The modern mining industry runs on very tight margins. Profit and loss often hinge on one key factor: efficiency. In a field with high capital costs and tough working conditions, it’s crucial to boost output and reduce downtime.
At Ready Resources, we recognise that merely meeting the industry average is no longer a path to competitive advantage. It is with this mindset that we developed and implemented our proprietary operational standard: “Target 90.”
This article reveals what “Target 90” truly represents. It’s not just a number. It’s a complete philosophy, a strong training system, and a promise to reach 90% operational excellence in all key performance indicators (KPIs). It is the new benchmark for safety, uptime, and profitability on any mine site.
The Rationale: Why 90% is the Gold Standard
In the language of mining KPIs, a 90% threshold signifies the critical boundary between an average, reactive operation and a world-class, predictive enterprise.
Industry benchmarks often cite an equipment Availability Rate in the high 80s as acceptable.1 For us, 90% is the non-negotiable floor. Why?
The cost of missing equipment, like a hauler in the shop, a drill rig down, or a shift paused for lack of certified staff, affects the whole value chain. By setting the target at 90%, we force a fundamental shift in operational thinking: from repairing failures to preventing them.
“Target 90” aims to cut waste in traditional operations. It focuses on the 10-20% of time lost due to inefficient movements, idle time, poor communication, and delays in fixing breakdowns. Meeting this target consistently means millions in more production and lower costs.
The Three Pillars of “Target 90” Operational Excellence
The success of “Target 90” comes from its systemic approach. It combines our main business of supplying top talent with overall process and asset management. We focus on three interdependent pillars that must all achieve the 90% benchmark.
Pillar 1: Fleet & Asset Uptime (The Technical 90%)
This pillar focuses on the health and productivity of a mine’s biggest cost: its equipment fleet. Our goal is to ensure that assets are not just available, but are running at peak efficiency for 90% of their scheduled operational time.
- Availability Rate & Utilization: We aim for a 90% Availability Rate. This means our equipment is ready to run when scheduled. Crucially, we pair this with maximised Utilisation Rate—the time the available equipment is actually productively working. The two metrics must be in lockstep; high availability with low utilisation is just as wasteful.
- First-Time Fix Rate (FTFR): We target a 90% First-Time Fix Rate for mechanical repairs. This metric is a direct measure of the competency of our supplied maintenance teams. A low FTFR means wasted man-hours, duplicated efforts, and a prolonged breakdown cycle. We provide skilled tradespeople who can diagnose and repair issues right away. This cuts down on downtime and keeps the fleet moving.
- Preventative Maintenance (PM) Compliance: Our teams adhere to a rigorous PM schedule, aiming for 95%+ compliance. This keeps asset health in check. It greatly lowers the chance of sudden failures that harm availability.
Pillar 2: Human Capital Efficiency (The Man-Hour 90%)
Mining is a human-intensive business, and the efficiency of every rostered hour is critical.
This pillar aims to cut wasted man-hours due to:
- Inadequate training
- Poor site readiness
- Non-compliance
- Site-Ready Personnel: We ensure that over 90% of our supplied workforce are fully compliant, inducted, and hold all relevant certifications before they step on site. This eliminates the common delay of a worker sitting idle for hours or days waiting for final paperwork or site-specific training.
- Man-Shift Utilisation: Our personnel, from operators to supervisors, are trained to be actively productive for over 90% of their rostered shift. This means reducing non-value-added activities. Focus on cutting idle time during shift changes. Also, optimize travel from vehicles to the workfront. Lastly, make sure clear communication protocols are followed.
- Safety Compliance & Incident Reduction: Safety is the ultimate measure of efficiency. Any safety incident, even a near-miss, is a disruptive failure. Our goal is a 90% reduction in preventable safety incidents tracked through our proprietary training and behavioural audit programs. A safer site is a more predictable, and therefore, more productive site.
Pillar 3: Predictive & Process Excellence (The Systemic 90%)
The last pillar covers how technology, data, and management work together. This ensures the system meets a 90% operational standard.
- Data Integrity: We establish systems that ensure data collected from telematics, maintenance logs, and production reports is 90% accurate and reliable for real-time decision-making. If your data is flawed, your decisions will be too.
- Optimised Resource Deployment: Our supervisors and planners use data analytics. This helps us deploy over 90% of resources, like spare parts, repair crews, or blast teams, at the right place and time. This way, we reduce costly waiting and search time.
- Continuous Improvement Feedback Loop: The “Target 90” framework uses a feedback loop. After each shift, reports and weekly reviews check KPIs. If any KPI drops below 90%, it gets flagged for attention. The goal is a rapid-response analysis and mitigation plan implementation within 90 hours to prevent recurrence.
Implementing and Sustaining the Standard
Rolling out the “Target 90” standard is a strategic partnership, not a simple placement service.
Phase 1: The Initial Site Audit and Gap Analysis
We start with a detailed site audit. This checks how we perform against the three “Target 90” pillars. This gap analysis shows the main areas of inefficiency. These include a lagging FTFR, poor PM compliance, and too much idle time.
Phase 2: Targeted Human Capital & Training Deployment
Based on the audit, we deploy human resources specifically qualified to address the identified gaps. This could mean hiring a Maintenance Planner to improve PM compliance, a Trade Specialist to raise the FTFR, or an Operational Supervisor to enforce man-shift utilization rules. Our Ready Resources Training division makes sure all staff are certified and understand the “Target 90” culture fully.
Phase 3: Measurement and Reporting
Success is monitored via a customized dashboard that tracks the three pillars in real-time. This level of transparency ensures that site leadership always knows exactly where performance stands relative to the 90% goal. The Target 90 dashboard becomes the single source of truth for site-wide operational health.
Target 90 – More Than a Metric
“Target 90” meets the mining industry’s need for steady, reliable, and profitable operations.
It is the culture we instill in every worker we place and the benchmark we hold every partner site accountable to. When you work with Ready Resources, you’re not just getting labor. You’re gaining a top-notch operational framework. This framework boosts efficiency beyond the industry average and leads to true operational excellence.
We are adopting a 90% standard in all parts of mining, people, plant, and plan. This will raise uptime, lower costs, and ensure a strong future for our clients.
Partner with Ready Resources today and turn your site’s operational efficiency into your most powerful competitive advantage.