Spares & Tools Management

Managing the spares and tools needed for mine maintenance work can be complex when tackling multiple challenges at once – whether in inventory management, supply chain disruptions, replacing obsolete parts, or managing lead times with suppliers.

Beyond cost control, managing spares and tools effectively is imperative for worker safety and complying with safety regulations. Ensuring that the right spare parts and tools are available at any given time to perform maintenance tasks requires navigating transportation delays, shifts in demands for raw materials, maintaining optimal stock levels, and sourcing tools in the most remote mining locations. Many mining companies fail consider the inventory cost of attempting to eliminate all stock-outs.

Additionally, with the long lifespan of most mining equipment, manufacturers may discontinue certain parts over time, which further complicates locating replacements for older machinery. The art of hedging against these risks requires a combination of best practices in supply chain optimization, technology integration, and collaboration among different departments within mining companies.

Key Client Challenges:

1. How can we optimize our inventory levels for spares and tools to balance availability and cost?
2. What strategies can we implement to reduce lead times for critical spare parts and tools?
3. Are there ways to better forecast demand for spares and tools based on historical data and equipment usage patterns?
4. What technologies, such as predictive maintenance and IoT sensors, can we integrate to improve the accuracy of maintenance planning and spare parts management?
5. How can we effectively track and manage the lifecycle of spares and tools, from procurement to disposal?

Managing inventory, spares and tools with manual data entry can quickly lead to inaccuracies and delays in decision-making. Maintaining accurate records of inventory levels, usage history, and maintenance schedules is crucial and will involve incorporating data solutions and workflows to automate as much of the process as possible.

While technology solutions like inventory management software, predictive maintenance tools, and data analytics can help to streamline the spares and tools management process, integrating these technologies into traditional mining practices is often met with resistance from workers and will require significant changes to existing workflows.

At Unison Mining, our experts can work with your team to set up the processes, systems and controls needed to monitor and improve the performance of your spares and tools management, as well as fostering a culture of change that facilitates employee buy-in, and ultimately long-term success.