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In this article, the last of our Digital Transformation Series, we look at how digital transformation roadmaps can provide a strategic, iterative approach to digital transformation for your site.
Treating digital transformation as an evolution
The mining and minerals processing industries have the potential for significant operational and production benefits when digital solutions are applied with a strategic, iterative approach, aligned with change leadership principles and tailored to workforce skills and behaviours.
Embracing digital change as an evolution, rather than complete transformation, can solve a range of operations-wide challenges efficiently and effectively.
Start with where you can unlock value
Identifying where you can unlock value before you begin is crucial. As Paul Mitchell, EY Global Mining & Metals Leader writes, “We take the view that digital initiatives should only be commenced where there is a demonstrable link to productivity and cost benefits. Sometimes this will require a long-term view; but organisations should avoid doing digital without this link to exploiting clear business opportunities”. Again, technology adoption is pivotal for long-term, sustainable impact to happen.
The key to digital transformation then is to first assess a plant’s digital health (e.g., enabling infrastructure and technology, processes and people) and then develop a roadmap with clear actions that unlock value and engage the workforce.
Embarking on digital transformation
Key things to consider when embarking on your digital transformation journey include:
- Ensuring that sufficient and appropriate enabling infrastructure, including cybersecurity, is in place
- Starting at the bottleneck
- Reinvesting unlocked value to incrementally and progressively push bottlenecks downstream
- Selecting a partner that can bring other complementary partners to the table to operate as a collective
- Engaging your workforce with dedicated change leadership to achieve technology adoption/ownership and upskill
The path to success
The mining industry must keep up with digital transformation trends to remain competitive in the post-COVID world and benefit from the many benefits that this can bring to the sector. With such a high failure rate for digital transformation projects, resulting in wasted money and little improvement on the plant floor, digital transformation strategies should focus on enabling infrastructure, human factors and operational excellence to ensure they are successful. Additionally, to avoid failure, companies should have a clear plan, focus on unlocking system bottlenecks and ensure employee engagement and ownership.
For help on assessing your operation’s level of digital maturity, get in touch with our team of experts.
Interested in learning more about digital transformation?
Download our digital transformation whitepaper
Click on the link below to download our full Digital Transformation whitepaper.
In this whitepaper, you will learn about the challenges facing miners in the post-COVID world and the impact of digital technologies in unlocking new levels of prosperity for both industry and society.
