Cubility – Cubility

How we helped this Tier 2 miner with their Greenfield project in Africa

Jeremy Sims — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 03:06:54 +0000

Cubility provides comprehensive assessment and Operational Readiness Planning

Future proofing and financial investment support

Challenge:

All project planning and activities across EPCM, H&S, Environment, CSR, Risk and HR had been done in isolation with no integrated view in light of a future operations blueprint. There was low certainty that all aspects had been covered to provide assurance to support upcoming final investment decisions (FID).

Solution:

In order to support financial investment decision (FID stage) and provide confidence to investors, the Cubility team conducted due diligence and comprehensive audit of the current state project planning and activities against future operations readiness blueprint. The team then developed a roadmap for next 30 months including a report of focus areas for the next 12 months.

Outcome:

The result was the assessment of a major capital project (new mine) against the Cubility Operations Readiness Planning Model and Framework. The subsequent report outlined gaps and focus areas across process, technology and organisation for next 12 months.

Cubility is a management and technology consultancy that works with businesses to solve operational problems, improve compliance, and manage change well. Our multi-disciplined team is equipped with the technical and operational knowledge as well as project execution skills to ensure the success of any project. If your business needs assistance, please get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you.

How we helped Lady Loretta with efficient data capture

Jeremy Sims — Mon, 25 May 2020 06:26:34 +0000

Lady Loretta implements efficient data capture

Lady Loretta is an underground high grade zinc, lead and silver deposit, located approximately 140 kilometres north north-west of Mount Isa, in northwest Queensland. When the site was looking for a mine production management system, Lady Loretta was a greenfields site, working within a tightly constrained start-up budget.

Challenge:

An additional person for data entry and system administration is a requirement with many mine production management systems but the technical services team was running very lean, with no capacity to employ administrative data entry clerks. In addition, the site wanted to collect and enter data only once.

Solution:

With Cubility’s MPX system, data entry is conducted directly at the point of data creation i.e. Shift bosses aggregate data for trucks and drills, operators enter directly into a computer at the paste plant, batch plant and crusher. Data entry screens have been customised to Lady Loretta naming conventions and simplified to remove extra options.

A series of automated daily emails sends out reports directly from MPX and all data feeds into other onsite systems. For example, the financial reporting system draws data directly from MPX.

Benefits:

Customised data entry screens make the system simple to use for field based operators.
Minimised data entry error due to shift bosses and operators taking control themselves.
No need to employ additional data entry staff.

How we helped Lynas with Metallurgical Accounting

Jeremy Sims — Thu, 07 May 2020 01:53:19 +0000

Lynas Corporation produces Rare Earth (RE) concentrate from the Mt Weld operation, 35kms south of Laverton in Western Australia. As a product of the onsite flotation plant, concentrate is shipped to Malaysia for further processing at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Kuantan. A suite of products are made in Malaysia and then shipped to Lynas’ global customers.

Challenge:

The plant at Mt Weld employs a five stage flotation process which is unique to the extraction and concentration of REE and significantly different to the metallurgical process required to extract gold. The Mt Weld product itself is an uncommon mix of metals. Due to the ramp-up process, crushing and flotation is done in batches, with a number of metals being tracked from pit through to concentrate.

The challenge was to implement a cost-effective solution for metal accounting that was scaled appropriately for the Mt Weld operation. The system needed to be uncomplicated, but also able to handle the special requirements of a REE plant. In addition, the Mt Weld operation is certified to ISO 9001 (Quality management systems), so required high standards of data integrity around the tracking of materials through the process plant.

Solution:

A review of metallurgical accounting systems was undertaken and Lynas chose Cubility’s MPX-DS package. There were a number of customisations required to meet the specific needs of the process, but Cubility built on the existing platform to manage this as the project at Mt Weld ramped up.

All data pertaining to the processing of the Mt Weld ore is entered into the MPX-DS database, with daily, monthly, shipping and numerous other metallurgical accounting reports prepared from the system. The company manages concentrate quality using the system, which is critical given that the materials are exported for further processing to Malaysia.

Lynas were able to use the MPX-DS database as a component of the ISO 9001 certification process to demonstrate transparent data collection, management and integrity for the processing facility and having the system helps to maintain the certification.

Compared to other market offerings, the Cubility solution was competitively priced and the relationship now is an enduring one.

Benefits:

System is easy to use, yet flexible enough to be customised to Lynas’ unique requirements
Supporting system for quality certification
Price competitive compared to other market offerings

What Is Digital Transformation?

Jeremy Sims — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 04:00:38 +0000

Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. This reimagining of business in the digital age is digital transformation.

It transcends traditional roles like sales, marketing, and customer service. Instead, digital transformation begins and ends with how you think about, and engage with, customers. As we move from paper to spreadsheets to smart applications for managing our business, we have the chance to reimagine how we do business — how we engage our customers — with digital technology on our side.

For small businesses just getting started, there’s no need to set up your business processes and transform them later. You can future-proof your organization from the word go. Building a 21st-century business on stickies and handwritten ledgers just isn’t sustainable. Thinking, planning, and building digitally sets you up to be agile, flexible, and ready to grow.

As they embark on digital transformation, many companies are taking a step back to ask whether they are really doing the right things

Digitalization is using digital data to simplify how you work.

The process of using digitized information to make established ways of working simpler and more efficient is called digitalization. Note the word established in that definition: Digitalization isn’t about changing how you do business, or creating new types of businesses. It’s about keeping on keeping on, but faster and better now that your data is instantly accessible and not trapped in a file cabinet somewhere in a dusty archive.

Think of customer service, whether in retail, field ops, or a call center. Digitalization changed service forever by making customer records easily and quickly retrievable via computer. The basic methodology of customer service didn’t change, but the process of fielding an inquiry, looking up the relevant data, and offering a resolution became much more efficient when searching paper ledgers was replaced by entering a few keystrokes on a computer screen or mobile device.

As digital technology evolved, people started generating ideas for using business technology in new ways, and not just to do the old things faster. This is when the idea of digital transformation began to take shape. With new technologies, new things — and new ways of doing them — were suddenly possible.

Digital transformation adds value to every customer interaction.

Digital transformation is changing the way business gets done and, in some cases, creating entirely new classes of businesses. With digital transformation, companies are taking a step back and revisiting everything they do, from internal systems to customer interactions both online and in person. They’re asking big questions like “Can we change our processes in a way that will enable better decision-making, game-changing efficiencies, or a better customer experience with more personalization?”

Now we’re firmly entrenched in the digital age, and businesses of all sorts are creating clever, effective, and disruptive ways of leveraging technology. Netflix is a great example. It started out as a mail order service and disrupted the brick-and-mortar video rental business. Then digital innovations made wide-scale streaming video possible. Today, Netflix takes on traditional broadcast and cable television networks and production studios all at once by offering a growing library of on-demand content at ultracompetitive prices.

Digitization gave Netflix the ability not only to stream video content directly to customers, but also to gain unprecedented insight into viewing habits and preferences. It uses that data to inform everything from the design of its user experience to the development of first-run shows and movies at in-house studios. That’s digital transformation in action: taking advantage of available technologies to inform how a business runs.

First, understand what’s possible with digital transformation.

A key element of digital transformation is understanding the potential of your technology. Again, that doesn’t mean asking “How much faster can we do things the same way?” It means asking “What is our technology really capable of, and how can we adapt our business and processes to make the most of our technology investments?”

Before Netflix, people chose movies to rent by going to stores and combing through shelves of tapes and discs in search of something that looked good. Now, libraries of digital content are served up on personal devices, complete with recommendations and reviews based on user preferences.

Streaming subscription-based content directly to people’s TVs, computers, and mobile devices was an obvious disruption to the brick-and-mortar video rental business. Embracing streaming also led to Netflix looking at what else it could do with the available technology. That led to innovations like a content recommendation system driven by artificial intelligence. Talk about making the most out of your IT department!

Adapt your business to leverage digital transformation.

Similarly, digital transformations have reshaped how companies approach customer service. The old model was to wait for customers to come find you, whether in person or by calling an 800 number. But the rise of social media has changed service much like it’s changed advertising, marketing, and even sales and customer service. Progressive companies embrace social media as a chance to extend their service offerings by meeting customers on their platforms of choice.

Article originally published by Salesforce

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What you need to know about digital transformation

Jeremy Sims — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 01:08:03 +0000

Today, progressive miners are restructuring their operations with digital technologies carrying the burden of their day-to-day tasks.

This enables engineers to focus on strategic projects and on enhancing productivity. Technologies from other industries, as diverse as natural language processing, bioelectric sensors and commercial drones are being used in a range of applications from health and safety to asset management, all with great impact.

Understanding the challenges in driving digital innovation in mining

Like any paradigm shift, there is an initial resistance to innovation and the change it entails.

Operational challenges such as equipment breakdowns, design problems, and even political instability are common distractions to the complex task of digital transformation.

Resources that would be allocated to the deployment and implementation of new technologies are re-allocated to address these issues. Whilst larger mining houses may benefit from dedicated teams to evaluate and deploy new technologies; mid-tier and junior miners should look to partner with technology vendors for support. Either way, mining houses need to find a way to leverage these disruptive technologies to improve their competitive advantage.

Making a significant impact

Despite the challenges, there are a number of machine learning and AI applications making a significant impact in this industry today:

Predicting the location of mineral deposits: Machine learning models ingest satellite and drone imagery to better predict the location of mineral deposits. Given the cost of exploration, any improvement in finding a suitable ore body provides a profound cost saving.
Replacing hard sensors: Control mechanisms often require real-time measurements of systems which cannot be measured directly or are in an environment which is not conducive to physical sensors. In these cases, soft (virtual) sensors can be used to infer the state of the system without significant investment or compromising on process knowledge.
Optimise flotation circuits: A well-known used case for soft sensors is the prediction of grade and recovery based on features extracted from images of the bubbles produced in froth flotation. Modern approaches to this problem rely heavily on branches of machine learning such as neural networks to interpret these features.
Improved health and safety: Society has adopted a stance of zero-tolerance for injuries and fatalities on mines. The complex and multi-faceted environment in which these incidents occur is rich in unstructured data from multiple sources. A novel approach to this problem is the use of natural language processing to analyse large corpuses of text such as reports to identify risks related to health and safety.
Optimising production: Intelligent control is the next step towards full automation of beneficiation plants. Brownfield sites are often data rich and machine learning models can easily be trained upon this data. The outcome is an optimised control plan which is cognisant of the interdependencies between parameters within the plant. Whilst continuously ingesting data from across the entire plant, the system provides operators with only the changes for their section to avoid information overload.

For a solution to be described as AI in its true sense, it needs to be integrated into the data environment to continuously learn and update its understanding of the environment.

Many existing AI solutions sit on a continuum from being fully integrated with continuous learning, to simple models built off a static dump of data. Unless prescriptive, these AI technologies are effectively advanced analytics.

Can digital technology help mines in Africa to overcome common challenges?

Remote mines in developing countries face additional challenges to those in the developed world. These include the availability of spare parts and the ability to attract highly skilled engineers.

Developments in automation and intelligent control enables engineers to monitor and prescribe changes to process parameters remotely—making the necessary changes from anywhere in the world. At the same time, it is important to ensure local talent is upskilled through e-learning programmes and simulators.

How does the future look?

Having passed the peak of the last super cycle, mining companies are looking for efficiencies in their operations. Digital technologies, such as AI, present a unique opportunity for miners to improve their operations and achieve these efficiencies.

Mines and beneficiation plants will be fully autonomous in the future. Engineers will be free from the burden of day-to-day operations and will monitor operations remotely, allowing them to spend more time on strategic improvements.

The ability to prescribe optimum control parameters, using an expert execution system (EES) from remote locations, will also lead to safer plants and enhance production outputs. Health and safety will be improved further by automating and using machine learning to better understand the inherent risks in the operation.

The future is about intelligent, autonomous and highly optimised mining operations—with an eye on extending operations outside of earth’s orbit.

_________________

Article originally published by Mining Review

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How are Mining and Oil and Gas companies Digitally Transforming their Operations to Improve Productivity, and Increase Efficiency?

Jeremy Sims — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 01:10:17 +0000

Industries are embracing technology to reshape their operating landscape and reap the benefits of improved productivity, higher efficiency, and increased cost savings.

Report originally published by Deloitte

The oil and gas industry is not a stranger to this and is progressing towards digital maturity. What may be the potential roadblocks and how can these be overcome? A strategic roadmap could help oil and gas companies to assess every operation and identify digital leaps for achieving specific business objectives.

This paper describes Deloitte’s Digital Operations Transformation (DOT) model; a framework that explains the digital journey of 10 milestones, where the leap from one milestone to another marks the achievement of specific business objectives and puts cybersecurity and digital traits at the core.

Download the From Bytes to Barrels: The Digital Transformation in Upstream Oil and Gas report from our Resources page here.

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Operational Readiness in Oil & Gas projects: What should this look like?

Jeremy Sims — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 00:38:26 +0000

Projects in all industries undergo a life cycle comprising of Establish, Execute and Complete.

Projects in oil and gas industry, typically, have longish timelines and, therefore, the project phases are spread over longer periods of time. They require detailed working such as basic engineering, detailed engineering, various levels of project cost estimates and plans depending on project phase.

Article originally published by Aneeza Qazi on LinkedIn

Oil and gas industry projects break down the Establish, Execute and Complete into further steps such as Identify, Assess, Select, Define and Execute phases. As the project progresses from initial assessment phase to front end design level, the need for it to be suited and ready for smooth operation also arises. Therefore, the requirement of Operations Readiness has been realised and incorporated in project design and development process. A project cannot be implemented and designed to fulfil the requirement unless the end user i.e. Operations is also involved and satisfied. Moreover, considering the typical curve of theoretical risk mitigation costs vs project phases (as shown in the figure), the earlier operations readiness is incorporated in the project, lesser would be the costs of risk mitigation.

For the projects with significant budget, it is relatively easier to rope in Operations involvement from the initial phases of the project. Often, appropriately experienced resources from Operations are loaned for the purpose of the project and assigned to work as part of the project team. They may be in direct reporting to the project manager but are often independent to ensure a check and balance function on the project and are reporting to the project owner.

For smaller projects, it hardly makes economic sense to have an independent source for operations readiness. Moreover, for smaller projects, usually the importance of operations readiness is under estimated. If at all, a resource from Operations is assigned to carry out the operations readiness work. This is not prudent on two accounts. For one thing, people involved in day to day running of plants are usually on rotation. Their primary responsibility is to safely and smoothly operate the plant. The nature of their work and their shift-based timing make it difficult to respond to the project requirements.

Secondly, Operations Readiness requires specific expertise which is not necessarily present in every Operations personnel. In situations like these, the operations readiness work is left at the hands of project management team who tries to fulfil the role. This can be detrimental to the project as an independent view and specific expertise is needed to deliver a project that fulfils operational requirements and is ready to start without hiccups.

For small projects, while it does not make economic sense to have a dedicated operations readiness resource for the project, it does make sense to have an operation readiness function in the organization. In a matrix structure, that function can then work on multiple projects whenever operation readiness role is required.

In some organisations where the importance and need for operations readiness is well established, this practice is adopted. In an organisation which does not see the need for operation readiness for smaller projects, as a project manager, in order to convince the project sponsor, it would make sense to quantify the life cycle phases vs risk mitigation costs and demonstrate the benefit for having operation readiness resource early in the project.

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Developing a Mining Project? Here’s your Operational Readiness Road Map

Jeremy Sims — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 02:06:49 +0000

“Operational readiness is defined as all of the operating and maintenance activities associated with start-up; those activities other than the engineering, design, development, and construction of the mine and plant.”

Download the If you are Planning on Developing a New Mining Project, you Need an Operations Readiness ‘Road Map’ report from our Resources page here

Report originally published by Performance Associates International

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What is Operational Readiness and why does it matter?

Jeremy Sims — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 02:00:16 +0000

Originally published by Advisian

Operational readiness processes assists with the project planning and preparedness for day one of operations. This can pay dividends when everything operates to schedule and no problems arise.

After completing a major project, the start of operations involves a wide-range of pre-operational activities that need to be completed in a timely manner, by a number of different parties. These parties include the project delivery team, the operator and other parties interested in ensuring a safe and reliable operation, all working in close consultation with the design and construction activities of the project works. Some of these activities have long lead times, and are critical to the successful start and on-going operation of the asset.

At the operational level (and technically speaking) ‘Operational Readiness’ can be defined as:

Delivery, commissioning and handover of the new infrastructure; appointment, preparation and training of personnel for operating and maintaining the infrastructure; and achieving the required regulatory approvals to operate and maintain the infrastructure to achieve the desired outcome.

The operational readiness process is generally operator led and does not include the final construction and sub-system commissioning of works which is to be undertaken by the contractor. Overall system test and pre-commissioning activities by the contractor are usually wrapped up into an overall suite of final operational readiness activities.

A typical timeline for operational readiness is shown below:

Operational readiness typically begins as a project planning function early in the project lifecycle, and continues through to when the project becomes operational. Completion of operational readiness activities will usually be progressive and may also be staged along with project delivery as work packages, or sub-elements of work packages, are completed.

Many operational readiness tasks, specifically those relating to technical commissioning, may be listed on a Contractors Test and Commissioning event program. Test and commissioning activities may typically include the following items:

Factory acceptance testing
Site acceptance testing
System integration testing
Network integration testing
Construction certifications
Final As Built witnessing.

More operational and outcome-focused activities can be wrapped up in a form of ‘Transition Management Plan’. Issues that will generally need to be addressed in the transition include:

Final inspections of completed installations
New staffing to support the new operation
- User testing and commissioning of critical control and operational systems
- Finalisation of the ongoing Asset Management System, including contracts for supply and maintenance
- Delivery of training packages for all staff
- Formal acceptance of all externally managed works from contractors into the operator control
- Transfer of incomplete outstanding issues into an appropriate Defects Management System for ongoing monitoring and close out by the operator

Collectively, this suite of documents represents the formal process of operational readiness to assist in the planning of projects and preparedness for day one operations.

Many hands make light work in this space, and the final few days are usually accompanied by seemingly last minute, but usually planned, activity – including planning for the event itself.

When the big day arrives

Day one of operations is usually a mix of emotions ranging from relief to high anxiety. Years of effort are now on full show – for all to enjoy and appreciate. The detailed planning from the formal process of operational readiness pays dividends when everything happens seamlessly, all operates to schedule and no problems arise.

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What is Industry 4.0? Here’s an easy to follow summary

Jeremy Sims — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 07:32:02 +0000

A quick summary of Industry 4.0 courtesy of Forbes.

We’re in the midst of a significant transformation regarding the way we produce products thanks to the digitization of manufacturing. This transition is so compelling that it is being called Industry 4.0 to represent the fourth revolution that has occurred in manufacturing. From the first industrial revolution (mechanization through water and steam power) to the mass production and assembly lines using electricity in the second, the fourth industrial revolution will take what was started in the third with the adoption of computers and automation and enhance it with smart and autonomous systems fueled by data and machine learning.

Even though some dismiss Industry 4.0 as merely a marketing buzzword, shifts are happening in manufacturing that deserves our attention.

Industry 4.0 optimizes the computerization of Industry 3.0

When computers were introduced in Industry 3.0, it was disruptive thanks to the addition of an entirely new technology. Now, and into the future as Industry 4.0 unfolds, computers are connected and communicate with one another to ultimately make decisions without human involvement. A combination of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Systems make Industry 4.0 possible and the smart factory a reality. As a result of the support of smart machines that keep getting smarter as they get access to more data, our factories will become more efficient and productive and less wasteful. Ultimately, it’s the network of these machines that are digitally connected with one another and create and share information that results in the true power of Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 applications today

While many organizations might still be in denial about how Industry 4.0 could impact their business or struggling to find the talent or knowledge to know how to best adopt it for their unique use cases, several others are implementing changes today and preparing for a future where smart machines improve their business. Here are just a few of the possible applications:

Identify opportunities: Since connected machines collect a tremendous volume of data that can inform maintenance, performance and other issues, as well as analyze that data to identify patterns and insights that would be impossible for a human to do in a reasonable timeframe, Industry 4.0 offers the opportunity for manufacturers to optimize their operations quickly and efficiently by knowing what needs attention. By using the data from sensors in its equipment, an African gold mine identified a problem with the oxygen levels during leaching. Once fixed, they were able to increase their yield by 3.7%, which saved them $20 million annually.

Optimize logistics and supply chains: A connected supply chain can adjust and accommodate when new information is presented. If a weather delay ties up a shipment, a connected system can proactively adjust to that reality and modify manufacturing priorities.

Autonomous equipment and vehicles: There are shipping yards that are leveraging autonomous cranes and trucks to streamline operations as they accept shipping containers from the ships.

Robots: Once only possible for large enterprises with equally large budgets, robotics are now more affordable and available to organizations of every size. From picking products at a warehouse to getting them ready to ship, autonomous robots can quickly and safely support manufacturers. Robots move goods around Amazon warehouses and also reduce costs and allow better use of floor space for the online retailer.

Additive manufacturing (3D printing): This technology has improved tremendously in the last decade and has progressed from primarily being used for prototyping to actual production. Advances in the use of metal additive manufacturing have opened up a lot of possibilities for production.

Internet of Things and the cloud: A key component of Industry 4.0 is the Internet of Things that is characterized by connected devices. Not only does this help internal operations, but through the use of the cloud environment where data is stored, equipment and operations can be optimized by leveraging the insights of others using the same equipment or to allow smaller enterprises access to technology they wouldn’t be able to on their own.

While Industry 4.0 is still evolving and we might not have the complete picture until we look back 30 years from now, companies who are adopting the technologies realize Industry 4.0’s potential. These same companies are also grappling with how to upskill their current workforce to take on new work responsibilities made possible by Internet 4.0 and to recruit new employees with the right skills.

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