Page 13 - Suncor 360 - Fall 2017
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OPPOSITE PAGE:
TOP: Market-style cafeterias serve fresh, seasonal food options at our lodges.
BOTTOM: The lodges at Fort Hills have a number of amenities to help people feel at home including full-sized gymnasiums, tness centres, movie theatres and games rooms.
ONCE FULLY OPERATIONAL, FORT HILLS WILL BE HOME TO MORE THAN 1,000 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WHO WILL SPEND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF TIME WORKING AWAY FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS DUE TO THE REMOTE LOCATION OF THE SITE. HELPING TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN WORK TIME AND HOME TIME, IS A SITE-BASED COMMUNITY THAT’S DEVELOPED BOTH ORGANICALLY AND WITH SOME THOUGHTFUL PLANNING.
“Establishing a strong community has always been part of the Fort Hills employee value proposition,” says Riaz Hamir, HR director, Major Projects and Fort Hills. “It was a priority right from the beginning. At career fairs we made a point of talking about the importance of helping people feel like Fort Hills would be a home away from home.”
Simple things help bring those comforts of home to life on site.
"Mount Logan Lodge is the best accommodation I’ve stayed at,” says Eddie Bartlett, shift supervisor, primary extraction. “Wireless is available in every room so we can keep connected to family, there are recreational activities that help us stay active and develop friendships, the lodges are clean, and the food is amazing, which is a huge plus.”
Establishing a great culture starts with great people and the HR onboarding team helps set the right tone from the start. New employees are personally greeted by senior leaders, newcomers learn about the Fort Hills culture through orientation, and their direct leaders check in with them 30, 90 and
180 days after their rst day at site to make sure they are doing well.
“It means a lot to have senior leaders on site who genuinely care and want to connect with their employees,” says Eddie. “You’ll often see them join their teams for meals, pop in on team meetings, and they make an effort to remember your name and where you work.”
Specialized teams have found their own ways to create a supportive work environment. In Mining, the heavy equipment operators have a tradition. When an operator gains enough experience to “graduate” from a green hard hat, he or she leaves a handwritten note for the next person to welcome the new co-worker to the team.
As with other remote sites, days are long, so it’s also important that logistics such as bus and lodge facilities are working well. “It’s a long commute to get up to site,” explains Eddie “but in my experience, it’s pretty seamless.”
The Field Logistics team takes this seriously. There are often people at the Aerodrome, bus stops and at the lodge front desk to answer questions. They also have a suggestion box to encourage feedback from travellers. And the Main Administration building was designed with big open spaces for lunch and meetings to help foster collaboration and the feeling of being part of the larger team.
“I truly feel like I have a second family at site,” says Eddie. “Our team has become friends. We eat dinner together, play sports together and even have a weekly poker tournament.”
“We’re all in this together,” adds Riaz. “That’s so important to remember, especially when we have a lot of work in front of us. If we treat each other with respect and have an open environment, we’ll be successful.”
FORT HILLS FAST FACTS
Fort Hills is located
90 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The project’s co-owners are Suncor Energy Inc., Total E&P Canada Ltd. and Teck Resources Limited. Here’s a look at the project’s progress as of August 1, 2017:
92 per cent construction complete
While we’re focused on completing the remaining construction activities
in Secondary Extraction, the balance of the
site and project areas have made signi cant progress in turnover and commissioning the assets.
Four of six project areas have been turned over to operations:
• Mining, Ore Preparation
Plant, Major Site Infrastructure and Primary Extraction Plant have all been turned over with no complications
• Turnover of Utilities is in progress
• Secondary Extraction
is the nal area to be turned over
88 per cent of direct operational employees have been hired – approximately
1,200 workers
All critical frontline operating positions have been lled
Fort Hills is on track to achieve our target of rst oil by the end of 2017.
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