North West Business October 2011

N O R T H W E S T B U S I N E S SServing business across the greater Canadian Northwest

small Business

How secure are you?

Featuring theBC Community of CHETWYND

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4 N O RT H W ES T B U S I N ES S O C TO B ER 2011

Good Things in Small Packages

There are always those that go after the big boxes when it’s time for presents. Not me. Some of my favourite things have come in the small packages. Cookies my kids made or jewelry from my best friend always brought a huge smile to my face.

Perhaps that’s why I look for the gems in our business base – the small business-es that are surviving, thriving, creating, innovating and contributing.

Don’t get me wrong; the big compa-nies are necessary anchors of our econo-my but the smaller local companies cap-ture my attention with their passion and dedication in ways that bring the same kind of smile to my face that the small intimate presents of my life have.

From the challenges they overcome to the loyalty they have to this region and the people they work with, there is a never-ending source for good stories and reasons to celebrate.

NWB strives to highlight the contri-butions of the small businesses in our area throughout the year and we understand that without them we would not be here.

Small Business Week is a great time to take a step back and remember the good things that come in small packages. Our small businesses add to the local economy, give purpose to workers, support families, enhance technology and add passion and commitment to our communities.

This month’s issue of NWB takes a looks at Eagle Vision, a Fort St. John small business with an exciting technol-ogy they created to increase the safety of the region.

Our feature story will take a look at one of the issues facing small businesses, namely how to ensure that they are mak-ing the most of their technology in a way that ensures security for them and their clients.

And while it’s a small sampling of the business stories that surround us, you can be sure that there will be more in future issues because our small business’s pas-sion is your business.

We would be poorer in so many ways without small businesses and NWB ex-tends our congratulations on your many accomplishments throughout the Peace and we are honoured to bring your sto-ries to others.

Joei Warm, Editor

ABC

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5N O RT H W ES T B U S I N ES SO C TO B ER 2011

4ADVERTISING INDEX

AAction Coach .......................... 28Alberta Blue Cross ................. 4Aquaterra ............................... 9 BBDC ........................................ 21Bear Slashing ......................... 15Blair Lekstrom ........................ 27 CCounty Disposal ..................... 31 DD&D Well ................................ 2

Driving Force .......................... 22

District of Chetwynd............... 13

District of Tumbler Ridge ........ 14

JJackpot .................................. 30

L LaPrairie Crane… .................. 25

M Muskwa Ventures ................... 22

PPrairie Mall ............................. 21 RRhinokore ............................... 32Rope Buddy ............................ 28 SSMS Equipment ................... 23Starburst Accounting ............. 20Subaru ................................... 3 TTCL ........................................ 16 WWestfab Manufacturing .......... 23

CONTENTS

17FEATURES 8 TRANSPARENCY WELCOMED BY NWB STAFF

BC Premier Clark announced an online registry, which heralds a new level of transparency in fracing. It’s a move welcomed by industry and the public alike.

18 STAYING SECURE BY BRUCE MACKAY

The Internet rules the world of small business – but many don’trealize how easily their world can be violated, experts say.

IN THE NEWS 6 IN BRIEF

Our look at what’s in the news.

15 NORTHEAST BC COMMUNITY COAL & ENERGY FORUM

“Inspiring Leadership”

IN PERSON 4 EDITOR’S NOTE Good ThinGs in small PackaGes

10 SPOTLIGHT ON… CHETWYND

BY JOEI WARM Opportunity Knocks

EXTRA, EXTRA… 24 THE SAFETY SITE BY DAVID PHIBBS – ALPHA SAFETY

seasonal saFeTY Journey management is law – and it works.

26 TECH FILE BY JOEI WARM

secURinG saFeTY When it comes to security, what could be better than real time images of what’s going on and who might be lurking where they shouldn’t be?

28 RIG ACTIVITY

29 THE TOYBOX BY MARSQUick ResPonse codesA look at what they are and what they can do for your business.

Volume 17 | Issue 8

editor

Joei Warm 250.785.8833 | [email protected]

marketing & sales manager

Ruth Dunbar403.850.236 | [email protected]

advertising sales

Marteena Duda 780.568.3294 | [email protected]

graphic designer

Kendra Design Inc.

accounting

Brenda Znack

subscriptions

Ruth Dunbar 403.850.4236 | [email protected]

contributersMars

Bruce Mackay, Sanjel Corporation, Naomi Larsen Photography,

Eagle Vision

Subscription Price: One Year: $22.00 American One Year: $36.00 Two Year: $35.00 American Two Year: $49.00Three Year: $45.00 American Three Year: $57.00Prices are in Canadian Funds and include all taxes and mailing. To subscribe, send your particulars along with a cheque or money order payable to Northwest Business and mail to the address below.Northwest Business Magazine assumes no responsibility for the truth or accuracy of advertisements. Northwest Business Magazine attempts to accurately publish all editorial and advertising, but errors can occur. Northwest Business Magazine disclaims any responsibility for any such errors or ommissions. Statements, opinions and points of view expressed by the writers and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. All rights reserved except where expressly waived. Occasionally, Northwest Business makes its names and addresses available to carefully screened organizations that want to let you know about a product or service that might interest you. If you do not wish to have your name incuded please send an email to: [email protected]

311 Hawksbrow Mews NWCalgary, AB T3G 3B6

TEL: [email protected]

publications Mail agreement to: 42193539

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:

NORTHWESTBUSINESSOCTOBER 2011

NORTHWESTBUSINESS


HIGHWAY UPGRADES COMINGFORT NELSON - Premier Christy Clark announced $4

million to upgrade Highway 52/Boundary Road to help strengthen BC’s highway system.

“BC’s highway system is the backbone of a strong economy,” said Premier Clark. “Safe and reliable roads are a vital link between our communities for residents and industry and are a conduit to job creation. We will continue to work with the trucking industry to keep goods and services flowing throughout the province as we open up new markets for our natural resources.”

This project will upgrade Highway 52/Boundary Road west of Tumbler Ridge and is funded through the prov-ince’s Oil and Gas Rural Road Improvement Program (OGRRIP). Of the $54 million invested in highway and road improvements in the South Peace this year, $19 million is funded through OGRRIP.

The Province has extended its commitment to the OGRRIP by investing $30 million this year to improve rural roads throughout the Peace. Since 2001, the prov-ince has invested more than $925 million in road and bridge improvements and maintenance in the North-east.

“Highway 52/Boundary Road is heavily used by the oil and gas industry and supports local jobs in our region,” said Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Blair Lekstrom. “This improves safety for both industry and the travelling public.”

Work is underway and is expected to be completed in early October.

“The Oil and Gas Rural Road Improvement Program has significantly improved safe, year-round activity be-tween our busy oil and gas communities,” said Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman. “We are pleased to announce this latest road upgrade during Oil and Gas Week in British Columbia.”

The province celebrated Oil and Gas Week 2011 be-tween September 4-10, to coincide with the annual Oil and Gas Conference in Fort Nelson BC.

IN BRIEFo NEWS BRIEFS & HIGHLIGHTSIN BRIEFo NEWS BRIEFS & HIGHLIGHTS

TALISMAN ENERGY JOINS WRI AND PARTNERS TO LAUNCH AqUEDUCT ALLIANCE

CALGARY, ALBERTA – Talisman Energy Inc. has joined with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and sev-eral other partners to launch the Aqueduct Alliance. The aim behind the Alliance is to assess and respond to increas-ing water risk globally by creating a global database of water risk information.

The consortium includes leading water experts from the private and public sectors, NGOs, and academia. Founded by WRI, Goldman Sachs and General Electric, the alliance has added Bloomberg, The Dow Chemical Company, Tal-isman Energy and United Technologies. The Coca-Cola Company is also engaged and will be providing an extensive global database of once proprietary water risk information to support Aqueduct’s work.

“We are very excited to have been asked to become the oil and gas sector sponsor for the Aqueduct Alliance. Talisman understands and recognizes the need for water conservation and protection in our global operations,” says Sandy Stash, senior vice president Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Operational Assurance at Talisman Energy Inc. “Tal-isman aspires to a water management strategy that defines best practices for water withdrawal, reuse, disposal and conservation in our North America shale gas operations. Our goal is to become the industry leader in water manage-ment.”

The Aqueduct Alliance database will enable companies, investors, governments, and others to create water risk maps with an unprecedented level of detail and resolution. The maps generated combine advanced hydrological data with geographically-specific indicators that capture the social, economic, and governance factors that affect companies and economies. This publicly-available and transparent da-tabase will inform private sector efforts to reduce its water footprint in high risk areas, and create dialogue between a range of stakeholders to more equitable, efficient, and sus-tainable water

CAPP INTRODUCES GUIDLINESCALGARY, ALBERTA – Early September Canadian

natural gas producers announced new guiding principles for hydraulic fracturing that guide water management and im-proved water and fluids reporting practices for shale gas devel-opment in Canada. The principles were created by members of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and apply to all CAPP natural gas producing members, large and small, operating in Canada.


COMMODITY NEWS 9/13/2011 Avg. Price

Natural Gas Close Change YTD

Aeco Spot ($C/Mcf) 3.67 5 ¢ 3.78

Differential (H. Hub/Aeco) ($C/Mcf) 0.22 -4 ¢ 0.37

Aeco 12 Month Strip (NGX) ($C/Mcf) 3.86 6 ¢ 4.20

Aeco Calendar Strip 2012 (NGX) ($C/Mcf) 3.96 6 ¢ 3.95

Huntingdon ($C/Mcf) 3.70 2 ¢ 3.93

Dawn ($C/Mcf) 44.22 1 ¢ 4.50

Henry Hub Spot ($US/Mmbtu) 3.93 3 ¢ 4.25

NYMEX Sep11 ($US/Mmbtu) 3.98 10 ¢ 4.24

NYMEX 12 Month Strip ($US/Mmbtu) 4.30 8 ¢ 4.55

NYMEX 2012 Strip ($US/Mmbtu) 4.48 7 ¢ 4.85

5/18/2011 Avg. Price

Crude Oil Close Change YTD

Synthetic Crude ($C/Bbl) 100.71 1.40 103.34

Western Canada Select ($C/Bbl) 78.43 1.08 75.66

Differential (Synthetic/WCS) ($C/Bbl) 22.28 32 ¢ 27.59

Differential (WTI/Synthetic) ($C/Bbl) -11.39 11 ¢ -9.53

WTI Cushing Spot ($US/Bbl) 90.21 2.02 95.10

NYMEX Sep11 ($US/Bbl) 90.21 2.02 95.21

NYMEX 12 Month Strip ($US/Bbl) 90.89 1.78 97.74

NYMEX 2012 Strip ($US/Bbl) 91.30 1.68 99.67

Brent (ICE) Sep11 ($US/Bbl) 111.89 0 ¢ 111.87

PUBL IC OFFERING OF CROWN PETROLEUM AND NATUR AL G AS R IGHTS L E A SE S A N D L I C EN C E S SU M M A RY J U LY 2 011

A L B ER TA B R I T I SH C O L U M B I A

PA RC E L S S O L D 4 8 4 5 8

H EC TA R E S 4 47,3 2 9 2 6 ,3 31

AV ER AG E P R I C E / H EC TA R E $ 6 78 . 8 0 $ 1310 . 24

B O N U SE S $ 571,9 9 7,6 3 7.78 $ 3 4 , 5 0 0 ,0 57.07

COMMODITY NEWS“Protecting Canada’s water resources is fundamental to our

social licence to operate and to grow,” said CAPP president Dave Collyer. “Canada’s upstream industry has a strong track record as a safe and reliable producer of natural gas. With the increase in natural gas production from unconventional sources such as shale, Canadians have told us they want more information as to how in-dustry uses and protects water. We respect that request, and these CAPP principles articulate our water management objectives and water protection practices, as well as our focus on improving our water performance over time.”

CAPP’s guiding principles for hydraulic fracturing apply in all jurisdictions in which the upstream industry operates in Can-ada. They were created with the understanding that some prov-inces are working on regulation, and we expect the principles to complement potential future regulatory requirements.

Guiding Principles for Hydraulic Fracturing

Canada’s shale gas and tight gas industry supports a respon-sible approach to water management and is committed to contin-uous performance improvement. Protecting our water resources during sourcing, use and handing is a key priority for our industry. We support and abide by all regulations governing hydraulic frac-turing operations, water use and protection.

In addition, we commit to following these guiding principles for hydraulic fracturing.

• We will safeguard the quality and quantity of regional surface and groundwater resources, through sound wellbore construction practices, sourcing fresh water alternatives where appropriate, and recycling water for reuse as much as practical.

•We will measure and disclose water use with the goal of continu-ing to reduce our effect on the environment.

• We will support the development of fracturing fluid additives with the least environmental risks.

• We will support the disclosure of fracturing fluid additives.• We will continue to advance, collaborate on and communicate technologies and best practices that reduce the potential environ-mental risks of hydraulic fracturing.

The guiding principles for hydraulic fracturing are available on CAPP’s website at capp.ca . CAPP is also developing recom-mended practices to support the guiding principles for hydrau-lic fracturing. For example, a recommended practice describing CAPP member companies’ requirements for disclosure of frac-turing fluid additives is under development. These recommended practices will be available on CAPP’s website as each is finalized.


Transparency Welcomed

Not all the details have been finalized but there is early optimism on the part of industry about the announcement.

“We’re very pleased and we welcome that announcement,” said Sanjel vice president technology Neil Warrender.

“(It) reinforces our public mandate to operate and we’re a very diligent com-pany. We strive in every aspect of worker safety and health and environmental is-sues and yet there’s this broad perception that the oil and gas industry is somehow a dirty industry that disregards all of those issues and really nothing could be further from the truth.”

He suggested that in the little under

Beginning January 2012, a search-able online registry will be accessible to everyone. It will help locate areas where fracing is taking place as well as provide detailed information about the practices and additives used during those activi-ties.

The announcement, made at the Oil and Gas Conference has the support of the natural gas industry. In response to con-cerns expressed about hydraulic fractur-ing practices, and the demand for greater transparency, industry will voluntarily disclose details about hydraulic fractur-ing additives in advance of the registry’s official launch said the Premier’s office.

a year that it has been in use in the US it’s become “very popular” with operators and service providers posting information as well as with members of the public access-ing the information.

“The US experience has been that now that there is a forum for disclosure and improved transparency that the pub-lic concern, which is justifiable, is to a large extent been reduced by the avail-ability of this service and so we would see a big advantage in helping the public understand that there’s nothing up our sleeves if you like,” said Warrender.

“British Columbia is committed to the development of a more open and

BY NWB STAFF

BC Premier Clark announced an online registry, which heralds a new level of transparency in fracing. It’s a move welcomed by industry and the public alike.


Transparency Welcomed

transparent natural gas sector and the disclosure of hydraulic fracturing practic-es and additives supports this goal,” said Clark at the announcement.

“Now, all British Columbians will have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about the in-dustry’s operations.”

While the public is more educated about the safety of fracing, there are still fears and this kind of database has helped to allay those fears and to counter an assumption of secrecy on the part of industry.

In British Columbia, industry is currently required to maintain a record of components used for hydraulic frac-turing activities, and upon request, pro-vide these details to the BC Oil and Gas Commission.

BC’s regulations, updated last year, have strengthened the Commission’s ability to oversee operations. The devel-opment of British Columbia’s huge shale gas deposits is being done safely and re-sponsibly within the province’s regula-tory framework.

The registry takes that one step fur-ther and if the registry is run in the same way that the US database is, it takes that step without impinging on proprietary information – something which is big business for companies.

“We still await some details of whether or not BC is going to implement this database called Frac Focus in exact-ly the same way it’s been implemented in the US,” said Warrender.

One of the over-riding concerns about fracing is how it impacts water both in terms of potential implications for groundwater and in terms of the use of water in the process.

“Canadian natural gas producers have created new guiding principles for hydraulic fracturing to guide water management and improve water and flu-ids reporting practices. CAPP principles articulate industry’s water management objectives and water protection practic-es, as well as our focus on improving wa-ter performance over time,” said CAPP president Dave Collyer.

“Industry supports the government of BC in its move to improve disclosure. CAPP’s principles apply nationally pro-viding the same type of transparency to shale gas developments regardless of jurisdiction.”

While the database can help to reduce people’s uncertainty, Warrender noted that it will not impact the

“practical realities of what’s happening on the ground”.

“The consumption of water is an issue that the industry is addressing,” he said.

Warrender also said that Canada has a good track record when it comes to groundwater contamination from drilling and completion practices.

“The legislation here has always required that initial drilling is done with water based and non-toxic materials and then there’s a surface casing that’s put in

which isolates to a depth consistent with aquifers or groundwater or surface water so that’s always been the regulatory environment in which the Canadian industry has operated,” he added.

British Columbia’s online registry is a part of a broader piece of work to ensure water is protected and conserved as shale gas development occurs. It is important to note there has never been an incident of harm to groundwater from hydraulic fracturing operations within British Columbia.


With a population of 3,020 in the town and another 3,800 in the surrounding rural area,

Chetwynd hosts the best of small town living with the social and cultural ame-nities to support them..

“With a smaller place there is some-thing unique that you can offer that you can’t find in a city…the fact is that I love it so much and I think our quality of life is so high and the business climate here is friendly,” said economic development coordinator Ellen Calliou.

“We’re so fortunate that we have all our amenities here and right outside my

door is green space. That’s my favourite thing.”

In addition to a spectacular vistas and outdoor activities, Chetwynd is home to every industry found in the region.

There is no one single driver for our local economy, we have every industry – oil and gas, forestry, wind, agricul-ture and coal. That is our community’s strength; that we have every industry in the Peace River Regional District,” said Calliou.

“Oil and gas is one of those ones that’s been here for a while and it just continually seems that there is expansion

but I think our newest, strongest indus-try right now is coal.”

Like all the resource communities, Chetwynd is subject to the vagaries of a resource-based economy but that is miti-gated by the diversification and Mayor Evan Saugstad said the community is seeing stable growth.

Despite that, it is a growth period for industries and the influx of people have posed some challenges.

“People are coming here but we also want their wives and their fami-lies to come because that’s were you get that second service…we just don’t have

Opportunity Knocks

COMMUNITYSpoTlIGhT

BY JoEI WARM

Located in the transition zone, Chetwynd stands at the crossroads of mountains, foothills and prairie but also of pipelines, rail lines, power lines and highways. It is unique in the Peace and

with an ever-expanding industrial base, has much to offer visitors and residents alikeN

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enough people to fill in the service sector so right now,” said Calliou.

Whether it’s residents or transients, Chetwynd wants people to feel at home. Providing those secondary services is critical to the community’s ability to make that happen. It’s tough when grad-uating students are easily lured with the top dollars paid by industry and make no mistake said Calliou, industry demand for people is very strong.

“The number of people that are com-ing and we’re turning away from not be-ing able to stay here is alarming so the one thing we’re really trying to get out there is that we need housing. We have developers building, but we just need to be able to get that apartment built or those mobile home parks built, or some-thing in that fashion because the housing just can’t be built fast enough.”

And it’s one of the reasons more fam-ilies are not moving to Chetwynd. An-other is the geography.

“People don’t necessarily want to live in the North or at least families don’t want to be in the North or in the small communities but to make the dollars, people are willing to sacrifice part of their lives and send somebody away to exile for two or three weeks out of the month. I think there’s going to be a lot of people that way.”

And that leaves the community and industry relying on camps to accommo-date workers.

In fact, the municipality has ap-proved a temporary work camp with 98 extra units and expects that an extension will be requested. It’s a reasonable solu-tion although not one Calliou wants to be the only one.

“I’m glad we have the camp in the situation where we’re at but at the end of the day retention and recruitment of existing businesses are our focus and we need to be able to stage that,” said Cal-liou.

“We don‘t want to become a fulltime camp community so I’m really trying to work hard to be able to work with the companies to be able to open some op-portunities where we can really get those apartments and those other things built in time so that they can live here perma-nently.”

A recent housing study showed that within the next 18 months, the com-posite influx of all the industries in the area should be about 1,000 people – all of whom will need housing and not all of whom will want to purchase a single family home.

The study, said Calliou, was intended to educated lending facilities to the very real needs of the area so that developers could more easily get the financing they need to be able to build the types of ac-commodations the community is most in need of.

One of the things Calliou stressed is that Chetwynd does have land and space to build.

“In my office right now, on a regu-lar basis, we receive three to four phone calls where we’re actually turning people away that are relocating somewhere else because they cannot find housing here,” said Calliou. “At the end of the day that’s harmful for my community, it’s harmful for the industries that are trying to relo-cate them so why aren’t people building here? And it’s not just a short-fall it’s a long-fall.”

Developing partnerships both with industry and nearby communities to find creative solutions is moving Chetwynd closer to getting the housing they need.

“I think we’ve come up with a way that we can actually come to the table.

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We have some land ourselves in the mu-nicipality and we’re hoping to partner with a developer and also maybe, pos-sibly some business sector where they will be able to say hey look at we know we need housing for the next three years and we will be able to guarantee 20 units of those will be filled with our people,” said Calliou.

They are also hoping that the prox-imity of Tumbler Ridge taps into an economy of scale for developers and while it may not be worth the added ex-penses of building in the North to come into one community with one property, the opportunities to build in both might tip the scale in favour of building.

“I’m hoping because the demand is in Tumbler and the demand is in Chetw-ynd and we’re so close to each other that a developer will come in and say, ‘Look I can build one here, build one there, operate the two and make some money’ because realistically what happens in Dawson, in Tumbler, in Hudson’s Hope

benefits all of us in the whole region and that’s our jobs,” she added.

The whole picture of Chetwynd’s growth is com-plicated by the fact that the community has a slightly older population than other communities in the region. The end of the baby-boom-ers means that kids are leav-ing even as workers are com-ing in.

“Unlike Fort St. John where it seems to be quite a young town and there’s lots of babies, we don’t see that in Chetwynd yet,” said Saug-stad.

With the challenge of housing set aside, the next issue is provid-ing infrastructure said Saugstad.

“Right now Chetwynd is debt free. Some say you could borrow a whole bunch on money to keep up if you had to but the whole, if

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Business-Friendly Climatediverse economystrong service centre: forestry, oil & gas, coal, wind

and ranchingnear shale, tight, sour & natural gas zonesbulk water fill station for residents & industryindustrial land, light industrial & commercial

spaces availablesewer dump facility for commercial

/ industrialcentrally located: close to airport,

rail & major highwayslocal contract services available

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INQUIRIESTel: 250 401 4113 • Fax: 250 401 4101 5400 North Access Road • Box 357 Chetwynd BC • V0C 1J0 • [email protected] • www.gochetwynd.com

you look around the world, the whole problem is with excessive debt. And the (question is) how do we put in the infra-structure to accommodate the need for people when we don’t have federal or provincial government willing to kick anything in for that, and we don’t have the ability through property tax just to keep putting the taxes up?” said Saug-stad.

While the town struggles to find an-swers to its housing and infrastructure needs, it is able to provide good schools, ample recreation and a rich cultural ex-perience. And the challenges? Chetw-ynd is taking them in stride.

“I think our community is very close and most people have lived here a long time and the new comers…I think we’re responding all right,” concluded Cal-liou. Saugstad too is optimistic.

“Overall right now I think it’s good times.”

Lasting Impressions

TUMBLER RIDGE

B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A C A N A D A

Northeastern BC’s most desirable community

The perfect place...A place for people. A place for business.

Impressive Opportunities• Residential & commercial development needed for growing population.• Demand for multi-family and age-friendly housing.• Land available for estate lots.• Service Commercial lots starting at $1.67/sq. ft.• Heavy Industrial lots starting at $38,886/acre.Economic Drivers• 2 operating mines under expansion, 2 others undergoing project

development.• Recent natural gas activity applications approved include 127 wells, 72

pipeline projects, and 5 geophysical programs.Emerging industries• Burgeoning wind power industry under development.• Tourism operators wanted to provide outdoor experiences in the Shangri-La

of the Northern Rockies.• Bioenergy – utilizing timber infected by the Mountain Pine beetle.• Community Forestry – recently approved application is providing the

community with its own forest with an annual allowable cut of 20,000m3.

For a copy of our Economic Outlook Summary, Community Profi le, or any other info please contact:

Community Development O� ceT: 250.242.4242 ext.236 | [email protected] | www.investTumblerRidge.ca

INVEST IN TUMBLERRIDGE


BY NWB STAFF

NORTHEAST BC COMMUNITY COAL & ENERGY FORUMThe 7th annual Northeast British Columbia Community Coal & Energy Forum will be taking place in Tumbler Ridge Oct. 5 and 6.

This year’s theme is Inspiring Leadership and organizers said it is a tip of the hat to the fact the

Northeast BC is leading the province in many ways.

“We’re looking at doing some pretty unique things, especially in this part of the country. One of the new mines is actually looking at doing an underground project so that’s leading the way especially in this part of the country,” said Tumbler Ridge community development officer Kelly Bryan.

“On the 5, in partnership with Northern Lights College, we’re going to have an education and career fair over at the Convention Centre and that will be good for any industry looking to recruit folks,” said Bryan. The fair will take place between 10 am and 4 pm. Tours of wind

and mine sights will also be happening on that day.

A 7:30 pm reception sponsored by Walter Energy will be happening that evening. “We’re waiting to hear back from various ministers and that sort of thing but I’m going to be bringing in a professional keynote speaker for that eve-ning but who it’s going to be is up in the air at this point.”

Oct. 6 will be the primary session and will include a variety of presenters including updates from the various mine and explorer companies in the area.

Mining is the backbone of Tumbler Ridges Economy. Town was created to support the industry and still serves in that function although in more recent years, Tumbler Ridge has developed a broader economic base to ensure that

downswings in the coal industry don’t decimate the community as they did in the early 2000s.

“We’re seeing renewed life in the community and we’re hoping to carry that forward and not let the same mistake happen twice,” said Bryan.

A 20,000 hectare Community For-est is in the works. Spectacular adventure tourism opportunities add to the mix.

“We’re also looking to increase small business in the community,” said Bryan.

Wind power is also taking on a more important role in Tumbler Ridge.

“It used to be just the Northeast Com-munity Coal Forum,” said Bryan, “but now with the emergence of all this wind energy and alternative energy in the region we figured it would be good to incorporate that into the forum as well.”


giving BACK

Trans Carrier LTD (TCL) is once again leading the pack in oilfield hauling and sand and gravel services in the Fort St. John area. For over 28 years they have brought all their resources to assist clients in achieving their goals and have now added the first 55-ton picker in the area to their fleet significantly expanding the scope of what they can do in an economical manner.

“What you had before was a crane travel out to location with another tractor following. Now we can take the load out with our truck and do the same work with one truck instead of two so there is a little green twist to this project as well,” said TCL general manager Tyler Kosick.

Custom designed for this region, the new truck has been working steadily since it was delivered and is proving to be well worth the effort it took to bring it into TCL’s fleet.

“We’ve always strived to be leaders in the boom truck industry in our region and everything we lift is getting heavier and further away therefore we needed a machine that could address those

Trans Carrier LTD (TCL) demands,” said Kosick.

“Another aspect of our motivation was the safety factor that allows this unit to do the same work that a 40 ton could do but in areas that required a larger safety factor or a further reach due to containment issues.”

It’s taken four years but with the right partners in place, the increased capacity they were looking for has now been realized.

“We knew how big we wanted to go

– 50 ton plus – and we needed to work with someone willing to build a machine that big and that’s where our broker Falcon from Vancouver came in,” added Kosick.

“It was definitely a collaboration of all the parties involved,” said Falcon Equipment sales manager Blair Norberg. “We were very excited to be a part of the project and with National Crane introducing this 55 ton with removable counterweight, we wanted to get it out

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into the market. Not only was it the first one that came out, it was the first and only one to date that has been modified and custom engineered to accommodate a 5th wheel on the back end. Today it is still the only one in North America.”

Falcon acted as facilitator to ensure the

truck had the right equipment and took care of the mounting and hydraulics.

“Not only is it a flagship for TCL, it’s a flagship for Falcon,” said Norberg. And with good reason – it’s different, it stands out and nobody has ever tried it before. “We’re not scared to take a risk. We’re not scared to put our foot out there and try new things and work through completely custom builds,” added Norberg.

Once the size of the crane was established, a truck had to be designed to carry that weight while also having the ability to pull a trailer.

“We worked with the BC Ministry of Transportation engineers to gain measurements and approval of the

design and then we had Inland Kenworth work with Raydan Manufacturing to design the truck and chassis that would sit underneath the crane,” said Kosick.

Inland Kenworth quickly ascertained that no manufacturer had a factory built truck that would do what was needed. That became Inland Kenworth’s baby and in conjunction with Raydan, they designed the right equipment for the job.

For over 28 years they have brought all their resources to assist clients in achieving their goals and have now added the first 55-ton picker in the area to their fleet .

The truck itself has some impressive specifications.

“We used a picker-spec truck that I had ordered for our inventory and went from there,” said sales consultant Jeff McNeal. Seven months of work on legal dimensions, design, and modification yielded a 2011 Kenworth C500 tandem-steer tri-drive that had been modified to three steer axles to suit TCL’s needs. It has a 550HP Cummins engine, 18-speed transmission, two speed auxiliary transmission, three 20,000-pound steer axles spaced 52 inches apart, four steering gears, 42 inch sleeper, Meritor tri-drive rear axles, 24,000 kilogram front weight rating, 24,000 kilogram rear weight rating and a turning diameter of 133 feet. “We were able to improve the turning diameter by 23 feet over the factory tandem-steer which is king in these things. It’s a big truck and it works in some tight spaces and we over-achieved a goal in that,” said McNeal.

Like Falcon, Inland Kenworth proved their ability to work with customers on their customization needs in completing this project.

Raydan too is proud to have been a part of the project said Gord McDonald.

“There’s been really strong feedback in the field that they really like the machine, they like what it will do, they like what it will lift,” said Kosick.

Aside from the new truck other exciting news for us is the construction of our new shop in Baytree Alberta to service our customers in Dawson Creek, Spirit River and surrounding areas in North Western Alberta and the South Peace Region.

If you want to book the new truck or are looking for superb service in oilfield hauling, sand and gravel or contaminated soil services, give TCL a call at 250-785-5553 in Fort St John or 250-784-5533 in Baytree. Remember to check out the website at transcarrierltd.com for a full list of services and job postings. Follow us on twitter @tcltrucking and Facebook.


Staying SecureThe Internet rules the world of small business – but many don’t

realize how easily their world can be violated, experts say.

Akos Zsufa, owner and general man-ager of IT North in Fort St. John, BC, which does considerable work in Inter-net security.

“It’s in the top five of things any business should be worried about. Think about it: Would you leave your business without locking the door? Without proper security you’re doing just that and your data, client lists, fi-nancials, accounts receivable, payables and more are there for the taking.”

As more and more firms strive to keep pace with the constantly evolv-ing technologies meant to facilitate the use of computers and the Internet, many business owners don’t realize that they’re leaving themselves and their business open to hacking and other ne-farious ways to ‘steal’ their proprietary information, including financial records and personal data.

“Internet security is vitally impor-tant these days more than ever,” said

Rufus Beaulieu, senior technician with Grande Prairie’s Micro Computers Plus, agrees.

“It’s very important,” he said. “Cus-tomer data is vital to a business and if that is compromised then it’s a real problem. There’s a lot of activity around security these days. There are lots of issues.”

Opinions vary about the effective-ness of security measures now in place in small businesses. Beaulieu said about 85 per cent of businesses have a medium

BY BRUCE MACkAY


Staying Secure

level of protection while another 10 per cent are heavily protected. Total lack of protection is rare, he said, accounting for perhaps five per cent.

Zsufa, on the other hand, said about 40 per cent of businesses he sees are classed as ‘heavily secure’, and while he said that number has grown signifi-cantly in recent years, even those with strong security remain at risk to at least some degree. And, he added, perhaps surprisingly given the stronger empha-sis on security in today’s plugged-in business world, at least 10 per cent of to-day’s businesses are totally unprotected. Thus, hackers will use your computer as a ‘zombie’ to attack other, larger, com-puter systems and websites.

“People think antivirus programs protect them, but nothing is secure once you are online,” Zsufa said. “It’s like the difference between ‘water resistant’ and ‘waterproof’. Antivirus programs resist viruses and worms but just like a locked door, the lock can be picked or the door can be kicked in.”

So with the massive amounts of vi-ruses and worms out there every day, what can a business do to protect itself? Zsufa said it’s “very, very difficult” to stay abreast of the new technologies be-ing launched, it seems, almost weekly. Computers and the Internet are on the forefront of ongoing development – seemingly at the speed of light. While strategies that successfully could hack into your computer network a year ago have no chance today thanks to new developments in security technology, hackers are also advancing and devel-oping new viruses every day. Consider that giant Google, which spends bil-lions on Internet security, was recently hacked by someone who garnered per-sonal data from more than two billion credit cards on file.

“It’s almost impossible to say you’re 100 per cent secure,” said Zsufa, though he notes that ‘Intranets’, closed loop systems totally contained within the business where they operate are secure when compared to the Internet, which is not. The popular turbo sticks are very secure, he noted, while the rising popu-larity of wireless systems concerns the

experts because they’re very insecure.But it isn’t time to throw in the

towel just yet. Savvy people, and cer-tainly IT security specialists, follow developments in Internet security on-line. Logically, business owners should obtain professional advice. Just as they use mechanics to work on their vehicles instead of doing it themselves, profes-sional help ensures that the right tools are being used for the right job, and the business will be made more efficient in the process.

And it doesn’t have to be expensive. While larger firms may establish their own IT departments, Beaulieu said smaller firms can obtain reasonable protection through systems like Seman-tic Antivirus for as little as $500. That combats viruses, the number-one prob-lem facing small business, he said. And anti-virus programs feature network-wide solutions that are easily updated from just one central computer. He said

firewalls are also important, especially those considered “more robust” that can block specific websites and portals.

“Small business doesn’t need to worry too much about hackers,” said Beaulieu, “who tend to focus on larger entities. But you have to educate your employees about viruses and how they can enter a system. It’s hard to change their personal habits but if you educate them you stand a better chance.”

A way around this is to set up a sec-ondary wireless network, for employees’ personal use, that isn’t connected to im-portant corporate data. While the secu-rity of any wireless system depends on the strength of its encryption, a simple security method is to ensure that pass-words are changed monthly.

Even the most secure firm can be-come at the mercy of hackers from a most unlikely source – its own staff, said Zsufa. “Social engineering” capi-talizes on the weaknesses of staff to


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give others access to the business’s com-puters. For example, an employee may take a USB key (stick) home with work on it, at some point downloading onto the stick a movie from an unsecured home computer. When the employee takes the stick back to work the next day, a virus attached to the movie can enter the system as soon as the device is plugged into a computer there.

“It’s like having unprotected sex,” said Zsufa.

He also related how (and he has done this himself ) someone can go to a business, obtain the business cards of their IT technician and, perhaps, their Chief Financial Officer, and then pre-

tend to be the IT technician and call the CFO and ask for his or her comput-er user name and password. Thus they obtain instant access to the firm’s com-puter system. Surprisingly, this tactic is successful 95 per cent of the time.

“Then, firewalls and encryption, all the security that might be in place, means squat.”

In the end, it all comes down to people. “The biggest problem is getting people to be secure,” Zsufa

said. Employees should be aware that nothing is for free and they should never respond to emails purporting to offer vast sums or wonderful prizes if you just click on a link. Zsufa encourages people

not to take what they see on the Internet at face value. Through the Internet, businesses have built their business stream right beside the so-called free stuff. That’s a dangerous liaison.

“There are people out there try-ing to exploit unsuspecting people. You have to ask why something is being offered, just as you would if someone came to your door offering the same thing. Why after all would someone of-fer you a free Cadillac? Ask why, don’t assume, and you will be as secure as you can be.

“Think about what you’re doing. It’s up to people where they surf and what they do there. There’s training available but it’s the end user that af-fects the business world. It’s really up to the people.”

One area where the IT world is di-vided is in discussion about a new ser-vice being offered to business – Cloud Computing. This involves a company like Google or Microsoft hosting your data - for a price - on the Internet, using hundreds of thousands of multi-redun-

“People think antivirus programs protect them, but nothing is secure once you are online,” ~ Akos Zsufa, owner and general manager of IT North in Fort St. John,


POWER UP YOUR BUSINESS

INVESTINNOVATEGROW

Take part in activities organized in your region!www.bdc.ca/sbw | 1 888 INFO BDC

OCTOBER 16–22, 2011

Graphiques M&H • Cité Multimédia • 80, rue Queen, bureau 403, Montréal QC H3C 2N5Tél. : 514 866-6736 • Téléc. : 514 875-0401 • [email protected]

CLIENT : BDCPUBLICATION : GRANDE PRAIRIE NORTHWEST BUSINESSPARUTION : OctoberNOM DU FICHIER : B1-8012 19BW_GP_Northwest Business_077ENO. D’ANNONCE : 11-077EMODIFIÉ LE : 15/09/2011INFOGRAPHISTE : mg

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dant servers instead of the one server you might have in your business.

Many consider it more reliable since it doesn’t rely on one server, which can be a single point of failure. But “the boat is still out” on the secu-rity of this system, said Zsufa. Instead of small firms, hackers would rather attack Google or Microsoft despite the billions those firms spend on security. “When it happens, it happens in a big way,” he said.

Zsufa recommends a hybrid sys-tem, using an in-house system for a small portion of the business and then buying into the Cloud service, which is available for $7-$30 per month per user. Beaulieu added that, since Cloud Com-puting is “still in its infancy” with secu-rity issues continuing to surface and be resolved, it’s important for anyone using this system to have a “physical backup” of important data and files.

Still, “The juice is worth the squeeze,” Zsufa said. “Cloud gives cutting edge services at small business prices.”


SMALL BUSINESS IN ACTION• For the last decade, Alberta has led Canada in the number of new small businesses created.

• Small businesses make up 98 per cent of all businesses in the province.

• They provide about 50 per cent of all private sector jobs in Alberta and contribute an estimated 29 per cent to Alberta’s gross domestic product.

• Alberta is tied for the lowest corporate tax rate (10 per cent) among the provinces, and has one of the lowest small business tax rates at three per cent. There is no payroll tax or general provincial sales tax in Alberta.

• To ensure Alberta remains competitive, government and industry have created the Alberta Competitiveness Council, and have implemented key actions to help business grow and stay globally competitive.

• From 2000 to 2010, Alberta enjoyed an increase of19,324 or 15.5 per cent in the number of small business establishments (business establishments with less than50 employees).

• Since it launched in 2009, the Alberta Innovation Voucher program has awarded approximately $11.2 million in services to more than 350 start-up companies in 44 communities across the province. The program helps small technology and knowledge-

driven businesses in Alberta get their ideas and products to market faster.• There were approximately 395,900 small businesses operating in British Columbia in 2009, accounting for 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. About 82 per cent of these small businesses were micro-businesses with fewer than five employees.• In 2009, British Columbia ranked second only to Saskatchewan in terms of small businesses per capita, with 88.9 small businesses per 1,000 people. Saskatchewan had slightly more small businesses per 1,000 people, at 89.5, while third-ranked Alberta was well behind at 79.4. The national average was 72.0.• Small businesses in British Columbia employed 1,045,400 people in 2009. These jobs accounted for 57 per cent of private sector employment in the province, the highest rate in the country.• The small business sector in British Columbia felt the effects of the global economic downturn as small business employment in the province fell 1.2 per cent between 2008 and 2009. However, small businesses fared better than larger businesses, which shed 4.6 per cent of their employees.• Approximately 32 per cent of British Columbia’s gross domestic product was generated by small business in 2009, higher than the Canadian average of 28 per cent.


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BY DAVID PHIBBS - ALPHA SAFETY

Seasonal Safety4THE SAFETY SITE

Well, it’s that time of year again, when summer is well behind us and fall is quickly

turning into winter. As an avid hunter there is nothing I like better than cool, crisp weather and a little fresh snow, but the changing season can cause havoc on the road.

You don’t want to procrastinate winterizing your vehicles in this part of the country - nasty weather can hit hard and fast. Anyone with experience in this neck of the woods knows the ba-sics when it comes to rigging up for the winter, but there is always an influx of the inexperienced when gearing up for the busy oil patch season.

While changing over to winter tires is pretty much common sense anywhere in Canada, there are other less well known musts when travelling in the

have been guilty of it a time or two our-selves; a truck slowly crawling down the highway, windows completely frosted over except for a tiny clear patch just above the hood on the driver’s side. And even this patch clouds over with every breath, as their noses are practi-cally pressed to the glass trying to see!

Giving new employees a heads up about starting their vehicles early to give them time to warm up and defrost (even when they are plugged in) is im-portant, and I always let them know I would rather they called in and arrived a little late than drive blind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that cold weather can drain batteries so it’s important to make sure they are fully charged. Carrying some extra gas line anti-freeze is smart as well, even when you are using light oil.

cold and isolation of the North.Take the use of cruise control,

for instance - ever try that on slippery roads and black ice? Trust me, it’s been done! Not a pretty outcome...

The statistics for surviving with-out food and water are pretty common knowledge - a month without food, give or take, and a week without water. It can make a person feel pretty confident of surviving until help arrives if you’re stranded somewhere... until you find out that hypothermia (which is the number one outdoor killer in Canada, by the way) can kill you in one hour or less if you are wet. A single wax candle in a vehicle can keep you warm for hours - do you have one in your vehicle kit?

How about frosted windows early in the morning in a cold diesel truck? We all know the scenario, and perhaps


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If travelling any distance, you also want to make sure you keep your fuel topped up. There have been many times I’ve had an unexpected delay on the road, or hit the next gas station only to find it closed.

Running out of fuel can be a death sentence on a lonely road, and people from populated centers can have a hard time grasping the significance of the complete isolation one can experience for great lengths of time while driving the roads in this part of the country.

I’ve had many employees over the years wandering aimlessly lost for hours at a time trying to find a remote loca-tion. It’s our responsibility as employ-ers to make sure our drivers are knowl-edgeable about the conditions they will be facing and that their vehicles are equipped with everything needed to survive.

The best way to keep our employees safe on the road is to always know where they are. No matter how well you pre-pare, something is bound to go sideways eventually. When this happens, having a good journey management system in place can be a lifesaver. Not long ago there was a much-publicized story of a couple that became lost on a remote mountain road after turning off their scheduled route.

Many weeks later hunters found the wife near death still at the vehicle, but the husband, who had tried to hike out for help, still hasn’t been found to this day. A simple phone call before they started, and periodic scheduled calls throughout their journey, and this trag-edy would have been nothing more than a much laughed over family memory.

I can’t think of one instance where either a cell phone or a satellite radio (providing they are working, which should be checked before departure) didn’t provide immediate contact with any of my employees on the road. Even with the no cell phone while driving policy (if you do not have hands free or Bluetooth), employees can eventually find a place to pull over and call back to check in.

We have a departure, arrival and a two hour call in policy that has strict dis-ciplinary consequences if not followed, and tracking these is the number one re-sponsibility of the dispatcher on duty.

You wouldn’t send your teenage son or daughter on a journey without accountability to check in and let you know where they are and you need to have the same attitude with your em-ployees.

This winter is shaping up to be a busy season and it can be difficult to stay safety minded in the midst of all the stress and exhaustion. Plan now for a safe season later!

Prep your vehicles, train your

people, and take your journey manage-ment system seriously.

No matter what the bottom line looks like in the spring, success in-volves bringing everyone safely home at the end of it all.

David Phibbs is the president of Alpha Safety Ltd. and Alpha Training Solutions.

For more information on this article or their services, contact 1-888-413-3477, 250-787-9315 or www.alphasafety.net.

Journey management is law - and it works.


Ben Knutson, Ben Haab and Cole Busche receive the Technology of the Year Award for their Talon Reconnaissance Unit.

Securing Safety4TECH FILE

BY JOEI WARM

Since that time they have been suc-cessful in developing a product that does just what that want and have recently taken that a step further to create a ‘lite’ version that can be used by homeowners, businesses, property owners – well the list goes on.

One of the motivations, said Busche,

Several years ago when pipelines were being bombed, one enterpris-ing small business set about to pro-

vide stealthy security that would capture images in real time.

“There’s a lot of challenges with that,” said Eagle Vision partner Cole Busche. “There’s a lot of locations over a

lot of country so how do you remotely get an image of somebody doing something wrong?”

The development wasn’t always easy but good research, persistence and dedi-cation have paid off and innovation gave birth to T.R.U. Security and the Talon Reconnaissance Unit.

When it comes to security, what could be better than real time images of what’s going on and who might be lurking where they shouldn’t be?

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SMALL BUSINESS MONTH is celebrated across the province in October of each year.

Small businesses are the backbone of every commu-nity and we here in the north are especially thankful to those who are willing to invest their time, effort and resources into a business venture.

In addition many small businesses offer employment opportunities to local citizens and in many cases our teen age children get their first job experience in their communities "Small Businesses."

Take the time during the month of October, to ex-press your appreciation to the small business people in your town!

Blair Lekstrom, MLAPEACE RIVER SOUTH

Minister Of Transportation & Infrastructure

Peace River South Constituency Office 10300-10th Street

Dawson Creek, BC V1G 3T6 Phone: (250) 784-1330

Fax: (250) 784-1333Toll Free: 1-877-784-1330

Email: [email protected]

is that he was angry that someone mak-ing the point that they are unhappy with what an oil company is doing but endan-gering the public through the means they chose. The problem was personal and so was the solution.

“My partner Ben Haab, he was re-ally keen on it and he did a lot of research and we knew we could do it, we just had to get the right components together and build something,” said Busche.

It had to be low power consumption so it could work anywhere and didn’t need to be on a plant site where there is power. It had to be stealthy and blend in to the environment. It had to be able to see at night. It had to be motion sensitive. It had to remotely provide real-time high-resolution images.

The solar panel that powers the full version was designed so that it would run on the shortest day of the year in overcast skies with enough power to do the job and in fact, Busche is confident that it would run for a month without any sun.

“With some advice from a pipeline security company we built it and we nailed it in my opinion,” said Busche. In part, that was possible because of the skills of main technician Ben Knutson.

Testing in real world applications was very successful, said Busche. “We spent the first month tweaking and then the rest of the time it just ran.”

The original product won the North-ern Business and Technology Awards – Technology of the Year Award in Janu-ary.

“That really got us a huge amount of exposure,” said Busche.

The system senses motion, takes a still picture which is sent directly to a cell phone and a website making images ac-cessible as events happen. Each customer has their own secure access to the website. Customers know immediately if someone is on their location and can respond ap-propriately but have the option to set the system to send images only during hours of choice.

Initially they were gathering the components and building the systems themselves – a very expensive venture.

They are now able to have the sys-tems factory built and have just complet-ed testing the lite version, which is work-ing well.

“This lite version is really far less cost and it will be targeted at businesses or ho-meowners…or people who have a remote

cabin,” said Busche.The caveat is that the lite version

only works on the Rogers network and so needs to be located in an area where the reception is strong. Those wanting the more robust version can still get that.

“What makes the other version more expensive is that we have a large solar panel, a good large battery pack and a stand and it’s disguised as a key piece of oilfield equipment,” said Busche.

Development of the Talon Recon-naissance Unit, like many other new products was expensive and challenging

but it also afforded Busche and his part-ners a chance to work with new technol-ogy in a way that had never been used be-fore, something Busche found interesting and stimulating.

“We’re at a real exciting time and could have these things out in a really short time,” said Busche. He believes it is the ultimate in remote security with a broad base of potential applications. And it is one of the great examples of what a small business can do when they have the determination and skills to take on a challenge.

Pipelines no longer need to be as vulnerable as they once were.


4RIG ACTIVITY

Date Province Drilling Down Total Sept 13, 2011 Alberta 358 202 560 British Columbia 47 29 76 Manitoba 17 3 20 Northwest Territories 0 0 0 Saskatchewan 97 47 144 TOTALS 519 281 800

Sept 7, 2011 Alberta 325 235 560 British Columbia 48 31 79 Manitoba 15 2 17 Northwest Territories 0 0 0 Saskatchewan 90 54 144 TOTALS 478 322 800

Date Province Drilling Down TotalAug 30, 2011 Alberta 347 211 558 British Columbia 50 31 81 Manitoba 11 4 15 Northwest Territories 0 0 0 Saskatchewan 106 40 146 TOTALS 514 286 800

Aug 23, 2011 Alberta 333 222 555 British Columbia 56 26 82 Manitoba 16 0 16 Northwest Territories 0 0 0 Saskatchewan 99 47 146 TOTALS 504 295 799

Drilling Rig Count by Week

Date Province Drilling Down Total Sept 13, 2011 Alberta 417 246 663 Saskatchewan 157 41 198 British Columbia 11 17 28 Manitoba 3 7 20 Northern Canada 2 0 2 TOTALS 600 311 911

Sept 7, 2011 Alberta 392 285 677 Saskatchewan 161 41 202 British Columbia 14 13 27 Manitoba 15 6 21 Northern Canada 1 0 1 TOTALS 583 345 928

Date Province Drilling Down TotalAug 30, 2011 Alberta 398 280 678 Saskatchewan 160 30 190 British Columbia 16 11 27 Manitoba 21 4 25 Northern Canada 1 0 1 TOTALS 596 325 921

Aug 23, 2011 Alberta 393 269 662 Saskatchewan 156 37 193 British Columbia 16 13 29 Manitoba 14 5 19 Northern Canada 1 0 1 TOTALS 580 324 904

Service Rig Count by Week


4THE ToYBoX

BY MARS

Quick Response Codes

Quick response or QR codes are making fast work for businesses and consumers alike. Whether

used as a tracking mechanism to keep a sharp eye on response rates to market-ing, or simply as an express and conve-nient avenue to your favorite web page, QR codes are becoming more and more prevalent in our fast-paced, everything-at-a-glance world.

So what are QR codes you might be asking yourself? Finding their ori-gins in Asian auto manufacturing and initially employed as a means to quickly scan the contents of a sealed auto parts container, QR codes are a two dimen-sional series of lines and shapes often resembling a maze found on a coffee shop place mat. But far more compli-cated than that, these bar codes often contain vast amounts of information that can give businesses and consumers a means to convey and interpret infor-mation faster and more conveniently than ever before. In short, QR codes are giving individuals a quick and easy way to read, interpret and transfer in-formation.

Some QR codes are a series of simple shapes and patterns while others are far more complex, some even incor-porating a business’ logo into the visual design. It all depends on the goals of the QR creator and the purpose of the code itself. Codes contain vast amounts of information, the larger the code design the more information it contains and each part of it is designed to contain a specific functional element.

For example, part of the design contains data dictating the resolution parameters by which certain devices, such as smart phones are able to scan the code. Information such as this as-sures that devices are able to effectively read and decipher the information contained in the QR code. This is a particularly important piece of data in lieu of the fact that many QR codes are created with the intention of market-ing products or providing web links to

smart phone users. Inaccurate informa-tion contained in the code pertaining to a given device’s abilities and reader software will ultimately render the code useless.

Another area of the QR code en-sures proper positioning and alignment of the information being processed which can help avoid errors in the read-ing and interpretation of data. While another important element known as the quiet area, a blank region surround-ing the graphic itself, which makes it easier for devices to scan and read the information contained therein.

Quick response codes can contain as much as 2953 bytes of informa-tion including the content as well as error and correction informa-tion. This vast informational ca-pacity can be attributed to the fact that a QR code stores information on horizontal as well as vertical axes unlike typical bar codes. Con-sequently, Quick response codes can be deigned to convey a wide array of information and serve numerous purposes.

Although QR codes were initially used as a quick and easy means to track merchandise, their compact nature and potential wealth of data has broadened the potential for their use in various applications.

In business, QR codes can be used in any of a number of ways. On business cards, for example, QR codes can be scanned by smart phones to add personal information which would then be saved automati-cally into the phone’s contacts. Or perhaps you want to provide detailed directions to a remote location out in the field, QR codes can provide all of that and work in sync with a gadget’s GPS capability. Or imagine providing a QR code with your product that links to a video show-ing detailed assembly instructions.

In the world of entertainment, codes

can be printed on posters which give vi-tal information about concert events or restaurant locations. All a user would have to do is to scan their hand-held device over the quick response code to get dates, dinner specials and locations of desirable events. Or perhaps you’re a musician who wants to give potential fans a quick snippet of your new album, QR codes can be used to connect them to a U-tube video.

In Japan, QR codes are already being used to inform concerned con-sumers of where and when produce


was grown. But how about codes used on store fronts or even on grocery carts themselves revealing daily specials and sale items? Truly, the applications for quick response codes are almost endless but what’s the downside?

First and foremost is the obvious dilemma if you can’t afford or don’t have access to a smart phone. Although many hand held devices are quickly be-coming inexpensive, the data plans are not. One can easily spend over a 1000 dollars a year on a data plan and many simply cannot afford such an extrava-gance. As a result there will always be those who are not privy to the wealth of information that is available via QR codes. This reality will need to be ad-dressed by businesses if they want to avoid losing those ever-so-important consumer dollars.

Secondly, there are those who sim-ply prefer the good ole’ fashion methods

of print and word of mouth to the more technologically advanced forms of com-munication. Many of these folks will not be privy to the myriad messages being displayed in code and will simply be un-able to see advertising that is intended to sell them goods and services.

So what if you’re an organization with the goal of using QR codes to at-tract new clients? How do you go about creating your own QR codes? Well, there are services and devices available to help you with this task, some free for the asking while others are quite afford-able. Because there is such a broad num-ber of choices in terms of the quantity and quality of content, prices to generate QR codes will vary as well. Ultimately, organizations will need to establish who their target audience is and what they have to gain from creating Quick Re-sponse codes before committing to any given device or service.

“When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous.” ~Wayne Dyer


Brian Weeks - Owner, County Disposal

IF IT’S NOT BECOMING TO YOU IT SHOULD BE COMING TO US!

COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SERVICE AVAILABLE

Communities we are currently providing garbage collection and waste disposal collection to:

...and all connecting areas

We will dismantle and remove whatever you need to disappear -- Fences -- Decks -- Sheds -- and more...

Documents

North West Business October 2011