Want to know a bit more about the people behind Maptek? This month, meet Molly Ison out of our Denver, Colorado office as a part of our 60 seconds with series.
Position: Technical Services Engineer
Background/expertise: Software development, Python scripting
Years of mining experience: 5 years
Joined Maptek: April 2014
Q: What got you into mining?
A: I had experience as an engineering software developer, and after getting a Master’s degree at Colorado School of Mines (CSM) in mineral and energy economics, I wanted to work with mining engineering software.
Q: Why did you decide to join Maptek?
A: I was fortunate—the recruiting company that Maptek was working with contacted me at a time when I was open to new opportunities. I was already interested in Maptek because I wanted to work in mining, and Vulcan, our mine planning, design, and geology software, stood out as being a more comprehensive solution that applied to more areas of the industry than other mining software packages.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The variety of projects and the opportunities to learn new skills. The ability to get immediate feedback from clients and help them with their most pressing needs.
Q: How do you leverage your background as a developer in your current role?
A: One of my main roles in technical services is writing scripts for clients to speed up and simplify their workflows. The client explains what they want to do at a high level, and I translate that into commands that Vulcan understands.
Q: What major projects have you been working on recently?
A: Some of my projects have included grade control post-processing, blast movement modelling, and enabling clients to do surface mapping in the field with a tablet.
Q: Do you have any key lessons you’ve learned in your career that you’d like to share?
A: If you want to try something new, start learning it! Let others know that you’re interested and ask to be involved.
Q: What do you think is the next big thing in mining technology?
A: Increasing autonomy and decision making capabilities in all types of mining and scanning equipment.
Q: Any tips for our readers?
A: If you work with triangulations, try the new Model > Triangle Utility > Expand functionality when it comes out in Version 12.0 of Vulcan. It will help with creating a boundary or buffer around an existing triangulation in a single step.
Did you miss the last 60 seconds with post? You can check it out here: Meet Maureen Moore.
Caitlin Cerra
Marketing Content Specialist
June 6, 2019
For additional information about Maptek, including use of the Maptek logo, product images and reproduction of case studies, please direct inquiries to Global Marketing Communications Manager jane.ball@maptek.com.au
