Business Chief - Canada, February 2018 by Business Chief Canada

February 2018 • CANADA EDITION

CITY FOCUS

Smoke’s Poutinerie eyes global market

QUEBEC CITY

TOP

Fastestgrowing companies in Canada

EMPOWERING

EMPLOYEES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

The source of value

Procurement executives across the globe continue to see the potential they can unlock throughout the supply chain. They understand that business today is about engaging, collaborating, adapting instantly to evolving needs, and finding new sources of value. Getting that value, however, can prove a challenge.

FOREWORD HELLO AND WELCOME to February’s Canadian edition of Business Chief magazine. We start the conversation with Ryan Smolkin, CEO of Smoke’s Poutinerie. Capitalising on what many now refer to as Canada’s national dish, Smolkin discusses how his poutine company is set to go global thanks to its passion and commitment to quality. Digital transformation has been a huge talking point in the automotive industry, and so we spoke to Mercedes-Benz’s Director of Digitalisation, Marketing & Sales, Conrad Fritzsch to find out more. Fritzsch reveals that whilst digital transformation is now mission-critical, the people behind the technology

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are the true drivers of change. Next, we take an in-depth look at operational risk management. Whether it’s having money set aside for workers’ compensation or an awareness of transaction risks, we investigate how risk management has developed in recent years and what we can expect from it in future. Hiring and retaining key talent is a challenge for any company and so we’ll also explore the novel approaches big companies are taking to retaining the very best employees. Be sure to check out our city focus on Toronto and top 10, which charts the fastest-growing companies in the country at the moment. ENJOY THE ISSUE!

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F E AT U R E S

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

Smoke’s Poutinerie eyes global market TECHNOLOGY

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: CHANGE FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE

26 PEOPLE

What’s the key to keeping your best talent?

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Why operational risk management is vital – and where it’s headed TOP 10

FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN CANADA

CITY FOCUS

QUEBEC CITY

C O M PA N Y PROFILES

Aecon Group Inc Construction

Dicom Transportation Group Technology

Service New Brunswick Healthcare

102 AgriMarine Technologies Inc

114

Diagnostic Services of Manitoba

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

ALL ABOARD THE GRAVY TRAIN Smokeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Poutinerie eyes global market Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y Smoke’s Poutinerie capitalises on what many now refer to as Canada’s national dish, but will simple fries, cheese curd and gravy make it on to the world stage? CEO Ryan Smolkin thinks so “YOU’VE GOT TO get on the gravy train early, or it’s gone,” comments Ryan Smolkin, CEO of Smoke’s Poutinerie, from the company’s global headquarters in Ontario. He’s certainly someone who isn’t afraid to leap onboard a project with no prior experience. At college, he started a business selling squash racquets on campus and then began a property business which he continued upon graduation. “I knew nothing about building properties, but I did my first one and learned to fly.” When he sold the business off in the early 2000s, it had $4mn in assets. “I had built it up from nothing… just hard work and pumping out, and building, and putting my butt on the line.” 10

February 2018

Next, his branding and design company, Amoeba Corp, was a similarly blind venture. “I knew nothing about branding, nothing about design… I had no clue. It went from just being an idea to the most prominent branding and design company in Canada when I sold that back in 2007.” After selling, Smolkin “chilled out for a couple of years” in order to spend time with his newborn twin boys, and then “got the itch” to begin Smoke’s, an idea he’d been toying with for over a decade. In 2008 he opened the first store and began franchising in 2009. While he’s dipped his toe in many pools over the years, and loves starting from scratch, 10 years on it seems Smokes is the one that’s stuck. Now, Smokes Poutinerie has 200 locations in North America, 150 of which are in Canada. It plans to open 1,300 restaurants by 2020, including 800 in the US and then further afield. Passionate about poutine Where does Smolkin’s passion for entrepreneurship come from? “It’s nothing about the money. It’s controlling your own destiny, seeing

something built from nothing,” he enthuses. Smolkin’s adamant that while many people have great ideas, it’s all about following through. “I put my ass on the line. I’m not relying on other people – other than the great people that work around me as we grow. I control it. If the dollars come with it, and success, then that’s a bonus.”

Of course, passion for the product is paramount. Poutine is a simple dish of fries topped with cheese curd and gravy. Originating from Quebec, the dish has had to shake off some oft-negative connotations relating to its origins, but with the help of Smoke’s Poutinerie it’s come into the mainstream throughout Canada and beyond. There’s now talk of 11

classifying it as a dish in its own right, and Smolkin feels he’s been instrumental in this. “I created this food category – not poutine, which has been around for 70 years, but I created the Poutinerie: four walls dedicated to nothing but poutine and 12

February 2018

everything you can load on top of it. “We load our product high and mighty, but it is a great quality product. Premium potato, premium top-end cheese curd, and our custom gravy – over which we have proprietary rights. Then we have all the top

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y names as vendors like Maple Leaf Foods and Cardinal Meats. Every topping that goes on is high quality.” A shot in the dark Though Smokes was yet another shot in the dark for Smolkin, it’s clearly paid off with his previous successes having bolstered his can-do attitude “I’d never set foot in a kitchen or worked back-of-house… it was new territory again. A whole new food category, getting into franchising.” Did the lack of experience bring challenges or opportunities? “It’s good and bad,” Smolkin muses.

“You just turn the downsides into opportunities. In my case, I wasn’t hung up on what the industry was doing, otherwise we’d have been pigeonholed and been like everybody else. I’ve created this global empire of Smoke’s Poutineries, and built this totally disruptive brand. We do things the opposite way to everyone else.” Bringing it back to the most important part, a quality product, he adds: “The standard potato for French fries is a russet…. Why the hell would I want to use a russet potato if everyone else is? I want something premium.” While there were initial teething

, D O O F T R O F M O C “IT’S A S A W I IF . E C N E G L AN INDU Y H T L A E H N O G IN T E COMP T U B , D E R E H C T U B FOOD, I’D GET ” G IN G L U D IN L IL T S IS EVERYONEe’s Poutinerie – Ryan Smolkin , CEO of Smok

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y issues like staffing and kitchen layout, Smolkin was quick to learn and is philosophical about how he’s adapted: “If I knew anything about franchising I probably wouldn’t be where we are today because I went the total opposite to what I was supposed to be doing.” Rather than expanding gradually geographically as most franchises do, Canadian expansion happened – and still happens – unit by unit. However,

February 2018

this method has adapted to suit the US and will adapt again globally. The millenial market Mainly targeting sports venues and university campuses, with a food truck offering covering areas like educational, amusement, transportation, sports and entertainment venues since 2014, Smoke’s is heavily reliant on the young market.

“My strategy from day one was university towns. My core target was 18-25-year-old, the midnight to 4am crowd, millennials and now Gen Z who are hitting 18-20 now. Millennials want experience, over and above quality food, but also entertainment. Gen Z are even more savvy – you’ve got about five seconds to capture that mind. You’ve got to connect with them, give them something to come back for to get that brand loyalty going.” What about the new clean eating crazes then? Smolkin laughs in their face, though maintains honesty is the best policy. “Oh it’s not a challenge at all. I’ve been taking it on the chin from day one – my tagline is ‘clogging arteries since 2009’. It’s a comfort food, an indulgence. If I was competing on healthy food, I’d get butchered, but everyone is still indulging. This is the same demographic that’s having 10 beers in a night – you think that’s heathy?” Utilising the latest technology is also key for this demographic. “We’re partnered with third party delivery services which is the hottest thing right now. The delivery service market is going up by 40% per year. Then mobile, we’ve got our app launched.

For a small chain like us, to compete with the big boys, that’s essential.” Healthy competition What about those big boys, then? It’s going to take a lot to stop the gravy train in its tracks, according to Smolkin. He puts it down to three key marketing areas: events, PR and social, recalling “that’s all we could afford starting out.” Smokes’ key event, the Smokes Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship, is going from strength to strength. He adds that from the beginning “we blasted the crap out of social”, and as for PR, does not underestimate its value. “People that are interested in the story have been 15

my lifeline. That’s how we connect.” As Poutine becomes more popular competition has increased, but Smolkin can hardly contain his delight that more people are enjoying his favourite dish. “All the major international chains in Canada are selling poutine. I’m high-fiving these dudes, because they’re spending their tens of millions to promote a product in an industry that I own… they’re making it mainstream for me.” Going global It’s clearly an emotional journey: “I’m usually crying when I say our

February 2018

vision statement, and I couldn’t believe in anything more… it’s ‘global domination by providing that unique Canadian food experience that will entertain the world’. Every single word in there means something. Global domination, global domination, global domination!” Smolkin screams. “We’re taking over the world.” So far, though, Smoke’s is only on one continent. When might the rest of the world get a ride on the gravy train, or is “global domination” just a cheesy line? A key element to this is viewing the business not as a Canadian one, but

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

T A H T D N A R B L A B O L G A “WE’RE , A D A N A C IN D E S A B HAPPENS TO BE Y N A P M O C N IA D A N A C A NOT E H T F O T S E R E H T K A E R TRYING TO B E” C N E R E F IF D IG B . N E P O WO R LD e’s Poutinerie – Ryan Smolkin , CEO of Smok

as a global company from the start. “We’re a global brand that happens to be based in Canada. Big difference. I’m not a Canadian company trying to break the rest of the world open.” “Coming overseas, like to the UK, it’ll be a master franchise model where you’re looking for someone to take on the whole country or countries. The UK is top of our hit list, then Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. “When we come to the UK it’s going to be a whole new palette. That’s awesome,” he adds. As a company that relies on university campuses

to locate, Smolkin is also excited about the massive higher education institutes in the US and further abroad, like the UK, he has yet to tap into. So how much Poutine does Smolkin actually eat? “Every meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes the midnight snack. After a rough day I need a little injection of gravy into the blood stream. Sometimes I just drink a glass of gravy. Sometimes I’ll even eat a raw potato for a snack.” Global domination or not, there’s no accounting for taste.

TECHNOLOGY

CHANGE FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE Writ ten by BEN MOUNCER

Digital transformations are now seen as mission critical to businesses large and small, yet Conrad Fritzsch, Mercedes-Benzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Director of Digitalisation, Marketing & Sales, explains why people as much as technologies are the true drivers of change

TECHNOLOGY

SPEAK TO THE leader of any ambitious business in any region of the world, and it won’t be long before you arrive at one particular topic in the conversation. ‘Digital transformation’ may well rank as the buzziest of buzz phrases from 2017, a year that also made convincing commentators ‘influencers’, heralded any progress points as ‘nextgen’ and redefined an employee’s (human, not robot) working capacity as ‘bandwidth’. While quirks in language come and 20

February 2018

go, however, the plans and processes that define a ‘digital transformation’ are here to stay. This is no fad. Like the office chairs you sit in and the screens you’re reading on, technology as the vertebrae of a business – and installing it quickly - is becoming less desirable and more just plainly essential. Yet a recent study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, reported that nine out of every 10 digital transformation projects fail. The research called on input from 450 CIOs, CTOs and

The parent company, Daimler, knows the pairing of its mobility platforms with the trends and futuristic technologies of tomorrow is the answer to the individual needs of its customers

Chief Digital Officers at sizeable companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. This startling rate of derailed disruption is consensus, not just a manufactured statistic. Why does the embedding of digital in businesses prove so problematic, when the very people charged with managing that business have, more often than not, made it their priority? Are they trying too hard, losing sight of its true purpose?

“When you have true customerobsession, then this is what will drive your transformation because you see what’s important and what’s not so important” CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz 21

Video: An insight into the experience and shape of digital transformation at Daimler with the Digital Life Day 2017

CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz

Conrad Fritzsch, born in Berlin in 1969 joined Daimler AG in August 2017. He is the Director of Digitalization Marketing & Sales Mercedes-Benz. He is the driver of the digital transformation. In order to promote entrepreneurial creativity and cooperation, Fritzsch brought digital marketing and IT together within a swarm organization. In his function, he leads the digital transformation and Mercedes me, which offers a digital, personalized ecosystem and is all about to satisfy customer demands. Besides, he promotes a seamless customer journey, which is ensured through the new website in frontend and backend â&#x20AC;&#x153;OneWebâ&#x20AC;?. Further he is responsible for eCommerce. With the creation of new international delivery hubs, Fritzsch is also very active in worldwide recruitment of digital high potential employees.

February 2018

TECHNOLOGY Conrad Fritzsch is Director of Digitalisation, Marketing & Sales, at Mercedes-Benz. As the overseer of a digital transformation in a worldfamous company steeped in tradition, he is keenly aware of the challenges. For him, the focus shouldn’t be on technology itself, but on people. “Customer-obsession is the starting point for any transformation,” he tells Business Chief from the automaker’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. “In the past (at Mercedes-Benz), often we built things because we can. Technical things, more driven by innovation, more driven by what us as engineers can build. Now we’re trying to find out what our customers want today and tomorrow. “What is important for our customers? When you have true customer-obsession, then this is what will drive your transformation because you see what’s important and what’s not so important.” Fritzsch joined Mercedes-Benz’s parent group, Daimler AG, in August 2016. In the short period since he has started the long journey to change, trying to impart his expertise on a company boasting 280,000 employees; a weight of work he

admits being surprised by initially. “Coming from start-ups, I really underestimated how huge and complex the company is,” he remarks. The 48-year-old’s primary role is to weave innovative digital products into modern working models, all with the customer’s requirements as the motivation. For example, Fritzsch lead on ‘Mercedes me’, the manufacturer’s range of mobile services and apps that come together to deliver a best-inclass digital service to its customers. His most notable change so far, though, has been to merge MercedesBenz’s marketing and IT provisions, creating a swarm mentality that has hastened the pace of change from both a technical and personnel perspective. He claims its most crucial aspect has been the buy-in of the employees. “The first point that you have to really solve is, does the company want to change or not? Not only the Board, not only the top management, everyone. We have to create a working and culture model that works for all of us.” explains Fritzsch. “Digital transformation in big companies is more a transformation of the people, from A to B. It’s not too much about digital only; you have to 23

TECHNOLOGY understand that the people are the core in this changing process. Daimler is a fantastic company and it knows that we have to change because the world is changing, the customer is changing. “In our department, there were around 250 people from IT and the business unit together. We said, ‘Okay, these are our problems we have to solve and these are the people we have’. Then you see white spots because there are new roles we didn’t make! When you build digital products like apps, you need all kinds of experts – so we built a team from both outside experts and inside experts.” A vital part of the process was establishing the new working models, with the scale of change broken down into step-by-step parts – an approach

“Digital transformation in big companies is more a transformation of the people, from A to B” CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz 24

February 2018

to transformation that Fritzsch likens to developing a key piece of software. “When you build software, you go out with beta, the version one, version two etc. This is the same method. With the people, we said ‘let’s change in this direction’. We built a Daimler blueprint which combines the strengths of start-ups and global company,” he adds. “Everybody was on the boat, they had the right mindset. They didn’t say ‘so we made something wrong and now some guy’s come here and has some big answer?’. We built a solution together and everyone could see that solution. That is super important when you want to change.” Fritzsch’s energy for his mission is career, and it’s a passion that powered a unique career ahead of him taking up the role at MercedesBenz one and a half years ago. Back in 1993, he co-founded the advertising agency Fritzsch & Mackat, where he served as Creative Director, leading on all creation and consulting. His innovative spark saw him launch tape.tv in 2008, an online music video streaming service that, at its peak, serves 3.9mn unique users, hosting videos from high-profile

DigitalLife Days is a method for the Group to keep staff informed of technological developments and show digital transformation in action artists from around the world. Fritzsch left the company in 2016, with Daimler picking up the phone. “I have never worked on this scale. And I thought, ‘okay, the transformation of the car industry is a fantastic challenge’,” he reveals. “In my life, I had built my own companies but I had never had one of these corporate challenges, as they described; when a corporate company really wants to change. I thought, with all the skills and experiences I gathered in the past, that I can do it.” Is he content with how it has gone since he picked up the baton in August?

“Am I happy how it goes? 100% yes. Are we done? 100% no. It’s a really tough journey for us,” he summarises. “In my world, when I made it my plan in August, September 2016, I thought it will be much quicker. We’ve decided that we need more people, to move forward and to change more dramatically. “With digital transformations, don’t make a plan and think it will just work. There is always a change, there is always a new idea from outside, there is always a distraction. But you have to take everyone on this journey with you.” 25

PEOPLE

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the key to keeping your best talent? Stuart Hodge looks at the main challenges companies face in terms of staff retention and some of the novel approaches big companies are taking to create a positive culture Writ ten by STUART HODGE

PEOPLE FOR ANY BUSINESS, ensuring that you keep hold of your most talented members of staff in an often increasingly competitive job market can be the difference between sustained success and the possibility of stagnating or going backwards. Indeed, a recent Willis Towers Watson study showed that more than half of all organizations globally have difficulty retaining some of their most valued employee groups and that more than a quarter of employees are considered ‘high-risk’ for turnover. Most scholars would agree that motivation is at the heart of keeping a workforce happy and, according to a recent report by Forbes, establishing an emotional connection with staff is the key to ensuring a cohesive and inclusive culture around the company. The Forbes study asked HR professionals what their biggest challenges are related to corporate culture and they said overwhelmingly that creating a cohesive culture (55%) and retaining talent (41%) gave them the most concern. Lola Gershfeld, Psy.D, Board Dynamics Specialist and CEO at Level Five Executive, says creating 28

February 2018

52% of executives feel culture is primarily set by the current CEO that emotional connection can be done using a three-stage plan called Board/Team Dynamics Process. “When everyone is familiar with and understands one streamlined process the culture becomes much more cohesive,” she says. “Team members start speaking the same language and using

W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

the same tools to work through conflict. This is where you start to see some really positive changes. “In our work, we’ve found that culture has to start from the top. Everyone tends to look up to learn behavior. This is backed up by a recent study from Duke University that says 52% of executives feel

culture is primarily set by the current CEO. And, while boards of directors do not directly choose the firm’s culture, they influence the choice of culture by picking the CEO. “Boards also modify the eventual success of the culture by reinforcing or undermining it through their approach in addressing challenges 29

PEOPLE

“Addressing emotional connection is the way to arrive at a cohesive culture that retains and attracts talent” - Lola Gershfeld, CEO, Level Five Executive together and making that emotional connection with the executive team. “So, to have a long-term effect on culture, you have to start with the board and the executive team. This might seem overwhelming, but in that same study, 91% of executives said culture is important at their firm and 78% view culture as one of the top three or top five factors that affect their firm’s value. 30

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Executives and boards understand the value of culture and they are looking for long-term solutions. “Improving culture is within arm’s reach. We know how to fix culture for the long haul; it’s just a matter of committing to it. Addressing emotional connection is the way to arrive at a cohesive culture that retains and attracts talent.” But this is just one approach to

creating a positive culture within a company. For some companies, such as the Star Entertainment Group in Australia, it’s more about creating an operational identity and sense of belonging for employees. “With over 4,500 staff, the real trick is to ensure that everyone is willing to act autonomously,” says Dino Mezzatesta, COO. “It’s important to have confidence and faith in your

employees and support them to give their best. There are four things we ask our employees to do: live it, bring it, own it and deliver it. “By ‘live it’ we mean that people need to understand guests and their expectations to ensure that what they provide is in keeping with what a customer wants. When we talk about ‘bringing it’, we want our people to always give of their best and to bring everything that they can to offer to our customers. ‘Own it’ means step up, don’t be afraid to take ownership of situations, to be brave and not to be scared to do things differently. And ‘deliver it’ is basically the final step, because if you do the top three then you should be able to be the perfect host.” Given the Star Entertainment Group’s award-winning hospitality offering, there can be no doubt that this approach is working, but another important factor for businesses is ensuring that they are helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow as well. Figures in the TalentKeepers Workplace America report show that a disappointing 36% of organizations are taking steps to 31

PEOPLE

A US study shows 36% of organisations are taking steps to develop leaders to drive engagement

develop leaders to drive engagement. “Leaders need to be trained in employee engagement skills and must understand their role in retaining and motivating people,” says Christopher Mulligan, TalentKeepers CEO and author of the report. “The first step in leveraging leaders is determining how well they are currently doing and understanding specifically what training they need to become successful. Every leader should have engagement and retention goals, 32

February 2018

incentives to meet those goals, and consequences for failing to do so.” Clearly the pressure to keep your best staff has never been greater and the lengths companies will go to in creating a positive working culture and environment are more creative than ever. For Paul Alexander, Head of Indirect Procurement for EMEA with BP, the best way to ensure staff loyalty and to keep them happy in their work is by engaging employees on an intellectual level

W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

to stimulate and challenge them. “My view is that inspiration and learning is really what people are turned on by these days and that’s what creates a successful team,” says Alexander, who is a bonafide leadership expert and speaker with a passion for the subject. “Something that compounded my thinking was research by Zenger and Folkman. They’ve written a couple of books, the first of which is called ‘The Extraordinary Leader’ and their research is absolutely fascinating. “They’ve found many things in their studies and they’ve used

“Inspiration and learning is really what people are turned on by these days and that’s what creates a successful team” - Paul Alexander, Head of Indirect Procurement for EMEA, BP

very, very large sample groups to test their assumptions. They have found very clearly that the ability for leaders to inspire interest and the resource and sincerity you put into development and learning are the things that will drive success. “I do believe in a knowledgebased economy and a productive economy: you need to have people who want to work for you and are motivated and want to succeed. “The research on the millennial generation really underlines all of this, I think what they’re asking for which is to be treated with respect, not to be hugely well rewarded but to be sensibly and adequately rewarded but to be treated well and given the opportunity to learn and fulfill themselves. “I think that’s what we all want; the difference now is that a lot of work has gone into listening to millennials who have a loud voice and I think and hope our workplace is evolving the way it needs to do for the benefit of us all. “Another thing I would point to is the work of Dan Pink. What he says is three things really turn people on: autonomy, the freedom to do the job 33

PEOPLE Employees who are â&#x20AC;&#x153;engaged and thrivingâ&#x20AC;? are 59% less likely to look for a job elsewhere

February 2018

W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

the way they want to do it; mastery, giving them the support to excel at what they do; and purpose, helping them find a reason to do what they do. “If I could crystallize everything that I’m saying about leadership into one word it would be: inspiration. Within procurement, they can be the kind of people who turn up, place orders and do a commodity task, or they can be the people who save the company. “My very strong belief is that when people come to work they should be able to have a good time and I don’t know why so many organizations struggle with that.” Indeed, when Alexander breaks it down like that it is hard to fathom why so many companies find it difficult to create such a positive environment for staff to work in, and no doubt this issue is becoming increasingly important. Research from Gallup shows that employees who are “engaged and thriving” are 59% less likely to look for a job with a different organization in the next 12 months. Companies like German online clothing retailer Spreadshirt have an even more novel approach to creating that positive culture and

ensuring that work is a fun place for employees to come into, as Philip Rooke, CEO, explains. “We have a Feel Good Manager whose job it is to make Spreadshirt a great environment to work in and a big part of this job is organizing the company events. We always have a big summer party where family and friends, but also former Spreadsters, come together. Now we also have a “Spreadster exclusive” event, called Wandertag, like a summer outing. “Talent retention isn’t a big problem for us. We have a great product and a great company, but we do not take that for granted. Like any company we have our bad days. Our culture and talent retention is led by our Head of Recruiting and Feel Good Manager. “She’s responsible for the onboarding process for each new Spreadster, and improving workplace culture. In particular she has brought in programs on management communication to improve the way we work with talent. If you respect and empower talent, it wants to stay.” Words which should perhaps be borne in mind by companies who are worried about competitors poaching their most talented employees. 35

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Why operational risk management is vital – and where it’s headed

Writ ten by STUART HODGE

Business Chief looks at how operational risk management has developed in recent years and what we can expect in years to come...

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y MITIGATING RISK. IT’S a challenge that every company faces but it’s sometimes a difficult thing to confront or to feel that you’re maximizing the potential from. It can mean anything from having more money set aside for workers’ compensation to an awareness of transaction risk in crossborder deals – that’s why there can often be a reticence in certain sectors to properly address it. Michael Rosenberg is from WPV Corp, a company which claims to have developed technology that almost completely mitigates the risk of harassment/sexual harassment and workplace violence, using a validated risk assessment and an incident reporting system that is held outside the organization. “Managing risk can literally mean the difference between a company being profitable and being bankrupt,” he says assertively. “Reactive cultures that ignore risk waste millions of dollars literally having to deal with emergencies. It’s like a car: if you don’t do the maintenance and ignore the risk, it will break down at the worst possible time and cost you a lot of money to fix and replace. 38

Feburary 2018

Many organisations still use spreads

“Ignoring operational risk leads to significantly higher insurance rates, turnover, lost time and most importantly brand degradation. “Identifying and preventing operational risk before it becomes a crisis literally is the single largest factor in ensuring a company’s survival.” But what exactly is operational risk and how do you manage it? “Typically, operational risk is a highly-siloed discipline in

sheets to manage risk

organizations,” explains Val Jonas, CEO of British consultancy company Risk Decisions. “Good risk management may be carried out locally, but this doesn’t necessarily meet the organization’s need to achieve a connected view of risk. It also doesn’t encourage creativity in thinking about both up-side and down-side scenarios. This is exacerbated by the fact that most organizations still use spreadsheets

to manage risk in each silo. “Those organizations most effective at risk management embed a culture of risk awareness and management as a top-down imperative. This encourages more informed risk taking, drives creativity and increases business performance. “Key strategies include establishing a consistent approach to give panorganization visibility of risk, while allowing different operational areas to 39

We asked

Tim Ng…

Operations is an oft used word in the business world, but what does it really mean? “As a Chief Operating Officer, my challenge is multifaceted. It is not a role that is well defined. It is a role that is integral to the company but is also unique to the sector I am in. The role of a Chief Operating Officer for a financial services firm is very different from one in manufacturing, technology or health. “The maturity of the business impacts greatly on the skills necessary to ensure that the company operates in a manner that allows it to react to internal and external pressures. “With market uncertainty and volatility caused by Brexit and the pressure on the currency markets, companies have required a sustained pursuit of greater efficiencies and major business transformations. “The nature of the position is diverse with a wide variation in operational roles from one sector to another, but the core lies in supporting the CEO and determining the optimal strategy for the future and then help implement it. “As a CTO, it made sense to move into a broader role within the company which is primarily a technologyenabled business. The ability to marry technology and development skillsets to operations gives us the capability to take our operational agility to another level. We are not wedded and reliant on third parties, we can develop and create our own solutions to operational challenges. “The challenges facing operations are varied and can be likened to guerilla warfare – you just don’t know where you will have to be next.”

Feburary 2018

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

manage risk as appropriate. This will increase and improve collaboration which can lead to valuable insights e.g. supply risks impacting multiple areas of the business. Another strategy is to implement regular audits of key suppliers’ risk policies and processes to ensure they deliver. For example, pharmaceutical companies ensuring that the third-party companies running their clinical trials will do so ethically and in the required time-frames. “Finally, all business cases should include an assessment of risks, with clear explanations of how they will be managed.”

One of the key facets of operational risk management companies have to address in this day and age is the prospect of cybercrime. Figures in last year’s Accenture Cost of Cyber Crime study showed that the average annual cost of cybercrime is $11.7mn, increasing annually by 22.7%, with the number of breaches increasing by 27.4% to an average of 130 each year. “Operational risk management is getting more important in recent years due to the new and more stringent regulatory requirement while organizations are keen to embrace the digital transformation which essentially increases the risk exposure as a result,” says William Tam, Director of Sales Engineering, APAC, for global cybersecurity expert Forcepoint. “The continuously shifting ‘threat landscape’ requires an equally transformative view on behaviorcentric security. To manage cybersecurity risk, companies need to include measures that understand the nature of human intent and the ability to dynamically adapt security response. That’s the path forward to stop cyberattacks dead in their tracks. “Cloud computing has been 41

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y a key disruptor to operational risk management. As business critical data continues to move to the cloud, and be made available to anyone anywhere, traditional perimeter-based security and riskmodelling are becoming obsolete. “Organizations need to concentrate on when and why people interact with critical data. Additionally, as malware continues to evolve, the risks will multiply, leaving traditional security controls ineffective.” It’s an ever-evolving space, and requires companies to be clear in their thought process and implementation. Jeff Skipper, an expert in organizational psychology who runs his own consulting firm, Jeff Skipper Consulting, believes it is an area which companies often fail to address. When asked how important operational risk management is in the business world, he responded assertively. “Very,” says Skipper. “And it’s too often overlooked because risk management doesn’t seem like ‘productive’ work. You only feel the gap when something goes off the rails. However, the impact of that can be measured in revenue hits, reputational 42

Feburary 2018

damage, and employee exits. “In my work with leading organizations in both the public and non-profit sectors, risk management is most commonly only given lip service. The leaders whom I advise are the ones who continually surface risk as a lever to remove obstacles and act. “Combining high risk awareness with the strategic use of what I call ‘leadership capital’ is a critical combination for successful initiatives. It has made the difference between 10% and 100% cost overruns.” Skipper believes that poorlymanaged strategic projects are often at the root of organizational failings with regards to risk management. “It’s very common for the best people to try and avoid key projects because they are very demanding,” he says. “But having the best people with strong skills and leadership is key in these situations. “Secondarily, there are major gaps in future anticipation. We don’t give people time to think about the ‘what ifs’, which can be the greatest source of risk avoidance as well as innovation.” One of the key areas where innovation is expected in the ORM

“Managing risk can literally mean the difference between a company being profitable and being bankrupt” - Michael Rosenberg, WPV Corp space, as it is in so many others, is by embracing cognitive technology. David Cahn is the Director of Product Marketing for Elemica, a leading business network for supply chains of process businesses, discussed how that might, and might not, change things. “Cognitive risk management involves the decision by a human to follow the risk mitigation procedures, but knowing the risk of something doesn’t prevent us from taking a chance anyway,” says Cahn.

“However, cognitive science is being incorporated into technology to create powerful tools that tackle complete problems. Advanced analytics and automation will increasingly play bigger roles as tactical solutions to drive efficiency or to help executives solve complex problems. “The real opportunities lie in re-imaging the enterprise as an intelligent organization – one designed to create situational awareness with tools capable of analyzing disparate data in real or near-real time. 43

“Organisations need to concentrate on when and why people interact with critical data” - William Tam, Director of Sales Engineering, APAC, Forcepoint “The goal of cognitive governance, as the name implies, is to facilitate the design of intelligent automation to create actionable business intelligence, improve decision-making, and reduce manual processes that lead to poor or uncertain outcomes. In other words, cognitive governance systematically identifies ‘blind spots’ across the firm then directs intelligent automation to reduce or eliminate the blind spots.” 44

Feburary 2018

Tim Ng, COO of Europe’s leading digital health business Now Healthcare, casts an eye even further forward. “A key challenge in the future will be the necessary integration of new and future technologies into core processes, world-changing technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says Ng. “Data is at the heart of operations, and those who can harness it will be more

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y successful than those who can’t. “The greatest impact and trend will be the use of artificial intelligence. This is a logical next step from business intelligence – systems that can consume data from multiple data streams and provide actionable intel in a format that is easily digestible to the management. Say goodbye to huge teams of analysts: AI will be the new norm. “Technology in general will drive greater change, so operations people will need to thrive on the adrenaline of complexity and change. The operational canvas will be changed forever and this needs to be embraced. “The world economy has faced and is still facing large structural changes on the way to bringing business to the international stage. Technology has impacted hugely with the world becoming a much smaller place – globalization of businesses has significantly accelerated with small companies able to enter the global markets through the use of technology. It is no longer an honor reserved for large companies and SMEs. “Because of this, agility is required. Agile operations allow the companies

to react to market conditions and plot routes through the minefield of consumer demand. I expect operational processes to be more agile with changes made almost instantaneously, as technology allows access to real time KPI (key performance indicator) management to an unprecedented level. “Deeper integration of systems and data will be necessary with mobilization and real time access a key enabler. With executives able to access data anytime and anywhere, leading to strategic and tactical decision making many factors quicker than previously possible. Micro services will be the new fabric for operations with the reliance on the large monolithic enterprise systems no longer necessary. Imagine if you could piece together the services you needed like a jigsaw. Able to add, update and discard as necessary when new technologies or better AI became available. “These are just the beginnings – it is no longer enough to be a safe pair of hands. It is now necessary to have the mindset of an innovator and creator to ensure that operations are able to support the needs of the business.” 45

QUE CITY FOCUS

Headline

Seque rest volorum aute velestio intem illibus es qui ut alit et, sita iuntur? Writ ten by AUTHOR

BUSINESS REVIEW CANADA TAKES A LOOK AT QUEBEC CITYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S STEADY GROWTH, AND THE COMPANIES AND EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS THAT CALL IT HOME Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

EBEC CITY

CITY FOCUS

THE CITYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TOTAL EMPLOYED POPULATION IS 436,500 WITH A 4.6% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

February 2018

QUEBEC CITY IS the provincial and capital seat of the Quebec government. The region is home to 101 government agencies accounting for 37,000 jobs. The city’s key areas of industrial growth, according to quebecinternational.ca, include insurance and financial services; ITC and electronics; life sciences; food processing; and green/smart buildings. About 1,330 business in Quebec City export to other regions. Quebec City is the eighth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, spanning across 3,349km with a population of 807,211. The city’s total employed population is 436,500 with a 4.6% unemployment rate, the lowest in the country. The population exhibits steady growth at around 1% per year. In 2016, Quebec had a real GDP of $34.6bn which marked a 1.6% year-on-year increase and the 25th consecutive year of growth. This is the longest streak of its kind in Canada. In fact, the economy is ranked 37th in the world for GDP per capita and represents around 20% of the entire country’s total GDP. Quebec International states that the city is set to continue its steady

growth with around 20,000 new jobs being created by 2021. This will exceed the growth of 13,300 new jobs between 2011-2016. Quebec City also boasts a booming construction industry, with 300 major projects underway which will generate over $10bn in the next 10 years. Looking to the greater Quebec region as a whole, about 1.1mn people are employed in Quebec’s technology and science industries and around 60% of the production of Canada’s aerospace industry takes place here. Company focus - Ubisoft Quebec Ubisoft Quebec has two bases in the province, one in Montreal and the other in Quebec City itself. The French publisher Ubisoft founded its Canadian video game development branch, Ubisoft Quebec, in 2005. Then, in 2011, Ubisoft acquired the Quebec City-based development division of Longtail Studios, of which 48 employees were absorbed into Ubisoft Quebec. A notable development in 2014 was the announcement that Ubisoft Quebec would lead the development of the popular Assassins Creed 49

CITY FOCUS video games. As a whole, the series has sold well over 100mn copies and has been running for 10 years. Under current MD Patrick Klaus, Ubisoft Quebec currently employs 477 people at its Quebec City studio with an average age of 33. The company offers many perks like flexi-time, a gym and company events which help with its retention rate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 42% of employees have been at the company for over five years. Ubisoft Quebec has said it hopes to employ 3,500 staff by 2020.

customers such as life and health insurance, savings and retirement plans, mortgages, car loans and more. The company is currently responsible for the administration and management of over $164.8bn worth of assets, and is one of Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest insurance companies. iA serves over 4mn clients and has its head office in Quebec City. It employs over 5,000 people and has 25,000 representatives. The company also boasts $5.7bn market capitalisation.

Company focus - iA financial Founded 1892, iA financial offers a range of insurance products for

Venue focus - Quebec City Convention Center In January 1994, the governments

February 2018

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the usual language for doing business in Quebecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

of Quebec and Canada announced $81.3mn in funding to build a new facility to replace the Quebec City Municipal Convention Center, which had been around since 1974. The result was the Quebec City Convention Center and, as its website states, it was hoped this development would make Quebec City a top North American convention destination. Since its completion in 1996, the

centre has hosted over 2,000 events and creates and maintains around 1,100 jobs per year. The centre has so far generated around $1.8bn of economic activity. On a yearly basis this works out at $100mn. Each year the center welcomes over 200,000 global visitors to around 140 events. The building is described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;an important driver of economic activity and the largest business tourism 51

CITY FOCUS player in the Quebec City area”. It also offers support for community projects and local talent. The building was expanded between 2012 and 2014 and has been awarded AIPC Gold Quality and LEED-EB certificates. Notable events hosted in 2017 have included the Farmers Union Convention and the Arctic Change 2017 Conference. Preserving French in Quebec Preservation of the French language is important in Quebec, and the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF, the Quebec Board of the

French Language) was established in 1961 with the stated aim to “align on International French, promote good Canadianisms and fight Anglicisms”. Today it still seeks to promote and normalise the French language and promote policies that “consider notably the social-economic motivations in making French the priority language in Quebec”. The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the usual language for doing business in the province, and while this is often contested for trademarks, even large corporations will change their brand

300 MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE UNDERWAY IN THE CITY WHICH WILL GENERATE AROUND $10BN OVER 10 YEARS 52

February 2018

name, such as KFC which is known in the province of Quebec as PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky) – the only location in the world where the multinational has conceded to change its branding. This is certainly something to bear in mind for businesses wishing to operate in Quebec City, not only in terms or legality but also for marketing purposes. Higher education in Quebec City The Université du Québec is a system of 10 provincially-run public universities, and it is headquartered

in Quebec City. The university was established in 1968 and coordinates around 300 programmes for over 87,000 students. It has many campuses across Quebec but notably those based in Quebec City include “École Nationale d’Administration Publique” (ENAP, the University of Public Administration), “Institut Naitonal de la Recherche Scientifique” (INRS, the National Institute for Scientific Research) and Université TÉLUQ (French-language distance learning based in Quebec City).

TOP 10

TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES IN CANADA Business Chief Canada takes a look at the top 10 fastest growing companies in the country based on the PROFIT 500 list 2017, which reviews figures relating to five-year growth Writ ten by ANDREW WOODS

TOP 10

10 BRONTE CONSTRUCTION www.bronteconstruction.ca

There is a great deal of activity in the Canadian civil construction market and Bronte has been right at the forefront. Specialising in public infrastructure, residential construction, transportation infrastructure and municipal building, Bronte currently employs over 100 people in and around its headquarters of Ontario. The company has consistently grown its year over year revenue by approximately $3mn (around 1,100%) for the past five years, and with Canadian home building on the rise, the company expects to do even more business moving forward.

Five-year growth: 5,752% 56

February 2018

09 FIXMESTICK www.fixmestick.com

This Quebec tech company has dedicated itself to helping non-technical people solve their security problems, and it has profited quite handsomely from its successes. The company has enjoyed an average of 1,294% growth in revenues over the past five years and currently stands in a revenue range of $7mn to 15mn and employs just 25 people. FixMeStick has also expanded internationally, with 81% of its sales coming from outside Canada.

Five-year growth: 6,471%

FIXMESTICKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRIPLE SCANNER TECHNOLOGY CAPTIONED

TOP 10

08 CANADA DRIVES www.canadadrives.ca

Canada Drives is an innovative automobile financing company that gives people without great credit a chance to own a car. More than that, the company allows people to perform the logistics from the comfort of their homes. With 300 employees and a Vancouver homebase, Canada Drive has enjoyed revenues of $39mn and an approximate year-on-year increase in revenue of 1,370%. The company also enjoys a reputation as one of the best emerging companies to work for in Canada, with forward thinking, meritbased policies that allow employees to bring ideas from the outside.

Five-year growth: 6,850% 58

February 2018

07 EDEN PARK www.edenparkcanada.com

This financial services company proves there is room in the Canadian market for more than one winner. Eden Park performs the same basic financial services as Canada Drives, but it does so from a headquarters in Toronto. It also differentiates its client base by focusing specifically on the high-end automobile market. The company has enjoyed an approximate year-on-year revenue increase of 1,396% over the past five years. With the median income in Canada rising and the middle class expanding in urban areas, Eden Park is definitely a company to watch for in the future.

Five-year growth: 6,982% 59

TOP 10

MILO ENTERPRISES INC.

06 MILO ENTERPRISES www.miloenterprises.ca

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, comes Milo Enterprises, a family business that has made good and expanded into an international leader in consumer products. The company now serves as the parent of many recognisable brands, including Spade Kitchenware, Acel Products and Jolt Pests, among many others. They have enjoyed a year-on-year revenue growth percentage of 1,445% and employs 26 people as of 2015. True to its international reputation, most of its sales come from outside Canada as well, with 90% of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total business in the export column.

Five-year growth: 7,227% 60

February 2018

05 SENDTONEWS www.sendtonews.com

The first media and marketing entry on the fastest growing Canadian companies list is SendtoNews. The company helps to monetise exclusive sports content across the entire continent of North America. Much of the content it monetises is distributed by the company as well. SendtoNews now hosts over 100mn clips of sports every month, doing business on four continents with 75 sports organisations. Aside from being the number one sports provider in Canada, it is also number two in the United States. SendtoNews is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, and has enjoyed year-on-year revenue increases of approximately 1,452%. The company employs 33 people.

Five-year growth: 7,260% 61

TOP 10

04 IOU FINANCIAL www.ioufinancial.com

From Montreal comes the aptly named IOU Financial, a company that specialises in lending to small businesses. The entrepreneurial spirit has spiked along with home building in Canada over the past few years, and CEO Philippe Marleau was in the perfect position to take advantage. The company now employs 77 people, does 100% of its business in foreign markets, and has enjoyed approximate year-on-year revenue increases of 1,720% in recent years. The company is one to watch, as its proprietary technology has the ability to automate the processing of literally hundreds of a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s data points in seconds.

Five-year growth: 8,600% 62

February 2018

03 MAROPOST www.maropost.com

With approximate year-on-year revenue growth percentages of 2,596%, Maropost has been an incredibly good investment for those lucky enough to participate since its inception. The marketing company now works with some of the most well-known brands in the world, including News Corp., Mercedes Benz and Success. Its main goals is the modernisation of sales and marketing through scaled outreach to targeted digital audiences. It is now competing with market leaders Oracle and Salesforce for even more business. With plenty of revenue to play with, the company has the ability to be a major player in international marketing in the coming years.

Five-year growth: 12,983% 63

TOP 10

02 BUYTATAB ONLINE web.buyatab.com

The Canadian software industry will never be the same after Buyatab Online. The company provides the most advanced infrastructure for business gift cards. Although the niche is rather esoteric, the business is definitely there. Buyatab Online has enjoyed an average year-on-year revenue growth of 3,732%. The company brings in total revenues of around $40mn every year and employs at least 27 people. Buyatab is constantly adding to their merchant base, and with Canadian small business at an all-time high, the opportunity for this company is massive in the next few years.

Five-year growth: 18,662% 64

February 2018

TOP 10

01 GILLAM GROUP www.gillamgroup.com

The single most dynamic business in Canada is a construction company known as the Gillam Group. The Gillam Group tops the list of year-onyear revenue increase percentage average with a staggering 5,851%. The company hails from Toronto and bills itself as a ‘progressive’ construction company. The operations focus on streamlining delivery and planning on projects. Gillam focuses on small and medium sized projects with a cap of around $80mn. John Gillam, the company’s founder and head man, is on record as one of the most innovative minds in the Canadian business industry. His fearlessness has led his company to number one, and there is still plenty of room to grow.

Five-year growth: 29,256% 66

February 2018

THE COMPANY HAILS FROM TORONTO AND BILLS ITSELF AS A ‘PROGRESSIVE’ CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

EMPOWERING

EMPLOYEES

THROUGH

TECHNOLOGY Written by Nell Walker Produced by Glen White

ADAM TEMPLETON, DIRECTOR OF IT AT AECON GROUP, EXPLAINS HOW THE BUSINESS DOES EVERYTHING IN ITS POWER TO SUPPORT ITS EMPLOYEES WITH TECHNOLOGY ON AND OFF THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

AECON GROUP

igitalisation is inevitable. IT is improving all the time across all industries, and while some are trapped in legacy systems and oldfashioned ways of thinking, no sector is exempt from the march of progress. Construction can often be one such sector where digitalisation is a little slower or more limited, but Aecon is aiming to buck the trend by making its business more high-tech and user-friendly. The success Aecon enjoys in this area is partly due to the way it treats customers, employees, and the inclusion of forward thinking, talented staff, such as its Director of IT Adam Templeton. Templeton joined Aecon straight out of higher education seven years ago, beginning in Client Services and working his way up to his leadership role – a chance afforded to him by virtue of Aecon’s dedication to staff enrichment. “Aecon has programs in place to retain talent,” he explains – the business has an integrated development program under the banner Aecon University. “It allows employees to decide what

February 2018

type of development and growth opportunities they’d like to achieve, and the company will work with you to get there. I was part of a new Aecontailored leadership cohort entitled the Future Leaders Program.” Templeton says this educational experience enables employees to develop a better understanding of the business, the sector, and the particular subject on which they wish to focus. “At the time it was invaluable. Gaining experience from different business units allowed me to understand what their challenges and pain points were. I was then able to bring that knowledge back to the technology group and drive real change in IT, providing tremendous value to the business.” As a result of Aecon’s investment into the care of its employees, it enjoys a very low turnover of staff, and regularly analyses skills gaps to work out what the business needs more of. One requirement that never changes is

TECHNOLOGY

“We’ve looked at driving business value internally; how do we improve the way we work? How do we improve the way we are seen externally to our business clients? How can we provide value to them using technology?” – Adam Templeton, Director of IT

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Better access to the cloud means better business for you. When you work with sensitive data and mission critical applications, you need a network thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fast, secure and reliable. Bell owns and operates Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest voice and data network with the most points of presence, a highly secure connection and a 99.999% uptime guarantee. And, with over 3,000 certified experts, we can help build and manage your cloud solutions, end-to-end. After all, how you connect to the cloud is as important as the cloud itself. Visit bell.ca/cloud and find out how Bell can help your business.

TECHNOLOGY

Aecon’s focus on safety. Everything Aecon does – with regard to IT or otherwise – concentrates on the safety and security of its employees as a core value. “Our people and getting them home safely to their families is our number one priority. From a business perspective, we don’t win business if we have a poor safety record,” says Templeton. As a result, Aecon has implemented technology to support this value. “Generally, in the construction industry, it can be difficult to track safety certifications or competencies,” Templeton explains. “Rather than asking employees to recomplete certifications as they move to different roles or employers, we use a tool called Success Factors that tracks the safety records of all employees, ensuring managers do not need to put certain employees through the safety regiment all over again.” This ensures workers do not waste time unnecessary doubling up on training, instead earning their certification in a timely manner so foremen can be assured of an employee’s suitability. For

Templeton, technology at Aecon is all about making construction environments a better, safer, and more efficient place to be. “It’s exciting to me, especially from a technology point of view. We’ve looked at driving business value internally. How do we improve the way we work? How do we improve the way we are seen externally to our business clients? How can we provide value to them using technology? “There are areas in which we can track underground fibre using augmented reality, or use 360-degree cameras in our utility vehicles to start tracking the degradation of utility poles on the side of the road without the actual employee having to analyse it. There are tracking and inspection within the utility tools and software that we’re looking at, and that drives straight down to the bottom line – not just to Aecon, but to our customer.” This level of digitalisation is just one example of Aecon pushing value beyond its own business units and caring for workers. On-site, staff enjoy all the advantages of IT, connecting them to equipment and vehicles for

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WE ARE AECON 74

February 2018

a firmer grasp of hazard control, with operations being managed from within a cockpit in Fort McMurray. Part of Aecon’s successful embracing of technological advancements is the partnerships it has made with the experts. The business is using SAP Fiori in-house, with third party expertise from RTS and Sodales, and iOS is being used to keep workers connected. Ultimately, Templeton thanks those on-site for guiding these IT choices. With up to 5,000 connected devices deployed in the field utilizing three telecoms providers, expense management is also a major concern. Aecon has partnered with Montreal-based Cimpl to address this particular challenge. “They actually analyze the invoices on a month to month, calculating any surcharges or any differences in payment to our rate cards and basically giving us back credits based on that. They’ve helped us in managing down to the penny all of our telco expenses, and driving huge savings for us.” “We also partner within the

“We also partner within the business units, because we’re not the experts. The employees in the field are those experts and they will identify a challenge” – Adam Templeton, Director of IT business units, because we’re not always the experts. The employees in the field are much more hands on and sometimes in a better position to identify a challenge. Sometimes they will go the extra mile and say, ‘Hey Adam, we found this new tool – can we do a pilot of it?’ “The team will then work directly with that business unit to do a dry run. Another challenge within our industry is that each business unit can be unique, so it can be difficult to standardise the entirety of our process across one platform.”

To overcome this issue, Aecon works to create a bespoke service which suits the task at hand, driving better communication companywide and always referring back to the core values. While Aecon may not be embarking on an allencompassing transformation, it is always working on the improvement of ever-evolving issues. “I wouldn’t say we’ve completed a full digital transformation,” says Templeton. “We have functional and technical developers in-house, and we have business process leaders

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TECHNOLOGY

“We are trying to move fast. We are trying to be closer to that leading edge” – Adam Templeton, Director of IT

within each business unit. Whereas in the past, we were relying solely on a third party to provide that level of support and development for us.” Aecon continues to steadily improve its operations, always making enhancements using the Aecon Centre of Excellence – or ACE Group – to blaze a trail. With partners and third-party contributors, the business treats its relationships as a hybrid way of working, because “it’s important that from a business perspective, clients are still seeing Aecon,” says Templeton. In the future, Aecon will continue to take ownership of its technological operations whilst being bolstered by carefully-chosen vendors, ensuring that safety remains a priority. This extends to cyber security, something that will become ever more important as technology advances; Templeton is determined

that Aecon does not go the way of many companies currently suffering the effects of security breaches. “Cyber security is something that has been a main area of focus for Aecon. We’ve introduced a security team to work with our internal and external partners to ensure it remains a priority,” he says. Breaking away from legacy systems that can often slow down the industry will also remain a passion for Templeton and his team: “We are trying to move fast. We are trying to be closer to that leading edge,” he concludes. “The next step is taking the leap into focusing on business outcomes and business value as part of the technology strategy. As opposed to saying ‘How does technology drive that outcome?’, we’re now saying, ‘what is the challenge? How do we fix that?’”

Quebec and Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

DELIVERY SERVICE REVOLUTION

Written by Fran Roberts Produced by Glen White

With over 100 locations across Canada and the U.S., Dicom Transportation Group has the largest and fastest private shipping network in North America. Currently celebrating its golden anniversary, the company is turning to technology to boost efficiency and drive productivity

ounded in 1968 after Canada Post went on strike, Dicom took advantage of this situation to establish itself as a leading player in the parcel delivery sector. The business then expanded into less than truckload (LTL) services, but what has been key to the company’s ongoing success and longevity? “We have a great group of people working at Dicom. I think the other big thing is our customised solutions,” observes Kirk Serjeantson, CIO. “We really go out of our way to give the customer something different than what the bigger organisations or some of our competitors would give, just because they’re not as flexible in how they approach business. The other is the proud Canadian reputation that we’ve built over the last 50 years.” Exponential expansion One of the majors that has contributed to Dicom’s success is the combination of services that the company offers to its clients. “Typically, what other companies do is they have a strong parcel background like we did, and then they go to less than truckload, they open up separate facilities with

February 2018

separate technology,” Serjeantson states. “They almost create a separate company. Instead, what we did was we made sure that our technology and our real estate were all one, so that all the parcel and LTL product is in the same building, managed by the same team, and then it’s managed by the same technology as well.” From there, Dicom expanded into

TECHNOLOGY

logistics, servicing large international companies to help deliver their freight across Canada. “That grew fairly exponentially, just on the quality of service and the innovation we were providing. Then we got into truckload, and ultimately in 2014 we were purchased by Wind Point Partners, where we expanded into the US to take that model that was successful

in Canada. Our service expanded more doing final mile deliveries as well as other logistical and truckload services,” explains Serjeantson. A smart platform With a combined area of nearly 20mn sq km, Canada and the US is a formidable service area for any business. “Technology plays a big role,

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D I C O M T R A N S P O R TAT I O N G R O U P

Kirk Serjeantson CIO

Kirk Serjeantson joined Dicom as Chief Information Officer in September 2014 after spending the majority of his career in the transportation IT field. Prior to Dicom, he held several CIO and IT leadership positions including Director of Technology Development at Purolator. Prior to Purolator, Serjeantson was the National Operations Systems Manager at Loomis Courier Service. as visibility on parcels and making sure we know where everything is at the right time is crucial. Partner integration is also big, because obviously you can’t cover every point in Canada all the time, or the US, so we make sure that if we partner with someone, our systems are communicating with each other very succinctly and

February 2018

effectively,” advises Serjeantson. “We have what we call our smart4 platform. This has been the focus of our technology for the last couple of years. It’s broken into four components – a new shipping system, which is smart4 shipping, a new tracking system known as smart4 tracking, smart4 mobility

TECHNOLOGY

“THE QUOTE THAT I TELL EVERYONE IS THAT THE BATTLE FOR TRANSPORTATION WOULD BE LOST AND WON ON THE FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY. I JUST THINK IT’S GOING TO BE, IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW CHEAP YOU ARE” – Kirk Serjeantson, CIO

is a new mobile program, and smart4 integration is our integration platform that connects everything together, including our customers.” Operating efficiently Technology is revolutionising industries across the globe and transportation is no different. “The quote that I tell everyone is that the battle for transportation would be lost and won on the field of technology. I just think it’s going to be, it doesn’t matter how cheap you are. People are going to want a certain level of service, and technology might drive some cost savings that can be

passed back to the customer. I think it’ll be that sort of loop of ‘here’s the value I’m giving you, oh, and I can work on my cost better because I’m more efficient’,” Serjeantson states. “We’re using internet of things and gamification which are working together. We’ve got telematics in our trucks, which connect into our backend. We’ve got information from our backend connecting to that, and we’ve got driver inputs coming from mobile devices. All this is working together to make our operations more efficient, as well as to inspire the drivers to work a little harder through incentive programmes.”

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TECHNOLOGY

Higher productivity doing,” comments Serjeantson. As a holder of four patents, technology “If you sign an account with a and innovation are clearly company, and it is three floors at the core of Dicom’s up and you’ve got to wait operations. “We’re for an elevator, why getting into wearables should that costing now, and we model be the same released our first as someone where was founded in smartwatch for you go and drop a both the driver and package off on the for our customers first floor very quickly? this year, as well as It helps us gauge the some pretty innovative drivers, and it helps the customer apps to help them drivers, too. They know how manage their data a bit better. The quickly they’re moving. They’re ownerwearable tech is one of our patents. operators, so they want to get in and Giving the driver a watch, we can get out. Now we can track better how cover the steps, we can understand they are facilitating their deliveries what type of deliveries they are so that it’s profitable for them.”

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February 2018

TECHNOLOGY

Watch utilisation also makes the operation more efficient for clients. “They can store their signature on that watch so when the driver comes in, it connects to the driver’s phone, it says the driver’s here, he’s got five packages. Instead of walking across the room, I can look over to the driver that I’ve been working with for years and go, ‘yep, there’s five packages.’”

Serjeantson explains. “They can just tap their watch, it’ll send their signature to the driver and the driver can leave. Both the customer and driver’s productivity are much higher.” Later this year, Dicom will also release a smartphone app where clients can store a signature and tap to send to the driver when their delivery arrives.

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“WE’RE NOT SO BIG THAT IT’S HARD TO TURN THE SHIP, BUT WE’RE NOT SO SMALL THAT WE CAN’T INVEST IN COOL TECHNOLOGY, WE’RE IN THAT SWEET SPOT” – Kirk Serjeantson, CIO

Driving excitement Having been in business for half a century, Dicom certainly shows no signs of slowing down. “We’re going to expand our footprint in the US and Canada – keep growing and taking those services and putting them in more places,” Serjeantson states. “I think also tighter integration with some of our partners to ensure that even if we don’t have a Dicom truck, per se, in

an area, we’re partnered with someone who can get that freight there with the same level of quality that we do. “We’re going to continue to innovate. We’re not so big that it’s hard to turn the ship, but we’re not so small that we can’t invest in cool technology. We’re in that sweet spot. We’re going to continue to create new and exciting solutions with the hope that we can drive excitement in the industry.”

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VALUE-BASED HEALTHCARE THROUGH STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT By driving efficiency in its supply chain, utilising data analytics, and truly understanding its services, Service New Brunswick is delivering value-based, high-quality goods and services to the healthcare system for the province of New Brunswick, Canada Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Denitra Price

SERVICE NEW BRUNSWICK

Ann Dolan Executive Director of Strategic Procurement, for Service New Brunswick Health services

Ann is an experienced healthcare supply chain leader, an executive with over 27 years health procurement experience across shared services and group purchasing sectors. Ann has a deep understanding and knowledge of public procurement. She is known for her integrity, dedication and energy she brings to every project

February 2018

H E A LT H C A R E

rocurement can be a challenging discipline. There’s an increasing pressure to reduce costs and achieve savings, the continuous challenge of sustaining supplier relationships, and the need to keep up-to-date, accurate data. However, when tasked with purchasing the goods and services for an entire province’s healthcare services, the pressure increases tenfold. With more than 27 years of experience in the sector under her belt, this is the job that’s in the capable hands of Ann Dolan, Executive Director of Strategic Procurement for Service New Brunswick Health Services. Providing the procurement of goods and services within healthcare for the Canadian province, Service New Brunswick is a crown corporation that has transformed its strategic procurement function in recent years. Value-based procurement The corporation (previously FacilicorpNB) was instructed by the government to achieve savings of $20 million. Of this amount, between CA$14 and CA$16mn was to come from supply chain initiatives in the healthcare sector. “It was a real challenge,” admits Dolan. “For us, it was important to understand the needs of the client - the clinician or physician – and so we asked them ‘what is it that you need in your practice to treat a patient?’” Dolan says. “We asked them ‘what are some of the things you’re doing now that you don’t want to lose sight of? What are some of the improvements you’d like to see?’

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“Only when you understand the business of the client, can you start to understand their needs, their wants, and why they ask for certain things,” she adds. “Our category management methodology really helped us with this but, more importantly, I think in procurement you have to be curious. You have to ask a lot of questions, understand what the product or service does, and you have to know if it provides value to the clients or not.”

“SOMETIMES IT CAN BE HARD BUT ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT KEEP US MOTIVATED IS THAT WE KNOW THAT FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE DO, THERE’S A PATIENT AT THE END OF THAT TRANSACTION”

Data analytics Like many organisations, Service New Brunswick tapped into the potential of data analytics to help with its cost-saving measures. The shared services group creatively used Microsoft Excel, its Access database, and its current financial systems, to extract and analyse data about its procurement strategy. To this end, Service New Brunswick could then clearly see what its clients were buying, which regions had the best contracts, and whether it

– Ann Dolan, Executive Director of Strategic Procurement for Service New Brunswick Health Services

could get products at the same price province-wide. “When you have the data, the story tells itself,” notes Dolan. “You don’t have to be the persuader. Then we essentially looked at the low hanging fruit and asked ourselves ‘can we extend this cost-effective contract? Can we commit a certain volume to get a better deal from our suppliers?’ “Then we brought in a consultant to help us make further savings,” she says. “This helped us move towards a competitive procurement process that we hoped would show not only savings, but efficiencies, changes

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SERVICE NEW BRUNSWICK

in practice that would have a better value for the patients of the province.” Providing meaningful healthcare Although it was a mammoth task, Dolan and her team successfully achieved these savings by taking a market-driven approach to procurement. But when Service New Brunswick is responsible for the goods and services needed to support the healthcare of around 750,000 people, how did the group balance the need to drive efficiency

February 2018

with the need to provide meaningful, high-quality products and services? “That’s the million-dollar-question,” Dolan says. “I think the way we achieve that is through our market research. It’s important that we’re aware of our operations from a public accountability perspective, from the perspective of the client, from the perspective of the supplier, and from the perspective of the patient.” Operational transformation In 2015, the government announced that it would merge four shared service

“WHEN YOU HAVE THE DATA, THE STORY TELLS ITSELF” – Ann Dolan, Executive Director of Strategic Procurement for Service New Brunswick Health Services.

entities to create one larger shared services organization that would provide high quality, safe, and efficient services throughout the province. This meant that non-health related shared services such as accounts payable, payroll, copying services, procurement, information technology, human resources for internal government, shared services for healthcare, laundry, supply chain, clinical engineering, and the provincial entity that manages customer services centres to the public would be merged. However, despite this

transformation, the corporation’s meaningful ethos remains to this day. Over the past three years, Service New Brunswick has seen further changes to how it does business. It implemented a category management methodology, separating the strategic part of procurement from the transactional part. “The reason for that move was that it allowed us to align ourselves with how the clients are organised. That way, we could have people dedicated to that portfolio, where they could really get to understand the business and

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needs of the client,” explains Dolan. “We’ve just conducted our strategic planning session as an organisation and our 2022 vision is ‘excellence in service delivery,’” notes Dolan. “Essentially, this means that our mission is to provide high quality, innovative services for customers with a focus on value for all New Brunswickers.” Developing supplier relationships To achieve its ambitious aim, Service New Brunswick has worked diligently to sustain its supplier relationships. The group has migrated from the traditional yet restricted request for proposal (RFP) process to the more flexible negotiated request for proposal process. Through this system, suppliers may put forward Best and Final Offers (known as BAFO) whereby suppliers can bounce ideas back and forth. This provides suppliers the chance to present what could be a forwardthinking proposal to the corporation. “We are moving towards another evolution of procurement, whereby it

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Full team training day on Strategic Procurement

is more value-based and less focused on price,” observes Dolan. “We have developed strong relationships with our suppliers - companies such as Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and Baxter. These are global, international companies and they really benefit from working with us because we’re able to pilot things and we can do this fairly quickly. Then our suppliers can use that template and apply it to other customers and clients in other provinces or countries. In that way,

I think we’re progressive because sometimes the relationships that we’ve built allow us to be on the leading edge of new technology and healthcare practices.” Adapting to challenges Working closely with suppliers is not only about forging long-lasting relationships, it’s also about preparing for potential crises. In today’s everchanging climate, natural disasters are increasing in devastation and

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SERVICE NEW BRUNSWICK

frequency and this can play havoc with governmental supply chains. “The last one that affected our supply chain was Hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico,” remembers Dolan. “Four or five of our large suppliers had manufacturing plants there and so suddenly this posed a major issue to the supply chain. Therefore, we have to be ready

to address any natural disasters that may happen and which, I think, are going to become more and more frequent. We have to be able to utilise the data and analytics effectively. We need team members who have good interpersonal skills who can talk to people, get to the heart of the problem very quickly, and who can find a solution.”

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“WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS ANOTHER EVOLUTION OF PROCUREMENT, WHEREBY IT IS MORE VALUE-BASED AND LESS FOCUSED ON PRICE” – Ann Dolan, Executive Director of Strategic Procurement for Service New Brunswick Health Services. By driving efficiency in its supply chain, utilising data analytics, and truly understanding the meaning behind its products and services, Service New Brunswick has dealt with its supply chain transformation in its stride. In doing so, it continues to deliver value-based, high-quality healthcare goods and services for the province of New Brunswick. “In all this change, we have to find balance,” reflects Dolan. “Sometimes it can be hard but one of the main

things that keeps us motivated is that we know that for everything that we do, there’s a patient at the end of that transaction. That patient could be one of our family members or one of our friends. Our core mission is to provide high quality, innovative services for customers with a focus on value for all New Brunswickers. So, when someone says, ‘thank you very much’, that’s what keeps us going during the hard times – knowing that we’re helping New Brunswickers.”

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AgriMarine Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

AQUACULTURE INNOVATOR Written by Fran Roberts Produced by Aquarius Rougely

AGRIMARINE TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Canada-based AgriMarine has developed innovative aquaculture technology for finfish farming. COO Rob Walker discusses how the company’s systems can combat the twin challenges of sea lice and toxic plankton blooms

quaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for nearly 50% of the world’s food fish, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). AgriMarine Technologies Inc. (ATI) is looking to leverage on this growth by creating, innovating and building the most advanced marine-based aquaculture systems in the world. “In the early days, we were net cage farmers off the west coast of Vancouver Island. We also ran a large hatchery, a processing plant and a small truck fleet. Through a number of circumstances, mostly natural factors, we ended up losing our farms and eventually closed the processing plant. We got involved in the enclosed system farming business in the year 2000,” states Rob Walker, COO. “We didn’t want to leave the farming industry behind; we really liked what we were doing but wanted to find a better way, so we began looking at containment systems for the farm. We ran a project on land actually – a pump ashore system – for about five years, and learned an awful lot about containment farming.

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“It’s been a really exciting time. Aquaculture generally is a fascinating business, no one day is like any other” – Rob Walker, COO, AgriMarine Technologies

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AGRIMARINE TECHNOLOGIES INC.

In 2013, the company acquired a freshwater farm in Lois Lake, British Columbia, installing six container systems there.

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Unfortunately, that facility was very expensive to run and was not sustainable. We were able to take the design concepts and transpose them into marine containment facilities. This enabled us to dramatically reduce the energy required to move water.” It is these marine containment facilities that ATI manufactures today, although the development process has not always been smooth. “Our first installation was in northern China, near a town called Benxi and so we created our systems there in a reservoir. They worked quite well and we had a further system built and installed in British Columbia, where we reared chinook salmon, and that actually worked very well,” advises Walker. “Although our first experience with the ocean tank was excellent from a husbandry perspective, it didn’t end well. We had a series of storms that winter that were pretty brutal and it finished off with a hurricane strength storm that actually put a crack in the tank so we opted to remove the tank from the water.”

Despite this, the crack proved to be an excellent opportunity for ATI. “It was a perfect learning experience and we were able to take everything that we learned and do a complete redesign. We then built a series of tanks that are far more robust and able to handle that level of stress from the natural environment,” Walker notes. Excellent location In 2013, the company acquired a freshwater farm in Lois Lake, British Columbia, installing six container systems there. Two more systems have also been exported to Norway – one of which has been running for four generations

US$12mn AgriMarine Technologies Inc. Annual Revenue

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FOOD & DRINK

of fish. ATI will have the second one in the water towards the end of 2017. “It’s been a really exciting time. Aquaculture generally is a fascinating business, no one day is like any other,” advises Walker. As well as having its company origins in British Columbia, the province provides the perfect setting for ATI’s business. “It’s an excellent location. For example, the industry here actually started in an area called the Sechelt Peninsula, which is just north of Vancouver, and the water there was thought to be good for a number of reasons, it’s warm and protected and close to the markets,” Walker notes. “However, it turns out for net cage farming it really wasn’t that good. There are a lot of plankton blooms in that area because of the warm summer temperature and the lack of flow in the water. The industry learned to move away from that area to more rugged water further up the coast and it’s continued to grow from there. The AgriMarine containment technology is ideally suited to this type of environment.”

Robert Walker, COO, AgriMarine Holdings Inc. Mr. Walker has extensive experience in logistics, sales and marketing, procurement and regulatory compliance, having worked with AgriMarine since 1993 in a variety of positions, and in the seafood distribution industry as a senior manager with responsibility for sales and purchasing. Mr. Walker holds a Master of Business Administration from Royal Roads University, where he focused on Executive Management with a specialization in Leadership Studies.

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AGRIMARINE TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Toxic blooms Plankton blooms negatively affect fish in three different ways – mechanical irritation, producing toxins and lowering the dissolved oxygen in the water column – leading to high mortality rates of the fish. “The reason we lost our farms on the west coast of Vancouver Island to begin with was because of plankton,” Walker observes. “We could not protect our fish from natural elements and toxic plankton blooms. Every few years we’d grow our inventory – it takes 18-24 months to grow inventory – and then along came a plankton bloom that killed everything. “We really wanted to find ways around that. Our system as it’s designed currently is able to do that. We have the capacity of drawing water from depth to modulate temperature and avoid plankton. This works in both fresh and salt water environments.” Ahead of the curve As well as avoiding toxic blooms,

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this system also helps to avoid sea lice. Sea lice are marine ectoparasites (external parasites) that feed on the mucus, epidermal tissue and blood of host marine fish. “It’s big news here and we have never had a sea lice issue in our systems, either the pump ashore or the marine systems that we’ve had in play. We believe it’s because the sea lice live primarily in what’s called the phototropic zone, which is the light-enhanced area of the water that goes down 12-15m below the surface. So, by drawing water from 30-40m below the surface, we are able to avoid the majority of sea lice,” Walker states. A low energy pumping system, combined with a proprietary deep-water oxygenation system creates an optimised and healthy environment for the fish. When ATI first introduced this technology, many in the aquaculture business were sceptical. “It wasn’t that long ago that most people in the industry felt that we were heading down the wrong path,” explains Walker. “When you look

FOOD & DRINK

Sean James Wilton, VP Business Development, AgriMarine Holdings Inc.

Stephen Robinson, General Manager, AgriMarine Technologies Inc.

Mr. Wilton has worked for AgriMarine since 2004 and has been involved in many aspects of the environmental engineering, construction and aquaculture industries for over 17 years. His engineering experience encompasses a multitude of designs, from complex municipal water systems to the most advanced fish hatchery systems in the world and the largest cold-water fish hatchery in North America. Mr. Wilton is an aerospace engineering graduate from the Canadian Forces School and holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Kingston.

Mr. Robinson has significant salmon aquaculture farm management experience, including project planning, designing and installing automation control systems, sampling, and designing IT systems. Mr. Robinson has worked for AgriMarine since 1994 and currently acts as General Manager and Senior Manager of Design and Technology for AgriMarineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marinebased solid-wall containment finfish aquaculture systems. Mr. Robinson has designed and installed control and monitoring systems for pumps, oxygenation, and waste water treatment and has conducted environmental field monitoring and background surveys in pursuit of prospective freshwater and marine aquaculture licenses.

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at what’s going on in Norway right now and the literally hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the design of new floating closed containment systems, we’re obviously way ahead of the curve and I think we continue to be.” Indeed, ATI believes the

system was the first marine-based closed containment system to be certified under the Norwegian NS9415 construction standard. With ATI already ahead of the competition, the future certainly looks bright for the firm in this fledgling industry sector.

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Aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for nearly 50% of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food fish

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DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES MANITOBA

Providing Results That Matter Written by Fran Roberts Produced by Quiyonni Borja

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES OF MANITOBA

2017 marks the 15th anniversary of Diagnostic Services Manitoba (DSM). Its mission is simple – to serve communities across the province, aiming to provide all Manitobans, no matter where they live, with high quality laboratory tests and rural Manitobans with diagnostic imaging procedures

iagnostic Services Manitoba (DSM) touches the entire scope of the healthcare system from prenatal testing to autopsy and forensics; from pediatrics to geriatrics; from medical and surgical programs to public health and mental health and all other health services in between. While accounting for 3.5% of the provincial healthcare budget, their services influence over 80% of clinical decisions with laboratory and imaging results. As DSM celebrates its 15th year milestone, the company is keen to acknowledge the keys to its success.

“Our success over the last number of years has been a direct result of prioritising, collaboration and relationship building. We’ve developed important relationships with so many of our clinical colleagues and have really studied how best to deliver value to their work,” says Jim

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D S M O P E R AT E S 82 SITES ACROSS MANITOBA

H E A LT H C A R E

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H E A LT H C A R E

1,600

Number of employees at Diagnostic Services of Manitoba

Slater, Chief Executive Officer. And Slater is not alone acknowledging the role relationships have played in the success of DSM over the years. “Another unique dimension to Diagnostic Services Manitoba is our philosophy that relationships are collaborative partnerships,” states Petr Kresta, Chief Operating Officer. “We have 82 sites across Manitoba delivering diagnostic services and our staff work hand-in-hand with nurses, physicians or other allied health workers to deliver quality healthcare services to the communities they serve. Over the years we’ve seen a trend towards centralisation within laboratories, and while this may be true, it does not mean that we work in isolation from our clinical and regional partners. Without a strong collaborative partnership, we wouldn’t be able to provide efficient and effective

diagnostic service models of care that deliver value for our patients.” Not just a laboratory

DSM is Manitoba’s public sector diagnostic healthcare service provider. “We’re not just a laboratory, we’re a full-scale diagnostics service centre. We manage laboratory testing, rural diagnostic imaging and diagnostic cardiology, which is what makes our model so unique within Canada,” comments Slater. “Our tagline is, ‘We deliver results that matter’. Instead of passively providing lab results or conducting an x-ray or EKG, we work closely with clinicians to ensure that they’re ordering appropriate tests for their patients to help improve outcomes.” The appropriate use of diagnostic tests has become a significant topic of conversation among the international medical community. A 2015 study published in the

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Another unique dimension to Diagnostic Services Manitoba is our philosophy that relationships are collaborative partnerships – Petr Kresta, Chief Operating Officer

Academic Emergency Medicine Journal found that over 85% of respondents believed too many diagnostic tests are ordered in their own emergency departments, and 97% said at least some of the advanced imaging studies they personally ordered were medically unnecessary. “If you think about it, unnecessary diagnostic tests can cause harm and delays to patients. It can also cause unnecessary costs that burden the healthcare system. What we’ve found in the last few years is that by working closely with our clinical colleagues we are able to

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collaborate on what clinical tests best improve their patient’s outcome and help minimise unnecessary testing,” Slater observes. For example, every x-ray and even more so every CT, exposes patients to the increased risks associated with radiation. DSM has made it a priority to work with its partners to ensure that only necessary imaging tests are ordered and performed. “When we meet with the emergency department we can actually talk about these issues and discuss as a team what makes the most sense for the patient,” explains Dr. Amin Kabani, Chief Medical Officer. “Patient care has always been our top priority. While we are working with our clinical partners to address the use of unnecessary tests and to extract the efficiency and resource savings that go along with that, patient safety and care is never compromised. We have checks and balances in place within DSM to make sure the patient always receives the most appropriate testing and best possible care. As an organisation we pride ourselves

H E A LT H C A R E

DSM IS ACCREDITED BY THE MANITOBA QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM

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H E A LT H C A R E

The appropriate use of diagnostic tests has become a significant topic of conversation among the international medical community. A 2015 study published in the Academic Emergency Medicine Journal found that over 85 per cent of respondents believed too many diagnostic tests are ordered in their own emergency departments, and 97% said at least some of the advanced imaging studies they personally ordered were medically unnecessary.

on our track record of being accredited by the Manitoba Quality Assurance Program (MANQAP) and College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is one of the highest ranked accreditation agencies for medical laboratories in the world.” Significant investment

By creating such efficiencies, DSM has been able to increase investments in other areas. “By eliminating unnecessary testing we’ve been able to redirect resources and significantly invest in genetic testing, which is one of the biggest challenges we are facing today,” Slater observes. “The future of diagnostics is becoming very genetics-based.

There are drugs, for example, which will not work if you do not have the right gene, gene combination, gene expression or gene inhibitor. A major challenge for everyone across the world, frankly, is how do we keep up with the science of genetics with high quality, reproducible genetic testing? Many cancers now are not only diagnosed or staged simply on traditional pathology morphology, but are now using genetics to differentiate them.” A broad mandate

Of course, as a province-wide provider of diagnostics services, DSM has not solely invested in genomics. “We’ve made a significant investment, between

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H E A LT H C A R E

CA$25mn and CA$30mn, in our decision making. We can now look provincial laboratory information at costing data, utilisation data, system,” advises Slater. “A stocking data in an integrated way significant portion of that is a that allows us to make rational critical Provincial Laboratory decisions, particularly when we’re Information System (PLIS) – talking to our stakeholders,” chemistry, hematology, adds Kabani. “All our microbiology – that provincial sites are linked we call the core up to our information. It laboratory and doesn’t matter which we’ve rolled out site you’re talking Diagnostic Services the PLIS across to, you’re working of Manitoba the province.” from the same Annual Revenue Having one system. This allows repository of us to actually be costlaboratory data across effective and economic, but Manitoba has greatly more importantly in our minds, benefitted DSM. “Fifteen years it helps us make good decisions.” ago, we used to have limited data In addition to the laboratory that was very fragmented and we information system, DSM is also couldn’t use it as effectively for rolling out a provincial Anatomic

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Our tagline is, ‘We deliver results that matter’. Instead of passively providing lab results or doing an x-ray or doing an EKG, we work with clinicians to ensure that they’re ordering appropriate tests for their patients to help improve outcomes – Jim Slater, CEO

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Pathology Laboratory Information System (AP-LIS), due to be fully implemented by the end of the fiscal year. “A big part of that investment was publicly funded by our provincial government. We also have partnered with the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) who has provided funding to DSM to make significant investments in AP-LIS that will enable synoptic reporting, along with another federal funding partner, Canada Health Infoway,” notes Slater. “Manitoba has made a major investment in digital imaging contributing to the creation of a province-wide digital imaging system. Most recently, the province of Manitoba made a CA$25mn investment in digital mammography that was delivered under the leadership of DSM and funded almost entirely by our provincial government. DSM receives 9599% of our funding through the public sector. As we are a Canadian Corporation this allows us to enter into partnerships with industry, business and funding

agencies. It makes us unique in the country, unique in the world, I would think, because we have such a broad mandate.” Geographic challenges

Indeed, DSM’s mandate is broad both in the sense of the services that it provides but also geographically. “We have a land mass that is 1.5 times the size of the state of California and so we’re a very large geographic area,” Kresta advises. The population is also not evenly distributed. The 2016 Census of Canada found that approximately 1.3mn people live in the province and around 778,000 of those live in the metro Winnipeg area, located 68 miles from the US border. This uneven distribution can be a struggle for DSM at times. “It’s very challenging at some of our sites. If you look at the map, we have pretty remote and isolated sites – sites which you can only fly into,” Slater observes. “If you look at our farthest northern site on the map, which is Churchill, it is only accessible by air travel and by ship

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for part of the year. So, it’s a very big challenge.” Despite this, DSM works hard to service such communities. “We’re actually able to provide remote support to our rural staff through technology, and this is an area where I think others in the country are looking to learn from our various models of diagnostic service delivery,” advises Slater. Future value

Looking ahead, DSM is in a period of transition, as they become part of a new provincial health organisation called Shared Health Services Manitoba on 1 April 2018. “All of the value and all of the benefits, the positive things that we’ve been talking about for DSM are going to get even broader. Shared Health Services Manitoba’s mandate is set to transform Manitoba’s health care system and will go well beyond just diagnostic services. It will look at how to deliver more connected and coordinated health care services across the province,” Slater concludes.

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