Bongani Malabele
Maintenance Technician (with Training & Digital Systems focus)
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About
I turn maintenance knowledge into on-demand capability through training systems, Power Apps tracking tools, and Copilot Studio AI agents that help reduce equipment and system downtime.
Experience
Maintenance Technician (with Training & Digital Systems focus) at Toyota South Africa Motors (2023-02 – Present)
Training & Knowledge Systems: Trained 17 technicians on Kawasaki controller diagnostics, replacement procedures, and fault history navigation. Brought 20 artisans to independent recovery on common robot faults through structured micro-training. Authored 36 SOPs covering Kawasaki F52B robots, Toyopuc PLCs, and Mitsubishi FR-E800 VFDs.
Identified training-retention gap; ran surveys; introduced structured follow-up practice sessions that reduced specialist escalation. Mentored 4 engineering students through P1 & P2 WIL on Mitsubishi drives, SEW motors, PLC panels, and servo-gun diagnostics.
Power Platform & AI Solutions: Built a Microsoft Power Apps + Power Automate solution for training administration — saved 7–8 hours/week. Cut attendance drop-off from ~40% to ~20% via automated learner + supervisor reminders.
Designed Training
Chief of Staff, a Copilot Studio AI agent that gives technicians conversational access to procedures, manuals, lessons learned, and specialist troubleshooting frameworks during breakdowns. Agent supports image upload for equipment identification, voice interaction via Teams mobile, and guided step-by-step troubleshooting.
Maintenance Outcomes: Cut complex breakdown time by 10–15 minutes through recurring-fault tracking and SOP rollout. Reduced spot welding gun breakdown from 56 to under 20 minutes by identifying weld-fume dust on encoder disk as root cause; created cleaning procedure; trained team. Cut AGV-related weekly downtime from 19 to 4 minutes via WLAN integration into plant breakdown alert system.
Led MAXIMO rollout across ~1,400 plant assets; drove team adoption; used fault history data to eliminate recurring breakdowns.
Junior Production Planner at Browns Jewellers (2022-04 – 2023-01)
- Saved R336K by transitioning maintenance in-house.
- Built spreadsheet tracker for critical consumables; eliminated stockouts.
- Created weekly equipment-check checklist for early failure detection.
- Developed preventative maintenance schedule for workshop machinery.
Education
Bachelor of Technology in Mechatronics Engineering – Tshwane University of Technology (2021-03)
Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering – Tshwane University of Technology (2018-12)
