RPS Earthworks Settings
The RPS Earthworks Settings command can be accessed from the 
icon
The RPS Earthworks Settings options are broken into three groups
- My Settings
- Project Settings
- Account Settings
In addition the RPS Earthworks application has one higher level called System Settings that applies by default to all instances of the RPS Earthworks system that get deployed to any organization globally.
The hierarchy of settings being applied is controlled by
- The System Settings in the absence of any Account, Project or personal settings overrides.
- The Account Settings if an admin overrides the default System Settings settings for their organizations account
- The Project Settings if an admin overrides the Account Settings at an individual Project level
- The My Settings if an individual user overrides Project Settings
An admin user has full control over the Account Settings as well as the Project Settings and their own personal My Settings. A normal user has control over their My Settings and the Project Settings only.
To override the settings at an Account, Project or My Settings level, check the checkbox beside the setting at that level of control and select the settings that you want to use. Make sure that you click Save to make your changes active. The changes then become active and beside the settings titles in each tab you will see the word System or Account or Project letting you know what is currently controlling the settings.
The My Settings is a personal override that applies only to your personal use of the system. So for example in the Burndown schedule status color settings, the system may use 5 days and be the default value at a system level, and by not changing it at an Account or Project level (the system level persists) you may elect to change it in My Settings to be 3 days which becomes your own personal setting for the burndown charts as they are presented to you only. If you then look at the Project or Account level it will show (System) as the control, but at your My Settings level it will show as active and will not have the word System written beside it because your active override is now controlling the setting.
The setup of the common parameters in My Settings, Project Settings and Account Settings is the same. Each group of settings once set, will persist until they are changed. The My Settings are associated with your own personal login to the RPS Earthworks system.
When you check a checkbox against any settings item in any of the tabs, it becomes the default settings for use in the RPS Earthworks System. If you select the same settings in more than one of the groups (My Settings, Project Settings, Account Settings) the order of priority is My Settings, Project Settings, Account Settings, System Settings.
My Settings
My settings are your personal preferences on how you personally want to display information in different map screens. These when set will override the system, Account and Project settings when you are logged into the system.
Measurement Profiles
There are currently two measurement profiles available in the RPS Earthworks system. The two profiles are the South Africa profile and the US profile.
These profiles define the measurement units profiles for the RPS Earthworks System.
| Measurement Profiles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unit Description | South Africa | US |
| Weight | KG or Tonnes | Pounds / Tons |
| Haul Volume | Cubic Meters | Cubic Yards |
| Liquid Volume | Liters | Gallons |
| Long Distance | KM | Miles |
| Short Distance | M | Foot and Inches |
| Area | Sq Meter | Sq Foot |
Burndown Schedule Status Color
In the Work Order burndown chart that shows the progress of volume change over time, the colors selected here will indicate on the chart whether the work order is on schedule or falling behind the planned schedule based on the parameters defined here. In RPS Earthworks we believe in managing by exception, where Green is On plan and Red is behind plan, and yellow is close to schedule but behind plan. If you see that a Work Order is falling behind schedule you can look into why and take corrective actions to get back on track.
- On schedule (Green) is any task that is on schedule or ahead of schedule.
- Near Schedule (Yellow) is any task that is falling behind schedule but still within the specified number of days of expected schedule completion
- Behind Schedule (Red) is any task that has fallen behind schedule by more than the number of days allowed for Near Schedule
Cut/Fill Progress Color (Existing - Date / Time Surface)
Cut Fill Progress is defined as the amount of Cut / Fill progress to date that has been completed, starting from the existing terrain at the start of the work order. This will show the amount of material excavated or the amount of material placed to the current date and time in comparison to the totals expected for the work order. You can set the colors for Max Cut (Deep Red) and Max Fill (Deep Blue) and then colors for no cut (White) or no fill (White) and then a single color for Cut (Pink) and Fill (Light Blue) for a mid range cut or fill value. In this case when the work order is complete, the color map will show the Max Cut or Max Fill colors where change has occurred and will show e.g. white where no change has taken place.
Cut/Fill Remaining Color (Date / Time Surface - Design)
Cut Fill Remaining is defined as the amount of cut or fill that is still required to happen to get from where you are today to the final design surface. Areas still requiring excavation will be red and areas requiring fill will be blue and areas of no change needed (already at grade) will be Green.
You can set the % values for the color breaks to control the color variations in the maps created.
The colors that we recommend are shown in the image above where
- Green = In Tolerance
- Red 1 = Near Grade (Cut)
- Red 2 = Deeper Cut required
- Blue 1 is Near Grade (Fill)
- Blue 2 = Deeper Fill required.
The Min Max level for the Work Order is determined by taking the greater of the Max Cut or Max Fill and multiplying it by 2 i.e. if Max Cut = 8m and Max Fill = 12m then Min Max Range is set to +/- 12m or 24m total.
The Cut and Fill Ranges are then 50% of the Min Max range. You can currently set the color breaks for the top of the green band and the top of the Red 1 and Blue 1 bands using a % of the Min Max range i.e. if you enter 1% with a range of 24m then you will get Top of Green at 0.24m.
Quality Color
In all work orders you define a target design surface and you can define tolerance values that you are prepared to accept if the end surface is high or low with respect to the design surface e.g. High 0.1m and Low -0.1m. so for a target elevation of 100m you can be between 99.9 and 100.1m and be “On Grade” (Green). You can set colors for out of grade - typically Red = Cut or Too High (cut to get to grade) and Blue - Too Low = Fill to get to grade. When the entire surface is within the tolerance that you set, you can say the surface has been completed and is in tolerance i.e. it should map green across its entirety.
The colors that we recommend are shown in the image above where
- Green = In Tolerance
- Orange = Near Tolerance
- Red = Cut or Too High
- Blue = Fill or Too Low
The values that you enter are a % of the min max range of cut and fill for the Work Order. If the Work Order has 8m of Fill and 12m of Cut the Min Max range is set to the greater of the two values to define a symmetrical range (+/-12m in this case).
The Green - Orange - Red1 - Red 2 range and the Green - Orange - Blue 1 - Blue 2 range is therefore a max of 50% of the total min max range.
You set a % of the range as the break points for the top of the Orange Band (near tolerance e.g. 1% and then the top of the Red 1 or Blue 1 bands e.g. 10% and then the Red 2 and Blue 2 bands represent the remainder of the range.
Set the color band ranges so that the generated color maps provide you with meaningful results that help you to make quick decisions e.g. When I am looking at the map and it shows Deep Red I know I have a long way to go in the task, when the colors change to Pink I know that we are in the final stages of the task, and when it turns Orange I know we are close to completion and when it turns Green I know the work has been completed to specification. As the task progresses, you can start to plan the next set of tasks for the crew to enable a seamless change over in production when a task is completed.
Surface Elevation Color
When you are looking at work order based data generated from either surveyed surfaces or from machine production data, if you display an elevation map, the elevation range for the data in question will be determined and then mapped to the color scheme shown in this settings area. The color bands are split into 10% bands (by default) of the entire elevation range of the data being analyzed. You can change the break points for the color bands and the colors for each color band of the elevation map.
You can add additional color bands or remove color bands from the defaults as you see fit using the [+] and [-] buttons.
To change the % value for the color band, simply select the cell and change the numerical value.
To change the color associated with a color band, click in the color cell and change the RGB value for the color required.
Equipment Color
GCS900 machines connected to the Earthworks System will report in an updated position each time a production data TAG file arrives at the RPS Earthworks system. TAG files are generated and reported back to the RPS Earthworks system every few minutes during production. The color of the icon “dot on the map” representing the last known position and status of the machine will change color as the data known for the machine ages. If the machine is active and has reported within the past 5 minutes it will appear green on the map. as the last report age increases the machine color will change from green to orange and then red. You can change the parameters here to suit your reporting requirements.
To change the age of position report value, click in the cell and enter a new numerical value.
To change the color associated with a color band, click in the color cell and change the RGB value for the color required.
Project Settings
The Project Settings allows you to set up defaults for all users with access to the Project. The Project settings will apply when enabled unless the individual users apply their own settings to override the Project Settings. The common settings between Project and My Settings are mentioned but the detail is not repeated - refer to the My Settings details above as necessary.
Start of Work Week
The RPS Earthworks system is pre programmed currently for 2x 12 hour shifts of work per day as defined by the GLK Mine team. The shifts start at 6pm and 6am each day. The start of the work week can be 6pm on a Sunday or 6am on a Monday whichever you prefer. The work week defines the productivity period of 1 work week.
Choose Sunday at 6pm (18:00) or Monday at 6am (06:00) as the first crew start time.
First Crew Start Time
Choose the start of the first crew shift each day e.g. 18:00 or 06:00 depending on whether your start day for the work week is Sunday or Monday.
Measurement Profiles
There are currently two measurement profiles available in the RPS Earthworks system. The two profiles are the South Africa profile and the US profile. They are defined above in the My Settings information.
Max Work Order Calculation Age (Minutes)
The results of Work Orders in the Work Orders list are refreshed on a periodic basis automatically to update volumes moved etc. This setting controls the time lag between the last work order calculation process and the next one. The value is the maximum time in minutes that can elapse before the work order results are updated. If you have a lot of Work Orders running concurrently, we recommend leaving this setting at ~10 minutes. When a Work Order is opened for review, all of the result data for the Work Order is updated at that time. This setting is for the Work Orders list and the Work Orders dashboard.
Accumulate Activity Up To This Many Days Before The Work Order Start Date
A work order is typically created prior to production start. The work order has a scheduled start date - typically the scheduled start date is some time after the date at which the work order was created. It is however possible and even quite likely that machines may start work on a work order prior to the scheduled start date. This setting allows the RPS Earthworks system to watch the production server for changes that may affect the work order results that happen prior to the scheduled start date. The value of the setting is the number of days prior to the scheduled start date that will be monitored for change. If work is detected in that period of time, the work order will be flagged as an “Early Start” and the first data arrival will be treated as the Start Date for the Work Order from which production monitoring will be initiated.
Burndown schedule status color
Burndown schedule status colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Cut/Fill Progress Color
Cut Fill Progress colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Cut/Fill Remaining Color
Cut Fill Remaining colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Quality Color
Quality colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Surface Elevation Color
Surface Elevation colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Equipment Color
Equipment colors are described above in the My Settings information.
Account Settings
The Account Settings allows you to set up defaults for all projects and all users with access to the RPS Earthworks System. The Account settings will apply when enabled unless there are Project Setting overrides enabled or if individual users have applied their own settings to override the Project Settings. The common settings between Project and My Settings are mentioned but the detail is not repeated - refer to the My Settings details above as necessary.
Start of Work Week
The Start of Work Week settings are described in the Project Settings information above
First Crew Start Time
The First Crew Start Time settings are described in the Project Settings information above
Measurement Profiles
The Measurement profiles are described in the My Settings information above
Max Work Order Calculation Age (Minutes)
The Max Work Order Calculation Age (Minutes) settings are described in the Project Settings information above.
Accumulate Activity Up To This Many Days Before The Work Order Start Date
The Accumulate Activity Up To This Many Days Before The Work Order Start Date settings are described in the Project Settings information above
Burndown Schedule Status Color
The Burndown Schedule Status Color settings are described in the My Settings information above
Cut/Fill Progress Color
The Cut Fill Progress Color settings are described in the My Settings information above
Cut/Fill Remaining Color
The Cut Fill Remaining Color Settings are described in the My Settings information above
Quality Color
The Quality Color settings are described in the My Settings information above
Surface Elevation Color
The Surface Elevation Color settings are described in the My Settings information above
Equipment Color
The Equipment Color settings are described in the My Settings information above