Work on the project control office for diversified miner Exxaro’s Grootgeluk Medupi expansion project, near Lephalale, in Limpopo, will be completed soon, says enterprise project management solutions provider UMT Consulting South Africa.

“This is one of the five most important projects in Southern Africa, as its timeous completion will influence whether or not State-owned power utility Eskom will be able to meet South Africa’s demand for electricity over the long term,” states UMT CEO Pieter Meyer.

The expansion is part of the 40-year coal supply agreement, between Exxaro and Eskom, to supply the utility’s new Medupi power station, which is under construction, with an average of 14.6-million tons of coal a year.

UMT is responsible for providing management information that will support Exxaro’s executive committee’s and the Medupi steering committee’s decision- making process, he tells Mining Weekly.

“UMT is making use of a unique extracting, transforming and loading (ETL) envi- ronment built by the company, which integrates all current information technology solutions, such as P6, SAP, Cura and Cost Track. The company built a warehouse environment using SharePoint 2012 with Excel Services on a structured query language (SQL)-ETL database to provide accurate management dashboard reports in all mining project knowledge areas,” he explains.

Meyer states that the UMT project man- agement control solution is already in operation, with 85% of the project currently completed.

This project is a milestone for UMT. “[It is] the first integrated project manage- ment control solution deployed in Africa that is successfully in operation through the refining of best practice processes that are mapped with a formal governance structure, enabled and integrated with best practice technologies,” says Meyer.

Eastern Platinum Project
UMT is also currently setting up an integrated project management controls business solution for Canadian platinum-group metals producer Eastern Platinum (Eastplats).

This project involves the expansion of Eastplats’ Mareesburg mine, in Mpumalanga, to meet the emerging demand for platinum locally and internationally, says Meyer.

“UMT is the solutions integrator between Eastplats and its engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor. The company is responsible for integrating the EPCM’s pro- cesses and building and implementing a best practice solution technology for Eastplats,” he explains.

As a result, the company is focusing on the management and control of costs, as well as managing and controlling risks, documents and scope changes.

Kumba Iron Ore Project
UMT’s safety, health, environment, risk and quality (SHERQ) control system and contract management solution for mining group Kumba Iron Ore are 95% complete, and will be handed over in April, states Meyer.

“Kumba is currently working on a number of projects, one being the Sishen South project. UMT’s role is to ensure that Kumba maintains its production in line with the huge demand for steel and control all project-related aspects formally,” he explains.

UMT designed a tailored SQL-ETL environment for the project’s contract manage- ment, as well as for the SHERQ control system, by using SharePoint, K2, Excel Services and Excel Reporting Services, says Meyer.

Future
During 2012, UMT will aim to grow its current market share by 25% and, in this regard, has secured various projects, which it will implement soon. It also hopes to again win the Microsoft South Africa Project and Portfolio Management Partner of the Year award, being the first company in Africa and the Middle East to obtain Microsoft gold competence in project portfolio management, claims Meyer.

UMT has secured a $12-billion contract for the implementation of a integrated project management controls office at a major greenfield mine and power station project . The company will also implement global best practice integration and collaboration solution Microsoft 2012 (EPM 2010 and SharePoint 2010 with Excel Services and Excel Reporting Services) as well as K2 solutions in a controlled environment for another five mines in South Africa and abroad, says Meyer.

Meanwhile, project houses face challenges regarding complex project, programme and project portfolio management (PPPM) solutions that are implemented with minimum value to the business, companies that have a low maturity readi- ness in the PPPM space and structural changes in companies that negatively affect overall project delivery, he adds.

However, these challenges can be overcome through integrating PPPM enabling technology solutions with other corporate technology solutions to increase business value through project delivery, as well as by implementing a project intelligence culture within companies and creating a strong culture in the PPPM space.

“UMT will specifically focus on providing specialist and subject-specific expert resources in this space,” he says.

The company will also focus on implementing PPPM disciplines, such as processes, knowledge transferring and enabling technologies to best fit its customers. The company will also invest in and implement Microsoft’s Cloud technologies and perform readiness tests for its clients before implementing PPPM processes and technologies.

Meanwhile, Meyer says UMT recently started implementing a total integrated contract management solution using SharePoint 2012, K2, Excel Services and Excel Reporting Services.

“The company started to supply subject matter expert resources to major projects and others in the mining industry a year ago,” he concludes.

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