The Future of Mining: Data-Led Decision Making

Q: Arun, can we start by your telling us a little bit about your professional background and your current role as Chief Data Officer at Anglo American?

A: I have a Master’s Degree in computer science and I began my career in the oil and gas industry 22 years ago. I worked on a variety of software products and services, and eventually ran a software business that delivered some digital transformation to the oil and gas industry. I recently joined Anglo American as the mining industry looks forward to its own digital transformation. In my current role, my team and I are working to transform the way the mining industry is using data to make decisions, and ultimately make that digital transformation happen at Anglo American. We are doing this by identifying the areas that are best suited for digital transformation initiatives and determining how to go about building and implementing new technologies. We also have to be focused on our customers to ensure that our initiatives are selected with a view towards value generation and that eventually we meet their expectations.

Q: What does operational excellence mean to Anglo American?

A: At Anglo American, operational excellence is very much centred around benchmarking. We benchmark what a performance could look like for a certain activity in the mining industry and then try to achieve and exceed that. That is done through process definition (which we call the operating model), process automation, training, and empowering our people, etc. There is a drive within the organization to achieve greater levels of operational excellence which results in the launching of many initiatives under the operational excellence umbrella. The digital transformation portion, in which I am involved, is just another way to achieve operational excellence. Anglo American is focusing on the FutureSmart Mining program, with which you hope to redefine the future of mining through innovation. Part of this is The Intelligent Mine in which data science and machine learning will create a smarter mine.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about this?

A: FutureSmart Mining involves many aspects, including sustainability and environmental stewardship, technology and innovation and The Intelligent Mine. The Intelligent Mine initiative focuses on machine learning, data analytics, and data integration in order to de-silo the different steps in the mining value chain. Decisions within the value chain are made with whatever information is available, which often doesn’t paint whole picture. We are hoping to bring together geoscience mining, processing, asset management, safety, and marketing, and make all of their data holistically available. Decisions, now, can be based on driving overall operational excellence rather than in siloed isolation as they were before, thus instilling more confidence in those decisions. One of our main focus areas right now involves understanding the quality and presence of our data and how we are bringing it together. At the end of the day, the quality of the data drives decisions and recommendations. We are putting a lot of effort into ensuring that the available data is the best it can be.

Q: What do you see as the connection between operational excellence and FutureSmart Mining?

A: FutureSmart Mining is the organisation’s focus on bringing together concepts that will be important in the future and empowering our employees to think in that direction. The Intelligent Mine is of course, a part of this initiative, and operational excellence comes into play in how we execute the mine and its many parts. Digital Transformation is a method, or yet another way to achieve operational excellence – alongside process improvement, training, etc.

Q: How has Anglo American fared so far in achieving its vision of The Intelligent Mine?

A: Though this is just the beginning, we have a clear road map for the project. We know what our team structure should look like, what the engagement model is for our customers, and what the partner ecosystem would be like. With this we have a strong foundation on which to execute the program. We have already started working on a number of projects, some of which have started to pay a dividend. For example, we are running a predictive maintenance algorithm in one of our mine sites that tells us when parts need to be maintained out of sequence from their regular maintenance. This allows us to achieve greater operational throughput because we don’t run into as much unexpected downtime and loss of productivity. We have also had success in using artificial intelligence to predict the movement of commodities. To summarize the initiative, I would say selecting the right projects makes all the difference. Trying to make sure we build it correctly with the right design allows us to scale and to ensure the success of the program. We need to make sure that we look closely at how we are affecting people and their lives. The transformation is going to take some time and I think people have to be patient as we work through the challenges on the technology side as well as the people and process management side to ensure that the program achieves the desired results.

Q: Can you tell us about some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way?

A: The necessary culture change is a huge challenge in a transformation like this and at the same time, is the key to the entire journey. We can do everything that is possible with cloud computing and machine learning etc. but until people actually use the technology and feel comfortable doing so, its overall impact will not be realized. We are lucky in that there is a strong pull towards this technology at Anglo American. Collectively, we’ve been waiting for it and we are encouraged by how close we are from a technology standpoint to be able to deliver this data integration. We are ready. That being said, it does require education and buy-in from employees at all levels of the organization. We hope that by focusing on our people we will make this change easier. We are doing this by providing the proper tools and training for them to be successful and ensuring that they truly understand what this transformation means. With this, we are certain that people will see the benefits and be less resistant.

Q: In your presentation at the Operational Excellence in Energy, Chemicals and Resources Summit you will touch on the role of software architecture in enabling digital transformation. Can you elaborate on that?

A: Software architecture and design thinking are core capabilities that are needed for digital transformation because it helps with scaling and sustainability. Many projects are going to be similar to each other and overlap. If we get the design of the architecture correct, it allows us to leverage our partners more effectively and that gives us scale. We can take projects that were successful in one particular area and repeat them again and again which also gives us scale. Most importantly, the biggest challenge in these projects is data cleaning and data integration. The right architecture allows us to leverage any data that is already in the system for subsequent projects, preventing duplication of work. The entire digital transformation is underpinned by getting the architecture right.

Q: Finally, are there any future FutureSmart Mining initiatives that you are looking ahead to?

A: It’s important to remember that FutureSmart Mining is broader than the digital initiative. I’ve been really impressed by how the organization has focused on sustainability. In the digital space, however, I think our goal to empower people to make better decisions really holds the promise of increased value in our employees, our shareholders and the organisation. Focusing on our employees is something that we need to realise the full potential there. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.