About

A leading global mining and resources company operates large-scale iron ore projects across Western Australia and internationally. With a strong focus on operational excellence, sustainability, and technology innovation, the organisation continues to drive growth through major capital projects exceeding billions of dollars in investment.

Challenge

The organisation’s project management office required a structured and reliable data management and reporting framework for a multibillion-dollar mining project in the Pilbara region.
At the time, project data was fragmented across Microsoft Access databases and Excel spreadsheets, resulting in inconsistent reporting, limited traceability, and significant manual effort.

Cloud-based solutions such as Azure Data Factory and Azure SQL Database were unavailable due to corporate IT policy restrictions, necessitating a robust on-premise data architecture that could integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure.

The key challenges included:

  • Consolidating disparate data sources into a single, reliable repository.

  • Establishing clear governance and validation rules to improve data accuracy.

  • Reducing manual reporting overheads and improving timeliness of insights.

  • Enabling financial and operational visibility through automated performance reporting.

Solution

Data Architecture and Integration

AGER BI designed a three-tier SQL Server environment (DEV, TEST, PROD) using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL). This approach enabled the integration of multiple Microsoft Access and Excel sources into a centralised SQL Server data warehouse, designed with a star schema to optimise reporting performance and simplify data relationships.

Data Modelling and Transformation

The ETL processes standardised and validated key data elements across engineering, procurement, finance, and scheduling datasets.
Business rules were defined and applied at the transformation layer to ensure consistent metric definitions and monthly versioning for auditability and trend analysis.

Reporting and Analytics Enablement

Once data maturity was established, Power BI dashboards were developed to visualise performance across major project streams. These included metrics for budget tracking, cost forecasting, schedule adherence, and milestone progress, providing senior management with a consolidated and factual view of project health. The use of forecasting algorithms within Power BI enabled the project management team to predict expenditure with up to 95% accuracy based on historical trends and planned activities.

Benefits

The implemented solution delivered a trusted, centralised view of project data, transforming how the organisation monitors and manages performance across one of its largest mining developments.

Key outcomes included:

  • Improved visibility: Real-time dashboards provided executives and project managers with clear oversight of financial and operational metrics.

  • Data consistency: Centralised governance and monthly versioning ensured accuracy and repeatability across reports.

  • Operational efficiency: Automated data refreshes and ETL workflows significantly reduced manual data handling, improving reliability and timeliness.

  • Predictive insight: Forecasting capabilities enabled proactive decision-making and budget control, helping keep the project on schedule and within cost parameters.

  • Scalable foundation: The solution provided a framework that can be extended to future projects and integrated with broader enterprise analytics initiatives.

Through this engagement, AGER BI helped the organisation transition from spreadsheet-driven reporting to a mature, governed, and automated data environment, enabling data-driven project delivery and stronger financial control across its operations.