Marking a decade of operating in Zambia’s mining sector, global asset integrity management and industrial solutions firm Dickinson Group of Companies (DGC) is gearing up to launch its DGC SmartAsset Intelligence platform – an advanced, AI-powered reliability tool aimed at delivering real-time operational insights.

Since establishing its permanent footprint in the mining hub of Kitwe, DGC has played an active role in the Zambian mining landscape through its MetPro, Integrated Asset Management (AIM) and Workforce Solutions divisions.

These efforts have focused on developing turnkey solutions, made possible by the company’s comprehensive understanding of the challenges that are unique to this operating environment.

DGC has observed a consistent set of operational challenges across the country’s mining sector; these include high temperatures, abrasive dust and corrosive materials that contribute to rapid wear on critical plant infrastructure, particularly smelters, mills, crushers and refractory systems, says DGC chairperson Trevor Dickinson.

Zambia’s ongoing power instability has compounded these operational constraints, with frequent power cuts disrupting production schedules, forcing mines to rely on generators, often at great cost.

This situation is worsened by recurring diesel shortages, which pose serious risks to energy security and operational continuity, even for well-resourced mines, he adds.

The company’s asset integrity services have been designed to directly address these conditions, delivering a suite of services – including condition monitoring, risk-based inspection, shutdown execution and corrosion mitigation, as well as structural and mechanical reliability engineering – all supported by predictive analytics and a strong contextual understanding of Zambia’s industrial conditions, Dickinson explains.

DGC’s services are delivered through a structured, phased approach, starting with a comprehensive diagnosis of current maintenance maturity and asset performance.

“Based on this baseline, we develop a tailored roadmap that moves clients from reactive and preventive approaches towards predictive and proactive reliability strategies supported by locally deployed technical teams, mobile-enabled workflows and ongoing performance tracking,” he explains.

The DGC SmartAsset Intelligence’s advanced digital capability has become a central pillar in the company’s integrated asset management strategy.

“Developed in collaboration with a strategic global technology partner, which we will formally announce soon, this solution will enable clients to continuously monitor asset condition using live plant data,” says Dickinson.

This allows for the detection of abnormal patterns in equipment performance before failure occurs, the prioritisation and automation of maintenance decisions with greater precision, and the integration of predictive insights directly into planning and execution systems.

The scalability and practical application of the system in African industrial settings sets the platform apart from other solutions, with DGC’s aligning every digital deployment to a client’s existing operational level of maturity, infrastructure and data readiness, consequently ensuring that digital transformation results in tangible business outcomes.

By integrating with existing plant instrumentation, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, as well as sensor networks, DGC SmartAsset Intelligence will also introduce an online condition monitoring component that offers real-time visibility into asset performance.

These networks will gather time-series data, including vibration, temperature, pressure, lubrication condition and electrical load, and convert it into actionable insights.

Digital Opportunities

Dickinson notes that while uptake of advanced digital reliability technologies remains in early stages of roll-out across sub-Saharan Africa, DGC views this as a growth opportunity.

“Infrastructure is improving, clients are becoming more data-conscious and there is growing interest in shifting away from reactive maintenance models.”

However, modern technology comes at a cost, he points out, explaining that balancing cost efficiency with long-term asset reliability remains a central challenge in Zambia, where mining operations are often impacted on by volatile commodity pricing and limited capital access.

“We take a practical, results-oriented approach that enables our clients to reduce operational costs while still investing in reliability strategies that deliver measurable, long-term value,” says Dickinson, adding that the company’s focus is on driving down total effective maintenance costs, not by “cutting corners” but by optimising how maintenance resources are deployed.

The company achieves this balance through several targeted strategies, including a prioritised intervention based on risk and criticality; reducing unplanned downtime; smarter shutdown execution; maintenance, repair and operations optimisation, and local sourcing; life-cycle extension without capital replacement; and data-driven decision-making.

Further, DGC tailors its reliability strategies to match every client’s financial and operational realities and, in Zambia, where mining operations must improve output amid constrained resource environments, this means implementing phased, scalable solutions

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