MillOps Throughput Tracker Mobile App
Digitizing Measurement Entry and Shift Records at Morenci Mill
Overview
In March 2023, the MillOps project at Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci Mill addressed a broken paper process. It enabled digital measurement entry, automated calculations, a digital record for team communication and shift handoff, and access to real-time sensor data.
Challenge
Operators needed a digital alternative to the paper measurement process, with calculations and records that supported communication between teams and across shifts.
Approach
Contextual inquiry, workflow analysis, and collaborative workshops with operators and supervisors informed the tablet-based experience. I applied BDX to connect the work context to digital entry, automated calculations, shared shift records, and sensor-data visibility. Contextual inquiry revealed a torn calculation grid that some operators had to stand on tiptoe to read. Digital entry automated the calculation: for example, entering unfiltered and filtered specific gravity values returned a wet-grind percentage shared with the team.
Outcome
The solution digitized operator-entered measurements, automated calculations, and maintained a digital record for communication and handoff. Operators could also see real-time sensor data. These capabilities describe the implemented experience; quantified accuracy, throughput, or cost effects require the underlying evaluation records.