News & Articles

News & Articles

Current news and mining industry articles covering a myriad of topics written by the Outliers Mining Solutions team.

Maximizing Reliability Efficacy through Effective RCFA Execution

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInIn the mining industry, operational efficiency is a cornerstone, and achieving it requires a unique approach, depending on the site-specific requirements and limitations. Root Cause Failure Analysis stands out as a powerful tool within the reliability realm, enabling sites to identify and address the root causes of their equipment failures systematically.…

How Maintenance and Reliability Programs Contribute to Production Excellence

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInWhen it comes to effective mining practices, achieving and maintaining optimal levels of productivity is often seen as a perpetual challenge. Industry leaders are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency, reduce unplanned downtime, and enhance overall performance. A key program required to achieve optimal production is the implementation of robust maintenance…

Defining Key Performance Targets for Informed KPIs in Mining Organizations 

To keep your organization’s intricate web of operations on track, it is essential to identify where you’re going and what you are aiming for – in short, your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These data-driven metrics serve as beacons to operational excellence and sustainable growth. But before KPIs can shine, there’s a crucial step that is…

Using Data to Find Order in the Chaos

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInIs your mine site making sense of the chaos that a shift in mining brings? Is there a team that consistently produces while other teams are falling further behind? Typically, during a “good shift” (when shovel headings are in place, and equipment reliability is high), the difference between teams is primarily…

A Dispatcher’s Viewpoint

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInWhen attempting to increase the efficiency of a mine site, most sites set up a dispatch office equipped with a dispatcher and a chosen fleet management software suite. This gives the mine-site a central hub to analyze data and improve the effectiveness of their fleet through allocations of trucks to shovels.…

There is Only One Way to Eat an Elephant

Posted By: Connect on LinkedIn“There is only one way to eat an Elephant” is a great way to describe an insurmountable task. The answer is “one bite at a time.” This speaks to breaking down the problem or goal into smaller, individual tasks that will have a cumulative effect. In mining, saying we want to…

Why Your Organization Needs a Time-on-Tools Study

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInA time-on-tools study gained its roots in around 1910 when a concept called time-and-motion was designed for production assembly workers. The idea of tool time studies when applied to hourly maintenance workers is to measure what percent of that worker’s time is spent on actual work.  Travel time, job planning, getting…

Prioritize Work with an Equipment Criticality Assessment

Posted By: Connect on LinkedInWork prioritization continually changes based on the evolving needs of the business. A component of prioritizing work is Equipment Criticality. A Criticality analysis is defined as the process of assigning assets a criticality rating based on potential risk and consequence of failure. Why is criticality analysis important?Criticality plays a role in nearly…

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