Solutions Under One Roof
By Anna Guy
Identifying time and cost efficiencies in the supply chain and building process is not only an integral part in any successful construction management project, it is vital.
Flexibility, coordination of services, and instant access to information while achieving cost savings for its clients is what distinguishes Quebec-based electromechanical firm Groupe SCV in its field.
For nearly 50 years, Groupe SCV has offered an umbrella roster of services from detailed engineering, planning, modelling, production, procurement, delivery and installation, up to the commissioning for their national and international clientele. Groupe SCV integrates mechanical and electrical projects; carving out a new territory as between design engineer and the traditional mechanical and electrical contractor by merging all departments involved in the process under its roof.
All of this combines to an exhaustive service for construction-based clients that is greater than the sum of its parts—a service that allow clients to build faster and more efficiently: The Alpha and the Omega in business.
“This approach makes us different from our competitors,” Groups SCV President Jean-François Arbour tells Business Elite Canada. “Our philosophy is ‘Whatever is best for our customers.’ Simplified and harmonized communications translate to peace of mind for our clients. This way of undertaking the project nails down the link between all the different professionals aboard the venture, decreasing the risk of cost overrun and deadlines delays.”
Groupe SCV’s work takes the company all over the world. When we spoke to Arbour, he had just returned from Paris, France, meeting with a team working on an important new football stadium in Cameroon. Mechanical and electrical supply management for the renovation of a 600 rooms hotel for Resort of the World in the Saint Maartin, and the design-build of a heat recovery station for the heating of Iceland’s Alcoa Fjardaal Smelter are but two other examples of Groupe SCV’s international achievements.
Turnkey Solutions
Management of a tight schedule, contractors, materials and equipment from many countries delivered and installed at the same time can only happen with exemplary pre-planning. “Our expert teams will provide a wide range of administrative and technical services to support and secure the success of the projects,” says Arbour. “The project manager acts as the client’s representative to supervise the project throughout all phases. He provides expert level advices, while maintaining costs as low as possible and safeguarding, within schedule, quality of work execution.”
Groupe SCV’s success is firmly rooted in Canadian projects with long term engagement and relationships. Groupe SCV is recognized in the industry as the top-reference among electrical and mechanical integrators. Arbour says it brings his team great pride to see the projects it has worked on thrive.
Arbour starts most sentences with “To be honest with you”, which seems to be the working mantra of the entire group. Arbour says Groupe SCV’s approach may not always be the lowest bid upfront, but the value-adds of the group’s turn-key solutions and global approach to project management pay off in the long term.
Software Pioneer
Groupe SCV was an innovator in software management and was one of the first contractors in Quebec to use BIM software ‘’Building Information Modeling’’ structure into day-to-day operations.
BIM offers 3D-virtual digital representation which enables to team to best proceed with analysis, simulations and visualizations right from the start of the project, permitting a level of coordination and multidisciplinary collaboration never reached before.
BIM is critical for Groupe SCV to deliver its goal: a high-end coordination process for maximum productivity and a streamlined construction process. Once again Groupe SCV meets its mission of adding value to its clients’ projects. “Our team is extremely talented,” says Arbour. “We use a lot of investment into employees, training for up tod ate and maximize productivity and also we give them they are a small group, taking care of everybody to work in a group to team building.”
Groupe SCV’s is poised to follow its holding company (Name Inserted here) out West, with plans to establish two new offices in Toronto and Vancouver by 2020, as well as execute a strategic acquisition plan.
“We have also started three smaller companies: Enercor Plomberie Inc. (a plumbing project)
Enercor Electrique Inc. (Electrical project), and Groupe Enercor Inc. (Service company in plumbing and, in a near future, electrical service),” says Arbour. “Through these companies, we can fulfill more services for our clients with greater flexibility.”
