What is a Plod?

A short background of mining

Mining is the process of extracting valuable material, like gold, copper, iron ore and almost everything else that's used to make what we use in our day to day lives today.

Mining, also is nothing new, it has been around for thousands of years and dates back as far as the ancient Egyptians and Romans. Back in those days, it wasn't nearly as advanced as it is now -especially since back then the only thing drilling deeper than their mines was their boredom of digging with just a shovel and pickaxe!

To extract said valuable minerals you have to first find it. And to find it you have to do a whole bunch of geeky stuff from walking around and inspecting rocks to interpreting complex geological voodoo science. And then - when you think you might have found something you drill holes into the ground to a) prove that there is mineral(isation), b) determine how much of resource is there c) check the quality and grade of the ore during extraction.

The process this drilling holes can be classed as a 'drill program' where Drill contractors are hired by mining or exploration companies to execute on the drilling.

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So what is a plod?

When running a drilling program, drill contractors fill out a plod, every shift. A plod, short for ‘Progressive Log of Drilling’, is a form used to record the time, activities, consumables, people and costs associated with drilling in a single shift of work. It is an informal (although commonly used) Australian term that originated in the oil and gas industry, but is now used and understood around the world for the use case of drilling in mining and metals.

At the end of a shift, the data captured on a plod is typically transferred either to a spreadsheet or some other specialised digital platform in order for the drilling performance to be monitored and analysed. The analysis of the data drives strategic decision-making in order to drill more efficiently to reduce costs and keep everything on track.

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History of the plod

These days, the mining process is much more strategic and rigorous than it used to be and plods are still a crucial part of the process. However, considering how much the mining process has advanced, plods really have not come that far since they first came into play. They started out as handwritten pieces of paper and are primarily still just handwritten pieces of paper…

Within the last decade or so, an alternative has become available. The option of using digital plods is now possible, although only being used by a small fraction of the industry.

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What else are plods known as?

Drill Log
Drill Docket
Daily Drilling Report
Daily Activity Report
Drilling Time Report
Daily Shift Report
Daily Shift Plan
Drilling Timesheet
Drilling Progress Report
Daily Time Record
Boletín (Spanish)
Boletin (Portuguese)

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Why we should all ditch the paper plod

But keep some of them for the mems ofcourse - just like floppy disks

The paper plod has been a staple in the mining industry for decades, but it comes with several limitations that affect its efficiency and accuracy. Firstly, the hand-written format can result in illegible writing, making it time-consuming for whoever has to enter the data into a digital platform.

Human error is another limitation, as the manual input process increases the likelihood of mistakes such as incorrect dates, interval stats, and item codes. This leads to double handling of data, which wastes time and resources.

Using Excel to manage data is also a challenge, as only a small minority of people are efficient at using the program. This leads to frustration, formula-googling, and limited collaboration, and everyone tends to have separate versions of the same spreadsheet that don't align.

Storing the physical plods is also a security issue, as they need to be stored somewhere, whether it be scanned and saved digitally, or filed away in a cardboard folder. This also adds to the costs, both physical and intangible, of money lost due to time delays in receiving and digitising data.

The paper plod was a good start in streamlining the mining process, but we’ve come so far since then that it’s simply not the best solution anymore. The limitations of paper plods add up quickly, leading to a delay in data analysis which can have a detrimental effect on project operations. The time spent digitising data, filing papers, and correcting mistakes takes away valuable time that could be spent making strategic decisions.

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Why digital plods are increasing in popularity - and are a necessity

Drilling operations are more complex than ever before - with the need to drive more efficiency to the ever increasing costs, requirements for safety targets and going carbon neutral are all impacting how we run drill programs. with that being said some reasons that alleviate the pains for us:

Real-time: data is received as soon as it is submitted and automatically transferred into a digital platform so it can instantly be analysed without any delays.
Data silos and ‘anywhere access’: because the data is all stored in the cloud, it can be accessed anywhere by anyone on the team.
Safety and storage: there is very minimal risk of data insecurity as digital plods are stored on the cloud and are encrypted to ensure maximum security, even from cyber thieves!
Economics and ESGs: a company with 3-4 rigs typically spends $10k annually on plod books alone! That’s a lot of money (and paper) wasted… additionally, poor project planning by means of inefficiency (usually through oblivious human error) can have a significant environmental impact.
Third-party modelling integrations: the seamless integration with third-party platforms requires little to no effort (unlike manual modelling).
Scalable: easily scalable and adaptable as your business grows. This means fewer organisational issues or disruptions to operations along the way.
Automation: helps with the planning, monitoring, forecasting and accuracy of data.

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The future is digital

Automation, AI and technological advancement is evolving at a rapid rate. We’re predicting that within the next ten or so years, there will likely be a point in time when plods become redundant because the machinery will be able to automatically record the relevant information itself. BUT by no means should this discourage companies from investing in digitising their businesses now.

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What is CorePlan?

it is a Mining SaaS company which has an Integrated drilling management platform for exploration, production and development drilling. Built specifically for mining companies and drilling contractors, provides you with an Integrated Drilling Operations Platform to run drilling programs.

Learn more about coreplan by booking a demo with us at www.coreplan.io

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What is a Plod?

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