SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Canadian North will soon have the capacity to organize vast amounts of fast-paced communication to keep in touch with employees and other business contacts during times of crisis.

United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Canadian North has contracted Send Word Now, a critical communications company that was developed following the attack in New York to provide the airline with emergency notification and incident management services beginning this spring. - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The company has contracted Send Word Now to fix a communication gap that a recent technical audit revealed at the airline, according to Ricardo Butler, Canadian North's emergency response manager.

"Communication is one of the key components in any emergency response plan," he said. "We identified that our existing system didn't meet our own requirement that we're looking for in terms of an effective communications tool. What (the new system) brings to us is that it automates a lot of the man-power that we used have in communicating to all our staff. Instead of having a team of five or four, we are now going to have just two people."

The airline's former approach to communicating with business contacts during an emergency situation was limited to text and e-mail. The new program is much more extensive, Butler added.

"The worst-case scenario will be your plane crash, fire or hijacking, but it can also be used just for mass notification about weather or any operational performance delays that can affect the airline," he said.

Established in New York City shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center of Sept. 11, 2001, Send Word Now provides a web-based business communication service that incorporates e-mail, mobile devices, voice messages, and other media to reach anywhere from a few contacts to thousands of people within minutes during an emergency.

"One of the things that (the attack) really highlighted across the world was the difficulty in communicating when unexpected events happen and doing that very rapidly, particularly for businesses," said Lorin Bristow, senior vice-president for marketing at Send Word Now. "It was difficult enough for public safety people and different departments to do that, but there was just not a real process in place other than some manual things for businesses to communicate with employees who may have been displaced or who were working in different locations and now that the headquarters (had) no ability to connect and communicate with them to know even what to do."

The company provides multiple communication channels to help a business reach employees, suppliers and other contacts rapidly in times of crisis.

The service includes the ability to monitor who has received a message, log feedback, and respond, Bristow added.

"It gives you a much better picture of what's going on with the incident and keeps people who have to keep the business going informed," he said.

In case of Canadian North, the process can be overseen by two administrators, Butler said.

The system has the capability to contact staff in a given geographical radius, which will assist communication with remote communities, Butler said.

Canadian North employs more than 300 staff in 19 communities the NWT and Nunavut and approximately 700 employees in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

The airline began the set-up and implementation phase for the system in January. It is expected to be up and running by the end of next month, Butler said.

Canadian North's contract with Send Word Now is for three years.

"We'll be looking for a long-term relationship," he added.