COP CONSTRUCTION LLC & SUBSIDIARY

October 2013 — December 2013

Letter from the President 2

Safety Message 5

Years of Service 6

Inside this issue:

COP CHRONICLE

COP Construction LLC

P. O. Box 20913 Billings, MT 59104

406-656-4632 406-656-4808 fax

840 N. 700 W.

North Salt Lake, UT 84054 801-298-9556

801-298-9725 fax

Ed Bedell President

Dennis McPherson

Area Manager Montana

Jasen Bennie

Area Manager Utah

Rick Morrison

Chief Financial Officer

Taylor Bryson Human Resources Manager

COP Wyoming LLC

P. O. Box 979

Sheridan, WY 82801 307-673-2570

307- 333-0188 fax

Mike Crennen Area Manager

Wyoming

Chad Peterson Manager

Co-Editors: Kimberly Hope

Betty Warner

copconstruction.com

Rainbow Dam Intake Structure Modifications Great Falls, MT

PPL Montana, LLC awarded the Intake Structure Modification Project to COP Construction on

March 11, 2013 for $866,862. The project was estimated by Dave Loyning and John May. Mor-

rison-Maierle, Inc. from Helena, MT was the Project Engineer. After the completion of the new

$230 million dollar power plant at Rainbow Dam, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(FERC) required the decommissioning of all appurtenances associated with the old power

plant.

This first phase consisted of fabricating four metal bulkheads. Two bulkheads were 22 feet

square, 16 inches thick, and weighed 25,000 pounds each. The other two were 35 feet tall, 14

feet wide, 16 inches thick, and weighed 21,000 pounds each. The bulkheads were installed on

the wet side of the dam in four locations and needed to be sealed.

Hoe sitting

on intake.

Crane moving

bulkhead to

gate area.

Cont’d on Page 3

Page 2 COP CHRONICLE

From the desk of the President

Mission Statement Our mission is to be a premier heavy civil contractor in the

Intermountain West. We do this with an ongoing commitment

to safety, quality and teamwork while providing challenging

opportunities for our people.

Core Values COP’s culture is defined and driven by the following values:

Safety: Safety is our # 1 responsibility because people come first.

Excellence: We do our very best each day to consistently exceed expectations.

Integrity: We strive to always do the right thing.

Positive Attitude: We perform our work with a positive “ can do” attitude.

Teamwork: By working together we will achieve superior results.

Dedication: We are committed to our goals, values, and people.

Innovative: We always look for new ideas and better ways to perform our work.

While for the most part, computers have changed our lives for the good, there are situations where computers have made us com-

placent.

When I was attending engineering school, computers were just coming on the scene. I remember in my freshmen year we had a

desk top “computer” that looked like a big adding machine with a digital read out. The function that put it apart from an adding

machine was that it could calculate the square root of a number to five or six decimal places. Wow, that was impressive at that

time!

For all of my four years of engineering school, we used slide rules to perform calculations. A slide rule is used primarily for mul-

tiplication and division, but also performs functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry used by engineers. Without be-

coming too technical, when performing a calculation with a slide rule, you read the result of the calculation as a two to three digit

number but there was no indication where the decimal point was located. Therefore, the individual must understand the “order of

magnitude” of the calculation or the answer could be wrong. As an example, if an individual multiplies 128.10 times .3234 on the

slide rule, the individual will read a number of 414. The individual must understand the “order of magnitude” of the calculation to

determine where to place the decimal point. Is the calculated number .414, 4.14, 41.40 or 414.0? As you have already calculated,

the calculated number is 41.40. When using the slide rule, the individual had to understand the “order of magnitude” of the calcu-

lation.

Today, most of us simply “punch” in numbers and the computer or digital calculator spits back an answer. However, we normally

don’t consider the “order of magnitude” of the calculation since the “machine” must be right! Computers and calculators don’t

make miscalculations but humans do, and if we punch in a wrong number or displace the decimal point, the machine will provide a

number that does not reflect the results we intended. My point here is that other things we do in life can be just like our reliance on

computers and calculators. For example, each day we must make numerous decisions, both in our personal and professional lives.

At COP, many of the decisions we make can have a major effect on our employees and our financial future; and, in many cases,

they must be made without the use of a computer or calculator. Fortunately for us, the majority of the decisions we have made

have been the right ones. That’s why COP has been so successful over the years. When we have had to make a decision, we first

evaluated the “order of magnitude” of our calculation by making sure we carefully evaluated all our options and considered the

potential outcomes and consequences of the decision.

You remember the old saying, “measure twice and cut once”. Well, the next time you have to make a decision, large or small, first

take a moment to consider the “order of magnitude” that decision will have on you, your fellow employees and the Company.

Taking the time to understand the “order of magnitude” and making the right decision will have a positive and lasting effect on

everyone.

Page 3 COP CHRONICLE

2-15’ penstocks cut away from concrete.

Divers were used to seal the bulkheads with cinders which

were slag from a metal furnace, and fragment of ash. The

existing concrete dam face was not uniform, so the divers

filled cotton socks with cinders and placed them in areas of

flowing water between the bulkhead and the concrete dam.

Water flow pulled the cinder-laced socks into those areas,

and when saturated, they swelled up and stopped the leaks.

Neal Structural Repair from Noxon, MT completed this work.

We highly recommend this subcontractor for any underwa-

ter work.

Diver preparing for dive.

Once dewatered, the existing metal penstocks were cut out of the way to make way for the construction of the concrete forms.

These forms filled the area in the dam between the new bulkheads and the existing concrete on the downstream side of the dam.

The metal was then cut, and H pile was flown in to weld across the face of the pipe to brace the forms. The total number of cubic

yards to fill all of the 4 areas in the dam was calculated to be 1040 CY. The total amount of flow fill pumped into the areas was

1455 CY. This resulted in the use of an extra 41 concrete trucks. There was no explanation as to why all of the extra flow fill was

necessary.

Once the bulkheads were sealed, we needed to pump out the surge chamber of roughly 1,620,000 gallons of water. The water

coming down the penstocks goes to a pond, called a surge chamber, before going to the power house. The elevation difference

between the surge chamber and the penstock at the dam put water 4 feet above invert. The penstocks needed to be cut out of

the way to complete the concrete forming. In addition, an 8-inch submersible pump was used to pump the water out of the surge

chamber.

Pump pipe discharge and surge chamber.

Cont’d on Page 4

Page 4 COP CHRONICLE

One theory was the existing drain lines. However, those areas were open, and no visible exit pipes or holes were noticed. Struc-

tural concrete plugs were poured at each location. This required drilling and doweling a rebar cage in the last 2 feet of the flow

lines using 4000 PSI concrete.

Bulkhead for flow fill. Looking through the dam at intake. This is the area filled with

flow fill.

Intake complete, at left. Working on 2nd intake, right..

The project team consisted of John May, Project Manager, Russ Kraenzel, Project Superintendent, Danny Dodge, Lead Carpenter,

Tom Stauduhar Crane Operator. Total crew members were 7. “Thank you” to all the members of the team for a job well done, for

their ideas to complete a very unique project — one you don’t see very often — and for their safety ideas, which resulted in a perfect

safety record. The project was completed September 19, 2013.

Tom Stauduhar Russ Kraenzel

D a n n y D o d g e

J o h n M a y

D a v e L o y n i n g

Page 5 COP CHRONICLE

Tom Fox, Safety Coordinator

SEVEN COMMON ACCIDENT CAUSES

Consider this statistic: 80 out of every 100 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident. Unsafe acts cause four times as many accidents & injuries as unsafe conditions.

Accidents occur for many reasons. In most industries people tend to look for "things" to blame when an accident hap-pens, because it's easier than looking for "root causes" such as those listed below. Consider the underlying accident causes described. Have you been guilty of any of these attitudes or behaviors? If so, you may have not been injured-but next time you may not be so lucky or fortunate.

1. Taking Shortcuts: Every day we make decisions we hope will make the job faster and more efficient. But do time savers ever risk your own safety, or that of other crew members? Short cuts that reduce your safety on the job are not shortcuts, but an increased chance for injury.

2. Being Over Confident: Confidence is a good thing. Overconfidence is too much of a good thing. "It'll never happen to me" is an attitude that can lead to improper procedures, tools, or methods in your work. Any of these can lead to an injury.

3. Starting a Task with Incomplete Instructions: To do the job safely and right the first time, you need complete infor-mation. Have you ever seen a worker sent to do a job, having been given only a part of the job's instructions? Don't be shy about asking for explanations about work procedures and safety precautions. It isn't dumb to ask questions; it's dumb not to.

4. Poor Housekeeping: When clients, managers or safety professionals walk through your work site, housekeeping is an accurate indicator of everyone's attitude about quality, production and safety. Poor housekeeping creates haz-ards of all types. A well maintained area sets a standard for others to follow. Good housekeeping involves both pride and safety.

5. Ignoring Safety Procedures: Purposely failing to observe safety procedures can endanger you and your co-workers. You are being paid to follow company safety policies-not to make your own rules. Being "casual" about safety can lead to a casualty!

6. Mental Distractions from Work: Having a bad day at home and worrying about it at work is a hazardous combina-tion. Dropping your 'mental' guard can pull your focus away from safe work procedures. You can also be distracted when you're busy working and a friend comes by to talk while you are trying to work. Don't become a statistic be-cause you took your eyes off the machine "just for a minute."

7. Failure to Pre-Plan the Work: There is a lot of talk today about Job Hazard Analysis (our JSA - Job Safety Analy-sis). JSAs are an effective way to figure out the smartest ways to work safely and effectively. Being hasty in start-ing a task, or not thinking through the process can put you in harm’s way. Instead, Plan Your Work and then Work Your Plan!

P.O. Box 20913 Billings, MT 59104

July Years Johnny Heinzman Jr. 12 Dan Arthun 11 Harold Stewart 11 Mike Duben 10 Bill Zupanik 8 Aaron Lahn 6 Mike Lanphear 2 August Years Ed Allen 40 Mark Rieker 22 Kim Hope 10 Josh Pearson 8 Bill Lentsch 7 Justin Tomison 7 Mike Lewis 5 Ryan Brown 3 Nick Knickerbocker 2 September Years Ross Brennan 11 Dan Vogt 11 Jason Lehman 4 Tye Schulz 2 Brad Cutler 1 Lynn Homer 1 Nick Myhre 1 Zane Seader 1

October Years Tom Kittson 22 Justin Biehl 11 Dale Schultz 11 Kathy Thorson 10 Jasen Bennie 8 Jade Lee 8 Mike Bazzano 2 Christian Duffus 2 Kay Jungblut 2 Jacob Husske (COP WY) 1

November Years Ed Bedell 16 Mark Blackeagle 9 Celso Holguin 8 Kendall Meyer 4 Pierre Rhoualt 3 December Years Betty Warner 15 Dickie Phillips (COP WY) 2

ANNIVERSARY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING