Most kids relish the thought of a day off school when it’s a student free day for teachers, but not some local students who took a deep dive into the world of Curtis Island and Santos GLNG operations.

A total of 20 year-nine students took part in a “Think by Design” workshop, which involved developing innovative ways to streamline Santos GLNG’s processes.

Some of the tools used by the students included integration of drones and 3D design, exploring a gas pipeline in virtual reality, User X Empathy Mapping, and computer-aided design.

It’s the first time the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) event has been conducted.

“These events really open students’ eyes to a whole new world while joining the dots between their school work and the world of work,” said Santos GLNG’s General Manager, Brenton Hawtin.

“The best part of these activities is the interaction between the students and the company mechanisms that give them a first-hand account of what it’s like to have a career in the resources sector,” he said. “We were very impressed with the innovations the students developed.”

Some of these included:

• A security system connecting devices through IoT (internet of things) to communicate and effectively manage data.  Systems to include drones to survey site, emergency alarms to trigger via information collected from drones.  This system will create higher efficiency in risk assessment and evaluation.
• An app was created to manage hours of work and hours spent connecting with family to better manage mental health of employees working away from home.
• An app connecting to employees work phones to use to alert when safety is at risk.  The app will deploy a drone to the area to assess the situation and provide aid where needed. It will also have a walkie talkie feature direct to a health and safety professional for situations beyond the capacity of a robot.
• An autonomous truck to help well geologists manage their time spent traveling to sites. The truck would be a transportable living area that could move between sites during employees down time.
• A cylinder device to be fitted around gas pipelines to prevent gas leakage and using autonomous drones to manage the risk in regard to transfer of chemicals.

“A Minerals Council of Australia student survey showed that very few young people know about the variety of careers available in the sector, and these activities certainly help to bridge that knowledge gap,” said Katrina-Lee Jones, Director Skills Education and Diversity with the Queensland Resources Council.