Last August was a milestone for rapid transportation in Richmond with the opening of the Canada Line connecting Richmond Centre, Vancouver International Airport, Waterfront and all points in between in 25 minutes or less.

Once the Canada Line began, I started taking it and a connecting bus to get to Fransen Engineering from Downtown Vancouver.  Sometimes on nice days I have put my bike on the train and cycled part way as well.  This choice has saved me a lot in gas and it has given me a chance to improve my fitness level.

In addition to the environmental & fitness benefits, my commuting life has been enriched by the Canada Line as I have met some interesting characters.  One of the more memorable was a man who was able to complete a randomly arranged Rubik’s cube between each stop all the way from Bridgeport to City Centre.  As you can imagine, he gained a very substantial audience.

The nearest Canada Line station to the Fransen Richmond office is Bridgeport (next to RiverRock Casino).  This station is connected to our office using the 407 (Bridgeport via Vulcan Way) bus which runs during rush hour in the morning and afternoon.  During non peak times we are connected by the 407 & 430 buses which drop off at IKEA.

For comparison, when I drive to work around 7:30am, it takes about to 30 minutes to get to Fransen from Downtown depending on traffic. With the Canada Line & Bus connection, it takes 35 minutes.  On my way home, it would normally take 40 minutes to drive and it takes about the same time with the Canada Line and bus connection.  Why not sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

Interested?  Join me & several other Fransen team members that take transit daily!

The Fransen Sustainability Group is committed to developing Sustainable work practices at the office.  We believe our slogan ‘Think Long Term’, means more than developing deep relationships with our clients, but also ‘thinking long term’ about how we operate our business.

Our clients are starting to expect us to have a Sustainability Plan in place and in most cases, when taking account all the factors, sustainable practices often lead to cost-savings and hence it just makes good business sense.

Our group meets monthly, usually during the last week of the month to discuss initiatives implemented over the past month and to plan out future activities.  We encourage you to get involved and even share ideas by emailing sustainability@fransenengineering.com.

Fransen Engineering is a strong supporter of EWB and recently donated $800 to the local Vancouver Chapter as part of EWB’s Week-to-End Poverty campaign!  In May, one of our own, Harish Raisinghani was elected President of the Vancouver Professional Chapter with Mark Abbott leading the Workplace Outreach programs.  Upcoming events include a Run to End Poverty (as part of the Scotiabank half-marathon on June 28, 2009) monthly development drinks and potentially a large ‘Fair-Trade Fair’ in the fall. 

Please check out www.vancouver.ewb.ca or talk with Harish or Mark about events or getting involved with the chapter.

Western Canada’s premier conference on international development is right around the corner! The 6th annual Engineers Without Borders Bridging the Gap (BTG) conference will take place on Saturday March 14, 2009 at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. The theme of the conference will be “Collaborating for Human Development: The hidden power of our choices”, which will explore the roles of individuals, corporations, NGOs, and government and how they can come together to address the problem of extreme poverty.

The 500 attendees will have a full day of interactive workshops, speakers, and panel discussions. The conference will close with a keynote address from Dr. James Orbinski, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 as president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

Fransen Engineering is a proud supporter of Engineers Without Borders and will help subsidize the ticket cost to this exciting conference! For more details, please contact Harish Raisinghani or Mark Abbott and check out www.bridgingthegap.ewb.ca

In addition to Fransen’s ongoing support for EWB, proceeds from the snacks in the Fransen staff rooms will be going to EWB for the next two months! Thank you in advance for your support!

Fransen’s Sustainability Initiative is well underway with our2 week clothing drive that has resulted in over 600 lbs of clothing donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association! Thanks to everyone that contributed!

Other sustainability initiatives to look out for include:

• Recording paper consumption. We plan to present a monthly report on Fransen’s paper consumption and encourage staff to use the duplex setting (double-sided printing) as often as possible.

• Other ‘themed’ weeks such as Fair Trade, Recycling and Footprint Reduction!

• Those “Staple-free” Staplers! Check out these novelty items floating around the office. You can also request one for $10 delivered to your desk.

In order to maximize our impact, we have made the decision to focus our charitable giving towards two charities so far covering two distinct areas. In addition, Fransen has agreed to match employee contributions up to $5,000 for each of these charities.

We support:

• United Way – working on poverty issues amongst youth and seniors in our local community.
• Engineers Without Borders – working on international poverty issues using a technology and engineering based approach.

This year’s United Way campaign ran during the week of November 3rd and included a pledge drive, 50/50 draw and L&Ls. Fransen employees contributed $2895 during the campaign, which was matched by the company. In addition, sales of snacks during the year raised another $2800, bringing the grand total raised for the United Way to $8590.

Fransen employees spent a lunch learning about the enormous opportunity to help improve the efficiency of tar sand operations, including their environmental performance. From energy savings, to emissions reduction, to process enhancements, the possibilities are endless.

Ryan Schwabe and a group from his church, Johnston Heights, went to Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, which is located on the Baja Peninsula for the Mexico Missions project. They successfully built 3 houses while they were down there, brought a lot of hope, and helped by providing food, new clothing, and uniforms to the families’ children so they can go to school to achieve a basic education (The families they helped originally had 2 of 6 children attending, but with the help  of Ryan’s church group, they are now all able to attend school).
Employees of Fransen contributed $695 towards this mission.

Ryan playing with some local kids.                  Ryan in front of one of the houses they built.

Jean’s Day was held on April 24th this year to help raise money for BC Children’s Hospital. Thank you to everyone who purchased a lapel pin or button. We were able to raise a total of $865, ($615 from employees and an additional $250 from Fransen Engineering).