Building in Remote Locations: Lessons from 40+ Years and 600 Projects Worldwide

When your project site is hours from the nearest town (or perched high on a glacier), you need more than a contractor. You need a partner who can deliver against the odds. Remote heavy industrial construction brings unique challenges that demand expertise, adaptability, and a proven record of success.

At Colony Construction, we’ve spent more than four decades building in some of the world’s toughest locations. With 600+ projects across four continents, we’ve learned what it takes NOT only to get the job done… but to do it safely, efficiently, and with lasting value.

From pre-engineered buildings, steel buildings, and modular workforce housing to pulp mill facilities, lumber processing plants, and custom steel erection, here are some key lessons from our journey, along with practical advice for anyone considering complex industrial construction projects.

Why Remote Location Construction is Different

Remote projects aren’t just “harder”, they’re different on every level, with layers of complexity that must be overcome.

• Logistics: Every piece of equipment, material, and crew member must be transported with precision. That means staging yards, heavy-lift transport, and just-in-time delivery strategies to avoid costly delays.

• Weather & Terrain: From permafrost to glaciers, sites demand frost-depth foundations, specialized geotechnical testing, and sometimes even temporary access roads or ice bridges.

• Workforce: Crews often operate out of modular camps, complete with potable water, wastewater treatment, and power generation to keep sites self-sufficient.

• Community & Environment: Remote projects require environmental impact assessments, ensuring strict permitting compliance and supporting the creation of sustainable mining facilities and wood manufacturing sites. One misstep can delay a project by months (or worse, years).

  
  

For clients, this means choosing a partner who can manage both your project’s deliverables and qualifications.

Lessons from 40+ Years and 600 Projects

Over the years, we’ve faced challenges that tested our ingenuity and strengthened our approach. Here are some of the most important lessons:

1. Plan for the Unplannable

At Eskay Creek, a mining infrastructure construction project in the Golden Triangle region of northwest British Columbia, reaching the site meant driving “six hours” through rugged terrain to what felt like the middle of nowhere. Materials, equipment, food, and housing had to be meticulously planned and scheduled.

No matter how detailed the schedule, you must build in contingencies for winter road closures, air transport bottlenecks, or weather-driven downtime.

Takeaway: Look for a contractor who can anticipate challenges before they happen and has the systems to prevent them.

2. Adaptability is Non-Negotiable

At the Brucejack Mine, located 65 kilometres north of Stewart, B.C., our crews built directly on top of a glacier. Specialized tracked equipment had to be dragged across ice within strict load distribution calculations, a logistical puzzle that required creative solutions (and quick thinking).

But adaptability isn’t just about mining. In lumber processing facilities, we’ve built planer mills, kilns, and log decks where production efficiency and structural resilience go hand in hand. For pulp mill facilities, adaptability means designing spaces for digestors, recovery boilers, and rotary kilns that can withstand demanding 24/7 operations.

Takeaway: Experience in extreme conditions matters. Ask potential partners how they’ve adapted to unexpected obstacles in the past.

3. Safety is Culture, Not a Checklist

Remote projects amplify risks: harsh weather, limited access to medical facilities, and long working hours in camp. That’s why safety can’t be an afterthought, it must be ingrained.

Our recognition as one of Canada’s Safest Employers, together with site-specific hazard assessments and COR-driven standards, underscores how safety drives every decision we make, from planning to execution.

Takeaway: Ask contractors about their safety record, certifications, and how they embed safety in day-to-day operations.

4. Experience Saves Money (and Stress)

Mistakes are expensive when the nearest supply yard is 500 miles away. Re-shipping materials, delays due to weather, or rework can quickly erode budgets. 

As experienced design and build contractors, we streamline costs and keep projects on track by applying value engineering, pre-construction planning, and modular design efficiencies. For example:

• In mines, this means building mill buildings, truck shops, ore storage facilities, and tailings facilities with durable steel systems.

• In sawmills, it means designing structures around hog conveyors, debarkers, trim lines, and sorter/stacker systems.

• In OSB or veneer mills, it involves planning for rotary lathes, dryers, hot presses, and laminators.

  
  

Takeaway: Choosing an experienced contractor may seem like a bigger investment upfront, but in remote construction, it saves significantly in the long run.

What to Look for in a Remote Construction Partner

If you’re planning a remote build, here’s a client-focused checklist to guide your contractor selection:

• Proven Track Record in Remote Projects: Ask for case studies of projects completed in challenging environments.

• Logistical Expertise: Can they manage transport, modular housing, and workforce rotations?

• Full-Service Capabilities: The right industrial contractors should manage everything from pulp mill construction and lumber processing plants to mining infrastructure construction and modular workforce camps.

• Safety Commitment: Recognized safety certifications and awards signal a true culture of care.

• Scalability & Flexibility: Ability to mobilize multi-trade crews and manage workforce rotations on fly-in/fly-out schedules.

• Local & Global Experience: Contractors with both bring confidence navigating regulations, cultural contexts, and environmental factors.

How Colony Checks ALL the Boxes

With over 40 years in the field, we’ve built the systems and culture needed to succeed where others can’t, making us one of the leading steel building contractors in Canada. Our global reach includes over 600 projects across international sites, from Arctic mines to South American infrastructure.

We bring proven expertise across sectors, including:

✔️ Mining support facilities: ball mills, crushers, flotation tanks, ore storage, water treatment, and truck shops.

✔️ Pulp and paper facilities: digestors, recovery boilers, clarifiers, chipper buildings, and rotary kilns.

✔️ Sawmills and lumber production: log decks, kilns, cogeneration plants, planer mills, hog conveyors, and dry lumber storage.

✔️ Mass timber and large-scale wood manufacturing: commercial timber production buildings, veneer mills, and OSB production lines.

With the latest building systems, including Butler Manufacturing solutions, we have the people, processes, and equipment to get it done right the first time.

Just as importantly, we prioritize ‘Building Happiness’ and trust with local communities, ensuring our commitment to people is as strong as our commitment to projects.

Have a remote project in mind?

Talk to our team about your next project and see why clients choose us as their trusted industrial contractor in British Columbia. Contact us today at 604-541-2604 or visit www.colonyconstruction.com.