Saskatoon fertile ground for WorleyParsons

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is a WorleyParsons global capability centre for Potash. WorleyParsons is a leading global provider of professional services to the energy, resource and complex process industries. Since inception, WorleyParsons is committed to establishing operations close to their customers’ assets. Today, WorleyParsons has arguably the largest global footprint amongst its peers with 165 offices in 43 countries. WorleyParsons has been ranked as the #1 Engineering and Construction firm by Engineering News Record in the 2013 Top 225 International Design Firms. “One-third of the world’s Potash production takes place in Saskatchewan and as such, many experts are located here. We’ve built a business around that expertise, which is very attractive to Potash companies,” said Paul Labbe, Vice President Minerals, Metals and Chemicals, WorleyParsons Canada. A second generation Allan mine worker, Labbe started the office in Saskatoon over 3 ½ years ago and WorleyParsons has had an environmental presence there for over a decade. Today, the office excels at maximizing customer value both locally, in the field and globally via engaging in delivery of potash projects worldwide through a mechanism WorleyParsons calls Workshare. “For example, if there is a Potash project in Thailand, the local people there know they can reach out to the global capability center in Potash located in Saskatoon to help bring the proper capabilities or skills in the right capacity to their area,” said Labbe. The bulk of the corporation’s Potash talent is located in the Saskatoon office. All employees have direct, hands-on experience with various aspects of Potash mining, whether as previous consultants or direct employees for mining companies. WorleyParsons, Saskatoon location is a large and growing business unit because of the company’s end to end, one stop solution for all Potash needs. This includes all aspects of the mining value chain and all phases of the project lifecycle from studies to full project delivery to Brownfield projects that maintain and improve the asset. The WorleyParsons Saskatoon office has many years of experience providing environmental solutions. It has a permanent presence in this field with a committed local workforce that is invested in this community.

WorleyParsons has arguably the largest global footprint amongst its peers with 165 offices in 43 countries.

“The pedigree of the office here is quite strong. The reason the Saskatoon office has grown to this level is because we have hundreds of people within the organization in Canada working on Potash projects. That’s one of our strengths and differentiators,” said Labbe. WorleyParsons remains distinct from many traditional firms in Canada because the corporation is a project delivery organization. With many engineers, the corporation also conducts Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC)/ Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management ( EPCM) and early phase studies. These studies include scoping studies, prefeasibility studies, feasibility studies and basic engineering. As an organization with access to expertise from over 39,000 employees globally, in the last decade the corporation has focused on reinvesting profits into developing highly sophisticated and intricate systems around project execution, developing strong differentiators. “We have strong risk management and EcoNomics™ programs which are about delivering both profitable and sustainable outcomes while also supporting positive environmental outcomes,” said Labbe. The Saskatoon office works predominately on Potash and Uranium mining projects, with some involvement in infrastructure and power developments. About half of WorleyParsons’ Saskatchewan business is focused on servicing and supporting mining operating lines and builds. The other half consists of executing large projects, studies and design for mine development or expansion. WorleyParsons provides several unique offerings such as: Optimized Execution Strategies which involve utilizing High Value Execution Centres (HVEC); Global Procurement and Best Country Sourcing; Modularization; Value Engineering (VE); Constructability/ Construction Experts and EPC/EPCM. Optimized Execution Strategies provide ways to aid how a project is delivered and in essence bring a higher value to a customer’s project. This includes innovative

“We can access expertise around the world and work 24/7...”

approaches to engineering, buying equipment or bringing services in, modularization and pre-assembly. High Value Execution Centres are located in lower cost geographies around the globe and provide support on many key projects. With alternate sources of highly sophisticated engineering, construction management and talent throughout the globe, WorleyParsons can access diverse team members with alternate thought process streams as well as varied schedules to keep projects moving in a continual forward momentum. Value engineering utilizes a number of differing engineering disciplines to support the delivery of project excellence for our

One-third of the world’s Potash production takes place in Saskatchewan... (WorleyParsons has) built a business around that expertise.

customers. These engineers come together to discuss various methodologies to assess ways in which a project can be more effective and save on costs. This process includes documenting lessons learned from other projects and bringing that experience forward to customers to apply that wisdom to their project - problem solving and finding solutions. “An example is when schedule constraints occur, such as a job normally requiring a year that needs to be executed in six months. We can access expertise around the world and work 24-7, or at least 24-5, on a project. This quickly cuts the scheduled time required in half to accomplish the job,” said Labbe. “We have a very sophisticated internal process to coordinate this. This is what makes us one of the top delivery engineering firms around the globe.” WorleyParsons delivers value year over year for our long term customers. These long term relationships are built upon mutual respect, trust and teamwork. WorleyParsons philosophy revolves around delivering project excellence while ensuring our customers receive maximum value. “We understand a customer’s business across all spectrums, what their drivers are, what keeps them awake at night and how we can help them to solve those problems and maximize returns,” said Labbe.