Change management | for miners, by miners

Case Studies

Gold Mine Reduces Truck Queue Time for Optimized Cycle Times

A gold mine based in North America was looking to reduce truck queuing at loaders and time spent on loaders waiting for trucks. YCP Unison worked with their teams to optimize the client's cycle times, implementing a more effective KPI monitoring system for loading trucks – ultimately reducing lost time and optimizing costs.

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Key Results

Average time spent on loaders waiting for trucks:

4% improvement over the last 4 months

12% improvement over the last 4 weeks

Average time spent on trucks queuing at loaders:

10% Improvement of the last 4 months

16% Improvement over the last 4 weeks

Specific Actions Taken

By collaborating with dedicated working groups selected by the client’s management, YCP Unison’s standard operating procedure to ensure project results were sustained long term included the following:

Root Cause Analysis and Critical KPIs

Critical KPIs were identified as the most representative of the client’s Production Loss Indicators. Reasons for deviations from these KPIs were then identified, and cycle time requirements and possible solutions were reviewed alongside working groups.

Processes and Tools Clarified

Tools were selected alongside working groups to measure and monitor KPIs over time. This way, new ways of working could proceed with full employee buy-in. A regular time and venue for relevant stakeholders (working groups) to review ongoing cycle time performance on a frequent basis was also established.

Clear Roles and Responsibilities Defined

A corrective action plan was set up, with clearly defined responsibilities, deadlines by role, and follow up on execution of these actions through the Dispatch office. KPIs were actively observed over time using refreshed KPI monitoring processes to continuously improve performance.

Our Approach

In the client’s mine pits, the YCP Unison team carefully balanced the number of trucks assigned to each shovel (loading unit). If the shovel did not have enough or had too many haul trucks, both scenarios were found not to be fully productive or optimized.

The dispatch office is where this balance of equipment was measured. The cycle of each haul truck was monitored in real time from the location where it was loaded, the route it traveled (roads and ramps), where it was dumping, and the return path to the next load.

Results

Through the revised monitoring system, dispatchers could work with Mine Operations and Mine Planning teams more effectively to optimize these movements in a way that reduced traffic and waiting time for fleets.

Operators, Supervisors and General Foremen could now easily communicate with Dispatchers throughout the shift to share information on road conditions, visibility and equipment maintenance considerations. Orchestrating this balance of fleets efficiently and safely was truly a team effort that required a refreshed, more effective approach in KPI monitoring.

As a result, all targets were met or were exceeded over the last 4 months for both average loading unit wait time per cycle and average truck queue and wait time per cycle.