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The Evolution of a Performance Measurement Project at RTZ

Rio Tinto Technical Services, Castlemead, Lower Castle Street, Bristol BS99 7YR, United Kingdom
Warwick Business School, Warwick University, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

In 1994, RTZ Corporation plc, the world's largest mining company, tried to reconcile (a) the desire of central management to compare performance across mine sites with (b) the desire of local management to judge performance in their own terms. The company began a project to establish a method of measuring open-pit productive capacity, to spread best practice, and to motivate higher performance. Initially we saw the solution as a simple model of equipment availability using hard OR derived using a participative process based on soft OR. Trials in Australia, Southern Africa, and North America showed that we needed to combine various hard and soft OR methods and to move the emphasis to achieving breakthroughs in performance. The latest trial resulted in an increase in production of over 25 percent in the first year. The results indicate that soft and hard OR methods can be combined to good effect to produce tangible results.

Key Words: industry; mining/metals

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