Remote crew camps: Alaska companies accommodate workers.

• Author: White, Rindi
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

One thing construction projects in the Lower 48 don't often have to worry about: providing temporary camps and camp services for workers in remote areas.

Numerous Alaska companies have emerged to provide camp logistics and camp management for crews working in the backcountry. Each summer, remote camps pop up all over the state, as geologists and engineers investigate potential mine sites, scientists study the unique ecosystems in Alaska, or crews clean up hazardous materials left over from our military past. Remote construction camps represent a significant share of the number of seasonal camps operating across Alaska.

How the companies outfit a camp depends a lot on the kind of work being done. Construction crews, in particular, might need to work in inclement weather in the early spring or late fall, so many crews use mobile camps made up of ATCO sleeper units or other shelters if housing in a nearby community is unavailable.

When it comes to cooking and housekeeping for the remote crews, companies might provide their own camp services staff or work with a company such as Doyon Universal or NANA Development Corporation subsidiary NMS to arrange cooks and housekeepers.

Six Camps at the Ready

Cruz Construction needs camps both for remote construction projects and for oilfield operations. Owner Dave Cruz says the company has six different camps, the largest of which can host about two hundred people.

"We can mix and match them like Legos," Cruz says.

Two camps were needed for road construction projects this year: one that housed about sixty workers in support of the Dalton Highway Milepost 379 to 397 project and a second at Manley that housed about fifty people and supported the Road to Tanana project.

The individual units are forty-foot shipping containers that have been rebuilt to Cruz's specifications. Shipping containers tend to be about half the weight of other similarly sized portable structures, he says, and they're very portable.

"We can ship these on the water, we can double and triple stack them," he says. "They're easier to move in remote locations, whether we're hauling it by barge or by an all-terrain vehicle."

When set up, the units connect together, so a worker can get changed in his room, then pad in slippers to a bathroom unit, continue down a hall to a TV room or exercise room, and into the kitchen/dining area.

While some employees who might be called on at any time of day, such as medics and managers, have single-room status, meaning they have their own room, most workers at a remote camp share a room with another person. But Cruz says they try to pair a day-shift worker with a nightshift worker, so there are fewer instances of people being disturbed by a snoring roommate, for example.

There are a few keys to making a remote camp work, Cruz says. Mobility is one. While most construction camps remain in place for much of the season, sometimes they need to be moved. If that's the case, he says, the shipping containers make the task simple.

"We can serve breakfast at 6 a.m. and move...