Mines are sitting on a precipice of change. The industry remains volatile with unstable metal prices, striking workforces and budget cost-cutting. The shifts occurring are radical and it is going to take an equally radical shift in attitude by stakeholders to align with the already occurring changes to maximise potential, profit and stability.

Current trends as highlighted by Deloitte’s ‘Tracking the Trends 2014’, outline that to ensure the viability of an operation, whether an established firm or one of the smaller operations, structural changes that go beyond a mere adjustment of current cost structures are essential. The entire model upon which the mining company operates needs to be re-evaluated so as to ensure that management and reporting systems, through the use of analytics and real-time reporting in all spheres of the system, can be used to inform financial and nonfinancial indicators.

The trend in large-scale operations is leaning heavily towards manufacturing execution systems (MES), reports local software solutions provider GC2, which specialises in the development of manufacturing information systems for the mining and beneficiation process. The increased reliance on MES comes with the need for an increase in data management through precise and accurate reporting and security of information.

MES provides real-time control of multiple elements of the production process and offers benefits, such as reduced waste, rework and scrap, more accurate capture of cost information, increased uptime, paperless workflow activities and reduced inventory.

When choosing a MES, simplicity is vital, says GC2, highlighting that the level of technological or computer expertise for the average individual in the South African mining industry is relatively low. The system should be tailored to allow the individual users to view only the functionality necessary to perform their day-to-day tasks. Navigation, therefore, should be simple and accessible at all times.

Companies should also focus on and implement modular-based systems, which involve one system assimilating into all areas of the operation. This is a holistic approach, rather than each separate system having to be implemented and managed separately by different service providers. This way, each module can be tailored to fit the competitive, ever-changing mining environment driven by fewer service providers.

Systems that are implemented need to provide accurate, continuous and uninterrupted data that is available in real-time from the system. They need to integrate seamlessly into supervisory control and data acquisition, or Scada, and enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems.

Nixon Tshiloane, logistics superintendent of Assmang Chrome in Dwarsrivier, had this to say about the viability of access to information: “Because of our MES, data information that is logged in the lab, is now available immediately to those with the necessary authorisation in other areas of the mine. “There’s no waste of time or paperwork in accessing this information. It is also important that we have a history of all previous work that is being done and by whom.”

Complex systems require expensive consul-tants, who are often paid up to ten times the average hourly wage of a mining engineer. When this is combined with the depreciation in capital investment of software, it becomes clear that a company may never get a return on its software investment. So, just how is it meant to stay ahead of and in touch with current trends?

The answer, GC2 says, is simple: a month-to-month leasing of regularly updated software, with a consultancy of service providers working in partnership in a consolidated manner. Should the company decide that it no longer needs the system, or feel that the consultancy is not maintaining performance standards by keeping up-to-speed with rapidly evolving technical trends, it can simply end the contract.

GC2 further highlights the importance of an ongoing partnership between the MES service provider and the end-user. The current complexity of systems means that usually only one-tenth of an expensive piece of software is used and understood. The benefit of an ongoing long-term support service is that systems can be modified and updated according to market shifts and changes in company expectations.

A MES should also be introduced in modulated steps so as to enhance operating efficiencies and limit any disruption to previous, outdated methods. A model of seamless incorporation has to take into account that the workforce is a fundamental aspect of an automated system. GC2 stresses that MES does not mean a diminished workforce, although it does reduce the reliance upon and risk factor of a labour intensive information system. “What this means, is that users will be less tied down with paperwork, so that productivity can increase because of a lighter workload.”

Hernic Ferrochrome, based in the North West, is the world’s fourth-largest integrated ferrochrome producer. The company has been using its current MES since September 2011. Information technology (IT) manager Alfred Pawson describes how, with the continuous support from its service provider, Hernic has been able to introduce the following benefits to its operations and management: A total integrated system that seamlessly interfaces with other management and information systems, placement and monitoring of raw material orders through integration to ERP, material tracking, automated goods received vouchers processed against purchase orders, processing of sales orders with integrated weight and sample analysis, automated analysis of samples, readily available trends, notifications and reports of production, variances and downtime.

Other advantages for Hernic include enhancement of costing system through data integration from MES to ERP and bespoke sales and export functionality through sales orders, invoicing, adjustments, final accountings and provisions with interface to ERP.

Pawson says: “It has created the way forward to address the organisation’s IT strategic objectives though a collaboration with the service provider to ensure that additional future MES components and functionality will be seamlessly incorporated into business processes.

“MES and related modules are extremely bene-ficial as the service provider extends the reach of business information not only for manufacturing and beneficiation processes, but also provides a platform for extensive integration capabilities and a platform through Web services across conventional organisational boundaries.”