Phone app helps mines get to grips with haul road safety
By Industry Queensland
A Queensland-based engineering company is combating the dangers of mine haul road networks with a new phone app.
‘Friction Plus by ADE’ has been developed to measure the coefficient of friction on a site’s haul roads.
Australian Diversified Engineering general manager Clive Gray said the implementation of this new app would improve operations and lower the risk of water truck and wet weather-related transportation incidents.
“The haul road network presents many operational challenges for a mine, if left untreated they can produce excessive fugitive dust emissions, and if overwatered can result in an uncontrolled movement of a work vehicle or heavy mine haul truck,” he said.
“If not managed prudently these key transportation tracks can become a dangerous environment for miners.
“With ‘Friction Plus by ADE’, mining operators can quickly and easily measure friction and in turn provide clear instructions to their road watering operators, road maintenance crews or make informed decisions in the instance of wet weather.”
The phone app was developed for use with the RoadSafety Training Services (RTS) Mine Road Surface Friction Assessment System, which is an adaptable protocol that aids in controlling haul road conditions to promote consistent maintenance of transport networks on mine sites.
The road friction protocol categorises friction values into four risk levels and has been developed to facilitate, further develop, and promote safer mine road network traffic management procedures.
“Applications such as this must be combined with practical risk management solutions to ensure it’s effective to a mine site, and this is where RoadSafety Training Services road friction protocol comes into play,” Mr Gray said.
“Safety practices are key across mine sites and as an industry, we need to be diligent in implementing procedures and products that not only provide productivity, but also improve our standards – including haul road networks so miners can be safe and feel safe when operating trucks and large vehicles.”
The ‘Friction Plus by ADE’ app is available on the app store and can be utilised on an iPhone, ideally fit to a stable car phone mount.
Read Clive Gray’s story on our profile page HERE
