Exemplary public relations, ability to adapt to changing objectives, and a collaborative approach to assist in value engineering were their strongest unique assets.

I have had the opportunity to work with Complete Utility Contractors (CUC) on the Five Creeks Flood Protection project; a large-diameter storm water diversion system constructed through established West Vancouver neighborhoods, with inlets above the Upper Levels Highway leading to an ocean outfall. One phase is substantially complete and a second phase is currently underway. The initial construction started in May of 2019.

Both pre- and post-tender, CUC staff and in particular Steve Anderson, was an excellent resource to help guide the project design to improve productivity and reduce overall costs. There was much open and constructive dialogue between the owner, the project engineers, and CUC, which resulted in significant design refinement and cost savings.

While the project concept itself had some issues, including local residents that were literally protesting against the construction, all of the CUC staff went above and beyond to accommodate local residents during the construction process. Even given the initial issues, after CUC started work there were few to no complaints about the construction activities, which is a testament to their ability to anticipate local traffic issues and deal with residents’ concerns immediately.

Throughout the project there were several scope changes requested by us as the owner; we added sewer and watermain works well beyond the original scope. CUC was able to accommodate these requests extremely efficiently; for example, at one point we made a change on a Friday and they were able to pivot immediately and start the new priority on the Monday, calling in all the necessary new resources with no delay.

Exemplary public relations, ability to adapt to changing objectives, and a collaborative approach to assist in value engineering were their strongest unique assets. We are still happily working with CUC on the next phases of this same project, and we will continue to invite them to tender on future
utility work.

Please feel free to contact the undersigned if you have any questions.

Yours truly,

BRITISH PACIFIC PROPERTIES LIMITED
Alastair Meiklem, AScT
General Manager - Land