From coal miner to Vice President

From coal miner to vice president, Simon Andrews is a South African success story. He is VP of Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology Southern Africa. His own journey of overcoming difficulties has helped him lead through disruptive change in recent times. In this interview, he opens up about how his past work experience helps him understand the plight of employees. He gives us the inside scoop on the methods and systems he uses to drive productivity and customer-centricity no matter the adversity South Africans face.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Simon at his office. Read on for a written version of the interview. Click the link below to watch the interview.

Later in the interview

"Operating out of South Africa, I think we face a fair amount of challenges, challenges that are possibly not seen elsewhere in the world. We're currently going through load shedding. We treat it with, I think, gay abandon, if you like. I mean, the power goes off and we go up that's it. Things happen. But we have generators. We're looking at solar solutions. We just find a way around it. We don't let things stand in our way."

From coal miner to vice President, surely there must have been some challenges along the way that you've overcome anything stand out for you.

"Yeah, I think a different way of working. So when you're on the mind, it's all about production. It's all about getting the stuff out of the ground. Particularly in coal mining, it's about tons produced, very much production orientated, very focused around safety, very focused around people and way of working. Of course, when you become a vice President, then you're in very, very much a supportive role. So it's not really output orientated. It's how you manage your business to support customers. So the goals are, I think, a little bit different. It's very much broad based, and it's very much reactive to supporting your customers in how they mislead their requirements. Whereas in operations and production, you have very clear defined, short term goals. You've got to produce tonnage. You've got to keep it coming on a daily basis. When you move into a vice President position, you've got to then support people who have those goals in a variety of situations and circumstances. So I think flexibility and seeing a bigger picture is very much the changing move coming from a production operation to a vice President position. Sure."

Tell us a little bit about how you've made decisions to change the way in which you approach the customer.

"Well, I think one of the advantages I've had is I'm dealing with people who are doing a role or a job that I did. So first of all, I have an insight into what their challenges, how they operate, and, of course, the circumstances in which they operate. Now, because I know their challenges, I then have an advantage that I can look at solutions to support them. So I think there was a huge advantage for me. Now when I look at the way they operate and the positions that they're operating in, I now have access to sort of other technologies and support systems that I can use to assist them in their roles and responsibilities. And I think that's given me the edge, and it's allowed me the opportunity to provide support services that were slightly different when I was, for example, operating because they simply weren't available. We look at the digitalization platform that we operate under. Now, in my day, that was quite elementary, to be honest. We still had phones. I mean, I was there in the introduction of cell phones. So, wow, we're talking of a big change. And to incorporate digitalisation into their operations is good when you understand the challenges that they face.

I understand the limitations they have with technology on site, the challenges they face with the practicalities of working in an underground environment or a mining environment. But because I know that and I know what's available, I can then make the link to see how it works to add value into their business. So it's all about doing that, taking a problem that our customers have, finding a solution that I'm aware of and implementing it that gives them the answers or the results that they need to achieve their objectives."

How do you use digital platforms to keep that relationship going with the customer?

"So, I mean, one of the challenges we have, if you're looking at the mining industry, is they're spread around. I mean, I'm responsible for the Southern African area. So we operate down at Black Mountain, down in the Northern Cape. We operate right up to Ingarzi, just outside Harare in Zimbabwe. How do you contact these sites? How do you contact the people? How do you remain in contact with them? So a digital platform is pretty well, the simplest way to do it. So whereas we would operate with telephones and cell phones, now we have a more interactive scene. Utilizing things like teams has allowed us to stay in contact not only with our customers, but with the people operating on those sites very quickly, very easily, very practical. So I think that's allowed us the edge to be able to stay ahead of the game, to say to these people, what problems do you have? Rather than wait for a monthly meeting or quarterly meeting, they literally pick up any communication channel they want and they contact us, and we can respond accordingly. And also having the visuals as well gives you that personal touch. Whereas we did have to rely on personal contact and personal meetings, that's not as necessary as it was."

How do you use data to continue to build those relationships when you want to communicate with people?

"First of all, you can have a communication channel and you can obviously converse with them. And a lot of the cases they are now describing a situation or a problem that they have now, words are fine, but what is important is if they've got access to information that can actually tell you what is going on. So the digitalization process that we have implemented allows us to actually access some of the information on site. For example, one of our machines doing temperatures of engines, productivity rates, buckets loaded, faces loaded, things like that. And what the customer can then do is utilizing or we can access this information to understand the challenges he faces. A lot of times it's related to production issues. So what we can do is we can see what are his production rates like we can see when he starts the shift, when he ends the shift. Having information like that means I can put context to the problems that he has. So he would relate an issue or a challenge on site. I then can look at the practical side of the information that's being generated to actually provide some context to what he's saying and more importantly to look at some solutions because he would see it.

I use the word he. I do understand there are women around there as well. So this is not sexist based at all. When people talk to us about a challenge or something that they have, they often won't have insight to understand how to solve it. Because we look at a variety of problems in different sites on different operations, we can actually understand that there's often many issues and causes to the problems that they have that we're aware of that they are not. When I can see the data, when I can see what is going on, I can then start asking some pertinent questions and getting to the root cause of it to provide a solution. So that's what the data gives me. It gives me that insight slightly more than just talking to people, which is, I think very important."

How do you utilize this system in structure with your own people?

"We have mines all over the Southern Africa right up I mentioned Namibia, I didn't say that. So down in places like Focal Point and we were operating in Mozambique. So we have offices to support those customers in those different areas. Of course the challenge is for me to communicate with them now. As I say in the past when we had communication channels, we utilize things like memos and briefs and things like that which are very, I think bland. And also one way with a digital platform that we have, I can now communicate with people much easier. And for me that is extremely important. My concerns are for people who work in remote areas like Slack Upon. If they don't feel part of the sandwich team, they don't feel part of the Commonwealth site. So how do I engage with them? How do I make sure that they are part of this team and that is to communicate on a very regular basis and a simple teams platform. Using that as a communication medium allows them to actually see me and hear me and I can react also to questions and comments that they make while I communicate with them.

And the idea of this is it's a regular communication session which I can communicate any type of message that I choose. So it could be safety and health related. We used it to discuss what was going on during Covet, during lockdown, and now we've used it more generally to just say what is happening within the industry and the business that affects them in their sites. I also have a Q and A session at the end where they post questions. It's something that they've engaged. We've been doing it now for nearly over 18 months and it's still got a sort of it's wellreceived and it's something that we've used, I think extensively to communicate everything from quite serious messages to more lighthearted messages. I've even been known to read Christmas stories to the kids and has gone down very well as well. I must admit, I think more adults listen to kids, but that's okay."

Can you tell us a little bit more about how you are going about that?

"Companies always say people are your greatest assets and I think that's the buzzword that's been used and abused over the years. But I must admit from my perception, the only way we've remained to stay ahead of the competition and to differentiate ourselves is to our people is through our support and our way of working. And I think that has allowed us to gain a competitive advantage in the business that we are working in. For me, the people element is absolutely critical. We have good equipment, we have good technology, we have good services. So do our competitors. We're in a business where we're competing with the best in the world and we understand that. What does make the difference is how we utilize our people to come and support those products and services in the industry. So we have 1500 people operating in San Diego, Southern Africa, across all the countries that I've mentioned as well in logistics, in the workshops, in field service on mine sites, and of course in the offices themselves. So all those people are engaged in supporting sandwich business to come and support our products and offerings. Providing the service on site and remaining very close to our customers needs.

That is absolutely critical for our success. Now for me to communicate with them in an effective way obviously becomes a real challenge and I need to they need to understand what business we're in, they need to understand the challenges we face and I need to be able to communicate with them. And here are some of their challenges and concerns that they have. That feedback allows me to have insight into solutions that I can provide to industry ahead of when they actually the crisis hits. So having that insight with people on site, with people in remote locations is absolutely critical and you've got to have the two way communication, otherwise it simply doesn't work. So that's how we operate. The majority of people do not work on this site. Majority of them do work remotely and therefore they want to stay part and parcel of the business and I need to have a close contact with them and a digital solution is obviously the best way to do it. And of course the Microsoft Teams Live program appeared and Natalie said to us well, there's this platform. Let's try it, obviously, for Sandvik. Nobody had used it within the group.

We gave it a go and we tested it, and it worked like a charm. We've had over 300 people on this call, and it's 300 people in remote locations operating from home to technology centers to online sites, operating with phones, iPads, and any other modem that you can find. So we needed a platform that could reach all of these people and also allow them to be able to talk back to me. And that was, of course, the most important thing. While I say talk, that would be a bit of a challenge. So we use the Q and A session and question and answers. I think that was the better way to work. But yes, I think we knew what we wanted to do. We now had a problem. The question is what's available to us to make it work? And I think that's very much how we operate as a company. We do have these challenges. We understand they're very real. The question is you can just stand back and say, well, that is that is it. Leave it alone or find a solution, and that's what we do. We found a solution. I think this is a perfect example where that solution worked 100% for us, and it's been adopted throughout the greater sounds when people realize that you can communicate with a larger number of people on a relatively easy and effective platform that we use."

Tell us a little bit about how you go about managing the productivity of your operations.

"We supply mining equipment. I think that's probably the simplest thing. You supply equipment. The question is how well is it utilized? So equipment that we supply is the latest technology. From fairly basic technology to the most advanced technology. We supply what the customer would need. But of course, the issue is how well does he use it now? The better he uses it, the more productive it becomes, the more value it's adding to his business. So we've got to try and assist him in improving on his production levels, improving on his productivity and the efficiency of the use of that equipment. With the equipment comes support and services in line with exactly the same theme. How does he get the best out of the equipment that he's produced? So in doing so, I need to understand what is happening on his sites and remain in contact with that because although I can see the results, they tend to be after the event. What I need to know is what is happening in real time. Now we have the ability to monitor some of that equipment in real time. Then I can actually see what he's doing, how well he's utilizing it, and then provide advice and support into how we can improve that utilization.

It could be operator skills. It could be layouts for underground operations. It could be how he structured his mind design, then we can see that from a remote operation to say, here we are looking at some of the challenges that you face, looking at some of the stalling points in your operation, things that are preventing you from utilizing this equipment in the best manner possible. So that insight is absolutely critical for us, making sure that he's getting the best use out of his equipment. So from a production and efficiency point of view, utilizing data and information is absolutely critical. You can imagine the alternative is to go to site, go underground and look, which is great. You see one machine, you see one site, and it probably takes you a day to get there and out. I'll have the ability, through remote monitoring, through our digitalization platform to be able to monitor several sites with many operations underground and see it simultaneously. So the idea is we take the information and the data from site. We then bring it to a central location where we have people whose job is to monitor it remotely, see what is going on, and provide reports to the customer that gives him insight into what's happening on his mind.

So believe it or not, I probably will know more about what's happening on a mine site than the person who is actually there because we can monitor it live. So it's about adding that value into his business that gives him the advantage that he needs to make sure that he is more cost competitive. Because it's all about lowest cost of production. You've got to produce an oil or a ton of coal or volume a cubic meter at the lowest cost possible. That's what mining is all about."

How do you go about making fans from your customers?

"Yeah, it's a very good point because selling the equipment is probably the easiest thing. They always say you sell the first machine, then the support and services will sell all the subsequent equipment afterwards. So for us, we can get equipment into site, then we need to support it. We need to make sure that the customers get what they wanted out of that machine, which is not always the easiest. And of course, by doing that effectively, then they will come back. And that coming back to us repeatedly is where we get our fan base from. We like to have relationships with customers. We don't like transactional business. We're not in the job of just selling what we would call widgets and just walking away. Not at all. We see this as a long term relationship with bigger customers and bigger partners to say to them, well, what is it that you want to achieve and how can we help you achieve it? And part of that is to understand what they need to do and the challenges that they face. As I say, mining predominantly is driven from safety and health point of view, which is a given, but from the operational side of it.

They've got to operate effectively and efficiently and be the lowest cost producer they can. By doing so, they're going to remain competitive in the business, in their market, and we can provide them with that leverage with our equipment to make sure they are the lowest cost producer. So in doing so, how do I assist them? What platforms can I use to assist them in making sure they're getting the best value out of their products and services that we are offering? So in our Zimbabwe office in Harare, we have what we call a tech center, and the tech center is operating off a Microsoft platform, which is again the way Sandvik operates. And this set up is designed to come and receive data and information from our operating sites. What they do is they monitor it. They can also look at providing reports at the end of the shift or the end of the day, which they can then send out to customers to tell them what it is their equipment has done. We can also monitor it live to understand if they're working in the correct parameters. If there are any alarm signals, for example, it could be the way machines are operated.

So we can do live monitoring as well. And we also then have the ability to communicate directly with operations to say, we think you need to go and look at this piece of equipment. There could be a problem here or there's possibly an engine that's on its way out and give really valid information like that, as well as an effective report at the end of the shift, which gives him information that he can act on. So a whole bunch of data being sent through to operational guy adds no value to anyone. I mean, what are they going to do with it? But when it comes in a simple format, did he make call? How many faces did they load? What was the availability? When did we start shift? When did we end shift? This is simple information that production guys can use. It's very difficult for them to do it themselves because obviously they need people dedicated to work on this, and that is a cost what we do by centralizing in one area, I have a small group of people and they're typically engineering qualified people who would monitor this on behalf of several customers.

And it's something that we're initially starting off in Zimbabwe and also proves to people that where you are based is irrelevant. So whether you're operating in Ghana, Bikino Faso, you could operate in Canada or Zimbabwe, we can monitor your operations. We can provide you with the support and assistance. And that's how I think we can keep customers on our side to understand that this is an ongoing relationship and that we're supporting them from what we call the cradle to grave of the operation. So when they buy a machine to when they eventually scrap it and finish it. We want to be there through every step of the process to make sure they get the maximum utilization out of the products, goods and services they bought."

What are some of the experiences that you have or guidance that you have for leaders who are operating in a similar area?

"Mining is just one big, huge operational challenge. But one thing I've learned throughout all of that is about making things succeed, making things happen, getting things done. So in an operational environment, there's no excuse for not producing. There's no excuse for not getting things done and not achieving goals. That's the environment we work in. It's a very stressed and pressurized environment. But you learn to overcome obstacles under whatever circumstances you find them. It could be industrial action. It could be things like, you have no power. It could be geological conditions that you have underground. It could be the fact that you're operating with people and all the challenges, you've got to overcome them. So I think I came from a background of finding solutions under every extreme situation that you could find. In the vice president's role, life is exactly the same. And I mean, taking on a bigger role and a bigger responsibility over a larger area. All it is is you've just got to find more solutions to more extreme situations. Operating out of South Africa, I think we face a fair amount of challenges, challenges that are possibly not seen elsewhere in the world.

We're currently going through load shedding. We treat it with, I think, gay abandon, if you like. I mean, the power goes off and we go, oh, that's it. Load shedding happens. You might even find it here if the lights flicker. But we have generators, we're looking at solar solutions. We just find a way around it. We don't let things stand in our way. And I think one of the advice I could give to leaders in industry is that there's always a reason not to do things, but then there's always plenty of reasons as to why you can make it work and how you can make it work. And I think this never say die attitude that South Africans have has bode very well for keeping us competitive in a very, very challenging environmental landscape, from a business landscape, from an economic landscape that I think would take many other business areas down. We just embrace it. We make it work. We have this, I say, a never say die attitude. And I think that is what makes us successful. And that's what I think bodes well for South Africa going forward. And I think we've shown commitment to a country where there are challenges.

And we said that's, okay, we can get past them. It won't inhibit the way we operate. It won't inhibit the results that we produce. We will just be creative in the solutions we find and we've done that very effectively using a variety of platforms, a variety of solutions. But I think being creative and understanding what challenges you face and just sitting down and finding a solution, that's what keeps you going, and that's what makes you successful."

How are you managing the supply chain?

"That's a very good question, particularly now. So I think we've all faced globally challenges with transportation. We've had logistical issues globally, which has meant that our suppliers have also battled, I must say that suppliers for us are incredibly important and we see them as a partner in our business. So we don't just treat this as a transactional basis. We treat them as a partner of choice. So for our suppliers, we must understand the challenges they face, and it's no good as crying about getting hold of or managing logistical issues. Those logistical issues for them are exactly the same as they are for us. So we need to work together. So what we've done is we now look at the challenges they face in their specific environment and say, right, what can we do? How can we can assist you in overcoming that? Because what we do is we want regular and consistent supply. We need to make sure that they can meet their commitments, and in doing so, we meet our commitments. If there's a breakdown in that chain, it affects both of us. So our partnership is absolutely crucial, and that could be assisting with them with product planning, forecasting, and also stockholding, things like that.

How do they get more stock? You don't want them to over commit? If they over commit, it could place them in serious business issues with regards to cash flow and things like that. So that doesn't help us. We need to work with them and find a solution to that which we can do. So we work very closely with them to find out what are the mitigating factors they need to implement to manage their supply to us. And once we've got that in place and once it works well, then I know that I can make my commitments to my customers. My customers don't know about the backline. They don't know about my suppliers, and they don't need to. What they need to know is that I can deliver on my commitment that I've made to them. And in doing so, I need to make sure that my suppliers are fully on board and that I've managed some of their challenges as well."

So what systems are you using to get this right?

"The most important thing when you're working with suppliers is to understand your forecast. So forecast comes from our sales teams. They get that from discussing opportunities with mines and operations. So we start from the very much the front, the coalface, using that famous phrase, which I know very well. So from the operations, we get an idea of what is required, that then kicks back into what we need to meet those requirements to support the operations, which is then supply of supports, goods and services. From that we get a forecast from a forecast. We then break that down into what we need from our different suppliers. So we have internal suppliers, for example, our logistics Department, where we bring in parts and components. And then, of course, on the service side, we do a lot of refurbishment, rebuilds and fabrication work where we need local suppliers to come and assist us. And for those, what we do is we engage with them on a one on one basis to give them our forecast and then look at their forecast as well. Because what you've got to understand is we're not the only supplier. So you can't suddenly place a very large order on a supplier and expect him to manage it.

You need to give him warning. He's got to find material, he's got to understand what it is that's required and the timelines that you've got to have it. And also it changes. We will do different work that requires different suppliers and different technologies and things like that to make it work. So we've then got to constantly look at who can supply those goods and services and also move with the times. We've got a lot more operations that, for example, use CNC lathes and things like that, where we can manufacture components locally, have a fairly elementary nature, but nevertheless, they're very critical to the business. So we've got to make sure that that is handled correctly, and to do that is to manage it in a process that is transparent for him and for us. We obviously deal in certain cases with IP, so we're going to hand over IP to local suppliers that we've got to control. That for us is extremely important. So you need a process and system to manage that, to make sure that you're not just handing out drawings to the wrong people. The people you brought online can meet those requirements, but they're also dedicated to looking after you.

They can't go out there and market your goods and services. So it's quite an interactive process, but the transparency is absolutely critical. They need to know what it is that we want. They need to know the timelines that we want them. And then they've also got to understand the parameters under which they can work for us. And that is that they've obviously got to make sure that from a discretionary point of view that they would supply us those goods and services and not take our intellectual property and actually sell it to a broader market. So we got to control all of that, which would be legal requirements and commercial agreements and things like that. So you can see it's a to and fro process, but quite complex. But the best way is that once your customers understand what's expected of them, they understand what you want and understand the way they can operate, then it's not a problem. So transparency is absolutely critical in this regard."

Tell us about mining automation.

"Yeah, I think it's a very topical word and typical phrase at the moment. I think for us, automation is key for the success of the ongoing success of mining to say, what can we automate? Under what conditions to make sure that products and services that we offer the use of the most effective way possible to reducing, again, that famous word cost per unit that's driving our operations. So automation is absolutely critical, saying that the equipment is one side, and our customers would always see this. They can see that side of it. But what we've been given as sort of a mandate from our CEO is what technology we're using internally to make sure that our internal services portfolios, our way of working, our operations are managed correctly. Now it's all well and fine to use the most effective machines in the face, but what are you doing in the offices? How are we processing customer claims? How are we managing, for example, sales? How do we manage accounts receivable, debtors, internal processes? How do we manage that? And I think technology plays an equal role there. So we're in our new facility in Kameni, we've tried to embrace all of the new technology.

For example, what you guys are doing here is the type of things that we want to make use of. We've made use of the internal communication sessions. We've also looked at our ERP systems and processes to make sure that we got the right technology to support the processes that we're doing internally to again, take out a lot of the hard work that has been done by people."

Tell me your view on the future of your business in regards to your technology investments.

"Our equipment often embraces technology, I think, and we are at the leading edge of technology. However, when it comes to operations internally, we've also got to make use of the same technology. So when we developed the Kamiki site, we closed five very old sites. Some we've been in for 25, 28 years to come into this site, we decided that technology would be sort of a guiding principle. So for example, in our boardrooms, we make sure that we have interactive components and units that we can operate. We have the surface hub that we are operating very effectively, where we can actually make use of an interactive board that we're all getting used to. And I think there it comes into one of the challenges you face is how do you get used to that time and how do you incorporate it? We made a decision that we would use it. It's not a question of bringing it in slowly. We jumped in. So when we moved into our new facility, we took a big jump forward and we made sure that what technology was available, we would use it as effectively as possible. And I think we're making good strides there.

And I think one of the most important things, if you're looking at technology is your platform, how are you going to operate? What are you going to operate? And I think we've made the decision and we've operated it effectively as the Microsoft platform. That's the basis of all of our operating requirements within the Komanani set up and, of course, on our remote sites as well, and the basis of that we can then build any technology that we need, both our own and incorporated technology if you have the right base. So that's been, I think, the key to our success in incorporating technology adding value in our business."