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How Your ERP System can Help Relive Worker Shortages
Author: Sonia Turner, Sales and Marketing Manager
Published: 8th March 2022
Entering into the third year of the pandemic, we can still feel its impact, with supply chain shortages, manufacturing delays and an increasing demand for resources. Australia’s careful and cautious approach has allowed the mining industry to function close to its pre-pandemic way, however with the delay in international borders opening and a competitive job market, the industry is facing a major talent shortage. KPMGs 2021 Mining Risk Report saw that key workers shortages were a concern at the top of mining executives’ minds and now a year later it is not just a concern for mining companies it is the reality.
Skilled Worker Shortages
The 2020 The Future of Jobs Report from the Word Economic Forum found the disruption to the global workforce caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many companies to adopt new technologies. This increase in technology adoption was the catalyst some industries needed to push them into the future, with many jobs now predicted to undergo a transformation by 2025. Just under half of the businesses surveyed in the Future of Jobs report indicated they are planning on reducing their workforce due to the newfound technology, with the prediction that tasks done by machines and humans will become equal.
One industry that is struggling to attract a skilled workforce in the current competitive market is the Australian mining industry. From February to November in 2020, due to the increased demand for resources, the Australian mining industry saw an employment growth of 8.5% in the resources due to the pandemic. While this has been a positive outcome of the pandemic, border closures, lockdowns, vaccine mandates and quarantine restrictions imposed has meant the industry has seen a shortage of skilled workers.
How your ERP System can help
With worker shortages predicted to reach numbers of 33,000 in some states in the mining industry, miners need to be ready for the operational impact this may have. Reviewing and optimising current technology or implementing new and better technology in the future in order to keep operating at their full potential is necessary.
Having a functional ERP system will not only allow companies to optimise operational efficiency but will allow other solutions to be seamlessly integrated. A functional ERP system will allow:
- Greater Capability to Work from Home – Working from home and remote operations centres is a new normal and require your software to be mobile and work from anywhere enabled. The option of working from home allows workers who otherwise might have family commitments or health restrictions to be able to join the workforce.
- Increases Operational Efficiency – A fully integrated and effective ERP system will mean that you can do more with less staff.
- Automation of Administrative Tasks – Digital automation allows the mobile workforce to be more productive and spend less time on admin tasks and more time operating.
- Greater Operational Insights – Bringing the entire mining eco system together to allow for better data insights enables mining management to make quick decisions on the effectiveness of the mine processes. Working smarter, not harder.
The Mining Eco System
With the advent of new innovative application programming interface (API) technology, the ability to combine solutions to provide a fully integrated ecosystem to your mine operations is easier and more cost effective.
A standalone ERP system in some cases will only deliver 80% of mine sites requirements when managing its business processes, however by collaborating with best in breed point solutions it can deliver the 20% with amazing results.
Some of the solutions Scope Systems has partnered with include AP Automation and digital automation, artificial intelligence, drone technology and health and safety applications to name but few. These integrated solutions will help relieve the stress of worker shortages and help to futureproof you are your operational efficiency.
If you are worried about maintaining operational efficiency with lower staff numbers, get in touch with Scope Systems. Our expert consultants will work with you to review your current systems to increase your operational potential and futureproof your system.