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Expediting in the North
"With the invention of the satellite phone the camps can talk to expediters any time of the day, anywhere." by Dave Martin
NNSL (Jan 26/98) - ex-pe-dite: v. 1: to execute promptly; 2: to accelerate the progress or process of: ex-pe-dit-er: n. : one employed to ensure efficient movement of goods or supplies in a business
That, in essence, is the business facing expediting companies in Yellowknife. Companies such as Discovery Mining Services, Braden Burry Expediting and G & G Expediting Ltd., who, among others, are all in the business of making things happen smoothly and efficiently for prospecting, mining and exploration companies.
Expediting is a pretty broad term. At its most basic, expediting can be as little as scheduling pickups of people and materials. It can also mean organizing freight and finding aircraft to transport that freight. At its most complicated, it can mean organizing and supplying the whole operation: machinery, tools, accommodations, supplies, food, equipment and staff.
Whatever the case, it's no easy task to establish a mining camp or a base in the North for the purpose of metal and mineral extraction. For some companies, like Discovery Mining Services, that can mean arranging for and supplying absolutely everything for a camp.
"We actually provide everything," says Discovery Mining Services' Rod Brown. "They come to us and tell us how many people will be in a camp and that's all we need to know.
"Difficulties come with the territory. It's logistics. Our job is to save the client as much money as possible because that's the whole idea of being here for them -- arranging the logistics of everything -- dealing with airplanes, with people and with trucks." says Brown.
"It's a matter of arranging times for airplanes mostly -- when planes are leaving. Weather is always a factor and it affects everything. You're trying to provide them with a blueprint of where they're going and where their freight is going. You're not running the program for them, but you're getting them to where they want to be, with all their stuff, when they want to be there. Expediting is organizing."
And how have things changed over the years?
"Communications is the biggest factor in expediting, and I suppose the invention of the satellite telephone is the biggest improvement in communications," responds Brown, "When we first started, we were doing radio scheds twice a day, every morning and night. I would have to be down at the office at six in the morning, and would be using a high-frequency radio with an antenna just sticking out the door.
"The radio had to be on all day, and at night the reception wasn't the greatest. So if the camp had an emergency, it was touch and go. Some days you just couldn't get through. With the invention of the satellite phone the camps can talk to expediters any time of the day, anywhere." |