Traditionally vibration sensing technology has focussed on high-frequency seismic activity. But data on low-frequency vibrations are no less important to protecting public safety and critical infrastructure.

Low frequency vibrations occur with earthquakes or movement on large infrastructure like pipelines, buildings, and bridges. Up to now, two main challenges have hindered the deployment of low frequency vibration monitoring technology – limited bandwidth performance and the ability to get quality data quickly and cost-effectively.

Challenges of bandwidth performance, lack of digitization, and high costs

“With bandwidth performance, it’s very difficult to capture the slower, more subtle movement from a vibration sensing design perspective,” says Wilson Howe, CEO, Symroc, an Alberta based technology company specializing in real-time, IoT ultrawide broadband vibration sensors and data analysis systems.

The lower frequency instrumentation and hardware systems have typically been the domain of the geoscience field, and not readily accessible to engineers. Even there, individual sensors tend to be capable of performing only within one specific range, as opposed to a wide range of vibrational frequency. On top of that, traditional sensors are analogue rather than digital, with separate sensors, separate digitization processes, and separate data processing techniques all residing with different specialty groups. “This piecemeal approach makes it very costly to get the end result,” says Howe.

Ultrawide broadband vibration sensors more efficient and cheaper

Symroc’s ultrawide broadband vibration sensors cover from the lowest frequency seismometer range to the highest frequency machine and mechanical vibration range – at about 20 percent of the cost. The sensors can be set up for remote, wireless monitoring and data transmission and provide high-quality data in real time that’s suitable for AI analysis.

“We designed the whole system with the goal of providing high efficiency, high performance systems with more cost savings that are also digital-ready for future potential machine learning capabilities,” says Howe.

Symroc initially focussed its vibration technology within the oil and gas industry, monitoring for earthquake activity caused by fracking. Since then, the company has expanded to facilities and infrastructure monitoring. For example, Symroc’s sensors can be positioned along large pipelines to detect ground motion, calculate stress, and perform quantification estimates to measure abnormal flows – so that the pipeline owners or managers can take preventive actions to avoid damage or shutdown.

Similarly in the above-ground world of buildings and bridges (both rail and vehicle), Symroc’s sensors can accurately view, monitor, and assess the stress levels so infrastructure owners can identify which areas need priority attention and then repair as necessary. “This is a much more cost-effective solution to Canada’s aging infrastructure problem than replacing the entire structure,” says Howe.

Environmental and safety issues have brought infrastructure monitoring issues to the fore over the past decade. “Whether you run a natural resource company, pipeline company, or manage government-owned infrastructure, the monitoring requirements are increasing,” says Torr Haglund, VP, Business Development at Symroc.

In the past, it was too expensive and difficult to do. “We’ve been able to lower the cost and improve the data quality and accessibility,” says Haglund. “I think it’s really going help out in terms of the safe operation of a lot of the infrastructure in our country,” he says.

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Dwania Peele from Canadian Small Business Women shares top tips and resources to you help build business resilience and manage your new way of working.

“Being an entrepreneur is hard work”. Is that a statement that you’ve heard a lot? I find that most often, entrepreneurs will share the “fun” stuff — you can be your own boss, set your own hours, and hire your own staff. It’s true. You can be and do all those things, but you must also be ready to roll up your sleeves and put in the work necessary to succeed. The #EntrepreneurLife can be whatever you make it — even during a pandemic like COVID-19.

The past 10 months have been challenging for some entrepreneurs and a blessing for others. Despite their experiences, the one certainty is that we all learned valuable lessons. At Canadian Small Business Women, we were forced to analyze our systems and find new resources to help us excel. We also used this time to interact closely with businesses across different sectors and locales to get a grasp of their challenges, their wins, and what methods they used to pivot to success. There was also an incredible number of women who decided to use this moment to take that step into business ownership and soar.

In the spirit of success, let’s share some of our favorite tips and resources to help build business resilience and manage your new way of working.

Implement fluid systems

The businesses that soared during the pandemic were ones with processes that could quickly change to suit the new needs of their audience during a crisis. As small businesses, many of us didn’t have a pandemic plan or even the knowledge of what a business continuity plan was. What most of us did have was the power to change quickly to adapt to the pandemic. Most of us pivoted to an online model in a matter of weeks. Take note of the processes you put in place and test the rigidity or fluidity of the processes before implementation.

Internship and co-op programs

Many schools are opening virtual internship and co-op opportunities for their students. With the need to be in a physical space waived, the opportunities are endless in this space. It’s a cost-saver for the employer and a great way to increase diversity in your team. You can have team members represented by different countries who can bring fresh ideas and a new set of skills to your organization.

Government assistance programs for small businesses

The Government of Canada has launched many funding initiatives geared to small businesses over the past 10 months. Sometimes it can be difficult to ascertain what pertains to you and your business and if you meet the qualifications for funding. Resources can be found via organizations such as BDC, EDC, Futurpreneur, FedDev Ontario, Office of Small and Medium Enterprises or just by making a quick phone call to your local MP.

Say yes to unique opportunities

The world is open to you. With the majority of events being hosted virtually and most publications introducing virtual options, it’s the perfect time to flex your speaking and writing muscles. Start by making inquiries to your local publications to see if they need contributors. Consider publications, podcasts, and events that you would love to be a part of. Don’t put yourself in a box and only list those in your city. The world is now open to you!

Automate your day

Spend some time to streamline your processes. With new digital products being released daily, the competition for your subscription is high. Take advantage of free trials and discounted rates to see how new products can help streamline your day. There are automatic social media schedulers, email marketing campaigns, on-line shopping portals, and virtual assistants to name a few.

Here are some of my favourite tools:

• Business Planning: Google Workspace, Shopify, Constant Contact, Buffer, Tailwind, Asana, Canva
• Instant Messaging: WhatsApp, Slack, WeChat
• Conferencing Platforms: Hopin, Zoom, Microsoft Teams
   

Dwania Peele is the Owner and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women. A lover of entrepreneurship, volunteering, and networking, Dwania strives to inspire aspiring and current entrepreneurs in Canada. In 2013, Canadian Small Business Women began serving as a platform for aspiring and current small business women of Canada. Dwania continues to make an impact by appearing as a guest speaker at various entrepreneur events and by guest appearances on panels across Ontario to provide valuable insight to those in need. Dwania also champions the success of immigrant entrepreneurs, which is reflected in her new book, The Power Within: Inspiring Stories of Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs.

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Based in Montreal, the developing firm Facilis Global, offers the Mybys Software Suite without charge for two months, and can be deployed in a matter of minutes. The emergency conferencing line, designed for medium and large corporations, is immediately available.

Mybys Express+ allows anyone — using a computer or a phone — to talk to up to 1,000 employees and to manage a Q&A session.

One more click allows screen sharing with all participants (no download needed!) While corporations turn to teleworking, Facilis Global offers its Mybys suite without charge, for a period of two months. Mybys can be deployed in a matter of minutes — no training needed for anyone — and can be linked to your actual audio conferencing or collaboration services.

We have noticed an increase in traffic of over 600% in the past few days. To keep up with demand, we have tripled the space on our web servers.

François Bellavance, VP of Customer Enablement, Facilis Global.

Facilis Global

Facilis Global collaborates with the federal government and is currently being tested by Shared Services Canada. It’s widely used by the Government of Quebec.

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Efforts across the globe are focused on detecting, treating, and finding cures for the novel coronavirus. Given the urgency for treatment, developing drugs from scratch is too time-consuming to have a near-term impact, and the development of a vaccine for COVID-19 is likely to take up to 18 months.

In response, in late January 2020, Toronto-based biotechnology company Cyclica created a COVID Task Force. Within a few days, their AI-augmented drug discovery platform identified potential opportunities to treat COVID-19 with existing drugs through a process referred to as repurposing. They quickly partnered with CIMM, a leading research institution in China, to test activity of those drugs against the virus, and have sent compounds for testing to a number of other research institutions globally, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Now, by completing a short application, researchers and biotech companies who are working to find potential therapies for COVID-19 are invited to access Cyclica’s drug discovery platform at no upfront cost through their newly-created stimulus plan. Driven by an appreciation of the economic effects of this global pandemic and a strong desire to help scientists who have been negatively affected, Cyclica also invites any lab or company who needs additional support to advance their programs to participate in the stimulus plan, whether they are COVID-related or not.

“A rapid response to COVID-19 requires an avant-garde strategy. It’s our moral obligation to offer the support of our platforms to researchers, small biotechs, and companies that find themselves adversely impacted during this time of uncertainty. The discovery of medicines must go on,” says Naheed Kurji, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Cyclica.

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