A shortage of skilled workers, decreasing ore grades, and stricter environmental and regulatory compliance requirements than ever before are making it challenging for resource-based businesses to balance production with profits, especially with market volatility, which worsened during COVID when mines were shut down because of outbreaks.

For the resources sector – mining, oil and gas in particular – robotics has become a true game-changer. From making dangerous operations safer to increasing production, a combination of robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), state-of-the-art software, and automated processes continues to streamline operations and save lives. From remote mine sites to onshore and offshore exploration and drilling, incorporating the latest robotics and AI simply makes sense.

Service and safety

From remote-control robotic vehicles performing underground mine inspections, to robotic drills, to drones flying overhead to record videos and send information back to users in real time, AI is fast becoming commonplace on larger sites. Instead of sending human workers, robotic vehicles are deployed for offshore oil rigs to perform maintenance and repairs with absolute safety.

Valuable in a variety of applications and processes, robotics and AI are used in all phases in oil, gas and mining, from exploration to decommissioning and everything in between. Taking the place of humans – who operate the devices remotely, from a safe distance – robots are outfitted with cameras, microphones, gas and thermal detectors, and other sensors, and walk around as they create 3D maps.

Perhaps one of the best examples of combining advanced technology while limiting risk is iron roughnecks. Originally coined to describe workers on oil rigs, ‘iron roughnecks’ are pieces of hydraulic machinery used to connect and disconnect drill pipe. Once a dangerous process performed manually by hand, modern technology has automated the handling of iron roughnecks, making the job much safer.

One of the most impressive oil and gas projects is the Oseberg H, which was manufactured with the motto ‘think big, build small.’ Fully automated, the oil and gas platform in the North Sea became the first of its kind when it came on stream in October 2018. Launched by Norwegian energy company Equinor (formerly Statoil), the platform represents a massive technological advancement since it is operated by remote control, fully automatic, and unmanned. Described at the time as “digitalisation in practice” by Anders Opedal, Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Technology, Projects and Drilling, the platform requires human maintenance just once or twice a year. The first platform of its kind on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), the Oseberg H resembles other offshore oil platforms from the outside, except for being as bare bones as possible. Inside, one of the most noticeable absences is a toilet. “Oseberg H is a pilot and our first unmanned platform. We are further developing the concept and believe that the next version will be even more competitive,” added Opedal in a media release.

For Equinor, which operates in 30 countries worldwide, the cost of the Oseberg H – about NOK 6.5 billion (2018 NOK) – is actually over 20 percent less than the cost estimate of the plan for development and operation (PDO), according to the company. “The breakeven price is reduced from USD 34 to below USD 20 per barrel, further strengthening a development that is already highly profitable.”

The need for speed

In the resources sector, timing is crucial. In mining, demand for production can exceed the capacity of human workers, as demand for elements like lithium – crucial to the manufacture of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – has skyrocketed 432 percent this year alone, primarily because of its use in the growing worldwide electric vehicle (EV) market, Smart phones, and other electronic devices. As a result, mining and other resource sectors are producing as fast as possible, with the help of robotics and automation.

There is no doubt the need for machines to replace people will continue to be a factor not only here on Earth, but in space, as the likelihood of asteroid mining grows. Some may say the costs would be astronomical; the same could have been said years ago of mine sites and oil and gas drilling before robots and Artificial Intelligence.

The value of the industrial robotics market speaks for itself. Last year, it was an estimated $41.7 billion USD and is projected to almost double, by 2028, to $81.4 billion USD, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 11.8 percent between 2022 and 2028. While this figure encompasses other industries such as manufacturing, reasons for growth remain consistent: processes are carried out safely, with little or no risk to human workers, and production is sped up and more efficient. While the initial capital investment costs of AI, robotics and automation may seem prohibitive, the long-term benefits often outweigh the price.

Countless benefits

Along with increasing production and safety, robots have another distinct advantage over human workers: they can enter and evaluate places most people cannot go because of unfavourable conditions, from frigid colds to blistering desert heat and other health, safety and environment (HSE) challenges. Since resources like oil and gas are often found in remote, inhospitable locations and climates, it is much easier to send in robots – guided remotely by skilled operators, semi-autonomous, or autonomous – to conduct site exploration or inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR). Whether up in the air via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or on or below the ground through in-pipe inspection robots (IPIRs) and tank inspection robots (TIRs), routine processes can be completed quickly, efficiently, and safely.

Just as in the oil and gas sector, mining will continue to utilize robotics and AI, in the forms of self-driving trucks, automated loaders, and even trains transporting materials from mine sites to ports, where they are loaded and sent out for processing. Remote control mining loaders and trucks, for example, can be equipped with dozens of sensors measuring weight, evaluating vehicle performance, checking for hazards, gauging ventilation, and tracking mileage to ensure peak operational efficiency.

In just the past five years, robotics technology has advanced considerably, as have manufacturing and components. Robots are lighter and more durable, and are becoming less expensive. Capable of flying overhead to inspect sites and perform mapping, going far below ground to determine air quality and potential hazards, and even going sub-sea near offshore oil rigs to perform inspections and check for any potential issues, AI and robotics offer a breadth of applications – and their take-up is growing. In fact, a recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) states that robotics and drones are expected to become the biggest adopted technologies – with the greatest growth in the oil and gas sector over the coming three to five years.

The post Modern Machines<p class="company">New Technology in Robotics</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Co-founder Sascha Deri has deep roots in the industry, going back to 1999 when he launched his first renewable energy company. “They started with this vision of helping people go forward with renewable energy even though it was pretty tough to do at the time,” Galasso says of Deri and his business partners. KiloVault and its products “have really grown out of that experience, knowing what’s really required to make a reliable and flexible system in these environments.”

The minds behind KiloVault “saw a gap in the market between the products that were available,” Galasso says. “You had offerings at the high end that had a lot of features and you had products that were sort of at the low end of the market with few features and reliability concerns, and so we wanted to come up with a product line that was meeting in the middle, offering the latest features and functions at a competitive price that more and more people would be able to afford. That’s really what we were aiming for, what we’ve continued to deliver on.”

The underlying motivation is to make a positive difference in the world. “We are looking to help consumers and companies move forward managing their own power needs, helping them transition to renewable energy,” Galasso says. “We really see it as our fundamental, underlying vision to help all sectors of the market leverage renewable energy—and one of the key elements is providing reliable and affordable energy storage.”

The intermittent nature of renewable energy requires reliable storage solutions. The sun only shines for so many hours a day and the wind does not always blow. “You want to be able to bridge the gap between those time periods with energy storage,” Galasso says. “And that is true on the grid scale, but it’s also just as true on the residential or the individual company scale, where you can save significant money by having your own electrical production capability.”

For example, businesses in the United States’ commercial and industrial sectors will typically pay a demand charge based on their peak use of electricity within a given month. “That’s so the utility can scale and ensure that they can provide power at that level throughout that period,” Galasso explains. “But what it means to the company, the consumer of electricity, is that the highest level that you hit during the month is sort of a penalty you are going to pay for the rest of that month. And so what you’d really like to do is lower that peak and round out your energy needs. Energy storage can help you do that by producing power through solar and then leveraging it at those peak times.” The result can be significant cost savings each month.

Additionally, renewable energy storage can be indispensable when primary power sources are unreliable—a situation that has been occurring more frequently in North America. “With wildfires in different parts of the U.S. and Canada disrupting power lines… in California, in particular, we’re anticipating rolling blackouts again, potentially during the fire season this year,” Galasso says. “And so that creates a need for companies, community members, and residential facilities to have access to power during those disruptions.”

In addition to wildfires, freezing temperatures have caused a tragic loss of power in recent years. “There were tremendous disruptions due to the cold snaps that put out both distribution and production for large parts of Texas,” Galasso points out. “These disruptions are unfortunately becoming more frequent, even in the United States and Canada. And then if we look at other locations like Puerto Rico, the grid there has had historic instability problems and that’s driving a lot of need at all levels for more consistent and reliable power.”

All of these examples are only “the tip of the iceberg because as we look more broadly throughout the Americas, there are a lot of areas where there’s instability in the grid and with the availability of electric power to businesses and residences.” Galasso says that it is difficult to see a solution for these infrastructure issues at the national level, but that individual renewable energy storage is a realistic answer to the systemic problem. He likens this approach to the telecommunications transformation that came when cell phones were introduced to underdeveloped nations and countless people who did not have access to landlines were suddenly able to connect through wireless technology.

“In a large way, community solar and other more distributed production can have an impact in those same kinds of markets by allowing communities that have limited or no access to electricity today to get more reliable power for their everyday needs through micro grids and other technologies that are really quite practical these days—and also very dependent on the need for energy storage to make those be practical,” Galasso says.

KiloVault products are designed to provide the solution people need, from remote locations in the developing world to the most technologically advanced cities. The company’s very first products set a precedent with their safe lithium technology. “We use lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) as our base technology, which avoids the thermal runaway conditions that can happen with some of the other, more exotic combinations of lithium and precious metals,” Galasso says. “And it’s been proven to be very reliable for home use and even large-scale energy storage needs.”

Last year, KiloVault introduced the newest version of its HLX+ Series, a 12V battery with expanded communications capabilities and the ability to operate in lower temperatures using a built-in heater. This technology “allows it to adapt to the environment,” making the HLX+ series ideal for colder climates. The team is also adding accessories for easier mounting and convenient monitoring of the batteries.

One of the company’s most popular products is the larger capacity HAB battery, which was introduced nearly four years ago and is designed for residential and light industrial and commercial use. “It’s been very successful for us getting into many new markets,” Galasso says. “Our customers really like the fact that it comes with built-in features like mobile apps and a cloud service that keeps your firmware up to date and allows you to do remote monitoring. We also allow it to integrate with popular inverters.”

KiloVault products are compatible with inverters and charge controllers from Schneider Electric, Sol-Ark, MidNite Solar, OutBack Power, Victron Energy and other leading suppliers. An inverter is an electrical component that is used to take the stored energy in the battery and convert it to AC energy for use in homes and businesses. “We meet the various UL standards and CSA standards for electrical compatibility,” Galasso says.

Currently, the KiloVault HAB is available as a single unit of 7.5 kilowatt-hours or a dual unit of 15 kilowatt-hours. “But it’s also expandable to up to 105 kilowatt-hours with fourteen units being used in parallel,” says Galasso.

With so many technological advancements already under the company’s belt, one can only guess what is on the horizon for KiloVault. One thing is for sure: the team will continue their mission of delivering innovative and affordable energy storage solutions throughout the world to those who need them most.

The post Transformative Energy Solutions<p class="company">KiloVault</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

The team’s work led to the development of the smart power flow control concept, which allowed grid operators to adjust power flows across the electric transmission network in real time. This became the catalyst to bring some of the U.S.’s largest and most respected utilities together in 2010 to aid in launching an initiative called the Smart Wires Focused Initiative, a pre-cursor to Smart Wires becoming a company.

In the past decade-plus of Smart Wires’ existence, the company has developed projects and solutions with more than twenty utilities across multiple continents and sports more than 3,000 device years of field experience. These projects facilitate more renewable energy reaching end customers.

During the unprecedented blackout, Jessica Joyce found herself shaken at the event’s occurrence and completely unsure when the power would return, which made caring for her newborn premature daughter even more daunting. Now the Senior Vice President of Smart Wires, Joyce reflects on her lifelong passion for making the world a cleaner place and how Smart Wires emboldened her to mold that passion into a career.

She remembers experiencing the challenges and financial pains of congestion and connecting renewable energy to the grid firsthand in her previous job as a wind turbine salesperson. She is now very excited to see movement toward new energy solutions and rapid adoption of electric power but believes there is no way to achieve this transition without modernizing the electric grid. “Smart Wires is how to make [modernization] happen and enable a move to a more critical part of the energy value chain.”

Smart Wires is primarily concerned with reimagining the modern electric grid using innovative technologies and analytics that provide digital, controllable, optimized power systems which will enable renewable energy adoption and consumer electrification at the pace and scale necessary to achieve a net-zero world. Net-zero refers to a goal by governments, businesses and individuals to create a global economy that produces zero emissions.

The company’s primary offering is an advanced power flow control technology called SmartValve, intelligent hardware that pushes power off overloaded power lines and pulls it onto underutilized lines. The company primarily serves owners and operators of electric transmission systems that want to reduce power line congestion, boost reliability and resiliency of those lines, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and save hundreds of millions of dollars for its customers.

Smart Wires is also keen to help integrate more renewable energy into the electric grid as well as reduce the cost and environmental impact of generating and distributing electricity. “Energy transition is a global movement,” Joyce mentions. Companies are moving from the use of fossil fuels to renewable sources like wind, sun, and hydroelectric power. This switch is to combat the rise of greenhouse gases and emissions which threaten to harm the way of life on Earth. Smart Wires technology automatically activates to balance the power flow on the grid and enables large amounts of renewable energy to connect while keeping costs manageable.

Joyce explains that energy systems are undergoing a transformation from both a supply and demand perspective. Fossil fuel generation is retiring; new sources of renewable energy are connecting in different locations, and demand is increasing for electric solutions, especially with transportation and heating. This demand is also changing due to the rise of extreme weather events that today’s electric grids, meant to cater to large-scale centralized fossil fuel generation, are not designed to handle.

She adds that some sources of power generation and power loads are having trouble making the way to customers in need of power, so there is a need to modernize the existing grid and address the need for expansion. If one examines the grid system as a highway: “We need to reroute the traffic and use roads with untapped capacity and [also] build new roads.”

Reaching this untapped potential will not be an easy road ahead. Joyce refers to the most recent Berkeley Lab’s Electricity Market and Policy Group report, which showed that 930 gigawatts of zero carbon-generating capacity is currently needing transmission access in the U.S. As well, interconnection wait times are rising from 2.1 years to 3.7 years, meaning that these projects are ready to go to deliver clean energy but are stuck in the process.

Joyce and Smart Wires are heartened to know that the U.S. federal government is getting more engaged in grid-enhancing technologies, hardware and software that increase the capacity, efficiency and/or reliability of the transmission grid, of which power flow control is one key example. The Department of Energy recently launched a case study showing how grid-enhancing technology can save customers money, which is clear action on the heels of President Biden’s signing of an infrastructure bill in 2021 to give $3 billion in funding to smart grid investment grants. Given that the bill specifically included power flow control technology, Smart Wires is eligible for this funding.

Government officials and organizations like Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO) and the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) are recognizing the importance of the work that Smart Wires is doing, even naming modular power flow control technology as key to influencing the electric grid in the next decade. The latter recently published a 2050 vision document as a call-to-action for energy decision makers to decarbonize the grid in Canada, especially through more effective use of existing infrastructure.

In the face of challenges, Smart Wires has logged milestones in the past few years and is in a good position for growth across its key markets. The company recently opened a 46,000-square-foot facility in Durham, North Carolina, and Joyce affirms that North Carolina has grown into a strong hub for smart grid-based businesses, giving Smart Wires great access to talent, infrastructure, manufacturing know-how, and new research and development partnerships.

The company also continues its projects on a global scale. For example, Joyce excitedly details a collaboration between Smart Wires and the National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) in the United Kingdom which unlocked 1.5 gigawatts of network capacity, enough renewable energy to power 1 million homes and support further net-zero ambitions in the country.

Smart Wires has also installed several projects in Colombia with Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) in Medellin and Grupo Energia Bogota (GEB) in Bogota, adding 250 megawatts of network capacity to alleviate interregional power line congestion, improve supplies, and support economic development. Finally, ventures in Australia have led to installing devices and unlocking 170 megawatts of additional capacity for 30,000 homes.

For its continued recent efforts, Smart Wires has been recognized across the industry. Accolades for the company include earning the ‘Technology Pioneer’ award from the World Economic Forum (WEF), which recognizes companies shaping the energy industry. The WEF also recognized the company as contributing one of the top three transmission grid innovations of the entire decade. Smart Wires has also been lauded by its international partners like EPM and NGET with collaboration awards, as well as back at the home base of North Carolina with a ‘Cleantech Impact’ award from the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster.

Smart Wires will be working to gain significant traction and growth in its major markets of North and South America, Europe, and Australia to keep this momentum rolling, while continuing expansion into new markets like Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The company is expecting to add 250 personnel to U.S. operations over the next five years to go along with its projected growth. It will also be working on technologies with greater applicability for its customers, which will solve core problems as energy transition continues.

Joyce loves being on the forefront of renewable energy. “If it wasn’t something I loved, it’d be harder to do it… it feels like a full circle.” Smart Wires sits on the edge of an exciting shift in the renewable energy market and has all the tools to make its goals a reality for itself and for consumers.

The post Bringing Renewable Energy to North America’s Electric Grid<p class="company">Smart Wires Inc. </p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Brooklyn-born and a “New Yorker at heart,” Chiaia grew up in the sanitation business, immersed in the environment since childhood and arriving at her destination via her father.

“He started it over 54 years ago,” she says. “We’ve been in the industry in New York for all these years. I was literally seven years old sitting in the truck.”

After graduating from Columbia University, Chiaia started working for her dad before taking over with her sister more than 35 years ago. A member of SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America), the company has a strong focus on equity and inclusion, and now proudly counts Chiaia’s daughter as a team member as well.

“My daughter graduated with her MBA and worked in New York City in fashion,” Chiaia says. “I was able to turn her from fashion to waste management.”

In a historically male-led industry, Chiaia is proud to employ women in the industry, with the older generation teaching the younger one valuable skills and insights gained from years of experience. “I think the consistency and stability of having the continuity is good. I’m happy I am able to teach her and be a good role model for her, and that she’s in the business as well,” Chiaia says. “And my daughter also brings fresh ideas and perspectives.”

Even though the company has earned credibility without certification and has been women-owned for over 35 years, Classic Recycling recently went through the process of becoming a certified WBE (Women Business Enterprise). “Certification validates the customers’ and vendors’ decisions to work with the company, giving credibility in a country focused on equity and inclusion. Many of our customers and vendors appreciate that not only can they rely on our service and professionalism, they can also show that they are helping to advance their own commitment to inclusion,” Chiaia says.

“I think becoming certified highlights the importance of promoting women entrepreneurship, especially in an industry where the trucking, hauling and carting sectors tend to be male-dominated. It’s also nice that the NYC Department of Sanitation has had three women as commissioners, including the current commissioner, which is great.”

And although Chiaia has years of experience in the industry, at times she’s found it frustrating to have to prove her knowledge. As an example, when recently purchasing lower-emission vehicles, one truck company she spoke with didn’t think she’d understand or be so knowledgeable about the industry and field.

“I found that a little annoying as well as amusing,” she says. “They couldn’t believe I knew about emissions and truck standards, so that was funny. I was speaking about greenhouse gas emissions and electric trucks and what we want in our equipment and safety criteria I needed and he was quite impressed.”

To that end, Chiaia also hopes she can lead by example and bring more women into the industry, inspiring them to become sanitation drivers or helpers and members of Local Union 813.

Her decades in the industry also help with the challenges of running a recycling business in New York City, which can be numerous and daunting. “New York City is intense, unique and one of the most intricate in the world, so it’s quite an experience to run trucking here,” she says. “There are a lot of moving parts to it, it takes a lot of experience, and the one thing we have is experience.”

It’s also very congested and crowded with residents, commuters, and lots of cars. “There’s a lot of competition for the streets with traffic and deliveries, and now with outdoor dining because of COVID—which is wonderful because it’s keeping New York open and alive and helping the economy—there’s also another set of challenges.” Restaurants having tables outside means streets are getting narrower which presents a competition for space and a challenge for where to put rubbish and navigate the maze.

It takes a lot of thoughtfulness to operate in this environment, but it is a challenge that Chiaia is more than qualified to handle.

“We’ve always had to be aware of and in tune with the city’s narrow streets and tourists,” she says. “It’s true that it’s the city that never sleeps. Trucks run at night. You have different bars closing at 2am, 3 am, 4am. You have to be able to logistically and carefully service customers with a strong focus on service and safety.”

Classic Recycling’s expertise focuses on Manhattan. “Urban areas by definition are congested; now layer on the Christmas Tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and all the other major parades that draw people from around the world, and the world leaders and their motorcades that come for the United Nations. Waste removal in other places doesn’t have to plan for things like this.”

Chiaia’s experience in servicing the city means a good chance to transition to the competitive DSNY CWZ (Commercial Waste Zones) program, created to provide efficient and safe waste collection while advancing the Green New Deal and zero waste goals.

“It’s a great program trying to lower greenhouse gas emissions to help the environment by reducing the amount of trucks on the road through consolidating,” Chiaia says. “The opportunity the city is offering with the Commercial Waste Zone is exciting and with our experience, we’re hoping to become part of that. We have relationships with our customers and already service customers within the key zones, so we’re very familiar with how to safely service and operate a business in these unique districts.”

It helps that Chiaia’s commitment to sustainability and the environment is already a huge part of Classic Recycling’s mandate and one they’ve been utilizing from the start. The company has purchased very low-emission trucks, and has looked into purchasing electric trucks, but there are some logistical hurdles, she says, including slower charging and supply chain issues.

Along with greener equipment, Classic Recycling works with customers to get bags off the streets with toters for cleanliness and toter straps to avoid vermin; takes less waste to landfills to lower the amount of greenhouse gas emissions; and employs other waste diversions such as mattress recycling, dealing with organizations for furniture donations, and the reuse programs.

“We’re getting our customers to compost,” Chiaia adds. “Organic waste compliance has been a little bit of a challenge, but we’re getting there.”

The company is also offering customers solar compactors to put garbage out in a cleaner way, avoiding piled-up bags, which lends itself to a greener community with fewer odors.

“We’re about educating customers, offering a sustainability plan and greener equipment,” says Chiaia. “This means reuse, reduce, recycle and donate to help divert waste from landfills to lower greenhouse carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.”

While some of these challenges may seem overwhelming, Chiaia takes it all in stride, like any true New Yorker, particularly one who has built up years of business skills and practice.

“[What drives us is] the sense of servicing our customers as well as always maintaining the highest level of safety for pedestrians, the community, and our employees,” she says. “It’s more or less trying to always have experience navigating through the different changes and challenges, and I think that experience is the key.”

The fact that Classic Recycling is a family business offering excellent customer service is a point of pride for Chiaia: Any customer can call the company and one of us will answer the phone. “They have our cell phone numbers,” she says. “We’re committed.”

Although obstacles through the years have been numerous, including 9/11, crime, and the Great Recession, COVID, which Chiaia refers to as the “biggest dislocation,” has hit the city very hard economically.

“It had a big impact on our customer base and was tough for us to navigate as a company,” she says. “Customers who stayed open knew that they could rely on our professionalism, and through our strategic decision making we adapted and excelled and retained the same employees with lots of experience.”

Chiaia has a number of admirable goals she hopes to meet over the next few years including continuing to update and modernize her equipment with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, converting to electric trucks, further incentivizing recycling, improving route optimization, concentrating on overall environmental health and, of course, being awarded Zones in the NYC Commercial Waste Zone Program

“We look to reduce truck traffic to lower air pollution and improve quality of life,” she adds. “By reducing the amount of garbage bags on the city streets we’ll help create a better and cleaner community. It’s all about having a zero-waste mindset.”

By joining together different generations, the family’s collective knowledge becomes a greater strength, she adds, leading to success through customer service, hard work, responsibility and high values. “This is what we do. Our family pride fosters reliable work ethics,” says Chiaia. “Our commitment to business consistency and stability formed our framework, and this experience is central to our company’s past and future success.”

The company’s multi-generational experience has created a dynasty of devotion and loyalty. “We’ve overcome the biggest dislocations in history, stayed in our business, serviced our customers, and worked every single day through the pandemic,” Chiaia says. “It was a big impact on everything, but with strategic decision making and experience we were able to do our jobs and keep our operation safe.”

The post Eat, (Don’t) Sleep, Recycle: Keeping NYC Clean and Green<p class="company">Classic Recycling New York Corp.</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Services rendered by PFM include the design and installation of recycling and waste equipment, material marketing (a company database tracks global material markets for paper, plastics, Styrofoam, wood, masonry, metal, and other substances), and obsolete and excess inventory control solutions. The latter service entails the tracking and monitoring of excess raw, packaged, and finished goods (to ensure they are properly disposed of). Inventory control can cover personal care products, cosmetics, fragrances, and industrial chemicals.

Additional company competencies include liquid and bulk waste solidification, cosmetic product incineration, electronic recycling, and ethanol recycling. Equipment maintenance and repairs are also offered (the firm has in-house and in-the-field fabrication capabilities), as well as power washing and cleaning, site surveys and insurance inspections. Preventative maintenance services are available too.

Premier handles all manner of materials, including plastic, wood, rubber, glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum, insulation, foam/carpets, packaging, Styrofoam, and more. A sample green certified destruction material audit form on the company website lists additional substances that PFM can process such as solvents, nail polish, oils, metal alloys, steel, and detergents, to name a few. The company’s customer base covers residential buildings, malls, schools, government offices, sports facilities, industrial facilities, and more.

A vast array of recycling equipment is available for clients. Popular products include high-capacity shredders (for securely destroying vast quantities of confidential documents), augers (used to pre-crush and compact cardboard, construction refuse, plastic, and pallets), and cart tippers (which dump loads into compacting equipment).

Various compactors and balers are offered as well. Compacting waste into sealed bags can drastically reduce waste volumes, while also preventing leakage and foul smells. The company’s compactor category includes self-contained compactors (these are specifically designed for wet waste and the containment of liquids) and stationary compactors (designed for “maximum compaction of waste materials into a receiver container of various sizes,” in the firm’s words).

The baler category includes horizontal balers (featuring multiple feed openings and chamber sizes, these are useful machines when recycling in high volumes); vertical balers (which take up a smaller footprint compared to other balers); conveyor-fed baling systems; and multi-chamber balers (which sort and bale recyclable items such as plastic film and cardboard). Additional gear on offer includes plastic foam densifying machines (which use high-volume extrusion to crush plastic foam scrap) and turbo separators (interior blades, bars, and screens separate packaging from products).

PFM can provide eco-friendly construction and demolition-related services. The firm will sort and separate demolition and construction debris, with an eye toward finding reusable items and/or materials. Some reusable products are donated to charities. These construction and demolition services help contractors fulfill Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and other regulatory requirements. The LEED program is an initiative from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Clients can also contract PFM for solid waste engineering. This entails customized source separation, waste audits, supply chain overview, inventory issue solutions, sustainability compliance, and more.

PFM was founded by a waste management industry veteran named Bob Frustaci. His vision was to establish a waste management firm that put sustainability first. The company was initially based out of a 10 by 10 foot office and had minimal capital. In the early days, the fledgling firm was primarily focused on serving the hotel industry, but it soon branched out and expanded into the construction and manufacturing sectors, where waste, unused materials, and excess inventory are common issues.

The company has been recognized for its work. On February 9, 2018, PFM received a Certificate of Innovation in Sustainability from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). PFM has also received the Green America Business Seal of Approval. To earn this honor, a firm must demonstrate commitment to environmental sustainability and social justice, and businesses that garner the Seal of Approval are listed in the National Green Pages.

PFM has also been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2020 and is affiliated with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Green America, the New Jersey Affordable Housing Management Association, and others.

Sister company PCS (Premier Compaction Systems, LLC) offers waste equipment services in the Northeastern United States, with a focus on compactors and trash chutes. PCS staff can design and implement waste management processes using top-of-the-line equipment. The company promises a “total recycling solution” and can provide servicing and repairs as well.

The customer base for PCS includes municipal governments, grocery stores, nursing homes, retailers, manufacturers, residential buildings, distribution centers, packaging companies, schools, hospitals, and more.

PCS has also earned multiple awards and kudos, including a 2018 Certificate of Innovation in Sustainability from New Jersey DEP (the same honor that was earned by PFM) and a Gotham Green Award in 2018. The Gotham Green Awards are awarded by Gotham Networking to small and mid-sized companies “for their contributions, inspiration and guidance in helping us all take better care of the planet and ourselves” as a press release puts it.

PCS also was named 2019’s Best Sustainable Waste Management company by the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal and was a 2019 Manufacturer of the Year finalist in the small company category (with 50 employees or fewer). The latter contest was run by the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP), a not-for-profit organization that helps manufacturers based in New Jersey become more competitive, efficient, and effective.

Into the future, expect to see Premier Facility Management and Premier Compaction Systems continue to lead the way on reducing waste, recycling costs, and the carbon footprint of their clients, all the while improving the environment.

The post Reducing Waste, Expenses, and the Carbon Footprint of Its Clients<p class="company">Premier Facility Management / Premier Compaction Systems</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

It is quite a change from October 2021 when Resource in Focus last profiled MSTA CANADA, which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. At that time, mining events were only being held online, if at all.

“People want to get back out there. The single biggest change for us is that we’re able to attend and host Canada pavilions at major mining trade shows around the world. That was put on the shelf during COVID,” states Managing Director Ryan McEachern.

Set up at major mining conferences, MSTA CANADA hosts Canada pavilions that feature the best of Canada’s mining suppliers—companies that can leverage the globally recognized Canada Brand. Over the past year, the association has hosted pavilions or participated in trade missions in the United States, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, and recently two of the largest domestic mining events: CIM Convention, held in Vancouver and the PDAC Convention, held in Toronto.

In another bit of good news, the latest budget from the Canadian government provides billions of dollars for the mining sector. The announcement delighted MSTA CANADA, which is also excited by the possibilities presented by major trends in the mining industry around automation, electrification, green energy, and critical minerals.

The overall makeup and mission of MSTA CANADA remain the same: To connect companies to opportunities to grow their business. “Our members are basically suppliers or solution providers of products and services that span the whole life cycle of mining. That goes from discovery, development, operations, and refining right down to environmental reclamation,” says McEachern.

The association advocates for members, promotes the industry, educates the public about mining sector realities such as the importance of mining to the overall economy, and arranges networking opportunities. In-person events are an excellent vehicle for achieving all these ends, which is why McEachern is thrilled that MSTA CANADA hosted its own event on June 10th in Toronto.

“We call it our Annual Forum. With the lifting of restrictions on COVID, we decided not to host a virtual event. We felt in-person was the way to go with our event,” he says. “The theme is still relevant. We call it ‘A New Decade of Opportunities.’”

There were panels, discussions, and presentations by business leaders and mine company representatives about current and future projects. Speakers included Giles Norman, Canada’s Ambassador to Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, who will be giving opening remarks. Norman discussed various topics including conditions in Europe given the current war in Ukraine.

Other high-profile presenters included Stuart Bergman, the Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Research and Analysis Department for Export Development Canada, and Kalev Ruberg, the Vice President of Future and Chief Innovation Officer for Teck Resources of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Perhaps equally important, the forum offers participants a chance to mix, mingle, and do some business. “That’s the intent of our event—to really have the [mining] eco-system come together and network,” says McEachern.

No doubt, critical minerals will be a hot topic of discussion. Simply put, these are “minerals that are critical to our economy,” he says. A critical minerals list compiled by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) includes nickel, lithium, cobalt, copper, chromium, uranium, and tin. Some critical minerals are used in the production of solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The abundance of critical minerals in Canada, coupled with the growing popularity of renewable energy, presents “an economic development opportunity of a lifetime for our country that goes right across many different value chains and sectors,” he states.

Ottawa seems to agree; the most recent federal budget, announced this April, proposes $3.8 billion for an eight-year critical minerals strategy. Of this total, $80 million is earmarked for public exploration and geoscience programs dedicated to finding new critical mineral deposits. Infrastructure investments to improve access to new critical mineral projects will receive $1.5 billion while $144 million has been set aside for research and development. The budget also doubles the mineral exploration tax credit for some critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, and nickel.

While pleased with these plans, MSTA CANADA wants to “make sure what they said in the budget actually happens,” says McEachern. The association also wants to see a more streamlined permitting process specifically for mining critical minerals. It currently can take “ten to fifteen years,” from the moment minerals are discovered to the time a mine “actually goes into production,” he notes. “Getting the permitting process right is the key to unlocking our ability as a country to benefit from this one in a lifetime opportunity,” says McEachern.

MSTA CANADA’s advocacy efforts also focus on export issues—“making sure there are supports for our businesses to effectively export [products or services] abroad,” he continues.

The association is closely watching certain technological developments as well, such as the increased presence of electric and semi- and fully autonomous vehicles in mining operations. Some mines are already using or experimenting with driverless vehicles to transport materials.

“A mine is a lot more controlled environment than a city street,” which makes it a perfect test environment, says McEachern.

In an urban environment, there is too much uncertainty, creating a higher level of risk of harming someone or something. Removing operators from the machines removes people from the potential hazards in mining, making the work environment much safer.

For all that, electrification is “the big game-changer, where mining is focused on decarbonizing operations from the actual power source by using solar and wind power to the wheeled vehicles that have historically used diesel fuel,” states McEachern. “If not battery-electric, they’re looking at hydrogen vehicles and starting to test those. It’s a bit of a challenge, given the size of these haul trucks.”

Moving away from gas-powered mine vehicles offers environmental and health benefits as well. Electric mine vehicles do not emit exhaust fumes and greenhouse gases and the battery electric vehicles have less noise and vibration, lowering worker fatigue. Not only is mining supplying the critical minerals to decarbonize the world but mine vehicle electrification complements the sector’s embrace of critical minerals for ‘green’ products such as solar panels and EV batteries.

Another progressive trend is the growing acceptance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives within the mining supply chain. ESG criteria gauge the behaviour of companies on environmental, socioeconomic, and transparency/anti-corruption issues.

“I think our industry was always ahead of the curve relative to other industries because of what we do and where we are in the frontiers of a lot of countries and even in remote regions of our own country,” says McEachern.

Recently, there has been a move to add the letter ‘I’ for inclusion in the ESG paradigm. Inclusion “is very specific to understanding the diversity discussion,” continues McEachern. “When we’re in remote regions of our own country or internationally, are we making sure the Indigenous communities near the projects are being properly engaged and participating in opportunities? That’s another piece of this whole puzzle.”

In summary, ESGI “is about being a responsible business, in our own country and abroad. It’s really important that we act in that fashion. We can’t afford to have bad actors out there when our brand is so important to us in Canada,” he adds.

Although the mining business is getting busy, not everything is positive in the industry, however. As McEachern has noted, when COVID arrived in March 2020, the mining industry was recognized as an essential service and did not have to close. Mining companies are already “safety-oriented,” he says, so adding new health and safety protocols “went fairly smooth, relatively speaking, and was less disruptive than within the service industry, which was very hard hit.”

While COVID infections seem to be on the decline, the pandemic “broke our supply chains globally. You can see that across every aspect of our lives, from trying to buy a car to going to hotels, to trying to get a taxi,” adds McEachern.

For all industries and not just mining, there have been huge delays in the delivery of components, materials, and equipment. “It’s a boom time, but it’s unfortunately been constrained because of the broken supply chain,” he notes.

He remains optimistic, however, and forecasts a positive future for both MSTA CANADA and the mining sector in general. “I see us growing our role as the national voice for the association in building bridges across the globe. We’re going to formalize a lot of our relationships across the world, to help our companies be able to open doors to opportunities. In five years, I see ourselves that much more vibrant and engaged in that arena,” states McEachern.

As for the overall mine and mining supply and services sector, he says the focus on critical minerals, automation, and electrification could have a huge, positive impact. McEachern returns to the importance of funding and support from the Canadian government.

“There’s this momentum right now in terms of adoption of electrification and autonomous products. The key is going to be how fast that adoption continues to happen in the next five years… The big thing for me is we’ve got this huge opportunity, and now we finally have a federal government with a budget that aligns with that opportunity. We’ve just got to work through our broken supply chains to leverage the benefits of it all,” he says.

The post Critical Minerals, In-Person Events, and Government Support Bring New Opportunities<p class="company">The Mining Suppliers Trade Association (MSTA) Canada</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

Robotics are constantly evolving in today’s factories and workspaces, to the point where automation can be trusted to perform varied and complex tasks. Companies taking up this latest challenge are as varied as the jobs that automation can perform, and for resource operations, vehicles are often where automation innovation is most likely to be found.

When describing levels in automation technology, there are several layers that each define an increasingly greater level of robot control over given machinery. In this article, most of the driving technologies discussed are aiming for the top: what is known as level 5 automation.

Levelling up
The Society of Automotive Engineers details six levels of automation, from 0 to 5. While the lowest, 0, describes fully manual vehicle operations with no automation at all, level 5 describes vehicles that are entirely autonomously controlled. These vehicles do not require any human interaction to move or complete tasks.

Level 5 automation is not available for widespread, mass-market solutions yet, but it’s the goal of these technologies to get as close as possible to this benchmark.

From trucks to rovers and even railway systems, automated systems for guidance and control on worksites are seeing greater usage than ever before. In previously perilous fields like mining, vehicles controlled autonomously can improve on environmental identification and positioning capacity, as well as complete tasks like route-tracking, parking, and more for the benefit of workers.

According to a 2021 report for MiningTechnology.com, technology can automate haulage operations, thereby reducing the risk of injuries at mine sites due to the reduced human presence around dangerous equipment. Many companies got behind this drive for greater safety early and have long since introduced smart systems to mining operations. These include Caterpillar’s Cat Minestar Command system, Komatsu’s FrontRunner AHS (autonomous haulage system), and others.

These systems are used to control the autonomous trucks in use in mining operations and they first entered service around 2008 (Komatsu) but are recently being rolled out in significant numbers. They aim to further reduce workplace safety incidents and downtime by way of near-continuous operation; in the case of Caterpillar, the company has reported that 2 billion tons had been hauled using its Command system by April 2020.

Other companies are looking to develop the autonomous truck concept to allow for engines driven by renewable biofuel (Scania, Rio Tinto), or powered entirely by electricity (Volvo’s TA15 line), which will potentially drive the acceptance of these solutions into fields where the technology of energy-use evolves even further.

Autonomous forestry

Another resource industry benefiting from automation is forestry. Unlike spaces like mining which look to spread the use of AGVs (autonomous ground vehicles), forestry is focusing on semi-autonomous vehicle control by using either continuous assistance systems or a process called control trading.

Continuous assistance systems enable an operator to delegate specific tasks to a machine and monitor its performance in case intervention is needed, while control trading is more hands-off and doesn’t need any monitoring at all.

In his PhD thesis, robotics researcher Ola Ringdahl observes that CTL (cut-to-length) forestry technology is the most common logging system in Europe, one which uses both fully automated harvesters and forwarders in the process. These systems can process 100 trees in an hour, but an automated combi machine could replace both of these by effectively doing both jobs at once.

Automated logging technologies continue to improve speed and rely less on human input. Machines like the “harwarder” do the job of both harvester and forwarder in one and can be combined with an ALC (autonomous load-changing system) to allow for harvesting with virtually no wait times. Other systems include ADL (autonomous direct loading) which automatically drives and unloads logs, and RDL (remote direct loading) which uses manned forwarders to remotely control a harvester.

Automation options for mining and forestry range from the already implemented to the theoretical, while large-scale automation in the agriculture and farming industries may already be possible. This is thanks to the autosteer functionality found on automation systems on farms and in agriculture systems; however, according to David Frabotta in a piece for PrecisionAg, “It is important to give users flexibility to integrate new technology slowly.”

Steering agriculture

Autosteer is a GPS-guided system used to produce cab-less vehicles since 2016, and tasks like combining, harvesting, and planting have already begun to move toward driver-less functionality. ACS and Fendt have already developed autosteer command systems and units for these purposes, while companies like John Deere have begun to dip a toe.

Deere now offers products like the See & Spray Select, which uses camera technology to intelligently detect crops in need of pesticide and herbicide sprays and reduce costs for farmers in ridding crops of weeds.

In agriculture, further movement is being made toward Level 5 automation but as noted by Frabotta, progress will depend on farmers and many long-running family-owned companies accepting an entirely new way of working.

New pastures

Other resource-based industries are introducing autonomous systems technology. In the drive to reduce cost and risk while increasing efficiency, oil and gas companies are beginning to adopt autonomous rod pump management, which enables autonomous control with a focus on performance and safety.

In a presentation by American multinational Emerson, company officials highlight the ability of these systems to make enhanced autonomous decisions through advanced prescriptive analytics, giving better insights into the operations and processes at hand while also lowering operating costs.

In the wastewater industry, automated wastewater treatment can also be a way to streamline production while lowering costs and is available in many different forms (manual batch processors, semi-automatic, automatic) to produce a suitable element for any sewer system.

Many other industries that supplement or aid resource-related sectors, such as logistics, have famously been implementing and experimenting with driverless technology for many years now. While automated delivery is far from standard at this point, its use in applications like haulage vehicles serving the sectors mentioned above is being explored as a real solution to issues like driver shortages and cost-cutting.

These are but a few examples across the resource sectors of the possibilities offered by autonomous vehicles and vehicle control. As leading-edge companies adapt to the changing nature of work in today’s world, it seems inevitable that vehicles and tools controlled by robotics will become the standard and perhaps even ordinary, to the benefit of entire industries.

The post The Drive for Driverless<p class="company">Bringing Autonomous Technology to Heavy-Duty Vehicles</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.

The group became the parent organization for companies such as Specialized Maintenance Equipment (SME), a tool manufacturer and solutions provider for the international mining industry.

Marketing Coordinator for the NMT Group, Heather Johnston, recalls that in 2017 the original owner of Specialized Maintenance Equipment was having trouble keeping up with the demand for heavy-duty safety equipment in the mining industry. He reached out to Elliot for support and resources at that time, and the NMT Group immediately saw potential in SME, acquiring it soon after to expand its product offerings.

Vice President Richard DeRuiter remembers that when SME was first obtained, a diesel-powered jack was being developed: the SLT220. The NMT Group aided SME in developing and building two units and put them to work at high altitudes in the Andes in Peru. Based on what was learned from the diesel units, the path forward was to develop a similar product using battery power, as the industry slowly moved toward electric vehicles.

The next line of jacking systems after this, including the company’s signature Titan220e, was developed with battery power. Johnston has observed that over the past century, mining has transformed rapidly as production rates continually increase and trucks are larger than ever imagined.

Mine sites usually operate continuously, in extreme climates, so routine maintenance of these giant earthmoving machines is essential; however, the maintenance performed in the off-the-road trucking industry is both time-consuming and dangerous. There are numerous risks during the truck lifting process from lifting using jack extensions, running pneumatic hoses, placing additional safety stands, lateral loads, and falling debris. SME has developed products to provide better safety for the industry.

Johnston believes that the people working with SME have made it the company it is today. “We have a team of passionate individuals that have been developing their expertise in mechatronics for over thirty years,” she says. “They are driven by results and have the proven ability to identify breakthrough business opportunities in the industry.”

The companies in the NMT Group – including NMT itself, SME, and Schalke Locomotives GmbH – often collaborate with a team of experts from places like Germany and Chile. This gives the group the know-how to provide outside-the-box solutions that benefit safety, productivity, and the environment within the mining industry.

Johnston feels that the company’s customer service, plus its training and commissioning on the Titan220e, are some of its strong points. “When someone comes with a problem, they are grateful that they are being listened to,” she says. The company is passionate about eliminating risks in the industry and keeps a list of solutions that it is excited to provide to the industry.

DeRuiter says the company always does the legwork necessary to confirm that its products and components are of top quality and will be “as trouble-free as possible,” for its valued clients. Much time is spent speaking to the end-user who may be having challenges with existing technology and determining what they are looking for from a specific piece of equipment. For example, a great deal of research was done on the Titan220e to determine where an original equipment manufacturer’s lift points were, so that the Titan220e could lift trucks from these points instead of inappropriate sections. Johnston adds that, as part of the New Product Development process, all SME prototypes are tested in-field at a company facility in the western U.S. to see how they react under the conditions of the mining sector before being sent to the customer.

SME also fills two distinct roles in the supplier relationship: first, as a supplier to the end-user, where quality after-sales service and support are critical and can “make or break any company,” according to DeRuiter; second, it works very hard with suppliers to set up agreements in which there is no need for shopping around.

Supplier relationships are established early in any given agreement so that purchase orders can be issued. This is important in the mining industry because of the repetitive nature of manufacturing. SME works closely with the suppliers of its necessary tool components like batteries, drives, and control systems and researches them thoroughly. DeRuiter affirms that the company puts a lot of effort into the process, and this has paid off in spades thus far.

Heather Johnston notes that keeping up with the demand for new products in the industry is the biggest challenge currently facing SME and companies like it. The risks in the mining maintenance industry are not going away; the company must prioritize what solutions it can provide with the time and the people it has. The NMT Group leadership team holds a kick-off meeting to validate what is needed and adds time and people accordingly for each solution.

One member of the SME leadership stands out for his contributions. Global Product and Innovation Manager Wayne Desormeau is described by DeRuiter as a passionate and intelligent person who is recognized in the off-the-road (OTR) trucking industry. He has a “sixth sense for what the industry needs,” and his time with the company has been especially appreciated. Desormeau will be speaking at the Off-The-Road Tire Conference put on by the Tire Industry Association in Palm Springs, California this year.

DeRuiter confirms that SME will continue its focus on the production phase of the Titan220e for the remainder of 2020. It will also be developing two new products: a jack called the Atlas which is similar to the Titan but single-lift and smaller and a much larger piece of equipment which is currently in the preliminary stages and will be revealed “when the time is right.”

The Titan220e will also be featured at Mine Expo in Las Vegas in September 2020. It is a packed year for the company as it continues to make strides for the mining industry and further develop its much-needed product line, relying on the efforts of its valued team to keep it at the top of its game.

The post Bringing First-Rate Safety Solutions to the Mining Industry<p class="company">The NMT Group</p> appeared first on Resource In Focus.