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Oct 2014 -
Acden
CONNECTION
Table of Contents
Letter from the CFO
Some of you may have heard about me, but most
of you have not seen me before. I am the Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Acden and
have worked in that role for the companies since 2004.
A lot has changed since I started.
1 Letter from the CFO
2 Profile: Board of Directors - Chief Allan Adam
2 Learn to speak Dene!
3 Chipewyan Alphabet
Acden in the Community
4 Safety Lunchbox Talk
6 Acden Health and Wellness Committee
Careers
7 Congratulations
Company Profile: Acden Navus
8 The Comic Strip
Trivia Question
The changes I’m most proud of are: the ongoing
development of the Acden brand, the completion of the
Acden Headquarters in the Taiga Nova Industrial Park, and
the retention of good people in all facets of the organization.
When I started, there were three small companies
operating independently, without much thought about
operational efficiency or their future. Since then, key people
and valuable employees have joined the group to make this a
safe, productive and hopefully enjoyable organization.
Bringing all of our 17 business units under the Acden banner allows
us to share resources, combine efforts, and be an identifiable and
important force in the oil sand service sector. I realize that only one
hundred and fifty of our employees work at the Acden Headquarters,
but I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to come visit the facility.
The environmental and engineering design innovations that are part of
the buildings help set us apart from the other companies in the region. I
see that same spirit of innovation in our people and our operations.
Thank you for choosing to work for Acden, and contributing to our success.
Issue #2
1
Learn to speak
Dene!
Dene is the language of the Athabasca
Chipewyan First Nation. Look at the Chipewyan
Alphabet key on the next page and try your
hand at sounding out some of the Dene words
in the following paragraphs.
Acden is the strategic service partner for
Alberta’s oil sands operators, construction, and
producers. We provide essential services for
the planning, construction, maintenance, and
operation of mining and SAGD facilities.
Profile:
Board of Directors
ACFN Chief Allan Adam
Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation was born
in Edmonton, Alberta and was raised on the land with strong
traditional Denesoline teachings and values. He is a proud husband,
father and grandfather. Allan grew up in the community of Fort
Chipewyan where he continues to reside with his family. True to his
upbringing, he values his time spent on the land, practicing his
inherent treaty rights.
Dene translation: Acden yonathé senoah?a
ha narelya, łesdené hel, yohó,tolú,dełch̨ idąni
dat’I dene hel, thi, ladene t’asį ełg’ech’a
dalchi dene hel eghadalna. Thi, hołethé bedį
dowé lá, yonathe dene ha nithé seno ?a,
yoho,tolu,delch’įdąni, saral?ę, thi t’asi hodoghołn̨ į na t’e ch’á, thi, les ha nįhoyaghé dohorlye
la basi senorłye ?ą t’é. Thi begąltthené łes
dédóghé nįhoyághe nįtha theł t’ą heheł ch’o,
tu tthélé nįhǫyaghé chį dąyerłtth’éo eyiah łes
dédóghé yodághé chį horełti ah yehelch’o, la
hobech’I ?ą t’e.
Acden manages business ventures that
benefit the Athabasca Chipewyan First
Nation.
Dene translation: Nediri la nethé ełghechá
yet’a chumba helchi eyi denésǫłiné,
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation bá hą t’e.
Allan began his leadership role in 2003 when he was elected as a
councillor for ACFN. In 2007, Allan was elected Chief and was
re-elected in 2011. Chief Adam’s dedication and leadership to the
protection and preservation of his members and territory has
been recognized through numerous awards including the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013, Postmedia top movers and shakers
award in 2012, and the Canadian Boreal Initiative award in 2010.
Chief Adam has dedicated his time and effort to ensuring that
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation lands, culture and rights are
protected now and into the future. He prides himself in taking a
strong stance to advocate for the protection of the environment and
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation homelands.
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PREPARED BY EUNG-DO (ED) COOK,
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
Consonants:
There are ten different tone consonants in the
Chipewyan language. I have shared only three in the following
consonants because we have used the tones in the above oral and
nasal vowels.
Dental stops
Examples
t’
t’e, means ‘raw’, t’a means ‘feather’
(Pronounced?, no sound in English language.)
Fricatives
ł
łez, means ’flour’, łį, means ’dog’
(Pronounced?, no sound in the English language.)
Dental affricates
tth
tthe, means ’rock’, ttheł means ’axe’
(Pronounced?, no sound in the English language.)
Vowels: High tone is marked on the vowel with
a superscript, e.g., ya ‘sky’ vs. yá ‘louse’.
Oral vowels
a
e
i
o
u
Nasal Vowels
ą
ę
į
ǫ
ų
Examples
sa, means ‘sun’, tsá means ‘beaver’
(Pronounced as ‘cat’)
des, means ‘river’, bes, means ‘knife’
(Pronounced as ‘shed’)
di, means ‘prairie chicken’, si, means ‘I’
(Pronounced as ‘bid)
t’oth (e), means ‘paddle’ tłogh, means ‘grass’
(Pronounced as ‘bore’)
tu, means ‘water’, nu, means ‘island
(Pronounced as ‘quit’)
chą, means ‘rain’, tsąba, means ‘money’
(Pronounced as ‘bun’)
tthęł means ‘axe’, kų́ę ́ means ’house’
(Pronounced as ‘ben’)
dįghį, means ‘four’, bįł means ‘snare’
(Pronounced as ‘sing’)
nezǫ, means ‘good’, solághe, means ‘five’
(Pronounced as ‘cone’)
duhų, means ‘now’, tųlu, means ‘road’
(Pronounced as, ‘nun’)
Acden in
the Community
In the past few months we have….
º Sponsored golf tournaments for the Keyano
College Foundation and the Fort McKay
Group of Companies
º Volunteered at Fort Chipewyan Treaty Days
where Acden sponsored the Photobooth,
and the Kids Carnival
º Held a BBQ fundraiser and bake sale in
support of Team Acden for the CBCF CIBC
Run for the Cure
º Sponsored the Street Hockey Tournament
in Fort Chipewyan benefiting the PTA of the
Athabasca Delta Community School
º Fill this truck!! Acden employees helped fill
the b ack of an Acden Fleet pick up truck full
of clothing donations for the Centre of Hope!
º Donated pick-up truck to Youth and Elders
lodge in Fort Chipewyan
Did you know?
Submitted by Patrick Mercredi
Acden Connection - October 2014 - www.acden.com
Chipewyan
Alphabet
Last year Acden donated over $120,000
in sponsorships and donations to various
organizations and events in Fort Chipewyan
alone.
3
Safety
Lunchbox Talk
Isn’t it fun when food appears in the office? Maybe it’s in
the form of a pizza party, a generous co-worker bringing in
baked goods, or food leftover from a conference or
meeting. Although it’s a nice treat, it could also make you
sick if not handled correctly. The Government of Canada
estimates that 4 million cases of foodborne illnesses
happen in Canada each year. Our food can easily become
contaminated with bacteria, viruses and parasites when
not cooked thoroughly, stored improperly, becomes
cross-contaminated or has been touched by someone who
is ill.
Eating on the fly at your desk while finishing up that
presentation for this afternoon, sound familiar? Desktop
dining may be increasing your risk of foodborne illness.
Surveys reveal that over 60 percent of employees clean
their desk area (keyboard, mouse, and desktop) once a
month or less. With this lack of office cleanliness, it’s not
surprising that office desktops, on average, house more
bacteria than toilet seats.
The office fridge is typically cleaned out only once every six
weeks. Be proactive and toss your leftovers within three to
five days. Or create a schedule to clean out of your
department’s fridge and stick to it!
So how can we prevent food poisoning at work?
Remember this rule of thumb: always wash hands before,
during and after handling food. Hand washing is
considered the single most important means of
preventing the spread of infection. Do not leave perishable
food at room temperature for more than 2 hours at a time
and clean your entire work area, especially if you plan to eat
at your desk.
Food poisoning can result in nausea, vomiting and
diarrhea. You should see a doctor immediately if you think
you have a foodborne illness.
Alexa Cartwright, HSE Coordinator
Jennifer Foshay, QMS Coordinator
Did you know?
Acden currently has three companies that are ISO certified:
Acden Environment, Acden Fleet and Acden Facilities.
So what exactly does that mean? ISO stands for the
International Standards Organization. It originated in
Switzerland and was established in 1947 to develop common
international standards in many areas. Its members come from
over 150 national standards bodies. ISO’s purpose is to facilitate
trade by providing a single set of standards that people
everywhere would recognize and respect.
ISO is a Quality Management System (QMS) that helps control
how a business is managed. It conforms’ business practices
from upper level management to the front line employees,
requiring everyone to do work the same way, in a way that can
be measured.
ISO 9001, 14001 allow us to continuously improve our business
management systems.
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Acden Connection - October 2014 - www.acden.com
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Congratulations!
IOL Safety Award
Acden
Health and Wellness
Committee
It’s been a busy few months for the
Acden Health and Wellness Committee!
Yoga- A huge thanks to Amanda Annand for teaching Yoga classes
for July and September. All attendees paid by donation and July’s
donations profited Team Acden and Septembers were donated to the
ALS Association. Not only did we feel great giving back, we all left the
classes feeling balanced and rejuvenated and ready to tackle the rest
of the day!
Bake Sale and BBQ fundraisers- Thanks to everyone who
supported Team Acden at July’s bake sale and August’s BBQ! Thanks
to your support, we were successful in raising over $1500 at these two
events. At the time of printing this newsletter we were the leading
team for fundraising for the CBCF CIBC Run for the Cure! Keep up the
great work team!
Bear Awareness- In July we hosted a Bear Aware Lunch & Learn
lead by a local Fish & Wildlife Officer. It was extremely informative (and
eye-opening!) and we learned a lot about bear safety, local issues and
tips and tricks to keep ourselves, our families and our pets safe from
bears.
Did you know?
- A bears sense of smell is 9-10 times stronger than a Bloodhound
- Bears can run at speeds of up to 55km per hour (uphill and down…)
- Bear spray is your best defense, aim at the bears nose and spray
Bears are EVERYWHERE in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas, be
safe and Bear Aware!
6
Careers
Acden is a dynamic and exciting place to work
and we are constantly expanding our capabilities
and service offerings. We offer high energy team
players outstanding opportunities to grow in
roles that best fit their interests, aptitudes and
career aspirations.
Please visit www.acden.com/careers to see a list
of current job postings.
For detailed information about benefits, please
visit www.cinup.com
Acden is proud to congratulate
Brent Gall, Acden Environment
employee who was awarded an IOL
Safety Award from Kearl Oil Sands.
Brent started with Acden Facilities
as a wheel loader operator before
moving to Acden Environment as
a roll off truck operator. He’s since
been promoted to Kearl Oil Sands
Foreman. Brent was born and raised
on Vancouver Island and currently
resides in Courtenay, B.C during his
off days. Congratulations on your
award Brent- you’re a great role
model to the rest of us!
Acden Volunteer Award
Acden would like to thank Leonard
Madore, HSE Coordinator, for his
enthusiasm and time spent
volunteering at various events on
behalf of Acden. Leonard is always
the first to lend a hand at events such
as Sustainival, Acden fundraisers, golf
tournaments and clothing drives.
Thank you Leonard, for being such
an avid volunteer with Acden and in
your community.
Meet Heather
Company Profile:
Acden Navus
Environmental Consulting
In conjunction with our venture partner, Navus Environmental
Inc., Acden Navus coordinates and manages small to largescale environmental projects within the Regional
Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Committed to developing personalized, cost effective
approaches that meet its customers’ complex environmental
needs, Acden Navus provides innovative and professional
services in a personalized and responsive manner. We are
there for our clients throughout the entire process making
sure it’s done right and going the extra mile, for each client, for
each project.
From research to reclamation, Acden Navus provides the
following services:
·
Upstream Oil and Gas
·
Peat Harvesting
·
Oil Sands Mining
·
Aggregate Mining
·
In-situ and Thermal Heavy Oil
Meet Heather
Heather joined Navus Environmental Inc. on February 18, 2014.
Since joining Navus, Heather has immersed herself in the day to
day operations of Acden Navus, deploying throughout the RMWB
on various client projects to complete environmental field work and
in the office assisting with report writing and other client projects.
Heather recently completed her Master’s thesis on early ecosystem g
enesis using LFH and peat cover soils in Athabasca oil sands reclamation
with Dr. Anne Naeth at the University of Alberta. Heather defended her
thesis on December 18, 2013 and received her Master’s on June 3, 2014.
Heather is a high achiever and has received more than 15 academic
awards which include, but are not limited to, Alberta Advanced
Education and Technology Graduate Student Scholarship in 2012, the
Walter H Johns Graduate, and the Dean’s Medal in Agricultural, Life and
Environmental Sciences in 2009.
Stop by office #115 at Acden Corporate Headquarters and meet Heather!
Acden Connection - October 2014 - www.acden.com
7
The Comic Strip
Comics submitted by Michelle Drummond.
Credit: someecards, Hallmark, caglecartoons.com
Trivia
Question
Which Acden company provides
Environmental Consulting?
(Hint, you’ll find the answer in this newsletter)
Email the answer to
communications@acden.com
to be entered in a prize draw!
Thanks for reading!
July Trivia Winner
Diana Gaulton, Acden HSE
The Acden Connection will be circulated quarterly. It will report on the latest
news coming from Acden, covering subjects like new business, company
and staff achievements and social events. As this newsletter wouldn’t exist
without you, we want to hear from YOU!
We encourage you to send in your stories and achievements, or those of your
co-workers you feel should be celebrated. This publication is intended to
connect you with our company, our services and our people so please let us
know if you have any questions.
Questions, comments, or suggestions can be emailed to
communications@acden.com.