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14 Jan 2026, by Amy Sarcevic
As the world navigates geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions, the topic of productivity has come to the fore in Australia’s heavy haul rail industry.
While the sector’s output has remained constant, input costs have risen, driven mainly by escalations in labour and parts. This year, forecasts suggest a 4-6 percent increase in overall industry costs; and while material costs are now stabilising, supply chain issues continue to threaten them.
In this climate, a focus on productivity and efficiency has become an imperative for many.
How is the sector responding?
Candis Rhodes, Planning Manager Supply Chain Service Asset Management at Rio Tinto will lead discussions on this issue at this year’s Heavy Haul Rail Conference.
Moderating a panel, she will invite key industry players to share their thoughts and strategic insights.
Ahead of the event, we sought Candis’s opinion on the current state of play, and the key productivity and efficiency trends reshaping heavy haul.
Current state of play
Candis agrees cost pressures are a growing challenge but is optimistic about the levers industry can pull.
“We are in part of the cycle where cost pressures are coming back into the story again. Companies are producing the same or more in their revenue lines, but the cost to do work is creeping up – and that’s not a good economic model in anyone’s eyes.
“So, I think productivity and efficiency is important for everyone right now – making sure assets are performing well and processes are streamlined.
“The climate is driving many players back to those fundamental, lean processes, which is something to applaud regardless of the economic climate.”
Equipment
Candis says there are efficiencies to be made in people, processes and equipment – and while metrics vary between companies, they often share the same logic.
“For equipment it’s often about getting more maintenance kilometres per dollar; or the same performance for less carbon. Fuel has a real bottom line impact, so you’re winning if you’re using less of it, without compromising performance,” she said.
Thankfully, Candis notes some there are some “very significant advances” in machinery, which will help on this front.
“We are seeing some transformative technologies that will reshape the heavy haul sector – and these are being adopted more widely, with positive impacts on the bottom line,” she said.
People and processes
Similarly, business processes and the way people work are being considered, through a lens of AI and automation – and Candis believes this is an “exciting and crucial industry discussion”.
“Companies are looking at how processes can fundamentally be changed, in a way that reduces the amount of effort and labour.
“Industry isn’t just trying to do things faster. It’s doing them fundamentally differently. They are asking questions like, ‘does this need to be done every quarter, or can it become an annual task, without compromising business outcomes?’”
In this pursuit, AI and automation have a big role to play, Candis says.
“AI is being used to pull together large, disparate data sets, to improve the reliability of an asset, identify the root cause of failures, and improve design.
“In Australia, there is increasing pressure internationally from other counties, like China, who can engineer design more cost-effectively – and they’re largely doing that through value engineering.”
Change management
While the potential for AI to drive efficiencies is large, Candis says lofty ambitions should always be balanced with a grounded approach to change management.
“In the AI and automation space, we have seen some big visions of what people would like to do and how quickly – which we have come to realise is very much like any other change project: it can be tricky to implement.”
Thankfully, there is much to learn from industry peers, and Candis believes this could be the sector’s saving grace.
“People are very keen to learn from each other – and with AI there is so much to gain from doing this. People are getting curious about the innovative new ways others are handling their data, or redesigning processes. So, this is a really encouraging avenue for the rail sector in these challenging times.”
Join the debate
Candis Rhodes will continue this discussion at the Heavy Haul Rail Conference in April 2026.
Moderating a panel, she will cover issues such as:
• The need for productivity improvements due to cost pressures
• People productivity: Process changes, automation, and removing unnecessary steps
• Equipment productivity: Improving efficiency of rail technologies and machinery performance
• Process productivity: Fundamental changes in how work is done
This conference will be held on 22-23 April 2026 at the Crown Perth.
Learn more and register your tickets here.
About Candis Rhodes
Candis is the Manager for Planning in Asset management at Rio Tinto Iron Ore. Here she is responsible for maintenance planning and capital. Candis is a high energy role model to female leaders in industry. She has enjoyed a 21 year career at Rio Tinto, across many projects group and in different leadership roles. She holds a Master’s in supply chain management and Bachelor of Management and International business.
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