Singrauli, India, Underneath the hot sun and haze, the team consisting of members from Scania Mining, Scania India, and the customer, VPR Mining Infrastructure Pvt Ltd., had shown true collaborative effort. They performed a 24-hour test implementing one of the lean principles on the transport flow, as a part of an 18-month Scania Site Optimisation Project.

The test consisted of balancing of the flow, where an excavator was assigned certain number of trucks based on the total number of trucks and excavators, as well as the truck's average cycle time. The process continued for 24 hours. The aim for the test was to show that with the right number of trucks per excavator and a defined Takt time, queuing and waiting time are significantly reduced and productivity increases.

The successful result showed more than 30% increase in productivity per truck involved in the test compared to the rest of the fleet.

This is an example of how Scania Site Optimisation realistically adapt lean principles to the real-world mining operation.

What is Scania Site Optimisation?

Scania Site Optimisation is a framework of tools, methods, and information to improve mining transport operations. The core of this service framework is to holistically view the mine as a factory, and implement the lean principle, tools, and methods.

Identifying and remedying inefficiencies within the key areas of TIME, LOAD, ROAD, SAFETY and SUSTAINABILITY will help the mining customers increase revenue, manage risks, and reduce cost.

"The most important aspect of the project is the collaboration with the customer. It's about working together to find improvements, prioritise what needs to be done, and implement the solution. Without the collaborative work, this will just be theory on paper" said Jon Fangel, Project Manager for Scania Site Optimisation.

The project in Singrauli is entering its sixth month with promising results. VPR and Scania are working together to make sure that the implementation is embedded in the ways of working with continuous improvements.

"Years of experience in implementing the lean principles on our own organization is a proof of our concept", said Björn Winblad, Head of Scania Mining.

To learn more, Scania Mining and VPR Mining Infrastructure will be speaking at Mines & Technology Conference in Helsinki during 29th May - 1st June 2017 about Optimising Mining Operation Through Lean Principles and Collaboration between Supplier and Mine Operator.

Take a look at the event website to find out the full list of speakers, download the event programme and register here.

You can also get a special 15% discount off the full conference pass by using a discount code MF949SCANIA15

To learn more about Scania Mining, please go to http://mining.scania.com or contact us at mining@scania.com