Australia’s first automated cone truck has successfully completed a trial on a major Melbourne road-upgrade project
An automated cone truck (ACT), developed by Brisbane’s Arrowes Roading Safety, has completed a 12-month implementation program on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway Upgrades.
Tested on the road project that connects the Eastern Freeway to the North East Link tunnels, the ACT aims to provide a solution for the number of fatalities and injuries faced by traffic controllers on the nation’s roads.
Arrowes executive director Lea Ea says the ACT’s design allows for safe and efficient deployment of cones, with the capacity to deploy one every seven seconds.
It can also place cones at intervals of 12 to 24 metres while travelling at speeds of up to 16 km/h, she adds.
“Road construction and maintenance workers are among the most likely to be involved in a workplace incident in Australia,” she says.
“Research by Safe Work Australia found 63 per cent of fatalities on worksites were caused by being hit by moving vehicles, every life lost is one life too many.”
Approximately 100 traffic controllers are injured each year, requiring medical treatment or time off work, and at least one traffic controller is killed annually, according to Arrowes.
Its 12-month implementation on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway Upgrades was a collaboration between Arrowes Roading Safety, Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Burke to Tram Alliance, Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) and KPI Construction Services.
KPI Construction managing director Aaron Ramsay says the use of the ACT has not only safeguarded the lives of his workers, but has also enhanced work productivity by over 150 hours –thanks to the quicker setup and pack-up times.
“The integration of the ACT has been a pivotal asset over the past year, deploying and collecting traffic cones on 188 occasions across 564 kilometres of lane closures,” he says.
“ACT placed and collected 65,000 cones, eliminating the need for over 1,200 tonnes of manual handling and reducing worker exposure to live traffic by approximately 500 hours.
“We’ve been using the ACT every night for a year now, and we’ve had no incidents during this period, it’s a lifesaving innovation which ensures our team return home to their families safe every day.”
For more information on the ACT, read Australia’s first automated cone truck.
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