Siyolile Kula

Engineer and Analyst qualified in Chemical and Control Engineering, with a Systems and Industrial Engineering mindset and a drive to solve problems, improve performance, and find better ways of doing things. Experienced in analysing complex systems, understanding how different parts interact, and developing innovative solutions that improve reliability, efficiency, and decision-making. Driven by curiosity and a desire to understand how systems behave, using engineering, data, and AI to identify constraints, solve operational challenges, and develop practical solutions that deliver measurable value.

Productivity Analyst at Wabtec SSA - Wabtec SA Technologies (2025-01 – Present)

Division: Services Operations; Reporting To: Vice President, Services SSA

• Analyse operational systems and business processes to identify constraints, performance gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Lead the development of digital solutions that improve operational performance, enhance decision-making, and support strategic business objectives.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to define requirements, understand system interactions, and translate operational challenges into practical solutions.
• Develop predictive models and decision-support tools that improve visibility into operational performance, business risks, and future outcomes.
• Apply engineering, data, automation, and AI techniques to solve digital and operational bottlenecks and drive continuous improvement.
• Design performance measurement frameworks and monitoring solutions that support operational excellence and data-driven decision-making.
• Delivered productivity and process improvement initiatives generating approved business savings exceeding R3 million.

Junior Data Analyst & BI Developer at Wabtec SSA - Wabtec SA Technologies (2024-04 – 2024-12)

Project: Turnkey Locomotive Repair Project

• Played a key role in a turnkey locomotive repair programme by developing digital solutions that improved visibility, planning effectiveness, and operational execution across the project lifecycle.
• Worked closely with material planners, project teams, and operational stakeholders to understand project constraints, define requirements, and develop solutions that enabled better decision-making and project control.
• Developed planning and monitoring solutions that improved visibility into material availability, project progress, and delivery risks, enabling proactive intervention before issues impacted execution.
• Analysed interactions between project schedules, material supply, and operational activities to identify constraints that affected turnaround time, resource utilisation, and delivery performance.
• Automated critical reporting and decision-support processes, reducing manual effort while improving the consistency, accuracy, and accessibility of project information.
• Applied engineering and systems thinking to transform fragmented project data into actionable insights, helping teams prioritise risk, manage dependencies, and improve overall project performance.
• Delivered three high-impact digital solutions that generated approved savings exceeding R1.8 million while improving operational efficiency and project visibility.
• Awarded a Wabtec Gold Recognition Award for delivering measurable business value and developing solutions that supported successful project execution.

Monitoring Engineering Intern at Wabtec Digital Mine - Wabtec SA Technologies (2023-03 – 2024-09)

Reporting To: Monitoring Centre Manager

• Contributed to the development of a remote Monitoring Centre from the ground up, supporting the planning, design, and implementation of systems used to monitor operational performance across mining operations.
• Worked alongside multidisciplinary engineering teams to define monitoring requirements, develop digital solutions, and establish processes that transformed operational data into actionable insights.
• Assisted in the design and development of data infrastructure, including dataflows, data lakes, data models, and reporting systems that enabled the collection, transformation, and analysis of industrial data.
• Supported the development of monitoring and decision-support applications that improved visibility into asset performance, process behaviour, and operational reliability.
• Participated in Advanced Process Control (APC) and controllability studies, analysing process behaviour and evaluating opportunities to improve process stability and performance.
• Assisted with control loop analysis, controller performance assessment, troubleshooting, and optimisation activities across industrial process environments.
• Collaborated with engineers, data specialists, and operational teams to understand how control systems, digital platforms, and business objectives interact within a broader operational system.
• Gained practical exposure to system architecture, industrial analytics, digital solution development, process optimisation, and control engineering while supporting the growth of a newly established Monitoring Centre.

BEng in Chemical Engineering – University of Pretoria (2022)

Honours in Control Engineering – University of Pretoria (2023)