Samuel Corriveau: a resilient and versatile team player

Samuel, Project Manager - Geotechnics at Englobe, is known for being passionate, disciplined and dedicated, all key characteristics that enable him to make positive impacts on those around him. Though busy with his 4 children, master's degree in geotechnics, and full-time job at Englobe, he has been able to strike a work-life balance. 

What's more, he's a team player who relies on collaboration and is always looking to stimulate knowledge sharing. 

 We had the chance to see for ourselves how he has been able to apply this philosophy through his participation in an innovative project that is essential to the country's energy transition.

Peace of mind guaranteed by constant support 

As part of the construction of a major 50 MW solar farm in the Wheatcrest region of Alberta, construction company Boréa, in partnership with renewable energy fund management firm Blue Earth, called on Englobe to support them in the study, design and construction support phases. One key aspect of the project involves the installation of 15,000 piles that are required to support approximately 7,000 solar panels. 

Samuel was involved in every phase of the project and never hesitated to take on many responsibilities - all with a view to ensuring success and customer satisfaction. From the very start of the process, he made sure to hold several meetings with the customer to fully understand their needs, as well as the project's technical, financial, and scheduling issues and constraints.

Technical excellence and boundless dedication 

Samuel carried out a detailed and critical analysis of existing data to define the geotechnical investigations and inputs required for the final design of the solar panels and various installations. 

10 boreholes and 100 pile loading tests were carried out on site. He also created a tool to quickly process the data from these tests, map the site efficiently and produce 3D plans. As a result, he was able to select design parameters, group them by sector according to different soil families, and define specific sectors. Following these structures, geotechnical design was carried out on several types of piles. 

Samuel made numerous calculations to improve the pile design, taking into account rock depth, topography and risk zones such as wetlands. His final recommendations were incorporated into the pile design and testing to be carried out. 

In this way, Samuel made a significant contribution to minimizing the risks associated with installing the piles on site, and enabled the contractor to better manage his teams and his worksite. The conclusions drawn from Samuel's analysis enabled him to propose solutions that generated significant savings and reduced the project's environmental footprint, factors that were important to his client.

Reassuring expertise and availability

Samuel's excellent communication and popularization skills enabled him to provide the contractor with ongoing follow-up and support, while passing on relevant recommendations and notices of change during the course of the work. Given the innovative and efficient nature of his recommendations, Samuel, despite his young experience, had to defend and justify them to expert committees on several occasions. He was able to accomplish this exercise brilliantly, proving all the more the value and versatility of his contribution to this project. 

Every project has its unexpected and challenging aspects. Workers often had to adapt to changing weather conditions, shifting priorities, and equipment breakdowns to meet deadlines and budgets. 

Samuel's expertise, focused specifically on the effect of soil freezing on the axial geotechnical strength of piles, and his unwavering dedication, greatly assisted him in analyzing and managing the different variables of the Wheatcrest project, with its very frozen soils.

Contributing to a safe and clean energy transition 

Given the importance of this renewable energy project, Samuel gave his all and invested a great deal to ensure its success. Over 500 control tests were carried out on the piles. He analyzed and validated the results every day, adjusting methods when results were not in line. Despite his many commitments outside work, he always remained available for an average of 14 hours a day to support his customer in all his needs.

Since their installation in the winter of 2023, the 15,000 piles have remained as stable and solid as ever, despite the harsh Canadian winter they faced in this region. What's more, the design philosophy according to which they were developed ensures the smooth operation of an energy infrastructure that supplies nearly 14,000 Alberta homes annually with clean, renewable energy.