From Spreadsheets to Scalable: Mobilising a 300-Person Iron Ore Operation

The Challenge

An Iron Ore Mine customer faced a critical mobilisation challenge, rapidly transitioning from a non-operational site to a fully running operation in a very short timeframe.

Without a dedicated travel management system, the team relied on Excel spreadsheets to manage FIFO travel. As the site headcount rapidly increased from zero to over 300 people, spreadsheets quickly became unmanageable:

• No clear visibility of travel
• High risk of errors, double handling and missed bookings
• Growing pressure on the site admin during an already urgent ramp-up phase
• Manual processes that simply couldn’t keep pace with the speed of mobilisation
• Needed a document repository for important site documents such as village rules and site evacuation map.

The business urgently sought a solution it could implement quickly to support its growing workforce.

The Solution

The site team implemented PeopleTrays Travel Management software to gain control of travel and mobilisation.

The team rapidly deployed the system, moving from demo to decision to go-live in just a couple of weeks to meet the urgent needs.

With the travel management tool in place:

• Site administrators could easily add people, assign rosters and manage travel requirements.
• The system guided site admins through what they needed to do and what they needed to book.
• Travel processes became structured, repeatable and far less reliant on manual intervention.
• Competencies continued to be managed by the site team using existing systems, ensuring alignment between travel readiness and site requirements.

The Outcome

The impact was immediate and measurable, with the customer successfully ramping up operations to become a fully operational site. They had a centralised FIFO management tool that replaced spreadsheets and reduced administrative workload during the mobilisation phase. The Site admins also get improved confidence and visibility across travel and roster planning, and the solution is scalable to support a growing workforce.  

Why it matters

When mine sites need to mobilise fast, spreadsheets become a risk. A purpose-built FIFO travel management tool gives site administrators the structure, visibility and control they need to move people safely, efficiently and on time.