Job Purpose:
To ensure optimal technical support, machine performance, and customer satisfaction for Electrical & Automation products by managing product knowledge, field operations, maintenance, and service processes. The role drives structured feedback from customers and field personnel, facilitates continuous improvement of machines and processes, and provides technical guidance to internal teams, dealers, and clients, ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable operations.
 
Key Responsibilities:
Additional info:
·        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 is handled in a structured and efficient manner.
 
Basic Functions:
·        Product Support Lead for Electrical and Automation.
·        Evaluating and implementing the 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 the scope and monitoring scope compliance during machine production.
·        Participate in machine inspections before being released to go to the site.
·        Report quality issues and non-conformance.
 
Machine Field Analysis:
·        Assess operating functionality, machine ergonomics, and safety risks.
·        Participate in time-and-motion studies to improve productivity performance.
·        Do reliability assessments, checking the durability of parts and design.
·        Engineering fault finding. Perform a Failure Analysis on engineered and fabricated parts. Offer advice and recommendations to the Engineering department.
·        Maintenance, Service, and Repair efficiency and performance effort analysis. Design improved processes to perform, advise on service kit BOM, and make recommendations to Engineering on design changes to facilitate ease of maintenance and service.
·        Report shortcomings 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.
·        Initiation, design, installation, and closing of upgrade and improvement proposals and projects.
·        Costing and estimating of parts, materials, consumables, labour, and other costs related to the proposal and project scope.
·        Planning, control, and management of project 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 in 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 the design of aftermarket customer machine care programs. Meet with mine Engineers regularly to give feedback on machine performance and audit findings and to offer solutions. Attend my 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 company 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, 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-added findings.
 
Technical Skills:
·        Excellent understanding of low, medium & high 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
·        Trade Certificate Millwright/Electrician
·        Driver’s License
·        Product knowledge