Syncrude Canada Limited

Although it was a student placement (class 3) from Keyano, I had prior knowledge of the post I was assigned to (Post 12) which involved water treatment for the 400 psi package boilers. I was involved in the operations of the water treatment equipment from GE days (now Suez) since 2012. Everyone was extremely helpful, and it was really like a family working together. Even though my placement ended after 6 months, I am still in touch with my mentors there. Being an older plant, there's tons to learn. "Sensible/Realistic" Safety is what I really liked about working at Syncrude. It was not just rubbish safety roadblocks set by disconnected management. Both my supervisors were highly knowledgeable on the plant. I was in Team 4 - arguably the most active team in repairs as everyone had atleast 1 other trade beside being power engineers.
Really enjoyed the culture and how everyone had eachother's back. Every week someone would either bring outside food, and sometimes we would cook together as well. All the fun aside, if there was a breakdown, we would tackle it as a team (supervisor included).
I can confidently say that Syncrude, and Suncor Firebag are "The Best Sites", I have the opportunity to work at so far.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There is paid vacation and the only good thing about that place is being away from it 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
3 days 3 nights every shift. Extremely hard on the body as opposed to a week on week off shift. Very clicky environment and very unprofessional behind the scenes. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic. Favouritism in every department. Anyone who has been with the company for any amount of years is assumed to be a good worker even though they are super lazy. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Ride a crowded bus for 40 minutes to site, run like cattle through the gates and up in to the dry, rush to get changed because the busses are almost always late, get assigned your task and rush to your equipment, work 12 hours straight, run to get changed because you have literal minutes before the busses leave site, ride a crowded bus for 40 minutes to get home, walk home from bus stop and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow. Unless it’s short change then pick up a 24 pack of beer and an 8 ball to keep you up long enough to be able to sleep in to the following day then show up for your first night shift completely unfit for duty

Began working with this organization in 2008. They are extremely unorganized and constantly implementing changes that I feel haven't been well thought out or executed. As a result there is a lot of growing pains regularly. This pains can be both beneficial and detrimental to an employee's job/salary, depending on which side you fall on. I have been on both sides and it would be nice if there was more consistency across the site so you can no what is to be expected.

Overall, there are far worse places to work. That being said, there is a reason Syncrude keeps dropping further and further down the list of
best places to work in Canada. In fact, they used to be listed in the top 100 places to work in Canada I believe, but presently are only on the top 60 in Alberta, which is a far slide down the scale.

Development and implement of plant maintenance procedures.
Successful completed the upgrade of a pneumatic control system to a digital DCS system
Completed the upgrade of older obsolete electronic valve positioners to the latest Fisher DVC6000 positioners 
Installation and Commissioning of Bentley Nevada 3500 vibration monitoring systems on a variety of compressors and pumps
Successful start-up and commissioning  of BMS (Burner Management Systems)  on various boilers, furnaces a, reformers and reboilers
Coordinator roles during turnaround events and small project
Successful completed safety and technical trainings
Upgrade and implement  HMI on steam turbine, Gas Turbine and Compressors

I loved working at Syncrude Canada Ltd. It gave me a good confidence so that I can choose what to want to conduct for my life. I was privileged to get a chance to know my team members. They were supportive and helpful; plus, I got so many valuable feedback from them. Happily say, it was worth!

Good pay and benefits Some leaders in IT business services treat people miserably to save their position. Employees will not be allowed to demonstrate their skills to advance

Working at Syncrude is nice but very challenging because of dealing with multiple projects and the expectations are very high under tight schedule. But by and large, it is a nice place to work because it gives a delicate balance on work and life. They respect balance a lot and encourages it.

Structured organization with high safety priority, well developed / matured standards and specifications to implement. Well coordinated and connected working place.

Good salary and health benefits with a competitive retirement pension.  There are considerable opportunities for career progression and even career changes within the organization itself if one was inclined and motivated to do so.

It was a very good experience overall, I made many long time friends while working there. The current challenge is location as you are very far away north and the cost of living.

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