Why "The Goal" is Just the Beginning for Mining Success
You read "The Goal" by Goldratt, which made total sense! Now you wonder: How difficult would it be to implement these ideas at our mine?...
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hlourens6
- Aug 21
- 2 min
Debottlenecking: Are You Sacrificing ROI?
When the mine delivers good financial performance, miners attempt to increase production by adding more capacity. They achieve this by...
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hlourens6
- Aug 7
- 2 min
You have pinpointed the bottleneck- now comes the hard part
Identifying the bottleneck is not enough: Finally, you've pinpointed the bottleneck's location and your colleagues agree. You feel pretty...
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hlourens6
- Aug 5
- 2 min
Should we reduce the mine targets or request more capital? -there's a more profitable solution
The Problem: The orange curve is the production norm for most coal mines, whereas the blue curve is the goal for any coal mine. With such...
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hlourens6
- Jul 24
- 3 min
Beyond "Safety-I": A New Paradigm for Mining Productivity & Safety
Miners are under constant pressure to improve Safety. After years of fatality reduction, progress is now stagnant. We are in a difficult...
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hlourens6
- Jul 24
- 3 min
A Step Change in Mining Safety: Expanding the Safe Production Edge
In our last poll we asked:" Which strategy is more likely to enhance mining safety while mitigating legislative pressure." The answers...
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hlourens6
- Jun 22
- 1 min
Exceptional Longwall mine performance by an Australian client during 2023.
Our Australian Longwall client increased production operating time by 33% in 2023, which translated into a significant increase in sales...
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hlourens6
- Jun 22
- 1 min
Leadership Lessons That Saved a Mine (and May Transform Yours)
"The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths so strong that it makes the system's weaknesses irrelevant."-Peter...
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hlourens6
- May 20
- 3 min
A step change in operational excellence, by Hendrik Lourens
When we think of operational excellence, we usually think about maximising the efficiency of all the parts of our operation. We attempt...
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hlourens6
- Mar 29
- 1 min
Why does ROM (Run of Mine) production run well below budget?
We observe an interesting phenomenon when looking at various mines and their ROM production. The ROM production average is always below...
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hlourens6
- Mar 29
- 1 min
Breakthrough Longwall Performance
See how the SIMEC Tahmoor Coking Coal mine used TOC to shift their focus from trying to maximise tonnes from the longwall to ensuring...
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hlourens6
- Mar 29
- 2 min
Productivity not budging? Try connecting the silos:
Miners have to increase productivity and profits while grades decline and mines deepen. At the same time, social norms put pressure on...
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hlourens6
- Oct 12, 2023
- 1 min
The key to achieving PEACE OF MIND- reducing production variabilit
Over the years, we have noticed some surprising benefits when the organisation focuses on maximising flow through the bottleneck and...
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hlourens6
- Sep 16, 2023
- 2 min
Supporting Business Improvement for dramatic bottom line impact
Enabling business improvement to deliver a step change in value: According to a 2019 survey, most miners believe business improvement...
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hlourens6
- Sep 16, 2023
- 2 min
Adding agility to a traditional management operating system.
A Dual Management Operating System: Bridging the Gap between Agility and Hierarchical Efficiency for Optimal Productivity." In a previous...
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hlourens6
- Sep 16, 2023
- 2 min
Alternatives to cost cutting for handling the next commodity downturn.
Weathering the next commodity downturn: With economic storm clouds gathering and some commodities starting to turn down, the pressure to...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12, 2023
- 2 min
Taming managerial attention overload through focus and simplification
Mine management is easily the busiest group we deal with. With the advent of cheap computing and storage costs, the amount of data...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12, 2023
- 2 min
Stagnant safety and productivity– common root cause and solution?
Miners are under constant pressure to improve Safety. After years of fatality reduction, progress is now stagnant. We are in a difficult...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12, 2023
- 2 min
Don’t debottleneck before stabilising production at a higher flow rate:
When the mining cycle delivers good financial performance, increasing production by adding more capacity becomes desirable. This is often...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12, 2023
- 2 min
Rethinking Blame: A powerful lever to Improve Engagement & Productivity
In the last post, we highlighted the importance of increasing engagement and creating a culture of cooperation to improve mine...
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