Daily duties and skills gained throughout my career

1. About me
I started my trade in 1999 as an apprentice at Masonite
Africa ltd, qualified as Fitter & Turner in September 2001
thereafter appointed as a maintenance Fitter at the
factory
In September 2003 was appointed as Fitter and Turner in
the machine shop at Illovo Sugar Umzimkulu where I
carried out maintenance on river pumps, filtration plant,
compressors, fire pump station as well as machining
requirements for the plant
July 2005 I made my way to the plant as a maintenance
fitter in the extraction department where maintenance
was carried out on conveyors, carriers, hydraulic
systems, diffuser and dewatering mills
I was thereafter promoted to Machine Shop & Civil
Superintendent in 2011 managing civil works with
external contractors in the factory and the scheduling +
resourcing of machining work , at this point I had 3
Fitters & Turners , 2 maintenance workers and a mobile
crane driver as my direct reports
Promoted to Front end Superintendent in 2014 and am
currently in this position to date, was seconded to Illovo
Sugar Malawi in 2015 on a 6 month contract to assist
with frontend maintenance
I am experienced in a wide variety of equipment within
heavy industry, keen to share my knowledge and
continuously progress learning from colleagues and
superiors, currently in this position which I have 9
employees reporting to me in the season and 45
employees during the off crop maintenance period.
Technical Skills
•Planning and scheduling of preventative maintenance
•Budget reviewing and allocations
•Labour resourcing and job plan detailing
•Manufacturing shafts, bushes etc with lathe, milling
machine
•Hydraulic systems fault finding and installations
•Specialised bearing fitments, press fits, heat shrink fit,
adaptor or withdrawal sleeve fit with C spanner or
hydraulic nut
• Conveyor maintenance, belt tracking, idler
replacements etc
• Carrier chain repairs/replacement
•Gearbox overhauls- Fenner,Bauer, Siemens,David
brown
•Pump refurbishments - Morris,Allis chalmers, KSB,
Gallagher, Humboldt
Informal Training
●Belt splicing inspections
●Self locking element installations
●Bearing fitments on various types
●Gear mesh checks
●Basic arc welding and use of oxygen and acetylene
gas bottle sets for cutting and heating
Leadership Benchmarks
•Effective leader
•Assertive nature
•Self motivated
•Fosters teamwork and collaboration
among teams
•Cognitive thinker where I look at the
whole process and all possible causes
before making decisions
•Proactive nature in terms of enforcing
thorough morning inspections and fixing
a problem when it's in the minor stages
•Am able to lead and manage teams
•Health and safety conscious as I lead by
example
•Communicate clearly and test
understanding
•Achievements of KPI’s which are set at
the beginning of the season
•Ability to continuously improve the
mind-set of my team
•Driven by high performance and
customer satisfaction

2. Factory
inspections
● My critical path is the first inspection of the
plant and the equipment identified for this
path is based on time loss in the event of
failure , ie: Main rotor bearing temperatures,
oil flows and vibration readings. Bearing
cooling water temperatures and white metal
bearing oil temperature. I trust in feel, touch,
hear, see and smell and verify with instrument
readings
● Conveyor tracking, idler replacements and
scraper adjustments
● Main hilo spiller wire rope integrity inspection
and brake functionality
● Pump gland service,oil level check and amps
monitoring on FLC
● Hydraulic pump filtration check and
temperature control on coolers
These are some of my daily duties and responsibilities

3. Visual management boards
This is the meeting area every morning at 9:20
where we discuss the morning inspection route
and the problems encountered, plans for the
day is transferred to the action plans for the day
with work orders so each individual
understands their roles and responsibilities for
the day
Audits are carried out monthly to ensure
sustainability and plant reliability
Critical control path measures are filled in daily
in order for us to keep track of what has or
hasn’t been done, eg: greasing of equipment,
oil flow readings on Hagglunds,bearing
vibration readings etc.
An area for statutory checks is also updated
weekly/monthly, ie :vehicle service hours,
safety file inspections, rigging equipment colour
coding etc.
I believe this meeting together with the
information and tools provided is the key to our
success for plant reliability as we fix problems
before they catch us.

4. Inspection sheets
These are inspection sheets which lists
the equipment to be inspected and the
route to be followed.
In the workshop at our meeting area I
have a detailed inspection legend that
helps the maintenance team understand
what they need to inspect on the
equipment for example the inspection
sheet lists No1 Scalding juice pump.
The legend states for pumps the ff must
be checked for the pump to be in order:
Holding down bolts, gland leaks, belt
slippage, guards in place ,pump
lubricated

5. Detailed checklist
Examples of specific items to
inspect during the morning
inspection.
This gives maintenance teams a
clear understanding of what
exactly must be checked during
their inspections so the
paperwork does not become a
tick box exercise.
I personally carry out refresher
training every year at start of
season and the whole team
signs acknowledgement of the
training

6. Off-crop
maintenance
• Removing and
fitment of large bore
bearings fitted with
hydraulic nut while
continuously
checking clearance
• Bearing and gear
mesh inspections

7. Off crop maintenance
● Installation of 2100mm 5ply
conveyor with 12000lb winch
and a brake to prevent roll from
taking off
● 7,6cc gear oil pump installation
for shredder bearing lubrication
● Washboard integrity check with
template
● In house breaking of 250mm
Ewart block chain to carry out
head shaft sprocket profile build
up

8. Continuous
improvement
initiatives
Quick wins submitted
this past season where
we budget ,spend and
use the necessary
resources to implement
a change that will save
hundred of thousands in
the future

9. Few more quick
wins
continuously
improving

10. 36 ton load test
with 3 x 12 ton
water bags
New load cells with
LED display
installed on main
hilo spiller

11. 475mm ID
coupling shrink
fitted
• Warmed up coupling
with diesel burner
• Checked growth on
ID with inside caliper
or vernier ( +0,5mm )
• Fitted coupling with
Crane and installed
tangential keys in
order afterwards

12. ● Spherical Roller bearing
clearance check
● Fitment of anti run back
on inclined conveyors
● White metal bearing
clearance check with
plastic gauge, blueing of
bearing and oil wedge
check

13. Re design and
implementation
• Designed new W300
coupling liner plates to be
bolted on inside coupling
box as opposed to building
up worn faces with welding
during maintenance
• Installed 0 to 75 l/m flow
meters on Hagglund case
drains which an increase in
oil flow through case drain
will be the first signs of
failure and replacement can
be planned as opposed to a
breakdown

14. Trade and Technical development

15. Management Development

16. Reference 1

17. Reference 2

18. Reference 3