At Rio Tinto, I was engaged to address a noticeable decline in performance across a mine value chain. Leadership sought a strategic review to identify root causes and unlock opportunities for improving throughput while maintaining operational efficiency and sustainability.

My responsibility was to conduct a thorough evaluation of the end-to-end mining value chain, pinpoint performance gaps, and recommend actionable strategies to optimise throughput and drive measurable improvements.

I initiated the project by initiating an end-to-end review of the value chain analysing data from various stages of the value chain, from resource extraction to processing and logistics. By collaborating with site teams and stakeholders, Leveraging Lean and Six Sigma principles I identified bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and misaligned processes that were contributing to performance decline. I developed and proposed targeted interventions, including process redesigns, equipment optimisation, and enhanced scheduling methods. I facilitated cross-functional workshops to align teams on improvement opportunities, develop a future state plan.

The strategic review identified key areas for improvement that collectively had the potential to increase throughput by 15-20%. With the Leadership team the outcomes were prioritised and developed into a road map aligned to the annual targets. The initial engagement led to two other sites following a similar intervention and recognition that an enterprise view of the value chain would unlock more potential. Subsequently, this led to completing the exercise on an enterprise level for the system with the central internal team of analysts.

• Process Effectiveness & Automation

• Mining and Metals