laborer

foreman

machine operator

trackman

heavy equipment mechanic

Universal Rail Systems

A typical day at work currently is arriving at work and opening my computer to answer emails.  Work isn't very busy at the moment so I review accounts and make sure entries are entered in properly and in the correct accounts.  I review the General Ledger entries and post entries once I am sure they are correct.

At the very beginning of the month I begin the Month end process and establish a schedule for the administrative staff to complete their month end entries and submit accrual entries. 

I work through the month end process, reconciling all balance sheet accounts, bank accounts, intercompany accounts and multicurrency accounts. I enter all accrual entries as required.  I work with the Salesperson and Administration to ensure that the Project Job Costing reports reflect the true margins and that projects are on budget. 

I compile and submit the financial reports for Great Plains Inc. to the heads of finance at the Head Office in Edmonton for inclusion in the consolidated financial statements. 

The people that I immediately work with are wonderful.  The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.  

The most challenging part of my job currently is remaining busy.  It isn't busy at the moment and I prefer to always have something that I have to do next while I'm working on the current task at hand. 

The most enjoyable part of my job is completing my reconciliations and balancing accounts.  I enjoy examining accounts that don't balance to discover the error, determining the cause, correcting the error and developing a solution to prevent the error from reoccurring. I enjoy problem solving and analyzing accounts.

This is a real love it or hate it kinda place. This place will consume you and become your life in no time. No room to have a life outside. You live pretty much as an “on call employee”. Schedule is given daily, roughly 24 hours notice. There is absolutely no gratification in this job. No room for “thinkers”. While there is work and overtime, you can easily make 110k plus a year. It is a regular thing for people to work 14 “days” straight. There are definitely lots of perks and pros to the job if you list them. But depending on how you “weigh” or value the pros and cons, this job is either your dream job or your worst nightmare. On top of everything else, 90% of the work load is on nights. Unless you have a doctors note, nights is where you will end up. If you do have a note, it is hard to get hours at all, let alone consistency throughout the week. Proceed with caution!

TERRIBLE management and scheduling. They lie constantly to employees and they'll lie to your face right from the hiring process. They make promises they cant keep to keep you doing what they desire. Employees are expected to be at the companies beck and call 24/7. Youll be just a number for they do not care about their on the ground workers as long as they get the coverage they desire, unless you are well liked for favoritism is very present. Youll be expected to work weekends and nights so don't expect to have a social life. I didn't come across 1 employee who was happy for everyone complained so its a very toxic environment. Good pay and company vehicle is all this place is good for so if that's all you value then this place is for you. They'll also get rid of you for no reason so be sure not to do anything against their beliefs. You have to be a robot to work there. I would give 0 stars if I could for I wouldn't recommend this company to my enemy

Do not apply here, you get hired and thrown right into work with no training at all.  The supervisor Tony is a nightmare, no breaks, hardly a lunch and dont dare need a washroom break, he won't allow it.  He will scream at you for no reason, ask you to do ridiculous tasks and then ridicule you for not being fast enough or  for stopping to breath after shovelling for hours. Need a drink of water, it won't likely happen no matter how hot it is.  I am a hard worker and have worked a lot of manual labour jobs, but in my short tenure here, we went through no less them 30 guys, most last less then a week and few last longer then 2 months.  Postings will show they are looking at least twice a month.   Might be an alright place but this guy abuses every ounce of power he has and literally will pull the tool right out of your hand if you do anything wrong, all the while screaming at you.

I've worked with Universal Rail Systems, the head office for all of the sub companies such as A&B Rail. I worked with the company's major departments such as Human Resources, Accounts Payable's, Payroll, etc. The staff were very friendly, & extremely helpful. There is a lot to learn & great learning opportunities within the company. The staff are more than willing to help you & teach you. I ended up learning so much with all the different tasks/duties I ended up doing. They have random lunches where you get to interact with each other & learn more about what each person does within this company. I highly enjoyed my time here.

The only con is that the company is a bit disorganised but but that's mostly due to the A&B company itself & not as much as Universal Rail.

In the typical day of work, we would do an assessment of all the workplace hazards, and ensure that we had all the proper safety equipment and requirements to continue the day safely.
I learned to swing a pike maul properly, and that teamwork makes any job easier than trying to conquer something solo.
Management was well put together, and realistic, and the co-workers could be a little salty, but there was mainly no hitches.
The hardest part of the job could be that it was manual labor, and sometimes the temperature wasn't ideal, so if you weren't used to it it could be tough, but the management was very understanding and would make concessions.
The most enjoyable part of the job was sometimes it would take you to different parts of the province for work!

fired their health and safety rep because he thought the workers should have fall arrest harnesses that werent 15 yrs old, ripped and full of burn holes, i guess he just didnt want to spend the money. one guys wife was diagnosed with cancer, they fired him 3 days later because theyu didnt want to pay out the benefits.ministry of labor went there and ended up writing a 17 page report full of their violations.Absolutely the worst job i ever had. The supervisor goes home at lunch and drinks. he comes back to work drunk and runs the place. they dont even comply with the bare minimum of ministry regulations. I believe they should have been shut down a long time ago. someone is going to get hurt working there completely due to their negligence.

I was given plenty of opportunities to learn more about the field of OHS through first hand experience and it gave me a great chance to apply the knowledge I'd learnt in school to the workplace. I was given tasks that I was responsible for during my time there, as well as any other tasks my superior's asked of me on a day-to-day basis. I was fairly independent, but asked for guidance when I was uncertain. This method helped to build my confidence, as I was always trusted to complete these tasks with no supervision. I loved my co-workers - they were all very helpful, friendly and supportive. I wish that the company had a career opportunity for me here in Prince George, but unfortunately they do not.

If you are applying to work here, please note a few things! 1) it cost 700-800 dollars to join union within 30 days of being hired. 2) there is no option to be placed out of the union pension if you don't want to be in it. Other employees had the option, so they are making more money hourly then other who were not allowed to opt out of the pension. 3) Due to paying so much a year in union dues (5000+ a year) you will be audited yearly!  4) they can and will switch your shift from nights to days or vice versa without warning or time to adjust! If none of the above will affect you and your lifestyle, then this is an alright place to work until something better comes along! 

Supervisors sneak up and watch workers from a distance
The job is great but unfortunately the company is so mismanaged they needs a revamp.
Training is 3 months overkill 
Pleasing their customers quotas is their top priority
If they don’t like you they will micromanage you and then fire you for the pettiest of reasons
Very unorganised management
Different pay rates for similar employees
High staff turnover
Scheduling is week by week basis always subject to change
Rules and policies are only followed at convienence depending on who the person is


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Laborer 8 salaries reported	$27.04 per hour
Foreman 1 salary reported	$36.65 per hour
Machine operator 11 salaries reported	$34.91 per hour
Trackman 3 salaries reported	$25.87 per hour
Heavy equipment mechanic 5 salaries reported	$42.50 per hour

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