A copper smelter in Southern Africa could not consistently meet its daily blister copper target.

Five charges a day was a good day; six was always out of reach. No formal schedule existed, and poor communication left molten copper cooling in the aisle.

• Built a 'perfect day' schedule with plant managers, timing every task and enforcing it
• Improved coordination of ladle movement between the Ausmelt and converters
• Added pre-start checklists, a KPI database and weekly action-item management

Hit the six-charge target, occasionally seven, and adopted a continuous improvement mindset.