Estimating
I attended the press release by POD where it was announced that they had secured $100 million for the first 20 MW of the solar farm. Starwood Energy has apparently bought the project from POD Generating and will have Q-Cells as the EPC contractor. The schedule has now been reduced again to an April start with an August 1st completion which is close to impossible. We do not hold much hope of getting a portion of work on this job now as we will not have the manpower and Q-Cells has invited most of Ontario to submit pricing. I have been working on this project for 2 ½ years now and a good point comes to mind, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is!

I have been working with Ellsin Environmental trying to secure financing for the tire recycling plant and it has not been easy. I have been to so many financial institutions and investment firms and I am very tired of hearing "But it's a start-up company, its unproven technology, it's in Northern Ontario and it's on Yates Avenue." No one wants to invest in Northern Ontario and that is very sad. We are currently working with Community First Credit Union and we have made a proposal that we hope they will consider. If they do then MMS can give Ellsin an Offer to Lease and we can get this one signed up. Time is of the essence as we have to get the vegetation cleared from the site as soon as possible. The Migratory Bird Act says that once the birds nest, no work is allowed on site until the birds have left! We are allowed to clear the site in the "off-nesting" season.

I am still working with the solar panel manufacturing plant people in trying to secure financing for this project as well. I am running into the same problems. Even though this is proven technology from a leading Spanish firm, I am still getting the "But it's Northern Ontario" issue.

We had our meeting with the Elementa Group, the Waste to Energy guys and discussed the requirements for their new facility. They are also faced with the Migratory Bird Act and need to get their site cleared as soon as possible. They are in the preliminary stages of their plant layout and hope to get us something soon. The plant needs to be laid out so that they can bring in possible clients who may be interested in purchasing their technology and who want to view their process.

We are pricing a Steelway building for Matheson Constructors for a 16,000 square foot building in Concord for a mechanical contractor's shop. This would be a supply and erect contract for us as Matheson would look after everything else. The building would have offices in the front and a shop in the back with a 5 tonne overhead crane.

We submitted a rushed quote to Anmar for a helicopter hanger at the Sudbury airport c/w with foundations and office area. It also had an overhead crane which would be used to pick up a helicopter in one lift for maintenance work.

We submitted pricing on the 50' x 300' x 40' eave height to the client in Sudbury but have not heard back from him.

We submitted pricing to Saldan for the three pre-engineered steel buildings for the Blind River job. Sam was the 2nd place bidder and they asked for alternates; he submitted his revised bid and was informed that he would get the job as the other low bidder did not submit his pricing by the closing date. Sam says the owners have indicated that he will be getting a P.O. for this job. These will be interesting buildings as they all have rounded corners. Steelway is up for the challenge!

We have been invited to submit a tender for the Algoma University's Phase 2 project. The budget on this one is $16 million. Confirmation of "intent to bid" closes on February 3rd. We will be submitting our intention to bid.

Anmar Energy has been working with us on the design of the Boiler House and Turbine building for the Becker Co-Gen project. The Turbine building has a 60 foot eave height and the Boiler House has a 108 foot eave height. The collateral loads on the building are very substantial plus it has a 20 tonne overhead crane. We will be submitting pricing on this one shortly.

We have been asked to update our price for a proposed steel fabrication building that we priced back in 2008. It was put on hold when the recession hit and hopefully it is now back on the radar.

I had to provide another rushed price for a bag house cladding job to Anmar Mechanical. They sent me a 3-D sketch and required a price to clad it the next morning.

New Employees
Nothing new.

AELP Co-Gen Foundations

This job is basically complete now and the guys have all moved over to the cladding job.

AELP Co-Gen Cladding Installation

John M and Jason S are now nearing completion. They are down to just 2 manlifts, 1 swing stage and 11 men. The CO problems seemed to have gone away except for one day when they reached 200 ppm in one area which we vacated immediately. They were working a day shift and an afternoon shift but they are now down to one shift. The high winds have delayed our progress and it is not safe to be up 100 feet in the air getting blown around. They are bending a pile of flashings now and should have this job wrapped up early this month.

Becker Cogeneration

We are back on hold on this project. The Owners are running over budget and asked for a price to reduce the Warehouse building size from 400' x 600' to 400' x 300'. We submitted pricing on this and are waiting for their decision. Steelway has had to put the order on hold as they had scheduled fabrication for the week of February 8th. We had planned on being on site on February 1st to start the foundations. This delay is causing everyone a lot of grief. It may end up being a spring start! The Owner was to have the portable batch plant on site by now but they have not decided whose plant it will be yet. This is causing us a manpower scheduling nightmare; not to mention we are not sure how much more work we should be bidding or be turning down.

Algoma University Biosciences & Technology Convergence Centre

Wayne has been taking advantage of the warm weather and work is progressing nicely. DMC Reinforcing, Ontario Concrete Finishing, General Contracting, McLeod Bros. and Phase 4 are the subtrades currently on site. Wayne had to build a "tent" over the slab areas to be poured and install temporary heaters. He checks the air quality on a regular basis and the readings are around 8 ppm which is acceptable. He poured the last of the slabs on January 20th and it went well. All of the pile caps have now been poured and he is finishing up the walls and the last bit of slab. This job should be complete this month.

Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4 | Photo #5 | Photo #6 | Photo #7

Tenaris Algoma Tubes Settling Pond Liner Replacement
This project has now been completed and KKC has moved on to the Praxair site.

Praxair T900 Oxygen Plant
Tim has been updating his prices for all of the remaining work that we have to finish. KKC, Andy and Randy have been picking away at some of the work but Tim is waiting for some P.O.'s from Praxair.

Algoma's Water Tower Inn Lobby Renovations
Sid and his crew have completed this project. Fern and I along with Kenny and Shauna attended the "Preview" on January 26th and it was great! We got to see the new Lobby, the renovated rooms and the new Pavilion make-over. JJ did a great job on his "Newly Minted" project. Congratulations to JJ and Donna. JJ says they really put Sid to the test and he thinks he wore him out this time! Insert pictures of the Water Tower.
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4 | Photo #5 | Photo #6

Adler Moving Warehouse
The contract has been signed and M. R. Wright is working on the engineering and drawings. Steelway has their approval drawings back and are scheduling production of the building. Clinton is the PM on this project. We have not decided on a Super yet. We are hoping to begin some of the sitework this month and bring the services into the building.

We will be holding our All Employees Health & Safety meeting on February 4th to do our annual review of our Health & Safety program with all of our employees. The meeting will take place at the Great Northern Resort & Conference Centre. I have attached the meeting agenda.
Safety Meeting Agenda

Bob is in the process of lining up our training program for the year. He now each of our employee's training records computerized on our 0n-line Safety Resource Centre and we can sort them by the employee or the training. Bob will set up this years training based on the records on-line and who needs what updates.
As mentioned last month, Bob is lining up some more recertification courses for Manlift Training, Basics of Fall Protection, First Aid/CPR- Level 3, Rigging & Hoisting, Propane Handling and a WHMIS refresher course. Mr. James (our former Safety Director) has advised us that he is available to do some training.

Dwayne lined up a Confined Space Awareness Training course that took place at the Algoma's Water Tower Inn on January 14th. Paride Iacoboni was the instructor for the 2½ hour course. Those attending were Dwayne, JR, Scott M, Andy S, Zak S and Glen M.

Please remember that it is time for all Presidents and CEO's to review their Health & Safety Policy Statement, make the necessary changes and date it for the current year as per regulations. If you haven't already done so, it is time to do it!

CONVENTIONS & SOCIAL EVENTS
I have not heard that anyone has taken up the challenge to all businesses to take up the RBC Soup Kitchen challenge and make a $4,500.00 donation and serve up a lunch. You can call Caroline Kelly at 759-7885 or Calna McGoldrick at 942-2694. GO FOR IT! You can also call me directly and I will fill you in on the challenge.

Dwayne & Kim will be attending the Steelway National Builders Conference in London, ON from Feb. 21-24. DP will be in attendance at the meetings and giving a presentation on the Essar Algoma Energy cladding project. Kimmy will be attending the spa events that are offered; hopefully they'll relax her before the evening functions commence. Fern & I know they will have a great time with Brian, Sue, Rolf & Sharon.

The February Birthday Club:
Ken C Feb. 1
Scarlett M Feb. 2
Ken S Feb. 15
Cris P Feb. 24
Len B Feb. 27

Mike Moore & Sons Construction's Donation Status

February Clinic Times
Tuesday, February 23rd 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Wednesday, February 24th 11:30 am to 2:30 pm & 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Thursday, February 25th 9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Tibits

Here is a naughty one from Shauna.
One Monday morning Dave the Postman is cycling through the neighbourhood on his usual route, delivering the mail.
As he approaches one of the homes he noticed that both cars were still in the driveway. His wonder was cut short by Derek, the homeowner, coming out with a load of empty beer and wine bottles for the recycling bin.
"Morning Derek, looks like you guys had a great party last night" Dave the Postman comments.
Derek, in obvious pain, replies "Actually we had it Saturday night. This is the first I have felt like moving since 4:00 am Sunday morning. We had about fifteen couples from around the neighbourhood over for some weekend fun and it got a bit wild. We all got so drunk around midnight that we started playing "WHO AM I".
Dave the Postman thinks for a moment and says "How do you play WHO AM I?"
"Well, all the guys go into the bedroom and we come out one at a time with only a sheet covering us, with only our "family jewels" showing through a hole in the sheet. Then the women try to guess who it is."
Dave the Postman laughs and says "Sounds like fun. I'm sorry I missed that."
"Probably a good thing you did" Derek responded. "Your name came up seven times!"

We now have 601,511 man hours with no Lost Time Injuries (LTI) or a total of 4,161 days. We only have 398,489 man hours to go to reach our goal of 1,000,000 accident free hours.

I have been invited to attend the official announcement that Councilor Jamie Caicco will be running for the Mayor's position in the next Municipal election. The announcement will take place at the Great Northern Hotel & Conference Centre on February 11th. Jamie will join fellow candidates Debbie Amaroso and Ron Schinners. Unfortunately, the Sault Ste. Marie Construction Association's AGM is the same night and I will have to miss it.

A Note to all Males who have to have a Colonoscopy and are terrified (So was I)
I just had one and I was terrified as well especially after doing some internet research and watching a video or two. I was terrified as we had one of our Black Loon employees go for one and he died from complications related to his colonoscopy which was very unfortunate and very sad and certainly did not help my situation.
It is a procedure that could have complications but generally the Group Health must do hundreds of them without any problems. I will try and make this light and lively and trust me, my experience was no where near as scary as I thought it would be.

As Jim Webb said, "They heard you in like cattle and when you come to, you are in a room with a bunch of guys farting."

I had my annual physical last year and my doctor suggested that since I was over 50 I should have the dreaded colonoscopy. He scheduled an appointment for me with Dr. Reich from the Group Health. I met with him and told him of my concerns, he was terrific and told me not to worry, but since it was a medical procedure, things can go wrong, boy that was what I really wanted to hear. He said that 1 in 2,000 procedures have complications. My wife's doctor said 1 in 1,000 and the internet says 1 in 3,000 so I was fairly confident that I had a good chance

I had mine scheduled for November of last year and I cancelled it because it was too close to the holidays. I finally was scheduled for Friday, January 29th. For those of you men over 50 who are not familiar with a colonoscopy, it is a procedure where they insert a ½ inch tube into your rectum and up into your colon all the way up to your small intestine. It has a camera at the end of it and they check out the inside of your colon for any problems related to cancer. They can also cut out any polyps that they may find using a "polypectomy snare" and do a biopsy on them. They do this by inserting another tube inside the big tube and they "snare" the polyp by putting a rope around it and choking the shit out of it. Yikes! They blow air into your colon to help get the camera up that far.

The day before your procedure you have to cleanse your colon by taking a powerful cleansing drug and you are to be very close to a toilet. From what I was told, this is the worst part but I had my doubts as I thought if they were going to insert 5 or 6 feet of ½ inch cable up my rectum, I thought that would by far be the worst. I did not have much of a problem with the colon cleansing, no where close to what I was told. They tell you that you can lose up to 5 pounds and become dehydrated so I was really looking forward to losing the 5 pounds, trouble was I only lost 2 pounds so I was a bit pissed off. I was however feeling pretty good about how I handled this, no horror stories from me. You have to two packets of this stuff, mine was Pico Salix, and I took the first packet at noon hour. It was not that bad and I thought I was OK unless the second packet was the kicker but it was not. They tell you to use handi wipes, Vaseline and to soak in the bath tub but I did not have to do any of this.

Then came the day, I was to be there for 11:20 am. Did I mention that you cannot eat any food; you can only drink clear fluids. (That does not mean vodka or white rum!) I had siked myself up for the 11:20 am time and thought let's just do it. They were running way behind (no pun intended) and as I was sitting in the waiting room, Phil Olendy, a friend and former employee showed up. He sat down with me and asked why I was there. I told him for a colonoscopy and he informed me that is why he was there. Oh boy I thought, a friend to share my colonoscopy with, I told Phil we should do this more often, what a great way to spend quality time with a friend! Trouble was Phil was more terrified than I was and his colon cleansing was not a pretty experience!

We waited and waited and even went for a few smokes. Not having eaten for almost 2 days, we were not impressed when a girl came into the waiting room with a hamburger and french fries and sat and ate it. Phil and I thought we should go and sit on either side of her and ask if she was going to eat all of it herself or could we have some crumbs. Finally at 3:20, some 4 hours later and after being told they could not believe how patient we were, our time had arrived. I think they just did that to us guys to see us suffer!

They take you into a small bathroom and tell you to strip down and put on one of those stupid backwards hospital gowns. Since they were out of robes they gave me another stupid gown and told me to use it as a robe. Then you go down the hallway to a small room that holds about 6 beds with colonoscopy patients in various stages in the room. Some are waiting for the procedure and some are recovering. Since they blow air into your colon, the recovering patients were very musical. They put me on my bed and started the needles, blood pressure check and temp check. I had to wait for a bit and finally it was my turn, boy was I really looking forward to this by now!

They wheeled me into the procedure room where they were just removing a patient who was done. They were telling him how well he did as he did not have any sedation. I thought what a hero, but informed the nurse that I was certainly NOT a hero and that my sedation had not kicked in and please do not start the procedure until I was out cold. She informed me that they had not even started the sedation yet. Ooops! That explained it. The nurse chatted with me for a moment and then asked me to lie on my side and pull my knees up to my chest. Oh Boy, I thought the moment had arrived and I was still awake. I heard Dr. Reich come in and say my name and that was the last thing I remember, that was at 3:25 pm.

I woke up at 4:05 pm in the recovery room and it was all over. I was really glad to be alive and my procedure did not show any concerns. I got dressed and looked across the room to see Phil in his bed. He had already had his procedure. I waited for him to come to and asked him how he was feeling. He wanted to know when he was going for his procedure and I informed him that he had already had it. He was quite relived. Fern picked me up at 4:30 and we went home as you are not allowed to drive. Once we got home we had a long conversation on my entire day and how things went, what a romantic Friday evening we had. I was hoping for a video of the procedure but they don't give you anything. They did offer me a muffin and some water, I was thinking of a steak dinner and a double Crown Royal. I must say that the nurses are very understanding and excellent and Dr. Reich from what I remember must have been a trooper, I would recommend him to anyone. I liked the part where they tell you "Don't worry about passing gas, it won't smell" which made me feel a whole lot better during my recovery.

Seriously, colon cancer is one of the most curable cancers with early detection and even though a colonoscopy is a very embarrassing and scary procedure with some risk, I recommend that if you are a male and over 50, you get one. There is a pile of information on the internet about this procedure so you should check it out.

Fern and I have five deer who reside in the bush behind our house. We put out two salt blocks and we feed them corn. There are two adults and three smaller ones. We got some good pictures of them as you can see. It's great to have them so close and within the City, this is their 3rd year now and they certainly entertain the Beagles and the black thing (The cat)
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4