How To Do It Right: High Productivity with Low Crew Availability

We’d all like to have 100% crew availability 100% of the time. That’s never going to happen. That’s why mines need to make operating with low crew availability a part of their planning. Vacations, training, leave and illness are a reality, and if mines aren’t prepared then they’re going to be blindsided by a drop in productivity. That’s why today’s blog is focused on how you can keep high productivity through a drop in crew availability.

 Focus on building up strong foundational skills with every single miner using tools like SOPs.

Develop a Multi-Skilled Workforce Before You Need One:

While you have high crew availability it probably doesn’t seem very important to build up a multi-skilled workforce. When you have low crew availability you’ll wish you had. Focus on building up strong foundational skills with every single miner using tools like SOPs. Then, make sure everyone has a basic understanding of as many different functions as possible in the mine. This will make task management easy whenever crew availability becomes low.

 If there are repairs or maintenance that need to be dealt with. Do it.

Don’t Let Issues Pile Up:

This seems like the most obvious point but it’s so important that it’s worth reiterating. If there are repairs or maintenance that need to be dealt with. Do it. Letting issues that could potentially cause delays sit will come back to bite you when you’re shorthanded. If you have equipment sitting out of order, permits that need renewed and maintenance that needs to happen; all at the same time as you have low crew availability, you won’t be even close to production targets.

 Low crew availability demands flexibility from everyone, without the right software, that isn’t possible. 

Leverage Software For Scheduling Mobility:

When you find yourself shorthanded, you may need to make tweaks to scheduling throughout the shift. Without good, mobile-enabled, fleet management software that is very difficult in an underground mine. That’s where groundHog comes in. You can monitor task progress in real-time and make adjustments as new data comes in. Low crew availability demands flexibility from everyone, without the right software, that isn’t possible. 

To learn more about groundHog or to sign up for a free demo today, Click Here.

[Cross Posted from our Blog]