Alaska Highway Western Stars - Emcon Services JANUARY NEWSLETTER small.pdf · The satellite radios...
Transcript of Alaska Highway Western Stars - Emcon Services JANUARY NEWSLETTER small.pdf · The satellite radios...
New Merritt Shop 2
President’s Note 3
December 3 Storm 4
Bamboo Barriers 4
New Employees 5/6/7
Slough Removal 8
Holiday Spirit 8
On The Job 9 / 10
Area 9 Salt Shed 11
Ootishenia Scale Site 12
Ocean Side Repairs 13
Tree Hazard 13
Nanaimo Ditch 14
Grading in Area 9 14
Shift Into Winer 15
Emcon Additions 16
Mike Davidson 17
Little French Creek 18
Grandby Blasting 19
Radio Room 19
Port Hardy Building 20/21
Quesnel Bridge Crew 22
Ontario Equipment 23
Tow Plows 24
Highlights 25
Alaska Hwy Profile 26
Slow Down Move Over 26
Emcon Family 27
Safety 28
Dryden Ontario Office 21
Inside this issue:
Volume 1, Issue 1 November 2015
THE LINK
Volume 11 Issue 1
January 2016
Alaska Highway Western Stars
The new 2016 Western Stars being built in Merri are taking shape.
Seven of the eleven trucks have been ou i ed.
The satellite radios s ll need to be installed as well as the final test run of
the completed units.
The key personnel involved in the build are: Trevor Greveling—Mechanic Don McIvor—Mechanic Doug Garfield—Mechanic Rudy Broom –Welder
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New Shop In
Merritt Corporate Yard McGregor’s Design In Steel is the contractor for the project. They have built many structures in Emcon yards across the province.
The new shop will be 50’ x 100’ with 4 truck bays.
Gilles Dube digs the trench for the electrical line to the new shop.
McGregor employees shee ng the roof. The
an cipated comple on date of the new shop
is this Spring.
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A Note From the President
Frank Rizzardo
As I write this memo, I am wondering if the El Niño forecast was wrong, at least for BC. The weather in Northwest Ontario has certainly been moderate, but I think I can say BC weather has been all over the map. Our opera ons in Ontario are now mostly staffed, with our in‐house shop safety cer fica on almost complete. We require a couple more Truck and Coach Mechanics but are well on our way to having a cer fied shop in Dryden. In BC this year, we ended with a much improved office / assembly and storage addi on to the Port Hardy yard. In the Fall, a long awaited shop in Merri was started. As most employees know, we like long term rela onships with all, including subcontractors. Our building contractor, McGregor’s Designs in Steel, is again providing a quality product for our crews to work out of. The 5,000 sq. . shop in Merri will con nue our goal of ou i ng equipment in‐house and hopefully add to the skill development of exis ng mechanics. As a group, we look to the start of Spring and are planning for Summer, as well as the start of our mobiliza on for the Alaska Highway Contract.
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On December 3, 2015, the Revelstoke area received over 35 cm of snow with in 9 hours. The crews were diligent in their effort and kept the highway open to the public.
Area 12 Crews Keep
Roads Safe
Bill Rear operates the grader during the December 3
storm on Highway 23 south.
The plow truck with the tow plow, operated by John Baxter, is kept busy on the Trans
Canada Highway, west of Revelstoke, near Clanwilliam during the December 3 storm.
Ken Webb installing barrier markers on Highway 4
on November 24, 2015.
Area 2 Takes
Preventative Measures
Ken Webb installed bamboo barrier markers
on Highway 4, near Ucluelet. The purpose of
the markers is to indicate the loca on of the
concrete barriers to prevent equipment from
hi ng them when they are clearing snow.
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QAT / SUPERVISOR
District West Kelowna
BRITTANYRICH
QAT
Parksville
RICHARDHONAIZER
Bri any was born and raised in the West Kootenays. At the age of 18, she moved away to Red Deer, AB to work in the oil and gas industry. In her spare me, she likes to have quality me with friends and family, hiking, prospec ng, hun ng, fishing, 4x4ing, and par cipa ng in Archery compe ons. Bri any looks forward to learning a new industry and wishes to become a valuable asset to the company.
Brad Emslie was born and raised in Dawson Creek B.C. He has spent the past 15 years working as a Commercial Transport Inspector with various temporary assignments as Area Roads Manager with the Ministry of Transporta on and Infrastructure.
In October 2015 Brad was given the opportunity to work for Emcon Services in Quesnel as a Road Superintendent.
During Brad’s me away from work, he enjoys spending it with his wife and two kids. During the winter months, he coaches minor hockey and spends most of his spare me coordina ng and developing hockey prac ce plans. In the summer months, Brad enjoys golfing, camping and fishing with family and friends.
ROAD SUPERINTENDENT
Quesnel
BRADEMSLIE
Richard Honaizer is the new QAT working out of the Parksville office. Richard has a background in building construc on, opera ng heavy equipment and has worked as a Health, Safety and Environmental coordinator. Richard grew up in Parksville and knows the area well. While some of his previous employment has taken him out of town for various lengths of me, he is now very happy to be spending more me with his
wife and 2 young children.
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Andy Daws joined the Area 12 team in November 2015. Andy brings with him a background in opera ons and maintenance, various degrees in management and electrical and electronic engineering. Andy will be taking the role of Road Supervisor for 23 North during the Winter and Quality Assurance Manager for the Summer .
RD SUPT / QA
Area 12
ANDYDAWS
QAT
Area 9
SHARONNOBLESharon Noble started with Emcon in Area 9 in November 2015. She is from the Trail Area and will take of the role of Quality Assurance Trainee in the Birchbank yard.
James Delisle
James Delisle has recently accepted the posi on of Junior Road Superintendent in Port Hardy. He was previously held the same posi on in Area 9 before reloca ng to the Island.
Ian Stanchuk
Ian Stanchuk started as Road Foreman December 14, 2015 in Birchbank. Ian previously worked on the Bridge Crew in Area 9.
Emcon Employees In New Roles
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Logan Emmerson started with Emcon in 2014 as a labourer. He returned this year and put in a
request to be trained for a Class 3 License. Gabriel Nava‐Lander, ac ng Opera ons Manager in Area
12, started Logan’s training in November , when Logan started the winter season. With determina‐
on , he achieved his goal and received his Class 3 with Air on January 14, 2016.
Logan is a local young employee and will be a benefit to our company in years to come. He is now
plowing solo with the underbody and a er 70 hours he will be training with a front plow.
Andrew Ellio joined the Emcon team on November 17, 2015 as Quality Assurance Trainee. Andrew brings with him a background in Supervision, Safety Training, Class 1 Training, WHMIS and good knowledge of OH&S regula ons.
QAT
Area 12
ANDREWELLIOT
Logan Emmerson displaying his Class 3 license.
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A report of a slough at 25 km Holberg Rd #1, was received the morning of November 18, 2015. Due to the size and the loca on on the road, equipment and traffic control had the slough completely cleaned up by Thursday, November 19.
Emcon Shows The Holiday Spirit
Island Crews Remove
Slough Quickly
Slough on Holberg Road # 1 After the crews had completed the removal of the
debris.
(L to R) Rick Wright, Dave Boughton, Karen
Neufeld (Food Bank) and Ken Lawson with their
Grand Forks Food Bank donation.
Keith Grant, Director of the Dryden Food
Bank , accepts a donation from the staff
in the Dryden office.
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Emcon Employees
On The Job
Michelle Bush cleaning the Nanoose Rest Area. A less glamorous, but necessary task made easier by hosing down the en re interior from a small porta‐ble tank on our power tailgate pickup. The tailgate also makes loading li er bags much easier.
Michelle Bush at the Nanoose Rest Area December 24, 2015.
Brent Douthwright operating the grader near Errington, in the Parksville area.
S358E, operated by Dirk Jory (Woss RF1) sanding and S248E operated by Don Tanaka (Sr M01) widening the
lane in Tsitika Valley in Area 3 on the Island.
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Don Bri ain from Parksville, cleaned out a short piece of ditch to help drain the back yards of some recently constructed houses. The houses are located along Wembley Road.
Ditch cleaning on Wembley Road, near Parksville.
Emcon Employees
On The Job
Fred Skogan (Sayward RF1) plowing near Big Tree
Creek near Sayward in December.
Michelle Bush making Salt Brine in
Parksville. This can be a daily occurrence
depending on the weather.
S516E is getting the finishing touches on the new front discharge
dumping hopper in Parksville by James Lysne.
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Recently the salt shed in Grand Forks received a new cover. The cover was installed by Pacific Apex.
Culvert installation on Kelly Road.
Recently Brooke Campbell saw a need for a
recycling program in the Revelstoke yard. She
took it upon herself to obtain the containers and
do up the proper label for each item. Since then
it has caught on with the Revelstoke crews.
Well done Brooke!
Grand Forks Salt Shed Looks Like New
Area 9 Crew Members On The Job
(L to R) Jeff Fraser, Roy Terashita and Curly
Marshall finish up a culvert install on Kelly
Road, never Beaverdell. The culvert was
installed on October 29, 2015 and took the day
to complete.
Keeping The Yard Green
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Ootishenia Scale Site
Construction
Controls—Jim Kastrukoff Top Left—Seth Edwards Top Right—Greg Heizmann
The Oo shenia Scale was one of the bridge crews major
projects last year. The project involved rebuilding the scale
to accommodate tridem axle trucks. The scale was
increased to 10’ x 16’, which is much larger than the pre‐
vious scale.
The project involved 2 bridge crews, with the Midway
Scale being done at the same me. The Oo shenia Scale
took approximately one month to complete.
Concrete being poured in the forms.
The only plow that wasn’t out on the road
during a recent snowfall in Grand Forks.
The Oo shenia Scale is located south of Castlegar, in Area 9.
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Ocean Side Repairs on Gabriola Island
Tree Hazard Near Woss
Keith Kloosterboer repairing and adding rip rap
and pit run to an eroding and failing shoulder
along South Road on Gabriola Island.
Shoreline after Keith was finished.
Totem Tree Services at work near Woss.
On November 18, 2015, a tree was in a precarious spot
on Highway 19, 10 km north of Woss. Totem Tree
Services was called in to assist with the tree removal.
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Free Parking Eliminated
in Nanaimo
Peter Brase operates an excavator on College Drive in Nanaimo. Emcon was hired to dig a ditch to prevent people from parking in a vacant lot near the colleges and universi es.
250 Excavator ditching in Nanaimo.
Area 9 Grader Keeping
The Roads Safe
Kim Marshall using a wing plow
clearing snow from Highway 33.
January 14, 2016 on Highway 33.
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Area 18 “Shifts Into Winter”
Some employees from Area 18 par cipated in the 2nd Annual
Shi Into Winter Road Check in December. Emcon employees,
along with par cipants from Quesnel RCMP, ICBC, Quesnel
Fire Department, Quesnel Rescue, Ministry of Transporta on
and the City of Quesnel, handed out packages promo ng
winter driving preparedness. The event was a great success
with radio and newspaper coverage to aid in ge ng the mes‐
sage of safe winter driving out to the public. Brad Emslie spraying off the tow plow.
“Shift Into Winter” participants.
(L to R) Tina Ons ne, Julie Spina
Brad Emslie and Cindie Walker are
some of the Emcon employees
that took part in the “Shi Into
Winter” road check.
Bill Pa yson handing out informa on
packages during the road check.
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Griffin Cole Treadway—January 18, 2016 8 lbs. 10 oz. Born to Larissa & Bryce Treadway. Griffin is the grandson to Barb & George Treadway. Barb is an Administra ve Assistant at Corporate Office. This is the first grandchild for Barb and George!
Frank Rizzardo with his new
granddaughter, Chiara Rose.
Chiara Rose Rizzardo—January 18, 2016 7 lbs. 1 0z. Born to Aaron & Shirin Rizzardo. Aaron is the son of Frank & Almerina Rizzardo.
Congratula ons to Shawn Shi for passing his recent Taxa on Exam on route to his CPA Designa on. Shawn is a Junior Accountant at the Corporate Office, working under Kevin Baxter’s mentorship and part of the administra on team.
Shawn Shi
Griffin Cole Treadway
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One year ago, there were 49 Traffic Control Person (TCP) Instructors in B.C. A er TCP Instructor Workshops in Langley, Prince George and Pen cton, there are only 34 cer fied and ac ve TCP
Instructors in all of B.C. Mike Davidson is one of them! Mike has been a cer fied TCP Instructor for approximately 12 years, training numerous par cipants.
Last November, BC Construc on Safety Alliance (BCCSA) held a 3‐day TCP Instructor Skills Workshop in Pen cton with 11 Instructors in a endance. The TCP Training Course and the new Par cipant Guide have been totally updated and improved. The course contains more par cipant involvement ‐ which should create more safe and more aware traffic control personnel out on the road. The new Ministry of Transporta on and Infrastructure Traffic Control Manual for Work On Roadways is in the final stage of being approved by WorkSafe BC.
The course par cipants had a chance to improve on their instruc onal skills by instruc ng mini lessons based on the new Par cipant Guide in front of other instructors. A er each mini lesson, the instructors would receive feedback on your strengths and weaknesses from the other instructors. It was a rare and valuable opportunity to see how others instruct the course. Par cipants were also given a video of themselves conduc ng the mini lesson. All par cipants at the Pen cton course received their cer fica on.
The staff at BCCSA worked very hard on improving the course and making the workshop a success with only 3 days to fit in a lot of new informa on. Thank you to Mike Stortz, Sarina Hanschke and Karen Olivieri, at BCCSA for a great workshop.
Mike Davidson Receives
Traffic Control Instructor
Certification
Mike Davidson displaying his
recent recertification.
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Little French Creek
Bridge Replacement
Area 2 Bridge Crew replaced a 40
. bailey bridge with a new 60 .
bailey bridge this past year. The
log abutment walls were ro ng
and star ng to fail. The bridge is
located just west of Parksville and
is now completed.
Lead hand Steve Penney [le ] and bridge worker Lloyd Price [right] work with two 60 ton cranes to li and move the exis ng 40 . bailey bridge over to the li , to be put into place so it can be used as a temporary crossing during construc on of the new bridge.
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Lorraine Blancher in the Revelstoke
Radio Room
Blasting On Grandby Road
Helps Make For Safer Travel
On a sec on of Grandby Road, 1.5 km to 3 km, the
road was very narrow. The project increased the
road width and sightline by a minimum of 1.5
meters to 3 meters.
KC Drilling & Blas ng was the blas ng contractor
and the excavator was provided by Lime Creek.
The Emcon road crew was responsible for daily
sweeping with a pull behind broom and the removal
of blast debris with a loader.
A er the blas ng was completed, a grader and
shouldering trailer were used to put material on the
newly established shoulder.
Grand Forks staff that worked on the project were Rick Wright, Jody Henshaw, Sharon Noble, Dave
Johnson and Gary Spencer. Stephanie Gillis was on site from the Ministry of Transporta on.
The project started on November 2 and was completed on November 28, 2015.
Revelstoke Radio Room Keeps
Communication Flowing
The Revelstoke Radio Room has received a faceli recently.
The radio room operates 24 hours a day , 7 days a week
from November 1st to March 31st. The radio room plays a
key role in the communica on for stakeholders and the
general public.
Blast site—Grandby Road near Grand Forks.
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(L to R) Mike Mintz, Damian Girard, Mr.& Mrs. Goldsbury (Pain ng Contractor), Dave Janke (Mini Excavator Contractor), Luisto Serrano, Al McGregor (Contactor),
Brian Ackles, Elaine Duffurn and Stew Westwood.
New
Port Hardy
Building
Is Ready!
In October 2015, the opening of the new office in Port Hardy took place. The general contractor,
Al McGregor, supplied the burgers and Emcon supplied the cake. The crew and the subcontractors
were on hand to celebrate.
Port Hardy building pictured January 13, 2016.
Since the occupa on of the new building in October, most everything has been moved over to the
new building. The sign bay s ll needs to be set up, but will be completed before the winter crews
leave in the spring. The radio antenna is ready to go up, but we are wai ng for a local bucket truck
to become available for install by K & K Electric.
The new automa c shop doors, side concrete storage area and propane hea ng system are a
huge improvement for the shop and yard. Having the office, assembly room and shop under one
roof now is more prac cal for work flow.
Thanks to the bridge crew, the new brine cover structure was completed late November. The only
thing le is to add n siding.
New Brine cover structure
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New
Port Hardy
Building
January 2016
New Scott Street Office in Dryden, Ontario
The office has been assembled at the Sco Street loca on in Dryden, Ontario. The office is
complete with the wheel chair accessibility.
Office staff at the Dryden office are
(L to R) Joanne Ra he, Kimberly Earl,
Elizabeth Kejick and Tamsen Schaerig.
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Quesnel Bridge Crew
Improves Pedestrian Path
Before the project.
The Quesnel Bridge Crew,
consis ng of Bob Su on,
Kevin Kimmie and Jesse
Doern, installed a sidewalk
parapet in September 2015.
The completed parapet allowed for a wider
walking path and a higher guardrail.
Completed parapet.
R228E, a new 924K loader,
complete with mower, being
delivered to Parksville by Jon
Brazier.
Ontario Equipment
Ready For Service
The new tow plows, fully ou i ed with the Ontario and TAC approved conspicuity panels ..very bright lights
New Western Stars arrive with their tow plows.
New Ford F550’s were ready for deployment at the start of the contract.
F550 plowing snow in the
Kenora area on Boxing Day.
The two new Western Stars were
ou i ed with their tow plows at
Viking Cives in Mount Forest,
Ontario.
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January Snowfall Keep
Area 12 Operators Busy
Pat Klemm operates a snowplow January 5, 43 km west of Golden in
the Quartz Creek area.
John Baxter utilizes the tow plow on Highway 1 west of Revelstoke, in the Clanwilliam
area.
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Emcon Services Inc., President Frank Rizzardo congratulates Kevin Baxter on achieving his CGA with Honours designa on. “Kevin has worked diligently at his studies while raising a family and working with us in the corporate office . We are pleased with his achievement and will con nue to support him in his future endeavours with our company” .
Employee Highlights
Darrin Wasiliew, Mechanical Superintendent in Area 2 & 3, presents Ryan Parent from the Cumberland shop with his Trade Journeyman Mechanic cer ficate. Ryan has appren ced with Emcon and passed his exams this year.
Congratula ons Ryan
Mike Prystae (L) presents Shawn Stockman (R) his acceptance le er for Trade Lead Hand Bridges for the Revelstoke Crew.
Mike Prystae (L) presents Jus n Baun of Golden (R) with his Trade Cer fica on in the Bridge Series.
Mike Prystae (L) presents Sean Muldoon of Golden (R) his acceptance le er to the Bridge Appren ceship program.
Ted Whanstall (L) presents Karl Wiessneborn of Golden (R) his acceptance le er to the Bridge Appren ceship program.
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From the BCRB Winter 2015 Newsle er
Alaska Profile
Alaska Highway project will be star ng in April. The person responsible for administra on du es, among other responsibili es, will be Mary Mullin. Mary is no stranger to the Emcon team, as she is married to Kevin McDonnell. Kevin has been the Opera ons Manager in Area 18 and will be Division Manager on the Alaska Highway project.
Slow Down Move Over Campaign A Success
Mary Mullin
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Area 9 Recognized
For Contribution
Stu Travis , long term employee, passed away peacefully surrounded with family on December 18, 2015 at his home in Comox. He was a Road Superintendent in Campbell River, and was a long term member of our team.
Stu was a good mentor to many of our younger staff , most recently on Vancouver Island . His quiet style will be missed.
Thoughts are prayers are with Joy, and his sons, Michael and Jeffrey.
Emcon Loses Family
Stu Travis
Charlie Baxter
Charlie Baxter passed away at his home in Merri , with his family by his side. Charlie was a founding member of Emcon Services in 1988 and past President of HMC Services Inc.
Those who knew Charlie will remember him fondly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Teresa, sons Brian, Kevin, their spouses and children.
(L to R) Grant Main, Ken Lawson, and John Dyble.
At the recent BC Road Builders Conference in
Victoria, Area 9 was recognized as Runner Up
Contractor of the Year. Their involvement with
sending equipment across the border to aid in
the ba ling the forest fires in Washington was
instrumental in their nomina on.
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Road & Bridge Maintenance Contractors 105—1121 McFarlane Way Merri , BC V1K 1B9
Phone : 250‐378‐4176 Fax: 250‐378‐4106 www.emconservices.ca
TAKE STEPS TO PREVENT SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS
Good Housekeeping
Prevents Injuries!
Plan ahead and give yourself sufficient time.
When walking on steps, always use the hand railings and plant your feet firmly on each step.
When walking on an icy or snow-covered walkway, take short steps and walk at a slower pace so
you can react quickly to a change in traction.
Bending your knees a little and taking slower and shorter steps increases traction and can greatly
reduce your chances of falling. It also helps to stop occasionally to break momentum.
Streets and sidewalks that have been cleared of snow and ice should still be approached with cau-
tion. Look out for "black ice”. Dew, fog or water vapor can freeze on cold surfaces and form an extra
-thin, nearly invisible layer of ice that can look like a wet spot on the pavement. It often shows up
early in the morning or in areas that are shaded from the sun.
Carrying heavy items can challenge your sense of balance. Try not to carry too much--you need to
leave your hands and arms free to better balance yourself.
Be prepared to fall and try to avoid using your arms to break your fall. If you fall backward, make a
conscious effort to tuck your chin so your head doesn't strike the ground with a full force.
When entering a building, remove as much snow and water from your boots as you can. Take no-
tice that floors and stairs may be wet and slippery--walk carefully.
Use special care when entering and exiting vehicles--use the Three Point System.