The Need to Cover All Aspects of Asset Management in Mining Operations!

The mining industry is full of uncertainty, and many variables can hinder the success or further exemplify the failure of an operation. Too many variables can shorten the profitability of each ore extracted from earth because of the lack of consideration for economies of scale before commencing operations or poor maintenance of automated systems that increases the risk of downtime. Although planning for contingencies and having contingency plans for when your primary objective does not go as intended is crucial, miners must understand that some instances could downgrade or demolish their entire operation.

More precisely, a well-managed mining operation will constantly work on managing production using best practices and tried and true techniques. And this can be possible if you focus on asset management strategies. Because this is a vast area, seeking help from reputable engineering firms can be wise. They can cover all the crucial aspects of operations without hurting the profitability.

Access to resources  

Most operations consider equipment or system availability as a critical performance metric. Alas, when decision-makers focus on this specific element for achieving 100% efficiency, they sacrifice the quality of work, ultimately leading to an increase in unexpected breakdowns and lost production revenue due to extended downtime. Without ensuring they have done everything correctly, they risk the quality of repair work, thus increasing safety concerns. That’s why it is essential to account for downtimes for the overall system and have mitigating policies that ensure better equipment reliance. For this, one also has to calculate the cost of unplanned downtimes in operations. It can immensely contribute to performance stability.

Flexible outlook

Understand that producing more goods is not always better. Sometimes, you’ll have to go slow to keep costs under control. For example, going over the top in metal production can cause unnecessary wear and tear on equipment if not properly maintained, but that’s after counting all other factors. As a business owner, you can put in place policies for this situation so that workers follow suit when reaching their capacity. If safety protocols are already effective through workplace training, enforcing these could prevent equipment failure and injuries relating to difficult working conditions.

Operations that have shifted to a flexible strategy realize the importance of transparency as they determine the pricing based on global market trends and commodity variance. The most important thing for maintaining consistent production is planning for risk mitigation. To protect against potential price shocks and have spare parts on hand, operations utilizing a flexible maintenance plan can use analytics to understand which components risk equipment failure. They can also use analytics to determine what amount of spare parts is enough and when it would be better for those parts and materials to go into storage during price surges in the future.

An effective value-driven mine must keep its operation balanced during a busy period, and industrial engineers can ensure this on their behalf. Undoubtedly, processes that react to change will flourish in the new market. At the same time, they’ll be able to fine-tune their strategy as industry events unfold during uncertain times.