The Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in Esquimalt is the second-largest military base in Canada and is home to the Canadian Navy Pacific Fleet. Located just west of Victoria, British Columbia, CFB Esquimalt has been serving the Royal Canadian Navy since its inception in 1910.  

The new maintenance facility provides CFB with a repair and overhaul shop for their fleet at the Esquimalt dockyard. We replaced the older facility and connected it to a new building, creating one large updated maintenance facility.  

This new facility incorporates a concrete substructure and a steel superstructure, and the scope of construction also included associate site work and services, moving of maintenance equipment, electronic work and metal fabrication work. The age of some equipment made this task tricky; for instance, we moved a 50-year-old pneumatic hammer. The Department of National Defence prioritized a successful industrial move of their equipment, and we met the challenge.

The facility meets a post-disaster seismic rating, which indicates how well something can protect active equipment and reduce damage during heavy vibration. We included two radio frequency shielded rooms and several overhead cranes, including one that’s explosion proof. The materials used add a layer of protection against a potentially large earthquake. These aspects ensure the maintenance facility is ready for business-as-usual servicing the west coast naval fleet. 

This project will benefit the Canadian Navy by providing them with a new and updated repair and overhaul shop for the maintenance of their Pacific fleet.