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Mozambican aluminium giant monitors manufacturing process with HEATMozambique-based aluminium smelter Mozal has installed FrontRange Solutions' HEAT 6.4 to run its industrial automation system and streamline its IT problem-solving function. Built in 1999, Mozal is 47%-owned by UK-based BHP-Billiton plc. Other shareholders include the government of Mozambique, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, and Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan. Mozal employs around 800 people and produces 250 000 tons of primary aluminium per year. It is the first major project to be implemented in Mozambique in the past 50 years and has significantly boosted the country's economy, as well as those of its major trading partners, South Africa, Swaziland and Australia. On completion Mozal doubled Mozambique's exports, providing in excess of US$400 million in foreign exchange earnings a year and adding more than 7% gross domestic product. Production is a continuous process, says Mozal's industrial automation specialist, Johan Snyman. "The raw material is fed in at one end of the plant and the aluminium product comes out at the other end, a process which takes place every day, 24 hours a day." Snyman adds that continuous production requires constant control and monitoring via Mozal's industrial automation system to ensure that finished products are of the right quality and that productivity is high, with the lowest possible consumption of raw materials and energy, the highest level of safety, and the smallest possible environmental impact. "The HEAT automation helpdesk ensures maximum availability of the automation system by minimising downtime. This enables us to continuously improve the quality of support rendered to our internal customers and their respective sections, and means we can allocate support resources in the most effective manner. It also enables us to respond promptly to requests logged by Mozal employees." All calls to the HEAT automation helpdesk are logged via the Web. Employees log onto HEAT Self Service using an employee ID. They can then create a new issue, or view all their open and closed calls. The priority of the issue can be logged, ensuring that the required response times can be achieved, depending on the urgency of the call. The user is issued with a call ticket number via e-mail, and he is also notified once a call has been acknowledged, resolved or closed. HEAT automatically assigns the call to the relevant person depending on the correct functional area. The assignee receives an e-mail notifying him of the assignment. He then logs onto HEAT via iHEAT, views all the calls against his name, acknowledges the assignment and resolves the call. iHEAT provides Web access for roving technicians, and gives them the ability to have access to HEAT's call logging functionality via the Web. "The HEAT automation system is not monitored by a helpdesk person as all our communication takes place over the Web," says Snyman. "In a distributed support environment like Mozal's, HEAT allows our 300 maintenance technicians to log onto the system wherever they are to see if any calls have been assigned to them, and if they are within the vicinity, they can then attend to the call immediately."The Mozal IT helpdesk was implemented as an essential component of the brand new smelter project. It handles problems, queries and complaints for all the company's IT users. These are logged either telephonically, via e-mail or via the Web with HEAT Self Service. The Web-based customer self-service and support solution enables end users to log issues via the Web, and to query the progress of their calls in the resolution process, thus reducing the number of calls to the helpdesk. "The HEAT helpdesk has resulted in a direct increase in staff productivity as tasks can be allocated to those most likely to be able to resolve them," says Mozal IT Superintendent Ricardo da Silva. HEAT was implemented by Polygon Systems, a Durban-based HEAT solutions partner. Mark Bannerman, Polygon Systems MD, says HEAT's reporting capabilities enable Mozal staff to access reliable data on the logging and tracking of calls. "HEAT provides the smelter with detailed statistics on all aspects of helpdesk and automation performance. This enables the company to ensure that customer response times remain fast and enables it to track the workload of individual support staff," says Bannerman. "HEAT has provided Mozal with better management of its helpdesk services, its automation services, and its internal customer needs. It has given the company the ability to guarantee service within specified time periods." "Mozal has a vital role to play in the development of southern Africa and the region's economic growth," says Tracey Newman, MD of FrontRange Solutions. "Helpdesk efficiency is an essential part of its strategy as an internationally competitive aluminium smelter. Downtime is not an option and with HEAT as a backbone, the company can monitor and resolve service and support issues to ensure maximised efficiency and productivity." About FrontRange Solutions (SA) Pty Ltd FrontRange Solutions (SA) Pty Ltd develops software and solutions that allow organisations to deliver extraordinary customer relationships and service. An international market leader in customer-centric software for more than 10 years, the company is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with offices in Los Angeles, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Australia and Singapore. Solutions include: industry-leading GoldMine® software for customer relationship management (CRM), fully integrated contact management and sales force automation; and the award-winning HEAT® software line for world-class customer service and support. FrontRange drives business decisions for profitability in market-leading companies such as Coris Capital, De Beers, Standard Bank, Volkswagen SA, Mosaic, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Lucent and Smith Barney. Industry awards for FrontRange include Software Magazine's "Hot 500," Call Center Magazine Product of Year, Entrepreneur Magazine's Best Software, Users Choice Awards, PC Magazine "Editors' Choice" and Forbes Online "Best of the Web". For more information about FrontRange Solutions (SA) Pty Ltd, call 0800 009111 or visit www.frontrange.co.za Editorial Contact: Frank Heydenrych FHC +27-11-608 1228 frankh@icon.co.za top of page |
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