PIP’s team members have extensive consulting and line experience in underground operations. We assist our clients to identify and solve the root causes of operational constraints and to implement the management and control systems that deliver consistent and sustainable improvements in output.
Typical improvement approaches in underground operations:
- Mine debottlenecking
- Development
- Stope drill and blast
- Bogging
- Hauling
- Systematic reduction of repeat maintenance failures
- Improved planning, scheduling and operational control
- Reduced production variance through the implementation of short-interval control mechanisms
- Tightened management accountability by increasing focus on completing actions, measuring performance and holding people to account
- Extensive front-line coaching.
Example: Underground operations improvement
A large underground hard-rock mine had not achieved budgeted performance for years and was a costly bottleneck for the surface processing capacity. PIP helped its client to achieve a 22% improvement in tonnes to the surface through systematic debottlenecking, implementing and coaching extensively in Results-Actions-Reviews (RARs) and Root Cause problem-solving, and by introducing a Management Operating System for operational control.
They, [PIP], did a great job helping to put in place a performance management system from GM to Manager, and cascaded down to short interval control at the front line. This, coupled with front-line coaching, drove real improvements on key levers in the business. This can be hard in underground mines.RICK WATSFORD
