To operate as effectively as possible, your FMS must be customized to meet your mine site’s specific needs. The following is an overview of the six key steps in implementing an effective FMS.
Step 1: Audit and stakeholder workshop
Before commencing any activity, it’s essential to conduct a detailed workshop with all key stakeholders and an audit of your existing infrastructure.
This will help you determine:
■ What FMS infrastructure is currently in place?
■ What stakeholders want from better fuel and lubricant management.
■ Major issues and priorities relating to fuel and lubricant management.
■ How your site operates and manages fuel supply, storage, and dispensing.
■ What volumes are consumed by the product?
Step 2: Create a business case
After the site audit and stakeholder workshop, a detailed business case should be developed for stakeholder approval.
This should include:
Documentation of current fuel and lubricant management practices at your site, key personnel, and key management personnel involved.
■ Options for FMS implementation.
■ Stage of FMS development and implementation.
■ Detailed costings and costed benefits with the financial business case.
■ Lifecycle costs such as software support, hardware maintenance, and end-of-life parts replacement.
■ Recommended processes and procedures to be implemented.
■ Management presentations.
Step 3: Design and Install
Once the project is approved, a detailed design and installation should be completed. Typically, local installation teams with long-standing servicing relationships at the mine can be engaged to conduct the majority of installation activities, with the FMS contractor overseeing design, supervision, commissioning, training, and handover.
Step 4: Establish KPIs
Once installed, ongoing measurement of your FMS is vital.
Our fuel management system will enable you to determine which metrics to use as a baseline for improving and establishing progressive performance KPIs.
Step 5: Identify benchmarks and performance management criteria
Once sufficient data is obtained from your new fuel management system, you can begin benchmarking to drive performance improvement. FluidIntel has considerable data across numerous metrics for managing fuel and lubricants on mine sites. All our benchmarking data is anonymous, so one mining company cannot identify another company’s data. In addition to benchmarking quantitative data across specific KPIs, FluidIntel also provides a qualitative bell curve to help companies in the planning stages of implementing a fuel management system understand their current position (see Figure 1).
Step 6: Compile a continuous improvement plan and lifecycle management plan
To remain effective, your fuel management system must be continually reviewed and measured to ensure it stays relevant and current. A costed lifecycle plan should include establishment costs, maintenance over the asset's life, a software license fee, and support, as well as end-of-life replacement for components.
It’s important to remember that best practices cannot necessarily be achieved immediately. However, if you install a fit-for-purpose fuel management system and follow the recommendations in this document, your site will move towards its goal of best practices and improved profitability.
Summary
Fuel and lubricants are significant expenses for mine site operators. However, with a best-practice FMS, you can generate cost savings, ensure productivity improvements, and mitigate risks. As the concept of the digital mine gains traction, operating a high-quality fuel management system with real-time data and analytics is also becoming increasingly essential.
Best-practice fuel management involves establishing systems and building a culture that optimises all aspects of fuel and lubricant use.
The broadest measure of success is achieving site-wide reconciliation of deliveries and dispenses with an error rate of less than 1%. This ensures that data is accurate and that your team is doing the right thing. Good reconciliation performance also enables your senior management team to make more informed decisions, knowing the data they are acting on is accurate.
Each mining company and site operates differently, so you should prioritise implementing best practices to suit your purposes. However, most of the principles and practices outlined in this document will apply to your mine, at least to some extent. The benefits generated by implementing a fuel management system are likely the total of numerous minor improvements. However, a reasonable expectation should be a payback on your FMS investment in around one year.
Find out more
To learn more about how to improve your mine fuel operational efficiency, contact us.
This article is an excerpt from Veridapt’s Fueling Best Practice Guide for Mines. For more information, download the complete guide here.