Supporting innovation programs through a custom portal, positioning Austmine as a digital services provider.


The resources world is growing and evolving, with pressure on companies to innovate and protect our planet. At the forefront of any conversation in this industry are the themes of safety, leveraging new technology, and renewable energy.

Services

Digital Strategy

Integration Development

Portal Development

Digital Design

Advancing technology

Austmine is the unifying body that unites, encourages, and supports its members to pursue and promote the global advancement of technology and innovation in mining. 

As a not-for-profit association, Austmine exists to promote the global advancement of technology and innovation in mining. One of the things they do is offer a program called "Austmine Innovate."

The team plays the role of an independent facilitator and coordinator of industry innovation programs. This aims to unify multiple companies under a single goal or "challenge." For example, many mining companies want to leverage battery technology for machinery, but how does a giant truck in a remote location charge and recharge its batteries, and can it afford to sit idle for hours while doing so?


“From discovery to build, our consultants thoroughly mapped and understood Austmine's requirements, and presented a comprehensive business strategy that would enable them to offer their services digitally. We then developed and built a custom portal and a promotional website that effectively executed and enabled the presented strategy.”

Innovating together

The Austmine Innovation program is here to help our industry and economy grow

Austmine is the leading industry association for the Australian Mining Equipment, Technology, and Services (METS) sector. As a not-for-profit association, Austmine exists to promote the global advancement of technology and innovation in mining. One of the things they do is offer a program called "Austmine Innovate." The team plays the role of an independent facilitator and coordinator of industry innovation programs. This aims to unify multiple companies under a single goal or "challenge." For example, many mining companies want to leverage battery technology for machinery, but how does a giant truck in a remote location charge and recharge its batteries, and can it afford to sit idle for hours while doing so?

Through running these innovation challenges, multiple vendors (mining companies) unite, allowing participants (external suppliers, consultancies, and vendors) to put forward their idea and concept to solve the issue. Judges (industry advisory panels) then review, score and award the best idea to receive funding to develop the solution further.


They already had a digital platform in use, so when is the best time to migrate or rebuild, and why?

Digital discovery and consultation by a strategy lead team

When the Dapth consultants first met Austmine, they were tasked with conducting a digital discovery process. The aim was to map the current state of operations, workflows, and processes that related to the handling of the Austmine Innovation program. After successfully facilitating the BHP Charge on Challenge program, Austmine identified the need to position themselves to scale as they look to offer the same service to many other mining companies across Australia and the rest of the world.

Software and application analysis

Initially, it was assumed that there was already a tool to facilitate the program (AwardForce), so it was perceived as an area that was already set up and functional. While this tool is an enterprise-level solution with plenty of high-quality features and functionality, it was not built to match exactly how Austmine needed to operate and manage their service.

Process mapping ideal state vs current state

During the audit and analysis, it became clear that Austmine had a unique and bespoke process for managing their innovation program. The process also uncovered other systems and platforms where data was shared , as well as the recommended practices and ideals for transferring data in an automated manner (reducing manual intervention and increasing security).

Workshops and stakeholder engagement

Our team conducted further staff workshops to understand exactly what Austmine team members need to do in an ideal scenario (without the limitations of a platform that dictates the process), which would enable Austmine to gain efficiencies, security, and scalability. We also met with an industry partner to understand from their perspective what they would need as a 'digital service' offered by Austmine, with stages, input and outputs that considered them also.

User and role management

As there was a range of users engaging with the process (and in future the system), the team at Dapth had to identify the personas and the user stories that related to what they would need on the platform. This then helped to clarify the user access and level of interaction that needed to be catered to on the new solution.

Business case and strategy defined

There are many out-of-the-box platforms on the market that facilitate the submission of ideas and process and workflow management. After understanding the use case, our team reviewed market options with two key themes in mind: fixing a disjointed process to reduce manual intervention by humans and enabling growth through technology.

ROI (return on investment) and TCO (total cost of ownership)

Practically, the total cost of ownership for a pay-as-you-go license model would eventually become substantial, and managing information would lead to siloed data. As Austmine is a rapidly growing membership-based organization with multiple user types engaging with their services, events, directories, and more, it was essential for them to centralize and protect their data. In the end, the ROI for building a bespoke digital platform became a clear best step forward.

A transformative impact

The future with Austmine, now as a digital services provider of their own

The team at Dapth has worked closely with Austmine to develop a data-driven strategy that would enable them to effectively manage multiple innovation programs in a secure manner. The proposed custom portal solution includes multiple user types, access requirements, and data transfer pipelines through APIs. With this solution, Austmine can expand its own services digitally, allowing them to support more vendors in creating innovation programs that will better the mining industry through the use of technology. 

Austmine's new platform has positioned them as a technology and digital services provider. They have the flexibility to expand feature sets based on requests from mining companies who want to run their challenges in a specific way. With their own platform, Austmine can find new efficiencies and opportunities as the future of digital evolves. This new capability will enable Austmine to support the industry without traditional limitations, allowing them to achieve their main objective of driving innovation in the mining industry.

We provided Austmine with a comprehensive digital strategy and process mapping, conducted a technology audit, and developed a custom portal to facilitate unlimited challenge programs with multiple user permissions. Additionally, we created a custom campaign website with a challenges feed linked to the portal, designed the user experience and user interface for both the app and website, and integrated data into iMIS. We also implemented email and workflow automation and provided training with “How to” video instructions to ensure seamless adoption and usage.

We transform

Transforming organisations across WA