Introduction
In today’s competitive mining landscape, maximising the efficiency of mobile equipment holds significant value. It’s important to ensure that the equipment is being used as effectively and efficiently as possible, which often involves making operational changes. However, implementing changes to operational procedures often requires a significant investment, making it crucial to demonstrate a clear return on investment. It is therefore critical to establish a benchmark and track the value of those changes over time. Tracking value goes beyond simply measuring output. It allows mining companies to identify bottlenecks, optimise resource allocation, minimise downtime, and ultimately, enhance profitability and sustainability. Here’s why we believe in the importance of tracking value:
- Benchmarking provides a starting point
When making changes to mobile mining operations, it’s important to have a starting point from which to measure progress. By establishing a benchmark, you can track performance before and after the changes are made. This can help you identify areas where the changes have had the greatest impact and where further improvements can be made. For instance, before implementing a new dispatching system, establish baseline metrics for key performance indicators (KPIs) such as fuel consumption, cycle times, and equipment utilisation. This will provide a clear understanding of the original performance level and how it compares over time.
- Tracking value ensures accountability
When making changes to mobile mining operations, it’s important to track the value of those changes over time. This ensures that you can hold yourself accountable for the results and make adjustments as needed. By tracking value, you can see whether the changes are having a positive impact on productivity, efficiency, safety, or other key performance indicators. By leveraging data analytics and business intelligence tools, data can be analysed, trends can be identified and actionable insight can be generated. This can help identify areas for improvement, predict potential problems, and optimise operations in real time.
- Value tracking helps justify investments
Making changes to mobile mining operations often requires a significant investment of time, money, and resources. By tracking the value of those changes, you can justify those investments to stakeholders and demonstrate the return on investment. This can help secure funding for future projects and initiatives.
- Continuous improvement requires ongoing tracking
The mining industry is a dynamic environment. Continuous improvement is not just desirable; it’s essential for survival and success. By establishing a benchmark and tracking value, you can identify areas where further improvements can be made and make adjustments as needed. Fostering a data-driven culture where data is collected, analysed, and used to inform operational decisions at all levels, will ensure that the mining operation remains competitive and adaptable to the evolving challenges of the industry.
Conclusion
Establishing a benchmark and tracking value is critical when making changes to mobile mining operations. By doing so, you can measure progress, ensure accountability, justify investments, and drive continuous improvement over time. So if you’re making changes to your mobile mining operations, be sure to establish a benchmark and track the value of those changes to ensure that you’re achieving the best possible outcomes.
