Get The Buzz... APM Canada Boiler Delivered Safety and Quality for an Emergent TransAlta Outage
On October 28, 2022, APM Canada Boiler mobilized to support a forced outage for TransAlta in Keephills Alberta, Canada. By demobilization on November 3rd, 653 manhours were completed with 100% safety and quality. The eighteen total craftspeople on site and two superintendents, Matt Johnson and Rob Robertson, executed this outage with tremendous success on short notice during peak season!
The Canada Boiler crew received a sudden phone call for emergency support on a boiler leak and a failed recirc line with spring hangers that were damaged or destroyed by water hammer. The Boilermaker crew had to repair a boiler leak while the Pipefitter crew cut out a heavy wall valve from the other unit and refurbish it to replace the damaged one. The next day, the day shift mobilized to start removing the hangers and replace the damaged parts. The crew worked until they got the unit online on November 3rd. Although this outage came up suddenly and during peak season with the craftspeople on different outage jobs, safety and quality were at the forefront of everyone’s minds. They reorganized their jobs, reconfigured the tasks to adjust to the smaller scale, and executed repairing the extensive damage with excellence. Despite having other jobs to divide their time amongst, the crew did not sacrifice safety. They took the time to plan for any potential risks and prioritized safety and quality actions, resulting in a successful outage despite the short cycle of the request.
A special thank you to the Quality Control department, particularly Ivan Peters and Mark Wolfater, for pulling through on short notice while managing other priorities. We also appreciate the Pipe Fitters, Shane Smiley and Kris Utri, as well as the Boilermakers, Cody Kwolick, Chris Dennis, and Jeff Denard, for completing these formidable tasks safely. This incredible crew truly represented APM’s strong safety and quality culture, and they demonstrated how ingrained this culture and training are in the field. Even when going to an unplanned outage, they mitigated hazards efficiently and communicated with each other and the customer throughout the job. APM is proud of Canada Boiler’s extraordinary safety mindset and quality performance!