Goonyella coal chain efficiency drive 'on track'

By Sineva Toevai

The Mackay-based company was launched in August last year to manage all aspects of planning for the Bowen Basin to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) supply chain.
ILC’s general manager Philip Bourne said that getting the business and its main service provider into a centralised location had been the “most obvious achievement.”
“We have quickly established our place in the coal chain and we are now beginning the long journey to start improving the coal chain,” Bourne said.
“We are receiving excellent support from all participants of the coal supply chain and both producers and service providers stand to benefit from gaining efficiencies in the increased throughput of coal from mine to ship hatch.
“When this project is successfully delivered and maintained we should see significant gains across the supply chain.”
Bourne said that while there were noticeable improvements in since its launch, significantly more work was needed.
“We need transparency throughout the coal chain to make it work effectively,” he said.
One initiative ILC has been working on since its launch is the Performance Management Framework (PMF) data portal, which covers every step the coal chain’s day of operations, including parcel assembly times and load and unload times.
“It relies upon accurate, timely and regular updates enabling managers to make informed decisions and to focus on priorities of the entire coal chain,” Bourne said.
“Over time PMF will continue to grow and expand beyond day of operations to monitor forecast and tactical and long-term plans as well as supply and demand.”
ILC this month launched its open-access website, which provides a portal into the Dalrymple Bay Coal chain.
The site has already received interest from countries including the US and Japan, Bourne said.
“Within the next week we will be at a stage where it will enable any interested party to see a snapshot of the coal chain at any given moment with headline figures such as inbound tonnes, outbound tonnes and number of ships in the queue.”
DBCT is the third largest coal export terminal in the world.

Source: Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au