In the era of growing quality expectations, continuous extension of the lifespan of elements and constant cost rationalization, a customer facing the need to choose equipment has 2 options:

• To choose more expensive equipment from a leading manufacturer and bear additional costs for the reputation on the market.
• To choose equipment from a cheaper, but uncertain/unverified manufacturer, risking the success of the investment.

Technical departments who are in charge of orders’ specification usually make their purchase choices based on the “reputation = quality” principle.  However, practice shows that financial analysis of the project plays the decisive role in the choice of contractor, and the quality is pushed into the background.

In this situation Technical Audit team enables the customer to obtain a double benefit – good quality equipment, manufactured according to European standards, and an attractive price.

Our team was established as a response to the demand for unique, specialized technical services, allowing to raise and maintain highest quality standards of manufactured elements for the mining industry. What served as an impetus for us to begin our work was the plan of purchasing powered roof support system by one of the leading coal producers in Russian Federation. The system was to be produced in People’s Republic of China. On the one hand, the Client did not have enough financial resources which would allow him to purchase supports from renowned European manufacturers. On the other hand, he had bad experience when using Chinese equipment. It should be remembered that every coal exploitation stoppage causes huge, often many millions financial losses, so the customer’s fear seemed to be absolutely justified.

There was a chance for our team. Our team is a group of highly-qualified specialists of different nationalities who share experiences with each other, help and complement each other. Apart from the appropriate field education or necessary qualifications and certificates in accordance with European standards, all of our specialists have many years of experience they have gathered when working at leading European companies in the mining industry. It is our experience which makes us stand out from others.

In the underground mining production, a number of standards, regulations or even common practices generally recognized as binding is applied.  Following these guidelines and having the authorization under the agreement between the Client and the Manufacturer, we ensure that the best quality of the manufactured equipment is maintained while enabling the customer to get a better price for choosing a less “renowned” manufacturer.  We supervise the production process starting from the design stage and finishing on the shipment to the customer. We take active part during bench tests and at the same time we perform testing with our own equipment, independently of the testing which is performed by manufacturer’s internal quality departments.

It is not without satisfaction that we admit that after a few realizations with our participation, the less “renowned” manufacturer has gained a solid dose of knowledge and improved the quality of their products enough to gain recognition on the market. For us it is a confirmation of choosing the right development path and an incentive for further action towards quality improvement in the mining industry. Customers’ requirements are getting higher each year. Thanks to this we can constantly develop and improve the quality of our services.