Business Review USA & Canada - May 2017

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May 2017

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An energy for Dynegy The Influential

IMPACT of Women Who Code

IT:

the faculty friend at Buffalo

TALKING

BIZ WITH:

TOP 10

most popular beer brands in the US

Miller Electric Company, RBC Convention Centre, The Good Samaritan Societ, and many more...

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Miki Racine Berardelli Chief Executive Officer

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

HELLO and

WELCOME to May’s edition of

Business Review USA & Canada.

THIS ISSUE FEATURES an exclusive discussion with CEO of Women Who Code, Alaina Percival, who tells Business Review USA & Canada about the impact of the organization and the importance of introducing more women to the world of STEM. Also included is a report on the University at Buffalo, the largest university in the north-eastern US, and its CIO Brice Bible who describes the school’s commitment to IT.

In line with the weather growing warmer, May’s top 10 is a list of America’s most popular beer brands – all of them perfect for enjoying during the longer, brighter evenings.

On top of this, we have in-depth and information-packed profiles on Dynegy, Golden Valley Natural, Nutrabolt, PwC, Central Piedmont Community College, and many more.

Enjoy the magazine, and feel free to join in the conversation on Twitter: @BizReviewUSA / @NellWalkerMG

Nell Walker Editor nell.walker@bizclikmedia.com 3

CONTENTS

F E AT U R E S

10

PROFILE

We speak to Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code

TECHNOLOGY

16

LIST

TOP10 MOST POPULAR BEER brands in the

US IT: the faculty friend at Buffalo

24

JUNE 13-15, 2017 | CHICAGO, IL

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C O M PA N Y PROFILES SUPPLY CHAIN 42 Dynegy 62 Coordinated Health 76 Nutrabolt

CONSTRUCTION 94 Central Piedmont Community College

42 Dynegy

– Design and Construction Program 110 Direct Line 124 DP Electric, Inc 138 Miller Electric Company

76

138

Nutrabolt

Miller Electric Company

94 62

Coordinated Health

Central Piedmont Community College – Design and Construction Program

124 110

Direct Line

DP Electric, Inc.

HOSPITALITY 160 RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg

HEALTHCARE 174 The Good Samaritan Society 188 International Fitness Holdings Inc

TECHNOLOGY 198 Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

160

RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg

188

174

International Fitness Holdings Inc

The Good Samaritan Society

208 PwC 220 Northern Arizona University 232 Cal State University Sacramento

FOOD & DRINK 246 Golden Valley Natural 256 Association -American Culinary Federation (ACF)

246 Golden Valley Natural

220

Northern Arizona University

208

PwC

232

Cal State University Sacramento

198

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Association American Culinary Federation (ACF)

256

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PROFILE

The influential impact of

Wr it t e n by : N E LL WA LK E R

WOMEN WHO CODE

We speak to Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code THE LACK OF women in STEM professions remains a problem.

As previously explored in Business Review USA & Canada, despite the inspirational historical impact of figures such as Ada Lovelace, girls and women often become disillusioned about entering a technological or scientific field, mainly due to a lack of support and not enough focus on role models. The support that professional women require the most and thrive the best on is that

of other professional women, and thus came an organization borne of necessity: Women Who Code.

Women Who Code is a non-profit organization formed in 2011, designed as a space for women in these industries to connect with one another in a secure environment without judgement. Alaina Percival is its CEO, and she is well aware of the impact her company had almost immediately. “There were so few women at tech events for other women to connect

Through our efforts, WOMEN WHO CODE IS WORKING TOWARDS THE GOAL OF A TECHNOLOGY field that is equally inclusive of the talents of everyone 11

PROFILE

with,” she explains. “Shortly after Women Who Code was originally formed, the media started focusing on the need to get more girls involved in coding from an early age. While this is a beautiful sentiment, it had the unfortunate consequence of moving the focus away from careeraged women in the industry who were already reporting issues with being seen as more ‘junior’ than their male colleagues.

“56 percent of all women leave tech positions mid-career, and they only account for five percent of executives in the industry. This is limiting the pace of innovation and the scope of progress, as diverse teams have consistently shown to be more effective at solving problems, with female leaders scoring higher than

Alaina Percival

CEO of Women Who Code

average in performance ratings at leadership levels.” In fact, research has shown that companies with the highest representation of women in leadership have seen 34 percent higher return on investment than those with few or no women.

To combat this, Women Who Code works hard to shine a spotlight on existing role models in the industry, inspiring young girls, women looking for a new career, and women already working in STEM who may feel disillusioned. According to Percival, “the lack of women in tech is a selfperpetuating problem. Without female role models to look up to, girls are less likely to consider careers

WOMEN WHO CODE

BY SHOWCASING THE TALENTS OF THE FEMALE ENGINEERS OF TODAY, we are proving to the next generation that they can and should code in computing, which then causes a gender gap that reinforces the lack of women mentors and leaders.”

So how can this be combatted? By supporting career-aged women in the sector to be the role models that are so sorely needed, making them aspirational figures for girls. “Women role models already exist in tech,” Percival says. “While it can sometimes be hard to hear them over the crowd, at Women Who Code we strive to highlight their accomplishments, celebrating their work so we can perpetuate a new perception of the industry – one which recognizes the

successes of all its contributors.

“Women who Code is working to correct the false branding that has plagued technology for too long. This is not an industry that is inherently male. Tech has no gender; it is a force of innovation that can be accessed by everyone. By showcasing the talents of the female engineers of today, we are proving to the next generation that they can and should code.”

How does Women Who Code continuously raise awareness of the work it does? “We have a number of outreach programs that we engage to spread the word about our work and efforts,” Percival explains.

“On the ground we have networks located in 60 cities around the world, fueled by a leadership team of more than 500 volunteers that have been responsible for 4,200 free technical events. We also have the CODE Review Newsletter which supplies news, inspiration stories, employment and scholarship opportunities, and industry information to the community each week.”

STEM industries have, pleasingly, been supportive of Women Who Code’s efforts. It is tech companies 13

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WOMEN WHO CODE

TECH HAS NO GENDER; it is a force of innovation that can be accessed by everyone which host Women Who Code, and their support allows the organization to hold up to five free tech events every day; last year there were 1,700 events globally. “These are events that have touched lives, inspired careers, and helped fuel the innovative growth of economies and local communities,” Percival says. “The challenge we have faced is getting sponsor organizations to understand the importance of supporting women in the industry. Our free programs help women to stay in tech and transition back into these careers, which is vital to maintaining the gender diversity of the field.”

Men, too, are becoming “natural allies” in Percival’s words, as gender equality and increased diversity truly benefits everybody, assisting in the elimination of unconscious bias and promoting healthier working environments: to “help everyone to succeed equally”. Since Women Who Code formed, the subject of women in

STEM has been more prevalent than ever, and the organization is certainly doing its job – and more – to guide the industry in the right direction.

“Companies are beginning to prioritize better practices for supporting women including in their organizations, and those who haven’t taken that step are hearing about it and starting to realize its importance,” Percival concludes.

“By changing the tech conversation to include the accomplishments of a more diverse set of engineers, we are working to transform many of the biases that inform the unconscious cognitive mistakes that people make.

This is a pervasive effort, one that requires a fundamental shift in the perception of the entire industry, both internally and externally. But through our efforts, Women Who Code is working towards the goal of a technology field that is equally inclusive of the talents of everyone.”

15

TECHNOLOGY

IT: t he facult y

friend at Buf falo The academic world’s boundaries with the commercial and public sectors are blurring fast: The University at Buffalo is meeting challenge with a full out commitment to IT, as CIO Brice Bible explains Writ ten by: JOHN O’HANLON

I T: T H E F A C U LT Y F R I E N D AT B U F F A L O

THE STATE UNIVERSITY of New York at Buffalo (UB), the largest public university in the northeastern United States, has roots going back to the first half of the19th century.

It has 30,000 enrolled students on three campuses, and as well as the traditional arts and science subjects, has associated schools of medicine, dentistry, architecture and planning, engineering and business. It is renowned for the breadth and depth of the research undertaken by its faculty. In short, it is a powerhouse of learning and a highly diverse and complex organization.

IT at the top table Like any such institution, the university has had to address the opportunities offered – indeed demanded – by the growth of technology. So in 2013 when the university board and its President, Satish Tripathi, were recruiting a new CIO, they scoured the United States to find someone who had the breadth of strategic vision to lead a digital transformation.

To reflect this the job was elevated to the level of Vice President. Brice Bible, appointed in October that

year, was hired not only for his 20 years’ experience in higher education (culminating in a successful spell as CIO of Ohio University) but also for his capacity to work closely with the university leadership in achieving Tripathi’s strategy to leverage IT to transform UB into a ‘sustainable, secure and servicefocused organization’. His stated aim was to ensure the position had a broad enough reach and could take advantage of today and tomorrow’s technologies for the overall good of the institution.

IT is critical, Bible says, to the success of every organization, but in education it is the lifeblood, tying the learning and research institutions together with the wider community.

“Nowhere is more challenged by innovation than a university. By design, as a research university we have one of the most open environments of any organization.”

He points out that while encouraging innovation and new thinking, security and reliability have to be built in to the systems and underpin them.

“There is a tug both ways and you never can find the middle ground

17

TECHNOLOGY because it is always shifting.”

Matters have shifted from the earlier days of his career, when universities were the place where cool things happened. “Universities produced the first networks, the first e-mail environments, the first collaboration tools. Students would flock to universities just to be at the cutting edge. Now we are in a place where the consumer side of IT is sometimes leading the charge, so universities have to be more cautious: to support those technologies and also provide and environment where that can be fertilized, grow, and be part of the learning process.”

To illustrate this, around 100,000 different devices are connected in some way to UB’s IT network. The university only officially owns and

18

May 2017

manages a quarter of those; the other three quarters are owned by individual faculty members or students. Ten years ago, he points out, even if students brought their own computer it would be hard wired to the network, and therefore under some degree of control. “Today we have gone the other way,” he says. “We have very little control over the end user device, and that is fine, though it has changed the way offices like mine have to be equipped to support the institution.”

The transformation journey Brice Bible established a talented team. He has since built this up to around 500 IT employees, 60 percent of them working in a central IT office and 40 percent spread around the colleges and schools of the university.

Like any CIO coming in, the first thing

I T: T H E F A C U LT Y F R I E N D AT B U F F A L O

he set out to do was to understand that environment, the needs of his ‘customers’, and start to map out the journey forward. Listening to staff and students, he realized that IT services and activities needed to be more closely aligned to the real-life demands of teaching and research.

“I took that as the first pillar of the new strategy. The second pillar, again based on the input of our users, was to modernize some of the IT environment, in particular wireless and networking.

The third was to align IT with student success and outcomes: to make sure they are progressing as they would like and we are able to guide them in that.”

The last of these is a concern nationally, indeed globally, and it is all about big data. Universities, like most large organizations, hold plenty of

information on its stakeholders, but it is siloed. HR and admissions, faculty related data, and student information becomes simple statistics, but this information viewed holistically can be a powerful tool to help students recognize their own success path, as well as giving the university and the instructors indicators of how they are doing. Add to this the information yielded by all those mobile devices on location, types of activity and the like, and a picture can be built up of a student’s academic path.

IT knows how to handle big data but there is a balancing act between the potential, the permitted, and the right to privacy. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. “For

19

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example, students can ask not to be in a directory,” Brice Bible points out. “And if you are going to video a class they have to be aware and give consent.” But used right the benefits are huge. The analogy with medicine is irresistible, he adds. “UB is very much involved in genome research, and our researchers hold a lot of data that can identify trends using algorithms and detect disease. In the same way we can start seeing trends and perhaps identify anomalies in student performance even before they know it themselves.”

Bible gives full credit to the forward looking leadership at UB, which did not hesitate to support the IT transformation and fund essential changes. One of the big wins was the creation of a new department of customer engagement. There are now IT offices on campus to make the services more accessible, and a problem-solving system has been introduced that allows students to log and track any concerns they may have. Social media are now being used to put out information and obtain feedback. This fall, returning and new students will be able to create and follow a ‘trouble ticket’ if they 21

Brice Bible Chief Information Officer

Nowhere is more challenged by innovation than a university.

BY DESIGN, AS A RESEARCH UNIVERSITY WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST OPEN ENVIRONMENTS OF ANY ORGANIZATION

TECHNOLOGY have any IT problems, and for the 9,000 on-campus residents, if that does not solve the problem, they will be able to schedule a visit to their apartment from a member of IT staff.

The CIO has a philosophy that technology should never be a hindrance, always an enabler. “Some students may have multiple devices, but I do not want any student who was not able to bring that level of technology to be hampered by that.

We are here to make sure they can still do the work they need to do to be successful – and not wait days for any problem to be fixed. If you do not have the technology, it has at least to be available. Grades must never depend on access to technology.

That’s why we maintain an accessible computer lab, and also check out

22

May 2017

laptops on a short or long term basis.”

Mobile devices will soon have to be added to the equipment that can be loaned, he anticipates, given that 75 percent of the devices on UB’s network already fall in that category.

Faster and smarter One of the big ticket items on the journey was the installation of a very dense version of the superfast WI-Fi platform known as 802.11ac now being rolled out at all three campuses, and even in parts of downtown Buffalo. By mid-2017 the number of WI-Fi access points will have been upped from around 3,000 to 6,600.

This ensures that for the foreseeable future, UB will have the network capacity to support any expansion in its user numbers and the inevitable increase in research data. It also

takes a step towards creating a truly smart campus, while partnership with commercial and city interests will help establish Buffalo as a ‘smart city’.

Moving data around is one thing: storing it another. No amount of directly managed storage will be enough for the future needs of a university like UB, which is why it is moving to a cloud based file storage environment with UBbox, managed by the online file sharing and content management service Box. “We have rolled out an unlimited storage environment on the cloud, available from every device or location. One of the advantages is to do with security.

We have seven health schools including a large medical school and these are linked to other health providers, research organizations.

The question is, how can we make the use of technology seamless across these organizations?”

He didn’t find any health coalition

in the USA that has a truly seamless, hyper-protected environment, so is creating UB’s own that may well become a benchmark. “In any one day a doctor teaching at UB may have a tranche of data, teaching materials and e-mails from students, then move a few doors away and be a practicing medic with patients, then step over to the Roswell Park Cancer Center for research. He or she does not want to switch devices or log in and out constantly, which is why I want to build a seamless organization. I am excited about that.”

Brice Bible is in fact irrepressibly enthusiastic about his work at Buffalo. From his office window he can see southern Ontario, which to him means a great opportunity to draw on the talent residing in Canada to complement the dynamism of western New York State and its premier university.

23

TOP 10

TOP10 MOST POPULAR BEER BRANDS IN THE US

BevSpot, a bar management software platform, has been adopted by hundreds of bars and restaurants across 46 US states and a few international markets, allowing them ease of controlling inventory, ordering, invoicing, and sales data. The Boston-based company published a list of the most popular beers at the end of 2016, according to its distributor order data and what has sold best on BevSpot; here are the top 10.

Wr it t e n by : N E LL WA LK E R

TOP 10

10 FOUNDED IN 1993, the Californian Lagunitas Brewing Company has become well-known for its ironic takes on more traditional types of beer, plus the convoluted tales it prints on its packaging. As of 2014 it was the fifth best-selling craft brewery in America, and has also been one of the fastest-growing since the mid-noughties. Thanks 26

May 2017

to its massive expansion in recent years, with millions being poured into growing its brewing capacity and many new sites being constructed, Heineken took notice in 2015 and acquired a 50 percent stake. While this means that Lagunitas can no longer be classified as a ‘craft’ brewer, it also means a far greater global impact.

9 SAMUEL ADAMS – so named after one of the founding fathers of the United States – began brewing in 1984 in Boston. The brand (usually shortened to Sam Adams) still uses traditional brewing processes to create drinks based on co-founder Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather’s original recipe, and as well as selling its staple beers year-round, it releases seasonal beers with flavours tailored to spring, summer, autumn, and winter. As the flagship brand of the Boston Beer Company, Sam Adams has an enduring legacy in the US.

27

8 TOP 10

ONE OF THE most famous beer brands in the world, Guinness originated in Dublin, Ireland in 1759, at St. James’s Gate brewery by Arthur Guinness. The drink is well known for its strong, sour flavour and the creamy texture of the foam on top. Guinness is not only popular in Ireland, but the world over; Irish-Americans consider it a part of their heritage, and globally, it is consumed with reverence on St. Patrick’s Day. The brand now has breweries in over 50 countries, is available in 120, and in 2011, Guinness sold 220,000,000 US gallons.

28

May 2017

7 ESTABLISHED IN 1996, Ballast Points Brewing & Spirits Company was the first microdistillery in San Diego since the prohibition era. It has won gold medals for its beers, and in 2013 and 2014 the company’s distillery arm was named the California Distillery of the Year at the New York International Spirits Competition. Founder Jack

White’s passion for beer (beginning with brewing his own at university) has stood him in good stead, and while other executives of the company have come and gone, White remains as Founder. As of December 2015, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits is owned by Constellation Brands.

29

TOP 10

6 30

May 2017

KNOWN FOR ITS popular brand of pale ale, Harpoon begun in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first brewery with permission to make and sell alcohol in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in over 25 years, and even with just two sites (the other being in Windsor, Vermont), as of 2013, Harpoon was the twelfth largest craft brewery in the US. It creates several year-round beers, four seasonal varieties, and occasional unique batches. Local fans can also enjoy annual festivals held at the Boston brewery, which contribute both to charities with fundraising activities and the strengthening of the community.

5 A PILSNER FIRST brewed in Belgium in 1926, Stella Artois – owned by Interbrew International B.V. – is one of the most popular beer brands in the world.

Originally created as a festive winter beer, Stella Artois quickly became a year-round drink, with production only briefly suspended during World War II. While traditionally more popular in the UK and across Europe, the beer has become well-loved in the US, boosted in 2011 by a Super Bowl commercial featuring Adrien Brody.

31

TOP 10

4 PRODUCED BY THE Coors Brewing Company – a subsidiary of the Molson Coors Brewing Company, the world’s third-largest brewing business – Coors beer itself was originally a regional product popular in an 11-state area of the west. This relative exclusivity meant that those outside of the west considered the

32

May 2017

beer a novelty, and popularised it by taking cases home. By the mid-80s, the company was distributing across the US. The company was the first American brewer to use all-aluminium cans in 1959, and is well known for its distinctive Coors Light ‘Silver Bullet’ packaging.

3 THIS MILWAUKEE NATIVE company, established in 1855, was founded by the German Frederick Miller and remained family-owned until 1966 when his granddaughter, who objected to alcohol, sold it to W. R. Grace and Company. Its parent company is now former rival Molson Coors, in a joint venture named MillerCoors.

Miller is known not just for its own Genuine Draft beer, but also the multi awardwinning Hamm’s beers and Plank Road Brewery Icehouse and Red Dog beers.

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TOP 10

2 PRODUCED IN MEXICO since 1925, Corona Extra is a pale lager and one of the best-selling beers globally. Split ownership means that the drink is produced by Constellation Brands for the US and CervecerĂ­a Modelo for everywhere

else, including domestically. Outside of Mexico, Corona is generally served with a wedge of lime or lemon in the neck of the bottle, and the beer is well known for its light flavour and easy drinkability.

35

TOP 10

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May 2017

1

PRODUCED BY ANHEUSERBUSCH, Budweiser was established as a brand in 1876, and is one of the highest-selling beers in the US. It is available all over the world, originally created as a ‘bohemian-style’ lager fashioned after local beer sampled

by Adolphus Busch and Carl Conrad in České Budějovice. Budweiser is

generally shortened simply to ‘Bud’, and the brand capitalised on its popularity by introducing Bud Light in 1982. Its flagship light beer is just 110 calories per 355ml, and received a huge long-running marketing boost from 1993 to 1998 when its commercials featured characters from The Dick Van Dyke Show.

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e-Health Conference 2017: THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL HEALTH AND THE PEOPLE WHO BENEFIT This year’s e-Health Conference will focus on the Future of Digital Health and the People who Benefit. During the Conference, attendees will celebrate, grow and be inspired by learnings from the past and present, and look to the future state of digital health in Canada.

From coast to coast to coast, e-Health will showcase the many facets of our nation’s digital health journey.

As an attendee, you can learn from regional and international speakers, engage with current and future leaders, maximize your networking opportunities during the trade show and social events, and celebrate achievements at the Canadian Health Informatics Awards Gala.

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Showcase

The Showcase has been an integral part of e-Health since 2007. Building on the outstanding success of the regional success stories component introduced in 2014, we will again be featuring some of the great innovations and collaborations between the public and private sector.

Attend a Success Story demonstration in the showcase theatres to hear how jurisdictions have implemented innovative e-Health solutions, and topics related to e-Health Innovation.

• Monday, June 5, from 10:00am – 11:45am and 2:30pm – 4:00pm • Tuesday, June 6, from 9:30am – 10:15am and 2:00pm – 3:30pm

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• Monday, June 5, from 10:00am – 4:00pm • Tuesday, June 6, from 9:30am – 6:30pm

SOCIAL EVENTS Welcome Reception | Sunday, June 4, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

The e-Health 2017 Steering Committee invites all delegates to the e-Health 2017 Welcome Reception. Start off the Conference with this opportunity to meet colleagues, network and catch up with friends! Admission to the Welcome Reception is included when purchasing a full conference registration.

Fun Run | Monday, June 5, 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.

Balance all the mental stimulation that you will receive at the conference with some physical activity. All delegates are welcome to take part in this activity at no additional cost but pre-registration is required, as space is limited.

CHIA Gala | Monday, June 5, 6:15 to 10:00 p.m.

The CHIA Gala will begin with a reception followed by a three course dinner and award presentations. These awards pay tribute to individuals, projects, teams and companies.

Awards will be presented to the leading individual or team in the following categories. A small commitment fee is being ask of $25.00 which e-Health will be donating the full ticket amount to Daily Bread Food Bank.

• Clinician Leadership • Corporate Citizenship • Emerging Leader in Health Informatics • Excellence in Canadian Telehealth • Innovation in the Adoption of Health Informatics • Leadership in the Field of Health Informatics • Project Team – Implementation • Project Team – Innovation & Care Delivery • Project Team – Patient Care Innovation • Steven Huesing Scholarship A complete list of award category descriptions is available at: www.e-healthconference.com/social-events

Mix & Mingle Reception | Tuesday, June 6, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

All e-Health 2017 exhibitors welcome Conference delegates to a reception. This will be an excellent opportunity to visit the exhibition, network and make connections. Admission to the Exhibitor Reception is included when purchasing a full conference registration.

An energy

BOOST for Dynegy Managing Director of Dynegy’s supply chain, Shaun Anderson, describes the company’s sensational growth and to what it attributes its increasing success

Written by Nell Walker Produced by Denitra Price

T

he Houston-based independent power producer (IPP) has 50 generating facilities in 12 states throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Texas. Dynegy has transformed from a coal-heavy portfolio of plants largely dependent on one power market, to one that is geographically diverse, generating more than 31,000 megawatts (MW) that are predominately natural gas-fueled – capable of producing enough energy to power the homes of 25 million U.S. families.

Managing the supply needs of a group of this size can be a challenge. Shaun Anderson, Dynegy’s Managing Director of Supply Chain, explains how altering some of the most basic processes proved critical to driving down operational costs.

“When I started two years ago, there was no supply chain organization,” he says. “Instead, a procurement group used a transaction-based process where a group of buyers would support the needs of each site individually. Recognizing there was an opportunity to put a purchasing strategy in place, we first established a true supply chain organization with three value streams of Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain Services and Procurement.”

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S U P P LY C H A I N

“I intentionally named it

‘SOURCE-TO-PAY’ to build in strategic thinking” – Shaun Anderson, Managing Director Supply Chain

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Digitalization is one of the biggest buzz-words in business today, and for Siemens, it is far simpler and more efficient a concept than many believe.

“What you see in the market – the presentations, the articles, the talks about trading values, terms like ‘game change’, ‘new paradigm’, ‘transformative’, ‘disruptive’ – so much of that is hyperbole,” says Stefan Bungart, Head of Digitalization in the Power Generation Services Department of Siemens.

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“All these big words don’t translate into real outcomes or meaningful action for customers. The real pain points they are asking about aren’t to do with understanding the transformative effects of digitalization. They want to know, for example how they can keep up with industry standards, how to create a more fuel-efficient fleet, and how to keep data safe. Those are just some of the issues we’re addressing. There’s a lot of noise around digitalization, and we’re working to cut through that noise and get to the core benefits.”

performance. Really, what we’re trying to do is help our customers understand how they can use digitalization strategically.”

Power generation customers look to the company for simplified, focused, and tailored solutions.

Siemens delivers a wide range of data-driven products and services to meet changing industry requirements, bringing technology together with customer challenges to generate real and meaningful value. Generally the focus lies within three focus areas – profitability, mitigating risk, th and improving performance – and Siemens supports customers to drive these goals.

“All of our services sit on a secure IoT operating system that Siemens has developed called MindSphere,” says Bungart. “The end-to-end security element we’ve built into it makes it incomparable; it’s a secure environment from the sensor to cloud, for which we developed specific hardware and software, ensuring plug-and-play capability. pl

“With digitalization, it’s a matter of applying it to problems in your organization in a positive way,” Bungart continues. “We help people get to the real value that digital services can provide rather than spending a lot of time talking about potential opportunities. We’ve been building a large set of experiences with customers and engaging in many projects to optimize our eng

End-to-end cyber security is of paramount importance to Siemens, and that emphasis is what sets it apart from many competitors. It boasts a suite of services based on data and analytics targeted to a range of needs, including data protection, to ensure information and infrastructure are fully protected.

"While some see data as gold, simply collecting data for data's sake is no remedy. It requires the best possible technology to protect it and the best possible minds to interpret and realize its full value. It's not a question of waiting 10 years for digitalization to develop - it's here now and Siemens is at the forefront.

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DYNEGY INC.

Instead of setting up a centralized group to dictate to the rest of the company how things work, Dynegy’s approach is center-led.

The team actively gathers input from members of the operations group to meet collective goals with standardized processes across the business. It focuses on leveraging and optimizing spending across the company, instead of just addressing

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opportunities on a site level.

Dynegy’s supply chain group tailors the way it operates to meet specific business needs. Setting the company apart from others in the industry, Anderson has a ‘source-to-pay’ (S2P) process in place, rather than the standard ‘procure-to-pay’ (P2P) approach.

“I intentionally named it

S U P P LY C H A I N

‘source-to-pay’ to build in strategic thinking about sourcing as an early part of the process,” says Anderson.

“The added step at the beginning gets our supply chain group involved even earlier to add even more value across the organization. Also, we initially had multiple systems within systems as part of the P2P workflow.

Now we use one common system, Maximo, to streamline activities.”

The S2P process has been a key challenge to implement, but also a significant source of improvement to Dynegy as an organization.

By the third quarter of this year, Anderson expects the S2P process

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S U P P LY C H A I N

to deliver significant efficiencies throughout the entire work flow, including operational site-level needs, inventory, work order creation, requisitions and purchase orders.

Dynegy has grown through a number of strategic acquisitions in the last several years. As might be expected, some initial push-back was

present early on as cultures came together from different companies.

To help manage the change involved with shifting to a different way of doing business, cross-functional teams were developed to enable strategic sourcing, regular meetings with key administrators, policy changes and other activities.

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A key element of the company’s drive towards integration is the ‘voice of the customer’ program, which ensures customer needs are heard and addressed to become part of the process.

“The VoC program is where we have monthly meetings with the key administrator of each site,” explains Anderson. “We not only talk about things we’re trying to do differently

and changes we’re implementing, but we also get feedback from them as our internal customers on what’s working and what isn’t. We’ve had tremendous feedback in terms of the recent company changes.”

In sitting down with Dynegy’s crossfunctional team members across the operations group and asking for advice from their perspectives, Anderson and his team can gather an

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“Inspired Energy ensures how people do things is as important as what they do and is based on Dynegy’s organizational values” – Shaun Anderson, Managing Director Supply Chain

accurate reading of how the company is performing. Similarly, there is now a center of excellence team which goes beyond the supply chain, where operational members can makes alterations on a policy level. “We utilize this team as a sounding board not only to get feedback on change, but also to help communicate and drive that change forward,” Anderson says.

“Opposing cultures is an inherent challenge of company change,” he adds. “Dynegy is unique in that we have put things in place to address this from the first day an

employee joins the company.”

For a company to be successful, it needs to win the hearts and minds of its people. ‘Inspired Energy’ is Dynegy’s program designed to consciously create a culture. The initiative is a system of shared language and concepts to build an environment allowing employees to be at their best. The program sets a tone to enable people to build camaraderie and focus on the task at hand. It helps them realize they each have a part in the company’s success and that their individual contributions matter.

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Nobody knows carbon better than Calgon Carbon.

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S U P P LY C H A I N

“Inspired Energy ensures how people do things is as important as what they do and is based on Dynegy’s organizational values,” he says. “Every employee goes through an initial Inspired Energy orientation, followed by a training several months later. The Inspired Energy culture gets

everyone is working on the same page.

This type of change management at a foundational level is definitely an asset as we move forward.”

Despite of the growing pains common with the kind of expansion Dynegy has experienced, the company is positioned for longevity

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Committed - Valued - Trusted “OUR CLIENTS’ GOALS ARE OUR GOALS.” Polaris Solutions is an IBM-certified Silver Level Business Partner specializing in Maximo implementation services.

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S U P P LY C H A I N

and sustained success. With a strong, strategic focus concentrated on improving business processes, systems and tools while leveraging spend opportunities, the supply chain organization works on continuous end-to-end improvement that emphasizes total cost of ownership, and the integration of critical suppliers into business solutions for a lean, agile and responsive process.

“We’re making sure we have the right systems in place that align with the business,” says Anderson. “Just

like Dynegy as a whole, the supply chain organization has gone through a transformation. We are intentionally integrated focus on aligning business needs with corporate objectives while providing added value, efficient processes and cost-saving throughout the company. Dynegy prides itself on being a lean organization that succeeds because we have the ability to get more out of less. We work smart and take full advantage of the technology we have at our disposal.”

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Simply Effective

How Coordinated Health is disrupting the world of healthcare one specialty at a time Written by Nell Walker Produced by Denitra Price

C O O R D I N AT E D H E A LT H

H

ealthcare in America is a dynamic and complex industry. Although people are becoming healthier, medical treatment grows ever more complex.

As a result, expenses increase and private companies in the sector become increasingly specialized.

Coordinated Health is a healthcare organization that has developed a sense of focus to create a convenient, accessible health system for residents of north-eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey â&#x20AC;&#x201C; regions the company is swiftly dominating.

Coordinated Health was founded by CEO Dr. Emil DiIorio in 1988 with a vision to change and simplify how healthcare is delivered. He believes that it is an industry which requires disruption, and has therefore spent nearly 30 years narrowing and streamlining the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service lines.

Being physician-owned makes Coordinated Health inherently different from other traditional healthcare providers, ensuring a strong patient-first focus across the businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 17 locations (two hospitals,

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one surgical center, and 14 clinics).

Michael Rinker is the Director of Supply Chain Management at Coordinated Health and serves as the direct link between physicians, administration, third party vendors and clinical staff.

He is responsible for contract negotiations, vendor management, performance management, and operational materials management across locations.

H E A LT H C A R E

So what, in his words, differentiates Coordinated Health?

“We provide a premium level of patient care at a tremendous value,” he says.

“We don’t attempt to be everything to everyone. Instead, Coordinated Health provides targeted services to a core set of

patients in the region at an affordable rate. Patients appreciate having access to a variety of services within our continuum of care. Patients are looking to be more informed with their healthcare and are not willing to pay a dollar more than they need to for top quality care – that’s what we provide.”

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C O O R D I N AT E D H E A LT H

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H E A LT H C A R E

“We provide a premium

level of patient care at a tremendous value” – Michael Rinker, Director of Supply Chain Management

Coordinated Health specializes particularly in sports medicine, total joint care, orthopedics, and women’s health, and boasts over both 100 physicians and physical therapists on its team of 1,200 staff. The company’s physicians perform the highest number of joint replacements in its region.

“In the first year of our Strategic Sourcing Program, we were managing a market basket of Physician Preference Items totaling several million,” Rinker explains. “We began to strategically source all of our knee, hip, and shoulder implants at about a 20 percent savings. In year two, we focused our efforts on spinal implants and sports medicine implants and continued down the same path of renegotiating contracts,” said Rinker.

With a background in management consulting and most recently in the area of healthcare, Rinker understands the unique challenges surrounding the re-negotiation of surgical implants and supplies. At Coordinated Health, he draws on his experience in physician integration, spend

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C O O R D I N AT E D H E A LT H

analytics, and contract management.

Strategic communication with physicians and clinical staff is at the heart of Coordinated Health’s successful program.

“The critical focus areas from a supply chain management

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perspective for hospitals cover two core components: operational materials management – which ensures that implants and supplies are ordered, received, shelves are stocked, and inventory is managed – and then you have the strategic side

H E A LT H C A R E

of the business covering negotiation, spend analytics, and integration with surgeons and administration,â&#x20AC;?

Rinker says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The positive thing about Coordinated Health is that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got our arms around both of these areas. We understand how

to integrate with physicians and educate them with the data that helps them understand how to collectively engage with our strategy. When you look at healthcare, the key divide is generally covering the availability of concise metrics and the willingness of

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H E A LT H C A R E

“The core of everything we do surrounds data” – Michael Rinker, Director of Supply Chain Management physicians to collaborate and engage on cost containment initiatives.”

Everything in healthcare is going digital, and despite the industry being at least 15 years behind corporate America in terms of digitalization, businesses like Coordinated Health are leading the pack. Coordinated Health is looking to streamline and organize its IT infrastructure globally, across its supply chain and its care offerings, and the team is

continually searching for opportunities to modernize and simplify.

“The core of everything we do surrounds data,” says Rinker. “When I arrived at Coordinated Health more than two years ago, we didn’t have consolidated access to a core set of data, and we didn’t have access to data that was cleansed, categorized, normalized, and able to be analyzed in a way that was valuable. From the ground up, I worked with our

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business intelligence (BI) team to cleanse and categorize our data, so that the BI team could build the platform and load the data onto it.

We’re then able to take that data and present it to the physicians in a way that showed their utilization and cost, plus overall cut-to-close times in the operating room versus their peers.

This opens up a level playing field and opportunity for conversation among physicians. Three different doctors could be doing the same procedure with different implants and different performance metrics, and it prompts a discussion about what they can do to be better regarding costs, length of patient stay, cut-toclose times, and overall efficiency.”

From the top down, CH recruits top caliber clinicians, surgeons (the majority of whom are fellowshiptrained), support staff, and

administrators, and the best talent is searched for in every vertical. Dr. DiIorio himself is an industry leader in thinking outside the box and healthcare strategy, according to Rinker. Because DiIorio was a surgeon himself for 30 years. That combination supports the business’s strategy in terms of what it looks for in employees, enabling it to provide a service of tremendous quality and value.

CH CFO Linda Chen praises Rinker’s dedication to execute efficiency through his leadership.

“We have seen an evolution in the way supply chain management is perceived across the company thanks to Mike,” Chen said. “There’s a high level of respect for the way he has engaged stakeholders at all levels to accomplish “.

Coordinated Health has achieved its high level of expansion and

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C O O R D I N AT E D H E A LT H

“We don’t try to be everything to everyone, instead providing targeted services to a core set of patients in the region at an affordable rate” – Michael Rinker, Director of Supply Chain Management established trust with patients by being, in Rinker’s words, “strategic and nimble, and able to react quickly to changes in government regulations.”

In spite of being a regional healthcare player, Coordinated Health is able to modify itself and change direction

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quickly, and this has always proven a positive attribute for the company.

As a regional provider, breaking into new markets can be challenging but it has not stopped the company from branching beyond Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. In fact, Coordinated Health will soon be spreading even further into the Wyoming Valley – one of the most populous regions in the state. This new location has been identified as one which is underserved in the specialties Coordinated Health offers but hopes to provide modern, simple, affordable health to this region by the end of the year. Beyond that, Rinker has high hopes for further streamlining the business and improving its services every step of the way.

“In the next 18 months we will continue to look at sports procedures, spinal implants, and understanding the best ways to contract for the core set of services that the hospital needs – document management, medical records management, IT equipment, supplies, and dietary services,” he says. “Second to that is the professional services, and the

H E A LT H C A R E

number one focus is labor. Those are the three core initiatives, and we’re creating a category map which basically organizes all of the spend in a very standardized and understandable way, meaning we can assign different members of my team to work on specific task

and develop everything at once.”

Coordinated Health’s dedication to the steady but constant evolution of its service has ensured an equally consistent level of well-deserved expansion, and with the efforts of Rinker, DiIorio, and their staff look set to cement a solid healthcare legacy.

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and the supply chain of partner power

Having enjoyed remarkable growth since the turn of the decade, the sports nutrition expert has had to mature its supply chain processes and develop deep partnerships with key suppliers Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by Denitra Price

N U T R A B O LT

“I

t’s easy to get very passionate about helping people with health and wellness,” says Casey Bauer, Chief Operating Officer at Nutrabolt.

A sports nutrition enthusiast and long-time fitness hobbyist, Bauer oversees operations including supply chain, product development, quality and IT, promoted to COO in December 2016 having arrived as SVP of Supply Chain in August of the previous year.

The maturation of Nutrabolt’s supply chain during this time has allowed it to cement its position as a leading sports nutrition company in the USA, providing a foundation to roll out new product ranges aimed at varying audiences looking for products to achieve their sport nutrition goals. For Bauer, having driven the transformation of Pharmavite’s supply chain, the opportunity to take on a new challenge – one that is so heavily dependent on partnership networks – was too enticing to turn down.

“I uprooted my family who loved the Southern California sun and took them to rural Texas, so hopefully they still love me for doing that to them!” he laughs. “Jokes aside, it has been a great transition, actually. We really enjoy it out here and the team at Nutrabolt has been amazing.”

The move into sports nutrition was an added bonus. Asked if this was a career he had always sought out, Bauer replies: “It wasn’t a natural career choice for me. I became interested in this space when travelling during my consultancy work, which

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S U P P LY C H A I N

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S U P P LY C H A I N

AN AMAZING PARTNERSHIP

In the beginning, before Nutrabolt was called Nutrabolt, and even before C4 was the hottest pre-workout product in the known universe… Nutrabolt needed a manufacturing partner. When they first approached Genysis Brand Solutions for an estimate, the projected production volumes were less than the minimum order quantities at Genysis.

That was then.

This is now. After working together for years, today Genysis delivers millions of units of C4 each quarter with an over 95% on-time delivery performance. Over 95%.

This amazing partnership is the result of world class vision, combined with true leadership and manufacturing excellence. Together, Nutrabolt achieves incredible results with Genysis Brand Solutions’ Four Week Program to consistently deliver incredibly high volumes of product, on time, every time.

Shayne Howell, Chief Revenue Officer of Genysis added, “Our brand partners range from the largest sports nutrition companies, like Nutrabolt---to organic health food companies and niche retailers.

A s we develop strategic partnerships with our clients, we essentially know what we need to be ready to produce before the order comes in. That ability to anticipate demand, with a relentless focus on quality, allows us to consistently deliver high-quality products, on-time, everytime.”

G enysis Brand Solutions is delighted to partner with such an amazing company as Nutrabolt, and is thrilled to be a part of their success.

Genysis which gives us market Brand Solutions is a customer-centric, turn-key powder manufacturer in Salt Lake City, UT. leadershipbased in Branch Our teams specialize in delivering best-in-class Chain Amino Acidssupplements as well.” from new powdered nutritional product formulation and flavoring, all the way pr across theBrand USASolutions are coming tothe usapplication Nutrabolt’s other brand is pioneered G enysis through sourcing, cGMP testing, of LEAN manufacturing techniques in the blending, packaging, and to increase distribution, such is the nutritional supplement industry.

Genysis was able Royal Sport LTD, a six-product logistics services. to greatly reduce product fulfillment demand for the products,” helead-times says. and sports nutrition brand available can now deliver high-quality finished goods (from POdon’t to fulfillment) in as little asdown four weeks.

“We have to knock the only at GNC franchise stores.

“Our secret is simple.” said Jeff Reynolds, CEO of Genysis, “We have learned that the only way to produce truly amazing results for a partner like Nutrabolt, is to build relationships that allow both sides to invest in our mutual success. With that type of commitment, we can do incredible things.”

doors, they are already open. We have added several brands to the portfolio, including FitJoy protein bars last year, which has now put us in the quarter billion-dollar range. We have also just completed our acquisition of the Scivation brand

While it was certainly an exciting time for Bauer to arrive in August 2015, he recognised the relentlessness of the growth would not be sustainable without a solid structure. “What I saw was a supply chain that was pretty frantic. Everyone was super

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involved living out of a suitcase and using hotel gyms.

“I hadn’t worked with these sports nutrition products before but had been exposed to them and been a consumer, which adds an extra element of excitement. We also have a beautiful state of the art gym on-site, which is stocked with all of our products, so we are consumers and users too.”

Growing pains Bauer arrived at a company in the middle of a growth spirt. Formed in 2002, the business was set up to help smaller supplement shops source affordable products, leading to the formation of the brand Cellucor. This remains the most important and successful Nutrabolt range, comprising industry leading products for pre- and post-workout, amino acids, protein, weight loss and testosterone.

Current CEO Doss Cunningham arrived in 2004 as a part time accountant, buying out one of the two founding partners in 2007 before lifelong friend Manish Patel and he partnered to acquire the remainder of the business in 2008.

It was from here the business began to increase revenues above the $10 million mark, the preworkout market in particular helping it to become more profitable. In 2014, MidOcean Partners invested in a minority share and have proven invaluable in providing leadership and driving more aggressive growth. Bauer arrived shortly after.

“The interesting thing for me is that the retailers

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AN AMAZING PARTNERSHIP

In the beginning, before Nutrabolt was called Nutrabolt, and even before C4 was the hottest pre-workout product in the known universe… Nutrabolt needed a manufacturing partner. When they first approached Genysis Brand Solutions for an estimate, the projected production volumes were less than the minimum order quantities at Genysis.

That was then.

This is now. After working together for years, today Genysis delivers millions of units of C4 each quarter with an over 95% on-time delivery performance. Over 95%.

This amazing partnership is the result of world class vision, combined with true leadership and manufacturing excellence. Together, Nutrabolt achieves incredible results with Genysis Brand Solutions’ Four Week Program to consistently deliver incredibly high volumes of product, on time, every time.

“Our secret is simple.” said Jeff Reynolds, CEO of Genysis, “We have learned that the only way to produce truly amazing results for a partner like Nutrabolt, is to build relationships that allow both sides to invest in our mutual success. With that type of commitment, we can do incredible things.”

G enysis Brand Solutions pioneered the application of LEAN manufacturing techniques in the nutritional supplement industry. Genysis was able to greatly reduce product fulfillment lead-times and can now deliver high-quality finished goods (from PO to fulfillment) in as little as four weeks.

Shayne Howell, Chief Revenue Officer of Genysis added, “Our brand partners range from the largest sports nutrition companies, like Nutrabolt---to organic health food companies and niche retailers.

A s we develop strategic partnerships with our clients, we essentially know what we need to be ready to produce before the order comes in. That ability to anticipate demand, with a relentless focus on quality, allows us to consistently deliver high-quality products, on-time, everytime.”

G enysis Brand Solutions is delighted to partner with such an amazing company as Nutrabolt, and is thrilled to be a part of their success. Genysis Brand Solutions is a customer-centric, turn-key powder manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, UT. Our teams specialize in delivering best-in-class powdered nutritional supplements from new product formulation and flavoring, all the way pr through sourcing, cGMP testing, blending, packaging, and logistics services.

S U P P LY C H A I N

focused on how do I get tomorrow’s order out of the door, so there was nobody with the luxury of taking a step back and observing.

“I walked into Doss’s office and said it’s crazy down there, and that I needed 60 days to come up with a strategy. He gave me that luxury and the team and I sat down and came up with a supply chain strategy for the first time in the company’s history.”

Execution The 60-day evaluation told Bauer

and his team two things: that Nutrabolt needed to be smarter at supply chain planning and continue to drive cost optimisation. The following 12-18 months saw the plan put into action and has seen some phenomenal results, not least when looking at inventory figures.

While inventory rates have been cut in half, fill rates have risen from 76 to a little over 96 percent in the latest

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month. “That is my favourite statistic,” Bauer adds. “When I first came in there was a very strange dynamic. I got a call from our President saying inventory turns are below two, and then had about 10 calls from sales leads saying they didn’t have the product to fill customer orders. This didn’t make any sense, and goes to the heart of the supply chain planning.”

In Bauer’s words, it was time to “stem the bleeding”. Investing in the supply chain planning software solution Logility has proven to really help stabilize Nutrabolt’s supply chain, despite Bauer’s trepidation at recommending such a significant investment so early into his tenure.

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“I think the willingness to change was what I was most worried about before going into this,” he continues.

“I pitched this only three months into being employed and was scared to death at the prospect – I was walking in as the new guy advocating a very expensive piece of software.

“But Doss was so supportive and we got on the phone to the MidOcean folks and they supported the idea straight away. My team on the demand planning and supply planning side were also super excited, especially having lived the pain. The willingness to change was emphatic, it has been a huge learning curve.”

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Strength in suppliers The effectiveness of Logility becomes even greater as key partners look into adopting the solution. Indeed, the smooth functioning of the Nutrabolt machine is dependent on collaboration with third parties, from freight companies and 3PLs to manufacturers

and even their suppliers.

“This makes integration and partnership absolutely critical to any success,” adds Bauer. “The inventory improvements we talked about would never have been possible without collaboration with our partners. It is about transparency and closeness.”

“There was a time when we would be afraid to give a partner company too much data

– now I’m pushing to give them more” – Casey Bauer, Chief Operating Officer, Nutrabolt

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Such close relations with production partners is especially critical given the move to turnkey manufacturing, which means Nutrabolt simply purchases finished products and holds no component inventory.

Bauer points to a partnership with Genysis Brand Solutions as a case in point.

“We have monthly meetings that switch between our location in Texas and their location in Utah,” Bauer continues. “We make sure we meet face to face to add to our daily conversations. We have scorecards and metrics, talk about what’s working well and what’s not working well, and discuss how we can become more integrated and gain greater visibility.

“There was a time when we would be afraid to give a partner company too much data – now I’m pushing to give them more. I appreciate massively the transparency that exists between ourselves and the Genysis team, and we are now at a point where we are realising joint cost savings. We have even been able to cut lead times in half on key products and get products to customers significantly faster – this is because they have that visibility and are benefiting from the collaboration on the forecasts.”

Moving forward in 2017 and beyond, integration of the end-to-end supply chain will become a major priority. Bauer’s ideal state is one where all manufacturers and partners,

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and even their suppliers, can access central portals, offering 100 percent visibility and tying the whole supply chain together. He is also looking to add to Nutrabolt’s international supplier network, a move which will localise production and decrease shipping costs. Further still, the COO is targeting redundancy in the supply chain, mitigating risk in single source supplies.

“Innovation is another area we want to continue working with the likes of Genysis on, getting them into the process earlier to tap their wealth of expertise,” Bauer adds.

“These are the people working with the key materials day in and day out.”

New channels, happy customers As product formulas evolve, so do the channels in which Nutrabolt sells through. Although specialist retailers remain the company’s

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largest segment of business, some of the country’s retail giants are opening doors to orders en masse.

“Amazon has been a tremendous partner for us and we’ve had an amazing growth trajectory,” Bauer says. “We’ve just added Justin Jackson to our team, who is our SVP of Consumer Direct, overseeing our personal websites and the Amazon account. He is a former Amazon executive and has brought some massive improvements to the company.”

Indeed, Bauer is convinced

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that Nutrabolt can help to mature the product ranges seen in the likes of Walmart and other large supermarkets. “You see a lot of protein but not a lot else, so our C4 Sport line has been hugely successful in filling these spaces. Now we’ve started expanding our offering and the advent of FitJoy has allowed us to create a functional foods brand, which is specialty focused now can have reaches into other consumers, which is exciting.”

S U P P LY C H A I N

Different buyers bring with them wider audience of fitness enthusiasts, different supply chain nuances, it is vital to convert as many of them as and Bauer points out some of the possible into repeat customers. Central challenges associated with this to this is meaningful engagement. diversification. For instance, selling “If you pick up one of our products it through Amazon has demanded has a 1-800 number on the label,” says a whole new stickering process, Bauer. “If you call that number you’re while precision has become even not routed to a call centre somewhere more of a must with else, you are sent delivery schedules. trough to a group of Bauer explains: Nutrabolt folks we have “When you sell into downstairs who will the likes of Walmart answer questions and you are dealing with send handwritten notes extremely lean supply back to the consumer. chains so it is vital “We had one recently, to have consistency which was the first of demand. You can problem we’ve had – Casey Bauer, Chief Operating get fined by Walmart on direct to consumer Officer, Nutrabolt if you ship a product for a long time, where early – they don’t two products went want extra inventory on their books, to the wrong people. Our warehouse nor do they want to run out. This immediately got on it and dispatched means we have to add an extra layer the right products, and one of the of sophistication to our supply chain.” customers even got the replacement Challenges granted, expansion into and heard from us before they got new sales channels has opened up home to see that they had been access to Nutrabolt’s product ranges sent the wrong order. We really to a far greater demographic across believe in that close connection and the USA. And having reached out to a doing right by our customers.”

“When you sell into the likes of Walmart you are dealing with extremely lean supply chains so it is vital to have consistency of demand”

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Happy horizons Bauer’s ambitions will not be realised without a fully motivated and energised supply chain team, something which has evidently come to the fore over recent months and is ultimately leading to high levels of customer satisfaction.

“Compared to the company as a whole, the supply chain group was in the lower half of the spectrum when it came to employee engagement,” he explains. “Part of that was because we were asked to almost do the impossible given how tremendous the growth was – people were scrambling to get products out of the door.”

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However, thanks to the installation of aforementioned new processes and systems, the supply chain group is a much happier place to be and will continue to expertly to serve colleagues and customers.

“A lot of our improvements in this respect have fed back into employee happiness and engagement,” Bauer continues, “but there have been some simpler things like recognition which has helped greatly.

“For a supply chain person, the best compliment you can receive is from a sales team ringing you up and saying good job, thanks for getting my order fulfilled.”

S U P P LY C H A I N

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THE CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE,

enriching a community Written by Dale Benton Produced by Tom Venturo

CENTRAL PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Having served the local area for over 50 years, Central Piedmont Community College is undergoing a $280 million facelift to embrace the future

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entral Piedmont Community College (CPCC) has been a key figure of the Charlotte, North Carolina landscape for well over 50 years. Situated in Mecklenburg County, the college was established with a clear vision â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to be the national leader in workforce development, providing futures for students and the wider Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

With facilities as old as half a century, it comes as no surprise to hear the college is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar major

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As a community college,

WE PRIDE OURSELVES

on enabling people to get jobs, take care of themselves and change lives – Vicki Saville, Associate Vice President for Facilities & Construction at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina

construction project with the aim of improving learning environments and providing a greater number of modern classrooms and labs.

The college obtained a $210 million bond from Mecklenburg County, a general obligation bond back in 2013, plus $70 million in other construction monies. This public funding has provided the college with 10 separate construction and refurbishment projects, and with an eye towards the future, the college is already working to gain additional funding to continue this process with another 8-10 projects in the pipeline.

Updating facilities and the overall

college experience to suit the needs and demands of the modern world is one driving force, but for CPCC there is are also a state and county targets to consider. The state goal is for each community college to provide students with 100 sq. ft. per FTE (Full-Time Equivalent). Back in 2012, CPCC sat at 56 sq. ft. – some way off. Mecklenburg County’s goal stands at 90 sq. ft. per FTE. “In order for us to fulfil the need of our 70,000 students, CPCC really needed to ramp things up, make more labs, more classrooms and provide those square footages,” says Vicki Saville, Associate Vice President

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for Facilities and Construction.

Following a career in private practice in architecture and landscape architecture as well as educational facilities design, Saville is now responsible for the maintenance of all 50 buildings over six campuses that CPCC has situated over in Mecklenburg County. She is also tasked with overseeing the 10 construction projects, two of which have already been completed.

Building a future Currently under construction on CPCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Campus is the new Advanced Technology Center (ATC) an 80,000-square foot, $33 million building which will house mechatronics with advanced manufacturing labs, and STEM programs.

The ATC, a five-storey building which began construction in November last year, will present

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an opportunity for CPCC to invite international technology companies to train and develop students in new technologies and equipment.

“The ATC is part of our workforce development. Through partnering with these companies and agencies we are training our students and in some cases, providing them with jobs that may even take them out internationally.”

Starting construction later this spring is Central Campus’s new Education Center, a 150,000-square-foot, $56-million

project primarily devoted to Basic Skills and Literacy education.

“As a community college, we pride ourselves on enabling people to get jobs, take care of themselves and change lives,” Saville says.

Under construction on their Levine Campus, Levine 3, an 85,000-squarefoot, $32-million project, will include a performance hall, classrooms and labs, and at the Harper Campus, Harper 4 is a 90,000-square-foot, $41-million project devoted to building trades, welding and construction management education.

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Workforce development, the development of students and people to gain skills which enrich and better their lives is the philosophy behind every decision Saville and CPCC make. The obligation bond represents an opportunity to better serve students and the community through state of the art facilities but also to attract and serve more students in the long run.

efficiencies of contact hours, but Saville also acknowledges that with a county bond comes expectations, and county control.

“Mecklenburg County is our funder and they dictate when they provide the funding to us,” she says.

“Naturally we aim to avoid clashing with the running of the college programmes, but in new facilities construction it really is dictated by the timing of monies Structural released by the county.” challenge Another challenge, as When designing, with many construction planning and beginning projects across the US, construction on a has been inflation and – Vicki Saville, Associate Vice President for Facilities the impact it has had on campus with building & Construction at Central ages as mixed as construction costs. This, Piedmont Community College CPCC, challenge is unfortunately, has seen in Charlotte, North Carolina inescapable. With CPCC lose 20 percent demolition and construction taking of its originally stated programmed place on an active college campus, square footage. This is no more time and safety are is a major issues. evident than in the new Education CPCC strives to schedule Centre, which was originally intended and complete all construction to be eight storeys high but CPCC in conjunction with the timing can now only afford to build five. of semester starts for optimum “It really has been cut cut cut and

“It’s who we are, it’s what we do. If our local businesses don’t support us then we’d be out of business”

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trim trim trim where we can. Bring programs in line and eliminate some programs, but we take stock, adjust and continue to meet the needs of the educators,” Saville says, undeterred.

A wave of innovation Saville has been keen to introduce new and innovative elements to CPCC and really bring the college into the 21st century. At Cato Campus, in the new 80,000-sq. ft. classroom building, the design team introduced furniture with portable plug in ports for

electronic devices and tablets, which represents a move into the 21st century for Saville.

“It’s just a real wave of the future, one where the furniture becomes a major part of teaching facilities,” she says.

Powered by partners For any company taking on a major construction project of the size and calibre of the work CPCC is undertaking, working with the best partners is key to obtaining the

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best results. These key partners include Walter B Davis Company, which has been an integral part of CPCC’s swing-space management construction. This construction is the conversion of a first-floor parking deck into office space, which will house 30 college employees.

CPCC have worked with Moseley Architects as the designers for Levine 3, which upon completion will be the college’s first LEED

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(Leadership in Energy and Design) Certified building to open in 2018.

No college can operate without serious consideration for the safety and security of its students and staff. This is where Security 101 comes in. The company has been with the College for over a decade monitoring fire alarms and providing other life safety services to protect CPCC’s buildings and its staff and students and visitors.

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Sustaining a future A key component of CPCC’s construction projects has a focus on the removal of energy inefficient buildings.

“Energy efficiency and sustainability is very much rooted in what we do,” Saville continues. “We have partnered with an ESCO (Energy Service Company) for two Performance Contracts, PC1 and PC2. The college’s existing platforms for monitoring energy and water consumption and waste have been upgraded to monitor and measure usages and begin to track them better.

It is a major goal of ours to become more responsible with our utility usage.” In the first four years, PC1 has saved $41k, and PC2 $16k thus far.

This commitment is exemplified in each department of the college operating under its own sustainable efforts. For example, all of the food waste from the Culinary and Baking and Pastry Arts departments is recycled into a local farm which turns it into compost which is then sold.

CPCC is also committed to recycling as much of its solid waste materials as possible to avoid the landfill.

The needs of the many Any company can talk the sustainable talk, but CPCC has been continuously recognised for its efforts on this front.

In April 2016, CPCC was awarded first place in the Community Sustainability Award by Sustain Charlotte, as recognition of the college’s reduction in energy consumption since 2006 by 15 percent.

As a community college that sits right in the heart of the Charlotte community, being a community enabler is right there in the name.

The community well and truly is, as Saville calls it, the “lifeblood” of CPCC. “It’s who we are, it’s what we do. If our local businesses don’t support us then we’d be out of business,” she says.

CPCC takes on a number of students and staff from local business and provides training opportunities for them. The college’s strategic process is dictated by the needs of workforce development.

“We aim to mirror where the jobs are most vital, anywhere where people and students need to get be

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working, that’s where we will push,” says Saville.

The construction projects ultimately serve the community.

The funds come from the county and Saville and her teams at CPCC are constantly asking themselves “have we earned the right to that money?”

“It’s a major effort of ours to open the campus to the community at every opportunity to show the work we are doing, and to really showcase a sense of what we are trying to achieve,” she says.

Enriching lives The core mission of CPCC in

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workforce development is providing the citizens with the education they need to get a job and give to the community. Saville is a true believer that CPCC is making society a better place, “one building, one classroom at a time”.

This is a feeling shared across every single representative of the college, from the architects to the construction and maintenance workers.

“There is no face, regardless of age, that isn’t wanting to do more for their family, and that makes me want to do everything I can to help them,” says Saville.

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A DIRECT LINE TO DATA CENTERS

Written by Dale Benton Produced by Tom Venturo

Direct Line is a market leader in data center design, construction and management. With ambitions of expanding its global footprint, the real value is in its people

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or over a decade, Direct Line has been a market leader in providing systems integration services, including the design / build and material planning of data centers, and most recently managed services (i.e. break/fix, directline.us

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DIRECT LINE

John Friesen

President and CEO

installation, decommission, inventory management and troubleshooting).

The company has worked with some of the biggest data centric clients in the world, including Facebook, Yahoo and LinkedIn, but for John Friesen, President and CEO at Direct Line, the most valuable asset at the company’s disposal are its people and a culture instilled from top to bottom that the customer comes above anything else.

“Customer service is my first

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priority, profitability second,” he says.

Friesen comes from a background of working in customer service and customer facing roles. It is this experience that he feels allows him and the Executive Vice President of the company, Ignacio Del Rio, to be the market leaders in the data center design and construction space.

“Our team recognizes that if you aren’t out there trying to provide solutions and you’re just doing the minimal of what’s expected, then you’re creating problems. Go above and beyond and you become part of the solution,” he says.

Friesen remains fully active within the company’s day to day operations, often heading out into the field with project managers and customers.

While recognising that he himself is not a mission critical element, Friesen does so to show both his people and the customer how much he values the role they play.

“The more active I am, the more people can see how much I care about this,” he says.

“Our guys have to care about what they do, like what they do

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“Customer service

is my first priority” – John Friesen, Presient and CEO

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“The company has worked with some of the

biggest data centric clients in the world” – John Friesen, Presient and CEO

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and care about the customer.

Without that, the company fails.”

This notion of strong customer service and going above and beyond what is expected is a vision shared

by Del Rio, who sees employees adapting to something he candidly calls the “Direct Line way”.

This way of working is a simple philosophy, ensuring that Direct Line is giving the customers what they want and not what the business thinks the customers need. Direct Line possesses a mentality that accepts responsibility and takes complete ownership of its services to the end user, for better or for worse.

“As a company, there is no “it’s not us” mentality. It’s about taking ownership of the good and the bad.

How can we first and foremost determine a problem and ultimately solve that problem if we possess that distancing mentality from the outset?” explains Del Rio. Growing and growing Since its inception in 1997 as a data solutions provider in the Bay Area, Direct Line has experienced significant

Ignacio del Rio

Co Owner at Direct Line

growth which has coincided with a technological boom in the data center space. With a focus on quality, construction management, supply chain management and this growing industry has seen Direct Line capitalise on a need for more efficient data cabling infrastructures.

By understanding the complexities that come with this environment, Direct Line has hired and trained its 200+ employees to specialise in mission critical data center projects.

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“We are witnessing something of extraordinary growth in terms of companies struggling to find enough data center space to meet their bandwidth requirements,” says Del Rio. This level of complexity surrounding data center construction and management is simplified somewhat as “building the internet”, according to Mike Janes, VP of Business Development and Data Center Design.

The data center industry is one of

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the fastest growing industries in the world and around five years ago, Friesen recognised that the company needed to expand beyond its current nationwide and international footprint.

Direct Line has offices in Fremont, California, Ashburn, Virginia, as well as an international office in Singapore.

“We’re already a nationwide company, with a company in Singapore and a subsidiary in Ireland as there is plenty of market share out there,” says Friesen.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sure, we have Silicon Valley, one of the most dynamic places in the country, but I realised that in order to fully grow and achieve what we want to achieve we needed to develop a nationwide footprint which in turn has now become an international footprint.â&#x20AC;? He says.

The challenge in people Direct Line has grown from its somewhat humble beginnings. Del Rio and Freisen became partners in the business in 2007 at a point where the company had only three employees

out in the field. Fast forward to today and Direct Line has close to 250 field technicians, engineers and project managers working across a wide number of clients, each with that customer centric mentality that both Friesen and Del Rio instil.

But as much as Del Rio, Friesen and Janes see the people as the key to the success to the business.

All recognise the challenge that the company faces in accessing labor and trained labor. The data center industry is a huge industry, but one that is still growing and at a pace

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8Siemon

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8 Quality, Service, Innovation and Value Since 1903 Siemon established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the design and manufacture of high quality, high performance low voltage infrastructure solutions and services for Data Centers, LANs and Intelligent Buildings. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global sales, technical and logistics expertise spanning 100 countries, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper and optical fiber cabling systems, cabinets, racks, cable management, data center power and cooling systems and Intelligent Infrastructure Management solutions.

With more than 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and the development of Industry Standards, underlining the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-standing commitment to its customers and the industry.

To learn more about Siemon visit www.siemon.com/company W W W

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S I E M O N

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that makes finding the right people believes is fundamental to being who are trained to the best possible successful in the data center industry. standard more and more difficult.

“You need to be an expert This challenge extends to in fiber in order to build data the technology and processes centers in 2017,” he says. required to design build and To mitigate the challenge of finding manage a data center. quality personnel and staying on “Everything we did three years ago top of this fluid industry, Direct Line is now obsolete,” says Janes. “The currently has two training facilities, challenge is trying to remain current in the East Coast and West Coast with the skillset required, areas. Not only do these the changing technology facilities better equip processes and staying employees with the abreast of what the knowledge necessary to industry is doing.” deliver the best possible This technology boom service, but to also better - John Friesen, is largely driven by the foster the relationships President and CEO speed of data servers, with manufacturers. with companies trying “The manufacturers to push more and more bandwidth offer training, in which they will bring in through those servers which requires professionals to train our employees new equipment and new processes. on the latest technology and products that will enable the business to Down to every fiber be more efficient,” says Janes.

One particular trend across the Direct Line prides itself on data center industry has been the establishing deep relationships move to fiber. Direct Line is at a key with these manufacturers in order advantage point in that the company to better serve the end user. The has experts in fiber and the utilisation way the company achieves this is by of the technology, something Janes answering one simple question.

“We’re already a nationwide company”

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Mike Janes

VP, Data Center Design

“It’s about understanding what manufacturers are looking at, what they are looking for in a working relationship, and how is that influencing the direction of the industry,” says Del Rio. This need to better understand the industry does not start and end with the field operators and technicians; Del Rio and Friesen and the toplevel management all make great strides in staying ‘in the know’.

“We need to understand the

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footprints of all the equipment in the industry because if you don’t, through seminars and conferences, you immediately lose step of what the key influences and influencers on the industry are,” says Del Rio. Both Friesen and Del Rio are extremely proud of the customer service and the attention to detail and professionalism that the company provides, but in order to retain the high-level clients and attract new customers to the business they cannot rest on their laurels.

“We are incredibly fortunate to work with the customers that we have, and every single day we earn that right. We work for it, and we earn it,” says Friesen.

Fostering partnerships For Direct Line, the key partners are the data center companies and the manufacturers that the company has worked with and established over the years. Key partnerships that the company fosters and partners who are willing to “drop ship” for Direct Line.

“Working together with the shared expertise allows us to meet deadlines

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and provide more custom solutions for end users,” says Janes.

“If those three elements [Direct Line, manufacturers and data center companies] can go to an end user, tell them we can work on this collaboratively and meet their specific requirements, we will succeed,” Strong, successful partnerships are not established overnight. Nor are they formed through happenstance.

To the future The goal of Direct Line is to be recognised as a market leader and

the level of service it delivers to be second to none. Friesen believes that Direct Line is already there, almost.

“Often people will ask me who is our competition,” says Friesen.

“I don’t want to be so arrogant as to say that no one does what we do, but what I can say through conversations with clients and customers is that there is no one out there that does it to the incredible quality that we do.”

If that is the case, then where can Direct Line go from here? Friesen recognises that there is always a better way of doing something.

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DIRECT LINE

“Being proven in the industry IS OUR GOAL. Clients can be assured THAT WE KNOW data centers and have SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE from the bottom up.”

– Ignacio del Rio, Co Owner at Direct Line

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Direct Line has already experienced tremendous growth and success, but Friesen believes in asking “how can we do it better?”

One aspiration is for the company to establish a stronger international footprint outside of its operations currently in the US. This is a vision shared by both Friesen and Del Rio and the two agree that in order to get there the company must continue to deliver the customer centric service that has already been recognised from global clients, including the social networking giant Facebook.

“A company like Facebook doesn’t want just anybody touching its data centers, with the complexities involved that could result in significant downtime,” says Del Rio.

“Being proven in the industry is our goal. Clients can be assured that we know data centers and have significant experience from the bottom up.”

For Friesen, though, this can only be achieved by retaining that culture of going above and beyond for the customer to generate true value.

“If everybody across the company cares and shows that to the customer, then that creates an incredible culture,” he says. “If you don’t have somebody who appreciates the value that you can bring, then you’re nothing but a commodity.”

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From four to

400:

the story of Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top electrical contractor We chart the remarkable rise of DP Electric with Vice President, Scott Muller Written by Leila Hawkins Produced by Tom Venturo

DP ELECTRIC, INC.

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hat began as a small, family-run operation in a garage has become one of Arizona’s best places to work.

Indeed, DP Electric now works with major clients, including some of the state’s main healthcare providers and government agencies.

From four to hundreds Formed in 1990, electrical contractor DP Electric covers a diverse array of industries, from Renewable Energy to Mission Critical.

When DP began, it was operated by four men in a garage in Arizona.

Although it’s still family-run, it has now grown to a company with more than 300 employees.

Vice President, Scott Muller, has been at the company for 23 years. He explains that the plan was always to expand. “The growth of the company is based on the growth of the people,” he says.

“We anticipated doubling every five years, and it’s basically done that.”

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Projects Some of DP’s first projects were in the telecommunications field, installing electrical distribution into data centers throughout Arizona.

These were mission critical projects that required DP’s assistance for both the design and the build, as they were carried out while the buildings were operating 24/7. No disruptions in power or service were noted.

The company has worked on healthcare clinics, hotels and government buildings. This has earned many successful relationships with some of the most well-known national developers and contractors such as DPR Construction, as well clients like the American Red Cross, RYAN Construction, Arizona State University, and government agencies including the US Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Air Force, and the Arizona Department of Health Services.

In the last year alone five of its projects were up for

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“The growth of the company is based on the growth of the people” – Scott Muller, Vice President

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DP ELECTRIC, INC.

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Arizona Commercial Real Estate awards (AZRE).

An especially impressive accomplishment is the CyrusOne data center. This site broke national records in 2014 when the 120,000 square foot data center took just 107 days to complete. From ground-up, a job this scale would usually take twice the time.

This is a project DP is particularly proud of. “Our mission critical work on the big data center projects will have approximately 250-300 electricians onsite,” Muller adds. “These are very large, very fast-paced, very demanding projects that we have been involved with for about four years and going strong.”

DP is currently working on Sky Harbor International Airport’s Terminal 3. “That’s about a $13 million job,” Muller confirms. It is a technically challenging project within an operating, international airport. DP has been involved with the airport on and off for about 20 years now.”

New Technology Technology and speed are a key to success at DP. All field managers, as well most of their lead men, carry tablets and smart phones to facilitate real-time communication. Each device is loaded with the most current construction software and remote data storage. “Cloud” services allow our field managers to clearly and quickly communicate with project engineers, architects, and supervisors.

The goal is to create and share blueprints, contracts, schematics, and other vital documents in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process whenever necessary.

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DP ELECTRIC, INC.

Health and safety Health and safety is an area of pride within the company. It boasts impressive statistics: 750,000 consecutive hours have been undertaken injury-free since 2014.

“Safety is the primary goal,” Muller says. “We have three safety managers who continually watch our projects. If the project is off-site, we’ll station a safety representative on that particular site. We drug test everybody in the company on a random scale all throughout the year.”

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Standout One of the advantages DP has is the calibre of its staff. When asked what stands DP apart from the rest, Muller says “definitely our people, we try to look forward, and retain the best in the valley”.

“When you have a project that needs clarity of pricing, as no

architects or engineers are infallible when bidding a project, our team looks for the missing or incomplete scope of the plans and exposes them, rather than waiting for the contract and submitting change orders.”

The company is able to boast a tremendous 80 percent repeat business rate. Muller explains

“SAFETY is our goal” – Scott Muller, Vice President

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why: “DP is not a subcontractor, we are a trade partner. Our people stay involved in a project from preconstruction all the way to the close.” ““We are ranked sixth in electrical contractors in the state of Arizona right now, rated as one of the best places to work by the Chamber of Commerce.”

Staff satisfaction The company empowers its staff.

“We’re one of the top paying electrical

companies in Arizona,” Muller continues. “We’re an open book with the financials, so that everybody knows where their projects are and where the money is.

We give them a sense of ownership within the company.”

This extends to training too.

“We retain people by continuous training,” adds Muller. “We work with them on skills in the areas that they want to grow in. Say you

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have someone who comes in as a Journeyman and he wants to be an Estimator in our pre-construction department, or a Project Manager - we give him or her tools and the time to achieve those goals.”

“We have training for every level from the first year apprentice in the trade through the apprenticeship program—which is four years,” he explains. “We do this through a professional program that we’re associated with through the Arizona Builders Alliance Group, which is a huge player for our company.

They have training from everything up to the executive level.”

Work in the community DP not only looks after its people, but extends its altruism into the wider community. The company is involved in many charitable endeavours. The executives, including Muller and DP’s owner and founder, Daniel Puente, are on the boards of several charities, including children’s organizations CASA Academy and Future for Kids.

Among the others it supports,

is the ACE Mentor Program - the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering initiative that’s offered as a free after-school program giving mentorships to highschool age students interested in the design and construction industries. DP regularly hosts poker tournaments for the charity - last year’s event raised over $7,000.

Such involvement in the community is all the more worthy given how competitive Muller says DP’s market is.

“Our company alone has spawned off four other companies from our employees that grew and grew, and decided to go off on to their own. So we train and build, we don’t care if somebody’s coming in to learn the business to start their own company, as long as they produce for us, and they’re honest with us, we’re going to help them build to their dream.”

This year has brought phenomenal growth. From last year’s revenue of $45 million, Muller predicts 2017 will yield around $63 million.

With this amount of profit he doesn’t

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see a need to move into other states at the moment, he says. “Arizona is one of the fastest growing regions in the US. Right now we have around 150 people moving here a day. There’s enough growth in this valley for us not to have to go into the other states.”

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Miller Electric Company:

FOUNDATION

O F C O R E VA L U E S Written by Dale Benton Produced by Tom Venturo

In the world of the contractor, establishing a trusting, rewarding and ultimately effective relationship with the end-user is the key to success. For Miller Electric Company, building those relationships and focusing on the end-user experience is forged into the very core philosophy of the business

M I L L E R E L E C T R I C C O M PA N Y

F

or over 80 years, Miller Electric has grown from its roots as a local electrical contractor to a market leading company with a diversified range of services. The company has evolved over time to offer services in addition to its core electrical contracting, including integrated systems such as maintenance solutions, monitoring and security systems.

“We work with clients on the entire lifecycle of their energy systems,” says Henry Brown, CEO of Miller Electric. “It’s about identifying issues and working with clients to provide turn-key energy solutions that allow them to unlock savings and potential in their facilities.”

But despite the growth and diversification of the company over the years, Miller Electric, through Brown’s stewardship, keeps one important philosophy at the heart of the business.

“The company takes a long-term approach to everything, both customers and employees. This allows us to develop trusting relationships where employees, customer and vendors can all work together toward collaborative solutions,” he says.

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Henry Brown

CEO of Miller Electric

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Generation game Brown has been a part of Miller Electric Company for 16 years, working his way up through the company in a variety of roles before being offered the position of CEO, but the company has been a part of his life for much longer.

Along with his brother and COO Daniel, Brown represents the third generation of ownership of the company, following in the footsteps of his mother, Susan Walden, and his uncle, Ron Autrey, who in turn followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, H.E. “Buck” Autrey.

It is this journey through the company, almost from the ground up, that has allowed Brown to lead the company into the future with a ‘new lens’.

Officially entering the company in 2001 in an accountancy role, over the years Brown worked through legal, risk management as well as strategy roles, establishing key relationships and understanding of the way the business works.

“I was able to build deep relationships with so many of our

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“We don’t want to be treated as a commodity, so we don’t treat vendors as a commodity” – Henry Brown, CEO of Miller Electric

project managers and team members; learning from them and identifying our strengths and weaknesses, what we did well as a company and what we didn’t,” he says.

Now as CEO, Brown works closely with his executive leadership team, developing and leading strategy, working to better understand challenges, opportunities and guiding the organisation into a better future.

Brown has identified key goals for the company, namely strengthening its presence across the country.

Expanding from its home base in Jacksonville, FL, the company has established a network of branch offices throughout the Southeast US, and beyond. In certain key markets, such as Tampa, Charlotte,

Daniel Brown

COO of Miller Electric

Nashville and Birmingham, Brown plans to invest in those locations to become not only the number one player in the industry but also a major part of those communities.

Core Values In order to create those long-term, trusting relationships with clients and employees, Brown and his team oversaw the development and establishment of six core values.

Trust, collaboration, safety, quality,

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stewardship and community. These are the values that truly define Miller Electric Company, values that Brown works tirelessly to instil into everything the company does both internally and externally.

“Trust is really the core foundation of everything. The company is very transparent – we work open book with clients to ensure we are working towards the most cost effective approach,” he says.

This applies to employees as well.

Miller Electric Company actively shares financial statements internally, so all employees are “in the loop” as to the company’s status.

“It’s the same with vendors, we want to establish open trusting relationships with them. We don’t want to be treated as a commodity, so we don’t treat vendors as a commodity,” Brown adds.

Safety and quality are “the price of admission” to Brown, but he is keen to stress that the company must focus on these elements in order to remain in business and these are still values Brown believes are core to the business.

David Long President

“You can have all the trust in the world, but without a safe and quality operation – you have nothing,” he says.

One of the more important areas, and one that is close to the Brown’s heart, is stewardship. As a thirdgeneration family business, Brown sees his role as “borrowing the company from the next generation.

We are stewards of our clients and their money, but we are also stewards for the future generation.”

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Pivotal moment elements of what made that such Following his move to CEO, Brown had a terrible contract and realised a baptism of fire with the company. that they were buying our work Miller Electric Company was locked as a commodity,” he says. into what Brown describes as one of This has forced the company to shift the worst contracts in its history. The its focus onto finding and working with project was a large hotel addition and customers that value and appreciate renovation project, with a general that long-term approach to quality contractor, an owner and an unfamiliar and trusting relationships. It was this construction type. very moment that saw It was born out of the core values of the the recession, where company established, key errors were made with Brown, his and not recognised executive team and until the project was all employees to well underway. gain a better a richer – Henry Brown, “After we realised understanding of CEO of Miller Electric this was a catastrophic the company. financial project, we “It allows us had to rally a lot of the team together to build a cohesive strategy, to finish the job,” says Brown. where we know we are working Following the completion of the towards the same goals and project, Brown and his team pulled everybody has that consistent together and made several key goal and consistent roadmap to decisions that set up the company achieve that goal,” he says. for the one it is today, one that works with the right clients and Through adversity... truly values its employees.

Following such a major challenge “We really picked apart the and pivotal moment in the history

“We have vendors who will walk through walls to get us what we need”

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and future of the company, a pathway was paved towards a leaner, smarter and more successful business. For Brown, over the last five years, Miller Electric Company has developed a number of key clients across 40 states at any given time. The major clients from five years ago are still a part of the portfolio, but they have been joined by new clients that fully appreciate and buy into the longterm trusting approach to quality.

Clients now use their working relationship with Miller Electric Company as a standard for relationships in their respective industries. This standard is a testament to Miller Electric’s quality of delivery, commitment to the core values and appreciation of the client.

“They use our relationship as a test to see if our model works in new markets, and in turn they take us with them. That in itself is a major win for us,” he says.

Employee empowerment Miller Electric Company is a company that empowers its employees,

approaching their careers with the same long-term approach as it does with their clients. The transparent open book relationship creates a culture of connectivity; the employees know exactly where they stand and how much they are valued by the leadership.

In the construction industry, finding the right people with the right talent is often recognised as the biggest constraint to growth.

As a third-generation company, Miller Electric Company has second and even some third-generation employees on its books.

“This dedication and loyalty goes both ways creating employees that will go above and beyond for the client,” Brown says.

The challenge then, is replicating that committment going into the future. This is where partnerships with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) comes in with an apprenticeship programme, the Electrical Training Alliance that looks

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to create skilled employees to fill the skills gap.

“We invest heavily in our relationships with the IBEW and NECA, and in the Electrical Training Alliance. Our company president, David Long, focuses most of his time and energy on these industry relationships because we know they are a large part of our past and future success.

As early as the apprenticeship program, we look for employees who can be leaders in the company. From foreman in the field, superintendents, or even employees moving into project management roles and executive ranks, many of them begin their career in the apprenticeship” Brown says.

“We take those and invest in leadership training, executive education and create a culture of continuous learning within the company.”

Of course, not every employee can come from the field and into management. Miller Electric Company also invests heavily in searching for the right college graduates or entrants from other industries to bring into the company and into a management training program.

“The short answer really is that we want to build an

“it’s about looking outside the four walls of construction and how the more advanced industries are working” – Henry Brown, CEO of Miller Electric

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environment and provide opportunities that allows individuals to learn and grow, while being continuously challenged. We want people that want to be here,” explains Brown.

“This creates employees that have our culture engrained within them so deeply, it shines through in everything they do.”

Technology Technology is rapidly transforming the construction industry, with the Internet of Things (IoT) changing building electrical systems in a big way.

Miller Electric Company is investing

in this space to remain a leader in an ever-changing environment.

“We try to stay at the forefront of this change and identify ways we can use IoT to help clients monitor and control facilities through IP based networks,” says Brown.

Miller Electric Company is installing lighting systems that are connected through IP networks as well as security systems and other building management systems.

“This enables clients to run their buildings as efficiently as possible. But then there’s also the opportunity to use information that

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comes from their buildings, harness it and run their overall operations better,” Brown continues.

The importance of staying ahead of the technological curve is key to maintaining the success garnered over 80 years and enabling success in the future. On this front, Brown hits the books.

“I try to read as much as possible, really paying attention to the other industries,” he says. “Generally, the construction industry lags behind when it comes to technology, so it’s about looking outside the four walls of construction and how the more advanced industries are working.”

Trusting partnerships It’s all well and good promising a long-term trusting relationship, one that is found on quality assurance, but as a construction company you are nothing without the work of vendors to help deliver on those promises.

For Miller Electric Company, this is no different. The company works with Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products. The company allows a flexible distribution

model across the US, providing one point of contact to lead the account across the country in which the company is operating.

Graybar also provides a number of manufacturing partners for the company, manufacturers that Brown believes will “really go to bat” for Miller Electric Company.

Much like the relationship with clients, Brown looks to treat the supply chain with the same level of focus and value. “We want to be open, transparent and respectful, and want it to be a truly successful partnership for all involved,” he says.

“Our vendors, to me, are a large part of our competitive advantage. We have vendors who will walk through walls to get us what we need.”

Future foundations As market leaders in the electrical construction space, a position solidified through generations of employees, core values including stewardship, Miller Electric Company can only look to the future.

Miller Electric Company works with a number of Fortune 500 companies

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M I L L E R E L E C T R I C C O M PA N Y

Operation Christmas Child benefitting underprivileged children

Cut ties with

complexity

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Miller Jacksonville office

that rely on the company and through the continuous work with IBEW and NECA, Brown envisions a future of sustained growth in the company’s ability to service those clients, all with the goal of remaining the “go-to” partner.

But, with eyes set firmly on growth, success and better services, Brown values one area of the business above all else.

“For me, the most important part is to continue to establish ourselves as the employer of choice in the markets in which we compete,” says Brown.

“To me that does not mean having a ping pong table in the office and a BBQ, it means creating opportunities where employees have meaningful engaged work, they feel good at what they do, they feel good about their company and they know they make a difference in what they do.”

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Winnipeg

n r o reb

Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by Quiyonni Borja

Expanded building now spans two city blocks

RBC CONVENTION CENTRE WINNIPEG

The newly-named RBC Convention Centre has undergone a $180 million expansion, allowing it to host events on larger scales and in bigger volumes

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innipeg is a city on the up. The past decade has seen enormous investment in megaprojects designed to attract tourists and rejuvenate local communities.

From the construction of a state-of-the-art football stadium and new airport to the renovation of green spaces and the opening of a world-renowned museum on human rights, the Manitoba capital is putting itself back on the map.

The RBC Convention Centre is emblematic of this journey. Now the fourth largest such public facility in Canada, it serves as both a community hub for locals and go-to destination for conferences, trade shows, concerts and other large events. Under the stewardship of President and CEO Klaus Lahr, now in his 24th year as boss, the centre

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Set for a dinner for 2,300, the City View Room is breathtaking

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RBC CONVENTION CENTRE WINNIPEG

has gone through two major and much-needed growth spurts.

“I started here in 1993 at a time when the convention centre was around 20 years old and in dire need of a major renovation, which we embarked on just about immediately,” he recalls. “It took two and half years, and then we took on a very aggressive marketing and sales program – over the next three to five years we more than doubled our revenues.

“Fast forward to 1999 and we realised that if we kept on growing at the same rate then we would need more space. We were facing challenges with customers who needed bigger spaces; or if we were running a small event this might stop us from hosting anything else at the same time.”

It was another decade until Lahr could see what he describes as “the light at the end of tunnel” regarding expansion mark II. Having secured public funding from the Federal, Provincial and City authorities, the enlarged convention centre project had lift off and has been completed for more than a year.

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For Lahr, it is a vital component of the wider revival of Winnipeg.

“Winnipeg also added the MTS Centre downtown, a new concert and ice hockey venue, home to the Winnipeg Jets,” he adds. “The site is quoted by Billboard magazine as one of the most booked out venues in North America.”

On budget, on time That a public project of this size finished ahead of schedule and within budget is something of a rarity, and a testament to the smooth running of the process from start to finish.

This involved the construction of a new South Building, taking the overall amount of meeting space above the 260,000 square feet mark. Other new features include 22,400 square feet of pre-function, lobby and registration space, a new underground car park with 150 spaces, a street level plaza with a weather protected gathering area, and a stunning City View Room located in the middle of the 131,000 square foot third floor exhibition hall.

Evidently this is no mean logistical feat, and to carry this off with almost no disruption to activities in

York Ballroom can host large galas or be divided into four meeting/conference rooms

H O S P I TA L I T Y

KLAUS LAHR President and CEO

Klaus Lahr was educated and trained in the Hotel & Hospitality Industry in Germany, Switzerland and the USA, gaining experience in 5 star resorts and on a luxury cruise liner, before immigrating to Canada in 1977. Klausâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hospitality career continued with Hyatt Hotels, Westin Hotels, Radisson Hotels and other 4 and 5 star hotel chains before joining the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg as General Manager in 1993. As President & CEO of the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, Klaus has championed the facilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role as a social, hospitality, and economic driver.

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RBC CONVENTION CENTRE WINNIPEG

“Our future is very, very, bright

and we are more than confident that we can continue to grow our share in the marketplace” - Klaus Lahr, President and CEO

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Memorable moments from the City View Room

H O S P I TA L I T Y

the existing North Building makes it all the more remarkable.

“In the entire building process we received just one minor complaint,” says Lahr. “An audio visual company were among many partners that commented a number of times on how busy the convention centre was while the work was going on. They had budgeted downturn in revenue and that just didn’t materialise.

“What made it work was that the contractors and the trades and our own operating department met on a weekly basis, going over in meticulous detail what could be done day by day, hour by hour.

Some work had to be done at night, other times we had to take a break in order to reduce noise and dust. We worked hand in glove with all of our trades, contractors and architecture team.

The customer remained number one throughout.”

Among the key partners involved in the construction phase were primary contractor Stuart Olson Construction and the design team LM Architectural Group and Number TEN Architectural Group, whose insight helped address the challenge

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of stitching together a 40-year-old building with a brand new construct.

The new build also carries with it sizable sustainable perks, helping it to achieve LEED Silver accreditation.

“In the first year of operating we have seen a massive decrease in utilities consumption, which in turn has handsomely helped our bottom line,” explains Lahr. “The improved insulation factor is very important as well, especially given the dramatic temperature ranges seen here. It can

Third floor Carlton Concourse creates beautiful pre-function space

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be as low as -40’C and as high as 35’C degrees in the summer. This places a tremendous stress on buildings which must be adaptable to both extremes.”

Bigger and better The expansion has undoubtedly solved the conundrum facing Lahr in the late 1990s. RBC Convention Centre is now in a position where it has the space for repeat customers to grow into, and the return to Winnipeg of The Skills

H O S P I TA L I T Y

Canada National Competition is a perfect demonstration of the site’s renewed appeal.

“The last time they were here was in 2004 when they took over the entire facility,” Lahr states. “Now we have effectively doubled in size so they are coming back to us. We have a substantial outdoor facility and they are taking over every square foot of that as well as every square foot of indoor space on all three floors. Had we not expanded we simply would

not have been able to host them.”

RBC Convention Centre can also run events concurrently - as well as the main exhibition space, it has three additional ballrooms, supporting a projected climb in revenues to the $20 million mark and beyond.

On top of simply being bigger, the centre has modernised several technological aspects with the help of consultant partner Tetra Tech.

The most notable enhancement is the access to free superfast WiFi

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throughout both buildings, installed in conjunction with TELUS. With the physical groundwork complete, the focus for Lahr is very much centred on service, this having rebranded and renamed to reflect the close relation with RBC Royal Bank. “We need to back this up with improved customer and guest services, “he adds, “and we are now embarking on a five year improvement program through the whole organisation.” Food and beverage and other product improvements are also being looked at closely.

Revival The expansion has already had a direct impact on Winnipeg both socially and economically. The ability to run multiple events at once resulted in the convention centre accounting for 145,000 hotel room bookings in the year since completion, a massive increase on the 80-90,000 annual average seen before.

“National Geographic has listed Winnipeg as one of its top destinations for 2016 and 2017,” continues Lahr. “There is a myriad of things

to feel proud about at the moment and the public is responding.”

So too is Tourism Winnipeg, with which RBC Convention Centre is working closely on a program called ‘Bring it Home’. This involves approaching local influencers – Winnipeggers on national and international boards – and getting the foot in the door of their boardrooms in a bid to bring more business to the city. Those groups which are successful are awarded special Winnipeg Ambassador Plaques at the convention centre.

Our discussion finishes with a nod to the future, and what Lahr thinks lies in store for both RBC Convention Centre and Winnipeg at large. He breathes and speaks energetic optimism, and is determined to maintain the momentum gathered over the course of the past decade.

And he has every reason to feel optimistic. A $400 million office and retail complex is being built adjacent to the MTS Centre, while a new hotel is being developed next to the convention centre on the north side.

Lahr concludes: “The building of

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our expansion will continue to be somewhat of a catalyst in the greater neighbourhood here. There is a real economic buzz taking place in the downtown area with new high rises being built. What happened 20 or 30 years ago was a downtown flight – people were leaving for the suburbs but now they are coming back, which is a wonderful development.

“The convention centre plays a very important role in being an entertainment and local community hub and we are very active in the non-for-profit sector, helping them to raise funds. Our future is very very bright, and we are more than confident that we can continue to grow our share in the marketplace.”

“We worked hand in glove with all of our trades, contractors and architecture team

The customer remained number one throughout” - Klaus Lahr, President and CEO

The Good Samaritan Society

and the needs of the many Written by Dale Benton Produced by Quiyonni Borja

T H E G O O D S A M A R I TA N S O C I E T Y

Through the construction of a multi-million-dollar care village, complete with tower residency and mall complex, the Good Samaritan Society will continue to lead the way in the hospitality sector

“I

t’s a mission driven organisation to extend Christian hospitality to those in need across the continuum of care, independent of your religious following or race,” says Shawn Terlson, President and CEO of The Good Samaritan Society (GSS).

As a leading not-for-profit registered charity in Western Canada, the GSS has been striving to provide quality accommodations, health and community care services and programs to aging individuals for over 67 years.

Terlson has over 20 years in healthcare behind him and sits in the perfect position to drive forward the strategic development of the charity, starting with a major structural construction program that will allow the charity to better serve its residents.

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A time to care In a time where the country is facing the largest population of 75 and 85+ in history, replacing and refurbishing care homes with state of the art accommodation is needed now more than ever.

“I’m working with my strategic leadership team and trying to point the ship in the right direction with regard to what’s happening environmentally with that aging population,” Terlson says.

“Some of our facilities are over 50 years old and in need of replacement, so how do we go about achieving this, updating those facilities and at the same time pay close attention to the changing demographic?”

That is the challenge before Terlson and the GSS. Over the last six months, Terlson and his team have identified key areas in need of redevelopment.

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“At GSS we have to do the business of seniors’ care in a much smarter way going forward” – Shawn Terlson, President and CEO of The Good Samaritan Society One such development, a 236bed facility, was built over 50 years ago. The building was structured and modelled as an institutional complex that is not like the homely environments by today’s standards of more modern care homes. Coupled with the fact that this facility had two seniors to a room in many cases, Terslon recognised that this was not best practice by modern standards.

Make no mistake, this major overhauling is no afterthought or lack of foresight. Terslon spends six weeks of his year visiting the various care homes, meeting employees and residents and familiarising himself with the day to day operations.

“This posed the question, do we throw good money at the bad or should we work with our partners, Alberta Health Services,

and recognise that we need to replace these facilities for the benefit of our seniors?” he says.

Complex construction Terlson and the GSS have secured 12 acres where the Good Samaritan Village will be built - a 432 bed-home like no other.

The village will comprise of 12 units or homes, with four homes per floor that create a neighbourhood and a tower complex made up of four floors. This structure is residential in appearance, and each floor and separate unit will be a “home-like environment, not simply an architectural monument.

“The unique thing about what we are trying to do is the building of an environment where seniors and residents will have everything they

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We are happy to be in partnership with the Good Samaritan Society and Armstrong Flooring to provide quality living spaces. When the Good Samaritan Society decided they needed to make changes in many of their central Alberta accommodations, they contacted us to inquire about an appropriate solution. We made product recommendations that would help to streamline the finishes throughout their many facilities.

With the prospect of removing the various existing finishes of laminate, carpet, and aged vinyl, the replacements chosen would need to be carefully considered. The decision to use Armstrong’s Rejuvenations made the best sense for a variety of reasons. As Armstrong boasts, “Rejuvenations is the perfect choice for areas where infection control is a concern. This wh easy-to-clean vinyl sheet improves impermeability and contributes to a sanitary, more aseptic environment. Rejuvenations has a low-maintenance, UV cured polyurethane coating that eliminates the need to polish or spray buff. It saves time and money, and reduces life-cycle costs.”

With the vast array of health and mobility needs throughout the Good Samaritan Society’s many facilities, durability and versatility weren’t the only factors that needed careful deliberation.

Lifestyle and guidance were also important.

Design details and shapes with proven color combinations were used to help patrons with conditions such as dementia feel safe and co contribute to wayfinding throughout the spaces.

Such techniques were incorporated in George Hennig Place, Mountain View Centre, Stony Plain Care Centre, Spruce Grove Centre and Millwoods Centre. A variety of other colors and finishes were used to create a warm, comfortable environment and a home-like

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atmosphere in Pembina Village, Clearwater Centre, Dr. Gerald Zetter Care Centre, Wedman House, Southgate Care Centre, Good Samaritan Place, Good Shepherd Home, and the Corporate Offices.

Armstrong’s commitment to health and the environment made their products a perfect fit. With low VOC emissions, compliance with LEED credit EQ4.3 for indoor air quality, and compatibility with Green Guide for Healthcare GGHC-IEQ4.3, the product has been a great benefit for the clients of The Th Good Samaritan Society facilities. To keep the facilities functional and maintain a healthy living environment during the renovations, our installation crews received special training, and appropriate equipment was used to ensure dust containment, air quality, and infection control standards were met.

We are proud to continue to be a part of improving the quality of life for so many through this relationship and look forward to future projects together with Armstrong and The Good Samaritan Society of Alberta.

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need in one structure,” he adds.

With the whole of the bottom floor dedicated to a mall comprising of restaurants, shops, a day spa, retail pharmacy, a daycare for staff and a senior’s clinic, the finished structure will be quite the achievement.

is the better servicing of the residents.

“There are a lot of moving pieces.

We want to use our equity from the sale of our existing lands back into the property to make it more cost effective for Alberta Health Services so we can provide better care for their seniors,” says Terlson.

Smart investment As a not-for-profit Building blocks charity, the question With a potential on everyone’s lips will construction date be centred around of spring 2018 and investment, how aiming at a fall 2021 much is this going completion ready to cost and where for occupancy in that investment September that same will come from.

– Shawn Terlson, President and CEO year, there have been The answer rests in of The Good Samaritan Society and will continue the close partnership to be a number of with Alberta Health services in significant challenges that Terslon and which GSS will transfer operating the GSS must overcome to get there. agreements that will generate income The major challenge for Terlson to to the new seniors environment. date was the location and acquisition This will require the sale of existing of that 12-acre parcel of land land to offset what GSS’ capital integrated into a neighbourhood and contribution would be. Terlson admits not on the outskirts. This was key in the cost of construction alone is the process of establishing the homeupwards of around $90 million. like environment of the complex.

But one thing is clear, the end goal Despite the project being in its

“...do we throw good money at the bad or should we work with our partners?”

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infancy, Terlson can call upon key successes along the way that will enable GSS to approach the future construction with the focus and enthusiasm needed for a project as unique as this one.

The planning and design of the facility is an achievement in itself.

“Big facilities can be institutional, but this is so far removed from that,” he says.

In breaking the facility up into 12 bed homes, this allows for it to be staffed to tailor for a 12-bed resident population which in turn presents more time for those dedicated staff to provide better care and service to the senior residents in their homes.

“We’ve really looked at it from a staffing perspective and a resident usability perspective, and how we can make this a fantastic environment for many years to come,” Terlson adds.

create, construct and run a facility like the Good Samaritan Village.

GSS works with PharmaCare to centralise the pharmaceutical needs directly into the complex, while also working with Chandos as a construction partner that Terlson feels is key in enabling the charity to fully realise this incredible vision.

“It’s about looking at vertical integration and how we can decrease our costs and increase our ability to invest in other services, in care.

We can only achieve this through our strategic partners,” he says.

A crucial element in care residency is the ability to monitor not only the health of the residents but the location.

Through a close partnership with building systems solutions provider Honeywell, GSS is investing in numerous smart building technologies.

Powered by partners Terlson can feel assured in the strategic partnerships that GSS has established in order to

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This includes integrating technology solutions that can auto update patient charts though smart sensors in places throughout the building that can take the readings of resident based on their RIF tag information and auto fill that information into an electronic chart.

Again, these investments have one aim. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about allowing the healthcare professional more time to spend being by the side of the individual, taking away laborious

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paper tasks and creating more efficient care,â&#x20AC;? explains Terlson.

The needs of the many Despite the undertaking of such a huge construction project, there is a challenge in finding the right balance between satisfying the needs of the construction with the needs of the senior residents.

For Terlson and the GSS team it seems that balance

H E A LT H C A R E

has been the centre of every decision moving forward.

“We’ve really looked at every aspect of our organisation and building with a magnifying glass to ensure we come in on time and on budget and create a building that’s efficient and effective, and will continue to be that

way for the next 20 years,” he says.

“At GSS we have to do the business of seniors’ care in a much smarter way going forward so we can maximise the use of our people resources to benefit our seniors.”

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International Fitness Holdings -

benefiting Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyles Despite Alberta falling on hard times during this recession, the health and wellbeing company continues to attract new members and grow its footprint. We find out how this has happened Written by Leila Hawkins Produced by Quiyonni Borja

I N T E R N AT I O N A L F I T N E S S H O L D I N G S

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he Canadian province of Alberta is going through one of the worst recessions in its history. Yet against these odds fitness group International Fitness Holdings is not only riding it out, it’s prospering with new sites and a growing customer base.

Catering to all lifestyles International Fitness Holdings operates three separate fitness clubs, each with very distinct identities. World Health Calgary specializes in its industry-leading personal training program, offering free trials to guests and with a large proportion of their members signed up to it.

Spa Lady is its women’s only fitness club, with zumba, hatha yoga, barre and cycle classes among others, at competitive prices.

Bankers Hall Club is the high-end executive health club, with nutrition coaches, massage therapists and squash courts in addition to personal training and group exercise classes.

With these different operations the group can cater to all adults (18-81+), of all fitness levels, shapes and sizes.

Each club has several sites, and Scott Wildeman, Senior Vice President of Operations, explains that three are in downtown while the rest are also in locations convenient for people to visit to and from work. “The no 1 factor in exercise endurance is making it a habit” he says, “and it will only become

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a habit if it’s able to fit in to somebody’s life.”

The very ethos of the company is that it’s not just intent on making a profit, it also wants to improve people’s lifestyles. “Our focus is on building the habit of exercise vs. just selling a membership,” he says.

“We’re focused on results but also the behavioral change of coming to the club on a weekly basis.

We understand that to be successful we also have to work synergistically with things outside of the club like wearable technologies, so we can actually keep people active when they’re not in the gym. We don’t need people coming to the five days a week, once or twice is great, and as long as they’re active outside the gym we’re all happy.”

This isn’t a practice that’s naturally ingrained into people’s lives here, he says. “Changing exercise behavior is very difficult. Most people will relapse, so we focus on how to get them back on if they fall off.”

Overcoming the great recession Wildeman oversees all the group’s personal training programs, group fitness classes, therapies and nutrition, as well as the company’s human resources.

He started working here part time while training to become a Physical Education teacher for schools, but then decided to stay on full time as a personal trainer. “I loved it so much. I pretty much am [still] a teacher, I just teach grown-ups,” he says.

Wildeman is part of a dedicated management team who are steering through one of the worst

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recessiona Alberta has ever experienced. The region’s main industry is oil, and since 2015 prices have plunged dramatically causing tens of thousands of job losses.

This collapse hit the exact areas where International Fitness Holdings have sites. As Wildeman explains, “it’s been localized in Alberta, and primarily localized in Calgary, and

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in Calgary primarily downtown.

We’ve seen less volume in terms of new membership sales and higher cancellations than in the past, so our member volumes have changed, and then the amount of people taking part in programs such as personal training has also changed.”

Yet in spite of the downturn of the local economy, in 2016, during

H E A LT H C A R E

the worst part of the recession the company opened three new clubs.

This was thanks to the new measures it’s put in place. “We have new pricing structures so we’re trying to make our services more affordable for people on a consistent basis. We are trying to have member-friendly options like freezing memberships for a period of time. We’ve implemented a number

of policies that way, and we try to add value to each membership to focus on people getting their money’s worth.”

Because of this the company is ready should it happen again. “The recession, everybody is saying it’s not going to bounce back, it’s going to be a slow climb, so we have to be prepared to thrive in the current environment, not just survive.”

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In fact the group is on the upswing, looking to expand into further locations as well as internally, with new programs and products which will be disclosed in the near future.

Increasing competition Even though the region’s economy is depressed, the market is becoming increasingly competitive. “We are in Calgary and Edmonton, so between the two cities there’s probably 2.5 million people that are available for

fitness services. There’s a good demand in the industry, about 16 percent of people seek out fitness services. However in the last few years we’ve seen many competitors enter our market both in national chains and boutique studios,” he says.

These include the large national brand GoodLife Fitness, which is fast expanding, and the smaller chain Gold’s Gym. Wildeman also cites boutique studios, municipal recreation centers and branches

H E A LT H C A R E

of YMCA as competitors.

Another reason International Fitness Holdings has succeeded despite these challenges is having an everpresent awareness of being in a sector that keeps transforming. “We have to accept and embrace change – that’s the one constant in the fitness industry. The industry is fairly young and there are always new things and fads and ways to do things. We have to always be looking into the future and not being afraid of change.”

Coping with the recession and changing people’s lifestyle habits may be challenges, but Wildeman says they’re very good at handling them. “Getting people to come back every week is our major focus and point of differentiation.”

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From travelling buses to the touch of a button - the technology journey of Banco Popular Camille Burckhart tells us what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like leading the digital innovation ethos which beats at the heart of Banco Popularâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations Written by Stuart Hodge

B A N C O P O P U L A R D E P U E R T O R I C O ( PA RT O F P O P U L A R I N C )

B

anco Popular de Puerto Rico certainly lives up to its name. In Puerto Rico, it is the largest financial institution in Puerto Rico and it is also listed as one of the 50 largest banks in the US. Historically, the bank has always claimed to be at the forefront of technological innovation. In 1983, it became the first bank in Puerto Rico to have an ATM and only 10 years later it had a telephone banking offering, long before any competitors.

According to the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Information and

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Digital Officer, Camille Burckhart, the desire to ensure it is one step ahead of competitors remains just as steadfast as ever.

“Our CEO, Richard Carrión, had my role many years back and part of the vision that he had for the company through the 1980s was that technology was a key differentiator,” she explains.

“I think he set the pace of innovation

in the banking industry in Puerto Rico, especially in the early days, and we have continued along that path.

I actually remember one of my first projects after I came in was looking after our first mobile banking app, which was actually a WAP application.

“We launched that in 2003 and I remember only a handful of clients used it, as it was so ahead of its time

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because nobody even had a smartphone back then.”

Obviously things have come a long way in the 14 years since, with now over 700,000 digital banking active users and over 70 percent of traffic now coming from mobile devices, Banco Popular has been striving to make life easier for its customers through innovation long before the days of smartphones and computers.

In the middle of the previous century, the bank introduced an innovative way of banking called ‘Banco Rodante’ or “bank on wheels”, which sought to give people in localities without a bank access to the company’s services.

“It was probably one of our first examples of ‘mobile

banking’, but in the literal sense.

We would take a bus to towns and villages,” says Burckhart. The “bank on wheels” traveled throughout the island for customers to have some way to make their transactions without having to go to a branch.

“That was back in the 1950s and again it shows how we like to provide value to our customers.”

In 2000, Banco Popular became the first bank in Puerto Rico to provide its services online, and Burckhart argues that the company has continued to lead the way since.

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“Of course, now, that doesn’t seem particularly innovative but it was certainly ahead of the curve back then,” she says. “It was almost unthinkable because of compliance and regulations from eight or 10 years ago, but it was a concept we worked very hard on behind the scenes to make it happen. Technology has always been in our veins and remains one of our strongest drivers.”

According to Burckhart, a key factor in the bank’s technological journey has been a desire to continue to strive for excellence through innovation.

“We envisioned this person-toperson network where transactions could be done instantly through the local ATH network,” she continues.

“Together with Evertec, we’ve developed multiple projects and services. They are our technological service provider and they used to be part of Banco Popular before we sold the majority of shares in 2010. One example was the creation of ATH Móvil, and that has completely changed the financial landscape in Puerto Rico.

“ATH Móvil allows you to send

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money in real time to whoever has an account with one of the participating banks using only their phone number.

Even if you go to a farmer’s market here you can make the transfer between banks instantly. To give you an idea of the scope of its success, the volume we took ten years to reach in online banking, we have reached in just two years with ATH Móvil.

Banco Popular processed over 15 million transactions in only the second year of its operation, and now whether you’re renting an apartment or going to a food truck, it has just become the norm of how you pay in Puerto Rico.

“More recently, in 2015 we were one of the first five banks in the United States to offer a banking app specifically designed for the Apple Watch,” Burckhart reveals. “I suppose it’s something that is part of our DNA to strive to get ahead of the curve in innovative banking services.”

The bank has a three-pronged

May 2017

TECHNOLOGY

“Technology has clearly always been in our veins and remains one

of our strongest drivers” – Camille Burckhart, Chief Information and Digital Officer at BPPP

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strategy to continue its path of success; a strategy that is reflected on an adjusted net income of $358.1 million last year.

As well as continuing to be profitable, Banco Popular strives to

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maintain organizational excellence (or “doing everything the right way the first time”, as Burckhart puts it) and to ensure a good customer experience which adapts to the needs of a changing marketplace.

“If I was to describe our technology vision then I’d say we try to be the bank with the best digital offering and the most relevant solutions in the markets in which we operate,” she says.

When asked what her biggest challenge is, she replies citing scale: “Back when I started at the company you almost had to beg businesses for collaborations on digital projects, but now, as you can imagine, it is the total opposite.

“It’s so popular and so necessary and now, information is vital for clients and their channels. So the question is: how can we scale rapidly enough from a development and technology foundation

TECHNOLOGY

standpoint to accomplish everything that the Corporation wants to achieve in a very short timeframe while also meeting your customers’ expectations?

“Along with the challenge in terms of scale, there is also the question of a technology legacy. You have to have the right mindset and the right team in place, but you also have to have the right foundation.”

What makes Burckhart’s own story all the more impressive is that she is a woman in her mid-thirties operating at executive level and as CIO, she’s the only woman in a senior management position.

Although she admits that this provides its own challenges, she

says it’s one that she relishes.

“In the executive team there are 11 of us and I am the only woman so it makes me an outlier but in a good way. We actually have more women than men in the overall workforce, so I carry the weight, which I don’t take lightly, of representing all professional women in Popular.

“Definitely in banking in general, there are few women in overall leadership positions. In technology leadership, this is even more so, women still remain in the minority.

“I think you need a little bit of a thick skin to do this for a living because of course it’s not necessarily the easiest job, but it’s fascinating, challenging, and fun.”

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PWC

T

here’s rarely a time when cyber security isn’t in the news these days. At the time of writing Twitter, Facebook, PayPal and other platforms had just fallen victim to a cyber attack, and it’s even thought attempts have been made to manipulate the US election result from overseas. As society in general and business in particular becomes more dependent on the software that runs its infrastructure and information management systems, the level of security we can achieve becomes not just a business critical issue but an existential one.

As security adviser Roger A Grimes said in a recent InfoWorld article: “I’ve seen American companies work on a secret new product, only to have a Chinese company release a very similar, if not identical product first. Sometimes even the wording in the documentation is identical.

I’ve seen entire American company divisions shut down as a result.”

How hackers work Every CEO is aware of the need to protect their business: few realise

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that though most hacks are based on simple password phishing the hackers are some of the smartest people on the globe and it takes equally smart people who understand their mindset, to counter them. Don O’Neil is a Director in PwC’s Technology Solutions - CIO Advisory Solution group based in Las Vegas. He is more of a strategist than a hacker himself, but his division employs some of the best white hat hackers on the planet, whose job is to carry out penetration tests on businesses from start ups to major players and government departments too. It works with the consulting arm of the global PwC organization’s verticals, Consumer and Industrial Products; Technology, Communications and Entertainment; Healthcare and Financial Services and a final unit devoted to delivering major government projects, to provide its customers with infrastructure security.

However the division goes beyond just assessing security systems and giving advice: it will do precisely as much work or as little as the customer requires, right though to full implementation. The system

he will recommend will be tailor made for the client. “We go into an organization, analyze their business, the way they function, their technology requirements and all of the things that go into how that business operates.

Then we map out the right technology solution, architecture and design to meet that requirement. Then we can do the implementation work for the client – if that’s what they want.”

The solutions provided by PwC take an identity driven zero trust approach, overlaying on the existing

Don O’Neil Director – CIO Advisory

Don is a Director in PwC’s Technology Solutions - CIO Advisory Solution group based in Las Vegas, NV. CIO Advisory Solution capabilities span IT Strategy, Shared Services & Outsourcing Advisory, Business Systems Integration/Enterprise Architecture, Technology Infrastructure Solutions, and Business Continuity. Don is a member of the Technology Infrastructure Solutions Practice. Don is a former CTO and 26+ year veteran of the IT industry. Don focuses on HA infrastructure builds, data centers, and networks for several start-ups and major customers such as HP, Cisco, and Pacific Bell. Don brings operational, management and in depth infrastructure knowledge. Just prior to joining PwC in 2011, he was a Sr. Network Engineer with Science Applications International Corp (SAIC). Don’s responsibilities included architecture and design of customer networks, data centers, cloud infrastructure, business systems integration, information management and technology Advisory/ Strategy, as well as technology & infrastructure solutions. Industries targeted include education, government, gaming, finance, banking and enterprise solutions.

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systems and the network, so there’s no disruption at the time of implementation, though specific inherent vulnerabilities may have to be addressed. “Many organizations don’t think about securing their networks from insider threats, or securing them from lateral movement once an outsider gets access through an edge connection. That’s a key point – stopping that lateral movement so if you are breached from the outside they can’t continue to exploit that breach, and leave hidden payloads behind. It’s equally important to stop the internal threats from employees, contractors and

their workers from accessing systems they are not supposed to access.”

Technology that never sleeps At the heart of PwC’s solutions are two technologies: 802.1X authentication to determine who and what can access the network, and next generation firewalls and micro-segmentation capable virtual switches to segment the network, preventing lateral movement and unauthorized application traffic.

802.1X is a highly effective network access control protocol if it is properly aligned with the business’s operations: as a consulting firm that has grown on consulting work based on its understanding of every aspect of its clients’ business, from finance to HR and data management for

“It’s equally important

to stop the internal threats from employees, contractors

from accessing

and their workers systems they are not supposed to access” – Don O’Neil, Director – CIO Advisory

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example, it can add value a way no single technology provider could. “We understand how businesses function as well as understand the technology,” he says. “The technology we use to counter global threats is complicated.

People don’t want to deploy it on their own. Networking organizations don’t know how the business units work.

The problem has to be approached from both angles. Our deep business knowledge is what differentiates us, along with our partnership with industry leading technology providers like Palo Alto Networks, with whom we developed the Security Framework

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for Business Leaders last year to help our clients establish breach prevention security postures.”

In principle, keeping networks safe is quite simple. First, prevention of unauthorized access to the network thwarts any hacking attempt right on the border. If they can’t get in they can’t find anything out. Second, in the event of entry they can be contained from making any progress – this is done through segmentation and monitoring of all application and user activity. “Once hackers breach outer layers of protection and get inside the organization they

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try to move laterally,” explains Don O’Neil. “But because we leverage a zero trust architecture with strong authentication, network segmentation, and application visibility, we can stop the attack at multiple levels. Even if a user’s laptop becomes compromised and controlled by an attacker, the hacker’s malware will not be able to move laterally on the network because the next generation firewalls will enforce segmentation and block any malicious traffic.” Four or five levels of security stop an intruder at the door.

An additional safeguard is provided by segmentation: whether the network is

accessed through a VPN, a corporate wired network (LAN) or a WLAN, or even a compromised IoT device, PwC’s solution controls how and what each user can access, the time of day they can access it, the device they use and their location at the time.

Vision restored So every device that connects to the network, workstations, cameras, servers, even an Internet of Things (IoT) device, has to recognized through a valid certificate, fingerprint or profile. This does not interfere with the companies that want to leverage

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“Once hackers breach outer layers of protection and get inside the organization they try to move laterally” – Don O’Neil, Director – CIO Advisory

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BYOD, however the corporation might only want to allow those devices access to low risk areas like e-mail, a time clock system or an intranet. The organization’s critical infrastructure is blocked at the point of entry to the network from the individual or device being even able to detect its presence.

Take the education sector. Institutions hold huge volumes of research data and may have privileged access to some government networks. Yet millions of students and researchers rely on easy access to publications and material relevant to their area of study. This is where NAC and segmentation really cuts down the risk. An individual may be granted full access to a research lab when on their home campus, but that access can be restricted or denied depending on the device they have, when they are traveling or if they are visiting a high-risk country.

Too many organizations don’t know how their individual business units work, O’Neil concludes, nor how their technology is deployed, what their networks look like from end to end or which devices have access

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to it. But after a PwC consultation process, custom designed system and architecture and can be implemented, the risk of internal or external breach is reduced to virtually zero. “Knowledge transfer is a big piece of this,” he insists. “At the end of the process we don’t want to leave them with an inherent dependency on us - unless they want that dependency.” Some organizations may be able to maintain and manage the system on their own keeping

track of changes in the environment: others may choose to continue with a service provider who can do that, or continue to work with PwC.

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making it personal Technology is less about platforms than about people: this is the starting point for the team transforming an institution that claims to be not merely a place, but an experience Written by John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hanlon Produced by David Kulowitch

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ith 30,000 students, two thirds of them located on the main campus at Flagstaff and the remainder at 30 campuses around the State of Arizona or studying online, Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) strapline is: ‘The world looks different from here’.

That could be because Flagstaff – at 7,000 feet and surrounded by mountains – is in such opposition to the hot desert that is often associated with the state, but it probably has more to do with its diversity.

Its student population contains a high proportion of minority undergraduates, but above all this is a student-centered institution that aims to give people top quality educational opportunities irrespective of their status and background – from college-bound high school student, to busy professional, working parent, or anything between. This commitment is recognized

by its acceptance as an iPass (Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success – a program that involves new approaches to advising and degree planning services for college students along with new technologies) grant recipient.

Founded in 1899, the university grew by accretion over the years. When its current President Dr Rita Cheng came on board in 2014, an early priority was to integrate its departments in response to the need for strategic and integrated solutions that support teaching, learning and research in today’s rapidly changing world of technology. As she has pointed out: “In this day and age, in order to stay competitive, it’s important to take advantage of new technology that reflects the vision of our institution.”

Accordingly, she set out to appoint

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a new CIO who shared this vision, and in July 2016 hired Steve Burrell to the post. “President Cheng’s vision is inspiring and the challenge to us is phenomenal, and it is the reason I came to the university,” he says.

Technology only exists to serve people, he believes. His job is more about helping students obtain the skills and experience they need to be successful in their careers, and helping the country and the world to more positive outcomes. “There is a renewed spirit around student success, improving the quality of life for the citizens we serve and their families and helping them meet the challenges we all face.”

The role of CIO has changed a lot from the 1980s when it was very much a back room function. Now the technology has moved out of the computer centers and labs and into the hands of the students, whose devices outstrip the power of the Digitial Equipment Corporation

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PDP-11/70 computer that he remembers serving an entire college.

“Now the CIO is engaged with the business philosophy, strategy and people management of the organization. Technology helps people become better people.”

With this in mind, Burrell set about consolidating IT resources from around the institution. Like most large higher education institutions NAU was very decentralized in terms of its IT and support systems. “We have been working to pull our resources together and create new economies in equipment, software licensing and the like. We have to recognize that young people are bringing new technologies to campus and operate our networks to be more accommodating to that.” His aim is to maintain duality between an open environment that encompasses different devices of all sorts and robust security practices while allowing the freedom to explore ideas. “At the operational level, you are removing

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barriers and allowing people to explore while building security around those assets and those resources.”

In this effort, he acknowledges the innovative edge that partners like Cisco bring to the table. “Being a Cisco partner, we find they understand

“Rita Cheng’s

that really well, at the same time embracing the insatiable need for bandwidth. NAU is isolated both physically and metaphorically, he points out, so collaboration with other institutions is imperative. The Sun Corridor Network is a collaboration

vision and challenge to us is phenomenal, and it is the reason I came to the university” – Steven Burrell, CIO

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between NAU, Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Arizona (UA) to share digital communications resources, network services, and applications, and has made a big difference in enabling students and researchers to stay connected with each other and the wider world. Sun Corridor helps NAUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high performance cluster to

leverage web based resources like Internet2, MS Azure and Amazon web services to do research or access large data sets for the benefit of faculty and students alike.

This access enables the university to leverage the smart devices that students carry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are doing that by deploying new mobile apps that connect to the variety of systems students are using here.â&#x20AC;? This gives them

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access to the Blackboard learning management system (LMS), which adds online elements to the classroom experience, and also taps in to the portal information that the university holds about its students. Much of this is accessed through the SalesForce CRM system, which has been rolled out at NAU over the last twelve months.

SalesForce is an important tool to ensure student success, drawing together the information the university holds about a student and using that information to ‘nudge’ them in the right direction. It is also a student retention tool. If a student is struggling, financially, academically, emotionally or personally, having a

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360 degree view of his or her experience will prompt interventions, maybe from a counselor or mentor, way before that student decides to give in and drop out.

There’s always a pathway to success, says Burrell; it might involve adjusting a student’s approach to coursework or choosing a different major altogether. It could involve helping students identify other forms of financial aid or scholarships that are available. “Many first-time higher education students don’t even know the right questions to ask. We have tied subsystems into SalesForce to give us a holistic view of the student, whether that information is coming from Blackboard, attendance

“Technology helps people become better people” – Steven Burrell, CIO

information from faculty, other risk factors from our Civitas analytics which can tell us about courses the student may be finding difficult. In that context, we are fully engaged in leveraging technology in a replicable and sustainable way, monitoring students’ needs, their contact points, and other performance indicators so we can make appropriate interventions and nudges.”

As he continues to push SalesForce throughout the organization, Burrell’s team is developing new prescriptive analytics measures with their Civitas partner that will focus on the optimum course path for each student. “Civitas helps us identify the course path that you are likely to be most successful with. Now we have hard numbers, metrics and empirical evidence to guide students to successful outcomes.”

Student success comes in different guises. For example, you can’t study aerospace engineering at NAU; nevertheless if that emerges as the student’s preferred major, Civitas will help guide such a student to collect the credits they need to transfer to UA. That transfer would be counted a success.

Analytics are again a core input to a unique off-campus NAU program called Personalized Learning (PL), he adds. “It allows students to consume six months of competency based education in which they consume as much as they can absorb, online.

That has been especially good for older students who bring a lot of personal experience, like military people or people looking for a career

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change, but varied background of formal education.” With around 1,000 students, but growing fast, PL is enhancing lives and opening new horizons. “It is very encouraging to see the success students have in this non-traditional program and reminds me of why I do what I do.”

Another innovation Burrell is enthusiastic about helps students even before they enroll at NAU.

Jack’s Path allows a community college student who has an interest in transferring to NAU to know exactly how their course can transfer. Selecting courses could be complicated but now students can make an intelligible choice with a view of all implications. “We have tremendous feedback from students and our community college partners alike – it minimizes a lot of the data

Arizona’s connection to the national and international gigabit speed research and education network A direct network between Arizona’s research and educational institutions

suncorridornet.org An enterprise of the Arizona Board of Regents and a tri-university partnership

entry and takes away the guesswork improvements each month.” for advisors and the student.”

As Burrell said at the outset, We continue to enhance our it is ultimately about people not business processes and procedures technology – a concept he is to improve our efficiency encouraging among and effectiveness,” the IT team itself. “Our he concludes. “For technology philosophy example, we’re is about people, consolidating many and developing soft document management skills in addition to systems to Hyland our technical core.

OnBase, one of our For example, cloud major technology computing removes partners. This is one the burden of mundane of the areas I saw IT maintenance, where we had a lot of and allows IT staff duplicated efforts and to innovate through uncoordinated business – Steven Burrell, CIO communication and processes. We’re problem solving engaging our business stakeholders skills that benefit our students.” in process mapping and then applying NAU’s shift from computation to OnBase. We can automate and creativity is a new role for many IT simplify student processes and make organizations. Indeed, the world it accessible on their personal devices. does look different from here.

We’re making dozens of process

“We are

fully engaged in leveraging technology in a replicable and

sustainable way”

THE POWER

to finish in four Written by Tom Wadlow Produced by David Kulowitch

The leader of the Hornet Family â&#x20AC;&#x201C; President Nelsen is committed to boosting four-year graduation rates through innovative tools for student success

C A L I F O R N I A S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y, S A C R A M E N T O ( S A C S TAT E )

The IRT division at Sac State aids the success of its faculty, students and staff by providing a toolbox of applications and data, helping to empower the entire University through access to IT services. We spoke to Interim Vice President and CIO Christine Miller to find out more

T

here is no shortage of determination at California State University, Sacramento.

With 30,000 students and more than 3,000 staff on its books, aligning a common vision and instilling a culture of equal access to gamechanging IT services is no easy task.

Indeed, President Robert Nelsen’s vision for Sac State comprises four bold components, the first revolving around a highly progressive target to increase the four year graduation rate from nine to over 30 percent.

The other components comprise diversification of revenue streams (a challenge for many state universities), greater engagement in the wider community to support student career prospects, and boosting diversity and inclusion.

For Sac State’s Information Resources and Technology (IRT)

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division, helping students to drive towards successful degree completion via technological innovations has been the overriding priority in recent years. Enter Christine Miller, who has been steadily raising the profile of technology at Sac State since first arriving in 2014 as Associate Chief Information Officer, and now as interim Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. It is her job to ensure IRT provides the tools required for students to not only achieve their goals, but achieve them as part of a process that is both timely and straightforward.

“For the past few years, we have been very focused on student success related projects, pushing towards the goal of reducing time to degree,” Miller explains. “As a University, we have always worked to enhance student

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Christine E. Miller,

interim Vice President & Chief Information Officer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Information Resources & Technology (IRT)

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success, but now we are collaborating and working cross-departmentally in new and nimble ways to accomplish this four-year graduation goal. We are working harder than ever on a campus-wide scale, which is helping to create a more inclusive culture.”

Miller and IRT’s scope is extremely broad. Operating a team of 100 staff with a $10 million budget, the team’s expertise includes management of enterprise systems, campus applications, identity management, cyber security, technology service centers, websites, mobile apps, reporting, learning space provision, wireless and other infrastructure.

Faster, smarter A large part of IRT’s recent energy has been channelled into implementing the Sac State Graduation Ecosystem, encompassing a series of integrated tools backed by analytic capability to help students succeed faster.

Central to this is the KEYS to Degree Toolbox, a suite of online tools designed to help students manage all aspects of their University experience – from scheduling

their courses, managing financial aid, to assessing their progress via real-time dashboards, and, ultimately applying for graduation.

Short for ‘Kit to Empower Your Success,’ the KEYS to Degree Toolbox includes the Smart Planner program, a bolt-on to Oracle’s PeopleSoft enterprise system from The Burgundy Group that was launched at Sac State in fall of 2016. “This helps our students, a large proportion of whom are first generation, to set a semesterby-semester plan using a guided roadmap to achieve academic goals and finish on time,” Miller adds. “And while we continue to collaborate with colleagues in Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to build all of our degree programs in the tool, we’ve reached a threshold of 8,500 students who have tried using Smart Planner, which is around 40 percent of those who are currently eligible.”

Miller communicated the University goal to complete implementation of Smart Planner, i.e. make all degree programs available by the end of spring 2017. Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and IRT each play an ongoing

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role in making Smart Planner and KEYS to Degree ubiquitous at Sac State. A Smart Planner dashboard developed in Tableau allows anyone to see detailed metrics about Smart Planner usage and adoption rates by college and degree program.

It is this integration of different elements from various vendors which is setting Sac State apart from other state universities. “There are other universities who are implementing these kinds of tools, but what makes us different is that we are packaging this into a single toolbox and using very deliberate marketing, communications and training strategies to help build this into our culture,” Miller continues. “There is something for everyone here; the goal of the ecosystem is to support and facilitate the activities of students, faculty, staff, and administrators.”

This is an important observation, for it is not only students who are leveraging the power of the Graduation Ecosystem tools. Advising staff can access many of the features and use available data to better guide their students. As Smart Planner

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facilitates the planning and logistics of registration – formerly a more manual process – it frees advisors to focus on more personalized conversations about students’ learning goals and overall campus experience.

Data driven “A side benefit of Smart Planner and other Graduation Ecosystem tools is that it provides us with extremely valuable data,” Miller reveals, pointing to multiple analysis software programs from vendors that work alongside IRT’s own Tableau dashboard.

The first is Ad Astra’s Platinum Analytics, which will ingest data generated by students using Smart Planner to help Sac State make predictions about course demand.

Another program leveraged is Illume

by Civitas Learning, a predictive analytics suite that identifies students who may benefit from interventions in order to stay on track. “We can use data to contact students in targeted ways, based on what we know about their progress, which is a more proactive model of student support,” Miller adds.

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Stingers up!

Hornet pride – and graduation rates – are on the rise

“For the past few years, we have been very focused on student success-related projects, pushing towards the goal of reducing time to degree” – Christine Miller, Interim Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

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As Interim CIO, Miller is a champion for data to constructively inform decision making in a strategic way at all levels of the University. As with many businesses across myriad industries, data is becoming one of the most vital assets an organization possesses. How data-driven decision making is valued and used could well prove the difference between success and failure.

Provision Alongside the virtual Graduation Ecosystem, a great number of

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physical assets are also helping students to maximize achievement.

“IRT is based in a building called the Academic Information Resources Center (AIRC), which is one of the only 24/7 buildings on campus, with hundreds of seats and spaces for individual and group study – what we call informal learning spaces,” describes Miller.

“We also offer several large computer labs across campus, and a service desk which we are currently transforming into an integrated service center, similar to the Apple Genius

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Bar model. Our goal is to deliver a one-stop experience to meet faculty, staff and student technology needs, including collaborative technologies so they can practice presentations, test and explore new and emerging technologies, and receive expert troubleshooting help as well.”

With many undergraduates commuting into Sac State, IRT’s laptop checkout has proven immensely popular. The past year has seen some 70,000 checkouts of the 200 devices held, with Miller confirming IRT’s intention to grow the inventory based on demand.

Students may use the laptop checkout program to view lecture material, which can also be accessed remotely through the Mediasite lecture capture system – which IRT describes as ‘expanding the classroom.’

Ever evolving features on mobile are also further enhancing flexibility. “We are always trying to make additions and improvements to our Sac State Mobile app,” continues Miller. “Among the many features of the app, probably most important is the ability for students to register for classes, and view real-time parking status before even arriving on campus. We are also

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Real-time parking and registering for classes are a few of the ways the Sac State Mobile app puts services into the palm of studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands.

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looking to add other functionality to the app, such as ride sharing to help ease traffic congestion.”

All of this is powered by a robust WiFi system, covering nearly 100 percent of the Sac State campus.

learning management system.”

Sac State is currently testing two options for its next-generation learning management system (LMS); this after more than three months rigorously researching and engaging with faculty, students, staff and vendors.

Access This broad feedback Much of Miller’s will inform whether focus has been on D2L’s Brightspace or provisioning IT for Instructure’s Canvas as many students as will be recommended possible, removing to President Nelsen barriers to access, in late spring. The and fostering a culture new LMS will mark an of inclusive learning. important step forward A key component of in meeting current and this is e-learning. emerging teaching “E-learning is vital and learning needs, here because we are – Christine Miller, and should provide committed to reducing Interim Vice President for new opportunities barriers to learning Information Technology and to enhance online and graduation, Chief Information Officer course delivery. especially since we Information about serve a student population who often courses offered by Sac State is now have work and family commitments,” communicated via a brand new Miller explains. “We want to offer online course catalog, developed blended, flexible options, and at using CourseLeaf from Leepfrog the moment have around 5,000 Technologies. Simple to navigate and hybrid courses available in our sleeker in appearance compared

“We want technology to be at our students’ fingertips, helping to make their experience seamless”

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Computer labs, project rooms and open study spaces provide a variety of collaboration spaces and learning resources

with the 2016/2017 academic year, the 2017/2018 catalog is a one-stop course shop for current and prospective students.

“I think this is a fabulous tech-win for the campus,” Millers says. “It is truly a next-generation catalog, and will improve the quality of our data as well as deliver an improved user experience.”

Improved communications and access to information could well be a deciding factor for prospective

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students when choosing whether to make Sac State their future. With a strong IT foundation supporting it, the University appears well positioned to offer the resources necessary to push hard towards its Finish in Four graduation goal.

For Miller, the future of IRT must be an agile one in order to keep up with changing times. She concludes: “We found that we can’t spend two years working on a project and find out that goals

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The Academic Informational Resource Center (AIRC) is one of Sac State’s few truly 24/7 buildings, with open study space and computer labs for students, faculty and staff

have changed by the time we deliver the solution – technology moves quickly, and we need to be more nimble as an organization to best meet campus needs.”

“These are certainly interesting times, and we are eager to see how technologies such as the Internet of Things will continue to shape our strategy. We want technology to be at our students’ fingertips, helping to make their experience seamless.

It is an ongoing challenge, but also a tremendous and exciting opportunity.”

GOLDEN

VALLEY

NATURAL:

TRAIL FOOD FOR THE DISCERNING Our hunter-gatherer ancestors found they could extend the shelf life of the game they killed by cutting it into strips and drying it in the sun: today we call it jerky, a name derived from its Native American name Written by John Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hanlon Produced by Lee Cornell

G O L D E N VA L L E Y N AT U R A L

J

erky is a food that has everything going for it. It is convenient, nutritious, healthy and tasty – and its consumers are aware of the association it has with the frontier spirit, with adventure and self-reliance. The US market for jerky is worth at least $15 billion a year, reflecting a boom in popularity, however in recent years sales of the traditional ‘gas station’ product have flattened, a trend foreseen as long ago as 2003 by Golden Valley Natural, one of the nation’s leading meat snack producers. “Our company dates back to 1968, when it was known as King B Beef Jerky,” says the CEO of this family-owned company Bryce Esplin. “However, in 2001 our founders saw a strong trend developing in the natural and organic sector, and launched the Golden Valley Natural product line – in 2003 the KB brand was divested. Since then we have focused on natural, organic products, working with consumers and retailers in this growing market whether with our own branded products or making products for own-label store groups.”

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Moving into the premium market at that time enabled Golden Valley Natural to take advantage of market changes, in the USA and reflected globally, that continue to accelerate today. As Esplin says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even in convenience stores and the supermarkets there is more emphasis on healthy, natural products with some consumers really keen on sourcing organic foods. The jerky industry as a whole is trending our way because of the renewed emphasis on health in snacking: consumers looking for something new to add to their diet that is convenient and also healthy for them. People are not so comfortable with the potato chips and a candy bar option!â&#x20AC;?

Consumers have radically increased their awareness of the quality of what they eat and the sustainability of the ingredients, he adds. They buy because they like the taste and texture and convenience of the offering, but national and global THE

JERKY

INDUSTRY

AS A WHOLE IS TRENDING OUR WAY BECAUSE OF THE RENEWED

EMPHASIS ON HEALTH IN

SNACKING

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Bryce Esplin, CEO Bryce Esplin was born and raised in Idaho growing up on a 2,000 cow family dairy farm. At age 12 Bryce ran his first P&L analyzing the payback of buying his own cattle leading him to invest in the family farm. Bryce has always enjoyed learning new things and has excelled in his

academic endeavors earning his undergraduate degree from BYU-Idaho and then completing his MBA at Washington State University. Bryce has been with Golden Valley since 2008 working within each division of the company before being promoted to CEO in 2013.

FOOD Y DRINK

regulations mean that nutritional information, salt and fat content have to be available. The print may be small but increasing numbers of people read it before they buy.

Golden Valley Natural makes a very broad range of different jerky options, from the classic beef product it is again selling following expiry of a non-compete period after the sale of the KB brand, through all-natural non-GMO buffalo, turkey, pork and beef jerky, to fully USDA-certified organic products. Organic products have to meet the most thoroughgoing standards covering feeds, pasture and medications used at every stage of rearing and production.

Golden Valley Natural’s definition of ‘natural’ is almost as rigorous

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– the product contains nothing artificial, no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), no preservatives, no sodium salts or monosodium glutamate, and no hormones.

These are important considerations for many consumers, who already appreciate jerky for its low fat, high protein profile. Another trend is towards artisanal choices, with a variety of different meats being added to the range. GVN rears its own bison at its extensive ranches in Idaho and South Dakota – these iconic wild beasts are raised in an entirely natural environment, free to roam at will. No wonder then that Golden Valley Natural’s buffalo Jerky is finding huge favor among American consumers, along with the Intermountain Bison subsidiary

Number of employees at Golden Valley Natural

Trusted Packaging Partner to Golden Valley for 15 Years “Our 15 year relationship as Golden Valley Natural’s packaging supplier speaks to our ability to provide consistently high quality packaging, exceptional service, and competitive pricing.” co

We specialize in ultra-high barrier, hermetically sealed pouches for jerky, confectionery, pet food, liquid, and many other packaging applications, manufacturing all pouch styles and sizes available in the marketplace as well as rollstock films.

For more information, contact Chris Klee:

chrisklee@progressivepackaging.net

from which people can buy fresh buffalo meat. In fact, the fastest growing product is artisanal, nonGMO certified beef and turkey jerky marketed under the Ascend brand. It’s not so much that people are consciously rejecting GMO, he says, as that they really want to have that information at their fingertips.

Another subsidiary brand, Healthy Partner Pet Snacks, has manufactured pet snacks since 2008. These are produced to exactly the same standard as

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WE DESIGNED OUR SHELLEY FACILITY TO MEET ALL

GLOBAL

FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS

FOOD Y DRINK

jerky for human consumption, being 100 percent all-natural, gluten free, with no additives or preservatives. Americans, it may be fair to say, are just as careful about what they feed their animals as they are about their own health, and they like the assurance that they are made in the USA.

enough to handle all production demands, however as it approached capacity it became clear that a new factory would be needed.

Accordingly a new state-of-theart plant was built upon a greenfield site at Shelley, Idaho, where the company is now headquartered.

Idaho Falls is still able to produce all product lines, but the Shelley facility, Supply strength much larger at 200,000 square feet, Idaho, being the most heavily has now been in production for two forested state, it is not able to years. Esplin explains: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We designed produce anything like enough meat it to meet all global food safety to meet Golden Valley Naturalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulations. There is no possibility of needs, so the company operates a cross-contamination between the global supply chain. Up until 2014 the lines. Raw materials are received 66,000 square foot manufacturing at one end of the building, and facility at Idaho Falls was big production flows are straightforward

G O L D E N VA L L E Y N AT U R A L

through to packaging, packing and dispatch at the other end.”

When the facility opened in 2015 it employed 200 - today it employs 400 of Golden Valley Natural’s 550 employees, which illustrates the speed with which production has ramped up in that short time.

And there’s no danger of this plant reaching capacity any time soon: “We can increase production output at Shelley to three times its current level,” he says. “Our robust third party ERP system, upgraded six months ago, helps schedule production needs, and this is tied to our MRP so we can ensure that at all times we have the right quantity of all necessary meats, spices, packaging materials and the like.

I BELIEVE READING THESE BOOKS

FORCES US TO

INVEST IN OURSELVES.

WE LEARN HOW OTHER PEOPLE HANDLE THINGS AND SEE

HOW TO BECOME

BETTER LEADERS

NOT JUST AT WORK

BUT AT HOME, IN THE COMMUNITY AND

IN OUR COMPANY

Best in the world

The market for natural food snacks in the USA and Canada has plenty of room for growth, however Golden Valley Natural’s vision is to be ‘the best meat snack company in the world’. Bryce Esplin takes a cautious approach to international expansion, but reveals that the company is

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already selling to Japan (where it is actively pursuing further growth) and Mexico, as well as Canada.

Now he is looking toward Europe.

In May this year GVN will be attending Zoomark International at Bologna, Italy, to promote its

FOOD Y DRINK

pet snack product lines. This is a toe-in-the-water exercise at the moment, but it’s the precursor to serious engagement with a wide open market in Europe. For the foreseeable future it will be possible to supply global markets from Idaho, but he does not rule out the construction of overseas plants as demand grows.

Bryce Esplin, a graduate in business administration, also holds an MBA from Washington State University – asked about his vision for the company he immediately zeros in on staff development. To supplement the training programs that the company runs at all levels, he focuses on an approach that while not unique is still unusual – the reading and discussion of inspirational books. “I believe reading these books forces us to

invest in ourselves. We learn how other people handle things and see how to become better leaders not just at work but at home, in the community and in our company. We get to learn and share ideas with our peers – in discussion you get insights you might not have picked up on a first reading.” Among the books they have looked at are the Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self Deception, Good to Great by Jim Collins, Patrick Lencioni books like The Ideal Team Player or The Five Dysfunctions, Outliers and Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and Who Moved My Cheese by Ken Blanchard. The result – business excellence, allied to manufacturing best practices and a product that almost sells itself. That looks like a recipe for success.

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The American Culinary Federation:

FOODâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S JEDI ACADEMY Top chef Nathan J. Dirnberger describes what ACF did for him and how he is now helping others achieve their ambitions Written by Nathan J. Dirnberger Produced by Lee Cornell

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hen we eat something awesome, magic happens. The most forward thinking culinary minds make an effort to see beyond the kitchens they work in. Past the science of cooking, we are looking into quantum physics. When we eat something awesome, we are consuming the delicious result of a series of thoughts becoming a tangible experience, mouthwatering, almost orgasmic flavors bursting in our mouths. We all have had the experince of food creating happiness in our lives. The top chefs are discovering the cutting edge of cooking lies far beyond the food itself.

How is that related to quantum physics? Your thoughts, they become things. A good example your mind creating an opinion about what your are reading at this second. Or a cook taking a basket full of ingredients and creating, using thoughts, an amazing dish from what was previously just a pile of ingredients. Either way they are examples of the universe and our thoughts interacting with each other.

Chefs, the good ones, are like Jedi Masters.

Honing, refining, and mastering themselves and their craft is an art. Becoming a chef requires certain neural pathways in the brain to be stimulated. Over time those pathways lead to an incredible ability to manipulate physics and chemistry. The result is the quick work of that cook taking the basket of ingredients and turning them into that mind stimulating goodness we savor long after we are done eating.

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The cutting edge of cooking is seeing far beyond just the ingredients we have in front of us. Chefs have an inherent duty to lead our communities. In this sense we have to envision the world we want to see, and our thoughts will start to become things. Just as we envision the finished plate and start to work towards it, using physics,

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chemistry, and yes quantum physics to make it reality.

Food is something that we all have in common. It is tied to our cultures, our ealiest memories as children and ultimately to our health. Chefs can

FDF WORLD

help our society to realize their potential of impact, through the simple concept of cooking- the process of imagining and acting upon that imagination.

The American Culinary Federation

was and is my very own Jedi Academy. It has existed spiritually since the early part of the American Revolution and was formally organized into the Federation of today in 1929. It is the Standard of Excellence for Chefs. The role of the ACF is to be the leader in professional and personal development for the culinary

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community. It provides opportunities for people to grow and experiment with food. Certification, accreditation, and continuing education are all vital parts of the ACF that enable standards of excellence to be continually raised for the culinary field.

Beyond these important structural components, this organization fosters the relationships of true cooks. Men and women of all walks of life, ethnicity and social status learn from one another through this organization.

More importantly organizations like the ACF have helped to raise chefs like me to now be in the position to use our thoughts to help innovate in our field.

Innovation and trendsetting are some of the most important areas of the culinary industry that are incubated through the ACF. If “Jasmine Melon Sorbet”, made using liquid nitrogen, scooped into a miniature ice cream cone, topped with Strawberry Poprocks sounds like a mind blowing experience, it was. That is just one example of this organization’s ability to tap and develop people’s potential.

I was fortunate to do a Chef Driven Bar and Beverage Innovation Demo

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in Chicago this past February for the Western Regional Conference. I created the most outlandish menu I could imagine, submitted a proposal, and that theoretical creation of my thoughts became magic reality.

Chapters make up the Federation and each contributes to their own community. Our local chapter sets trends with everything, from our own live Food Network style cooking battle to culinary Knowledge Bowls. Our members make it fun to get together and play with likeminded friends.

Benefits of a membership include all of the resources of this prestigious organization, but most importantly the mentorship of other chefs.

Now back to the quantum physics.

If we understand the concept of our thoughts interacting with the universe, and practice daily within our professions and personal lives to actively observe the marvel of our thoughts creating realities, we can inspire others to do the same. The world has a lot of issues that require our minds to focus on in order to create change. The environment, food, social values, relationships, poverty,

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war, you name it, they can all use some of our focus. What works on a small scale will also work on a large scale- far beyond our kitchens.

REGISTER NOW!

2017 SCMA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Come to the heart of the nation and feel the pulse of a vibrant supply chain community at the SCMA National Conference, June 14-16, 2017, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hundreds of supply chain leaders will be LINKING THE NATION in a web of inspiration, innovation, and illumination. Come join the thought provoking discussions, gain insight from supply chain experts, and meet Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top supply chain professionals. This year SCMA is introducing new concepts to increase your conference experience!

The Conference will kick off at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. The CMHR is the first museum solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human rights. Join us to explore the exhibits and share the experience with your peers!

WHERE The conference takes place at the RBC Convention Centre.

SCMA has arranged discounted transportation and accommodation for delegates attending the Conference.