Site & operations leaders
Focusing improvement effort on the constraints that will move production, cost or safety.
Service 02 / Challenge identification
Solve the right problem first.
Our Innovation-GPS systems analysis and technology road maps help operators find, quantify and validate the challenges where innovation will create the most value.
- Starts with
- A business objective or pain point
- Indicative timing
- 4–8 weeks per site
- You leave with
- Prioritized, solution-ready challenge briefs
Priority-led applications
Apply this service where it matters.
Explore proposed focus-area applications, evidence measures and safeguards. New engagements remain subject to an agreed scope and confirmed capacity.
See the proposed delivery gatesWhy it matters
The visible problem is rarely the real constraint.
A mine is a connected system. Fixing one step can simply move the bottleneck.
Innovation budgets are often spent on symptoms — the issue that is loudest, newest or easiest to buy for. CEMI looks at the whole operation, from the face to the mill, to find where constraints really sit, what they cost and which are worth solving first.
Who it’s for
Built for the people who move mining forward.
Corporate innovation & technical services
Building a defensible innovation portfolio across multiple sites.
Consortia & sector programs
Developing shared technology road maps for a commodity, region or theme.
How it works
5 stages. A clear decision at each.
Every stage ends with a deliverable and a decision gate, so you always know what you have and what happens next.
- Stage 01Week 1
Intake & framing
Understand the business objective, the operating context and the people who need to agree.
- Discovery conversations with operations and leadership
- Review of KPIs, plans and prior initiatives
- Agree scope, sponsors and success measures
- Deliverable
- Challenge charter
- Decision gate
- Is there a clear owner and objective for the work?
- Stage 02Weeks 2–4
Systems analysis
Apply Innovation-GPS to map the mining system and trace where constraints sit and how they cascade.
- Process and value-chain mapping
- Site visits and interviews
- Bottleneck and interdependency analysis
- Deliverable
- Constraint map
- Decision gate
- Have we found root constraints, not just symptoms?
- Stage 03Weeks 4–5
Value at stake
Estimate what solving each constraint is worth to the operation.
- Throughput, cost and safety impact
- Energy, water and emissions effects
- Effect on value over the life of the mine
- Deliverable
- Value-at-stake model
- Decision gate
- Which challenges are worth investing in?
- Stage 04Weeks 5–7
Prioritize & validate
Test the findings with site and corporate stakeholders and rank them against feasibility and strategic fit.
- Stakeholder validation workshop
- Feasibility and readiness screening
- Alignment with strategy and capital plans
- Deliverable
- Prioritized challenge portfolio
- Decision gate
- Does the site agree these are the right priorities?
- Stage 05Week 8
Challenge briefs & road map
Turn the top priorities into solution-neutral briefs that innovators can respond to.
- Performance requirements and constraints
- Technology road map and sequencing
- Recommended next step for each challenge
- Deliverable
- Challenge briefs & road map
- Decision gate
- Hand off to innovation scouting or solution matching.
What you receive
Practical outputs. Not shelf reports.
Constraint map
A whole-system view of where performance is really limited.
Value-at-stake model
What each challenge is worth, in terms leadership can act on.
Challenge portfolio
Ranked, validated priorities with owners and rationale.
Challenge briefs & road map
Solution-neutral requirements and a sequenced plan.
What we work towards
- Shared understanding between operations and leadership
- Innovation effort focused where the value is
- Clear requirements suppliers can respond to
- A road map that connects challenges to strategy
Ways to work with us
Engagement that fits the need.
Site diagnostic
A focused Innovation-GPS analysis of one operation with prioritized challenge briefs.
- Format
- One operation, 4–8 weeks
- Best for
- A specific site or process
Portfolio review
A consistent view of challenges across sites to guide portfolio and capital decisions.
- Format
- Multiple sites, phased
- Best for
- Corporate innovation teams
Sector road map
A collaborative road map for a commodity, region or theme with multiple partners.
- Format
- Consortium, 6–12 months
- Best for
- Shared industry challenges
How we measure progress
What success looks like.
- Value at stake identified
- Challenges validated by site owners
- Challenges progressing to scouting or matching
- Time from intake to challenge brief
Before the first conversation
What to bring.
- The business objective you need to move
- The KPIs and data you already track
- Known pain points and prior attempts
- Who owns the outcome on site
Common questions
What is Innovation-GPS?
CEMI’s systems-analysis approach. It treats the mine as an interconnected system so improvements target the constraints that actually limit performance.
Will you share our data?
No. Site information is handled under confidentiality agreed at the outset. Challenge briefs are only shared outside with your approval.
What happens after the briefs?
Briefs can go straight to innovation scouting, or to solution matching if a credible option is already known.
The next step starts with a conversation