Thomas' role as a trained technician is to make assessments of the service performance of components delivered to customers, but he is equally capable of installing automatic machinery or managing an in-situ welding contract.

"it is always a very satisfying experience to witness the in-service wear characteristics and to discuss with the customer the performance of the hardfaced components. Before using integra technology the lifetime of the stars and the breaker bars was approximately 6months. Today we can achieve 36 months!"

He must co-ordinate manufacturing improvements between the customer and the integra workshop, and ensure his report, including photos and measurement data, is sent to the customer and entered on the integra database.