Encompass Electrical Technologies to Train 15,000 Workers with CSTS.

Business Editors

EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2000

Vicom Multimedia Inc. ("VMI") (CDNX:VMI.), today announced that Encompass Electrical Technologies, a $1.6-billion division of Encompass Services Corporation (NYSE:ESR), is introducing the Construction Safety Training System (CSTS) to 15,000 of its employees.

The division is introducing CSTS to provide standard and consistent safety training nationwide to ensure employees work safely and productivity stays high.

"CSTS will bring tremendous value to our business by reducing insurance costs and increasing quality and productivity," says Frank McDaniel, Director of Safety & Loss Control, for Encompass Electrical Technologies. McDaniel manages the division's safety initiatives for more than 40 business units located throughout the U.S.

Although McDaniel evaluated several other computer-based training programs, CSTS is the only one that passed his rigorous internal evaluation process. "The main advantage of CSTS is the quality of the course content and the delivery mechanism," says McDaniel. "What really excites me about the process is how effective, flexible and efficient it is."

The actual course content will be delivered by using desktop computers set up in trailers at the job site or in local office classroom settings. The training records will be transferred over the company's internal wide-area network (WAN) or the Internet so that McDaniel can centrally administer the training and manage all the records and reporting from his office in Kansas.

McDaniel says there's lots of talk in the industry about safety, but CSTS has given their company a tangible way to implement change and deliver results. CSTS will be the safety training foundation of Encompass Technologies' new behavior-based safety process.

CSTS addresses the concerns of Encompass management and staff and of their owner clients who have accepted CSTS as the standardized basic safety training required for workers to be on their job sites. McDaniel says that previously, owners of construction projects required workers to complete the OSHA 10-hour classroom-training program or a comparable course.

Encompass Electrical Technologies is beginning the rollout of CSTS in business units located in Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. "We are launching CSTS in many different, diverse environments to determine the logistical and support needs as we move toward full-scale implementation," says McDaniel.

Houston-based Encompass Services Corporation is the premier provider of facilities systems and solutions in the United States. With revenues approaching $4 billion, Encompass provides a portfolio of electrical technologies, mechanical services and cleaning systems to commercial, industrial and residential customers nationwide. The company, with over 31,000 employees, has operations in some 250 locations, providing services in each of America's 100 largest cities. Additional information and press releases about Encompass are available on the company's Web site at www.encompserv.com.

CSTS is a SAFE-T-Disc(R) program created by Vicom Multimedia Inc. It is a highly effective risk management and safety- training solution designed to help the four million construction workers in the U.S. work safer, resulting in fewer job-site accidents and reduced workers' compensation costs.

For a backgrounder on this announcement visit the News & Articles section at www.safetdisc.com.

Vicom Multimedia Inc. (CDNX:VMI) has 21 years of experience providing technology-enabled learning and performance enhancement solutions.

The Canadian Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.