Case study

Leading Mining Company Streamlines Permit Process with Integrated Management System

Energy and Resources
Large industrial excavator operating in an open-pit mining site with equipment and vehicles in the foreground under a cloudy sky

Challenge

One of the world’s leading iron ore producers faced operational and social license difficulties due to an outdated permit system that could no longer handle the volume or complexity of approval requests, nor identify heritage and environmental impacts from changing conditions.

Outcome

By partnering with Endava, the company was able to develop a new, integrated management system that streamlined the approval process, automating various checks. It was able to introduce a scalable, adaptable platform to enhance efficiency.

One of the world’s leading iron ore producers sought ways to improve its approvals process. Operating within a complex legislative framework in Western Australia, the company must comply with regulations governing land use, environmental protection and heritage site preservation.

 

To do so, it used a permit request approvals system to receive requests, manage and gather necessary information, and determine compliance with external regulations. Managing more than 1,000 requests a year, the legacy system tracked the legal audit trail and authorisation conditions for each site, specific to the scope, location and timeframe of activities.

 

With complexity and volume of the requirements increasing by up to 40%, along with the lack of visibility of impacted issued permits when conditions changed, its existing system was outdated and limited. To develop a replacement platform, the company turned to Endava.

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Collaboration for system design

To begin the partnership, we worked closely with the client to identify and understand the limitations of the existing platform. These included:

 

  • Constant technical issues resulting in user inefficiency and rework
  • Did not adequately address the needs of the business
  • General lack of integration as the system was held in isolation
  • Lack of automation, scheduling, forecasting and reporting

To address these issues, the organisation sought a new solution, which could:

 

  • Provide integrated permit request lifecycle management (raise, distribute, review, e-permit issue, and amendment)
  • Capture all collaboration between participants
  • Automate draft e-permits with operator friendly conditions
  • Intercept analysis to identify changes in avoidance layers requiring action
  • Feature geographic information system (GIS) map integration to support business planning, request creation, and sensitivity analysis
  • Provide enhanced compliance through integration with other systems

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An agile delivery split into sprints

Our cross-functional teams work in short sprints under a scrum delivery approach. This allowed us to work with the client collaboratively with flexibility and a high emphasis on feedback.

 

To do so, we supported the client's teams through agile methodologies, using an ABC workshop, product envisioning sessions and a comprehensive release plan.

 

The result, the introduction of a new solution that integrates the entire permit lifecycle with advanced features such as automation, GIS mapping, real-time compliance tracking, and better reporting and scheduling tools.

 

It empowers the organisation to handle a large volume of permit requests, while improving efficiency and compliance.

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True business value from system upgrades

During development work, we partnered with the organisation to identify the value of improving its systems. Due to the limitations of its existing systems, it was estimated that more than AUD $800,000 was lost in productivity, while new systems would bring a cost-saving potential of as much as AUD $15 million in logistics costs for environment and heritage projects due to delays in the approvals process. Around AUD $6 million could come from avoiding delays in resource evaluation.

 

Along with financial benefits, the organisation has also enhanced its compliance, respecting heritage sites and improving transparency within operations. We’re pleased to have supported the organisation in developing its system, and we look forward to further collaboration, helping the business scale its platform to support operations within the wider group setting.

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