Overcoming the Difficulties of Asset Management in the Mining Industry

Mining is a very large industry in Australia and is probably second only to tourism as top contributor to the country’s economy. It was, in the distant past, instrumental in preventing bankruptcy, and even now, is instrumental in supporting local communities and the creation of jobs. Despite its undeniably big contributions, the mining industry is one of the most difficult to manage sectors. Managing assets alone is incredibly difficult as there are more than a handful of factors that can put physical assets at risk, and nearly all of them are uncontrollable and can’t be influenced as easily.

The Difficulty in Executing the Vision

Mainpac.com.au cites that currently, “the industry’s focus is shifting from a period of large-scale investment to one of efficiency maximisation and cost reduction.” However, there’s always been the difficulty of implementing and executing the strategies that would help improve efficiency and reduce costs. The difficulty is actually quite understandable. Mining is a very large industry and the factors that affect its efficiency don’t always boil down to a simple increase in demand. Furthermore, despite the many contributions of smart asset management in the sector, it seems to have not ‘matured’ beyond its current capabilities. Maturity is important, as it is, in effect, a reflection of the ability of a certain sector to adapt to widespread and sudden changes.

Making Asset Management Work

Executing the strategies, as well as the ability of these strategies to adapt, is essentially what ‘correct’ asset management should be like in order to be effective in such a large and results-driven sector. Ideally, there should be a clear alignment and relationship between the mining business’ organisational strategies and operational plans and assets. Failure to draw a clear line between these three results in only a partial managed function, which, despite being able to address current scenarios and difficulties in the industry, fails to look at the long-term challenges that the mining sector may face. In the end, the best way to realize asset management to its fullest is to create extensive strategies that go beyond just addressing the things in the now. Without these, mining businesses will only be performing at half their capacity, and may not be as efficient as it appears to be.