Ngallo Chongo
I turn industrial and health data into decisions people can trust.
Data engineer with four years of experience building ETL pipelines, reliability systems and Power BI dashboards. I currently work on asset reliability at First Quantum Minerals in Zambia, and before that on national HIV analytics for USAID programmes.
About
I'm a data engineer based in Zambia. In four years I've worked in two very different settings: national HIV programmes, where accurate reporting to funders like PEPFAR depends on clean data, and a copper mine, where sensor data decides when a machine gets fixed. The job is the same in both: get trustworthy data from where it's created to where someone can act on it.
At First Quantum Minerals I build the pipelines, systems and dashboards behind predictive maintenance and equipment reliability, working with the maintenance and operations teams who use them.
I'm also studying for an MSc in Data Science at the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies, due to finish in 2027.
- 104
- root cause analysis records managed in one system, 87 of them completed
- 117
- corrective actions tracked from open to closed, with overdue items flagged
- 1,400+
- work requests analysed by criticality and status
- 168
- Smart Bolts mapped and monitored on a single ball mill
Counts as shown in the dashboards on 12 October 2026.
Selected work
Open a project to see what it does, how it's built and what changed. Select a screenshot to enlarge it. Names, asset tags and comments are blurred, and the systems themselves are private.
Reliability monitoring and root cause analysis system Mining, First Quantum Minerals One place to track asset health, investigate incidents and follow actions through to closure.
What it does
Supports incident investigation, root cause analysis workflows and action tracking in a mining environment, with a full audit trail.
How it's built
- Role-based access and server-side validation
- Evidence handling through documents and URLs
- Clean separation between API and user interface
- Power BI integration for executive dashboards
What changed
Reliability incidents became easier to see, root cause analysis followed one standard process, and maintenance decisions could be backed by data.
- UsersRole-based access to every screen
- ASP.NET Core MVCForms, workflows and screens, styled with Bootstrap 5
- Web APIREST endpoints with server-side validation
- Entity Framework CoreData access between the API and the database
- SQL ServerIncidents, RCA records, actions and an audit trail
- Power BIReliability monitoring and executive dashboards
Evidence for each investigation is attached as documents or URLs. The application is hosted on IIS.
- Action analytics: totals for completed, open and overdue actions, with search, status filter and a full register.
- Navigation: RCA submissions and RCA actions each have add, edit and analytics screens.
- ASP.NET Core MVC and Web API (.NET 8)
- SQL Server
- Entity Framework Core
- Power BI
- Bootstrap 5
- IIS
PI System to SQL ETL with time-weighted calculations Mining, First Quantum Minerals An automated pipeline that moves time-series process data into SQL Server with totals that match the source.
What it does
Extracts time-series data from the OSIsoft PI System and loads analysis-ready datasets into SQL Server, without anyone running exports by hand.
How it's built
- Time-weighted and trapezoidal integration that copes with irregular sampling
- Results checked against PI's own calculated totals
- Time zones aligned across systems
- Scheduled, hands-free runs through Windows Task Scheduler
What changed
Process performance calculations became more reliable and manual extraction errors were removed.
- OSIsoft PI SystemTime-series process data
- PI Web APIPython extracts the data on each run
- Time-weighted integrationTrapezoidal rule, with irregular sampling handled
- ValidationResults checked against PI-calculated totals, time zones aligned
- SQL ServerAnalysis-ready datasets
- Power BIReports built on the loaded data
Runs on a schedule through Windows Task Scheduler, so nobody exports data by hand.
- Component status for a set of pumps: tonnage reading against trigger and failure points, forecast dates and percent done to failure.
- PI Web API
- Python
- SQL Server
- Power BI
- Windows Task Scheduler
Real-time reliability dashboards Mining, First Quantum Minerals Interactive Power BI reports for equipment reliability, RCA status, maintenance actions and operational KPIs.
What it does
Gives management and reliability teams a live view of equipment and maintenance performance, for reviews, audits and planning.
How it's built
- Drill-through reports from summary to detail
- Conditional formatting that highlights what needs attention
- Links from report items to supporting documents in SharePoint
What changed
Teams could see current reliability data and act on it faster.
- Work requests and root cause analysis in one view: totals, criticality, status and methodology.
- Power BI
- SQL Server
- SharePoint
Smart Bolt monitoring for SAG and ball mills Mining, First Quantum Minerals Torque and vibration data from sensor bolts, used to catch problems before they damage the mill shell.
What it does
Collects telemetry from Smart Bolts fitted on SAG and ball mills so bolt health can be assessed and acted on early. Built with the mechanical and data teams.
How it's built
- ETL routines to collect, transform and load the telemetry
- Power BI dashboards showing bolt health in real time
What changed
Maintenance teams could step in early and prevent costly mill shell damage.
- Tension trend and load level for one bolt, above an overview of every bolt on the mill.
- Bolt map of a ball mill discharge end, with each Smart Bolt placed around the shell.
- IoT sensors
- ETL
- Power BI
- SQL Server
Triaxial sensor equipment health monitoring Mining, Sentinel Mine High-frequency vibration, acceleration and temperature data used to spot wear and misalignment early.
What it does
Brings telemetry from Dynamox triaxial sensors into one place for asset condition monitoring.
How it's built
- Processing of vibration, acceleration and temperature signals
- Sensor data linked into predictive modelling workflows
What changed
Early detection of equipment degradation improved uptime.
- Telemetry for vibration velocity, acceleration and temperature, with alert thresholds drawn on each chart.
- Dynamox sensors
- Python
- SQL Server
- Power BI
- Machine learning
WhatsApp Business alerts for critical events Mining, First Quantum Minerals Automated messages that put reliability alerts in front of field and management teams quickly.
What it does
Sends alerts and notifications from enterprise applications over WhatsApp Business.
How it's built
- API-based messaging with webhook handling
- Delivery and read receipts
- Secure logging of every message
What changed
Communication of critical reliability events became faster and more visible than SMS and email.
- WhatsApp Business API
- ASP.NET Core
- SQL Server
- Webhooks
USAID Action HIV Insights analytics reporting system Health, Right to Care New modules and a front-end migration for a reporting system supporting national health programmes.
What it does
Provides analytics and reporting for HIV programmes, aligned with PEPFAR reporting standards.
What I did
- Designed and built new modules in ASP.NET Core, Angular and C#
- Led the migration from Blazor to Angular
- Reviewed code for security and performance
- Worked with cross-functional teams to gather requirements
What changed
A more scalable application with a better experience for more than 200 healthcare workers, running at 99.5% uptime.
- ASP.NET Core
- Angular
- C#
- SQL Server
- Power BI
- Azure DevOps
Experience
From field data collection in health programmes to engineering data platforms in mining.
Data Analyst, Engineering and Reliability
First Quantum Minerals, North-Western Province
- Design and maintain data pipelines for predictive maintenance and reliability analytics, bringing together IoT sensors, the PI System and ERP data (Pronto Xi, JDE).
- Build real-time processing with Apache Kafka and Spark, and automated reporting pipelines for stakeholders.
- Develop and deploy machine learning models that flag potential equipment failures.
- Create Power BI and Grafana dashboards showing equipment health and operational KPIs.
- Keep operational data accurate and consistent across PostgreSQL and NoSQL environments, within data governance and safety standards.
- Mentor teams on data tools, machine learning models and reliability frameworks.
Applications Developer
Right to Care (USAID), Lusaka
- Built new modules for the USAID Action HIV Insights reporting system in ASP.NET Core, Angular and C#.
- Led the migration from Blazor to Angular for more than 200 healthcare workers, with the system running at 99.5% uptime.
- Fixed defects from report to resolution, prioritised by severity, and addressed root causes.
- Ran code reviews for security and performance, and kept the interface consistent with the design language.
- Worked with SQL Server, Power BI, Python and Azure DevOps, and resolved system support tickets.
Assistant Data Support and Operations Manager
Kazang Zambia, Lusaka
- Built and maintained the customer database, plus inventory and customer management systems in Laravel and Vue.js.
- Produced daily, weekly and monthly sales and customer reports, and compliance reports for the Bank of Zambia.
- Cut manual data processing time by 60% with automated data wrangling and error-handling scripts.
- Ran exploratory analysis to spot trends and anomalies, and supported the sales teams.
Data Analyst / Associate
CIDRZ
- Validated and verified programme data, including viral load coverage and early infant diagnosis results, for accurate monthly reports.
- Kept the eLABS pending-result tracking lists up to date with laboratory staff and provincial coordinators.
- Improved the Life Logistics App and reporting systems for laboratory data workflows.
- Trained more than 30 data capturers and laboratory staff on data quality and management.
Strategic Information Intern
CIDRZ
- Designed electronic and paper data collection tools for the ACHIEVE and PROUD-Z projects and research studies, using ODK and RapidPro.
- Worked on the ZISAMALE 2 TB project, which follows ATT and TPT clients, with ODK, RapidPro and Python tools.
- Supported PEPFAR MER indicator reporting, mentored data staff and automated routine tasks with Python.
Early roles
Chesco-Tech and Trade Kings Group, Lusaka
- Support Engineer Intern at Chesco-Tech (Dec 2019 to Apr 2020): PHP-based POS and bulk messaging systems, networking and hardware configuration.
- IT Intern at Trade Kings Group (Aug 2018 to Feb 2019): fixed and improved existing software, built order data collection and storage, and gave day-to-day IT support.
Skills and education
The tools I reach for most often, and what I've studied.
Data engineering
ETL and ELT pipelines, real-time processing, Apache Kafka, Apache Spark, SSIS, PI Web API, OSIsoft PI System, IoT sensor data, data modelling
Analytics and BI
Power BI (advanced), Grafana, Tableau, time-series analytics, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis
Development
C#, Python, SQL, JavaScript and TypeScript, PHP, R, Bash. ASP.NET Core (.NET 8), Entity Framework Core, Angular, Laravel, Vue.js, Blazor
Databases and platforms
SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Pronto Xi, JDE. Microsoft Azure, Azure DevOps, Docker, Git, CI/CD, IIS
Education
MSc Data Science, Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (in progress, 2024 to 2027). BSc Computer Science, Mulungushi University (2015 to 2019).
Certifications
Tools for Data Science. Python for Data Science and AI. Python Project for Data Science.
Get in touch
I'm open to data engineering and analytics roles. The quickest way to reach me is email.