Fitzroy Australia Resources is partnering with leading software company Commit Works to introduce digital planning and short interval control at its Carborough Downs coal mine in the Bowen Basin region of central Queensland.
In keeping with its reputation for innovative and dynamic thinking, Fitzroy’s leadership team says the time is right to introduce the new technology, which will facilitate better coordination of work across the site and contribute to improved productivity and safety.
The Fewzion planning and scheduling software will be used by frontline planners, schedulers and coordinators, while supervisors, deputies and the crew will use large touchscreens and the integrated short interval control (SIC) app on intrinsically safe smartphones and tablets to communicate the progress of their work underground, ultimately keeping the planning and reporting process live.
Richard Livingstone-Blevins, Fitzroy’s COO, welcomed the change. “This is a necessary and exciting step in our journey. Fewzion is a system that has been successfully implemented and proven in all of the industry-leading operations.”
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“One of the most important fundamentals that underpins our business is the daily, weekly and monthly planning process,” Mr Livingstone-Blevins explained.
“In order to be as successful as possible, the process needs to be supported by a tool that makes the development of the plan easy to undertake and easy to follow. We have a belief that our systems should support our personnel, not vice versa, and that by implementing a solution that makes it easier for our employees to plan, the net result will be higher quality plans transferring into greater execution rates.”
The Commit Works team has nearly completed the rapid 12-week rollout of the system at Carborough Downs, after which Fitzroy expects to see immediate improvements in coordination across their teams and a resultant uplift in productivity and efficiency.
“The ultimate goal is to have a system that supports highly efficient and effective planning, making the planning process easier and less time-consuming for our employees, as well as being able to be utilised for short interval control in order to drive ownership of the outcomes of the plan,” said Mr Livingstone-Blevins.
He went on to explain that Fewzion would replace Fitzroy’s legacy spreadsheet system and be integrated with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
“We look forward to working with the Commit Works team in delivering a successful business-wide planning solution, which will ultimately result in a safer and more productive operation.”
Looking ahead, Fitzroy intends to implement Fewzion into future operations as it continues on its journey to build out its portfolio.
“We are pleased to be partnering with the team at Fitzroy Australia Resources and look forward to bringing practical digital transformation to their frontline teams. We are confident this will deliver improved results and significantly benefit their business in a sustainable way,” said Commit Works CEO Paul Moynagh.
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