Browsing by Subject "Alberta, Canada"
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Item Managing large energy and mineral resources (EMR) projects in challenging environments(2009-05) Chanmeka, Arpamart; Thomas, Stephen Richard, 1949-; Caldas, Carlos H.The viability of energy mineral resources (EMR) construction projects is contingent upon the state of the world economic climate. Oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada exemplify large EMR projects that are highly sensitive to fluctuations in the world market. Alberta EMR projects are constrained by high fixed production costs and are also widely recognized as one of the most challenging construction projects to successfully deliver due to impacts from extreme weather conditions, remote locations and issues with labor availability amongst others. As indicated in many studies, these hardships strain the industry’s ability to execute work efficiently, resulting in declining productivity and mounting cost and schedule overruns. Therefore, to enhance the competitiveness of Alberta EMR projects, project teams are targeting effective management strategies to enhance project performance and productivity by countering the uniquely challenging environment in Alberta. The main purpose of this research is to develop industry wide benchmarking tailored to the specific constraints and challenges of Alberta. Results support quantitative assessments and identify the root causes of project performance and ineffective field productivity problems in the heavy industry sector capital projects. Customized metrics produced from the data collected through a web-based survey instrument were used to quantitatively assess project performance in the following dimensions: cost, schedule, change, rework, safety, engineering and construction productivity and construction practices. The system enables the industry to measure project performance more accurately, get meaningful comparisons, while establishing credible norms specific to Alberta projects. Data analysis to identify the root cause of performance problems was conducted. The analysis of Alberta projects substantiated lessons of previous studies to create an improved awareness of the abilities of Alberta-based companies to manage their unique projects. This investigation also compared Alberta- based projects with U.S. projects to point out the differences in project process and management strategies under different environments. The relative impact of factors affecting construction productivity were identified and validated by the input from industry experts. The findings help improve the work processes used by companies developing projects in Alberta.Item New records of early Jurassic gladius-bearing coleoids (Prototeuthidina and Loligosepiina) from Alberta, Canada(2016-05) Marroquin, Selva Mariana; Martindale, Rowan C.; Bell, Christopher J; Sprinkle, James T; Molineux, Ann MThe Ya Ha Tinda Lagerstätte from Alberta, Canada, preserves organic-rich black shales that capture the carbon isotope excursion (CIE) characteristic of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (183 Ma). Excavations at Ya Ha Tinda uncovered fifteen Vampyropoda fossils from Pliensbachian and Toarcian strata. Vampyropoda are a group of cephalopods with eight arms and an internalized chitinous shell called a gladius. Ya Ha Tinda represents the largest record of Vampyropoda gladii found outside of Europe for the Early Jurassic, and provides the unique opportunity to place Vampyropoda in a chemostratigraphic context. The goals of this thesis were threefold: (1) to taxonomically identify the Vampyropoda found at Ya Ha Tinda, including two specimens that were collected by Russell Hall from the same formation in the 1980s, (2) to compare the distribution and paleoecology of Vampyropoda to coeval European Lagerstätten, and (3) to conduct a detailed analysis of how Vampyropoda taxa were influenced by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. In total, only fourteen specimens have sufficient morphological details preserved for taxonomic descriptions. Twelve specimens are identified to the genus level; six Paraplesioteuthis cf. sagittata, three Loligosepia cf. aalensis, one Geopeltis cf. simplex, one Parabelopeltis cf. flexuosa, and one Jeletzkyteuthis sp. The remaining two specimens belong to the suborder Loligosepiina, one to the family Geopeltididae. With the exception of Paraplesioteuthis, this is the first time all of these taxa have been found outside of Europe. The discovery of L. cf. aalensis within Pliensbachian strata pushes back the earliest occurrences of these taxa from the Early Toarcian to the Late Pliensbachian. Vampyropoda discovered at Ya Ha Tinda are nearly identical to those found in German deposits of the coeval Posidonia Shale, but, unlike European Lagerstätten, the fauna from Alberta has a relatively even proportion of Prototeuthidina and Loligosepiina. There are no taxa found within the CIE interval. The absence of taxa from this interval may be a result of taphonomy, sampling bias, or water chemistry. My results highlight several challenges associated with Vampyropoda taxonomy and provide paleoecological data of Early Jurassic specimens that are vital for understanding the taphonomic controls influencing the fragmentary Vampyropoda fossil record.