RSV Australia - project management and design engineering

Studies

The RSV Group is one of the world’s foremost Project Management and Design Engineering companies servicing the mining industry. A particular area of expertise is in delivering accurate studies leading to successful EPCM in mine infrastructure and development. RSV Australia employs appropriately modified study templates, taking into account specific client and situational conditions.

A mineral project study, whether at conceptual, scoping, pre-feasibility or feasibility and bankable stage, is the front end of design and actions taken during these stages will directly impact upon the successful delivery and operations of the project. Client or owners’ input is essential at the early stages of project design and the establishment of over-riding philosophies that mirror the vision of the client is critical to successful outcome.

RSV Australia believes that mining studies need to be managed using formal project management set-up parameters and in this regard, would use the Project Management Institutes (PMI) philosophy of PMBoK, (Project Management Body of Knowledge) with the nine elements of;

Project Integration Management – Essential in mining studies is the integration of the critical disciplines of Geology, Mining, Metallurgical and Infrastructure all contributing to the elements of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and ultimately the project estimate and schedule upon which the financials are modelled. Where different specialist consulting groups provide discrete inputs to a study, it is very often disjointed and poorly integrated. RSV provides the “combining and integrating management” that prevents this. If the elements are not integrated into a common measurement base, it is extremely difficult to establish elemental contribution profiles and interrogate the economics for optimisation and review. The lack of integration is a common study pitfall in Australian Mining Studies.

Project Scope Management – Understanding the Scope of Work required to construct the project is essential to providing sound estimate and schedule information. Too often, scope of work detail is omitted from the WBS and every line item of the WBS represents an accurate input of time and cost.

Project Time Management – Astute time and resource management is essential to delivering a study that accurately reflects reality during and after the construction process.

Project Cost Management – RSV Australia has identified the principle reasons why project “actual costs” are so divergent from study estimates and employs systems to significantly improve the accuracy of study level capital estimates. Cost management during study phase relates to the importance of diligence in compiling the estimate and the reflective accuracy of the WBS. Real costs are driven during construction by non-compliance to the schedule (either because of schedule inaccuracy or poor delivery performance) and not to the material cost of plant items.

Project Quality Management – The delivery of a quality standard requires ongoing measurement of quality inputs. These are delivered to ISO standards as agreed by the stakeholders during set-up and establishment.

Project Human Resource Management – Considered by RSV Australia to be the most important element of project and study management. The establishment of effective working teams with suitable corporate support and admin systems is the most critical element to study and ultimate project success.

Project Communications Management – An effective and integrated project team functions as one delivery unit, aligned to common objectives, budgets and timetables.
This can only be achieved through effective and widespread communication structures that are enforced by project principals. Communications systems are addressed during initial project set-up.

Project Risk Management – Appropriate risk management is a cornerstone element to understanding the integrity of the study deliverables. Risk is an element that is not treated in isolation but is applied across all other 8 elements of the study. Risk management should be exceptions based management tools and must be ever-present.

Project Procurement Management – Effective contract strategies will determine whether project delivery is free or constrained. This management of this area is as important as any technical decisions, plant or process that may be required. This area of study and project management has a profound effect on estimate and schedule accuracy.