Our host, Jon Peterson (Geo Jon for fun), works for the Products division as a Customer Service Representative. Jon graduated from the University of Utah in 2015 with his Bachelors of Science in Geology. He’s worked for Boart Longyear for the last two and a half years and interned as a geologist with an exploration company for about six months prior to coming to work for Boart Longyear. Jon has been married for a year and a half and in his free time enjoys trail running, hiking, working on his yard, spending time with family, and playing with his black lab Dexter. 

We would love to hear your questions and comments below. Thanks for listening and if you liked this episode, share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

Our host, Jon Peterson (Geo Jon for fun), works for the Products division as a Customer Service Representative. Jon graduated from the University of Utah in 2015 with his Bachelors of Science in Geology. He’s worked for Boart Longyear for the last two and a half years and interned as a geologist with an exploration company for about six months prior to coming to work for Boart Longyear. Jon has been married for a year and a half and in his free time enjoys trail running, hiking, working on his yard, spending time with family, and playing with his black lab Dexter. 

We would love to hear your questions and comments below. Thanks for listening and if you liked this episode, share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

In a recent article published by National Driller and entitled, “Tips for Situational Awareness to Keep Drilling Jobs Safer,” Brock Yordy, a global drill trainer and consultant, states, “If we know what is dangerous and respect it, we can minimize the possibility for failure that leads to injury or death. Reducing risk or tragedy depends on situational awareness of the entire job.”

Mr. Yordy shared with us that during his career he has worked on several Boart Longyear sites in North America and Latin America. Along with these and other exciting career experiences, he’s learned a lot about understanding ones surroundings to best adapt thinking and behavior and create a safer working environment.

This informative article continues with a number of insights and beneficial tips to guide drillers through recognizing what hazards are present and the actions they can take to keep them and their crews safe. Points made include understanding the environment, conditions, weather, and consideration of local wildlife. Next, drillers need to adhere to consistent practices, trying not to introduce variables that could catch people off guard.

“The risk area around rotating drill rods is the first that gets taken for granted.” This truth often leads to trouble in the field and allows Mr. Yordy to introduce observations and more helpful information that drillers should consider.

We recommend reading the full article, “Tips for Situational Awareness to Keep Drilling Jobs Safer,” written by Brock Yordy and published on National Driller’s website.

Boart Longyear employs progressive and effective safety programs to protect the health and safety of our employees, contractors, and visitors at all of our sites and facilities. The company enjoys a unique position as not only are we a pioneer of innovative equipment, but through our Drilling Services division we also get to use the equipment in the field and experience firsthand what is needed to get the job done right. Safety tips are continually shared and situations monitored to educate and cultivate an interdependent safety culture.

Please share your safety tips by clicking on the gray discussion bar below.

Boart Longyear has been working at Olympic Dam as part of a long term agreement with BHP Billiton. As the operation continues to grow, improved productivity and safety is demanded for exploitation of newly defined ore zones. Boart Longyear has answered this need by developing drilling technologies and methods for improved diamond core drilling.

The past introduction of rod-handlers, by Boart Longyear, reduced drilling contractors’ exposure to the manual handling of rods, leading to limited occurrences of hand injuries. Boart Longyear also participated in a study involving rig-moves which resulted in improved site move time by 11 percent. Now Boart Longyear has developed and implemented the Drill Control Interface (DCi) to increase the efficiency, productivity and safety of the LM series of underground diamond core drill rigs.

Increase productivity of underground diamond core drilling

Boart Longyear provides diamond core drilling services at the Olympic Dam mine site. Diamond drilling is used to extract rock samples (core) for analysis of the Olympic Dam ore body geometry and to collect geochemical information which will be used to create block models for planning and extraction of future resources.

Boart Longyear was able to introduce the DCi to not only increase productivity, but to also enhance safety for the drilling contractors.

DCi increases meters drilled

Over a six month period (May – October 2013) Boart Longyear used an LM75 drill rig with the DCi to drill a total of 5,726.3 meters using a BQTK size diamond core bit. This was an increase of 907.7 meters drilled over the previous six month average, which resulted in a unit cost improvement of $2.90 per meter average and monthly productivity increase of 13.5 percent.

With the deepest hole depth of 700 meters drilled on site, the DCi allowed Boart Longyear to continue drilling during crib breaks and shift change over. This is possible because the DCi incorporates a programmable logic control (PLC) system where a supervisor can pre-set parameters for drilling. These parameters create a semi-autonomous drill system allowing the LM75 to achieve a three meter run in absence of a driller.

The DCi PLC system results in fewer hoses, less leaks and clutter around the drill. A supervisor can set drilling parameters for inexperienced operators and an auto shutdown will occur when a drill run ends or programmed parameters are exceeded. Also a laser proximity will shut down the rig when breached — keeping drillers at a safe distance at all times.

A fully electronic user interface means the DCi has a lighter and more portable control cabinet compared to hydraulic controls. The 50 kilogram (110.23 lb) weight difference and the limited number of components allows drillers to move the unit easier and faster. There are only three plugs to disconnect from the DCi and no hydraulic hoses.

The PLC allows one push of a button for unattended drilling. By drilling within the pre-set parameters set by a supervisor, the LM75 can achieve greater equipment life and greater productivity from inexperienced drillers. Also, an auto rod feed and pull system results in less manual handling and a hands-free wireline descent.

The DCi provides real time key performance data which is recorded, stored and easily downloaded for quick analysis. This current information allows a driller to make adjustments to the drill rig increasing productivity on the go. Because the DCi provides significant instrumentation data, a system diagnostic can be run to determine rig performance, operator performance and can detect early equipment failure.