In a significant move to foster education and technology, Apex Automation has generously donated $76,758 to Lakeland College to upgrade the control room that supports the Cenovus Energy Lab at the Lloydminster campus.
These upgrades have enhanced equipment and hands-on learning opportunities for students in Lakeland's process and power engineering program, ensuring they have access to the most advanced tools and technology necessary to prepare them for their careers.
"We are deeply grateful to Apex Automation for their donation, which has significantly enhanced the learning experiences for our students," says Angela Minish, dean of the School of Business and Energy at Lakeland College. "Their incredible donation underscores their commitment to advancing education and technology, and we are thrilled to partner with them in preparing the next generation of power engineers and industry leaders."
The control room upgrades include two new Operator Interface Units with four split-screens and three new servers. One of the new servers provides historical data, allowing students to view all plant equipment historical data and trends. The upgrades also include improved network security measures. Together, these updates provide students with a more realistic experience with human-machine interfaces and control systems. Experts from Apex have worked with students and employees to train them on these new, cutting-edge applications.
In recognition of this donation, the control room supporting the Cenovus Energy Lab has been named the Apex Automation Control Room.
"Apex Automation has always had a passion for delivering industry leading control room experiences focused on operator's excellence," says Aaron Berlinic, chief technology officer of Apex Automation. "When it comes to the design and implementation of control systems nothing is more important than ensuring the operator efficiency through the use of the latest control system technology and bringing automation to their fingertips. Being able to partner with Lakeland College and support their energy lab allows us to collaborate with the next generation of operators and continuously innovate with their high demands on continuous improvement. We are excited to be a small part of such a successful program."
Commissioned in 2015, Lakeland's Energy Centre includes the Cenovus Energy Lab, Cenovus Energy Power Engineering Lab, Canadian Natural Resources Limited Lecture Theatre, and now, the Apex Automation Control Room. It is one of the best equipped and modern facilities for energy training in Canada.
Lakeland's energy department offers a power and process engineering diploma program, allowing students to graduate with their 3rd Class power engineering certification. The college also offers continuing education and professional development opportunities, including a 4th Class power engineering steam lab where people can earn accredited steam time hours for power engineering certification.
Lakeland's energy students continue to break records with their ABSA provincial exam success rates. On March 4, they achieved a 100 per cent success rate on the 3B1 exam. Earlier this year, they achieved 100 per cent success on 3A1 and 97 per cent on 3A2.
