Achiever Plus helps Assmang mining operations meet SHERQ (safety, health, environmental, business risk, quality) demands
Assmang Limited, South AFRICABackground :
Assmang Limited, based in South Africa, is a leading producer and supplier of manganese, iron ore and chrome to steel mills and alloy plants across the world. The company’s iron ore division is situated in the Northern Cape where it operates the established Beeshoek mine with its five open-cast pits and processing plant, and is currently building the infrastructure around the new Khumani project. The company is owned by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Assore. |
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The Challenge Mining companies such as Assmang are required to comply with strict health and safety and environmental regulations, intended to protect workers and safeguard the long-term future of the land that is being mined. Failure to show that regulations are being adhered to can result in operations being closed by government departments until compliance can be clarified. Closure, even in the short-term, threatens both profitability and jobs.
At the iron ore division, Assmang had been attempting to run manual quality control systems to comply with government regulations and the international standards required by European customers - ISO9001, ISO14001 and ISO18001. It had become a major battle to keep accurate and timely records to demonstrate to government officials and even insurers that the business was being managed properly. Assmang management decided that the time had come to introduce an integrated management system that would simplify and improve control
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The Solution Quality and Risk Supervisor at the Iron Ore Division, Ronelle van der Walt, explains what happened next: “We were working with a number of consultants who were helping us to develop the integration issue. One of those consultants was from Wynleigh, which is a reseller for the Achiever Plus in South Africa. We asked him to provide more information about Achiever Plus, and realised that this was the right solution for us.”
By implementing Achiever Plus for document control, Assmang has enabled all users to view consistent and up-to-date versions of procedures and processes. Everyone with a PC, from mine managers through to supervisors, has reader access and can easily call up documents for viewing. Of those, 75 users have various levels of reviewing and approving authority that allows them to take part in the development new versions of documents. Users in different parts of the business are encouraged to take responsibility for their own documents, to ensure they are updated and approved to the required standards. The result has been a very positive effect on how the company is complying with regulations, and its ability to prove that compliance.
Assmang worked with local supplier Wynleigh to implement the solution. Ronelle appreciates the support that Wynleigh was able to provide as a consultant and a local helpdesk, and expects to continue working with the company into the future.
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The Benefits
One of the greatest benefits has been the benefit to demonstrate clearly and quickly compliance with statutory requirements. “Since we implemented Achiever Plus, we have not had a single finding against us regarding document control from external auditors,” says Ronnelle van der Walt. “That gives us a great deal of confidence.”
The other clear benefit is greater efficiency, says Ronelle. “It’s easy to make changes, even if they are major. We save a great deal of time in the review and approval process. As we send each document out to five or six reviewers in different locations, getting feedback and approval had been very time-consuming. Now the whole system is electronic and everyone can receive the document at the same time. When it comes to approvals we have an electronic escalation process that ensures everyone in the chain sees and approves the document.” With the system in place the revision and approvals process is much faster, and there’s little possibility of people or processes falling out of the loop.
Added to that is consistency of procedures, forms, code of practices and processes across the company. “The system is live,” explains Ronelle, “so everyone can see the latest version of any document with just the click of a button.”
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Wynleigh Int (Pty) Ltd, who supplied this system to Assmang, are authorised resellers of Achiever Plus
Based in Durban, Wynleigh International (Pty) Ltd was founded in 1996 with a defined objective to develop the organisation to a leading global company focusing on 'Standards-driven business processes'.
Wynleigh have long established expertise in Achiever Plus applications and serve customers throughout Southern Africa.
Contact: Tony Cunningham - TonyC@wynleigh.co.za
Tel: +27 31 566 4750
www. wynleigh.co.za |
The Future
As the Khumani mine becomes established, the number of users within the iron ore division will grow, says Ronelle. Its success is attributable not just to the benefits achieved, but also to the ease of transition and use that users have experienced. “We have had a very good response from users,” she says. “It’s very easy to learn and use. We give them a presentation with screen shots to familiarise them with the system, and now they use nothing else.” The benefits of the solution and its ease of use make it a potential candidate for standardisation across the business.
Ronelle van der Walt is very satisfied with the way Achiever Plus is helping Assmang comply with important regulations: “Achiever Plus is an excellent document control solution, backed up by easily accessible local support. All in all, it’s a great program to work with.”
Achiever Plus is an excellent document control solution, backed up by easily accessible local support. All in all, it’s a great program to work with
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www.wynleigh.co.za
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