Surface Equipment Timing
Function
Surface Equipment Timing schedules through surface pits based on
equipment mining rates
in accordance with a calendar. The mining rate is typically based on
volume of overburden but
may also be based on tons of key strata. The calendar is set by the
user to indicate when
entire days or individual shifts within a day are down for holidays,
time off, or other reasons. The
pits themselves must contain key strata and overburden information
which is placed in them
through use of Surface Reserves, Import Timing Grids, or Assign Timing
Data. Surface Equipment Timing is distinct from
Surface Production Timing by requiring use of quantities or grids
stored in the pits, use of a calendar,
and defined rates of production for equipment. The sequence of
operations is shown below.
The first window to appear is the Mining or Timing Project dialog
screen. Many
changes or edits to the entire mineplan can be made here on things such
as equipment or reporting. If there are none, then just choose OK. The
purpose of the timing project database file is to provide a single
place where evertying related to the timing project is stored. This
includes equipment definitions, reporting settings, pit and panel
information and reports produced. Eventually this will also include
other data such as calendars, equipment options, date and weight
tables, text block definitions. Basically everything except for the
grid files, which will be referenced. This means that reviewing or even
repeating results of a schedule done a long time ago will be much
easier if everything including the last results is in the same place.
The left side of the dialog has a tree control which displays the
categories of items on the top level, with either set of items or
actual items underneath. Depending on what is selected on the left, the
buttons on the right will reflect the functionality available for the
current selection. The sets of items showing in bold reflect the
current set when applicable: i.e. the project can have multiple sets of
equipment defined, but the one showing in bold is one used in
calculations. By double-clicking on the item the Edit function can be
executed if applicable. For equipment, the user can edit, add, copy or
remove entire sets of equipment. Use the Set Current button to set a
particular item current. Equipment can be imported from an older
Equipment Definition file or from another project. It can also be
exported to another file. A number of different data can be output to
an external data source or brought up in the report formatter.
Following is a detailed description of each function on the Surface
Timing window and sebsequent windows. After that is a step by step
procedure for setting for Surface Equipment Timing.
- Add Equipment: Selecting
this button will bring up a list of Available Equipment for selecting a
unit to add to the Surface Timing window. This must be done first,
before assigning pits.
- Edit Equipment: This
button will go to the Equipment Editor similar to Define Equipment. Any
rate or shift changes made here will be saved to the equipment file.
- Replace Equipment: This replaces one unit with another.
- Remove Equipment: This button will remove the high lighted
equipment from the list of Equipment Involved. It will still
remain in the fleet for future use, just not on the list for the
current mine plan.
- Do Earlier: This option will move a selected
pit/bench up the list in the Assignment window.
- Do Later: This option will move a selected
pit/bench down the list in the Assignment window.
- Remove: This option will move the selected
pit/bench from the Assignment window back to the Unassigned window.
- Remove All: This option will move all of the
pits/benches from the Assignment window back to the Unassigned window.
- Assign: This button will move the high lighted
pits/benches from the Unassigned window over to the Assignment window.
- Select: This is to select the pits and their
appropriate benches for assigning. It will highlight them, ready for
the Assign. The choices to select are None, All, or by bench number,
such as all the Bench2, or the Bench3.
- Screen Pick: Selecting this allows for screen picking
of the pits in plan view. Cross-hairs appear, and the command line
states: Pick on or inside of pit polyline or Enter to finish:. Pick
inside the pits in the order they should be assigned. Picking once
assigns the first available bench. Picking again in the same pit,
assigns the next bench (if available) immediately after the first one.
Hit Enter to get back to the Surface Timing screen, and the pits should
be assigned in the order picked on screen.
- 3D Pick: This option gives a 3D view of the pits
and the quantities stored in them. It allows for viewing, rotating and
selecting of the pits to be mined in 3D. When a pit and bench is
picked, it disappears from the mine plan, revealing the block beneath
it. There must be a Pit Attribute called SURFACE with the surface
topography grid assigned to it. Rotate the view to see the benches in
3D, select a unit,
and start picking the blocks in the order to be mined. The “mode”
you are in will determine what your mouse icon is. Zoom gives the
magnifying
glass with the +/-, rotate gives the XY icon, and pan gives the hand.
The arrow is the easiest icon to select the pits with. Just move
the icon on top of a block and double click.The name of teh pit and
bench it is pointing to is shown above the equipment window. The
block will disappear and the
name will be added to the Assignment list. Any mistakes can be removed
with the
Remove Button. The blue circle with the yellow square in it is the
light
control, to cast shadows. The Vertical Scale box changes the scale for
better
viewing of sites with low relief. When done, just hit the Exit button
(the door
with the arrow going out) and you are back to the main Surface Timing
sequencer. The program
uses the SURFACE
grid as a starting elevation and the
thickness of each block is relative to the volume of material assigned
to each
bench in the pits. Benches with more volume will show up thicker than
others
with less. The color scheme is based on the bench you are on.
- Add Delay of Days/Shifts: Adding a number in the day or shift
window and hitting the Add Delay button will bring up the following
window. Highlight the pit/bench in the Assignment window and the delay
will be added below the row that is highlighted.
Selecting Yes adds a Schedule delay, where the delay will take affect
when the equipment is working. If the calendar has the equipment off at
that time, then the program waits until it starts to work again, then
schedules the delay. Selecting No adds a Calendar
delay, where if the
calendar has it off already, then that is all it will do. It will not
take it off additionally.
- Undo Report: This option will Undo a previous Surface
Timing run. It will delete the blocks or perimeters drawn in the
drawing. If a quick change to the plan or equipment is made, it can be
re-run very quickly just by hitting Undo Report and then Calculate
again.
- Starting Date: This must be filled in before selecting
Calculate. Use the format that is defined for dates in Configure under
Settings. It can be 12/15/2009 (US) or 15/12/2009 (Australia
and Europe) etc.
- Number of Shifts: This is the number of shifts the program
will use in the actual sequencing. Even if 3 shifts are defined for the
equipment or in the calendar, and 2 is entered here; it will only use 2
shifts in the timing. It uses the first two, ignoring the third shift
in the equipment rate and calendar.
- Skip Ore (Key Strata) for Timing: This toggle will determine if the
equipment is mining just the NonKey/Overburden material or both the
NonKey and Key Material that appears in the pit and bench. For example,
a dragline moving overburden should have this checked so that it
ignores the coal volume. It will still report the Key volume and tons,
but not use it for the schedule.
- Perform Bottleneck Analysis /
Bottleneck Parameters: Bottleneck
analysis is an option in Surface Equipment
Timing that lets you limit the total production from several units to a
specific level, even if the sum of the units’ production exceeds the
set level. To use this method, check the box for Perform Bottleneck
Analysis and then set the parameters.
The Bottleneck
Parameters dialog box is found on the Surface
Timing dialog under the Bottleneck Params button. The Field Name
you specify must match one of the reserved words
for volume, tons, or a user-defined attribute.
These reserved names can be found in the Edit User Attributes section
in the final report if they are not known. The Threshold value is
another name for the limit placed on the
attribute
name. This limitation can be set for
specific equipment units, and it can be set for ALL units as
well. To set
the unit preference order, ADD them
to the dialog box to the right under the Equipment Order heading.
The order can be changed by highlighting the
unit (by selecting it with the left mouse button) and picking the UP or
DOWN
button to the right.
There are several
schemes you can use to determine which units
are restricted to meet to required level.
When production capacity exceeds
the systems ability to absorb it
some units need to be scaled back. The
options available to reduce production include:
1.
Normal
Rotation - alternates in order through the units.
2.
Hold
Lead, rotate rest – operates the primary unit at full capacity and
alternates
through the rest of the units reducing production.
3.
Hold
tail, rotate rest - opposite of Hold Lead.
4.
Fixed
order – maintains the order of unit preference reducing production,
beginning
with the tail unit until it is completely down, then reducing the next
in
preference order until the objective is met.
Example: There are 4
excavators on a job (Units A-D )with a capacity of 3,000 cyds per
shift. All of the material must be loaded in trucks
and hauled away. There are 6 trucks in
the fleet with the ability of hauling 1,000 cyds per shift.
Therefore, the trucks in this case are the
bottleneck of 6,000 cy/shift, limiting production of the excavators.
Using the fixed order
as the restriction scheme, we will limit
the tail unit’s production every shift that the excess excavator
capacity
exists. When the schedule is run,
it checks the shift capacity for each shift as the program times out
the progress. This slows the program down, showing a bottleneck
window with the dates counting by, but keeps the
production capacity in line with the desired production level. A
report is generated showing which unit is
reduced and by how much. An example report is shown here.
When the schedule is
run
and the map is shaded showing the progress,
note the additional time periods for Units C and D.
This shows Units C & D have been held back while the other units
worked at
full production. Unit D is not even working in some of the early
months. There is a progress bar to show the time elapsed and time
remaining for very large schedules.
-
The report generated
shows the production for a 30 day month at 3 shifts per day at 6,000
cyds per shift equals 540,000 cyds for the
month, as in April below.
- Calculate: This is the button to start the
sequencing. Choosing this button will bring up a small window
displaying the completion date. Or if the bottleneck parameters are
being used, it will display the days counting down and the various
Loops it is using in the calculations. There are two report choices
shown here. The Report button will bring up the Equipment Report where
the following parameters, such as start and finish dates and the days
waiting or pit available are displayed. The Detailied Report will go
into the Report Options Screen described next. This is the same as the
Report button from the initial screen.
- Report: Selecting this will go into the Report
Options screen. It should only be active if the Calculate button has be
selected previously. This is where many settings in the schedule are
set, such as the breakdown of the time periods, hatching etc. The
Report Options is defined next.
Report Options. Each item on
the dialog box is defined below.
- Report by period: This
option runs the schedule and breaks the pits into blocks by period,
such as month or year. The blocks and outlines are colored by period
and displayed in the report. The report can be formatted may ways.
- Report by equipment: This
option runs the schedule and breaks the pits into blocks by Equipment.
The blocks and outlines are colored by equipment and displayed in the
report. The report can be formatted may ways.
- Report Only: Choosing
this option will not draw any blocks or outlines on the map. It will go
directly to the Report Formatter for viewing of the data.
- Draw blocks: When this
option is selected, the periods or equipment will be drawn as blocks of
solid fill or any AutoCAD hatch pattern that is chosen.
- Draw distinct outline: When
this option is selected, the periods or equipment will be drawn as
closed polyline outlines.
- Draw legend: This option
draws a legend and the picked location on the map. The colors are based
on period, custom amounts or equipment.
- Pastel colors: Chosing
this option draws the blocks or outlines in the pastel color region of
the AutoCAD pallette. It uses colors in the 11, 21, 31, 41 etc. row. If
it is not selected, then it will use the brighter, primary colors such
as 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.
- Enforce custom colors:
Selecting this option will use the custom color pallette the is setup
with the Custom Dates and Colors Table.
- Custom table: Dates/Colors:
This brings up the Define Ranges screen. This is where a custom date or
color table can be set up. The Auto set button will bring up the
smaller window for entering the starting line (row number), starting
date, how often to repeat, and how long to keep repeating. The Set
colors will prompt for a starting color, and the color number
increment. The colors are set by picking the color box. The Pattern is
the pattern of the hatch in the blocks. The Scale is the size of the
hatch patterns if a hatch is used. The Layer is the AutoCAD Layer of
the period. Finally, the Label is what each period will be called for
reporting and labeling. The example shown here has created a
weekly schedule with custom colors. The Clear button wipes out the data
for starting over. The tables can be saved and loaded as CDT files. To
use this option, choose Enforce Custom Colors or Custom Date Table.
- Custom table: Amounts:
This button brings up the Define Levels window. This is where the
amount to target is set for the Custom Amounts option in the report.
The amount to target is set in the first column. The next column is the
color for the blocks and outlines. The colors are set by picking the
color box. The Pattern is the pattern
of the hatch in the blocks. The Scale is the size of the hatch patterns
if a hatch is used. The Layer is the AutoCAD Layer of the period.
Finally, the Label is what each period will be called for reporting and
labeling.
- Change shade color every:
This option will change the color/layer of each block or outline. There
are 3 choices. Every Period (what is selected below), Year, or 5 Years.
- Block labeling: This
pull-down is for setting the labeling options. There are 5 options
here. No Block Labels will not draw any labels. Draw Actual Dates will
draw the date of each period. Draw Period Names will place the period
name in the block that is entered in the custom date table. Use Custom
Names draws the names entered in the custom amount table. Use Custom
Text Block activates the Add, Edit and Remove buttons. Choosing Add or
Edit will bring up the input screen for arranging the text items in the
block. First, give the new block a name. Then move items from the left
side to the right, in the row desired. The Add Text button allows for
custom text for prefix or suffix entry. The Add Attribute adds any
attributes that exist in the schedule. Add New Line moves the added
item to the next row. If this is not selected, then the next item is
added to the same row, with a + as a separator. Remove will move the
entire row from the Line definitions.
- Text Size/Text autosize:
This will either place all text in the map with the defined size, or
autosize it to fit in the block dimension.
- Length-wise labels:
This option draws the text parallel with the long axis of the pits. If
it is not selected, then the text will be 90 from the long axis.
- Text Style: Enter in an
AutoCAD text style for labels.
- Text Block Style: This
section is active if the Block labeling is set to Use Custom Text
Block. Any premade blocks will appear on the list and may be selected
for text orientation.
- Report Period: This is
the start and finish date of the report. By default, the program will
display the full range from the start date to the final date it needs
to finish. Any date range in the middle may be used.
- Skip format prompt: If
this option is selected, then after the blocks are drawn, a report will
appear that is similar to the last one created. The program will not
bring up the report formatter for customizing.
- Sub-divide by properties:
If this is selected, the schedule will recognize any named Carlson
property lines drawn on the mineplan. In the report, the periods can be
further subdivided by property and owner. These are the same property
lines that are used in Surface Mine Reserves.
- Output period grids:
Choosing this option will create a grid file of the 3D surface at the
end of each period. It needs the Surface Grid and the Bottom of Pit
Grid. It needs at least the Bench 1 Grid filled in to make the grids.
Finally, create a new output grid path with a prefix to create new
grids of each pit. A new grid file is then written of each pit and
bench. This can be an "ultimate pit" used in other design work. It
doesn't have the flexibility of other commands such as Design Bench
Pit. It uses a constant highwall slope of around 80 degrees.
- Period Polylines to Pits:
Selecting this option creates and names the outlines as Carlson pits.
The names of the pits are the actual period names. This is useful
if these period polylines need to be saved and re-run in the
Surface Mine Reserves for additional quantities or analysis.
- 12 months + 8 quarters + years:
A schedule run with this option will break down the first year into 12
monthly periods, the next two years into 8, 3 month quarters, and the
remaining periods will be full years.
- Show Months of Development:
This method will use the starting day and increment by month to the
same day. For example, if the starting day is on the 12th of each
month, the schedule will be from the 12th to the 12th for each
month.
- Show 1st Days of Months: This
method will use the starting day and increment to the first of each
month. For example, if the starting day is on the 12th of the first
month, it will go to the end of the first month and then start fresh on
the
1st of each month.
- Show Years of Development: This method will use the starting day and
increment by year to the
same day. For example, if the starting day is on June 15th, the
schedule will be from June 15th to the next June 15th.
- Show 1st Days of Years: This
method will use the starting day and increment to the first of each
year. For example, if the starting day is on June 15th, it will go to
the end of the first year and then start fresh on the
1st of each year.
- Show Date Range: This option is used to just display a
period as a partial range. Enter a range above in the Report period
windows. Then when the sequence is run, only that period will be
hatched all in the same color and time.
- Custom Date Table: When a custom Date/Colors table is
defined, this option must be selected to use it. Custom Dates/Colors
are defined above.
- Custom Amount Table: When a custom Amount table is defined,
this option must be selected to use it. Custom Amounts are defined
above.
- Legend Scale: If the Draw Legend box is selected, this
is the size of the legend. Sizes from 50-100 should appear legible for
most mineplans with a dwg scale of 50.
- Hatch: This is the hatch that is used for
drawing in the blocks if teh custom date or amount tables are not used.
All hatch patterns appear on the list, the most common one, solid,
appears at the top of the list for easy selection.
- Retreat Hatch: This is used for underground retreat
hatching. Disregard for surface mining.
- Divide advance/retreat display: This is used for underground retreat
hatching. Disregard for surface mining.
- Scale: If a hatch pattern other than Solid is
used, this is the scale it will be drawn at. Sometimes trial and error
is needed to get the best scale, as different patterns look better at
different scales.
- Layer: This is the AutoCAD layer that the blocks
and outlines will be drawn in, if no other options are used.
- Layer by year: The blocks and outlines will be layered
by year. The year will appear as a suffix to the layer name.
- Layer by period: This option will put each period on its
own layer. If there are many periods, it will create many layers which
can be a hassle.
- Of, Sum for whole mine &
Stop at last period: These options are only active when using
the Custom Amount Table. The "Of" window is for selecting what is being
target for custom amounts. The options are similar to Surface
Production Timing: Total Tons, Key Tons, Waste Tons, Total Area, Mined
Area, Total Volume, Waste Volume, and User Grid. Sum for whole mine
will keep a running total for sumation in the report. Stop at Last
Period will end the schedule at the last entered row in the Custom
Amount Table entered above.
Multi-Bench Mining
Setup:
The defining of equipment and making of the equipment calendar are
(potentially)
one-time operations. Similarly, the making of the "Pre-Calc Grids"
geologic model need be done
only once in advance of numerous timing runs.
Surface Equipment
Timing, also distinct from Surface Production Timing, allows
multi-bench mining by use of
different equipment or the same equipment mining different benches,
with different production
rates. Since single-bench
mining is a subset of multi-bench mining, this will illustrate the
command with a multi-bench example.
Surface Mine Reserves is one of three methods to place quantity and
quality
information into the
pits, by bench. This example will use Surface Mine Reserves. If there
are two benches,
Surface Mine Reserves must be run twice, one
time for each bench. The dialog within Surface Mine Reserves
should be completed as
follows for Bench 1:
The key is to choose "Selected" strata (for benching) as well as "Use
Named Pit Areas"
and "Store Results in Pits". You should also select "Calculate Strata
Qualities" to assign
quality
information to the pits. If single-bench mining is conducted, you may
omit the "Selected"
option. Other items in
the dialog are set according to
user preference. Note the option "Output Thickness Grids". If this is
not
selected, total quantity
and composited quality information is placed in the pits, and mining
across a single pit is proportional.
However, if the "Make Thickness Grids" option is selected, mining
across the pits picks up
the varying of the overburden thickness, coal thickness and quality
information. For small pits or
"blocks" as they are sometimes called, storage of total information
will still lead to reliable results. Thickness grids are recommended
for large and long pits, where the thickness will vary. The
choice of "Selected" strata requires that the user select which strata
will be mined in Bench 1. The
following Choose Strata dialog at will appear:
Holding the CTRL or SHIFT key down, will select Overburden and C1 to
mine
down to the bottom of the first
coal (C1). Bench 2
would be comprised of Parting and C2. Following two runs
of Surface Mine Reserves, new information has been added to the
pits.
Pits contain up to three categories of information: pit name
(verified by using "Identify Pit Polylines"), pit
direction and pit quantities/qualities organized by bench. Pit
quantities and qualities are needed only
for Surface Equipment Timing, and can be verified using the command
"Edit Pit". For example,
the information in Edit Pit is shown below. Select the "Attribute"
option to reveal the quality attributes.
You will note that Bench 2 has Bench 1 (referred to as PITS -X-2-B1) as
a
"precedence" bench. In
other words, you cannot mine Bench 2 unless you first mine Bench 1.
Lower benches are
automatically set to require prior mining of upper benches. (The
ordering of the mining comes later!)
The Edit Pit Attributes dialog always shows any attributes set by
Define Pit Attributes. Some may be seen here.
Assuming that a calendar has been established (multiple
calendars
can be saved and recalled),
and assuming that equipment has been defined, we are now ready for
Surface Equipment Timing. After selecting OK on the Mining Project
screen, this is how the dialog appears prior to making any selections.
The
first step is to "Add Equipment".
In our two-bench mine, we will use one piece of equipment for the upper
bench (overburden) and different piece of equipment for the lower bench
(parting).
Technically, separate equipment
would probably be used to remove the coal, but in this example, the
coal is not included in the schedule quantities, just uncovered
reporting. In fact, a 4-bench mine
could be set up that considers
each of the two coal seams as separate benches. In reality, however,
the overburden and parting removal rate
will typically govern the overall progress of the mining. When "Add
Equipment" is selected,
the following dialog appears.
Select the equipment and add them one at a time.
The draglines used here are defined based on 3, 8 hour shifts (Shift 3
can be ignored if we
plan on a 2-shift system).
The "Availability" option can be used to de-rate the mining speed in
the Edit Equipment. Any
of the above items can
be revised from within Surface Equipment Timing. The next step is to
assign "BE Dragline" to Bench 1.
It is best to Sort by "Bench, Pit" and then Select "Bench 1", using the
options at middle right in
the Surface Timing Dialog. These leads to the following appearance:
It is also important to note the option "Skip Coal for timing" at the
lower
right of the dialog box.
Here you can base all progress on the NonKey overburden and parting
only, on the
assumption that the loaders
or other equipment digging the coal will "keep pace" with the equipment
removing the
overburden and interburden. If "Skip Coal for timing" is not selected,
the
coal volume will be included in
the total quantity mined by the equipment.
We can add a second piece of equipment, a second dragline, then
click
on
it within the Surface
Timing dialog and assign all the remaining pits to it (Select All or
Bench 2, then
Assign). Note also that we can
add a delay between completing the Bench 1 pit and beginning the Bench
2
pit. Delays are
automatically inserted below the highlighted pit, so if I select
PITS-X-1-B2, a delay will be added below it that I can move up or down
also. There is a prompt to add this as a calendar or schedule delay
(described above). Shown below is the assignment for Bench2.
To complete the calculation, fill in the Starting Date (if the
default is not correct), then click
on Calculate. This leads to a completion date and the option of a unit
report or going directly to the Report Options screen.
The Unit Report is very instructive because it highlights when
equipment has been idled.
Our Bench2 dragline is waiting each time for the "slower" Bench1
dragline to
complete bench 1 before
it can launch into bench 2. The user could try lower rated equipment,
or reverse the
assignments of the equipment, or simply re-shuffle the assignments in
any desired manner to
maximize efficiency. The last step is to choose "Report" when returned
to the Surface Timing dialog
which brings up the Report Options dialog.
This example will show the first days of months. This
leads
to the final hatching shown below as bench 1(the bench 2 layers
were frozen for better
appearance), as well as the quantity report which can be formatted many
different ways and exported to
Excel or Access:
Notes and Comments on Equipment Timing:
Equipment Timing can mimic Surface Production Timing through selection
of "Custom Amount Table" at the base of the Report
Options dialog. This
would be an alternative way of getting to custom table amounts, since
the
equipment is removed from
the equation and is therefore irrelevant.
If there are multiple seams (both Key and NonKey) assigned to one
bench, the program will report a tonnage and volume factor that applies
to each strata. This factor can be used in the User Attributes to
calcuate the tonnage and volume of each separate strtata instead of
just a composite number of Key and NonKey.
While Surface Production Timing reports total quantities broken out
by seams or specific
strata, Surface Equipment Timing only reports totals for all key strata
(eg. coal) and overburden.
However, Surface Production Timing does report specific quantities
(composited) for each bench.
Therefore, our 2-bench mining example will report quantities for Bench
1 (coal C1) and Bench 2 (coal C2).
With sufficient benching, the individual strata quantities are
retained. For one-bench mining, all
multiple strata are composited in the final report.
To practice "what-if" scenarios, use "Undo Report" within the
Surface Timing dialog, which
will remove the colored hatching, allowing revision of equipment
assignments and another practice run.
Prompts
Select all pit polylines.
Select objects: Pick all polylines
Drop-Down Menu Location: Advanced Mining menu,
under Surface
Keyboard Command: timepit
Files: advmine1.lsp, mineutil.arx
Related Commands: Surface Mine Reserves, Assign Directions,
Define Equip, Equipment Calendar, Assign Timing Grids, Import Timing
Data, Define Pit Attributes