In 2021, Bald Mountain is taking a focused approach in achieving targets using Continuous Improvement (CI) Boards to generate employee-driven feedback on ways to innovate and reduce costs across their operation. The suggestion system was adopted from Round Mountain which developed similar CI boards.
Bald Mountain’s CI boards focused on four main categories: Safety and Environmental, Quality, Cost Savings and Production.
“CI Boards allow us to capture the great safety, savings, and operational ideas from our team and implement them in a timely manner, said Dale Thompson, Maintenance Manager and board champion, Bald Mountain. “This partnership ensures that we are all working towards establishing best practices and generating a stronger future for Bald Mountain.”
Since the board’s implementation, innovations and cost savings of approximately $500,000 have been realized, through projects including utilizing in-house sample crushing to avoid costs related to sending samples externally, reducing contracted waste receptacles by 25% and installing pre-cleaners that add to filter life and reduce monthly Preventative Maintenance (PM) by 50%. The mine has also found safety improvements such as installing handrails around elevated tanks to reduce risks of falls.
“With any suggestion system there can be challenges with implementation. The relentless efforts of those managing the CI Boards in 2020 truly make this program a fulfilling project to be a part of,” said Deanna Hall, Continuous Improvement Facilitator, Bald Mountain. “It is important for our employees to know they have a role in generating change and these boards are a way to rely on their first-hand experience and increase employee engagement as a team. We are excited to see what new innovations we will find in 2021 and how we can share them across our global operations.”
In 2021, the boards will focus on waste removal, cost price, usage and throughput in an effort to continue finding innovations across other areas of the operation. Stay tuned to see what Bald Mountain comes up with this year!
