| Driverless Trucks to Hit Alberta’s Oilsands Region Replacing $200,000/yr Operators; Big Layoffs Coming Posted: 08 Jun 2015 01:55 PM PDT The Alberta oilsands region and the ore mining regions in Australia use some of the biggest trucks in the world.  Above: Komatsu heavy earthmoving truck at the Tom Price iron ore mine, operated by Rio Tinto Group, near Perth, Australia. Drivers of these behemoths cost as much as $200,000 a year. With that incentive, the push to driverless is on. Big Layoffs ComingThe Calgary Herald reports on the and the "threat of big layoffs" as Canada's Oilsands Pave the Way for Driverless Trucks. The 400-tonne heavy haulers that rumble along the roads of northern Alberta's oilsands sites are referred to in Fort McMurray as "the biggest trucks in the world," employing thousands of operators to drive the massive rigs through the mine pits.
Increasingly, however, the giant trucks are capable of getting around without a driver. Indeed, self-driving trucks are already in use at many operations in the province, although they are still operated by drivers while the companies test whether the systems can work in northern Alberta's variable climate.
That is about to change.
Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest oil company, confirmed this week it has entered into a five-year agreement with Komatsu Ltd., the Japanese manufacturer of earthmoving and construction machines, to purchase new heavy haulers for its mining operations north of Fort McMurray. All the new trucks will be "autonomous-ready," meaning they are capable of operating without a driver, Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal said.
For Suncor's roughly 1,000 heavy-haul truck operators, however, the prospect of driverless trucks has raised more immediate fears of significant job losses.
"It's very concerning to us as to what the future may hold," said Ken Smith, president of Unifor Local 707A, which represents 3,300 Suncor employees. Smith said Suncor has signed agreements to purchase 175 driverless trucks.
"It's not fantasy," Suncor's chief financial officer Alister Cowan told investors at an RBC Capital Markets conference in New York last week. He said the company is working to replace its fleet of heavy haulers with automated trucks "by the end of the decade."
"That will take 800 people off our site," Cowan said of the trucks. "At an average (salary) of $200,000 per person, you can see the savings we're going to get from an operations perspective." Not Just SuncorSome companies though will not comment on the prospect. - Imperial Oil Ltd. spokesperson Pius Rolheiser would not say whether his company was testing the trucks at the company's Kearl oilsands mine.
- Shell Canada Ltd. said it is "exploring" automated hauling.
- Canada's largest drillers, Precision Drilling Corp. and Ensign Energy Services Ltd., use high-tech drilling rigs capable of moving autonomously between oil wells throughout North America.
As soon as one company makes the push the others have to follow or their ongoing operating expenses will be higher. These truck driving jobs will be the first to go. Then again, please keep in mind Today's G7 Communique that seeks a 70% Reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, and 100% by 2100. Apparently we don't need these stinking jobs anyway. They will be replaced by free wind-power from all the windbags in D.C. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
| G7 Communique Seeks 70% Reduction in Carbon Emissions by 2050, 100% by 2100; Browsing the 44 Item G7 "Wish List" Posted: 08 Jun 2015 11:29 AM PDT G7 Communiques come and go. It's all much ado about nothing because nothing is ever done. Here are 44 items from the Leadersʼ Declaration Communique for the G7 Summit June 7-8 2015 wish list. 44 Point G7 Wish List- Take concrete action to address global warming
- Eliminate 40 to 70% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
- Decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century.
- Spend $100 billion a year on low-carbon strategies
- Start a carbon early warning system for noncompliance in small islands developing states, Africa, Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean
- Accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa
- Reaffirm ambition to make the Green Climate Fund fully operational in 2015
- Phase down hydrofluorocarbons
- Praise the Hamburg Initiative for Sustainable Energy Security
- Build on the "Kobe 3R Action Plan" for resource efficiency
- Protect the marine environment in conjunction with the International Seabed Authority
- Complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, end extreme poverty
- Support women's entrepreneurship
- Enact financial market regulation
- Create a fair and modern international tax system
- Reduce trade barriers
- Emphasize the importance of freedom, peace and territorial integrity, as well as respect for international law and respect for human rights
- Condemnation of the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation and reaffirm our policy of its non-recognition
- Achieve High Levels of Nuclear Safety
- Achieve Maritime Security
- Strengthen Arms Trade Treaties
- Combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
- Call on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency on verification of Iran's nuclear activities
- Condemn North Korea's nuclear program and human rights violations
- Concern over Libya
- Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- Fight Trafficking of Migrants/Tackle Causes for Refugee Crises
- Fight terrorism
- Support African Partners
- Support Afghanistan
- Support Reconstruction in Nepal
- Establish health care as a fundamental right
- Prevent Ebola outbreaks
- Combat Antimicrobial Resistances
- Fight neglected tropical diseases
- Leave no one behind, reduce inequality, accelerate the global transition to sustainable economies, promote sustainable management of natural resources
- Strengthen peace, good governance and human rights
- Combat hunger and malnutrition by 2030
- Help 500 million people via the Broad Food Security and Nutrition Development Approach
- Empower women, smallholders and family farmers
- Foster access to quality jobs for women
- Support the UN Women's Empowerment Principles and call on companies worldwide to integrate them
- Reaffirm our commitment to the initiative on Strengthening Assistance for Complex Contract Negotiations (CONNEX), aimed at providing multi-disciplinary expertise in developing countries for negotiating complex investment agreements
- Renew commitment to the Deauville Partnership with Arab countries in transition
The joke of the day comes at the tail end of the 17 page communique: " We remain committed to holding ourselves accountable for the promises we have made in an open and transparent way." The only thing the communique left out was support for motherhood and apple pie. What a total waste of time and money. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
| Robot Teacher Gives Lectures in China Posted: 07 Jun 2015 11:40 PM PDT Meet Li-Li your new instructor.  Li-Li is a Charming Robot Teacher. She gives lecture at Jiujiang University in east China's Jiangxi province. Li-Li was developed by the intelligent robot studio of the University. She not only gives lectures on teaching material, she also communicate with students. I made up the name Li-Li. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
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