Retrospective future proofing of a copper mine: Quantification of errors and omissions in ‘As-built’ documentation

Highlights

• Within the mining industry the handover process of documentation process is typically undertaken manually.

• There is a propensity for the ‘As-built’ documentation for a mine to contain errors, omissions and considerable amounts of redundant information.

• The Systems Information Model (SIM) can be modelled the connections of physical equipment in an object-orientated database.

• The SIM can provide owners and operators with significant productivity benefits as well as ensure the asset’s integrity.

Abstract

The electrical instrumentation control systems (EICS) ‘As-built’ documentations of a copper mine were found to possess a significant errors and omissions, which hindered the asset owner’s ability to undertake effective and efficient operations and maintenance. A Systems Information Model (SIM) was used to retrospectively create a connected system to ensure all physical equipment and the associated connections that were constructed are modelled in an object-orientated database. In creating the SIM, the existing errors and omissions in the ‘As-built’ documentation were quantified, and cost savings that could be achieved for a future planned copper mine, with a similar design, were identified. The limitations of using conventional computer-aided-design (CAD) to design and document EICS are discussed. It is recommended that retrospectively creating a SIM can provide owners and operators with significant productivity benefits as well as ensure the asset’s integrity. The case study presented provides asset owners and operators with the empirical evidence to challenge conventional thinking surrounding the design, engineering and documentation of EICS using CAD and alternatively consider the use of SIM.

Introduction

“An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it”.

(Orlando Aloysius Battista)

‘Future Proofing’ ensures that an asset continues to be of value into the future (Love et al., 2015). As environmental aspects continue to change with increasing speed, the requirements that assets must meet in terms of health and safety, flexibility and cost-effectiveness are becoming ever more demanding. An innate feature of ‘Future Proofing’ assets is determining the ‘best option’ that provides optimum value so as to ensure an asset can be built at minimum expense in consideration of a project’s life cycle.

While obtaining optimum value will invariably be a key business driver for asset owners, existing technology (e.g., computer-aided-design (CAD)) and processes used to engineer and document a new mining project, for example, may stymied this goal. This is due, in part, to the engineering and documentation produced by Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) and EPC Management (EPCM) contractors and their consultants, which often contains errors, omissions and redundant information (Love et al., 2014). In the mining industry, electrical instrumentation and control systems (EICS) account for 29% of the world’s capital expenditure on plant. In plant operations, EICS typically accounts for 60% of maintainable items as well as being critical to safe and efficient operations. Thus, it is imperative that ‘As-built’ documentation is error-free and reflects precisely what has been installed. If EICS are ineffectively and inefficiently designed and documented, then an asset owners’ plant, equipment and facilities may fail to operate and meet production targets, which can result in considerable economic loss and jeopardise safety and adversely impact their share price.

This paper presents a case study of a copper mine whose owner was dissatisfied with the EICS ‘As-built’ documentation which was provided on completion and hand-over of their mine. Essentially, errors and omissions were prevalent within the documentation provided, which impacted their ability to effectively and efficiently manage operations and maintenance as well ensure the assets integrity. A Systems Information Model (SIM) is used to retrospectively create an object-orientated database to ensure all physical equipment and associated connections are modelled as constructed. In creating the SIM, errors and omissions in the existing ‘As-built’ documentation were quantified, and potential cost savings that could be achieved for a future anticipated copper mine, based upon a similar design, and are identified. Research examining the benefits of using an objected-orientated approach for the processes of designing, engineering and documenting EICS’s has been limited (e.g., Love et al., 2013a, Love et al., 2013b, Hanna et al., 2013, Hanna et al., 2014). Though, initial research has estimated that the use of a SIM applied to the processes of EICS in mining can provide a 94% cost saving and a substantial improvement in productivity (Love et al., 2013a, Love et al., 2013b).