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Overview
A mid-sized mining operation in West Africa was running ageing workstations and unsupported networking equipment across three sites. Frequent hardware failures were disrupting shift management, reporting, and safety systems. With no structured refresh cycle in place, the IT team was spending most of their time firefighting rather than managing infrastructure proactively.
Western Premium was engaged to assess the existing estate, supply replacement hardware, manage deployment, and establish a structured lifecycle programme going forward.
Challenges
- Ageing Hardware Fleet – Over 60% of workstations were more than 5 years old, causing daily performance issues and unexpected failures.
- No Refresh Cycle – Equipment was replaced reactively, with no visibility into asset age, warranty status, or upcoming end-of-life.
- Remote Site Complexity – Three geographically spread sites with limited local IT capability made deployment and coordination difficult.
- Operational Downtime – Hardware failures were directly impacting shift reporting, safety system access, and operational continuity.
Solution
Western Premium conducted a full asset audit across all three sites, cataloguing every device by age, condition, and criticality. Based on this, a phased replacement plan was developed to prioritise the highest-risk equipment first without disrupting active operations.
- Structured Procurement – Sourced and supplied 320 standardised workstations, switches, and access points under a single supply agreement with negotiated pricing.
- Phased Deployment – Coordinated staged rollout across all three sites, minimising downtime and ensuring continuity of shift operations.
- Asset Tagging & Register – Every deployed device was tagged and logged into a centralised asset register with warranty dates and expected refresh timelines.
- Lifecycle Plan – Delivered a 3-year refresh schedule tied to operational budget cycles, giving the client full forward visibility.
Results
- 87% Reduction in Hardware-Related Downtime in the first 90 days post-deployment.
- Full Asset Visibility across all three sites for the first time, enabling proactive planning.
- Cost Predictability through a structured refresh schedule aligned to budget cycles.
- Faster Issue Resolution with standardised equipment making support and replacements straightforward.
Conclusion
By replacing ageing infrastructure with a standardised, fully tracked IT estate and a clear lifecycle plan, the mining operation moved from reactive firefighting to proactive infrastructure management. Western Premium continues to manage the refresh cycle and supply ongoing hardware requirements across all three sites.
