Getting Started Guide

T A L P A C

Truck and Loader Productivity Analysis

and Costing

Release 8

Getting Started Guide

Runge Software

Runge Software and associated software products are the copyright of Runge Pty Ltd. Use, duplication or disclosure is subject to the restriction stated in the software license. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Runge Pty Ltd.

Although the software has been tested and the documentation reviewed, Runge Pty Ltd offers no warranty for the quality, performance or fitness of the software or documentation for any particular purpose. In no event will Runge Pty Ltd be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the software or documentation.

Runge Pty Ltd has a policy of continual improvement to all products and documentation. The information in any documentation is subject to change without notice.

TALPAC Getting Started Guide Copyright Runge Pty Ltd A.C.N. 010 672 321 Brisbane, Australia, 1998. All Rights Reserved

First Edition October 1998

Printed in Australia.

TALPAC, XPAC, XERAS, DragSim, are registered trademarks of Runge Pty Ltd and/or associated companies.

Formula One and First Impression are registered trademarks of Visual Components Inc.

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and DAO are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the USA and other countries.

For further information or additional copies of this documentation contact:

Runge Pty Ltd Ph: Australia (07) 3221 1883

GPO Box 2774 International (+617) 3221 1883

BRISBANE QLD 4001 Fax: (07) 3229 3756

Australia. International (+617) 3229 3756

Web http://www.runge.com/

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

TALPAC Getting Started Guide / Runge Pty Ltd Page 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TALPAC RELEASE 8..................................................................................................... 4 What is TALPAC.................................................................................................................... 4 TALPAC Applications ........................................................................................................... 4 On-Line Help........................................................................................................................... 5

Running TALPAC ........................................................................................................... 6 Getting Started........................................................................................................................ 6 System Requirements ............................................................................................................. 7 Installing TALPAC................................................................................................................. 7 Licence Screen on Start Up.................................................................................................... 9 Creating a Truck and Loader User Database .................................................................... 10 TALPAC Projects ................................................................................................................. 11

TALPAC OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 15 What is a Project................................................................................................................... 15 Haulage System Components............................................................................................... 16 Overview of TALPAC Analyses .......................................................................................... 18 Equipment Database............................................................................................................. 21

TALPAC USER INTERFACE ..................................................................................... 22 TALPAC Data Entry Screen ............................................................................................... 22 TALPAC Menus ................................................................................................................... 23 The Toolbar........................................................................................................................... 25 Working with Templates...................................................................................................... 26


TTAALLPPAACC RREELLEEAASSEE 88 Congratulations on purchasing or upgrading to TALPAC release 8. TALPAC is used through out the world for independent estimation of truck travel times, production rates and direct haulage costs. It also includes a very comprehensive database of truck and loader technical specifications.

WWhhaatt iiss TTAALLPPAACC

TALPAC is a software system that is used for determining the productivity and economics of truck and loader haulage systems, using logic that models real haulage situations. TALPAC allows the study of most factors affecting productivity and the sensitivity of productivity to these factors.

Within TALPAC, you specify the haul route the truck is to operate over, which truck or group of trucks is to be used, the loading unit to be used and the operating limitations (eg. speed limits, surface conditions, etc). You also specify the loading strategy, material characteristics and work roster applicable to the fleet.

TALPAC takes this raw data and performs a number of functions on it, including production analysis, loading analysis, discounted cost analysis and optimisation of fleet size, motor power, payload, etc.

TTAALLPPAACC AApppplliiccaattiioonnss

TALPAC may be used to analyse the performance of existing fleets of equipment or to investigate the application of new equipment fleets in earthmoving and mining operations. In either case, the performance of a single fleet may be examined, or a comparison made of two or more different fleets. Typical TALPAC applications are listed below.

• Calculation of truck travel time to allow a comparative analysis of haul route or equipment alternatives.

• Estimation of fleet productivity’s for use in long and short term planning studies.

• Estimation and comparison of productivity’s using various loading methodologies to determine the optimum loading technique or loading unit bucket size.

• Sensitivity analysis in road design criteria to assess the relative importance of road maintenance.

• Calculation of tyre TKPH or TMPH ratings for use in tyre selection.


• Estimation of fuel usage.

• Determination (using discounted cash flow methods) of haulage costs and contract pricing.

• Truck fleet size optimisation to quantify the effect of over and under trucking.

• Incremental analyses, in which simulations can be automatically run for a range of haulage segment lengths and the results used to generate productivity curves.

• Equipment loading analysis to optimise loader bucket size, truck capacity and number of passes.

• Collation of results from calculations to examine the relationship between variables in the calculation, eg. haul distance versus productivity, haul distance versus truck fleet size.

OOnn--LLiinnee HHeellpp

The on-line help system describes how to use the TALPAC truck and loader productivity analysis system. It includes information on:

• data entry;

• data processing;

• results of analyses;

• menu options;

• graphics facilities;

• the equipment database; and

• other support utilities.


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To get started you will need to perform the following steps. These are detailed in this chapter.

1. Install the software.

2. Start TALPAC for the first time.

3. Register the software by either:

• Installing the hardware key for a single user licence;

• Registering TALPAC for a rental licence; or

• Registering TALPAC for a site licence.

4. Open or create a User truck and loader database.

5. Create a new project or open an existing project.

Once TALPAC is installed and running you will find comprehensive help on using TALPAC and its calculation logic by either pressing the F1 key, clicking the left mouse button on the tool bar help icon or selecting Help from the application menu.


SSYYSSTTEEMM RREEQQUUIIRREEMMEENNTTSS For acceptable useability and calculation performance, the following system configuration is the recommended minimum:

Processor: Pentium 400

Memory: 128 Mb RAM

Hard Disk: Greater than 50Mb available

Display : 1024 X 768 16bit High Colour

Access to a CD drive is required for installation.

IInnssttaalllliinngg TTAALLPPAACC

Windows XP, 2000 and NT Users – Please Note

You will need to be a ‘local administrator’ of the machine you intend to install TALPAC 8 on, (please consult your network administrator if you are unsure). If you are not, you will need to contact your network administrator to arrange this.

TALPAC is designed to be installed on a local hard disk; it has not been designed for the application to be installed on a network drive. Please contact Runge support if a network installation is desired, and if sufficient demand exists, it will be investigated.

STANDALONE PC

Step 1: Insert the TALPAC CD into your CD drive. After a few seconds the Installation screen should appear. If it doesn’t, click on the Start button, select Run, and type d:RungeAutorun.exe where d: is the name of your CD drive.


Step 2: You will be presented with several options. The first will install TALPAC. Click on this button and follow the step-by-step instructions to install TALPAC. If you are upgrading from a previous version of TALPAC, we recommend that you select the same directory that was used for the previous installation. TALPAC will then update the old version automatically.

Step 3: If you are given the option restart your machine it is important to restart before TALPAC can run.

TALPAC ships with an on-line support utility called WebEx. WebEx allows you and a Runge support representative to conduct an interactive meeting via the Internet. During this meeting, each party is able to share their screen display and control of TALPAC with the other party. This allows us to provide faster and more efficient support. WebEx can be installed through either the Install WebEx option on the main set-up menu or by answering "Yes" when prompted to install WebEx during the TALPAC installation process. Please note that for either of these options, Administrator privileges are required for the installation to be successful. For more information regarding WebEx, please visit the following web site: http://runge.webex.com/webex/.

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The following steps should be followed to run TALPAC from the Start Menu. These instructions assume that during the TALPAC installation the icon was placed in the default program folder called Runge Software.

1. Left click on the button on the bottom left of your screen.

2. Select Programs from the Start menu.

3. Select Runge Software from the Programs menu.

4. Select Talpac from the Runge Software menu.

5. TALPAC will then start up.

http://runge.webex.com/webex/


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TALPAC can be run from an icon on your desktop or inside a folder. For information on setting up a TALPAC icon, refer to your Windows documentation or your systems administrator.

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TALPAC can also be run from Windows Explorer (or similar). To do this you must first locate a TALPAC project file within Windows Explorer. It will have a suffix of .tp7. Double click on the .tp7 file and TALPAC will start up.

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On start up, you will be presented with the Talpac Licence screen. There are several options available.

Register Now

If you have been supplied with a software file (on a 3.5" disk), click this button and search for the file. Double click the registration file. Click OK. Click "I agree". Software should now open for use.

Register Later

If you have not been supplied with a software file (on a 3.5" disk), and you have a Talpac dongle connected, you will need this option. Your hardware Key Code will be displayed on the lower half of this screen. Click the e-mail or fax button to send your Key Code to Runge. A registration file will be returned to you ASAP. To continue to use Talpac, click the Register Later button for a 7-day grace period.

Evaluation Mode

This option is for evaluation purposes only.


CCrreeaattiinngg aa TTrruucckk aanndd LLooaaddeerr UUsseerr DDaattaabbaassee

Before you can use TALPAC, a User Truck and Loader Database is either created or you can link to an existing one. This database is used to store equipment details that you set up yourself which is kept separate from the standard equipment details Runge supplies. Please refer to the On-Line Help for more information on this database.

If you have not used TALPAC on your PC before then the following screen will be presented when you start the program.

The default option is to create a new User database in the TALPAC system folder. This option is satisfactory for stand alone installations where user data is not destined to be shared.

The second option is to create a new User database in a custom directory. This option should be used the first time TALPAC is run at a site. A network folder can be selected that would be accessible by other members of your workgroup so that a workgroup User database will be created.

The third option is to use an existing User database. This option is used where a workgroup User database has already been created.

The User Truck and Loader Database is stored in a file named User.mdb .


TTAALLPPAACC PPrroojjeeccttss

In TALPAC, all of the data that you set up is stored in a single file. This file is called a project and has a suffix of tp7. Your project can be made up of any number of haulage systems, which in turn are made up of various combinations of material, roster, truck, loader and haul cycle templates. See section 4 for more details.

Once TALPAC is up and running, a project selection screen as shown above, is presented. You will need to create a new project unless you are continuing to work on an existing TALPAC project. Files from earlier versions of TALPAC can be imported into a TALPAC 8 project after the project is created. An example project can be created to show some of the features of the software.

CCrreeaattee aa NNeeww PPrroojjeecctt

To create a new project from the TALPAC start up screen, you should click on the radio button labelled Create a New Project. If you are already in TALPAC, you should close the current project first and then a new project can be created by selecting File from the application menu and New Project from the pull down menu.

You are then presented with a list of TALPAC project templates that contain example data to help you get started, as shown in the following screen.


Select a template from the list. If you would like to begin with a blank project, then choose Create an Empty Project.

You will then be given the opportunity to name the project and locate the project in a suitable folder using the following screen.

Use the Look in pull down to select a folder to locate you new project. You can also create a new folder using the button. Enter a suitable name for the project in the File name field and then press Open to continue to the main TALPAC screen.

Note You do not need to enter the file name extension (tp7) as this will automatically be assigned.

Project Templates

Project templates are stored in the Templates folder under your TALPAC system folder. When the templates are used to create a new project, they are copied from this directory


so that they are always available for use. If you want to add your own project templates to this list, simply copy a project to the Templates folder.

OOppeenn aann EExxiissttiinngg PPrroojjeecctt

To open an existing project from the TALPAC start up screen, click on the radio button labelled Open an Existing TALPAC Project.

You then have the choice of selecting a project from the list of Most Recently Used Files or using the Browse button to search your directory structure for the required project.

If you are already in TALPAC, you should close the current project first and then an existing project can be opened by selecting File from the application menu, followed by selecting Open Project from the pull down menu. Alternatively, the most recently used files are listed at the bottom of the File menu.

Once you have located the project that you want to open, click on the OK button to proceed to the main TALPAC window.

SSaavviinngg aa PPrroojjeecctt

Whilst working in TALPAC, data for a project is not automatically saved. You will need to save data regularly. There are a number of ways that you can save your current active project.

• Click on the tool bar to save the project under it’s current name.

• Select the Save Project option from the File menu to save the project under it’s current name.


• Select the Save Project As option from the File menu to save the project under a new name.

• Close the project or TALPAC and, if changes have been made since your last save, you will be asked to save the project or lose your changes.

Note TALPAC projects should not be saved in the folder where the program is installed or any associated sub-folders. The reason for this is that when upgrades of the program are supplied, they will be copied into the program installation area and there is a risk that your project files will be overwritten or deleted.

CClloossiinngg aa PPrroojjeecctt

When you have finished working on a project, there are a number of ways that you can close it. In each case, if the projects have not been saved, you will be asked if you would like to save them before closing.

• Select the Close Project option from the File menu to close the current active project.

• Close down TALPAC and the open project, by selecting the Exit option from the File menu.

• Close down TALPAC and all open projects, by clicking on the top right of the TALPAC window.


TTAALLPPAACC OOVVEERRVVIIEEWW This chapter is aimed at giving you an overview of the data components within a project, the equipment database and the analysis options available. Even if you are familiar with previous versions of TALPAC, you should briefly peruse this chapter and take note of the changes especially in regard to the organisation of project data.

WWhhaatt iiss aa PPrroojjeecctt

In TALPAC, all of the data that you establish for as specific study is stored in a single project file. Your TALPAC project can be made up of any number of haulage systems. A haulage system is in turn made up of a material type, an operational roster, one or more trucks, a loader and a haulage cycle.

You can give your project file a name as it is created and it will always have a suffix of tp7.

The only TALPAC data that is not stored within the project file is the truck and loader technical information that is located either in the Standard equipment database or in the User equipment database.

You can locate one or more project files in a folder or you can reserve an individual folder for each project.


Structure of a TALPAC Project

HAULAGESYSTEMS

MATERIALTYPES

TRUCKTEMPLATES

HAULCYCLES

SHIFTROSTERS

LOADERTEMPLATES

HHaauullaaggee SSyysstteemm CCoommppoonneennttss

A haulage system is a set of data that can be used to perform a production analysis within TALPAC. The data for a haulage system has been grouped into five components as follows:

• material type;

• shift roster;

• loader data;

• truck data; and

• haul cycle.

Each set of data is stored in a template that can be saved and used by any number of haulage systems within the current project.

Each combination of these five elements makes a unique haulage system. By changing one item you are simulating a different haulage system.

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The physical characteristics of the material being transported in the haulage system govern the capacity of the trucks and the loader. The physical properties of the material are stored


in the material type template. Typical data includes in-situ bank density, swell factors and fill factors. Specifications for a number of standard materials are supplied or you can set up your own material template.

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The operating and working time for the haulage system are specified in the shift roster template. You have the ability to specify when operating and non-operating delays occur, as well as when shifts start and finish. The timing of such disruptions is important when considering queuing delays.

Working time is used to determine the actual time within each shift that production occurs and therefore the time for which TALPAC simulates fleet productive activity. Operating time is used to derive operating hours which are used in deriving result productivity rates and discounted average costs.

LLooaaddeerr TTeemmppllaattee

The loader template contains physical, performance and costing data for the loading unit. Default values for some of this data are obtained from the loader database (eg. bucket size). All of the data can be modified to represent your particular loader. The data contained in the loader template includes the loader bucket cycle time, the loader bucket payload, the availability of the loader, the loading methodology and hourly capital and operating costs.

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Up to three different truck types may be included in the truck fleet for your haulage system. Data for each truck type is stored in a separate template, though they can all access the same list of truck templates. You must specify the number of trucks for each truck type.

The truck template contains physical, performance and costing data for each truck type. Default values for some of this data are obtained from the truck database (eg. truck weights). All of the data in the templates can be modified to represent your particular truck.

Each truck template contains a link to the truck database. Data such as the rimpull and retard curves and the weights on each axle are not stored in the truck template, rather they are accessed from the truck database via this link.


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The haul cycle is divided into segments for modelling in TALPAC. These segments may be fixed time events (such as spotting, loading, fixed delays and dumping), or they may be haul route segments. A haul route segment is simply a section of the haul road that is considered to have uniform properties for the purpose of travel time analysis. Each haul route segment can be allocated a name and is defined by a distance, grade, rolling resistance, allowable speeds and loaded state of the trucks.

OOvveerrvviieeww ooff TTAALLPPAACC AAnnaallyysseess

The analyses carried out within TALPAC all relate to production analysis, however the results are presented in a number of formats:

• The full simulation and quick estimate calculations both analyse the production of a single fleet of equipment on a single haulage route.

• The average truck tyre loadings and fuel consumption are reported for your haul cycle.

• Haul cycle analysis shows truck load times, speeds and travel times for each segment in your haul cycle.

• A discounted cash flow of the truck and loader fleet is generated using the productivity calculations and equipment costs. The discounted average cost of production for the fleet is determined from the cash flow.

• Incremental analysis is used to examine the effect of varying components of the haul cycle on the fleet production.

• The optimisation calculations are used to examine the effect of varying the fleet size, motor power, transmission speed, traction coefficient, payload or rolling resistance, on the fleet production.

• Production results from many different analyses may be tabulated using the results table facility.

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Full simulation involves a probabilistic simulation of a fleet of trucks and a loader on a particular haulage route. The probabilistic approach allows for the variation of key fleet attributes from one event to the next. These attributes include the truck travel time, truck dump time, truck fleet availability, loader bucket cycle time and loader bucket payload. Their variability can have a considerable effect on productivity.

Full simulation calculates individual equipment productivity as well as the combined production of the whole fleet. Different loading philosophies may also be investigated, such as single and double sided loading and full bucket or full truck strategies.


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The average fuel consumption for the selected truck over the haul cycle is reported each time a full simulation or quick estimate are run.

Tyre loadings in the form of TKPH or TMPH ratings are also reported for each axle. The tyre loadings can be compared to the manufacturer’s tyre ratings to assess whether the tyres are being over-loaded on the haul cycle.

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When a full simulation or quick estimate are run in TALPAC, the haul cycle results are also presented. The haul cycle results are for each segment in the haul cycle. For truck loading, queuing, spotting, dumping and fixed delay segments, the average duration and their proportion of the total cycle time is reported. For travel segments, a range of parameters are reported including distance, travel time, proportion of cycle time, maximum speed attained, average speed, etc.

Graphs can also be generated from the haul cycle results, showing the relationships between time, distance, velocity and acceleration.

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If you have supplied capital and operating cost data for your truck and loader, then it is possible to display a discounted cash flow table for your fleet of equipment. The cash flow table is generated each time you run a full simulation or quick estimate productivity analysis.

TALPAC uses the calculated truck numbers and the fleet productivity, as well as the supplied costs, to calculate the cash flow over time and the discount average cost of production. The discount average cost is also split into a capital and an operating component.

IInnccrreemmeennttaall AAnnaallyyssiiss

Incremental analysis is used to run a series of full simulations, while automatically varying two haul segment lengths. Any two segments can be selected for variation, however typically one segment would be a ramp and the other would be a flat segment. The equivalent reverse segments are also varied. You are able to specify the incremental values for each of the segments.

This type of analysis is valuable when modelling variations in productivity across a mining block layout. The results of the incremental analysis may be obtained as either a graph or a table of data.


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The following haulage system parameters may be optimised in TALPAC:

• Fleet Size;

• Motor Power;

• Transmission Speed;

• Traction Coefficient;

• Payload; and

• Rolling Resistance.

In each optimisation process, a series of production analyses are performed for a range of values of the parameter. The production analyses may be either full simulations or quick estimates.

The results of the optimisation indicate the sensitivity of productivity and costs to the parameter being optimised and in some cases may provide the optimum value for the parameter based on costs or productivity. Any productivity parameter can be reported for an optimisation, for example, fleet productivity, discounted average cost, truck travel time, etc. The relationships can be used to indicate where efforts should be directed to improve fleet productivity and costs.

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The quick estimate of productivity involves a deterministic simulation of a fleet of trucks and a loader on a particular haulage path. The deterministic approach for calculating the productivity of a fleet assumes that the components of the haulage system do not vary greatly from one event to another.

This assumption may under-estimate delays from queuing that arise due to the variability of haulage system components. A full simulation can be used to more accurately model such delays and queuing, and thus to more accurately estimate the fleet productivity.

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The results table is a facility for tabulating and reporting results from a series of TALPAC production analyses. This includes results from:

• Full simulation;

• Incremental analysis;

• Optimisation; and

• Quick estimate.

For each production analysis, the results table stores all the parameters which you may want to report (approximately 250 of them), however only a selected list of parameters are


displayed. You are able to add to and delete from this list, to display the data in which you are interested. This is done by defining the fields to be reported within a Report Template. Several default Report Templates are supplied with TALPAC.

The results table allows you to complete many analyses quickly and to record only the data which is relevant to your current project. There are also facilities available in the results table for graphically displaying your data as well as the ability to export the data in several file formats.

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The equipment database contains technical information on a large number of trucks and loaders. The data includes a range of physical and performance characteristics, much of which is used within TALPAC simulation calculations. The database is made up of two separate data sets. These are Standard equipment and User Equipment.

• Standard equipment is supplied with TALPAC and cannot be modified by you. There are over 300 trucks and over 200 loaders in the standard TALPAC database. This data is sourced from published information supplied by equipment manufacturers and/or distributors.

Standard trucks and loaders in the equipment database include major equipment used in open cut mining operations and in earthworks.

If you maintain a TALPAC service and support agreement with Runge, your standard equipment database will be regularly updated as part of that service for no extra cost. Alternatively, you can purchase updates of this data as required.

• User defined equipment is created by you and can be modified at any time. Standard equipment can also be copied to a user defined item of equipment and then modified. User defined equipment is stored in a separate file to the standard equipment. Consequently, the user equipment data can be copied to other computers so that other TALPAC users can make use of the equipment you have created. User defined equipment will not be overwritten nor modified during subsequent TALPAC installations or database upgrades.

The Standard equipment database is named Standard.mdb and is located in the TALPAC program folder. This file is password protected and no attempt should be made to modify it in any way.

The User equipment database file is named User.mdb and is located as required by you when prompted upon first running TALPAC on your PC. You can share this file with other members of your workgroup, in which case it should be located on a network server. This file is not password protected, however to ensure that the data is not corrupted, you should only modify it using the TALPAC equipment database editing screens.


TTAALLPPAACC UUSSEERR IINNTTEERRFFAACCEE This chapter is to give you an overview of the TALPAC user interface. The interface follows the Common User Access guidelines in common with many other Windows products. This ensures that you can easily locate options and reduces learning time.

You should note that the Right-Click Menu, activated by selecting a screen object such as a data field or pull down list using the mouse pointer and pressing the right mouse button, can be used in many places for accessing options quickly.

TTAALLPPAACC DDaattaa EEnnttrryy SSccrreeeenn

The main screen within TALPAC is called the project Data Entry screen. This is the screen that is displayed when you first open a project and it is the screen that you return to after viewing the results of TALPAC analyses. Following is an example of the project Data Entry screen.

Refer to on-line Help for further details on:

• Haul Cycle;

• Material Type;


• Shift Roster;

• Loader Data; and

• Truck Data.

TTAALLPPAACC MMeennuuss

AApppplliiccaattiioonn MMeennuu

Across the top of the TALPAC window is a menu bar, referred to as the application menu. The options available on this menu will vary depending on where you are within the program.

The application menu can be accessed in the following ways:

• Using the mouse.

• Using the Alt key and the underlined letter within each option. The Alt key is held down and the underlined letter is pressed.

• Using the Alt key and the cursor keys. After pressing the Alt key once, the left and right cursor keys are used to highlight the required option. The Enter key is then pressed to select the highlighted option.

The options on the application menu will either open a pull-down menu (eg. Edit) or perform some action (eg. Result Table).

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Most of the options on the application menu access a pull down menu where further options are available. These options will vary depending on where you are within the program.


The options on the pull down menus can be selected as follows:

• Using the mouse;

• Pressing the underlined letter in the option name; or

• Pressing the up and down arrow keys.

Some of the options on the pull down menus can be selected using short cut keystrokes. These keystrokes are listed to the right of the option on the pull down menu. For example, the Print option can also be selected by holding the Ctrl key down and then pressing P. This keystroke is written as Ctrl+P.


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Underneath the application menu are the TALPAC tool bars. The buttons on the tool bars provide a quick way to access the most commonly used options. The tool bars can be moved anywhere on the TALPAC window using drag and drop.

A brief description of each tool bar button is provided below.

Title Button Action

New

Create a new project.

Open

Open an existing project.

Save

Save the current project.

Print

Print information relating to the current screen.

Print Preview

Preview the data to be printed.

Truck & Loader Database

Open the Truck and Loader Database.

Edit Material

Edit the current Material template.

Edit Roster

Edit the current Roster template.

Edit Loader

Edit the current Loader template.

Edit Truck

Edit the current Truck template.

About

Open the TALPAC Help About window.

Add

Add a new template.

Edit

Edit the selected template.

Delete

Delete the selected template.

Copy

Copy the selected template.

Note: The following buttons are available for haul cycle segments.

Add

Add a segment to the haul cycle.

Delete

Delete the highlighted segment.

Copy

Copy the current segment.

Paste

Paste the copied segment


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OOvveerrvviieeww ooff TTeemmppllaatteess

Templates are used in TALPAC to store sets of data. The data stored in these templates includes:

• Material Types;

• Shift Rosters;

• Loader Data;

• Truck Data; and

• Haul Cycle.

When you set up templates, they are specific to the current project and there is no limit to the number of templates that you can store in a project. The same template may be accessed from many different haulage systems, which means data need only be entered once and need only be updated or changed in one place.

Templates are created, edited, deleted and copied in a project using the right-click menus.

If there is no template attached for a particular template type, the template name will be listed as Undefined.

SSeelleeccttiinngg aann EExxiissttiinngg TTeemmppllaattee

To select an existing template, the down arrow to the right of the template box is used. Click on this arrow and the template drop down list will appear. If there are a lot of templates in the list, you may need to use the scroll bar to view them all. When you have located the required template, click on it’s name to select it. The list will then disappear and the chosen template name will be in the template box.

A template drop down list can also be accessed using the F4 function key. Before pressing the F4 key, your cursor must be positioned on the required template type.

The following window shows a drop down list for Material Type.


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You can add a new template to your project using the right-click menu. Position your cursor within the required template box. Click the right mouse button and then select Add from the right-click menu.

Depending on the template type you will either be asked to supply a name for the new template or asked for some other information about the new template (and later asked for the template name).

This new template will now be added to the list of templates in the current project.

New templates can also be created in other ways, however your cursor must first be placed on the required template type.

• From the Edit menu select the Add option; or

• Click on the button on the tool bar; or

• Press the Insert key.

EEddiittiinngg aann EExxiissttiinngg TTeemmppllaattee

You can edit existing templates using the right-click menu. Position your cursor on the required template type. Select the template that you want to edit and then click the right mouse button. Select the Edit option from the menu and the template window will be displayed.

For the material, roster, loader and truck templates, the current template can be edited by clicking on the template type button to the left of the drop down box. For example:

Existing templates can also be edited in other ways. With the following two ways, your cursor does not have to be on the template type. The currently selected template for the type will be the one that is edited.

• On the tool bar, there are icons which can be used to edit the material , the roster , the loader and the truck ; or

• From the Edit menu select the Edit “template type” option.

Following are other ways of editing templates, however these require your cursor to be placed on the required template type and the template that you want to edit should be selected.

• From the Edit menu select the Edit option; or


• Press the Enter key.


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You can delete templates using the right-click menu. Position your cursor on the required template type. Select the template that you want to delete and then click the right mouse button. Select the Delete option from the menu and the template will be deleted from the list.

Templates can also be deleted in other ways, however your cursor must first be placed on the required template type and the template that you want to delete must be selected.

• From the Edit menu select the Delete option; or


• Press the Delete key.

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You are able to copy templates to a new name using the right-click menu. Locate the template that you wish to copy and make it the current template for that type. Right click within the template box and select the Copy option. The template will be opened and automatically given a new name. This will be the same as the old template but prefixed by “Copy of”. You can change this name as required.

Templates can also be copied in other ways, however your cursor must first be placed on the required template type and the template that you want to copy must be selected.

• From the Edit menu select the Copy Item option; or

• Click on the button on the tool bar.

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When you have finished assigning data to your templates, you should click on the OK button to return to the main TALPAC window.

Templates are not permanently saved until you save the project they are within. The current project, and hence the templates in that project, can be saved as follows:

• Click on the button on the tool bar;

• From the application menu select File and then select Save Project from the pull down menu.

If you are setting up a lot of data you should remember to save it regularly to avoid losing the data.



FFUURRTTHHEERR IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN There is a tutorial on the CD that can help guide you through creating a new project following step-by-step.

Try the on-line help inside TALPAC where you can browse or search for a particular string. If you can't find what you need call the Runge Support line where a knowledgeable engineer can assist you in the operation of the program.

Runge can also offer you training in the use of Talpac and a specialised Truck and Loader course. For more details contact your Runge office.

Documents

Getting Started Guide