Being number ONE(C)

Meet one of Canada’s best managed companies:

ONEC Construction

Providing best-in-class Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and maintenance services for more than two decades, ONEC Construction (ONEC) has become a familiar name for those requiring project support and first-rate industry knowledge in Canada and the US. ONEC is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta and employs around 300 personnel, which enables it to effectively offer clients the complete delivery of mid-size industrial, commercial, capital, and maintenance projects to a variety of active markets.

These sectors include renewables, agriculture, and chemicals; power and utilities; oil, gas, and petrochemicals; commercial, industrial, mining, and metals; and many more. From initial concept to final commissioning, ONEC’s multidisciplinary expertise in these myriad fields means it can offer a varied index of services – all from under one roof. Though it is a moniker passed around sometimes too often, ONEC can truly be thought of as a one-stop shop. This key differentiator firmly sets ONEC apart from the competition, being the only firm of its size in the industry to offer a onestop solution for services such as project and construction management, engineering and design, procurement and logistics, scaffolding and insulation, mechanical and electrical installation, geomatics and surveys, and fabrication and construction.

Timely, safe, efficient, and on-budget, the construction giant has carved out a reputation for excellence, and the balance sheet agrees. Indeed, since company CEO Denis Wiart took the reins with his own unique blend of commercial and industrial insights, annual revenue has grown from around $8 million to $60 million. The proof, as the idiom goes, is in the pudding. Just ask one of ONEC’s clients.

By continually improving the facilities of its industrial business partners, the company ensures effective project delivery, maintenance, and innovation. Recently, it has brought its services to new territories: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, North West Territories, and across the western US states. The one-stop shop has expanded to a one-stop industrial complex.

Foundational to that growing network is a list of trusted partners. As a business, ONEC is fundamentally about building relationships. That way, the firm is set up for success from the outset with every project. Indeed, by aligning with others, ONEC has demonstrated that it can maximize its potential to offer its clients the best possible services and project outcomes. Such partnerships are managed by a subsidiary division, ONEC Nations Ltd., the goal of which is to support operational excellence and indigenous inclusion practices in the execution of design-build project work in the power, utilities, renewables, housing, agriculture, chemicals, oil and gas, and metals and mining sectors.

Inclusive industry

Each partnership has a goal rooted in the professional encouragement and commercial involvement of indigenous and local businesses. The company has put forth a clear message: to succeed alongside the communities in which it works by offering indigenous people the opportunity to, first, envisage, and second, secure, a career path within industry – and, more specifically, one at ONEC. Inclusion is important in business. It is important in the world. ONEC knows this – and it is happy to put that ethos into practice. All of its business units, partnerships, and disciplines, for instance, both understand and harness the strength of the various treaties that bind the indigenous and non-indigenous communities together.

One part of that binding agent is technical knowledge and industry skills, which ONEC is keen to use and champion across its workforce. It is a winning combination, while also serving to enhance collaboration and integration.

But ONEC does not promote such without backing it up. For example, it is formally certified to ISO 9001:2015, recognizing the company’s quality management system as one that meets the international standards associated with the award.

First-class leadership

Quality, in short, is paramount. This is particularly important when you consider the extensive range of services offered by ONEC – from turnkey project management to scanning and surveys. These all require advanced technology and state-of-the-art equipment.

With Trimble’s Sitevision, for instance, ONEC can move beyond typical design and construction methods and instead actively embrace an augmented reality communication system through the platform. More specifically, ONEC can create a 3D model for clients based on the documentation available, which allows those involved to visualize the final product in true-to-life scale and on-site – before it has even begun!

Everything, in this vein, is about reducing the complex to the simple. But there are many more benefits, including reducing potential change orders, upping buy-ins by growing stakeholder engagement, and potentially eliminating costly rework.

And this is just one example of the technology being harnessed by ONEC. There are many more, and in part, that is the reason for the firm being named one of Canada’s best managed companies earlier this year. The award recognizes organizations that demonstrate strong overall business performance and sustained growth, while remaining Canadian-owned and -managed, and highlights those that, in all aspects, show first-class leadership, strategy, capability, innovation, commitment, and sustainable growth. Also considered is the company’s approach to internal culture, which is an often overlooked, but imperative, metric of success.

“The ONEC team is proud to be a Gold Standard award recipient of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program,” said Group CEO, Denis Wiart, in a recent press release. “It has brought several benefits to our firm as it is a constant reminder to review our strategy, results, and plans, in a fast-changing economy.” ■ www.onecgroup.com