Author page: MEC

At the end of this article I reckon I might be able to answer my own question.

The team and I were talking the other day about how hard it is to get real data that can be used for bench-marking equipment performance. It can be expensive and not always reliable. So I thought I would test the theory that most people have the same problem and most people hold a small piece of data about their own equipment that would help complete the overall puzzle for everyone.

MEC was invited to assist with design work for the earthworks associated with the Nicaragua Canal Project. The canal is the largest civil earthmoving operation and biggest dredging venture in history and, requires excavation of approximately 5 billion cubic meters of material.

Yes, you are reading this right, procostination, not procrastination is most likely stealing value from your business. What is procostination? It is (apart from a word i made up) the action of delaying or postponing spending money on something that will deliver value. I am sure you have countless examples of where you have seen this or even done it yourself.

Anyone who has done FIFO or DIDO probably has countless stories about their camp experiences. Equally positive and negative I am sure.

Having spent over a decade doing FIFO myself I was recently reflecting in a discussion, with a new graduate on what my experiences were like.

An ASX listed mining company engaged MEC to find a high quality Mine Manager for their owners team at their flagship open cut mine in Norway. MEC undertook the full recruitment process including interviews, medicals, reference checks and physiological testing to find the best candidate for the role.

If you shut your eyes for a second and visualise this, a person trying to stuff an octopus into a suitcase. Arms going everywhere, a few arms go in and then others come out, trying to close the lid, it is just not going to happen. Have you ever been so busy that you feel like this could be you, or are there people in your office that are like this all the time?

Making decisions is a critical part of running any business, the success of your company depends on it. Most situations are not necessarily black or white; there is often greyness in issues you confront on a daily basis. Getting comfortable with the greyness or uncertainty in any choice is key to maintaining momentum.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the coal, copper and gold-mining industries, David is a highly experienced and versatile mining operations and technical professional. He joined MEC in February, 2015 as a Principal Mining Engineer and is highly adept at delivering successful mining projects. Prior to joining MEC, David has held high-level operations and technical roles such as Mining Superintendent at CST Minerals Lady Annie Pty Ltd and Operations Manager and Superintendent Operations Planning at BHP Billiton.