Spotlight: Graeme Erskine

New Business Development Manager in Canada

“The people and the product are the main reason I joined Omega 365,” says new Business Development Manager in Calgary, Graeme Erskine.

“Great guys and gals!” 

“So awesome!”

Graeme Erskine speaks at about 100 kilometers per hour. He's talking about his new role at Omega 365 Canada, about new colleagues, new challenges, and about Japan. Erskine recently transitioned from being a customer to becoming a colleague at Omega 365. 

Jack-of-all-trades within project control

After four years as a project controls lead working on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, Erskine has now joined Omega 365, working from Calgary. The project's close collaboration with Omega 365 allowed him to get well acquainted with the organization. Erskine liked what he saw. 

“The main reason I transferred was because I liked the people, the vision, and the product so much. As an employer, Omega is committed to developing people and keeping people happy,” says Erskine. 

Erskine’s career is extensive and diverse. With his background in economics and work experience in oil and gas projects, he calls himself a “Jack-of-all-trades”. Since 1998, Erskine has worked in cost control, analysis, and management across various projects and companies. He has managed components of large-scale construction projects, particularly within pipeline networks and refineries, with a strong focus on budget management and effective process development. 

Beating heart for Japan

What not everyone knows is that Erskine also has a beating heart for Japan. Since Alberta, his home province in Canada, is the sister province to the Japanese island of Hokkaido, Erskine went there to teach English right out of university. 

After graduating with a degree in economics, his plan was to spend a year there. That turned into five, including three years as head of the foreign English teacher program for all schools in Sendai, a city of 1.1 million people. When he returned in 1997, he was proficient in Japanese. 

“I was never a great language guy, but it's such an incredibly cool language. When we're back visiting, my brain hurts since I don't practice the language daily! But I eventually get back into it,” says Erskine. 

He also got a real feel for how they do business in Japan and has taken some of this with him into his exciting career in Canada. 

Multi-billion-dollar project in Canada

Erskine himself has a mantra for implementing projects: “Having the right people, tools, and processes. In that order”. After many years in the industry, he knows what he's talking about. In his most recent role as Sr. Cost Lead for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, he worked on the largest infrastructure project in Canada, worth $34.5 billion. The project is an expansion of an oil pipeline system that previously carried 300,000 barrels per day. With the project now completed, the capacity of the pipeline system has been tripled. 

“The expansion is a multi-billion-dollar megaproject, where we're building 1,150 kilometers of pipeline, 19 new storage tanks, 12 pumping stations, 3 new offshore berths, and much more,” says Erskine. 

The project with everything

In such an extensive project, Erskine’s long experience has been put to good use. Trans Mountain has not been a streamlined process. As an Omega customer for four years, Erskine has gained a lot of experience in project and cost management with Omega 365, which has been very useful. 

“This project has had everything!” Erskine laughs. 

“The pipes run through mountains with very difficult terrain, we've dealt with environmental impacts, public planning processes, an atmospheric river that erased 8% progress on one scope and washed parts of the Trans-Canada highway, and a host of other challenges. And just as we got the final go-ahead to start, we were hit by the global COVID pandemic!” 

“Through or around challenges”

Erskine laughs because he enjoys a good challenge that allows him to learn and develop professionally. “Through or around” is always the way to go when the unexpected arises, he says. 

“A project has so many moving parts that project control is extremely important. Trans Mountain has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. But no matter what happened, Omega 365 was there. The system allowed us to adjust on the fly, to accept impact, realignm and reset. What's more, the support from Omega 365 is unbeatable. Omega remembers you as a customer, not just a sale!” he says.

In other words, in his role as Manager of Business Development in Omega 365, Erskine knows very well what the customer needs and how the tool works. “Things change all the time. You need good tools to adjust directions. We provide that, and much more,” says Erskine. 

“My job now is really to help companies manage their projects, talk to people, network for Omega 365, and add value to client project controls – in other words, how we can make life easier in terms of cost control and reporting,” says Erskine. 

“We need to communicate how customers can manage their progress and spending, demonstrate that our products will help them, and show that we will be there to do all that we can to make clients successful,” explains Erskine.

But the best marketing, according to Erskine, is: “Word of mouth. That the customer remembers us because we have delivered successful projects, and we support our clients to the best of our ability!” 

About Spotlight

Spotlight highlights and celebrates Omega 365's team members and their efforts. We believe there are contributions, personalities, and developments throughout Omega 365 that deserve recognition and acknowledgment. You may have a colleague who has made a breakthrough, improved workplace moral, or secured a significant contract – we want to know about them and we want to celebrate them! Nominate a Spotlight candidate by sending your tips to lauren@omega365.com.