Chemco Electrical Contractors Ltd is a leading Canadian contractor based in Edmonton, Alberta. For nearly fifty years, Chemco has provided a variety of services to the heavy industrial construction sector including electrical installations; high voltage testing, commissioning and distribution; electrical maintenance, fibre optics, data networking and constructability input and reviews to customers in Alberta and Saskatchewan. “According to the industry, if there is a construction project requiring one of these services, you can bet Chemco's name will come up for consideration right up front,” says Terry Milot, Vice President and Estimating Manager.

Chemco was started in 1963 under the name Doug Smith Electric. In 1978, the name changed to Chemco Electrical Contractors Ltd. Though the company began with a focus on commercial and institutional installations on school and hospitals, it eventually branched into industrial work for oil and gas companies.

TECHNOLOGY

The company relies on an in-house computer program to inventory its equipment, tools and machinery, which are worth several million dollars. The system allows it to improve service to clients through the efficient utilization of the equipment for distribution to the work site locations. Since it is web-based, it offers real-time, adaptable reporting to teams in the warehouse and on-site.

COMMITMENT TO SAFETY

Safety is a priority at Chemco. The company has put in place a series of innovative programs to improve the health and safety of its staff. One such initiative is its stretching program, designed to reduce the incidence of pain and injury from daily activities and tasks in the warehouse and on-site. The program was developed by WorkSmart and implemented on the worksite for Dow Chemical. It proved so successful that Chemco implemented it on all worksites. Chemco and WorkSmart created a Train-the-Trainer program for selected employees to teach them the proper stretching technique to reduce injury. Employees stretch before, during and after their shifts and report fewer aches and pains. This trend has continued and the stretching program has been adopted by nearly all contractors and projects in the industrial marketplace.

Since the inception of the program, Chemco has maintained a below average Worker’s Compensation Board (WCB) claim loss ratio. Additionally, the company has received recognition from Syncrude Canada, which presented it with the President’s Award of the Most Innovative Program Implemented and the President’s Award for Best Overall Environmental, Health and Safety Performance and Program. The company also received the Safety and Leadership Innovation Award from the Construction Owners Association of Alberta.

The company also instituted a fall protection program which covers people, engineering, environment, materials and equipment and tools. Falls are a considerable safety hazard on the worksite and can lead to devastating injuries or even death. To reduce falls on jobsites, Chemco put in place a safety strategy that included retractable lifelines, preventative maintenance, user friendly equipment and the practice of girth hitching the lanyard around an improvised anchor.

To prevent injuries from knives, the company required Kevlar gloves to be worn by employees. While this reduced injuries, Chemco re-evaluated its procedures to further improve the safety of its employees. The company relied on feedback from employees to introduce more appropriate cable stripping tools, which eliminate the need for knives in many situations. Chemco also switched to a knife design that met the needs of the job while ensuring the safety of the worker. To drive the message home, the company created a series of safety videos that showed workers how to properly use the new equipment.

Chemco also teamed with KBR and the Edmonton Regional Safety Committee to produce a three part DVD series to train employees on the methods for the use of grinders and other power tools.

LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY

Chemco relies on strong relationships established over the last four decades to remain leaders of the industry. The company has earned the reputation for completing projects efficiently due to a hardworking, knowledgeable staff that follow established procedures and offer quality service to clients. As a result, other companies have requested permission to implement Chemco’s program at their businesses. “After many discussions, the feedback was that [we] not only had good forms, but systems that flowed into each other and had been considered by operations, construction and maintenance,” says Milot. “This unique relationship only works with people who understand the program and [that is] why it was developed that way.”

The executive team of Chemco holds positions in top industry organizations. Brian Halina, President of Chemco, sits on the board of the Labour Relations Committee of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta as chairman and is a member of the Saskatchewan Labour Committee. Vice President Terry Milot currently sits as Director at large for Northern Alberta and has been very active serving as Provincial President 2005-2006, Edmonton Chapter President 2006-2008 and Board of Directors since 1998. Other employees sit on the boards of the Alberta Construction Safety Association and the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta.

“With the participation in several construction organizations such as the ACSA and ECAA, Chemco has maintained its leadership role in the electrical and instrumentation industry,” says Milot. “[We have] often worked with other contractors in an effort to improve the overall safety culture throughout the construction industry.”

PROJECTS

Long-term partners since 1993, Chemco performs the electrical and instrumentation work at the Shell Scotford Refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. From major to minor projects to maintenance, Chemco has been a contractor on many projects at this facility including the recent completion of the SUEX 1 Expansion requiring nearly 1,500 Chemco workers on various projects such as Site Wide Temporary Power and Telecommunications, A&V, SRC, Waterblock, Greenfield EHT, Site Wide Testing and Commissioning and the continuance of the maintenance of the existing refinery. With over 3 million manhours to date on this SUEX 1 Expansion project, the receipt of the Vice President award for Safety Performance acknowledges all the workers and staff for their efforts. As a result of the high quality work completed, Shell honoured Chemco with a Vendor Excellence Award.

Over the last thirty years, Chemco has also worked with Dow Chemical Canada on various projects at its plant in Fort Saskatchewan. While a small crew continues with projects and maintenance many new relationships have been developed at Alberta Envirofuels, Suncor Fort McMurray and Petro Canada Edmonton to name a few.

As the year 2010 comes to a close so to does the completion of the Keephills #3 Power project for Capital Power. The completion of this 4 year project has Chemco complete the entire Electrical, Instrumentation, High Voltage Fiber Optics and overall Commissioning. A peak workforce of over 450 personnel and nearly 1 million safe manhours.

Chemco’s recent move into Saskatchewan has resulted in a new and exciting opportunity. Construction on a renovated White Side and new Red Side for the PCS (Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan) Mill at Cory near Saskatoon was not a mere entrance into the province. Well almost 2 ½ years have passed and our current workforce peaked at 500 and we can soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. With over 1 million Electrical manhours completed thus far, this world class facility is really getting ready to produce.

The Co-op Upgrader in Regina is currently home for Chemco with projects in the Revamps area with Colt Worley Parsons and in the Greenfield Plant Expansion with IAG Construction. With project completions in 2012, the teams are just getting started.

LOOKING AHEAD

“While the entire world is focusing on Western Canada and its tremendous resources, Chemco maintains its focus on what has made us successful to date and what we need to do to stay as the industry leader. Our core nucleus of employees is ready to accept the challenge to construct many projects without sacrificing [our] commitment to safety, quality and performance.”

“Many of the younger employees have been mentored to accept the responsibility to guide new workers in the exciting times of increased construction activity. Supervision will be critical with the shortage of construction workforce anticipated over the next few years and Chemco is confident that [our] in-house training programs and consistent focus will pay large dividends in the award of new contracts."

To reach a new milestone level whether it is in contract revenue or manpower levels truly depends on the economy and timing of the demand. “However, one thing industry can rely on is that the Chemco team is constantly modifying its systems and practices to provide their committed personnel the best possible advantages to achieve the core values of Safety, Quality and Performance and to maintain its position as a leader in the industry.”