Ensuring optimum machine availability for crushing and screening on mines and quarries is essential and the availability of skilled customer support technicians is key to ensuring the smooth running of operations.

“Given that South Africa is a major global producer of several minerals such as gold, platinum group metals, chrome and manganese, amongst others, it is vital that the crushing and screening sector plays its part in keeping the industry running smoothly,” says Pilot Crushtec international director: technical support Jorge Abelho. “Skilled customer support technicians are therefore a non-negotiable in crushing and screening operations.”

He says that crushing and screening customers benefit from the experience and knowledge of the company’s customer support technicians, who can advise on equipment setup, operation and efficient maintenance – all of which helps minimise equipment failures and costly downtime.

Pilot Crushtec asserts that it invests heavily in training to keep its customer support technicians up to date with the latest equipment and industry trends.

“As machines get more complex, incorporating more automation, onboard diagnostics and remote telemetry solutions, we continue to invest in the multiskilling of our technicians to enable them to diagnose and set up machines quickly and safely,” notes Abelho.

“We have developed a very detailed training matrix for the customer support team – a live document which we update on a monthly basis. Our Corrective Action Request is also an engrained process in the organisation that often provides input into our training matrix,”  he explains.

The matrix helps identify training requirements within the customer support team, and indicates which individuals are being trained and which technicians are already competent. The company also conducts formal weekly training sessions, which vary from structured training sessions to less formal discussions about an activity or experience gained during the week.

In addition, as the Southern Africa distributor for Metso crushing and screening equipment, Pilot Crushtec highlights that it has access to the global company’s online eLearning portal with over 100 courses.