An innovative idea from the maintenance team at Spence eliminated the risks associated with changing truck trays by using mobile cranes.

For the mine maintenance area, changing the tray of a CAT-793 truck is a potentially high-risk task. In many places, it requires two mobile cranes to lift an extremely heavy component in the open air. It also has to be done during daylight hours, creating a range of different potential risks due to the activity and the environment. The Spence maintenance team suggested that truck trays could instead be changed using the two existing bridge cranes in tandem inside the truck shop, eliminating risks by performing the activity in a controlled environment.

By changing trays inside the truck shop, weather is no longer a factor, eliminating the risk of cranes overturning or an accident occurring during the lifting manoeuvre. The manoeuvre is carried out with no people inside the segregated area. Where previously a mechanic, truck operator, rigger and two crane operators were involved, removal of the tray is now managed by a single operator using a remote control.