Maintenance Management

Without the efforts of maintenance departments, the mining industry would come to a standstill in short order. However, a common challenge for mine operators is estimating the amount of maintenance work needed in the dynamic conditions the department typically works in.

Maintenance strategies can vary dramatically in terms of labor, skills, tools and duration, depending on a number of factors. For example, with fixed or stationary assets such as processing plants and impoundments, specialized teams are often required to work in extreme heat, cold, dust and rain. Meanwhile, with mobile maintenance for rolling stock such as drills, dozers and loaders, unscheduled repairs are required in unpredictable and often unprotected locations in the field.

Maintenance work also brings risks and safety concerns for personnel, which need to be mitigated with comprehensive protocols, procedures and the necessary training needed by employees to adhere to them effectively.

Key Client Challenges:

1. How do we decide on the most effective maintenance strategy for our mine?
2. Including the use of digital twins and data analytics, how do we better estimate and predict when equipment is likely to be due for maintenance?
3. How can we better set up our processes to ensure scheduling and performance is optimized with minimum downtime?
4. With multiple maintenance strategies in place, how do we ensure better alignment between them?
5. How do we ensure employees comply with safety protocols for maintenance procedures?

Key Indicators in Maintenance Productivity for Mines

Basic elements of an effective maintenance program include work orders, backlogs, scheduling and performance reporting, which are not easily managed without resident knowledge of sophisticated gauging and sensors. Additionally, continual demand calibration, balance, and interpretation of performance data is also required to use information effectively for maintenance planning.

The following are key indicators to better understand how optimal your mine’s current maintenance management is:

1. Maintenance cost per ton
2. Mean time between failures (MTBF)
3. Mean time to repair (MTTR)
4. Effective utilization (at prescribed rate)
5. Ratio of scheduled vs unscheduled hours
6. Skills Flexibility Matrix
7. Cost of downtime (in ounces or tons)
8. Shutdown/turnaround costs
9. Critical spares stockouts

How Unison Mining Can Help

Different maintenance management approaches can be taken, including predictive, break-and-fix, and run-to-failure methods. In some cases, all three approaches may be utilized which creates varying levels of complexity for maintenance leadership and their crews.

When estimating work, personnel must also recognize that ageing equipment will not operate at the same levels as the newest equipment. By collecting and analyzing data on equipment performance, operators can better estimate future performance and optimize maintenance scheduling.

Unison Mining’s maintenance management services provide your team with the methods, processes and systems needed for continuous improvement and long-term results. Minimize downtime, enhance safety protocol adherence, accurately estimate maintenance workloads, and improve cost savings with optimal use and repair cycles for equipment.