Case study · Mining & Metals
Gold producer raises ore throughput 24% with an operating system for mine and mill
An intermediate North American gold producer lost availability to weak mobile maintenance and an unmanaged mine-to-mill interface. USC built management operating systems for maintenance, mine production and the mine-to-mill interface.
Results
24%
increase in ore throughput over baseline
18%+
increase in fleet productivity
40%
reduction in maintenance backlog
Ore throughput also ran 10% over budget.
The situation
The open-pit operation was losing significant time to mobile equipment downtime, and planned and actual work diverged without explanation.
What the assessment found
- Pre-service inspections rarely followed on mobile equipment
- Mine-to-mill problems handled in unstructured meetings
- Production and maintenance supervisors not communicating
- No role-based targets for dispatchers and operators
How the work was done
Maintenance: structure the work
Built a maintenance and mine production management operating system (MOS) with scheduling, work assignment, follow-up and reporting, and trained users on the new disciplines.
40%
reduction in maintenance backlog
Mine-to-mill: manage the interface
Extended the same MOS to the mine-to-mill interface and process plant, with structured problem solving and shift-by-shift coaching.
24%
increase in ore throughput over baseline
Operations: plan every shift
Used the mine plan to build optimized daily and shift schedules, improved cross-department communication and sped parts from warehouse to down equipment.
18%+
increase in fleet productivity
People: set role-based targets
Reviewed and revised performance targets with executives and operational leaders, and rolled out tools to build individual and team skills.
Lasting impact
Changes in the field translated directly to the financial statements: more ore processed than baseline and budget, a smaller maintenance backlog and a more productive fleet.
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