Quick Start
This guide walks you through using Kirra Scheduler for the first time – from opening the app to having a working drill and blast schedule.
Step 1: Open the App
Open Kirra Scheduler in your browser. On first launch, a startup dialog asks:
- Load Example Data – Populates the scheduler with sample blasts, drill rigs, MPUs, ancillary equipment, and personnel so you can explore immediately.
- Start From Scratch – Begins with an empty schedule. Choose this when you want to set up your own site-specific data from the start.
Screenshot coming soon
If you choose “Load Example Data”, you will see the Gantt Schedule tab with some example blasts already loaded. Take a moment to look around:
- The header at the top shows the app logo, a colourblind toggle (CB), a light/dark theme toggle, and an Export button.
- The tab bar lets you switch between views: Gantt Schedule, Blast Overview, Pattern Library, Explosive Forecast, Conformance, Equipment, and Import / DXF.
- The stats cards show totals for blasts, volume, explosive, drill meters, and effective rig hours.
Step 2: Set Up Your Equipment
Before scheduling, define what equipment you have available.
- Click the EQUIPMENT tab.
- You will see five sections: Drill Fleet, MPU Fleet (loading trucks), Ancillary Equipment (dozers, graders, excavators, loaders, rollers), Personnel, and Maintenance Schedule.
- Click Add Drill to add each of your drill rigs. For each rig, enter:
- A name and ID (e.g., “PV271-01”)
- Rig type (e.g., “PV271” or “D65”)
- Minimum and maximum hole diameter it can drill (in mm)
- Penetration rate in metres per hour (m/hr)
- If a drill has upcoming maintenance, add the date range and reason. The scheduler will warn you if drilling is planned during maintenance.
- Add your MPUs (emulsion loading trucks) with their daily loading capacity in kg. You can assign multiple MPUs to a single blast – the scheduler sums their rates to calculate loading duration.
- Add your ancillary equipment (dozers, graders, loaders, excavators, rollers) for pattern preparation work. These are assigned to blasts in the Pattern Preparation section of the blast form.
- Add your personnel with their roles and drill certifications.
Screenshot coming soon
Tip: See the Equipment page for full details on each equipment type.
Step 3: Add Your First Blast
- Switch to the GANTT SCHEDULE tab.
- Click the + Add Blast button in the settings bar.
- Fill in the blast details:
- Name – Give it a unique name (e.g., “S4_226_410_V1”)
- Pattern Preparation (optional) – Set a prep start date, duration (days), and assign ancillary equipment (excavators, loaders, dozers, graders, rollers) for floor prep work before drilling
- Drill Start – When drilling should begin
- Start Time – What time of day drilling starts (e.g., 06:00)
- D65 / PV Meters – How many metres of each hole type need to be drilled
- Volume and Explosive Mass – The blast’s volume (bcm) and expected explosive (kg)
- Assigned Drills – Which rigs will work on this blast (multi-select)
- Assigned MPUs – Which loading trucks to use (multi-select). Assigning multiple MPUs proportionally reduces loading time by summing their daily rates.
- Click Save. The blast appears on the Gantt chart and the dependency engine automatically calculates the loading start and blast date.
Repeat for each blast in your schedule.
Screenshot coming soon
Tip: If you already have blast data in Kirra Blast Design, you can import it directly. See Step 7.
Above the Gantt chart you will find the settings bar. Adjust these to match your site:
| Setting |
What It Does |
| Plan Start |
The first date shown on the timeline |
| Gantt Weeks |
How many weeks to display |
| Rig Hours |
Scheduled operating hours per day (typically 24 for continuous ops) |
| Availability |
What fraction of the time is the rig available (e.g., 0.85 = 85%) |
| Utilisation |
What fraction of available time is the rig actually drilling (e.g., 0.75 = 75%) |
These three values combine into Effective Hours/Day (shown on the stats card). This is used to convert penetration rates into actual metres drilled per day:
Effective m/day per rig = Pen Rate (m/hr) x Rig Hours x Availability x Utilisation
Step 5: Set Up Dependencies
Dependencies control the cascade between drilling, loading, and blasting. In the settings bar:
| Setting |
What It Means |
| Drill % for Load |
How much drilling must be done before loading can start. Set to 0% to allow loading immediately, or 80% to require most drilling complete first. |
| Drill % for Blast |
How much drilling must be done before the blast can fire. Usually 100%. |
| Min Lead Days |
Minimum gap between loading completion and blast date (e.g., 1 day for safety checks). |
Click Recalc Dates after changing these. The loading and blasting dates will automatically adjust.
See the Dependencies page for a full explanation of the dependency engine.
Step 6: Work With the Gantt Chart
The Gantt chart has four collapsible sections – PATTERN PREP, DRILLING, LOADING, and BLASTING. Here is how to interact with it:
Move a Schedule
Click and drag any bar left or right to shift its dates. Drilling bars will cascade changes to loading and blasting. If you drag a loading or blast bar to a date that breaks a dependency, a warning triangle will appear.
Edit a Blast
Click the small pencil icon to the left of any blast name, or right-click and select Edit Blast.
Split Drilling into Blocks
For large blasts where you want to schedule different rigs at different times:
- Right-click the blast name in the DRILLING section
- Select Split Drill – this creates two blocks (A and B) splitting the meters 50/50
- Each block gets its own row with its own bar that you can drag independently
- Click the pencil icon on a block row to open the Block Editor where you can:
- Reassign specific drills to each block
- Set per-drill penetration rates
- Adjust how many metres each block covers
- Change start dates and times
- To add more blocks, right-click again and select Add Block
- To undo the split, right-click and select Merge Blocks
See the Drill Blocks page for full details.
Collapse Sections
Click any section header (PATTERN PREP, DRILLING, LOADING, BLASTING) to hide or show its rows. Useful when you only want to focus on one phase.
Hold Shift or Alt while scrolling the mouse wheel to scroll the chart sideways.
Screenshot coming soon
See the Gantt Chart page for a complete reference.
Step 7: Import Data from Kirra
If you use Kirra Blast Design, you can import your project directly:
Option A: Kirra Project (.kirra / .json)
- Click the IMPORT / DXF tab
- In the Kirra Scheduler Project Import section, drag and drop your
.kirra or .json project file
- The importer will extract your blast holes, group them by entity name, and calculate drill meters, hole types, and explosive estimates
- Surfaces and solids are preserved for 3D playback
- A preview dialog shows the imported blasts – review them and click Confirm to add them to your schedule
- Switch back to the Gantt tab and assign drills, set dates, and adjust as needed
Option B: Kirra Application Project (.kap)
- Click the IMPORT / DXF tab
- In the Kirra Application Project (.kap) section, drag and drop your
.kap file
- The importer extracts surfaces (pit shells), blast holes, drawings, and charge configurations
- The import log shows progress and a summary of what was loaded
- Switch to the 3D PLAYBACK tab to see your pit shell surfaces rendered in 3D
See the Import / Export page for all supported formats.
Step 8: View in 3D
After importing spatial data (surfaces from a .kap or .kirra file):
- Click the 3D PLAYBACK tab
- The pit shell surfaces render with elevation-gradient colouring
- Use the sidebar to toggle surface visibility and adjust opacity
- Click Top, Iso, or 3D for camera presets
- Use the timeline controls at the bottom to step through the schedule day by day
Screenshot coming soon
See the 3D Playback page for full details on the 3D viewer.
Step 9: Export Your Schedule
Click the Export button in the header. Two formats are available:
- Kirra Gantt Project (.kgp) – Saves the complete scheduler state, including spatial data for 3D playback. Can be re-imported to fully restore the schedule.
- CSV – A spreadsheet-friendly summary of all blasts with key metrics.
See the Import / Export page for details on each format.
Tips
- Dark mode / Light mode – Click the sun/moon icon in the header to switch. Your preference is remembered. See Theming.
- Colourblind mode – Click the CB button for a deuteranopia-safe palette that replaces red/green with magenta/blue.
- Dependency connectors – Green arrows between sections show the dependency chain. They turn red if a dependency is breached.
- Maintenance warnings – If a drill is scheduled during its maintenance window, the affected dates are highlighted red and a warning icon appears.
- Blast Overview tab – Shows a summary table of all blasts with key metrics and a calendar view. You can drag patterns from the Pattern Library onto blast rows to assign them.
- Pattern Library tab – Manages drill and blast pattern definitions. Add, edit, copy, and import/export patterns via CSV. See Pattern Library.
- Explosive Forecast tab – Shows projected weekly explosive consumption across your schedule. See Explosive Forecast.
- Conformance tab – Track planned vs actual volumes. Import actuals via CSV or query from Snowflake, CData, OData, or generic REST APIs. See Conformance.
- 3D Playback – Import a
.kap file from the Kirra App to see your pit shell surfaces in 3D. The timeline lets you animate the schedule day by day.
- Calendar Export – Export your schedule as iCal (.ics) or calendar CSV for Outlook, Google Calendar, or other calendar apps.
- KAP files – These are ZIP archives containing data. They can be large (80 MB+ surfaces) so import may take 30-60 seconds for production sites.
Contributing
Kirra Scheduler is an open-source project and contributions are welcome. If you would like to help:
- Clone the repository from GitHub
- Install dependencies with
npm install
- Start the development server with
npm run dev
- Create a feature branch, make your changes, and open a pull request
Areas where help is especially needed include: pattern preparation dependency integration, ancillary equipment scheduling conflict detection, undo/redo support, Gantt print/PDF export, crew rostering, automated testing, and accessibility improvements.
For questions, feature requests, or to discuss contributions, open an issue on the GitHub repository.