Johannesburg, 14 Aug 2006
Kumba Resources Sishen has integrated its Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) system into its holding company`s SAP enterprise application platform in an effort to ensure all its projects are run on target and according to budget.
Kumba retained the services of the company responsible for the initial Microsoft EPM implementation, project management expert Fulcrum Business Solutions, to handle the integration task.
Kumba Resources Sishen is located in South Africa`s Northern Cape Province and produces over 28 million tonnes of iron ore per year. It is part of Kumba Resources Limited, one of the largest South African-based mining companies listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. The holding company is a focused metals and mining company with a diverse commodity portfolio consisting of iron ore, coal, heavy minerals, base metals and industrial minerals.
Jan Serfontein, project manager for Fulcrum Business Solutions during the implementation, says the mining company wanted tighter control of its project scheduling to ensure the results projects returned were as expected and that each project`s progress could be continuously compared to the initial plan. Should any projects be off track, management wanted to know about it immediately to allow it time to sort the situation out before it had a serious impact on other work the company was involved with.
"Since all initial budgeting and planning was handled by the SAP system, it made sense to integrate the Microsoft EPM system into SAP," Serfontein explains. "The day-to-day project details are contained in the EPM system to facilitate better `on-the-ground` management, but unless this information was integrated with SAP`s project data, the two systems could be misaligned resulting in goals and milestones being missed.
"This can result in budget overruns and projects that have to be restarted or at least delayed. All of which costs the company money and could further retard projects scheduled to begin in the near future."
Remote users now access the EPM system from the field to update their projects` progress and this information is integrated with the SAP system every evening to ensure both systems are running off current data and that everything is on track. In cases where the unexpected happens, management will be informed as events unfold and will be able to implement the appropriate changes.
Serfontein adds that Fulcrum sent a business analyst to the Sishen mine to ascertain Kumba`s requirements. The system was then built in Pretoria according to these stipulations before being rolled out.
"After the initial implementation there were a few small tweaks that needed to be made to ensure the software operated the way Kumba did, but these were applied quickly and the company is now running its projects in line with its management accounts as entered in the SAP system. Microsoft EPM and SAP each still fulfil their respective tasks at Kumba, but with the added benefit that the systems share pertinent project management information to keep everyone working off the same page."
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