Jobs at EarthStream Global

Technical Manager: Asset Management 

We are seeking a Technical Manager: Asset Management, based in Cape Town, skilled position for a person with the ability to manage and enforce the effective service provision of O&M providers, read faults/alerts and direct necessary action, be able to interpret events into meaningful information for Asset Owners, provide reports and present options to the Asset Owners and manage the HSE aspects of the various project assets.

Key Responsibilities

• ­Reports to the General Manager of the AM division.
• Ensuring compliance with the operational contracts in place, such as contracts related to O&M services, land lease, insurance, site security, communications, and ancillary/ additional services.
• Oversight of and coordination with O&M contractor.
• Technical reporting.
• Site visits and non-intrusive inspections.
• Management of ancillary service providers.
• Interface with local energy authorities & regulatory compliance.
• Warranty management.
• Contract management (operational contracts).
• Asset optimisation (technical):
  • Develop strategies to optimise/maximise output and performance of the assets;
  • Future-proof the assets ;
  • Come up with a financial proposal based on data analysis which can assist the owners in making informed decisions.
  • Setup of performance monitoring portals/tools and monthly data analysis to ensure optimal output of the assets; 
•  Environmental management.
•  Health & safety management.
• Supplier procurement and administration and monitoring.

General Technical Management Tasks (non-exhaustive)

• Performance analysis: actual vs. forecast, etc.
• Identify risks and propose mitigation strategy.
• Maintenance activities: planned vs. unplanned maintenance.
•  Financial reporting input: actual vs. forecast.
• Forecast P50/P90 vs. actual generation and irradiation comparison.
• Availability assessment.
• Operation and maintenance activities undertaken.
• Plant performance assessment.
• Typically bi-annual site visit in coordination with the O&M provider to perform a nonintrusive visual inspection.
• Managing providers of ancillary (additional) services falling outside of O&M provider’s scope.
•  Compliance with PPA, interconnection agreements.
•  Compliance with Generation Licence provisions.
• Grid code compliance.
• Other permits, authorisations, licences (WULA, SKA, etc.).
• Close out EPC punch list items.
•  Anomalies handling:
  • Communicate punch list, inefficiencies, defects the occurrence to the EPC provider;
  • Resolution of failures in the case of anomalies of the type “Failures”;
  • Endemic Failures;
  • Performance Warranty.
• Periodically inform the Asset Owner about the condition of the contracted performance indicators.
• Manage the interventions done within the scope of the warranty in order to safeguard the performance commitments undertaken under the contract.
•  Improve the efficiency in warranty process.
• Reduce the warranty period costs.
• Receive and collect all the warranty complaints.
•  Support the complaint process.
• Negotiate with manufacturers more efficient complaint procedures.
• Study the behaviour of the installed equipment.
• Analyse the costs incurred during the warranty period.
• Responsible for the coordination of site visits by an insurance provider’s representative or technical or financial advisors in connection with the information collection and damage qualification.
• Drafting of technical notes to support the reimbursement procedure.
• Performance monitoring and supervision:
  • proper oversight of O&M;
  • detecting when systems are under-producing;
  • quickly and accurately diagnosing an under-performing plant;
  • daily & weekly remote site monitoring.
•  Track their own compliance with the respective contract, either O&M contract or Asset Management contract.
• Arrange and attend monthly meetings.
• Ensuring compliance with Environmental Authorisation and Environmental Management Programme.
• Oversee that the solar asset and the relevant suppliers comply with health & safety (HSE) requirements.
• Supplier selection and evaluation.
• Ensure suppliers deliver a high-quality service according to market best practice and contractual obligations.

Minimum Requirements

•  Engineering Degree with advanced solar PV knowledge.
•  Minimum 3 - 5 years’ experience in infrastructure asset management environment.
•  Knowledge and application of relevant compliance requirements with complex contractual entities.
• Previous experience in the construction (EPC) or O&M of solar assets under the REIPPP Programme.
• Understanding of PV system design, operation, and key commercial and business drivers.
• Able to read and comprehend equipment/facility schematics.
• Knowledgeable in the systems, processes and protocols guiding the operations and maintenance of utility PV solar plants and electrical systems.
• Detail oriented, with an ability to establish and follow processes.
• MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive).
• Proficiency with PVSyst software.
• Willingness to travel.

Advantageous

• Practical field experience (solar PV).
• Experience in the management of or the operation and maintenance of wind farms.

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Summary

• We are seeking a Control Room Operator, based in Cape Town working for a leading independent power producer operating and developing power projects in Africa.

Key Responsibilities
Perform remote first-line fault finding of renewable energy (solar PV and onshore wind) asset fleet under contract with GSAMS.

• Identify faults or underperformance of equipment and initiate corrective actions to resolve it.
• Gather information and report on plant-related events.
• First level fault finding, using technical documentation and drawings, i.e. undertake investigations to find the root cause, apply corrective actions, and provide feedback.
• Use of fault-finding techniques and specialized tools, software, or techniques to identify underperformance and ensure that plant gets returned to standard levels of performance.
• Analyze, interpret, and report power quality events.

Safe remote operation of power plant equipment as set out in the relevant procedure

• Operate HV, MV, LV, and production equipment, including turbines and inverters.
• Operate auxiliary equipment that supports the production equipment.
• Setpoint and facility command control, along with the regional control center for the network operator.

Complete reports relating to compliance, plant and maintenance performance

• Complete the required compliance reporting as assigned.
• Complete power plant performance, key performance indicators (KPIs), or downtime reports timeously and accurately.
• Responsible for using performance analysis techniques to support the identification of plant performance inefficiencies.
• Responsible for data collection from the SCADA system and other database systems.
• Perform advanced data analysis on power plant performance, failure statistics, and maintenance records to support critical decision-making processes.

Dispatch on-site operations and maintenance (O&M) team to attend to outages, faults, and any warnings or events

• Create and dispatch corrective maintenance work orders (WO).
• Partake in the development of preventative maintenance plans and schedules.
• Provide planning and scheduling support to the teams on-site when delegated by the Senior Control Room Operator or line manager.

Complete any other general or administrative tasks, as assigned by the line manager

• Attend to incoming calls and escalation procedures.
• Follow all cooperative safety policies and procedures.
• Monitor and identify continuous-and focused-improvement opportunities.
• Complete any other tasks in line with the role.

Skills and Competencies

•  Excellent command of English.
• Able to distinguish color and hear alarms.
• Excellent verbal communication: includes being responsive, having good listening skills, and being able to communicate appropriately with all levels of personnel.
• Effective written communication: includes writing clear, concise emails and report-writing.
• Good problem-solving capability, i.e. fault finding techniques, utilizing special tools and systems at the disposal.
• Able to manage stress and high-pressure situations.
• Able to handle multiple projects, prioritize work, and work effectively under minimal supervision.
• Good team player; able to balance team and individual responsibilities.
• The role is shift-based, including weekends and public holidays.

Experience, Knowledge, and Qualifications

The following requirements will be regarded as the minimum requirements for the candidate in the role

•  National Diploma in Electrical / Mechatronic Engineering or equivalent NQF level.
• Three years’ relevant working experience, excluding in-service training.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word

The following requirements will be regarded as advantageous to the candidate in the role:

• Experience in renewable energy power plant operations or field maintenance.
• Previous switching and in particular remote switching experience.
• Experience in DCS or SCADA, such as Siemens SPPA-T3000, WinCC, Wonderware InTouch or other SCADA systems.
• Knowledge of or experience in ERP/CMMS systems such as SAP, IFS, or OnKey.
• Previous knowledge of data analysis tools such as Python, R, MSSQL, MYSQL, etc.
• Previous experience working with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or specialist tools while troubleshooting equipment.