How AI and agile methods can boost efficiencies
DIGITAL MINING
How AI and agile methods can boost efficiencies
Freeport-McMoRan ’ s effort to increase copper production at Bagdad illustrated how to use agile methods and AI tools at its sites , where it can be difficult to alter accepted routines ( click here ). Here are a few of the key findings :
• Don ’ t wait for the ‘ perfect ’ product or solution to begin using it . Once it ’ s working well enough , implement it right away . Immediate action brings immediate results .
• Be willing to reconsider and discard longstanding assumptions and processes if you find better ways to do things . That means validating your new ideas through data analysis and fieldwork . integration with dispatch processes , realtime stock-keeping , and real-time and monthly reconciliations of receivables and payables .
It has many useful components for enterprise miners too ; IoT-based productivity solutions for weighment and dispatch processing , AR / VR based mineral grade determination , digitalised logistics operations across all touchpoints , in-premise track and trace , and guidance systems , MIS reports and dashboards and despatch planning and scheduling .
Acquisitions and partnerships tap into digital potential In December , Sandvik signed an agreement to acquire Australian-based Deswik , which specialises in mine planning software . Deswik
• Empower frontline teams to take risks . That ’ s how testing and learning happens . Set clear boundaries on what teams can try . Make it clear they won ’ t be blamed if their experiments come up short or incur extra costs .
• Use data science to catalyse decision making . Human judgment and intuition are hard to replace , but people can make better decisions when they ’ re informed by analytical findings .
• Once you create value with agile and AI , spread the word about what you did and how you did it . Showcasing success will attract interest in these capabilities and motivate colleagues to adopt them .
40 March 2022