Maintenance and Inventory for The Small Mine

Maintenance and inventory are usually the last items considered in mine development. They need to be addressed properly and early. The micro-computer brings sophistication within the reach of even the smallest mines. Maintenance and inventory programs, if properly installed, will reduce costs 15 to 25% and allow management time to address the mining and metallurgical problems at start up. Shops and warehouses are rarely designed properly. Large engineering firms spend 5 to 20 times more than is necessary for first class facilities. There is an optimum design, size, and layout. Take the time necessary to assure you get the right people, programs, and facilities in that order. Maintenance, inventory, and inventory control must be addressed early if a small mine is to have a chance at optimizing costs during the first two years of operation. This is hard work and is usually put on the back burner until the mine is in some degree of trouble. Hiring an experienced maintenance superintendent is important but it is not the complete solution. Maintenance systems, design of facilities, and use of computers are not skills that maintenance people usually have. In addition, the work of ordering spare parts and working with erection people is a full time job and any maintenance people on site during construction are quickly recruited. The end result is that few mines start up with an adequate Maintenance or Inventory System in place. The months, and in some cases years, that the mine attempts to operate without a system are both painful and expensive. Designs of successful integrated maintenance and inventory programs are virtually 100% supported with some outside assistance. Our system is the approach that we are most familiar with and this paper will isolate how Rushton International would go about setting up systems and designing support facilities. Micro-computers are the only way for a small mine to go. ~ini-computers cost more originally and operating costs are many times higher than even the most sophisticated micro system. Micro- computer software is developed further and recent advances in hardware makes medium priced units equal to most mini's in RAW COMPUTER POWER. Mines in general, and especially small mines, have no need for main frame power. MAINTENANCE A good maintenance program has: 1. Equipment Master List a. Equipment Detail Reports 2. Work Order and Backlog Control Program 3. Component Control Program 4. Tire Program 5. Wear Materials Program 6. PM Control Program 7. Maintenance History Program 8. Performance Program We also track miscellaneous items such as MSHA training and inspections, timekeeping, etc. Rather than going through the program step-by-step, it makes more sense to go through a typical Maintenance Day and show how the programs are used. The first thing maintenance supervision needs to know is "how we are doing." We