Mikisew Group of Companies

MGOC is the distinct business entity for the Mikisew Cree First Nation. We specialize in site services, maintenance, logistics and construction. Primarily serving the Fort McMurray region of Alberta for over 30 years.

Through our JV partners, we provide support from Camp & Catering, heavy construction, heavy lift, mining, emergency medical services, electrical and instrumentation, environmental management and monitoring, aerodrome services and last, but not least passenger transportation.

Challenge:

In our last office, space was a concern. We quickly outgrew our old space and wanted something that had offered more square footage with a fresh, modern appeal. In the last few years, we’ve seen significant growth along with an acquisition, which made it necessary for us to move into a new location as quickly as possible. Another benefit of our new move is being on reserve land which is important to our company ideals being a company that is owned by the Mikisew First Nation.

I was involved from the onset of the project from the decision to move to find a suitable company to help us achieve our vision at our new location. It’s tough to comment on the timeline as the construction of the base build had some significant delays which impacted the timeline Truspace was able to achieve with the leasehold improvements. In terms of the timelines with Truspace, we saw our timelines met and any delays caused by issues with the base build were communicated in a timely fashion.

Early Process:

I had numerous discussions with other companies that conducted their base builds, however, after discussing with a previous client of Truspace – OnTrack’s Consulting we had extremely positive feedback on the process along with a very positive review of their office spaces.

Design Process:

From the early stages of the design process we were informed of the virtual tour, we would be able to see which we believe was fundamental in the company making a few changes along the way, without that feature we would have not been able to fully grasp the layout and what worked and didn’t work. With the virtual tour, we were able to re-design the front entrance space to better suit our needs

Having the ability to view the materials in person, sit in the chairs and desks made a huge difference in the selection process

Each department now has its own dedicated space which has improved our productivity and morale.

I can speak to the design of offices and spaces. As you can see, we’re once again in a space constraint with the doubling up in offices, however, at the time we were a company that was about half the size that we are today. Our vision was to create a space where we had a proper lunchroom, where we were not having to spend money on inviting Chief & Council, our Board and management into meetings. Where we were proud to call this our head office.

They worked to meet our deadlines, we had significant problems with the construction of the base build and Truspace took the initiative to have discussions with the landlord and complete some of the ducting work so as not to delay the project any further. The intangibles we saw with the communications and the eventual changes we requested as our business had changed were conducted with care and all costs were communicated.

During the drawing and design process, we made a lot of changes, the team at Truspace was easy to talk to about our vision of what we had wanted the space to look like. Even when we were presented the “final” drawings and we made a slight change, the team at Truspace always listened and assisted us through the change process.

Results:

As you first walk into our new space you feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. Our new office exhibits our Mikisew Culture and you’ll see throughout the building that is infused with traditional, local First Nation’s artwork and elements.

We are now able to host our Board meetings at our new location

Being proud to invite community members as well as our industry partners to our office, seeing the pride their faces when they see our new office

We are now able to have lunch together, host team events, schedule large board meetings and enjoy the space as a full company instead of single department gatherings.

Recommendation:

Its been a pleasure working with Truspace truly valued the open lines of communication. The level of professionalism and their ability to actually listen to our vision and make that a reality.

Truspace was recommended to us by our colleague, their recommendation was accurate in that Truspace had done a fantastic job, came in on budget and was on time, Truspace provided exceptional quality

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