Integrated Operating Centres
Key Challenges
Resources companies across Australia are currently facing a number of challenges. These include:
- a reducing pool of mining expertise and skills;
- retained (high value) operational knowledge that is locked into specific sites, functions or individuals;
- mining operations are becoming larger and more complex to manage on a distributed basis;
- pressure to invest in more regional infrastructure (e.g. housing) to support growing FIFO, residential or construction sites;
- achieving system and process standardisation across culturally and geographically separated operations;
- how to minimise the safety risk of operating high-value mining operations in dangerous locations; and
- how to leverage production automation technologies.
Benefits of Integrated Operating Centres
The concept of establishing Integrated (or Remote) Operations Centres (IOC) has gained significant momentum amongst resources companies in recent years as they are able to:
- enable holistic management and visibility of the whole organisation / supply chain from a single location;
- introduces simpler and more effective ways of working for operational disciplines;
- improve production processes, collaboration and knowledge sharing across operations;
- drive system and process standardisation;
- reduces costs (i.e. fewer flights to site);
- removes the need to provide accommodation for people who don't need to be on site to do their job (freed accommodation can then be used to increase the number of people who do need to be site-based);
- supports faster integration of new mine into the production site portfolio;
- faster, and improved quality, decision making based on improved access to information, systems and people; and
- create a focal point for automation technologies to be developed and deployed.
Our Expertise
Velrada's unique expertise in the operational and technical design / commissioning of IOCs is driven by a core team of specialists who have designed and implemented multiple IOCs in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.
We able to provide consulting services in a wide range of areas
relevant to: the business case justification, design and
implementation of IOC projects. Our consultants have real
experience in both the design and delivery of Integrated and Remote
Operations Centres, and the associated: technologies; business
process transformation; and change management challenges that are
associated with their creation.
The Velrada IOC Consulting Practice is able to manage the full
lifecycle of an IOC project from concept to go-live. We are able to
offer consulting services in:
- IOC Business Case / Conceptual IOC Design development
- IOC Location Analysis (national and international)
- Project / Programme Management (design and implementation)
- Control Floor and Support Building layout design
- Detailed design for core technologies (e.g. control console design, critical communications, computer room design etc.)
- Site enablement audits and work package design for delivering remote connectivity
- Business Analysis (e.g. process mapping/ re-design, role re-location identification, technology / facility support model development, change management, training design etc.)
- Information Management (e.g. document control and drawing management, video wall content design etc.)
- Procurement Planning / Contracting Plan Development
- Solutions Integration