From the waters of Newfoundland to Alberta’s oil sands, the Canadian oil and gas industry operates in some of the most remote and unforgiving environments on the planet. For the companies responsible for producing 7.7% of Canada’s nominal GDP, it’s become more important than ever to increase visibility into every facet of their operations—all while adopting new technologies to improve safety and efficiency as the industry looks towards the future. 

According to EY’s most recent report on workforce trends in Canadian oil and gas, the industry faces an unprecedented shift as automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping the way that companies operate. Looking to counter prolonged periods of low oil prices, companies are relying more heavily on technology to cut production costs and boost profitability.

“The use of automation is already becoming more widespread,” said Carol Howes, VP of Communications and PetroLMI at Energy Safety Canada in the foreword to the report. She states that the use of automation will “gradually continue to replace routine, repetitive or dangerous tasks—freeing up workers to focus on higher value activities,” noting that “upskilling and reskilling will need to be promoted and encouraged" as the industry looks 20 years down the line.

With younger workers being drawn to tech-savvy companies, and as older generations begin to retire, the report highlights how the industry is “at considerable risk of losing institutional knowledge gained through decades of experience. New tools and technologies will be able to retain this knowledge and data, ensuring consistent operations and performance.”

Automation probability by 2040

Aside from foundational knowledge such as data entry, which is projected to reach 100% automation by the year 2040, time-consuming technical competencies are seeing the sharpest increase:

• Preventative maintenance: 95% 

• Managing finances: 88% 

• Operation monitoring and control: 78% 

• Equipment selection: 68% 

• Equipment maintenance: 65% 

With a multitude of factors—such as policies and regulations—consistently shifting the oil and gas landscape, centralizing data, automating manual tasks, and leveraging AI to transform operations is key to staying competitive. 

Future-focused solutions

Canadian companies are embracing new technologies to prepare for the future, now. Here are a few ways that Samsara products and solutions can help to jump-start the technical automation process:

• Preventative maintenance: Real-time monitoring and diagnostics help predict maintenance needs before they escalate, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of assets. Custom automated alerts and scheduling integrated into the Samsara platform provide added insight into proactive maintenance strategies.

• Managing finances: With detailed reports on fuel consumption, idling, and asset utilization—paired with payroll software and HR integrations—Samsara provides insights into the entirety of a company’s operations to help reduce costs and save valuable time.

• Operation monitoring and control: Samsara enables 24/7 monitoring of fleets and equipment, allowing managers to oversee operations and make informed decisions—all while promoting safety and compliance through continuous data capture and alerts. 

• Equipment maintenance and selection: The integration of powered (and unpowered) asset tracking hardware—paired with the diagnostic information they generate—allows for consistent equipment health checks. This enables companies to select the right equipment for each job, all while reducing maintenance costs and improving reliability through scheduled service reminders and robust reporting.

A single platform for practical transformation

For an industry that operates in difficult environments across vast geographical distances, having visibility across the entirety of an organization is paramount. By centralizing millions of data points generated by the ruggedized hardware located on worksites both near and far, in vehicles travelling across the continent, and on every possible powered and unpowered asset, Samsara can equip companies with the tools they need for success, now and for years to come.

Liberty Energy

“When we can see everything in one place, our entire operation comes together,” explained Michael Tuomi, Health & Safety Manager at Liberty Energy, a North American oilfield services firm with offices in Calgary and Red Deer, AB. “When we were looking for a new telematics provider, we were hoping for a reliable, easy-to-use platform that our drivers and managers liked. We quickly learned that we could fully integrate our payroll systems, our maintenance software, our tax structure, monitoring our third-party drivers, all in a simple, easy-to-use platform,” he said.

For Liberty Energy’s Director of Tax, Joe Smith, using a single platform enables him to pull the sales tax rates in any given spot where Liberty’s trucks or tractors are located. “We can get a very, very accurate tax rate,” he said. “This data from Samsara is going to save probably US$10+ million in savings for the bottom line of Liberty,” he said. Now that’s some ROI. 

American Cementing

It’s a similar story at American Cementing, a leader in cementing services for the oil and gas industry, which took the decision to become a paperless operation. Before, field technicians would need to deal with piles of paper documents, such as pre-inspection reports and fuel receipts. Now, instead of stuffing receipts into envelopes and sending them off by mail, field technicians use Samsara’s Driver App to scan their receipts and share them with the back-office, instantly. 

Not only did this save the business around US$60,000 per year, but by integrating it with its payroll software, they saved their back office over 1,600 hours per year. This is digital efficiency on a whole new level. 

Just as the Canadian oil and gas industry evolves, Samsara is helping to shape the journey ahead.