Jachris, an integrated on-site industrial solutions partner specialising in hose, fluid power and uptime-critical maintenance across African mining and heavy industry, announces a strengthened on-site industrial solutions model to reduce unplanned stoppages and improve safety across operations.
“The failure of a single mining dump truck can drain around US$1 000 for every hour it stands still – and when it comes to excavators, that cost can quickly become more,” says Warwick Bouwer, CEO of Jachris. “And these costs do not stop at the machine. Momentum is disrupted, production is compromised and havoc is wreaked on export schedules. Leaders must realise that more than just a metric, uptime is becoming a concrete survival threshold for African mines.”
Uptime is Africa’s operational line in the sand
Across the continent, infrastructure gaps and logistics constraints such as transport, power and port limitations stretch maintenance cycles. The uncertainty around operational risk, production volatility and extended repair times raises the stakes for reliability.
“Jachris is focused on addressing the realities that our continent’s mining operations face with an integrated on-site model,” Bouwer explains. “We deploy our skilled technicians, fully stocked with critical parts and specialised equipment, directly to client operations. This means we can take full ownership of uptime and effectively eliminate the co-ordination delays that often arise when varied suppliers all have to queue for the same asset.”
He adds: “Uptime in Africa has an impact on jobs, community stability and, crucially, export performance. Having our on-site teams co-ordinated into a single window takes away the uncertainty and knock-on effects that go hand-in-hand with fragmented vendor chains.”
Reactive fixes become proactive availability
Bouwer believes data visibility will shape the next step in uptime performance. “Through JacTrack, Jachris links hose and assembly usage to individual machines, shifting around 80% of replacements into scheduled maintenance instead of field failures. This reduces safety risk, recovers lost hours and cuts unplanned stoppages across fleets.”
Clients are seeing a noticeable difference, with a maintenance lead at a West African operation noting: “JacTrack turned failures into calendar events. Our breakdown rate dropped, and inventory planning stabilised.”
An accountable on-site, any-time partner
When multiple suppliers touch a single machine, the result is often a disconnect in accountability. Multiple technicians fighting for access may result in delays, and nobody takes accountability or owns the outcome. Jachris counters this by embedding cross-trained teams on site who manage work in a co-ordinated, single-window structure.
“On remote sites, time often works against operators. We keep critical hose and fluid power assemblies on the ground and the right specialists beside the machine. That is how hours become minutes and long queues disappear,” explains Bouwer.
Skills building where it matters
As the continent continues to face a structural skills shortage that actively contributes to a lag in technology adoption and limits operational performance, sector analysts have reiterated the need for stronger technical foundations, STEM capabilities and targeted reskilling across mining.
“We believe the strongest uptime strategies are built from within. This is why we invest consistently in local capability development through a world-class internal training framework that reduces reliance on expatriate labour, lowers costs and strengthens long-term operational durability. We have a responsibility to build capacity around our customers’ operations, which we take very seriously,” Bouwer adds.
Keeping Africa’s mining industry moving
As mining operations across Africa face rising costs, infrastructure constraints and uncertain markets, every unplanned stoppage directly translates into lost revenue and riskier safety margins, proving the financial and operational case for proactive uptime has never been stronger.
Bouwer reiterates this by saying: “Our position is simple: to put more specialists on site, stock more critical components directly where machines operate, and replace fragmented vendor chains with one accountable partner. By doing this, the sector will start to see reactive failures turning into predictable, scheduled maintenance.”
The future of the continent’s mining success will rely on machines that work. “If a partner cannot stand on your site and take responsibility for your uptime, they are not your partner. Jachris was built for this ground truth, and we intend to keep Africa’s industries moving,” concludes Bouwer.