Introduction to Talpac

T r u c k & L o a d er er Productivity A n a l y s i s S o f t w a r e Vers Ve rs io n 9.0

Introduct ion to Talpac

Copyright Information Runge Software

Runge Software and associated software products are the the copyright of Runge Limited. Use, duplication or disclosure is subject to the restriction stated in the software software license. No part of this document document may be copied or reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Runge Limited. Alth Al thoug oug h the th e soft so ftwa ware re has ha s bee n test te sted ed and the th e doc d ocum ument ent atio at ion n r evie ev iewe wed, d, Run ge Limi Li mite ted d off ers no warra wa rra nty nt y for fo r t he qual qu alit ity, y, perfo per form rmanc anc e or fitn fi tnes esss of the th e soft so ftwa ware re or docum do cum ent atio at ion n f or any part pa rtic icul ular ar purpose. In no event will Runge Limited be liable for for direct, indirect, special, incidental incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or i nability to use the software or documentation. Runge Limited has a policy of continual improvement improvement to all products and documentation. The information in any documentation is subject to change without notice. Introduction to TALPAC, Release 9.0 © Copyright Runge Limited A.C.N. 010 672 321 Brisbane, Australia, 2007 All Al l Righ Ri ghts ts Rese Re serv rved ed XPAC ®, Autoscheduler ® , TALPAC ® , XERAS ® and DragSim ® are US registered trademarks of Runge Limited and/or associated companies. Formula One and First Impression are regist ered trademarks of Visual Components Inc. Windo Wi ndo ws 95, 95 , Windo Wi ndows ws 98, 98 , Windo Wi ndows ws NT, NT , Windo Wi ndo ws 2000 20 00,, Windo Wi ndows ws XP, Micr Mi cros osoft oft Exce Ex cel,l, Micro Mi cro soft so ft Acces Ac ces s and an d D AO are ar e r egis eg iste tere red d trade tr ade mark ma rkss of Micro Mi croso soft ft Cor por atio at ion n i n t he US USA A and other ot her cou ntri nt ries es.. For further information or additional copies of this documentation contact: Runge Limited

G.P.O. Box 2774 Brisbane, Qld 4001 Aust Au stral ral ia. ia .

Ph: Australia (07) 3100 7200 International (+617) 3100 7200 Fax Fa x No. No . (07) (0 7) 3100 31 00 7297 72 97 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.runge.com

V25 012 007

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Copyrigh t Information

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Table of Contents About Talpac ..........................................................................6

1. 1.1.

T alp a c App li c a t i o n s .................................................................... 6

1.2.

O n - L i n e H e l p ............................................................................ 7

1.3.

F u r t h e r I n f o r m a t i o n .................................................................... 7

Running Talpac ....................................................................... 8

2. 2.1.

I n s t a l l i n g T a l p a c ....................................................................... 8

2.2.

C r e a t i n g a T r u c k a n d L o a d e r U s e r D a t a b a s e ..................................... 8

2.3.

T al p ac P ro j ec t s ......................................................................... 9

2.4.

C r e a t i n g a N e w P r o j e c t ................................................................ 9

Project Templates ............................................................................................... 10 2.5.

O p e n a n e x i s t i n g P r o j e c t ............................................................ 11

2.6.

S a v i n g a P r o j e c t ....................................................................... 11

2.7.

C l o s i n g a P r o j e c t ..................................................................... 12

Talpac Overview .................................................................... 13

3. 3.1.

Wh at i s a P ro je c t ? .................................................................... 13

3.2.

H a u l a g e S y s t e m C o m p o n e n t s ...................................................... 14

Material Type .................................................................................................... 14 Shift Roster ...................................................................................................... 14 Loader Template ................................................................................................ 14 Truck Templates ................................................................................................ 15 Haul Cycle ........................................................................................................ 15 3.3.

O v e r v i e w o f T a l p a c A n a l y s e s ....................................................... 15

Full Simulation .................................................................................................. 16 Tyres and Fu el ................................................................................................... 16 Haul Cycle ........................................................................................................ 16 Cash Flow ........................................................................................................ 16 Incremental Analysis ........................................................................................... 16 Optimisation ..................................................................................................... 17 Quick Estimate .................................................................................................. 17 Results Table .................................................................................................... 17 3.4.

E q u i p m e n t D a t a b a s e ................................................................. 18

Talpac User Interface .............................................................. 19

4. 4.1.

T a lpa c Da ta E n t ry Sc ree n ........................................................... 19

4.2.

T al pa c M e nu s ......................................................................... 20

Applic atio n Menu ............................................................................................... 20 Pull Down Menus ............................................................................................... 20 4.3. 4

T he T o o lba r ............................................................................ 21 Table of Content s

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


Wo r k i ng wi t h T e m pl at e s ............................................................ 23

4.4.

Overview ..........................................................................................................23 Selecting an Existing Template ...............................................................................23 Creating a new Template .......................................................................................24 Editing an Existing Template .................................................................................24 Deleting a Template .............................................................................................25 Copying a Template .............................................................................................25 Saving a Template ...............................................................................................25

Calibrating Talpac .................................................................. 26

5. 5.1.

Wh y Ca li b ra t e? ........................................................................ 26

5.2.

H o w t o C a l i b r a t e ...................................................................... 26

5.3.

P o i n t s t o c o n s i d e r .................................................................... 27

Server Edition ....................................................................... 29

6.

7.

6.1.

S h a r e d F i l e s ............................................................................ 29

6.2.

S e r v e r E d i t i o n I n s t a l l a t i o n .......................................................... 29

6.3.

Ad m i n i st rat o r P ro g ram – Ser ve rAd m i n. exe ...................................... 30

6.3.1.

Setting the Shared Directory Name .............................................................30

6.3.2.

Setting Talpac in Standalone or Server Mode .................................................30

6.3.3.

Ad ding a new Us er ..................................................................................30

6.3.4.

Change the number of users ......................................................................31

6.4.

C o n n e c t i n g t o s h a r e d f i l e s .......................................................... 31

6.5.

U p d a t e s ................................................................................. 32

Runge Contact Information ....................................................... 33

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Table of Content s

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Congratulations on purchasing Talpac. Talpac is used throu gh out the w orl d f or ind epe ndent estimation of truck tra vel times, pro duc tion rates and direct haulage costs. It also includes a very comprehensive database of truck and loader technical specifications. Talpac is a software system that is used for determ ining the productivity a nd eco nom ics of truck and loader haulage systems, using logic that models real haulage situations. Talpac allows the study of most factors affecting productivity and the sensitivity of productivity to these factors. Within Talpa c, you speci fy the hau l rou te the truck is to ope rat e ove r, whi ch truck or group of trucks is to be used, the loading unit to be used and the operating limitations (eg. speed limits, surface conditions, etc). You also specify the loading strategy, material characteristics and work roster applicable to the fleet. Talpac takes this raw d ata and per forms a numbe r of funct ion s on it, inc luding pro duc tion ana lysis, loading analysis, discounted cost analysis and optimisation of fleet size, motor power, payload, etc.

Talpac may be used to ana lyse the per formanc e of exi sting fleet s of equ ipment or to investigate the application of new equipment fleets in earthmoving and mining operations. In either case, the performance of a single fleet may be examined, or a comparison made of two or more different fleets. Typical Talpac applications are listed bel ow. 

Calculation of truck travel time to allow a comparative analysis of haul route or equipment alternatives.



Estimation of fleet productivity’s for use in long and short term planning studies.

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

Sensitivity analysis in road design criteria to assess the relative importance of road maintenance.

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Calculation of tyre TKPH or TMPH ratings for use in tyre selection.

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Estimation of fuel usage.

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Determination (using discounted cash flow methods) of haulage costs and contract pricing.

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Estimation and comparison of productivity’s using various loading methodologies to determine the optimum loading technique or loading unit bucket size.

Truck fleet size optimisation to quantify the effect of over and under trucking. Incremental analyses, in which simulations can be automatically run for a range of haulage segment lengths and the results used to generate productivity curves.

Equipment loading analysis to optimise loader bucket size, truck capacity and number of passes. Collation of results from calculations to examine the relationship between variables in the calculation, eg. haul distance versus productivity, haul distance versus truck fleet size.

Abo ut Talpac

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


The On-Line hel p system describes how to use the T alpac truck and loade r productivity analysis system. It includes information on: 

data entry;



data processing;



results of analyses;

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menu options;



graphics facilities;



the equipment database



other support utilities

The Online Help system is accessed fro m within Tal pac by selec ting Help > Help , or by pressing F1 .

There i s a tutorial on the C D that can hel p guide you thr ough creating a new proje ct followi ng step- bystep. Try the online hel p ins ide Talpa c whe re you can b row se or searc h for a particular string. If you can't find what you need call the Runge Support line where a knowledgeable engineer can assist you in the operation of the program. Runge can also offer you training in the use of Talpac and a specialised Truck and Loader course. For more details contact your Runge office.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Abou t Talpac

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Please refer to the Talpa c Get ting Started Guide for information on installing Talpac.

Before you can use Talpac, a User Truck and Loader Database is either created or you can link to an existing one. This database is used to store equipment details that you set up yourself which is kept separate from the standard equipment details Runge supplies. Please refer to the On-Line Help for more information on this database. If you have not used Talpac on your PC before then the following screen will be presented when you start the program.

The def ault opt ion is to creat e a new User dat aba se in the Talpa c system folder. This opt ion is satisfactory for stand alone installations where user data is not destined to be shared. The secon d o ption is to create a new User dat aba se in a cus tom dir ectory. This opt ion s hou ld be used the first time Talpac is run at a site. A network folder can be selected that would be accessible by other members of your workgroup so that a workgroup User database will be created. The third opt ion i s to use an existing User database. This opt ion is used whe re a workgrou p User database has already been created. The User Truck and Loa der Database is stored in a file named User.mdb .

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Runni ng Talpac

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


In Talpac, all of the data that you set up is stored in a single file. This file is called a Project and has a suffix of tp7 . Your Project can be made up of any number of haulage systems, which in turn are made up of various combinations of material, roster, truck, loader and haul cycle templates.

Once Talpac is up and running, a project selection screen as shown above, is presented. You will need to create a new project unless you are continuing to work on an existing Talpac project. Files from earlier versions of Talpac can be imported into a project after the project is created. An example project can be created to show some of the features of the software.

To create a new pro ject from the Talpa c start up screen, you shoul d click on the rad io but ton label ed Create a New Project . If you are already in Talpac, you should close the current project firs t and then a new project can be created by selecting File from the application menu and New Project from the pull down menu. You are then pre sented with a list of Talpac project templates that contain example data to help you get started, as s hown in the following screen.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Runni ng Talpac

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Select a template from the list. If you would like to begin with a blank project, then choose Create an Empty Project . You will then be given t he opportunity to nam e t he project and locat e the project in a suitable fol der using the following screen.

Use the Look in pull down to select a folder to locate you new project. You can also create a new folder using the button. Enter a suitable name for the project in the File name field and then press Open to continue to the main Talpac screen.

  NNooottteee You d o not nee d to ent er the file nam e extension ( tp7) as this will automatically be assigned.

Project templates are stored in the Templates folder under your Talpac system folder. When the templates are used to create a new project, t hey are copied from this directory so that they are always available for use. If you want to add your own project templates to this list, simply copy a project to the Templates folder.

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Runni ng Talpac

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


To ope n an existing proje ct from the TALPAC start up screen, click on the radio but ton l abe led Open an Existing Talpac Project .

You t hen hav e the choic e o f selecting a pro ject from the list of Most Recently Used Files or using the Browse button to search your directory structure for the required project. If you are already in Talpac, you should close the current project first and then an existing project can be opened by selecting File from the application menu, followed by selecting Open Project from the pull down menu. Alternatively, the most recently used files are listed at the bottom of the File menu. Once you have located the project that you want to open, click on the OK button to proceed to the main Talpac window.

Whilst wor king in Talpac, dat a for a pro ject is not aut omatically saved. You will nee d to save data regularly. There are a number of ways that you can save your current active project. 

Click



Select the Save Project option from the File menu to save the project under its current name.



Select the Save Project As option from the File menu to save the project under a new name.



on the toolbar to save the project under its current name.

Close the project or Talpac and, if changes have been made since your last save, you will be asked to save the project or lose your changes.

  NNNooottee Talpac pro jects shoul d not be saved i n the fol der wher e the pro gram is ins talled or any associated subfolders. The reason for this is that when upgrades of the program are supplied, they will be copied into the program installation area and there is a risk that your project files will be overwritten or deleted.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Runni ng Talpac

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Whe n you hav e finis hed wor king on a p roj ect , there a re a num ber of ways that you can close it. In each case, if the projects have not been saved, you will be as ked if you would like to save them before closing. 

Select the Close Project option from the File menu to close the current active project.



Close down Talpac and the open project, by selecting the Exit option from the File menu.



Close down Talpac and all open projects, by clicking

12

on the top right of the Talpac window.

Runni ng Talpac

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


This cha pter is aimed at giving you an overv iew of the data com ponent s within a project, the equipme nt database and the analysis options available. Even if you are familiar with previous versions of Talpac, you should briefly peruse this chapter and take note of the changes especially in regard to the organisation of project data.

In Talpac, all of the data that you establish for as specific study is stored in a single project file. Your Talpac pro ject can be made up of any n umber of hau lag e systems. A hau lage system is in turn made up of a material type, an operational roster, one or more trucks, a loader and a haulage cycle. You can give your pro ject file a name as it is creat ed and it wil l alway s hav e a suffix of tp7 . The onl y Talpac data that is not stored within the p roj ect file is the truck and loa der techn ical information that is located either in the Standard equipment database or in the User equipment database. You can locat e one or mor e pro ject files in a folder or you can res erve an ind ividual fol der for each project.

MATERIAL TYPES

SHIFT ROSTERS

HAULAGE LOADER

SYSTEMS

TEMPLATES

TRUCK TEMPLATES

HAUL CYCLES

Structure of a Talpac Project

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Talpac Overvi ew

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A hau lage system is a set of data that can be used to per form a p rod uction analysis wit hin T alpac . The data for a haulage system has been g rouped into five components as follows: 

material type;



shift roster;



loader data;



truck data



haul cycle

Each set of data is stored in a template that can be saved and used by any number of haulage systems within the curre nt pro jec t. Each combination of these five elements makes a unique haulage system. By changing one item you are simulating a different haulage system.

The phy sical cha racteristics of the material bei ng trans ported i n t he haulage s ystem gov ern the cap acity of the trucks and the loader. The physical properties of the material are stored in the material type template. Typical data includes in-situ bank density, swell factors and fill factors. Specifications for a number of standard materials are supplied or you can set up your own mat erial template.

The operating and wor king time for the haulage system are specified in the s hif t roster template. You have the ability to specify when operating and non-operating delays occur, as well as when shifts start and finish. The timing of such disruptions is important when considering queuing delays. Working time is used to determine the actual time within each shift that production occurs and therefore the time for which Talpac simulates fleet productive activity. Operating time is used to derive operating hours which are used in deriving result productivity rates and discounted average costs.

The loa der templ ate con tains phy sical , per for mance and cos ting dat a for the l oading uni t. Default values for som e o f this data are obt ained f rom the loader dat aba se (eg. bucket size) . All of the d ata can be modified to represent your particular loader. The data contained in the loader template includes the loader bucket cycle time, the loader bucket payload, the availability of the l oader, the loading methodology and hourly capital and operating costs.

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Talpac Overvi ew

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


Up to three different truck types may be included in the truck fleet for your haulage system. Data for each truck type is stored in a separate template, though they can all access the sam e list of truck templates. You must specify the number of trucks for each truck type. The truck template con tains physical, per for mance and cos ting dat a for e ach t ruc k type. Default values for some of this data are obtained from the truck database (eg. truck weights). All of the data in the templates can be modified to represent your particular truck. Each truck template contains a link to the truck database. Data such as the rimpull and retard curves and the weights on each axle are not s tored in the truck template, rather they are accessed from the truck database via this link.

The hau l cycle is div ided into segment s for model ing in Talpac. These segment s may be fixed time events (such as spotting, loading, fixed delays and dumping), or they may be haul route segments. A haul route segment is simply a section of the haul road that is considered to have uniform properties for the purpose of travel time analysis. Each haul route segment can be allocated a name and is defined by a distance, grade, rolling resistance, allowable speeds and loaded stat e of the trucks.

The ana lyses carri ed out within Talpac all rel ate t o p rod uct ion ana lysis, how ever the results are presented in a number of formats: 

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The full simulation and quick estimate calculations both analyse the production of a single fleet of equipment on a single haulage route. The average truck tyre loadings and fuel consumption are reported for your haul cycle. Haul cycle analysis shows truck load times, speeds and travel ti mes for each segment in your haul cycle.

A discounted cash flow of the truck and loader fleet is generated using the productivity calculations and equipment costs. The discounted average cost of production for the fleet is determined from the cash flow. Incremental analysis is used to examine the effect of varying components of the haul cycle on the fleet production.

The optimisation calculations are used to examine the effect of varying the fleet s ize, motor power, transmission speed, traction coefficient, payload or rolling resistance, on the fleet production. Production results from many different analyses may be tabulated using the results table facility.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Talpac Overvi ew

15


Full simulation involves a probabilistic simulation of a fleet of trucks and a loader on a particular haulage route. The probabilistic approach allows for the variation of key fleet attributes from one event to the next. These attributes include the truck travel time, truck dump time, truck fleet availability, loader bucket cycle time and loader bucket payload. Their variability can have a considerable effect on productivity. Full simulation calculates individual equipment productivity as well as the combined production of the who le fleet . Different loa ding phi losop hie s may also be investigated, such as single and dou ble s ided loading and full bucket or full truck strategies.

The avera ge fuel con sumption for the selected truck over the hau l cycle is repor ted each time a f ull simulation or quick estimate are run. Tyre loadi ngs in the form of TKPH or TMPH ratings a re also repor ted for each axle. The tyre loadi ngs can be compared to the manufacturer’s tyre ratings to assess whether the tyres are being over-loaded on the haul cycle.

Whe n a full simulation or quick estimate are run in Talpa c, the hau l cycle res ults are a lso presented. The hau l cycle res ults are for each segment in the h aul cycle. For truck loa din g, queuing , spotting, dumping and fixed delay segments, the average duration and their proportion of the total cycle time is reported. For travel segments, a range of parameters are reported including distance, travel time, proportion of cycle time, maximum speed attained, average speed, et c. Graphs can also be generated from the haul cycle results, s howing the relationships between time, distance, velocity and acceleration.

If you have supplied capital and operating cost data for your truck and loader, then it is possible to display a discounted cash flow table for your fleet of equipment. The cash flow table is generated each time you run a full simulation or quick estimate productivity analysis. Talpac uses the c alculated truck num ber s and the fleet pro duc tivity, as well as the suppl ied costs, to calculate the cash flow over time and the discount average cost of production. The discount average cost is also split into a capital and an operating component.

Incremental analysis is used to run a series of full simulations, while automatically varying two haul segment lengths. Any two segments can be selected for variation, however typically one segment would be a ramp and the other would be a flat segment. The equivalent reverse segments are also varied. You are able to specify the incremental values for each of the s egments. This type of ana lysis is valuabl e whe n m odeling varia tions in produ ctivity acros s a mining blo ck layou t. The res ults of the increment al ana lysis may be obt ained as either a graph o r a table of data.

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Talpac Overvi ew

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


The followi ng haulage system parameters may be opt imised in Talpac: 

Fleet Size;

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Motor Power;

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Transmission Speed;

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Traction Coefficient;

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Payload

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Rolling Resistance

In each optimisation process, a series of production analyses are performed for a range of values of the parameter. The production analyses may be either full simulations or quick estimates. The results of the opt imisation indicat e the sensitivity of produ ctivity and cos ts to the par ameter bei ng optimised and in some cases may provide the optimum value for the parameter based on costs or productivity. Any productivity parameter can be reported for an optimisation, for example, fleet productivity, discounted average cost, truck travel time, etc. The relationships can be used to indicate whe re efforts shoul d be directed to impro ve fleet pro duc tivity and cos ts.

The quick estimate of productivity invol ves a d eterministic simulation of a f leet of trucks and a l oad er on a particular haulage path. The deterministic approach for calculating the productivity of a fleet assumes that the components of the haulage system do not vary greatly from one event to another. This assumpt ion may under-estimate delays from que uing that ari se due to the variabi lity of haulage system components. A full simulation can be used to more accurately model such delays and queuing, and thus to more accurately estimate the fleet productivity.

The results tab le is a facility for tabul ati ng and report ing results from a s eri es of Talpac pro duction analyses. This includes results from: 

Full simulation;

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Incremental analysis;

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Optimisation;

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Quick estimate

For each production analysis, the results table stores all the parameters which you may want to report (approximately 250 of them), however only a selected list of parameters are displayed. You are able to add to and delete from this list, to display the data in which you are interested. This is done by defining the fields to be reported within a Report Template. Several default Report Templates are supplied with Talpa c. The results tab le allows you to complete many ana lys es qui ckl y and to recor d onl y the dat a whi ch is relevant to your current project. There are also facilities available in the results table for graphically displaying your data as well as the abilit y to export the data in several file formats .

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Talpac Overvi ew

17


The equ ipment dat aba se contains techn ical inf ormation on a large num ber of Trucks and Loa ders. The data includes a range of physical and performance characteristics, much of which is us ed within Talpac simulation calculations. The database is made up of two separate data sets. These are Standard equipment and User Equipment. 

Standard equipment is supplied with Talpac and cannot be modified by you. There are over 300 Trucks and over 200 Loaders in the standard Talpac database. This data is sourced from published information supplied by equipment manufacturers and/or distributors.

Standard Trucks and Loaders in the equipment database include major equipment used in open cut mining operations and in earthworks. If you maintain a Talpac service and support agre ement with Runge, your standard equipment database will be regularly updated as part of that service for no extra cost. Alternatively, you can purchase updates of this data as required. 

User defined equipment is created by you and can be modified at any time. Standard equipment can also be copied to a user defined item of equipment and then modified. User defined equipment is stored in a separate file to the standard equipment. Consequently, the user equipment data can be copied to other computers so that other Talpac users can make use of the equipment you have created. User defined equipment will not be overwritten nor modified during subsequent Talpac installations or database upgrades.

The Standar d equipme nt dat aba se is nam ed Standard.mdb and is located in the Talpac program folder. This file is pas sword pro tected and no attempt sho uld be made to modify it in any way . The User equipment databas e file is nam ed User.mdb and is located as required by you when prompted upon first running Talpac on your PC. You can share this file with other members of your workgroup, in which case it should be located on a network server. This file is not password protected, however to ensure that the data is not corrupted, you should only modify it using the Talpac equipment database editing screens.

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Talpac Overvi ew

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


This cha pter is to give you an overv iew of the T alpac user int erf ace. The int erf ace fol lows the Common User Access guidelines in common with many other Windows products. This ensures that you can easily locate options and reduces learning time. You should not e t hat the Right-Click Menu , activated by selecting a s creen object such as a data field or pull down list using the mouse pointer and pressing the right mouse button, can be used in many places for accessing options quickly.

The main screen within Talpa c is called the p roj ect Data Ent ry screen. This is the screen that is displayed when you first open a project and it is the screen that you return to after viewing the results of Talpac analyses. Following is an example of the project Data Entry screen.

Refer to on-line Help for further details on: 

Haul Cycle



Material Type



Shift Roster



Loader Data



Truck Data

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Talpac User Interfac e

19


Across the t op of the Talpac windo w is a menu bar, refer red t o a s the app lication menu. The opt ions available on this menu will vary depending on where you are within the program. The app lication menu can be acces sed i n t he followi ng ways: 





Using the mouse. Using the Alt key and the underlined letter within each option. The Alt key is held down and the underlined letter is pressed. Using the Alt key and the cursor keys. After pressing the Alt key once, the left and right cursor keys are used to highlight the required option. The Enter key is then pressed to select the highlighted option.

The opt ions on the app lication menu will either open a pul l-down menu (eg. Edit ) or per for m some action (eg. Result Table ).

Most of the options on the application menu access a pull down menu where further options are available. These options will vary depending on where you are within the program. The opt ions on the pul l down menus can b e selected as follows : 

Using the mouse



Pressing the underlined letter in the option name



Pressing the up and down arrow keys

Some of the options on the pull down menus can be selected using short cut keystrokes. These keystrokes are listed to the right of the option on the pull down menu. For example, the Print option can also be selected by holding the Ctrl key down and then pressing P . This keystroke is written as Ctrl+P .

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© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


Underneath the application menu are the Talpac tool bars. The buttons on the tool bars provide a quick way to access the most commonly used options. The tool bars can be moved anywhere on the Talpa c windo w using dra g and dro p.

A bri ef description of each tool bar button is provi ded bel ow.

Title

Button

Action

Save

Save the current project.

Print

Print information relating to the current screen.

Print Preview

Preview the data to be printed.

Truck & Loader Database

Open the Truck and Loader Database.

Edit Haul System

Edit the current Haul System.

Edit Material

Edit the current Material template.

Edit Roster

Edit the current Roster template.

Edit Loader

Edit the current Loader template.

Edit Truck

Edit the current Truck template.

Help

Open the TALPAC Online Help.

Add

Add a new template.

Edit

Edit the selected template.

Delete

Delete the selected template.

Copy

Copy the selected template.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


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The following buttons are available from the Edit Haul Cycle window.

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Add

Add a segment to the haul cycle.

Delete

Delete the highlighted segment.

Copy

Copy the current segment.

Paste

Paste the copied segment

Paste Reverse

Paste the segments in reverse order.

Reverse All Haul Segments

Creates a reverse copy of all of the Haul Segments

Undo

Undo the last change

Redo

Redo the last change

Export

Export the Haul Cycle

Print

Prints the Haul Cycle


© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


Templates are used in Talpa c to store sets of data. The dat a s tor ed in these templates includes: 

Material Types;



Shift Rosters;



Loader Data;





Truck Data; and Haul Cycle.

When you set up templates , they are s pec ific to the curren t pro ject and there i s no limit to the num ber of templates that you can store in a project. The same template may be accessed from many different haulage systems, which means data need only be entered once and need only be updated or changed in one place. Templates are c reated, edited, deleted and cop ied i n a proje ct using the right-click menus. If there is no template at tached for a particular template type, the template name will be lis ted as Undefined .

To select an existing template, the down arr ow to the right of the template box is used. Click on this arrow and the template drop down list will appear. If there are a lot of templates in the list, you may need to use the scroll bar to view them all. When you have located the required template, click on it’s name to select it. The list will then disappear and the chosen template name will be in the template box. A template dro p d own list can also be accessed using the F4 function key. Before pressing the F4 key, your cursor must be positioned on the required template type. The followi ng window shows a d rop down list for Material Type.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


23


You can add a new t emplate to your proje ct using the right-click menu. Pos ition you r cursor withi n t he required template box. Click the right mouse button and then select Add from the right-click menu. Depending on the template type you will either be asked to s upply a name for the new template or asked for some other information about the new template (and later asked for t he template name). This new templ ate will now be add ed to the list of templates in the curre nt pro jec t. You can also create a New template by selecting the Template type, then 

Clicking on the

button on the tool bar



Pressing the Insert key.

You can edi t existing templ ates using the right-cli ck menu. Pos ition you r cur sor on the req uired template type. Select the template that you want to edit and then click the right mouse button. Select the Edit option from the menu and the template window will be displayed. For the material, roster, loader and truck templates, the current template can be edited by clicking on the button to the left of the drop down box. For example, click on this button

to edit a Truck Type Template. Existing templates can also be edited in other ways. With the following two ways, your cursor does not have to be on the template type. The currently selected template for the type will be the one that is edited. 

On the tool bar, there are icons which can be used to edit the material the truck



, the roster

, the loader

and

; or

From the Edit menu select the Edit “template type” option.

Following are other ways of editing templates, however these require your cursor to be placed on the required template type and the template that you want to edit should be selected. 

From the Edit menu select the Edit option; or



Click on the



Press the Enter key.

24

button on the tool bar; or


© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


You c an delete templates using the right-click menu. Pos ition y our cursor on the required template type. Select the template that you want to delete and then click the right mouse button. Select the Delete option from the menu and the template will be deleted from the list. Templates can a lso b e del eted in other way s, how ever you r cur sor must first be placed on the req uired template type and the template that you want to delete must be selected. 

From the Edit menu select the Delete option; or



Click on the



Press the Delete key.

button on the tool bar; or

You are able to copy templ ates to a new nam e using the right-click menu. Loc ate the templ ate that you wish to copy and mak e it the curre nt template for that type. Right click within the template box and select the Copy option. The template will be opened and automatically given a new name. This will be the same as the old template but prefixed by “Copy of”. You can change this name as required. Templates can also be copie d in other ways, how ever you r cursor must first be pla ced on the requi red template type and the template that you want to copy must be selected. 

From the Edit menu select the Copy Item option; or



Click on the

button on the tool bar.

When you hav e finis hed assigning data to your templates, you shoul d click on the OK button to return to the main TALPAC window. Templates are not permanently saved until you save the project they are within. The current project, and hence the templates in that project, can be saved as follows: 

Click on the

button on the tool bar;



From the application menu select File and then select Save Project from the pull down menu.

If you are setting up a lot of data you should remember to save it regularly to avoid losing the data.

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


25


Talpac is a proven t ool for con duc ting Haul Simulat ion, how eve r it ben efi ts great ly from being pro per ly calibrated to match the actual operating conditions at your site. A lthough Talpac comes with a detailed database that is updated with each release, it is not possible to guarantee that the information in the database will match the operating conditions and environment at every mine site. Variations in material characteristics, operating environment, equipment modifications and mine operating procedures can all have an impact on the Truck and Loader fleet performance. Calibrating Talpac ensures that t he results you receive better reflect the individual conditions of your operating environment, allowing you to calculate and report with confidence in the results.

1. Open your Project in Talpac and verify that the correct Haul Cycle , Loading Unit and Truck Types are selected. 2. Click on the All Parameters button in the Talpac Data Entry screen and print out the lis t of parameters. This print-outs list all of the data that you will need to gather in order to calibrate Talpa c. 3. Gather representative real-world data from your mine site for each of these parameters. Possible sources of data include: 

control and dispatch reporting systems



Manufacturer supplied specifications for the equipment at your site



"Time and Motion" field studies

4. Set up the Talpac model. Compare the gathered data to the values in Talpac and adjust as necessary to ensure that the Talpac model reflects the act ual equipment and conditions. 5. Run some test simulations and compare the results to real-world performance data from your site. Ideally the performance data will be for a whole shift for a particular haulage s ystem (otherwise a few repetitive timings of a particular haulage system can be used). Adjust as necessary to ensure that the Talpac results are in line with actual performance data. Some of the adjustments that you might make: Truck Tra vel Time 

Compare travel times segment by segment with those in the Haul Cycle Report



Vary the rolling resistances in the Haul Cycle



Vary the Travel Time Correction Factor

Truck Cycle Time 

26

Set calculation mode to Quick Estimate (rather than Full Simulation) t o eliminate variability in parameters during calibration



Check Truck queuing time (and number of Trucks)



Check Truck spotting time and First Bucket Pass Delay

Calibr atin g Talpac

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


Truck Productivity 

Vary the non-operating shift delays and operating shift delays (Roster Template) to achieve the actual working hours Set Truck Availability to 100% for the calibration exercise



Loader Productivity

Ensure that the Number of Passes to Fill Truck reflect actual data



6. Re-calibrate at frequent intervals.

Here are a few points to consider when gathering the calibration data for your site: Material Characteristics 



What is the In Situ Bulk Density and how is it measured? What swell factors are included in the data - In Situ into the Bucket?; In Situ into the Truck?; In Situ onto the Dump destination?



How well does the Loader dig? What is the Bucket Fill Factor?



Seasonal variations in Material characteristics (e.g. Wet Weather, Snow)



Is there "carryback" of sticky material in the empty Trucks?

Working Roster 

What are the site values for Shifts/Day for each day of the week?



What are the site values for lost days per year (e.g. Weather, Industrial, Public Holidays)?



Are there Shift Delays that do not occur every shift (e.g. Blasting)?

Equipment Physicals 







What equipment types are available at the site? Do they differ from the Manufacturers Handbook Specifications (i.e. have they been customised)? Was all equipment purchased at the same time (differences in Operating life will result in variations in performance)? Has the equipment been maintained in accordance with the Manufacturers recommended Maintenance Schedule?

Haul Route 



What are the operating conditions on the site? Do seasonal variations affect the Haul Route and Truck performance (e.g. W et Weather, Fog, Snow)?



What speed restrictions apply?



What is the productivity of the Truck drivers?



What are the segment distances and grades?

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


27


Real World Performance Data 



Actual Truck travel times (empty & loaded) for each segment of the actual profile, including Truck loading, spotting, dumping and queuing times



Actual Truck payload



Actual number of Loader passes to fill Truck



Actual number of working hours per shift



28

Actual Haul Profile and Speed Limits

Actual probability distributions for Truck travel time, Truck dumping time, Truck availability, bucket payload and bucket cycle time


© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


This section describes the Serve r Edition com pon ent s of Talpac and i s intended for the T alpac administrator. This is a designated person who is responsible for installing and maintaining Talpac at the site. By using the Talpac Server Admin program, equipment database and Project Template files can be shared across a network. Files may be accessed by all users, or username/password restrictions can be imposed to restrict access to particular users. To allow shari ng of equipme nt, there is a dat aba se cal led GROUP.MDB. You will find opt ion s on the database edit screen where equipment can be copied to and from the Group database.

For this release of Talpac there are two files that are shared: 



Template.tpm - Contains the Master templates. All users have the ability to use these templates. Group.mdb – Contains the equipment that has been copied from the user database to the group database. This database can be useful if you have set up a truck or loader to match the exact specifications of the equipment at your site. Equipment copied to the Group database is accessible by all users of Talpac.

To share Talpac files from a Server: 1. Create a shared directory on the Server machine for the Talpac files and enable permissions for this directory to permit read/write access to Talpac users. 2. Install Talpac onto a client PC. 3. Copy the files Group.mdb and Template.tpm from the Talpac program directory on the client PC to the shared directory on the Server. 4. Run the program ServerAdmin.exe from the Talpac 9\Admin program directory on the client PC.

5. Select Set the Shared Directory . 6. Enter the directory path for the shared directory on the server. © Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Server Edit ion

29


7. Select Set Talpac in Server Mode . 8. Select Edit the User List and create User accounts as required. Refer to section 6.3.3 Adding a New User for more information on this task. 9. Install Talpac on each remaining client PC. 10. Copy the file group.def from the Talpac program directory on the first client PC (where you created the User List) to the Talpac program directory of the other client PC’s. Talpac shoul d now be ready to acces s t he shared files on the Server.

  NNoottteee You shoul d del ete S erver Admin.e xe from the progr am directory after making these chang es if you want to prevent the client PC’s from entering Standalone Mode or altering the User List.

This program is located u nder the Talpa c pro gram direc tory in a d irector y cal led Admin. In this program you can 

Set the directory where the shared file(s) are located



Set Talpac to be in Standalone mode or Server mode



Add new users, passwords and set their access rights

The nam e of the shared directory can be typed in or click on “Brow se” to find the d irectory. The directory should be created first and the shared files moved to the new directory. The shared files are Template.tpm and G rou p.mdb. By defau lt they are created in the pro gram dir ectory.

Select Set Talpac in Standalone Mode from the Server Administrator to activate St andalone Mode. In this mode the username / password option is not required, and the restrictions will not apply. However, the shared directory functions are still enabled. To re-enable the usernames and access restrictions, select Set Talpac in Server Mode .

The user’s default name whe n they start Talpac will be their system login nam e. It will be easier for them if you use this name for them to connect to Talpac. Each user is allocated a password. They can get any of the following permissions: 30

Server Editi on

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Introduct ion to Talpac 

Copy to Group templates



Copy to Group database



Create/edit material templates



Create/edit roster templates



Create/edit loader templates



Create/edit truck templates



Create/edit haul cycles



Can run disconnected from server

The maximum number of users is determined by your Talpac license. If you purchase additional user licenses Runge will send you a TalpacUserCount.dat file. To change the number of users, copy this file to t he Talpac program directory on a client PC, run ServerAdmin.exe and select Change the number of users. To update the number of users on the remaining client PC’s, simply copy the group.def from the Talpac program directory to the program directory of the other client PC’s.

When Talpac is run in Server Mode, Talpac wil l show a usernam e and ask for a pas sword at the start -up screen - the default username comes from the user's network logon name. Once logged in, the user will see the master templates i n the template lists preceded by [MST>] and templates from the current project proceeded by [PRJ]. © Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

Server Edit ion

31


Equipment from the Group database can be identified from the equipment selection screen by the letters GRP in the first column. You can v eri fy that Talpa c is acc essing the shared files by selecting File > Project Properties . The paths for the shared files are shown in the Current Master File and Group Database fields.

Talpac will che ck the web for an updat e every 2 days and if an upd ate is fou nd, the program upd ate procedure will appear. It is important that this is run only when you can be sure there are no other users running the Talpac at the time and that you have read/write access to the Talpac program directory.

32

Server Editi on

© Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007


HEADQUARTERS

SOUTH AFRICA

Runge Limited Level 17, Central Plaza One 345 Queen Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 Ph: +61 7 3100 7200 Fax: +61 7 3100 7297 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.runge.com

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USER SUPPORT

Email: [email protected] Internet: www.runge.com/xpac Product Forums: www.runge.com.au/forums A US TR AL IA

HUNTER VALLEY Suite 11/12, Library Arcade 470 High Street MAITLAND NSW 2320 Ph: +61 2 4933 0411 Fax: +61 2 4933 0399 PERTH Level 3, 33 Richardson Street WEST PERTH WA 6005 Ph: +61 8 9482 0700 Fax: +61 8 9482 0799 UNITED STATES

RUNGE MINING INC. GILLETTE OFFICE Building B, Suite 7, 1001 S. Douglas Highway GILLETTE 82718 WYOMING USA Ph: +1 307 682 2285 PINCOCK, ALLEN & HOLT 164 S. Union Boulevard, Suite 950 LAKEWOOD 80228-2226 COLORADO USA Ph: +1 303 986 6950 Fax: +1 303 987 8907 Email: [email protected] CANADA

RUNGE MINING (CANADA) PTY LTD Suite 304, 4014 Macleod Trail South CALGARY ALBERTA T2G 2R7 CANADA Ph: +1 403 217 4981 Fax: +1 403 217 4389 © Runge Ltd 2005 – 2007

MRM Mining Services Pty Ltd 63 President Street WITBANK, GAUTENG 1034 SOUTH AFRICA Ph: +27 13 656 0560 Fax: +27 13 656 1206 SOUTH AMERICA

RUNGE BRASIL Rua Tomé de Souza 860, #1601 Funcionarios, Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais, BRASIL Ph: +55 31 3055 3945 Fax: +55 31 3055 3915 RUNGE LATIN AMERICA LIMITADA Las Bellotas 199, Office 74 PROVIDENCIA SANTIAGO CHILE Ph: +52 2 333 0304 Fax: +52 2 333 0299 MALAYSIA

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RUNGE LTD C/- Rock Mechanics Technology Ltd Bretby Business Park Ash by Roa d, Sta nho pe BURTON UPON TRENT DE15 0QD STAFFORDSHIRE UNITED KINGDOM Ph: +44 (0)12 8352 2201 Fax: +44 (0)78 4176 4748 Contac t Infor matio n

33

Introduction to Talpac

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