Tips to Improve Maintenance in Mining and Metal Industry

The mining and metal industry is unpredictable and there is a lot of heavy work. The safety of employees working in the mine is a major concern for the management of the organization.

Equipment maintenance in mining is essential. There are assets and equipment that are used to do the heavy work. There are lots of things that need attention, for instance, the mining industry is surviving only on limited resources so they cannot waste anything.

Restricted sources and low-profit margin put pressure on departments to save expenses that include maintenance department as well. Increasing asset performance and optimization. They need to make decisions to make full utilization of assets.

Why Employee's Safety Is the Biggest Concern in the Mining Industry?

The mining industry is very dangerous. Underground mining is more dangerous than surface mining. China mines are considered the world's deadliest mines of the world. In China, 10-15 miners are killed every day.

The mining industry is huge lots of people are depending on it. However, the misfortunate event takes place regularly in this industry.

According to Statista,  “In 2019, there were 37 fatal mining accidents in Peru, which accounted for a total of 40 deaths. That same year, another 1,196 accidents left people badly injured or incapacitated, while 3,242 light accidents were reported. The mining industry in Peru directly employed nearly 209 thousand people.”

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Poisonous gases are considered one of the main reasons behind mishaps in the mining industry.

What Safety Measures Should Be Taken for Employees?

The environment in the mining industry for employees is arduous they shall be provided with the best machines and equipment. These machines should be well maintained. When maintenance is given to assets their failure chances are reduced and employee safety is increased.

One of the main reasons behind the accident is human error as they utilize pen and paper method for a safety inspection. Adding to that assumptions were made which only led to wrong decisions.

What Are the Tips for Maintenance in the Mining and Metal Industry?

There are many mining maintenance solutions (tips) available for the mining and metal Industry:

1. Providing Upkeep on Time

Every asset is crucial in the mining industry and to keep it working it should be well maintained. These assets perform activities that are intensive work so maintenance is significant. even a small issue can be drastic for the organization. Thus, providing maintenance on time is important. If asset breakdown occurs that will increase downtime & downtime is bad for business.

2. Eliminate Pen & Paper Method

For a better clear picture of assets and equipment pen and paper, the method shall be removed completely from the organization. Managers utilize this method thinking that it will increase productivity however it does the contrary! It does not provide accurate data which is not good for business. It is prone to error.

Furthermore, paper can be lost and misplaced and if you want to find the paper which is 2 years old, it will not only be time-consuming and still there is no guarantee that you will find that document. With software, you can find any document within minutes.

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3. Be Proactive, Not Reactive

When maintenance expenses are an important part of the business that you should not wait for the asset to fail. It can turn into an expensive mistake when you ignore small mistakes in machines because these issues start to grow and affect other parts of the machine as well as a result when it fails technicians create a huge bill for maintenance expenses lot of parts become useless and you need to bought new inventory.

Thus, it is time to move from reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance. In this maintenance, bills are reduced and does not interrupt daily operation as well. Furthermore, it prolongs asset life. It is considered one of the best mining maintenance solutions for all industries.

4. Monitor Assets Regularly

An asset should be always monitored especially in those areas which can impact the performance of the asset. The maintenance team should always acquire data of each asset so that whenever a small issue is found swift maintenance is aligned. Avoiding sudden breakdown of assets. As we said earlier maintenance can cut profit margin. Monitoring asset condition is basic to safe and secure operations, especially in remote locations.

5. Invest in Maintenance Software

Maintenance software will save you from manual management and lead you to an automated process. Moreover, you don't have to remember manually which asset needs maintenance. It will keep your mind free for other activities. This software will increase asset life and provide reports that are helpful in unproductive assets. It is also helpful in business decisions.

Investing in maintenance software is the best mining maintenance solution. This software will also ensure that safety rules and regulations are followed making your organization safety compliant. This will also enhance safety for employees. It also makes sure that the auditor has the precise data and information about your organization making your organization transparent.

Conclusion

Mine and metal industry has a lot of competition. To get the competitive edge asset management software is required. It takes care of mining equipment maintenance but also helps in asset tracking and gathering useful data. It can keep assets and equipment safe and sound. Furthermore, this software avoids asset & equipment theft and misplacement.

This software provides lots of features, from asset movement history to maintenance history. It can also show the complete list of assets and each asset maintenance history. Furthermore, it has the potential to show real-time information of each asset.

Unquestionably, this software can contribute a lot to your organization and it can save you lots of expenses. If you want to take your business to another level this software is capable of doing that.

Also Read: 4 Maintenance Management Tips to Avoid Equipment Failure

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why asset maintenance is crucial for the mining industry?‍

Asset maintenance is crucial for the mining industry because it minimizes the risk of asset failure and maximizes the safety of employees. Moreover, it avoids unnecessary maintenance expenses & decreases asset downtime.

2. How maintenance reports are helpful to business?

‍Maintenance reports are helpful to businesses as they provide insight into assets life, maintenance history and they can help in growing business by making data-driven decisions.

3. How asset management helps the mining industry?‍

Asset management helps the mining industry in the following ways:
1. Increasing asset life
2. Reducing downtime of the asset
3. Increase response time to work order
4. Asset tracking & repair history
5. Saving maintenance cost
6. Inventory tracking for effective maintenance
7. Safety compliance and standard