A step-by-step guide to specifying loading rules in SHOTPlus™ for use in BlastIQ™ Mobile
BlastIQ™ Mobile is able to import simple loading rules from SHOTPlus™ and apply them to blastholes whenever required. This enables a hole's loading design to be updated on the fly whenever its condition changes.
Specifically, BlastIQ™ Mobile can only apply rules that depend on the following hole parameters:
- Hole Depth
- Hole Diameter
- Hole Angle
- Hole Type
- Material Type
- Amount Of Water (or Depth To Water)
- Backfill Length
Rules that depend on strata intercepts, adjustment limits, temperature, and other parameters that are not visible in BlastIQ™ Mobile are not supported. A plan containing more complex rules cannot be applied on BlastIQ™ Mobile. In such cases, you should import QA/QC data back into SHOTPlus™ before applying the rules there and uploading the full loading design.
Configure Backfill and Redrill Tolerances
Use tolerances to use the automatic Backfill and Redrill functions of the loading rules on BlastIQ™ Mobile.
All blastholes in a plan are configured with one of several pre-defined hole types. Hole types may be used to specify a number of default values, including tolerances.
1. Navigate to Edit > Design Data
2. Select Edit tolerances to edit the Backfill, Redrill, Wet state, Collar XY, Overdrill and Underdrill tolerances for each hole type used in your blast.
Note that the Assume Wet Hole option is not used by BlastIQ™ Mobile.
For more information on the Backfill, Redrill, and Wet State Tolerance settings and how they’re used by the loading rules function and BlastIQ™ Mobile, see Setting a Backfill Tolerance in SHOTPlus™, Setting a Redrill Tolerance in SHOTPlus™, and Setting a Wet State Tolerance in SHOTPlus™.
Configure a Backfill Material
The loading rules function can automatically insert a backfill deck into the design of a hole that exceeds the defined Backfill Tolerance.
In order for the loading rules function to automatically insert a backfill deck into the design, a backfill material must be configured.
1. Navigate to Edit > Blast Properties
2. Set a Backfill Material on the Loading Rules tab. By default, Stemming World is the only backfill product available to be used. If an alternative backfill product is required, select the required stemming material in the Alternative back fill section.
Configure a set of basic wet/dry product loading rules
Loading rules on BlastIQ™ Mobile can be used to automatically change a dry hole loading design to a wet hole loading design on the bench when an Amount of Water threshold is exceeded.
1. Navigate to Edit Loading Rules
2. Create a rule to apply to blastholes of Hole Type 1 with an Amount Of Water measurement that is “less than or equal to” the Wet State Tolerance specified for Hole Type 1 above (0.5m)
a. Add a new rule, giving it a unique (and meaningful) name
b. Add a new condition, matching blastholes with a type of Hole Type 1.
c. Add another condition, matching blastholes with an Amount Of Water that is “less than or equal” to the Wet State Tolerance of Hole Type 1 (0.5m). Note that holes with no Amount Of Water measurement recorded will also match this condition
d. Edit the loading design that will be applied for this rule, ensuring that:
i. Appropriate products and lengths are specified for each deck
ii. A single variable deck is specified
Result:
3. Create another rule to apply to all blastholes of Hole Type 1 with an Amount Of Water measurement that is “greater than” the Wet State Tolerance specified for Hole Type 1 above (0.5m)
Steps as above, with one change:
c. Match blastholes with an Amount Of Water that is greater than the Wet State Tolerance of Hole Type 1 (0.5m)
Result:
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining hole types
Configure a set of product loading rules with multiple decks
Loading rules on BlastIQ™ Mobile can be used to assist in the loading of holes with multiple decks of explosives. While SHOTPlus™ automatically moves the variable deck to the lowest deck remaining when a variable deck shrinks to a length of zero, BlastIQ™ Mobile needs the loading design (including the variable deck) to be explicitly defined for all hole depths expected to be encountered.
A SHOTPlus™ user must create separate loading rules that specify the loading designs that will be applied when a hole depth is short enough that the variable explosive deck length has shrunk to a length of zero in a multi-deck loading rule.
1. Navigate to Edit Loading Rules
2. Create a rule to apply to blastholes of Hole Type 1
a. Add a new rule, giving it a unique (and meaningful) name
b. Add a new condition, matching blastholes with a type of Hole Type 1
c. Add another condition, matching blastholes with a Hole Length that is “greater than” the length of all non-variable decks in the loading design
d. (Optional) Add another condition, matching blastholes with an Amount Of Water that is “less than or equal” to the Wet State Tolerance of Hole Type 1 (0.5m). Note that holes with no Amount Of Water measurement recorded will also match this condition
e. Edit the loading design that will be applied for this rule, ensuring that:
i. Appropriate products and lengths are specified for each deck
ii. A single variable deck is specified
Result:
3. Create another rule to apply to all blastholes of Hole Type 1 with a depth less than or equal to the total length of all fixed length decks (including stemming) in the previous rule
Steps as above, with two changes:
c. Match blastholes with a Hole Length that is “less than or equal to” the total length of all fixed length decks in the previous rule
e. Edit the loading design that will be applied for this rule, ensuring that:
i. Appropriate products and lengths are specified for each deck. The fixed length explosive deck from the previous rule should be removed
ii. A single variable deck is specified
Result:
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining hole types, and optionally repeat again to create a set of wet product rules (See the Configure a set of basic wet/dry product loading rules section for more details)
Save & Load Loading Rules
To limit re-work across different SHOTPlus files the load rules that you have created can be saved to your computer and re-loaded to different SHOTPlus files.
Loading rules can also be saved within via SHOTPlus templates (see the video on how SHOTPlus templates)