October 7, 2009
 

Focused on Flawless Execution
Theirs is a story that demonstrates the potential when two solid businesses are fused together. Québec-based Delsan-AIM Environmental Services Inc. is a leading environmental services company that combines the decommissioning expertise of Delsan Environmental Group and the recycling capabilities that have made American Iron & Metal (AIM) a legend in the province. Assembling the best team of engineers, installers, operators and project managers, Delsan has brought together years of hands-on management, operational and design experience to provide competitively priced, high-quality, and dependable decommissioning services to the market. AIM comes into the equation to collect scrap material, then sort, treat and reintroduce 100 per cent of that metal to the manufacturing cycle. Each metal has its own uses and process; they all require specific treatment and pose a different technical problem. That’s why AIM offers a comprehensive solution, providing everything from local collection to international shipment and all steps in-between. By merging both companies’ experience and knowledge, Delsan-AIM provides integrated and diversified services, offering clients stand-alone contracting, as well as turn-key solutions for decommissioning; investment recovery; demolition; asbestos and lead abatement; contaminated soil remediation; storage tank removal and cleaning; and recycling.

Safe and sustainable decommissioning
What does decommissioning entail? For Delsan-AIM, they define decommissioning as the closure of all or part of an industrial facility followed by the removal of process equipment, building envelopes and all site infrastructures. Often in these closures, specialised clean ups are required to remove chemical substances or hazardous materials from the environment to render the industrial site both safe and aesthetically acceptable. Delsan-AIM’s environmental abatement division is sure to remove any environmentally sensitive substances or substances dangerous to humans, including asbestos, lead, PCBs, molds and fungi and solid or liquid hazardous wastes. In the process of dismantling or demolishing structures, the company will also recover building components that can be reused or recycled. If required, its site remediation division can remediate contaminated soil and groundwater. The Delsan-AIM team will provide environmental solutions wherever they can to clean up the project site in a safe and environmental way, while simultaneously limiting the liability of its clients. Through the development and use of state-of-the-art technologies, coupled with experienced project management, there are mechanisms in place to provide the Québec decommissioning market with an effective mean of solving any environmental problems.

Tearing it down
When it comes to demolition, Delsan-AIM provides partial and total structural and interior dismantling services—from industrial to institutional, and governmental to and commercial clients. The company has broad experience demolishing structures such as refineries, mines, mills, manufacturing plants, utility installations, office buildings, hotels, bridges, towers, incinerators and emission stacks. Of course, demolitions are not approached lightly. The sophistication of the demolition process is a function of the size and complexity of the project. Small-scale projects involving the demolition of a house may be carried out using common place machinery, equipment and methods. Larger, more complex projects, however, can require extensive pre-project process engineering and specialized operation procedures, machinery, and equipment. Pre-project engineering includes: a site and survey review; an assessment of the quality, value and type of materials and equipment that may be extracted from the site; and, last, the specific demolition techniques which should be applied to a particular structure. This means, of course, that Delsan-AIM’s project managers and site personnel must have a technical understanding of structural design, project scheduling and worker health and safety. The company’s demolition division has a team of experienced employees that includes project engineers, estimators, managers, site supervisors, foremen, equipment operators, labours and support staff. These professionals have years of experience in turning complex and environmentally sensitive plant demolition projects into a smooth, professionally managed process.

Investment recovery
A proper decommissioning project is not just clearing out junk and ensuring a safe environment is left behind, part of the job is preserving the existing assets in the process. Delsan-AIM has an investment recovery division has an impressive track record for reclaiming value from industrial assets that are no longer required, and they can identify, market, sell, dismantle, ship and even co-ordinate the reconstruction of such assets. The value of a contract that involves investment recovery operations includes equipment that is presold, sold or held in inventory by the company for resale or strategic reuse. In certain circumstances, Delsan-AIM may make a payment to the owner for the value of equipment recovered if the plant exceeds the costs to decommission a site. Success in decommissioning is frequently enhanced by investment recovery. Delsan-AIM is part of an international network of investment recovery resellers who pool inventory lists. Delsan-AIM also markets direct to industry specific clients around the world. The company believes its recovery expertise provides them with a cost advantage, by significantly enhancing the ability to provide competitive pricing for decommissioning services.

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