Australasian Mine Safety

www.amsj.com.au / APRIL 2022 / AU ST R A L AS I A N M I N E SA F E T Y J O U R N A L 65 the tyre and wheel assembly and the handler, knowing if the assembly tips, 8,000 kg could fall on the technician. The panel on the right demonstrates how the Magnet Clamp changes all of that. Instead of removing the final four wheel nuts at the three o'clock and nine o'clock position last, the technician removes those wheel nuts first. Now he mounts the Magnet Clamp on both three and nine o'clock studs to secure the wheel and lock it in place. When the Magnet Clamp's magnet has 'locked' the studs, he removes all the other wheel nuts. The technician steps far back and the tyre handler approaches and establishes a secured grip on the tyre/wheel assembly. The technician presses a switch on the remote control, the clamps loosen and the tyre/wheel assembly is dismounted with no risk to the technician. Now, as with some of the Innovation Centre's other tools, the technician can perform the highest risk part of that tyre and wheel work from a safe distance, outside of the line of fire. The Magnet Clamp eliminates the risk. After MINExpo, Rigney shared the Magnet Clamp video in presentations about the tools with customers' maintenance, safety and management teams. "People kept saying, 'Wow. This is an incredible example of hazard elimination.' There aren't too many times in our industry where we've got an identified high risk task where we can actually eliminate the risk. Generally speaking, tyre and rim maintenance activities on a mine site are considered more high risk, so there is very broad support for a solution like this." In Australia—a safety-minded and forward-thinking mining region made up mostly of surface mines with many ultra-class tyres—the idea of the Magnet Clamp has been especially well received. "From the conversations I've had with maintenance managers and general managers, we've heard nothing but enthusiasm and they're very keen to see this in use on mine sites because of the enormous safety benefits it brings to our industry," says Rigney. "In Australia, mine operators are always looking to make sure their safety processes are as up to date as possible. With a new way to safely release wheel nuts, sites will want to adopt this tool." Designed to operate on wheels and rims up to 63" and with a flexible mechanical system that easily fits different rim models, Magnet Clamp is as simple to use as it is versatile, with the chance to positively impact mine site safety in far- reaching ways for years to come. IMPLEMENTING MAGNET CLAMP Before mine sites begin to use the Magnet Clamp adeptly every day, each site Kal Tire supports will move through a change of management process that will start with a risk assessment. "We think we know what the risk is that we're eliminating by using the clamp, but the risk assessment process will give us confidence that we're not introducing any new risks that we haven't thought of." Following the risk assessment, each site's safe work procedures will be updated to reflect this new way of removing and installing a tyre and wheel assembly. Finally, Kal Tire will update its training material so new team members making their way through the organization's Learning Management System will be safely trained in the use of the Magnet Clamp and demonstrate they can safely perform the task. "All of these steps will contribute to the overall safety management plan: If we're bringing a change to site A, we need to go through the change management for site A. We are very much looking forward to getting to that stage and bringing about such significant safety benefits to our industry." Kal Tire is now in the manufacturing phase of the Magnet Clamp and hopes to have the tool in use on mine sites in the coming months.

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