Mosaic Stadium – A Mission: Zero Project
Construction of the new Mosaic Stadium was one of the most-watched building projects in Saskatchewan history.
The build started in June 2014 with the removal of 300,000 cubic metres of soil (enough to fill about 110 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to the riderville.com website). In August 2016, 26 months and 1.95 million person-hours of labour later, the project was substantially complete. At the peak of construction, there were 630 workers on site.
Despite the complexity of the project, heavy equipment, weather conditions and multiple contractors, PCL is proud to report new Mosaic Stadium was completed as a Mission: Zero project. There were zero lost time incidents on the job, meaning there were no injuries requiring time away from work beyond the day of the injury.
“On-site safety was driven by the workforce itself,” said Mike Zurowski, construction manager for PCL Construction Management Inc. “They cared about it and they worked hard to make sure everyone went home safe.”
As in every PCL build, all workers on site, including contractors, attended a project-specific orientation to explain the PCL safety system, expectations on site and responsibilities of the workers, contractors and PCL.
Zurowski and Anders Wheeler, district HSE manager for PCL Regina District, credited the consistency of the PCL orientation and the vigilance of supervisors and workers for the safety success. When every worker on site is following the same safety protocol, it builds the culture of the work environment and alleviates risk.
“Stadiums are challenging,” Zurowski explained, “They are made from different materials. You never know what you will be up against weather-wise, no matter where in the country you will be working. They take a lot of planning and it takes a real consistent approach in how you manage it. The beauty of PCL is that we are a large company, so we can reach out across the company and get information when we need it.”
The other challenge with the stadium build was the fast-paced timeline. This could have added to the risk to workers and the pressure on supervisors and contractors. However, Wheeler and Zurowski again credited the orientation process and workers for maintaining PCL safety standards.
“The orientation establishes the culture within the site and the project. We really strive to have everyone building our culture and improving our safety. It’s that idea that it’s better to have 10 sets of eyes than two,” said Wheeler.
While every stadium build is interesting, Wheeler and Zurowski said this local project’s emotional connection to the workers made it special. The workers knew they were building a place that they and their families would come to for generations.
The pride on site was apparent as the job reached completion.
“We had 1,500 employees who had a part to play in building that iconic building,” recalled Zurowski. “Whether you’re a Rider fan or a construction worker or Saskatchewan resident, all of us were proud our kids and grandkids will know we had a part in building it.”
