An investigation into strategies for transforming mining organisations into lean profitable enterprises: A case of Murowa Diamonds Mine (year 2008-2010)

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the strategies that can be used to transform organisations into lean profitable enterprises. Its objectives were to assess the understanding of lean principles, propose strategies for removal of operational waste, ascertain whether bloated structures affect efficiency, design lean adoption methodologies and countermeasures to deal with lean transformation pitfalls. The researcher used both epistemology and ontology research philosophies. The study utilised the case study research technique to extract both quantitative and qualitative data. A survey was conducted, on a sample size of 60 respondents picked from a population of 253 elements comprising of Murowa Diamonds employees and long term contractors. The major findings from the research comprised of a general good understanding of the lean principles and acknowledgement of lean in improving operational excellence, strategies such as Value Stream Mapping, 5S, TPM and Kaizen were proposed to remove operational waste, rigid or bloated organisational structure was found to be affecting Murowa Diamond’s efficiency or effectiveness, 3-Staged methodology was found to be most appropriate for lean adoption, and countermeasures for sustaining lean included leadership and management commitment. Some of the recommendations made included lean training, employee engagement, adoption of use of lean tools, and creating a culture of continuous improvement.