On-site Training and Power System commissioning in Fort McMurray

In fall 2007, Syncrude Canada LTD requested that Argus Technologies supply Training and Power System commissioning for their recently purchased DC Power Systems at three different Fort McMurray communications sites.

Late Saturday afternoon, as the temperature hovered around –10°C, I landed at the Fort McMurray airport. When traveling along the icy roads, that cut a path through a dense forest of frozen trees and snow drifts, I thought about how hard it must have been for the first settlers to this land. I couldn’t imagine the conditions they must have lived in, and felt very lucky to be traveling by car.

A Syncrude pre-requisite to working on-site required that two courses be taken: Alberta Construction Safety Association and OSSA Regional Orientation, as well as a site orientation tour.

The training courses started early Monday morning and were successfully completed by 2:30pm, then were followed by a facility tour for security passes and site orientation.

By Tuesday, it was my turn to be the instructor. We started with an overview of Argus, our products, services, website and emergency numbers. Then we reviewed Syncrude’s power systems, how to find manuals, wiring diagrams, software updates and procedures. I then went into more depth about specific configurations within their power systems along with a detailed study of the controllers’ screens, batteries, rectifiers and data logging capabilities. We wrapped up the day by going over some common DC Power Systems troubleshooting issues.

On Wednesday, we traveled to Syncrude’s Aurora Radio site, that housed 24V and 48V power systems, both to be commissioned, and a four-hour load bank test. I provided additional on-site training to the Syncrude technicians as we worked.

During lunch, I took a little field trip to look at the oil fields. As I stood on a small bluff, I could see an entire landscape of nothing but gray black sand where the oil was embedded. Massive “out of this world” excavators in the distance dug out the oily sand into a hopper, pumping it into pipes for processing down-stream, eventually to be deposited back on to the land without the oil. Behind me was a forest of trees now growing on land once as barren as that in front of me. Interestingly enough, Syncrude maintained one of the largest herd of Bison on earth to help reconstitute the land back to its natural state.

Thursday we commissioned, load bank-tested and trained technicians at the North Radio site located next to a vehicle repair yard. These vehicles had tires 10 feet in diameter and could easily pick up a small house. The enormity of the heavy machinery and equipment in the yard made me realize how important it is to be aware of safety measures on the job.

Finally, on Friday, we worked at the Main Radio site. I only needed to inspect this site and comment on any potential issues. The site was in the main works yard, surrounded by all types of heavy-duty equipment. A cement truck could get lost in the maze of generators, pumps, diggers, transformers, hoppers and pipe that were all labeled and organized for rapid deployment.

The entire experience was unforgettable. It was very enjoyable to work with Syncrude’s technicians who were very friendly and displayed a great work ethic.