Mining Operations Reduces Equipment Maintenance Delays By 37% With GLSS
Canada
Mining
Operations
37%
- The problem: Maintenance delays resulted in missing production goals and deadlines. Delays were averaging 12 hours per week.
- With GLSS’s Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training & Certification, this company reduced delays to 7.6 hours per week, a 37% improvement, increasing production time accordingly.
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In the dynamic and often rugged world of mining, equipment maintenance is central to operational efficiency. Unplanned delays in equipment repairs can bring production to a halt, impacting deadlines, costs, and overall productivity.
This mining operation in Toronto faced 12 hours per week of maintenance delays. Equipment would break down, but frequent delays in repairs kept operations on hold, negatively impacting both productivity and profitability. Understanding that streamlined maintenance was crucial, they knew a change was needed to optimize schedules, minimize delays, and ensure equipment was back in service as quickly as possible.
With these needs in mind, they turned to GLSS Green Belt Training & Certification, seeing it as an opportunity to not only address the current issues but to set up a stronger maintenance process for the future.
With GLSS’s instruction and guidance, the team began by thoroughly analyzing their existing maintenance process. They identified two main contributors to the delays.
- First, production teams often had to adjust schedules to meet operational targets, leading to unplanned disruptions in the maintenance workflow.
- Second, the process for managing spare parts inventory was inconsistent, resulting in frequent shortages when repairs were required. Both issues compounded maintenance delays, keeping equipment out of operation longer than necessary.
GLSS helped the team implement several key solutions. One of the most effective was a new Stock Review Program aimed at streamlining spare parts inventory management. This program allowed the team to monitor stock levels, set reorder points, and adjust lead times for critical parts. With the new system, they could ensure that the necessary parts were readily available when repairs were needed, drastically reducing wait times for parts.
In addition, the team established improved coordination between production and maintenance schedules, allowing production goals to be met without disrupting scheduled maintenance tasks.
The results were immediate and impactful. The company achieved a 37% decrease in total maintenance delays, with weekly delay hours dropping from 12 to 7.6. Specifically, the spare parts planning improvements led to a reduction in parts-related delays from 3.3 hours to 1.3 hours per week.
While coordination delays still held opportunities for improvement, the company prioritized the upcoming implementation of advanced scheduling workflows and software, which they expect to further streamline coordination and enhance efficiency.
with GLSS
This project underscored the value of effective process improvement in reducing maintenance delays and sustaining efficiency in mining operations. GLSS Training & Certification’s innovative instructional design and clear, practical guidance empowered the team to make impactful improvements in record time. With downtime reduced and maintenance operations significantly optimized, the company is now well-positioned for continued success.
This successful collaboration with GLSS has provided the organization with a solid foundation for future achievements in productivity and operational excellence.
*We value our clients’ confidentiality. While we’ve changed their names, the results are real.
