In May 2007, DCC awarded a $ 99-million contract for the construction of three inservice Maritime Helicopter support facilities at 12 Wing Shearwater in Nova Scotia. It was one of the largest contracts at that time. The project included renovating and upgrading infrastructure to accommodate the Canadian Forces’ new CH-148 Cyclone helicopters.
Melinda Nycholat, Director, Contract Services, lends some perspective on the smooth sailing of this project:
The sign of true champions is the ability to turn a crisis situation into a success story. Such was the case for a difficult procurement for the Fleet Maintenance Facility in Esquimalt in 2009. The tender for one phase of this project included several sections of the facility that had been designed by different consultants. However, it soon became evident during tender that the different parts had not been effectively integrated, as the bidder questions came pouring in by the hundreds. This could have resulted in a failed tender and significantly delayed the project. However, the DCC and DND team would not let that happen. Everyone pulled together, a new tracking system was put in place to track all the questions and answers, the tender closed and we had good bid results. The coordinated effort of DCC and DND in response to the crisis will always stay in my mind as a prime example of the teamwork that our partnership has developed over the years.
Project: Flying High in Shearwater
Home to Canada’ s air squadrons for the past 80 years, 12 Wing Shearwater officially became a heliport in 1995. The government’ s decision to purchase CH-148( Cyclone) helicopters to replace the aging Sea King Maritime Helicopters resulted in a need to expedite maintenance, support and squadron facilities for the new aircraft. A $ 99 million design / build contract, the largest single construction contract DCC had awarded to date, was designed to meet the tight schedule dictated by the helicopter contract delivery date and the operational requirements of the Air Force and Navy.
DCC Site Operations Manager Marc Brophy provided the background to the project in a 2007 interview:
Some of the existing hangars are 50 years old, and no longer meet current codes. This is even more important because the new helicopters are coming in. For a transition period, both airplanes are in the air at the same time— so there are mirror flying and maintenance requirements. In addition, the new aircraft require different tools and different systems. The three major buildings have been contracted using a design-build
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