Weyburn 鈥� Long before you couple pick up a highly capable quadcopter drone from an electronics store for a few grand, Matrix Solutions was one of the leaders in the usage of unmanned aerial vehicles for environmental work.
Starting around 2006, their Weyburn office had both a helicopter and fixed wing drone, both large enough to take up a substantial part of pickup truck bed.
These days they鈥檙e using something much smaller, a system that fits in a large Pelican case.
鈥淲e鈥檝e gone away from the big drone, the airplane one, and the helicopter, and we鈥檝e got DJI Phantoms,鈥� said Trevor McMorris, general manager in Weyburn.
The newer technology is dramatically improved as time as gone on.
鈥淔or us, the biggest thing with the UAVs is keeping up with the changing regulations,鈥� he noted.
Volumetric measurement is a recent development. Flying a drone overhead now allows the operator to determine how much volume is in something like a pile.
鈥淲e can fly over a landfill and get the volume. We compared to an actual survey, and it was within two per cent,鈥� McMorris said.
So why鈥檚 this important?
鈥淲e are an environmental consulting company that focuses on predevelopment, remediation and reclamation for oil and gas.鈥�
They also work in the potash sector and emergency spill response.
In Weyburn, 90 per cent of their work is oil and gas, 10 per cent is mining.
A recent project included doing work with some Indigenous monitors on the Line 3 Replacement project.
Matrix employs 22 people in Weyburn and a further six in Oxbow. The have other locations in Lloydminster, Swift Current, Kindersley, Saskatoon, and Virden, Manitoba, as well as multiple locations in Alberta and British Columbia. Headquarters is in Calgary.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a pretty significant group in Ontario, now,鈥� he added.
鈥淗ere we鈥檝e got environmental engineers, engineering techs, agrologists, agricultural technicians, biologists, chemists, geologists and hydrogeologists.鈥�
McMorris鈥� specialty is as an agrologist. He鈥檚 been with Matrix for 16 years in Weyburn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have. It鈥檚 easy. We can go to a spill or fly a site and be able to send a photo from the field into somebody in the office here, or even in Calgary, so they can see in almost real-time what we鈥檙e seeing. And they鈥檝e gotten to the point where the technology is so much better. They鈥檙e easier to fly. They fit in a briefcase, not a half-ton truck box to haul them around.鈥�
Sometimes they mount near-infrared cameras on airplanes for certain uses. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got it to the point where our people in Regina have developed algorithms for it to tell the difference in colour between coshe and canola in a field.鈥�
The UAVs get used weekly, if not daily.
Asked how they handled the downturn, McMorris said, 鈥淲hen oil dropped, we slowed down. When things were busy, we had people with banked hours, so we were able to get through.鈥�
Their staff each had hundreds of hours of banked time from when things were busier that they were able to draw from.
But several years into this, there鈥檚 been something of a change of perspective on the business climate, according to McMorris.
鈥淭he last couple years have been good. This isn鈥檛 a downturn. It鈥檚 more of a reality now, and we鈥檝e stopped feeling sorry for ourselves and have turned it around and are going after things and trying to live with the new norm.
鈥淲e hired three people at the end of last year, probably the first new people we鈥檝e hired in five years. We just hired four fulltime people and one summer student for Weyburn and Oxbow last month, in addition to the three last fall.鈥�
This backfilled some attrition over the years as people advanced with their career.
鈥淭he nice thing with the company in general is just because you鈥檙e an agrologist or engineer, it doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e pigeon-holed into that type of work. We like to cross-train everybody to diversify their skill set. I think that鈥檚 where it鈥檚 helped during these slow times. Everybody can do a little of everything. They鈥檙e not so specialized that if that work has completely dried up, they can鈥檛 pick up something else,鈥� he said.
Asked about the mood, he said, 鈥淔or our office, specifically, it鈥檚 a lot more optimism. We鈥檙e not waiting for $120 per barrel oil.
鈥淭here is work to be had.鈥�
鈥淚 think all the clients we work for, down here, are very proactive. They鈥檙e managing their liabilities on their own, rather than being forced by a government policy. They鈥檙e very proactive. They鈥檝e got plans that aren鈥檛 just one year, or a certain period of time. They鈥檙e looking at longer term issues,鈥� he said.
Will abandonments be a growth area?
鈥淚f they can鈥檛 sit suspended for a certain length of time, it will, for sure, help us out, if we can get the work.鈥�
The aftershocks of Trident Exploration鈥檚 shutting down in Alberta recently will have an impact on the industry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely going to have them looking harder on what that levy is and how they calculate who has to pay what,鈥� McMorris said.
Regarding trends, he said over the last 16 years, the regulations have tightened up. That includes more specific remediation criteria, and specialists like agrologists or environmental engineers needed.
One area that will soon be getting a lot of attention are new federal methane regulations. To that end, he said Matrix Solutions has looking into getting infrared cameras for leak detection.
鈥淭he biggest thing for us has been a change in mentality. This is the new reality. This is where we鈥檙e at. We鈥檝e done hiring because we feel we have the workload. Our clients are really good, and they鈥檙e proactive with the environmental work they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
听
