Taking Down the Mountain

Surveying

Every mining operation begins with a good survey to gather as much information as possible. I always seek answers to the questions I ask, and "you don't want to know" is never an acceptable response for me. I want to know what corporate policies and procedures are relevant to the issue at hand. Are there any federal, state, or local regulations that may constrain proposed changes? Who are all the stakeholders contributing to the process? What software programs are involved?

Strip-mining

We blow the process apart. Where does every data point come from and where does it go? How is it transformed along the way? We interview key stakeholders and attempt to discover the rationale behind each step. Is it efficiency? Quality? Someone's personal preference? Just as explosives in strip-mining are precise only to a point and largely indiscriminate, so too is this step in our process. There are no "sacred cows"; every single aspect of the process is on the table for change. 

Ore Mapping

Now that we have laid bare the mountain, we decide where to put our mineshafts. Utilizing the data collected so far, we attempt to identify the avenues for change which will be most impactful. 

Mining for Gold

Focusing on the areas previously identified, we do a deep-dive and hone in on the exact elements we want to change. During this phase we are attempting to quantify the impact of each proposed change and determine the nature of each. Are they changes or updates to documentation? Additional validation checks or steps? New software, or programming updates to existing systems?  This phase is dedicated to refining and confirming the details of the proposed changes. 

Reinforcement

As mineshafts progress, reinforcements have to be installed to stabilize them. In the case of our proposed improvements, this phase is when we begin tracking the impact of the improvements to ensure the results are what we intended and prepare to go back to a previous step if required. If a mineshaft proves unstable, there is no need to keep digging. 

Foundation

This final stage is when the improvements are made permanent. Procedures and other documentation are updated and the changes are codified. Relevant stakeholders are trained on the new processes.