IceStorm 98 Study

Grafton Utility Supply Ltd. is a utility products wharehouse and distribution operation for electrical utilities in the province of Ontario. They are supplied by manufacturers from across North America.

Doug Sinclair [DS] recalls that it all started on January 7th: “...we have an emergency response phone line and started receiving calls early that day. We soon put our regular shipping schedule on hold -until we knew what was required to service the storm area.” All other deliveries were placed on hold for the next 15 days. The shipping and receiving department was in an almost constant state of shipping and receiving supplies with phones staffed from 6 am to 11 pm. Some employees had cots in their offices so they could get some rest. “Everyone was involved in sourcing materials, packing, and sending out.”

They hired a number of additional freight companies to help with trucking materials out and to get materials from suppliers. Supplies came from throughout North America, including Texas and California. They shipped 150 tractor-trailer loads into the storm affected area of northeastern Ontario and logged 2000 hours of overtime in 2 weeks. Extra help was also hired to relieve their own staff of about 33 people.

They received a great deal of support from the supply vendors [manufacturers] who put on extra staff and logged overtime to produce and ship materials out to Grafton Utility Supply [Grafton]. They also had help from utility companies in unaffected areas who loaned or sold their supply inventory to Grafton for use in ice storm affected areas. At one point, on a Thursday evening at 11:30 pm there was a traffic jam in their own shipping yard due to the quantity of trucks arriving and leaving.

DS noted that he was proud of the response by everyone.

One of the biggest problems was getting in enough material and then shipping it out again as fast as possible. To prepare for the next similar event, DS said they [the utility companies] should try to develop a plan or materials list so that it is easy to determine what the total amount of parts material needed for any given area is. It could be set up on a grid map which would show, for example, that the section from Kingston to Gananoque has so many poles and insulators etc. In the event of damage, inspectors could fly over or travel through an area to assess the situation and then use the grid map materials list to order parts. “This way everyone would know, even if the whole system came down, what the maximum amount of materials needed to rebuild would be.”

One of the reasons for this strategy is to save on the over supply problems which they faced towards the end of the crisis.

DS reports that by Monday, when Ontario Hydro got fully involved from Toronto, things slowed down since, somewhat understandably, Hydro’s head office wanted to know what materials were going where. But it meant an extra step for everybody. Until then Grafton had been dealing directly with servicing localities.

Having to deal with Hydro’s head office likely resulted in Grafton being overstocked as the storm response wound down. They are still suffering from “storm hangover.” Which means they are carrying 20 percent more inventory than usual because, as the crisis passed, “suddenly the brakes went on” in terms of the parts needed.

For future consideration, DS believes that, from an inventory perspective, it is possible that private industry might better serve Ontario Hydro’s needs. From an efficiency standpoint, he suggests that companies which have grown larger over the years, taking on ever greater areas of responsibility, like OH, should examine “what their core competencies are,” and focus on what they do best. This advice was offered, not in an effort to drum up business, but rather as a reflection of his organisational philosophy which is “...to examine what we do well and identify what is necessary to accomplish our mandate.”

Regarding contact with the EMO, at one point DS tried to get some information concerning road conditions to get a sense where their trucks could safely be sent. He didn’t get the information he needed.

Generally, DS was impressed with how all the key manufacturers came to bat for them by providing extended hours and waiting, often until late at night, for their trucks to arrive to load up.

In summing up the whole experience DS stated, “It was a pleasure serving in a chaotic yet organized environment”.