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Mining giant BHP has warned that artificial intelligence risks accelerating poor outcomes if applied to ineffective processes, as it looks to harness technology to replicate operational improvements across its global business.
Speaking at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, BHP Chief Enterprise Performance Officer Edgar Basto said the company’s next wave of productivity gains would depend on establishing consistent approaches to operational improvement, with technology enabling successful practices to be replicated at scale.
“If you want to use technology to automate a bad process, you’re going to get poor outcomes faster,” Mr Basto said.
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He said BHP was not short of innovative ideas, but the challenge was turning successful improvements in individual operations into consistent performance gains across the business.
“We are not looking for just one breakthrough in one specific area. What we are looking for is a standard way of improving and then using technology as an enabler to actually drive improvement and replicating that.”
Mr Basto said the focus was on identifying what worked, embedding effective processes and using technology to accelerate their adoption across BHP’s global operations.
He pointed to BHP’s iron ore rail operations as an example of technology supporting measurable productivity improvements.
The company’s complex rail network involved thousands of possible permutations in train movements, with technology helping operators optimise scheduling, monitor movements and make decisions.
BHP was also using technology to identify opportunities to improve mineral recovery at its copper operations in South Australia and Chile, while remote operations were helping remove workers from high-risk environments.
Lessons from US technology companies
Mr Basto said recent visits to US technology companies had reinforced the importance of speed, experimentation and applying technology to practical business problems.
He said AI offered significant opportunities to improve operational control, safety and decision-making, but its value would ultimately depend on the quality of the processes and people underpinning its use.
Rather than pursuing isolated technological breakthroughs, BHP was focused on creating a repeatable approach to improvement that could be applied across different operations and commodities.
A changing mining workforce
Mr Basto said the next wave of mining innovation would also require companies to think differently about the skills and experience they sought from employees.
He highlighted BHP’s approximately 41.5% female workforce participation and said the benefits of diversity extended beyond gender to attracting people with different professional and industry backgrounds.
He pointed to BHP’s operations in Western Australia, where workers from a range of backgrounds were operating drilling equipment remotely, as an example of technology creating new employment opportunities.
Mr Basto said leadership would be critical to encouraging innovation, supporting experimentation and ensuring improvements were sustained. The greatest opportunities would come from connecting technology with capable and motivated people, while maintaining an unwavering focus on safety.
“Understanding where the issues are and removing those barriers will go a long way in terms of performance,” he said.
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