Mining & Minerals Processing
(Titanium Dioxide)
6,500+ employees across 6 continents
Perth, Western Australia
Tronox is a global leader in the mining, production, and marketing of titanium dioxide and other mineral products. Its Western Australian operations include complex process plants that depend on effective maintenance practices to keep production running efficiently and safely.
The Challenge: Unclear Maintenance Performance and Process Concerns
In 2024, the Plant Manager at Tronox’s Perth site reached out to Reliability Academy with a direct concern:
“We have some concerns around our maintenance process and our maintenance performance. Can you come and have a look?”
The maintenance team knew there were issues, but couldn’t clearly pinpoint where the real problems lay.
They needed an independent, expert assessment to understand how their maintenance planning, scheduling, and execution processes were actually performing and where improvements would make the biggest impact.
Key challenges included:
- Lack of clarity on how existing processes compared to best practices.
- Inconsistent execution across teams and departments.
- Unclear data trends and performance gaps that weren’t fully understood internally.
Goal: Gain an objective, data-driven understanding of what was working, what wasn’t, and what needed to change.
The Solution: A Structured,
On-Site Maintenance Assessment
After going through the proposal and planning process, Reliability Academy conducted a comprehensive Maintenance Site Assessment for Tronox — combining data analysis, on-site observation, and in-depth interviews.
The assessment followed three main phases:
1. Document and Data Review (Pre-Assessment)
Before visiting site, Reliability Academy requested a detailed set of maintenance documents and operational data.
This included:
- Maintenance KPIs and backlog data
- Work order histories and completion rates
- Planning and scheduling procedures
- Maintenance organisation charts and workflows
Erik analysed these materials to identify gaps, patterns, and inconsistencies. This preliminary review raised a number of critical questions, forming the basis for targeted discussions and deeper investigation during the site visit.
2. Four-Day Site Visit in Perth
Erik spent four days on-site at Tronox’s Perth operations.
During this visit, he:
- Attended key maintenance and operations meetings
- Conducted one-on-one interviews with planners, supervisors, and frontline staff
- Observed maintenance planning, scheduling, and execution practices firsthand
These on-site discussions and observations provided a clear picture of how processes actually worked in practice — and where disconnects existed between procedures and day-to-day behaviour.
3. Findings and Recommendations Report
After completing the site visit, Erik compiled a comprehensive summary report outlining the main findings and practical recommendations.
The report included:
- Key strengths and areas of concern
- Root causes of performance gaps
- Specific, actionable steps for improvement
The findings were significant and eye-opening for the plant manager and his leadership team.
They gained a clear understanding of what was driving inefficiencies — and what changes were needed to improve maintenance performance and reliability.
Results: Actionable Insights and Renewed Focus
The assessment gave Tronox exactly what they needed — clarity and direction.
They now had:
An objective view of their current maintenance processes.
A prioritised set of recommendations that addressed both systemic and behavioural issues.
A roadmap for improvement aligned with reliability best practices.
The plant manager described the findings as “eye-opening” and has agreed to provide a formal testimonial to Reliability Academy endorsing the work.
"I knew we had issues, but like most major facilities, we were effectively blind to the real problem. The work Erik has done was absolutely eye-opening. His assessment gave us a definitive list of failures we needed to fix and the actions we must take to improve our performance and secure our position. We literally moved from guessing to acting with certainty."
— Mr. John Doe, Plant Manager, Tronox Perth Operations
Disclaimer: due to a non-disclosure agreement, we cannot make the data and report available to the public.
The Conclusion: A Model for Maintenance Site Assessments
This site project highlights how a Maintenance Site Assessment from Reliability Academy helps organisations identify and solve underlying issues in their maintenance processes.
By combining document review, data analysis, site observation, and stakeholder interviews, the assessment delivers a clear, evidence-based picture of how maintenance is really being managed, and what needs to change to achieve reliability excellence.
This structured approach has since been applied successfully at other sites, including BHP’s Cannington Mine in Queensland, with similar engagements now underway in Qatar.
When maintenance leaders sense that performance isn’t where it should be but can’t exactly see why… a Reliability Academy Site Assessment brings the clarity, insight, and direction needed to make the right improvements.
Ready to escape the vicious cycle
of reactive maintenance?
Book a free strategy call with us. Let’s discuss how we can help you improve
your plant’s reliability, reduce maintenance costs, and reduce downtime.
You can also email us at [email protected]