Doing What’s Right from Concept to Closeout

Synergy ProjectsBy Jessica Ferlaino

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Celebrating twenty years of operation, Alberta based Synergy Projects has established itself as an industry leader with an exceptional reputation, recognized for its commitment to integrity and quality construction services.
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Synergy Projects is committed to doing what is right for its clients, industry partners, employees and the environment. When President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Mozak founded the company, he did so with the vision of creating an industry-leading construction and management firm.

Mozak was previously with a global concrete corporation for fifteen years when he resigned on April 1, 1996, to create Synergy Projects. He set out to assemble a team of the industry’s best professionals that work together with integrity to add value to all groups involved in the construction process.

“I wanted to find a group of first-class individuals and bring them into an organization,” Mozak said. “My focus was always to move them towards – move our company towards – an employee-owned company.” Three years ago, Synergy Projects successfully embarked on an employee stock ownership plan.

“From the beginning, our focus has been on creating and adding value for our clients and our consultants. Though we started off small, today we’re a successful mid-sized contractor that targets specific clients.” The company focuses on providing the marketplace with safe, environmentally conscious, efficient construction solutions that continue to improve the building environment in Western Canada.

Synergy Projects is regularly challenging itself to be stewards of sustainability and environmental practices in the construction industry, by leveraging people, processes and technology. They were one of the first organizations in Edmonton to receive ISO 14001 for its environmental management system.

All of Synergy’s projects are what is internally termed as SynergyEco projects. These projects divert construction materials from landfills and recycle or reuse these materials, while incorporating environmental processes. In 2015 Synergy was able to recycle 50 percent of its construction debris and waste across all of its sites in Western Canada.

Bullfrog Power® matches the amount of power used by Synergy Projects and injects the equivalent energy used into the regional grid, meaning the company is bullfrogpowered® with one hundred percent green electricity. The clean, renewable electricity is generated by wind and hydroelectric facilities that are certified as low impact by Environment Canada.

“Our clients are typically focusing on quality buildings, so that’s the attraction,” said Mozak. “The actual catalyst for our growth has been our value system, which is what we’re focused on. We’re quality driven. We’re built on our integrity. We love to do the right thing for our clients – our partners.”

The company is dedicated to help and support the community in which it operates. “Synergy is very involved with the community. We are involved in at least ten charitable groups that we support one way or another.”

Synergy Projects has secured a high-profile and highly anticipated project in Edmonton’s Oliver neighbourhood, also known as the Brewery District. The project location is home to the historic Molson Brewery and reclaimed Crosstown Motors, which has been consolidated into one site for this build. This project is set to commence this spring with the first phase completed by the fall.

The thirteen-acre site will include a 250,000-square-foot underground parkade, 300,000 square feet of mixed-use retail and office space, two historical restorations, pedestrian walkways, parks, landscaping and multiple municipal and infrastructure upgrades. As the construction manager for the majority of the project, Synergy Projects is working alongside First Capital Realty, Sun Life Financial, MHPM Project Managers and Dialog.

Synergy serves the Western Canada markets, specifically the heavy industrial, light industrial, commercial, institutional, and multi-family areas. They have consistently found success in working on signature, community impacting projects throughout the province by applying the right team members and trade partners with the combination of the Synergy System.

Synergy Projects’ sophisticated contract management system delivers timely and accurate project reporting, communication and management services. Synergy’s growth over the past two decades reinforces clients’ positive experiences with Synergy’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget without compromising safety or quality.

“Through our track record with all of our past clients, we still achieve and obtain work that is negotiated, and so my philosophy has always been to ensure that we construct every project correctly to ensure our clients’ needs are met,” Mozak noted. As a result, strong, lifelong relationships are built that lead to repeat work.

Synergy Projects is active from the initial feasibility study to project completion, always identifying and adopting ways to improve its services and mitigating challenges before they occur. “We look at every project and evaluate the ground conditions, the time of year that we are building, and the type of buildings that we are going to be constructing. Our project teams and process allow us to identify and mitigate risk better than our competitors.”

Synergy Projects draws on the strength, knowledge, expertise and professionalism of its people and its processes to offer exceptional risk management practises and project management. They integrate risk management throughout the entire project management lifecycle – from business development to project completion and close out, consistently looking at all conditions that impact a successful project. Crucial to project delivery are the five components of ‘The Synergy System.’ These are accurate cost estimates, focused project management, thorough warranty service, certified quality assurance and an experienced build team. “We begin early, find out what the client needs, and, towards the end, we’re involved in not just the year warranty programs, we also have a service division that meets our clients’ expectations as they grow old in their buildings.”

Synergy Projects got its big break in 1996 with the All Weather Windows’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Edmonton. This was a 238,000-square-foot design-build project that is still the head office for All Weather Windows twenty years later. At the time of construction, it was the largest building being built in Edmonton.

The Synergy Home Safe program is dedicated to ensuring the Synergy family make it home safely and that everyone remains engaged in a commitment to safety. The company’s safety culture has clearly defined standards and is reinforced through top-down engagement in the program, a continued commitment to proactive training and education and the recognition of performance and safety.

Quality is paramount to continuing to build on Synergy Projects’ reputation as an industry leading construction services provider and is incorporated throughout its culture and processes. Mozak acknowledges that “employees are key,” and has been sure to foster a work culture that is supportive and attractive to retain the employees necessary for that quality.

Synergy attracts industry-leading professionals through its family oriented culture and highly competitive compensation package that offers full benefits and an outstanding RRSP matching program. Employees contribute three percent to their RRSPs, and the company will not only match the three percent, but it will also provide an additional two percent.

Synergy’s social committee frequently holds employee functions and family events to show appreciation for both the employees and their families. “We are very focussed on ensuring that it’s not just the person who works for us who is satisfied, it’s the whole family,” Mozak stated. “We have hockey teams; we have our family barbecues; we have our Christmas parties. All of these things are to ensure that our people are happy and thus our clients are happy.”

Over the years Synergy has been successful at retaining a great amount of talent that Mozak set out to bring together. Many of Synergy Projects’ 100 office and field employees have been with the firm for anywhere from ten to twelve years, and some have been with the company for as many as seventeen years.

Synergy Projects balances its experienced people with the new talent it secures. “We have a key mentoring program, which basically, we come to understand what the opportunities are for those individuals, and we support them and help pay for educational programs to allow them to grow and to meet their goals. Our employees are incredibly vital to how we succeed today and in coming years.”

“Our focus is definitely on a project by project basis, ensuring that our clients’ needs are met and that all of our employees’ needs are met and that we have fun doing it,” said Mozak.

Source

http://www.businessinfocusmagazine.com/2016/05/doing-whats-right-from-concept-to-closeout/
 
 
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