Riaan van der Merwe, Senior Vice President: Eskom Collieries
, Anglo Coal - Anglo American PLC Group

A business improvement project was conducted at Anglo Coal’s New Vaal Colliery during 2001/2002, utilizing a team from Proudfoot Consulting working alongside operational staff.

A 3:1 return was achieved, and the resulting capacity improvement enabled the colliery to increase output significantly to serve growing power station demand. The project enabled operating staff to gain a deeper understanding of the mining processes and the effect of quality on process flow, creating more stable and predictable output and quality of product.

Most of the activities resulting from the project have been integrated into the day-to-day management of the operation, ensuring sustainability of the benefits created.

The Proudfoot team interacted very well with mine personnel, creating trust and openness, which is essential for success in a project of this nature.

JP De Witt, Avgold Limited

We at Avgold Limited - Hartebestfontein Division engaged Proudfoot Consulting to assist us with an expense reduction program, focusing on labour distribution, overtime and contractor costs. With their assistance we realised significant improvements in expenditure.

The reduction in cost provided a 10:1 return on investment. Proudfoot also enhanced our management disciplines and played a key role in cost awareness throughout the mine. We highly recommend their professional approach and their experience in business solutions to achieve the desired results.

Lance Hockridge, President, BHP Steel - Industrial Markets

The Proudfoot team has been actively supporting the BHP Steel “Reform” project at Port Kembla.

Proudfoot's main focus was the necessary supervisor behavioural change required to build our new organisation. The consultants integrated well at all layers of management. The training and coaching were hands on, and as such, enabled a pragmatic application of the new concepts we at BHP Steel believe in. Proudfoot’s approach was creative and focused on sustainability as they implemented change in mobilising front line management around their future roles in the organisation.

Peter Vaughton, Project Manager, BlueScope Steel

Sitting here today, we are more capable, and much better equipped. Our thinking has moved on regarding focused implementation. We now have an organisation which, with Proudfoot’s support, is in a much better position to quantify and embrace the necessary productivity improvements in order to maintain our competitive edge.

Phillip Brumit
, General Manager,
Operations,
 PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara - Batu Hijau

PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, Batu Hijau, engaged Proudfoot to focus on the change in behavior that we felt was needed in our organization’s continuous quest to go from “good to great”.  We needed to make significant changes, particularly in the frontline supervisors and their crews, and achieve these changes at an accelerated rate.

By working together in developing and implementing improved Management Operating Systems as well as engaging in a significant skills training effort, we were able to bring about significant changes in the way we were operating.  This was achieved despite some of the cultural barriers inherent in operating in an Indonesian environment.

The emphasis on the frontline supervision and their crews has enabled the operations to consistently focus on achieving the day-to-day results required to meet our targeted production performance levels.   This emphasis on installing the appropriate foreman behaviors and accountability, in conjunction with other on-going initiatives, translated to improved production performances at sustained levels.

Gustav Greissel, Chief Operation Officer, BHP Aluminium

BHP Billiton Aluminium SA completed two new initiatives in strong co-operation with Proudfoot Consulting in the Hillside and Bayside Smelters towards the end of 2008. Projects "3P" and and "DELTA" delivered substantial bottom line results which are standing both smelters in good stead, given the current prolonged economic downturn. Aluminium is not immune to the downturn, LME linked commodities need to be at the low-end of the cost curve to manage through tough times and these two initiatives placed us in a better position to manage through these challenging times.

Success in both these initiatives was enabled by great teamwork and the quality of the team members from within, as well as from Proudfoot. The methodology, discipline, experience, drive and momentum Proudfoot brings to the table are some of the key ingredients to success and the initiatives also delivered a number of untangible benefits, specifically on the people side of the business. The Proudfoot Project Director and his team were exceptional - their drive to achieve success and deliver the agreed benefits, even during challenging times were unquestionable and absolutely focussed. It was a real pleasure and privilege working them as partners in delivering ongoing improvement!

Jim Gowans, President & CEO, De Beers Canada

Proudfoot assisted my people in executing faster and at a higher level – at all levels of the organization. Most importantly, we worked together in developing rapid change.

Mike Sylvestre, President, Manitoba Operations - Vale Inco

I’d heard of Proudfoot from my mining days in Canada but my perception of them had been that they were focused purely on head-count reduction.  So their initial recommendation was a little surprising in that its aim was to improve overall output with no head-count reduction. The results speak for themselves: we have achieved record production levels successively for the past three years. Their “toolkit” of on-the-floor execution is excellent;  its really a manual for how to change a culture for higher performance and then to make it stick. Their people are good leaders with the tools, discipline and experience to make effectiveness in execution routine in the workforce.

Chris Sheppard, Executive Vice President: Mining

Lonmin engaged Proudfoot Consulting to work with our team at all levels on one of our leading underground shafts. The primary objective was to develop and install the most appropriate shaft management operating system as well as to achieve a step change in culture to one of “continuous process improvement”. The objective in measured terms was however to enable the shaft to deliver an additional 100,000 tons on an annualized basis. On a financial basis, the project needed not only to be self-funding, but to deliver an approximately 3:1 return on the once off investment and thereby provide the platform for the continuing higher level performance in future years.

Proudfoot quickly integrated, in their hands-on approach, with the shaft employees at all levels. They systematically installed, through our management team, the necessary enhanced ways of planning and controlling work, as well as assisting them to increase the predictability of the outcomes. The Proudfoot staff became completely part of the shaft team, and was really good at influencing our people’s attitudes and behaviors. I can recommend Proudfoot to any organization that is seeking to improve its productivity and performance. We have recently commenced further work with Proudfoot on a completely different fixed term assignment.

David Salisbury, Managing Director, Rössing Uranium

The significant challenges of an aggressive global U3O8 market have driven Rössing to find ways to meet the formidable task of reducing operating costs. Furthermore, time is critical as lower prices markets are presently in effect and our competitive position must be secured immediately.

Personnel from Proudfoot worked closely with Rössing leaders to identify shortcomings that prevented further reductions in operating costs. First steps included training all leaders in skills to identify, measure, and action opportunities for improvement. This comprehensive training was fundamental to our installing the motivation for change. Most important, training has been internalised and is now readily transferable and sustainable.

Proudfoot has transferred and assisted in the integration of effective analytical, measurement and reporting systems that are the basis of sustainable continuous improvement. These systems have had immediate impact and the Rössing leadership team is committed to seeing that they have a lasting effect in adding value to the business.

Peter Coates, General Manager, Ulan Coal

The ‘Facing the Future’ project which was introduced at Ulan with the help of Proudfoot, along with realizing substantial cost savings, has given Ulan a management system which provides the necessary information and controls to more effectively run business.

This business management system will provide the basis for a process of continual improvement which has the potential to realize even more significant productivity gains and profits improvements in the future.

John Mansanti, Manager of Milling, Newmont Gold Company

The gold mining industry has been plagued with low gold prices for the past several years. Improvements in margins became necessary to continue growth. Newmont targeted its process maintenance sector for improvement and elected to bring someone in to evaluate the potential.

Proudfoot did not do the evaluation themselves but actually taught our maintenance staff practical methods to analyze and improve working systems and to measure performance. They performed as a catalyst to the improvement process, reducing the individual's resistance to change and facilitating the change process. Their approach will have lasting value. As a result of their training, our people continue to be positive with regard to change and to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and to reduce costs. Their people conducted themselves professionally and focused on the targets agreed upon.