Safety in the work environ-ment remains a critical issue that must be addressed successfully, irrespective of industry, and mining houses invest considerable resources in attempts to ensure the wellbeing and safety of their employees, says mining contractor Hitricon HEMC.

This again became evident when the company recently completed a 24-month project involving the rebuild of a fleet of Euclid R190 dump trucks.

The company faced several safety developmental challenges during the project, which covered the complete rebuild of the dump trucks from the wheels up, says MD Hilton Conradie, who operates as a mining contractor for iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape.

“Mining safety remains a primary concern. This is also valid in the case of the Euclid R190 rebuild. The safety of operators and maintenance staff led to some innovative thinking,” says Conradie.

The ease of mounting and dismounting the vehicle is clearly important, with the company taking this one step further by hinging the truck access stairs. The stairway can be swung out, allowing easy access to the front of the truck – the benefit being that any downtime in maintenance and/or repair work will be reduced.

“As part of the rebuild, we also reviewed other safety aspects in a more holistic fashion. In particular, we considered aspects of vision as a specific dimension that affects safety and downtime,” he adds.

Safety is dependent on good visibility. Considering product reliability and performance, Hitricon HEMC tested an auxiliary and optical warning system over an 18-month trial period.

A range of auxiliary and opti-cal warning systems was considered. Following an analy-sis, Hitricon HEMC opted to standardise all its fleet’s lighting products.

“Ultimately, we found that mining products supplier Hella’s Xenon and light-emitting diode work and service lamps proved most reliable in quality and overall performance,” says Conradie.

“Developing lighting equipment for mines requires a clear understanding of operating systems and environmental conditions,” points out Hella regional sales manager Oswald Olckers.