Its for the technician who is out doing their

rounds or performing their duties and are

having a little extra diligence or perseverance
based on an issue or something that doesnt
appear right. Dave Newton

Kimberley Hooper and

Dave Newton have been
instrumental in getting
Operator Care Saves
back up and running.

Going above
and beyond:

Its so exciting for them to know that we care and

truly value the work they do. When operators go
above and beyond their duties, people notice.

Operators improving reliability

about taking ownership of problems,

and being recognized by peers and
leaders for great work.

Story by Drew Casford; photos by Stephanie Johnston

The Operator Care Saves

program revamp, led by Dave
and Administrative Assistant for
Production Services - Offsites Utilities
Conversion & Hydroprocessing,
Kimberly Hooper, not only offers
operators timely recognition by
leaders and peers, but also
fun rewards.

Kimberley Hooper

Some well thought out improvements and adjustments by Control

Room Operator Les Gerein have become standard procedure
followed by all his counterparts in secondary Upgrading.

This is just one example of employees

going beyond their job scope that
has resulted in improved plant
reliability. Syncrude has seen an
uptake of results like this since the
revamp of the Operator Care Saves
program in 2014. The program works
to recognize operators across site,

from the mine through to the plant,

whose follow-up actions enhance
overall process reliability.
Operator Saves is a recognition
program, says Dave Newton, Site
Shift Manager. Its for the technician
who is out doing their rounds or
performing their duties and are
having a little extra diligence or
perseverance based on an issue or
something that doesnt appear right.
Operator Saves recognizes
operators who have gone above and
beyond their usual scope of work

to investigate and resolve an issue

to completion. Shift Team Leaders
recognize the positive behaviour and
begin the recognition process. The
superintendent reviews the action
and informs the site team manager.
All three management levels then
present the operator with an award
and recommendation.
The goal is to encourage operators
to go beyond the minimum and
recognize that their work directly
impacts reliability and sustainability
of the organization, says Dave. Its

Dave says many people are putting

in extra effort to be mindful of issues
that may not have previously been
identified. By working diligently,

workers are preventing operational

failures and optimizing performance
and reliability.
I believe that we have exceptional
operators and some amazing people
at Syncrude who are driven and
committed to running a reliable
operation safely and effectively, says
Kimberly. Its so exciting for them
to know that we care and truly value
the work they do. When operators
go above and beyond their duties,
people notice.

Process Operator
Tom Saunders
minimized
production loss
and potential
injury with his
recent save.

Synergy | Q2 2015 13

12 Synergy | Q2 2015

His adjustments to plant operation

during activation steps have
increased required product flows
and helped activate both the Heavy
Gas Oil hydrotreater (15-2) and, 18-2
the Aromatic Saturation Unit (LGO).

Since introducing new rewards we

find more people are talking about
the program, says Dave. People
are really excited about the items
theyre getting, which is generating
conversations across site. This is great
because its allowing individuals to
recognize the level of impact they
have on their job.