Coal software varies widely depending on what services your firm offers as well as what specific needs best suits your company. Your computer operating system comes into play as you will need software that works with your present system or you will have to upgrade the entire system to fit the software. Make sure that the software is network-ready for multiple sharing over departments and branches.

Many software systems will contain information that you don't need so don't pay for options that do not work for you. Select a software system that will grow with your institution. Alternatively, upgrading your present software with new functions may be the best option if you have a system that is already working for you. Look for these features when choosing coal mining software:

1. Locate the software for coal industry that is right for your mine.

2. Use your current coal industry software with a new twist.

3. Get assistance with your coal analysis software.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate coal software vendors with programs you can use

Software programs come in all shapes and sizes and there is a price tag that goes with that. Check the features of the software you are considering and purchase what your institution needs.

I recommend: Program URL offers mine conveyor software for designing mine conveyor belts. GE Energy offers CoaLogic software system that matches coal quality to market conditions. They customize the software to individual plants for accuracy.

Choose coal mine engineer software updates to the system already in place

If your present software is working for you consider upgrading it to add a few features that you need instead of replacing the entire system. There may be a small charge to upgrade but this would be minimal compared to replacing the entire system. Find out if the new necessary features are available with your present software. Alternatively, choose a software program that adds these features but integrates with the program in place.

I recommend: Coal Soft makes an extensive number of software suites for every aspect of the coal mining industry. From coal production reports to mining permits to risk management these programs fully integrate to eliminate duplicate entries. Micromine offers a suite of coal mining software that fully integrates with each other. They offer a pay-as-you-use program for your convenience.

Select online coal mining programs that have live customer support

The best software in the world is no good to you if you cannot reach someone to answer questions when that need arises. Software has an online guide but sometimes that is not enough when you run into a difficulty. Choose software systems with live customer support features to get the most out of program.

I recommend: Thermo Scientific offers blending software for coal. It can blend up to six sources and runs automatically or manually. They offer customer support via email. Techbase is a complete coal software suite including areas such as coal tasks, mapping, logs, statistics, model data and productivity. Contact them by phone or fax.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When purchasing your coal geology software consider purchasing other business software programs at the same time. Many companies offer a discount for multiple purchases.