* Calgary - Driverless trucks to hit Alberta’s Oilsands Region replacing $200,000/yr operators
-- 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... 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... The move to driverless trucks comes as Suncor and its competitors in the oilsands look for opportunities to cut costs and boost productivity, an effort that has intensified amid the year-long plunge in oil prices. The steep fall in prices has already forced the sector as a whole to lay off thousands, with Suncor itself letting go 1,000 people this year... Driverless trucks aren’t new to the resource industry. Mining giants Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. use them at many of their operations and oilsands producers see driverless trucks as an obvious way to boost productivity... Seetal said Suncor was still working through its pilot project and had not made a decision on whether to implement a fully autonomous system. “If we decide to go that route, we would absolutely work through how we could look for redeployment opportunities for our employees and we expect there would be some changes to skillsets,” ... “An autonomous truck still requires people to load it, to maintain the roads and to make the technology work,” she added... Drivers of these behemoths cost as much as $200,000 a year...
(Photo from Financial Post - A heavy earthmoving truck at the Tom Price iron ore mine, operated by Rio Tinto Group, near Perth, Australia) -- Alberta, Calgary, CAN - The Financial Post, by Geoffrey Morgan - June 08, 2015Labels: truckers' warning
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