Asset and Maintenance Management Improvement Program for a Large Regional Mining Company

The client

The client was a large mining company with a number of Australian regional mines located close to a central processing facility, and products being transported by rail to ports for export.

The opportunity

The client was looking to improve performance of both mining and processing operations to support business objectives through a range of Asset and Maintenance Management assessment and targeted improvement activities. To do this, the client had defined the scope of the improvement effort to involve:

• An assessment of their current Asset Management practices for alignment against the requirements of ISO 55001 noting that client was not seeking certification;
• A detailed assessment of their Maintenance Management practices that supported the overall Asset Management approach;
• Development and provision of Asset Management awareness training to support improvement efforts;
• Review and suggested improvements to a new Work Management process that the client had developed but not yet rolled out to the operational sites;
• Development and provision of tailored Work Management training for specific employment groups;
• Development of a set of defined Asset and Maintenance Management standards and procedures that were identified as needed to support the client’s Asset and Maintenance Management activities; and
• A Preventive Maintenance Optimisation (PMO) of the maintenance strategies for four major asset systems.

How we helped

To support the client’s performance improvement objectives, we undertook the following activities:

• We performed an assessment of the client’s current Asset Management practices for alignment against the requirements of ISO 55001 using a version the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) Self Assessment Maturity tool;
• We performed an assessment of the client’s current Maintenance Management practices using our Best Practice Maintenance Review methodology; a tool that assesses process against the five levers of change – Strategy, Organisation Structure, Management Processes, Technology and People, Skills and Culture;
• From the Asset and Maintenance Management assessments, recommendations for improvement were identified that would support improvements in Asset and Maintenance Management across the mining and processing operations. These recommendations were incorporated into a consolidated roadmap for improvement with associated project charters;
• We undertook development and delivery of a short course to increase the awareness and understanding of all site personnel on asset management and the overall improvement program that was being undertaken;
• We reviewed and updated the new Work Management procedure that the client had developed, but as yet not deployed, across both the mining and processing operations, incorporating a RACI for the positions and employment groups involved in the process;
• We developed Work Management KPIs to be integrated into the new Work Management procedure;
• We undertook development and delivery of four tailored Work Management training courses for specific employment groups around the main phases of the Work Management process:
  • Course 1 – Identification;
  • Course 2 – Planning, Scheduling and Resourcing;
  • Course 3 – Execution of Planned and Breakdown Work; and
  • Course 4 – Close out Reporting and Analysis.
• We developed Coaching Guides and ‘Day in the Life of’ weekly event programs for key roles in Work Management process.
• We developed a defined set of Asset and Maintenance Management standards and procedures that were needed to support the client’s Asset Management framework:
  • Asset Management Standard – identifying the scope and boundaries of Asset Management for the client to meet defined Asset Management Objectives;
  • Life Cycle Costing Procedure – supporting refurbishment and replacement strategies;
  • Care and Maintenance Procedure – supporting management of mothballed assets;
  • Asset Criticality Procedure – to prioritise and guide decision making;
  • Spare Management Standard – complementing existing warehouse and procurement standards, providing guidance on handling and maintenance of spares during the Work Management process;
• We delivered PMO and criticality assessment training to maintenance personnel;
• We utilised PMO to develop updated, new, applicable and effective maintenance strategies for the defined assets, ensuring compliance to all statutory and regulatory requirements;
• We developed all accompanying work instructions from the PMO, packaged to minimise asset shutdowns and levelled around available resources.

Deliverables and benefits

As a result of this large-scale improvement project, the client was able to:

• Understand that the organisation had IAM maturity score ratings ranging from Innocent to Aware across the 27 requirements of the ISO 55001 standard. As the client was only seeking alignment to the standard, our recommendations formed the basis for a 4 year phased Improvement Roadmap program that the client could implement, comprised of:
  • Define: The scope of the Asset Management System would be defined with the development of frameworks and procedures to support Asset Management activities. Many of the plans recommended to be developed during this phase would revolve around the establishment of the strategic alignment activities. Improvement opportunities being prioritised on what made sense for the client in being aligned;
  • Establish: Now Defined, focus would then be shifted towards using the developed frameworks and procedures to drive and align the business’ objectives;
  • Optimise: A follow up AM maturity assessment would be performed, with the aim being to see how well the client was performing in relation to the Improvement Roadmap, and if the developed frameworks and procedures were fit for purpose and utilised. With a new reference of performance, further improvements would be identified to improve the purpose and fit of the AMS;
  • Improve: In this phase, continuous improvement should be the norm and form part of the AMS with frameworks and procedures established. Any further improvements will be identified and implemented from the follow up AM assessment.
• Understand from the results of the Best Practice Maintenance Review that further recommendations for improvements also provided inputs into the Improvement Roadmap;
• Have in place a new suite of standards and procedures (the Asset Management Standard, Life Cycle Costing Procedure, Care and Maintenance Procedure, Asset Criticality Procedure, Spare Management Standard as described above) to reduce process risks and support achieving business objectives and;
• Have to over 350 personnel increase their awareness and understanding on the importance Asset and Maintenance Management, and the associated Improvement Program, through the provision of tailored Asset Management awareness training;
• Increase staff competence in the process of Work Management through the provision of targeted training:
  • Course 1 – Identification
    approx. 120 personnel over 8 courses
  • Course 2 – Planning, Scheduling and Resourcing
    approx. 45 personnel over 3 courses
  • Course 3 – Execution of Planned and Breakdown Work
    approx. 100 personnel over 7 courses
  • Course 4 – Close out Reporting and Analysis
    approx. 90 personnel over 6 courses
• Increase competence of approx. 50 personnel in the PMO process to allow any future maintenance optimisation efforts to be conducted using internal resources;
• Have maintenance programs for four keys assets optimised for applicability and effectiveness, creating tasks to ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, supporting increased plant availability.

If you would like an independent assessment of the maturity of your Asset Management practices within your organisation, contact us now and talk to one of our expert consultants.