New workshop boosts Thiess' maintenance capability in Chile

Standing 16 metres tall at its highest point, 30 metres wide, and 80 metres long, the four-bay workshop and wash bay will facilitate the maintenance and repair of fleet including the 27 haul trucks that support the Encuentro Oxides Project.  
Project administration, warehousing for component parts and tools, and repair tasks such as welding are all functions that can now be completed in the permanent structure on site, helping the team drive efficiencies and deliver with certainty.   
A team effort 
Project Manager Nahun Diaz said he was proud of the way the team worked to implement COVID-19 protocols, manage project risks and complete the build safely and efficiently as possible.  
“We faced a number of challenges including COVID-19 restrictions that affected our staffing levels and ability to mobilise,” Nahun said. 
“The project team were completing two-hour round trips from the site to Calama City to reduce the risk of transmission, for example. 
“We also had to manage project delays due to materials not arriving on site as initially scheduled because of the global pandemic. 
“Key to overcoming this was communication and constant monitoring of the project’s progress and costs to be able to problem solve on the spot. 
“Thank you to everyone involved, especially project team members Sandra El Debal, Fernando Tapia and Jonathan Sanhueza.”  
Celebrating the achievement 
To mark the important occasion, a small COVID safe opening ceremony was held for staff from the operations, maintenance and the infrastructure team, during shift pre-starts.  
The event was also streamed live so those working remotely or in other geographic locations could also attend virtually. 
Executive General Manager Darrell White said the new workshop was another milestone cementing Thiess’ growth in the region. 
“The Encuentro maintenance workshop demonstrates our commitment to servicing our clients and providing a great working environment for our people,” Darrell said. 
“Our vision is to be a leading global mining services provider and our purpose is to create lasting value. 
“We have an end-to-end offering that includes applying data-rich global insights to drive local value and optimise solutions that has not been seen previously in Chile. 
“It’s exciting and the team here, with support from our Brisbane office, are well placed to take this vision forward.” 
For more information about the workshop build or Encuentro project, email communication@thiess.com