David Gasparello Guidini

Personal & career background

I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and now live in Perth, Australia. I am an engineer who enjoys solving complex problems by connecting operations, systems and data. Outside work, I enjoy spending time with my family, photography, home automation and experimenting with technology.

I studied Petroleum Engineering at Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, graduating in 2009.

One of the experiences that shaped the way I work today was my time as a Drilling Engineer at NOV – National Oilwell Varco. I worked with drilling and vibration data, combining sensor information with operational parameters to identify the root causes of performance problems.

That experience taught me something I still apply today: the answer is usually somewhere in the data, but finding it depends on asking the right questions and understanding the operation behind the numbers.

Over time, my career evolved from engineering into operational systems, data integration and mining technology. This combination of engineering, operations and technology now plays an important role in how I approach Centric and MineMarket projects at Datamine.

Challenges, projects & learnings 

Can you describe a project you delivered at Datamine that best showcases your expertise?

The project that best represents my expertise is my current work supporting the Centric solution at a major mining company.

The engagement continues to evolve and encompasses solution design, system upgrades, production data management, reconciliation, reporting, operational workflows and integration with other mining systems.

A significant part of my work involves understanding how information moves through the mining process – from production activities and blasted material to stockpiles and subsequent material movements – and ensuring that Centric accurately represents those processes.

The project combines several areas that reflect my broader experience: mining operations, solution architecture, SQL and data analysis, business process design, troubleshooting and direct engagement with operational users.

It is the type of project where technical expertise and operational understanding must work together continuously.

What was your role in the project?

I work as the primary Centric consultant on the project, acting as a bridge between the operational teams, technical teams and the Centric solution.

I am responsible for understanding operational requirements, designing and configuring workflows, analysing data issues, supporting system upgrades, developing SQL and reporting solutions, troubleshooting production problems and recommending improvements to the overall solution.

I am also directly involved in determining how operational processes should be represented within Centric. This includes analysing material movement and production workflows, identifying where incorrect information is being introduced, reviewing reconciliation behaviour, and designing simpler and more controlled processes to prevent recurring issues.

An important part of my role is not simply implementing what has been requested. I must understand the operational reason behind each requirement and assess its potential impact across the wider system before making a change.

This end-to-end perspective is particularly important in production systems because what appears to be a small change in one workflow can affect grades, stockpiles, reconciliation, reporting and downstream processes.

What made this project challenging?

The main challenge is the complexity of the operation and the number of interconnected processes and systems involved.

In a mining production system, a seemingly minor change can affect material movements, grades, stockpiles, reconciliation, reporting and downstream systems. Some issues only become visible much later in the process. Identifying their original cause therefore requires an understanding of the complete operational and data chain, rather than simply investigating the final symptom.

There are also situations where human input or legacy workflows introduce incorrect or incomplete information. Instead of correcting individual records, we need to determine why the errors are occurring and redesign parts of the workflow to prevent them from recurring.

This requires combining system knowledge with operational understanding: examining the data, establishing what physically happened in the mine, tracing how the information moved through Centric and identifying where the process diverged from reality.

The most valuable lesson for other mining teams is that solving data problems requires looking beyond the data itself. You must understand the operational processes that create the information.

Another important lesson is to simplify wherever possible. The more manual decisions, duplicated information and data-entry points a process contains, the greater the risk of inconsistencies.

How did the project improve the client’s or operation’s way of working?

The project is progressively improving how production information is captured, validated and used across the operation.

Moving towards more structured and controlled workflows reduces unnecessary manual intervention and makes the source of operational information clearer. This gives users greater confidence in the information used for production reporting and reconciliation, directly supporting better decision-making.

It is also improving planning and execution discipline by creating a clearer connection between what was planned, what physically occurred in the operation and how that activity was recorded in the system.

The team is progressively adopting improved Centric workflows, more structured forms, automated data processing and better integration between operational information and reporting.

Another important improvement is the ability to identify problems closer to their source. Rather than repeatedly correcting downstream reporting or reconciliation issues, the focus is increasingly shifting towards improving the processes that generate the information in the first place.

The overall objective is to make Centric more than a place where operational data is stored. It should provide a reliable representation of what is actually happening in the mine.

How does this project experience influence the way you support Datamine customers today?

My ongoing work at this major mining company strongly influences how I approach other Datamine customer engagements.

I always try to understand the operation before configuring the software. Two mines may perform similar activities but have very different processes, responsibilities and operational constraints. Understanding how people actually work is therefore essential before designing a workflow.

I also consider solutions from end to end. A change to a form or workflow can influence material movements, grades, reconciliation, reporting, integrations and future processes, so I consider these dependencies before implementing any changes.

The engagement continues to reinforce the importance of working closely with operational users. Some of the best improvements come from combining their practical knowledge of the mine with our understanding of Centric, MineMarket, data and system behaviour. Neither side has the complete picture in isolation.

It has also reinforced the importance of root-cause analysis. When something is wrong in a report or reconciliation result, correcting the final number is rarely enough. I want to understand where the information originated, which operational event created it, how it travelled through the system and why the expected process failed.

Ultimately, this work continues to reinforce something I strongly believe: successful mining technology projects are not primarily about software. They are about improving the connection between people, operational processes and reliable information so that better decisions can be made.

Beyond the work

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

Outside work, I enjoy spending time with my family, photography, home automation and experimenting with technology.