Uptime Improvement – Case StudyQuarry Operation - TAS, Australia
The Challenge
Our client’s asset was a 500,000 tonne per year quarry operation operating under a capped output licence in a very competitive market. During one year of operation, 70% of working days did not achieve the daily target of 2,000 tonnes due to the process experiencing multiple breakdowns and delays in processing. As a result, the daily average for the year was 1,734 tonnes.
The shortfall in daily tonnes resulted in afternoon and weekend shifts being implemented to meet the market demand and reach licence capacity. As a result of the crews working longer days and weekends, there was a negative impact on the bottom-line results and a decrease in morale due to the loss of ‘family time.
The Solution
An EnterpriseIS Specialist worked with the client to identify the focus areas for improvement within the business. Identification resulted in the following actions:
• Implementation of a simple new production & delay data capturing system to understand the plant performance and identify and validate areas of focus
• Complete multiple root cause analysis (RCA) & failure mode effects analysis (FMEA) to reduce breakdowns/delays and improve uptime
• Develop and communicate the project plan to engage the site workforce
• EnterpriseIS made minor capital improvements to processing bottlenecks and also modified procedures
• EnterpriseIS implemented Control & response plans to manage day-to-day performance
• A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboard was implemented to monitor performance and direct the continuous improvement cycle used on site.
The Results
• >10% increase in process utilisation and lower production costs
• Increased morale and accountability (shifts reduced to standard 10hr days)
• Increased customer satisfaction.
• Within six months of implementation, savings from the project had exceeded $480,000 against a target of $100,000.