Looking beyond repair: Scenario planning for the fleet
With clear data on real-time hours, mechanical degradation, and utilisation bottlenecks, it was evident that the operation had reached a point where a more deliberate strategy was needed. In practice, all approaches — maintenance, rebuilds, and targeted replacements — were already occurring to some degree. The challenge was not choosing one over the others, but structuring these decisions into a unified plan. The objective of the Life-of-Mine Equipment Strategy Study was to evaluate how these parallel activities could be formalised, phased, and aligned with operational demand and financial planning.
Rather than react to ageing fleet constraints year by year, the study aimed to create a long-term view — one that management could commit to through a signed-off budget and execution framework tied to the Life-of-Mine Plan.
Evolving into mine strategy: Incorporating fleet options into long-term planning
As the study progressed, mine management recognised that the output could serve a broader purpose. It became clear that there was real value in linking equipment strategy to the mine’s Life-of-Mine Plan (LoMP). The idea wasn’t to just evaluate scenarios in isolation, but to formally demonstrate how each strategy — whether rebuild, replace, or hybrid — would shape long-term performance, cost exposure, and scheduling.
With this in mind, the Life-of-Mine Equipment Strategy Study was progressively integrated into the LoMP framework, complete with OPEX and CAPEX overlays. This enabled management to understand how the most appropriate fleet strategy could be budgeted, phased, and executed over time. In doing so, potential replacements and rebuilds were no longer treated as one-off events. They became forecasted investments — embedded in strategic plans and aligned with broader production and financial targets.
Building the bridge to execution — quietly and confidently
Though not originally intended as an implementation plan, the Life-of-Mine Equipment Strategy Study naturally progressed in that direction. The clarity of its findings created momentum. Workshops were held with operations, procurement, and finance. Scenarios were broken down into manageable phases — from specific machine groups and renewal timelines to supplier coordination and logistics sequencing. Decision points were established, allowing flexibility should market or site conditions shift. The transition from feasibility to execution was measured and deliberate. No disruption. No confusion. Just structured progress, grounded in logic and readiness.
Seeing strategy through the lens of practicality
What made this study different wasn’t the technology. It wasn’t the dashboards or the data feeds. It was the practical thinking behind the analysis. By combining operational intelligence tools developed under my strategic direction with decades of hands-on asset management experience — especially through TacminMadini’s BlueForge division — the study delivered something rare: a strategy grounded not only in engineering logic, but in operational reality and commercial intent. Every scenario was evaluated not just for mechanical feasibility, but for its strategic contribution to the mine’s overarching business plan.
One operation. One question. One transformation.
This journey began with a simple insight: data alone isn’t enough — it’s what you do with it that counts. By transforming insights into structured feasibility and integrating those outcomes into long-term planning, this mine redefined how it manages its fleet — not as an operational cost centre, but as a strategic enabler of production certainty and capital alignment. It began with connected intelligence, progressed through structured scenario modelling, and now continues through deliberate, informed execution — guided by the same structured, practical approach that shaped the strategy itself.
Ready to Formalise Your Equipment Strategy?
If you’re exploring how to formalise fleet decisions into a capital-aligned plan — not as a standalone exercise, but as part of broader project delivery certainty — I’d welcome the opportunity to share how this approach has evolved and how it might be adapted to your context.
Sarel Blaauw at TacminMadini.
