What a scorcher.

Here at Intelex HQ in Toronto, Canada, it is the hottest day of the year. At a rare 38°C (100 F), with a humidex of 49°C (120 F), it is hotter in the world’s second coldest country than it is almost anywhere in the U.S., including the entire state of Florida.

But though the weather may be hot, there’s still work to be done.

Fortunately, Intelex is in the midst of a Beach Summer. One-upping the typical ‘casual Fridays’ featured at many businesses, Intelex has gone all out. A Beach Summer basically means employees can wear any clothing that would be acceptable on a beach. No, not that kind of beach. A normal beach. Flip-flops. Shorts. Sunglasses. Hats. You name it.

While Intelex usually designates August of any given year a Beach Month, recent successes (and a string of hot weather) have resulted in July becoming a Beach Month as well. What can we say? Comfort breeds productivity and excellence. That’s our take. Plus, it means two months of not having to iron anything. How awesome is that?

If you like the idea of being comfy, cool and relaxed (yet highly productive) in the office, why not take a look at our careers page for opportunities?

A team of Intelexians participated in the Becel Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart on Sunday, June 5, 2011, and the weather could not have cooperated more.  Clear, sunny skies and warm temperatures made ideal riding conditions as Toronto shut down the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway for the annual event.

Demonstrating our commitment to healthy lifestyles, Team Intelex flexed its leg muscles and assembled the finest team of cyclists/athletes to participate in this worthy cause. The team got off to a slow start trying to meet up at the Better Living Centre Corporate check-in. Latecomers and a delicious breakfast of cheese omelette and sausages resulted in miscommunication, a late team photo session, and people being missed at the starting gate.

Once together though, the Intelex peloton shifted gears and refocused its energy to set off on their respective 25- and 50-kilometre routes. The morning ride was a wonderful success. As Intelex Project Manager Ryan Brodie noted: “Perfect weather, great company, and a fantastic cause. What more could you ask for?”

More than 13,000 cyclists participated on Sunday event which, in its 24th year, raised $3.9 million for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

“We together fundraised $986.00 as a team,” explained Intelex President and CEO Mark Jaine. “Our goal was $1,000.00, but as a company, we successfully surpassed that goal since Intelex matched our contributions.”

The biggest show of appreciation however was for Gretchen Herrada who organized the Intelex team.

“Thank you Gretchen for organizing such a successful event!” said Account Manager Rafi Yablonsky, with Project Manager Claudio Shimabukuro adding “I am looking forward for the next event!”

Application Developer Richard Fenn summed up everybody’s sentiment by proclaiming “I enjoyed the part with the bikes”.

Thanks to all the participants, sponsors and organizers!

Intelexians recently gathered at the Westview Golf Club north of Toronto for the inaugural Intelex Annual Spring Classic.

Five teams participated in this rainy Saturday event, but only one team would have its members immortalized as the first players to win the tournament. It was a hard-fought battle that saw two teams post a respectable four over 76 in a tie for second, while one team brought their A game, posting a three over 75 to win the tournament and the title.

But the day was not all about scores. Other notable achievements included Augustine “boom boom” Chan wining the Long Drive Competition and Bevin “pin hunter” Lyon taking home the prize for landing a drive closest to the pin.

There were also a few stories that made the day memorable as well. Anthony Cogliano tapped into his inner “Happy Gilmore” to provide a unique and effective contribution to the team. It is rumored Michael Culkin was able to capture it on video. 

Also, Woody Brown, in a masterful display of driving ability, saved Bevin Lyon, the cart and himself from a near disaster. For this he won a brand new golf bag donated by Golf Town.

The tournament came down to the final group and the final putt.  Bevin Lyon, Tomas Kuras, Matt Shaw, and Woody Brown crowded the 18th green with the rest of the competitors to watch the final group play out the final hole. The game – and the winner of the trophy – was still undecided at this point. As the pressure poured on, Intelex President and CEO Mark Jaine sunk a long, 20-foot put to put his team in second place.

Once the score cards were tallied, we had clear winners: Bevin, Tomas, Matt and Woody would take home the big prize and trophies. Congratulations everyone on a great round!

If you want to take part in the 2011 Intelex Fall Classic, touch base with Matt Shaw. Details are currently in the works and will be released over the summer. If you missed the spring classic do not make the same mistake twice!

On February 18th, Intelex employees spent the afternoon together honouring Intelex founder and former CEO Ted Grunau. Intelexians enjoyed a catered lunch and an awards ceremony to recognize employees for exhibiting qualities and strengths that Ted valued most. February 18th was Ted's birthday and Ted Grunau Day is a way for us to both remember him and introduce his legacy to new members of the Intelex team.

Intelex President and CEO Mark Jaine hosted the event and along with the usual awards presented, this year he added two special awards: Manager of the Year and Executive of the Year.

Congratulations to all award winners and nominees on being recognized by your peers!

2011 Award Recipients:

Rising Star Katsu Takeuchi	Operational Excellence Gretchen Herrada	Notable Person of the Year Yi Zhang	Technical Innovator of the Year Craig MacGregor
Business Builder of the Year Jason Fitzpatrick	Hardest Worker of the Year Ketul Shah	Most Reliable Alex Khoussid	Co-Worker of the Year Carmela Maia
Dedication to Client Satisfaction Andrew Gaudet	Team Player of the Year Ted Burton	Commitment to Quality Lixian Xiao	Minister of Good Times Purdal Mya
Product Innovator of the Year Michael Anderson	Manager of the Year Kristy Sadler	Executive of the Year John Phyper	Employee of the Year Bevin Lyon

To kick off 2011, the Intelex team was invited to dress casually for the month of January and make a donation to one of two charities. Intelex very generously committed to matching all employees' donations at the end of the month. In the end, over $2,500 was raised for both charities.

One of the charities was the Out of the Cold program in Toronto. The Out of the Cold program is a volunteer initiative that consists of congregations from faith groups, community members and advocates who provide safe refuge, hospitality and emergency shelter to the homeless community throughout the City of Toronto.

The other charity Intelexians donated to was re:nourish, a program founded by Nutrilawn. The re:nourish program raises funds for an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. The financial contributions made by Intelex were directed to the orphanage and the communities surrounding it with food, supplies and the building of a community garden.   

Thank you, Intelex, for again matching our donations and helping us to make contributions to such worthy causes!

Set of four wins extra raffle tickets! Intelex celebrated the holiday season with a night of dinner and dancing on Saturday, December 4th at The Carlu, a unique and historical venue in downtown Toronto. Guests enjoyed a varied menu of hors d'oeuvres including mini beef burgers, pulled chicken & mulled pear quiches, grilled prawns, seasoned potato wedges, mini salmon pot pies, and eggplant ratatouille. Late night sweets included Oreo, praline, coconut & almond cheesecake lollipops and sliced fruit & berries.

As Intelexians and their dates arrived at The Carlu, they each received one playing card. Everyone then needed to make a set of four by finding their same number in the other three suits, all from the same deck. Those who found their matches were awarded additional tickets for the raffle. Raffle prizes were given out by President/CEO Mark Jaine, who organized the event and picked out the prizes himself. Raffle prized included an Xbox 360 Kinect, a Sony Cyber-shot camera, Best Buy gift cards, and two 16GB iPads with WiFi. When prizes weren't being given out, the dance floor was overflowing with dancers, many in their bare feet!

A big thanks goes out to all those who helped us celebrate this holiday season and a special thanks to Mark Jaine for treating us to an incredibly memorable night! To my fellow Intelexians, Intelex clients, and clients to be - Happy Holidays & all the best in 2011!

"O Intelex" jingle ("O Christmas Tree" melody)

Intelex's Vision Meeting, held last month, was a great success! 2010 was a momentous year for Intelex and there was a lot to celebrate. We reflected on the company’s achievements, shared our visions for 2011, and participated in a variety of team building activities.

The Intelex Vision Meeting is an annual event hosted by Mark Jaine, Intelex President and CEO. Each year the entire Intelex team spends the day together getting to know one another and learning about what other departments are up to. Company and product updates are presented to the entire team and employees are given the opportunity to provide feedback and input on how to improve all aspects of the organization.

As always, the most entertaining group activity was the Intelex jingle/skit. It’s always interesting to see what Intelexians will come up with! Employees are randomly divided into ten groups and then given 30 to 40 minutes to create a jingle or skit about Intelex. Most of the time, employees are inspired by popular melodies or current events for their jingles and skits. The stage at the Renaissance Hotel’s Ballroom has seen everything from Disney songs and rap music to the Old Spice guy. 

In addition to a fun-filled day, this year Intelexians enjoyed an evening event as well. Everyone was invited to stay at the Hotel for a very exciting casino night! Poker, Black Jack, Craps, Roulette, and a Wheel of Fortune - enough games for all to play the whole night. Those needing a break from the tables enjoyed Foosball and Air Hockey. We ate, drank, danced, and ended the evening with an incredible raffle, where gifts included gift cards, iPods, a digital camera, an Xbox 360 Kinect, and an iPad. There were also some fun company prizes such as "Put CEO to work for the day" and "Get your own private office for a week". The casino night was a huge hit with the team and was a great way to end a wonderful day!

Thank you, Intelex!! We're already looking forward to next year's Vision Meeting! 

President/CEO Mark Jaine

Intelexians sharing ideas

Poker table at casino night

For the second year in a row, Intelexians were invited to make monetary and food donations to help Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank with its Fall Drive. Our goal for 2010 was $1,250.00 and as many non-perishable food items as we could gather. Intelex staff donated a total of $2,015 and just like last year, President and CEO Mark Jaine pledged that the company would match all donations made during the drive, which ran at our office from September 20, to October 15, 2010.

Thanks to the many generous people in our office, Intelex was able to contribute a total of $4,030 toward Daily Bread’s goal for its 2010 Fall Drive. We also collected about 50 lbs of non-perishable food items and delivered them to our local fire hall a couple of days before the end of the Fall Drive.

Daily Bread Food Bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that is fighting to end hunger in communities across the Greater Toronto Area. Every year thousands of people across the GTA rely on food banks and Daily Bread serves the majority of these people through neighbourhood food banks and meal programs in its member agencies. In 2009, there were over 872,000 client visits to over 170 of Daily Bread’s member agencies food banks and meal programs.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to Daily Bread Food Bank!

Stephen Ross, a senior account executive at Intelex, just recently attended the LandWarNet conference as a guest of our client, the US Army. This year’s conference was held in Tampa, Florida and ran from August 3 to 5. This event brought government and industry together to openly communicate commercial best business practices and government implementations. Ross was pleased to be able to support his long-standing client and enjoyed meeting others in the industry.

For more information on Intelex clients please visit our clients page.

This spring, Intelex is releasing a new version of its software, Intelex 5.1. Intelex users can look forward to hundreds of system enhancements and new products that will optimize the way they’re using the Intelex System.

One of the most exciting products being released with 5.1 is the Custom Data Set Builder, which takes Intelex’s reporting capabilities to a whole new level. The Data Set Builder facilitates robust calculations and analysis of cross-module data, and allows users to combine data from multiple modules to generate organization-wide key performance indicators (KPIs) that open up a new level of transparency into their organization’s performance. The best part is that this new tool can output complex data onto a single report through an easy-to-use, intuitive system wizard. An example of such a report is to pull an employee’s injury data from the Safety Incidents Module and compare it to the related data for that employee within the Training Management Module.
 
Other new products being released with 5.1 include two new suites and seven modules:

Power Tools Suite
A robust set of administrative-level tools, each working to extend the performance capabilities of the Intelex System beyond the standard offering. The suite includes eight tools.

Environmental Compliance Suite
The Environmental Compliance Suite will help your organization comply with today's regulations and meet corporate social responsibility initiatives. The suite includes five modules: Air Emissions, Waste, Wastewater, and Refrigerant Management, as well as Environmental Sustainability Metrics.

Training Quiz Builder
Working in conjunction with the Document Control and Training Management Modules, the Training Quiz Builder enables organizations to develop and administer custom quizzes for competency testing as part of their training program.

Checklist Builder
The Checklist Builder module allows you to develop and administer custom questionnaires, surveys, and checklists for any of your business requirements. This module can be used with Audits Management or can be assigned directly to an employee.

Air Emissions Management
The Air Emissions Management Module enables organizations to effectively track and report on emission factors from multiple point sources, and includes a reporting suite that enables users to translate data into emission reduction plans, tangible energy savings, and overall improved business performance.

Waste Management
This module enables organizations to easily manage, track, and report on the various stages of waste management and disposal, including categorizing potential wastes, tracking generated waste and recycled material, on-site waste treatment, and waste and recyclable shipments.

Wastewater Reporting
The Wastewater Reporting Module enables industrial and municipal facilities to effectively manage Permits, Discharge Points, Parameters and Samples, providing businesses the flexibility to comply with permit requirements while reducing the time and resources necessary to do so.

Refrigerant Management
The Intelex Refrigerant Management System provides an easy and complete solution for tracking and reporting refrigerant usage, leaks, tests, repairs, purchases and disposal while ensuring compliance with refrigerant regulations including EPA 608.

Environmental Sustainability Metrics
Define, add, and track key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to your business. The Environmental Sustainability Metrics module tracks usage and cost, has a built-in scheduler to generate tasks, includes a unit converter, and can be reported on with data from other modules using the Custom Data Set Builder.

As part of the 5.1 release, Intelex has launched several initiatives to introduce all of the new system enhancements and products to Intelex users, including a 5.1-dedicated website, product videos, webinars, release notes, and more.

To learn more about Intelex 5.1 and our new products, please visit our client portal, Intelex-Exchange. If you do not have access to Intelex-Exchange, please submit a request online.