Project Definition
Our client, an Australian gold producer wanted to support their industry-leading mining practices with a well-managed database and streamlined processes including automated reports. Migrating to maxgeo’s data management and logging solutions was instrumental in achieving these results.
The Challenge
Prior to the migration, the gold producer was manually logging drilling inputs in Excel and managing their stored data with a decade-old version of DataShed, which lacked many of the latest release’s efficiency and quality control measures.
The Solution
Bidding farewell to spreadsheets and opening the door to maxgeo’s data management solutions enabled better data collection and administration.
“There were three of us involved in the migration,” says maxgeo Database Administrator Karen Thompson. “Naresh Verma, LogChief Software Developer, Tom and myself. The project began in October 2020. Basically, we took the old database, mapped it out and moved everything over. We also set the client up with DataShed5, saving time with automated reports and LogChief, so they didn’t have to enter everything manually.”
When using LogChief, the validation parameters become an automatic part of the logging process, ensuring that there are no errors, duplications or omissions as the information goes into the database. Under the new system, data is also synchronised and backed up automatically, meaning that an administrator is no longer required for maintenance, exports and reports – everything is done immediately by DataShed5.
“Previously, only one person in the client’s office could see database and handle exports,” says Karen. “Now anyone can do it, provided they have permission.”
The migration was an unusual job, largely due to the fact that the client elected to continue hosting their own data.
“We usually tend to have on-premise clients and cloud based clients,” Karen explains. “This job was a bit of a hybrid – instead of having us manage their databases in the maxgeo cloud based solutions environment, they wanted to use their own servers.”
In the beginning, Karen was travelling to the client’s office once a week for regular catch-ups, which helped the maxgeo team build confidence. Now that everything is installed, Karen touches base with the client for half an hour once a week to ensure everything is up to date. She will often use a remote desktop to access the client’s systems and collaborate practically.
“It’s a bit like starting with the training wheels on and taking them off gradually,” she says, with a laugh. “Now they can stand on their own two feet – they have all the software set up and can run imports and exports by themselves, but our support team is here as needed.”
The Outcome
Updating to maxgeo’s data management and logging solutions streamlined processes, saving time, and improved the quality of information available for business decision-making.
The maxgeo team was very keen to accommodate all client requirements. Other custom requests included having DataShed’s general intercept calculator run automatically, once a day, and bespoke data fields for reporting. “The main thing they wanted to do was get away from Excel and modernise the whole process. They’ve done that now, and they’re very happy with the results.”
