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Serving the Canadian Ground Water industry for 46 years.
A driving force in ground water research dreams big for an educational facility in Guelph, Ont..
IN A DAY’S DRLLING Winning photos in Ground Water Canada’s cover photo contest
A changing workforce means opportunities for those hiring
Staying
ON THE WEB:
Vancouver airport installs geoexchange system of 850 wells
A $350-million geoexchange system at Vancouver International Airport involves drilling 850 wells 152 metres down into the sand of Sea Island. The Vancouver Sun reports.
Manitoba First Nation launches proposed class action
A legal challenge filed in Manitoba could cost the federal government billions, if it is proven the government has violated the Charter rights of a large class of First Nations people for decades by failing to provide them with safe drinking water. CBC News reports.
www.groundwatercanada.com
Women in the trades
Goals for 2020 should include encouraging women to consider the trades
by Colleen Cross
Women are underrepresented in the skilled trades, and we need to do more to encourage them to enter the trades in general and the ground water industry in particular.
Women are making some strides in entering the trades as compared to the slowing growth of the trades overall. According to data from Statistics Canada’s most recent Labour Force Survey, of the 934,000 people working in industrial, electrical and construction trades in 2008, 34,600 (3.7 per cent) were women. By 2018, 38,600 fewer people were working in the trades overall, but the number of women grew by about 200 to 34,800, just under 3.9 per cent.
But Canadian employers still have much work to do to debunk stereotypes of women as more likely to excel in soft skills such as caregiving and communication than in math and science, as you’ll read in our feature story, “Culture of change” (page 27).
Canadian employers still have much work to do to debunk stereotypes of women as more likely to excel in soft skills . . .
We as an industry should encourage women to consider a career in the trades.
Of course, it’s a long road to change attitudes. First, we need to raise general awareness about ground water by linking the work you all do to the bigger picture of drinking water in Canada. That starts with projecting a positive attitude about yourselves as ground water professionals.
Then, we need to ensure our workplaces are welcoming and supportive. There are many programs set up to help businesses be more inclusive, among them the B.C. Industry Training Authority’s Women in Trades Training and Quebec’s Les Elles de la Construction.
Nationally, a Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA) task force is developing a National Strategy for Women in Trades that will set targets to increase participation and retention of women in skilled trades careers and present them at the National Apprenticeship Conference in Calgary in May.
Out in the field, several drilling companies already employ women with great success, among them Aardvark Drilling Inc. in Ontario, which counts women as 10 per cent of its workforce. Darren Juneau, chief executive officer, pinpoints a change in attitude he’s witnessed: “We have someone representing this demographic who’s providing quality work and that raises awareness. They realize they need to be more open to it and it’s not just the boys’ club anymore.”
Let’s all make a New Year’s resolution to take a step toward making our worksites places where all employees will feel welcome and proud to put their skills to work.
2020
AND BEYOND!
We at Ground Water Canada are excited and proud to bring you the Ontario Ground Water Association’s well-respected publication, The Source, within these pages. The OGWA for more than 65 years has provided guidance to members, government representatives and the public on the development, protection and management of ground water. We all know ground water has no borders. Check out The Source, to understand your geographic differences and common interests.
Two of our goals for 2020 are to elevate the industry during Ground Water Awareness Week in March – and beyond – and to carry out a national survey. Please participate in this important poll to help create a clear picture of this industry’s priorities and challenges. With the incorporation of the unifying Canadian National Ground Water Association (see page 4!), gathering and sharing this information is more important than ever.
INDUSTRY NEWS
USASK WATER EXPERT JOINS GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION TO PROTECT GROUND WATER SOURCES
A group of international scientists and practitioners including University of Saskatchewan researcher Jay Famiglietti say we are not doing enough to protect and manage global ground water resources, which will have long-term effects on the planet’s drinking water, food production, and adaptation to a rapidly changing climate.
The Global Groundwater Statement – A Call to Action cites recent scientific breakthroughs that have highlighted the regional and international importance of the issue as well as global connections and threats to ground water, which makes up 99 per cent of the Earth’s liquid freshwater.
“Over half of the world’s major aquifers are past sustainability tipping points and are being rapidly depleted to provide water for irrigated agriculture. Not only is our water security at great risk, but our food security as well,” said Famiglietti, executive director of the Global Institute for Water Security and Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing at University of Saskatchewan, in a news release.
More than 700 scientists, practitioners and experts from more than 80 countries around the world have signed the Global Groundwater Statement – A Call to Action already, and many scientists are hoping that number will grow as the situation becomes more urgent.
wFamiglietti stressed the urgency of the situation that is echoed in the call.
“It is time for scientists like myself to take action. Society needs our research more than ever, and that includes far more engagement and co-developed projects with stakeholders, water managers, decision makers and elected officials,” Famiglietti said.
The Global Groundwater Statement – A Call to Action outlines three key actions:
1. Put the spotlight on global ground water sustainability by completing a UN World Water Development Report on the state, trends and prospects of global ground water sustainability for the 2022 UN World Water Day dedicated to ground water and recognizing the global importance of ground water to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
2. Manage and govern ground water sustainably from local to global scales by applying sustainability guiding principles by 2030.
3. Invest in ground water governance and management by implementing ground water sustainability plans for stressed aquifers by 2030.
Learn more about the global ground water statement or add your name as a signatory at groundwaterstatement.org.
GASES REPORTED IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO WATER WELLS
Rural water wells in Chatham-Kent, Ont., are experiencing serious issues with gases. Watch groundwatercanada. com for updates on the situation reported earlier in 2019 in the feature story, “Turbidity and turbines?”
SKYTEM REACHES MAPPING MILESTONE
SkyTEM has mapped 1,000,000 kilometres of the Earth – equivalent to almost 25 trips around the world – and collected and delivered more than one million kilometres of airborne electromagnetic data.
The mapping was done with helicopters on all seven continents, safely and without incident or accident, said a news release from SkyTEM, which provides airborne geophysical survey services to government agencies, resource exploration companies and environmental and geotechnical engineering companies.
In 2004 SkyTEM launched its airborne geophysical technology specifically engineered to map ground water and deliver highly accurate images of the Earth from the very near surface to great depths.
In 2015 Geoscience BC employed SkyTEM to map the distribution of shallow ground water systems over an 8,300-squarekilometre area of the Peace River, B.C. A webinar on the results of this work can be seen here.
SkyTEM’s technology is available in a choice of systems suited for a wide variety of exploration objectives.
Q-AND-A WITH BETH PARKER
A driving force in ground water research dreams big
Beth Parker is the founding director of the G360 Institute for Groundwater Research, holds an NSERC senior industrial research chair and is a professor at the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph.
Parker spoke with Ground Water Canada after funding was approved for a new Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility (BAFF) in Guelph, Ont., to build on the existing facility, established in 2009 as part of the G360 Institute. The new, research-focused, educational facility will highlight ground water and serve as a hub for the public and professionals alike. Parker, who is spearheading these plans, told us of her dreams for the new BAFF.
WHAT IS G360?
G360 is a research institute that, essentially, has its home at the University of Guelph. It’s meant to represent me and my professor colleagues and about 15 staff members who are professional geologists or professional engineers focused on advancing ground water science and practice through field-based research. We’re an interactive, multidisciplinary team with a focus on data collection and analysis involving high-resolution measurements from field sites. We’ve been motivated to better understand real-site complexities by doing work in the field, which has driven us to be innovative in how we collect our data, including spatial detail using a variety of sensors. Recently, high-resolution temporal data added to spatial detail supported by new capacity for data storage has come to the forefront. We work with many data types from individual boreholes and then combine
the insights from multiple boreholes at local and regional scales. We’ve been able to do things differently as technology has advanced – sometimes the technology is developed internal to G360, and other times developed external to our group, allowing us to connect with our vendor- and supplier-type collaborators to demonstrate new capabilities for characterization and monitoring, ultimately bringing improved methods and insights to the profession.
It allows us to work at field sites in different stages, so instead of thinking you drill a hole and you immediately complete it as a monitoring well, we get to use it for a certain type of multi-stage data collection cost effectively, with much more data to provide insights about site conditions before moving toward a permanent monitoring stage. We’ve been deliberately separating the answers to questions that are objective-specific; characterizing the system before committing to a monitoring design. But of course, there’s always characterization that comes from later monitoring – it’s just that the permanent monitoring designs can be better informed with a different style of data. We’re quite accustomed to doing geophysics right after we drill, knowing that we likely won’t have a chance to do geophysics in the same way after the borehole has been converted to a monitoring system. We’re now able to bring hydrological data into
by COLLEEN CROSS
a kind of geophysical logging stage of the site investigations. In a similar way, we’re calling it hydrophysical logging and we use temperature and hydraulic head and many different tools that work that way to give us insights as to flow. We’re excited about using these hydrophysical data sets and head profiles to help us better delineate where aquitards exist in the system.
Since 2003, we have been using the Guelph region bedrock aquifer as a research laboratory in many unique ways, promoting major progress towards establishing a world-class ground water monitoring network for this urban aquifer system – the only such advanced ground water monitoring to exist for a bedrock aquifer community in North America. The BAFF is now the centrepiece as a means to demonstrate to the public how the aquifer functions and serves for special research projects. The BAFF’s value is greatly enhanced because it is tied to the broader scales of monitoring and research.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR BAFF?
The proposed new facility will be on the same site as the existing structure at the University of Guelph Arboretum. We’re even trying to keep some of the original building structure with many important design features showcasing ground water and modern technologies.
ALL IN A DAY’S DRILLING
Meet the winners of GWC’s cover photo contest
Water-well drilling is a serious business. Still, engineer Bruce Hietkamp managed to find a photo that shows the fun side of working in the field. We call it “Taking a Drink” and its the winner of our first cover photo contest.
by GROUND WATER CANADA STAFF
Bruce Hietkamp of Geo Kamp Ltd. stands smiling in the background, Roger Boadway of Roger Boadway Enterprises Ltd. in Sutton, Ont., grins in the foreground and driller Phil Brown takes a drink during 2,000 litres-perminute pump testing of a fish hatchery well near Mount Albert, Ont.
Hietkamp is principal and president of Geo Kamp Ltd., a small environmental consulting and contracting company in Oakville, Ont. He is a registered hydrogeologist, engineer and Ministry of the Environment-licensed well technician who has been working in the water well industry since 1988.
In our winning photo, Hietkamp stands in the background while Roger Boadway of Roger Boadway Enterprises Ltd. in Sutton, Ont., grins in the foreground and driller Phil Brown takes a drink. The photo is of a new well the team constructed for a trout hatchery near Mount Albert, Ont. The well was performance tested for 24 hours at 2,000 litres per minute, Hietkamp says.
“The photo was taken in August 2011,” Hietkamp says. “We broke apart the hose
near the end of the 72 hour pumping test to make the pumping a bit more dramatic.”
The job involved the installation of 30 feet of eight-inch-diameter telescoping well screen: 20 feet of 125-slot screen and 10 feet of 80-slot screen, Hietkamp says.
One challenge was to drill to bedrock, he says. “We wanted to confirm the depth to bedrock but the coarse gravel made it difficult to finish the bottom 10 feet. Bedrock was encountered at 202.5 feet.”
Roger Boadway remembers that the material was wet from five feet down to about 150 feet. “Getting 8-5/8-inch casing down the hole was hard,” he says. “We had to hold the ground up around the casing so we could pour the Quik-Gel fluid, which is double the weight of water.” They had to drill
BY
RIGHT:
PHOTO
CHRIS GALLOW
a 12-inch hole to contain the casing.
The trout farm is located in a basin with high hills all around, the contractor says – an ideal situation that allows for a gravity-fed well producing 200 gallons per minute.
Boadway’s grandfather, Frank, established a dug-well business around 1880, and, after it switched to drilling wells just before the First World War, the family has run the business. Roger, now semi-retired, is happy to hand off to the next generation. That includes son, Grant, who heads up operations, and daughter Lynor, who runs the office.
Geo Kamp and Boadway have partnered as hydrogeologist and well contractor on many ground water resource projects from fish hatcheries and irrigation wells to potable water supplies.
“It was a pleasure working with Bruce,” Boadway adds. “We’ve worked together on other sites as well.”
Congratulations on a team effort that yielded not only a good flow of water but a photo that captures perfectly what water well drilling is all about!
RUNNER-UP
Under an Alberta Sky: Larson’s Water Well Drilling, Lougheed, Alta.
The wheat fields on a farm south of Edgerton, Alta., provide a stunning backdrop to Larson’s Water Well Drilling hard at work. Office manager Sheena Larson snapped the photo, which captures a team drilling a well for an farm acreage last summer. Larson says it was a 280-foot double-pack screened well that produced 50 gallons per minute of soft water.
Johan Wiebe is at the rig while Logan Teers and Ethan Barton (in the blue hard hat), ream the hole before running the six-inch casing.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Beautiful Find Captured on the Fly: Puits Lanaudiere, Saint-CharlesBorromée, Que. Raphael Tremblay of Puits Lanaudiere in Saint-Charles-Borromé, Que., sent in a photo that shows a flowing artesian well. The star of the photo may be the water but the photo also shows one of the versatile and energy-efficient crawler drills the company manufactures to manoeuvre in confined areas, Tremblay says.
Teamwork: Conrad Well Drilling, Parry Sound, Ont.
Another summer photo came to us from Paul Conrad, owner of Conrad Well Drilling, a family business that serves the Parry Sound, Muskoka and Georgian Bay area of Ontario. In a show of teamwork, Scott Thomson is on the drill and Skyler Newton is helping.
OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND TO GET INVOLVED
I hope the snow and the wind aren’t blowing too hard where you are, and that you can still get out there and finish up the work that was supposed to be done before Christmas!
The OGWA board and staff have continued their hard work through the fall preparing for our upcoming events and working on new partnerships and member benefits for you. As usual, the board of directors has been meeting monthly, and over the fall have enjoyed hospitality for our meetings from Lackner McLennan, Accu Pumps, and the JW Marriott Rosseau Muskoka hotel, where we met in preparation for the upcoming convention and annual general meeting.
Firstly, the OGWA is excited to be partnering with Ground Water Canada to bring you The Source magazine. We are excited about the new format, the expanded reach and working with the talented staff at Annex. We look forward to many years together with this new partnership.
The OGWA is also excited to announce that we have partnered with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) to offer you CFIB membership with your paid OGWA membership. The potential savings and extensive benefits will be very valuable for you and your business. The business resources, partner discounts, lobbying support for our board and staff, and many other supports available, are immense. More on this later in these pages.
We will also be having a series of presentations to come at our regional training meetings. Be sure to register soon to ensure your spot. You can sign up online, send in the form or just call the office. OGWA staff, board members and supporting presenters will be at seven meetings around the province to deliver your Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks required continuing education credits. Be sure to capitalize on the OGWA member discounted rate – save $120 per technician. It’s another great benefit of
membership in the OGWA!
Plans for the AGM are progressing very well and we are looking forward to a fantastic event this March 27-28, 2020. The JW Marriott Rosseau Muskoka Resort and Spa is a premier location with luxurious amenities for you and your family (at a special discounted OGWA rate!). There will be continuing education, hospitality and networking events, the table-top trade show, divisional meetings, the AGM, the President’s Banquet, a keynote speaker, technical sessions, a silent auction, a spousal event, awards and more. Once again, members enjoy a significant discount on event rates, so register now for a great weekend of learning, networking and fun! I’m definitely looking forward to the heated indoor-outdoor pool, and I know that many will be taking advantage of the massage and spa packages.
The AGM is also the time of year when we elect the board of directors for our association. Many talented and dedicated current board members plan on returning and there are also some spots for new people to join our team. If you are interested in finding out more about the nomination process, please contact me directly or talk with the office staff. If you want to be involved but aren’t sure about joining the board yet, we are also looking for non-board members to sit on our numerous committees.
Whether you are interested in education, the magazine, our website, our golf event or the AGM and convention, there are numerous opportunities to volunteer your time and talents.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Keep the equipment running and your mitts dry!
MATT WILSON, President
INSIDE THE ISSUE
Executive Director’s Report
How unity will make us better
OGWA Regional Training Meetings 2020 Registration Form
Opinion
Stewards of ground water or destroyers of an industry?
OGWA teams up with the CFIB!
The Ontario Ground Water Association is proud to announce a new partnership
68th Annual Convention
Join us in the Muskokas for networking, learning, relaxing and much more!
PUBLISHED FOR THE ONTARIO GROUND WATER ASSOCIATION
750 Talbot St., St. Thomas, ON N5P 1E2
Phone: 519-245-7194 Fax: 519-245-7196
Email: ogwa@ogwa.ca
ADVERTISING: Jennifer Hudson
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 519-245-7194, ext.101 Fax: 519-245-7196
Email: admin@ogwa.ca
EDITOR: K.C. Craig Stainton, Executive Director
Phone: 519-245-7194, ext. 103 Cell: 519-282-0063
Email: executivedirector@ogwa.ca
EXECUTIVE
MATT WILSON President
DWAYNE GRAFF 1st Vice-President
KYLE SMITH 2nd Vice-President
STEPHEN BLEIZEFFER Treasurer/ Secretary
BRYAN WATSON Past President
DIRECTORS
BILL BEATON
Lotowater Technical Services Inc. 519-442-2086 Fax: 519-442-7242
TROY HUGHSON Ontario Water Well Fracturing 705-641-0198
ROBERT MARTINI
Canadian Pipe & Pump Supply Ltd. 416-244-6476 Fax: 416- 241-2022
JEFFERY MCCRACKEN Franklin Electric 647-641-2178
KYLE SMITH
Aardvark Drilling Inc. 519-826-9340 Fax: 519-826-9108
BRYAN WATSON
Hart & Sons Well Drilling Ltd. 705-887-3331 Fax 705-887-4788
MATTHEW D. WILSON
J.B. Wilson & Son Well Drilling Ltd. 519-639-9988 Fax: 519-269-3552
HOW UNITY WILL MAKE US BETTER
What is the problem?
Water is the most valuable resource on this planet. Yes, it seems abundant, but when you get right down to the nitty gritty there is a large amount that is not readily usable for human consumption.
By extrapolation, then, those who procure readily usable, safely consumable water from Mother Earth are by virtue of their occupation the most valuable professionals on this planet.
Those who procure readily usable, safely consumable water from Mother Earth are by virtue of their occupation the most valuable professionals on this planet.
Why then, are these “most valuable professionals” not recognizing their significance and treating themselves and their profession accordingly? Is it due to modesty, humility or resignation? Is the general public holding them down? Why does this industry trend towards a lack of self-importance? It is time for well drillers and pump installers to end their self-deprecating tendencies – enough with the undervaluing of their abilities.
How do we end this undervaluing? Let’s start by agreeing we are Ground Water Professionals. We all perform a job to high standards; we all have attained extra education and we all do a specific type of work to earn a living. The next step would be living that definition: high standards with continuing education in our specific fields and, additionally, getting paid fairly for our work.
Fair pay does not mean whatever is left after you discount the price to get the job. As Dwayne and Shawn say in their column, there is no prize for doing the most jobs in a year. If you are discounting your prices to get jobs, you are getting nowhere fast. Let’s simplify this so you get my concept: If you make $2 profit/job on 50 jobs that is $100. If you make $4 profit/job you need only do 25 jobs to make that same $100 profit. So, half the work for the same profit. That is half the wear and tear on you, your employees and your equipment, and that’s worth some money too.
You are professionals, ground water professionals. You source pristine ground water for you clients. Rather than discounting your prices, come together with the other professionals in your area, look at your costs and figure out a fair price. A fair price is one that covers your costs, allows for equipment replacement, builds in profit and, most importantly, pays you and your employees fairly. How can you ever expect to attract or keep good help if you don’t pay a decent wage and offer some benefits. In a recent conversation with a Fleming staff person I was told most of their graduates are going into the construction industry due to the notoriously poor pay in the water well sector. Come together with the other professionals in your area and look at how you present your prices to prospective clients. Shoot for uniformity. The bad actors – the shysters – will soon be unmasked if three or four of you in an area all price in a uniform manner your clients can understand. The days of pricing only per foot should be discouraged: there are just too many variables and it gives the shysters a foot in the door.
Treat your competitors as colleagues. No one complains to me about not having any work. Join any and all professional associations: your local (provincial) association, your national association (there is now a Canadian National Ground Water Association) and, if you have the ability, the National Ground Water Association in the United States. Get involved.
We are better together. Unity builds strength.
CRAIG STAINTON, Executive Director
JOIN US AT OUR 68TH CONVENTION & AGM
JW MARRIOTT ROSSEAU MUSKOKA RESORT & SPA
For those that have not heard we have booked the J.W. Marriott Rosseau for our final CEC course and combined AGM in March of 2020. This is an excellent opportunity to get away and get those much needed CEC courses while having the opportunity to stay at a premier resort at a significantly discounted rate. We at the board have been working hard and have arranged for some very special room rates at the event. The rooms (many equipped with mini kitchenettes) are being offered at $159 per night compared to upwards of $800-$1,000 per night in peak season. These rooms are perfect for families and friends alike. You will find indoor pool, spa and an assortment of culinary services to meet your needs. I would encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and look forward to seeing you all in March at Rosseau!
For more information contact Jennifer Hudson at (519) 245-7194 x101 or by e-mail at admin@ogwa.ca or visit our website www.ogwa.ca
OGWA REGIONAL TRAINING MEETINGS 2020 REGISTRATION FORM
Participants must pre-register with full payment by the Registration Deadline
Company: Contact:
Mailing Address:
Phone:
E-Mail:
Fax:
Additional Participants: Please add a 2nd page with you Company Name, Participant Names, and Well Technician Licence # & Classes
PLEASE SELECT YOUR LOCATION - YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER TO ATTEND
Registration Deadline Location
Dec. 30th, 2019 SUDBURY | CARUSO CLUB, 385 Haig Street
Jan. 17th, 2020 WALKERTON | CLEAN WATER CENTRE, 20 Ontario Road
Jan. 31st, 2020 SPRINGFIELD | MALAHIDE COMMUNITY PLACE, 12105 Whittaker Road
Feb. 14th, 2020 THUNDER BAY | VICTORIA INN, 555 West Arthur Street
Feb. 24th, 2020 PERTH | FARRELL HALL, 186 Gore Street East
Regional Meeting Date
Tues. Jan 7th, 2020
Fri. Jan 24th, 2020
Fri. Feb. 7th, 2020
Fri. Feb 21st, 2020
Wed. Mar 4th, 2020
Feb. 25th, 2020 LINDSAY | LINDSAY GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, 282 Lindsay Street South Thurs. Mar 5th, 2020
Mar. 20th, 2020 MINETT | JW MARRIOTT THE ROSSEAU MUSKOKA RESORT & SPA, 1050 Paignton House Road Fri. Mar 27th, 2020
REFUNDS WILL ONLY BE GIVEN IF YOU CANCEL YOUR REGISTRATION BEFORE THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE PARTICIPANTS MAY SWITCH MEETING DATES ONLY PRIOR TO THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE
REGISTRATION FEES:
Number of Participants (OGWA Members)X $175.00 + 22.75 (HST)= $ 197.75 (HST Incl)= $
Number of Participants (All Others)X $295.00 + 38.35 (HST)= $ 333.35 (HST Incl)= $
Total Registration Fees: $
PAYMENT BY CHEQUE $ Cheque Enclosed for
Mail to Ontario Ground Water Association 125-750 Talbot Street, St. Thomas ON N5P 1E2
Ontario Ground Water Association
JW MARRIOTT THE ROSSEAU MUSKOKA RESORT & SPA
Convention & AGM
Friday Evening: Networking & Hospitality and admission to Table Top Displays
Saturday Events: Division & AGM Meetings, Coffee Breaks, Breakfast Buffet, Lunch Buffet, Special Seminars and President’s Banquet
Regional Training coffee breaks & Friday Lunch, Networking & Hospitality and Admission to Table Top Displays
BOOK YOUR ROOMS NOW! Bring the family and enjoy a weekend getaway at this amazing group rate. All Room Reservations can be made online https://book.passkey.com/go/ontariogroundwater or by phone at 1-866-240 -8605 and use group code “OGW”
Studio Room $ 159
STEWARDS OF GROUND WATER OR DESTROYERS OF AN INDUSTRY?
BY DWAYNE GRAFF AND SHAWN HOPPER
Are we really stewards of ground water? Those words alone should cause us to give our collective heads a shake. This industry has a history of colourful characters that believed, and in some cases believe, they are stewards of ground water. A steward is one tasked with ensuring things are cared for properly. That is a pretty important hat to wear, as this article will highlight.
The opening question asked can be traced back to the quality of the workmanship seen in the past several years – particularly on the municipal water well side of the industry. It is that area that has some in the industry answering “no,” for a few important reasons.
Unfortunately, it seems that the industry has come to the point where quality really doesn’t matter, provided the bare minimum contract requirements can appear to have been met. It now seems the more important thing is to get paid – regardless of deliverables – and move on to the next project. In many cases the contracts may not yet be completed (or in some cases even really started) before one moves on to the next large project that they “must have” in their portfolio. Client objectives and required schedules seem to be of no concern to some contractors, and even when a contract is in place with liquidated damage clauses, the liquidated damages are rarely applied. Subsequently the project often is “allowed” to go months and sometimes more than a year
Dwayne
Shawn
behind schedule without the contractor seeing any consequences. Moreover, many of us have seen the quality of the deliverables decline to the point where what is delivered really does not meet the intent of the contract. The thinking is this: Whatever is delivered as the “finished product” will just have to do, because the contractor is so far behind and has spent so much time leapfrogging from job to job.
CONSULTANTS FRUSTRATED
Ironically, the consultant hired to document field activities also suffers when work is completed in this manner. Their budget is predetermined based in part on their anticipation of a timeline and the level of effort the project will require. In cases where a capable, well-organized contractor is engaged, the field component of the consultant’s job is easy. However, when a poorly organized contractor is retained, this can spell disaster for the consultant. The budget is seen as their budget, and the project is not only months behind but the work they are forced to accept is vastly inferior to the specifications required. In these cases, the consultant should be, but rarely is, compensated additionally. As a result, it becomes critical for the consultant to watch everything, especially when the schedule is behind and the contractor is having difficulties. Unfortunately, what we now see is very capable consultants who are no longer willing to engage in this type of work after working with an incapable contractor or two. This reflects poorly on all of us, as we are all painted with the same brush. Hardly an example of stewardship toward a resource that is precious.
WHY IT MATTERS TO CONTRACTORS
Does stewardship of ground water and the issues described above matter to the average contractor? That’s the next question. Many in the industry have come to think it does matter – a lot – not only at a specific project level but also at an even higher level. Some geographical areas in Ontario and elsewhere have been converted from ground water to surface water, and generally that starts with the municipal water supply. When municipalities or consultants in a certain area can’t obtain capable contractors to construct wells and/or there is a problem with the construction, operation, maintenance and water quality of the supply, the “easy” solution is to switch to surface water. Unfortunately, surface water is deemed unlimited in supply although, in many cases, it is arguably of poorer quality. Often this idea is pushed with the aid of consultants who have experience in construction and operation of large water treatment facilities, and if we’re being completely honest, there is more in it for a consultant to build pipelines and treatment facilities than there is in the hydrogeological aspect of water supply wells and related infrastructure.
Graff is president of Well Initiatives Ltd. in Elora, Ont. A ground water professional, Dwayne is first vice-president of the Ontario Ground Water Association.
Hopper of SD Hopper Drilling in St. Marys, Ont., is a third-generation ground water professional.
Often a decision to service an area with a pipeline has been largely predetermined before there is a rigorous effort to obtain the more cost-effective ground water option. There have been cases where there was a supposed “final” effort to look at using ground water, but the teams picked to assess all options had their hands tied and were directed to not look for water in certain geographical areas within a study area! Essentially, the hydrogeologist and the contractor knew where to get the water supply from but weren’t allowed to find or develop the supply because the study was designed to prove ground water was either unavailable or unreliable – only to justify converting the community to a surface water source.
In the recent past clients/owners have seen general work quality decline due to purchasing policies mandating the lowest bidder, with absolutely no regard for quality or contractor experience. This has forced the client/owner and the consultant to accept substandard well construction with a finished product far below the full intent of the contract, because that is all that was delivered by the lowest bidder. In the end, the contractor is paid although the client/owner
is frustrated with the process. Purchasing policies for our services need to change as the current system is apparently broken.
At a high level, we have a system that allows us to fail at being stewards of ground water. Everyone involved in the project accepts low-quality work because, essentially, that is all that is being paid for. Only in a few cases is the full intent of the contract delivered, and over time, or in some cases immediately after the project, the owner and related ratepayers are left looking for better options. In their eyes ground water is perceived to be unreliable, and ultimately surface water is sought as a replacement. For our industry this is the worst-case scenario.
Once the municipality obtains the surface water pipe, not only is the municipality removed from ground water, but in the following years the pipeline spreads, effectively converting large blocks of land from ground water to surface water. That is bad for everyone in our industry. Like it or not, Ontario is in a unique location and “everywhere” is in competition with the pipeline.
THE WAY FORWARD
What does all this mean and what can be changed? It’s simple: collectively, we need to do a much better job of delivering our services, providing quality workmanship, getting the job done properly and charging accordingly. Most are cutting corners because they aren’t charging for all the work that is required; some don’t even know what that is. If everyone would become aware of and do what is required and charge an appropriate fee for the work, not only would profitability improve but we would also become a more respected industry. There is no race nor prize for the most wells drilled in a year, and in many cases that model isn’t profitable in the long term either. Hoarding all the work and executing it poorly just for the sake of getting it done and getting on to the next project only does a disservice to you as a contractor
With some of the impending changes coming to the GUDI guidelines, contractors and consultants really need to start focusing on quality workmanship and seeing that the wells are designed, constructed and developed properly.
and everyone else in the industry.
With some of the impending changes coming to the GUDI (Ground Water Under the Direct Influence of Surface Water) guidelines, contractors and consultants really need to start focusing on quality workmanship and seeing that the wells are designed, constructed and developed properly. The new guidelines are looking in detail at water-quality parameters that are largely based on the proper fundamentals of well construction. These impending changes represent to us an opportunity to make a real change to the course of our industry’s future, and there is a good opportunity here to add services and increase revenues, if managed properly.
However, if we continue down the same path we will fail. We need to be able to make it difficult or impossible to excuse ground water from the list of servicing options. Some need to be reminded that this is a relatively new and small industry in many respects, and like all others it must be guided to stay relevant. This can be illustrated by any number of past industries that seemed essential and unchangeable until they vanished.
As an association the Ontario Ground Water Association adopted the slogan “Dedicated to protecting and promoting Ontario’s most Precious Resource.” Most of us would agree with those sentiments, but are we willing to implement practices that uphold the embodiment of those words?
The foregoing represents an honest and open assessment of our industry’s current state. This should provide encouragement to everyone involved, to look at their current business model and see where improvements can be made in their services and the charges attached to those services.
Collectively, we can all do better. If we simply can’t be bothered, the market sector will have its say and there will be little to no ground water industry in the coming years. This isn’t a cynical response or a rant to alleviate frustration: it is simply the way things will be if we as a united industry do not take full responsibility for the direction we are headed.
Some of us will continue to work for the benefit of future generations and of ground water professionals, and as such might aptly be called stewards of ground water.
The question is, will you?
SAFETY-PROGRAM CHANGES
BY ELLALINE DAVIES
Hello, OGWA members! It’s been a busy time at the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and Ministry of Labour over the past few months.
The WSIB has now rolled out its new Health and Safety Excellence program. It replaces the WSIB Safety Groups, WorkWell and the Small Business programs. What are the key differences? You can select one to five topics to work on each year: you no longer have to complete a full five (as was mandatory in the Safety Groups Program). In addition to this, the WSIB is upping the ante for rebates, offering a minimum of
IN MEMORIAM
Gord van Aalst
It is with great sympathy to his friends and family that we inform you of the passing of Gord van Aalst of Meaford, Ont., on Dec. 9, 2019.
Cremation and a private family service has taken place. A long time and valued employee of Jim Clarke Well Drilling Limited, Gord will be greatly missed.
Ernest J. Kaleny
It is with regret and deep sympathy that we inform you of the sudden death of Ernest (Ernie) J. Kaleny at home in Keswick, Ont., on Dec. 4, 2019, at the age of 61. Ernie was the recipient of the Earth, Wind, Fire and Water Award presented by Fleming College and the OGWA in 2009. Ernie had been in the environmental field since his graduation from the University of Waterloo in 1981 and was well known in the industry by both consulting firms and drilling companies. Ernie is survived by his wife, Annis Dupont, siblings and extended family.
$1,000 per completed topic, to a maximum of 75 per cent of your annual premiums (2019’s). Now
for some of you, that may mean you could receive less than $1,000 per topic, as WSIB is
Ellaline Davies is a facilitator, trainer and the president of Safety Works Consulting Inc.
applying that cap of 75 per cent of annual premiums! There is a fee to join. The WSIB is also offering non-digital badges under the Compass portion of the WSIB website. I am an Approved Provider, so I will fill you in on the details at the regionals. I will be providing the WSIB presentation at the regionals: something for you to look forward to!
The Ministry of Labour will soon be announcing its support of not only the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence program but also accreditation. Provincial announcements of both should have happened by the time that you read this! I will be pleased to discuss accreditation with you too!
Ontario Ground Water Association
OGWA TEAMS UP WITH THE CFIB!
The Ontario Ground Water Association is proud to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), a non-profit, 48-year-old organization supporting small and mid-size Canadian business.
Starting January 1st (or sooner) all OGWA members that are Canadian, privately held companies (not publicly traded) will have access to all of the programs and services that CFIB provides to the 110,000 businesses that are members of the Federation, including:
1. Access to CFIB Savings Programs that typically save members $5000 per year or more, such as:
• “Tier 1” MasterCard interchange rate of 1.27%
• Chase payment processing with the best all-in rates on Visa and Amex
• Up to 50% off ShipTime Courier
• 40% off Payworks payroll services
• PrimaSure employee benefits programs
• 20% of Scotiabank banking services
• Average $1000 savings with Selectcom telecommunication services
• 20% off QuickBooks online
• 50% off CyberImpact automated marketing
• New deal with Telus to be announced shortly
2. Complimentary, unlimited access to CFIB Business Counsellors who can assist with almost any business issue, reducing admin workload and liability risk, especially in the areas of HR & employment standards, dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency, government compliance and regulation. CFIB can replace costly HR services for free!
3. Empowering members to voice their concerns to all levels of government on bottom line issues, and helping our lobbying efforts that save businesses thousands of dollars every year by forestalling and reversing unfair taxation & red tape initiatives.
You will receive a welcome letter shortly from CFIB with your membership number that you need to access all programs & services. CFIB will also be sending you an invitation to a webinar to learn more about the partnership and how you can benefit. If you have questions or require ANY assistance, please call:
Expert advice and support for your business 1-888-234-2232 | cfib@cfib.ca
Already a CFIB Member?
• Your membership # will remain the same
• Memberships will be renewed through the OGWA
Payment Arrangements Deadline: January 31, 2020
CULTURE OF CHANGE
Changing workforce represents great opportunities for those looking to hire
From the seaside towns of Nova Scotia to the Rocky Mountains in B.C., Canada’s workforce is changing and employers are taking notice.
Over the last decade, staffing has become more and complicated for businesses as they contend with candidates who see themselves in the driver’s seat.
At the same time, science and technology sectors are beginning to see the benefits of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education with new demographics of potential employees seeking out STEM-related jobs, including drilling.
Carolyn Levy, president of Randstad Canada’s Technologies division says the challenges organizations face in staffing are complex. “We have a strong economy in Canada and there’s definitely a competitive job market, but what’s layering into this is how employees behave and what their expectations are of employers. They’re much more diverse. They’re what we refer to as being ‘complicated’ for their set of expectations on what they feel success looks like and what they want in the role, for example, flexibility,” she explains.
In years past, the interview process focused on how candidates performed: successful applicants showed the employer that they had the right stuff for the job. Not so today. “With this change in demographics from
millennials up, you really need to be on point as an employer, being able to say ‘this is our purpose, this is our meaningful connection, this is how we’re a social enterprise, this is what we’re doing to move the dial forward in our industry in a holistic way that’s beneficial to humans.’ As employers, you need to be thinking about how you show up just as much as the
Mentorship is key, although not always possible in the field.
employee,” says Levy.
It’s an interesting flip of the traditional interview process. Levy notes that while compensation is an important piece of the equation, other factors like flexibility, benefits, careerpathing, a healthy and supportive environment, and strong training programs are all important elements for potential employees.
Despite these evolving expectations in interview etiquette, the interview process continues to be an opportunity
by JULIE FITZ-GERALD
for employers to evaluate applicants and find the perfect candidate for the job. Levy advises businesses to look from a skills perspective and find out what experience the person will bring to the team. From the company culture angle “this means not just looking for someone who’s a cultural fit, but for someone who might be a cultural add to your organization.”
‘GOOD WORK ETHIC’ IMPORTANT
Darren Juneau, chief executive officer of Aardvark Drilling Inc., based in southwestern Ontario, says his biggest challenge is finding qualified candidates, with most interested hires having no prior experience. Aardvark operates with an average of 40 employees, a number that increases during the busy summer months. They work in mostly technical and environmental drilling, but have recently forayed into domestic well supply. He says that while hiring a candidate with drilling experience is preferred, it’s not always possible.
“We’ve found that we can take someone with a good work ethic and good head on their shoulders and develop them successfully,” Juneau explains. “If you’re a problem solver and can take direction well, we can
turn that individual into a good helper and then a good driller.”
Beginning with a detailed screening process and followed by a strong on-boarding system, Juneau has achieved a high staff retention rate. “Instead of just hiring anybody, we put a lot of effort up front into the hiring process. We take three or four months to find the right candidate, so even though it might not be a quick hire, they end up staying,” he says.
Juneau looks for college or university graduates (not necessarily in drilling, although that is preferred), because it shows they can stick with a commitment and get it done. He also calls at least three references to get a good feel for the candidate and ensure they’re reliable and a team player.
Once hired, the on-boarding process begins. “Our new hires do three days of in-class training in the office, learning about the health and safety programs, how to work in the field and what’s expected of them. Then they go through a minimum of 40 hours as
an observer – this ensures they won’t hurt themselves or others. After that, they can go out as part of a two-person crew,” Juneau says.
MENTORSHIP IS KEY
Mentorship is also key, although not always possible in the field.
“We’ve got to kill these stereotypes. Working to kill them will help draw more women in.” – Carolyn Levy
“Mentorship works well. If we can pair up a new employee with someone who’s experienced in the field, we have a lot of success. It’s not always possible, but if we can keep them paired the success rate is higher.”
Levy agrees that mentorship is an integral part of employee satisfaction, which inevitably leads to overall success for the business. “There’s this emerging piece where we’re seeing the value of mentors and sponsors and the role that they play. Ensuring companies have that set up, whether formal or informal mentoring, is going to be important,” she notes.
WOMEN AND VISIBLE MINORITIES IN STEM
Mentorship creates opportunities across demographics and is crucial to finding and training quality candidates that are a great fit with your business. In a recent Randstad Canada survey as part of its “Women transforming the workplace” initiative, this point was made clear. According to Levy, the survey found that four in 10 working Canadians believe that men in leadership roles in Canada should be working to create more opportunities to help women advance, while two in 10 agreed that should extend to
The reality is that women and visible minorities are underrepresented in certain sectors, including drilling.
Juneau says that currently 10 per cent of Aardvark’s employees are women, including office staff and field staff, which is a greater number than in the past. It is a number he hopes will increase in the future. “There’s been a successful push of STEM in education and when we attend job fairs we’re seeing more girls who have gone through the drilling and blasting course at Sir Sandford Fleming College. When I post a lead looking for people, I do see applicants from women for field positions, so that’s encouraging,” he says.
When Aardvark first began in 2002, Juneau says it had only one female worker in the field, but over the last eight years, seven or eight women have held field positions with the company. Despite the strides being made, there is still much work to be done. Levy says that Randstad’s survey found
both men and women responded that men are more likely to excel in math, science and computers, whereas women are more likely to excel in caregiving, communications and fine arts. “This survey was done just recently, so we’ve got to kill these stereotypes that exist. Working to kill them will help draw more women in,” Levy says.
Juneau credits a strong company culture of respect and sensitivity for the success of female employees at Aardvark. “We treat the employees with respect and we expect that back. If there’s a problem, we deal with it. People can have their moments and there can be backslide, but with women in the workforce here, the workers are seeing that this isn’t just a statistic. We have someone representing this demographic who’s providing quality work and that raises awareness. They realize they need to be more open to it and it’s not just the boys’ club anymore,” he explains. Juneau is hoping to see a similar
trend with visible minorities in drilling. Currently he employs two people from this demographic, noting that most of his applicants are white males. “With science and engineering, Canada has a great schooling program and people worldwide are taking courses here and getting hired by engineering firms in Canada, so I’m seeing more diversity that way, but when is it going to trickle down to skills and labour? And how will that benefit my company? For example, if a company that spoke predominantly Mandarin was looking to hire a driller and I had a driller on my team that spoke fluent mandarin, I would think that would be an asset.”
For employers, a surge in STEM initiatives paired with global interest in Canadian education is sure to boost to the number of quality candidates they see in the future.
Julie Fitz-Gerald is a freelance writer based in Uxbridge, Ont., and a regular contributor to Ground Water Canada.
PROTECTING ONE ANOTHER
Staying safe from electrical and other hazards at work
While there are many potential causes of injuries and fatalities on any worksite, electrical hazards may not be top of mind for well drillers.
by CAROLYN CAMILLERI
RIGHT: Electrical injury results when a person becomes part of the electrical circuit. There are four main types of electricity injuries: electrocution (fatal), electric shock, thermal burns from heat generated by an electric arc flash and falls caused by muscle contractions or startle reactions.
Ellaline Davies, president of Safety Works Consulting Inc., points out that the problem with electricity is that we don’t see it – it’s not like a hole in the ground. Drillers are not electricians, first and foremost, she adds, so there’s not that “cognizant awareness and genetic fear” around the power of electricity.
“Normally, drillers are more hardwired to think about what’s in the ground rather than what’s up above,” Davies says.
And yet, as far as hazards go, electricity is extremely dangerous. Electrical injury results when a person becomes part of the electrical circuit. There are four main types of electricity injuries: electrocution (fatal), electric shock, thermal burns from heat generated by an electric arc flash and falls caused by muscle contractions or
startle reactions. As the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website notes, even changing a lightbulb can kill someone if they come into contact with the “live” part of the light socket. 1
And if the voltage in a light socket is powerful enough to be deadly, imagine the danger of a drilling rig backing into hydro lines. That’s what happened in Ontario last fall, with tragic results. 2
But electrical hazards are just one of many safety hazards people in every industry are potentially exposed to every day. The most recent statistics from the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada lists 951 work-related fatalities in 2017. Of those, 333 were due to traumatic injuries and disorders. In the same year, 251,625 lost-time
claims were filed in Canada, 222,189 of which were related to traumatic injuries and disorders.3
But perhaps it is less about the specific hazards than it is about factors contributing to accidents and how we think about safety.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
The reasons behind any kind of accident – not only electricity accidents and not just those occurring in the drilling community – are varied.
“It could be a lack of training, or it could be a misunderstanding or it could be incorrect information that people are provided with,” Davies says. “It could be that people aren’t following procedures or that they’re not given the right tools to do the job, or that they think they have enough training but maybe they need a bit more.”
One of the key contributing factors in accidents is complacency: the attitude that “I’ve been doing the
job or 25 years and I know what I’m doing” or “I don’t need to know any more information” or “I’m used to doing it this way.”
“For people who have been doing a job for a long period of time, it usually is complacency,” Davies says. “It’s the habitualization of doing work – the idea that ‘This is how I have always done it’ – but it doesn’t necessarily allow for a different way to do something.”
JOIN THE LEADERS
• Accuracy in overburden
• Better performance in tough overburden conditions
• Allows better sampling
• Allows screen installations
• Facilitates the extraction of the casing
• Easy operation
• Allows cleanliness on sites
Adding to this are life’s distractions that take the focus off the task at hand – a party, a holiday, or the weekend coming up, or something happening at home. The jobsite itself can be a factor in an increased risk of accidents. In addition to checking locates, other variables add risk. For example, rural and urban sites each come with their own sorts of hazards. Then there are the risks associated with the equipment – the lack of equipment maintenance or how equipment is operated.
STAYING ON TOP OF SAFETY
While safety training is obviously important, including refresher training, safety needs to go beyond that. Davies says there is value in safety talks because they really do remind people of the daily hazards we could encounter.
“Everyone should be receiving some level of safety information on a daily basis, whether or not it’s about the daily hazards they could encounter on site,” she says.
Davies strongly recommends daily safety talks don’t always come from the same person but instead a rotation of people delivering the information. Hearing from the same person all the time can be boring – and that’s when people tune out.
On a worksite, Davies recommends using checklists to help keep the focus on safe procedures, particularly if following safety procedures doesn’t always come naturally – which it doesn’t for most of us, she adds.
But while safety procedures may not come naturally, what may help is changing the way people think about safety.
BEHAVIOUR-BASED SAFETY
Bill Lillich, sales manager at Environmental Equipment and Supply in Harrisburg, Penn., is a certified well driller and certified pump salesperson. He is also current chairman of the National Ground Water Association Safety Subcommittee. At last year’s association conference, he presented on Behaviour-Based Safety (BBS), an approach that is gaining ground in all types of industries.
“BBS is not a safety program. It is a mindset. A company still needs traditional safety practices,” Lillich says.
In fact, BBS doesn’t even address traditional safety topics, such as confined space training, first aid training, hand safety, manual lifting, lockout-tagout, etc.
“BBS is a process between management and employees that focuses personnel’s attention on theirs and others’ daily safety behaviour,” he says. “This creates a safety partnership.”
Davies recommends using checklists to help keep the focus on safe procedures.
Lillich describes BBS has having a continuous loop of five elements:
1. Obser ve: Observe someone performing a specific task. This observation can be performed by anyone knowledgeable of the task being performed. If an unsafe behaviour that could cause property damage or bodily harm is observed, then “Stop Work” must be performed.
2. Analyze data: Identify at-risk behaviours from the observation.
3. Determine solution: Determine how to mitigate the risk.
4. Change beha viour: Test the solution, evaluate changes, make adjustments and promote new behaviour.
5. Evaluate: Determine if the change is effective.
Instead of safety being a top-down function, it becomes a truly shared responsibility with everyone actively involved in keeping everyone safe. The feedback from employees whose companies are “all in” on the BBS mindset is positive.
“Generally, the comments I’ve heard convey the message that, in the past, employees have brought up safety
concerns but were told to continue work because it will make the job go quicker or that there have not been any problems doing it that way so far,” Lillich says. “Now, in companies that follow the BBS theory, employees feel the management takes their input and actually addresses their concerns.”
BBS may also come with other tangible benefits.
“By seeking out ways to prevent injuries and accidents before they occur, companies have been able to
lower their safety scores, which, in turn, has allowed them to seek out more projects, and a couple have even seen their insurance costs drop some,” he says.
Not all companies are convinced BBS is for them, with some believing jobs take longer. Lillich has a response to that objection.
“Have you ever had to stop a job because of equipment damage caused by operator error, or had a job stopped because of an injury that could have been prevented if you had taken an extra 15 minutes to look at what hazards or dangers may have been present and discussed ways to prevent them?”
Lillich tells the real-life story of an unnamed company performing oversight at an excavation for their client. At lunch break, the area was cordoned off before everyone headed out. An employee decided to run to catch up with his co-workers, tripped over something and landed on some sharp pieces of gravel, cutting his hand badly enough to require stitches.
another accident like this, then they would lose a huge portion of the multimillion-dollar contract. All of this because an employee did not think and take his time.”
SAFETY IN PRACTICE
While BBS can be used in all types of industries, Lillich notes that once the mindset is in place, it carries over to life outside of work.
Lillich describes behavourbased safety as having a continuous loop of five elements.
“The requirement for wearing gloves on the worksite was put in place by the client, but the employee had removed his before actually leaving the work area boundaries,” Lillich says. “After the investigation, which cost the company roughly $100,000 and many manhours, the client made it clear that if the company had
“Before performing a task, even the simplest one, we should stop and assess what dangers may be involved,” he says. Before we drive to a jobsite, checking to make sure a load is secured, or if the weather is bad, ensuring the safest route is taken or considering whether the job can be delayed until the weather improves. About electrical work, Lillich asks these and other questions: “Have I followed lockout-tagout procedures? What will be affected if I de-energize this circuit? Is my ladder, hoist or bucket too close to energized lines?”
Davies also lists a series of checks for moving a rig.
“Before you go to move the rig, before you raise the rig, before you lower the rig, double-check, have someone else double-check, too,” she says. “Look to each side, to the sky and to the ground. There may be hazards lurking in the
SAFETY TOPICS
Keeping safety top of mind means talking about it regularly. One source of content for discussion is the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website, which offers a wealth of information on driving; materials handling; tools to manage mental health, bullying and stress; and more. See ccohs.ca for details.
THE COR PROGRAM
The Certificate of Recognition program (COR) is the gold standard in health and safety certification for a number of industries in Canada, particularly those related to construction. Certification can be granted only by an authority in the province where the company is working. While COR is not a requirement in the well-drilling industry, some clients may require companies bidding on jobs to be COR certified to qualify. See cfcsa.ca for more information.
path of travel.”
They take only a few minutes, but they’re steps you don’t want to regret missing.
“It’s everybody’s job to work safely, so that means it’s everybody’s job to share information and not have people be afraid to say, ‘Hey, I think there’s a problem here,’” Davies says. “We put a lot of stress on our supervisors. Everybody thinks that, ‘Well, it’s their job, so I’m not going to say anything about it.’ But that’s really onerous. That means we almost expect them to be godlike in the way they’re supposed to recognize every problem. But they’re only one person, only one set of eyes, only one set of ears.”
“The big thing is that everybody work together ¬– we really are each other’s keepers in this.”
REFERENCES
1 Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
2 “UPDATE: Woman, 26, killed in industrial accident in Vaughan,” by John Cudmore. Sept. 20, 2019. https://www. yorkregion.com/news-story/9607184-update-woman-26killed-in-industrial-accident-in-vaughan/
3 Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, awcbc.org
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, for more than 15 years.
For more on health and safety and business operations, visit our newly designed website, groundwatercanada.com
NEW PRODUCTS
WELL CASING AND DEPTH INDICATOR HELPS DETECT METAL CASING
The Model 105 Well Casing and Depth Indicator from Solinst Canada, is useful in determining where metal casing starts and ends in new or existing wells as well as various other applications.
The Model 105 is used to detect metal well casing and measure total well depth. The probe carries out both functions.
The Well Casing and Depth Indicator
is useful in determining where metal casing starts and ends in new or existing well constructions; hydrofracturing; and installing packers, pumps or other down-well instrumentation. It’s a handy instrument for every driller and hydrogeologist to add to his or her toolbox, the company said in a press release.
A strong internal magnetic assembly detects well casing. When the probe is adjacent to magnetic metal (for example, steel) a circuit is completed, activating the buzzer and light. A plunger at the bottom of the probe measures total well depth. The light and buzzer activate when the plunger reaches the bottom of a well and is pushed into the probe body.
The Model 105 Well Casing and Depth Indicator features a rugged design with a three-year warranty. It has a sturdy reel and frame, convenient brake, probe holder, tape guide, battery test button, on/off switch, and easy-to-access battery tray for a standard nine-volt battery. solinst.com
STAINLESS STEEL INSERT ELBOW AND TEE
Merrill Manufacturing Company has announced four new stainless steel insert tees (3/4-inch, 3/4×1 inch, 1-inch, and 1-1/4 inch) and two new stainless steel insert elbow sizes (3/4-inch and 1×1-1/4 inch).
Constructed of durable 304 stainless steel, these fittings are much stronger and priced about the same as the no-lead brass models. All sizes feature sharp insert barbs, creating a seal you can depend on. 800-831-6962, merrillmfg.com
INSURANCE PROGRAM
PROUDLY SERVING THE GROUNDWATER INDUSTRY SINCE 1992: Lackner McLennan Insurance has made it their business to protect other businesses, and their specialty program for the groundwater industry has been making waves.
PROGRAM DESIGNED FOR:
• Water Well Drilling Contractors
• Pump Installation Contractors
• Geo Thermal Heating Contractors
• Hydro Geologists / Geo Scientists
• Manufacturers / Suppliers
COVERAGES INCLUDE:
• Automobile & Fleet
• Property & Commercial Liability
• Environmental Impairment Liability
• Errors & Omissions (Professional) Liability
• Bonding
Directors & Officers / Employment Practices COVERAGE: A liability program designed to provide you with defense costs arising from an employee dispute or issue with one of the Ministries. (Labour, Environment, Revenue)
ACUVA TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES ECO-NX UV-LED WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM AND POINT-OF-ENTRY SYSTEMS
Acuva Technologies of Burnaby, B.C., recently announced two new water purification systems that use the company’s technology to deliver high disinfection with low maintenance requirements.
The new Eco-NX product series offers reliable Point-of-Use UV-LED water disinfection for home, marine and RV applications. Its first release, the Eco-NX Silver, is the first PoU UV-LED system to receive NSF/ANSI 55-2019 Class B Certification, Acuva Technologies said in a press release.
The Eco-NX Silver will be available in early 2020. Its design features a more compact form factor, safely purifying water to NSF/ANSI 55-2019 Class B standards at a 1.2 LPM flow rate, and built-in instant flow-sensing activation. acuvatech.com
Q-AND-A WITH BETH PARKER
Continued from page 10
We’ve been given final approval from the university board of governors and our physical resource committee and are now officially in fundraising mode. There are lots of ways in which we’re trying to build excitement around this, but in the same vein that we’ve been enjoying working with ground water equipment vendors and manufacturers, we see this as an opportunity to expose our students to many commercially available products, many of which are developed in Canada. Collaboration with the suppliers, demonstration kits or actual infrastructure at our research facilities will provide hands-on learning opportunities with these technologies. Exposure to well-established tools or new tools in early stages of development enhances both technology transfer and professional practice within the Canadian ground water industry.
WILL THE NEW BAFF BE FOR THE PUBLIC?
I think this is a natural use of an educational and research space – one suiting all ages and stages of education and public engagement. We’ve been thinking about many displays for this facility and, specifically, how to display ground water flow systems, the nature of both aquifers and aquitards, how these systems are understood in a robust manner, how these
systems behave under pumping and nonpumping conditions, and how ground water influences other components of the water cycle. As we embark on this fundraising campaign, I would be excited to hear back from our Canadian ground water colleagues on how to best design these displays. What can you think of that would take this idea for a display to another level? How do we make it more intuitive for the non-ground water professional? More visually clear, hands-on and interactive to show relationships or causes and effects?
We are at the perfect stage for collecting ideas. The time is right to rally enthusiasm for using this future facility to the best of our collective abilities and we’re looking for design features that would make this a great place for education, technology demonstrations, conferences, workshops and professional and/or public meetings. We’d like to engage you and the public.
Our hope is to establish a rock wall that represents characteristics of the Silurian dolostone aquifer that supplies fresh water to the Guelph area and beyond, but we want to make the rock properties visual and realistic for people and more accessible than a quarry. That’s just one idea – a transparent well that extends two or three storeys tall so that we can show people what our tools look like inside a borehole and demonstrate how these tools work, would also be valuable. We have
existing boreholes in the subsurface near the building that allow us to demonstrate equipment making measurements down a borehole and show the data on monitors as it is being collected for discussion. We might use numerical models to simulate ground water system behaviours and how conditions change due to different influences relevant to the residents of Guelph and Ontario communities.
SHARE YOUR IDEAS!
We just have to get people to come and explore with us. We’re always open to doing demonstrations. That’s the stage we’re at right now: showing technologies when they are being used and what this data means. We’re looking for sponsors and a sponsorship could be cash, in-kind equipment, support with professional time or ideas. Our focus extends to all possible aspects of ground water, including low temperature geothermal for heating and cooling. We are also engaged with ground water at the interface with surface water and the other components of the water cycle, including the effects of agriculture, urbanization, resource extraction and climate change, all of which are relevant as we work together for a sustainable future.
This interview has been edited and condensed. Look for an extended version at groundwatercanada.com.
The customer service experience
12 ways to deliver amazing customer service in 2020
by Shep Hyken
With all the focus lately on how technology can drive a better customer experience, I wanted to shift my focus back to basics.
To this end, I recently published an article in Forbes about ways to create an amazing customer experience in 2020. It was quite long, so I decided to split it into two parts. Here are the first 12 of 20 ideas as to how you can up your customer service game in 2020.
1. Stay in touch. Too often companies focus all their efforts on acquiring new customers instead of keeping existing customers. Don’t forget about your “sold” customers – stay in touch on a (somewhat) regular basis. Depending on the type of business, it may be as infrequent as once a year.
2. Send a surprise “gift” when your customers are least expecting it. Everybody sends gifts around the holidays. Find other times to surprise your customers with an unexpected gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Just a clever, thoughtful touch that gets noticed.
3. Eliminate long hold times. Don’t waste your customers’ time. If you must make them wait, let them know for how long and give them the option of being called back.
4. Send a thank-you note. When was the last time you sent or received a thank-you note? Surprise and delight your customers by sending them an old-fashioned, handwritten note in an envelope with an address and a stamp.
5. “Freaky Fast” Response Times. Who doesn’t love fast service? Jimmy John’s, the fastfood chain known for “freaky fast” service and delivery, knows how much customers appreciate speed. Take a page out of their book by finding ways to be freaky fast for your customers.
6. Do something special for Get to Know Your Customer Days. These days happen four times a year on the third Thursday of the beginning of each quarter (January, April,
July and October). For more information, go to GetToKnowYourCustomerDay.com.
7. Use video. Video is an amazing tool. It’s inexpensive and can often be posted for free. Use it for online tutorials, a video version of Frequently Asked Questions and more. Check out this Forbes article on using video: “Hacks For Using Video To Enhance The Customer Experience” (Nov. 10, 2019).
8. Call the customer instead of making them call you for appointments. It’s one less thing the customer has to do when doing business with you.
9. Celebrate National Customer Service Week (the first full week of October). You’ll have to wait until October, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. For more information, go to the official website for National Customer Service Week.
10. Share content that is all about the customer and not about the company. In other words, it isn’t a sales or marketing piece. Well, actually, it is, but it shouldn’t feel like it.
11. Publish a report or white paper that will benefit your customers. Customers love relevant information. This can be a great marketing piece for future customers, too.
12. Ask your customers my favourite question, which I call the One Thing Question: “Is there one thing you can think of that would make doing business with us better?” Read every answer and take action on some of the better ideas. It’s amazing what happens when you listen to your customers! There you have it – 12 tips to make 2020 your best year of customer service and experience yet.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus customer service training programs, go to thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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