Development of dynamic simulation model for strategic planning of potash mine outbound logistics. Client — BHP Billiton — the world’s largest mineral resources company.
Industry sector: Mining
Client: BHP Billiton
Partner: Goldratt Research Labs
BHP Billiton
Project objective
- Generate a strategy for the development of the logistics network of potash mines for 2017-2045
- Choose the basic logistic network configuration
- Determine the storage capacity requirement as well as loading and unloading equipment requirement in seaports and land hubs
- Calculate and prove planned production costs of products delivered to the clients
Photo by Sebin Lalu on Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/@sebin_lalu_
Description
The main stages of work and characteristics of the model
- Conducting working meetings, collecting the main data for the project
- The simulation model concept development
- Development of information requirement
- Managing of the data collection and its preparation for the modeling
- Development of the simulation model on the AnyLogic platform
- Development of inventory management and transport dispatching policies
- Verification and validation of the model
- Scenario analysis – comparison of more than 300 options of logistic network development
- Preparation of the report about simulation results
Model input data
- Strategic plan of potash production in mine in Central Canada in 2017-2045
- Loading and unloading operations performance, transport capacity, transportation speed
- Possible location options for 20 hubs and 31 seaports
- Demand forecast
- Consumers location forecast
The main structural elements of the model
- Input data file of scenario in MS Excel format
- Simulation model with interactive presentation, batch launch mode for fast scenario comparison, mode of sensitivity analysis
- Data aggregation module that allows to generate MS Excel files with the simulation results
Model output data
- Service level of clients supply
- Production costs of product unit delivered to the client
- Requirement for storage capacity, loading and unloading equipment in seaports and land hubs
- Demand for railway cars, car fleet utilization capacity
Project result
- The strategy of potash mine outbound logistic for 2017-2045 is developed
- Suggested algorithms of inventory management and car fleet management are justified
- Planned financial indicators of logistic network, including graph of planned production costs of products delivered to the clients by years, are calculated
Using simulation has become an industry standard in mining
Todays modern simulation tools, such as MineTwin, allow to speed-up creation of simulation models.