Plant Equipment and Hire February 2019 | Page 35

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS Training centre The learning hub features a technical, health and safety, and operator training dojo focused on meeting employee and customer skills requirements. The centre features revolutionary virtual reality technologies with realistic machine controls for simulated operator training and testing. Over the past five years, more than 130 apprentices have gone through the Komatsu apprenticeship programme, and the centre currently offers 36 courses and has provided Back row: Mike Blom (MD, Komatsu Africa). Front, from left: Shuichiro Kawaguchi (chargé d’affaires ad interim, Japanese Embassy), Tetsuji Ohashi (CEO, president, and representative director, Komatsu), Dr Rob Davies (Minister, Department of Trade and Industry), and Masayuki Moriyama (president, Global Mining Business – Komatsu). training for more than 2 300 people over the past three years. ■ About Komatsu After almost six decades in South Africa and southern Africa, Komatsu has grown to become one of the continent’s foremost suppliers of Japanese-engineered capital equipment to the mining and construction industries. Products are supported by an expansive service and support network. The parts distribution centre (PDC). New parts distribution centre (PDC) facts • Size: 21 912m² (120m × 168m) • under roof 1 250 lines • Total premises size: 48 236m² • Stock units: 43 000 SKUs turret trucks, enabling safe, • Distributes around 12 000 pieces accurate access to the highest • to more than 40 destinations every day www.plantonline.co.za Features semi-automated racking areas • Stock processing undertaken • Inventory value: R885-million using Komatsu Warehouse • Total employees: 60 Management System and • Store persons: 47 workers • Two shift operations: • SAP interface • Features best practices in First shift: 08:00–14:00 warehouse design and operations (Pick-Pack-Dispatch) from Japan, Europe, and Australia Second shift: 14:00–22:00 Part of the equipment workshop where machinery goes to dry. Daily average outbound volume: • Supermarket techniques are (Unpack-Bin) employed to keep fast-moving Daily average inbound volume: items at eye level to optimise 975 lines picking cycle times. FEBRUARY 2019 33