Product Specialist - Electrical and Automation

About the Company:

The company has been manufacturing machines locally since 2012 and supplying them to mines across the country and beyond the borders branching out further into Africa. The company prides itself in the ability to offer a full suite of underground mining equipment of the highest international standards.

Drawing on exclusive technology partnerships with several major industry leaders throughout the world, the company is able to offer the latest in cutting-edge innovation and product development to the market.

Through collaboration with both the client and its international partners, the company engineers comprehensive, tailor-made solutions with their constantly expanding suite of mechanised mining equipment and their full range of well-established support services.

The company has a range of trackless mobile machines (TMMs) designed and manufactured locally in Boksburg, South Africa. These machines include low-profile and narrow vein loaders predominantly for smaller mining applications.

About the Role:

The Electrical and Automation Specialist will be required to drive customer support by ensuring processes and systems are in place and feedback from field personnel and customers are handled in a structured and efficient manner.

Basic Functions:

Product Support Lead for Electrical and Automation.
Evaluating and implementation of support structure.
Upskilling/training of support personnel.
Component failure investigations.
Machine preparedness, commissioning and analysis.
New Machine and prototype trials.
Machine compliance and standard adherence.
Customer communications and technical support.
Documentation and records
Maintenance, service and repair process management.
Specific Objectives

Product Knowledge:

It is the responsibility of the Product Specialist to support technical, sales and commercial functions within the company as well as to support our dealer network and our customers. This requires the Product Specialist to have in-depth knowledge of the product range allocated to his/her portfolio which includes but is not limited to the following:

Product design knowledge.
Product functionality knowledge.
Product operational knowledge.
Product service and maintenance knowledge.
Sub-con product knowledge.
Skills in root cause and gap analysis.
Skills in report writing and other administrative tasks.
Ability to train.
Ability to communicate across all levels.
A good understanding of competitor products.
Acumen to grasp new technologies.
A good understanding of engineering principles.

Machine Preparedness:

Assist with scope analysis for new machines. Support the Capital Sales team in
assessing scope and monitor scope compliance during machine production.
Participate with machine inspections before released to go to site.
Report quality issues and non-conformance.

Machine Field Analysis:

Assess operating functionality, machine ergonomics and safety risks.
Participate with time-and-motion studies to improve productivity performance.
Do reliability assessments, checking durability of parts and design.
Engineering fault finding. Perform a Failure Analysis on engineered and fabricated parts. Offer advice and recommendations to Engineering department.
Maintenance, Service and Repair efficiency and performance effort analysis. Design improved processes to perform, advise on service kit BOM’s and make recommendations to Engineering on design changes to facilitate ease of maintenance and service.
Report short comings in machine design, offer solutions and submit RTD (Request to Draw).
Analyse operating cost performance against machine average and compare to competitors.
Record data collected in the field for analysis and future reference.
Do market comparisons on machine performance and reliability.

Project Management:

New machines, prototypes, alternative or replaced parts, modifications, upgrades, and additions to be tested in the field.
Inititation, design, installation and closing of upgrade and improvement proposals and projects.
Costing and estimating of parts, material, consumables, labour, and other costs related to proposal and project scope.
Planning, control and management of projects execution and tasks with the use of approved tools and processes.
Keep records of activities, findings and observations and share with relevant stakeholders.
Measure performance against KPI’s and submit reports as required.
Close-out reports and follow-up activities

Maintenance, Service and Repairs Process Management:

Analyse processes on the mines.
Design new methods for improvement.
Set OEM standards on performance.

Warranty:

Do root-cause-analysis on failures and submit findings.
Assist in improving the Warranty process.
Assist with design parameters for work procedures, Labour, and travel cost allocation against Warranty claims.

Customer Technical Support:

Perform machine audits and assessments.
Do fault finding and root-cause-analysis.
Assist with design aftermarket customer machine care programs.
Meet with mine Engineers on a regular basis to give feedback on machine performance and audit findings and to offer solutions.
Attend mine OEM meetings.
Attend Production and Planning meetings from time to time.
Perform machine health scans to determine machine reliability status.

Conveyance and Communication:

Support dealers and all relevant stakeholders with GHH and customers with machine related technical information and queries.
Ensure all machine updates are rolled out to our customers, internal and external.
Perform regular customer surveys on machine performance.
Do follow-up visits to discuss findings and find solutions.
Keep all stakeholders informed of improvements, updates, upgrades, and changes.
Submit quality reports and keep good records and ensure document control processes are adhered to.
Complete and submit high quality Findings and Close-out reports.
Monitor new technologies and methods related to the Hard Rock underground mining industry and inform relevant stakeholders of value adding findings.

Documentation and Records:

Complete Risk Assessments as per requirements.
Submit Technical reports.
Submit customer call reports.
File records, reports, and market information in a central location as per approved procedures.
Track components and timelines pushing for warranty close-outs and return to customer within 60 days.
Manage the flow of information and access to records and documents.
Ensure documents comply with GHH branding standards.

Change Management:

Ensure all documents and processes are in place for any changes that affect our customers and the support team.
Facilitate the successful handover of updated processes, information, and documentation.
Candidate Requirements

Technical Skills:

Excellent understanding of low and medium voltage circuits on TMM.
Excellent fault-finding skills on TMM.
Panel wiring experience on TMM.
Experience with automation and programming of TMM will be advantageous.

Qualification:

Matric/Grade 12
Auto Electrician – Trade Certificate
Driver’s License
Product knowledge of Trackless Mining Machinery (TMM)

Soft Skills:

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
Fluent in English (Written and Verbal)
Ability to work under pressure.
Self-Motivated
Time Management Skill