Managing Mine Site Volumetric Workflows
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Problem The process of collecting and analyzing stockpile volumetric or mine site mapping data, whether with internal resources or an external service contractor, has a lot of moving parts. Communicating the area to be collected, the stockpile identification, viewing results and correcting problems needs to be carefully managed. However, most new solutions are part of a vendor lock-in – you cannot get the management elements without adopting the entire solution. RECKON™ – Managing Stockpile Volumetric & Site Mapping Workflows The Cost of Not Addressing this Problem Stockpile volumetric and mine site mapping data are extremely valuable planning and financial data. The cost of not having correct information is often a direct material write up or write down. The cost of not monitoring a site with historical data over time can result in sudden and unexpected changes in volumes or topography. A site mapping repository is a key element of a modern management strategy. Addressing the Problem: Most mine sites and stockpile yards do not have adequate on premise information technology (IT) resources to manage the various elements of a mine site mapping and/or volumetric workflow. This drives you to either rely on connectivity with a central office (if adequate IT resources exist at that office) or a third party hosted solution. The unique aspects of mapping data make it a challenge to host at a central office. The data are repeated over time (for example, volumes collected every three months at the same site), are specialized in terms of spatial elements and can be quite large. These attributes make cloud hosting by a third party an attractive solution. A cloud hosted solution can usually provide security, automatic data backups, ease of use and access via simple tools such as a web browser on a PC or tablet. Selecting a cloud-hosted solution can be challenging since most general data hosting solutions do not lend themselves to geospatial data. Checklist items you should consider when selecting a solution include: • Is the solution hosted in a reliable service such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS)? • Is the solution inherently geospatial – is it knowledgeable regarding mapping data layers, provides backdrop information and contains simple geospatial tools such as measurement? • Does the solution allow time sliced segmentation of data and easy access to site information by date? • Is the solution free of data collection vendor lock-in? That is, can I store mapping and volumetric data in the system regardless of who or how it was collected? • Does the system allow me to easily partition work as our needs change? For example, can one vendor post raw data, another vendor access those data for processing while I access results? • Does the solution easily scale to handle multiple mapping sites and time slices? • Are data easily downloadable for use in our other software applications? • Can a third party, independent company, use the system for audit surveys? • What are the data rights for information hosted/managed in the solution? AirGon GeoCue Group AirGon LLC www.AirGon.com
Transcript of Managing Mine Site Volumetric Workflows
ProblemThe process of collecting and analyzing stockpile volumetric or mine site mapping data, whether with internal resources or an external service contractor, has a lot of moving parts. Communicating the area to be collected, the stockpile identification, viewing results and correcting problems needs to be carefully managed. However, most new solutions are part of a vendor lock-in – you cannot get the management elements without adopting the entire solution.
RECKON™ – Managing Stockpile Volumetric & Site Mapping Workflows
The Cost of Not Addressing this Problem Stockpile volumetric and mine site mapping data are extremely valuable planning and financial data. The cost of not having correct information is often a direct material write up or write down. The cost of not monitoring a site with historical data over time can result in sudden and unexpected changes in volumes or topography. A site mapping repository is a key element of a modern management strategy.
Addressing the Problem:Most mine sites and stockpile yards do not have adequate on premise information technology (IT) resources to manage the various elements of a mine site mapping and/or volumetric workflow. This drives you to either rely on connectivity with a central office (if adequate IT resources exist at that office) or a third party hosted solution.
The unique aspects of mapping data make it a challenge to host at a central office. The data are repeated over time (for example, volumes collected every three months at the same site), are specialized in terms of spatial elements and can be quite large. These attributes make cloud hosting by a third party an attractive solution. A cloud hosted solution can usually provide security, automatic data backups, ease of use and access via simple tools such as a web browser on a PC or tablet.
Selecting a cloud-hosted solution can be challenging since most general data hosting solutions do not lend themselves to geospatial data. Checklist items you should consider when selecting a solution include:
• Is the solution hosted in a reliable service such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS)?• Is the solution inherently geospatial – is it knowledgeable regarding mapping data layers, provides backdrop
information and contains simple geospatial tools such as measurement?• Does the solution allow time sliced segmentation of data and easy access to site information by date?• Is the solution free of data collection vendor lock-in? That is, can I store mapping and volumetric data in the
system regardless of who or how it was collected?• Does the system allow me to easily partition work as our needs change? For example, can one vendor post raw
data, another vendor access those data for processing while I access results?• Does the solution easily scale to handle multiple mapping sites and time slices?• Are data easily downloadable for use in our other software applications?• Can a third party, independent company, use the system for audit surveys?• What are the data rights for information hosted/managed in the solution?
AirGonGeoCue GroupAirGon LLC www.AirGon.com
The AirGon Solution We used our considerable domain knowledge of civil engineering software tools and of industry needs to design Reckon, a cloud-hosted mapping portal for mine site and stockpile volumetrics. Since our primary business is developing and supporting engineering software technology, Reckon is independent of both data collection and data processing tools. Hosted in Amazon Web Services, Reckon is secure, backed up and easily accessed via a web browser. The subscription aspect of Reckon means you pay for only what you need. Essential services provided by Reckon include:
• Cloud hosted (AWS) – zero support required by your company, backed up, secure
• Your company portal is segregated from other companies (and can even be “branded” with your logo)
• Data can be viewed from a PC web browser, a tablet (such as iPad) or even a smart phone
• View map data of sites, including high resolution imagery collected as part of the mapping mission superimposed on a wide choice of backdrop maps
• View volumetric data online, download a CSV file for accounting or even generate a pdf volumetric report
• Full round-trip red-lining allows you to collaborate easily with your service provider, site manager, accountants and other members of your team
Return on Investment:Reckon provides an immediate return on investment as you migrate to new ways of mapping (such as drone collected volumetrics). As a subscription-based model, you pay as you go rather than needing to invest up-front capital in IT infrastructure. Additionally, Reckon is solution-provider neutral, removing the expense of migrating data should you change service providers or your overall data collection scheme.
Call to Action:Regardless of where you are in the process of implementing new mapping technology, give us a call (1-256-461-8289), send us a note ([email protected]) or visit our website and test drive Reckon (www.AirGon.net). We are always interested in discussing your needs in an honest and open manner.
AirGonGeoCue GroupAirGon LLC www.AirGon.com
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