Supply Professional February 2021

FEBRUARY 2021

PEOPLE FIRST Lani Lindsay focuses on teams and partnerships

RFP tips

Cleaning supplies Mazda3 GT Turbo Autonomous border Post-pandemic supply chains

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VOL.63 No.1 FEBRUARY 2021 SUPPLYPRO.CA COVERING CANADA’S SUPPLY CHAIN

@SupplyProMag

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COVER: MIKE FORD PHOTOGRAPHY

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FEATURES 7 A NEW DIRECTION How would you change your current RFP process?

8 LIFE AFTER COVID-19 Canada’s supply chains after the pandemic.

10 ONE FOR THE TEAM Walmart’s Lani Lindsay on the importance of people.

13 KEEP IT CLEAN Sustainable janitorial supplies for facility maintenance.

19 AUTONOMOUS CROSSING Connected transportation at the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

20 RUNNING SMOOTHLY Giving bearings their proper respect.

ALSO INSIDE 4 UP FRONT 5 BUSINESS FRONT 6 IN THE FIELD 30 THE LAW

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UP FRONT

DEALING WITH BIDEN

It seems obvious that many Canadian businesspeople will be happy that the presidency of Donald Trump is behind us. Whatever the specific policies, an administration run by President Joe Biden will most likely mean a smoother, more amicable relationship with Canada. At the very least, that relationship will be more predicable than what we’ve seen over the past four years.

The relationship is important on both sides of the border. And let’s not forget Mexico, as nearly 80 per cent of our exports go to our combined CUSMA partners. We’re the largest goods export market for the US – mostly for vehicles, machinery, mineral fuels and plastics. In 2019, US goods and services trade with Canada totalled a staggering $718.4 trillion.

This is something that President Biden would do well to keep in mind.

With so much crossing the border in the form of goods and services, it’s important to keep things smooth and both sides happy whenever possible.

Indeed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently intimated to the media that after four years of dealing with an unpredictable and often pugnacious administration to the south, dealing with a Biden-run government should be much easier.

President Biden will work towards goals that he sees as benefiting the US and its interests. That’s to be expected. Exhibit A of this is the fate of the Keystone XL project, which he kiboshed within hours of taking his oath of office. Doing so had been a key campaign promise.

So, what will a Biden presidency mean for Canadian business, manufacturing, supply chains and the import-export community?

For one, expect a lot more “Buy American” talk. A key promise from Biden’s campaign is to “ensure the future is made in America”. That could mean tighter rules surrounding US government procurement. Biden reportedly told Trudeau as much during their call on January 22. During that conversation, although the new president seemed aware of how deep supply chain connections are between the two countries, he made no promises that Canada would escape being shut out of such contracts.

What should Canada do? The message from Ottawa should reflect a policy that the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters refer to as “Buy North American.”

“Canada, Mexico, and the United States don’t trade with each other anymore – we build things together,” said Dennis Darby, president and CEO of CME, in a January 18 blog post. “Excluding each other from our respective government procurement markets could seriously hurt our precarious economic recovery.”

This could take time and effort. Recall that it took Canada a year to negotiate exceptions in 2010, following the economic crisis of 2008-09, when President Barack Obama’s administration enacted Buy American provisions. The prime minister should regularly remind President Biden of the integrated nature of North America’s economy and supply chains. Hearing that message may help to soften the protectionist sentiment in Washington.

EDITOR MICHAEL POWER 416-441-2085 ext 110, michael@supplypro.ca PUBLISHER ALEX PAPANOU 416-441-2085 ext 101, alex@supplypro.ca DESIGN Art Direction ROY GAIOT Design Consultation BLVD AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE/PRODUCTION LAURA MOFFATT 416-441-2085, ext 104, lmoffatt@iqbusinessmedia.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER FARIA AHMED 416-441-2085 ext 106, faria@supplypro.ca EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD LORI BENSON Procurement Compliance, L&D, Engagement and Knowledge Lead | Business Enablement, Ernst & Young LLP THOMAS HUDEL Manager, Purchasing and AP, Esri Canada Ltd. WAEL SAFWAT Procurement Director, Black & McDonald SHERRY MARSHALL Senior Manager, Meetings, Travel & Card Service, PwC Management Services KIRUBA SANKAR Director, Corporate Social Responsibility—RBC Global Procurement JEFF RUSSELL Purchasing Manager, ABS Machining iQ BUSINESS MEDIA INC. Vice President STEVE WILSON 416-441-2085 x105 swilson@iqbusinessmedia.com President ALEX PAPANOU

PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 43096012 ISSN 1497-1569 (print); 1929-6479 (digital) CIRCULATION Mail: 302-101 Duncan Mill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 1Z3 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Published six times per year Canada: 1 Year $ 99.95 CDN Outside Canada: 1 Year $ 172.95 USD Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised.

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BUSINESS FRONT—BY MICHAEL HLINKA

THE RISE, FALL AND RISE OF GME HOW A REDDIT GROUP OUTSMARTED THE SMART MONEY This column is being written on Friday January 29, prior to the 9:30am opening of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Yesterday, the publicly traded company, GameStop (GME), which is listed on the NYSE, closed at $193.60. It opened at $265. Soon thereafter, it climbed to $483, pulled back to $112.25, then rallied to $193.60 at the final bell. There is no rational economic explanation.

But this story isn’t about valuing a company based on any systematic basis. This is a story about how “amateur” investors turned the table on the pros. However, it strikes me that there are broader implications that could be profound.

GME is a niche retailer that sells video games. Some years ago, it had been a high-flier. But it fell on hard times and seemed to be on the brink of bankruptcy even six months ago. It hit a low of $2.67 per share. On January 11 GME reported its holiday sales and the results were better than many people expected. Online sales had surged, and the stock rallied, moving up to the $20 range. The “smart” money thought it was over-valued and began short selling it heavily.

WHAT’S SHORT SELLING? Short selling is a strategy that allows an investor to profit from a decline in the share price.

Typically, an investor hopes to buy low today in order to sell high tomorrow. Short-selling reverses that. Investors, through their investment dealers, borrow shares from other investors (without their knowledge), and sell those shares on the market. The short seller hopes to buy back at a lower price.

A tried-and-true tactic of hedge

funds has been to execute short sales, then do everything in their power to talk down the share price.

The only honest way to describe it is that it’s a form of market manipulation.

There were several hedge funds that had short sold a significant number of GME shares. On the same day that Joe Biden was inaugurated president, one had scheduled a meeting to explain why GME was destined to head to zero, which they hoped would have led to panic selling. But there was a Reddit group, dedicated to investing, that started bombarding that hedge fund with emails, and the meeting was pulled. That did not satisfy the Reddit members. They realized that if they started buying up shares, this would force the price up, leading to large losses for hedge funds when they were forced to off-set their positions.

On Friday, January 22, GME shares opened at $42.59 and eventually closed at $65.01. By the following Monday, it soared to $159.18 before closing at $76.79.

Tuesday’s trading was flat, and it appeared that the rally was over, when a tweet by entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitaya re-energized Reddit members, and the price finished close to its daily high of $150. Then Elon Musk got into the fray, seeming to endorse the company (even while he really didn’t) which led GME to go ballistic. It more than doubled overnight, crushing the hedge funds.

What happened? Reddit members, amateurs, beat the pros at their own game. For years, hedge funds had taken positions in companies, then used media outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg News

to talk the price down. This time around, seeing that the short sellers were vulnerable to a sharp increase in price, the Reddit members “stormed the gates”, buying shares of a company whose chances of surviving in the long run seem slight to many.

But as John Maynard Keynes quipped: “In the long run, we’re all dead.” In the world of trading, a day can be eternity, as we witnessed with the price action.

GOING FORWARD What could this mean for the future? Small investors, linked through social media, now have the ability to band together and if not move entire markets, at least individual companies. How’s this for a hypothetical? What if small investors realized that they could couple their buying power with tangible action? Let’s imagine that next time around, the Reddit people target the shares of a restaurant company that specializes in highend dining. Take Cheesecake Factory as an example. There are about 300 locations across North America. I’m guessing that each one seats about 100. There are 45 million shares outstanding, and the current price is $45 per share.

What if 10,000 Reddit members each short sold 1,000 shares?

That’s only 10 million shares or 22 per cent of the float. Then what if for one month, each Reddit investor reserved large tables on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 6pm? Then their parties ordered tap water, studied the menu for two hours before ordering the cheapest items, and then took two hours to finish their meals. Revenues would plummet and the share price would collapse.

Toronto-based Michael Hlinka provides business commentary to CBC Radio One and a column syndicated across the CBC network.

“Small investors, linked through social media, now have the ability to band together and if not move entire markets, at least individual companies.”

Would that be a form of market manipulation? Of course. But I’m not sure what anyone could do about it and I would not be surprised if we saw a lot more of this in the future. SP SUPPLYPRO.CA 5

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IN THE FIELD—BY BERTRAND MARTELLE

LINE OF SIGHT DATA TRACKING IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN As a result of the COVID -19 disruption, businesses have learned to adapt to changing external circumstances. The COVID -19 pandemic response brought sudden and significant changes to the supply chain in 2020 that continue into 2021. From shipping delays to a surge in e-commerce, the ability to track data efficiently has become increasingly valuable.

Whether you work in a warehouse, factory, shipping network or carrier service, every part of the chain involves a unique process that can be monitored and improved with proper data tracking. These solutions bring forth a leap in productivity and accuracy, which as a result, reduces the risk of lost product and cost.

By putting data at the forefront of your business, businesses can track, monitor and compare data to create a more efficient and productive chain of operations.

WHY IS DATA VISIBILITY IMPORTANT? Data visibility refers to the ability to produce, monitor and analyze the information that is produced and recorded within a business.

Our demand for instant gratification, 24/7 service and on-demand digital access is growing. Accord­ ing to Statistics Canada, between November 2019 and November 2020, Canada saw a 110-per cent increase in online sales. This digital revolution has changed expectations in service and upended the supply chain, impacting manufacturers, retailers and warehousing operations.

If the operations of a business have gaps, the added urgency brought on by the pandemic will only further erode areas of weak6 FEBRUARY 2021

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ness. The smart application of data capture technologies can help to improve productivity while providing a better employee experience.

By collecting and tracking data in critical business functions and by mobilizing your workforce, you can begin to weed out problematic areas that cost you time and money. Effective data tracking creates a big-picture view of your company and allows an objectifiable overview of your business trends and trajectory. Data visibility is security for both your business and your staff. By understanding the numbers behind the business, you can make educated choices that benefit the company, and more important, the customer.

HOW TO ACHIEVE VISIBILITY Traditional methods of tracking productivity are outdated and leave room for human error. By introducing technology-based solutions, you can create visually comprehensive data that will enable your ability to make better business decisions.

You can increase data visibility through tools and technology, specifically with barcoding and RFID technology. To address what a company needs, you must start with a thorough review of your business goals, current processes, and mobile workforce needs.

By putting strategy first, you can then recommend the right technology for the job.

Barcoding data capture systems are the most affordable and effective way to automate your company’s collection of data.

Barcodes can be implemented in almost any industry and used to provide concise data. These barcodes allow versatile, durable and reliable tracking through the

use of a sticky, scannable barcode tab. A worthwhile investment in barcoding technology involves integrating the right combination of software, label type, printers, mobile computers and label stock.

The combination ensures that the data is reliable and tracked for the best investment.

Another way to capture data in your daily business operations is to use radio frequency identification technology, known as RFID. RFID tags benefit areas of operations that prioritize data capture without a line-of-sight scan. These tags are useful in cutting cost and error margins within a company.

Businesses involved in manufacturing, distribution, retailing and inventory and asset management can track, manage and operate based on the information provided with RFID tags. Actions that would typically take several hours, such as inventory cycle counts or unloading inbound containers, can be done efficiently in half the time thanks to RFID tags.

One example of RFID and barcoding technology in use would be a biopharma research organization that uses barcodes and RFID to manage its inventory of reagents, chemicals and supplies. The organization’s biggest challenge was counting their inventory of reagents in freezer storage – stored at -80 Fahrenheit. Every 30 days, the company has to verify that all 6000plus serialized, uniquely tracked reagents in storage were still there, via a cycle count. This was previously done using heavy-duty protective clothing and a manual count that took more than 30 hours to count, validate, verify and adjust.

Using RealView with barcoded RFID labels and an in-freezer RFID

Bertrand Martelle is Canadian country manager – Barcoding-Canada.

“By putting data at the forefront of your business, businesses can track, monitor and compare data to create a more efficient and productive chain of operations.”

reader, the organization can now cycle count the freeze items in less than an hour and update their NetSuite ERP with the correct values – without having to enter the freezer. This process has allowed the company to be more integrated, efficient and effective.

As with barcoding, RFID is most impactful when designed and integrated with the business goals in mind. RFID tagging systems will not provide ROI unless the solution architecture is in place, including proper readers, printers and software integrated into the company’s backend systems. Investing in improving your data collection processes with technology is the first step in future-proofing your business for long-term success. SP SUPPLY PROFESSIONAL

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BY JON HANSEN

REDEFINE THE PROCESS MOVING BEYOND THE RFP FIELD OF DREAMS According to a Deloitte 2019 global survey of CPOs, the majority (58 per cent) are not generally satisfied with electronic sourcing process results, including RFx/auctions.

Of course, the above is not a surprise to anyone who has been in our industry for any length of time.

The only thing that may be confusing is how in the emerging digital age is RFP ineffectiveness still a thing. Isn’t automation the panacea answer to all that ails procurement?

The response is both simple and complex. The purpose of this article is to move the needle more to the side of simple and in the process provide useful insight into how you can get more from your RFP efforts.

TIME IS THE ENEMY A February 2020 article titled 33 RFP Statistics That Will Help You Win More Bids should be a must-read for all RFP issuers.

The wealth of insight gained from the data reveals some of the main obstacles to RFP success. One notable challenge is the amount of time and resources a supplier must expend to respond to an RFP.

On average, 39 per cent of the organizations that respond to a bid request “involve between 8-10 people,” in the process, while “36 per cent involve 11 people or more.”

This is significant for small-to-medium-sized businesses, especially when considering the low likelihood of their winning the contract.

For the tendering process in the public sector, the potential for winning business is less than low, one of the reasons why so few SMEs respond to government RFPs. In an interview I did with a top executive from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), they indicated that well over 80 per cent of their members eschew government requests because they see them as a waste of time.

Ironically, the advent of technology has made the situation worse rather than better. The problem with most platforms is that they allow suppliers to set the parameters for the bid requests they receive. While automating this process makes sense from the standpoint of eliminating the need to filter through a long list of opportunities to identify which ones align with the products or services a supplier provides, it also creates a sense of false hope.

THE AUTOMATION MIRAGE According to Judy Bradt, bestselling author of Government Con­ tracts Made Easier, while streamlining the supplier notification process may be a good thing, it is also unintentionally misleading.

Bradt reasons that if you are only getting involved when you receive an RFP notification, it is already too late, as the winning bidder has likely laid the foundation for their success long before then.

How important is building what Bradt calls “legitimate preference” through establishing rapport with the RFP issuer? In a talk with the former chief of staff for New York’s governor, he indicated that 95 per cent of RFP winners are usually “known” before the RFP is issued.

Although Bradt doesn’t dispute outright that assertion, her analogy

“The problem with most platforms is that they allow suppliers to set the parameters for the bid requests they receive.” about showing up at the starting line on race day without correctly training beforehand creates proper context. The point is that because of automation, suppliers often overlook an important requirement of the RFP process – personal contact.

The above gate swings both ways as RFP issuers also fall into the trap of believing the proper structure of an RFP followed by a swift and broad distribution to as many suppliers as possible is all that is needed to achieve an optimal outcome. This “if I build it, they will come” mindset means their efforts to create the best RFP are usually for nought.

THE PROCESS BEYOND I have written and spoken extensively about the I-35W bridge collapse story of 2007. This story has stayed with me all these years because it represents the power of moving beyond the traditional RFP process to achieve a beneficial outcome for all stakeholders.

When the bridge collapsed killing 13 and injuring 145 commuters, the state of Minnesota recognized that it’s rebuilding in a timely fashion would not only restore a vital artery between the Twin Cities but honour those who had lost their lives.

Recognizing that their usual RFP process would not work, the state introduced an open-book framework in which there was full transparency regarding costs and risks. In other words, everyone had a clear understanding of supplier costs and the state’s budget, with project risks being shared equally by all stakeholders. The parties were then able to focus their attention on collaborating towards achieving the desired outcome of building the new bridge in 18-months and

Jon Hansen is editor and lead writer for the Procurement Insights Blog and was host of the PI Window on The World Show on Blog Talk Radio.

doing so within the required budget. The project was a success.

It is worth noting at this point that for the next bridge project, the state reverted to their traditional RFP process with the expected outcome – late and over-budget.

To this day, I am still at a loss as to why the I-35W success did not become the state’s standard practice for complex acquisitions. Why revert to a process that consistently fails to achieve the best outcomes?

ANSWERING THE BEST OUTCOME QUESTION A saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome, gives a clue as to why the RFP process has not changed.

Regarding the Deloitte survey on the level of dissatisfaction CPOs have with their electronic sourcing process, automation will not fix the RFP problem. Improving the return on your RFP efforts requires more than building on the existing foundation of traditional practices through “going digital.”

Instead, an effective RFP process begins with envisioning a different way of doing things and redefining what a fair and open competition looks like and what it means for improved outcomes.

In this context, and before automating it, how would you change your current RFP process? SP SUPPLYPRO.CA 7

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BY MICHAEL POWER

POST PANDEMIC SUPPLY CHAINS

COVID-19 HAS ACCELERATED CHANGES THAT WERE ALREADY AFOOT The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted weaknesses and blind spots already endemic in supply chains. The pandemic will leave its mark on global business and the trade of goods long after the public health emergency subsides.

So what will post-pandemic supply chains look like? How can supply chain practitioners prepare?

One issue will be a heightened focus on inventory, says Aaron Tomarchio, senior vice-president, corporate affairs, at TradePoint Atlantic, a multi-modal logistics company. That focus will include knowing how much inventory exists, as well as ensuring there are appropriate amounts at different points within the supply chain so that organizations aren’t stuck if issues arise with suppliers.

Organizations must track that inventory more efficiently to ensure realtime data that can be used to get product to where there’s demand.

Organizations that want to excel must build resiliency, Tomarchio says. Seeking alternate modes of transportation helps. Those relying on trucks can consider rail and marine options, for example.

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The pandemic has also highlighted how much ground there is to gain in efficiency, prompting forward-thinking organizations to invest in automation and technology, Tomarchio says. This can provide real-time feedback within a warehouse on what inventory is slated to leave, when, where it’s going and so on.

“If inventory is going to replenish or backfill whatever might be leaving, where that is within the

supply chain, and getting those timing elements coordinated, is definitely something that’s of utmost importance and a focus going forward,” Tomarchio says.

“There were such significant inventory shortages due to the shock.

Having that coordinated look at inventory is going to be a renewed theme and it will be interesting to see what gets adopted.”

In addition, warehouses will become “smarter” and more inte-

grated in response to the pandemic, he says. This will include how facilities consume resources like water and electricity and how they use sustainable technologies like PV array and solar array on their rooftops. Warehouses can also become smarter in operations, such as how they use conveyance systems and robotics, he says. That will continue as companies look to move goods more efficiently.

Future supply chain skills will revolve around new technology.

Develop an understanding of the overall supply chain, Tomarchio says, as well as how individual links in that supply chain operate.

He also recommends “having a good, fundamental understanding of how those different elements combine into a well-run and efficient operation within a warehouse, which is one of the critical parts of the supply chain.”

E-COMMERCE ADOPTION The pandemic has accelerated several existing trends that will continue into the future, says Chris Feuell chief commercial officer at Honey­ well Intelligrated. For example, COVID-19 has likely accelerated the adoption of e-commerce as a percentage of total retail by three to five years. Consumers have adapted and are more comfortable shopping online or buying online and picking up their purchases instore. The downstream effect is an increased need for automation in warehouses and retail outlets.

COVID-19 has also illuminated existing shortcomings in the ability of companies to adapt and pivot quickly, Feuell says. Those shortcomings often stem from a lack of visibility into what’s going on in their supply chains, including sourcing status, order processing, the ability to fulfill orders and give consumers accurate information about when they could expect to receive an order.

The pandemic has also magnified an already tight labour market, since employees in areas like warehouses were not only being diagnosed with COVID -19 but were also hesitant to go to work and be in proximity with others, Feuell SUPPLY PROFESSIONAL

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says. Employee health and safety has been top priority for many organizations during the pandemic, followed by restoring productivity and efficiency of operations to pre-pandemic levels. Organizations with mature e-commerce platforms were well-positioned when the pandemic hit. Many have enhanced existing capabilities by upgrading or adding to software platforms for better integration with ERP systems for broader visibility.

“They knew exactly what orders needed to be processed, how those orders needed to be staged in the fulfillment process and how could they accelerate last-mile delivery to the customers,” Feuell says.

The pandemic has allowed many to work remotely, and no doubt some will want to continue doing so, Feuell says. But some roles, like warehouse fulfillment and manufacturing, require workers on site.

Those areas have seen increased requests for robotics among cus-

tomers, she notes. That has only increased in a labour market with a shortage of people available and willing to do certain kinds of jobs.

“We’re quite a way away from realizing full dark warehouse operations where everything is done by robots, but a lot of our customers are thinking that way,” she says.

The pandemic has heightened the focus on risk within the supply chain and procurement is no exception. The Hackett Group, a strategic consultancy, recently produced its Key Issues Study, which showed that while cost reduction remained the main priority for procurement organizations, supply assurance or risk had risen to the number-two spot.

Procurement is now more focused on monitoring risk to stay on top of potential threats, says Laura Gibbons, senior director, procurement executive advisory, at The Hackett Group. A shift towards balancing risk and cost, rather than primarily focusing on cost, will be

“In all reality, we’re quite a way away from realizing full dark warehouse operations where everything is done by robots..” one change for procurement organizations to deal with going forward.

“COVID has kick-started a transfer of prioritization in terms of what procurement needs to focus on,” she says. “It’s not just ‘buy things for cheaper.’ It’s ‘let’s make sure we can actually buy things, and then make sure that they’re cheaper.’”

The pandemic has also heightened the need for agility, Gibbons says, noting data will be important.

Without access to data, adopting next-generation activities like risk

prevention becomes challenging.

To prepare for the changes to a post-pandemic world, Gibbons suggests looking at how procurement is structured. Does your organizational alignment match what you need to reach your objectives?

Are you aligned to your regions and is that properly structuring you to be successful in the new world?

Technology will be the biggest change factor as we move into a new normal, Gibbons says.

“We see a big shift in on-premise solutions to cloud-based suites and best-of-breed technologies,” she says. “We’ll continue to see that be a major change as procurement goes to be totally paperless, totally in the cloud and really enabled by technology.”

No doubt, many changes will carry over from the pandemic.

The key for supply chains will be adapting to those changes in a way that positions them for success in the future. SP

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TEAM PLAYER

A FOCUS ON PEOPLE HELPS LANI LINDSAY ENSURE WALMART CANADA’S SUPPLY CHAINS RUN SMOOTHLY In a way, Lani Lindsay has been involved in retail for much of her life. While growing up, her father and grandfather owned two small electronics stores in Toronto, which put her in the middle of the retail world from a young age.

Lindsay, now vice-president of replenishment and supply chain at Walmart Canada, has since spent much of her working life in the retail field for companies like Walmart and Loblaws. She has spent that career not only in supply chain but also in IT. Lindsay is also active with Supply Chain Canada, having joined the Ontario Institute’s board of directors six years ago, completing her term as chair in January.

Lindsay got her professional start with National Grocers, which was then Loblaws’ distribution arm. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a BA in business administration and management, Lindsay attended Durham College (again for business administration) to gain more hands-on education.

She completed her exams on a Wednesday, got married that Saturday and, after honeymooning over a long weekend, began her job search the following Tuesday. At the time, her new husband, Glen, was still working on a master’s degree.

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To this day, Lindsay places high priority on education and has continued studying even while working. She remains involved with Supply Chain Canada and has earned IT management and project management certifications. She has also earned a master’s degree in supply chain logistics from the Schulich School of Business at the University of Toronto. In 2015, she completed the Harvard Business School’s program for leadership development – an MBA equivalent.

Lindsay’s career began in inventory management, processing store credit claims and doing cycle counting at distribution centres.

She worked her way up at Loblaws, finally landing the role of process re-engineering and change agent. The job, which she had long worked towards, involved looking at the processes within a DC with the goal of optimizing them. Lindsay worked to optimize receiving, shipping and other areas. The position also involved engineering operations to work as efficiently as possible while promoting good service levels to the stores.

“I had a chance to work in five or six distribution centres across Ontario in that role,” Lindsay says. “At the time they were acquiring

different businesses across Canada. I got asked to join that team because of knowing the processes. At the time, I didn’t realize it would lead to a career in IT because, as we started looking at the different companies we were buying, I had to look at the processes in their systems – where would we integrate and where wouldn’t we integrate? They ended up asking me to go into IT, which I did.”

Overall, Lindsay spent six years in supply chain and nine years working in progressive roles in IT at Loblaws. She joined Walmart Canada 10 years ago. She interviewed there for both supply chain and IT roles but felt pulled back into supply chain because of her keen interest in the field. Another draw was that Walmart Canada is famous for its strong supply chains. “It was a good chance to pivot and get back into supply chain, but I also want to be part of driving a strategy, driving endto-end on being a business owner,” she says.

She led Walmart Canada’s supply chain strategy team and did various roles across replenishment in different commodities, including grocery and fresh food, general merchandise and apparel. She now leads the company’s replenishments and imports team.

“We’re also an omni-replenishment team,” Lindsay says. “It doesn’t matter if you buy with us in-store or online, behind the scenes we’re fulfilling those needs.”

In her current position, Lindsay works with several parts of the organization, as well as spending time with her team, store operations, e-commerce operations, distribution and transportation teams and the company’s supplier base and merchants. She tries to give roughly 30 per cent of her time to daily, business operations issues, 30 per cent to strategy and planning for the future and another 30 per cent to her team.

Ideally, the remaining 10 per cent is dedicated to her own development.

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PHOTO: MIKE FORD PHOTOGRAPHY

BY MICHAEL POWER

on to be able to get there,” she says. “It was a good learning experience to know that just by doing a good job you’re not going to get ahead. You have to push yourself and make your goals known and sometimes overcome negative feedback.”

Getting into IT had its uncomfortable side, Lindsay notes. She never thought of herself as “technical,” completing only one computer programming course while at the University of Toronto. But pushing oneself to learn and work outside of one’s expertise is a good experience, she says. At the same time, there’s no need to do everything yourself. “You need to know enough to be good, but you really need to have a great team around you,” she says.

DEALING WITH THE PANDEMIC There’s little doubt that the pandemic has affected practically every business in the country. One of Walmart Canada’s biggest tasks during the past year has been to ensure the company’s employees – called ‘associates’ – are OK and able to do their jobs properly. Lindsay’s team uses a lot of data in performing their tasks and, due to all that data, were among the last teams to remain in the office when the pandemic began.

When they did switch to remote working, attention shifted to ensuring everyone had the tools and technology they needed. Maintaining connection was important – how would team members talk each day? How would they check in to help support everyone’s wellbeing?

Customers also needed the best support they could get. Amid scarcity, they might not need every kind of pasta sauce or cookie, but they needed access to at least some of each product.

Understanding what is most important to cus­tomers is key, as is ensuring that associates are working safely to support stores. “Making sure we take care of our customers and our associates, our employees, is really important.

That’s always number one,” she says.

The team built a tool to track emerging trends and monitor what customers were buying at Walmart Canada’s stores, says Lindsay. The tool allowed the team to see early buying patterns and trends, as well as how they differed from place to place. That data shows, for example, shoppers in pandemic hotspots like Toronto and Montreal switched to online grocery pickup (and what they were buying) as restrictions tightened.

That allowed the team to react with less detailed data to ensure the right items got to the right place, Lindsay says. The tool was shared with Walmart operations in other countries.

“A lot of people thought that we all knew that we were in trouble in Canada because toilet paper was flying off the shelves,” Lindsay says. “We actually saw it earlier in canned beans. It was with beans that we saw significant spikes in customer shopping, pantry loading behaviour. That was our first signal.”

PHOTO: MIKE FORD PHOTOGRAPHY

But her ability to divide her time depends on what’s happening. In the spring and early summer of last year, the pandemic saw her spend more time on day-to-day, operational issues. Still, it’s important not to lose sight of whichever areas of the business need attention.

Lindsay cites landing the process re-engineering role as a career highlight. The view of women in supply chain was different at that time and being seen as suitable for the job was important to her. Getting the job also helped her prove to herself that, if you put your mind to a goal, you can achieve it.

“You’ve got to make your goals known though and get the feedback on what you need to work

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Walmart Canada has also rolled out AI and machine learning for a demand forecasting solution, developed with Quantium and WM Labs, Lindsay says. The solution uses machine learning and advanced algorithms with over 200 demand features including localization, price elasticity, external activities like cheque weeks, and weather. It calculates forecasts at item-store for granular detail. The solution learns quickly, and provides accurate forecasts to support availability in all Walmart locations and ways that customers shop.

Partnering with suppliers has been important, Lindsay says. They also work with the distribution centre and transportation teams.

With more volume than normal, it was important to remove barriers so goods could flow smoothly from stores to e-commerce business.

Communication is key, Lindsay stresses.

It’s important to partner across your company and supplier base to ensure solutions benefit everyone. The team also produced heat maps for up to six months showing what sorts of products stores could expect, making planning easier.

While technology helps to smooth operations, Lindsay again stresses looking after people.

“Take care of your team first,” Lindsay says.

“Make sure your team is OK. You’re not going to be able to do this all on your own regardless.

We really need our associates, we need our employees to be feeling good, have everything that they need and know that they can reach out and talk if they have anything that’s going on.”

Among the accolades she’s received, Lindsay counts her inclusion in the 100 Influential Women In Canadian Supply Chain from Supply Chain Canada as a welcome surprise. As well, last September-October, Walmart Canada’s stores had the opportunity to vote for Partner of the Year, and the replenishment team won. The award is great recognition for the team, Lindsay says, given how hard they’ve worked over the past year. “That recognition from our store team really meant a lot to me and meant a lot to my team as well,” she says. “It really gave them a boost to keep going and to keep raising the bar even higher.”

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Lindsay has also partnered with with Supply Chain Canada’s Ontario Institute. She joined the institute’s board of directors six years ago, serving as the chair until January 15. Lindsay has always enjoyed meeting new people, learning and building her network, and her collaboration with the institute has allowed her to do just that. She’s also been able to give back not only to the supply chain community, but hopefully offer something to the manage12 FEBRUARY 2021

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“You need to know enough to be good, but you really need to have a great team around you.”

ment team and staff at Supply Chain Canada’s Ontario Institute, she says.

One accomplishment during her time as chair that stands out for Lindsay is getting Supply Chain Canada’s professional designation, the Supply Chain Management Profes­ sional (SCMP), endorsed and recognized by the Ontario legislature. That was a unique and interesting experience that offered a rare window into how the process works, she says.

It was also satisfying to work to help shape an overall strategy with the board.

“Being involved in the board is a great experience to develop yourself, but also to give back, and then to meet people across industry and also across different sectors,” she says.

Lindsay has worked with the board to help organize events for the institute. She has connected other supply chain professionals with the organization to be event speakers and has even spoken at some events herself. She cites that involvement as another great way to give back, continue to learn and meet people one wouldn’t usually have opportunities to meet.

“That’s important in your career,” Lindsay says. “You always want to make sure you have an outside perspective and what better way than through a professional association.”

Lindsay also sits on Supply Chain Canada’s COVID-19 taskforce. That position gives her perspective across different sectors (not only into retail or consumer packaged goods but others like healthcare) as well as what’s happening in the country’s ports. The taskforce gets perspective on the coronavirus vaccine’s journey into Canada while offering advice on how the government can work to keep ports fluid.

“As it relates to Supply Chain Canada, I definitely see continuing to be involved with the association,” Lindsay says. “Leveraging the insights that they bring and hopefully contributing as well.”

Going forward, Lindsay hopes to continue in progressive roles in supply chain at Walmart.

Continuing to expand her team’s influence

in ensuring customers are served in the most cost-effective way, with the highest product availability possible, remains a paramount career goal. Technology will play a role in that process, she says, as will growing her team so they can adapt to those new technologies while adding value to the organization.

In supply chain, Lindsay says, there are always efficiencies to find and higher service levels to aim for. E-commerce is an exciting part of the field’s future that will help to unlock some of the challenges that organizations face. At the service level, the process seems simple: pick up from a store or have goods delivered to your home. But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to realize either of those options.

Lindsay has been married to another supply chain professional, Glen, for over 25 years. Their daughter Sarah is a second-year student in animal science at the University of Guelph. The family lives in Milton, just outside of Toronto. All three share a love of the outdoors and like to recharge by hiking and spending time in nature. “With the jobs that we have we all need something that’s going to refresh you and fuel you up,” she says.

“I don’t fly airplanes or anything too adventurous – but I definitely love the outdoors.”

While some outside observers may not agree, supply chain is an exciting field, Lindsay stresses. An understanding of what’s going on across a company is necessary. Supply chain professionals must understand the big picture and how factors connect. To help keep an eye on that bigger picture, Lindsay recommends continually improving. Be comfortable being uncomfortable, she advises. The first time you pitch an idea, it may not be accepted. So be OK with hearing ‘no,’ but stay resilient and try new things.

When dealing with people, ensure that you are able to see the issue from their perspective, Lindsay says. Share what you want to do or how you can add value but do so in a way that will benefit the other person. Doing so will help you get more buy in for your ideas. Watch for emerging trends and how they can be absorbed into your company or role.

“You’re not growing unless you’re pushing yourself,” she says. “Continue to learn from others, challenge yourself, take opportunities to go back to school, take courses or to be involved in an association. Just continuously push yourself.” SP

SUPPLY PROFESSIONAL

2021-02-08 12:06 PM

BY TOM SZAKY

As more businesses adapt to demands for robust sanitation programs and environmental consciousness, so are the services available to help install them.

CLEAN SWEEP SUPPLIERS CAN HELP ORGANIZATIONS CLEAN THEIR FACILITIES AND GREEN THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS

these demonstrations are essential to product and service confidence on both sides.

Elevation of custodial procedure has brought with it many adjustments along the supply chain, increased use of cleaning and protective products being one of them. At home, we’ve seen this with the short supply of paper towels, and at work, the need for more spray bottles, disinfectant wipe canisters, hand soap dispensers and dish and laundry detergents.

More is more here for a couple of reasons. More frequent and wide-sweeping use requires a larger amount of product, and more implements for these products (more spray bottles, for example) allows more people on staff to grab and go instead of waiting for their turn at the station.

Keeping these items stocked is a significant challenge that smart businesses have mastered through systems-thinking in “normal” times and continue to get their arms around now. Automated deliveries,

Tom Szaky is the founder and CEO of TerraCycle.

inventory, when items run out, and the size and type of product that works most effectively for their facility are all aspects of this.

WASTE In addition to the matter of janitorial inventory, the sustainability of facilities as larger, more formal ecosystems of consumption

Be it a restaurant, schoolhouse, manufacturing plant or office, all facilities employ cleaning procedures affected by the pandemic to some degree. Extra precautions are now required by most regions for a facility to lawfully stay open and operational, and the ability to convey and show off these measures to customers and staff is a must.

To maintain adherence to these procedures and inspire trust, custodial and janitorial processes are now front and centre where they were once typically kept out of sight.

What a facility is doing to keep safe and clean is everyone’s business.

No longer is cleaning relegated to the broom closet, in the pages of a workplace handbook or a laminated step-by-step poster in the back of the house. Now, it’s prominently displayed that tables are sanitized and masks and/or gloves are required. In a changing market, SUPPLYPRO.CA 13

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“Elevation of custodial procedure has brought INTRODUCTORYwith MEMBERSHIP it many adjustments along the supply chain, increased In a previous issue of Supply depends on their operation as Professional, I discussed the optimized machines in order to use of cleaning and responsibility of companies to avoid an ever-present issue that is look beyond their operations also increasingly visible in these protective products and consider what happens to unusual times: waste. their products when they leave Waste — of energy, of space, being one of them.” their keep. This sentiment goes of time, of money — is every

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to manufacturers and producers, facility’s worst enemy, and now and also facilities managers. that the world, its workers and 7,000+ Everything you supply bring intochain your professionals across Canada. its consumers, have woken up to Join facility must go out, and where its many forms (and respective it goes is up to you. negative consequences, parElevation of custodial proceticularly in the areas of plastic dure has brought with it many pollution and packaging waste), adjustments price: along the supply COVID-19-proofing businesses Regular membership $410 + HST I Introductory member price: $205 + HST chain, increased use of cleaning must also consider what positive with leaders Networkproducts with peers and Iprotective being I Learn from industry practitioners I Elevate your profile adjustmentsCollaborate are possible while one of them. Loop employs maintaining expediency, cost and FOR 1STeconomy TIME MEMBERS ONLY. VALID UNTIL APRIL 30, 2022. circular concepts inMEMBERSHIP a convenience. world laser-focused on the many unprecedented situation in the Basically, whatever a facility sumers were making purchases issues surrounding single-use first place, or simply save money aims to do from a “green” or with safety, ease and comfort top plastic (some estimates say and resources by not throwing “environmentally” conscious perof mind, our zero-waste system them in the trash. spective must maintain the virtues global waste jumped 30 per cent reported April 2020 sales twice last year) and offers better-lookThis effort isn’t lost on cusof conventional protocols. Many as good as March, the month tomers and potential customers, are halfway there to implementing ing, display-worthy containers the world went into a state of in engineered plastic, classic stakeholder partners or the more “sustainable” or “circular” emergency. glass and sleek metal alloys. employees and staff who are conprocesses through current employKey points of short-term bene1 Any pieces that cannot be ment of reuse and reduction prinfit are a simpler and more intuitive sumers of the company culture.

NETWORK Businesses have the power to ciples used to maximize resources reused can be sent back in the Loop way to manage facilities and 2 Tote to be chain recycled

by TerraCycle. clean up their cleaning proceand keep waste to aEngage minimum. showing customers the care taken with 3,000+ supply professionals THOUGHT LEADERSHIP dures by choosing vendors and For example, ourtodisinfecting There is a stronginbusiness in considering their health and Ontario and 7,000+ nationally, grow your opportunities to speak at events; that can help make it wipes

by Clorox housed a suppliers case for circularity contacts now and and in advance that Leverage of the planet.

In the current your career are to the nextinlevel. reusable metal column. When the possible and the brighter days to come. Where Loopparticipate model where reusables are Committees; on the Board and givestarting conversapackaging comes back for cleantions to break new ground. Wipe recycling and reuse can help purchased e-commerce, back tothrough the profession. ing, the used wipes can be recycled the process is environmentally the slate clean and build a new to mitigate 3waste for cleaning at no additional cost. future for sustainable facilities supplies, it can alsoEXPERIENCE help with the superior to alternatives in as few 4 ‘Are reusables safe for my management, while creating posiincrease of personal protective as three uses.

Complimentary webinars on pertinent topics LEARN business?’ you may ask. As tive systems in the present. SP equipment (PPE) used in tandem; and member-only site tours of leading-edge parties are past the plastic STORE RETURNS TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Box sys- many Access to insights from industry leaders facilities. (when tours are permitted) panic that rejected reuse at the In the next big integrating tem is used by facilities to recycle through 12+phase professional development seminars start of the pandemic and know in retail locations, consumers single-use gloves and masks. per year at member-only prices. single use is not automatically will be able to return empty Loop As more5businesses adapt to sanitary), this question may be containers and shop for refills at demands for robust sanitation SECTOR-FOCUSED INITIATIVES 6 more related to aspects of upfront participating locations alongside programs and environmental and shifts away from conventionally prodconsciousness, so are the services thatinvestment Understanding every industry has its MEMBERpackaged DISCOUNTS theoffering ‘business as usual.’ ucts. Here, the reuse process is available to help install them, own challenges and learning and Is it safe Membership entails access to a variety of exclusive and stable tospecific make the switch? measured to be environmentally turnkey. TerraCycle’s reuse knowledge-sharing platforms to those. offers and discounts The answer is yes. superior to alternatives inspecific as few to member needs, which system Loop just launched in include discounts on retail, travel, restaurants, gym Even when stores banned as four uses.

Canada with founding retail membership more. for Circularity is aand value-add partner Loblaws after expansions durable bags and takeaway coffee cups, consumers expressed any business looking to be a soluto the contiguous US and the UK continued desire for reuse. At the tion to the climate actions scienlast year, with great implications fever pitch of anxiety when contists believe landed us in such an for business.

Engage with Canada’s Leading Community of Supply Chain Professionals.

To take advantage of this offer, please visit www.supplychaincanada.com/membership or at ntran@supplychaincanada.com

Nancy Tran: 14contact FEBRUARY 2021

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2021-02-08 12:06 PM

SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA, ONTARIO INSTITUTE INVITES YOU TO THE

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CORPORATE TRAINING

SET YOUR TEAMS UP FOR SUCCESS IN 2021

To learn how we can bring corporate training to your teams, please reach out to Kim Sforza for a free consultation. (Contact below)

EMPOWER YOUR TEAMS WITH RELEVANT TRAINING AND SKILLS, REQUIRED IN THIS EVERCHANING ENVIRONMENT.

CONSULTATIVE APPROACH Understanding organization’s gaps and collaborating with the concerned team to develop the curriculum

CUSTOMIZABLE FORMAT Delivering customized content through online and/or onsite classes and workshops

INTERACTIVE CONTENT Learning through discussions and customized sessions to target the organization’s pain-points

PRACTICAL CURRICULUM Leveraging modern-day casestudies and learnings pertinent to the organization and its employees

OUR DIVERSE EXPERTISE Healthcare

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COMMENTS FROM OUR MOST RECENT CLIENT “In my role as Vice President Supply Chain and Operations, at The J.M. Smucker Company, I worked with Supply Chain Canada, Ontario Institute to bring supply chain training to my cross functional teams. The training provided by the association supports best practices in supply chain methodology across end to end supply chain functions and was very applicable to our operating environment. The approach of Supply Chain Canada fills a gap between academia and real-life application, by providing participants with an opportunity to learn best practices and then immediately apply them to their role, creating a meaningful impact. Our recent workshop resulted in our teams brainstorming solutions to our current challenges and leaving the session with innovative approaches to enhance our supply chain performance. In the current marketplace, supply chain has become an even stronger component of competitive advantage for manufacturers as we must pivot faster and innovate frequently to address unforeseen challenges. Having Supply Chain Canada as a partner that can draw on industry grounded experience, an extensive library of content adapted to the manufacturing sector and to current market forces makes the training and professional development offering invaluable in preparing my team for the future.”

- TODD CAMPBELL VICE PRESIDENT, SUPPLY CHAIN & OPERATIONS – CANADA

For membership related questions, please visit www.supplychaincanada.com/membership or contact Kim Sforza, Director of Member and Corporate Engagement I ksforza@supplychaincanada.com I +1 416.977.7566 x2134

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THE SCMP™ IS CANADA’S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER DESIGNATION PROGRAM FOR SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS Spring Deadline for SCMP Enrollment: April 11, 2021

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INTRODUCTORY MEMBERSHIP

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To take advantage of this offer, please visit www.supplychaincanada.com/membership or contact Nancy Tran: at ntran@supplychaincanada.com

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2021-02-08 12:06 PM

BY ADAM PERNASILICI

SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA, ONTARIO INSTITUTE “A new initiative to INVITES YOU TO THE

digitally twin the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel will serve as the cornerstone for the region’s biggest auto mobility feat yet.”

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estimate) and an additional crossing is long overdue, it’s mobility that’s capturing the headlines this time.

We’re talking about autonomous TITLE PARTNERS: movement across an international border. Looking closer, we can see a fertile ecosystem and the potenAdam Pernasilici, CCLP, tial for a new economic tangent.

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RESPONSIBILITY the Herb Gray Parkway, rail, air and International Bridge (GHIB) Local institutions have homed We can’t discount the area’s autowater, Windsor-Essex has the tools connecting Detroit and Windsor, in on these same opportunities, motive prowess. We can’t overlook to become a leading multi-modal Ontario are unmanned and elecand they tuck in quite nicely. The the tool and die sector, either. The hub. Add to that the recent foreign trified. Too far-fetched? History University of Windsor recently trade zone (FTZ) designation wouldLEADERSHIPSERIES say no.

2.0progression from traditional manreceived national praise when engiufacturing to one that includes the and what you have is a vacuum It was efficiency that rallied private neering professor Narayan Kar was integration of smart technologies for international investment, investors in the 1920s to push for recognized as one of the nation’s is a logical step forward.

That said, duty deferral and transformative a river crossing that wasn’t quite June 17, 2021 I Zoom Platform foremost leaders on vehicle electriWindsor has not taken its new manufacturing. as slow as what a ferry offered. fication. This accolade comes after namesake lightly. The region has For Windsor, the next three By 1929, two years from ground a summer that saw $4.3 million focused on technologies and projyears will determine whether break, the Ambassador Bridge did of funding from both federal and ects that will serve as the PRICING groundthe new bridge serves solely as a that. The suspension styleOUR span had INTRODUCING NEW CORPORATE GROUP private partners such as Ford Motor breezeway work of its smart city vision. for commerce, orWITH also eliminated the goods backlog once SAVE UP TO 50% Member Pricing: $149 + HST I Non-member Pricing: $199 + HST (Complimentary April 30, 2022) as a location for technology and Co., Nemakmembership and D&Vuntil Electronics.

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SUPPLYPRO.CA 19

2021-02-08 12:06 PM

BY JACOB STOLLER

RUNNING SMOOTHLY

GIVING BEARINGS THEIR PROPER RESPECT Amidst the scramble to keep up with the workings of the cyber world, it’s easy to forget that our supply chains ultimately depend on physical devices with moving parts. Whether that machinery is a dentist’s drill, an industrial robot, or a wind turbine, the bearing is the most ubiquitous moving component, and in many respects, the most essential.

Bearing technology, unlike artificial intelligence or augmented reality, has been perfected and optimized for centuries. “We’ve been making bearings for over 100 years,” says John Byers, technical development manager at The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio. “Today, we have consistent manufacturing processes around the world that allow us to maintain tolerances of 3.5 micrometers (0.00015 inch), which is about 1/20th of the diameter of human hair.”

The long history of bearings has also resulted in universal standards and established protocols for selecting, installing and maintaining bearings, and equations for predicting their lifespan.

“There’s an industry around this that is very, very mature,” says Mike Brown, president of Milford, Connecticut-based industrial training company New Standard Institute. “The manufacturers all belong to the American Bearing Manufacturer’s Association (ABMA), and they’ve agreed on interchangeability. So, sizes are standardized, tolerances are standardized, and also, the ability to handle various forces.”

Most bearings today are of the anti-friction or moving element variety, meaning there are rolling balls or cylinders between a rotating raceway and a shaft or axle. The most com20 FEBRUARY 2021

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mon type is the familiar ball bearing where steel balls are used as the rolling elements.

Other types, typically found in larger applications, use cylindrical or conical rollers and varying raceway shapes.

Each bearing type is optimized for factors such as speed, temperature, potential misalignment, and the radial or axial loads that the machinery will be subject to.

Machinery manufacturers work closely with bearing manufacturers to ensure the right selection. “We use a decision tree to guide our customers towards the right choice,” says Byers. “In our market, downtime costs tens of thousands of dollars an hour, so it’s important to have that correct.”

PRINCIPAL BEARING FAILURE CAUSES The bearing is a mature product that rarely fails within its expected lifespan, which is typically seven-to-12 years in an industrial environment.

If there are repeated bearing failures in a factory, the causes are almost certainly occurring within the factory walls.

“If you’re having lots of bearing failures, there’s clearly something wrong,” says Brown, “and the larger the bearings, the more questions you should be asking.”

“At Timken, we use the term damage as opposed to failure because failure implies defective manufacturing,” says Byers. “Most bearings are damaged in an application due to a known cause.”

John Legree, professor and coordinator of the Industrial mechanic / millwright program

at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, cites four major causes for bearing-related mechanical failures: lubrication, contamination, vibration or installation.

Insufficient or incorrect lubrication is the most frequent of these, and also, the area where many millwrights will have to devote the most attention. Most bearings, typically smaller ball bearings, need no lubrication at all, as they are factory lubricated and sealed. It’s the larger ones, for example bearings for electric motors over 100 horsepower, that require greasing on a regular basis. These larger bearings also tend to be the most critical.

There are two essential types of grease – oil-based and synthetic – and they are selected for two primary reasons: allowable operating temperature and viscosity or thickness. “With lubrication, what it comes down to is using the right kind of grease for the application and greasing at the right time and in the right amount,” says Legree.

Symptoms of improper greasing vary.

Under-greasing can cause a bearing to overheat.

Over-greasing can cause grease to get into the windings of a motor, causing corrosion.

A grease with too high a viscosity can hinder a bearing from running at its rated speed.

Greasing is not always an easy task. “The greasing is not as straightforward as ‘oh, just put some grease in,’” says Brown. “You have to do it while you’re running the piece of equipment, and you have to remove the plug at the bottom and pump out the old grease first. A lot of people don’t do that – they just put the grease in, and the grease ends up getting into the equipment itself.”

Lubrication is also linked to the second major cause – contamination. “Not making sure the grease is clean introduces contaminants,” says Legree, “and that can affect bearing life.” Particles such as metal filings can also find their way into bearing raceways, causing scoring of the raceway or the rolling elements. This often occurs, for example, in metalworking environments.

Vibration is always present with moving machinery, but when it is excessive, it intensifies the stresses on the bearings, potentially causing indentations to form on the rolling elements or raceways. This can happen, for example, on machinery located close to a stamping operation.

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Incorrect installation is the most common cause of excessive vibration. This occurs when a shaft isn’t aligned properly with the bearing, or if the bearing isn’t properly secured to the housing. “Proper alignment between the driver and the driven element prevents extra forces from pushing on the bearing that might make it fail prematurely,” says Brown. Other installation mistakes pertain to installing a bearing where there are stresses it was not designed for.

COMMON SCENARIOS One of the most common mistakes organizations make regarding bearings is not conducting a root cause analysis when a bearing does fail.

“There’s pressure when you’re working in a production environment to keep the line going,

“If you’re having lots of bearing failures, there’s clearly something wrong, and the larger the bearings, the more questions you should be asking.” and you don’t stop,” says Legree. “So if there’s a breakdown because of a failed bearing, you replace the bearing and move on – rarely do you have time to go back and find out why the bearing failed.” Consequently, these events tend to reoccur.

Another is not taking the time to do repairs properly. “When equipment fails because of a bearing failure, it fails relatively catastrophically, where the shaft is damaged and the outer housing is wrecked,” says Brown, “so people sometimes do dumb things.”

For example, people will use spray metalizing to build up a damaged shaft, and then machine it down. “In reality, spray metalizing is just metal and glue,” says Brown, “so when the shaft gets hot, you’re done.” The correct repair, Brown says, is to machine the shaft down, put a sleeve on it, and then machine down that sleeve.

Temporary workarounds, on the other hand, are sometimes necessary, and that’s where the millwright’s judgement and training is perhaps most critical.

“Sometimes what happens in a production environment is a bearing will fail and you don’t have a spare,” says Legree. “So, you have to take a look at what you have and say, okay, I can put this in, how long will it last?”

Selecting the right bearing often requires some degree of skill. “Sometimes the identifications on a bearing are hard to read,” says Legree, “so you have to be able to measure it, and then consult the manufacturer’s guide in order to look up the specifications for that bearing.”

GETTING AHEAD OF THE CURVE Bearings are critical components of moving machinery, and it’s both practical and economical to develop solid preventive maintenance programs to ensure bearings operate under allowable conditions, and that problems are identified before outages occur. Legree has seen excellent examples of this in Japanese companies.

“At Honda, they regularly take grease samples from the bearings in some of their robotic equipment,” says Legree. “When the contamination – dust or metal fragments – reaches 1500 parts per million, they replace the bearing.”

Bearings have many nuances but in this mature industry, they are extremely well documented, and detailed manufacturers’ reports are available based on years of test data. “Bearing manufacturers have a lot of data out there for you,” says Legree, “so you take advantage of that.”

“A motor bearing, to give an example, is typically designed to last at least 10 years under normal operation,” says Brown. “But if it’s properly installed and maintained, it could probably last, maybe, 30 years.” SP

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Fleet Management

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Winter driving Staying safe on snowy roads.

24

Post-pandemic fleets How will COVID-19 change fleet management?

Fleet Management is a special section of Supply Professional magazine. It is an important resource for Canadian supply professionals who recommend, select and manage fleet vendors and service providers.

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Connected fleets Sustainable options for your fleet.

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES: Michael Power, 416-441-2085 x110, michael@supplypro.ca

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Road test Driving the Mazda3 GT Turbo.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Alex Papanou, 416-441-2085 x101, apapanou@iqbusinessmedia.com

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Fleet Management

By Roger Constantin

Winter driving Tips for keeping safe on the roads in winter Winter driving begins even before the chill, the snow and freezing rain arrive. The major issue here is the mental approach that the drivers take. They should adapt their driving habits even though the driver has already driven in the winter. It seems that we all forget about how to do it every year. You need to relearn to drive during this season. As the saying goes, “to repeat is to educate.”

You need to adapt your driving to the season – but you also need to change the way you think about driving. Plan your travel ahead, take a look at the weather before taking to the road, try to reduce the amount you travel by using technology (we’ve learned a lot in this regard during the actual pandemic) to communicate with your colleagues, customers, suppliers and so on.

Prepare and distribute the right communication that your organization uses from the health and safety department. Include a reminder on winter driving in your staff meeting. Even in December, you can still do this.

You also might organize and plan training session for winter.

The education provided may be theorical or practical. You can use driver simulators to update the performance of your employees.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Tires

In this section I will present what should be the most important element on your vehicle during the

winter season: tires. To explain all the different types of tires available would be too difficult, but I will try to give you some of the highlights.

Also, the diversity of weather conditions across Canada makes it impossible to have one, unique way to select the right type of tires. You will need to do your own analysis or discuss it with specialists. If you want winter tires, make sure they have the following pictogram:

have a tread depth between 10/32 and 12/32 inches. That said, it is a good practice to replace the tires with less than 6/32 inches of depth. The main reason is based on the impact such a depth has on stopping a vehicle during operation.

As you can see, there is a lot to say about tires, the variety, the type of weather and the winter conditions in your area. But remember that the focus is the safety and health of your employees.

Roger Constantin is a fleet management expert. Reach him at roger.constantin@ conseilsrc.com.

You need to adapt your driving to the season – but you also need to change the way you think about driving.

Kit supplies

Generally, depending on vehicle type, you will have a set for winter and one for the rest of the year. You can also think of new types of tires, such as all-weather tires. They are a trade-off between winter tires and four-season tires. All-weather tires don’t carry the above pictogram.

There are some winter tires that will work best on ice, others on snow, while some will offer a fair performance on both types of winter roads. Some tires can even have studs. If you consider this last option, make sure your employees have the ability to use them. As well, the performance of the vehicle might be slightly different from normal winter tires.

The last piece of tire-related advice that I can give you, and it’s an important one, is about the tire tread’s depth. A new tire should

For your own safety, you need to have some gear on board your vehicle for winter and the most important piece is the snowbrush.

And there is a lot more! The federal government has listed what you need in your car at this time of year. You can take a look at the following link to learn more on this topic: getprepared.gc.ca)

provinces there is no obligation, but the authorities recommended it.

Regarding removing snow from your vehicle, some provinces have specific articles of law that require you to wipe off all the snow. It is a matter of safety.

Laws

Carbon monoxide

There is a lot to say on the subject of laws, but I will present just two aspects. The first is whether winter tires are mandatory, while the second is whether or not it is obligatory to remove snow from your vehicle.

As for the winter tires being mandatory, so far as I know, there is two provinces with specific laws. Those provinces are British Columbia and Québec. In Northern Ontario, it is also mandatory to have them. In all other

Last but not least, Carbon monoxide is an insidious gas, as it is odourless. Do not let your vehicle run inside. If you need to make a complete stop and keep the vehicle running due to low temperature, open a window to make sure that carbon monoxide is evacuated.

Finally, even though the winter may be winding down soon, there is always time to make the right adjustments or take actions. Con­ stant reminders are the way to go.

Have a safe winter season! FM/SP FLEET MANAGEMENT SUPPLYPRO.CA 23

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Fleet Management

By By Kate Vigneau

What will stick?

Which COVID-19-related changes in the fleet industry will remain?

Where were you one year ago today? I had never heard of COVID, was doing a job I had loved for the past decade, had business trips planned to Salt Lake City, Nebraska and Long Beach and had just bought a new house with a March closing. Then my world spun out of orbit. As we limp into 2021, I do not think I am the only one reflecting on how much has changed, whether or not I like all these changes, and which changes are here to stay.

So, really quickly, jot down the three things that have changed the most in your work life and your personal life.

Personal changes, work changes

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more time with the people in my immediate family but zero time with anyone outside my 10-person bubble. I know many people who have struggled with health issues, whether COVID or otherwise.

I broke my foot in six places and the timing turned out to be ideal as I had nowhere to go. I have also found on a personal level that people are a little more forgiving – its OK if your dog barks during a zoom call or you put up a background of the beaches of Hawaii. Some of these personal changes are welcome but I am not convinced that any of them are here to stay.

On the work side, I hear from many people who miss travelling but few who miss a daily commute. We have definitely learned to use technology to enable us to

accomplish tasks remotely.

I think I have been on five different platforms in the past month and I don’t foresee flying six hours for a one-hour meeting ever again. Although I didn’t expect to be job hunting, I wasn’t alone, as shifts in the industry led to many of us seeking new opportunities. In January, I joined Matrix, a consulting firm concentrating on finding solutions to client’s management, staffing and operational concerns. I’m now the director of their fleet solutions arm and lead for expansion of all functional areas in Canada.

A very promising change has been a heightened awareness of the importance of fleet and the people who operate, maintain and manage the assets that deploy law enforcement, make deliveries, transport

people and much, much more.

Within the fleet industry, we have learned so much over the past year and the ability of fleet managers to cope with their ever-changing ‘normal’ has been brilliant. Here are some of the top changes I have seen and my evaluation of their stickiness: Employee care. The health and welfare of our employees has been pushed to the forefront in this pandemic. Our entire nation focused on acquiring the personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitization supplies that we needed to keep essential services running. Organizations searched for ways to accommodate people working from home by redefining responsibilities and adding flexibility to schedules.

Also, smart employers placed an unprecedented premium on mental health and putting systems in place to ensure employees felt connected. In fleet, I witnessed organizations issue mandatory stay orders for employees at high risk and others who looked for ways to provide additional training rather than lay off employees.

Unfortunately, this won’t stick.

I predict a return to former levels of employee care.

Shared space and items. Fleet offices and shops tend to be small, shared spaces that are ill-suited to the isolation needed to weather a pandemic. I saw real innovation in separating shared spaces, creating new shift schedules and working off-site or outdoors during the pandemic. Shared vehicles and shared tools were minimized with extensive protocols in place where sharing was inevitable. This also will not stick around. Shared spaces and resources will be back when the virus is contained.

Traditional shared options.

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where they need to be, when they need to be there.

Some of these solutions are not safe or feasible in a pandemic and fleet managers had to quickly adapt policies and find new ways to operate. This is not sticky. The full mix of pre-pandemic options will eventually return.

Evolving mobility options.

Before the pandemic hit, the industry was looking at evolving mobility options to augment, or in some places, replace traditional fleet. Autonomous, keyless and touchless – the buzzwords of mobility – quickly became reality as many fleets rapidly adopted technologies to stop the spread of COVID-19. This one will stick – we were already going in this direction

and the pandemic has given us one more reason to get there.

Supplier relationships.

Organizations that invested in strategic sourcing and supply relationship management (SRM) fared better this past year than those that did not. Having strong supplier relationships was the difference between vehicle orders being met; or not. This one is sticky – natural disasters and now a pandemic have made it very clear that supplier relations are vital.

The value of fleet

Going forward, it is the overall change regarding the recognized value of fleet to an organization that I most want to stick. In many organizations, fleet has been seen

as a necessary evil – a deep well that sucks up money and time and generates no revenue.

This crisis has highlighted the value of having the right assets, in terms of people and resources, to allow the organization to pivot and respond to the emergency.

Experienced fleet managers have proven to be invaluable in adapting emergency preparedness plans, acquiring additional assets and changing shop workflows to safely operate during this extended crisis.

To make this change stick, we need to share our success stories and continue to emphasize the important role that the fleet team is playing on a daily basis. FM/SP

Kate Vigneau, CAFM, is director (fleet and Canada) at Matrix Consulting Group, Ltd. (US) and MCG Consulting Solutions (Canada).

In fleet, I witnessed organizations issue mandatory stay orders for employees at high risk and others who looked for ways to provide additional training rather than lay off employees.

Unfortunately, this won’t stick.

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Fleet Management

By Barrie Kirk

Autonomy in fleet operations

CAVs move into areas like trucking, snow clearing and taxi services Many people think that connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are primarily for carrying passengers.

In fact, there is an increasing variety of non-passenger service vehicles based on CAV technology. These use cases comprise a range of activities including fleets of vehicles for logistics and providing services.

This article describes the current status of the entire CAV ecosystem, and then focuses on the logistics and service vehicle segments.

The CAV era has already started – but slowly. Many brands of new vehicles include various advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as intelligent cruise control, lane keeping, and automatic emergency braking.

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In addition, fully automated vehicles are being tested. Some are in commercial use for specialized, low-speed applications in controlled environments, such as mining, agriculture and automated shuttles.

Fully automated driverless taxis (sometimes called robotaxis) are already in limited commercial use in the US and China. Neither of the robotaxi services in those countries use a chaperone driver – nor do the regulations require them. These vehicles are currently geographically constrained to areas that have been mapped with precision. The number of robotaxis in commercial use will ramp up throughout the 2020s, along with significant increases in the vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT).

From a technology perspective, there is significant overlap

between passenger CAVs and the non-passenger vehicles mentioned above. Both categories of CAVs require sensors to detect people, animals and objects, as well as high reliability software, artificial intelligence (AI) and connectivity.

The rest of this article will focus on the delivery and service segments of the CAV ecosystem.

Local delivery CAVs

The market for CAVs used for delivery is showing substantial momentum. The reasons are that there are clear business cases for using them. In addition, some non-passenger CAV use cases (such as automated agriculture) have easier safety requirements. There are several segments to this market, including local delivery, long haul delivery and service vehicles.

These are described below.

Within the segment for local deliveries, there are two sub-segments: vehicles for use on roads and smaller vehicles that travel on sidewalks.

There is a growing interest in the use of automated vehicles for deliveries within an urban area.

These can be used for shipments between a warehouse and retail stores, as well as for deliveries to homes and offices. Increasingly, these vehicles are also fully electric.

In late 2020, Loblaws and Gatik announced that they would deploy Canada’s first autonomous delivery fleet. Readers will be familiar with Loblaws; Gatik is a Californiabased technology company that is deploying autonomous vehicles for business-to-business (B2B) applications known as “middle-mile logistics”. Since January 2021, Gatik has been providing Loblaws with a contactless delivery service for transporting goods from an automated packing facility to retail locations across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The stakeholders say that this is the first autonomous delivery fleet in Canada.

This announcement was preceded by a 10-month, on-road pilot project in Toronto. For the Loblaw service, Gatik is using Ford Transit trucks with its proprietary autonomous self-driving software for urban, suburban and highway driving. Initially, all vehicles will have a safety driver as a co-pilot.

A separate segment of the delivery market is smaller vehicles that travel on sidewalks. One example is “Timothy”, a small electric vehicle for delivering groceries to homes.

Currently, the Timothy vehicles (all the vehicles in the fleet are called Timothy) are remotely controlled.

We forecast that as the technology improves and the cost comes down, future Timothy models will be autonomous.

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carriers to move cargo containers between the terminal and aircraft.

The pilot is progressing well.

An interesting and futuristic variation of the use of robots for short-distance delivery is the work on two-legged robots being conducted by Boston Dynamics and others. These robots, which are somewhat similar in shape to a human with arms and legs, can carry a parcel between an automated delivery van and a house.

The capability of these robots is increasing rapidly, and we can expect to see commercial deployments for various use cases over the next few years. (YouTube has some excellent videos of Boston Dynamics robots, including showing them dancing).

Long-haul logistics

There is also strong interest in autonomy for long-haul logistics.

It is well-established that there is a shortage of long-distance truck drivers in Canada. Autonomy is a potential solution to that problem.

One model is to use humans to drive the trucks to a highway, park in a special transfer zone, get out, and let the truck drive itself to another city. At the destination city, the truck would park in another transfer zone, then wait

for a human driver to arrive and drive it into the city. The benefit of this model is that it is easier to develop self-driving technology for driving on highways than it is for urban areas.

Service vehicles

One area where automated service vehicles are already in use is the home. Many people have bought the “Roomba” automated vacuum cleaners. You take it out of the box, put it on the floor, and it “learns” the house and room layouts using a technology known as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).

Some people have been known to give their Roomba a name!

For business fleet applications, there are various use cases for service vehicles in urban areas.

One of these is automated snow clearing, and there are two categories. One is large, automated snowplows for clearing snow from roads. The other category is smaller vehicles that can autonomously clear snow from sidewalks. In this latter category, there are several initiatives.

One of these is the City of Grande Prairie, Alberta, which has conducted a pilot of an automated snowplow for clearing snow from a trail.

A related initiative is Top Hat Robotics, based in Kitchener ON, which has developed and is piloting an automated robot for sidewalk inspections. The pilots include a dozen Ontario cities and towns such as Kitchener, Richmond Hill and Markham.

Increasingly, municipalities are showing interest in fleets of automated robots for grass cutting, especially for large recreational areas and sports fields.

This will allow the municipality to keep the grass cut to the optimum height without increasing the cost of labour.

This article shows there is a wide range of use cases. On the one hand, there are clear benefits and business cases for using CAVs for these applications.

On the other hand, there will be a reduction in the human resources needed for these jobs.

I hope that all levels of government will recognize this and arrange for the required safety nets and retraining.

It is also clear that during the 2020s, fleets of autonomous vehicles will be deployed in volume in the logistics chain. In addition, armies of robots will be deployed for service functions such as snow clearing and grass cutting. FM/SP

Barrie Kirk, P.Eng. is the executive director of CAVCOE (formerly the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence).

It is well-established that there is a shortage of long-distance truck drivers in Canada. Autonomy is a potential solution to that problem.

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Fleet Management

By Stephanie Wallcraft

A bit of spice The 2021 Mazda3 GT Turbo offers one of the best value propositions on the market When the fourth-generation Mazda3 was released in 2019, the positive reviews and awards began arriving not long afterward, including one declaring it the 2020 Cana­ dian Car of the Year. It even had all-wheel drive on the option sheet for the first time, making it an affordable and viable alternative for Canadians looking for traction at both axles in something other than an SUV. But at the time, I wrote that just one thing was missing that 28 FEBRUARY 2021

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could truly launch this mainstream compact car into serious competition with the luxury segment: a derivative with a little more power to up the entertainment value while carving through twisty roads. In other words, it just needed a bit of spice.

Mazda listened and added a dash of cayenne pepper for the 2021 model year by adding a 2.5litre turbocharged four-cylinder to the mix. This new engine is now offered on both the sedan

and hatch body styles, as an option on the top-of-the-line GT grade and as standard equipment on the limited-release 100th Anniversary Edition.

This engine, paired with a sixspeed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive by default, is just what the Mazda3 needs. It adds a healthy amount of low-rev torque to a car with handling performance that has no trouble keeping up. If you’re looking for an attractive, functional, fun-to-drive and well-

equipped car for under $40,000, you’ve just found it.

Listing the power numbers is a little complicated. Mazda publishes figures for 93 octane fuel – which is richer than the 91 octane most stations list as premium, making it harder to find but certainly not impossible – and also with 87 octane, or regular fuel.

With the latter, this engine makes 227hp and 310lbs-ft of torque that’s available from 2,000rpm; with 93 octane, it makes 250hp and 320lbs-ft that peaks at 2,500rpm.

Fuel efficiency

Either way, you’ll use more fuel in this car than you would in one of the lower-powered versions. The most fuel-efficient Mazda3 configuration is the front-wheel-drive sedan, which Natural Resources Canada rates at 8.4L/100km in city driving, 6.6 on the highway, and 7.6 combined. For this larger engine with all-wheel drive, an owner can expect to use 10.1, 7.3, and 8.8L/100 km respectively.

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1. The interior approaches luxury in the Mazda3, with multi-tone finish options and an available premium sound system.

2. The Mazda3 sedan offers 965mm of headspace in the front row and 947mm in the rear when no moonroof is equipped. With the moonroof, those figures are 954mm and 931mm respectively.

If you’re looking for an attractive, functional, funto-drive and well-equipped car for under $40,000, you’ve just found it.

1.

Yes, it’s an investment to equip this engine and to fill with premium fuel all the time, and no, it’s not strictly necessary to do either of those things. But for performance, longevity and overall driving enjoyment, these are worthwhile choices all around.

The interior approaches luxury in the Mazda3 just as much as the driving experience with premium materials, multi-tone finish options and an available premium sound system that rivals those of much more expensive counterparts. My young back-seat reviewer brings up one quibble: there are no rearward vents in the Mazda3, which leaves her wanting air circulation and feeling colder for longer in the winter. This isn’t unusual in mainstream compact cars where budget is a primary concern, but rear vents are commonly found in premium compact cars. As Mazda’s development moves more intentionally into that space, this is an upgrade worth considering.

One thing Mazda does exceptionally well is infotainment ergo-

2.

nomics and usability. The brand has put an intense amount of study into where to position the screen and controls to keep the driver’s focal plane and attention as close to the road as possible. This means that the infotainment screen is set farther back than most and is not touch-operated, meaning that it’s operated exclusively through the rotary dial and buttons on the centre console. For the most part this works well, including integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but there is one function that could use a rethink: getting to a setting that allows for changing radio stations sequentially requires clicking several menus deep, and this needs to be done every time

the vehicle starts up. For a serial station flipper like me, this gets annoying quickly.

In the grand scheme of things, these are minor criticisms. Overall, the 2021 Mazda3 GT Turbo offers one of the best value propositions on the market as a luxury-level product at a near-mainstream price.

For owners who value the joy of a great drive above all else, it might just be the best experience for your dollar on four wheels. FM/SP

As Tested Price (incl. freight and PDI): Starts at $30,250; tested at $36,800 Engine: 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder Power: Max 250 hp; 320 lb-ft Transmission: Six-speed automatic Rated Fuel Economy (L/100km): 10.1/7.3/8.8 Observed Combined Fuel Economy (L/100km): 9.9 FLEET MANAGEMENT SUPPLYPRO.CA 29

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THE LAW—BY PAUL EMANUELLI

INQUIRY HIGHLIGHTS PROCUREMENT GOVERNANCE GAPS DON’T RISK BECOMING A PROCUREMENT CASE STUDY In his recent Transparency and the Public Trust: Report of the Collingwood Judicial Inquiry, Ontario Associate Chief Justice Frank N. Marrocco found serious procurement irregularities in two controversial transactions at the Town of Collingwood. The report calls for widespread public procurement reforms across the municipal sector and serves as a wakeup call for senior officials across all government institutions.

By way of background, the report focuses on the actions of the Town’s deputy mayor, mayor’s brother, and the Town’s executive director (who oversaw the Town’s electric utility) in relation to two controversial transactions. The report found major irregularities in the Town’s sale of 50 per cent of its electric utility through a tainted RFP process, and in the Town’s subsequent sole-source award of a construction contract for a new recreational facility. In the report, Justice Marrocco concludes that both transactions were tainted by undisclosed conflicts, unfair bidding practices, and a lack of transparency, which undermined public confidence in the municipality’s governance and underscored the need for system-wide reforms in municipal procurement.

At the provincial level, Justice Marrocco calls for an amendment to Ontario’s Municipal Act to remove reference to the mayor serving as the “chief executive officer” of the municipality since that provision improperly implies that a mayor has the same authority to bind a municipality that a chief executive officer (CEO) has to bind 30 FEBRUARY 2021

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a business corporation. As Justice Marrocco explains, the role and authority of a mayor is far more limited and does not include the power to make unilateral decisions on behalf of municipal council or to directly instruct municipal staff on behalf of municipal council.

As the report clarifies, rather than serving as CEO, a municipal mayor can more accurately be described as the chair of the municipality’s board of directors, with the council serving as the board, and the municipality’s chief administrative officer, not its mayor, serving a role similar to the CEO of a business corporation. To further clarify these roles, Justice Marrocco recommends that the Municipal Act be amended to confirm that municipal councils must act as a whole, and that no single member of council has the authority to act on behalf of or to bind the municipality.

Justice Marrocco also calls for reforms to the provincial Municipal Conflict of Interest Act to expand the definition of conflict to include common-law partners, stepparents, stepchildren and in-laws. He advises that provincial law should require all members of municipal council to provide proactive disclosures of their financial interests to better identify future conflicts of interest.

The report also calls for a series of statutory and administrative reforms at the municipal level, including bylaw amendments and the implementation of detailed codes of conduct to define the roles and responsibilities of the mayor, council, chief administrative officer and municipal staff. More specifically, the report recommends that

municipal bylaws be amended to “state that there must be a distinct separation between the administrative role of the chief administrative officer and the political role of the mayor and council members.”

Justice Marrocco also recommends the implementation of safeguards to prevent the manipulation of information provided by staff to municipal councils, noting that external reports that are relied on to support council decisions should be provided to all council in complete form and should not be altered or disclosed in a selective manner to individual council members.

Justice Marrocco also emphasises the importance of procurement-related process reforms and training. As his report confirms, open tendering should be the norm in the award of municipal contracts, and non-competed direct awards should be strictly regulated so that, among other things, the lack of planning and self-created emergencies are not relied on as sole-sourcing justifications. More specifically, the report states that municipalities should bolster their project planning and governance, enhance their debriefing practices, implement municipal supplier complaint procedures and provide procurement staff with regular mandatory training on procurement bylaws, policies and practices and related conflict and ethics issues.

Finally, the report recommends that municipalities retain external legal advisors to assist with their complex procurements.

By highlighting the systemic procurement governance gaps in the Ontario municipal sector,

Paul Emanuelli is the general counsel of The Procurement Office and can be reached at paul.emanuelli@ procurementoffice. com.

“Open tendering should be the norm in the award of municipal contracts, and non-competed direct awards should be strictly regulated so that, among other things, the lack of planning and self-created emergencies are not relied on as sole-sourcing justifications.”

Justice Marrocco’s report serves notice to senior public officials across all government institutions.

Those who are entrusted with serving the public interest should prioritize the implementation of proper governance practices or risk serving as the next high-profile procurement case study. SP THIS ARTICLE IS EXTRACTED FROM THE NEW 2021 EDITION OF PAUL EMANUELLI’S BOOK, THE ART OF TENDER­I NG: A GLOBAL DUE DILIGENCE GUIDE.

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