Change in spending

practices makes
business cents
by Drew Casford and Chelsey Hynes

When the price of oil plunged and the Alberta economy took
a hit, Syncrude employees stepped up to change the way they
work. These changes are adding up to save the company millions
of dollars, as employees work together for the long-term
viability of its business. Continue reading to hear about some of
the ingenuity and hard work taking place at Syncrude.
Travel Team
cost reductions
are sky high
Cost cutting initiatives arent only
occurring on land, but also up in the
air. Syncrudes Travel Team is doing
their part to reduce travel cost in
support of Syncrudes cost savings
goal. To maximize efficiencies, many
flights have been combined or
cancelled when business disruptions
are minimal.

It has been amazing

to watch the company
work together to reduce
spending. Trish Cowie
It has been amazing to watch the
company work together to reduce
spending, says Trish Cowie, Senior
Travel Coordinator. I truly believe
that this down turn in oil prices has
made us all take a good hard look at
how we conduct our daily business
and has helped us all find creative
ways to save money.

Finding must-haves
The hot and cold of
and dont-needs to
cost savings
discover cost savings Syncrudes Project Development
Thinking outside the box, employee
Josh Reid finds new ways to save
money by asking questions to
suppliers, evaluating equipment
needs and seeking better rates on
tools. This makes a big impact on
cost savings for Mildred Lake Tailings
Team 502.
Weve been looking around and
asking ourselves, Do we really need
this? says Josh, Utility Post Operator
with Tailings & Lease Development.
An example of this is our light plants
and heaters.
The team discovered it was possible
to perform tasks effectively and safely
with a less heaters and plant lights,
and also found there were a number
of these being unused entirely.
Now, we return what we dont
need. Its surprising the amount of
equipment and tools that are rented,
but not being used, he says. We
did an inventory check and returned
unnecessary equipment and this
helped to save us a lot of money.

Team feels the hot and cold of cost

savings with help from their monthly
savings-results thermometer. With
a departmental goal of $9.4 million
in development expense (DevEx)
savings for 2015, progress is already
seen. The thermometer helps to act
as a visual cue to keep the team
on track.
We wanted to take a closer look
at how our day-to-day business
impacts the departments overall
DevEx expenses and find a way
to make these costs top of mind,
says Mike Kennedy, Senior Project
Development Advisor. Each month I
update the thermometers around our
floor to reflect the savings, helping
folks see were headed in the
right direction.
Along with the visual reminder,
theres space on the poster for
employees to contribute their own
ideas on cost saving measures.
These ideas and initiatives underway
in Project Development have
contributed to more than $2.1 million
in savings.

Mildred Lake Mining

puts focus on cost
savings
Earlier this year, Mildred Lake Mining
employees came together to
investigate several avenues to create
cost savings in their department. The
team identified key areas where they
could cut major costs, specifically
with employee off-site training.
One of the initiatives was to begin
delivering Loss Prevention System
training on site during regular work
hours at the Mildred Lake Mining
Training complex, says Adrian
Larkin, Business Team Leader,
Mildred Lake Mining Dumps and
Structures. Previously, our leaders
and occupational workforce were
receiving initial training off site and
during overtime, which was costing
roughly $700,000 annually.
This initiative is an example of how
small changes can play a huge role in
cost reduction.
Now is the time to look at the
different ways your department can
conduct business in a cost-efficient
manner while meeting core business
goals, adds Adrian.

Synergy | Q2 2015 21

20 Synergy | Q2 2015

Some members of
Syncrudes Travel team
(left to right) Trish Cowie,
Rouillanda Laplante,
Linsay Cromwell and
Robin Borse, have seen
significant savings
this year.

Managing jet schedules and lower

passenger loads requires much more
oversight by the Travel Team, but they
believe the savings and satisfaction
in contributing to lowering costs
has been worth the extra effort.
Travel reductions help save costs in
many ways, such as fewer employee
expenses for food, lodging and
ground travel at the destination.
Savings can also be attributed to
less purchased fuel requirements,
less frequent landing fees, and fewer
scheduled maintenance activities.

Each month I update the thermometers around our

floor to reflect the savings, helping folks see were
headed in the right direction. Mike Kennedy

Project Development
employees Mike Kennedy
(left) and Aref Rezvani
(right) discuss the teams
thermometer cost savings
results at Syncrudes Eau
Claire building in Calgary.