Innovative Projects Realized

Soil Vapour Assessment and Ontario Regulation 153/04 Environmental Site Investigations in Ontario

Based on the evaluation of modelled soil vapour concentrations it is common for soil contaminants of concern (i.e., volatile contaminants) to pose a potential health risk to receptors via the soil-to-indoor air vapour migration pathway. However, it is understood that the approach used to model vapour concentrations in indoor air, though acceptable to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, is highly conservative based on the assumptions related to the maximum soil concentrations and potential for natural attenuation of soil vapours. Consequently, as a result of these predicted risks, risk management plans must often be designed to mitigate the theoretical risk from the vapour intrusion pathway. Such risk management measures are implemented at a considerable cost to site owners/developers. To avoid these potentially unnecessary risk management measures it is now common practice to collect soil vapour samples to measure the concentrations of contaminants of concern in soil vapour, resulting in a more accurate assessment of the risk posed by vapour intrusion. The research that will be completed will help Stantec streamline soil vapour intrusion programs completed in Ontario by understanding the benefits of used measured soil vapour data, from the initial set-up of the program through to the writing of reports.

The Feasibility of Applying Pescatourism in Small-scale Fishery in Japan

Small-scale Fisheries (SSF) communities are vulnerable to several drivers and their viability remains a challenge. To innovatively
alleviate the vulnerabilities and follow sustainable pathways towards viability of SSF, Pescatourism, which is a popular type of fishing tourism in Europe, has been proposed as an alternative. However, literature has shown that Pescatourism’s contributions to local economies and community livelihoods have been mostly limited to the European countries and there are some governance arrangements in place. My study aims to explore the potential role of Pescatourism in addressing the vulnerabilities of SSF communities in Japan and examining governance arrangements to achieve viability. As Pescatourism has not been investigated much in the context of Japan, this proposed work in Shizuoka prefecture of Japan will be novel. Using a case study approach, this research will propose novel ways in which pescatourism can be integrated into exisiting fisheries policy and practice and offer sustainable outcomes for SSF viability

Developing an ecological forecasting tool and digital twin methodology for restoration initiatives

Ecosystem restoration initiatives are considered among the most effective strategies in mitigating the effects of habitat destruction and biodiversity loss from human activities. The ecological restoration company Veritree is currently building an infrastructure of monitoring data streams for their projects to ensure that they are realizing their anticipated benefits. In this research project we will investigate and develop tools to fuse these data streams to deliver a more multi-faceted view of the ecosystem’s health and resilience. A forecasting system will be built and tested to predict the future health of the restored ecosystem and its associated risk to external environmental stressors. The project will provide a well-documented suite of tools for decision-makers to better monitor ecosystem change and to help devise effective strategies for restoration by forecasting potential outcomes.

Acoustic Evaluation of Mine Sidewall Safety

The structural integrity of mine tunnels is critical to worker safety as failures (e.g. rock falls) can cause injury or death. This project aims to determine whether it is feasible to automatically evaluate the safety of side walls in potash mines using the sound produced when the wall is struck by a metal bar. Previous work has indicated that this method is feasible for mine roofs, but it is unclear whether this will work for the mine’s side walls.
This project will collect a number of recordings of impact sounds over a range of locations within a mine and over an extended period of time (in which we can expect some walls to fail if not maintained). We will then measure the difference in recorded sound over time and attempt to correlate these differences to failures. Finally, a machine learning model will be used to try to automatically predict impending failures.

Caractérisation des propriétés thermomécaniques (TM) d’enrobésspéciaux incorporant des matériaux recyclés provenant de lasidérurgie en vue de leur optimisation

Dans la perspective de préserver les ressources naturelles non renouvelables et de contribuer concrètement à un développement durable, l’entreprise Bauval travaille assidument à la valorisation de résidus industriels, les scories d’aciérie, comme source de granulat dans la production d’enrobés spéciaux ultra-performants. Quatre (4) enrobés à chaud spéciaux de hautes technologies incorporant des scories sont actuellement disponibles : la famille des enrobés Hi Tech. Pour optimiser la formulation de ces enrobés du point de vue de leur performance dans la chaussée, le projet vise à caractériser par des essais de laboratoire leurs comportements mécaniques à diverses températures. Dans le cadre de ce projet de recherche, il est proposé d’étudier l’évolution de la fissuration liée à la fatigue à l’échelle de la chaussée par la modélisation de divers scénarios de systèmes de revêtement bitumineux élaborés à partir de la famille des enrobés Hi Tech.

Enhancing economic outcomes for Albertans through data-driven insights.

The Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) is actively leading the transformative Hire by Referral project, aligning with our commitment to support Alberta’s business community. Representing a network of 100+ local chambers and over 20,000 businesses, our primary focus is to enhance successful hiring and retention practices for diverse job seekers.

Dedicated to supporting Albertans in the labour market, the Hire by Referral project addresses workforce shortages and aims to facilitate the attachment of income-supported Albertans to the labour market. Our strategic initiative empowers businesses, especially SMEs, to overcome workforce shortages and enhances decision-making among labour market stakeholders.

Leveraging cutting-edge software, the project sustains these objectives, facilitating immediate labour market attachment and building long-term capacity in the local chamber network. We emphasize the collection and dissemination of high-quality labour market information (LMI) and participant feedback, ensuring our efforts are informed by real-time data, contributing to project success and broader objectives.

The ACC, through the focused implementation of the Hire by Referral project, serves as a catalyst for positive change in the labour market, creating tangible opportunities for income-supported Albertans to secure meaningful employment.

Intégration de la pensée cycle de vie à l’innovation et Stratégie de d’évolution des emballages par leur recyclabilité et leur contenu PCR (Résine post-consommation)

Premier Tech Producteurs et Consommateurs, un groupe d’affaire de Premier Tech, souhaite débuter l’implantation de pensée cycle de vie dans son processus d’innovation de produits. L’étudiant stagiaire devra collaborer et supporter les équipes de travail dans l’avancé des différentes analyses de cycle de vie par la récolte des données associés et par la participation aux ateliers de travail. Afin d’améliorer ses emballages et leurs écoconception, le stagiaire participera également à la collecte d’informations environnementales sur les emballages des produits et collaborera au développement de stratégie d’évolution des emballages par leur recyclabilité et l’évolution de leur contenu en résine post-consommation.

Développement d’un indice de circularité pour évaluer l’engagement des PME francophones canadiennes dans l’économie circulaire

Ce projet vise à développer un indice de circularité permettant aux PME francophones hors Québec d’évaluer leur niveau de maturité en économie circulaire. Conçu à partir d’une revue de littérature et pré-testé auprès de PME francophones hors Québec, cet indice sera mis en ligne sous forme de sondage. Il encouragera les PME à adopter des pratiques circulaires en leur donnant un moyen simple de mesurer leurs progrès dans la transition vers une économie circulaire. Il leur permettra aussi de se comparer à d’autres PME francophones du Canada. Ainsi, cet outil stimulera le partage de connaissances et l’adoption de pratiques économiques circulaires par les PME.

Facies control on fracture characteristics in the Cardium

Hydrocarbon production from the Cardium Formation of the Western Canada Sedimentary
Basin peaked in the 1970’s. However, in recent years multistage hydrological fractured horizontal
wells have unlocked large volumes of oil from low porosity permeability thin-bedded sandstones,
laminated shales, and the bioturbated muddy sandstones. However, the geometry of the induced
fractures is poorly understood. The proposed internship research project will analyze and compile a
database of hydraulic completion data for different sedimentary facies using internal Penn West data.
Further, integration of well logs (FMI, gamma ray, sonic, etc.), cores, hydraulic completion data,
microseismic, and production data will likely lead to an better identification of most productive facies.
The developed model and established relationships will secondly be compared with an existing
Cardium outcrop study of the relationship between sedimentary facies and natural fracture networks
(i.e. fracture dimensions, spacing and orientation). This latter part will allow construction of a
predictive fracture model of fracture length and connectivity data for further modelling of the induced
fractures in the subsurface by the sponsoring company.

Stress Change Monitoring for Pillar Spalling Potential

Pillar spalling, or thin slabs of rock falling off of pillar walls, is common along temporary pillars. This may happen adjacent to more permanent pillars which may then require scaling and supporting to maintain rock stability. Stresses induced in potash pillars can lead to this spalling and predicting this by measuring a stress change is a goal of this research. The ability to predict the need of future scaling and support would be an asset to the mines by improving their design procedures. This research looks at the application of a new method for improving current methods of predicting the likelihood of pillar spalling due to changing stress and the subsequent need for scaling and additional support.

Indoor Localization using 5G Networks

The goal of this partnership is to study several challenges related to locating objects in indoor environments, using Ericsson’s radio dot system (RDS), a system which has been designed to provide fast and reliable 5G cellular service inside buildings. The first direction involves locating and tracking a wireless transmitter, which will be accomplished based on accurately detecting the times at which a transmitted reference signal is received at each of the distributed antennas in the RDS, which translates into relative distances to the transmitter. Tracking movement of a non-transmitting object will be addressed by transmitting a deterministic reference signal from one of the RDS antennas, which, after being reflected by both stationary and non-stationary objects, will be captured at each of the other RDS antennas. By comparing changes to the captured signals over time, it is possible to estimate the location and relative movement of a non-stationary object.

Geovisualization of Health Data Collected with Mobile Phones inRural India

In rural India, access to healthcare is hindered by various factors including; cost, lack of healthcare professionals, distance to medical providors and delays in health interventions. To improve the delivery of healthcare, better knowledge on the location and type of health issues facing patients is required in a timely and accurate manner. This project proposes to develop a health surveillance system utilizing mobile phones and tablets. Specifically, health workers will collect patient data in rural villages, submit the data from the device to a central database, a computer program will then analyze the data to identify hotspots of certain diseases or health issues and health professionals will be able this information in a dynamic and interactive geovisualization (web-based map) that will update in real time.