Brian Anstey of Stroud International, a solution provider at the marcus evans Global Mining Summit 2014, discusses how to achieve superior performance in mining operations.
“There is a tremendous amount of untapped potential in mining operations,” highlighted Brian Anstey, Principal, Stroud International. “Within the industry most organizations are applying similar strategies and tools, consistent adoption of technology is providing limited differentiation, and talent is increasingly mobile, creating a bunching effect. To separate oneself, it is necessary to think about the opportunity in your operations differently,” Anstey suggests.
From a solution provider company at the marcus evans Global Mining Summit 2014, taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 17-18, Anstey outlines how mining companies can realize a new level of performance.
What untapped potential exists in mining operations and why?
Theoretically, we find that most mines can reduce their costs by 60-70 percent and increase production by more than a factor of five – figures that will likely have our readers rolling their eyes. Each of the hidden opportunities that contribute to this magnitude of opportunity are game-changers that are obscured by industry convention, perceived technical limitations, and organizational beliefs. The conventional approaches being applied today, such as benchmarking, budget analysis, Lean, and Six Sigma are oriented toward looking externally, identifying visible losses and driving incremental improvement. As such, these approaches simply do not reveal opportunities of the magnitude that taking a zero-based or theoretical approach will.
How can mining operations go to that superior level of performance?
The reality is that you will never achieve the theoretical levels of performance I describe – we do not operate in a perfect world. That said, understanding the opportunities that a zero-based approach reveals, extending beyond the visible losses and what is conventionally believed to be possible, is the first step. Then it becomes a question of recognizing the organizational and technical constraints that stand between you and the next level of performance, focusing on the few opportunities that offer disproportionate value to your organization, and pursuing them with rigorous focus and disciplined problem solving.
In operations there is a focus on standards and best practices: these are often interpreted as limits. In actuality, they represent only what is currently achieved, and there is remarkable upside beyond what has been achieved in the past when you employ the process I describe.
What opportunities could you point them to?
Every mine is unique so it is difficult to point to specific opportunities that would be universal. We see tremendous potential in all aspects of operations ranging from processing plant capacity to fleet availability and load factors – energy intensity to capital intensity. We have been able to go into regions where groups of mines have been benchmarked, worked alongside the team of the best performing mine and improved its financial performance by more than 15 percent in a year. That was just on the operational side, of a top performing mine in one of the world’s largest companies.
If you also look at the capital project side, you will find immense opportunities. Many believe that within project design and execution there is an iron triangle of cost, quality and schedule, wherein changing one parameter must impact the other two negatively. That perception often prevents organizations from looking for upside once they get past the initial sanction hurdle rate. The focus then moves to preventing value erosion instead of generating further value from the project. However, it is possible that even the best performers can increase their rate of return by 50-100 percent.
What organizational culture change is needed to make this happen?
The culture change required is not insurmountable but is certainly significant. This is very much an inward-looking approach, seeking and embracing opportunities to strive toward greatness, rather than an outward-looking approach rationalizing performance or imitating best practices. It requires creating a culture that actively challenges the notion of what is possible, systematically identifies and challenges constraints, and pushes the entire organization to focus on the few priorities that are known to – not believed to – have disproportionate impact. These are the founding cultural elements of an organization that is ready to rapidly take a step-change in performance.
By: Brian Anstey
For More Information Contact: Jenny Keane, Marketing Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division
Interview Conducted By: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division
Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: [email protected]
About the Global Mining Summit 2014
This unique forum will take place at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 17-18, 2014. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on mine productivity, automation of the mining process, safety and how to retain a highly skilled and educated workforce.
For more information please send an email to [email protected] or visit the event website at http://www.marcusevans-conferences-northamerican.com/GlobalMining_MiningInsight
About Stroud International
Stroud International specializes in delivering step-change improvements in operations and capital projects. An abundance of untapped, latent opportunity exists in the core processes of each industrial organization. Stroud has built its business around helping organizations identify this opportunity and realize it rapidly. Their main point of differentiation is the magnitude and certainty of the improvements delivered with the world’s highest-performing organizations.