Mechanical Technology — February 2014
13
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Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management
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G
MC Global regional manager
for Africa, Schalk Prinsloo,
says, “GMC Global will focus
on strategic asset manage-
ment work pertaining to mining and oil
and gas projects, by drawing skills and
knowledge from existing departments
in the GMC Group as well as local
resources.”
SMEC SA CEO, Thomas Marshall,
adds that combining the expertise and
experience of both companies will prove
“highly beneficial to all clients in Africa,
as there are few local companies that
will be able to provide similar high-level
consultancy services”.
“GMC Global provides professional
consulting services to the global mining,
oil and gas industries and has significant
practical maintenance, supply chain, re-
liability, professional consulting, change
management and systems experience.
I believe that the combination of GMC
Global’s asset management services
and SMEC’s mining consultancy and
management capabilities will provide
existing and new clients in Africa with
a more comprehensive and value-added
service offering,” he predicts.
Marshall adds that the acquisition
will also enable SMEC to diversify into
the resources industry and enter new
geographic markets in North America
and South America, where GMC Global
has a strong presence. “This forms
part of SMEC’s growth and diversifi-
cation strategy, which the company
is successfully implementing through
a combination of organic growth and
strategic acquisitions.”
Prinsloo discloses that, over the next
two years, GMC Global will focus on
SMEC South Africa’s CEO, Dr Thomas
Marshall.
SMEC tailors its mining sector engineering services to meet local conditions, particularly for mines
located in remote regions.
Professional consulting services provider, GMC Global, which was acquired in
2012 by engineering consulting firm, SMEC, has established a local office in
Johannesburg South Africa, to expand its geographical footprint.
Local office adds value to service offering
increasing market activities to promote
the company’s services.
“GMC Global assists clients in estab-
lishing and executing their vision and
strategies, by supporting leadership
capabilities and enhancing technical
skills to deliver optimal and sustain-
able results. One of its key roles is in
the evaluation and implementation of
enterprise asset management systems
for mining companies,” he says.
Marshall adds that SMEC tailors
its mining sector engineering services
to meet local conditions, particularly
for mines located in remote regions.
“SMEC recognises the importance of
sustainable infrastructure services such
as energy generation and telecommuni-
cations for the development of mines.
The company is at the forefront of
developing sustainable energy solutions
and utilises this knowledge to imple-
ment sustainable project outcomes for
clients. With the combined strengths
of the two companies, I am optimistic
of the future role that we will be play-
ing in the development of the African
marketplace,” he says.
He discloses that GMC Global
recently assisted an internationally
recognised mining client in “increasing
its revenue by more than US$17‑million
through the implementation of a
custom-designed maintenance improve-
ment programme”.
Prinsloo says that, in addition to
providing “a measurable increase in
revenue”, the implementation of the
maintenance programme also provides
the client with a 600% return-on-
investment while increasing plant
availability by 16%, obtaining a 5%
improvement in plant throughput, and
achieving 66% completion of planned
maintenance strategies.
He concludes: “The maintenance
improvement programme was designed
to improve plant performance and parts
availability, while increasing enterprise
resource planning to drive value. Through
disciplined work management practices,
such as a coaching programme for all
maintenance staff and the introduction
of the practical and technical aspects of
global mining best practices, we assisted
the client in adopting a more proactive
approach, which has proved to be highly
successful.”
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