We are happy to announce that Gautam Thakur has joined SPMG.

April 8, 2013

Gautam holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA in Operations Management, is a Professional Project Manager (PMP) and holds a Black Belt in Lean/Six Sigma methodologies. He has over 11 years of global experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, business process consulting and team leadership.

Please join us in welcoming Gautam to the SPMG team!

SPMG Is Expanding!

March 18, 2013

In order to better service our growing client base in the Saskatchewan marketplace, SPMG is excited to announce that we are opening an office location in Saskatoon.

The office will be located at:

Please contact us at info@spheregroup.ca for more information; we look forward to seeing you at the SPMG Saskatoon office location which is opening soon!

We are excited to announce that Dave MacBride has agreed to join the SPMG team.

March 4, 2013

Dave has multiple certifications in project management, construction engineering, business management, human resources and various trades. He has over 20 years' experience in the construction industry with estimating and management on projects of all sizes and complexity.

Please join me us in welcoming Dave to SPMG!

SPMG is happy to announce that Angela Helstrom has agreed to join the SPMG team.

February 10, 2013

Angela is a certified Professional Project Manager (PMP) with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to joining SPMG, Angela has gained experience in managing various projects as well as leading and developing project teams over the past 8 years.

Please join us in welcoming Angela to the SPMG team!

SPMG is pleased to announce that El Hadji (Haj) Sow has joined the SPMG team.

February 10, 2013

Haj has earned his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences degree from Howard University and his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from George Washington University in Washington D.C. His experience in environmental and regulatory practices as well as in industrial health and safety will allow SPMG to provide additional value added project services to our clients.

Please join us in welcoming Haj to the SPMG team!

It is our pleasure to announce that Hamid Belmezouar has agreed to join the SPMG team.

February 10, 2013

Hamid has a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Sciences and Technology of Oran, Algeria. Prior to joining SPMG, Hamid has gained significant experience in managing industrial projects across Africa and Western Asia over the past 10 years for major international energy services corporations.

Please help us welcome Hamid to the SPMG team!

PotashCorp Undertakes Debottlenecking Project

January 30, 2013

PotashCorp (PCS) is the world's largest fertilizer company by capacity, producing the three primary crop nutrients - potash (K), phosphate (P) and nitrogen (N). As the world's leading potash producer, PCS is responsible for about 20 percent of global capacity.

PotashCorp recently undertook a debottlenecking project at its Cory Division mill so that the mill could achieve its design capacity of processing 1250 tph of ore while achieving the target recovery levels of KCL. The project spanned September 2012 to January 2013 from design to completion, and included the complete design, procurement and construction of the mill process changes to facilitate the increase in production.

PCS engaged Sphere Project Management Group (SPMG) to manage the project; on schedule, on budget and safely. Management of the project required the interface and coordination of multiple stakeholders from the inception of the project that included PCS technical and operations departments, PCS procurement, engineering contractors, construction contractors, fabricators and equipment vendors.

SPMG project manager Rob Koller: "The success of the PCS Cory Debottlenecking project was a result of careful planning, open communication with all stakeholders and detailed control of scope and schedule. The early identification and resolution of issues as well as the streamlining of engineering processes to expedite the delivery of documentation and drawings was key." Does Rob consider the project a success? "Absolutely. I am pleased to say that the project was completed ahead of schedule and $2.4M under budget with an exceptional health and safety record; quite a successful project."

Kevin Coombs, PCS Senior Technical Director and debottlenecking project sponsor: "I would like to thank the SPMG team for their great work throughout this very fast paced project. Involvement of the SPMG team was very instrumental in keeping the project focused and aligned with the very aggressive time line that I had set for the completion date. We would never have achieved the performance we did without SPMGs constant involvement with the PCS, engineering, vendor and construction groups. The professionalism of the SPMG team throughout the project made all the many details look seamless and easy. I very much appreciate their involvement and the great support they gave me every day."

To find out how SPMG can help your projects achieve this level of success, contact us today!

Chuck Cherry joins Sphere Project Management Group.

December 18, 2012

Some people choose their career; other people have a career choose them. Chuck Cherry started his career as an operator and then steamfitter in the BC Forest Products pulp mill in Mackenzie, British Columbia. After finishing his apprenticeship and transferring to Crofton, BC, he was made a maintenance supervisor.

As time went on, Chuck began training crews on specialty piping. This caught the attention of his corporate training group, who asked that Chuck join them on a full time basis. Being given the opportunity to increase his facilitation skills, Chuck becomes a certified instructor in the DDI system of communication and leadership skills. Fast forward less than a year and that training group is eliminated following a corporate downsizing. Chuck is first given a special project as an "outplacement coordinator", and then given the role of HR Advisor for the local plant. A further opportunity being granted to advance his education, Chuck begins and completes an MBA with a specialty in Human Resource Management at Royal Roads University.

A few years and a couple of labor agreements later, Chuck's next assignment was as HR Manager for a new joint venture maintenance company that specialized in the pulp and paper maintenance industry. This organization started up successfully, but didn't survive a parent company sale and Chuck found himself looking outside the struggling Pulp and Paper industry for new opportunities.

Joining Syncrude during 2001 in Fort McMurray and working as a Senior HR Advisor for Mining Maintenance gave Chuck experience in the Alberta Oil/Gas and mining industry. Living in "Fort Mac" brought him a new understanding of what it's like to live in Alberta's north and deal with the hyper-energized oil sands employment environment.

ABB called Chuck away to Calgary in 2006, where he served as the HR Manager for Western Canada. During his tenure with the giant Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering and Manufacturing company he helped with change management for 4 different acquisitions in Alberta and oversaw the growth in Western Canada from about 80 employees to over 750 in less than 4 years. In 2008 Chuck also became Canada's first lead facilitator for ABB's "Leadership Challenge Program."

Pipelines was next and Chuck worked with Enbridge in 2011/2012 as the Human Resources Business Partner for their Green Energy, International and Gas Development groups. Chuck got involved in the Cabin Gas Plant acquisition, Enbridge's first Canadian Mid-Stream Gas asset.

Finally deciding to go out on his own and working with smaller businesses, Chuck has signed on with Sphere Project Management Group as our Human Resources Business Partner. Chuck is very much looking forward to getting to know all of you and working with you to make SPMG everything you'd want in a company to work for!

SPMG is moving!

December 5, 2012

To accommodate the growth of SPMG and enable us to provide even better service to our clients, we are excited to announce that effective January 2, 2013 we will move into our new office location at:

We would like to apologize in advance for any inconvenience this transition may cause and encourage you to contact us at info@spheregroup.ca for any further information. We look forward to seeing you at our new location soon!

SPMG is pleased to announce that Rob Koller has joined the SPMG team.

October 1, 2012

Rob is a professional engineer with an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Alberta and prior to joining SPMG, has gained extensive experience in electrical and electronic engineering, engineering management, manufacturing optimization and continuous improvement roles both locally and internationally over the past 20 years.

Please join us in welcoming Robert to the SPMG team!

SPMG is happy to announce that Robert Loyns has agreed to join the SPMG team.

May 24, 2012

Robert joins SPMG after completing his studies in Geological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan and will be working with SPMG in the role of Continuous Improvement Facilitator.

Please join us in welcoming Robert to the SPMG team!

It is our pleasure to announce that Gary Rogers has joined the SPMG team.

June 1, 2011

Prior to joining SPMG, Gary was employed at a major food product manufacturer for the past 15 years in different capacities around the globe. Gary has extensive project management experience and is an experienced practitioner of Lean Kaizen/Six Sigma tools and methodologies.

Please join us in welcoming Gary to the SPMG team!

For more information on how Gary can help your organization become more competitive using Lean Kaizen/Six Sigma methodologies, please contact us at info@spheregroup.ca or Gary directly at garyrogers@spheregroup.ca.

April 15,2011

Sphere Project Management Group is pleased to announce the launch of our new web site. Developed by our friends at "Blue Zeppelin", the new web site will be used as a key tool in our marketing and sales efforts. Check it out at www.spheregroup.ca