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Introducing the world's first field activity app for geology teams!

April 26, 2023

Introducing the world's first field activity app for geology teams!

Exploration Software
For Exploration Managers
For Managing Directors
Product Updates
Written by
Megan Gammie

Have you ever:

  • Been unsure if your pre-drilling activities will be finished before the rig arrives? 
  • Wished you had a birds-eye-view of your drill program that enabled you to quickly see where you’re currently drilling, which holes have been collared and pegged, and which have been logged and sampled? 
  • Had to onboard contractors to your field crew and needed them to quickly understand what they need to do, what data they need to collect, and in what order?
  • Lost sleep at night over the rehab status of your project?

Then do we have some news for you!

In the mining software world, the phrase ‘game-changing’ is thrown around a little bit too often for our liking. But, we think we’ve finally cracked the code and created a truly game-changing experience for field crews working with CorePlan:

The world’s very first field activity app for exploration geology teams.

What’s in the update?

Using the latest version of the CorePlan mobile app, your field crew can now instantly capture and submit field activity data and mark tasks as completed in the field in real-time, including notes and photos.

As the data is submitted by the crew*, your drill hole project map will be automatically updated so everyone can see exactly what’s happening in the field as it happens. This makes it really easy to see how the project is progressing and identify when holes are falling behind schedule. 

Now, using the new drill hole workflow page on the web portal (or map page in the mobile app), you can quickly get an overview of your entire project. Plus, on the holes page, you can see the entire history of each hole, from the original drill plan details, right through to the end of the drill program, complete with timestamps and staff ID’s.

*when in mobile service

Why we built it

Until now, most exploration teams have been stuck using paper, spreadsheets, legacy tools and/or physical maps to manually execute field activity progress and track progress. Whilst these methods get the job done, there’s no doubt that they can be incredibly time consuming and prone to user error. 

Meanwhile, there’s a lot at stake in today’s operational environment. Most explorers don’t have time or money to waste on things like excessive standby time, and it’s never been more important to make sure you’re hitting your compliance goals.

So, what could be worse than marking holes as pegged and collared, only to discover once the rig arrives that the work was only half done - or the activities were associated to the wrong holes? Or, if you were to pack up the site, accidentally leaving six holes behind before finishing your rehab? 

This is no way to be working in today's operating environment, which is why the new Field Activities module was built.

How does it work?

It only takes a matter of minutes to hit the ground running. Grant your Fieldies access to your CorePlan project and they’ll be ready to start marking off activities straight away, using their mobile phones or a tablet.

The crew begin by navigating to the activity they’re working on in the app, then selecting the hole and adding any notes, pictures or documents. Once finished, it’s time to mark the activity as complete.

Once an activity is marked as complete at a hole, the hole is progressed to the next activity and so on and so forth until all pre-drilling activities are completed and the hole is ready to drill. After drilling, holes are added to the outstanding Post-Drilling activity to do list when they are marked as “end of hole” by the driller and verified by the supervisor.

Each activity is colour-coded on your drill hole workflow map so that no hole is missed throughout the entire end-to-end pre and post-drilling process.

How can it help Exploration Managers and Managing Directors?

As a manager, the new drill hole workflow page is your mission control room.

This is where you go for complete oversight into your entire project to see what’s happening  live* in the field. It’s as close as it gets to being on the ground with the team.

If you need to dive deeper into your field activity history, this can be found on the Hole page. Here, you can find a complete record of all activities completed at the hole, complete with a timestamp, notes, who worked on it and what’s left to do. 

*When crew are working within range of service.

How does it help field crews work better?

For the team, it’s much easier and faster to get their manual paperwork done - and they don’t have to carry around logbooks or heavy equipment all day. An activity can be marked as complete in seconds, making it easy to keep track throughout the day. All they need is their mobile phone - which they already have with them anyway!

The team can refer to the map view on their device to get a quick overview of their work and what’s left to do at the macro level and the individual hole level and ensure that no hole is left behind.

New release highlights:
  • Create your own customised Field Activity workflow for use in the app
  • Recording activities is easy and fast. Attach notes, photos and documents to paint a complete picture of what’s happening at the hole
  • Lighten the load for your Fieldies by replacing bulky tools with a mobile phone
  • Onboard new users in minutes.
  • Works offline.

How to unlock these awesome features for your team:

The new field activity app is available for all Professional and Enterprise CorePlan Exploration Hub customers. 

See it in action at a free demo with our Customer Success team.

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