Making A Difference

It’s that time of year, the holidays and all, when you either love it or could leave it! For some whose quality of life is not an acceptable or desirable standard whether for health reasons, financial status, the loss of a loved one or abusive relationships, it is difficult to achieve a state of happy and cheerful. For those in just such a state, remaining cheery while watching others around them who are happy and have so much; to speak of good times, laughter, great gifts and an abundance of food and cheer can lead to further feelings of despair. Unfortunately, we often forget how much we do have, how fortunate we are while wishing for more or better.

Why not make the holidays a time to remember and remind others these are times for giving, sharing and helping others. Lending a helping hand to anyone at all, whether or not they are less fortunate then oneself. Reminding ourselves how fortunate we are to have what we do have rather than what we don’t have can be the start to getting into the spirit of the holiday season. Smiling and opening a door for someone and/or wishing them well, will be the link that strengthens the chain; causing a reaction of cheer and raising the holiday spirit in all.

Wishing others well, reminds me of a show I watched recently (a true story) of an eight year old boy Tommy who was dealing with a horrible disease (lymphoma) cancer of the lymph nodes. Tommy was a happy child despite his illness. He made the most of every moment he had; laughing and playing with family and friends. Tommy was asked, “If you could have just one wish, what would you wish for?” Tommy replied, “I wish that my mom wouldn’t be sad.” An incredibly selfless request made by a child who will never have the opportunity to grow up, a child who could teach us so much.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric (one of Ontario’s largest non union, Design Build/Construction and Service Electrical Contractors) and team spread the cheer every day. Wolfedale continues their involvement in numerous community, and charity fund raising campaigns reaching out to those in need all year. In September of this year (2011) this widely diversified electrical contractor raised the bar once again with their fund raising auction for Starlight Children’s Foundation of Canada http://www.starlightcanada.ca/. Wolfedale Electric (a one stop shop electrical contractor) with the help and support of suppliers/partners and customers reached deep into their pockets raising $3,500.00 for the foundation. The funds raised were given to 15-year-old Kayla, who is suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematous. Kayla undergoes daily challenges because of her health condition and Wolfedale Electric is honoured to assist her and her family by providing a brief escape from her disease.

Once again with the cold weather and holiday season nearing, Dial One Wolfedale Electric was found sponsoring a food drive for the Mississauga Food Bank, raising over 600lbs of food for those less fortunate. As well Wolfedale Electric left no stones unturned with their efforts in sponsoring a winter clothing/coat and blanket drive. Bounties of new and gently used items were raised by none other than the Innovative Wolfedale team (specializing in Industrial/Material Handling and Planned Maintenance) and received appreciatively by New Circles in Toronto http://www.newcircles.ca/.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric Gives You the Power to: help yourself - help others!  What are you doing to make a difference?

Eventful Times

I have been a member of Dial One Wolfedale Electric’s Social Committee since my first year of employment with the company in 1998. I have enjoyed everything that we as a committee have done throughout the years. The members of the social committee are responsible to plan annual events and secure venues that will engage the employees of Wolfedale Electric. With a company of 100 to 150 employees and their families at varying times throughout the year choosing and planning successful and safe events can be a huge task made easier by the formation of our Social Committee. Requesting feedback and suggestions from our field and office staff about prior events and new events helps to ensure we are considering everyone, of all ages finding events/activities that will be enjoyed by all.

Approaching the end of 2011, we now look back at our events for the year:

A successful Christmas party; a wonderful venue and new activity (Picture Booth) was the ultimate party maker. Wolfedale employees engaged in laughter and fun while dressing up and posing for the Picture Machine. Let’s not forget about the reindeer in the lobby of the hall which received many kisses from the employees, some more than once.

In the summer of 2011 we held our annual Picnic at Canada’s Wonderland; a popular venue two years in a row. Once again this popular venue proved to be a huge success for the employees of Wolfedale Electric and their family members of all ages. Stomach twisting rolling hills and thrilling climbs of coaster rides left expressions of anticipation and excitement on the faces of all. The face painting and washable tattoos were a huge success when everyone gathered to enjoy a tasty and social lunch.



Picnic 2010



Christmas Party 2010



With 2011 events having come to an end we now look forward to planning/choosing our venues, for 2012. As part of the committees planning skills, we pick and choose through a variety of venues for annual picnics, Christmas parties and possible in between events and activities. Although time consuming visiting a variety of venues can be very interesting viewing décor, sometimes trying menu items and of course choosing from a variety of forms of entertainment; Handwriting analysis, Shoe

readings as well as some things we have done in the past; Picture Booth, Dress Up DJ’s, and more.

As with anything we do there are a number of tasks to complete; working with others, discussing ideas, planning, scheduling, reviewing and implementation are all part of any success!

Daphne Mansfield

Receptionist

dmansfield@dialonewolfedale.com

Dial One Wolfedale Electric

Giving You the Power!

What your Blackberry can do for you

I have been an employee at Wolfedale Electric for just over 7 years. When I started the foreman and project managers were using the old ‘Mike’ style handsets. As technology evolves we; our Foremen, Project Managers, and Lead Hands have jumped into the era of Blackberry Smartphone, each having little or no practical hands on instruction due to time constraints. As a company, the transition from the ‘old’ style cell phones to the new Blackberry Smartphone, we have had our share of growing pains due to lack of information. I myself have been a Blackberry user for about 8 years. I have always found they serve as a very useful tool; a great resource of information when in a pinch. I felt by writing this blog I could provide everyone some insight into exactly what your BB (blackberry) can do and how it can make your life easier.

First let’s walk through some set-up directions:
Choosing/creating a ‘Blackberry ID’; this is the e-mail address you will use to sign in and download ‘apps’ in the blackberry app store. Scroll down to the bottom right side of the sign in screen and click or tap (depending on your device) on the ‘create new id’ icon. After you have this set-up you can go into your set-up screen and set your e-mail address(s) up accordingly, of course to do this you will need your e-mail address and password for the account.

Helpful ‘apps’- Some pre-loaded on your smart phone/others available for free download. The most important app that I have found for the blackberry is under your ‘applications’ folder, it is called ‘Blackberry Protect’. What this app allows you to do is enter your primary e-mail for the phone and set up an account of sorts. This app will automatically back up all the information on your device, including BBM (blackberry messenger) contacts, and save them to the account you have created. This account is available from any PC by entering your login information; it is run and kept secure by Research in Motion (RIM), makers of the blackberry. This is a particularly important app as I know many of us ‘forget’ or don’t find the time to sync and back up our blackberry’s regularly or if you ever lose your BB or it gets damaged and requires replaced.

Jackie (President of Dial One Wolfedale Electric) will appreciate this next app – GasBuddy; everyone with a gas card has the ability to search from their current location for the closest gas station and one with the best gas prices.

Another fun to use app: the VLingo. This app is similar to what that ‘other’ Smartphone company has where you can speak to the app and it can do a variety of things such as schedule meetings, lunches, or any type of activity you like. It will also send txt messages, e-mails or meeting requests, all with the touch of a button and by speaking to your phone!

Two other apps I highly recommend are Drive Safely and Documents to go. Documents to go comes preloaded on your phone and this app allows you to view, edit or create documents from your BB and send them to whoever you like, or yourself, this is especially handy when you find yourself stuck in a meeting and you need to get time sheets in to Monica (Office Administrator Dial One Wolfedale Electric.)

The DriveSafely app (which by the way is free until December 31) is for all of us BB junkies who can’t wait to read emails and text messages until we’ve finished driving. This function offers the capability to not only read messages it will also (in conjunction with app-Vlingo) allow you to respond to them without taking your eyes off the road, (how cool is that!)

Now forgetting appointments, being late for meetings and not completing items on your list of things to do, are a thing of the past. Your BB Smartphone comes complete with built in calendar, memo pad and task creator to help you stay organized, on time and allow you to make up ‘To Do’ lists while on the go. These apps also tie directly in with your Outlook e-mail which allows you to upload and download all the To Do lists or tasks you already have on your computer.

In addition to the above apps I have one other function (as it is a pet peeve of mine) that many may find quite useful. No one need know whether your emails are being sent via your BB device or PC with your signature edit on your BB device. You just need to go into the e-mail set-up tab on your phone and then click on or tap, the appropriate e-mail address in choose ‘edit’ this will allow you to set your name, signature, auto CC or any other features that outlook would let you choose.

Now for the best part, RIM is a locally owned and operated company based in Waterloo Ontario. They have brought a lot of jobs to the region and they continue to grow and contribute to the community. Why are so many people supporting the ‘other’ smartphone maker? Well the most common reason I hear is “look at all the apps they have” or “the IPhone is so cool”. I do agree that the iPhone has unlimited apps and does look pretty cool, however I can honestly say that the Blackberry is perfect for the average ‘Business Professional’ and Trades Person.

Thank you for your time and I hope this gave you some more insight into what your blackberry can do for you!

Pieter Mueleman
Project Manager & Estimator
pmueleman@dialonewolfedale.com
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
Giving You the Power!

Wolfedale Processes

I have been an employee at Wolfedale Electric for 26 years and watched the company grow in size (people & sales) and mature into a thriving electrical contracting business. With growth came the need for more structure and processes to ensure our electrical projects were completed on time, efficiently, and profitably.

Wolfedale worked with MRSI Consulting Company   www.mrsiconsulting.com/ to help pull all of these systems together. MRSI reviewed everything from a job numbering system, to quote procedures, to billing processes for all departments including 24 hour Emergency, Planned Maintenance, Construction Design/Build, Industrial Process and Material Handling. Nothing was left unturned as we worked through how things were done here at Wolfedale.

One of the biggest flaws we found was a process to “turn a project over” from Wolfedale’s sales staff to our operations group. We found that we had a poor way of getting the information that our sales/estimating staff had about a project and getting it into our operations hands. After hours of debate we inked out a flowchart that would allow a smoother transition and a better understanding of what had been sold. The key to the whole process was time. Everyone gets busy and our customers were leaving us less and less time to organize and start our projects. Wolfedale has implemented a process to have all related parties (sales/project management/foreman) attend a meeting before the job starts and all information is to be shared down to the last detail. We have implemented checklists to be completed and incorporated into the appropriate job file for on-going reference.

After starting this process our foremen are more comfortable with the customer deadlines and expectations and our sales and project management staff know our customer will receive what they require.

We are not perfect and have allowed a few jobs slip through the process (no start-up meeting or weak at best) and we have paid for it. It costs Wolfedale time, money and puts us in a tough spot meeting our customers’ needs. Our goal is to continue to close the gap between sales and operations and ultimately improve our customers’ experience.

Jim Graham
Vice President Operations
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext 223
Giving You the Power.