The mining industry has always dealt with volatility—commodity prices swing, operating costs climb, regulatory requirements evolve. For most mines, that volatility forces reactive management: you adjust when prices drop, you scramble when costs spike, you respond to problems as they surface.
But the mines that perform consistently through these cycles aren't just reacting faster. They're using their operational data differently.
Fleet management systems started as dispatch tools—get the right truck to the right shovel at the right time. That's still the foundation, and it matters: load-by-load optimization adds up quickly across shifts and eliminates the hidden losses from idle time, poor assignments, and queue imbalances. But when you treat your FMS as just a dispatch system, you're leaving most of the value on the table.
The real opportunity is in how you use that data once you have it. Every assignment, every cycle time, every payload, every delay gets recorded. That information sits in your database, and most mines have years of it. The question isn't whether you have the data—you do. The question is whether anyone's actually using it to make better decisions.
This is where mines separate into two camps. Some treat their FMS data as operational records—useful for shift reports and maybe some monthly summaries. Others treat it as the foundation for continuous improvement across the entire operation. The difference isn't technical capability; it's organizational commitment to actually doing something with the information.
Making data useful
Systems can measure anything. They can track every truck movement, every tonnage figure, every delay code. But measurement without context is just noise. The personnel at each mine need to decide which metrics actually matter for their operation, understand why performance sits where it does, and then figure out how to improve it. This process doesn't have to happen in isolation - Wenco’s Customer Success team can help identify which metrics drive the most value and how to structure them for different roles across the operation.
This requires three things from technology providers:
First, flexible tools that don't just report data but present it in ways that support actual decisions. This means having dashboards that present information clearly - whether through standard views that ensure consistency across the operation or configurable displays that can be tailored to specific needs, pull from multiple sources, and adapt to different workflows. The goal isn't more data on screen—it's the right information at the right time for whoever needs to make a call.
Second, open access to information. Mines don't run on one system. They have planning software, maintenance systems, ERP platforms, and usually several other specialized tools. When your FMS data is locked away or difficult to extract, you end up with information silos. When it's accessible through standard interfaces—SQL databases, APIs, common data formats—your mine can actually integrate operations across departments. Production data flows into maintenance planning. Cost tracking connects to enterprise systems. Engineers can validate their plans against actual performance.
Third, understanding the full scope of how mines operate. A fleet management system touches every level of the operation: operators following assignments, dispatchers managing production, engineers planning sequences, maintenance teams scheduling downtime, managers tracking costs, and executives making strategic decisions. Each level needs something different from the same underlying data. Operators need clear guidance. Dispatchers need real-time control. Engineers need validation that plans are executable. Managers need visibility into costs and efficiency. Executives need confidence that operations align with business objectives.
The value chain in practice
This isn't abstract. When a mine connects operational data to enterprise systems, they can tie production to actual costs in near real-time. When they train operators on why certain practices matter, not just what buttons to push, compliance improves. When dispatchers understand the reasoning behind automated assignments, they trust the system enough to let it work. When engineers can see what actually happened versus what was planned, they make better plans next time.
The mines doing this well aren't necessarily running the newest technology. They're running systems that make data accessible, training people at every level to use it, and building processes around continuous improvement rather than reactive firefighting.
That's what "beyond dispatch" actually means. It's not about replacing dispatch—that's still fundamental. It's about recognizing that the same data driving truck assignments can inform decisions across the entire value chain: equipment utilization, reliability, cost management, planning accuracy, operator performance, and business strategy.
The question for any mine isn't whether they have a fleet management system. Most do. The question is whether they're using it as a dispatch tool or as the data foundation for their entire operation. One gets trucks moving efficiently. The other gets the whole mine working smarter.
Published: 4 February 2014
Last Updated: 30 December 2025