The document discusses operational readiness, which refers to ensuring that assets can be safely and effectively operated throughout their lifetime. It is important to have the right people, processes, and equipment in place and functioning properly. Operational readiness requires achieving and maintaining a state where the interfaces between people, plant, and processes allow them to work interactively. The Mintrex model of operational readiness emphasizes optimizing these interfaces.

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active service, the plant will not only be able to be operated safely
and as specified in the design criteria, but also ensure continued
safe and satisfactory operational performance at the design level
from then on.
“Operational Readiness is a continuum and at any point in
time throughout the life cycle of an asset, the asset must be in an
Operationally Ready mode to maximise returns to the shareholders
and to ensure safety and environmentally friendly operations,”
says Mr Autar.
The scope of Operational Readiness programs include putting in
place processes and procedures to sustain satisfactory performance
throughout the life of assets. So in essence, Operational Readiness
means achieving a configuration and/or state which will place the
right people in the right places at the right times working with
the right tools and equipment
according to the right
procedures and management
controls. If this state is in
place and adhered to, then
safe and proper operation
of the plant can reasonably
be assured. At a secondary
level, this implies that these
elements will be functioning
in a proper physical and
psychological environment.
“Rightness” in achieving
Operational Readiness
is based on two kinds of
criteria - namely functional
criteria and regulatory
criteria. Functional criteria
are concerned with the plant
operating and accomplishing
its functions in an acceptable
manner and operating at
acceptable risk levels in
relation to the requirements
imposed by the business
plan. Regulatory criteria, on the other hand, are concerned with
the plant and its operating capability meeting all the mandatory
requirements prior to and during its active service.
In a nutshell, Operational Readiness is a state where the three
P’s (Plant, People, Processes) are all deemed competent and
the interfaces between the three P’s are satisfactory for them
to function interactively. Mr Autar emphasises the distinction
between the Mintrex Operational Readiness model and the more
common models in industry, pointing out the importance that
Mintrex places on the interfaces between the three P’s, for it is at
these interfaces that detail generally is lacking when designing
processes for people to use, recruiting and training people to
work on specific plant, and ensuring that processes are designed
specifically for the correct plant.
THE CONTINUUMOF
MINTREX ASSISTED WITH OPERATIONAL READINESS WORKS
FOR THE PORT HEDLAND PORT AUTHORITY IN 2010
RAMAN AUTAR
MANAGER – ASSET MANAGEMENT AND RELIABILITY
MINTREX
‘OPERATIONAL READINESS’
The interface between people, plant and processes continues to be
one of the key imperatives in any mining project, and successful
modelling of their interplay is a vital ingredient to maximising
project viability and shareholder return. Mintrex’s Manager of Asset
Management and Reliability, Raman Autar, presents some of the
company’s insights into the importance of identifying where you are
on the Operational Readiness continuum, and what distinguishes
the Mintrex model from others in optimising that place.
With $170 billion worth of projects in the pipeline or currently
in progress in Western Australia, bringing these projects online
most effectively and efficiently requires careful planning and
resourcing. Project delivery, if not well planned, can cause
significant losses to operations, and it is therefore important to
apply the appropriate models when delivering projects.
Mintrex has been involved in Operational Readiness projects
and has gained significant expertise over the past 18 months to
configure and fine-tune its Operational Readiness model to ensure
expedient and successful deliveries.
What is Operational Readiness? Raman Autar at Mintrex
defines Operational Readiness as a state when, at the onset of the
hand-over of the plant to operations and maintenance teams for
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