Key Engineering Solutions

Key Engineering Solutions We work together with your people to capitalise on the improvement opportunities available to your p

Key Engineering Solutions is based in Perth, Western Australia and committed to providing quality, value-adding improvements to businesses everywhere. Servicing companies in the mining, oil, gas, agricultural and building services industries. Key engineers are respected for their hands-on approach to engineering. They work hard and they work fast, providing quantifiable results in the areas of ind

ustrial automation, process optimisation and electrical design. Unlocking potential using practical knowledge, technical expertise and lateral thinking, the team at Key Engineering Solutions will quickly prove themselves an invaluable investment.

If you’ve ever watched the trends across a flotation bank, you may have seen this behaviour:One cell starts oscillating....
01/09/2026



If you’ve ever watched the trends across a flotation bank, you may have seen this behaviour:

One cell starts oscillating. The next responds. Before long, level variability is propagating through the circuit. 🌊

The natural response may be to re-tune the individual PID loops.

But what if the problem isn’t the tuning of any single controller?

Flotation cells operate as an interconnected process.

Changes in one part of the bank can influence conditions downstream, meaning that independently tuned level controllers may not always be enough to achieve stable performance across the entire circuit.

During a recent optimisation project at a mineral processing facility, we approached the problem from the process first.

🛠️ Our approach:

1. Understand the interactions

We analysed how level and control actions were propagating between cells rather than assessing each loop independently.

2. Develop a coordinated control strategy

We designed a decoupling approach to reduce the impact of upstream disturbances on downstream level control.

3. Implement within the existing DCS

The strategy was incorporated into the site's existing control architecture, coordinating control actions across the circuit without requiring a new control platform.

🏆 The outcome:

• Reduced level oscillations across the flotation circuit.

• More stable operating conditions.

• Reduced reliance on manual intervention.

• Improved ability to operate the circuit in automatic control.

The lesson went beyond PID tuning.

Sometimes the individual loops aren't the real problem. It's the interaction between them.

Understanding those process interactions before changing the control strategy can reveal opportunities to improve performance using the systems already installed.

Is your flotation circuit being controlled as a collection of individual loops or as an interconnected process?

Think Improvement, Think Key. ⚙️

👉 www.keyengineering.com.au

A control system can only perform as well as its understanding of the process allows. When a loop oscillates or a circui...
26/08/2026



A control system can only perform as well as its understanding of the process allows.

When a loop oscillates or a circuit becomes unstable, tuning the controller may be part of the answer, but not necessarily the starting point.

Is the valve responding properly? Has the process changed? Is the control strategy still appropriate for current operating conditions? Is variability entering somewhere else in the circuit?

That is the gap Key focuses on: connecting what is happening physically in the plant with how the control system responds.
We start by understanding the process, then use the existing PLC, DCS and SCADA infrastructure wherever practical to improve stability and performance.

With specialists in Australia and Colombia, we can also extend control-systems support across time zones when operations need additional expertise.

Because code cannot override process physics and good optimisation starts by understanding both.

Not all process variability is the same. And neither are its consequences.One of the most common assumptions in mineral ...
06/08/2026



Not all process variability is the same. And neither are its consequences.

One of the most common assumptions in mineral processing is that all variability should be treated the same way.

In reality, different types of variability affect a plant in very different ways.

Some happen in seconds.

Others develop so gradually that they become part of the way the plant operates.

Both reduce performance but for completely different reasons.

⚡ Fast variability
Rapid oscillations, unstable control loops and excessive valve movement.

The consequences are usually visible:

• Increased equipment wear.

• Operator intervention.

• Alarm flooding.

🌊 Slow variability

Gradual changes in ore characteristics, feed conditions or operating constraints.

These are often much harder to detect.

Instead of triggering alarms, they quietly reduce throughput, recovery and overall plant performance as operators back away from operating limits to maintain stability.

Understanding what type of variability you're dealing with is often more important than simply tuning another controller. That's why our Process Diagnostics (APA) & Optimisation services (KAPO) focus first on understanding why the process is behaving the way it is before recommending any changes.

Because sustainable operational improvement rarely starts with a new control strategy.

It starts with understanding the behaviour of the process.

🌐 www.keyengineering.com.au

The difference is whether that methodology is practical enough to deliver results in a real operating plant.At Key Engin...
23/07/2026



The difference is whether that methodology is practical enough to deliver results in a real operating plant.

At Key Engineering Solutions, we developed The Maestro Way to provide a structured approach to improving operational performance using the control systems and infrastructure our clients already have.

Rather than jumping straight into solutions, we follow four simple steps:

📏 Measure – Understand the operation, establish the baseline and identify where performance is being lost.

🔍 Analyse – Determine the underlying causes of process variability and identify the opportunities with the greatest operational impact.

⚙️ Execute – Implement improvements through control strategy, advanced process control and collaboration with site teams.

📈 Sustain – Monitor results, transfer knowledge and help ensure the improvements are maintained over time.

There are no shortcuts to sustainable operational improvement.
A structured methodology doesn't replace engineering experience; it helps ensure that experience is applied consistently and that improvements continue long after implementation.

Swipe through to see how The Maestro Way guides every project we undertake.

🌐 www.keyengineering.com.au

What keeps an engineering team performing consistently under pressure? In our experience, it isn't just technical capabi...
15/07/2026



What keeps an engineering team performing consistently under pressure?

In our experience, it isn't just technical capability.

It's having a shared way of thinking, making decisions and working together when projects become challenging.

At Key, we've learnt that culture isn't something you talk about once a year.

It's reflected in the decisions you make every day, the promises you keep, and the way you work alongside your clients.

Our values are simple, but they've guided us for more than a decade supporting mining and industrial operations across Australia, and now as we expand into LATAM.

Because at the end of the day, sustainable operational performance isn't only built through technical expertise.

It's built through trust, accountability and consistently doing what you said you would do.

Take a look at the principles that guide our team every day.
🌐 www.keyengineering.com.au

The mining industry is becoming increasingly connected across Australia and Latin America.We're excited to continue work...
07/07/2026



The mining industry is becoming increasingly connected across Australia and Latin America.

We're excited to continue working alongside Austmine and Austrade as part of the Australian METS delegations supporting mining missions across LATAM.

For Key, this represents much more than participating in industry events.

It reflects more than a decade of helping Tier 1 mining operations in Australia improve operational performance by unlocking greater value from their existing assets, while strengthening our presence in Colombia to support the growing opportunities across Latin America.

One lesson has remained consistent throughout that journey:

Regardless of geography, many operations face remarkably similar challenges, process variability, operational instability and the constant pressure to improve productivity without significant capital investment.

That's where we focus our efforts.

Not by adding unnecessary complexity, but by helping operations get more from what they already have through:

📊 APA™ – Understanding where operational value is being lost.

⚙️ KAPO™ – Improving process stability and unlocking sustainable performance.

🔁 APS™ – Embedding knowledge to help improvements last.

We're looking forward to continuing the conversations with mining leaders across LATAM, sharing experiences from Australia and learning from the challenges and opportunities shaping the region.

🌐 www.keyengineering.com.au

>In mining and heavy industry, reputation is not built on promises. It is built on what improves after the work is done....
02/07/2026

>

In mining and heavy industry, reputation is not built on promises. It is built on what improves after the work is done.

At Key, we help industrial operations recover performance value already sitting inside their existing assets, control systems and process infrastructure.

For more than a decade, our team has worked alongside site teams to improve plant stability, reduce variability, remove operating constraints and convert hidden opportunities into measurable operational outcomes.

Our approach is practical, hands-on and grounded in operational reality.

We do not start by assuming the answer is more capital, more equipment or more software.

We start by understanding where performance is being lost, whether the value is real, and what it would take to capture it sustainably.

Our focus is simple:

✔ Practical engineering that works in the field.
✔ Senior technical leadership from diagnosis to ex*****on.
✔ Measurable outcomes, not just activity.
✔ Sustainable improvement that site teams can own.

From Australia to LATAM, we bring the same mindset: understand the operation, quantify the opportunity, execute with discipline, and leave the plant better positioned to sustain the gains.

When the value is real, we help capture it.
When it is not, we say so.

Explore how we work: www.keyengineering.com.au

>In heavy industry and mining, process variability is not just a technical issue.It is a financial leak.When actual plan...
23/06/2026

>

In heavy industry and mining, process variability is not just a technical issue.
It is a financial leak.

When actual plant performance sits below designed capacity, the answer is not always more equipment, more software, or more capital.

Often, the value is already inside the operation but it is being lost through control strategies that no longer match plant reality, setpoints that amplify variability, bottlenecks that keep shifting, and operating constraints that have become accepted as normal.

At Key, we help site teams identify, quantify, and recover these losses using practical engineering, process control, and hands-on optimisation.
Through our Maestro Framework™, Measure, Analyse, Execute, Sustain, we focus on three connected areas:

🔹 Asset Performance Assessment
Identifying and quantifying the real constraints affecting throughput, stability, recovery, efficiency, and operability.

🔹 Process Control & Optimisation
Improving how existing systems, control loops, setpoints, and operating strategies respond to real plant conditions.

🔹 Implementation & Sustainment
Working alongside site teams to convert opportunities into measurable improvements that can be sustained over time.

For us, optimisation is not about producing more reports or recommending unnecessary capital.

It is about helping the plant perform better with the assets, systems, and people already in place.

When the value is real, we help capture it.
When it is not, we say so.

Explore how we work: www.keyengineering.com.au

🛠️ Every processing plant has untapped performance value.The challenge is knowing where that value is real, how much it ...
17/06/2026



🛠️ Every processing plant has untapped performance value.

The challenge is knowing where that value is real, how much it is worth, and what it takes to capture it.

In mining and industrial operations, performance losses often hide in plain sight:

Control philosophies that no longer reflect how the plant actually operates.
Setpoints that are reduced to control variability.
Operating constraints that become accepted as “normal”.
Bottlenecks that shift, while the control strategy keeps chasing the wrong target.

Existing systems that are capable of more, but are not being used to their full potential.

At Key, we help site teams identify, quantify, and recover these losses through practical engineering, process control, and hands-on optimisation.

Through our Maestro Framework™ (Measure, Analyse, Execute, Sustain) we focus on one outcome:

✅ Helping the plant perform better with the assets and systems already in place.
✅ No unnecessary complexity.
✅ No assumption that more capital is always the answer.
✅ Just clear diagnosis, practical ex*****on, and sustainable improvement.
✅ When the value is real, we help capture it.
✅ When it is not, we say so.

📩 Explore how we work: www.keyengineering.com.au

🇦🇺🌎 West Australian Owned & Operated | Expanding Across the Americas At Key, we are proud to be a 100% Australian owned ...
09/06/2026



🇦🇺🌎 West Australian Owned & Operated | Expanding Across the Americas

At Key, we are proud to be a 100% Australian owned and operated company, established in Perth in 2014 and now expanding into Latin America through our KeyHub in Colombia.

We work where performance matters most: inside mining and industrial operations where process stability, visibility, and operational consistency directly impact production.

⚙️ Process control & optimisation
🔧 Loop tuning & control strategy improvement
📊 Alarm management & operational visibility
⛏️ Practical engineering built for real operating conditions

Across many sites, we see the same challenges: variability, manual intervention, unstable loops, and control systems that are functional but not fully optimised.

Our focus is simple: help operations get more from the systems they already have installed.

Built in Western Australia. Expanding across the Americas. Focused on performance that lasts.

Address

Level 7, BGC Centre, 28 The Esplanade
Perth, WA
6000

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+611300305650

Website

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