Janaruy 28, 2011

The month of January started off with the new launching of the AX system which would lead to a dramatic change in the way the whole site was to operate. Preparations of this new operation had taken place many months prior to this and it was interesting to have the opportunity to witness this change over. Basically, the AX system would result in the linkage of computers to many aspects of our everyday operations. It was definitely eye opening to take note of all the preparation, training, and struggles that took place prior, during, and even after the change over. Cardinal is currently trying very hard to upgrade its processes to ensure that things are running more efficiently and effectively. It is interesting to note, however, that this places a strain on employees that have been working with Teck for 20 or even 30, 40 years and are use to the "old" ways of how things "have always" been done. Such dynamics are good to observe as change in any workplace always affects different work place cultures differently.

My first week started off with a few days of interviews in town as well as sign ons for many new hires that are starting off in the new year. It however, took almost no time for everything to pick up as by the second week a huge investigation that I got to be apart of had taken place, followed by tonnes of paper work dealing with disciplinary letters, as well as a termination.

Aside from all the recruitment work and drama from the investigation, I had the opportunity to work very closely with the General Manager on Cardinal's Trades Forecast and Demographics for the next 4-5 years. This was a good experience for me as it was not only an opportunity to work on my (poor) math skills, it also gave me the opportunity to work on my communication skills. When I first started working at Teck, my supervisors had constantly commented on my shyness and lack of contribution during meetings and  socialization. After having the opportunity to interact with everybody a little more however, and having more confidence in commenting on the things that I do, I believe that I am slowly improving on my communication skills.