Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/468886
AGGREGATES MANAGER March 2015 16 ing Engineering at Luck Stone. "Their contributions in planning and build- ing the infrastructure, as part of the GIS program, are helping to make this technology a success at Luck Stone." Getting started "We started, probably two years ago, using the ArcGIS online platform," Blackmore explains. "We basically used several personal accounts. We started sharing data within the mining engi- neering group, and it started growing. People were asking to have the same capabilities out in the field." One of the first projects to incorporate the software was the development of a greenfield site. "We were constantly up- loading information from the core drill- ing," he says. "As we pushed new roads in for drill access, I'd publish where that road was put in, and then our geologist and engineering team would all have that information available to us. Previ- ously, this would have been communi- cated through paper maps and copies. They'd quickly become outdated as we'd put in new roads, and we'd have to copy new maps. Now, the information is available right away." Soon, mining engineers used the tool to share site progress with corporate management, and others throughout the company also recognized the value of access to the information. Since then, Blackmore has created groups for each quarry site and is in the process of methodically incorporating in- formation such as the most recent aerial imagery, blasting information, and par- cel ownership information in each site. Local personnel can access information about their operation, while regional and corporate leaders can tap into the folders they need through vari- ous levels of permissions. Creating an online catalog Blackmore's online library of information for each site may streamline tasks for people throughout the company. Take, for example, drilling and blasting information. Rather than having to physically visit core samples from the green- field site, a geologist can pull up pictures of the core sample. "Using the online platform, he can go through the photo catalog. You can zoom in on a picture showing a box of core samples and see the core length of the entire hole," Blackmore says. "It's pretty neat." In addition, drilling logs can be scanned as pdfs and linked to the soft- ware, allowing it to serve as an infor- mation repository for the site. Basic plant layouts can also be com- municated through the software. "It's not a tool to lay out survey stakes of where the conveyor is going, but it's a great tool to show people a picture of where they are standing and what's going to go there," Blackmore explains. "We often do the scenario planning of, 'What if we do this here?'" In one example, he says the software allowed a mine engineer to show a plant manager four different options for potential sump locations. By overlaying potential layout options over photos of the site, it can be much easier for an operator to visualize such options and this helps to stimulate discussion about which one will work the best. Using the GIS system, online records can be accessed from a variety of different platforms by both those in the office and those in the field.