Short Interval Control (SIC) has emerged as a powerful method to drive continuous improvement in mining operations.
By enabling real-time decision-making and structured performance management, SIC helps mining operations reduce production variability, increase throughput, and respond proactively to performance deviations.
So what is SIC’s role in the mining, mineral and metal processing (MMM) sector, how does it improve production efficiency, and how does technology aid SIC?
Understanding Short Interval Control (SIC) in mining
SIC is a structured approach to managing and optimising production within a shift by breaking down operations into shorter intervals (for example, hourly or two-hourly reviews). At each interval, frontline teams review performance data, assess deviations and take corrective action to keep production on track.
There are numerous benefits to SIC, including:
- Faster issue resolution: Real-time monitoring, which enables teams to detect and address process deviations before they escalate.
- Increased accountability: Defined performance intervals ensure teams regularly assess and act on production data.
- Data-driven decision-making: Operators gain visibility into trends and patterns, helping them optimise processes proactively.
- Improved resource utilisation: By refining short-term operational decisions, SIC reduces inefficiencies and enhances productivity.
How SIC improves mining efficiency
1. Real-time monitoring and visibility
SIC depends on having a single source of truth for operational performance.
Mipac’s Golden State provides a clear visual representation of when key process drivers are operating outside of defined limits, allowing teams to make informed decisions to restore production to optimal levels.
By continuously tracking key process drivers, SIC ensures deviations are detected before they become major disruptions.
2. Proactive deviation management
When deviations occur, effective response mechanisms are critical.
Mipac’s Digital TARP streamlines corrective action plans by ensuring the right personnel are notified immediately, with predefined response actions available. This approach enables consistency in operational responses, improving response time and compliance – avoiding potential unplanned downtime.
By systematically tracking and analysing deviations, operations can implement preventative strategies, reducing the likelihood of recurring issues.
3. Standardised operational workflows
SIC relies on structured workflows to ensure a consistent approach to managing deviations.
With Golden State’s real-time displays, teams can quickly drill down into process drivers related to underperformance to identify deviation root causes and corrective actions.
Meanwhile, Digital TARP allows operations to historise the outcomes of past response plans to deviation events, providing insight to improve future response strategies. Standardised workflows also help onboard new personnel more efficiently, ensuring they follow best-practice responses to deviations.
4. Increased production through short-term optimisation
By reviewing and monitoring performance in shorter intervals, SIC enables operations to make incremental adjustments throughout a shift.
These small corrections from the faster feedback loop help sustain optimal production, minimising inefficiencies caused by delays in decision-making.
5. Enhanced team collaboration and accountability
SIC promotes cross-team collaboration by ensuring that operations, maintenance, and engineering teams are aligned on performance goals.
With Digital TARP’s real-time notifications, all stakeholders are informed of deviations and corrective actions, ensuring a transparent, collaborative and accountable environment. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement, where teams actively engage in problem-solving rather than operating in silos.
Technology’s role in enabling SIC
The success of SIC can be elevated by having the right digital tools to capture, analyse, and act on operational data.
1. Integrated data sources
Golden State and Digital TARP integrate with existing data systems, ensuring seamless visibility into deviations and process performance.
By consolidating data from historians, control systems, and operator (manual) inputs, teams gain a holistic view across their operations, streamlining detection and correction of deviations before they impact production.
2. Web-based, mobile-accessible solutions
Golden State and Digital TARP are accessible across desktop and mobile platforms, ensuring that operators and supervisors can monitor, report, and respond to production challenges from anywhere on-site.
This accessibility enhances real-time collaboration, allowing teams to stay informed and take action without being tied to a control room.
3. Continuous improvement through historical analysis
By capturing historical deviation data, Digital TARP helps operations refine their TARP strategies over time, improving long-term operational efficiency. Golden State provides teams with real-time production insights on operational underperformance, enabling focus on key performance drivers that are outside optimal ranges.
These insights enable mining operations to implement targeted process optimisations, leading to sustained efficiency improvements.
The future of SIC in mining
Short Interval Control is a proven method for improving operational efficiency in mining, but its success relies on real-time monitoring, proactive deviation management, and structured workflows.
Mipac’s Golden State plays a key role in enabling SIC by providing real-time operational insights, while Digital TARP enhances deviation management, ensuring a rapid and coordinated response to production challenges. Together, these tools help mining operations achieve greater efficiency, reliability, and performance.
Want to learn more about how Mipac’s Golden State and Digital TARP can enhance your mining operations? Get in touch today!
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Shrey Gotri is a Control Systems Engineer at Mipac. In his 10+ year career, he has worked through the full life cycle …
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