| Summary: | This thesis proposes a methodology that creates the core components of a tactical mine management
system (TMMS) that adapts, for mining, the new information technology and management techniques
that have proven to be successful for other industries. The resulting TMMS is intended to provide the
motivation and means to make improvement initiatives through the use of modern management
techniques that takes into account the particularities of the mining industry, operations, and culture. This
work is considered important as tactical management in mining now has the opportunity to take
advantage of the management technology currently available to other businesses.
The methodology was developed through investigations into the history and use of production
management in mining and other industries. The particularities of mining were explored to define the
issues a potential management system needs to address. The proposed methodology is organised into
four development phases that each produces one of the four core components of a TMMS. The first
phase develops a systems plan, whereby the evolution and implementation of the management system
components are planned. The second phase involves the building of a data infrastructure appropriate for
the use of modern management techniques in mining. The third phase designs a set of measures for
evaluation of employee and mine process performance. The fourth phase establishes procedures in which
the performance measures can be used to motivate and enable improvement initiatives.
Field studies over a two year period were used to develop and evaluate the TMMS methodology at
several INCO Limited mines in Sudbury, Ontario. The TMMS methodology resulted in establishing the
four key management components that subsequently led to motivating tactical mine managers to initiate
improvement initiatives and the development of more complex management components. These
initiatives were undertaken using modern management techniques such as simulation and activity based
costing. The results revealed that an effective TMMS can be created using a methodology that takes
mining's technical and cultural characteristics into account. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of === Graduate
|
|---|
