Australia’s Leading Sewer Vent Shaft Design, Fabrication & Installation Company
SVSR is committed to innovation and sustainability – and we know that bright young minds can make a difference.
So we’re proud to be a part of the University of New South Wales’s Maker Games …
… and thrilled that our students have prototyped a potentially life-changing device.
“The Maker Games is a fantastic initiative. Our involvement is a win for the students, SVSR and the university,” says Duncan Reynolds, Research and Development Manager at SVSR.
It’s with innovative thinking and proactive planning that SVSR continues to deliver leading solutions in sewer vent shaft design, fabrication and installation.
And collaborations such as the UNSW Maker Games play a pivotal role.
Making a mark with the Maker Games
Now in its third year, the Maker Games is a competition run by the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Students from multiple disciplines design prototypes for participating companies – each focusing on a real-world solution to an industry challenge.
According to Dean of Engineering Professor Mark Hoffman, the event is a great opportunity for students to apply their learned knowledge to the real world – and it’s a key element of the university’s strategy to provide ‘quality at scale’ engineering education.
“One of the reasons the Maker Games is such a wonderful learning experience is it gets the students and industry partners together and we get some really interesting problems solved by people who aren’t constrained by pre-existing ideas,” Professor Hoffman explained. “And we have students learning by doing real-world projects, not ones we’ve created on campus.”
The SVSR Challenge
SVSR is the expert in sewer ventilation with current research focusing on sustainable odour control. The subject for the Maker Games project was the control of hazardous hydrogen sulphide gases. SVSR challenged students to design and build a prototype that would help workers in India stay safe while carrying out necessary maintenance.
Hydrogen sulphide gases (H2S) emit a pungent “rotten egg” odour – but the stench is only one factor. The gas can cause significant health issues. And the number of deaths in India is staggering.
As the team explain in their report, “Health issues and fatality of sewer workers relating to harmful inhalation of H2S in India has become a major issue. From 2010 to 2017, sewage systems in India have killed 356 sewer workers.”
Innovation at work
The Maker Games is open to UNSW students, who form cross-disciplinary teams of four to five people to conceive and pitch an idea. Winning teams then proceed to the prototype development stage – with mentoring from academic staff and their industry partner.
Students from the School of Engineering including Nafisa and Dohan (pictured) took just 10 weeks to devise the SVSR prototype.
The solution was a prototype mask that is effective at blocking the gases, cheap to make – and potentially, very easy to distribute.
It’s creative, sustainable design such as this that has helped shape the Maker Games as an important event for the university – and industry partners. “An amazing culture is already developing within this program,” says Kevin Duquette from the UNSW Faculty of Engineering. “UNSW alumni are coming back as industry mentors … and students who have participated in previous years are signing employment contracts with various Maker Games industry partners.”
A collaborative future
Duncan believes innovation is critical to remain at the forefront of sewer vent and shaft cowl design – and for the future of the wastewater industry. And a key component is collaboration.
SVSR continues to develop sustainable solutions for the sewer industry through membership of ANSTO’s Nandin Innovation Centre, academic partnerships and programs such as the UNSW Maker Games.
We’ve been involved two years running – and are looking forward to taking part again.
Innovative solutions for the wastewater industry
SVSR is the leader in sewer vent shaft design, fabrication and installation thanks to extensive and long-standing expertise.
And we will continue to lead through innovation and collaboration.
Contact us for creative – and sustainable – sewer vent shaft and odour filter solutions.
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