Bringing The Best Minds To Market | Alim Somani - GRIT ED. 7 Your Next Move - Magazine - Page 8
Bringing The Best Minds To Market | Alim Somani
HATCH FEATURE
BRINGING THE BEST
MINDS TO MARKET
PARTNERING FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
By: Alim Somani, Managing Director, Digital, Hatch
C
ompanies across all sectors have been forced to
accelerate their digital transformation initiatives
as they face disruption across the entire value
chain. Whether it is the urgent need to reduce and
eliminate emissions, manage and replace aging assets, prepare
for the inevitable increase in environmental risks caused by
climate change, the ever-growing impact of urbanization, or
the need to drive more efficient yet safer business practices,
it’s clear that organizations in the industries we serve are
facing an unprecedented level of change.
Addressing these challenges will require swift and proactive
decision-making, adaptability, diversity of thought and
innovation, collaboration, and sustainable solutions for all.
There is an overwhelming sense
of urgency. Communities and
industry experts will need to work
in partnership to bring the best
minds to market and cultivate bold,
innovative solutions that challenge
the status quo
As business leaders, we recognize that the long-term health
and resilience of our industries is directly tied to our support
of our people, our local communities, and the environment.
We also recognize that diversity of thought is the key to
building a successful ecosystem of solutions.
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GRIT
COLLABORATION IS KEY
Maximizing on the opportunities of diversity of
thought and underlining the criticality of
collaboration, Hatch—one of the world’s
most prominent engineering, project
management, and professional
services firms— has partnered
with
several
start-up
businesses to jointly build
solutions aimed at solving
some of the world’s
toughest
challenges.
Together,
Hatch
and
these partners co-create
products, technologies,
and
designs
that
leverage expertise from
both partners to create
unprecedented ideas and
outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has
brought additional awareness to
the issue of mental health and worker
well-being, which has been an increasingly
important topic for organizations around the
world for some time. In an effort to understand and better
assess our workforce, Hatch recently invested in Cambridge
Brain Sciences, a leading online brain health assessment
platform, to delve into the digital health trend further. The
collaboration is accelerating the development of technology,
building on a pilot program aimed at addressing workplace
mental health and safety both in the office and at project sites.
The program, still in its early stages, endeavours to prioritize
workplace safety through data capture and assessment.
THE DIGITAL AND AI TRANSFORMATION
Innovations in technology are transforming the ways we
imagine and build infrastructure. We are seeing a global
embrace of renewable power sources. We are seeing
advancements in digital tools and the use of AI. We are
witnessing shifting trends in entrepreneurship and business
intelligence and have been seeking partnerships with
businesses that complement Hatch’s service offering and
opportunities to c-create solutions with these businesses by
combining our unique expertise to build ideas and products
that will solve critical issues.
Among them is a co-venture with an early-stage business
intelligence firm, Brainnwave, that will combine
its focus on integrating the company’s AIpowered analytics platform with Hatch’s
digital expertise and deep industry
knowledge of metals and mining,
energy,
and
infrastructure
sectors.
Brainnwave’s
customized software solution
enables the sourcing and
aggregation of unlimited data
combined with bespoke or
industry reference machine
learning algorithms and AI
to help businesses unlock
unrealized value in data,
preparing them for a digital
future. The two firms believe
that this presents a prime
opportunity for businesses to
consider their climate contribution
and how they can limit their impact
on the global emergency. Through the
digital solutions and visualization platforms
created through this co-venture, organizations
will be able to track, measure, plan, and most importantly,
act upon their climate strategies across multiple assets while
complying with regional regulations.
And in early 2021, Hatch announced that it was investing
in the expansion of Peak Power’s AI-powered Synergy™
platform, which optimizes the operation of buildings and
distributed energy resources like batteries and electric vehicle
chargers for some of North America’s largest real-estate and
energy players. Enabling intelligent energy use to build smart
cities and in turn contributing to climate change mitigation
are key investment themes for both Hatch and our clients.
We believe Peak Power has the team and technology to help
commercial buildings reduce their power consumption and
emissions, which we believe is an important market.
RESPONDING TO THE ENERGY TRANSITION
The realities of climate change are transforming the global
energy mix, and our world. Hatch is responding to the
energy transition by seeking opportunities to accelerate the
development of energy solutions. Earlier this year, Hatch, in
an alliance with Canadian Shield Capital, announced a US$20
million investment in Ocean Renewable Power Company
(ORPC) to advance the installation of ORPC’s clean, renewable
RivGen power system in its targeted markets. “With over
two years of operating history in the harsh river environment
in Igiugig, Alaska, ORPC’s RivGen® Power System has
generated growing interest by remote communities globally
to replace their diesel generation systems with our highly
predictable, baseload renewable energy system,” said ORPC
Chief Executive Officer Stuart Davies, “This new investment
in ORPC, and the expertise that Canada Shield and Hatch
bring, dramatically expand ORPC’s capability to respond
to our target markets, which include communities eager
to develop more localized and resilient renewable energy
sources.”
PARTNERING FOR PROGRESS
This focus on innovation and igniting smarter solutions is
why Hatch has partnered with NEXT Canada to accelerate
the development of early-stage businesses that may have
solutions to some of the challenges faced by Hatch’s clients.
By working together with these start-up ventures and
connecting them with our clients, stakeholders, and partners,
we are developing holistic problem-solving that highlights the
magnitude of improved productivity, stronger environmental
compliance, greater safety outcomes, and digitalization—all
opportunities for a better world. To earn more, visit
www.hatch.com.
GRIT
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