Mechanic - Alrode - Factory

Mechanic

Role Overview

The Mechanic is responsible for the preventive maintenance, servicing, and emergency repair of the foundry's critical mobile fleet and mechanical plant equipment. This role demands a multi-skilled professional with strong diagnostic experience in forklifts, heavy diesel vehicles, and automotive systems to minimize factory downtime in a harsh, high-heat production environment.

Shift Structure & Work Patterns

· Primary Schedule: Standard Day Shift Only (Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00, Saturday 08:00 to 13:00).

· Breakdown & Standby Capacity: Must be available for emergency standby and call-outs to handle critical machinery breakdowns.

· Factory Alignment: Must be prepared to step into 12-hour continuous shift work (Day and Night shifts: 06:00 to 18:00 / 18:00 to 06:00) to cover peak operational demands, major shutdowns, critical plant failures, or should the company require full-time shift cover.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Mechanic's performance will be evaluated based on the following specific manufacturing metrics:

· Preventive Maintenance (PM) Compliance: Achievement of a ≥90% completion rate on all scheduled mobile fleet and plant asset inspections within their specified timeframes.

· Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): Maintain an average emergency breakdown repair time under 2 hours for high-priority factory assets.

· First-Time Fix Rate: Ensure ≥85% of mechanical repairs are resolved successfully during the initial intervention without recurring failures within 48 hours.

· Data Accuracy & Logging: 100% completion of daily maintenance logs, parts tracking, and fluid change checklists in the internal system prior to clocking off.

· Safety & LOTO Adherence: Zero safety or Lock-Out/Tag-Out (LOTO) protocol violations while executing plant or fleet interventions.

Core Responsibilities

· Mobile Fleet Servicing: Perform scheduled servicing, minor tune-ups, and major overhauls on a diverse fleet, including diesel forklifts, front-end loaders, and utility vehicles.

· Diesel & Mechanical Repairs: Diagnose and repair heavy diesel engines, hydraulic cylinders, transmissions, braking systems, and fuel injection systems common in foundry moving stock.

· Foundry Plant Maintenance: Assist with mechanical maintenance on heavy plant infrastructure, such as conveyors, screening units during breakdowns.

· Breakdown Response: Rapidly respond to emergency machine stoppages on the factory floor, troubleshooting faults under pressure to restore production safely.

· OHS Act Compliance: Maintain strict adherence to the , ensuring all lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) safety protocols are executed before working on equipment.

· Record Keeping: Document all repairs, parts used, fluid changes, and daily inspection checklists on the company’s internal maintenance logging system.

· Full Plant Inspection: Inspect the full plant for all machinery, parts, fluid changes, and internal maintenance compliance.

Technical Skills (Hard Skills)

· Multi-Discipline Diagnostics: Advanced troubleshooting of automotive electrical systems, diesel engines, and complex forklift hydraulic circuits.

· Hydraulic Systems Expertise: Ability to read hydraulic schematics, test system pressures, and rebuild valves or pumps.

· Precision Measuring: Skilled in using diagnostic tools, multimeters, micrometres, and torque wrenches.

Soft Skills

· Urgency & Decisiveness: Ability to work fast and make accurate repair decisions during high-cost production stoppages.

· Resourcefulness: Finding safe, creative mechanical solutions when OEM spare parts are not immediately available during a night breakdown.

· Clear Communication: Articulating breakdown causes and estimated repair timelines clearly to the Shift Supervisor and Production Manager.

· Resilience: Comfortable working in confined spaces, high-noise zones, and extreme heat areas near operating furnaces.

Experience & Requirements

· Trade Qualification: Valid South African Red Seal Section 13 Trade Test certificate (Qualified Diesel Mechanic, Forklift Mechanic, or Motor Mechanic).

· Experience: Minimum of 4 to 6 years of post-trade experience servicing mobile material handling fleets, ideally in a foundry, steel mill, mining, or heavy industrial environment.

· Driver’s License: Valid Code 8 (B) or Code 10 (C1) driver’s license with own reliable transport to manage emergency night-shift call-outs.

· Forklift License: Valid forklift license which is maintained and up to date at all times.

· Medical Fitness: Must pass a comprehensive Foundry Medical Examination (including lung function, chest X-rays for silica dust exposure, and audio metrics).

· Language Proficiency: Fluent verbal and written English, with the ability to communicate across diverse floor teams in a local language (e.g., isiZulu, Sesotho, or Afrikaans).

Pay: R10 000,00 - R13 000,00 per month

Experience:

• post-trade experience servicing machinery: 4 years (Preferred)

Language:

• English (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• diesel/forklift/motor mechanic (Preferred)
• drivers license (code 8/10) (Preferred)
• Forklift license (Preferred)

Work Location: In person