Accuracy When it Matters Most
Maurer & Scott's Technical Specialist Zach Tobias shares three stories story about how when Maurer & Scott had complicated shots, and accuracy mattered the most, drones and Strayos made sure their blasts went off without a hitch.
When Maurer & Scott began looking to upgrade their terrestrial profiling system to a drone based one in 2017 they were originally only looking for a 3D photogrammetry software, but with Strayos they got a lot more, a whole plethora of different features that can be used. Strayos is an AI and data analytics company that builds solutions for the drilling, blasting, mining, quarrying, and conservation industries. Drones are just one of the tools Strayos uses to gather data to generate its models and insights.
Zach shared 3 stories with us of how drones and Strayos helped him pull off tricky shots that could have gone horribly wrong- but thankfully didn't.
Multiple Razor Backs and a Nearby Business
Zach recounts the story of a customer in New Jersey with a big problem.
Their bench face didn't look too great. There were multiple razorbacks or cut backs in this face that posed a problem for how the blaster wanted to go about loading the shot and how he wanted to do it.
But, the biggest issue was there was an overflow lot for a used car dealership located less then 500 feet from where the shot was facing. So, if there was any fly rock or any issues the last thing we wanted was any of that rock to a. leave the pit or b. to even make it close to where that car lot was.
The blaster wanted to be as precise as possible so he called me and asked if I could help him out with this layout.
When you model with Strayos, with the 3d photogrammetry, it will pick up every crack and crevice. With a burden pole you may miss a lot of that and with a 2D laser maybe you can hit all of these points but the drone will take care of that work for you. So why make more effort on yourself when you have the new technology that's coming out that's making your life more efficient. You're being more productive and your reducing any sort of error risk that could happen on your behalf.
Strayos gives precise results that definitely inspire confidence. If you have really jacked up faces you can rest assured that by using the drone Strayos will make sure it models that and it will give you the most accurate representation of the face possible.
After mapping the bench and using Strayos to generate the 3D model, Zach planned the shot using Strayos' shot layout tool and burden optimization tool.
The shot did come out fine. A lot of oversize. The blaster ended up decking through all of the lighter spots then they just hammered all the oversize.
Close to Equipment
Zach tells us the story of a customer with an expensive dilemma.
This was a quarry based in New Jersey. They crush about 4.5 million tons yearly. The blaster that's in charge of shooting that pit strictly uses his drone to do all of his layouts. He's been having great success with it. He really enjoys it because it saves him a lot of time and frees him up to do other things.
In the instance of this shot (in the bottom right hand corner of the photo there's a dark shadow- where the conveyor belt was scrubbed) there's a conveyor belt. The base is about 100 feet away but the top of the belt was so close to the face of the shot it looked like you could touch it.
We wanted to be extra careful that no rock made it over in that direction, that there were no surprises on the face over there.
There was no direct path to do a terrestrial 3d model, the drone gave us that capability to be able to model. We planned the shot using Strayos' Shot Plan Layout and Burden Calculation tools, I Boretraked it and added the data to the model.
The blaster did end up pulling the shot to the adjacent side so there ended up being no issue.
Unable to Move Equipment but Can't Stop Operations to Wait for It
Zach's last story could happen to anyone.
The shot is on the bottom right hand side facing the loader on the left.
The loader was broken down and they could not fix it or move it in time. So they ended up putting a little berm of material in front of it.
I came down the day of the shot and I boretraked all the face holes and we 3d profiled all of the shot using Strayos to make sure that we had no rock whatsoever that gets close to this loader.
After the shot went off the shot came nowhere close, it didn't even get close to the the little berm or muckpile that's in front of the loader operator.
It was a good testament to showing how accurate and how great the drone and Strayos can be to making sure everything moves as safely as possible.
If your boss is happy or your own company is happy with using Strayos and it makes our customers happy because we've been able to do things we would not have otherwise been able to do, Its a win-win situation.
Strayos helps make you efficient, keeps productivity up, and overall makes the workflow much smoother. If your boss is happy and your own company is happy with using Strayos and with the productivity we've been able to push forward- it makes our customers happy. We've been able to do things we would not have otherwise been able to do. With that being said, its a win-win situation.
Zach Tobias is a Technical Representative at Maurer & Scott providing mine planning and mapping, explosives engineering, stockpile volumetric surveying, 3D photogrammetry, consulting, and other services to his clients.
Maurer & Scott is a blasting services and explosives supplier operating primarily in the North East US and a licensed blaster in 4 states- New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.
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