Arctic directory March 2021: Bell & Associates utilizes latest technology to deliver exceptional results

Safety is of the utmost importance for employee-owned company, with zero lost time accidents in 20 years

Petroleum News

Q. What is the official name of your company?

A. The official name of our company is F.R. Bell & Associates, Inc.

Q. Is your firm a subsidiary or affiliate of other companies? If so, please name those firms and their relationship to your company.

A. Our firm is an employee-owned S corporation and is not a subsidiary of any other company, although we do have an LLC with Tikigaq Corporation (Amaguq Surveying, LLC).

Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?

A. Bell and associates has been providing professional engineering and surveying services to Alaska and the pacific rim since 1974. We make it our priority to utilize the latest technology available in order to provide the best deliverable in the most cost-effective way, while also making Bell an enjoyable place to work and a contributing member of our community.

Q. Where is your company located?

A. Our company’s main office is located in Anchorage, Alaska, but we also maintain an office in Prudhoe Bay.

Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?

A. The company was founded by Bob Bell and John Herring in 1974.

Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?

A. Our company’s primary business activity is engineering and surveying, however we also provided services such as 3D laser scanning, Ground Penetrating Radar, UAV (drone) photogrammetry and inspection, and Geotechnical Inspection.

Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?

A. Bell has been involved in numerous large-scale projects over the years including Prudhoe Bay, Point Thomson, various mining operations, municipal and state road rehabilitation projects, and much much more.

Q. How many employees does your company have?

A. We currently have 30 employees, but have scaled up to as many as 200 in the past.

Q. Describe the equipment your company uses and are there any new equipment purchases planned?

A. Bell currently utilizes state of the art equipment to achieve our various client goals. We run Trimble R10 GPS units and S-series Total Stations, Digital Levels, Various Trimble and Leica 3D scanners, Noggin GPR equipment, and a fleet of DJI Matrice RTK capable drones.

Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations? A. Bell is always expanding into new arenas. Most notably we have increased our presence in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley with a recent term contract with the Matanuska Electrical Association.

Q. Is the company changing any of its services or products?

A. Bell is not currently changing any of our services or products, but as evidenced by our array of services we are always on the lookout for ways to increase safety and efficiency for the client by utilizing the most up to date technology and methodology.

Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?

A. Our company’s main strength is our long history of working in all parts of Alaska, as well as our breadth of services offered. We have worked in every environment imaginable within the State of Alaska from the arctic shores of the north slope to the old growth forests of SE Alaska, and over the years have developed a very specific knowledge of what it takes to complete work efficiently in these environments. Beyond that, we harness a number of unique modalities and technology in order to provide the most cost-effective service to our clients. The breadth of services we offer is not typically found in a single firm, which allows us to provide clients with a simpler and more consolidated approach to many projects. In addition to that, Bell as an impeccable and unrivaled safety record, having not had a lost time accident in this millennium, and no recordables in the last 14 years.

Q. What new markets, clients or projects did your company attract in the last year?

A. As mentioned above we recently acquired a term contract with MEA in the Mat-Su valley and continue to increase our presence there. We are also under contract with Hilcorp for Survey services in Prudhoe Bay, as well as with Exxon in Point Thomson. We also have agreements in place for surveying overseas, as we have done for many years in places like Russia and South Korea.

Q. What is the most challenging work/contract the company has undertaken?

A. It is difficult to define the most challenging work we have undertaken as a company, but some notable examples include dimensional control for module fabrication overseas and the setting of said modules once they arrive in Alaska, the construction of large man camps on small gravel island in the arctic ocean, and numerous remote surveys throughout the bush of Alaska.

Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work your company undertakes?

A. The biggest obstacles we face in completing work vary from project to project. Sometimes it is permitting requirements, sometimes it is logistics, sometimes it is weather, it really depends on the scope of work and the location.

Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?

A. Bell’s biggest challenge in the next 5 years can be summed up in one word. COVID-19. The impact this virus has had on Alaska cannot be overstated and we, like many other companies in Alaska, have had to be quite resilient and resourceful in order to overcome the challenges that come along with it and to do so safely.

Q. Does your company have an anniversary or other landmark event coming up?

A. Bell’s 50th anniversary will be upcoming in 2024, and a celebration is certainly being planned.

Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?

A. One of the great benefits of being employee owned is the impact it has on employee retention. Currently around 80% of our staff have been with the company for more than 5 years, and about 30% have been here 10 years or longer, with a couple employees over 25 years.

Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment? A. Our company’s safety record is a very large source of pride for our employees. As mentioned above, it has been over 20 years since our last lost time accident, and 14 years since our last recordable. Our safety training program is extremely extensive, and our safety philosophy is both a personal and a collective approach that is taken to heart as the single most important aspect of every day to our employees.

Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?

A. Bell has been involved in many community projects over the years from sponsoring local youth hockey teams to being involved in community clean-up projects. We also sponsor an ongoing scholarship at UAA for engineering and surveying students each year.

Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?

A. You can find more information about Bell & Associates at

www.bellalaska.com