How We Work
We're not here to audit you. We're here to work with you.
You've probably seen consulting engagements that start with a dozen analysts flying in, asking questions you've already answered, and leaving you with a 200-slide deck that tells you what you already know. Then they leave. You're stuck with recommendations that don't account for your reality, KPIs that don't fit how miners actually work, and no one to help you navigate the hard part: implementation.
We speak mining
We don't force you into generic templates built for manufacturing or tech. We use the language, metrics, and workflows that make sense for mining operations. We understand the cultural, financial, and operational realities you're dealing with—because we've worked inside them, not just read about them.
We bring a deep track record and a full toolkit
Erica, OBM's founder, has 20 years of experience at the intersection of mining and improvement. She's worked with dozens of mining improvement people and projects. What might take a new grad several months to deconstruct, she handles easily. She's built original learning content designed specifically for mining change leaders—purposeful, road-tested, and calibrated to mining operational needs. You're not getting off-the-shelf frameworks. You're getting tools that have been proven in operations like yours.
We implement, not just recommend
We stick around to help you navigate resistance, build momentum, and get things actually rolling. The hard part isn't knowing what to fix—it's making it happen. That's where we do our best work.
We give away the playbook
Our methods aren't proprietary. We teach your team how to use them so you can keep improving long after we're gone. The real experts are already inside your organization—we just help you unlock them.
We celebrate what's working
We don't show up with a clipboard to point out everything that's broken. We recognize the ingenuity, diligence, and care your frontline brings every day. When you treat people like valuable collaborators and give them the mic to say what they wish they could change, they'll tell you. And their ideas are better than ours.
About Onward Business Mechanics
Meet Erica Lee Garcia, P.Eng. - Mining's Diagnostic Mechanic
For 20 years, Erica has worked at the intersection of mining operations and systematic improvement across six countries—from underground mines in Peru to gold operations in Tanzania, copper in Argentina, and precious metals across North America. She’s not just studied mining improvement from a distance. She’s lived it, led it, and built her career inside the operations she now helps transform.
Mining-Specific Expertise
Erica brings deep operational knowledge from roles at Barrick Gold, where she led continuous improvement initiatives and coached teams through millions of dollars in improvement projects. She speaks the language of mining—understanding the unique challenges of underground vs. open pit, the realities of remote operations, the tension between production targets and improvement work, and the cultural dynamics that make or break change in mining environments.
As a Professional Engineer and Six Sigma Black Belt, she combines technical rigor with practical implementation skills. But what sets her apart isn’t just credentials—it’s her ability to diagnose what’s actually limiting performance versus what people think is the problem.
The Diagnostic Approach
Erica describes herself as an “advanced diagnostic mechanic” for mining operations. Just as a skilled mechanic listens to an engine to understand what’s failing, she observes operations, talks to frontline teams, and identifies the root constraints holding companies back. She doesn’t arrive with predetermined solutions. She arrives with deep pattern recognition from decades of mining experience and the diagnostic skills to customize strategy to each operation’s reality.
This approach has generated breakthrough results:
- Over $19M in annualized value from a stalled improvement program at a copper operation
- A self-sustaining BI function at a multi-site precious metals company
- A company-wide continuous improvement strategy that unified fragmented efforts across international operations
How She Works
Erica‘s entry point is typically a Kaizen breakthrough event—give her three days with your key stakeholders and a challenge that’s been costing you, and she’ll facilitate a breakthrough. These events serve dual purposes: they solve real problems immediately while also identifying internal champions and demonstrating what’s possible.
From there, the engagement evolves based on what the operation actually needs—not what a consulting playbook says they should need. For some clients, it’s building systematic improvement programs. For others, it’s developing data-driven decision-making capabilities. For others still, it’s designing internal improvement functions that can sustain excellence long-term.
Philosophy: Building Capability, Not Dependency
Erica doesn’t create consultant dependency. She builds internal capacity. Her methods aren’t proprietary—she teaches teams how to use them. The real experts are already inside your organization; she helps unlock their impact. This means her most successful engagements are the ones where she makes herself unnecessary.
She founded Onward Business Mechanics to serve mining leaders who are done with firefighting and ready to build systematic improvement capability that lasts. Leaders who see the potential in their people and operations but need a partner who understands both the technical and human systems that must align for change to stick.
What Drives Her
Erica founded Engineers of Tomorrow to help kids ‘get the memo’ about the change-making possibilities within an engineering career —a memo that she herself almost didn’t get. She has a passion for celebrating and building capability; whether coaching a junior engineer through their first improvement project or helping a VP navigate an enterprise-wide improvement strategy, she brings the same commitment: unlocking potential that’s already there.
Her work has taken her from Peru to Spain, Tanzania to the US and Canada, always with the same mission: helping mining companies do what they do better—safer, more efficiently, with engaged teams who solve problems instead of just enduring them.
Ready to see what's possible in your operation?
Connect with Erica to explore how systematic improvement capability could transform your results.
About Onward Business Mechanics
Meet Asim Khan, PhD, P.Eng. - Director of Workshops
A highly accomplished Management Consultant and PhD-educated Mining Engineer with 25+ years of global experience (Canada, USA, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia). Proven expert in driving Operational Excellence, bridging the gap between frontline execution (“Dirt”) and advanced analytics/AI readiness (“Data”). Track record of delivering massive ROI including tangible cost reductions, rapid production increases, and multi million-dollar capital avoidance by deploying Lean Six Sigma, SPC, and targeted Kaizen events across open pit, underground, and metallurgical operations as well as mine technical and Leadership disciplines.
Kaizen Workshop Experience: A Portfolio of Operational Improvements
The following outlines a selection of Kaizen workshop initiatives conducted across a diverse portfolio of mining and processing operations globally, including sites managed by Barrick Hemlo, Hudbay Manitoba Operations, Solvay Green River Wyoming, Elementis Missouri, USG Oklahoma, Wesdome Eagle River, Newmont Porcupine Operations, Pan American Bell Creek, Agnico Eagle (Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut), and Vale (Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, Indonesia, Australia, and New Caledonia).
The Diagnostic Approach
I. Mine Production Efficiency
- Shift Handovers and Crew Lineup: Standardized procedures for crew lineup, shift handover, and change activities to maximize Value-added hours by reducing Non-Value Added activities and eliminating waste.
- Mine Development (Vertical and Lateral): Standardized construction and development activities to ensure the mine is developed to achieve safe and efficient mining rates.
- Mine Lateral Development Consistency: Standardized the entire cycle of a mine round, from preparing the face to bolting the round and extending services.
- Cutting Cycle Optimization: Standardized activities for Longwall or Bore Miner cutting to ensure maximum value-added time for panel advancement.
- Longhole Drilling Preparation & Handover: Standardized activities to ensure drill areas (Stopes/Benches) are ready upon drill arrival and that loading can proceed with the blasting plan without delay when the drill moves out.
- Longhole Drilling QA/QC: Standardized drilling work to eliminate/reduce non-value-added activities and ensure consistent drilling results across all crews.
- Loading and Blasting QA/QC: Standardized activities to eliminate/reduce non-value-added activities and ensure consistent blasting results from all crews.
- Stope/Bench Preparation: Standardized activities to ensure production areas (Stopes/Benches) are ready for shovel/LHD entry, minimizing non-essential delays in the hauling cycle.
- Mucking, Loading, and Hauling: Standardized mucking (Underground), loading (Open Pit), and hauling cycles for consistent and optimized muck movement.
- Backfill Execution: Standardized activities for backfill preparation and execution, including the handover of the stope to the next production sequence.
- Hoisting System Efficiency: Standardized activities to ensure efficient utilization of the hoisting system for all requirements, including inspections, planned maintenance, and scheduled production material movement.
II. Mills Production and Processing
- Control Room Deviation Response: Standardized the response plan for control room deviations, defining tasks and responsibilities for metallurgists, control room operators, mechanics, and floor operators. Also standardized shift handover and change activities to maximize Value-added hours.
- Consumables & Reagents Management: Standardized the process for managing controllable and non-controllable variables associated with consumables (e.g., ball addition to mills) and chemical/reagent additions.
- Major Shutdown Preparation: Workshop focused on identifying all required deliverables, requirements, and associated tasks, integrating them into a project schedule.
- Sampling and Measurement Consistency: Established best practices for sampling (ensuring reproducibility and replicability) and consistently measuring key indicators (e.g., froth depth, pH) across different crews.
- Statistical Process Control (SPC) for Recovery: Established a standard process to correct recovery calculations based on mill feed, allowing for accurate identification of mill performance.
- Feed Blending Stability: Standardized the process to maintain stable mill feed, based on material receiving and daily stockpile management.
III. Mines Technical, Management, and Support
- Health and Safety: Established best practices for day-to-day job risk identification, proper investigation, risk mitigation, feedback processes, and defining key leading indicators for action at every organizational level.
- Mine Planning Standardization:
- Weekly Planning: Standardized activities and deliverables from all mine departments to ensure the plan reflects operational reality and can be managed by production and maintenance to respect critical priorities.
- Daily Planning: Standardized shift planning activities for Front-Line Supervision to ensure optimal resource utilization against weekly deliverables, given current shift realities, and to set up the next shift for success.
- Quarterly Planning: Standardized activities to ensure the plan utilizes all key variables of current mine capabilities and outputs, defining not just targets but also scenarios with high certainty on how to achieve them.
- Annual Strategy Workshops: Assessed the capabilities of all assets against desired business scenarios to create a multi-year strategic plan for each asset, including allocated resources and deliverables.
- Short Interval Control (SIC):
- SIC Planning: Standardized processes and routines to adequately monitor and steer key deliverables and activities in real-time to respect the critical path.
- SIC Operations: Standardized within-shift or between-shift planning and execution activities to ensure optimal use of resources based on current conditions.
- Daily Mine Plan Meeting: Standardized information items and the delivery of key information required for safe and efficient mine operation, reducing conflicts and risks between departments.
- Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Meetings: Standardized the process to identify issues, define opportunities, implement solutions, monitor progress, and establish sustainability.
- Leadership Standard Work (LSW): Standardized work for each leadership level (from front line to manager) focusing on role-based deliverables such as KPIs, planning, continuous improvement, and performance management.
- Layered Standard Reviews (LSR): Standardized communication between organizational layers (e.g., planning, reporting, meetings, and feedback). This, combined with LSW, drives sustainable continuous improvement and establishes a culture of Operational Excellence.
- Maintenance Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Established a process to identify deviations, conduct root cause analysis, and incorporate findings into PDCA initiatives.
- Maintenance and Utility Asset Handovers:
- Planned Maintenance Handovers: Standardized activities, processes, roles, and responsibilities for checking in and checking out primary and support assets.
- Planned Utility Handovers: Standardized activities, processes, roles, and responsibilities for checking in and checking out utility assets (e.g., conveyors, fans, belts).
- Ventilation Handovers: Standardized activities, processes, roles, and responsibilities for checking in and checking out ventilation devices (e.g., fans, curtains, walls) during development and production.
- Water and Sump Management: Standardized activities, processes, roles, and responsibilities for managing water and sumps during development and production.
- Ground Control Handovers: Standardized activities, processes, roles, and responsibilities for identifying, flagging, and monitoring ground support issues (e.g., “drummy” sounds when tapping bolts).
- Logistics and Procurement:
- Freight and Logistics: Established a standard process to consolidate freight before site delivery and defined an associated RASCI to ensure efficient logistic solutions.
- Vendor Onboarding and Site Access: Standardized the process and routines for onboarding and managing vendors requiring site access to comply with company policies and requirements.
- Contract Performance Management: Workshop to evaluate major contractor performance, identify gaps/opportunities, and establish the plan for the next year’s delivery.
- Procurement Process: Established a standard integrated process and schedule based on SIPOC principles and associated RASCI to ensure efficient procurement.
- Roles and Responsibilities (RASCI): Conducted RASCI workshops for various processes across the integrated mining value chain.
- One Touch Data Reporting: Established a daily reporting system to ensure correct data is collected and entered once, providing a single source of truth for required reports and dashboards.
Purpose
Our purpose is to unlock the potential for breakthrough innovation so that our clients have the capacity to become the leading changemakers of a better world.
Mission
We help companies do things better by building their capacity with teaching tools and changing their culture. We work in partnership with industry leaders in manufacturing, mining, and professional services to inspire them to do the best they can in any given market, timeframe, or circumstance. Our holistic approach of addressing human, financial, and technical systems entirely makes our solutions more effective and more sustainable in their impact.
Core Values
Safety
We prioritize the well-being of employees of our clients over other business imperatives
Honesty
We run on open communication between our clients’ employees.
Respect
We honour the contributions of every member of a client’s team. We are all important.
Creativity
We encourage and promote lateral thinking, new options, effective brainstorming.
Innovation
We embrace change as an imperative of business, and celebrate its many successful iterations and contributions over history.
What Clients Say
We’re now focused on value (not just cost), and prioritizing more effectively. We’re no longer trying to do everything. Our Directors agree this is very good progress. My experience in working with Erica was very positive and I would recommend working with Erica to others!”
