Ground Force Training instructor Bill Barnes and backhoe trainee in Durham Region
AORS & Ground Force Training Inc. have many backhoe training programs but we won’t teach you how to do this: Dancing Backhoe http://bit.ly/9Mai3v or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqm8a3wNsQ4&feature=player_embedded
RoadMap: The key to maintain equipment service life is proper operator training.
When I joined APWA in 2004, I received a very comprehensive package of promotional material in the mail which included a letter of thanks, information about their services, the Info Now network, the historical society, benefits of membership and a publications/resources catalogue. Needless to say, I was impressed and as we all know…you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”.
Harry Campbell's graphic interpretation of the theme "Public Works: Above, Below & All Around You".
Over the years their publications and promotional materials have been consistently relevant, essential and timely. The National Public Works Week (NPWW) flyer that I received this week is no exception. The flyer cover – a copy of the 2010 NPWW poster by illustrator Harry Campbell – is an amazing interpretation of the theme “Public Works: Above, Below, & All Around You” .
Harry’s distinctive graphic line illustration work can be found in most major publications including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and many others. A graduate of The Maryland Institute College of Art where he also has taught. Campbell has received numerous awards from The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and American Illustration.
National Public Works Week (NPWW) 2010 is celebrated on May 16-22. Instituted as a public education campaign by the American Public Works Association (APWA) in 1960, NPWW calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often–unsung heroes of our society–the professionals who serve the public good every day with quiet dedication.
The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) has formally partnered with the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) – A Chapter of APWA/CPWA. One of the goals of this agreement is to cross promote the partner’s significant events and awards including NPWW. OPWA has two awards available for NPWW in Ontario including:
Township of Scugog staff and elected officials - winners of the Roger Brown Trophy.
The 2009 winner in the first category was the City of Brampton and the second category was the Township of Scugog. Congratulations to both Municipalities and their staff or organizing such great programs that met the strategic objectives of the program.
In my opinion, NPWW activities are like APWA publications. They’re opportunity to make a great impression…a lasting impression of your Municipal public works department and its important role in providing essential quality of life services in our communities. From my conversations with representatives of the winning teams, it doesn’t take a great deal of time or resources to make any NPWW celebratory event memorable. On the other hand, the benefits – award and trophies notwithstanding – including increased morale, teamwork and pride amongst participating Municipal staff are enormous.
So….don’t forget those dates…..May 16-22. If you and your Municipality are interested in supporting NPWW in Ontario please contact anyone at OPWA or AORS or better yet, talk to the Municipalities who have participated in the past. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
These folks have lots of experience and good ideas so tap into it.
CentreLine: NPWW is an opportunity to shout from the rooftops “We are public works”.
Forklifts and other lifting devices are a major cause of serious injuries and deaths involving workers. The devices – commonly found in many industrial sectors in Ontario – are used to raise and lower material and objects.
In total, there were 9.455 forklift-related incidents involving a lost-time injury between 1996 and 2008, an average of 727 incidents a year, according to the data compiled by the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario.
These incidents were due to a number of factors, including:
Inspectors will take a “zero tolerance” approach to any contraventions found under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations.
Inspectors will focus on the following key priorities:
The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) has an excellent training program to address these key areas. The Rigging and Lifting program is aimed at operators or supervisors who are involved in any type of rigging, hoisting or recovery operations.
RoadMap: MOL Backgrounder – Enforcement Blitz (.pdf)
RoadMap #2: Safe At Work Today
CentreLine: MOL proactive approach ensures safer workplaces for all employees.
Positive Forecast Good for Manufacturing Sector
In a previous post I speculated about Caterpillar’s absence from the AORS annual Municipal Trade Show in Essex County. As it turned out, they had just weathered their first quarterly loss in 17 years and reported a 66% drop in 2nd quarter earnings. It’s nice to hear that they are back on track.
The ubiquitous CAT backhoe is a key machine on most large construction sites.
According to their 4Q 2009 Earnings Release they expect higher sales, revenues and profit in 2010. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) today announced sales and revenues of $32.396 billion for 2009, a decrease of 37 percent from $51.324 billion in 2008. Profit per share was $1.43, down 75 percent. Excluding redundancy costs of $0.75, 2009 profit was $2.18 per share.
Fourth-quarter sales and revenues were $7.898 billion, down 39 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008. Profit per share for the quarter was $0.36, down 67 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008. Excluding redundancy costs, profit for the fourth quarter was $0.41 per share.
“While the economy in 2009 was the worst our company has experienced since the Great Depression, I’m proud to report that Team Caterpillar responded in an extraordinary way,” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens. “We delivered solid profitability and cash flow and dramatically improved our balance sheet.
RoadMap: Caterpillar expects 2010 sales and revenues to be up 10 to 25 percent from 2009, and profit is expected to be about $2.50 per share at the midpoint of the sales and revenues range. More….
CentreLine: The CAT should come back to AORS Municipal Trade Show in 2010.
First impressions and lasting impressions really count
I don’t know what the final attendance was at the Landscape Ontario Congress 2010 but I’m sure they exceeded – so I heard – last year by a significant amount. I hope so because the Face2Face Congress really raised the bar for this type of event. For anyone interested in horticultural, lawn or garden equipment, services and supplies there was ample opportunity to network, learn and participate throughout the massive venue.
We had several hands on deck at the AORS booth (Education Section) so I had plenty of time to walk around, network, take pictures and just generally observe the features that make this event so successful and so consistent throughout the 4 days.
Face2Face registration staff were efficient and professional.
Monday, January 11th - Congress Symposiums
Although I didn’t attend the Congress on Monday there was a full slate of a full slate of all-day, specialty programs and conferences including:
I like the idea of offering educational/accreditation opportunities on a separate opening day. As well, Landscape Ontario’s partners in education have an opportunity to promote their related programs and services. This really enhances the overall experience for attendees because there is something on the agenda for everyone. The message is clear from opening day. If you want to learn and be successful in the landscape business then this is the event to attend and participate.
Tuesday, January 12th – Congress Conference (Day 1for those of us at the AORS booth)
Creighton Rock Drill booth featuring 'Greenplus'
Hassel free parking…check. Hassel free registration….check. If you are going to attend an event of this size you want to be able to get inside the venue as quickly as possible. Landscape Ontario staff, volunteers and contractors showed us how it’s done. Despite thousands of cars descending on the show traffic and parking control persons did a great job and there were many professionally staffed registration tables at the entrance. In no more than 5 minutes I had my badge, brochure bag and was at the AORS booth ready to work. Despite our location – perhaps a bit too close to the entrance – we had lots of interest in our educational programs (particularly the equipment operator safety and skills series), annual Trade Show and Spotlight directory. For attendees and suppliers to get the most out of this event – and all similar shows – you really have to be pro-active, participative and patient. You only get out of it what you put in so everyone in our booth took turns circulating throughout the venue, talking with some AORS current and potential supplier members.
For the other attendees there was a full slate of Prosperity Partner educational sessions centred around the six pillars of business success…. Sales, Financial Health, Developing Customers for Life, Professional Operations, Leadership Excellence and Technical Expertise.
Highlight Tuesday: If you want a dose of infectious enthusiasm for a ‘green product’ and AORS just have a talk with Peter Creighton (Creighton Rock Drill/CRD). So that’s what I did. As usual CRD’s award winning booth (CRD won the ‘Best Inside Booth Award at the 2009 AORS Trade Show) was busy and filled with lots of information and displays about their drilling, breaking, demolition and compaction tools/attachments. Also featured was Greenplus Hydraulic Fluid ES an environmentally safe high performance biodegradable/non-toxic lubricant made from vegetable oils.
Wednesday, January 13th
On Wednesday Mick Scott, AORS Support Services Coordinator and Lyle Morris, AORS (Past President, 1998) joined us in the booth. We a fairly good flow of traffic and the professional, proactive approach of the booth volunteers ensured that we made the most of our time at the show. Educational sessions focused on technical expertise, financial health and leadership excellence required for success in the landscape business. The Equipment Dealers Forum was new for 2010 and is an great idea to implement at the AORS Trade Show.
The 'Certificatied Wall of Fame' was my personal favourite idea from Face2Face.
Highlight Wednesday: “I can sell you a booth, but I’d rather sell you an opportunity”. These enthusiastic words were spoken by Lorraine Ivanoff, Trade Show Sales representative, Landscape Ontario. I encountered Lorraine at the Congress office while renewing the AORS booth for 2010. I mentioned the issues with our booth location near the main entrance and Lorraine took the opportunity to explain to me why and how we ended up there. Needless to say, I now understand why the ‘education’ booths are located where they are (i.e. we are not-for –profit so we don’t pay full fee). However Lorraine also explained that if AORS wanted to improve its profile (e.g. promote 50th anniversary in 2011) at this show there are many other options (e.g. forum, mini conference/symposium) available that we could consider for next year. I think some of her ideas have merit and I’ll be meeting with her soon to discuss them in more detail.
Thursday, January 14th
The final day of the Congress is perhaps a bit quieter than the previous two but surprisingly there is always a pretty steady flow of attendees – particularly students – throughout the morning. I decided to stay over for the final day and I’m glad I did.
The Welcome Centre was a well designed area to relax and get some Landscape Ontario information from enthusiastic volunteers.
Highlight Thursday: The 8 educational sessions on Day 3 included a technical expertise session – The Marketing Power of Good Photography. Being an avid amateur photographer I thought this session might be helpful. The session leader, Nik Milner (Nik Milner Photography) provided some composition techniques to maximize the visual potential photographs particularly for use in various media and on the web. Nik was very animated and enthusiastic and I’m sure that everyone at this well attended seminar got some useful tidbit to use to improve their work.
The Welcome Centre completely lived up to its name. This beautifully designed and professionally staffed area was the perfect place to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee, look for a job, get information on training/accreditation or just put your feet up and take a load off. The Certification Wall of Fame was the focal point for sure. This is a great idea for AORS 2011 Trade Show.
RoadMap: Garden and Floral Expo – October 20-21/2009
CentreLine: Face2Face Congress set a high standard for similar events. Organizations that partner with Landscape Ontario during this and future events stand to gain significant credibility and positive exposure.
The AORS 'Advance' keeps our membership up to date on current organizational news.
Striking A Balance: Cost, Performance and the Environment.
Will someone come up with a permant pothole patching material in the future? Not likely.
Keeping your good roads in top condition and prioritizing the treatment of your aging roads is a constant challenge – especially in today’s tough economic climate.
Come and learn from the best minds in the industry.
The workshop will cover the following issues and much more:
The 2010 Pavement Preservation and Rehabilitation Workshop will be held on Tuesday, January 26 and Wednesday, January 27 at the Mississauga Convention Centre. Fax your registration form to 905-795-2555 or register online at www.ogra.org today!
RoadMap: Program and registration form (.pdf)
CentreLine: OGRA continues to raise the bar on quality technical workshops of interest to public works communitiy.
Mr Patterson's financial management background will be a real asset as Simcoe County warden.
What appeared to be a two-horse race for the warden’s chair in Simcoe County turned into an acclamation. Tony Guergis declined the nomination for another term. He had served as Warden since 2007. Wasaga Beach Mayor Cal Patterson takes the top political job in the county, effective immediately. He served six years as a Wasaga Beach councillor and six as deputy mayor – the job that first brought him to Simcoe County council. He is the first Wasaga Beach politician to hold the post of Warden.
The Town of Wasaga Beach has always supported our AORS Local Association (LA) – Simcoe County Road Supervisors Association – and their volunteer efforts on behalf of our organization. We expect that Mayor Patterson and his fellow councillors will maintain this support and perhaps attend some of the LA meetings.
RoadMap: Full story in The Midland Mirror
CentreLine: Mr. Patterson seems to have the credentials to do a first rate job as warden in Simcoe County.
Auditor General Makes 8 Recommendations In Annual Report
Provincial Auditor General Jim McCarter tabled his Annual Report today in the Legislative Assembly. This wide ranging and comprehensive document includes a section (Chapter 3; 3.01) on Bridge Inspection and Maintenance.
7% (185) bridges in Ontario are in poor condition
Responsibility for the safety and maintenance of provincial bridges is set out in the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act (Act). The Ministry of Transportation (Ministry) is responsible for provincial bridges, and municipalities are responsible for the bridges in their jurisdictions.
The objective of his audit for bridge infrastructure was to assess whether the Ministry:
• has effective systems and procedures in place to ensure that the bridges within its highway system are safe and in good repair; and
• conducts bridge inspections and the required maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement work on a timely basis and with due regard for economy.
Findings:
According to the latest Priority Index that was available in June 2009, which included inspection results for up to the end of 2008, approximately 76% or 2,150 of the 2,800 provincial bridges were in good condition, 17% or 471 bridges were in fair condition but require work within five years, and 7% or 185 were in poor condition and need repair within one year.
There is an increasing trend of relatively few bidders for this specialized work.
Recommendations:The report makes 8 recommendations related to asset management, inspection report/documentation compliance, traffic management for inspections, procedures for high-risk bridges, review of RFP criteria and contract estimation costs and funding arrangements with Municipalities.
RoadMap:
Centreline: There are many resources available to Municipalities to establish asset condition and performance, manage renewal strategies, prioritizing capital programs and meeting the requirements of PSAB-PS3150.
Lyle Morris (left), Chair of the 2009 Trade Show Committee and Bob Gilboe, (Area Manager Public Works, Town of Tecumseh) present Kim Willis-More with a $25,000 cheque
AORS 34 Local Associations (LA) are the basic ‘close to home’ organizational element of AORS. They offer our members immediate, easy and cost-effective opportunities to:
CentreLine: The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors members have a positive impact on their municipalities and their communities.
