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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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hlourens6
- Aug 12
- 2 min
Cooperation: The Secret Ingredient to Boosting Mine Productivity
Our last blog post delved into Arrie van Niekerk's three-bottle experiment, demonstrating how identifying and addressing bottlenecks can...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12
- 1 min
The Power of the Bottleneck: How the Theory of Constraints unleashes mine potential
Our experience is that the mining process is inherently more variable than manufacturing; there are more environmental surprises, and the...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12
- 1 min
Why is the mine plan shelf-life so short?
Why is the mine plan shelf-life so short? After publishing "Crime against mine planning", Mark Bowater hosted a poll to identify the main...
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hlourens6
- Aug 12
- 1 min
The modern mining manager: drowning in data
Mine executives and superintendents put forth immense effort each month to meet their operational KPIs and keep employees safe. Starting...
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hlourens6
- Jun 8
- 2 min
Overcoming mining's safety/productivity trade-off
The fatality rate in mining has reduced by an order of magnitude in the last 20 years, but it is now flatlining. Queensland Transport and...
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hlourens6
- Jun 8
- 2 min
The middle manager’s dilemma
Middle managers (such as superintendents) are under continuous pressure to deliver to operational and corporate expectations. More than...
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hlourens6
- May 16
- 2 min
Risky Business: The Career Dangers Faced by Mine Managers
Ambitious mine managers are concerned about many risks in the day-to-day running of their mine. Some of these risks can and have ended...
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hlourens6
- May 9
- 2 min
From Fear to Joy: Mastering Change Management in the Mining Industry
In the previous post, " The KPI conundrum – Part 2: Revolutionising KPIs in Mining through Focus on Leverage Points", we identified a...
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hlourens6
- May 9
- 2 min
The KPI conundrum – Part 2: Revolutionising KPIs in Mining through Focus on Leverage Point
In the previous post, "The KPI conundrum- Part 1: How performance metrics can undermine mining operations.", we explained how miners are...
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hlourens6
- May 9
- 1 min
The KPI conundrum- Part 1: How performance metrics can undermine mining operations.
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
- May 9
- 2 min
Beyond Silos: Integrated Solutions for Unlocking Open Cut Mine Potential
Introduction: Open-cut mines often struggle to meet operational and financial targets. Issues like moving bottlenecks, employee...
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hlourens6
- Sep 15, 2022
- 1 min
Too many pieces in your War Room? Upgrade it to a Flow Room:
Many mines use a War Room, a place where critical information is displayed and where management gathers each morning to coordinate and...
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