electrical engineer

SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD

To start the day i was to to fill out today's job task analysis form for the job at hand,while having coffee,then pre - equipment checks,before i start working,if any deficiency's it would be called in to whom it may concerned. If none i would carry on a normal operation.
In the middle of the shift the shift supervisor would make a fleet call to update production and inquire of any safety concerns that may have been observed during the shift,workers were also motivated to report safety issues as they would occur.If any it would be dealt with ASAP.
Then if we were having a slower productive day than usual the supervisor would ask for input from the field workers to solve what ever was causing the slow down,it maybe the weather road conditions or maybe new people being trained,In any case he had to have an answer to account for the loss of production.
In a team enviroment everyone was trained to help each other out.
Then finally shift change comes along hot change the bus let the operators off and and operators on put no equipment moved until the buses cleared the work area,
Then it was a much deserved rest after a 12 hour shift and all the laughter of the fun day, and sometimes silly mistakes made during the shift but nothing serious.

What is the best part of working at the company?
None. You are just a number. I spent 15 years there and leadership was allowing workers to deviate from procedures for production numbers and at the same time discipline the workers for the smallest infractions.  People were threatening to leave

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having to compensate for not enough equipment and also the wrong equipment for our jobs.  Unreasonable expectations enforced by managers who’s never ran heavy equipment and/or in a mining setting.  Very frustrating!!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Segregated groups of people looking out for themselves. Favouritism among workers and managers alike. No union and no safety committee. Can’t take concerns past a frontline manager. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Take the bus to work.  Work starts at 7:30 but I have to leave the dry in my pick up at 7:10 for a shovel hot change. If I leave later then that the other operator won’t have time to catch the bus. 
Run shovel til 2 and get a 3 hour break. Only if there are enough pickups and/or oilers available 
During my break I’m expected to take any calls for shovel issues. 
Back to the shovel at 5 till shift change at 7:35. And hope I have enough time to make the bus for home.

A typical day involved receiving requests from various departments in the Mine to purchase materials. I prepared RFQ's and RFI's for a variety of products ranging from Cable Tractors, Diggers, Valves, rental equipment and fleet vehicles.  Any sort of request for a one-off purchase could come your way.

The hardest part of the job was that the company was revising it's purchasing guidelines, so it was difficult to explain the new procedures to the other mine departments and attain their buy-in. And it resulted in extra paperwork and approval for each proposal.

The management and staff were very professional and supportive and there was a strong sense of team.

It was hard to adapt to a concise work schedule, meaning it was strange to have to stop work at a certain time everyday to be able to catch your transportation back to town.  Regardless of what issue you were dealing with at the time.  

I learned that I am able to learn new processes quickly, adapt to new environments and create relationships with a broad spectrum of people.

A typical day at work can include, but not limited to analyzing oil sand samples using the Dean Stark Method of extracting bitumen from water and solids that make up each sample. From the length of time that I spent there, I learned that to be part of a team means for each member to do their part to earn their keep, to take initiative when appropiate and that it never hurts to ask questions to your supervisor when you are unsure of how a specific method works in certain situations. Management was always very courteous and always happy to be of assistance when required to be and my fellow co-workers were very helpful and kind when I needed to learn about my daily duties. The hardest part of the job by far was learning about certain equipment used for Coarse Particule Analysis as some of the equipment required special treatment in order to clean and maintain before and after use of samples. The most enjoyable part of the job by far was learning about the different equipment used in the laboratories for different purposes as well as getting to know my fellow co-workers both during work and at lunch/break when appropiate.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The ability to branch out my career and try new things.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Seeing the wrong people being put into leadership roles, and having their leadership styles trickle down and negatively affect crews under them. This doesn’t always happen, as I have seen, interacted with, and worked under many good leaders and managers. But the few bad ones that do get into leadership can completely change the moral of an entire team.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
For the most part, the area I worked in was good. The majority of the people were happy to be there. Safety was a top priority. Everyone watched out for one another. And leadership was genuinely concerned about people’s work-home life balance.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Leadership assigns work. Techs get permits and perform their tasks. Techs update leadership of progress and/or issues. Techs clean up work face and shop. Attend pre/post shift meetings, safety meeting, monthly team meetings as needed.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I was employed as  a Trainer/Video Producer/eLearning Project Manager from March 1981 to May 2015.  The wage I received was good and I appreciate the Pension I am getting because, through being frugal, I haven't had a financial need to work since I retired in 2015.  Great place when I was there and appreciated the autonomy.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Being in charge of the people on Modified Duty and being on the Senior Investigation Team.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Excellent.  I enjoyed the autonomy.  I was able to manage my projects and stay calm dealing with people who had close to zero video and computer skills.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was likely one of the few who started at 07h30 then 08h00 and worked until 16h20, taking no more than 30 minutes for lunch and never wandered the halls in search of people to chat with.

Overall not a bad place to work if you want to simply come in, do your work, and go home. There are numerous opportunities if you are a high performer and the base pay is rewarding. The variable pay however rarely ever pays out due to corporate targets being set to record numbers and poor reliability of aging assets. 

It can be frustrating as low performers are not dealt with effectively so the team ends up picking up the slack. Employees are generally promoted based on individual contributor successes with little consideration for leadership ability and business knowledge. Front line supervision is generally weak and hides behind management systems instead of using critical thinking skills. There are pockets of excellence as well, they are not common though.

I started off as a Co-Op Student in the Sulphur Recovery Units, where we practiced emergency scenarios to ensure that I acted appropriately to each. Gained knowledge of the unit process flow and the parameters in order to keep the plant operating efficiently. The training and core values ensure each one of us worked well with each other safely. The hardest part of the job was the older plants sometimes gave me trouble in restarting after a trip but with the experienced operators mentoring me gained the knowledge needed to start these plants, so in the future, I would not experience any problems of restarting the plant . Learning new processes and mentoring new trainees on the plants that you have mastered so that you can build a team of strong operators that can respond to any situation with confidence was the most enjoyable part of the job

Even though you are to be working a 12 hour shift, Syncrude's required routines do not make it seem like a 12 hour shift. You start your morning/night shift with a "kick-off" meeting, discussions about each post's previous shift. Then you are to give you attention to your STL in regards to todays/tonights SPDO, a list of equipment needing to be isolated and brought down for repairs, or equipment that needs to be commissioned after being repaired. Once read and understood its time to head out into the field and get it done. By the time you and your team get all this done, its pretty much time to give relief, and head home. None the less i never was bored within my 12 hour shift, as there was always something that needed to be done, and was always something new to learn

What is the best part of working at the company?
It was a commute job for me so I needed to run a second residence as they don't pay LOA. 300 km from my home town. No accommodations and no LOA made it a challenge. I was hired local as I lived at gregoir lake when I was hired so no hire package. No housing or relocation. It was just a job. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
You have to be very careful about everything said. Even in a joking manner. Lots of people with different views and best to keep it all strictly job related. Not the family or team oriented company it once was. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A lot more demanding than it was 18.5 yrs ago! 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Do your work. Stick to yourself, don't get friendly or kid around with anyone. Even if you feel they are a trusted friend.

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