Publications

08 Jan 2026
Mining and Metals

Electric vehicles and power distribution: considerations for underground mine operators

Shifting to electric vehicles in underground mining offers significant benefits, but it also introduces new challenges. Power feeds often lack the capacity to handle the large power demand during charging; infrastructure upgrades require large capital investments; and even the overall service to site may not be sufficient. Without careful planning, mines risk load imbalances, brownouts, nuisance tripping of power distribution systems and possible reductions in production without significant capital investment. There’s no single fix to address all these obstacles. Instead, success depends on adaptive integration designs that evolve alongside the technology: solutions that demand ingenuity, innovative thinking and close collaboration across teams and vendors.
Jason James Gander

Senior Technologist
13 Nov 2020
Power and Renewables

The purpose and importance of a contingency analysis
- James Alarcon
  
  Principal Estimator, Project Management Services
12 Nov 2020
Mining and Metals

2D river modelling with USACE HEC_RAS 5.0.7: simulation for operation, flood events and dam breaks
- Mina Shahraki, P.Eng., P.E.
  
  Department Manager, Civil
10 Nov 2020
Power and Renewables

Railway tracks: overview of electrical interference
- Eric Breault, P.Eng.
  
  Senior Engineer, Electrical - Power Systems, Protection and Control
29 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

Do you know how to protect your industrial structures against fire?
- Monika Rybarova, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., P.M.P.
  
  Principal Engineer, Structural
27 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

Prevent production downtime with hyperconvergence

Virtualization has come a long way over the years and has become the standard in production systems. Protecting virtualization systems and, by extension, the production system, requires a robust network architecture capable of overcoming all emergency situations like power outages, fires or equipment failures. Hyperconvergence is a great way to ensure the resilience needed to protect virtualization and storage systems in the production system.
Michaël Racine

Telecommunications and Networking Analyst
22 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

Machine learning: a powerful asset for better use of your data
- Arbi Bouchoucha, Ph. D.
  
  Advanced Data Analyst
21 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

Working at altitudes and good OHS practices
- Sylvain Boily, P. Eng., MBA, P.M.P.
  
  Commissioning Manager, Operational Readiness and Commissioning
13 Oct 2020
Mining and Metals

3D video: an essential tool for mining and industrial projets
- Marie-France Proulx, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., P.M.P.
  
  Senior Engineer, Earth and Infrastructure
09 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

World Mental Health Day: staying the course with proven strategies to combat stress
01 Oct 2020
Power and Renewables

Good alarm management pays off

Plant and industrial managers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of alarm management. The most common criticism is that the number of alarms is exceeding industry standards, such as ISA 18.2, EMMUA 191 and IEC 62682. When there are deviations from standards, it’s typically advised to perform a rationalization by addressing the most prevalent alarms (bad actors) or to resort to a more comprehensive rationalization process using a document detailing the alarm management philosophy. But is such a service more than just cosmetic? Will it really make a difference to reduce alarms? After all, the plant has probably already been operating for a long time, despite the alarms, however frequent they may be. This blog article is intended to highlight the merits of effective alarm management, but also to demonstrate the potential cost of excessive alarms.
Maxym Lachance, P.Eng.

Senior Engineer, Process Control and Operational Technology
30 Sep 2020
Power and Renewables

Industry 4.0 audit: where to start for successful digital transformation
10 Sep 2020
Power and Renewables

Remote inspections: a flexible and economic solution
- Mathieu Brochu
  
  Visual simulation specialist
01 Sep 2020
Mining and Metals

Designing foundations to support rotating machines on unfavourable soil conditions
14 Aug 2020
Power and Renewables

COVID-19 and masks: Best practices
13 Aug 2020
Mining and Metals

Noises and vibrations in quarries and sandpits: regulatory overview

Québec’s new Regulation respecting sand pits and quarries came into effect in April 2019. Since then, any quarry operating within 600 m or sand pit operating within 150 m of a dwelling or public facility must meet noise and vibration criteria prescribed by the new regulation. But how can this be verified? What measurement and processing methods should be adopted to meet the criteria prescribed by the regulation? In June 2020, Québec’s Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) produced a guide for assessing noise exposure from quarries and sand pits [French only] to support businesses.
Sabine Butler, P.Eng., M.A.Sc.

Engineer, Environmental Engineering
24 Jul 2020
Other industries

FIDOR: a practical tool for assessing odour emission risks
- David Giard, P.Eng., M.Sc.
  
  Senior Engineer, Environmental Engineering
21 Jul 2020
Power and Renewables

National drowning prevention week: be especially cautious when working from home
16 Jul 2020
Power and Renewables

Patch management for industrial systems
- Gilles Léonard
  
  System Architecture Analyst
07 Jul 2020
Power and Renewables

Problems with power quality at electrical installations
30 Jun 2020
Mining and Metals

Succesfully completing your artificial intelligence project in the mining sector

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the science of programming machines, like computers, so not only can they analyze a set of data (big data), but also learn on their own, so they can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence or expertise. AI uses a number of tools and techniques to perform advanced data analysis, so sophisticated models can be developed to solve one or more existing issues.
Arbi Bouchoucha, Ph. D.

Advanced Data Analyst
25 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Get more from the grid
21 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Motion amplification: a new tool for vibration diagnosis
20 May 2020
Other industries

Electrical classification of hazardous locations: wastewater treatment plants
14 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Operating remotely: using cameras as sensors (CAMAAS)
- Serge Benoit, P.Eng.
  
  Principal Advisor, Automation
12 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Are your lifting devices safe?

Do you own lifting equipment that is more than 10, 20 or even 30 years old? Over time, the engineering documentation for this equipment may have been misplaced. Also, years of wear and the presence of corrosion could make this equipment less safe to operate. In other cases, it may be hand-crafted equipment that does not comply with any standards, posing an immediate risk to user safety. While standards, codes and laws have evolved, this equipment has remained unchanged. Current health and safety laws, as well as civil and criminal liability codes, no longer tolerate such installations. In fact, they now require employers to register their lifting equipment in addition to regularly monitoring and maintaining it.
Jonathan Hamel, P.Eng.

Senior Engineer, Structural
12 May 2020
Other industries

Ventilation of isolation rooms
- Hugues Châteauneuf, P.Eng.
  
  Senior Consulting Expert, Ventilation, Hazardous Locations, Explosion Hazards
06 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Secure remote access to production networks: the advantages of VDI technology
- Michaël Racine
  
  Telecommunications and Networking Analyst
04 May 2020
Power and Renewables

Operating remotely: intelligent distributed optimization (IdO) to get the most from your technological tools
04 May 2020
Mining and Metals

Slurry pump design: what you need to know
- Roman Dorfman, P.Eng.
  
  Principal Engineer, Piping
30 Apr 2020
Power and Renewables

Civil or structural engineering?

What is the difference between civil and structural engineering? This is a question that is asked often and causes confusion, even in the engineering community. In an engineering firm, the civil department may normally consist of both civil and structural engineering disciplines, sometimes it may also include geotechnical, transportation, environmental and hydraulic engineering disciplines, all of which are traditionally considered subspecialties of civil engineering. The difference between civil and structural engineering can be tricky. They were even synonyms at one point. To discern these two terms, one must first understand the concept behind each field.