1. 24 PROCESSWest June 2015
C
orey Cech, Craig Brochu and Tim
Sullivan first met just under a decade
ago working as contractors in the
commissioning of plants in the oil and gas
industry.
Going from job to job, the trio quickly
realized the system was broken. Engineering
wasn't talking with construction, construction
wasn't talking with commissioning and
operators were understandably antsy over
delayed start-ups as a result.
So Cech, Brouch and Sullivan branched off
on their own, creating Novicor Corp. in 2010.
The concept was simple: work with clients
to incorporate commissioning principles
and ideals at the engineering phase, and
follow along with the project right through
to operations — a "cradle-to-the-grave"
approach.
Five years later, Novicor has already secured
some big wins, incorporating their strategy
into the operations of energy giants such as
Devon Canada, Enbridge and Syncrude, to
name a few.
PROCESSWest recently caught up with the
team, including business development lead
Joanna Leonard. Here's what they had to say:
How did Novicor come to be?
Craig: "We incorporated in February 2010.
Up to that point, we were still working as
contractors, doing commissioning for differ-
ent companies, but generally together. That's
when we decided that, if it's the same group
of guys helping these companies out, why not
do it for ourselves and change how it's done
— not at the last minute and by throwing a
whole lot of manpower at it."
What does 'cradle-to-grave' com-
missioning mean?
Corey: "Our vision closes the gap between
project stage milestones. Those milestones
are engineering, construction, commissioning
and then operations turnover."
From left, Tim Sullivan, director/president; Corey Cech, director/vice-president; Craig Brochu, director/CEO.
Photo courtesy Novicor Corp.
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2. To clarify, 'grave' in this case means
handover?
Tim: "The 'grave' concept, while it might
sound morbid, is the end of the project. Now,
you have the project finished and you have an
operating plant."
How has commissioning been
approached historically?
Corey: "Typically what happens is the first
two phases really haven't changed for years.
It's been the same stick-built out in the field,
engineering leads into construction and then
it's constructed. But no one is thinking about
commissioning."
Craig: "Their final end game has been start-
ing up. Usually what we've seen is engineer-
ing will take 'x' amount of dollars to engineer
a project. They will get about 80 per cent
done and the client will say, 'OK, that's good
enough, get it to construction.' Construction
will then take it over and figure the rest out.
But there is no communication between engi-
neering and construction.
"And when construction is, again, about
80 per cent done, they will then switch to
commissioning. So commissioning then has
to deal with the gaps between engineering
and construction, yet not until near the end
stages. And clients will sit there asking, 'why
can't we start this up?'
"Our goal is to start by focusing engineers
(and construction) on getting the plant run-
ning rather than just doing their job(s) and
passing it on to someone else. We're there
right from the beginning asking the question,
'what are we doing here?' We're looking at
that end game right from the start."
With some wins already under your
belt, was there a breakthrough
moment now that you look back?
Corey: "Jackfish 3 (Devon Energy's third
phase of its steam-assisted gravity drainage
project in northern Alberta) was a good suc-
cess for us. The breakthrough was over the
three years. The model proved itself.
"It was also developed over that time.
When we first started, it was on paper. But
we actually did the entire project following
these guidelines that we came up with. Our
concept was developed and we achieved the
goals that were written."
Tim: "We built the model and we've now
proven the model and that there's cost sav-
ings."
What learnings did you take away
from the Jackfish 3 project?
Craig: "We were able to reduce the start-up
time by five weeks. We were also able to re-
duce deficiencies and warranty issues because
we were able to do the work in the yards (as
opposed to in the field).
"We reduced the site time and cost, which
comes into the five weeks and the cost of the
start-up. And we gave project managers the
ability to forecast budget and scheduling for
commissioning. Before, it was tough because
when you got to the end, no one knew how
much to budget for commissioning because no
one knew the issues they were walking into. So
we're identifying all those issues prior to that,
giving them some insight into accurate time-
lines and allowing them to budget accordingly."
With any new process, there's often
resistance. Did you experience that?
Corey: "Absolutely. You nailed it on the
head. There was a lot of resistance. We are
altering the status quo of processes already
in place. There was a big alternation for the
project itself.
"(The turning point) was underlying. There
was a thread throughout the project. It wasn't
like we went into a boardroom and everyone
said, 'wow, this turned out great.' It was a wo-
ven thread throughout the project. You could
see there were less deficiencies and less issues.
It was just better."
What challenges, if any, will
you face moving forward?
Craig: "Sustainable growth for the long-
term perspective. It's how we're looking at
the future. We want to grow at a rate that's
not too fast. A lot of companies do so, and
that's where the troubles come in. Right
now, we're focusing during this slow time on
building our company properly so that when
growth does happen again, we're not going
to scramble."
Does this slow period benefit you
in getting your message out?
Corey: "Cost-cutting and efficiency and
a lean-and-mean fighting concept is all try-
ing into everything we're about. Our plans
for growth are good. Yes, we do have a lot of
competition out there, but our mandate ties
in well with the way the economy and market
is right now."
At the end of the day, what set
Novicor apart?
Joanna: "Our team is really built from
four different personalities. Everyone brings
something to the table. That is a big part
of what makes us so different. We are a
close-knit team. We are also very passionate
about what we do. We are passionate about
that commissioning and pre-commissioning
work."
For more information about Novicor Corp., visit www.
novicor.ca or email info@novicor.ca. In Calgary, Novicor
is located at 402 - 1711 4th St. S.W. In Leduc, visit 203
- 5906 50th St.
PROCESSWest June 2015 25
Some of Novicor's early successes have been with Devon Canada's Jackfish
3 SAGD project in northern Alberta, as well as projects with Enbridge and
Syncrude. Photo courtesy Novicor Corp.
Content is copyright protected and provided for personal use only - not for reproduction or retransmission.
For reprints please contact the Publisher.