Development & Opportunities

Case study

Mark Strangways, a man of Aboriginal descent, takes pride in his heritage and has strong connections to multiple indigenous communities in Regional South Australia.

In 2007 Lucas TCS were providing civil construction services to OZ Minerals / Oxiana for the establishment Mine Infrastructure for the nearby Prominent Hill Mine and employed Mark and a number of other Indigenous personnel from the region. Lucas TCS provided training and upskilling opportunities in plant operation for local Indigenous personnel employed on the project and some went on to become long term employees and fulfilled roles in projects nationwide.

Mark has been with Lucas TCS for over 15 years and his career progression has included roles as Plant Operator Leading Hand, Supervisor, and Indigenous Mentor. Mark has gained a diverse knowledge of various earthmoving techniques and practices and supervisory skills working on varied projects.

Mark is highly professional in his approach to clients and team personnel, leading by example, managing site staff, sub-contractors as well as being able to liaise directly with clients.

As an Indigenous Mentor, Mark performs a dual role of Indigenous mentor and Supervisor and is able to provide motivation, guidance and support to the Indigenous employees and assist in bridging cultural gaps aiding in Indigenous employee retention.

On a recent road construction project in the APY Lands which spanned an 18-month period, Mark was one of two Indigenous Mentors employed on the project. These Indigenous Mentors were instrumental in achieving a greater than 30% local Indigenous personnel on the project.

Mark’s positive influence as a role model and mentor leaves a legacy.  At Lucas TCS we acknowledge and appreciate his contribution.

Case study

In late 2013 Lucas TCS took on a select team of Civil and Mining Engineers for our Engineering Graduates Program, among this group was Lachlan Mitchell.

Lachlan had just completed his Bachelor of Mining with Honours at University of Adelaide when he was recruited into the program.

Across Mining and Civil Projects, graduates spent time working as plant operators and within various teams including Health Safety Environment & Community (HSEC), Estimating and Tendering, Engineering and Quality Assurance and spend time with the Drill and Blast Crews. Working across the company in different capacities to gives them a hands on well-rounded experience.

The experience helped deliver an in depth and strong base of knowledge and understanding of how different areas of the business are required to work together to deliver a successful project from start to finish. When compared to the typical mainstream first years for a graduate engineer, which are predominantly office-based data processing and quality assurance, the on-site and exposure across the business accelerated their learning and proficiencies as an Engineer. Upon completion of the program, Lachlan performed in a Site Engineer role on various projects and gradually progressed through further training undertaking roles with greater responsibilities through mentorship and shadowing from the Project Management teams.

In 2017 Lachlan obtained his Shotfiring / Blasting Licence, the following year a Certificate IV in Frontline Management and progressed to a back-to-back Site Manager role on a large scale mining project in the Upper Spencer Gulf of SA. Subsequent roles included Site Engineer and back to back Site Manager roles on two significant road construction projects in SA and a mine dam construction project in the NT.

In 2019 Lachlan completed an Appointed Persons (Section 44) course which covers WHS Statutory Responsibilities for Mining Supervisors in WA mine sites. The following year Lachlan became the  Site Manager of a large scale mining project in WA and then had the opportunity to progress to the Project Manager role.

His training continued in 2021 with Lachlan completing an Advanced Blast Design course.

In 2023 Lachlan is the Senior Mining Engineer on a large scale mining project in Northern Territory. This was a greenfield project brought to full mining operation and includes both contract mining operations and mining infrastructure construction for the client. In this role he has built the project specific systems for reporting, mine planning and drill and blast design systems. He is also mentoring other engineers and sharing his knowledge and will soon transition to his next role at Lucas TCS.

His next opportunity will be to provide direct support to both the General Manager – Mining and the Mining Operations manager and to provide leave coverage for Project Management at remote site operations. Lachlan is studying for his Western Australian Site Senior Executives (SSE) Certificate of Competency and Unrestricted Quarry Managers certification.

From a Graduate Engineer to key managerial roles within 10 years, Lucas TCS is proud to have supported Lachlan’s career progression.

Case study

In December 2011, Shaun Yates turned 18 as he started his Diesel Fitter apprenticeship at Lucas TCS through TAFE SA. He started with a group of other Apprentices for that year’s intake under the direct supervision of the Darlington Workshop Supervisor.

Diesel Mechanic apprentices at Lucas TCS typically spend their time gaining experience at our Head Office Workshop and traveling out our SA Remote & Metro Projects with qualified mentors to gain on the job experience in differing environments. The maintenance facility at Darlington is a central hub supporting operations both locally and remotely. This allows our apprentices, like Shaun, to work in a team of qualified diesel fitters, boilermakers and trades persons that provide guidance and support.

Shaun was exposed to an array of machinery whilst completing his Apprenticeship, this has provided him with the ability to progress his career and …… includes Excavators, Dozers, Graders, Rigid Dump Trucks, Articulated Dump Trucks, Scrapers, Crushing Plant, Stationary Plant and Equipment such as water pumps and genset, On road transport and Light Vehicle Fleet and a variety of others and is not limited to a specific brand of equipment but a diverse fleet. The plant can range in size from Light Vehicles to 200T Excavators and 100T Rigid Dump Trucks. The type of work they undertake is not just limited to the servicing, minor repairs and fault diagnosis but participating in complete major re-builds of plant and components.

In August 2014, Shaun completed his Certificate III in Automotive Mechanical Technology (Specialising in Heavy Mobile Equipment). Progressing into the fourth year of the apprenticeship, coinciding with the acquired knowledge and the completion of Trade School class units, provides the opportunity do small 1 -2 week visits to remote operations as ancillary maintenance support.

Shaun completed his Trade Certificate as a Motor Mechanic (Diesel) and continued his career at Lucas TCS as a qualified Diesel Mechanic in late 2015. As the opportunities for Shaun began to evolve, so did his interest to work at regional and remote FIFO and DIDO project sites across Australia. Shaun naturally gravitated towards mobile crushing equipment maintenance and on his first major long-term project, in the remote APY Lands in Far North South Australia, Shaun developed his skills, knowledge and leadership, providing the maintenance support to various crushing projects Lucas TCS were undertaking in the region at that time.

In February 2020 Shaun was promoted to Leading hand responsible person on site overseeing other tradespeople on site.  In July 2022 Shaun was once again promoted, this time to Mobile Crushing Maintenance Supervisor, this career progressing role sees him oversee a team of onsite tradespersons, apprentices and servicemen on projects, working closely with operations to streamline project deliveries.

We look forward to seeing Shaun continue to learn and progress his career with Lucas TCS and continue to mentor the next generation of Diesel Mechanics specialising in Crushing and Screening Plant that join Lucas!