1. Titlehereon2lines
ifneeded
H
umanenergy,andits
purposefuluse,isthekeyto
sustainedsuperior
productivityneededto
surviveandeventhriveincurrentmining
industrymarkets(CatchpoleandRobins,
2015andMitchell,2014a,2014b).
Howdoeffectiveandcommittedleaders
acrossminingdisciplinesbecomeeven
morevaluable?Theydesign,buildand
leadasafeandproductiveculture,
long-knownasthemostpowerful
determinantofproductivity.Thisisthe
leader’sprimaryresponsibility.
Strong,consciousleadershipand
cultureinturndependontheleader’s
strength-of-characterandcommitment.
Todaythesenon-technicalsoftskills
makethehardleadershipdifference.
Spiritedworkplaceandcorporate
culturesarepalpable.Thequalityof
people’senergyisfeltasauthenticity,
trust,respect,enthusiasm,care,
commitment,creativity,innovationand
opencollaborationalignedinachieving
sharedgoals.Humanspiritandpeople’s
mental,physicalandemotionalenergies
arenaturallyandfreelyreleasedin
voluntarypursuitofgoals.Respected
culturalboundariesprovidetightnessof
purpose,self-disciplineandpowerful
accountability.
Theseissuesgototheheartofbeing
human.Nonetheless,thefactthatsuch
culturesforconnecting,guidingand
multiplyinghumanenergyarerare
revealstheyarenotwidelyunderstood.
Yetleaderswhounderstandarerewarded
withclaritythatbringseaseinworkwhile
accomplishingfarmore.
Leaders’beliefsandcare
shapeculture
Workingasacoalfacemineritbecame
clearthatimprovingsafetyincreases
productivitybecauseincidentswaste
valuableresources.Endingthewasteof
humanemotional,physicalandcreative
energy,time,money,equipmentand
materialsincreasesproductivity.Success
asayoungminemanagerconfirmedthis.
Yetdirectors,executives,managersand
inspectorsstilladvocatebalancingsafety
andproductivity,asifmutuallyexclusive.
Similarly,50yearsagoqualitywas
thoughttoincreasecostsyetnowitis
provenworldwidethatimprovingquality
–ofproduct,workandleadership–
reducescostsandimprovesproductivity.
Theerroneousbeliefthatsafetyand
qualityreduceproductivityistraceableto
pervasiveaccountingandcommercial
reportingsystemsrootedinlegislation
fromtheGreatDepression.Weneedto
restorereality.
Leaderswhounderstandthatsafety,
qualityandenvironmentprotection
increaseproductivityshapesustainable
culturesthatbecomesafe,low-cost,highly
productiveandlowincommercialand
CSRrisk.
There’smorethough.Safetycanbe
definedasthestateofbeinginwhich
peopleareconsciousof,successfully
manage,andfeelaccountableforthe
potentialforinjuryorloss(Graham,
RobertsandSloan,1997).Safetydepends
onpeople’sconsciousnessandinner
accountability.
Consciousnessandpersonal
accountabilitydependonmanyfactors
includingorganisationalmanagement
systems,leaders’behaviour,proactiveand
reactivesafetysystems,equipment
Frontiersintheraceto
superiorproductivity
Theroleofculture,leadership,characteranddeeperunderstanding
MalcolmRobertsMAusIMM,Principalandco-founder,Conscious
72 Bulletin magazine OCTOBER 2015
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2. selectionandoperation,facilitydesign,
communication,recruitment,training
andculture–everythingthataffects
behaviour.
Acultureofsafetyandproductivityis
developedbyleaderswhogenuinelyput
safetyfirst,leadbyexample,sincerelyand
personallycareabouttheirpeople,are
highlyvisible,monitorandinvestigate
safetybreachestopreventrecurrence,
ingrainsafetyandqualityintoleadership
andworkprocesses,andpersonally
recogniseandappreciatepeople’sefforts
andresults.
Driversofhumanbehaviour
andculture
Cultureisthecombinationofwhatpeople
doandwhattheybelieveandfeelabout
whattheydo.It’sacombinationof
behaviours,attitudesandbeliefs
combinedwithorganisationallegends
anddemonstratedvalues.Itcansabotage
ormultiplyenthusiasm.
Sixprominentdriversofhuman
behaviourare:
■■ Genetics,determinedlargelyatbirth
yetchangingwithdietandenvironment.
■■ Personalpatternsdevelopedfrombirth
toagesixandsomewhattopuberty
(Montessori,1972andvarious).We
perceivetheworldbasedonourchildhood
beliefsentrenchedinadultfeelings
triggeringunconscioushabitualreactions
tofear,conflict,angerandemotionalpain.
■■ Experience.
■■ Systems.
■■ Leadership–peoplefocusonleaders’
actionsbecausethesedemonstratewhat
isimportant.
■■ Universalhumanneedsunderlying
everyperson’sbehaviour.Ingroupsthese
canbemagnifiedbecausemanypeople
seekacceptanceandbelonging.Culture
drivesconformitywithexpectations.
Behavioursandattitudesareclosely
intertwined.Forthatreason,many
managersandexecutivesthinkthat
changingpeople’sattitudeswillchange
behaviourstochangeculture.Yetthe
realityisthereverse:peopledevelop
attitudesbyaligningthemwith
behaviours–behavioursshapeattitudes.
Tochangeculturerequireschanging
systemstodrivechangedbehavioursthat
inturnleadtochangedattitudes.The
combinationofchangedbehavioursand
attitudesproducesculturechange.
Beforedesigningsystemstochange
behaviour,eachsignificantsystemneeds
tobequantitativelymeasuredintermsof
behavioursandeffectiveness.
Projectplanandtracking
progress
Fundamentalquestionsforleaders
include:
■■ Whathasthegreatereffecton
productivity:workplacecultureor
buildingsandmachines?Theansweris
culture.
■■ Wouldanyoneconstructabuildingor
machinewithoutaplan?No.
■■ Whynot?Becausethebuildingsand
machineswouldbeexpensiveand
producesub-parandriskyperformance.
■■ Giventhatbuildingsandmachinesare
planned,where’stheleader’splanfor
improvingculture?
Culturechangesareoftenhaphazard.
Instead,tobeeffectiveandthetransition
efficient,thenewcultureneedstobe
consciouslydesignedandchanges
plannedandimplemented.Culture
changeneedstobetreatedasaproject
usingprojectmanagementsoftwareand
specificmeasurestrackingeveryleader’s
responsibilitiesforachievingtheplan.
Aplanbuildspeople’scommitmentand
reducesuncertaintythatcanotherwise
leadtoanxiety.Itbuildspeople’s
confidenceinleaders.
Intheearly1990stheGordonstone
minesuccessfullypioneeredmany
industryleadershipinnovations.The
projectplanfordesigning,buildingand
leadingaproductiveculturedominated
theproject.
Despitebeingourcountry’slargestand
mostcomplexundergroundcoalproject
anddespiteunexpectedlyneeding
Australiancoal’shighestroadwaystrata
supportdensity,thelongwallfaceinits
firstyearbecamethefirsttoproduce
4 milliontonnes,25percentabovethe
previousAustralianrecordanddouble
thatofthepreviousbestunderequivalent
roadwaystratasupport.Theminehadby
farthebestsafetyperformanceofalllarge
Australianundergroundcoalminesand
exceptionallyhighworkforceretention
despitevigorousattemptstopoachits
minersandleaders.Initssecondyearthe
longwallbecamethefirsttoproduce
5 milliontonnesayear.
Leaderschooseresponses
Leadersareresponsiblefortheculture
andfortheirownbehaviour.Considerthe
mostpowerfulleadershiptrait–strength
ofcharacter.Itdeterminesthe
effectivenessofallleadershiptraits.
Thistraitdefinesleadersandisthe
standoutleadershiptraitdefiningculture
yetisrarelydiscussed.
Itisthecombinationofkeycharacter
qualitiessuchaspersonalintegrity,
honestywithselfandaboutself,willpower
overunconsciousreactions,courage,
commitment,determination,
perseverance,self-discipline,
consciousness,fortitude,maintaining
corevalues,restraintandself-control.Itis
abouttakingresponsibility,insistingon
highstandardsandfollowingthroughon
commitmentstobeaccountabletoone’s
valuesandtoothers.
Itisseeninaleader’sabilitytofaceand
tackledifficultchallenges,listeningto
connectwithandunderstandotherswhen
ithurts,speakingforthrightly,challenging
constructively,openlyadmittingerrors
andhonestlyconsideringcriticism,
suggestionsandrequests.
Itisbeingconsciousof,andrising
above,reactivepatternsformedin
childhoodtofreelychooseresponses.
Itisbeingtruetooneselfandrising
aboveseekingexternalgratification
andpopularity.
Itisessentialforfacingandconquering
fearsandforstayingthecourseand
withstandingdespitesufferingsetbacks,
facingconflictorbeingalonewhenothers
arecrumbling.
Itisinsistingonsoliddataanddoing
soundanalysistomakeinformed
decisions.Whendataislackingit’shaving
couragetoseekconsideredopinionand
followintuition.
Itisaboutbeingconstructiveandbeing
loving,trustingandcaringtowardoneself,
akeytolovingandcaringforothersand
beingtrusted.Afterall,howcanothers
Acultureofsafetyandproductivity
isdevelopedbyleaderswhogenuinely
putsafetyfirst.
OCTOBER 2015 Bulletin magazine 73
IndustryFocus

3. variationisthemostpowerfuland
quickestinitialsteptoimproveand
sustainperformance,improve
reliability,manageriskandoptimise
commercialreturns.
Understandingdata
andprocesses
Figure1showsbothmaincausesof
variation:inherent(orroutine)variation
andprocesschange(orexceptional)
variation(Roberts,1996).
Makingsenseofdatarequires
statisticallyvalidyetsimpleandpractical
understandingofcentraltendencysuch
asmean(average)andmeasuresofthe
spreadofdataaboutthecentraltendency.
BotharefundamentalinStatistical
ProcessControlforunderstandingdata
usingsimplestatisticallyvalidrules
withoutcomplexstatisticalformulae.
Conventionalbusinessperformance
analysiscomparestwopointsinisolation
outofcontext–actualversusbudgetor
actualversuspreviousperiod.Itprevents
understandingvariation.Leaderswaste
energyreactingtoinherentvariationand
missvaluableopportunitieswhenthey
missprocesschanges.
Widelyusedconventional
managementreportingsystemsdrive
counterproductiveandattimescorrosive
behaviour.Theycanfocusleaderson
blameyetdisciplineandaccountability
arelowbecauseexcusesareeasily
fabricated.
Butwhencombinedwith
understandingofvariation,runcharts
andcontrolchartsguidepeopleto
developinformedresponsestoprocess
changesandtoreduceinherentvariation
toimproveprocessperformance.
Discipline–includingself-discipline
–improvestoraiseaccountabilityand
commitment.Leadersguideandsupport
peopletoimproveprocesses.
Whatgetsmeasuredgetsmanaged.
Howit’sanalyseddetermineswhetherit’s
managedwell.Howit’sreporteddrives
behaviour.
Understandingfundamentals
minimisesminingvagariesand
complexitieswhileincreasingspeedof
response.AtaminepriortousingMAR
and16shiftsafterincorrectplumbingon
amaintenanceshutdown,thewastepile
wasnoticedtocontainproduct.
Analysingthedatalaterrevealedthat
withMAR,theprocesschangewould’ve
beenobviousafteroneshift,preventing
eightdaysofpartiallostproduction.
trustusifwedonotsincerelytrustourself
andcareforothers?Strengthofcharacter
developstrustandcare,whicharekey
leadershiptraits.
Inmyexperienceacrossvaried
Australianandinternationalcultures,
peoplearenotafraidofchange,yetcan
fearuncertainty.Trustreducespeople’s
uncertaintyandfear.
Effectiveleadersdemonstratepersonal
awarenessandemotionalmastery
(Roberts,2005).Theyareawareof
reactionsandmasterimpulsestochoose
productiveresponses.
Well-designedquantitative
assessmentsofleadershipandbehaviour
effectivenessacceleratetheprocess.
Thesemustberigorous,practical,
objective,comprehensivelydesigned,
constructiveandsupportive.
MeasurementAnalysisReporting
Inadditiontounderstandingculture,
behaviourandstrengthofcharacter,
effectiveleadersunderstand
fundamentalsforimproving
performance.Thekeytoimproving
performanceisunderstandingand
improvingproductionprocesses.That
requiresunderstandingandmanaging
variation.
Thiswasintroducedtomanufacturing
eightdecadesagoandinthelastfour
decadesrevolutionisedindustry.Mines
measuringandmanagingvariation
developaprofoundcompetitive
advantage.
Theprinciplesapplytoallprocesses
includingcommercial,exploration,
miningandprocessing.Theyapplyacross
allengineering,maintenance,geologyand
commercialdisciplinesandacrossall
functionsincludingleadershipand
technical.
Yetdespiteprovensuccessat
Gordonstoneandothermines
internationally,attemptstoimitatetheir
systemswithoutunderstandingcore
principlesfailbecauseleadersareoften
trappedintraditionalaccountingsystems.
Thoroughunderstandingofprocesses
andperformancerequiressolid
measuringofresultsandprocesses;sound
dataanalysisusingsimple,practical,
statisticallyvalidmethods;andreporting
tothepeoplewhosebehaviouristobe
driven.Thesecombinetobethemost
powerfuldriverofproductivebehaviour.
TheMeasurementAnalysisReporting
(MAR)systemenablespeopletodevelop
clarityandchooseinformedresponses.It
makesworkeasierforleadersandtheir
peopleandwhenworkandleadership
processesareeasier,peoplearemore
productive,satisfiedandproud.
Mininginherentlyfacesfargreater
variationthandootherindustries.Itis
essentialinminingtounderstandprocess
variationtounderstandcapability.
Itisprovenworldwidethatreducing
Caption here
Tonnes, metres
or a product
quality measure
Inherent variation Inherent variation
Process change
Figure 1. Run chart depicting causes of variation.
74 Bulletin magazine OCTOBER 2015
Feature-IndustryFocus

4. Afterimplementingtheseprinciplesthe
mineincreasedproductivityand
uncoveredcostandenergysavingsacross
thesite.
MARatanoldprocessingplant
dramaticallyliftedthroughputinthefirst
monthwithongoingcontinual
improvementthereafter.Pleasingly,the
youngmanagerwasmoreecstaticthatfor
thefirsttimeinthemill’s30-yearlife
peopletrulyunderstooditscore
processes.Understandingdrivesfuture
performance.
Increasedunderstandingofprocesses
increasesabilitytoprocessvariablefeed
gradesinmillsandplants,increasing
businessflexibilitytominimisecapital
andcutrisk.
Behaviouralchange
SoundMARchangesleaders’behaviour
andchangesculture.Itdevelops
confidenceandbuildsaccountabilityto
providedisciplinetothosefewindividuals
failingtoexerciseadequateself-
discipline.Thisshowsleaderscare.
In1979Ellalongmine’slongwall
developmentheadingschangedshift
performancemeasurementfromshuttle
carloads/shiftusedinbordandpillar
headingstometrespershift.Thischanged
behaviourunderground.AtGordonstone
thatevolvedtometresperdaytofoster
teamworkacrossshiftsandthentocycle
timetodriveunderstandingofthewhole
process.Asaresultpanelextensions
interruptedproductionforoneshiftor
lesspercyclecomparedwiththenormof
3-6shiftsatthetimeinQueensland.
CycleTimecharts(Figure2)rapidly
andprofoundlyimprovecyclical
processesandproductivityby
stimulatingparallelingofactivitiesto
greatlyreducecycletime.Teamwork
andcoordinationimprove.
Duringcommodityboomsmany
companiesaresidetrackedonproduction
growthatanycost.Thatunderminesa
cultureofproductivityandincreasesrisks
duringsubsequentmarketcontractions
andduringskillsshortages.Conversely,at
allpartsofthecycle,MARmaintainsfocus
onproductivity.
Performanceimprovement
methodology
TheTaguchicurveprovesreducing
variationdecreasesproductivitylosses.
Themethodologyisbasedonfirst
understanding,stabilisingandcontrolling
processesandthenliftingperformance.
Resultsrepeatedlyconfirmthatthis
morequicklyimprovesperformance
andreliability.
Paretocharts(Figure3)eliminate
knee-jerkreactionstoindividualdata
pointswithininherentvariation.They
prioritisetoguidesystematicplanningof
improvementthatresultsindisciplined,
rapid,sustainedhighperformance.
Convertpressuretoasense
ofease
Leadersacrossminingdisciplinesfeel
pressureforsafety,productivity,quality,
environmentandsocialsustainability.
Withunderstanding,thesecanbe
convertedtovehiclesdevelopingpeople’s
accountability,enthusiasm,commitment
andpride.Insteadofbeingbattered,
leadersthenhavefreedomtolead
naturallywithease.
Toimproveperformance,improve
organisationalsystemsthatdrive
behaviour,anddosoinaplanfor
improvingperformancewithleadership
thatisconscious,disciplinedand
passionatelycommittedtopurposeful,
rewardinguseofhumanenergy.
Malcolm Roberts can be contacted on +61 4 1964 2379
or at malcolmr@conscious.com.au
Toimproveperformance,
improveorganisationalsystems
thatdrivebehaviour.
References
Catchpole, M & Robins, W, 2015, ‘The Productivity
Challenge’, The AusIMM Bulletin, June 2015, https://
www.ausimmbulletin.com/feature/the-productivity-
challenge.
Graham, R, Roberts, M & Sloan, G, 1997, personal
discussions based on the work of Dr. Neil George.
Mitchell, P (Ed) et al, 2014a, ‘Productivity in mining, A
Case for Broad Transformation’, Ernst & Young http://
www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-
Productivity-in-mining/$FILE/EY-Productivity-in-
mining.pdf.
Mitchell, P (Ed) et al, 2014b, ‘Productivity in mining:
now comes the hard part—a global survey’, Ernst &
Young http://www.ey.com/Publication/
vwLUAssets/EY-productivity-in-mining-now-
comes-the-hard-part/$FILE/EY-productivity-in-
mining-now-comes-the-hard-part.pdf.
Montessori, Dr. M, 1972, ‘The discovery of the child’,
Random House, New York and various works of
arguably the greatest observer, recorder and writer on
human development and behaviour.
Roberts, MI, 1996, ‘Superior Productivity at Established
Mines: Tapping Individual Diversity with Modern
Management Systems for Higher Margins’, AusIMM
Annual Conference, Perth.
Roberts, MI, 2005, Understanding organisational and
personal behaviour to sustain high productivity and
safety, AusIMM COAL 2005 Conference, Brisbane.
Process cycle time (days, hours, minutes)
Second cycle
Third cycle
Fourth cycle
Fifth cycle
Sixth cycle
Seventh cycle
First cycle
Figure 2. Cycle time chart. Figure 3. Pareto chart.
Organisational Delays Pareto Analysis
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