strength, li ing eyes were inserted in the slabs, with each slab weighing approx. 2000 lbs. These 4 li ing points will also double as the anchor points for the receptacles. With a late February start, and the comple on of 12 slabs a week, (no more would fit in our enclosure), half were ready for placement on March 15 and the remainder days before our April 1 deadline. The first eight bear proof garbage cans c/w oversized concrete pads are installed on the south end of the contract. 17 Washout on Sanborn Road
When a forestry contractor cleared a culvert further up the mountain, it released a large volume of water that caused a washout. Within two hours, crews were at work re‐establishing the ditch line to contain the unexpected flow of water. The road has been reopened and the ditch line is working be er than ever. New ditch line is able to handle increased volumes of water. Bill Crashley and Russell Jackson were the operators on the repair. 18 Bridge Inspection Course
In Toronto
Recently Dennis Thibadeau, Peter Ber n and Pat Ra he of our Emcon team in Ontario, a ended the MTO Structure Inspec on Course. The course was one week in dura on. The course was organized by Ontario Good Roads Associa on and took place in Mississauga. In House Commercial Trailer Workshop
An In House Commercial Trailer Workshop was held April 22, 2016 in Quesnel. Brad Emslie instructed the course. Brad was a CVSE inspector in Quesnel prior to joining Emcon. (L to R) Gary Gronskei, Brad Emslie (Instructor), Russ Pizzey (in behind Brad), Ken McCauley, Megan Mighton, Auke Eisma, Neil Su on, Kevin Kimmie, Dave Rempel, Randy Graw, and Marty Mcgowan. Employee Highlights April 6, 2016 saw the arrival of the first Ontario Emcon Baby Girl. Born to Phil Mayer (Kenora WRF) and his wife Lauri Mayer (Equipment Operator ‐Nestor Falls) Welcome to the world Scarle Mayer and congratula ons to Mom, Dad and big brother :) Congratula ons to Mary Mullin and Kevin McDonnell, on another beau ful grand‐
daughter. Proud parents are Josh and Rosalynne Mullin. Paul Hampe worked out of the Dryden yard as a plow truck operator . He recently made the decision to re re and take me to travel with his wife. Dan Bergen, our Quesnel Road Forman, recently celebrated his 60th birthday! Best wishes on an enjoyable re rement! Happy Birthday from all of us Dan! 20 Quick Action Prevents
Major Incident in Area 12
What a difference a day makes in the mountains. The temperature increased to 26 degrees which increased the flow at Quinn Creek and Beards Creek to a flood level. A small tree branch lodged across the Quinn Creek 1200 mm culvert and within 30 minutes it caused a washout danger adjacent to Highway 95. We had our excavator posi oned ahead of the Freshet so we were able to respond fast and efficiently with this type off danger. Good job Russell Jackson, the excavator operator. Russell Jackson clearing the Quinn Creek culvert. Alaska Highway Convoy
Trucks des ned for the Alaska Highway project assembled in the Quesnel yard. The convoy took two days to reach Fort Nelson, with a stop in Ft. St. John. 21 Emcon Gets A New Crusher
A third crusher has been sent to the Kenora District contract area. With the purchase of the new crusher, two crushers will be in produc on in BC. The crusher was purchased from Mormak Equipment in Vernon. Merritt Shop Is Ready!
On May 2, the new shop in Merri was ready for the mechanics to move in. The building was constructed by McGregor Designs in Steel, who has built several building for Emcon all over the province. The shop is 50’ x 100’ with 4 truck bays. 22 Winter Debrief Meeting
On April 18, corporate employees Norm Porterfield, Kevin Baxter, Corinna Francis and Geoff Ba melli went to Dryden, Ontario for a debrief of our first winter of opera ng in Ontario. (L to R) Cur s Barker, Pat Ra he, Ryan Wyder, Joanne Ra he, Norm Porterfield, Kevin Baxter and Jus n Burgers. (L to R) Corinna Francis, Perry Neel and Darcy Brost. Elizabeth Kejick (L to R) Rae‐Ann Stevens and Kimberley Earl. Joanne Ra he Tamsen Schaerig Recently purchased Tele Stacker making its way to Ontario. 23 Road & Bridge Maintenance Contractors 105—1121 McFarlane Way Merri , BC V1K 1B9 Phone : 250‐378‐4176 Fax: 250‐378‐4106 www.emconservices.ca 24