It’s a tough jump from small local company to being able to compete with the big boys but one Grande Prairie company has been able to do that, and do it in a relatively short period of time.

Co-owners Dean Kato and Brad Clarke started Tradesmen Enterprises in 2006 with 10 employees and that number has grown in just a few years to 320.

As well In 2008 Tradesmen expanded their services to include a pipeline division and brought on Donnie O’Brien as manager and co-owner of the division.

“Just in the last two years we’ve grown over 300 per cent,” said Business Development officer Keith Smith.

The company specializes in gas plant and facilities and pipeline construction and has recently been awarded a contract to build part of the Alta-Gas project in Gordendale, AB. The project’s overall budget is $230 million and even without building the entire facility,it’s a huge success for the locals at Tradesmen and offers a good indication of what they are capable of.

“It’s one really nice way to attract that common workforce because we are going to need some more people,” said Clarke. “ It’s not a camp job and it’s not out of town and we’ve got a lot of local people that work for us anyway so they love that, and then people from out of town and they don’t mind coming to Grande Prairie and staying in hotels; Grande Prairie has a lot to offer.”

Their growth has been nothing short of spectacular and they attribute that to a hands-on, grassroots approach to running the company.

“Both myself and Brad have grown up in the Peace Country,” said Kato, “and that definitely does help. The oil patch is a small world when you start talking about the service industry and the aspect of work that we do, it’s very small. You’re name carries a long way in the oil patch and we’ve been fortunate enough that all of our people and the jobs that we do are always on budget and always on time and that holds a lot of weight in the clients’ eyes.”

There is nothing that they ask employees to do that they haven’t done. Both men started out as labourers in the oil patch: Kato as a welder and Clarke as a pipefitter. They worked their way up the ranks, got the training they needed, and when they started their own company, they were able to grow their leadership skills along with it. They attribute much of their leadership to valuing integrity, honesty and dedication.

And they’re still learning. Last year they both learned to fly the two helicopters the company now owns.

It’s a way to visit more sites in a shorter time and access remote locations, they explained. It helps put their feet on the ground with their clients and workers and they said that’s just where they want to be.

“We’ve got a very open and handson approach to running the company and, in my opinion, that goes a long way nowadays for the guys to be able to see that – to be able to see the president of the company out on a jobsite or walking around the yard and be able to go up and talk to them – that’s a huge thing for the guys nowadays,” said Kato.

“I would have to agree that a lot of the workers started off, and have worked with us for a long time so they’re used to seeing us even years back when we the guys actually on the jobsite looking after the individual projects for other companies,” said Clarke. They understand that although we’re owners…we can understand things from their point of view because we both started off as labourers.”

They would love to continue a steady and sustainable growth for Tradesmen Enterprises until they can employ 400-500 workers and generate $80-$100 million in annual revenue, so it is perhaps a benefit that the industry as a whole is busy and they are experiencing some of the same issues prevalent throughout the region.

“We were busy even a year ago. What the current boom has done is prevent further growth because you can’t hire welders or pipefitters or a labour force to even grow more,” said Smith.

“Materials are coming into affect now because other companies that supply  us for structural steel and piping – they can’t produce it as quick.”

The company has a very low staff turnover rate and coupled with the fact that their key employees have been with the company for years, makes the labour shortage less pressing than it might be.

And the company has grown large enough that while projects may have become more complex, getting the work is easier.

“We’ve got the infrastructure in place to manage the larger projects which is the hard part coming from a small company,” said Clarke. And larger projects help create more stability for their workforce, providing a buffer for both the company and its employees alike.

Coal is alive and well in Canada once again and communities are digging in to take advantage.

There has been a flurry of activity in the coal industry in recent months. New projects, a significant infusion of capital and strong commodity prices have given a boost to an industry that had pretty much shut down said president Canadian Mining Association Pierre Gratton.

While there have been some modest declines in the last few months, prices, driven by China, have moved the industry into a much stronger position.

“We’ve estimated almost $140 billion in new project development,” said Gratton. “BC and Alberta combined are driving a lot of the investment in the country.”

Alberta is responsible for almost half the new investments and BC is a close second to Alberta. While BC has the largest number of projects, when you include oil sands mining, Alberta has the largest dollar value.

“Now your challenge is housing,” said Gratton. “It’s a good challenge to have in a sense but having a place for people to live who are going to go up there and work is important.”

Perhaps nowhere is that more of an issue than in Hudson’s Hope, BC.

The small community is left contending with the possible need for housing, infrastructure and services for an additional 4,773 people after the recent announcement by BC Premier that Canadian Kailuan Dehua Mines Co. (CKD) had committed to $860 million investment in the Gething Project located 25 kilometres south of Hudson’s Hope.

For a community with a current population standing just over 1,000, that is a tall order.

Construction on the Gething project is scheduled to begin in about two years after the environmental assessment permits and First Nations and community consultation are complete. The coal mine should have a mine life of over 40 years and the company projects a production rate of two million tonnes of washed coal per year. According to CKD, the construction of Gething Project will create 773 longterm direct jobs, along with another 4,000 indirect jobs.

To complicate the issue, the promise of investment doesn’t guarantee the project will move through the environmental assessment and community and aboriginal consultation phases and that makes planning for the growth particularly difficult said Hudson’s Hope Mayor Karen Anderson.

While any coal mines would be a big boost to the district of Hudson’s Hope, said Anderson, the lack of communication between the province and local government, as well as between West Moberly First Nation and CKD have generated more rancor than celebration.

The project has been in the works for three years and early on in the process, West Moberly expressed their opposition to CKD plans.

Shortly after the Premier’s announcement of the investment agreement, it was reported that West Moberly chief Roland Willson said they would be willing to come to the table and discuss options with the company.

There are also issues with labour. Underground mining requires specialized skills not readily available in Canada and according to Anderson, the company is facing some opposition to the idea of bringing in people from Canadian Labour groups.

In a climate where other industries are fighting a labour deficit, that becomes even more important.

“I’m disappointed that the (provincial) focus seems to be on creating more jobs when, two things, we don’t have the labour to supply to the jobs, and we don’t have the immigration parameters to bring people in and keep them here,” said Energy Services BC executive director Art Jarvis.

Gratton noted that even without the draw on potential workers from the oil and gas sector, finding enough workers to meet the needs of the mining industry itself is a challenge worldwide.

“The mining industry in the 1990s went through a decade of difficult times, very different from today, so we weren’t attracting young kids into schools. They were going into other types of engineering, not mining engineering. We weren’t attracting geologists,” said Gratton.

“If you look at your average mining company today you’ve got workers 45 and up and workers 30 and down and a big gap in between and now we’re paying the price for that.”

One of the solutions, he added, has been to promote the field through engagement with First Nations.

“There’s a pretty high participation rate with aboriginal Canadians in the Northeast and that’s something that’s got to continue.” As an added bonus, the inclusion of First Nations people both in terms of suppliers to the industry and workers for the mines, improves companies’ social license to operate.

He also advocates an increased participation by women. While women have made substantial inroads in other sectors, mining is still a male dominated field.

“We’ve got a long ways to go still,” said Gratton. He attributes the problem to “old fashioned attitudes” about the industry and for a history where women were intentionally excluded.

“Did you know that in the mining industry 40 years ago it was considered bad luck for women to go underground,” asked Gratton. It is just one of the indicators for why women’s participation in the industry is so low.

It is slowly changing. Currently, Gratton said the industry participation from women was in the neighbourhood of 15 per cent. That is indeed an improvement from the 3 per cent that it was 15 years ago.

The other challenge Gratton sees is that the regulatory climate for mining is complex. Harmonizing federal and provincial regulations in an efficient way so that cycles are not missed when they come can be difficult. It simply takes too long.

“The (BC) Premier has addressed that problem by bringing some long needed money into the departments so that they can hire the people they need so hopefully that will help address the backlog,” said Gratton.

Government is busy promoting the industry in foreign markets. Companies are making their way through the regulatory and consultation processes. And communities are trying to plan for the upswing in mining activity. Cooperation and communication is a huge key for success in blending everyone’s needs said Anderson and others like her.

It’s a mixed bag. While the reemergence of coal as a viable industry is for the most part welcomed, the challenges are and will need to be addressed

Can a facilitator help CN Rail meet transportation challenges?

News that the federal government has named a facilitator to get business talking with CN Rail about implementing improvements to rail service in Canada is being greeted with cautious optimism by business and political leaders in the West.

 

“We are following through on our government’s commitment to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of Canada’s rail freight supply chain by appointing Jim Dinning to lead the facilitation process,” said Lebel.

“We are delighted to have a facilitator of such high calibre who has significant experience and expertise in building collaborative relationships among industry leaders, public-sector executives and elected officials.”

For years, CN Rail has been accused of not being responsive to the needs of shippers who use the railway and letting its infrastructure deteriorate to the point of uselessness in some areas. A recent Transportation Roundtable of mayors and regional district chairs in Northern BC said CN Rail needs to respond to the demand for better shipping as exporters look to ship toward Asian markets via the Port of Prince Rupert.

Current commodity movement strains the system at times, said delegates, and there are bottlenecks at loading/receiving areas. Coupled with the challenges of winter weather, staffing requirements and rapid growth all affect the ability for CN to have a seamless service that can expand to move growing quantities of commodities such as coal, lumber, potash and grains. They said rail service also must find ways to better integrate with highways, ports, air freight and sea traffic.

Some urgency around the need for CN Rail service improvements was highlighted by recent agreements involving coal shipments to the port. For example, Teck Resources and Prince Rupert’s Ridley Terminals have announced an agreement on terms for the shipment of steelmaking coal from Teck’s mines in BC and Alberta for a 10-year term starting Jan. 1, 2015, with Teck having an option to extend the term another two years.

The new agreement contemplates Teck shipping 2.5 million tonnes of coal per year throughout the contract period, and is a successor to an existing agreement expiring in 2014 which allows Teck to ship up to 1.2 million tonnes in 2011 and 2012, and up to 4.2 million tonnes in 2013 and 2014 pending the re-start of Teck’s Quintette operation in Northeastern BC. An additional existing agreement allows 500,000 tonnes per year to be shipped through Feb. 28, 2021.

Against that backdrop, Roundtable delegates identified concerns about access to the rail cars needed to ship goods in a timely manner along with deteriorating track lines and unsafe crossings.

“The message was clear: CN needs to spend more time listening to its customers and responding effectively to their concerns if it wants the have an effective rail service in Canada,” said roundtable co-chair Bruce Lantz, mayor of the City of Fort St. John, BC. “This is an opportunity for CN to gain more market share but it has to be willing to take the necessary steps to do so. Hopefully Mr. Dinning will be able to get that process started, so we are all eagerly anticipating the outcome of his work.”

But CN western region senior vicepresident Mike Cory said the company has made many improvements in the past 18 months and looks forward to working with Dinning

“We’ve undertaken lots of service agreements and we look forward to more supply chain agreements,” said Cory, who admitted the railway hasn’t met with Dinning yet and doesn’t know details of the process that will be followed. He stressed CN already has seen an improvement in “communication and transparency” through its own recent efforts.

“I’m sure his work will complement what we’ve done already,” he added. “It will be a further step in the process we’ve initiated ourselves.”

Dinning, who will work with a $300,000 budget which includes his $75,000 fee plus money to hire a transportation expert, will make recommendations based on results from a rail freight service review presented to the federal government in December 2010.

“I am very pleased to lead the facilitation process and further build the commercial relationships in the rail freight system,” said Mr. Dinning. “I look forward to working with stakeholders over the next few weeks to take the next steps in this important exercise.”

“I am very happy to see the federal government moving forward on the concerns mentioned in the review,” said Carolyn Kolebaba, chair of the Northwest Corridor Development Corporation, which lobbies for improved transportation links in northwestern Canada.

“We are expecting industry and CN will work together for the benefit of both parties. This will be a better solution than the government using a heavy hand on both parties. Times are changing and the way business is done also, and we have seen a willingness on CN’s part and industries to work for the benefit of all.”

Dinning’s mandate is to lead goal-oriented negotiations among executive-level stakeholders to establish a commercial dispute resolution process and a template service agreement with CN Rail. Railways and those who ship goods on them, as well as ports and other terminals, will be invited to participate in the process, which is expected to take 6-8 months to complete. Dinning will determine who should participate and the format of the meetings.

Dinning worked for the Alberta government in the Cabinet Office from 1977 to 1979. He served as Cabinet researcher and subsequently as Cabinet committee secretary. From 1979 to 1982 he was the executive assistant to the provincial treasurer. In 1983, Dinning became the manager of Provincial Government Affairs for Dome Petroleum. He then returned to the Alberta government as the director for Southern Alberta, Office of the Premier, before being appointed deputy minister of Alberta, Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs in mid-1984 and served in that position until 1986 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as the member for Calgary-Shaw in 1986 and was re-elected twice, in 1989 and 1992.

In 1986, Dinning was named Minister of Community and Occupational Health, and in 1988 he became Minister of Education. He served as Provincial Treasurer from 1992-97 and was named executive vice-president of TransAlta Corp. in 1997, a position he held until 2004.

Today, Dinning is the chair of the board of directors of Western Financial Group, of Liquor Stores NA Ltd. and of Export Development Canada. He is also chair and director of a number of other public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations.

Dinning received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Calgary in 2002. In June 2010, he was elected the 12th chancellor of the University of Calgary and also serves as the chair of the board of directors of Canada West Foundation.

Dinning has been asked to make recommendations based on results from a rail freight service review presented to the federal government in December 2010. The government promised last March to take action on the review and has been criticized by some shippers for apparent delays in the process. The expected outcome of Dinning’s work will be “a template for service agreements and a streamlined commercial dispute resolution process”, according to a federal press release.

The federal government plans to table legislation that will give shippers the right to service agreements with railways, even when commercial negotiations fail. “I am committed to tabling a bill once the facilitation process is complete,” said Lebel. “Discussions among participants during the facilitation process will help our government develop the specific legislative provision on service agreements.”

An analysis of grain supply chain systems was also promised in the Oct. 31 announcement, “to focus on issues that affect that sector and identify potential solutions.”

In addition, the federal government is taking further steps to improve the rail freight supply chain. Together with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Transport Canada will also lead an in-depth analysis of the grain supply chain systems to focus on issues that affect that sector and identify potential solutions. This initiative will get underway soon.

Also, building on the success of the Gateway initiatives, Transport Canada will establish a Commodity Supply Chain Table as a forum for exporters to address issues that affect the supply chain and to provide advice on the development of supply chain performance metrics. The government expects to launch this initiative once the facilitation process is complete or is nearly complete.

The Rail Freight Service Review was launched in 2008 to address ongoing issues with rail freight service and fulfill a government commitment as part of the process that amended the Canada Transportation Act. The amendments focused on shipper protection provisions related to rates and charges.

The review was conducted in two phases: analytical work to better understand the nature and extent of problems within the logistics chain (including shippers, terminal operators, ports and vessel operators); and consultations with stakeholders on issues and recommended solutions. The second phase was led by an independent panel consisting of chair Walter Paszkowski, who has an extensive public policy background, David Edison who has extensive railway experience, and William LeGrow, who has extensive experience as a rail shipper.

The panel consulted with 85 different stakeholders and received 141 written submissions from across the rail-based logistics chain. On Oct. 8, 2010, the review panel released its interim report to the public. Then, after considering feedback from stakeholders, the panel submitted its final report to the Minister of State (Transport) on Dec. 22, 2010.

Last March, the federal government announced a series of measures to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of the entire rail freight supply chain.

The government accepted the panel’s commercial approach and its four key elements:

Railways should provide 10 days’ advance notice of service changes. Railways and stakeholders should negotiate service agreements. A fair, timely and cost-effective commercial dispute resolution mechanism should be developed. Supply chain performance should be monitored through enhanced bilateral performance reporting between shippers and railways, and through public performance reporting.

“This (CN Rail) monopoly doesn’t work. It’s a wreck,” said BC’s Arthur Hadland, a director of the Peace River Regional District, a farmer and a member of the North Pine Farmers Institute, which operates a local grain elevator.

“A shift has to come, likely in 20-30 years, to trains,” he said, noting that shippers are relying heavily on environmentally unfriendly truck transport because CN’s service isn’t adequate. Hadland cited the oil and gas sector sending B-train truckloads of sand used in the hydraulic fracking process, and grain farmers shipping by truck as well, as prime examples of why an integrated rail service is so sorely needed.

“As it stands, we can’t get the shipping we need by rail but we have to keep so many trucks off the roads.”

Hadland said he’s hopeful Dinning will address the issues so vital to those who would ship via CN Rail if it was more customer friendly.

“I feel reasonably positive,” he said, “because he is aware of the issues.”

 

From far and wide several times a year, oil and gas producers and those who service and supply them gather at energy conferences and trade fairs across Northeastern BC and Northern Alberta. The presumption is that these events are essential to conducting business in this vital industry, providing the updates, government policy positions, and the contacts to ensure that industry thrives. But are they?

As the industry struggles to cope with its expanding frontiers, new mostly unconventional plays, and the ever-present environmental controversies unfolding against the backdrop of a shrinking workforce as the baby boomers move into retirement, many are asking whether so many events are needed. While most agree some type of gathering and exchange of information is desirable, many are questioning which is the more valuable use of their time: the highly political conferences, or the perhaps more practical trade fairs, such as the Energy Expo held Sept. 21-22 in Fort St. John, BC. The Energy Expo began two years ago as a joint effort by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and Energy Services BC (ESBC) after the City of Fort St. John decided to dispense with a trade fair attached to the annual BC Energy Conference.

Adam Skulsky, operations analyst, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

 

“We don’t like to sit for days in conferences,” said Dave Turchanski, president of ESBC, which is largely made of up the firms that service the oil and gas industry in BC.
“We like the trade shows because they’re hands on and we can talk to the people we need to communicate with, instead of sitting for hours in conferences listening to speeches.
“These have real value as long as the producers send the right people: their procurement people and their decision-makers.”

Sales rep Grant Pegden-Wright of DynaFlo demonstrates some emergency shutdown equipment they offer to Pimm’s Production GM Ted Pimm.

That sentiment was echoed by many of the 60-plus exhibitors who turned out for the two-day event held at the Pomeroy Hotel conference centre.
“I come to these more because I can see more of our customers, those who are more involved in the day-to-day operations of the industry,” said Pimm’s Production general manager Ted Pimm, who added that key to the success of a trade show is the appearance of “the right people”, the decision makers.

ESBC president Dave Turchanski, left, with Talisman Energy reps John McGougan, Andrea McLandress and Edna Howard.
“At conferences you just see the land people and politicians and government officials. At a trade show we can talk about the details of what we do. Conferences are more of a lecture format. We get a lot more from the trade show format.”
He also noted that at trade shows it’s possible to get more of the company’s team involved, reducing the time commitment by their executives to two to three hours. “At a conference, though, you pay your registration and you’re locked in and that’s valuable time away from your company and the field.”
Energy conferences have been around almost as long as the industry itself. In many cases they have offered trade fairs like the Energy Expo as an adjunct to the conference, affording suppliers and the service sector an opportunity to showcase their wares and services. Conference-goers would use breaks to tour the trade shows, talking to exhibitors and, more than occasionally, setting up agreements for supplies and/or services. For many on both sides of the equation, that made attendance at the event worthwhile in its own right, regardless of the value of the conference presentations.
Both are important because they reach different audiences, said Adam Skulsky, CAPP operations analyst, but he sees real value in events like the Energy Expo.
“Each has its positives but this (Expo) is an opportunity for local businesses to meet and greet and touch base. We need to have the right people here and that’s our goal at CAPP, to get the right people here, the ones you need to talk to. It’s about creating relationships and getting your name out there.”
CAPP organized the first Energy Expo in Fort St. John, and this year co-organized the trade fair with ESBC. In the future, he said, CAPP hopes ESBC will take it over with CAPP providing support and ensuring that production companies participate.
“We (producers) need to be here to make it successful,” he said.
Expos like this one are vital to those wishing to get on the bid lists of production companies. “It’s the whole point of the Expo,” Skulsky said. They can learn what qualifications are needed to get on the bid lists and make the connections to do so.
“And these contacts filter down from the service sector to local contractors. It opens the door to a lot of possibilities. Making face-to-face contacts and getting business cards means it’s easier to get answers from those you’ve met here. You can just pick up the phone.”
There’s value in both energy conferences and trade fairs, suggested John McGougan, superintendent of Fort St. John operations for Talisman Energy. But in his view the two types of events should be combined as the industry players who need to be at both are “spread thin” in this busy economy. He even suggested that the current program of rotating the BC energy conferences annually between Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson should be revisited.
“I like the rotation but we seem to be siloing ourselves between the Horn and Montney plays,” he said. “We need to take a broader view, one for the whole region. There’s power in numbers so we should get together as a whole region.”
Ensuring that trade fairs accompany the conferences would make sense, he added, because it also would ensure that the Premier and Energy Minister get to interact with service companies. “The key guys try to get to these events but maybe we should have one or two not four or five that they have to try to attend.”
He also suggested that more promotion of the Expo is needed, as many didn’t learn of it in time to book hotels and flights into their busy schedules. Also, he suggested holding conferences and fairs in Spring, perhaps April or May, when the industry is in a lull due to the annual breakup season. It’s hard for industry leaders to set aside time for them in the fall when their business is ramping up.
“But one way or the other these are great and we want to continue to be present at them,” McGougan said.
Turchanski agreed that better marketing of the Energy Expo will be a key component of its future success, as will support from the provincial government.  He said ESBC is now better known in Calgary, the heart of the Canadian oil and gas industry, and that bodes well for the future. But he said it’s unfortunate that the industry isn’t getting the support it needs from the BC government – support that was readily available in the days when Richard Neufeld and his successor, Dawson Creek’s Blair Lekstrom, were BC energy ministers.
Turchanski said that in the future it will be vitally important that the service sector invites the people they deal with, and that ESBC members help the organizers with their input as the event is planned. While it’s a “bit of a balancing act”, trade shows like this are better than energy conferences for most in the industry, he added.
“This is only the second one and it’s bigger than the first,” Turchanski said. “It’s only going to get better.”

Having run a safety training school for many years, it never ceases to amaze me how many of the top academic students struggle to apply their training in real life. The problem is, unless you spend time in one of the mainstream emergency professions such as a paramedic or firefighter, there is no way to experience real life emergencies on demand.

It’s not like work experience in a carpenter shop or a restaurant; you can’t just strap on a tool belt or an apron and get to work. You can get your equipment ready and review your books, but real time application is something we are all working to avoid!
There is a real gap between head knowledge and practical experience when it comes to the safety industry. Very often, the CSO or medic on your jobsite has never had to deal with a major injury or a life-threatening situation and their response to either is a complete unknown. So the question is, can there be something done to bridge this gap?
As a young boy I remember going to the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver each summer, and what has stood out the most in my memory were the mock disasters that were put on as a regular show. I would sit in the bleachers with bated breath as the curtains hiding the outdoor stage rolled back, anticipating the loud explosion that always started the event.
A startling real emergency scene would appear, with the cries of injured people piercing the brief silence after the blast, and acrid smoke wafting into the stands. Real emergency personnel from the military, search and rescue and ambulance would rush onto the scene, and the audience would be drawn into the fast paced and intense drama. It was like I was experiencing the event first hand and it made a powerful impact on me. To this day I still remember every one I attended and I am sure this is in part why I have always been drawn to the emergency service industry.
If witnessing these mock scenarios as a child could make such a lasting impression on me, being involved in them as an adult during my time as a paramedic was even more impacting. I have dealt with the real thing many times as well, and although a set up scenario it is not quite the same, it does engage your physical senses and your emotions. You learn what it feels like to be confronted by chaos, noise, perceived danger and panicked patients.
Practicing proves invaluable when called on to deal with challenging calls. It tests your responses, and gives you opportunity to correct and improve without risking lives in the process.
It’s been proven that if you can tie an event to an emotion, you will never forget that experience. This is hard to replicate in the classroom and is why most courses try to include real life stories, and even graphic videos.
Staging emergencies in the workplace needs to be of high importance for the future of the safety industry.
I know of several oil companies who have recently put on mock accident scenarios in the field, at quite an expense. They involved everyone from the front line worker to the medic, safety coordinator, job supervisor and even head office. Everyone had the opportunity to act out their part exactly as they would if a real incident happened. Any weaknesses in the safety program or in the people themselves were very obvious and all these could be corrected without any lawsuits or loss of life.
As the importance of safety increases and the amount of actual emergencies decrease, the practical experience gained through these incidents will also decrease. This is somewhat of a conundrum as our goal is to be safer, but in the process we lose the ability to respond appropriately in unsafe situations.
Enacting mock scenarios goes a long way to bridging the gap between head knowledge and practical experience.
If a serious incident occurred on your worksite tomorrow, would your workers and safety personnel be able to respond as they have been trained? Are the safety protocols you have in place enough? Until they have been tested you can’t know the answer to these questions. While carrying out these drills take time and have a cost, in the end, they can save lives and keep you from ending up on the wrong end of a lawsuit.
David Phibbs is the president of Alpha Safety Ltd. and Alpha Training Solutions.
For more information on this article or their services, contact 1-888-413-3477, 250-787-9315 or www.alphasafety.net.

What is it and how do you deal with it?

It seems like an odd and perhaps redundant question to ask ‘what is stress?’, especially in lieu of the fact that most of us have an intimate relationship with it. From our first waking moments we begin to process, plan and play out our work day in intricate detail often focusing specifically on the obstacles that we imagine we will need to overcome and already beginning to feel the effects of stress.
At our jobs we may experience it continually as we’re being bombarded by problems and seemingly insurmountable piles of work. And at the end of a long day many of us spend tormented hours tossing and turning in our beds rather than getting the sleep we desperately need.
It’s possible that a great deal of the stress we experience is self-induced, created by habit and as a consequence of over thinking, and often as a by-product of our personality characteristics. But how do we control it?  How do we focus on the present and savor every minute of our precious time rather than constantly obsessing over the future? And at the risk of being redundant what is stress and is it all bad?
Stress is what the body experiences as a result of changes or stressors in our environments. These changes can be as minute as fluctuations in temperature, or the amount of light in the room, or even a loud noise in our immediate vicinity. Or, they can be perceived changes occurring in some area in our lives. This is an important point because the overall effect of stress on our minds and bodies is often a direct function of how we perceive a particular experience.
Take for example the fight or flight effect. Most people are familiar with this expression in terms of how a person deals with an impending conflict in their lives. Fight or flight dictates that the body mentally and physically readies itself to either fight or flee for their lives. This preparation occurs on a number of levels including a heightened sense of awareness, increased heart rate, increased blood flow to the limbs and an accompanying huge burst of adrenaline to the bloodstream. Unfortunately, in our modern world our bodies are still responding to changes in the environment with that same urgency as if we are being attacked by a large, furry and ferocious creature.

The key here though is balance and where too little stress may allow you to become complacent in your life and fail to live up to your potential, too much will undoubtedly destroy you.

We may perceive that incidents in our lives such as conflicts at work, altercations in traffic or disagreements with our friends and families are life threatening and as a consequence we experience the same symptoms as someone preparing for battle.
These perceptions often occur at a subconscious level making our responses to stressors automatic over time and potentially difficult to change. And although most of the stressors in our lives are not actually life-threatening, over time our misperceptions and unnecessarily angry and stressed responses can create      health problems as well as issues in our places of work and in our homes.
But not all stress is bad and can be positive or negative depending on the nature of the experience, how you perceive it, as well as the duration of the stressor.
In fact there are two specific categories of stressors commonly referred to as eustress (good stress) and distress (bad stress).
Eustress is stress experienced as a result of positive things in one’s life such as an upcoming wedding, the purchase of a new home or anticipation of an upcoming trip.
Distress is just the opposite; stress as a consequence of financial issues, sickness, death in the family and on and on.
What makes differentiating the two varieties difficult is that each and every person experiences stressors differently from the next. What is stressful for you may actually be exhilarating for your next door neighbour.
A great example of this is working in an exhilarating and sometimes dangerous occupation and while you may find it to be exciting and challenging, your co-worker may be suffering from chronic and debilitating stress. Stress is a subjective experience and the effects of any given event will be different from person to person.
Numerous studies have illustrated that small amounts of stress can be quite beneficial especially to those in the work world. Stress in manageable doses can be motivational, inspirational and can push the individual to achieve more than they thought possible.
The key here though is balance and where too little stress may allow you to become complacent in your life and fail to live up to your potential, too much will undoubtedly destroy you.
Numerous studies done with lab animals have shown the same reactions to stress as humans and include ulcerations in the stomach, shrinkage of the lymph nodes as well as other more serious conditions, heart attacks stroke and kidney problems.
Many of these adverse effects are caused by chemicals that are normally viewed as necessary and essential in the human body. An example of this is the hormone known as Cortisol, secreted by the adrenal gland and extremely important to blood pressure regulation as well as the release of insulin into the bloodstream. It is also central to the well-being of the immunity system and inflammatory regulation in the body’s tissues.
During prolonged periods of stress Cortisol can become detrimental releasing more of the hormone than the body needs or can effectively process.
So what can we do to control the amount of stress that we experience? There are a number of ways to address this issue ranging from simple coping mechanisms to full-blown counseling interventions. The means and manner of dealing with your stress will depend upon the severity and duration of your symptoms as well as your particular personality traits.
Acute stress is the most common and most manageable form of stress. Most people experience this at one time or another in their lives and usually do not experience any long term adverse affects from it. Treatment might include taking some time off of work, getting more sleep at night and allowing oneself to let go and relax on the weekend.
Acute episodic stress is more serious, habitually deep-seated and more likely to have harmful effects on the individual’s body and mind over time. Treatment for this form might include more intensive techniques including deep relaxation, guided imagery and even perhaps meditation in combination with prescription medication.
Chronic stress is defined as a long term and established form of stress that is often experienced as a function of some traumatic event(s). Post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is one form of chronic stress and can cause many different problems for the sufferer including nightmares and other sleep problems, irritability, difficulty concentrating as well as difficulties communicating and maintaining positive relationships with others. Treatments for PTSD as well as other forms of chronic stress are more involved and can take years before effecting any measurable change in the sufferer.
In lieu of the fact that most of us need to work to survive and the strain of our modern world can sometimes be overwhelming, it’s up to us as individuals to make sure we do the things that we know are beneficial to us. Eating right, getting enough sleep at night and maintaining a positive attitude are simple easy ways to maintain a good balance in your life and avoid the debilitating effects of stress.

Coal is poised to make a comeback, fueled by offshore demand. But the industry’s growth faces challenges in Northeastern BC, where the workforce can’t keep up with the projected growth.

Experts addressing more than 100 delegates to the Northeastern BC Coal and Energy Forum Oct. 5-6 recognized that mining has come back to the region in a big way just a decade after it disappeared. And they predicted the industry will at least triple the number of mines in the area thanks to demand from the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and Japan.
The surge in coal production is fueled by rising demand from BRIC, who need metallurgical (Met) coal for steel production, Scott Clark of the Coal Association of Canada (CAC) said. Even Europe and the United States, again hit by a recession, are expected to increase their demand for the Met coal essential for steel production.

Craig Batten of Peace River Coal tell delegates to the Northeast BC Coal & Energy Forum that finding workers will be a major problem as the industry grows.

“Everyone’s very confident they’ll work it out and recover,” Clark said. While Australia is the world’s biggest player in the Met coal market, Canada and in particular Northeast BC, is gaining ground as corporations that downsized and closed some mines when coal prices bottomed out around 2000-01 are re-entering the market with a vengeance to capitalize on better prices and swelling demand (record prices were achieved in 2010 and exports grew by 22.3 per cent that year).
In China alone, steel production is forecast to reach nearly 800 million tonnes by 2013 and, because demand is already outpacing supply, a 50 million tonne shortfall is being predicted.  With a need for another 50 million tonnes per year, and with Northeastern BC boasting a local population with mining and industry experience, Asian steelmaking countries are looking for coal from Northeast BC. He predicted Northeast BC would see the most growth in coal production because there’s “lots of interest” from overseas in the area and from companies in which Asian (mostly Chinese) firms are taking ownership positions.
Further, the ability of CN Rail, which counts coal as making up 15 per cent of all its carloads, to ship to the Port of Prince Rupert’s growing capacity to handle coal exports, is a key asset. CN’s Jay Roberts said the railway is expecting a $3 billion-$5 billion investment in coal production growth in the next five years. The “heart” of that is Northeast BC, he said, and a key to that growth is the link via CN to Prince Rupert, which in turn opens up the Asian markets.

Dylan Houlihan of Urban Systems, left, and Ray Proulx of Teck Resources present the results of a study into how Tumbler Ridge can deal with a severe housing shortage as it tries to accommodate workers in the growing coal industry.

Ann Marie Hann, president of the Coal Association of Canada

Scott Clark of the Coal Association of Canada outlines the future growth expected in the coal industry to delegates at the Northeast BC Coal & Energy Forum in Tumbler Ridge Oct. 5-6.

“The capacity is there, “ Roberts said, noting that CN wants to integrate mines, rail and ports to create efficiencies. He said that while four million tonnes of coal were shipped that way in 2010, the number is expect to hit 16 million tonnes by 2015. Prince Rupert’s Ridley Island terminal is expanding the meet the anticipated demand and will be able to handle 24 million tonnes and eventually to 40 million. And the chief point of origin for coal delivery to Prince Rupert is Northeast BC.
“It puts you in quite a place globally,” said CAC’s Clark. “For the coal industry – and Tumbler Ridge – it’s just the beginning”.
But that beginning has its price. To meet demand and with the number of mines in Northeastern BC expanding, a serious shortage of workers is looming. For example, Peace River Coal will need 300 more workers “in the very near future”, said human resources manager Craig Batten while Teck Resources, whose mines produce 85 per cent of Canada’s steelmaking coal, will need over 400 more, said community liaison Ray Proulx.  Both firms are courting First Nations and women as human resources that can be tapped. Dan McNeil of Walter Energy (formerly Western Canadian Coal) said his firm is adding three more mines to the four they already have in Northeastern BC. “There’s no limit to the growth of the mines in this area,” he said. And as with many industries, the more experienced miners are retiring in droves and even if the interest in these high-paying jobs is there, the training must be available.
“Gone are the days when we can attract those with 20 years experience,’ said Batten. “Thousands are needed in the mining industry each year to 2016 at least and lots aren’t aware of these career opportunities. Very few grads consider mining as a career even though it has 120 different career opportunities. Mining is a valued career path. It’s just that even though the broad spectrum is there, the understanding is not.”
Northern Lights College is partnering with the industry to meet that challenge. Donna Merry, administrator for both the Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd campuses, said there’s a “dearth of skills” in the mining industry at present and college programs can help fill that gap. They’ve even gone so far as to offer a Mining Fundamentals program admittedly geared to First Nations students, and an industry-oriented English as a Second Language program for landed immigrants moving to the coalfields. NLC offers specifically tailored courses to meet industry needs – some even taking place on the work site.
Recruitment and retention will be “certainly a challenge”, said Ann Marie Hann, president of the Coal Association of Canada. Trades and specialized skills are in high demand, with the increasing pace of mine development creating considerable new activity in a short time frame placing pressure on the industry and its partners to keep up.
“Every company is trying to figure that out,” she explained and while it’s a competitive environment, companies are collaborating on HR (human resources) and community issues. There’s a skills shortage but there are also problems with accommodation and housing. If they find the workers where will they stay?
“There needs to be dialogue between (industry towns) and the companies. The two have to work together. Companies can’t just worry about their own interests. They need to work with the municipality to ensure broader issues are being addressed.”
She said workers don’t just want “a roof over their heads” but also services like recreation, health care, education and lifestyle. “It’s vital that industry work with municipalities to meet these challenges.”
The municipalities are ready to do just that, as much as they are able.
“We’re hitting a crunch,” said acting Tumbler Ridge Mayor Jerilyn Schembri. She said that with the coal industry set to triple or even quadruple its activity in the area over the next three years, job training, housing and health services will be vital components of meeting industry’s demand.
A study conducted by municipal consultants Urban Systems forecasts demand for housing in Tumbler Ridge to hit up to 1,500 units in two to three years while the supply is likely to reach only 230 units. The neighbouring mining town of Chetwynd faces similar issues. Some mining companies are buying or building homes and even a Best Western Hotel for their employees. But they don’t want to own homes and they are “wary” of camps, said Urban Systems’ planner Dylan Houlihan.
While housing developers are interested, the cost of building materials is high and a construction workforce isn’t readily available. In addition, the Crown owns most available land so the District of Tumbler Ridge may apply to the province to release the Crown land for development. Plus, the developers want guarantees from the mining companies to back their projects, and now are building small projects of 5-10 homes at a time, which doesn’t match the growing demand. Supply/demand issues contribute to escalating rental prices, which in turn can affect the willingness of skilled workers to relocate to the area.
Houlihan said, the limited options available to manage industry growth are providing incentives to developers, offering subsidies to employees, and having industry partner with housing developers.
Acting Mayor Schembri said, Tumbler Ridge was built with the infrastructure to hold 10,000 people but the high cost of building and a shortage of available land makes housing development difficult.
“We’re working to make things as easy and streamlined as we can for developers,” she said. “We’re working to ensure that growth will happen.”

Well, it’s that time of year again, when summer is well behind us and fall is quickly turning into winter. As an avid hunter there is nothing I like better than cool, crisp weather and a little fresh snow, but the changing season can cause havoc on the road.
You don’t want to procrastinate winterizing your vehicles in this part of the country – nasty weather can hit hard and fast. Anyone with experience in this neck of the woods knows the basics when it comes to rigging up for the winter, but there is always an influx of the inexperienced when gearing up for the busy oil patch season.
While changing over to winter tires is pretty much common sense anywhere in Canada, there are other less well known musts when travelling in the cold and isolation of the North.
Take the use of cruise control, for instance – ever try that on slippery roads and black ice? Trust me, it’s been done! Not a pretty outcome…
The statistics for surviving without food and water are pretty common knowledge – a month without food, give or take, and a week without water. It can make a person feel pretty confident of surviving until help arrives if you’re stranded somewhere… until you find out that hypothermia (which is the number one outdoor killer in Canada, by the way) can kill you in one hour or less if you are wet. A single wax candle in a vehicle can keep you warm for hours – do you have one in your vehicle kit?
How about frosted windows early in the morning in a cold diesel truck? We all know the scenario, and perhaps have been guilty of it a time or two ourselves; a truck slowly crawling down the highway, windows completely frosted over except for a tiny clear patch just above the hood on the driver’s side. And even this patch clouds over with every breath, as their noses are practically pressed to the glass trying to see!
Giving new employees a heads up about starting their vehicles early to give them time to warm up and defrost (even when they are plugged in) is important, and I always let them know I would rather they called in and arrived a little late than drive blind.
Another thing to keep in mind is that cold weather can drain batteries so it’s important to make sure they are fully charged. Carrying some extra gas line anti-freeze is smart as well, even when you are using light oil.
If travelling any distance, you also want to make sure you keep your fuel topped up. There have been many times I’ve had an unexpected delay on the road, or hit the next gas station only to find it closed.
Running out of fuel can be a death sentence on a lonely road, and people from populated centers can have a hard time grasping the significance of the complete isolation one can experience for great lengths of time while driving the roads in this part of the country.
I’ve had many employees over the years wandering aimlessly lost for hours at a time trying to find a remote location. It’s our responsibility as employers to make sure our drivers are knowledgeable about the conditions they will be facing and that their vehicles are equipped with everything needed to survive.
The best way to keep our employees safe on the road is to always know where they are. No matter how well you prepare, something is bound to go sideways eventually. When this happens, having a good journey management system in place can be a lifesaver. Not long ago there was a much-publicized story of a couple that became lost on a remote mountain road after turning off their scheduled route.
Many weeks later hunters found the wife near death still at the vehicle, but the husband, who had tried to hike out for help, still hasn’t been found to this day. A simple phone call before they started, and periodic scheduled calls throughout their journey, and this tragedy would have been nothing more than a much laughed over family memory.
I can’t think of one instance where either a cell phone or a satellite radio (providing they are working, which should be checked before departure) didn’t provide immediate contact with any of my employees on the road. Even with the no cell phone while driving policy (if you do not have hands free or Bluetooth), employees can eventually find a place to pull over and call back to check in.
We have a departure, arrival and a two hour call in policy that has strict disciplinary consequences if not followed, and tracking these is the number one responsibility of the dispatcher on duty.
You wouldn’t send your teenage son or daughter on a journey without accountability to check in and let you know where they are and you need to have the same attitude with your employees.
This winter is shaping up to be a busy season and it can be difficult to stay safety minded in the midst of all the stress and exhaustion. Plan now for a safe season later!
Prep your vehicles, train your people, and take your journey management system seriously.
No matter what the bottom line looks like in the spring, success involves bringing everyone safely home at the end of it all.

David Phibbs is the president of Alpha Safety Ltd. and Alpha Training Solutions.
For more information on this article or their services, contact 1-888-413-3477, 250-787-9315 or www.alphasafety.net.

• For the last decade, Alberta has led Canada in the number of new small businesses created.
• Small businesses make up 98 per cent of all businesses in the province.
• They provide about 50 per cent of all private sector jobs in Alberta and contribute an estimated 29 per cent to Alberta’s gross domestic product.
• Alberta is tied for the lowest corporate tax rate (10 per cent) among the provinces, and has one of the lowest small business tax rates at three per cent. There is no payroll tax or general provincial sales tax in Alberta.
• To ensure Alberta remains competitive, government and industry have created the Alberta Competitiveness Council, and have implemented key actions to help business grow and stay globally competitive.
• From 2000 to 2010, Alberta enjoyed an increase of19,324 or 15.5 per cent in the number of small business establishments (business establishments with less than50 employees).
• Since it launched in 2009, the Alberta Innovation Voucher program has awarded approximately $11.2 million in services to more than 350 start-up companies in 44 communities across the province. The program helps small technology and knowledge-driven businesses in Alberta get their ideas and products to market faster.
• There were approximately 395,900 small businesses operating in British Columbia in 2009, accounting for 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. About 82 per cent of these small businesses were micro-businesses with fewer than five employees.
• In 2009, British Columbia ranked second only to Saskatchewan in terms of small businesses per capita, with 88.9 small businesses per 1,000 people. Saskatchewan had slightly more small businesses per 1,000 people, at 89.5, while third-ranked Alberta was well behind at 79.4. The national average was 72.0.
• Small businesses in British Columbia employed 1,045,400 people in 2009. These jobs accounted for 57 per cent of private sector employment in the province, the highest rate in the country.
• The small business sector in British Columbia felt the effects of the global economic downturn as small business employment in the province fell 1.2 per cent between 2008 and 2009. However, small businesses fared better than larger businesses, which shed 4.6 per cent of their employees.
• Approximately 32 per cent of British Columbia’s gross domestic product was generated by small business in 2009, higher than the Canadian average of 28 per cent.

The Internet rules the world of small business – but many don’t realize how easily their world can be violated, experts say.

As more and more firms strive to keep pace with the constantly evolving technologies meant to facilitate the use of computers and the Internet, many business owners don’t realize that they’re leaving themselves and their business open to hacking and other nefarious ways to ‘steal’ their proprietary information, including financial records and personal data.
“Internet security is vitally important these days more than ever,” said Akos Zsufa, owner and general manager of IT North in Fort St. John, BC, which does considerable work in Internet security.

“It’s in the top five of things any business should be worried about. Think about it: Would you leave your business without locking the door? Without proper security you’re doing just that and your data, client lists, financials, accounts receivable, payables and more are there for the taking.”
Rufus Beaulieu, senior technician with Grande Prairie’s Micro Computers Plus, agrees.
“It’s very important,” he said. “Customer data is vital to a business and if that is compromised then it’s a real problem. There’s a lot of activity around security these days. There are lots of issues.”
Opinions vary about the effectiveness of security measures now in place in small businesses. Beaulieu said about 85 per cent of businesses have a medium level of protection while another 10 per cent are heavily protected. Total lack of protection is rare, he said, accounting for perhaps five per cent.
Zsufa, on the other hand, said about 40 per cent of businesses he sees are classed as ‘heavily secure’, and while he said that number has grown significantly in recent years, even those with strong security remain at risk to at least some degree. And, he added, perhaps surprisingly given the stronger emphasis on security in today’s plugged-in business world, at least 10 per cent of today’s businesses are totally unprotected. Thus, hackers will use your computer as a ‘zombie’ to attack other, larger, computer systems and websites.
“People think antivirus programs protect them, but nothing is secure once you are online,” Zsufa said. “It’s like the difference between ‘water resistant’ and ‘waterproof’. Antivirus programs resist viruses and worms but just like a locked door, the lock can be picked or the door can be kicked in.”
So with the massive amounts of viruses and worms out there every day, what can a business do to protect itself? Zsufa said it’s “very, very difficult” to stay abreast of the new technologies being launched, it seems, almost weekly. Computers and the Internet are on the forefront of ongoing development – seemingly at the speed of light. While strategies that successfully could hack into your computer network a year ago have no chance today thanks to new developments in security technology, hackers are also advancing and developing new viruses every day. Consider that giant Google, which spends billions on Internet security, was recently hacked by someone who garnered personal data from more than two billion credit cards on file.
“It’s almost impossible to say you’re 100 per cent secure,” said Zsufa, though he notes that ‘Intranets’, closed loop systems totally contained within the business where they operate are secure when compared to the Internet, which is not. The popular turbo sticks are very secure, he noted, while the rising popularity of wireless systems concerns the experts because they’re very insecure.
But it isn’t time to throw in the towel just yet. Savvy people, and certainly IT security specialists, follow developments in Internet security online.  Logically, business owners should obtain professional advice. Just as they use mechanics to work on their vehicles instead of doing it themselves, professional help ensures that the right tools are being used for the right job, and the business will be made more efficient in the process.
And it doesn’t have to be expensive. While larger firms may establish their own IT departments, Beaulieu said smaller firms can obtain reasonable protection through systems like Semantic Antivirus for as little as $500. That combats viruses, the number-one problem facing small business, he said. And anti-virus programs feature network-wide solutions that are easily updated from just one central computer. He said firewalls are also important, especially those considered “more robust” that can block specific websites and portals.
“Small business doesn’t need to worry too much about hackers,” said Beaulieu, “who tend to focus on larger entities. But you have to educate your employees about viruses and how they can enter a system. It’s hard to change their personal habits but if you educate them you stand a better chance.”
A way around this is to set up a secondary wireless network, for employees’ personal use, that isn’t connected to important corporate data. While the security of any wireless system depends on the strength of its encryption, a simple security method is to ensure that passwords are changed monthly.
Even the most secure firm can become at the mercy of hackers from a most unlikely source – its own staff, said Zsufa. “Social engineering” capitalizes on the weaknesses of staff to give others access to the business’s computers. For example, an employee may take a USB key (stick) home with work on it, at some point downloading onto the stick a movie from an unsecured home computer. When the employee takes the stick back to work the next day, a virus attached to the movie can enter the system as soon as the device is plugged into a computer there.
“It’s like having unprotected sex,” said Zsufa.
He also related how (and he has done this himself) someone can go to a business, obtain the business cards of their IT technician and, perhaps, their Chief Financial Officer, and then pretend to be the IT technician and call the CFO and ask for his or her computer user name and password. Thus they obtain instant access to the firm’s computer system. Surprisingly, this tactic is successful 95 per cent of the time.
“Then, firewalls and encryption, all the security that might be in place, means squat.”
In the end, it all comes down to people. “The biggest problem is getting people to be secure,” Zsufa said. Employees should be aware that nothing is for free and they should never respond to emails purporting to offer vast sums or wonderful prizes if you just click on a link. Zsufa encourages people not to take what they see on the Internet at face value. Through the Internet, businesses have built their business stream right beside the so-called free stuff. That’s a dangerous liaison.
“There are people out there trying to exploit unsuspecting people. You have to ask why something is being offered, just as you would if someone came to your door offering the same thing. Why after all would someone offer you a free Cadillac? Ask why, don’t assume, and you will be as secure as you can be.
“Think about what you’re doing. It’s up to people where they surf and what they do there. There’s training available but it’s the end user that affects the business world. It’s really up to the people.”
One area where the IT world is divided is in discussion about a new service being offered to business – Cloud Computing. This involves a company like Google or Microsoft hosting your data – for a price – on the Internet, using hundreds of thousands of multi-redundant servers instead of the one server you might have in your business.
Many consider it more reliable since it doesn’t rely on one server, which can be a single point of failure. But “the boat is still out” on the security of this system, said Zsufa. Instead of small firms, hackers would rather attack Google or Microsoft despite the billions those firms spend on security. “When it happens, it happens in a big way,” he said.
Zsufa recommends a hybrid system, using an in-house system for a small portion of the business and then buying into the Cloud service, which is available for $7-$30 per month per user. Beaulieu added that, since Cloud Computing is “still in its infancy” with security issues continuing to surface and be resolved, it’s important for anyone using this system to have a “physical backup” of important data and files.
Still, “The juice is worth the squeeze,” Zsufa said. “Cloud gives cutting edge services at small business prices.”