Remote Service Not So Remote

December 10, 2019

As a LiftRite technician, Belmir Jusic spends two weeks out of three living in Newman, often alongside staff from the mining customers he supports.

He doesn’t regret the time away from home – in fact he says he loves the lifestyle – and he loves knowing that when a customer needs technical support, someone is ready to help them out, 24/7.

Belmir is one of LiftRite’s three service technicians for customers in the Newman area. He’s part of a regional team providing local service in Albany, Broome, Bunbury, Busselton, Carnarvon, Esperance, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Kununurra, Katanning, Onslow and Port Hedland, as well as Newman.

Looking after customers sometimes means scheduling work at the Newman workshop. Often it means jumping in a fully equipped mobile support vehicle and hitting the road. And sometimes it’s a quick response by phone to support customers’ own teams.

“We do everything from call outs to tech support over the phone to training customers’ teams and even after sales support. Whatever our customers need, that’s what we do, and the feedback from customers has been great.”

The Newman centre was established about 18 months ago so LiftRite could offer quicker service to its rapidly growing customer base in the region. When Belmir was offered the chance to join the Newman team, he jumped at it.

“Western Australia is a huge state so being able to service customers in remote regions is important for LiftRite,” Belmir says. “We have more and more customers operating in remote regions across the Pilbara so having a team in Newman means we can get to them much more quickly if they have an issue, and we’re more accessible for regular servicing, too.”

Belmir is an auto electrician by trade and he has been with LiftRite for 14 years. He’s loving the change of pace his new role brings, and the challenges that come with supporting remote customers who rely on their equipment to keep their business running.

“We used to fly out from Perth when customers needed us but with so many mining operations in the area there’s a real need for a more local base. We can get all the way to Port Headland or Karratha in five hours. Our customers know we are here if they need us, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Belmir can take care of all aspects of service and maintenance on equipment from the brands LiftRite sells, including Kobelco heavy excavators which are popular across mine sites in the region.

Belmir says he is relishing the challenge of his latest role and plans to stay with the Newman team.

“You’ve got to love what you do,” he says. “I like the lifestyle this job offers. I come to Newman and I work hard for two weeks and then I get to go home to my family for a week. It’s a big change after living in Perth but I enjoy it.”