5 Factors That Affect Project Management Efficiency for Mining Businesses

Meeting strict deadlines in the mining industry is often challenging when things don't work as planned. On the mining job site, efficiency is critical to meeting these deadlines. Any unpredictable delays, such as equipment breakdowns or planning mistakes, could impact the bottom line of the whole project.

Intelligent mining project management can maintain diverse controllable factors in line, reducing the risk. So what are the most typical factors that can negatively or positively affect mining site efficiency? Here are the five factors that will help you stay ahead of your project:

1. Appropriate Training

Anyone who steps into the mining site should have the proper training and experience essential to safely and promptly meet their assigned jobs. A mining site has multiple hazards that are adding an incompetent employee to the blend is a recipe for catastrophe. Training should not be prevented once an employee has finished their orientation and onboarding.

New training methods and technologies are emerging every year that can help enhance mining project efficiency. These possess:

• Virtual reality training techniques that simulate on-site requirements

• Wearable trackers to observe employee health and strengthen communication

• Collective online training courses for mining teams

Embrace these whenever possible, and deliver ongoing training to keep team members up to date on the practices they can apply driving forward to enhance efficiency.

2. Take care of equipment

Maintaining equipment can be expensive, but it’s still more efficient and cost-effective than letting the equipment break down from improper care.Consider how much you make from operating a specific piece of equipment. Multiply that by the number of working hours the equipment isn’t in use; it gives a clear picture of how much it costs to leave it offline.

For instance, if a machine generates $200 per hour while in operation it will cost you $180 per shift that’s happening offline. Plus, it will create more challenges to meet deadlines. Proper maintenance is the most effortless way to prevent this issue and enhance project efficiency.

3. Proper job site safety

Despite advancements the mining industry has made in a few decades, a mining site is still one of the riskiest workplaces. 

Worker safety is a righteous measure that mining owners should take. As an owner, protecting the well-being of every employee should be at the core of every mining manager’s mission. Nevertheless, project managers may not ultimately realize what injuries can have on a project’s bottom line.

Workers leaving their team for healing and recovery can create extensive delays for their employers, especially during labor crises. Then, there’s the economic risk, excluding legal expenses or the impact of these conditions on mining teams.

Create a culture of protection and empower everyone to protect workplace safety.

4. Supply chain challenges

Pandemic has dramatically impacted the supply chain, shipping tariffs, and plagued mining sites throughout 2020 and 2021 globally. These variables made it challenging for companies to meet deadlines and complete projects.

Things are starting to even out as the industry rolls into the second quarter of 2022, but supply chain problems can still create obstacles in the plans and make it more challenging to develop an efficient mining site.

The most painless way to overpower these supply chain problems is to plan and be equipped with essentials if there’s any mishap. Keeping track of market trends and housing them in estimations and project plans will help align anticipations for both the mining team and clients.

5. Communication barrier

A mining site can’t function without effective communication. That includes ensuring everyone is on the same page, from the business owner down to the most recent laborer on the team and the client sponsoring the project. A barrier in communication drives things to be built wrong, equipment to break down, or tasks to scratch to a halt.

ProjectPro serves as the best tool to engage project stakeholders collaboratively. Mining project management software full of client access and electronic signatures can simplify decision-making and make timeline changes effortlessly to see and acclimate.

With digital cooperation, proactive communication is created in the mining process rather than an afterthought.

Maintaining Mining Project Efficiency is the Key

As the industry is indulging in new normal trends, deadlines might be more adaptable, but the goal is always to finish projects as fast and efficiently as feasible. This isn’t a comprehensive list of factors that could potentially affect the efficiency of a mining project, but it does list some of the most typical things that you should take into account.

Maintaining an efficient mining project is the most straightforward way to ensure that deadlines are met and that projects are completed on time. Simple aspects like enhancing worksite safety and promoting open and dynamic communication can make huge differences.

With so much tension evolving around supply chains and lockdowns, creating tranquility and wiggle room with an efficient project can keep companies moving ahead no matter what the world chooses to throw.

Ready to take benefit of project management technology? Schedule a demo to learn how ProjectPro software can make efficiency more accessible than ever.