Revolutionising the Maintenance Industry 

Shane Lewis, a Banjima man from the Pilbara, is the Founder and CEO of Koodaideri Innovation and Technology (KIT). After decades of experience in the mining industry, Shane founded KIT with a clear mission; to help save lives and prevent injuries in the live maintenance in the mining industry.  

In 2018 Shane developed the first prototype for Hydratune, a remote hydraulic tuning system, to enable safer, more efficient and effective maintenance practices in the industrial and mining environment. The existing technology requires workers to go into high-risk environments and make the mechanical adjustments themselves. Hydratune enables the tuning of hydraulic systems on machineries to be done remotely via a tablet, resulting in safer and more efficient maintenance. 

After a number of years coordinating intellectual property licensing and international patents, Shane set out on a journey to commercialise Hydratune and make it market ready, leading him to the Waalitj Business Hub for support. 

Indigenous businesses, like KIT, have access to a wide range of free services through our Waalitj Hub. Some of these services include office facilities, mentoring from business coaches, industry connections, and independent professional services. Clients can also receive specialised support in key business areas like tendering, marketing, and legal.   

Shane came to the Waalitj Hub where his business coach, Verity, has supported him through a range of services.  

“Verity is fantastic, and very passionate about what we’re doing. It’s good to know that if we bump up against any issues, we know the Hub is there. Having someone of that caliber on hand, having those discussions and that touch point to talk through business direction makes a huge difference” 

Through the Hub, KIT has utilitsed the office space for their advisory board meetings, coaching on the approach to market strategy and external provider referrals. Shane said he tries to keep the KIT team as lean as possible, outsourcing and taking on as many jobs as he can, making the guidance and services provided by the Hub a vital support to him. 

“The support that the Waalitj Foundation have given us, particularly around marketing strategy, has been extremely helpful because of the amount of hats I tend to wear, from website designer to the marketing guy, getting a direction documented in a way that makes sense to people can be difficult. Having Waalitj give us that support in documenting that strategy and putting the plan together is invaluable to our journey and long-term strategy.” 

Looking to the future, Shane hopes one day for HydraTune to be a base change to the industry, ensuring the productivity and safety of other global maintenance industries.  

To anyone thinking about getting in contact with the Waaltij Hub, Shane said do not hesitate. 

“It’s a fantastic facility. The team is more helpful than 90% of the people you’re going to find in the corporate environment and it’s just a great community in general. The relationship you have with not only your business coach, but the other business coaches, is invaluable. They are not only hugely interested in what you’re doing but they also genuinely want you to succeed, which is unfortunately kind of rare a lot of the time.” 

The Waalitj Hub supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanting to start, grow or sustain their businesses through a combination of in-house business coaching and access to professional support and is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Corporate partners. Find out more.