International News

Operators turning to asset optimisation

Ausenco predicts that the resources and energy industry will shift its focus from capital-intensive greenfield projects to getting the most out of existing operations. Asset optimisation may be the key to growth.
Simon Cmrlec, Ausenco?s president for the Asia-Pacific and African regions, said there has been a steady increase in demand for continuous improvement services in the past 12 months. ?Continuous improvement practices, which identify ways to ?sweat? assets and increase productivity with minimal capital outlay, can generate substantial returns for companies, particularly in the resources and energy sector. It?s not unusual to achieve more than 10 per cent savings against operating budgets,? Cmrlec said. 
?While continuous improvement is not a new concept, we are seeing strong growth throughout the industry and a number of major, globally diversified mining groups have said their current strategies involve an increased focus on asset optimisation to unlock capacity within existing operations.?
To maximise the opportunities in this area, Ausenco recently acquired the Rylson Group, an Australian-based global provider of asset management and business improvement services. ?Ausenco Rylson can provide reliability engineering solutions right across the project life cycle, from initial design through to operation and maintenance, to achieve optimal performance of assets within short timeframes,? Cmrlec explained.
?Continuous improvement solutions are wide ranging and can be applied to all bulk commodities. They generally include de-bottlenecking and process optimisation, as well as reliability engineering to optimise maintenance strategies and sustain capital programs. Through these solutions, we have delivered significant long term savings for a number of clients that have a real impact on the bottom line ? in addition to reducing the overall maintenance effort required and optimising capital expenditure.?
Sources: Ausenco, Ausenco-Rylson

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