18 Jan Assessing Industry Needs: Benchmarking of Underground and Surface Mining Operations Initiative
GMG members have expressed interest in benchmarking – an advanced method of performance improvement that requires operations to have an understanding of current performance and an eye to continuous improvement. Comparing your performance metrics against those of industry leaders gives you insight into best practices that can help your operation meet its objectives. GMG is currently assessing the industry’s interest and needs for such a program.
SMART Benchmarking program now under GMG
From 2004 to 2018 the Surface Mining Association for Research and Technology (SMART) operated a web-based benchmarking program to which participants uploaded data from a wide range of equipment on a continuous basis. Housing this type of program under GMG, an open platform based on collaboration, is advantageous in that our global network operates in a wide range of commodities which would allow for anonymous comparisons of a large, diverse population of mining equipment and practices.
The basis for this initiative is a recently released GMG guideline – A Standardized Time Classification Framework for Mobile Equipment in Surface Mining – which allows for consistent classification of mining activities and events enabling meaningful comparison of performance. An initiative is currently underway to adapt the GMG time model from the guideline to underground mining which would enable benchmarking of underground and surface mining operations.
Establishing a common baseline for comparing existing performance will accelerate industry innovation by providing an understanding of the activities that contribute to optimized performance. This collective strive to achieve best practice will raise the bar on industry performance through continuous improvement.
Assessing your needs
Please provide your input by taking this quick survey here, the results from which will serve as the basis for determining the scope and strategy of the initiative.
For further information, please contact us here.