Intelligent Hospital Systems' Irene Wasilewski was kind enough to host a presentation and tour of the Robotic Intra-Venous Automation (RIVA) system.

The RIVA system is designed to supplement a hospital's IV fluid bag preparation process.  The typical procedure, as-is, is labour-intensive, and all the human interaction presents possibility of introducing errors.  This could have dire consequences in a hospital setting, given the sensitivity of IV bag formulations.  The RIVA system eliminates many potential for errors, as well as being a labour-saving investment, especially for large batch orders.  It also reduces the amount of consumables by reviewing its orders and calculating best efficiency.

The RIVA system introduces electronic order entry and integration into a Pharmacy Information System.  It is an ISO Class 5 hermetically-sealed environment.  It prepares IV bags as well as syringes, with a complete audit trail.  As well as excelling in batch orders, it can also operate "just-in-time."

After the presentation, the group was brought to the back of the Intelligent Hospital Systems' facility to watch a live demonstration of an assembled unit in action.  After a little bit of debugging, the machine's 7-axis robotic arm and myriad of robotics technologies was impressively producing syringes and bags filled with harmless coloured water.

Thank you to Irene and Intelligent Hospital Systems for this interesting presentation of Winnipeg-based international entrepreneurship!

Presentation and Tour of Carlson Engineered Composites
May 5, 2010
written by Irene Wasilewski

Carlson Engineered Composites Inc’s Rob Haller provided a presentation on the open and closed light resin transfer moulding (LRTM) process, followed by a demonstration of their new seven-axis water-jet robot that will be used for trimming parts after they come off the moulds.

Carlson Engineered Composites Inc. is a manufacturer of fibreglass products for original equipment manufacturers for a wide range of commercial vehicles and equipment. Carlson specializes in assisting the customer at the design stage to ensure high quality, durable products manufactured efficiently. They are a subsidiary company of Carneil Group of Companies which has been serving the industry for over 70 years.

Rob Haller, born and raised in Winnipeg, received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1993. He began his career at New Flyer Industries in the manufacturing engineering department and later moved on to become a corrosion engineer and later still to the alternate fuels group. In 2002 Rob moved to Carlson to become their manufacturing engineer and in 2007 was promoted to the engineering manager. Rob was instrumental in developing the company’s LRTM production line.

Rob provided a presentation on the company’s manufacturing processes – open moulding and the newest method, closed LRTM. In open moulding chopped up fibreglass and a liquid resin mix are sprayed onto the surface of a mould. The process is highly dependant on the operator’s ability to control part thickness and glass content. As well, it produces high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which require facility ventilation and protective gear for the operator. For those reasons, Carlson decided to implement an LRTM line. In LRTM the resin is injected into a channel running the perimeter of a two piece mould. A vacuum is attached to the center of the top half of the mould to control the flow of the resin through the mould. This process has a labour savings associated with it plus improved regularity part-to-part and lower tooling costs. The workshop area is also styrene-free in this process.

The group was provided a tour of Carlson’s production areas starting with the open resin transfer moulding line, then the light resin transfer moulding lineb lastly followed by a demonstration of the new seven-axis water-jet recently installed. The water-jet runs on a track which spans two ‘rooms’. This allows operators to set-up parts in one room while the water-jet is working in the second room. CAD data may be directly imported to the water jet to define the cutting lines.

For more information on Carlson and their products, please visit www.carlsongrpco.com

Presentation and Tour of IMRIS
February 23, 2010
written by Irene Wasilewski

SAE Manitoba hosted an evening at IMRIS on February 9, 2010. IMRIS is a global leader in image guided therapy solutions. IMRIS’s senior technology researcher, Mark Alexiuk, P. Eng, Ph.D. provided a presentation and a tour of the facility. Dr. Alexiuk studied electrical engineering at the University of Manitoba and has been with IMRIS since 2007.

IMRIS currently designs and sells products under three main umbrellas:
1. IMRISNV – Stroke Management and Neurovascular Care
2. IMRISCARDIO – Cardiovascular care
3. IMRISNEURO – Neurosurgery

IMRISNV and IMRISCARDIO are both interventional suites with MR imaging and x-ray angiography. IMRISNV focuses on accurately identifying areas of salvageable brain tissue during a stroke and can assist clinicians in quickly determining specific intervention strategies. IMRISCARDIO focuses on visualizing the heart before, during and after cardiovascular interventions. IMRISNEURO is a one stop shop for an operating and imaging room, combining many technologies into one space such as a movable MR, movable patient tables and data display to name just a few.

IMRIS technologies incorporate a large 1.5T or 3T MR scanner that enters the room on demand. During the imaging, the patient remains stationary on the table throughout the procedure. The tabletop, mattress and arm boards are all MR compatible and radiolucent to optimize image quality. The table can be tilted, rolled laterally and moved horizontally for optimum positioning for imaging and intervention. For MR imaging the table is rotated 90deg and fully extended toward the MR scanner.

Following the presentation there was a tour of the facilities. The first stop was the demo room which houses an MR scanner (with dummy magnets), a patient table and an angiography system to allow the visitor to see how the system fits together and could function in a hospital. Next there was a short stop at the engineering office area followed by the R&D area which housed actual scanners used in developing new product and for testing. The final stop was the manufacturing area.

SAE Manitoba would like to thank Dr. Alexiuk for providing the presentation and tour and IMRIS for allowing us to visit and for providing supper. For more information about IMRIS please visit:

www.imris.com

Manitoba Hydro Place – Tour and Presentation
November 15, 2009
written by Irene Wasilewski

Manitoba Hydro recently opened their new downtown headquarters, Manitoba Hydro Place. This innovative building incorporates many energy saving and healthy workplace features never put together before in a downtown skyscraper. Earlier this year, Manitoba Hydro Place was honoured with a prestigious award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat who named it '2009 Best Tall Building for the Americas.'

The presentation and tour was provided by Tom Akerstream, who is the Manager of Head Office Facilities, Manitoba Hydro, and was the Project Energy Advisor for the Manitoba Hydro Downtown Office Project. Tom has worked in the energy management field for over 30 years. He joined the company 18 years ago to initiate their 'Power Smart' program. He is a past President of the Manitoba Electric League and a member of numerous committees, including Manitoba Hydro’s R&D Board and the CSA Codes and Standards for Energy Efficiency. Tom has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a Bachelor of Architecture and a Masters in Architecture.

Even the development of the building design began in an innovative way; it was an integrated design approach from the beginning. Rather than following the standard practice of having the architects design the space, and then pass the design off to the engineers and contractors to build, right from the start, the design process included approximately 30 people from major design areas such as architecture, landscape design, mechanical, etc.

Not only was energy savings a focus but also the comfort of the employees that will use the spaces. Thermal comfort, the effective temperature the employees feel as they work in the space, was one of the key aspects in the design. One of the methods used to achieve this was a displacement ventilation system that circulates the air by adding fresh air at the bottom of the rooms through a raised floor and exhausting air at the top, utilizing the natural flow of air. The ventilation system uses entirely passive systems rather than relying on mechanical equipment. There are 4 to 5 air changes an hour for the office staff.

Also, the lighting was optimized so that everyone has the advantage of natural light. The passive ventilation system adds comfort and is also an energy saver. For example, the underground parkade does not require any energy other than lighting due to the effectiveness of the ventilation system to add heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. The north and south atria are fundamental to the passive system. Fresh air is drawn into the atria where water features humidify the air and waste heat from exhaust air is recovered. Natural solar energy also warms the fresh air. The south winter gardens act as lungs, providing preconditioned fresh air to the building. For more information on the building please visit:

www.hydro.mb.ca/corporate/mhplace/index.shtml?WT.mc_id=2611

The New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40
September 15, 2009
written by Irene Wasilewski

SAE Manitoba hosted a presentation on September 15, 2009 with featured speaker Mr. Paul Zanetel, M.A.Sc., P.Eng, who introduced the latest New Flyer model, the Xcelsior.

Mr. Zanetel is the current Chief Technical Advisor at New Flyer Industries. He formerly served as the Vice-President of Engineering at New Flyer and has 12 years with the company to date. He is also currently an Engineer-in-Residence at the University of Manitoba.

New Flyer is a publicly-traded company with its roots starting in 1930. They design and manufacture heavy-duty transit service buses and are the market leader in Canada and the US. They are the only transit OEM certified in ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety).

Mr. Zanetel began by providing an update on the activities and accomplishments of the University of Manitoba SAE student chapter (UMSAE), and followed that with some background on New Flyer Industries. The presentation included some of the challenges that the transit bus industry faces in launching a new model. He then provided an overview of New Flyer’s latest model, Xcelsior, describing its advantages over other models. The group was treated to a ride around the surrounding New Flyer facilities on one of the Xcelsior demonstration coaches, with current Vice-President, Engineering Services, Mr. Chris Stoddart serving as the tour guide, where we were able to get a close-up look at the bus and ask questions to many of the designers that worked on the new model.

It was a very informative presentation, even for some of the New Flyer staff in attendance, and was a great way to kick off SAE Manitoba's tech meetings season.

www.newflyer.com

Plug-In Hybrid Update and Manitoba Electric Museum Tour
November 15, 2009
written by Irene Wasilewski

The evening was a mix of technical presentation about the potential power requirements for a relatively new sector in automotive alternative energy, the plug-in hybrid, and a tour of the Manitoba Electric Museum which outlines the history of electric power distribution in Manitoba.

The presentation was provided by Robert Yonza, P.Eng., of Manitoba Hydro. He holds a B.Sc. (Physics) from U of W as well as a B.Sc. (Electrical Engineering) from U of M. Mr. Yonza has worked at Teshmont Consultants and Pauwels Canada before joining Manitoba Hydro as a Grounding Engineer. In 2008 he moved on to the Emerging Energy Systems Group.

Most people have become familiar with the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). Another form of a hybrid is the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). It functions the same way as an HEV does, by using batteries to smooth a vehicle’s power requirements and optimize the efficiency of the gasoline engine, except where an HEV’s batteries recharge using regenerative braking, the PHEV’s batteries regenerate using an external power source, such as a standard wall outlet. In this way, the PHEV may operate as a purely electric vehicle and only use the gasoline engine on extended trips. Manitoba Hydro studied a modified Toyota Prius to estimate the potential power requirements on the province’s electrical distribution system should PHEV’s become more popular in this province.

For more information regarding Manitoba Hydro’s work on PHEVs please visit www.hydro.mb.ca/corporate/phev/index.shtml

The second half of the evening was a tour of the Manitoba Electric Museum, which portrays the history of electrical distribution in Manitoba from the 1870s to the present, as well as a view into the future. The museum holds many artefacts of electrical equipment used over the years, both in households and in power distribution and is housed in an artefact itself. The building itself was built in 1931 and was then known as the Fort Garry Station. Within the lobby, a visitor has a view of the electric panels used for switching and monitoring electricity in that past. The main gallery of the museum houses an actual streetcar from Winnipeg’s past and showcases some of the many style of light bulbs used over the years.

Manitoba is fortunate in that much of the province’s landscape is terrain ideal for electrical power generation using hydro dams. The museum highlights the history of power generating systems in the province. Farm electrification was a large scale project of Manitoba Hydro to add electricity to the rural areas of the province. In the past 30 years, the focus moved north to larger scale generating stations that will continue to serve the province into the future. Lastly the museum covers potential power sources for the future, such as wind. The museum is located at 680 Harrow Street.

Please visit www.hydro.mb.ca/corporate/history/electrical_museum.shtml for more information regarding the museum.

The 2009 Corvette ZR1, with speaker Jerry Burton
September 6, 2008
written by Bob Mai

Sponsored by:

It was with great honour that SAE Manitoba Section, the Corvette Club of Manitoba, and the city of Winnipeg hosted Jerry Burton, editor for Corvette Quarterly, this September weekend.  Jerry flew in from Michigan, stayed at the Fort Garry Hotel, enjoyed some Rae and Jerry's, some WSCC autocrossing, a Corvette Club car show, and, of course, spoke about the 2009 Corvette ZR1 in a hall of around 105 paid attendees.

The presentation was held at the Headingley Community Centre, where the Automobile Museum was opened up to the paying public.  Around 40 Corvettes and 12 non-Corvettes participated in the car show preceding the presentation.  After the dinner and presentation, awards were presented to car show winners, and Jerry took orders for personalized books.  All in all, it was a successful event for all involved, and SAE Manitoba delivered a $500 cheque to the Rainbow Society!

Enjoy the pictures:

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