Real-Time Mining Operations Dashboard
Replaced a 2-day manual reporting cycle with a live operations dashboard — cutting reporting time by 98% for a mid-tier WA iron ore producer.
98%
Reporting Time Reduced
Real-time
Data Freshness
40%
Less Unplanned Downtime
The Challenge
A mid-tier Western Australian iron ore producer was running its entire operations reporting process manually. Every week, analysts spent two full days consolidating data from disparate sources — shift logs, sensor outputs, and maintenance records — into static spreadsheets. By the time leadership reviewed the numbers, the data was already 48 hours stale.
The business had no visibility into real-time production throughput, equipment utilisation, or energy consumption. Decisions were reactive rather than proactive, leading to costly unplanned downtime and missed optimisation opportunities.
The existing infrastructure consisted of a legacy SQL Server database with no API layer, and reporting lived entirely in Excel. Stakeholders needed a solution that didn't require replacing the core database, could integrate with existing Power BI licences, and could be deployed without disrupting live operations.
The Solution
We designed a lightweight .NET Core API layer deployed to Azure App Service that sat in front of the existing SQL Server instance. The API exposed optimised read endpoints with caching, eliminating the performance bottleneck of direct reporting queries against the production database.
We built a suite of custom Power BI visuals using TypeScript and D3.js — real-time gauges, production flow Sankey diagrams, and drill-through equipment health cards. These visuals consumed live data through the API and refreshed on a 15-minute schedule, later reduced to near-real-time via push datasets.
The executive dashboard aggregated KPIs from crusher throughput to fleet utilisation into a single view accessible on any device. Role-based access ensured operators saw operational detail while executives saw summary metrics. The entire rollout was phased over 6 weeks with zero downtime to the production database.
Architecture Overview
Technologies Used
The Results
98%
Reporting Time Reduced
Real-time
Data Freshness
40%
Less Unplanned Downtime
“The dashboard transformed how our operations team makes decisions. We used to fly blind — now we have live visibility into everything that matters.”
— Operations Manager