Calculation Management with Confidence: Creating Robust, Auditable Processes in the Mining Industry

As the Superintendent of Process Technology at Diavik, Yuri Kinakin uses a host of analysis techniques to ensure that Diavik is using the best techniques available for processing their materials. Traditionally, they relied on spreadsheets and other mathematical software to coordinate their workflows and analyze them for accuracy and improvements. Recently, Yuri moved some of Diavik’s analysis requirements into Maple, the calculation management tool from Maplesoft, in order to simplify their calculations and provide better insight compared to what was available with their previous tools.

The large amount of parameters involved in Diavik’s processes can result in some complicated calculations. The matrix multiplications they perform have traditionally taken more time and effort to complete than necessary. “We use our spreadsheet tool more than we want to,” Yuri noted. “Maple just made it easier – calculations we used to do in previous tools can be done in Maple using only a few lines.”

Another common task for Yuri and his team requires fitting curves to a set of throughput data they gather regularly. They are interested in finding the probabilities that their throughputs will exceed specific quantities; thus accurate probabilities become valuable information in each process plan. Instead of doing polynomial fitting in other tools, Diavik used Maple’s curve fitting package, which was designed specifically for this kind of work. Using Maple, Diavik was not only able to get accurate fits for their process data, but they could provide transparency for their analysis, making calculations easy to understand across the entire team.

As Diavik takes positive steps to manage their process calculations better, they hope to use Maple for even more of their work. Similar to many technical organizations, they are still reliant on a variety of spreadsheets that, while functional, don’t provide them with the flexibility or simplicity they need. “Our spreadsheets can be unnecessarily complicated, and over the years, we’ve seen them grow into something very big and clunky,” Yuri commented. As more calculations are transitioned to being managed by Maple, Diavik hopes to provide easier, more auditable reports that allow other teams to validate the work being done.

Although Yuri has only been using Maple at Diavik for a few months, he has already experienced time savings in his process planning. By making complex calculations easier to perform, Yuri has been building a stronger foundation of calculations that can provide more accurate solutions to the questions he had previously been trying to answer using spreadsheets.

Yuri’s approach to calculation management is a sign of the growing need across industries to treat calculations as a valuable, structured asset. Of course, many professionals have their own personal preferences for where to do their calculation work, and adopting new tools can be hard to justify. Spreadsheet-based tools have become ubiquitous for quick and simple mathematical needs, but many companies only explore new tools as a reaction to the problems they’ve run into. By that time, they’re already experiencing losses from their underperforming tool, and pressures to find a replacement run high. The current pace of technical projects requires a proactive approach to managing calculations properly, in a way that cuts out the redundancies and downtimes associated with the often-disorganized techniques of the past. By using Maple to perform calculations in a robust, fully-documented environment, Yuri is helping Diavik make the most out of the intellectual property they’ve been building over their decades-long history.

 Contact Maplesoft to learn how Maple can help with your projects

- Read less