IN THIS EDITION:

• 20 Years of PHH
• Operation Christmas Child
• Habitat For Humanity
• Adopt-A-Road Program
• Topic of the Month
• Equipment Rentals

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse. Each year Operation Christmas Child delivers gift-filled shoe boxes around the world to millions of children who are suffering because of war, natural disaster, poverty, illness, or neglect; bringing joy and hope to millions of children. In 2002 Operation Christmas Child collected over 6 million shoe boxes worldwide and distributed them to children in approximately 95 countries.

This year, 23 PHH employees in the Richmond office filled 33 boxes which will be sent to needy children this Christmas. The PHH Foundation also made a cash donation. Thanks to all who were involved in this project. By sharing with those less fortunate you help make our world a better place. For more information about Operation Christmas Child or Samaritan’s Purse, please visit their website at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Habitat for Humanity

Building Homes. Building Hope.

On Saturday, September 13, 2003 staff from the PHH Richmond office volunteered their time to assist in the construction of a new home @ 8745 Government Street in Burnaby. Duties included cleaning various areas, installing trusses, dismantling scaffolding and installing moisture barriers. The volunteers had a rewarding experience knowing that their efforts helped needy families come one step closer to moving into their first affordable home.

For further information regarding Habitat for Humanity please visit www.habitat.ca.

Adopt-A-Road Program

The ADOPT-A-ROAD program was established as a public service program for volunteers to enhance the local litter collection activities by picking litter along city roads. It is a way for environmentally conscious citizens, community and civic organizations, private businesses, and industry to contribute to a cleaner and more beautiful city road system and a cleaner environment. Under the program, PHH Environmental in Edmonton has agreed to adopt a section of city road and arrange to clean it twice a year. In addition to a cleaner environment, a sign acknowledging PHH's efforts, which recognizes the volunteers, is put up on the stretch of road that is adopted.

Equipment Rentals

WE ARE YOUR EQUIPMENT RENTAL SOLUTION

With personalized service, quality equipment and competitive prices, we can provide you with the tools you need to help complete your projects.

At PHH we offer:

• No Calibration Fees
• SKC Repairs by Factory Trained Technician
• Daily and Weekly Rentals
• Service and Repairs

At PHH we have quality equipment, including:

• SKC Professional Air Sampling Pump
• YES 205 IAQ Monitor
• Delmhorst Moisture Meter
• Datalogger with Multi-Sensor Capability
• Biotest
• Boroscope and more...

Please visit our website for further available equipment rentals and rates at
www.phhenv.com or call 1-866-244-8191

Feature Article

20 YEARS OF PHH - A PERSONAL MEMORY
"Do you smoke and do you have a beard that you just can't live without?" - were the first two questions I was asked during a phone interview with Don Pinchin in September 1983. I had sent in my resume to a vaguely worded ad in an inauspicious corner of classifieds of the Globe. I knew that this was going to be no ordinary job. I passed the interview and with twelve business cards, and a phone book, I got an office and waited for the phone to ring. Asbestos abatement was a burgeoning industry I was told. Provincial and federal government officials and a few progressive building owners had attended training in Toronto to understand how to manage asbestos. We knew where to find it and how to quantify it, and that there was a group of contractors that wanted to learn how to perform removals. I was told that this would be a five year interlude in my engineering career and all asbestos would be removed in Canada by 1989.

Twenty years (and many late nights in buildings) later, I can say that it HAS been no ordinary job and an interlude that I am eternally happy to have taken. One of my Project Managers asked me what keeps me going in my job and after some thought, I concluded it was the people and their growth that I have enjoyed. We do work that makes a facility better - you have to commit to the outcome and immerse yourself in the discipline. Seeing people grow (not all do) through that dedication has been my greatest pleasure. Making that dynamic work has been our success. Some of our current staff with six years or more are listed below:

• John Mol (1986) Senior Project Manager
• Sean Douglas (1987) Senior Project Manager
• Cara Benoit (1989) Project Manager
• Steve Wilk (1991) Vice President, Northern Alberta
• Nancy Sheard (1995) Assistant Controller
• Emily Bulloch (1995) Accounting
• John Schelske (1996) Project Manager
• Kathy Muirhead (1997) Project Manager
• Jim Bagley (1997) Project Manager
• Angela Ross (1997) Project Manager

1984-1989
THE GROWTH YEARS
The eighties were a period of sustained growth and our industry was no exception. Fueled by an awareness of US regulations, Canadian government agencies, building owners and industry were compelled to assess and remove asbestos. With our unique approach of construction friendly assessment and abatement and quality training, PHH performed more asbestos assessment and removal than all our competitors combined in Western Canada. The eighties saw the Vancouver office grow from one to 23 staff. We opened offices in Edmonton, Seattle, Calgary, Victoria, Saskatchewan, Denver and Kelowna. In 1988, we purchased Alberta Occupational Hygiene Associates with offices in Calgary and Edmonton to broaden our services. In 1989 we opened a transmission electron microscopy lab in Seattle to service the US. The lab was sold to LabCor in 1994.

1990-1996
THE CHANGE YEARS
A slow economy coupled with reluctance on the part of regulators to write orders on safety issues affected our business, but we opened offices in Prince Rupert and Prince George. Prince Rupert survived two years and Prince George stayed open until 2002. We worked on large shutdowns at pulp mills and the oil sands. The emphasis was on managing asbestos in place. Industrial hygiene and indoor air quality grew slowly. In 1993 we started performing environmental assessments. Our staff reduced to 28 in1995 from a high of 67 in 1989. We retained our focus on building owners and industry. During this time we improved our internal processes including human resources, organizational structure, and accounting.

1997-TODAY
THE ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE YEARS
As a fully integrated health, safety and environmental consulting firm, PHH has seen renewed growth since 1997. We saw the future drivers as environmental due diligence rather than safety compliance. New provincial regulations and higher environmental profile drove demand for our services. Site assessments, asbestos, hygiene and indoor air quality services were supplemented with mould, ergonomics, and customized training. Coupled with a strong demand for high quality, efficient solutions our clients have demanded processes that are quicker, less expensive and more readable. We have established better organizational communications and effective information systems. We have an equipment department that manages our equipment and focus groups that maintain the quality of our services. We have just completed our highest gross revenue year ever and the demand for our services, our dedication and honesty is as high as it has ever been.

THE UNIQUE PROJECTS
Some of the more interesting project we’ve completed include:

• Removing asbestos from the control tower at an international airport above air traffic control electrical consoles
• Assessing a complete region of federal jails - and being "mistaken" for a parole officer
• Being called and asked "can you assess asbestos in boats " when I asked how many he calmly replied “49”
• Designing the abatement of lead from a major bridge
• Formaldehyde sampling during an autopsy
• Fit testing thousands of workers at a multi-site organization
• Mobilizing 12 staff in two days for a 15 week mill shutdown
• Risk communication to an auditorium of angry boilermakers
• An asbestos survey of all schools in Trinidad
• Acid fume sampling at a copper mine in Chile
• Asbestos training in Australia,
• Removal of asbestos from an operating 600 degree boiler

We see the sides of operations that few others do - the occupants get to know us and feel safer knowing someone is looking out for them. Some sites we go to once and some weekly for twenty years. Some of us have made friends with the people that we meet as clients. We do work that by its nature makes us care. That’s the PHH way that does not come out in a report. It’s the way we care about what we do that makes us different.

Thank you to all our staff past and present that have dedicated time, energy and commitment - often away from home and during unsocial hours to make us better. Thank you to our suppliers and contractors that have worked with us over the years.

Thank you most of all to all our clients who have retained their faith in us and continued to allow us to provide better solutions to their needs. We are committed to continuing that improvement over the next 20 years.

John Holland, President
December 3, 2003

Click here for full article and pictures.

Topic of the Month

WCB of BC Adopts ACGIH TLVs: WHAT IT MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS
by Craig K. Yee, M.Sc. (OEH), Industrial Hygienist and Hussein Jaffer, Industrial Hygiene Technologist

Click here for full article.