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Reliable Controls is dedicated to transforming the engineering and consulting industry through Safety, Quality and Expertise. Our outlook is global, and we embrace employees from all over the world. We work with purpose: forging Innovative Methods, Processes and Technologies. Through our passion and unified vision, we create the greatest solutions of our generation.
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copperprocessing
Reliable Controls' Experience With Copper Processing
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Did you know? The average single-family home uses 439 pounds of copper. Because of its ductility and high level of thermal and electrical conductivity, copper has a wide range of practical applications. The “coinage metals,” gold, silver and copper, have been used for currency, jewelry and even art throughout history. These transition metals line up on the periodic table due to their similar properties of high thermal and electrical conductivity and their malleability, but copper is used most commonly for households as the most economical choice available in abundance.
Copper processing can be complicated and time consuming, and is only economical today through massive volumes of ore processing (e.g. hundreds of thousands of tons a day). High-grade copper-ore typically contains less than 1% copper and will result in sheets of 99.9% pure copper. Enormous amounts of earth, energy and water are required to process copper in an economical fashion.
The most economical mining method for large tonnages of material is the open-pit method. The ore is prepared for blasting by large track-mounted drills, then the broken ore is hauled to the ore-processing plant by either truck or conveyor. Once at the ore-processing plant, the mineral processing commences. This process includes:
- Crushing and Conveying
- Grinding
- Thickeners and Clarifiers
- Flotation
- Reagents,
- Fresh Water and Reclaim Water Management
- Concentrate Pipelines
- Filter Plants
- Smelting
- Refining
For over half a century, our management team has been involved in copper processing in some of the biggest operations in the world. During this time, our knowledge of copper processing, including SX/EW, has grown exponentially, allowing us to not only fully understand the demands of this industry, but tailor our services to our clients' individual needs.
Our core experience is in Instrumentation, Process Controls, Power Distribution and Equipment Controls, focusing on providing System Integration, Pre-Commissioning, Commissioning, Start-Up, Ramp-Up and Commercial Performance Testing services. In addition, we help our clients optimize their existing operations through maintenance support and plant optimization projects. We always look for the most practical and efficient approach with every step we take.
For more information on our experience with Copper Processing, please follow the link below to our projects section.
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Isabel Glasmann joined RCC in January 2017. With a mechanical engineering degree from Brigham Young University, experience with development and design and a background of peer-to-peer education, she has been a tremendous asset to our team.
Isabel expressed that her biggest strength as an individual is her ability to find the lesson in every challenge and approach each challenge without fear. “I know that every problem has a solution,” she said,” and determination is the key to finding it.”
Working at RCC has definitely tested Isabel’s problem solving abilities. She explained that she often has to step outside her comfort zone to develop a new skill, but this is one of her favorite parts about her job.
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She told us, “Reliable Controls has an amazing group of extremely experienced mentors who are willing to help guide new engineers like myself to accomplish each task.” RCC prides itself on our training methods, and we are so glad to see them working on fresh young minds like Isabel’s!
Outside of work, Isabel spends time with her husband of two years and their 3-year-old Shih Tzu, Bonita. She and her husband try to go on one fun date a week, sometimes to refresh their Salsa and Bachata skills, other times to catch the latest superhero movie premiering in theaters.
When asked what inspires her most, Isabel’s response was her family. “My mom, dad and younger siblings inspire me in everything I do,” she said, “I’ve worked to be a good example for my siblings and make my parents proud. I will always be grateful for their love and support.”
In closing, we requested Isabel share some words of wisdom with our readers; she addressed her words toward the women of the world, “Engineering is a fun and exciting career that needs more of us [women] to become involved. I encourage you to research the different fields engineering has to offer and go for it!” Thank you for sharing, Isabel! We are happy to have you on the RCC Team!
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teambuilding
The RCC Team Travels to TopGolf for an offsite event!
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Our June Team Building event was a great success! The Reliable Controls Team closed shop a little early on Friday, June 16th, to gather for an event at TopGolf. From 12-3 p.m. we practiced our swings, enjoyed a provided lunch and got to know each other on a slightly more personal level than the office setting typically allows. This was great for building camaraderie and rapport, and we believe will help tremendously in understanding each other better in a team oriented environment.
"The outing had all the right ingredients to be a great event and that is exactly what it was. Great organization, food, drinks, weather and even better company and I have to add that it was the first time I got paid to play golf. The outing gave me the opportunity to exchange more than a few laughs with my co-workers and to see who qualifies to join us on a round of 18; I think there is money to be made with some of the rookie engineers." - Manuel Villanueva, Human Resources
Thank you to everyone who attended this event! Also, a big a Thank You to those who jumped right back into work mode to help quickly mobilize our team to the next project! Every day at Reliable is different, which is why teamwork and communication is so important!
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safetyculture
Hand Protection
20% of all disabling accidents on the job involve the hands. Hand injuries send more than one million workers to the emergency room a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Of those one million, 70% were not wearing hand protection and the remaining 30% were wearing inadequate, damaged or incorrect hand protection for the job.
Take a moment to think about how many times you use each of your hands a day; an hour; a minute, etc. Now think about how you might accomplish each task without one or both of those hands. We are only given one set of hands in a lifetime and it is our responsibility to protect them.
Personal Protection Equipment can shield you against most work-related hand injuries, as long has it’s the correct equipment for the job. The following types of gloves should be worn accordingly.
- Metal or mesh gloves should be worn when working with extreme sharp edges to prevent cuts.
- Leather gloves should be worn when working with rough surfaces.
- Vinyl or neoprene gloves should be worn when working with toxic chemicals.
- Rubber gloves should be worn when working around electricity.
- Padded cloth gloves should be worn when working with sharp edges, slivers dirt or high vibration.
- Heat resistant gloves should be worn when working with heat or flames.
- Latex disposable gloves should be worn when working around germs or bacteria.
- Lead-lined gloves should be worn when working around radiation sources.
While PPE is not the only way to protect against hand injuries, it is a crucial component in prevention. Repetitive motion injuries occur when you repeat the same hand motion for a long period of time. Take caution if you begin to feel pain, tingling or numbness in your hands.
Lastly, an extremely important reminder in our line of work, never remove machine guards or bypass safety mechanisms. Lockout-tagout procedures exist for a reason and should always be observed prior to putting your hands into a machine.
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continued
education
RCC Hosts GE Training
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Success requires learning as fast as the world is changing. We work to encourage continuing education and make it available for all our employees. Last month, we hosted a training on Factory Acceptance, On-site Testing, Validation and Commissioning of GE Relays.
We welcomed a multicultural group of engineers, from highly experienced to fresh graduates, all who found great value in the offered course.
By combining this diverse group, they were able to bounce ideas and questions off each other and approach each topic from multiple viewpoints. We look forward to more learning opportunities like this in the future.
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“I learned in one week what could have taken months to learn by myself. There is definitely no substitute for hands-on experience.” Samuel Arce (back center)
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energysummit
RCC attends 2017 Governor's Utah Energy Summit
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Last month, RCC had the opportunity to attend the 2017 Governor's Utah Energy Summit. We joined over 1,200 attendees in the discussion of the advancement of innovative solutions for energy and mineral development.
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Al Macha (left), Manuel Villanueva (center) and Brad Liljenquist attended the event. They met with other industry leaders to promote the work and efforts of RCC and communicate ways we can assist in the development of new energy solutions.
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Please be sure you are disposing in the correct bin!
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