Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Nestle Quik-Wins: Bottled free water: Will Nestle Battle Kinder-Morgan over Polak's $Zero value if goods are damaged?

According to BC Water Resources Atlas (BCWRA) it's easy to see the proximity between Kinder-Morgan's Compressor Station and that of Nestle Water's bottling plant, both on Othello Road.   In amongst them are the water wells, highlighted with Red Stars.  SEVEN beside Kinder-Morgan Compressor Station.

Note: BCWRA has no record of any Artesians or spring water in the area of Hope or the Coquihalla Valley.

Nestle Water's Bottling Plant is almost on top of their deep well to Free Water

Kinder-Morgan Compressor Station is to the right with water wells towards the Coquihalla River

Kinder-Morgan Chain Link Fence keeps oil "inside" compound if there's a leak
Note Curbing around drain beyond the Chain Link Fence
Kinder-Morgan has a recent history, this past summer, of their pipeline fracturing twice, at differenct locations, between Merritt and Hope, north side of the Coquihalla Summit.

Earlier this month Kinder-Morgan completed a 35 kilometer long Hydrostatic Test of the two-timing fracturing pipeline between Larson Hill and Hope, with the pressure raised 3psi higher than the 780 psi which is used to shunt the dilbits from Edmonton to Burnaby


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CBC  - October 22, 2013  Pipeline Safety Incidents  - Interactive Map

Have there been incidents near you, have the leaks been duly reported lately, like the two leaks.... which haven't been reported.
2009-139
12/12/2009
Hope, British Columbia
Company: Westcoast Energy Inc. (as Spectra Energy Transmission)
Facility: Compressor Station 8B
Raw Summary

On Saturday, 12 December 2009, for 5 hours starting at 12:38 MST, the 8B-L1, 30 and the 8B-L2, 36 sweet natural gas lines downstream of Hope, BC Compressor Station 8B, operated at 783 psi; 3 psi over operating Pressure (780 psi) . The company changed the set points and reduced the Pressure to operating limits. Spectra is investigating why the lines operated for 5 hours over Pressure before being corrected. There were no injuries and no danger to the public. 
No danger to the Public, but what about other Corporations, like Nestle Water which is just one kilometer down hill from the Compressor Station.

Downhill to Residential homes.

Downhill to Kawkawa Lake.

Downhill to Hope.

Downhill to the Mighty Fraser.

Downhill to the Salmon.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nestle

Wikipedia

Controversy and criticism

 Chocolate Price fixing

Marketing of formula

Ethiopian Debt

Melamine in Chinese Milk

Greenwashing

Zimbabwe Farms

Palm Oil Use

E. coli

Child Labour

Bottle Life

Horsemeat Scandal

We Feed The World

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3BL Media take on Nestle

Nestle Waters' Hit and Miss

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Just ask BC Hydro Apprentices how many Vehicles are in the Fleet. 2,500? or 3,300? (800 Dif.)

Mike has been taking issue on the subject of how many top-heavy managers there are directing the workers (ratio) at BC Hydro.

Has anyone asked how many cars motor vehicles are provided to the managers compared to trade workers (ratio)?

How many SUVs are in the fleet and how many are operated by the Managers?

Yes, there are SUVs and you didn't know that?

Does every motor vehicle in the BC Hydro fleet have their scheduled 5,000 Kilometer visit to their local in-house mechanic or is it returned to the Dealership mechanics who charge way too much 1 - 5 (ratio)?

Question:  If BC Hydro Mechanics work on EVERY vehicle in the Fleet, how many vehicles would you expect a Refinishing Prep Technician to work on?  More or Less than a Mechanic?

Would you expect to find that there are more vehicles going in for touch-ups, and/or full body advertising panels, and/or Smash up repairs, than a visit to a BC Hydro Mechanic?

Are records of accidents available through ICBC via an FOI?

How many Mechanics and Prep Technicians are there?


Here's how BC Hydro encourages Apprentices to join their work force:

As a Vehicle Tradesperson (Truck & Transport Mechanic) at BC Hydro, you maintain, inspect, diagnose, repair, modify and outfit BC Hydro vehicles.

The BC Hydro fleet consists of 2,500 vehicles including passenger vehicles (e.g. cars, SUVs, passenger vans), light vehicles (e.g. pick-up trucks, commercial vans, flat deck trucks), heavy vehicles e.g. man lifts, digger derricks, crane trucks), mobile machines (e.g. fork lifts, self-propelled man lifts) and trailers (e.g. pole trailers, reel trailers, utility trailers).
Passenger Vehicles:
Cars
SUVs
Passenger vans

Light Vehicles:

Pick-up trucks
Commercial vans
Flat deck trucks

Heavy Vehicles:
Man Lifts
Digger Derricks
Crane trucks

Mobile Machines:

Fork Lifts
Self-Propelled man lifts

Trailers:

Pole trailers
Reel Trailers
Utility Trailers
As a Vehicle Tradesperson (Automotive Refinishing Prep Technician) you learn to prep, paint and refinish vehicles in BC Hydro's fleet. It's a diverse fleet of 3,300 vehicles ranging from passenger vehicles to pick-up trucks, vans and heavy vehicles such as man lifts, digger derricks, crane trucks and trailers.

Passenger Vehicles:
Cars
SUVs
Passenger vans

Light Vehicles:
Pick-up trucks
Commercial vans
Flat deck trucks

Heavy Vehicles:
Man Lifts
Digger Derricks
Crane trucks

Mobile Machines:

Fork Lifts
Self-Propelled man lifts

Trailers:

Pole trailers
Reel Trailers
Utility Trailers

Same categories in the two trade fields but somehow there's a difference of 800 vehicles!


As to other endeavours that BC Hydro treads in, like it's somehow the duty of BC Hydro to purchase, at full price, to experiment in the field testing of hybrid vehicles?  Why are BC Rate Payers' monies being spent on something that should be borne solely by the manufacturers of the cars?

Why have a car like this, to string lights from one pole to the next? Why even have it sporting the Power Smart logo referencing the Billion Dollar Smart Meter program?  All that Spray Booth energy to create a bunch of ferns on the side of the BC Hydro car.

What a Waste!



Every year car manufacturers improve their vehicles.  BC Hydro doesn't want to be seen driving in last year's models when a new one is just down the street waiting to be purchased.  They are continually replacing vehicles based upon two criterias: more efficient models and Right Sizing, where possible.

How long has BC Hydro been in operation, and how many vehicles has it purchased and why haven't they figured out the right criteria for purchasing a new vehicle when the ONLY reason being given is that it's one year old.   Vehicles come with Warranties guys, minimum of Five years. 
Page 6 of 11:
BC Hydro’s Fleet Greening Strategy adopts the following approach supported by continuous monitoring of results and new technology developments.

1.
Support Business Groups for Work Planning:
Encourage teleconferencing, carpooling, and route optimization

2.
Idle free and Driver Training Programs:
Support with equipment such as cab heaters, telematics

3.
Improve Fleet Efficiency:
Continue to replace vehicles with newer, more efficient models Right sizing where possible

4.
Biodiesel (B20) Implementation:
Limited by manufacturers warranty coverage

5.
Deploy New Technology Vehicles:
Place hybrid vehicles where appropriate
Evaluate new technologies, Electric Vehicles (EV’s), Plug in Electric Vehicles (PHEV’s
Just how much time is spent on testing the waters to determine if the NEXT vehicle is good enough, and then finding out that BC Hydro Managers GOOFED, then all they have to do is buy a NEW vehicle and auction off the old one.  No Problem!

Back in the early days of British Columbia's infatuation with Electricity uses, it never involved spending thousand of dollars on such a frivolous trinket as an Electric car, unless it was a fur coat the sky was the limit.




 Clean burning Natural Gas is "an Emancipation from the tyranny of coal" **** China???


The gas holder is a crucial landmark in Cop To Corpse. Most of us had no idea what that was; the exception was our British-born member Pauline, who recalled having seen many of them in the UK.  Wikipedia defines a gas holder as “…a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures.”

****************************************
********************
*****

Actions Towards Carbon Neutrality
The actions listed below contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from sources for which public sector organizations are responsible under the carbon neutral government regulation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act.

 2010      Page 6 of 20

The BC Hydro fleet currently consists of 2,390 vehicles. In Fiscal year F11, 95 Light and Medium (L&M) duty vehicles were ordered. Of these, 54 were diesel powertrain instead of gasoline in order to take advantage of better fuel efficiency and enable the use of biodiesel. Five of the 7 sedans ordered were hybrids along with 2 hybrid compact SUV’s.

There are now 130 hybrid vehicles in BC Hydro’s fleet. Of these, 128 are L&M vehicles and 2 are Heavy Duty line trucks with aerials. Three Toyota Prius’ have been upfitted with an aftermarket Plug-in kit and 2 fully electric Mitsubishi sedans were added to the fleet in 2009 on a trial basis. BC Hydro also owns 2 hydrogen-powered pickup trucks
BC Hydro Misubishi Outlander
 Fit for a Premier Premier to drive

2,390

2,500

3,300

***************

Only
Passenger vehicles
and
NOT
Service Vehicle/Manager Vehicles

27 Pages of Colour Photos
Including all the Statistics

There's this Document:
Coast Mountain BC (CMBC)

Skilled employees

CMBC has more than 5,200 employees, which includes 3,350 bus operators and approximately 1,000 maintenance staff working out of seven transit operating centers in Metro Vancouver.

Bus operators undergo an intense, six-week training program before they are allowed on the road and are closely monitored during a probation period. A two-day refresher course is held to keep drivers sharp and to share any updates about company plans.

CMBC only hires certified red-seal mechanics, and they receive further training in order to familiarize them with specific technology related to the industry.

"Our mechanics are licensed vehicle inspectors who follow a very high standard for safety and skill," says Clements. "We also have 54 apprentices who are required to complete a four-year training program where, upon successful completion, they will be fully certified commercial transport mechanics."

Most of CMBC's staff retires before the age of 65 with the company's pension plan, at a rate of 200 employees per year. Only one to two percent of employees quit, so the company is able to retain its staff. It plans to hire a total of 600 new employees this year and has already found 350. "We really care about our employees' wellbeing," says Clements. "Six of the operating centers have gyms with state-of-the-art equipment. The investment in employee wellness is worthwhile as it has a significant impact on retention."

CMBC also has a state-of-the-art call center which others in the industry have used as a model for their own. One of the company's call center employees was recently named in the top three workers by the American Public Transit Association (APTA), representing the company in the US.