Energy innovation partners amongst the winners at the WA Innovator of the Year Awards 2019 Ceremony

NERA has joined more than 230 guests to celebrate Western Australian innovation at the WA Innovator of the Year (IOTY) Awards Ceremony 2019, where five WA-based innovative entrepreneurial individuals and businesses — including NERA collaborators iSOL8 and TENSA Equipment — have been recognised for demonstrating economic, social or environmental benefit for the State.

iSOL8 won the DXC Digital Innovation Platinum Award for iSOL8®, their digital Lock Out Tag Out isolation system — a digital and verifiable process that eliminates the need for paper-based isolation permits, replacing with a single device. The system detects and prevents human errors when the wrong isolation device is identified in the field or unauthorised persons attempt to sign on to the isolation permit.

iSOL8’s Founder Craig Power, who accepted the award, was a member of NERA’s recent Tech Xchange Program that connected Australian energy innovators with global supply chain networks at SPE Offshore Europe Conference & Exhibition in Aberdeen from 3-6 September 2019 as part of an international collaborative initiative developed by NERA in conjunction with the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) and Station Houston.

TENSA Equipment won the Woodside Oil and Gas Platinum Award, the South32 Technology & Innovation in Mining Platinum Award, and The Business News 'Great for the State' Award for their Roborigger, which helps companies in construction, oil and gas, and logistics, to improve safety and efficiency. It does so by controlling loads remotely during lifting operations, removing the need for people to use taglines or to be in close proximity to the load.

TENSA Equipment have been part of NERA’s innovation ecosystem for a number of years, having received support under the inaugural NERA Innovation Voucher program, which assists small and medium enterprises (SMEs) develop innovative solutions to technical problems in the energy resources industry.

The WA IOTY program — an initiative of the State Government's New Industries Fund — promotes and acknowledges the success of Western Australian innovators, and has showcased and celebrated innovative and entrepreneurial individuals, businesses and creative minds since 2006.

NERA is a proud supporter of the IOTY program as it shines a deserving spotlight on local innovators and businesses who are creatively coming up with new ways to provide solutions that improve efficiencies and increase safety for Australians.