Syncrude Canada

As a former emplyee of Syncrude Canada and now having worked outside the fold,I have come to realize how fortunate I was to be constantly challenged,rewarded,and made to feel a part of a team.I was exposed to a wide variety of tasks after passing competency tests of course.
We would start everyday with a headcount/safety/job assignment meeting,then crew delegation and finally tool assessment and ensuring safety requirements before proceeding to the field.After formal/informal discussion with management /supervision we often discovered they were onboard with mutually agreed upon plans for execution,and often exceeded their support/recognition requirements.
Overall I would have to say that my employment at Syncrude Canada at Mildred Lake,Aurora were some of the most job satisfying years in my working career.As I also worked at their sites as a contractor,I often looked at Syncrude in a comparative view and found them the foremost employer with much superior values and support of their employees.I would gladly accept a return to their workforce should they require my services.
To me the hardest part of my job with Syncrude was leaving them,but as I was in the middle of a messy divorce my focus was not on my job and found it unfair to a more than fair employer,I had to self terminate,a decision I have come to regret with each passing day.
The most rewarding part of my years with Syncrude were the years working in a team enviroment with a diverse gathering of very interesting people whose main objective was not only to maintain but to lead through innovative projects such as EAPS(later named HYDRO-Transport),TOR, IPS,NRU,and these were just some of the projects I was a part of.
I have recently submitted a resume to recruiting and remain hopeful for a return engagement,but as employment is key to my remaining in Fort McMurray I must be ever on the lookout for an employer which will not measure up to, but hopefully strive to compare with Syncrude Canada.

After receiving a detailed log and relief of what happened on my post the previous shift, we go straight into a tool box talk, in which we discuss various things. Such as any safety issues, what we got for relief, if there is any maintenance coming up that requires any isolation, or if maintenance has signed off the work and we can de-isolate equipment.

After the toolbox talk we generally upload our intellitrac's which gives us our daily monitoring guides and our reading sheets. While I wait for the intellitrac to upload I log into a computer to check my emails, as I am pump champion, and the overtime scheduler for my team. Once I have scanned through my emails and my intellitrac is ready I go outside for my first round.

On first round of the unit we gather the information required for the reading sheet on the intellitrac as well as complete the monitoring guides. We also gas test, and sign for any safe work permits that may have been issued.We look for any unsafe conditions, such as ice build up, leaking valves, etc while we also look at our equipment assigned to our post for any deterioration, or signs of malfunction. If I happen to find something, I either fix it, if its within my ability to do it safely, or I put in a work notification to get the proper resources to come in and fix the problem.

I do at least 3 separate unit rounds per shift, too ensure the safe operation of my post. Since I have started at Syncrude I have learned the importance of attention to detail, as it is often the slightest detail out on the unit that will make the difference between safe operation and a unit upset or worse.

The most enjoyable part for me about my career has to be that everyday is different and i will never stop learning something new. As our daily routines are never the same.

Continuously changing environment. There is the possibility of being assigned to ore runs to make oil, or building a new structure. I learned that you have to be safety oriented, mindful of your surroundings and conditions at all times. Even after you finish your shift you have to be disciplined at home for fatigue management which is a primary responsibility as an operator. All projects had to be carefully managed because there was ample opportunity to have losses if there wasn't efficient use of resources. There also needed to be cushions in case of equipment failure which is always a possibility in an off road setting. Co-workers were always helpful. We were a team and could not function without each other. The most difficult part of the job is health management. Fresh fruit and vegetables are the things you need to munch on in the latter part of any shift to not only stay awake but maintain your weight. You have to resist the habitual use of coffee and stimulants so that you can maintain a healthy balance in your body. Handling these giants of mining was the most enjoyable part of this job for me. Since I was doing it all the time, I was having an enjoyable time all the time.

The job was good. Interactions with end users and suppliers/providers were good. interesting, fun, and also challenging. It was also fulfilling when you helped/solved/met the problem/needs of the end users and also when the suppliers were cooperative for the correct specs of the needed items.

I learned that building good relationships with end users and providers will make the processing of the end results easier and faster. Also, understanding the organizational relationship will help the processing faster.

The organization management needed to know the systems and procedures and rules/responsibility of every group/subgroup to have a productive delegation of responsibility/authority. 

The co-workers were nice and all of us needed to know the organizations business processes/procedures,the quality management system/

The hardest part of the job was when the need was started originally by another buyer and the end user followed up due to delays.

The most enjoyable part was building relationships with end users and providers as forming a great team with different groups through telecommunication.

I worked there for 18 years and the people make it a great place to work.  The management changed hands a few years ago and the focus seemed to move away from production efficiency and more towards maximum short term profit.  Unfortunately the new management lacked faith in the ability of the existing staff and infrastructure to continue running the plant in a sufficiently profitable manner and they made many changes.  This lead to the plant profits decreasing consistently over the remaining years and now they are looking for any and all ways to slash operating costs, including the layoffs of many long term experienced employees.  As of right now, the plant is in the middle of a takeover bid from a competing plant and all signs lean towards the success of the bid.  I will sorely miss working there as I made many good friends and acquaintances.

A typical 12-hr shift started with being refreshed and a long commute. Equipment required a walkaround before careful operation depending on conditions. Hazards included weather, operating surface of haul roads, dumps and shovel pits, and support equipment.

Most enjoyable was that every day was a learning experience as conditions changed and operators styles differed. Some dozers required you to dump closer than others, some expected you to back up farther than cabin-to-cabin. New dumps were created constantly.

The most difficult part of the job was the weather which could wreak havoc on the roads. It required intense concentration to operate on slippery haul roads and soft dumps.

At Syncrude Canada my experience was a work hard and advance type culture. A typical day was morning meeting, work on latest projects, update ongoing projects and host Countdown meetings to check status of all projects scheduled for that year. I learned everything I know at Syncrude and it was a hard but rewarding process. My 11+ years there was overall driven by changes in both process and management change frequently. The workplace was full of great people and fun loving individuals but the culture was a competitive yet team driven environment. The most enjoyable part of the job was the ever changing outages to plan and seeing the final execution of the plan.

Working for Syncrude was really working with family. I spent more time with my co-workers at the job,then my actual family. The schedules required long work days. From changing out valves in -40'c, too hosing down towers covered in Bituman with 100'c water at +35'c. we always found the light side of things to keep us smiling. It was a job that thrived on team work, and good moral. When equipment was failing you could always count on your co-workers to show up and give a hand with the support of management only a radio call away. The hands on learning and mechanical knowledge gained, was the greatest part of the job for me.

I worked there as an Apprentice welder and as a Journeyman welder. wage is fantastic, great benefits if you stay with them. Good safety systems and culture. On the floor and the field, co-workers were great, especially with me being a new Journeyman. Supervisors were generally good people who sometimes  came off the same floor they currently lead. The economy gave this place a good whack, like the rest of the oilsands leading to some friction with management, leading to morale losses and such, but I wasnt there long enough to truly gague that aspect. All in all, definitely not a bad place to work.

You will get a lot of interesting things and stuff to learn, it is a unique place to work, you are working in three industries at the same time, Mining & Extraction & Refinery...

In general your co-workers are friendly and willing to assist you when needed, in short one big family....

Your performance rating mostly depends on your visibility and not on your achievements.  Most managers are people who love doing funny stuff only

There are lots of challenges and solving them is the most enjoyable part of Syncrude site.....

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