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WELL DRILLING NEVER BORING
For M&M Drilling Rivers of Manitoba, the fun is in solving problems
14 THE STATE OF GROUND WATER
What we know and don’t know about ground water in Canada
18 WHAT’S NEW IN DRILLING
Take in a sampling of equipment and products to discover what’s new out there to suit your drilling needs
20 SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION
OGWA, OOWA and CWQA have much in common and joining forces for certain shared purposes may provide some significant benefits
24 FORD IMPRESSIONS
The 2017 second-generation F-series of Super Duty trucks has added strength and reduced weight
ON THE WEB:
Yukon and B.C. sign water management agreement
The B.C. and Yukon environment ministers in April signed an agreement pledging to co-operatively manage shared water in the Mackenzie River Basin, specifically the Liard River and its tributaries.
Group focuses on millennials through well-drilling projects
A Christian organization is pursuing the key group it believes can play a major role in bringing two kinds of fresh water to those in need: millennials. ChristanNewsWire reports.
www.groundwatercanada.com
Groovy collaborating
When you learn something new or have an idea, share it with your association and ground water network.
by Colleen Cross
Let’s face it: nothing gets done on a job until the driller arrives.
But before drilling can begin, questions must be answered, approvals will be needed and unexpected delays will happen.
Everyone knows the scientists need the drillers and the drillers need the scientists. There’s no mystery to it, but it can be frustrating when a job gets held up by unavoidable issues. It’s frustrating for consulting hydrogeologists and engineers, who want to drill right the first time, and frustrating for water-well drillers, who want the same thing but also have crew and machine ready to go and an eye on the day’s other drilling jobs.
It was encouraging to see people with different experiences understand they had something to contribute
In my short time as editor, I have seen a growing awareness and respect between drillers and scientists. This happens when everyone gets together in the same room for some candid face-to-face talk about what’s happening out there on drilling jobs. Events like conventions, annual general meetings and informal discussion groups are perfect places for members to let down their guard and let in different perspectives. In March, the British Columbia Ground Water Association convention hosted one such discussion on how to build good working relationships among tradespeople, consultants, well drillers and well owners, and in April the Ontario Ground Water Association made a collaborative meeting on best practices on the job site a cornerstone of its convention.
“That was the most productive meeting I’ve seen in a few years. It was really good,” said John Wilson, a longtime driller and past president of the Ontario association.
It also happens when you get into a classroom, where guards are down, attitudes are left at the door and learning can begin. I recently
spent two days in one such classroom during Fleming College’s Well Constructed course where some 40 students gathered to learn about hydrogeology, drilling systems, well construction, abandonment, safety and well records before trying for their respective licences.
During the hydrogeology session, students were attentive and quick to share jobsite experiences with an eye toward solving drilling mysteries: a roomful of well detectives! It was encouraging to see people with different experiences understand they had something to contribute and that communication with their instructor was a two-way street.
There is also collaboration going on among the provinces. Representatives from New Brunswick, Manitoba and B.C. attended the Canadian conference hosted by the OGWA in Niagara Falls last June and drillers from several provinces had a powwow at the U.S. National Ground Water Association expo in December.
The Saskatchewan association had BCGWA director Jim Clark in as a speaker to share his recommendations for protecting water wells throughout their life cycles.
It brings to mind lyrics from an old ’60s song: “I think it’s so groovy now that people are finally getting together.”
But there could be more collaborating – lots more! Communication is the name of the game. When you learn something new or have an idea, share it with your association and with friends in your informal ground water network.
And be sure to keep in touch with Craig Stainton, Blaine Matuga and Peter Gay – your hardworking point persons who are looking to make that network formal and productive.
Speaking of productive, we hope your busy season is off to a good start!
INDUSTRY NEWS
NEW P.E.I. WATER ACT WOULD BAN WATER EXPORTS
A first draft of Prince Edward Island’s new Water Act released in March includes stiffer fines, tighter licensing requirements and a prohibition on the export of water. Parts of the act are transferred from the Environmental Protection Act and designed to consolidate, simplify and streamline existing legislation. Other parts are newly created to address the province’s concerns.
The draft proposes government have a guardianship role and that water withdrawals be subject to a transparent evaluation and approval process that allows the province to hold water “in reserve” even if it is available. The process for approvals, permitting, amending permits and monitoring have been tightened and a new limit set at 25 square metres (down from 346 metres). A completely new approval process for wastewater discharges proposes to give the province some control over how and what state the water is in when returned to the environment. The P.E.I. government is looking for input from the public.
GROUND WATER MONITORING FOR METHANE REQUIRED NEAR ENERGY WELLS: STUDY
PHOTO BY AARON CAHILL, UBC
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience indicates that when methane leaks from energy resource development such as hydraulic fracturing it is highly mobile in ground water, potentially travelling far beyond a leaky well and posing a safety risk.
Researchers from the University of Guelph and the University of British Columbia recently teamed up with the University of Calgary department of geoscience for a look into how leaking methane acts in shallow ground water.
“Currently monitoring for gas leakage is conducted at ground surface next to an energy well, while the surrounding ground water underneath isn’t usually monitored,” said lead author Aaron Cahill in a news release from the University of British Columbia. The researcher conducted the study as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Guelph.
Besides posing an explosion risk and degrading ground water quality, methane can contribute to climate change when released to the atmosphere, the release said.
Ordinarily, researchers have focused on finding out if methane has leaked in an area, and finding the source of the leak. But in this case Cahill and his colleagues released a small amount of gas into the subsurface and observed how it moved, how it impacted ground water, and where it ended up. They discovered methane dissolved extensively into the ground water.
John Cherry, a ground water contamination expert with the University of Guelph who co-authored the study, said in the release that sealing energy wells thoroughly can be challenging and leaky wells are common. Even when leaks are fixed, the impact to ground water is likely long-term.
“We require a more comprehensive approach which monitors both surface and ground water for methane,” Cahill concluded.
MANITOBA WATER AFFECTED BY RED TAPE REDUCTION BILL
Manitoba’s Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, 2017, known as Bill 24, has been given a first reading. The bill’s proposed changes would impact the Drinking Water Safety Act and the Groundwater and Water Well Act.
Changes to the Drinking Water Safety Act include a provision that allows authorities to reduce the frequency of required assessments for a water system to a minimum of once in every 10-year period if satisfied that the reduction will not significantly increase the risk to the safety of the water. The new legislation also repeals three portions of the Groundwater and Water Well and Related Amendments Act, including a section that requires well-drilling contractors be given identification plates and annual validation strips with new or renewed licences.
The full bill may be accessed at http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/41-2/ b024e.php.
Aaron Cahill and his colleagues released a small amount of methane gas into the subsurface and observed how it moved, how it impacted ground water and where it ended up.
The CME-55LCX
HIGH TORQUE LOW CLEARANCE
The compact CME-55LCX features a new 130 horsepower diesel engine and can crank out up to 12,100 foot-pounds of rotary torque. That’s more than any other drill in its class.
Equipped with the standard 20’ or optional 22’ mast, it’s perfect for typical everyday operations. But on jobs where overhead clearance gets tight, the CME-55LCX can quickly transform to low clearance mode. The overall set-up height when mounted on the CME-300 tracked carrier, is then reduced to 12’1”. Low clearance sheaves allow full use of the hoist lines.
That means you can take on jobs under service station canopies, bridges, or other overhead restrictions that others can’t.
The CME-55LCX is available with many options to help get the job done as efficiently as possible. It can be equipped with slide bases, auger racks, toolboxes, hydraulic rod holder/ breakout wrench systems, and more.
The optional automatic SPT hammer even has a secondary lifting system for low clearance situations.
The CME-55LCX and the CME-300 remote controlled tracked carrier make an excellent team. Since the CME-300 is designed specifically for carrying CME drill rigs, there are no compromises. It has the best center of gravity for both mobility and drilling. You won’t find a more rugged carrier in its class. And since the rubber tracks will not damage most pavement, you can also use this rig anywhere you might use a truck-mounted drill.
Give us a call and find out how the new high-torque CME-55LCX low clearance drill can give you more power and more versatility for more production.
INDUSTRY NEWS
REPORT SAYS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FAILING FIRST NATIONS ON DRINKING WATER PROMISE
GLASS HALF
The federal government will not meet its commitment to end all drinking water advisories affecting First Nations communities by 2020 without significant changes to current processes, according to a new report.
“Glass half empty? Year 1 progress toward resolving drinking water advisories in nine First Nations in Ontario,” which was written by the David Suzuki Foundation and Council of Canadians with the help of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, assesses the federal government’s progress in nine First Nations across Ontario. With 81 active drinking water advisories – more than any other province – Ontario provides a snapshot of Canada’s First Nations water crisis, the foundation said in a news release.
The report lists flaws in how the federal government fulfils its responsibility to ensure safe drinking water in First Nations communities, including a highly complex funding process full of loopholes, gaps and delays; a lack of transparency and accountability in federal monitoring of progress; and the lack of a regulatory framework to govern drinking water for First Nations.
It points to one bright spot: the Obashkaandagaang First Nation’s Bimose Tribal Council has received some funding from INAC to drill more water wells and purchase filtration equipment.
The report makes 12 recommendations it says the government must implement to get its work back on track.
CCME OFFERS GROUND WATER SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment has posted a guidance document intended to assist users in applying its earlier Groundwater Sustainability Assessment Approach.
According to the CCME website, “Groundwater Sustainability Assessment Approach: Guidance for Application” provides a balance of high-level guidance and practical advice, highlighting issues and actions jurisdictions should take into account in its implementation.
The document is comprehensive in scope with specific explanations on the GSAA, definitions and principles.
CANADA RELEASES FLOODPLAIN MAPPING GUIDELINES
In an effort to improve Canada’s response to flooding, the federal government has released the first in a series of guidelines for provinces and communities for floodplain mapping projects and activities in Canada.
The guidelines provide technical details on such activities as hydrologic and hydraulic investigation, floodplain mapping, risk assessment, determining the effects of climate change on flood modelling, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data acquisition, and land use planning.
The documents may be found at www.publicsafety.gc.ca by searching “floodplain mapping.”
In February, the Ontario Geothermal Association (OGA) hosted its annual conference, which welcomed local and international leaders in the geothermal industry.
Steve Smith, chief executive officer of Enertech Global of Illinois provided a detailed comparison of the cost of installation of geothermal heating and cooling systems and outlined what is needed to consider geothermal for residential and commercial installations.
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Glen Murray addressed the province’s Climate Change Action Plan as it relates to the role of geothermal, reiterating the provincial government’s commitment to work with the geothermal heating and cooling industry
on carbon-reduction solutions in the future.
Malini Giridhar, vice-president of market development and public government affairs for Enbridge Gas Distribution, outlined the company’s plans to aggressively increase its presence in the Ontario geothermal marketplace, initially focusing on the new home construction market.
The two-day event explored opportunities for geothermal in various markets and applications, addressed what needs to be done to realize these opportunities and outlined what industry participants can do to help the Ontario geothermal industry reach its full potential.
WELL DRILLING NEVER BORING
For M&M Drilling, the fun is in solving problems
by COLLEEN CROSS
JStarted by his father, Maurice, in 1964 under his own name, it quickly became M&M Drilling Rivers Ltd. (not to be confused with M&M Drilling of Alberta).
Maurice was born in Walpole, Sask., in 1937 on the family farm. Later in his late teenage years he went to help his older brother Edgar install the sewer and water in Rivers. That’s when he met his future wife Marilyn. Soon after getting married he started working with International Water Supply out of Saskatoon, where he learned to drill.
“The first few years were really lean,” Dickson says. “It’s always tough to establish a company in a new territory.” He remembers his father saying the helper made more money than he did.
Now 50, Dickson started working with his father while in high school in the early 1980s. The work wasn’t easy but he liked it from the start. He recalls an early job: “There was a stuck pump straight north of us about 20 minutes. We had the rig set up over the well and tripped pipe with an overshot on it to try and retrieve the stuck pump. We tripped pipe for two days out of that 300-foot well till we finally got the darn thing out. I was played out, exhausted, and thought, ‘What the heck am I doing this for?’ ” he says with a laugh.
Dickson has a lot of respect for his dad’s work ethic. They had to use steel casing instead of plastic, and every well was really developed, he says. “ ‘Anyone can punch a hole in the ground,’ my dad used to say. ‘Now let’s make it clean and pump good.’ ”
In 1984 the second-generation driller took a two-year course in water well drilling at Staples,
eff Dickson comes by his love of water well drilling honestly. Dickson runs a small well drilling and service company based in Rivers, Man., 40 kilometres northwest of Brandon.
Minn., that gave him experience with a wide variety of equipment and techniques and put him shoulder to shoulder with drillers from across the U.S. and as far away as Egypt.
In 2007, he bought out M&M from his father, who stayed active in the business, often providing a sounding board for “the next weird thing about a well or hole going bad on you.” They used to cover from the U.S. border to as far north as Thompson and from Saskatchewan’s border to Ontario’s, but now typically travel within a 100-mile radius. The main formations they encounter are sands, gravels and shales.
Dickson says there are plenty of acreages and cottages being built in the region. “It’s fairly wild country,” he says, and almost on cue during our phone conversation, a deer appears
in the backyard of his family’s five-acre property on the edge of Rivers.
The bulk of their work is in drilling new water wells. They could be anything from a one-gallon-per-minute house well in a terrible location, to an irrigation well yielding 2,000 gpm. They average 70 to 80 wells a year with the drilling season usually lasting from April to the end of November. The remainder of the work is with the pump-pulling rig. “We babysit a lot of irrigation wells and around 10 smaller towns and villages plus all the pipelines that are going in. When one of those pumps goes down, we shut the drill off and jump to the pump truck,” Dickson says. “They are important and essential pumps that need to be operational.”
They got into pulling pumps about 30 years ago when a job came up rehabilitating wells
Cory Sedgwick, Shane Dickson and Jeff Dickson make up the M&M Drilling team.
PHOTO COURTESY
JEFF DICKSON
for a potato manufacturing company. After renting a pump puller from Friesen Drillers to do the job, they later purchased a rig. With town and pipeline pump work increasing, his has been one of the faster growing segments of the company, Dickson says.
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
One aspect of the family business holds a special place in Dickson’s heart. His father had fruitful working relationships with provincial government representatives. Maurice worked on many provincial parks and municipal wells over the years with the help of Arne Pedersen, a hydrologist with Manitoba Water Services Board, and Lewis Hopper, an experienced driller hired by the province to oversee completion of the wells.
“They were a team,” he says. “Arne went out first and did the test drilling and pump testing of the formations and design the well, and Lewis would come in and help out when the well was being installed.”
“Arne was very helpful on the screens, having designed a slot size mated to a sand size that will work at maximum rates in everything from cobblestone to powder,” he adds.
Dickson has fond memories of working with this veteran team over the years. “They made it a pleasure to work with them. The jobs just went easier.”
Maurice and Arne were particularly in tune, the younger Dickson says. “They always seemed to arrive at the job site at the same time, seconds apart no matter where the job was.” They died within months of each other – Arne in October 2014, Maurice the following February 2015.
Dickson and his wife Bonnie, a nurse, have three children. Brendon, 28, is a heavy equipment operator; daughter Shandra, 25, is a nurse; and Shane, 23, graduated last year from Brandon University finished the year off full time with M&M.
Shane has worked summers in the business since he was 15 and may represent the third generation of drillers – if he chooses, Dickson says.
Dickson found his other employee, Cory Sedgwick, through word of mouth. Rooster, as he is nicknamed, is a backyard mechanic with a strong work ethic. “He can MacGyver anything to keep us going and finish the job,” Dickson says.
Besides materials and fuel, Dickson’s biggest cost is labour. “There is nothing glamorous about our line of work. I believe in paying the boys above-average wages for their hard work,” he says.
The price of wells has gone up over the years. When Maurice started, it was $5 a foot for a well, Dickson says. Now it is $50 a foot plus extra for the screen and sand pack. “The prices need to be up there to cover the costs.”
ONE CALLBACK IS TOO MANY
Dickson has definite views on callbacks. “Some people say that for every 100 wells drilled, you can expect to get 10 callbacks,” he says. “For me, one callback is too many.”
Because most of the work he gets is through word of mouth, he believes in building trust. “Bad news travels a lot faster than good news. You can’t please everyone, but we sure try to keep everything at 100 per cent.”
One way they do that is by thoroughly developing its wells. International Water Supply taught Maurice how to develop wells so there were no problems later on, a practice he passed down to his son. “It’s all about getting the mud out and letting the water come in faster, using everything from surge blocks to jetting,” Dickson says.
Educating the well owner is another aspect of good customer service. Most people don’t understand what is involved in getting the water from
the ground to their taps, he says. He likes explaining the process and welcomes questions.
To be in this business, you have to be willing to learn, Dickson says. “No two wells are the same.” Even within a few miles the wells can change dramatically, he says, noting that he has drilled 17-foot and 393-foot wells on the same stretch of road.
What does he like best about his chosen field? “My drilling buddy Kevin Thomas often says, ‘You’ve always got to be using your head.’ Whether it’s a stuck pump to get out, or an acidization job on an old well, or drilling straight through a big rock – it all uses your brain.”
One of the hardest jobs is when you encounter a flowing well, he says, and Rivers sits beside one of the worst flowing well areas in Western Canada. “One hole got away from a driller and flowed uncontrolled for a few months at around 1,000 gpm,” he says. “Dad was offered $20,000 from the government to seal it. He declined and went on a time-andmaterials basis to fix it. The homeowner had a two-inch well to run his house, and the bill came in at $14,000. “It’s not the flow, it’s the pressure that gets you – this one had 32 psi on it.”
When asked where he sees the industry in the next five years, he says, “We’ve got to get the pipelines stopped is what I see. I am not a big fan of them. They have their areas where there is little or no water that they are needed, but when they start taking away jobs for us, then something has to give.”
“It’s almost a dying art,” Dickson says. “But Dad thought he would have run out of drilling wells years ago, and each year the phone still rings.”
This big spray of water occurred during development of an irrigation well near Douglas using an air compressor.
PHOTO COURTESY JEFF DICKSON
THE STATE OF GROUND WATER
The knowns and unknowns of ground water in Canada
Whereas oil, gas, uranium, and other metal and mineral reservoirs (including diamonds!) are understood in this country, ground water reservoirs are still not fully understood.
by ALFONSO RIVERA
KNOWLEDGE
Ten to 15 years ago, we used to underline the knowledge gaps as the main issue concerning ground water and aquifers in Canada that we needed to fill in to develop good management practices. Where are we now as we approach the end of the second decade of this new millennium? The desire to know still moves us.
IMPORTANCE
We read of the great importance of ground water in California, India, Mexico, Israel, Spain and many other countries. We learn that in those countries, ground water is simply a primordial commodity for subsistence, an elemental resource, one without which people in those countries could not survive nor develop their agriculture, industry and urbanization. The common threads of those countries: they are located in the arid or semi-arid regions of the world, where
precipitation is small (or scarce), evapotranspiration is high – sometimes higher than precipitation – and runoff (surface water) is virtually non-existent.
And what about us here in Canada? Is ground water as important in Canada as it is in those countries? There is of course no single, straight answer to those questions. Our country is big, our climate is variable and may be extreme, our population is small, and the issues are not comparable. Yet ground water is indeed important in Canada too.
USE
If you live in a small to medium-size city, chances are one in three that you rely on ground water on a daily basis. That is 33 per cent of Canadians, or about 11.5 million people, using ground water for drinking, cooking and all other day-to-day usages. On the other hand, if you live in a rural area, the chances of using
The CCME developed and tested an approach for assessing the sustainability of ground water resources at a local, regional or Canada-wide scale.
•
ground water are more than 70 per cent because wells are often more reliable and less expensive than water systems pumping from nearby lakes and rivers.
When it comes to determining the volume of ground water used by Canadians, hydrologists are mostly in the dark. In other places, such as the southwestern U.S., unsustainable ground water use is resulting in land subsidence, saltwater intrusion and contamination. Fortunately, we don’t have those problems here in Canada. If we could collect more data – so we’re able to measure how much we have and where, what we use and how vulnerable it is – we’d be better off than anywhere else.
QUANTITY
With about one-half of one per cent of the world’s population, Canada has a disproportionate global share of water. But ground water is just one part of the country’s vast water resources, which include millions of lakes and hundreds of rivers. In fact, the surface area and number of lakes in North America far exceed those of any other continent. Canada alone has at least three million lakes and, in some regions, there are as many as 30 lakes for every 100 square kilometres. But poor distribution, wasteful use and new stresses are three factors that contradict this apparent water wealth.
The importance of ground water, however, is not restricted to the quantities in which it is used, or to the steady growth in its use, but also to the particular people it serves and the areas where it is used. The close relationship between ground water and surface water – for example, the fact that a decline in ground water will reduce surface flows – is not universally understood or appreciated.
Another important case in Canada is related to ground water-dependent ecosystems (GDE). A GDE is a community of micro-organisms, animals and plants, and associated substrates, whose functioning relies on the presence of water under the ground and/or its emergence to the surface (ground water and aquifers). Some GDEs are supported entirely by ground water while others also receive water from different sources, but the ground water contribution is critical as regards water chemistry to nourish
33% of urban residents using ground water
>70% of rural residents using ground water
certain species, and provide stable water temperature and absence of sediment load. There exist numerous ecosystems, for example, wetlands, across Canada, which rely on ground water, but their interactions with ground water are not fully understood.
Moreover, the importance of ground water protection is not adequately taken into account in water management. There is a need for greater public awareness of the value of ground water and an understanding of how it is regulated. For instance, provincial and territorial permitting and licensing requirements for ground water should address not only domestic and industrial needs but also the environmental consequences of withdrawals (quantities) of ground water.
ISSUES
Some of the fundamental questions and issues that frame the need for more ground water knowledge include:
• Availability of ground water (how much) and location of aquifers (where).
• How much water are we really using (towards sustainability and protection of ground water).
• Water-energy nexus (oil and gas, CBM, shale gas).
• Interactions between ground water, surface water, aquatic ecosystems and land use.
• Transboundary aquifers and ground water (interprovincial and international).
• Growing agriculture, industry, and domestic ground water use.
• Ground water monitoring and climate variability and change.
• Use of modern satellite technology as applied to ground water resources.
• Availability of unified, national-scale data and information on ground water and aquifers.
• Major aquifers in Canada and the state of ground water development.
• Are Canada’s ground water dynamics controlled by climatic conditions and ecosystems, or stressed by humandominated irrigation, domestic or industry use (something known as the anthropogenic biome)?
• How sustainable is the current use of the ground water resources of Canada?
We still cannot answer all these questions or resolve these issues. We have identified the available information about this resource – a starting point that is necessary for management decisions. But the data and information are still not sufficient. Yet water management that does not include ground water will be incomplete. The most up-to-date overview and synthesis on the status of ground water resources in Canada was recently compiled in the 2014 book Canada’s Groundwater Resources. The current knowledge of ground water in Canada is mostly based on the regional aquifer assessments the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) of Natural Resources Canada has been carrying out in co-operation with the provinces over the last 15 years. The book summarizes the state of scientific knowledge of aquifers and ground water in Canada as of 2014 and identifies the knowledge gaps, issues and trends we still need to address.
The ultimate task of a full ground water inventory for the whole of Canada is a significant one: some persistent and emerging issues not covered by individual aquifer assessments still need to be addressed at the national scale. For example, individual aquifer assessments carried out by the GSC for the 30 key Canadian aquifers cover less than 600,000 square kilometres (approximately six per cent of the Canada landmass), thus they cannot cover persistent and emerging issues at the national scale.
Concerns in changes over climate, alternative energy production, territorial responsibility and First Nations are often not considered in programs and projects on aquifer mapping. New and looming issues should be tackled using new and
emerging methods (for example, remote sensing, ground water flow systems, water budgets), to support improved knowledge of specific issues. To tackle these, a regional- and continental-scale integration of aquifers and ground water knowledge has become obvious and urgently needed.
TRENDS
However, not everything is as dark as it seems. Very good progress has been made in many different ground waterrelated domains by many different groups in Canada. New initiatives are being launched by provinces and federal agencies.
For instance, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME, 10 provinces, three territories and two federal departments) has recognized ground water as “the main source of water for almost 10 million Canadians.” It is critical to human health, to important aspects of the economy and to the viability of many ecosystems, the CCME says. The CCME developed and tested an approach for assessing the sustainability of ground water resources at a local, regional or Canada-wide scale. The resulting Groundwater Sustainability Assessment Approach (GSAA) is a highlevel framework that can be interpreted for application across various scales, locations and circumstances. To support the use of the GSAA, CCME has recently developed a guidance document meant to assist users to successfully apply the GSAA.
Other great initiatives include the Quebec PACES program (Programme d’Acquisition de Connaissances sur les Eaux Souterraines), which addresses ground water sustainability and provides useful context for the implementation of the GSAA; and the Alberta Groundwater Mapping Program, which was identified in the 2009 Water for Life Action Plan as a key action to improve knowledge about Alberta’s ground water resources.
We also are encouraged by the recent adoption of new ground water licensing regulations by the province of British Columbia, the last of the provinces to adopt regulations for ground water use. Finally, to speed up the mapping and to complement the assessment of aquifers and ground water resources in
Canada, the GSC is now investigating a Alfonso Rivera, PhD, is chief hydrogeologist
YOUR EYES IN THE FIELD
With In-Situ, you trust your water monitoring equipment and data to be accurate and reliable, every time. We’re in the field 24/7, so you don’t have to be. in-situ.com/gwc
WHAT’S NEW IN DRILLING
This issue we’re showcasing a few items to give you an idea of what’s available in technology and capacity to suit your needs. All information has been supplied by the manufacturers and compiled by Ground Water Canada into an easy-to-read reference guide. Contact the manufacturer or local dealer for more information.
CENTRAL MINE EQUIPMENT COMPANY
The new CME-55LCX has a unique feed and retract system and a quick disconnect mast that allows it to work under overhead restrictions. The overall working height with the mast disconnected is less than 12 feet when mounted on the CME-300 tracked carrier. This compact rig provides all the power and productivity of the standard CME-55: 28,275 pounds of retract force and 18,650 pounds of pull-down force. This high-torque machine features a new 130-horsepower diesel engine and can crank out up to 12,100 foot-pounds
of rotary torque. Low-clearance sheaves allow efficient use of hoists on low-clearance jobs. http://cmeco.com/
GEFCO
The GEFCO has three sizes of drilling rigs for a variety of jobs. StrataStar-SS 5 is the smallest hydrostatic powered line of environmental and geotechnical drilling rigs in GEFCO’s StrataStar series. Small in size yet strong in performance, it has 5,000 ft./lbs. of torque and allows 72 inches of travel. The tier 4 compliant power unit tilts to allow operation at up to 45 degrees of incline.
The StrataStar 5 is available with all popular options and can be mounted on a truck or rubber tracks.
The company’s StrataStar-SS 15 is the ideal rig for sampling, drilling and soil surveys. It is hydraulically driven and compact. For more information visit www.gefco.com or call Chip Nelson, 405-880-3647
MARL TECHNOLOGIES
According to Marl Technologies, the standard penetration test (SPT) is the most widely used test in geotechnical drilling; however, it may be the most widely mistrusted test by the geotechnical engineers who use it to determine the engineering properties of soil.
Marl’s eSPT system looks to help geotechnical engineers and project owners reliably and accurately acquire in-situ SPT data that, for the first time, reliably and verifiably conform to industry standards.
Test results are uploaded upon completion of each test for online viewing, giving project managers faster and more complete project situation awareness and aiding the real-time management of drilling programs. Compliance with industry standards is easily verified during and after each test. The system completes the test automatically, incorporating all aspects of the standard into the system logic.
Field data is delivered in real time to the project engineer’s desktop or mobile device where results are stored and easily accessed for future examination.
www.marltechnologies.com
ROCKMORE INTERNATIONAL
Rockmore International recently introduced its vector rod system, a new line of drill tools designed to improve the performance and service life of extension drill tools in surface and underground percussive drilling applications.
The new XT thread design incorporates guided cylindrical contact zones between male and female thread joints. These guided surface features are located in the nose and rear of the thread connections and provide various benefits and improvements over traditional threads, the company says.
The MI3 has a 69-horsepower engine, pull-back options of 6,800, 7,900 or 8,800 lbf, torque of up to 5,800 lbf ft (maximum speed 712 rpm).
Because the rig’s weight has been reduced to 2,700 kilograms, it may be towed on a small trailer.
The rig is designed for working safely using various drilling methods: direct circulation, down-the-hole hammer drilling and augering. Its remote radio control feature allows the operator to view drilling movements remotely from an ideal working position.
Work methods include rotation with direct circulation; nucleus destruction with bleeding by water, mud and foam; rotation with down-the-hole hammer; coring; and percussion drilling.
www.simorltd.com
The thread profile is based on the traditional trapezoidal “T” design and is therefore compatible with industry standard thread types such as T38, T45 and T51.
In order to achieve the full, engineered benefits of the XT thread, however, users must consider the drill string as a system of connections between the shank adapter, the rods and the bit in extension drilling applications.
Because the XT thread guide feature improves thread alignment, the impact duration when “rattling” rods, as required in uncoupling connections, is minimized, leading to less wasted energy transmission, cooler couplings on rods and longer rod life.
www.rockmore-intl.com
SIMOR INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS/MASSENZA
Simor Industrial Solutions/Massenza has a new, powerful but compact MI3 drilling rig for small water wells, geothermal applications, soil investigations, coring and micropiles.
NEW LTC Levelogger Edge
The LTC Levelogger Edge combines water level, temperature and conductivity sensors in one compact device.
• 4-electrode platinum conductivity sensor
• Autoranging 50 to 80,000 µS
• Hastelloy pressure sensor
• Ranges 5m - 200m
• Titanium ceramic PVD coating
• Memory for 27,000 sets of readings
• 8 year battery
SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION
OGWA, OOWA and CWQA have much in common
Despite doing very different jobs, the water well, water treatment and septic industries have much in common. They often share customers, and obviously, must co-ordinate to meet regulations.
by CAROLYN CAMILLERI
Frequently, the equipment manufacturers are the same. Most of all, they share a major priority: the protection of ground water. But how well do the three industries communicate? And could they do a better job?
David Cousens from Kinburn Plumbing in the Ottawa area believes they can.
“Everyone is concerned about protecting ground water. You’ve got the drillers. You’ve got the wastewater people. You’ve got the water treatment people. But it seems to be, everyone’s operating in silos,” Cousens says. “I’m not saying each organization has to give up what they do, but they seem to operate so independently of each other. It would be incredible to see the silos brought down between industries with the same goal.”
Despite clear differences such as training, licensing and the actual work, in these days of advanced technology, reduced demand and increased challenges from land development, there may be more reasons than ever for the industries to align interests and co-ordinate efforts.
Rick Esselment, past president of Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association (OOWA) and a member of both the Ontario Ground Water Association and the Canadian Water Quality Association (CWQA), says there is synergy between the three associations.
“The challenges are logistics with each of the associations and the business models of the associations. It’s not policy. It’s not overlap. It’s not disagreement. We all agree on protecting our natural resources, and in particular,
ground water and the impact that water quality has on the communities that we’re serving,” Esselment says.
In fact, all three organizations – OGWA, OOWA and CWQA – get along quite well. Kevin Wong, CWQA’s executive director, says increased collaboration between the three organizations has been an ongoing topic of discussion for about a decade.
“CWQA and OGWA have enjoyed a very close relationship and have collaborated on a number of topics,” Wong says. “In the last few years, both organizations have made inroads in collaborations with OOWA.”
INVOLVEMENT HAS INCREASED IN RECENT YEARS
“The intention is to collaborate more closely on crossover topics, code, regulations and legislation changes,” Wong says. “Last year, all three organizations met to, for the first time, officially begin that formal collaboration framework with an agreement in principle to co-operate, communicate, invite each other to respective conferences, and meetings, and assist in opening doors for each other in a complementary manner.”
By way of example, he says CWQA has the ability to comment on code changes in bulk, as they did last year for Ontario and then shared comments with OGWA and OOWA to remain transparent.
“We are also cognizant of their concerns in the field with Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and the Ontario College
of Trades and such in those areas,” Wong says, noting they can feed information about changes to their partners and responses can be funnelled through the CWQA. It’s a promising example of collaboration and an indication of future potential.
SHARING INFORMATION
Cousens would like to see more collaboration around sharing information and resources. Esselment agrees and offers an
example to illustrate the potential.
“The building code requires a setback distance or lateral separation distance between certain types of wells and different septic system components,” Esselment says. “But there are very few instances where a septic installer will contact a local well driller to ask them about where the wells are or the type of well that it is. It’s just kind of a guess. To me it’s absurd because those professionals live in the same communities.”
Information sharing could be streamlined through the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
“Licensed well drillers upload their well records to the province, so the province has a database of wells that are registered,” Esselment says. “With septic systems, it’s a building code, which is provincial, but they’re regulated locally, not by the province.”
The local building official, local conservation authority or local health unit implements the provincial regulation, Esselment adds, but then the records are also kept locally.
“It would be nice to see, long term, if the municipalities could upload their permits to the Ministry of the Environment, so they could comingle data from where the wells are and the types and locations of the septic systems,” he says. “It’s that simple.”
And in a digital world, it only makes sense. Moreover, in some cases, municipal records are kept for only seven years, while the wells are in operation for much longer.
“I think we can do better than that,” Esselment says. “We
The water well, water treatment and septic industries often share customers, and obviously, must co-ordinate to meet regulations. But how well do the three industries communicate? And could they do a better job?
could use that data provincially to look at the types of wells and the types of septic systems. We can use that data in a more meaningful way to inform better policy. But it could also be searchable by contractors on either the water or the wastewater side, because they’d have a common location to search those records.”
“It’s infrastructure that we’re building,” he says.
CONFERENCES AND TRADE SHOWS
Over his years in business, Cousens has developed close relationships with representatives for equipment manufacturers on both the “clean and back water” sides.
“The same comments come up every year,” he says. “The cost of supporting two industries separately is such a burden that many are picking one or the other for convention attendance.”
Cousens feels the industries and the manufacturers would benefit from jointly held trade shows, with each organization hosting its own meetings during the event. Esselment agrees there would be some economies of scale for each of the associations.
“The challenge is logistics,” Esselment says, noting that the OOWA convention drives a profit to their bottom line that allows them to operate. “It comes into a business strategy, but we can overcome that, because most of the people involved are businesspeople and we all know each other.”
It comes down to two things: timing the event so that it works for each industry and finding a venue that’s suitable for a broadened event. It would indeed be a very large event.
A STRONGER VOICE
Perhaps the most significant benefit to co-ordinating the efforts of the three industries is to have a more unified message and a stronger voice. As Cousens says, the underlying connection is
ground water, but self-preservation is an ongoing concern.
“Most municipalities now have tentacles of water pipes and sewer pipes heading all over the country, and it’s certainly a bit of a threat to the well water industry and for the sewer industry,” he says.
While the push for small communities to join the grid is strong, the reason for lightening up on that push is not only to preserve livelihoods. Limiting the expansion of the grid is often purely and simply a smarter decision.
Craig Stainton, executive director of OGWA, points to the energy and money needed to connect rural areas to a municipal water and sewage grid, especially at a time when concerns over climate change and carbon footprint are at a peak.
“What makes sense to me is a well with a fractional horsepower pump using a small amount of hydro that the homeowner pays and a septic system which should be designed to work on gravity and all on the homeowner’s dime, no grants involved,” Stainton says. “What could be greener, what could change the climate less, where would there be less carbon footprint, and what would be less taxing on provincial coffers?”
Esselment agrees and says decentralized systems can work well in urban areas, too, for example, wells and septic serving residential clusters in subdivisions, as opposed to them linking to the town water and sewage.
“We’re not fighting development: we’re advocating for smart development, because even urban centres could benefit from a
distributed or decentralized approach to growth,” Esselment says. “That language is important to make sure each of the groups is aligned with that message that we’re not necessarily fighting it back or fighting against something. We’re definitely fighting for something as a better alternative.”
Getting support means educating communities, the public and the various levels of government. Efforts are needed on several fronts. Stainton says, “The real hurdle is getting the government folks backed against the wall where they have to a) acknowledge that the current method of development is not smart, green or carbon friendly, b) take on the regulatory change which will be needed to force the developers to change their methods, and c) get the public on board with a bit more capital cost up front for less ongoing cost and less impact on the environment/climate change.”
Esselment says there are presently two key challenges with provincial policy in Ontario. The first is that the provincial policy statement advocates for centralized systems or municipally owned infrastructure, which planners and developers commonly interpret as linking to the “big pipes.”
“But what it really says is municipal ownership of whatever solutions the municipality wants,” Esselment says. “It’s really about policy, not the efficacy of the treatment or the quality of the water. That’s the part we have to highlight, that we all
Continued on page 29
2017 FORD IMPRESSIONS
A look at the 2017 F-series of Super Duty trucks
Almost 20 years ago the Super Duty line of Ford trucks was born. Built to tackle the biggest jobs that pickups could handle, the Super Duty gained a following right away.
by HOWARD J ELMER
The Towhaul feature uses the transmission to slow the load, as does the engine exhaust brake found on the diesel.
Today the newest Super Duty introduction is just as important as that original one – because the number of jobs for these trucks just keeps on growing. Heading to Colorado to look them over I was looking specifically for what needs Ford had satisfied with this newest generation of its big trucks. First impression – they’ve covered a lot of new ground.
This F-series Super Duty lineup of trucks is all new for 2017, including the adoption of the same aluminum cab that the F-150 got two years ago. That fact alone makes this next generation of Super Duty special. With the engineers adding the all-aluminum body, this now means there is only one design for both classes of Ford trucks; and that in turn means that updates and improvements to any and all the cab systems will now be available to both half-ton and HD trucks in the same year. It
also seems appropriate then that this alignment of truck bodies is coming on an all-new chassis as well.
Adding strength and reducing weight, this new Super Duty is 24 times stiffer than its predecessor. The fully boxed frame is taller and has up to 10 cross-members, which include the under-box supports for the factory-installed fifth wheel/gooseneck hitch receiver.
It’s these changes that really make the new model the true second generation of a truck that was first introduced in 1999. That’s how long the F-250 thru F-450 has been hauling those heavy loads without a major update (despite ever-increasing weight limits). Not this time though: for 2017 almost every nut and bolt is new and with that comes increased power and weight capability. Mind you, we’ve come to expect those increases each
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time a new truck is brought to dealers. After all, in the truck world there is a war going on. If you’re a little fuzzy on what I’m talking about, just think of the nightly propaganda war being waged in TV ads by the manufacturers. My favourite tagline is “if you have to ask how much something weighs, you probably can’t handle it.” That says it all. Now comes Ford’s latest shot in this weight war. The new Super Duty is claiming several victories – its latest top numbers are 32,500 lb. towed with an F-450 and a maximum payload of 7,630 lb. Both of these numbers are now being touted as best-in-class. But as every truck person knows, what you can haul is just as important as being able to brag about
your engine. So the second generation of the 6.7L Power Stroke turbo-diesel has also boosted its horsepower and torque to 440 and 925 lb.-ft. respectively.
The base engine is a 6.2L V8 that makes 385 hp and 430 lb.-ft. of torque. For Super Duty chassis cab buyers, there is also a gas V10 option.
commercial loads back when I started driving tractor-trailers in the early 1980s.
The Power Stroke powered F-450 handled the weight and chassis is noticeably stiffer – even in jackknife 180-degree U-turns the truck does not tilt or squat. Under moderate braking it retains a level attitude without any hobbyhorseing and much of the driving that day was up and down the foothills here at the start of the Rocky Mountain range. So, while my initial focus was devoted to the weight claims that Ford was making, as the kilometres click by, slowly, another side of the towing experience caught my attention. This new line of Super Duty has more towing help and convenience features than any that have come before it.
Beauregard_7x3.25 3/21/06 7:45 AM Page 1
Here in Denver, Colo., where I tested the Super Duty, there was a variety of trucks available to drive but I was immediately drawn to the F-450 towing the gooseneck trailer with a nice 30,000 lb. load of landscaping stone. I too wanted to experience those “max” tow limits in part because I still find it amazing that pickups today are built to haul weights that were considered
It starts with seven cameras placed around the truck, including one in the rooftop brake light array. With this one you can easily see the trailer pin as the truck backs up to the hitch. It even has a “magnify” button that doubles the image size. Hooking up (bumper or in-bed) is now an easy one-person job. Meanwhile the other cameras offer 180-degree views off the nose or a 360-degree bird’s eye view. Given the size of these trucks, working (or backing up) in close quarters is so much easier and safer with these multiple eyes at every corner of the truck. Ford even offers a camera that can be fitted the rear of your trailer
PHOTOS
COURTESY HOWARD J ELMER
One of Ford’s strengths is the offer of multiple features, including engines. If the diesel is not in your budget there will be two gasoline options.
then hooked into a truck’s video display through the electrical connector. This lets you see behind your trailer – an infamous blind spot.
The other aspect of towing that I’m always harping on is stopping. Sure, I love the power – love to pull uphill (which this Power Stroke does), but frankly nothing is as important as stopping without scaring the crap out of yourself! In this Super Duty, Ford has installed an interrelated series of new stopping features meant to keep you cool and your shorts clean.
It starts with the Towhaul feature that uses the transmission to slow the load, as does the engine exhaust brake found on the diesel. The gear shift lever also has a manual gear selector; and if the tranny is kicked down using the brake, it will hold its gear.
But the most significant improvement comes with an addition to the adaptive cruise control. It will use the truck’s brakes, its engine brake and the trailer’s brakes through the trailer brake controller to hold the pre-set speed of the rig – all while going downhill, all automatically. Similar to the system that GM uses, this improvement will relieve the white knuckles often caused by being pushed by your load.
The other feature that made itself noticeable was adaptive steering. As the name implies, the steering ratio “adapts.” At slower speeds, when the
driver is turning pin to pin, the travel shortens up (by as much as one complete revolution of the wheel) while at highway speeds it gets longer offering a more sensitive on-centre feel. Again, for backing up while towing, this is a great innovation.
How about tire pressure monitoring? Old hat, you say? Yes, but this is tire pressure monitoring of your trailer. Ford offers wireless sensors that can be fixed to the trailer tires to display pressures right in the centre dash display.
If you’re sensing a theme, it’s because clearly there is one. First you have to build a truck that can handle the weight it’s claiming – Ford has done that. Then you need to give the driver the tools to haul all that weight safely and create systems that reduce the stress that comes
with trailering. Sure, you may have the skills that towing demands, but the systems in this truck can only make you better at it. The 2017 Super Duty Ford has accomplished both goals.
The pricing for the 2017’s starts at $39,849 for the base F250, regular cab, gas model and walks up through the varied cab models and trims to $46,749.00 for the F-350 Crewcab –again 2WD, gas model. Add 4WD and dual wheels (F-350s) and you’ll plunk down another 6K on average on each model. For pricing with the Power Stroke diesel, just add $9,950 to any model you choose.
Howard J Elmer is a truck and ATV writer living in rural Ontario. He penned this review for Ground Water Canada.
Hooking up (bumper or in-bed) is now an easy one-person job.
NEW PRODUCTS
VFD PUMP CHECK VALVES
Flomatic Corporation has introduced its Model 80S6CL-VFD patent-pending submersible pump check valve for use with variablefrequency drive (VFD) control submersible pumps.
Standard check valves will “chatter” and be noisy when a VFD goes to low flow, causing premature wear and eventual failure. These unique valves are designed to minimize flow losses and hydraulic shocks in the pumping system. The valve has a 316 stainless steel body that incorporates North American Specialty Productspatented groove lock type pipe connections called Certa-Lok to support deep-set pumps. An exclusive stainless steel guided poppet system ensures the valve automatically adjusts noiselessly from high to very low flow rates.
The radiuses of the valve seat allow a self-cleaning “one point swiping action” by the radius-
edged custom moulded rubber seal disc, the company said in a press release. All internal parts are made from corrosionresistant materials and have a high strength durable design.
Heron Instruments H.0IL Interface Meter is designed to assist you in measuring the interface level between two liquids in the same tank, vessel, well or aquifer. By using the H.0IL you can get an instant indication of any hydrocarbon in the monitoring well along with the depth of the pollutant film, the company said in a news release. It will also show increases in interface levels in the well so remediation can be started as soon as it is
The CSA Intrinsically Safe Certification makes the H.0IL ideal for use in hazardous environments.
The hydrocarbon-resistant Kynar jacketed steel tape is able to withstand harsh contaminants.
www.heroninstruments.com
BOOK TELLS THE STORY OF GROUND WATER
Ground water authority William M. Alley and science writer Rosemarie Alley have teamed up on a new book that explores issues around ground water and sounds the call to protect the vital resource.
In High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World’s Growing Dependence on Groundwater, the authors explore the growing global population, widespread use of industrial chemicals, climate change and consider the threat these factors pose to ground water.
Ground water depletion
and contamination has spread from isolated areas to many countries throughout the world, the authors argue. Drawing on examples from around the world, including case studies in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, and SubSaharan Africa, they examine ground water from scientific and socioeconomic perspectives.
The 304-page hardcover book, published by Yale University Press, includes stories of people who are making a difference in protecting this ground water. www.alleyandalley.com
Continued from page 23
have proven technologies and proven solutions, but the provincial policy is to try to connect all the pipes because that inherently connects responsibility.”
He explains that we definitely want responsibility to be taken by the largest entity. With better policy, better regulatory tools, such as a centralized database where information could be uploaded, responsibility for decentralized systems can be connected to the largest entity.
Esselment says it would be a game changer in terms of individual property responsibility, because the province would know what’s happening on every property.
“If you connect the information, you don’t have to connect all the pipes,” he says.
Another challenge is funding for smaller municipalities: they have to have a certain number of user connections to justify the expense of connecting to the grid and they have to borrow the money to do the installation.
“The small municipalities cannot afford their existing water and sewer systems, nor to renew them or update them. They can’t afford that now. It’s absurd to think that you would extend that system further abroad,” Esselment
says. “It’s basically stealing from the future to pay for the present.”
It makes more sense for smaller communities to choose a scale or blend of water and wastewater servicing that meets both mid-term and long-term needs. This is where lobbying is important, he says, as there is no money from the government available to fund small-scale projects.
“[Government] funds the biggest pipe available and that is a challenge, because when you actually want to do smart, scalable infrastructure, you have to selffund it. There are no programs federally and really not very many provincially that will allow you to fund this renewal,” Esselment says.
Consequently, when a small community wants funding to improve its water and sewage infrastructure, in addition to providing evidence that they have an infrastructure problem and potentially a health risk, they may also vilify wells and septic systems.
“That’s unfair to the actual industries and the communities that use that infrastructure,” Esselment says.
A stronger, clearer and truthful message supported by all three industries is critically important, he emphasizes.
“Connect the voices of all the people that are advocates for improved professional practice, continue to renew the right-scale
infrastructure – rather than replacing small-scale with large-scale – having an industry voice that combines people that are servicing rural Ontario for waterwastewater infrastructure,” Esselment says. “We’ve been at this for the better part of a decade now, and to be very clear, it’s gaining momentum in terms of who will listen to the message now, because it’s about finances. It’s about communities being able to afford their future.”
And that brings us back to the collaboration of industry associations, and by extension their memberships: the businesses and community stakeholders involved in decentralized and distributed infrastructure development. The groundwork is already there. As Wong says, “The OOWA-OGWA-CWQA relationship is strong and can only get stronger with our commitment to collaborate, communicate and co-operate.”
Carolyn Camilleri is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and content strategist. She has been writing for consumer and trade magazines, as well as businesses and organizations across the country, for more than 15 years.
Doing what’s best for customers
by Shep Hyken
What does it mean to be a customercentric business?
If you Google the words “customer centric” (or “customer centricity”), you will find many definitions from different sources that are all very similar. I actually prefer using the term “customer-focused” over “customer-centric.”
A general definition of a customer-centric or customer-focused company or organization is one in which everything revolves around the customer. In other words, all decisions that are made – the good ones, bad ones and tough ones – always keep the customer in mind.
Every new system being put into place, every new line of merchandise being developed, every new location being planned, every website change – in one word, everything –warrants a discussion about how it will impact the customer.
In addition, all employees recognize their role in the customer’s experience, even those employees who never have direct contact with a customer.
A couple of examples will make this point. After hearing multiple requests from customers, a manufacturer decides to add a new colour to a line of merchandise. Why? It’s a reasonable request and won’t cost much to set up for the new colour. As a result, the customers are happy because of the extra choice.
The company’s decision was made because they knew their customers were asking for it. The company listened and responded. It was obvious that the decision of adding another colour would make a positive customer impact. This one was easy. But, what about a tough decision that a company knows will not be received well by the customer, such as a price increase? Raising prices may not make the customer happy, but what if the company doesn’t take this action? If the price doesn’t go up, in order to continue to sell the same product profitably, something else may have to give. Not raising the price might mean a compromise in quality or service. The choice to raise prices, even knowing the customer will not be happy, may have to be done.
Or maybe it’s a decision about something behind the scenes that the customer won’t see, but that still may have a negative impact on the customer –maybe even worse than their concern over a price increase. These decisions are always made with the customer in mind, even if we know they are not going to be positively received by the customer.
Customer centricity shouldn’t be a concept that is just bantered around. It should be woven into the very fibre of your company’s culture. Every employee must be a part of this culture that permeates the business. The best companies do this.
So, if you haven’t already done so, make the decision for your company to be customer-focused. It will positively impact your customers, your employees and your bottom line.
Be customer-focused and ask customers what they want.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, visit www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
1494 Bell Mill Road, P.O. Box 456, Tillsonburg, ON, Canada, N4G 4J1 P.O. Box 2663, Buffalo, NY, USA, 14240-2663
CRUSH THROUGH OVERBURDEN DRILLS THE STRAIGHTEST HOLES
Foremost DR drills have been proven repeatedly in some of the toughest unconsolidated overburden formations, including sand, gravel, glacial till, and boulders.
The rotation of the casing by the lower drive results in a very straight hole making it ideal for shaft holes and foundation piles. This also minimizes stress on casing and casing welds, and eases the task of installing screens and pumps in water well applications.
Cuttings are diverted through the discharge swivel and can be directed to a safe and convenient dumping or monitoring point. This provides superior control of discharge for drilling in urban areas.
