2027 Agenda

Brought to you by dss+ 

Mining companies are entrusting more critical work to contractors, increasing their reliance on capabilities and decisions outside their direct control. From underground development and production to shutdowns and capital projects, executives remain accountable for safety, reliability and performance even as more of the decisions shaping those outcomes sit with other organisations. 

Operations can be outsourced, but outcomes cannot. Contracts allocate responsibilities, yet the consequences of a fatal incident, failed project or prolonged production interruption extend across both businesses. The executive challenge is to ensure that commercial arrangements, retained capabilities and governance keep pace with this increasing dependence. Leaders need to understand where failure would have the greatest consequences, how decisions in each organisation affect the other and whether their combined approach can sustain safe, reliable production. 

Bringing together senior executives from mining and contractor companies, the goal of this session is to have an open discussion about how both sides can address this growing gap between accountability and direct control. Drawing on dss+ contractor research and panellists’ experience, it will explore what each party needs from the other to manage risk, sustain performance and take joint action where the consequences of failure are greatest.