XPAC 7 - ADVANCED EQUIPMENT SCHEDULING

Enhancements to equipment scheduling have been provided to simplify the process of building
equipment input paths and managing the interaction of multiple equipment.

Obey Dependencies

Production resources can now be set to obey block dependencies. Dependencies are the mining
relationships between blocks (ie. XPAC records). They display the order in which blocks must be
mined ie. before Block C can be mined, Blocks A and B must be completed. These dependencies
are stored as a set of rules and can be displayed on plots as dependency arrows.

These rule sets can be created graphically or by generating dependency definitions within XPAC.
The underground coal module automatically creates the dependency rule sets as part of an
underground coal design (see enhancements to Underground Coal Module).

With the Obey Dependencies set a resource cannot mine a block until the predecessors of that block
have been mined. If a resource encounters a block where the predecessors have not been mined
then it will automatically insert delay time into its path until such time as the predecessors are
mined. Note that Time Slicing must be set for this facility to operate meaningfully.

To set Obey Dependencies click the check box on the Resource screen. You must then choose the
Non Productive Activity that the Resource will use to insert into its path if dependency related
delays occur.

Scan Ahead Through Input Paths

In conjunction with Obey Dependencies a Resource can also be set to Scan Ahead through its input
path. This can only be set if Obey Dependencies has also been set.

With Scan Ahead set the following logic occurs. If a Resource cannot proceed with the next step in
its input path, it will scan ahead through the input path to look for the next available block where all
dependencies are met and then proceeds to mine that block. If no block is available to mine then
the Resources will automatically insert delay time into its input path until a block is available to
mine (see previous section Obey Dependencies).

These two enhancements now provide the user with the ability to provide a generic or common
input path to a number of Resources and XPAC will automatically handle the interaction of these
Resources. Delay or waiting times can be highlighted both in written schedule reports or in gantt
charts.

Proximity Constraints

Proximity constraints define the impacts that Resources have on each other. They can:

i) limit the number of Resources allowed to work in a particular range of blocks (ie. a panel);

ii) define the impacts that Resources will have on each other’s production rate if multiple
resources are mining in the same block (ie. two continuous miners working together).

Proximity Constraints are defined in the Schedule setup mode. The screen group below shows a
typical Proximity Constraint definition.

Delays and Non Productive Activities

To work in conjunction with the above advanced equipment scheduling functions, a new type of
Non Productive Activity has been developed, known as an In Service delay.

A Non Productive Activity can be set to an In Service Delay type in the Non Productive Activity
definition screen. If not specifically set to In Service, a Non Production Activity will behave in an
Out of Service mode.

In Service / Out of Service Behaviour

By default all Non Productive Activities behave in an Out of Service manner. If a resource is
currently performing a Non Productive Active activity it is effectively Out of Service thereby
allowing another resource to take over its next production step. (Assuming common input paths
and Scan Ahead is used). This would simulate a delay where a Resource is temporarily
decommissioned for overhauls etc.
For delays such as belt moves or section advances, whilst the Resource is temporarily delayed, it is
still available to produce. In such cases the Non Productive Activity should be set to an In Service
type. This will prevent other available Resources from swapping with the delayed Resource.

Insertion of Non Productive Activities

As well as the manual insertion of Non Productive Activities into a Resource input path, User
Processing can now be used to insert Non Productive Activities automatically as the schedule is
running. This has the advantage of:

i) preventing the input path screen from becoming cluttered with numerous Non Productive
Activity steps; and

ii) allows the delay time to be read from a row in the Main Database.

User Processing provides the user the ability to run XCM scripts which are triggered at specific
intervals throughout the schedule. The following screen shows the User Processing definition
screen. A separate definition is established for each resource.

A typical example of User Processing for automatically inserting delays would be be the insertion
of delay time for belt moves after each block is completed (this assumes each block has been
designed to match a pillar length). Refer to the XCM Programming Help for specific details on the
Insert Delay function.

Other New User Processing Functions

As well as the Insert Delay Function other User Processing functions have been added to enable the
automatic change of:

i) equipment rosters (refer to Change Roster XCM function); and

ii) equipment production rates (refer to Change Production Rate XCM function).