First of all, I would like to say that us here at Pelorus are extremely excited to be selected as part of the Super Start-Up Program. We are looking forward to working with our industry partners and presenting our developments to the readers of Atlantic Business Magazine through this blog over the next several months.

It would only be appropriate to start with an introduction.

In short, Pelorus Innovation Ltd., or “Pelorus” is a technology business founded to target and solve identified deficiencies in the way heavy industry handles paperwork.

From offshore oil & gas to mining, any heavy industry professional can attest to the two elements of their business that have changed drastically in recent memory: the steady seepage of computers into every aspect of the business, and a massive focus on safety and accountability. When we’re not responding to never-ending emails, we are no doubt filling out another risk assessment, hazard identification card, or job hazard analysis.

The goals of these two tools, however, seem to be falling short. As the number of safety checklists, procedures, and forms continues to grow, complacency among front-line employees exacerbated by never ending paperwork is growing in parallel. Computers and technology, on the other hand, have fallen well short of their promise to make our lives easier, as we now find ourselves doing everything twice: file this one, scan this one and file the soft copy… where does it end?

At Pelorus, our goal is to address both of these issues with one streamlined and intuitive solution. Our technology not only reduces the weight of paperwork on employees of all levels, but also increases accountability, safety, and transparency within an organization. Unfortunately, due to the competitive nature of technology businesses, we are unable to discuss the specifics at this time (if you can’t contain your curiosity, we are always looking for investors!), but we are extremely proud of the way the product is developing. We are hopeful that, pending some good luck and hard work on our part, we can release a product that will help heavy-industry employees, from the worksite to “the office”, feel less like paper-pushers and get back to the work they enjoy.

As part of the Super Start-Up Program, Pelorus was flattered to receive industry mentorship from two organizations: Telelink and Altius Resources. The varying perspectives and professional backgrounds of the two organizations will no doubt be invaluable in helping develop a product that is accessible by a company with the unique requirements of a mining exploration, with well rounded and reliable technical support.

As our entire team is actively working in heavy-industry, we will no doubt face many challenges in balancing our small business with our “day jobs.” Founders Joe Meadows and Alec Matthews are both heavy industry professionals, with their careers often bringing them to far-flung destinations for weeks or months on end (this blog entry is being written from a fabrication yard in Palau Batam, Indonesia). Combining our industry experience with professional backgrounds in IT and project management, we hope to follow an aggressive development and troubleshooting schedule. Expect more on this in an upcoming blog post.