Light vehicle fleet study

Our client’s light vehicle fleet was out of step with future operational needs. Minset undertook a desktop study to evaluate the fleet’s performance and provide insights into maintenance, including off-site servicing impacts, as well as procurement options. Recommendations were tailored to the mine’s context to improve safety, efficiency, availability and cost performance, supported by new standards as a measurable foundation for improvements. The study considered team, market, financial and regulatory factors to deliver a holistic approach.

Mobile maintenance productivity improvement

Increased availability and reliability of mobile equipment were known to deliver increased production capacity without additional capital for our client’s site. Targets were set to implement revised service strategies and reduce service durations. A leaner, standardised ‘pit stop’ process was introduced for each equipment service for the primary production fleet. More than 9,900 hours were saved in maintenance per year and more than $740,000 was saved in costs. A knowledge-transfer program supported long-term sustainability.

Project-wide maintenance assessment

Minset was brought on to assess project-wide maintenance, spanning two key plants, a power station and mobile equipment maintenance workshops. Using Minset’s proprietary maintenance maturity audit tool, covering more than 200 evaluation points, data was gained via desktop research and personnel interviews. In-field time-use and day-in-the-life-of observations then validated data with high levels of in-field engagement. The assessment delivered a proposed implementation roadmap for improvements featuring seven major work packages.

Maintenance parts and materials management

Parts and materials management was identified as a key influencer of productivity and maintenance efficiency for our client, with 5-13% of service durations linked to parts or materials issues. Numerous initiatives included Lean Manufacturing (5S) reorganisation, creation of a problems/countermeasures database and use of ‘kitting and staging’ methods. Planned maintenance activities were streamlined, and wasted supervisor and workgroup time and task rescheduling were reduced, as just some of the gains achieved.

Shift start process improvement

Minset was brought in to guide our client’s site maintenance team in increasing productivity and work quality in mobile maintenance. This included reviewing the shift start process, implementing an information centre and introducing visual management techniques. Shift starts were relocated to a new purpose-built meeting area, and the efficiency and speed of issues resolution was dramatically increased. Visual metrics were also introduced for teams to facilitate data-driven decision-making, alongside leading hand and supervisor communication coaching.

Standardised parts and materials process

A lack of consistency in parts and materials management was resulting in higher costs and task and personnel inefficiencies. Following several improvement identification sessions with key stakeholders, to embed the best of current processes, a new standardised approach was formed. This included standardising roles to allow flexible movement of people across site areas, and analysing logistics and flows in laydown yards to inform changes and align all stakeholders. The initiative also set the foundation for future work area upgrades.

Workshop reorganisation for productivity

An upcoming mine expansion at our client’s site had created a renewed drive to find greater efficiencies across the operation. Improving the set-up and organisation of workshops was known to underpin safe, highly-productive maintenance performance. Lean Manufacturing (5S) techniques were identified as the ideal avenue – new to the maintenance workgroups – and various physical changes and new processes were implemented. Average service duration reduced by 31%, supported by 5S work area reorganisation of more than 10 critical workshop areas.

Underground mobile workshop pre-feasibility study

Minset was engaged to deliver an independent study into maintaining mine equipment in an underground facility to support our client’s major expansion of underground operations. This covered design, location, cost, construction and risk modelling. The resulting study provided three options comparing a ‘do nothing’ approach with the benefits and issues of two alternative workshop designs and locations. Recommendations embedded Lean Manufacturing (5S) principles and comprehensive data improved management budgeting and capital planning.

Fast-tracked refinery maintenance intervention

Our client’s refinery maintenance team sought a step change in asset performance. A short-term intervention was needed to build the team’s capability so they could identify and implement improvement opportunities long-term. Our 12-week, high-intensity, multi-faceted program supported rapid improvement. It spanned people, systems and performance, driving the start of a cultural change. Individual maintenance tasks reduced by approximately 33% cumulatively, and 976 resource hours were saved from planned work requirements in 12 weeks alone.

Mobile equipment service strategy optimisation

Our client’s asset performance was targeted for optimisation. Key production equipment units were being ‘over serviced’, presenting a significant opportunity to reduce costs and improve fleet uptime. Minset’s scope resulted in a new strategy shifting from partially time-based servicing to a total utilisation-based approach, supported by team alignment on new processes. Approximately $1.4m was saved per year in servicing costs for key equipment, and fleet uptime improved by an estimated 6,300 hours across the fleet annually.