Kiewit Transforms FIFO Operations at
Upper Mattagami Hydroelectric Project
with EnRoute and SmartLodge

Kiewit partners with Camps & Crew to streamline transportation logistics, simplify group check-ins and optimize room utilization at remote hydroelectric project near Timmins, Ontario

Kiewit is a leading engineering and construction firm in North America, known for its rigorous safety and quality standards

Kiewit, one of North America's leading engineering and construction firms, is celebrated for its commitment to safety, quality, and environmental stewardship. Established in the early 1940s, Kiewit has significantly contributed to the development of infrastructure across North America, mastering complex undertakings from highways to sustainable energy infrastructure projects, such as the Project Tundra carbon capture initiative in North Dakota. Known for delivering challenging projects on time and within budget, Kiewit prides itself on its skilled workforce and extensive training programs. The company leverages vast resources and deep market knowledge, ensuring excellence across every project while emphasizing environmental protection and employee development.

Kiewit transforms three hydroelectric generating stations and enhances renewable energy capacity in Northeastern Ontario with the Upper Mattagami and Hound Chute project

The Upper Mattagami and Hound Chute Project by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) represented a significant enhancement to renewable energy infrastructure in Northeastern Ontario. This initiative revitalized three hydroelectric facilities near Timmins—Wawaitin, Sandy Falls, and Lower Sturgeon—to optimize water use and increase energy output at the facilities from 108 GWh to 180 GWh. Additionally, the project included an upgrade to the Hound Chute facility on the Lower Montreal River, which nearly tripled capacity at Hound Chute with a new powerhouse. Managed by the Kiewit-Alarie Partnership—a collaboration between Peter Kiewit & Sons and Aecon's Timmins subsidiary, Leo Alarie and Sons Construction—this project underscored OPG's commitment to sustainable energy. It aimed to maximize the potential of Ontario's renewable resources and support the province's long-term energy strategy.

Kiewit provides integrated transportation and camp services management for remote worksite in Upper Mattagami

Managing fly-in fly-out operations for the Upper Mattagami River project proved complex, given the remoteness of the worksite and the range of home cities where the workforce resided during their time-off. In service of project operations, Kiewit was tasked to manage the following:

Travel Coordination

The Upper Mattagami River area, while accessible via major transportation routes, retained characteristics of a remote location due to its geographical isolation from major urban centers. The travel arrangements made for workers to reach the project site were carefully planned to address these challenges. Transportation to and from the site consisted of the following:

• For Local Workers:

  • Workers from the Mattagami First Nation and surrounding areas typically traveled to the project site using personal vehicles or shuttle services.

• For Non-Local and International Workers:

  • The journey for non-local workers began with commercial flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
  • This was followed by domestic charter flights to Timmins Victor M. Power Airport.
  • The final leg of their travel involved organized ground transportation, typically buses or vans, from Timmins to the project site.

Workforce Accommodation

The camp located near the worksite was designed to accommodate up to 500 workers during the project’s busiest phases. It featured prefabricated units that served as personal living spaces for the workers. These units were part of a comprehensive setup that included multiple support facilities aimed at providing a comfortable and functional living environment.

Key responsibilities of staff supporting the camp included:

• Coordinating room reservations and room assignments for Kiewit staff, contractors and subcontractors.
• Overseeing daily check-in and check-out procedures, conducting housekeeping, and performing routine maintenance.
• Meal provision through a centrally located kitchen/dining complex, offering high-quality dining services with a variety of food options.
• Providing recreation facilities to help workers unwind and decompress after their shifts.
• Offering support facilities, including first-aid and emergency services, as well as laundry facilities, all contributing to a safe and convenient living environment.

Kiewit faces hurdles with transportation coordination, check-in delays, and room readiness at the Upper Mattagami camp

Before implementing a system to manage fly-in fly-out travel and workforce housing, Kiewit faced several operational challenges at their camp in Upper Mattagami. These difficulties, affecting transportation logistics and day-to-day camp operations, underscored the urgent need for a digital-first solution. Key challenges included:

FIFO Transportation Challenges

• The project relied on commercial and charter flights, buses, and personal vehicles to transport local staff to and from the worksite. Tracking these diverse transportation modes without a unified system caused logistical inefficiencies and increased operational costs.
• Using Excel to manage transport schedules and bookings increased the risk of double bookings because there was no central profile to which reservations were tied. Without a centralized system, each booking was managed in isolation, making it difficult to track and reconcile all reservations effectively.
• Reliance on passenger manifests managed in spreadsheets made it challenging to accurately track all workers headed to site, especially those driving in personally, leading to potential security clearance oversights.
• Synchronizing travel logistics with roster rotation schedules proved difficult without a central system in place.

Camp Accommodation Challenges

• A decentralized booking process, relying on static spreadsheets frequently updated and emailed among team members, resulted in suboptimal room utilization. Securing a room involved extensive email exchanges to confirm requests and bookings.
• The timing of worker arrivals, often in large groups due to charter flights that landed at similar times, created bottlenecks at check-in areas.
• The front desk staff faced challenges in coordinating effectively with housekeeping. A lack of bi-directional data flow between the teams often resulted in rooms not being ready for incoming workers.
• Reliance on spreadsheets, which lacked proper audit capabilities, led to frequent issues with billing accuracy and data management.

EnRoute and Smartlodge streamline workflows and reduce inefficiencies for multiple teams at Kiewit, simplifying the management of FIFO transport and housing at the Upper Mattagami project

EnRoute and SmartLodge, used by multiple teams at Kiewit, together offered a unified platform that drove various positive outcomes for Kiewit. With use of the platform, Kiewit was able to:

FIFO Transportation Support

• Ensure efficient scheduling of all transportation types, significantly reducing logistical complexities and resource wastage, such as underutilized seats and idle vehicles. The platform simplified the creation and modification of both flight and bus schedules, ensuring that all legs of the journey to and from camp were centrally housed and in sync with one another.
• Allow for bulk booking of workers on roster rotations, which significantly reduced the manual workload related to reserving and adjusting travel arrangements for large rotational crews. If changes occurred, the system facilitated bulk modifications of travel bookings, helping manage sudden shifts in crew sizes or schedules.
• Improve accuracy of passenger manifest records, in adherence to Canadian guidelines for employer monitoring of worker movements. The platform facilitated tracking of changes like no-shows and go-shows, ensuring precise oversight into passenger lists for every leg of the workforce's journeys to and from camp.

Camp Accommodation Support

• Centralize the room booking process thanks to SmartLodge’s central database where all room bookings are logged–reducing duplicate bookings and maximizing utilization of rooms. The system enabled users to make room reservations via multiple workflows, ensuring ease-of-use and streamlining the previously manual and fragmented booking process.
• Reduce check-in wait times, especially during peak arrival periods, which alleviated bottlenecks at the front desk and enhanced worker satisfaction. The system enabled workers to complete most of their check-in procedures electronically before arrival, or via self-service kiosks on-site.
• Boost guest satisfaction and streamline day-to-day camp operations by ensuring rooms were promptly turned by housekeeping and made ready for new guest arrivals. With the use of SmartLodge, room status changes in the system were immediately reflected across the system. This ensured housekeeping teams always knew which rooms required priority servicing and that the front desk could promptly assign rooms marked as clean to incoming guests.