New Gold’s New Afton Mine achieves ISO 50001 system implementation

Mining operations are big energy users and mine operators can have significant impacts on how energy efficiently materials are processed. That’s why Prism Engineering has been working with Andrew Cooper, Energy Specialist at New Gold’s New Afton Mine to develop a comprehensive Energy + Engagement Action Plan for the Kamloops mine. Supported by BC Hydro’s Industrial Energy Management coaching program, the goal of the Action Plan is to create a culture of energy conservation at the mine and to have New Gold employees become actively involved in energy management in their work.

The plan is modeled on a four pillar engagement strategy, including communication activities, competency training, engagement initiatives and formalized reporting. These strategies were also established to support New Afton’s work to become the first Canadian mine with ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems certification.

For more information about the ISO 50001 certification. read the full case study: Global Energy Management System Implementation Case Study

News article by BC Hydro (March 20, 2015): New Afton mine goes for gold with ISO 50001

ISO 50001 and your organization

At Prism Engineering we have a dedicated team of Energy Planners and Engineers that can guide your organization through the steps required for ISO 50001 certification. We also have a Certified Professional in Energy Management Systems (CPEnMS – Industrial) on board our team who carries the specific knowledge and accredited training to implement the ISO 50001 Energy Management System.

We are pleased to welcome Baki Cvijetinovic as a new member to our Mechanical Team. Baki brings a strong background in mechanical design and implementation of plumbing, fire protection and HVAC systems as well as boiler and chiller plants retrofits. He has worked on a full range of residential, commercial, and institutional projects for both the private and public sectors. His design expertise is complemented with experience in project management, site supervision and construction administration. Baki’s focus on team cohesion and technical clarity helps him deliver successful results and create strong relationships within the industry.

For several years, the BC Electrical Association has been offering a Basic Electricity course, led by industry professionals, to give entry level electrical knowledge and a broad overview of electricity and systems to new and junior employees working within the electrical industry.

Course participants started asking for more in-depth information and training in electrical equipment, systems and operations. The BCEA Education Committee took these requests to heart and brought Prism on board to help develop a new module on Electrical Distribution.

The new module took six months to produce and was delivered over three 3-hour evening sessions earlier this month, led by our Senior Electrical Designer Andrew Munro. Stay tuned for a Fall session!

Course Overview: Understanding equipment, distribution systems, power quality and code

The course expands on electrical equipment components, construction of these components and issues of electricity ‘delivery’ to include electricity generation, transformers, panel boards, overcurrent devices, safety switches and other load break equipment, power quality and power factor, wiring, reading engineering drawings and electrical safety. Code related topics are referenced in the course to give participants exposure to critical issues related to selection and use of electrical equipment.

Participants will develop robust knowledge in equipment of electrical distribution, how the equipment ‘relates’ to other components in an electrical distribution system, power quality issues and causes, with some general knowledge of code related issues.

Prism has been providing engineering services for BCIT for many years and as a part of BC Hydro’s Workplace Conservation Awareness program, our team has been supporting their goal of further embedding energy conservation into the culture of BCIT.

In celebration of BCIT’s 50^th Anniversary, BCIT’s Green Team Executive collaborated with Prism to launch an innovative multi-year campaign to encourage energy conservation behaviours in office spaces.

At the heart of the campaign are a team of volunteer staff and faculty in each department trained as Office Doctors who help their coworkers or ‘patients’ to analyze their office space and learn about efficient lighting, managing plug loads and room temperature.

After a successful pilot in the Summer, the campaign in now in full swing with 28 trained Office Doctors. Over the coming months staff and faculty across departments will have the opportunity to learn one-on-one about strategies tailored to their workspace to improve their comfort and save energy.

Prism and the PUMA team are excited to announce a new partnership with ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that helps businesses and individuals across North America to leverage energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is the benchmarking tool backed by NRCan (Natural Resources Canada) created to help organizations evaluate the energy and water consumption of their buildings. Our PUMA (Prism Utility Monitoring and Analysis) software allows our clients to leverage their data by producing flexible, customizable reports, including reports based on total energy use and cost, use per unit area, cost comparisons and environmental impact.

As an ENERGY STAR Partner, we have integrated the two tools, so that building utility data in PUMA can be automatically uploaded to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Once in Portfolio Manager, your buildings can be shared with you within Portfolio Manager for refinement of building use details and improvement of your energy star score. With the link established, as your PUMA data is updated, your Energy Star score is regularly updated. PUMA will retrieve and track your Energy Star score as it changes over time and enable reporting on those changes, and comparison with other metrics.

Keeping your Energy Star score up to date is important for LEED-EBOM certification, and continued leadership in energy efficient buildings.

Contact us for more information and a proposal to have us setup your buildings in Portfolio Manager. (duncan@prismengineering.com or phone: 604.205.5516)

Vancouver Community College (VCC) is walking the talk when it comes to adopting environmentally sustainable practices. Committed to reducing their environmental impact, VCC has been working with Prism since 2013 through the BC Hydro Energy Manager program to reduce the amount of energy used on both campuses.

Engagement is a key part of energy management and this Fall, VCC launched the Random Acts of Green Contest. Students and staff across both campuses participated by sharing what they do to make their campus green – from installing more efficient lights and using daylight in the computer lab to bringing a litter free lunch and taking transit to get to school.

At Prism, we think about Strategic Energy Management as a holistic approach to managing energy in your organization. Managing energy successfully in an organization goes beyond simply knowing which equipment to buy and how to properly set controls. Instead, effectively managing the energy performance of BC’s facilities requires thinking holistically about the organizational, technical and behavioural aspects of energy management.

On October 9th, APEGBC will host a day-long seminar designed for individuals who are looking for an in-depth look at strategic energy management in a BC organization. With his 25 years of experience helping organizations save energy, Robert Greenwald will provide the theory, tools and real world energy management examples.

Learn more and register online here.

New Gold’s New Afton Mine is a gold and copper mine located near Kamloops, BC. As with all mining operations, the site is large, with many buildings and structures located throughout. When New Gold approached Prism to design a lighting system for an occasional-use warehouse located away from the electrical distribution system, it was an opportunity to think outside the box.

Prism proposed a lighting system with occupancy controls that interfaced with a solar photovoltaic power system – except there was a ‘twist’. A solar system produces direct current (DC) power, which is then fed through an inverter to convert it to the alternating current (AC) power required to operate traditional lighting systems. However since LED lighting can utilize a DC power configuration, the infrastructure was designed to use the solar PV DC power to directly power the lighting; no inverter, fewer components to the system and lower maintenance. This pairing of solar energy and LED lighting is one way facilities can achieve being off-grid and self-sustaining.

Congratulations are in order for Stephen Kooiman, Mechanical Engineer at Prism Engineering, who has recently been elected as the new President of BC’s ASHRAE chapter.

ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, sets the standards for acceptable practices in a wide range of building systems engineering. With the implementation of the ASHRAE 90.1 2010 code, Stephen’s chapter is helping shape the energy performance requirements in BC. This highly respected North American Standard has been referenced in the BC Building Code, raising the bar on energy standards for both new building construction and existing buildings.

In addition to supporting continued industry research and assisting in the development of educational programs, ASHRAE members and guests can look forward to having Stephen oversee ongoing chapter activities. To find out more about BC’s ASHRAE chapter, visit http://ashrae.bc.ca/bc.

Optimizing the existing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting systems was no small undertaking given the variety of equipment and controls at Langara. To tackle the challenge, Langara joined BC Hydro’s Continuous Optimization program (COp) in 2009, which has helped to identify issues and implement projects that improve building energy efficiency. The program consists of two integrated components: building re-commissioning and the development of an Energy Management Information System (EMIS). Now almost five years into this multi-year program, COp has been implemented in 86% of building area at Langara.

Together with BC Hydro’s support, Enersolv Consulting’s initial review, and Prism Engineering’s implementation, COp has proven to be an energy-saving success story – and it is not over yet. Always looking forward, COp is now being implemented in the Student Union Building and Building C for Fiscal 2013/2014. Langara has also taken energy savings measures beyond COp to realizing capital improvement projects for further savings.