Tech Trend: How heavy industry can better protect its assets

A look at the the cutting-edge solutions that can help heavy industry boost productivity, cut costs, improve worker safety and meet sustainability goals.

The list of challenges facing Canada’s asset-intensive industries, such as steel, construction and mining, is a long one. Leaders need to maintain a foothold in an unpredictable economy, respond to extreme weather events and comply with stringent regulatory requirements, while also searching out efficiencies, optimizing costs and ensuring resiliency.

Maintaining mission-critical equipment in peak condition is among the top concerns for industrial organizations. Indeed, the average firm devotes nearly 10 percent of its facilities budget to maintenance activities. Although the front-end investment may be steep, a growing number of companies are directing capital toward solutions that promise cost savings down the road by loosening bottlenecks, decreasing downtime and extending the lifespan of expensive equipment. “Downtime costs money — so anything that can avoid that is valuable,” says Tom Rootes, group strategic program director with Agile Group Systems and Services.

Whether in the form of hardware (such as drones) or software (such as AI), these advanced technologies will change how businesses operate from factory floor to corner office to customer interface.

In this report, we detail several use cases:

• Geothentic’s simplified tracking and monitoring system is helping mining companies, such as Rio Tinto, keep vehicles, equipment and other assets in good working order.
• Ivy Tech’s digital system monitors factory equipment by tracking data points on a range of variables from vibrations and acoustics to energy usage and temperature. The platform is able to give the end user a precise understanding of whether a piece of equipment needs repair or is functioning at full capacity.
• SkyGauge Robotics has developed drones specifically to inspect large-scale industrial assets, such as oil tanks, pipelines and exhaust stacks. The company completed an exhaust stack inspection for a major steelmaker, cutting inspection costs by nearly 90 percent.
• Canvass AI has developed an AI platform that helps companies boost productivity and discover new efficiencies. It recently helped a manufacturing company reduce fuel costs by 4 percent.
• Veerum has built systems that produce 3D models, allowing clients to access, analyze and interact with digital representations of physical assets such as facilities and work sites. For a recent oil and gas client, Veerum’s digital twin helped lower operating expenses, eliminate unnecessary site visits and streamline work processes.