Trades unite on Union Gas operations centre build

What do you get when you mix the energy sector with construction?

Some new outlooks on safety, says a spokesman for the general contractor who built the new Union Gas Limited operations centre in Sarnia, Ont.

"When it comes to working with the energy companies like Union Gas, their safety is sometimes over and above the ministry standards," said Mark Timmermans, who owns Agri-Urban Buildings Inc. in Dresden, Ont.

During last year’s $6.25-million project, the general contractor and the gas company shared safety protocols and brainstormed some new ideas on how to boost safety on the construction site.

They introduced a "brothers’ keepers" program that involved handing out observation cards for workers to fill out if they noticed something unsafe. Cards were placed in a box for a weekly prize draw.

The approach encouraged more than Union Gas or Agri-Urban’s safety personnel to consider safety.

"Everyone was looking after safety for each other," Timmermans said.

The nearly 11,500-square-foot facility broke ground last April and was completed for occupancy in November. According to Union Gas building notes, the project didn’t sustain any lost-time injuries.

The facility includes a welding shop, offices and a fully insulated warehouse. It houses about 20 employees.

Many of the building’s features can be controlled remotely, such as access to the gated compound at the back for trucks.

"There’s a lot of different controls we had to put in there so they can operate it from their headquarters," Timmermans said.

He described the project as fast-paced with a very tight schedule. Agri-Urban added more workers during the last two to three months to ensure the project met its deadline.

Regular onsite meetings helped to quickly resolve any unforeseen items and co-ordinate work.

"Co-ordination was a huge thing," Timmermans said, noting the meetings included representation from Union Gas and the project’s architect and main consultant, WalterFedy.

The only major change involved adding a concrete pad at the back and asphalting nearly the entire yard to make ongoing maintenance easier.

The warehouse at the back is pre-engineered with metal cladding on the exterior and metal lining on the interior. The prefabricated approach enabled the creation of a large span without interior columns. The only drawback to using prefabricated items, Timmermans said, was the time it would take to co-ordinate delivery.

"But once you get it there and you can get it up, there’s usually no major issues," he said.

The office is conventional steel with brick veneer on the exterior. Aluminum windows with the Union Gas blue tint "really brought out the building," he said.

Security features prominently. Cameras monitor the property and privacy screen fencing surrounds the backyard compound.

The decision to add a security guard during construction, however, didn’t have to do with company privacy.

Early on, "we did actually have a small robbery, it was on one of our site trailers," Timmermans explained. "We wanted to be proactive and prevent any more (theft)."

Otherwise, the project proceeded smoothly.

"The most amazing thing about this job was the way the trades worked together," he said.

He praised the co-ordination between all team members.

"If the co-ordination wasn’t there and if everyone wasn’t co-operating, there’s no way a schedule like this would ever have been met."

The project is applying for LEED status, said notes supplied by Andrea Stass, a Union Gas spokesperson.

The build precedes another extensive Union Gas project that begins in May.

The company is spending $264.5 million to expand its Panhandle Transmission System. The project tackles 40 kilometres of pipeline between the gas utility’s compressor station in Dawn-Euphemia, Lambton County and its transmission station in Chatham-Kent.

Banister Pipelines Constructors Corp. has been awarded the construction contract to lay new 36-inch diameter steel pipeline to replace Union Gas’ current 16-inch diameter pipeline system. Modifications to the stations are also on the to-do list.

"The Panhandle Transmission System is essential in the movement of natural gas to supply homes and businesses in southwestern Ontario," Stass wrote in an email. The improvements will increase the company’s natural gas capacity to Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent, including to the area’s rapidly expanding greenhouse fruit and vegetable sector.

It’s expected the work will be completed by November, Stass said.