OSR Agent Zhenzhen Gu creates word puzzles as a family past-time with her son and daughter.

The Gu family has even created programs to write the some of the complex puzzles, including cryptograms and crossword puzzles.

Zhenzhen asked us if we would be interested in featuring her family’s puzzles in our monthly internal OSR News Letter. ASP ran the family’s puzzles for three months.

We experienced such great feedback from our team that we  decided to work with Zhenzhen to create an ASP Puzzle Book for the travelling public. These free-of-charge Kids Puzzle Books will feature colouring pages and puzzles themed to Canada and World Travelling.

Up for the challenge? Give one of Zhenzhens’ crosswords a try!

Crossword: Canada’s
Provinces and Territories

  1. Picture Province (two words)
  2. Beautiful (two words)
  3. Canada’s Ocean Playground (two words)
  4. Je me souviens
  5. Home of “Anne of Green Gables” (three
    words)
  6. Land of the Midnight Sun
  7. Wild Rose Country
  8. Canada’s Arctic (two words)
  9. Canada’s Happy Province (three words)
  10. Friendly
  11. Land of Living Skies
  12. Where polar bears, inuksuks, Northern
    Lights and stars are
  13. Yours to Discover

By Mark Burnett, Trainer, Canine Unit

In early September, members of the ASP K9 Unit from the Pearson Airport and Commercial teams coordinated with other K9 units.

K9 units from ASP, the RCMP, Ottawa and Montreal airports assisted officials from Transport Canada in the development of federal canine regulations for the screening of air cargo.

The new regulations will dramatically change the cargo shipping landscape in Canada by approving the use of explosives detection canines for the purpose of security screening in the supply chain for all cargo shippers.

The new Transport Canada regulations will give ASP K9 the unique opportunity to provide the services of our K9 detection program to cargo shippers and freight forwarders to supplement their existing screening processes. ASP K9 was fortunate to have been invited to Ottawa to assist with these working trials and be involved in the creation of a canine standard that will become Federal Law by the end of 2019.

Pictured here, TPIA handler Isaiah Bharath takes instruction from a Transport Canada chemist regarding a search exercise, while his canine partner Josh gets ready. 


By Mike Moledzski, Service Delivery Manager, CIC/RES Division

On August 1st 2018, The Bay Adelaide Centre, a Brookfield property, became ASP’s newest commercial client.

https://www.mybrookfield.ca/properties/bac/

These buildings are in the heart of the downtown Torontos finical district. The West Tower being 51 floors and the the East Tower being 44 floors, these building are home to many high level financial clients. With construction starting soon on the North Tower, this team is set to grow even more. We welcome you all to the ASP family!

In the short time you have all worked for ASP, you all have shown great determination, teamwork and reliability working at the Bay Adelaide Centre. We look forward many more years working with each other.

On August 24th, 2018 the Bay Adelaide Centre guarding staff was given the opportunity to attend a Go Kart event provided by the Brookfield company. This was  a fantastic day, shared by all employees that attended. 

With competition at such a high level, everyone was racing to be the best. In the end, everyone left with big smiles on their faces and returned to the Bay Adelaide Centre for a great satisfiying dinner. We look forward to the next event!


By Garinder Grewal, Service Delivery Manager, Aviation

On Saturday, September 22, 2018 Toronto Pearson hosted its 11th annual Runway Run.

Each year, Toronto Pearson International Airport opens one of its active runways to the public for a fun, unique 5 km run or 2 km walk.

This year, around 2,500 individuals participated in the runway run and more than 30,000 people have participated in the event since it began. Participants got a one-of-a kind look at the airport, where they met the people and animals who work at Toronto Pearson.

This year, around 2,500 individuals participated in the runway run and more than 30,000 people have participated in the event since it began. Participants got a one-of-a kind look at the airport, where they met the people and animals who work at Toronto Pearson.

This year’s event included:

 Falcon Environmental and the birds

 GTAA Firefighters

 Peel Regional Police

 ASP Canine Handler & Canine

In addition, this year, participants were able to get up close to aircraft displayed by Air Canada and NAV Canada. The public was also able to tour inside the FedEx cargo plane.

As proud sponsors of the event, ASP and Airfield Access Inc. once again donated their services to help set up and facilitate it.

Prior to the event, ASP and Airfield Access Inc. provided the following:


1 guard at AESC from Sept 18th to Sept 21st
for race kit pick-ups.


Total of 7 DA drivers with vehicles
between Sept 19th and 21st to escort the
vendors to the site for setup.


On the day of the event, 11 Access Control
guards and 12 D/DA drivers to move the
Primary Security Line (PSL).

ASP Control Access Guards at Entrance to AMF

Thanks to all the ASP employees who were involved in this year’s event! Special Thanks to ASP Supervisor Osmond Coutinho, who oversaw the operation and ensure everything went as planned.

Osmond Coutinho with Runway Run Dance Team

See you next year!


By Sean Gallagher, Recruitment

It is with great passion and respect that I announce that we are doing security and customer service hiring in five different airports in two different provinces.

The company is growing at a rapid pace, which means we need more ASP-caliber employees and referrals have always proved to be a successful model for our company.

We are looking for all types of personalities and experienced security and customer service representatives. If you know anyone interested, even with very little experience that can meet our expectations, please feel free to pass on our recruitment e-mails.

ASP will also be looking for leaders in all areas of its supervision, specialist positions, management or HR. It’s a great time to be working for ASP and I am proud to be a part of the front line of hiring.

Please have your referrals e-mail the appropriate recruiter for the positions they are interested in.

Contact Susana Borosic (sborosic@security-asp.com) for Pearson Airport Access Control, Supervisors and Specialists.

Contact Sean Gallagher (sgallagher@security-asp.com) for Ottawa Airport, Calgary Airport, Sudbury Airport and for customer service rep positions.

Looking forward to what growth 2019 brings us!

By Sean Gallagher, Recruitment


By David Ramlagan, Interim Training Coordinator, Calgary International Airport

As the interim Training Coordinator for the new contract at Calgary International Airport (YYC), I was not sure what challenges lay ahead of me. 

I was both anxious and excited at the same time. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I was greeted with warm, genuine smiles from employees with various companies at the airport. I was pleasantly surprised by traffic enforcement personnel who asked me if I needed any help with me having to approach them. Some employees wear cowboy hats as part of their uniform which was a great way to showcase the Calgarian culture.

If someone leaves their car on the curbside for too long, an automated announcement is made, asking for the driver to return to his/her vehicle.

YYC is a pet-friendly airport where dogs do not have to be caged in the terminal. There are also volunteers who take dogs around the boarding gates for the passengers to pet for stress reduction. I realized that CalgaryAirport has something very special in terms of hospitality.

The security employees that I trained were very accommodating and acted no differently from the general hospitable culture at the airport. I felt welcome and not like an
outsider when interacting with the transitioning security staff.

Best of all, I know they are in good hands with the ASP Management team in Calgary. 

Andie Thompson in administration is always pleasant, approachable and shows a genuine care for the best interest of employees. Zac Veness in Training is a walking wealth of knowledge and has earned the respect of our YYC clients. Ray Labelle is the Calgary Operations Manager for ASP and we could not have found a better person to deliver the ASP vision to the Calgary Airport Authority.

I am proud to welcome the Calgary security staff members to the ASP family. I have met each one and I am confident they will strengthen our image and reputation.


Operations, Calgary International Airport

With much anticipated fanfare and excitement, we at ASP commenced our newest contract at Calgary International Airport (YYC) on September 30, 2018.

ASP and YYC management attended the morning and evening briefings and welcomed all employees. If Day 1 was any indication of the success that we are expecting, we are in very good shape. Staff were excited to commence their employment with ASP and several noted that they were looking forward to the change.

The ASP team prepares for a busy day at YYC.

ASP welcomed approximately 120 employees into the fold and is looking forward to a long-lasting working relationship. Many of our partners and stakeholders commented about the professional-looking uniform and the fresh start.

Welcome to the ASP family!


By Mina Khani, Training Coordinator, Customer Service

The ultimate aim of any training program is to add value and prepare employees for the job. 

ASP’s team of managers and supervisors at Toronto Pearson International Airport attended a “Train the Trainer on Safe Lifting and Manual Handling” on October 1, 2018 that was provided by the GTAA.

This training will be delivered to all employees on the floor. Through audits and coaching of the individuals, we will enforce manual handling that will promote a healthy lifestyle for everyone in their professional and personal life.

The above training is based on Olympic weightlifting principles; Pristine Condition International’s award-winning program has been successful in many areas of industry, including aviation. Pristine is very familiar with manual handling in an airport environment.

The Pristine Condition approach has three key elements that contribute to tangible behavioral change:

  1. Creation of custom video productions which demonstrate the techniques in a live work environment using a fresh, modern approach, which makes them factual, memorable and relatable
  2. Training engaged managers and coaches to have the skills required to pass the principles on to front line staff
  3. Sustainability through ongoing support and coaching, revalidation of training, measurement of performance through the use of a custom work observation application and regular updates of training materials
ASP participants in Pristine Condition training

To make this program a success here at Toronto Pearson by reducing employee injuries, we need your help.


By Paul Parkinson, Director, Finance

RBC Group
Advantage Savings Program

How your plan works:

As an eligible employee, you may set up your Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (Group RRSP) account, which allows you to contribute directly from your paycheque.

Financial Advice

To establish your plan, you will meet with an RBC Royal Bank advisor who will assist you in selecting from a diverse range of investment options. Your RBC Group Advantage Participant’s Guide to Group RRSP provides more information on your options and requirements.

Eligibility

You are eligible to join the plan if you are a full-time or part-time employee.

Contributions

Please speak to your Human Resources to determine how much you would like to
contribute. Once you’re registered with RBC, we will make the payroll deductions from your pay and make a direct deposit to your RBC RRSP account.

Spousal Options

You may choose to direct all or a portion of
your contribution.

MyTime Portal – Prevent Payroll Discrepancies

As an ASP employee, you will have access to your MyTime portal that shows your schedule along with the hours you have worked. Check your portal frequently to ensure that we have the correct hours recorded including the paid sick days. These should be resolved before the payroll cut-off to ensure you’re paid correctly rather than creating confusion and resolving on the next pay.

As an ASP employee, you will have access to your MyTime portal that shows your schedule along with the hours you have worked. Check your portal frequently to ensure that we have the correct hours recorded including the paid sick days. These should be resolved before the payroll cut-off to ensure you’re paid correctly rather than creating confusion and resolving on the next pay.

To access the MyTime portal, go to the ASP home page (www.security-asp.com) and click on the “EMPLOYEE PORTAL” link in the top right-hand corner.


By Darren Scott, Resource Coordinator

All strategies are important when training and developing a great Security Guard; the one that is often most forgotten is saying “Thank you”.

Saying thank you to a good security guard accomplishes two things. First, it shows that you have recognized the guard’s specific accomplishments, behaviors, or actions. Second, saying thank you also shows your appreciation for those same
accomplishments.

Benefits of Thanking a Good Security Guard

Outside of being the right thing to do, there
are many benefits to saying thank you. Here
are just a few:

  1. Higher morale. Being a security
    guard can be a thankless job
    sometimes. Recognizing and
    acknowledging a guard’s work will
    engage and motivate.
  2. Improved relationships.
    Improving relationships between a
    good security guard and clients, or
    your coworkers, is essential
    in providing great service. When
    there is a good relationship guards are
    more likely to go above and beyond
    the call of duty.
  3. Improved bottom line for all. By
    recognizing and showing appreciation
    to a good security guard, you are
    creating a win-win situation for all
    parties. Guards will become better
    ambassadors for employees and
    employers.