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The Focus Advantage

Focus Corporation is an established multi-disciplinary consulting firm that provides a wide range of services to clients involved in oil and gas, oil sands, infrastructure, land development and environmental projects. Because many projects require more than one of the services we offer, clients can realize valuable benefits by capitalizing on synergies made possible by our processes, policies, technologies and wide range of expertise.

 

Synergies

When Focus is involved at the early stages of a project, we can help identify how two or more of our teams can provide schedule-, cost-, administration- technology- and quality-based benefits for the project. In many cases, just trimming a project’s administrative efforts is beneficial, but our corporate structure and comprehensive resources can offer so much more, including accelerated project timelines, significant cost savings and an extremely effective approach to project management.

Given the wide range of services Focus provides, we can offer a number of synergies. Whether Geomatics joins Environment, Transportation partners with Landscape Architecture or any one of a number of other potential combinations, Focus’ corporate structure allows each of our teams to work together seamlessly, to the advantage of our clients.

With so many services to choose from, there are many opportunities for the Focus Advantage. While your project will dictate the types of services you need, consider these possible benefits you can achieve:

 

Scheduling Efficiencies Enable Valuable Time Savings

Well sites, pipelines and oil and gas facilities require the expertise of both geomatics and environmental professionals. Often, an oil and gas company hires a separate business for each specialty – and their work is completed sequentially. Typically, the survey crew scouts and demarcates the desired location first. Then, after the survey information is used to create a plan that represents the field conditions, the environmental specialist completes an assessment. In this typical scenario, two companies make two separate site visits, one after the other: the client pays for two visits and waits for both businesses to complete their work before further progress can be made.

Alternatively, the same project could benefit from the Focus Advantage: we could accelerate schedules and save costs by having our survey crews perform routine environmental assessments during the initial survey site visit. Trained by our in-house environmental team to conduct preliminary environmental assessments and collect environmental data, and supervised by our Environmental project manager, our survey crews could complete all survey work and routine environmental tasks during one site visit.

By getting both jobs done at the same time, we could move the schedule along faster and save the cost of un-necessary site visits. Furthermore, if our survey crews identify non-routine conditions, they could advise the Environmental team before the survey plan is complete –saving valuable time in the overall land acquisition process.

 

One Point of Contact Provides Cost Savings

A company recently gained the Focus Advantage on a large oil and gas site in northeastern British Columbia: our Geomatics team was already on site when it became clear that the project required some road re-alignment work, including the design and construction of four bridges.

By hiring Focus’ Transportation team to provide the preliminary designs, the oil and gas company benefitted from multiple benefits, including the savings associated with the proposal call that would have been required otherwise; already having Focus staff, including a project manager, on site; and the efficiencies related to the seamless transmission of technical data. Considering the Focus Advantage our client has already gained, Focus is well-positioned to further assist the client with its project objectives.

As much as the current arrangement provided many benefits for the oil and gas company, Focus’ earlier involvement in the project could have allowed for greater project timeline efficiencies and improved productivity. Furthermore, by combining three or more of our services under one contract, Focus could have provided the client with even more administrative and management efficiencies, as well as time and cost synergies. With one service provider meeting their survey, environmental and transportation needs, the client could have enjoyed the ultimate Focus Advantage.

  

Cross-Divisional Cooperation Provides Administrative Benefits  

Focus’ Transportation team was hired by the City of Grande Prairie as prime consultant for a local roadway improvement project, which is part of a larger revitalization effort. The scope of work included a transportation study for a one way couplet, a traffic circulation plan for the downtown core, document review, detailed design of the main downtown thoroughfare and the related necessary public consultation.

This project required some survey work to determine elevations and help plan the road realignments. When our Geomatics team became involved, it was easy to see the numerous benefits their 3D laser scanning expertise could have for the project and for the client. It could be done quickly and without shutting down traffic in the downtown core. It could provide numerous information points, which was extremely useful for the design process. And it could provide exciting 3D images that helped the City and its constituents visualize the proposed changes and make solid decisions.

The Focus Advantage was also clear: the lines of communication between the Transportation and Geomatics teams were extremely effective and there was lots of opportunity for cross-divisional exchange of expertise, regional survey staff could get the job done immediately, the survey data was collected and distributed in a format that meshed precisely with the software applications used by the Transportation team, and the administrative costs were kept low because our processes were already in place and did not need to be adjusted.

By hiring a second Focus team to work on the job, our client benefitted from the services and technology that Focus offers and realized time, cost and administrative benefits.

 

Technical Expertise Produces Innovative Ideas

When an Environmental teams’ client from the forestry industry hired our Geomatics team to do some survey work, they realized an unexpected Focus Advantage. They were pleased to save administrative time with our processes, save schedule time with the fast response of our regional survey crews and their ability to work directly with the Environmental project manager, and reduce risk and errors with survey information that is delivered in a format that works seamlessly with the Environmental teams’ software applications. Perhaps the biggest benefit for them is the result of cross-pollination of ideas between our two teams.

Our 3D laser scanning team will use our technology to measure the density of the trees on the client’s property, which will allow them to better manage their timber resource by identifying which trees to fall.

By involving two experienced and innovative Focus teams, the client will realize time-, cost-, and technology- based savings, as well as new information they can use to increase their profits over the long term. A Focus Advantage to be sure!

 

Complementary Thinking Improves Overall Product Quality

A large land development project in Alberta enjoyed the Focus Advantage when they hired our Transportation and Landscape Architecture teams to work together on a high profile subdivision project. Because both teams were involved from the early days of the project, the client enjoyed simplified administrative requirements, excellent communication between the specialties, schedule efficiencies and the innovative ideas and strategies that were possible when these two complementary teams could brainstorm together about the best possible solutions for the development. The resulting subdivision features many exciting landscape components that add to the character and welcoming atmosphere of this popular new community.

By hiring two complementary Focus teams early in the development process, the client’s project benefitted from the best possible start, which provided the strong foundation for innovative ideas and exceptional design – all of which are evident in the final product.

 

Tailored to Your Needs

Focus can provide comprehensive service packages that include construction and land surveying, transportation and civil design, environmental and geosciences, construction management, complete oil and gas engineering and project management.

Talk with us about service bundles that can be tailored to meet your project needs.

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Awards & Recognition

Focus’ excellent workplace, training opportunities, safety programs and management efforts have been recognized by some leading local and national organizations.

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Focus on Safety

Focus is committed to the protection of life, health and the environment — and we recognize that all three are intertwined. We created our Focus on Safety program, which is recognized as one of the top safety programs in Canada, to ensure a safe work environment and to keep us all as safe as possible.

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The Focus Advantage
The Focus Advantage

Many projects require more than one of the services we offer. When Focus is involved in the early stages of a project, we can help identify how two or more of our teams can provide The Focus Advantage: schedule-, cost-, administration- technology- and quality-based benefits made possible by synergies in our processes, policies, technologies and wide range of expertise.