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Productivity
Analysis Software
Version 9.0
Introduction to Talpac
Introduction to Talpac
Although the software has been tested and the documentation reviewed, Runge Limited offers no
warranty for the quality, performance or fitness of the software or documentation for any particular
purpose. In no event will Runge Limited be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or
consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the software or documentation.
Runge Limited has a policy of continual improvement to all products and documentation. The
information in any documentation is subject to change without notice.
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V25012007
Table of Contents
1. About Talpac .......................................................................... 6
1.1. Talpac Applications .................................................................... 6
1.2. On-Line Help ............................................................................ 7
1.3. Further Information .................................................................... 7
1. About Talpac
The Online Help system is accessed from within Talpac by selecting Help > Help, or by pressing F1.
2. Running Talpac
The default option is to create a new User database in the Talpac system folder. This option is
satisfactory for stand alone installations where user data is not destined to be shared.
The second option is to create a new User database in a custom directory. This option should 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 option is to use an existing User database. This option is used where a workgroup User
database has already been created.
The User Truck and Loader Database is stored in a file named User.mdb .
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.
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 the opportunity to name the project and locate the project in a suitable folder
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.
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You do not need to enter the file name extension (tp7) as this will automatically be assigned.
Project Templates
Project templates are stored in the Templates folder under your Talpac system folder. When the
templates are used to create a new project, they 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.
You then have the choice of selecting a project 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.
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Talpac projects should not be saved in the folder where the program is installed or any associated sub-
folders. 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.
MATERIAL
TYPES
SHIFT
ROSTERS
HAULAGE
LOADER
SYSTEMS TEMPLATES
TRUCK
TEMPLATES
HAUL
CYCLES
Material Type
The physical characteristics of the material being transported in the haulage system govern the capacity
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 material template.
Shift Roster
The operating and working time for the haulage system are specified in the shift 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.
Loader Template
The loader template contains physical, performance and costing data for the loading unit. Default
values for some of this data are obtained from the loader database (eg. bucket size). All of the data 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 loader, the loading
methodology and hourly capital and operating costs.
Truck Templates
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 same list of truck
templates. You must specify the number of trucks for each truck type.
The truck template contains physical, performance and costing data for each truck 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 stored in the truck template, rather they are accessed from the
truck database via this link.
Haul Cycle
The haul cycle is divided into segments for modeling in Talpac. These segments 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 state of the trucks.
Full Simulation
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
whole fleet. Different loading philosophies may also be investigated, such as single and double sided
loading and full bucket or full truck strategies.
The average fuel consumption for the selected truck over the haul cycle is reported each time a full
simulation or quick estimate are run.
Tyre loadings in the form of TKPH or TMPH ratings are also reported for each axle. The tyre loadings
can be compared to the manufacturer’s tyre ratings to assess whether the tyres are being over-loaded on
the haul cycle.
Haul Cycle
When a full simulation or quick estimate are run in Talpac, the haul cycle results are also presented.
The haul cycle results are for each segment in the haul cycle. For truck loading, 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, etc.
Graphs can also be generated from the haul cycle results, showing the relationships between time,
distance, velocity and acceleration.
Cash Flow
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 calculated truck numbers and the fleet productivity, as well as the supplied 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
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 segments.
This type of analysis is valuable when modeling variations in productivity across a mining block layout.
The results of the incremental analysis may be obtained as either a graph or a table of data.
Optimisation
Quick Estimate
The quick estimate of productivity involves a deterministic simulation of a fleet of trucks and a loader
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 assumption may under-estimate delays from queuing that arise due to the variability 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.
Results Table
The results table is a facility for tabulating and reporting results from a series of Talpac production
analyses. This includes results from:
Full simulation;
Incremental analysis;
Optimisation;
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
Talpac.
The results table allows you to complete many analyses quickly and to record only the data which is
relevant to your current project. There are also facilities available in the results table for graphically
displaying your data as well as the ability to export the data in several file formats.
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 agreement 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 Standard equipment database is named Standard.mdb and is located in the Talpac program folder.
This file is password protected and no attempt should be made to modify it in any way.
The User equipment database file is named 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.
Application Menu
Across the top of the Talpac window is a menu bar, referred to as the application menu. The options
available on this menu will vary depending on where you are within the program.
The application menu can be accessed in the following 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 options on the application menu will either open a pull-down menu (eg. Edit) or perform 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 options on the pull down menus can be 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.
The following buttons are available from the Edit Haul Cycle window.
Add Add a segment to the haul cycle.
Reverse All Haul Creates a reverse copy of all of the Haul Segments
Segments
Undo Undo the last change
Overview
Templates are used in Talpac to store sets of data. The data stored in these templates includes:
Material Types;
Shift Rosters;
Loader Data;
Truck Data; and
Haul Cycle.
When you set up templates, they are specific to the current project and there is no limit to the number
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 created, edited, deleted and copied in a project using the right-click menus.
If there is no template attached for a particular template type, the template name will be listed as
Undefined.
To select an existing template, the down arrow 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 drop down 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 following window shows a drop down list for Material Type.
You can add a new template to your project using the right-click menu. Position your cursor within the
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 supply a name for the new template or asked
for some other information about the new template (and later asked for the template name).
This new template will now be added to the list of templates in the current project.
You can also create a New template by selecting the Template type, then
You can edit existing templates using the right-click menu. Position your cursor on the required
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
On the tool bar, there are icons which can be used to edit the material , the roster , the loader and
the truck ; 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
Deleting a Template
You can delete templates using the right-click menu. Position your 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 also be deleted in other ways, however your cursor must first be placed on the required
template type and the template that you want to delete must be selected.
From the Edit menu select the Delete option; or
Copying a Template
You are able to copy templates to a new name using the right-click menu. Locate the template that you
wish to copy and make it the current 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 copied in other ways, however your cursor must first be placed on the required
template type and the template that you want to copy must be selected.
From the Edit menu select the Copy Item option; or
Saving a Template
When you have finished assigning data to your templates, you should 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:
5. Calibrating Talpac
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.
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You should delete ServerAdmin.exe from the program directory after making these changes if
you want to prevent the client PC’s from entering Standalone Mode or altering the User List.
The name of the shared directory can be typed in or click on “Browse” to find the directory. The
directory should be created first and the shared files moved to the new directory. The shared files are
Template.tpm and Group.mdb. By default they are created in the program directory.
Select Set Talpac in Standalone Mode from the Server Administrator to activate Standalone 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 when they start Talpac will be their system login name. 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:
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 the 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.
Equipment from the Group database can be identified from the equipment selection screen by the
letters GRP in the first column.
You can verify that Talpac is accessing 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.
6.5. Updates
Talpac will check the web for an update every 2 days and if an update is found, the program update
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.
TRAINING
Runge provides professional Training for the Mining Industry, covering software operations and background
theory. For more information on our Training Courses contact your local Runge office.
RUNGE LIMITED
Runge is a global leader in specialist mine business planning. Runge Limited offers the following unique range of
products and services:
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