Update activity areas

Activity areas are the spatial building blocks of a short-term plan in XECUTE. Each area defines where a specific activity—such as mining, drilling, or blasting—will occur. Once created, an activity area becomes a scheduled task in the Gantt chart, where resources perform the work at defined production rates. Without activity areas, you can’t schedule or track progress.

Activity areas bridge the gap between design and execution. They allow you to translate operational intent into actionable tasks that reflect real-world conditions. You create them whenever you need to model work that isn’t yet represented in the schedule (for example, after rolling the schedule forward or when new grade control data becomes available).

You can create activity areas in two ways:

• Draw them directly in the 3D scene for full control over shape and location.

• Convert existing spatial objects—such as feature layer polygons, grade control shapes, or schedule guidance—into activity areas.

Frequency of creating activity areas

Create activity areas whenever you need to keep the schedule aligned with reality. Common scenarios include:

• Rolling the schedule forward: After updating the planning horizon, add areas for work that now falls within scope.

• Grade control or design updates: When new shapes or solids are imported, convert them into activity areas so they can be scheduled.

• Operational changes: For example, adding new pushbacks, ramps, or rehandle areas that weren’t in the previous plan.

Before you begin

Check these prerequisites to avoid errors and rework:

• Update spatial data: Load the latest topography and pit limits so new areas have the correct roof elevation and boundaries.

• Verify mining levels: Ensure the levels you’ll assign to new areas exist in Config.

• Confirm activity definitions: Activities such as Mining, Drilling, and Charging must be set up in Config with correct properties (e.g., Moves Material, number of slices).

• Import supporting data: If you plan to convert objects, make sure the latest grade control shapes, feature layers, or guidance files are available.

• Know the real-world context: Understand the bench, depth, and footprint of the work you’re modelling to avoid unrealistic shapes.