B&M NEWSTHE

The Newsletter about Black & McDonald People and Projects

AUTUMN 2010

Black & McDonald

A Tradition Of Quality Since 1921

INSIDE

The quest for continuous improvement at Black & McDonald in Southern Ontario’s Mechanical, Electrical, Utility, and Power Generation Regions as well as our co-venture Entera – has paid a dividend in the form of five

ZeroQuest program awards.ZeroQuest is a managed approach

to health and safety launched in 2004 by the Electrical & Utilities Safety Association (E&USA) that identifies potential hazards, categorizes risk levels and maintains controls through

regular audits. There are four levels of ZeroQuest achievement: Bronze – Commitment Level; Silver – Effort Level; Gold – Outcome Level; and Platinum –Sustainability Level.

Southern Ontario’s Mechanical, Utility, Electrical, and Power Generation regions all received ZeroQuest Gold

awards, and the utilitycontracting co-venture company Entera has been recognized for the first time with the Bronze or Commitment Level.

These awards were presented at a special awards ceremony during the final Electrical & Utilities Safety Association (E&USA) Annual General Conference. E&USA has merged with two other health and safety associations to form the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA).

The awards ceremony was particularly special this year. Senior Vice President Larry Macdonald, who was both an active member of the Electrical & Utilities Safety Association Board of Directors as a

Five ZeroQuest Awards for Black & McDonald

From the Allied Wings operation In Southport, Manitoba to our service and maintenance work with 17 Wing Winnipeg, the Manitoba operations of Black & McDonald have close ties to the Canadian military. When Major Rob Clark

of 17 Wing approached Jeff Suggitt for help in supporting the 2010 Canadian Air Force Run in Winnipeg, Jeff made a quick phone call to Wayne Smit and the Manitoba team threw their support behind the run.

On May 30, Black & McDonald, Allied Wings and CBO sponsored the pasta dinner that ‘carbed up’ the runners prior to the event, which includes a half-marathon, 10-km run and 5-km family fun run. Guy Paquette, along with Guy’s wife Monique, and daughters Zoe and Gabrielle, were our designates at the dinner.

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The Canadian Air Force Run:B&M Manitoba Go The Distance For Canadian Forces Personnel

DRAXIS Pharma’s RefrigerationChallengePage 2

Atlantic Re -assembles a Biomass PlantPage 4

The Tracker, A Software Solution for FMOsPage 3

CBO’s Recognition from Shell CanadaPage 3

Continues on page 3

B&M’s Bryan and Tracey Malo at the Air Force Run. They also ran the Manitoba 1/2 Marathon this year.

Left to right: Dave Owen, SOR Toolroom; Jim Noble, SOR Sheet Metal;Jason Chobotiuk, Division Manager, Sheet Metal, SORM; Rob Marshall, Health & Safety Supervisor, SORM; Ron Clark, Manager and Loss Control, SORM; and Ian McDonald, Co-President & Co-CEO.

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On race day, a total of over 1,000 runners turned out in Winnipeg, and approximately 300 more ran a shadow race at the same time, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Black & McDonald’s Winnipeg team of runners included Guy Paquette (Operations Supervisor), Guy’s brother Gilles, Tracey Malo (Service Coordinator) and husband Bryan, Aimee Alarie (Projects Administrator) and Bobbi-Jo Lodewyks. Gilles Paquette posted a blistering time and finished 7th in the 10 km run.

The proceeds of the Air Force Run go primarily to a pair of organizations, Soldier On and the Military Families Fund. Soldier On helps ill or injured Forces personnel or former personnel participate in physical fitness, health promotion and sport. The Military Families Fund (MFF) helps military families with short-term emergencies and also provides long-term support, often within hours of being advised of need.

B&M staff in Manitoba are very proud of the support that we

were able to provide to Major Clark and the rest of the organizing committee, and ultimately the two wonderful charities that this run assists. Information on the Air Force Run and the charities it supports can be found at www.airforcerun.ca.

Going The Distance at the Canadian Air Force Run

Five Zeroquest Awards for B&M Southern Ontario

management representative for the electrical contracting industry from 2001 to 2009 as well as the 2009 E&USA Board chair, was presented with the Meritorious Service Award. The Board of Directors presented the award to Larry as recognition of his years of service for the cause of reducing workplace injury and illness.

During 2009 and 2010, Larry also generously provided both his time and business acumen as co-chair to help develop and launch the new organization, Infrastructure Health & Safety Association.

“Safety is our company’s highest priority and has become a cultural cornerstone as the ‘Black & McDonald Way’ said Larry Macdonald at the first annual general meeting, held in June. “Each operation maintains the core values while driving ongoing initiatives ensuring the system is improving. With so many competing priorities these regions are blazing a trail in leading safety initiatives. For such a program to sustain this success, it has to ensure every employee is involved and supportive of the basic principles of the efforts to continually improve Black & McDonald’s safety program and the culture. Everyone has to believe that ‘Nobody gets hurt, today or tomorrow’”.

Congratulations to all employees in these regions and the leadership that makes safety number one.

Black & McDonald

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“Safety is our company’s highest priority and has become a cultural cornerstone as the ‘Black & McDonald Way’”

– Larry Macdonald

B&M Quebec’s Refrigeration Project at DRAXIS PharmaIn June 2010, the Quebec Service Department completed a turnkey installation project for a cold room at DRAXIS Pharma, a specialized manu-facturer of pharmaceutical products operating a 247,000-square-foot facility in Kirkland, Quebec, on Montreal Island.

Measuring 46’ x 18’ x 25’, the cold room requires 72,000 BTU of cooling power. The project’s scope of work included the supply and installation of the room panels, the analog data recorder, a fast-activated door with a complex condensation issue, supplying electrical and refrigeration equipment, all electrical work and startup.

DRAXIS Pharma has expressed appreciation for our competitive and detailed bid and the professionalism demonstrated on site by our project manager, Guy Nougué and our assistant project manager, Jonathan Desautels.

The three-week project was accomplished on-time, on-budget, due to the teamwork and strong collaboration skills of the people involved, including Robert Lévesque, electrician, and HVAC technicians Jean Guy Vanier, Sylvain Chartrand, Marcel Galarneau and André Descary. Congratulations to everyone for all their excellent work.

Sylvain Chartrand (top) with (lft to right) Jean-Guy Vanier, Robert Lévesque, and André Descarry.

The Tracker: B&M’s Custom-Tailored Work Order Management Software

What do you do when every month, your dual-site FMO team needs to manage over 1,600 time-sensitive work orders, initiated by client calls to an off-site contact centre?

That was the problem facing the B&M Kelowna Vernon Hospital (KVH) project team in British Columbia. Beginning in July of 2009, B&M became responsible for all facility management services as well as a 24/7/365 Help Desk at two health care facilities – Kelowna General Hospital and Vernon Jubilee Hospital. With more than 40 site staff, success in this performance-based contract equates to getting all work requests, improvements and scheduled maintenance done on-time, every time.

“For three months the team worked with the administrative processes conceived at start-up. Then the team called a time out and got those that run the system together for a redesign” said Continuous Improvement Manager Charlie Welkie. Key representatives from each site, including the Contact Centre, remapped the processes used, throwing out as many non-value-adding steps as possible.

For the new processes to work, a new set of tools was required. Enter the Tracker. This less-than-elegant name represents what has become the lifeblood of the KVH project. The Tracker is a suite of web-based databases that provides a real-time window into the status of work requested and scheduled. Such information is critical to success when, in some cases, penalties can be assessed for taking more than five minutes to get to the job. The database software was developed for the Domino messaging program which runs in Lotus Notes; the HTML coding was begun by Tom Wilkinson, VP, Alberta, then enhanced and completed by Warren Wilkinson, a part-time B&M employee called in when serious coding skills are required.

To get project details in front of the people who need them, large LCD monitors were mounted in the office area of ‘the shop’; the automatically updated screens are on-line 24/7 so all technicians know what is in queue and how long before penalties specific to that project are due to begin.

Since the Tracker has been implemented, our record for on-time completion of scheduled and requested work sits at 99.7%. Surely, this is

confirmation that good things are possible when current, accurate information is placed in the right hands.

The process improvement team that devised the solution and created the processes around it include Kim Arend,

Assistant Plant Services Manager, Vernon Jubilee Hospital; Shannon Bauder, Lead Call Centre Operator, Vancouver office; Tom Wilkinson, VP, Alberta; and Charlie Welkie, Continuous Improvement Manager.

On June 19, Canadian Base Operators (CBO) was presented with the most prestigious award available to contractors from Shell Canada. At the annual employee recognition function in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Mike Malone, Aviation Manager for Heavy Oil - Upstream Americas, presented the Vendor Excellence Award to CBO General Manager Steve Watt for demonstrating superior performance and alignment with Shell’s Operational Goals for Operational Excellence.

In presenting the award, Mr. Malone reiterated the consistency and rare high standard of performance demonstrated by CBO. He commented on the rarity of this award (there are years this award is not presented) and the high regard for CBO as a contractor that this award demonstrates on behalf of Shell Canada.

Canadian Base Operators currently manages diverse aerodrome facilities and services for Shell Canada in the oil sands, in Edmonton and in Calgary.

Canadian Base Operators Recognized forOperational Excellence by Shell Canada

The Tracker: placing key information on all active work orders in the right hands

We call them clients, suppliers or maybe it’s an internal department. Regardless of how we choose to label them, they are our customers. We are all in the customer service business and at least part of our work involves directly or indirectly serving customers. The customers of today are different than the ones of even ten years ago. With the growing accessibility to the internet, our customers are more sophisticated and informed. They have easier and increased access to more companies competing for their business. Gone are the days when we were the only shop in town. To maintain our economic edge, we must improve and enhance the customer experience. We have to find new and better ways to extend and serve today’s customers. Developing and keeping customers is what business is all about. And for Black & McDonald to be successful, every employee needs to work effectively with both internal and external customers. Most businesses lose 15% of their customers because of product dissatisfaction. However, the greatest number of customers (67%) leave because of a poor customer service experience. Think about it for a moment – can you describe the last time you received great service? Can you come up with a time you received really bad service? Was it easier to come up with a good or bad experience? Why do you think that is? Here are some recent statistics:•Wespendupto10%moreforthesameproductwithbetter

service•Whenwereceivegoodservice,wetellontheaverage9–12

other people•Whenwereceivepoorcustomerservice,wetellupto20people•82%ofcustomerswillrepurchasefromacompanyiftheir

complaint is handled quickly and pleasantly• Iftheserviceisreallypoor,91%ofretailcustomerswon’tgo

back to a store• Itcostsfivetimesmoremoneytoattractanewcustomerthanit

does to keep an existing one Each time a customer comes in contact with B&M or a representative of B&M, they have what we call a “customer service moment”. When you put all these customer service moments together, it creates a chain which is the customer’s experience. These moments of truth give the customer an opportunity to form, reaffirm or change an impression about Black & McDonald. If we do a great job setting up the contract, that’s a positive moment. If we send out an incorrect invoice, that’s a negative moment of truth. For B&M to succeed, it is the responsibility of every employee to offer exceptional service to both our external and internal customers. We need to remember to honestly and completely listen to all of our customers. How many times do we focus so intently outside the company that we forget about the people we serve inside? Making sure our internal customers are not only satisfied but have a remarkable experience is the true sign of smooth teamwork and operations. Exceptional customer service begins from within. It is only if we work together that we will be able to give our external customers unforgettable service. This is the base of Black & McDonald’s Code of Business – the base of our company.

Logan KingManager, National Improvement

Everyone Has Their Part to Play

Black & McDonald

In mid December 2009, after weeks of negotiations the NB Projects team received a purchase order from J.D. Irving for the challenging job of re-assembling a biomass thermal plant at the sawmill at St. Leonard, NB. A very excited team began making plans to move men and equipment to the village in northwestern New Brunswick located just a few feet from the US border and 70 kilometers from Quebec.

As a result of this move, J.D. Irving will see a savings in electrical and fuel oil costs as well as the elimination of 60,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually.

The project consisted of the re-assembly of an existing biomass plant which had been disassembled in Cook, Minnesota and shipped on 90 trucks to St. Leonard, NB. This was the first in-house structural steel and boiler-maker project for the New Brunswick Projects Division.

The New Brunswick Projects Division working with the Dartmouth estimating office carefully worked to understand the scope of the project by first traveling to Minnesota to conduct a site visit. There were also significant challenges to face such as an aggressive completion schedule; project mobilization which had to be carried out between Christmas and New Years; and all heavy lifts would occur during peak winter conditions in Northern New Brunswick.

The St. Leonard sawmill is one of the largest sawmills in the Maritimes, with 150 to 200 lumber trucks entering and exiting the plant daily. Project activities had to ensure minimal disruption to plant production which required daily coordination between Irving and Black & McDonald forces.

Re-assembly of the plant started in early January 2010 with the arrival of the first process equipment from Minnesota. All major equipment had to be installed before the erection of structural steel framing could begin. The size of the equipment and the steel structure required cranes with 200, 70 and 28 ton capacity.

The overall scope of the contract to NB Projects consisted of mechanical installation, structural steel erection, cladding and siding and piping within the plant and to an existing boiler house more than 1,200 feet away. This is a testimonial to the diversified multi-trade capability of the New Brunswick Projects Division.

The project is now in its final stages of completion. Key New Brunswick employees contributing to the success of this diverse and challenging project include Serge Blanchard, Site Superintendent; Michel Gauthier, Project Coordinator; Kenneth Chiasson, Boiler Maker General Foreman; Rejean Robichaud, Iron Worker Foreman; Michael Astorino and Claude Boubreau, Piping Foremen; and Andrew Mader, Site Safety Coordinator.

New Brunswick’s Project Division Re-assembles a Biomass Thermal Plant:A Testimonial to Multi-Trade Capabilities

J.D. Irving’s biomass thermal energy plant takes shape in St. Leonard, New Brunswick.

Black & McDonald Limited

Corporate Office:2 Bloor St. East, Suite 2100Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8Tel: (416) 920-5100 Fax: (416) 922-8768

Offices:Goose Bay (709) 896-2639St. John’s (709) 747-1406Fredericton (506) 459-1650Moncton (506) 858-5688Bathurst (506) 547-8070Halifax (902) 468-3101Montreal (514) 735-6671Ottawa (613) 526-1226Cornwall (613) 933-8764Kingston (613) 544-7578Pickering (905) 837-1291Scarborough (416) 298-9977Toronto (416) 366-2541Toronto Airport (905) 672-1110Hamilton (905) 560-3100London (519) 681-4801Winnipeg (204) 786-5776Regina (306) 924-0885Saskatoon (306) 652-3835Calgary (403) 235-0335Edmonton (780) 484-1141Vancouver (604) 301-1070Kansas City, MO (816) 483-0257Sandy City, Utah (801) 569-9219

Associated companies:AMEC Black & McDonald (902) 474-3700CBO (705) 446-9019Entera Utility Contractors Co. Ltd. (416) 746-9914Land & Sea (902) 461-2009

B&M News Editor:Ross Maddever (416) 486-3199

Correspondents:Rick Splonick AtlanticAntoinette Stechysin QuébecDebbie Sharp N. Ontario Dawn Dabarno S. OntarioPhil Taggart S.W. OntarioMarcel Brissette ManitobaKen Leclaire SaskatchewanTom Wilkinson AlbertaCharles Saramo VancouverEric Vogel U.S.

www.blackandmcdonald.com

Black & McDonald

Among UsNew Employees

Alberta / BC (Calgary)Sylvan Trolez, Apprentice Plumber

Alberta / BC (Vancouver)Paul Adolphe, Lead GeneratorRobin Mallinder, FMO SalesJoseph Penkov, FM Building OperatorBill Sutherland, FM Building Operator

AtlanticKevin Brewer, HVAC, NS Service Earl Deveau, HVAC, NS ServiceRyan Dinn,Logistics Coordinator, Amec Black & McDonaldAdam Long, DDC, NS ServiceSean MacLennan, HVAC, NS ServiceLloyd Morrison, Design Build Specialist, NB ServiceManitobaJulien Tardiff, General Foreman Pipefitter (Projects)Lindsay Robertson, 2nd Level Apprentice Millwright (FMO – Viterra)Brad Ebner, Journeyman Electrician (FMO – Viterra)Johnathon Doerksen, 3rd Level Apprentice Electrician (FMO – Viterra)Ryan Bernier, Journeyman Millwright (Projects)Jason Adamson, 2nd Level Apprentice Plumber(Projects)

Northern OntarioDwight Brown, 1st Year ElectricianDenis Cholette, Small Jobs CoordinatorRodney Cummings, Journeyman ElectricianSteven Flynn, FMODenis Laviolette, FMOJeffrey Powell, 1st Year Electrician

QuebecAndré Beaudoin, Construction ManagerMichel Fortin, Business Development – Service DivisionPatrick Lacoste, ControllerRichard Leblanc, Project Manager /Boiler makerWilliam Nuyttens,RefrigerationMelissa Pereira, Accounts ReceivablePola Sofonio, Paymaster

SaskatchewanShaylene Nong, Receptionist

Saskatchewan (Edmonton)Bryan Bennett, LabourerRob Campbell, LabourerShawn Campbell, HVAC ApprenticeBrent Crossley, Electrical Site SupervisorRicardo Devera, Building Operator

Rob Donaldson, ApprenticeBrendan Finnigan, Journeyman PlumberJames Miller, Electrician (2nd Year)Colin Olson, Plumber (4th Year)Dennis Rosin, LabourerBrad Wedekind, HVAC ApprenticeChris Wolak, Plumber (2nd Year)

Southern OntarioGrace Avey, General Accountant, Power Generation RegionDan Bender, Civil Superintendent, Power Generation RegionIngrid Bowman, Senior Payroll AdministratorAmanda Brasseur, Administration Assistant, FMOLeonora Canas, CADD Lead ElectricalJaime Cudao, FMO Frank Curtain, Civil General Foreman, Power Generation RegionJosh Donnelly, Shipper-Receiver, FMOBruce Dorie, Service RepresentativeJim Dunn, Civil General Foreman, Power Generation RegionAntony Glasgow, Project CoordinatorMark Hopkins, Project Manager, SWOIssa Kawar, Project ManagerBrian Laviolette, Business Development Rep.Dana MacDonald, Project CoordinatorRob McConnell, Project ManagerIan Morton, Division Manager, PGRChristina O’Donnell, Director of ContractsTom Panak, Project CoordinatorDenis Prowell, General AccountantPaul Raymond, In-Processing Co-ordinator, Power Generation RegionSherry Robinson, Darlington Site Administration, Power Generation RegionBarry Rogers, Site Supervisor, FMOAlessandro Spataro, CoordinatorKevin Thompson, Civil General Foreman, Power Generation RegionMartin Turenne, Business Development Rep., SWOKseniya Vologdina, Accounting AssistantWes Welland, Cost Control, PGRRobert Whalen, Service Operations Support, FMO

Movers & Shakers

AtlanticDerek Misner, Amec Black & McDonald, transfers to Estimating role

QuebecHugo Ratelle, from Estimator, Coordinator, Planner – Construction Division to Contract Supervisor – Service Division

SaskatchewanAlma Mendez, from Receptionist to Service DispatchTracey Bilanski, from Service Dispatch to Administration

Parenthood

Alberta / BC (Calgary)Derek & Sabrina Vangheluwe welcome a girl, Arianne Elizabeth

AtlanticRyan Urquhart (NS Service) and Patricia Pettipas welcome a girl, Allison on May 21, 7 lbs 12 oz.

Northern Ontario Wayne & Nancy MacCuaig welcome a boy, Cedric Madden, June 3, 10 lbs. 3 ozPhillipp & Elizabeth Marengere welcome a boy, Jaxsen Eugenio Yvon, June 6, 6 lbs. 10 ozMark & Amanda Meilleur welcome a boy, Simon, June 9, 7 lbs. 13 oz.

SaskatchewanBrett & Chelsea Gursky welcome a boy, Kaden, June 20.Kalen Heit & Kerry Simpson welcome a boy, Holden, June 2.Tony & Jennifer Hofstra welcome a girl, Addison, May 28.Mike & Gina Kucherhan welcome a boy, Vance, June 30.Jeremy & Teresa Thompson welcome a girl, Sage, July 21.

Southern OntarioFletcher & Joanna Robinson welcome a girl, Raelynne Emma, July 12, 7 lbs.

Retirements

AtlanticKirk Meisner, Amec Black & McDonald

Nuptials

ManitobaTrevor & Marina Straub married June 26, 2010.

Saskatchewan (Edmonton)D.J. Goodfellow & Frannie married June 11.