Mining Company
SITUATION
Management at a Canadian crude oil mine needed help to better coordinate all mine activities and resources to continually feed the crushers.
DRIVER GOAL
- Produce 65 million more tons annually at $70 million less annual cost against prior year performance by year end.
RESULT
- Reduced use of contractor labor and equipment by 22%.
- Improved shift “hot changeover” time by over 30 minutes per shift.
- Reduced rental budget by 50%.
Case Study
Implement an Integrated Management System for Mining
Issue
Based on an extensive Discovery and Design engagement at this Canadian crude oil mine, Highland concluded that management needed to better orchestrate all mine activities and coordinate all resources to continually feed the crushers. Contractor costs needed to be controlled and coordinated with all mine activities. Expectations, roles and responsibilities were unclear and supervisors did not demonstrate the necessary skills and behaviors to effectively manage the diverse and expansive coordination activities. Management systems and controls across the site were ineffective and required enhancements. Meetings were ineffective and lacked ownership and accountability.
Highland Approach
The Highland Group partnered with client teams to develop and install customized tools, policies, procedures and training programs focused on driving up productivity while reducing costs.
Actions Taken
- Designed and installed a System For Managing for Mining Operations and short-interval management tools and procedures leading to improved daily/weekly mine plan execution, increased productivity and significant budget savings and contractor cost-avoidance going forward.
- Designed and installed comprehensive equipment rental policies and procedures. First-line supervisors set daily performance expectations for truck and shovel operators and follow-up throughout the day to ensure expectations are being met and identifying and addressing barriers.
- Optimized shift and work schedules through performance-based planning and scheduling, significantly improving coordination of all mine operations and transforming “warring factions” into a smooth, coordinated production execution team.
- Redesigned shift hot changes and operator lunch break procedures, which significantly reduced lost tonnage and surge pile reductions, leading to fee rate reductions to the extraction and processing areas.
