ALCOHOL COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS - Blog

PARIS !!!

2010-05-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well we're off again! This time it is Paris, France.

Transports Publics is the only European exhibition to bring together professionals from right across the public transport industry, along with key players dealing with issues of mobility, for a three-day event. Representatives of industry, manufacturers and subcontractors will be attending, as well as transport operators, organising authorities and business leaders from the fields of public works, institutional players, infrastructure, street furniture, passenger operations and information systems, finance, power supply, and others. Alcohol Countermeasure Systems and our sister division Alcolock France are pleased to be participating.

Details regarding the conference may be obtained at www.transportspublics-expo.com and free passes may be obtained through our website at www.acs-corp.com

Amsterdam

2010-04-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well thank goodness for firewalls and internal security. Unfortunately my access to the Blog was halted for a bit while we worked out the kinks in the system, so here I am back in the fold, 2 months a little late.

Many, many things have happened over the past few weeks, but the largest event was our participation at Intertraffic 2010, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Intertraffic is largest gathering of road safety specialists, particularily manufacturers, looking to promote what is new and fantastic. We held our dealer meetings in conjunction with the event and admittedly it was busy, but highly successful.

And now that we have this conference completed, its onward to other events. In the next week we will be traveling to Dallas, Texas for an internation conference on toxicolgy; then in June we're off to Paris and Stutgart.

Google me!

2010-01-22T07:04:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to learn that the simple word ALCOLOCK prompted a high ranking placement on Google search. So keep browsing as I welcome the connection with the outside world.

ALCOLOCK, ALCOLOCK, ALCOLOCK.

To our dealers and competitors who may be reading this Blog but too shy to comment WELCOME.

ALCOLOCK, ALCOLOCK, ALCOLOCK.

We are in the process of solidifying travel now to Oslo, Norway. ACS will be presenting at ICADTS, the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, check it out http://www.t2010.org/.

Annecy, France

2010-01-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have never been nor ever heard of Annecy, France it is truly one of the more picturesque cities in France; I believe it is known as the Venice of France. And Annecy is home to our European office ALCOLOCK France.

I'll be heading to Annecy in the coming days to visit the office and have some New Year one on one discussions with clients and staff alike. But I thought I would offer some photos of Annecy to you prior to my departure. Then as the trip progresses hope to continue the tradition of the travel blog, highlighting airports, airport eats, hotels, local bistros and wintery photos of this slice of France.

Alcohol Countermeasure Systems acquires Seres Ethylometre

2010-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp (ACS) has acquired the assets and intellectual property of Seres Ethylomètre effective December 1, 2009. The assets include the popular 679 series and newly launched SAF’IR family of infrared breath alcohol testers.

As part of the acquisition, key employees of Seres will be redeployed within France or relocated to global ACS offices to manage the transition to the new manufacturing facility in Toronto, Canada starting January 2010. Manufacturing processes and components will remain uncompromised to retain the OIML and other product certifications that Seres has achieved.
“We admired Seres’ capability of combining the accuracy of infrared breath alcohol detection with the compact size of a handheld alcohol tester. With this technology now under the ACS umbrella, we can leverage our relationships acquired over 35 years to bring new choices to our customers” said Felix J.E. Comeau, Chairman & CEO of ACS.

“We are very proud that Seres Ethylomètry will become a significant part of the ACS group”, says Stéphane Vialettes, President of Seres Environnement.

Chris Wilson, Business Unit Manager of Alcohol Testers at ACS said “The accuracy of infrared technology to measure breath alcohol concentration is undeniably superior – but has typically been accompanied by high prices. This new relationship will permit ACS to deliver affordable infrared breath testers”.

ACS will retain the Seres brand through its French subsidiary Alcolock France to continue supporting existing customers.

2010-01-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

A New Year is upon us!

2010-01-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

And oh what a year it is going to be. For those who follow the Chinese Lunar calendar 2010 is the year of the Tiger; a dutiful, family oriented and dependable year.

We are busy preparing for upcoming shows and trade events and I would be remiss if I did not mention our largest show of the season INTERTRAFFIC 2010, to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. We will post upcoming information regarding the event, so mark your calendar and if you are in the vicinity do not hesitate to drop by our booth.

In the interim we are preparing for CES and a delegation en route to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chris

Happy New Year

2009-12-28T18:23:00.001-08:00

While the New Year is just around the corner, business definitely does not come to a halt and as many prepare for year end inventories and year end reconciliations, I wanted to take this opportunity to say HAPPY NEW YEAR and all the BEST OF 2010.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

Well today is the last day of work before the holidays. Many thanks to all our clients worldwide for their continued support and patronage.

The year brought us to many places including France, Belgium, Estonia and Russia and we look forward to meeting our growing dealer network in 2010.

We will commence with regular business hours January 4, 2010.

Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, Iloinen joulu, С Рождеством Христовым, Fröhliches Weihnachten and best in the New Year.

Interlock Symposium Fan Page

2009-12-22T13:32:00.001-08:00

Check out the fancy new custom URL of facebook.com/InterlockSymposium. That's what we get for meeting the 25 fan minimum requirement.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

It is December 21, the shortest day of the year, on this side of the equator. Wake up in the dark and return home in the dark. At times one may feel like a mole rather than a human being, but all is not lost as the sunlight will only increase going forward.

There still is a few more days till Christmas, and as I have noticed the Christmas DUI roadside patrols are well under way. Take care this holiday season and do not become a statistic.

But for further information regarding BAC / BrAC check out this link: http://www.coloradodot.info/news/news-releases/the-ultimate-holiday-party-favor-a-sober-ride-home-2

Happy Holidays

Chris

Support the Cause

2009-12-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

It’s your time to support Tim!

Prostate Cancer Canada has provided ACS with T-shirts, ties, and scarves for sale. These will be available for sale at 60 International. Everyone at ACS and GIS is encouraged to show your support by purchasing an item now, or purchasing raffle tickets when they become available next week.

If you buy a T-shirt – be sure to wear it to the party on December 23, 2009.

Prices:
Movember T-shirt - $20
Neck tie- $50 (very nice)
Scarves - $50 (even nicer).

For more information, visit www.prostatecancer.ca or www.movember.com

Now stop reading and come upstairs. Your support is sincerely appreciated!

Happy Hanukkah

2009-12-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Well today is the official start of Hanukkah, and the beginning of the frenetic frenzy to complete holiday shopping for the office. So off I go to a variety of stores in search of those last minute items to satisfy the needs of our global family. Got to think of things such a portability, perishability, if that's such a word and ship ability.

It will be a cold one tonight in Southern Ontario so bundle up, light some candles and enjoy the darkness of a winters night. The day light will soon be back in the coming weeks.

17 Days till Christmas, 3 More Days till Hanukkah

2009-12-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a few days since I've had the opporunity to sit down and jot some words. The Holidays seem to absorb so much time and then poof its over and its back to work as usual. But.. I was given a project today to recap all the trade show and conferences that I had attended over the course of 2009. The tally came to 10, better than I thought, it seemed that I was always on the road but in retrospect I've had far busier years.

So this brings me to my next point, business travel and the holidays. I thought I'd offer some tips for some great stores in far off places for those who are still traveling and need to complete their holiday lists; these stores are large and have everything you could imagine.

France:

Le Bon Marche (my favourite) http://www.lebonmarche.com/

Printemps http://www.printemps.com/

Galeries Lafayette http://www.galerieslafayette.com/

Spain:

El Corte Ingles http://www.elcorteingles.es/

Netherlands:

De Bijenkorf http://www.debijenkorf.nl/

HEMA

Russia, Estonia and Norway:

Stockmann http://www.stockmann.com/

Sweden:

Ahlens

Nordiska Kompaniet http://www.nk.se/

Australia:

Myer http://www.myer.com.au/

Germany:

Peek and Cloppenburg http://www.peek-cloppenburg.com/

Have fun and Happy Holiday

Chris

23 Days And Counting

2009-12-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the USA long weekend is over and we are all settling into the rythym and hum of the holiday season. The consumer feeding frenzy has hence forth begun and with it the tradition of the Holiday Social, Christmas Lunch and / or the Festive Party.

Without surprise this is a busy time of year for Law Enforcement agencies and the products produced within our industry assist in their efforts whether they are testing individuals for probable cause, verification testing individuals for evidential purposes, or supporting criminal sanctions and remedial measures as a result of a DUI/DWI conviction.

So for this Holiday season take care.

Black Friday

2009-11-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

It is noticeably quiet in the office today, I presume the lead in to the Holiday season culminating with the shopping frenzy happening today just south of the border. I always find it fascinating that Thanksgiving in the USA is a crazy retail kick off to the holidays.

Anyway I should digress on this point, as admittedly I wish I had taken some time to travel south and partake, but instead I am at work diligently looking to update the Blog and hope that someone at some point will jot a note or comment.

As the year wraps up and the trade show booths are being examined, reconditioned and readied for 2010; where will be be and what sights will we see in the coming months. The largest travel delegation will be to Amsterdam in March.

We will be exhibiting at the 2010 Intertraffic Exhibition, so I am sure I will have some interesting articles to discuss ramping up for that.

Anyway enough of this any unrelated stories from Thanksgiving would be interesting.

Have a good weekend and if you are from the United States, Happy Thanksgiving.

Chris

FACEBOOK Fan Page is up and running

2009-11-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

I need to thank our wonderful marketing team for getting us up and running once again. The fan site address is new, but you can easily 'click' on the upper right hand side of the page to rejoin the fan site.

I apologise to our friends in Australia, Japan and the USA who were inadvertently removed but we hoped to see you back again.

Further information will be posted in the coming weeks as we count down 11 months till Montebello.

Facebook is Down

2009-11-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

For all 12 active participants of the www.interlocksymposium.com FACEBOOK fan page, please note... it was inadvertently deleted, the administrator was removed, and we are unable to find it.....

Please find our new fan page under interlocksymposium.

Back in Canada

2009-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Well.. back home safe and sound and looking to wrap up the Traffic Safety Forum in Moscow. All and all a very good trip; it was very good to see and touch base with our Russian client base and have the opportunity to see some of the local sites as well. The journey was quite long and the paper work at time confusing but well worth the adventure.

If you ever are in the neighbourhood of Moscow, check out the Hotel Ast Hof, www.asthof.ru/en/. The rooms are basic and comfortable, the bathroom is exceptionally clean and breakfast is included, all for around 100.00 Euros a night.

And finally, for those requiring a quick nights stay in Frankfurt check out the NH Frankfurt Airport Hotel, http://www.nh-hotels.com/. Verrry nice room, great bathroom, free shuttle to and from the airport and breakfast included, all for around 95.00 Euros a night.

See great bathroom.....

Regards,

Chris

Exhibition Photos

2009-11-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Exhibition photos as previously discussed. Tomorrow is the last day of the exhibition. We were closed today for 4 hours to await the arrival of some dignitaries, unfortunately they cancelled at hour 3.75, but the vendors got to know each other a little better, no specatators were allowed to attend.

Moscow - Road Traffic Safety

2009-11-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I have not updated the Blog in nearly a week and so much has transpired since then; we received our passports from the Consulate, a fellow business manager is down with a virus and needed to cancel and I made it to Munich /Moscow in one piece. Very simple and no hassles, surprisingly customs and baggage claim were the fastest I have experienced at any airport globally; kudos to Domodedovo for getting me from the plane to the curb in 15 minutes, try to beat that Lester P.

The exhibition officially opened yesterday, but I only found a WiFi signal today and I forgot my camera to download photos from the event. So hopefully later today I will have some photos to post. Big questions conference pictures, Moscow pictures or a combination of both?

It's snowing in Moscow and about 1C, winter has come early even for this Canadian.

Chris

2009-11-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

An interesting article came across my desk today, relevant to what I do; the November 11, 2009 edition of the The Globe and Mail had a brief article entitled 'Pilot Charged for Failing Alcohol Test'.

The pilot in question was arrested after "officers were called to the flight, which was already full of passengers and due to leave London's Heathrow Airport." The officers were responding to a report filed by another member of the airlines staff.

The pilot was charged under British law, which pilots are "fobidden from having any more than 20 micrograms of alcohol for each 100 millilitres of blood in their system [.02%]"

Similar legislation exists in the United States, DOT and FAA guidelines, where a misuse of alcohol is considered:

Reporting for or remaining on duty with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater
Using alcohol while performing safety-sensitive function
Using alcohol within 8 hours following an accident, unless a post-accident test was administered or the employer determined the employee's performance could not have caused the accident
Flight Crewmembers and Flight Attendants using alcohol within 8 hours of performing functions. Any other covered employee using alcohol within 4 hours of performing functions.

So it has been another interesting day in breath alcohol testing.

Russia will have to wait until tomorrow... we get to pick up our passports in the morning.

Passports Submitted

2009-11-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

Unfortunatley I have nothing to update with the exception that our passports were accepted and relinquished to the Consulate of the Russian Federation today. All goes well, Visa's will be in place and ready to pick up Friday. So while we work on last minute items for the show in Moscow, I think I'll surf over to our coporate Facebook page(s) and update those. It is never too soon to prepare for the Alcohol Interlock Symposium in 2010.

As a bit of a plug, please check out http://www.interlocksymposium.com/ on Facebook, become a Fan. Next year the conference will be held in Montebello, QC at the Fairmont Charteau Montebello http://www.fairmont.com/. Mark your calendars for October 16 -20, 2010.

Chris Wilson

6 Days and Counting

2009-11-08T17:23:00.000-08:00

Well.. it's Sunday night and dutifully preparing for the week ahead. The trip to Moscow starts in 6 days and as of Friday, still no travel Visa invitations. Booth has been purchased, translators hired, equipment ordered, brochures translated, airline tickets purchased, and hotel accommodations booked. What an amazing feat considering we are presenting at another conference in Paris during the same time; http://ns60294.ovh.net/Paris2009/welcome.php?page=home&divers. And if there are any Paris travel and / or conference questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Tomorrow will be spent contacting the Toronto consulate with hopes that the letters have been transmitted and potentially spending some time in a line awaiting my turn. Worse come to worse, Ottawa may be the only alternative to an expedient Visa.

Wish me luck!

Chris Wilson

Travel, travel, travel

2009-11-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

My marketing team has been relentless in trying to get me to Blog; and admittedly my writing skills or lack there of, have been my hindrance but here I am attempting to Blog.

Invariably I always ask "What should I write about" and inevitably I get an answer that leaves me far more perplexed than when I initially asked the question; How much business do I speak about? How personal do I get? So I decided to start with something I am familiar with - travel, in particular Business Travel.

In 12 days I will be traveling to Moscow to attend an exhibition. ACS will be presenting our product at the 2009 Traffic Safety Forum. And as the coordinators have stated "TRAFFIC SAFETY FORUM -International specialized exhibition of road control and safety, is a special trade fair that presents innovative products and services and is ideal place for manufacturers, traders and service providers." Business matters covered, check.

In the meantime, I am working through the myriad of paperwork required to obtain a travel Visa, which as always will arrive just in time. Listening to Russian language CD's to brush up on the basics such as hello, good bye and thank you. And attempting a Blog to document the trip.

So it is my hopes, that as this venture progresses; pictures, comments and recommendations will materialize and that it is first and foremost, interesting and informative.

Chris Wilson
Business Unit Manager

Why we do what we do.

2009-10-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Many days go by and I wonder if I'm making a difference in the world helping to stop drunk driving.

We often get too involved in selling to fleets of buses and truck many miles away and it just seems like business.

However, a local client who had recently installed an Alcolock in his employee's car sent me an email that explains what we are doing and how we help. It read “ We're very pleased that we did it. I guess the unit gives the driver trouble sometimes,but he'll have to suffer as the ramifications of his actions. everybody is safer as a result. thanks!”

It makes the day seem worthwhile when you get an email like this and I look forward to reading more "good news" stories from customers.

John Colton

Business Unit Manager-Commercial Interlocks

The Dreaded Customer Satisfaction Survey

2009-01-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

I was sitting at my desk this afternoon trying to prepare some shipping documents for a 2pm deadline. At 1:55pm, the phone rang. It was the manufacturer of our photocopier conducting a survey to ensure the recent service and cleaning they performed last week met our expectations. My first instinct was to say "Call me later" or "If there was a problem, you would have heard from me already". Even though it felt like three minutes of my life I'll never get back, I answered her questions candidly and thoroughly. Why? Because I know what it's like trying to ensure customer's expectations are met.

ACS is currently undergoing a similar excercise. Every year, we ask 20 questions about why our customers buy from us, what they want to see in the future and what, if anything, can we improve upon. I sincerely understand completing these surveys is less than exhilarating. Some people may even believe the answers are not read, go into a black hole and no actions or changes take place as a result of everyone's efforts. Not true!

Every year, the data is collected, summarized and presented to the entire management team. Although the data is tallied, raw data such as comments (both good and bad) are unaltered for all to see. Tranparency is important to the management team so that we truly understand the mindset of the customer. After all, we're in business because of our customers, not the other way around.

So if you received a customer satisfaction survey from ACS by email, take a moment to fill it out. Your feedback will be reviewed and any questions or concerns will certainly be addressed in a timely manner.

Shawn Fitzpatrick

Marketing Manager

The story doesn't end here...

2008-11-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ! The hare woke up and realized that he'd lost the race.

The moral - "Slow and steady wins the race. This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with." Correct ?

THE STORY DOESN'T END HERE

there are few more interesting things ..... it continues as follows ......

The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul-searching. He realized that he'd lost the race only because he'd been over-confident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there's no way the tortoise could have beaten him. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed. This time, the hare went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.

The moral - " Fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady.It's good to be slow and steady; but it's better to be fast and reliable."

THE STORY DOESN'T END HERE

The tortoise did some thinking this time, and realized that there's no way it can beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. It thought for a while, and then challenged the hare to another race, but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. They started off. In keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast, the hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river. The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.

The moral - "First identify your core competency and then change the playing field to suit your core competency."

THE STORY STILL HASN'T ENDED

The hare and the tortoise, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better. So they decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time. They started off, and this time the hare carried the tortoise till the riverbank. There, the tortoise took over and swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the tortoise and they reached the finishing line together. They both felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they'd felt earlier.

The moral - "It's good to be individually brilliant and to have strong core competencies; but unless you're able to work as a team and build on each other's core competency, you'll always perform below par because there will always be situations at which you'll do poorly and someone else does well.

Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership. Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after failures. The hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his failure. The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could." In life, when faced with failure sometimes, it is appropriate to work harder and put in more effort. Sometimes it is appropriate to change strategy and try something different … and sometimes it is appropriate to do both. The hare and the tortoise also learnt another vital lesson. When we stop competing against a rival and instead start competing against the situation, we perform far better.

To sum up - The story of the hare and tortoise has much to say: Chief among them are that

A. Fast and consistent will always beat slow and steady;
B. Work to your competencies;

C. Pooling resources and working as a team will always beat individual performers;

D. Never give up when faced with failure & finally,

E. Compete against the situation - Not against a rival.

Ramesh Chittur
Director of Information Technology

Alcohol and the Economic Downturn

2008-11-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

While many of the international blog visitors reading this may be cushioned from the downturn in the US economy, there are plenty of you that are personally impacted by the latest recession. To those that are thriving in the current economy, go grab a coffee and watch a re-run of Seinfeld - this isn't for you.

It's no secret that direct and inverse relationships exist between an individual's disposable income and what they choose to buy. For example, when money is available, an extra vacation might be suddenly accessible. When money is tight, sandwiches make a viable dinner instead of the filet mignon that might otherwise be served that evening. But what about alcohol?

Logic might suggest that a little extra money might permit an expensive bottle of wine at the dinner table instead of water. However, alcohol consumption, specifically excessive alcohol consumption, is often a result of a lack of disposable income. Money woes are numbed by alcohol which only perpetuates the problem. So what can you do about it? Well, try to track it.

Try to remember how much alcohol you consumed during the "good financial times" and write it down. Perhaps it was two beers after the big game or a glass of wine once per week at dinner. Whatever the amount, exceeding your regular pattern might be a sign you are relying on alcohol to get through a rough patch. Once you have documented your typical pattern, try to cut consumption in half. It will save you money while ensuring you are not relying on alcohol to distract you from other things. Once the economy turns around, all the more reason to celebrate at home with a nice glass of merlot.

Shawn Fitzpatrick
Marketing Manager

ACS Wins Two New Awards!

2008-10-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Don't Believe Everything You Read In The Papers!

To listen to the the radio or television news lately, one would think that the sky actually is falling, and we are all about to be thrust back to the economic stone age.

Yet among all this doom and gloom there are many bright spots.

Just look at ACS. Fresh from winning the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's Ontario Global Traders Innovation Gold award, we were honoured today as one of three winners of The Canadian & Manufacturers Exporters, Regional Technology - Ontario Region Awards. Our forthcoming family of alcohol interlocks will set new standards in features, security and vehicle safety.

ACS and it's employees refused to accept conventional wisdom and set about building a better mousetrap. Instead of shrugging and saying why, we said, WHY NOT??

In doing so, ACS continues it's legacy of improving peoples lives through technology that drives traffic safety.

Allan E. Soll

Program Services Manager

Compliance Monitoring

Risk down = Revenue Up

2008-09-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

After 30 years in the alcohol interlock business, we thought we’d seen it all. That was until a new client told us his revenue increased by 25% after installing alcohol interlocks in three of his vehicles as a pilot project.

A few months ago, a small taxi company in Belgium committed to a three month pilot of interlocks in three of their taxis. With a little help from our local distributor and the attendance of some key government officials, politicians, newspapers and televisions stations, we launched a media frenzy and the beginning of a new taxi pilot.

Three months later, a peculiar thing happened. The client noticed revenue in their taxis installed with interlocks had increased by 25%. Corporate clients transporting key executives insisted the taxis provided were among those which were interlock equipped. The client has now equipped the entire fleet with alcohol interlocks and boosted their reputation, goodwill and social responsibility to new levels.

John Colton
Business Unit Manager
Commercial Interlocks

Buying from Ebay? Do your research first.

2008-09-03T11:15:00.001-07:00

Since the inception of Ebay and online retailing in general, a lot of random items have sold for amounts that far surpass their true value. On the other hand, I know some people who have, including me, managed to get a few deals without having to leave their house. If you can tolerate the typical shipping delay of 5-7 days, online retailing is a good choice for many purchases.

But after 13 years in the business of breath alcohol testing, I always question how you can buy a “quality breath alcohol tester” for under $40. Perhaps my biases are coming into play, but these devices are about as useful as random number generators with brightly coloured lights on a convenient keychain. I have purchased some just to perform accuracy testing and confirm my suspicions. They just don’t work.

When introduced to someone at a social event, inevitably I’m asked “So what do you do for a living?”. After a brief explanation, I often hear “Oh, my brother just purchased one of those alcohol testers over the internet for a few dollars”. Needless to say, I quickly clarify the differences between the various alcohol testers on the market. Then, I encourage them never to rely on those trinkets for any level of accuracy – especially before driving. The risk is too great.

Does this mean you shouldn’t buy things over the internet? Of course not. It’s incredibly convenient and appears to be the way of the future. But like all purchases, do your market research and make informed buying decisions – even it you are only spending $40.

Chris Wilson
Business Unit Manager
Breath Test Products

Why is ACS Blogging?

2008-08-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

So why is ACS Blogging? We have a website? Isn't that enough?

The short answer is "no".

Business is about communication. I was once told that the root cause of 90% of business-related problems stem from poor communication. I suspect the same applies for all relationships. So the time is right to add yet another type of communication. THE CORPORATE BLOG.

I suspect this blog will be a little different from our website or other marketing material. In fact, it will be quite different. Employees will be the primary contributors rather than the Marketing department. Topics will vary as widely as possible and are more about what is "new" as opposed to promoting products. Updates could be daily or weekly depending on how busy we are on other things - which makes sense since we have to be doing other things to make things "new" so we can blog about them. It's an exciting cycle isn't it?

We are just getting started. If you want us to blog about a certain topic, just ask. It's all about communication with the customer, the reader, the employee and the company.

Shawn Fitzpatrick
Marketing Manager

Quality Management Initiatives

2008-08-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

ACS and our Suppliers: In a continuous effort to improve the quality of our supplied product, we identified the need to work very closely with our suppliers. One initiative, as part of our Supplier Development plan is to provide training for Production Part Approval Process system, with detailed explanations regarding this requirement. On September 10, 2008 our suppliers have been invited to attend the training, which we consider will facilitate the continuous improvement of our incoming material as well as our relationships, for the mutual benefit of all parties.

Please feel free to make any modifications should you consider so.

Cristina Popescu

Quality Manager

Olympics and ACS? How does that relate?

2008-08-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Beijing Olympics are now over. That got me to thinking about parallels in my own life, and the efforts that are most near and dear to me.

Working at ACS for almost a year now, has allowed me to observe the part we play in the overall Ontario, Canadian and worldwide marketplace for "public safety" related products.

If there was a gold medal for such endeavours, then ACS would be the clear winner. Lest you think I write this as a shameless serving shill of ACS senior management, the reader should note that the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade recently independently awarded ACS their prestigious Ontario Global Traders Award - Innovation GOLD!

ACS was chosen from hundreds of worthy nominees as the company that best represents the excellence of innovation that its products bring to the world stage.

Ever since the tragic events of 9/11, worldwide interest in public safety and public safety related products has grown exponentially, and shows no signs of abating.

ACS, with its unswerving committment to R&D, will continue to be at the forefront of this rapidly growing market.

Allan Soll
Program Manager