Preparing Scheduling Data

To access this screen:

• Planning ribbon >> Preparation.

The Preparation screen is used to ready your design data for processing. This includes attribution and geometrical editing of design data plus the creation of 'design definitions' and connecting these to your data.

Preparing planning data commonly includes adding attributes to design data that support the scheduling process. This could be assigning data items to a particular area of the mine.

What are Attributes?

Attributes are extra "fields" which get added to the end of the points table in the project. They are used to give scheduling activities extra information which can be used during the scheduling process, including, for example, level information, rock type, panel numbers etc. Traditionally, attributes were simply placed onto the design item strings by editing them in the 3D window. Experience has shown that it is easy to make mistakes using this method, and hence improved methods were devised to streamline the attribute application process, and reduce the risk of error.

Adding attributes to a design allows filtering of the schedule, and reporting in Studio UG. This improves the usefulness of the information derived from the final schedule. Attributes provide 'pointers' to different areas in the mine, so they can be easily located during the scheduling process. They are used to create the naming convention for each activity (mining activities and derived activities).  It is the naming convention which imports the attribute information into your application.

What are Design Definitions?

A Design Definition is a self-contained instruction set that can be applied during mine layout operations to fast-track the repetitive task of defining precise constructional details for every string used. For example, you may wish to apply a standard cross-cut shape to a particular ramp string.