Joe Gladu

Fewzion – Integrated Planning and Short Interval Control for Rapid Improvements in Safe Production

As more than a few mines gradually sink under the weight of emails, whiteboards, notice-boards and ever more complex spreadsheets, the holy grail of effective short term interval planning and control in underground mines is as far away as ever. Despite the mining industry investing ever greater amounts in consultants, planning and ERP systems, short term plans become even more complex and rigid. What the industry desperately needs are not more ‘disembodied voices down the speaking tubes’, but flexible and effective planning systems that encourage people to make reasonable commitments to each other, so that everyone can work as a co-ordinated team to complete the work planned for the shift.

One solution to the challenge has emerged. This paper describes the ‘Fewzion’ shift planning and short interval control system which has been developed in underground mines in Australia and recently implemented at a Northern Ontario gold mine. Fewzion has drawn on Management Operating Systems (MOS) and Short Interval Control approaches to continuous improvement to play a key role in helping customers to achieve significant results in less that 3 months after implementation. Our most recent project provided sustainable production increases greater than 40% with a complete project ROI realized before the customer issued their 1st payment for the project! These results are not abnormal, as each of our customer deployments since our inception has realized similar results. With declining grades, increasing labour costs and growing pressure to remain competitive, can your operation sustain the status quo?