Improving the Productivity of the Styldrift Platinum Mine using the Theory of Constraints

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to apply Theory of Constraints (TOC) to identify constraints affecting the Styldrift mine’s productivity and develop strategies on how TOC can be used to improve productivity in operations. Due to limitations in resources, the study was focused only on one crew. To identify the constraints limiting production at Styldrift mine, time and motion studies were conducted for a period of a month. The data was collected from direct observations as well as end of shift production reports. Control charts were then used to summarise the observations of the time and motion studies for each critical activity in each shift. The data from the Control charts was then analysed to identify the constraints. From the Control Charts, it was observed that the main constraint limiting productivity at the crew was the issue of blockages, as it contributed the most (42%) to the factors affecting production. After identifying the main constraint, a root cause analysis was conducted using TOC’s Current Reality Tree (CRT). The root cause analysis identified the mine’s cost cutting drives, the role of the union, long working hours, the mine’s local empowerment policies, and the utilization of the axess rig for other task other than the installation of secondary support, as the core problems leading to the blockages. To develop strategies to solve these core problems, the TOC’s Evaporating Cloud (EC) thought process (TP) tool was applied to come up with more optimal solutions to the identified problems. A Future Reality Tree (FRT) was then constructed using the EC. This research illustrated how the TOC’s thought process tools such as the EC, CRT and FRT can be applied in the mining context to identify constraints limiting productivity and develop strategies to exploit and eliminate those constraints. It however did not manage to illustrate explicitly how the five focus steps of TOC can be applied to improve productivity in the mining context. This is an area further research can focus on