Issue #56, November, 2007

Estimating
The North Bay project is still ongoing and we are waiting for architectural layouts and city approvals prior to beginning the actual design work. This may end up being a spring of 2008 project as winter is a coming!

Mike met with the developer from Georgia in October and is now working on some very preliminary budget prices. This job is very interesting and quite unique, given its location.

We submitted the budget pricing for the Timmins project, it would be a spring of 2008 job.

We had a meeting with Tenaris Algoma Tubes regarding our tender for their Oil Storage Building and have since received a P.O. for the project.

Mike also negotiated the cladding installation with Anmar Mechanical for the new Kenworth Truck Centre building in Copper Cliff. Anmar will be erecting the structural steel. We did the foundations for it last month.

Tom submitted his pricing for the ASI Fuel Depot project but we don't think that we were competitive. He also submitted pricing for the ASI Bent foundations and has had several meeting with ASI. Hopefully this project will be awarded in the very near future.

Tom is now working on several other ASI quote requests and he is working on a budget price for a $23 million job near Parry Sound, can't say much about this one yet. But we can ask Tom how his back is after teaching Tae Kwon Do last week; Tommy what about those floor mat placements, sticky tape might be an option!

Ken submitted pricing for the Pollard Banknote renovations. We were one of only two bidders and were just $2,000.00 lower than the second bidder; exceptionally tight bidding and good job Stitt! We just received the Letter of Intent, so now we can get in gear.

We have had to turn down several bidding opportunities, much to our dislike. One was for a tender regarding some major concrete work at the Inco Totten Mine Hoist House and the other was for Detra Builders. Gord Robb from Detra wanted us to start a sewage plant upgrade in Lagoon City near Orillia. This project involved the forming and pouring of three concrete tanks. Our concrete crews are booked up right now and really can't take on any more work for a while.

New Employees
Bill Merrimen, Jake Kelly and Dan Mathieu are our newest employees. Welcome aboard guys.

OPP Forensic Lab

Wayne has been fighting the rain and weather conditions and his site is a bit soupy. Avery Construction is back on site completing the exterior backfill around the building and getting the parking lot prepared for asphalt. Ellwood Robinson is expected on site this month to begin the curbs and prepare for the asphalt. Donnie and Justin, along with Nick and Andy, have been trying to get the sidewalks formed and poured; the rain is not helping. Other subtrades on site are Gough Masonry, Henderson Metal, Ideal Colour Contracting, McLeod Bros Mechanical, MJM Roofing, Phase Four Electric, Steel Speed and Vipond Fire Protection. Blair is still doing the PM thing with assistance from Clinton. The amount of change orders and contemplated change orders is unreal.

Collegiate Heights Retirement Home Addition

Ken C. is doing alright on his job even with all of the rain although Ken had to postpone the placing of the floor slabs on several occasions. Our foundation guys have finished and the framers, K. M. Certified Construction Services are now on site. The framing was panelized in Southern Ontario and shipped to the site along with the engineered floor joists. The floor joists for the second floor have been installed and sheeting will start soon. Randy is our on site Safety Rep. Ryan is there helping out Mr. C. and Randy on jobsite duties. The other subtrades now on site include Avery Construction, Citywide Electric, DNM Plumbing, Gough Masonry and Ontario Concrete Finishing. We now have NorPro Security on site from 6 PM until 8 AM week days and 24 hours on weekends. Ken Stitt is the PM on this project and is being assisted by Tim Buchan. They have tendered and awarded most of the subtrade and supplier work.

AELP Co-Gen Foundations

Since our crew sizes are increasing we had to get Mike Mathieu some help. John McCulloch is now on site as the Working Superintendent and Mike is still the Working Foreman. The crew consists of Scott G, Scott M, Gerry B, JR Shuttleworth, Jake M, Calvin D, Joe F, Chris M, Chris P, Dan M. and Jake K.; this crew size varies from day to day. We finally got a van for the AELP crew to transport them to and from the jobsite from the ASI gate. It is a Dodge 12 passenger van which John fondly refers to as the SS Minnow; Johnny has his name on the driver's door. The guys have been working on forming grade beams, walls, the turbine columns, pouring concrete and placing rebar. We poured one of the 32' high turbine columns and will be pouring another one in early this month. They take about 46 metres of concrete and about six hours to pour. We are using plywood forms and an EFCO whaler system. The guys are using a manlift and a boom truck for the work on the upper portion of the columns. John has recently completed his CSAO Superintendents training course, so he should be up for the challenge on this job. Mike Moore is now doing the PM this project for the time being. AND yes Dan Mathieu and Mike Mathieu are related, one is the uncle of the other; do you readers know who is which?

EPTCON MacKay GS Concrete Repairs
Ken McL has this project almost wrapped up. He is completing some extra work and has Terry and Trevor helping him. Avery Construction has completed most of the excavation and backfilling for EPTCON. Our crew were forming and pouring piers, forming up existing piers and pads to pour over them. Terry has been doing some siding and roofing repairs to a steel building on site that another contractor put up a few years ago; the original constructor appears not to have done a good job. Ken's crew got rained out on several occasions but did manage to cast their ballots on Election Day October 10th. Clinton is the PM on this project and he has been doing a very good job.
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4 | Photo #5

EPTCON Garden River Foundations
Dwayne has completed the first phase of this project. He had to form and pour a new transformer base and containment pit for the existing transformer. We are now waiting for EPTCON to relocate the existing transformer and then we can do the work to the existing transformer base. Bob, Gerry B, Nick and Chris McG have been working on this project with Dwayne. Clinton is the PM on this EPTCON project as well.

TSC Store Steel Erection
Jason has completed this job and the store is now open. Sault Ste. Marie consumers can now shop until they drop; Halloween has passed and the Christmas season is now upon us.

MTO McKay Road Bridge Rehabilitation
Ray has completed this project and it went very well. The bridge was opened to traffic ahead of schedule.

INCO Revert Building, Copper Cliff
The foundations have been redesigned and Dwayne is on site with his concrete crew consisting of Bob, Craig, Jerry C, Wayne McL and Len. They started the footings for this 6,000 square foot building on October 22nd and poured 71 metres of concrete to complete the footings on October 26th. They went back to Sudbury on October 29th to do the walls. Since there was a real push on this job, they formed and poured 320 lineal feet of wall and were completely cone and cleaned up on Friday, November 2nd. We had Trans Pro haul our forms to Inco and Dwayne's crew even loaded them back on Trans Pro on that Friday; GREAT JOB guys! The Steelway building is on site and Anmar will begin to erect the steel right after the foundations have been backfilled. Then our sheeting crew will follow to install the wall and roof cladding. Mike is also the PM on this project.
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4 | Photo #5

Kenworth Truck Centre Building, Sudbury
The Steelway building is due on site November 5th. Anmar's crew will be doing the steel erection and as soon as they are complete, our guys will be heading down to install the double skin roof and double skin walls. We have a lot of work on this 20,000 square foot building. The building should be ready for our crew later this month. Mike is doing the PM detail on this one too and we will be deciding on a Super for the cladding work shortly.

Beacon Marine Addition
This job is now complete except for a few parts that we are waiting for from Steelway. Jason along with Scott M, Terry and Trevor erected the addition and completed the cladding on October 26th. M.R. Wright & Associates did the concrete and steel inspections. This is the third project that we have completed for Norm Goodwin who now has one of the largest indoor boat storage facilities in all of Ontario.
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3 | Photo #4 | Photo #5 | Photo #6

Howard Avery Construction Building
The Steelway building has been delivered and Jason's crew unloaded it on October 22nd. The roofing and wall cladding will be shipped soon. We had to offload the steel and store it on site as we are patiently waiting for Graham Newman Construction to complete the foundations and for Keith to do the backfilling. Once that is finished our crews will begin erecting the structural steel and then the cladding. There is a lot of work on this building as it has double skin walls and roofing. Tim is the PM on this one and again, we have to decide on a Super once we start the building.

Purvis Sidewalks - 875 Queen Street
Tim is the Project Manager on this one and you could say that Nick was the Working Foreman. Nick had a varied crew consisting of Chris McG and Terry; on occasion he even had Super's Ken McL. and Sid on site. The work consisted of pouring stair foundations and a long sidewalk from the stairs to the rear parking lot; removal of the existing front entrance sidewalk and steps and replacing them. The rebar was all epoxy coated; Ro-Von Steel will be doing the steel stairs for Jack. We attempted to find some precast stair treads for the stairs, but we could only find one firm to quote and they were extremely high. So, it's back to the drawing board for re-design. Viotto & Sons did the excavation, backfill, concrete removal and restoration for us.

Boston Pizza
Blair lined up a small 3 day job doing some work at the new Boston Pizza building. We had to include our boom truck to hoist the beams at the front of the building. Gerry B, Jason and Sid completed this quick little project.

Tenaris Algoma Tubes Oil Storage Building
We have been awarded this project and Tim will handle the PM duties. We are not sure who will be the Super. M.R. Wright & Associates are the Engineers. This job has a structural concrete slab that we need to get poured before the weather gets any worse. General Contracting will be doing the sitework and we will be erecting the 40' x 120' Steelway building in January.

GoodLife Fitness Re-roofing
We have negotiated this project and it involves installing a new 6" stand-off roofing system and new standing seam roofing. Steelway will be supplying the material and our guys will be doing the installation. Bob Wood is our Engineer. Tim will be the PM. The material is scheduled to be on site November 8th and we will be starting the work the following Monday hopefully, we are still working out that schedule. We know from experience that we will have to do battle with the seagulls on this roof.

Trans Pro Wawa Terminal - Loading Dock
Mike and Bill Siddall have almost negotiated a deal for this small project. It involves several concrete slabs, loading dock walls, a tapered gravel ramp for transports to back down and a small wood frame enclosure. Since the Lafarge concrete plant may close at the end of November, we need to get this one in gear.

Gartshore TS Wall Repair
Tom bid this job quite some time ago. It involves the plate reinforcement of the corner of a masonry building and will only take a few days to complete. Tom will PM it and Ken M. will fit it in to his northern schedule. It will have a Pre-Job Safety Plan and some JSA's as it involves swing stage work and working over water. Can-Fab will be doing the majority of the work.

ASI HLT Truck Scale Slabs
Tom bid this project and we have recently been awarded it. It involves sawcutting and removal of the existing asphalt approaches and replacing it with reinforced concrete slabs. The asphalt was not holding up to the heavy truck weights. We have to schedule the work to start on a Sunday and be complete the following Friday. ASI has to set up a temporary scale and train someone on it before we can start. Tom will be the PM and we will be deciding on a Super shortly.

Here are some efficient, winter driving tips that could be of some help for the upcoming winter season.

Check These Essential Items:
1. Radiators require proper winter coolant. Also, make sure there are no leaks.
2. Tires need to have good tread depth. Balding tires reduce starting traction by 30 - 50%.
3. Wiper blades must be in good condition to sweep snow and sleet off the windshield. If new blades are installed, check the arm pressure to ensure effective operation.
4. Heater and defroster, when functioning at their full capacity, will keep your windshield clear and you and your passengers warm.
5. Lights are particularly important in winter weather to ensure that you are clearly visible to other drivers. Be sure both headlights work on upper and lower beams, and are correctly adjusted. Check that stop, tail, clearance lights and directional signals work properly and are clean.
6. Brakes need to be in top condition to provide uniform braking.
7. Muffler and exhaust system should be in good condition and tightly fitted so carbon monoxide does not seep into the interior of the vehicle where it could cause serious illness or death to the driver or occupants.
8. Battery - cold weather lowers battery power - make sure yours is in good condition, and in case it is necessary, know the proper procedure for using a booster battery.
9. Fifth Wheel Lubrication - for tractor-trailer combinations, make sure a winter grade of lubricant is used on the fifth wheel. Some heavy summer grades of lubricant at low temperatures become too heavy and interfere with steering on slippery surfaces.
10. Windows and mirrors - windows should be cleaned to ensure good visibility. Mirrors also should be kept adjusted and clean for good visibility to the rear.

The pre-trip inspection is an important step in your day. During winter driving conditions, it is critical. Only you control your vehicle. It is your responsibility to be alert and cautious in winter driving. Next Month's Team Link will feature Techniques for Skillful Winter Driving.


"Ice and Snow, take it slow, or just don't go"

Congratulation to John M. for his recent completion of the CSAO Basics of Supervising three day course.
Ken James is trying to organize a forklift course as we need a few more of our guys trained. Ken and Mike are still trying to find a Confined Space Entry course as we need to put a few more of our guys through it. There is no local training other than Confined Space Awareness, which some of our fellows have, and that is not to be used for entry. Dan Padden from Construction Safety Solutions has provided us with a few names that we will check out.

Conventions & Social Events
Our annual Christmas Party is scheduled for Friday, December 7th at Algoma's Water Tower Inn. The Water Tower has given us a special room rate which includes breakfast Saturday morning, anyone wanting to stay over and avoid driving can book a room. Perhaps a romantic sleep over with your wife or girlfriend? Shauna started planning this in early June and has done a stellar job.

Congratulations To:
Randy Deschamp on winning $110.00 worth of Lotto 649 tickets on Q104. But did he have the winning 649 ticket? Randy says if he won, he would still remain working, yeah right! Trouble is he is still at work as all he won was one free ticket!

Gavin McLeod who is featured in the Wilfrid Laurier University's "Laurier Co-Op" brochure and we have attached a copy of it. Gavin is on page 5 if you scroll down. Looking good Gavin!
Brochure

Ken James, Safety Director extraordinaire, who turns the big 60 this month. We thought we should take Ken to Studio 10 for some beers but he says he has never been there and is not about to break his own tradition. We will see if Gill (his wife) will give him a permission slip, that may help! Hey Ken, you have at least another good five years to go before even considering retirement and remember the laptop deal.

Congratulations to Len and Jay at Enquest Power. I understand that your plant is now up and running quite well. That sure did take a long time! Fern and I are waiting for our invite for a tour of your facility.

The November Birthday Club:
Matthew Shuttleworth November 5th
Trevor Mason November 5th
Jason Shuttleworth November 9th
Donnie Coventry November 14th
Jamie Holmes November 16th
Anna Jaremoko November 21st
Kaila Caswell November 24th
Ken James November 27th
Dwayne Phillips November 27th


Mike Moore & Sons Construction's Current Donation Status

2007 Donation Goal 100
Donations to Date 73

November Clinic Times
Tuesday, November 6th, 4:00 PM to 7:45 PM
Wednesday, November 7th, 12 noon to 2:30 PM and 4:00 to 7:45 PM
Thursday, November 8th, 9 AM to 11 AM

Tidbits
Always make sure that before you lock a door behind you that you have a key that fits one lock.

On Saturday, October 27 Fern decided to wash and gas up the crew cab and one ton trucks. At approximately 10:30 AM she commenced. The weather was far from ideal; it was raining slightly and was somewhat miserable out. This was Saturday's mission and there was no point in talking her out of it (the stubborn streak kicked in). When she was done she went back into the shop/office are got her purse, the gate key and was going to gas up the vehicles. "I'll be back" she yelled upstairs to me. As she exited the back shop man door she locked it. Instantly she thought "oh S--T I hope this gate key works". Her key to the building was sitting on her desk and the gate key DID NOT work.

- Fern then stood at the man door and began knocking hoping that I would be in the back shop and hear it. I was not.
- For the first time she wished she had her cell phone. She really dislikes those and hates Blackberries even more. But today she thought "you stupid woman, why don't you have that phone in your pocket" (actually that's not what she thought but I can't repeat it in print).
She then checked the compound fencing, exiting there was not an option on either side of the fence.
- She saw Tony drive in and ran to the gate, too late and too slow Tony was already in the building.
- She went back to the man door and began knocking again. No one came to the door.
- She wonders how long she's been out here, checks her wrist for her watch and discovers she forgot to put it on this morning. Great another screw up on her part.
- She contemplated yelling but knew that neither Tony nor I would hear her. The building is quite sound proof when it comes to that.
- She noticed that the guy across the street at the mechanics shop was in his office. His desk is in front of a large picture window that faces the gate. She started jumping up and down, waving her arms. No luck.
- Back to the man door, now she's using a rock to knock on the door. Her knuckles are sore and I would guess she is at strike seven. Long out of the ball game.
- Employees were dropping off timesheets, now she starts running to the gate in hopes of getting one of their attentions. Again too late and too slow. If they saw her they never acknowledged it.
- Now remember it was raining, now it's raining even more and getting cooler. One must look on the bright side it could have been a blizzard or our resident bear could have strolled out of the ravine for a Saturday snack from Good Old Dad's dumpster or ours. Neither happened, she's now in the plus mode.
- She knew that I wouldn't be concerned if she didn't return to the office within 15 minutes; Fern always gets side tracked on her outings. She stops to gas up, go to the grocery store, and run home to feed the dogs or throw in a load of laundry.
- Back to the man door and her pet rock. Again no luck
- She decides to get into the crew cab, pull it up to the gate, starts honking the horn, blinking the lights and attempting to wave out of the window. Now this is all at the same time and she is a person that believes that the word "multitasking" is over used and a crock. Obviously it didn't work, the man at the desk gets up and starts to move, her spirits heighten; he's seen her. The man disappears and does not return throughout the remainder of her ordeal.
- She continues honking the horn in hopes that Tony or I will find this annoying and come outside to see who's making the racket. No luck, we never showed.
- She did know that I would be leaving the office at 6 PM so there was no need of her driving the crew cab through the gate. She had contimplated that too but decided that was not an option that she could live with. Good choice on her part.
- She backs the crew cab into it's' space in the fenced in compound. She decides to survey the area and come up with a plan.
- She looks at the one ton (remember she has the keys) and decides if she backed it tight to the fence on Good Old Dad's side she could take a board, put it on the box racks and it would reach over the fence and barb wire top. Downside here was if it acted like a diving board she could end up doing a "gravel flop".
- OK that's her choice but she decides to try the knocking one more time. I'm in the back shop and hear this tick, tick, ticking; she gave up the rock and is now using the key chain fob. I wander around the shop area and find the source; it's coming from the man door. I unlock it and there's Fernie, a little damp, extremely hyper and at this point flailing a key in her hand, ranting and close to hyper ventilation. I take the key from her chilled hand that has red knuckles, walk to the gate and try the key. Does it work, I hope not; for whose sake I am not certain? It opens the gate with a little bit of effort on my part. As to how long Fern enjoyed the confines of the compound, an hour and three at tops.
- Is their a lesson in this story or a moral to be learnt? Yes there is but I am not about to state it here! Call the story teller. She may have a different version.

Congratulations to David Orazietti and the Liberal Party on being successful in the Provincial election. David and his assistant, Carmine Biasucci have done a great deal for the Sault. It was disappointing to see that David did not get a Minister's appointment but he did receive a position as a Parliamentary Assistant and I think that is the first step to a Minister's post. I was quite disappointed to see that Steve Peters did not retain his position as the Minister of Labour and I was not that upset to see David Ramsey lose his position as the Minister of Natural Resources.

And Hey, what's with this? First thing that the McGuinty Liberals did was to upset me. They announced plans for another statutory holiday in February, the 3rd Monday called "Family Day" giving workers nine stats equal to Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. In my opinion Remembrance Day should have been added. If it weren't for the soldiers who fought and some that gave their lives there would be no family life as we know it. Every day is family day because of what these men and women did for their country. I am even less impressed as statutory holidays cost the company over $100,000.00 annually and this holiday will add about another $11,000.00 to that tab. Although the August Civic holiday is not a stat, we consider it as one and pay it as well. The Liberals are certainly not thinking about the struggling businesses that have to absorb the costs of stat holidays; Thanks guys. I can only hope that employees appreciate these holidays and understand that payment for these stats is not generated from working hours.

The City of Hamilton is putting up quite a fight with regards to their union certifications. I have been receiving quite a bit of information from David MacDonald at Kenaidan Contracting and the Open Shop Contractors Association. Hamilton is seeking the support of Toronto's Council as Toronto has many union affiliations. The Ontario Electrical League has given their support to Hamilton as well. I have sent a request to our Mayor John to send a letter of support as well but I am not sure where that is going. We will have to stay tuned.

Dwayne has provided us with some pictures of a new wood frame building he saw going up in Blind River on Friday, October 26th on his way home from Sudbury. The pictures are of the building going down on Monday morning, October 29th when Dwayne was going back to Sudbury. Looks like they needed more bracing as it blew down on Saturday morning. This is too bad but at least no one was injured.
Photos:
Photo #1 | Photo #2 | Photo #3

As of the time of writing this newsletter, there is only 51 days left until Christmas Day, oh boy! Best get out there and shop till you drop!

We still need at least 27 more blood donations before the end of the year in order to meet our goal. Please consider donating at either the November clinic or the December clinic. We have to meet our Partners for Life goal of 100 donations or more.

The Criminal