Kumba Iron Ore powers steelmakers around the world via sustainable mining

Operating primarily in South Africa, Anglo American ‑ Kumba Iron Ore is a multinational mining company with a strong focus on sustainable operations. Kumba produces a high-grade iron ore that is a key component in steel. The company employs nearly 12,300 people and produced close to 39 million tons of iron ore in 2020.

Kumba used to manage its safety and compliance manually. This drawn-out process caused errors, delays, and inefficiencies throughout Kumba’s operations. Additionally, inconsistent standards and requirements across sites increased costs and risk. The Kumba team needed a consolidated approach to streamline and automate its manual processes and improve risk outcomes.

Kumba implemented Passport 360, available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, to streamline its contractor onboarding times and reduce costs. Powered by artificial intelligence and Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services, Passport 360 integrates with various systems, including ERP, supply chain, safety, and HR, to deliver interactive Microsoft Power BI dashboards to facilitate reporting on overall compliance.

Passport 360 on Azure optimizes and automates onboarding and compliance

Headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Passport 360 creates online health and safety platforms that enable organizations to optimize their online administration, health and safety, procurement, and compliance needs.

Kumba faced several onboarding and compliance challenges, including lengthy onboarding times, work delays, outdated compliance documentation, and a lack of standardization across operations.

Passport 360 integrates with systems such as SAP SuccessFactors and Honeywell to enhance visibility via concise, meaningful dashboards and actionable insights. The Kumba team now has a clear line of sight into risk areas with significantly improved system controls. And because data is managed in real time via an Azure-based solution, safety information is there when it is needed, and compliance can be tracked and actioned in a proactive and integrated manner. With Passport 360, compliance is part of every workday, and safety is part of the everyday workflow.

“We saw an opportunity to use technology at Kumba Iron Ore, who were overwhelmed by manual processes and multiple isolated systems while having to manage their compliance requirements for contractors and their workforce across their projects,” said Siobahn Whitehead, CEO and Cofounder, Passport 360. “Passport 360 played a huge role in automating all these complex processes in high-risk environments.”

A report from Gartner found that “Most compliance activities are largely separate from business operations, functioning like ‘bolt-ons’ ‑ an increasingly unsustainable approach. Stakeholders now expect ‘built-in’ compliance activities as part of the business workflow to reduce business drag and increase program impact.”

The Passport 360 team worked closely with Kumba Iron Ore to understand its solution requirements and ensure the configuration fully supported Kumba’s business processes. Working with its internal stakeholders, Kumba aligned the quality, health, safety, and environment (QHSE) requirements of its different business units to create a standardized approach and boost efficiency.

Removing bottlenecks and ensuring compliance across operations

According to Kumba Iron Ore Section Engineer Ralph Christie, “Onboarding times have improved significantly, and we are now able to see where bottlenecks are occurring in the process.”

Kumba has implemented Passport 360 across all its operations. Passport 360 makes it easy to work with all the data contractor and employee compliance requirements produce, enabling Kumba to verify compliance and highlight exceptions.

“Onboarding times were reduced due to the implementation of digital forms that replaced manual forms,” said Marie Brits, Manager: Contractor Management, Kumba Iron Ore. “Using Passport 360’s integrated Microsoft Power BI reporting, we were able to track overall compliance and onboarding times.”

Passport 360 enables Kumba to deal with ever-increasing amounts of compliance data from numerous systems, automate reporting, manage KPIs, and deliver reminders and alerts via email and SMS notifications. The Passport 360 mobile app also allows users to view QHSE requirements on their phones or tablets while on site.

“We have often recommended Passport 360 as a one-stop shop that offers a wide variety of functionality,” said Brits. “Using the system to manage exceptions makes life easier for the supervisor on the ground. The Passport 360 support team and account managers assigned to Kumba Iron Ore have always assisted us. Passport 360 is always prepared to develop their product to meet clients’ needs and ensure a word-class solution.”