From November 14-15, our Technical Team made their way to the NORCAT Training Centre in Sudbury.

The first class slated for WipWare trainees Marty, Tom and Andrew was the Working at Heights training modules. This lasted through the day. At the end of the program, the trainees quickly made their way to the computer room. They completed some final online multiple choice tests. Everyone passed with flying colours.

On the second day of training, our technical specialists headed to the NORCAT Underground Centre. This training facility was formerly Fecunis, a production mine owned and operated by Falconbridge (Xstrada Nickel). It was established in the 1940s and NORCAT now uses it as an underground training centre for students. It is located about an hour northwest of Sudbury, past Chelmsford and towards Onaping, ON off of Highway 144.

The day was spent in an underground classroom watching safety videos and slides, as well as sharing pertinent anecdotes about how safety saves lives. There was also a brief tour and a sounding and scaling demonstration and our technicians had an opportunity to experience how dark it is underground when the lights go out.

It was an interesting exposure for Marty, Tom and Andrew, and a great team bonding experience for the Technical Specialists to get to know one another. Plus, the team is fully prepared for an underground experience should one arise.

WipWare would like to welcome Andrew Palangio to the team as one of our Technical Specialists. Andrew was born and raised in North Bay and  a supporter of the community. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Honours BA and has excellent experience in sound and lighting. Andrew has worked for the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Electronic Language Communications Ltd, and North Bay’s own Capitol Centre. His experience brings a new perspective and knowledge to the team. He is looking forward to discovering new things at WipWare Inc. and exploring an international business network while living in hometown North Bay.

Welcome to WipWare and the Tech Team!!!

We look forward to working with you.

Mining with AI – What does the future hold for industries like mining and implementing new technology to this sector? Deloitte and Norcat have collaborated to explore the future in mining. The article: “Future of Mining with AI: Building the first steps towards an insight-driven organization” explores this area where the majority of mines still use legacy technology.

As is often the case with new technology, implementation can be difficult, time‑consuming and ultimately more costly than anticipated. The challenges faced are not only technical challenges, but people and environmental factors as well.

What are some of challenges in implementing new technology to the mining sector? Tom Palangio, President of WipWare was asked for his insight on this topic. He is an explosives application specialist and more than 40 years in the explosives industry. Tom has pioneered the use of new technology and experienced the difficulty of introducing new ideas to the mining industry.

INDUSTRY CULTURE – Tom Palangio

Mining was traditionally perceived as a risky undertaking with uncertain grades, investment volatility and variable metal prices so every opportunity to reduce risk and stay with the proven methods of operation was encouraged. This risk aversion stifled innovation opportunities and many major operations avoided taking the lead in proving empirical performance of new technologies because the up‑front costs and the potential failure or risks involved with bleeding edge innovations was considered unwise. WipWare’s approach was to focus on improving the daily experience of frontline workers—including shifting from entirely trial and error practices of the past, where employees attempting to predict the crusher gap often increased equipment downtime. Relying on neural networks, WipWare provides real time material sizing data throughout the mining process that enables automated process control, which improve workers’ abilities to anticipate disruptions in their operations and cut costs through less downtime and extended equipment life.” (Page 7)

Click on the link to download the report: Future in Mining with AI

WipWare’s Solo online particle size analysis system gives automated particle size distribution data and eliminates the need for manual sieving. This saves the company time and increases safety. The Solo system is reliable, economical and provides instant data collection.

Thomas Palangio, Technical Officer and Marty Wanner, Technical Specialist had the pleasure of traveling to Burkina Faso, West Africa to install our Solo System at the SEMAFO Mana Mine.

Thomas and Marty met with the Semafo team to go over the installation location and ensure that everything was ready and in place to begin commissioning. They took a belt cut for sieve analysis. The team calculated Edge Detection parameters using the calibration image captured.

Volumetrics was another element that the Semafo team wanted data obtained along with particle size data. So, Thomas and Marty added these values to the system.

After completing all necessary adjustments, commissioning was completed data is now being collected. The SOLO online particle size analysis system will prove to be a highly effective tool to measure material size and shape telemetry in real-time.

The hospitality was great and a big thank you to everyone who was involved in ensuring a successful site visit and commissioning.

As an industry leader in fragmentation analysis, WipWare has been recognized internationally for its expertise in fragmentation and explosives technology.

In the Summer 2018 edition of Mining Life and Exploration News, SAMSSA was interviewed on their role in promoting Northern Ontario businesses for the mining sector and related clients. For 15 years, the Sudbury Area Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA) has been a major advocate for the Northern Ontario innovative supply and services sector.

Our company was mentioned in the Summer 2018 edition of Mining Life and Exploration News as a major contributor to innovation/leadership globally. A proud member of SAMSSA, we continue to innovate and improve our products to stay current and provide the best fragmentation analysis systems and software on the market.

From the article, WipWare was mentioned as an innovative company who “invented optical granulometry at the University of Waterloo more than 30 years ago with the creation of WIEP (Waterloo Image Enhancement Process), later renamed WipFrag. The commercial introduction of WipFrag in 1986 positioned the company as the industry leader in optical granulometry of fragmented material”.

WipWare continues to improve their systems and software to help companies save millions of dollars by preventing equipment down-time, improving productivity, enhancing personnel health and safety and optimizing processes.

For more information on our products and services, visit our website at www.wipware.com

At the CIM 2018 in Vancouver, President of WipWare, Tom Palangio sat down with Jerrod Downey of Crownsmen Partners. They discussed Automatic Real-Time Fragmentation Analysis and the changes that technology is bringing to the mining industry.

How WipWare got its Name

One of the questions frequently asked is how the name WipWare came about. The WIP stands for Waterloo Image Process – take a picture of broken material and get engineering data from it. Tom and some Waterloo colleagues developed the technology that WipWare uses today in their WipFrag real-time fragmentation analysis software. 

Before technology like WipFrag, you’d look at a blast and have to visually try to determine if it was good. Another method was to stop the belt and take a manual sample. Then, wait for the sieve results which could take hours, even days. So, by the time the results came back, they weren’t actionable and this was an ineffective method. With WipWare’s fragmentation analysis systems and software, you get real-time results immediately to make quantitative decisions to improve your processes. 

Cutting Edge Technology

In the past, “it has been difficult to introduce new technology into a traditional business”. The mining industry “hasn’t always been receptive to change”. With remote sensing, robotics and automation becoming common technology, WipWare’s real-time fragmentation analysis systems and software is on the cutting edge of this new technology.

Now, the mining industry is becoming more receptive to automatic processes. Tom explains, “Our technology allows you to measure material in real-time. If you’re off spec, you can adjust it and it’s not disruptive”.  Imaging, computer and sensor technology has really improved. Tom states, “We thought creating the data…was a reason for being…but it’s getting the data to the people that can act on it”.

Mobile Device Compatibility

Two years ago, WipWare decided to integrate the technology onto mobile devices and introduced WipFrag iOS. There were over 5000 downloads in 18 months and WipFrag iOS is now available through the App Store.

The mining industry is not the only industry that our technology can be utilized. Other industries include medicine, agriculture, chemical industry and the explosives industry just to name a few – anywhere that you have materials and want to detect contamination.

The applications are numerous and it’s always exciting to find new applications for WipWare technology.