News

At Control Systems Technology, excellence is engineered into everything we do. Innovation and quality aren’t just aspirations; they’re the principles that guide our work every day. These values are reflected in the people who lead our teams, and one of them is our National Service Manager, Andrew Paterson.

Andrew came to CST from the UK, where he ran a successful design and manufacture business supplying and installing rubbish chutes and waste compactors for high-rise buildings, an industry he had worked in as a design engineer while he was a backpacker in Australia. With a background in mechanical engineering and hands-on experience in design and fabrication, he combined technical capability with commercial insight, developing a waste separation system for high rise buildings that has now become an industry standard where residents press a button corresponding to the waste type they are depositing, and an actuator would divert the waste into the designated receptacle.  

After relocating to Australia and selling the intellectual property to the product and business, Andrew joined CST as a design engineer, contributing to major growth projects in the mining sector through design and project management work.

A pivotal point in CST’s evolution came when Andrew moved to Western Australia and stepped into a project management role. At the time, CST’s WA office had just three service technicians. Seeing the need for more structured operations, Andrew introduced rigorous quality assurance processes and engineering discipline to service delivery. He states, “It was really about putting systems in place - making sure procedures were consistent, the quality was there, and the team had the right support and training. Once that structure was in, the rest followed.” These systems supported rapid growth and today, that same office supports over 40 staff and services some of Australia’s largest mine sites.

This systems-led approach to quality has since been extended nationally. As National Service Manager, Andrew has worked to bring a consistent level of process, training, and accountability across CST’s operations in Queensland and New South Wales. His implementation of QA frameworks, technician training modules, data tracking, and calibration tools has helped CST deliver on its promise of accuracy and service reliability.

‍

‍

This focus on systems and standards has also laid the foundation for CST to innovate. In collaboration with Rio Tinto, CST developed a Volumetric Laser Scanner System that integrates with CST’s MaVIS-ARM electronics. The system improves safety and performance by measuring volume and flow rate on conveyor belts and even alerts operators when material is approaching the belt edge. This technology won the 2024 Mining Innovation Prize and reflects CST’s position at the forefront of industry solutions. Other milestones include the development of IntelliRoll, a wireless, autonomous, self-powered weigh roll and the rollout of a service app for field technicians, helping to standardise procedures, capture field data, and improve reporting.

Looking ahead, Andrew sees continued opportunity in integrating AI and automation into CST’s operations but is pragmatic about the challenge of implementation. “There’s a lot of talk around AI and automation, and we have already started adding AI into some of our workflows but it’s about using it the right way.”  His view is that while technology presents exciting potential, it must be applied carefully to avoid unnecessary constraints.

CST has evolved significantly in the time Andrew has been with the business from a small team with inconsistent processes to a global operation delivering engineered systems at scale. The innovations CST has developed in that time reflect its commitment to continual improvement, and to delivering accuracy, reliability, and long-term value for its customers.