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IDEAS TO QUICKLY IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
AT YOUR MINING OPERATION
Mining Article by Harold Hough Oct/Nov 2009
Do you need to turn your bottom line from a loss into a profit in the
next quarter? Do you need to find a quick way to boost gold production
immediately while prices are at record highs? It may not be as hard as
you think. There are quick and proven solutions that can improve productivity
next week, not next year.
With that in mind, Miners News asked several productivity experts about
“quick fix” solutions that may give an immediate productivity
boost in the within weeks. Here are some of their suggestions.
LOOK AT THE BIG LOSERS. If your mine is being forced to do more with
fewer resources, it’s best to look at the traditional big losers
in the production chain. These are: Down Time Loss (equipment failure,
setup/changeover, etc.), Speed Loss (small stops, rough running, etc.)
and Quality Loss (reprocessing ore, etc). These represent the most common
causes of efficiency loss in any manufacturing operation.
Obviously many suggestions will fall in the long term solution category
(buying new equipment, modernization, etc.). But, many are “common
sense” solutions that can be implemented immediately.
The best way to look at these problems is to bring together an assortment
of people, (management, floor supervisors, and employees) and let them
brainstorm for a couple of hours on ways to improve productivity within
the production chain. Appoint a moderator (not from management) who will
keep the meeting on track and focused on quick solutions. As the meeting
is ready to wrap up, have the group agree on the three best ideas, how
they should be implemented, and who will be responsible for implementing
the solutions and reporting back to the team.
The key to this type of solution is management commitment. The mine manager
needs to be visible in the process, but not actually involved. The team
also needs to know that mine management will stand behind their suggestions
and make sure they are implemented in a timely manner.
This suggestion is a proven winner. The Red Dog Mine in Alaska organized
productivity improvement teams and made major changes that dramatically
improved productivity in a short time without a major cash investment.
SUGGESTION BOXES AND EMPLOYEE BONUSES. If you don’t want to organize
productivity improvement teams, just announce that the operation is looking
for suggestions to improve productivity and will be giving cash awards
for ideas that are implemented. This not only encourages suggestions from
employees, it boosts morale when the cash bonuses are awarded.
LOOK AT WORK SCHEDULES. Does your shift schedule make you more or less
productive? For instance, does your maintenance program take valuable
equipment off line during the work day? If so, maybe you should look at
putting some of your maintenance crew in a late or swing shift, so they
can repair equipment while the mine isn’t operating.
Conversely, if you have idle equipment and a late maintenance shift,
you might want to bring your workers back on days so the operation can
cut back on electrical power usage in the evenings.
If you intend to make shift changes, make sure you work this out with
your employees. Nothing can ruin employee morale faster than forcing major
work changes. However, since there are usually a few people who actually
want different work hours due to family responsibilities, a change can
actually not only improve productivity, but help improve employee morale.
HIRE EXPERIENCED HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATORS. The recession has meant that
many qualified heavy equipment operators are looking for work. And, since
a skilled operator can get 20% more output from a piece of heavy equipment
than the average operator, hiring a skilled operator can immediately improve
production without buying new equipment. Good operators can also lessen
maintenance costs since they are less likely to stress their equipment.
RENT OR LEASE EQUIPMENT. The recession means there is idle heavy equipment
that can be rented or leased at bargain prices. Renting a piece of equipment
for a few weeks may help solve a bottleneck in production that has hindered
production. No matter what your situation, there are ways to fine tune
your operation so you can improve efficiency within a few weeks. If you
involve the workers in the process and commit management to implementing
these suggestions, you can make some dramatic improvements in productivity
even in difficult times.
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