From Office to Off"ice"

June 2007

Would you like to go work at Papua?

Absolutely!

As a fresh graduated, a field position would be great opportunity to learn firsthand what is really required to start up and carry out the day to day business on mining project. I clearly remember a foggy (every) day at the mountain, cold weather (for us who live at tropical region), less than normal oxygen around, working in dark underground mine, wake up early in the morning and not going home till dark. In 3.5 years I had ‘tasted’ multiple positions from the planner, project engineer and engineering foreman, 3.5 years? It wasn’t long journey!

December 2010

Would you like to try ‘oversea experience’ at Canada?

Why not?

Frankly speaking, firstly I was afraid, but my curiosity about work oversea helps me out! I made it, I worked with multicultural people, and I passed what they called both cultural and technology shock. Work smart during weekdays and play hard on the weekend looks like a good balance, eh?

(+30), (+ 5), (-35) degree of Celsius - ups I mean summer, autumn and winter experience made me enjoyed my journey here. Three different extreme projects made me confident enough to face my next ‘challenging’ project here, but wait until next paragraph.......

January 2012 (which is this morning)

You want me to go to – Oyu Tolgoi (Gobi Desert)? (Could I even spell that correctly?)

hmm sounds interesting!

I checked to map to truly grasp where I gonna head to this time. A picturesque countryside, Mongolia is nestled between China and Russia with majestic desert, steppe and less SNOW! Right on, less snow doesn’t mean warmer (-40 is not that cold for them). Well – I was excited with my next adventure destination, even for couple months only, though. I can’t tell you more than this, but sure I will later on. The thing that I only know right now is I will leave my comfortable 8x10 ft cubical for couple months, from winter office to winter off"ice" :)

These project has been great opportunities for me to grow both from career standpoint and personally. More importantly, I’ve had a chance to work with interesting people – people whom I now call my friends :D

Loader Automation System mineGEM

Satu lagi system yang terkait dengan GIS dan mining yaitu system automation Loader. Ide awal automation alat ini adalah untuk menghindari operator terpapar terhadap bahaya-bahaya di underground. System tersebut bernama Minegem, .

Minegem adalah sistem automasi loader tambang bawah tanah yang dibuat oleh Caterpillar. Hampir sama dengan 'remote LHD', di mana loader bisa dikendalikan dari jarak jauh, tetapi Minegem lebih canggih karena dapat diprogram menggunakan komputer.

Operator Station
Minegem terdiri dari dua level kontrol, yaitu :
Copilot mode, yaitu dengan dibantu oleh operator untuk mengemudikan loader. Yang selanjutnya akan dimasukkan sebagai program untuk tele-remote atau autopilot

Autopilot mode, setelah terprogram dari copilot, loader akan berjalan, loading di drawpoint, damping bucket secara otomatis tanpa perlu dikendalikan oleh operator, seperti robot yang telah terprogram. Di bawah autopilot, beberapa mesin loader dapat dioperasikan oleh satu operator.

Operator dapat menetapkan kecepatan untuk bagian yang berbeda-beda dari siklus pengangkutan untuk mengoptimasikan produktivitas. Minegem juga dapat menyertakan monitoring kondisi jalan yang akan melambat atau bahkan menghentukan loader ketika kondisi jalan yang memburuk.

Minegem terdiri dari 4 hardware group, yaitu :
Onboard components yang terdiri atas sensing, data processing, wireless communications dan output devices.
LARN (Local Area Radio Network) terdiri atas network of radios, radio antennas dan repeaters yang diletakkan di dalam area di mana loader beroperasi. LARN menghubungkan Operator Station ke machine onboard components melalui wireless network.
Operator Station, terdiri atas input devices (joysticks, mouse and keyboard), processing computers and output devices (monitors). Merupakan user interface di mana system dikendalikan, dan data dan gambar video remote ditampilkan di monitor.
ISS (Independent Safety System) adalah di mana system dapat di shutdown secara independen, terdiri atas : Onboard components, Operations Area components dan Operator Station interfacing.
Operator Station Consoles (under windows xp OS)

Dalam beberapa bulan ini PTFI sedang mencoba menggunakan minegem untuk mucking ore di beberapa panel, untuk dilihat performa dari Minegem system ini.

LHD 1700G dan Jackpot :)

Beberapa minggu terakhir, aku disibukkan oleh banyak hal. Mulai dari kerjaan kantor, meeting sana sini sampe sidejob2 serta acara informal lainnya..Yess...berasa orang penting bener...

Sampai kemarin, (gara-gara sedikit boring dengan paperwork) menjelang akhir shift gw berinisiatif go to the field to operate LHD 1700G. Yes, a loader heavy equipment product from CAT. Because I am the only one (engineer in my division) who has LHD 1700 license (please note in FMI nobodies allow to operate any heavy equipment without licence).

So next question is why I got the license? Frankly speaking I just wanna know how hard using this pieces of equipment, and I asked my supervisor, he agreed then go head. I trained for a month (of course in my spare times), then I go to written and practical test. 100% passed the test! (-seperti biasa pengen menjadi engineer lain daripada yang lain)

Talking about loader, loader is heavy equipment for loading and hauling in underground mine which has “unique” driving position. It’s totally different from any loader for civil or surface mine. This loader is designed shorter for anticipating underground work area which is tight and limited. The most interesting thing is the operator position is oblique relative to forward or backward, this mean give the operator “same perception” while moving forward or backward. There are 3 loader type (for elphinstone) in FMI, 1600G which can load 10.2 tones, 1700G which can load 12.5 tons and 2900G which can load 20 tons.
I grab my masker and go to 2815/L Rail Access for mucking for 2.5 hours.
Selesainya dari lapangan, at 06.00PM already, I parked my LHD at back office then come back to my room. Eng ing eng… kepala saya berasa berputar dan pusing.
Duduk di meja sembari membuka email, tiba-tiba jackpot (muntah-red) :D
Ternyata I am not superman, beberapa kelelahan-kesibukan minggu terakhir plus mengoperasikan loader (yang notabene di daerah berdebu dan kurang oksigen) plus hari ini nggak makan nasi dari pagi, membuat fisik sedikit drop hehehehehe
Alhasil: sebagian waktu di hari minggu ini dihabiskan di tempat tidur sembari mem-post tulisan ini.

TEMBAGAPURA

Kota Tembagapura tuh kecil, dari ujung ke ujung palingan cuma sekitar 1.5 kilometer.
Terdiri dari komplek perumahan, barak-barak karyawan, Masjid, Gereja, swalayan, sport hall, perkantoran.
Di Tembagapura di bagi beberapa daerah-daerah yang diberi nama seperti Amole, Palapa, Bukit barat, dan lain-lain.

Yah, di sinilah aku menghabiskan sebagian besar waktu selama 3 tahun terakhir :)

16 hours in underground

Malam semakin larut, tapi kehidupan di sini masih hiruk pikuk. Underground tidak akan pernah tidur, walaupun dia kelelahan menanggung sekian ribu orang yang bergantung padanya. Kesibukan jobsite ini dengan setia menemani saya, dimulai dengan 04.00 dikala mentari belum menampakkan senyumnya, hingga datanglah kesibukan di kantor, telpon berdering, email-email yang memerlukan response, action item meeting, beberapa design yang butuh revisi dan approval, control station survey lapangan yang membuat boots dan coverall nyaris tidak pernah bersih dan sejumlah problem dari client yang harus dihadapi. Dan kemudian senja pun tiba, suasana berganti, tetapi tetap dalam hiruk pikuknya underground yang selalu terjaga.

Semua hiruk pikuk itu baru berakhir di penghujung hari, ketika saya meluangkan waktu untuk diri sendiri, seperti saat ini. Yang tersisa adalah kesunyian di penghujung hari, bercampur rasa lelah, penat, dan sedikit pegal-pegal. Dalam kesunyian itu sebuah sosok tiba-tiba berkelebat di benak, menggoda rindu. Membawa saya kembali ke angan tak berujung yang tak terengkuh...

Thanks to meja kerjaku yang hari ini selama 16 jam menemani hariku di UG

GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) at GVD 3 void heading

Last Wednesday (03 June 09), I had a chance for monitoring the ground condition inspection by Geotech FI, because from the last inspection conducted by Christ said in GVD 3 North from XC 8 lot of void inside the current rock.

Currently I worked at GVD Project, GVD mean Grasberg Ventilation Decline which the goal of this projects are:

• Accelerate the schedule for the development and production of the Grasberg Block Cave Mine.
• Establishes access for the Grasberg Block Cave Mine Development.
• Provides alternative access and materials handling while the AB Adits are closed for rail installation.
• Provides increased geological knowledge for the excavation and construction of the Grasberg Infrastructure.
• Provides ventilation during the development phases of the Grasberg Block Cave Mine.
We drive currently 3 Tunnels where are straight ahead to North and 1 active heading to Exhaust Access. Look at the picture below regarding on orientation of heading location.

GPR is a geophysical instrument that is nondestructive and produces a continuous cross-sectional profile of different subsurface features. It is often used to investigate subsurface conditions and features such as the depth to bedrock, different soil layers and subsurface voids. Subsurface profiles are collected by towing the radar instrument over the ground surface and observing the underlying geologic features as profiles on a computer screen.

The electrical conductivity of the subsurface materials is one of two factors determining the depth to which the radar waves can penetrate. In low conductivity materials, such as dry sand or granite, deeper depths may be obtained. In highly conductivity materials, such as clay and shale, the radar waves are attenuated and absorbed, which greatly decreases the depth of penetration. The frequency of the radar antenna is the other factor determining the depth to which the radar waves can penetrate. Antennas with low frequencies (100 MHz) have lower resolutions but obtain reflections from deeper depths, about 10 to 30 meters, while higher frequency antennas (500 MHz) have greater resolution but less depth penetration. GPR operates by transmitting pulses of radio waves down into the ground through an antenna. The transmitted energy is reflected from contacts between different earth materials. When the transmitted signal enters the ground, it contacts subsurface strata with different electrical conductivities and dielectric constants. Portions of the radar waves are reflected off a subsurface interface, while the rest of the waves pass through to the next interface. The digital control unit receives the reflected waves after they
have returned through the antenna. The control unit registers the reflections against a two-way travel time, then amplifies the signals and sends them to a computer. The computer takes the output signals, representing reflected surfaces, and plots them on the radar profile as different color bands.
Why the Geotech used the GPR methods?
Ground penetrating radar locates almost anything underground
Ground penetrating radar makes an underground "picture"
GeoModel, Inc. conducts ground penetrating radar surveys anywhere in the world
Low cost ground penetrating radar surveys
Geotech conducts ground penetrating radar surveys with various frequencies. Depths of ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be as deep as 30 to 40 feet (10 to 15 meters) in sandy or silty soils, using a low frequency ground penetrating radar antenna. A higher frequency antenna can examine the near surface, from 0 to 10 feet (0 to 3 meters), in great detail.

The result: 16 – 20 m ahead of current heading, it’s defined as fractured rock zone with lenses of void. Fractured zone could be shears zone (?) or fault zone (?), which associate with water .
Not much clay content observed at the heading, but the rock mass is very fragile as blocky material within shears zone.
There is no potential squeezing on this area.

Based on information from Hydrology, refer to Drill hole CI3 04-01, the water around the heading will decrease in time.
For geographic reference I did survey pick up into sounding location by total station with resection mode.

Underground Survey

Guys,
In this posting I gonna explain about Tunnel Surveying which I only ‘try’ joining surveyor for a few fields as built (you know what I mean? Don’t trust my posting bellow completely). This job is really different with the other survey activity, because the surveyor here has to deal with confined space, and absolutely deal with very short sight. Surveyors are used to carrying a lot of stuff. To do our work efficiently we need plumb bobs, prisms and plumbing poles, measuring tapes, paint, stakes, hammers, field books, calculators and data collectors, transit, Total Station, tripod, radios...
From the office usually we are use to using Mine Cat, an underground equipment for carrying crew to the heading/face tunnel with basket boom for reaching some high level in addition the UG survey activity need it.

In here, actually has general standard survey methods, there are: Geodetic Standard Local Stations & Bench Mark, Permanent Survey Station (PSS) Establishment, Projection Scale Factor, Networks, tolerance on progression, Horizontal Angular Closure Tolerance, and Horizontal Closure Tolerance.

Common survey activity in UG are:
1.1. Survey Face Marks
· New Excavations: All new excavations will be marked by surveyor in red paint, consisting of left rib, centre line, right rib, grade line across the face @1.5m above design floor, back sights marked on opposite rib. The centre line will also be painted across the backs with the high is able to be reached with a paint pole.
· 2nd Advancement: After firing and screening the first round, surveyor will mark up the next as per a new excavation extending the center along the backs.
· Recording: All excavation marks made by survey will be recorded and checked against the design, before the excavation can be blasted.

1.2. Drift Lasers
· McGarf Laser: The McGarf laser will be installed where every practical to provide line and level for the jumbo drill development crews.
· Standards: The standard positioning of the laser will be nominally at 1.5m to the design floor and 1.0m from the left drift.
· Blasting: The McGarf laser will only be installed after the blasting face position is greater then 8m from the installation position.
· Checking: The laser direction will be checked by PTRI survey after every 20m of development.
· Accuracy: The McGarf lasers will only be used for drifts less than 60m in length, lasers alignment can not be guaranteed after this distance.
· Testing: A baseline of >30m will be established near the Big Gossan workings for the checking of all McGarf Laser before use. All lasers will be checked and certified by the PTRI surveyors and recorded on a monthly basis.

1.3. Daily Survey Control
· Main Headings and Secondary Headings. The Survey Crew will get heading advancement of all blasted faces in the previous 24hrs;
· As Constructed Surveys. Survey will use a Total Station to scan the face, back, floor and ribs on a regular basic, with advancement not exceeding 20m;
· Profile Survey of the heading face. The profile survey will be completed during the as constructed survey period;

royn's helm

take alook ;)
inilah helm royn ketika masih jadi anak bawang…. Heheh so clear yah…… (liat deh stikernya *Underground diver* hehehe never loose my marine instinc yah)

And.. inilah helm royn after 1 year…. Wuueez udah kucel karena asap underground n gesekan2 lainnya….

Tapi kalo diliat2 gaul juga khan?? Ada bendera canada, oz n indo,,,, oiya ada juga stiker souvenir penelitianku dulu Landsat

*mungkin ada yang bertanya2 yah sebenernya apa sih kotak biru dihelmku itu?
Itu namanya proximity detector, ketika pake unit ini posisi kita akan diketahui oleh operator alat berat di tunnel underground, sehingga bisa menghindari kita dari tertabrak alat2 berat. Alat ini memancarkan frequensi sekitar 250 KHz, ke instrument CAS yang ada di heavy equipment underground. Kurang lebih prinsip kerjanya serupa dengan GPS.

Inspeksi Tunnel Upper Big Gossan

Hari ini aku mendapat line up untuk inspeksi ground support underground tunnel di Upper Big Gossan… sehabis mengerjakan daily round count dan daily development report, aku langsung menyiapkan masker, savox (self oxygen rescue), Google, Disto (digital measurement meter dgn laser)..
For your information, jalan di tunnel underground merupakan aktivitas yang penuh resiko, bagaimana tidak, kita berjalan di confined space, penuh kegelapan, sedikit oksigen (Karena sumber udara hanya melalui fan motor), ditambah lagi dengan kendaraan berat yang lalu lalang,,, tetapi semua resiko diatas tentu dapat dihindari dengan menggunakan tools yang proper…

Aku berjalan ke 3140/L Incline dengan grade 15%, lumayan terjal juga yah… cape juga yah…
Setelah selesai ngukur2,,, balik ke kantor dan cek email….. aku smile……..

*Someone has sent me e-ticket from Cairns……
Yuuuuhhuuuuy ma first abroad……………