The Challenge

G&G Mining’s focus is heavy welding and fabrication of customised products such as mining buckets, dump bodies and water tanks. The company’s Managing Director, Ian Cornfoot says: “Our expertise is in engineering solutions. We were largely paper based and not a tech savvy business. 75% of our workforce are never on a computer.”

But technology is becoming increasing critical to the business. To remain competitive, G&G has to be able to solve the engineering challenges of mobile equipment productivity – through increasing payloads and improving wear resistance.

G&G Mining also supplies product support as well as on- and off-site maintenance, repair and refurbishment services. “Our customers are multi-national enterprises and have expectations of our systems being able to integrate with theirs. To meet these demands, we needed to expand our access to advanced technologies, and the speed and efficiencies they bring,” he says.

IT responsibility largely fell to the HR team, “who were really the only ones on computers. But that wasn’t the best solution or the best use of time,” Ian says.

G&G had previously worked with an IT supplier, but dissatisfaction grew as service levels declined. Ian says: “They weren’t proactive. We had no scheduled visits or meetings. The only interaction we had was when we phoned them with a problem.”

The company set out to find a full-service provider that would assist its evolution from paper to digital. That supplier would approach an MSA relationship as a strategic, long term partner. “We needed them to work with us to improve us as a business. We wanted involvement, ideas,” he says.

The Solution

G&G was introduced to Compnow via a recommendation. “We have a 100 staff, but with only 25 computer users. So we’re not a big IT shop – only a small account for Compnow. But they engaged with us, gave us time. Their MSA proposal was spot on for our needs,” Ian says.

The agreement includes a monthly meeting that covers immediate issues and more complex problems, as well as the planning for technology deployments to continue business improvement. A Compnow technician goes on site one day a month, plus G&G has access to Compnow’s 24/7 help desk as required.

“Great things come out of our face to face meetings. They are genuinely interested and involved in our business. Compnow is very proactive. We have them on site every month – that’s never happened before. They can see how we’re operating, what’s going on. Their technicians are very good. They come in and get things solved in 10 minutes,” Ian says.

In G&G’s long term transformation from paper to digital is also a shift to mobile. It is transitioning from desktops to laptops and the apps that enhance flexibility and ease of management, such as SharePoint. An ongoing migration to cloud sees the environment’s controls and backups managed by Compnow.

Ian says: “Compnow is helping us move to accessing everything online. They are also crucial to our next phase of integration under new management with parent company SSAB.”

The Benefits

As an example of Compnow’s broad view of its commitment to customers: “They pointed us to HP Finance. Out of that we have much better budgeting and cashflow management. Our computers are now a service, not on our asset register,” Ian says.

While Compnow has a local presence in Perth, its nationwide footprint means G&G Mining’s 24-hour operations has help desk support. “We already have people in the office 6am to 6pm. The more we move to digital, the more we’ll need access to Compnow at whatever time,” he says.

In G&G’s experience, Compnow’s customer focus and commitment has few limits. Ian says: “Compnow came to the fore in helping us cope with the extraordinary challenges of Covid. We had people working from home for the first time – Compnow supported us through that. There were delays in sourcing laptops – Compnow delivered loan machines while we waited and helped us out at no cost. They go beyond what they need to do.

“They’re also exceptional in finding the right fit for us. We trialled some AV equipment. It was great to have the chance to see what’s available, but it was more advanced than we needed – if it’s too complex it won’t be used. Compnow was happy for us to go with a simpler option that works for us.”

The changes are expanding beyond HR, management and product design. “There are larger changes to come as we move away from paper drawings to screens on the shopfloor. Ours is dirty, heavy duty manufacturing, so Compnow is helping us work out the processes we need and how to choose and protect new equipment. It will be somewhat easier as the younger tradespeople in our workplace have smart phones and laptops at home, so they are more relaxed taking on new tech. But there is still the management of change for Compnow to help us deal with,” he says.

Also to come are customer facing applications. As G&G sells into large mining and exploration operations, there are demands for quotes and production information to be automated through integration with their systems. “We had large gaps, but Compnow’s expertise is helping close them. We have the proactive partnership we need,” Ian says.