Transforming a Copper Mine’s Operating System

THE APPROACH

ORBIZ was engaged to perform a deep-dive review across nine departments to evaluate the management practices and identify actions to realign and enhance operational performance.

With the findings accepted, ORBIZ co-developed an improvement plan with the client and was engaged to deliver a range of objectives, including the development of a Management Operating System (MOS).

The MOS was designed to align strategy to execution across the full value stream, structured around three primary themes:

1. Strategy Deployment: A site-level Plan-On-A-Page (POAP) was developed and aligned with the company’s strategic objectives to provide a coherent, structured approach to operations across all departments. The MOS then gave the leadership team a standardised management framework to drive execution, enable ongoing coaching, and sustain improvement over time.
2. Integrated Plan Development: A new cross-functional planning process was required to overcome siloed department planning. A series of process improvement workshops was designed to map the revised process and define implementation activities. Deployment was staged over an extended period to ensure the process was robust, effective, and adaptable as it matured.
3. Visualisation: A series of cascading performance control centres were implemented at the site and department level to provide daily management forums for operational control and to govern the delivery of improvement projects.

THE SOLUTION

A site-level POAP was established as the foundation of the program, setting the strategic direction for the leadership team and each department. Five department-level POAPs were then developed to provide the appropriate focus within each functional area, resulting in significantly greater coherence and alignment across site operations.

An integrated planning process was developed using SIPOC methodology to map each process element — Suppliers, Inputs, Process flow, Outputs, and Customers — ensuring the team understood the full chain of dependencies. The process was documented using a RACI matrix to provide each team member with clarity on their role and responsibilities in the planning cycle.

Together, the POAP and integrated planning process enabled each department to develop effective monthly and quarterly plans aligned to the higher-level strategy while supporting cross-departmental objectives. Planning maturity improved through the optimisation process, lifting compliance levels and contributing directly to improved production outcomes. Longer-term horizon planning was also introduced, reinforcing strategic alignment across the operation.

A visual management system was developed, constructed, and implemented to combine the strategy and planning components in an understandable format that enabled daily management across the site and departments. The visual system comprised two modules: Visual Performance Centres (VPC) and Project Performance Centres (PPC).

VPCs were used to manage operational performance, schedules, targets, and objectives on a daily and weekly basis, structured in a tiered, multi-level format to ensure information flowed in both directions between management levels. Relevant metrics were displayed, reviewed, and discussed during meetings, with each attendee accountable for the information within their area of responsibility. Issues were identified and addressed in real time, and a channel was established to capture improvement opportunities, which could progress to a breakthrough improvement project where warranted.

PPCs supported the delivery of strategic and tactical improvement projects. The Project Charter, Schedule, and Improvement Opportunities for each project were displayed and reviewed in weekly meetings, with stakeholders managing progress against the agreed schedule through to completion. Delays and obstacles were actively managed to keep projects on track, freeing capacity for the next initiative to begin. The cumulative effect of a continuous pipeline of improvement projects accelerated results across the site — directly contributing to the step-change improvements in geology drilling performance, copper production variance, schedule compliance, and development metres that the program delivered.

Annual copper production increased from 16,015 tonnes to 21,871 tonnes over a three-year period. The project was completed during the first 18 months of that period. Annual zinc production increased from 47,756 tonnes to 56,656 tonnes over the same period.