Project management, in any field of work, is a job that requires constant strategy updates in real-time to meet everyday challenges. These challenges could be affecting the project’s deadlines, budget, or members of the team. Mining project management involves various elements including safety, procurement, cost, and risk all of which must align for you to finish on schedule. The true role of a mining project manager goes several layers deeper, and we’ll explain more below…
Mining project management requirements
- Design and planning
Project managers have to essentially create a roadmap that removes as much uncertainty about a project as possible.
- Budgeting
With all the relevant information put together during the planning stage, the project manager should also create a productivity-based budget that allows for accurate management.
- Monitoring of actuals
They’ll then continuously observe and review every element of changes in the project including cost, daily progress and production, risk and change control.
- Decision reporting
Once all available information has been gathered and documented, the project manager can continue making the right choice for every situation.
What does it take to manage mining projects?
Western Australia’s mining industry has many intrinsic characteristics. It employs hundreds of thousands of dedicated staff, according to the latest industry activity review. They’re often found working in remote environments, steadily following some form of mine-to-mill process, guided by technical knowledge among the operations and maintenance teams. When taking on a new mine project, experienced managers may tell you that the outcome goals might be similar to a past project in terms of core principles. Things like cost reduction and improving asset availability are goals that all mine projects aim to meet in one way or another. However, each project will have different people, in a different environment and that brings new possibilities for project management every time. It is up to them to adapt to changing project requirements and there are a couple of standard processes that are needed to do that. We’ll go over them here.
5 steps of mine site project management
Let’s discuss the five key stages of mine site project management that improve the chances of complete success
- Planning Stage
This is a critical stage in proper mining management and involves multiple steps. It begins by gathering data, weighing up actual cost vs budgeted cost, and extracting meaningful insights. These will then be documented before the project takes off. The project manager will spend time cross-checking and consulting all the stakeholders. They will also determine a baseline with which to compare with end results. A detailed document will outline clear timelines, project scope and resource management. This document will be submitted and evaluated before any mining begins.
- Managing expectations
The project manager needs to guide expectations and reshape the vision of what the team is trying to achieve. This includes ensuring due process in scope definition and having a clear goal that will highlight to project stakeholders and, maybe more importantly, what’s not in the project’s scope.
- Instilling team accountability
Mining projects operate in remote sites with rotating teams. Accountability plays a vital role in these working conditions. Each team will be assigned respective responsibilities. Project managers have a certain eye for team dynamics that will help them to effectively find the best match for their skill set to create a sense of ownership and responsibility. If everyone feels responsible for carrying out certain roles, it will motivate the team and keep everyone accountable in their own way for the project’s success.
- Project administration & documentation
We’ve emphasized this particular aspect because it’s important to work on keeping track of project scope goals. The project manager keeps track of meetings, documentation, quotes, drawings, and time distribution. Every stakeholder involved will rely on the project manager to provide access to the most up-to-date files. They will have to lead meetings and key engagements because of their administrative capacity. They’ll make the best out of timetables, meeting minutes, action lists, and KPI reports. All of these things are critical in comparing against real-time data, and these should be utilized whenever possible.
- Communication & stakeholder engagement
The mining industry as a whole isn’t known for the best communication systems, but project managers often have to deal with this aspect. There needs to be a contact point if any urgent matters arise, and project managers are one of the most active team members of any project. A reliable approach to active communication with stakeholders is the best way to ensure that the project tends to happen faster and with better quality. The main role of mining project management is to improve all the processes, and this has helped to advance this industry in a significant way. Complete CM Solutions offers low-cost mining project solutions to help daily processes. We’re experts in process improvement in mining and construction industries that need assistance in implementing these project management fundamentals. Even with everything outlined in this guide, project managers can only control elements within their scope. It is difficult to accurately predict how a mining project will go but with the right support, you can ensure that your strategies earn you the richest rewards, regardless of changes on the board.
