According to Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group vice president Australia Miles Rigney, innovation is the key to safety.

From 2018 to 2023, multiple fatalities were recorded globally due to incidents related to mining tyre service.

These sobering statistics highlight what many in the industry already know: innovation in haulage must be matched by innovation in how we maintain and service these machines, especially at the tyre level.

The risks tyre technicians face are unique. Unlike most mechanical servicing, tyre work involves stored energy, high operating pressures and the ever-present possibility of failure.

“As fleets have grown, demands on modern mining tyre and wheel assemblies remain significant,” Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group vice president Australia Miles Rigney told Safe to Work.

“They can have a diameter in excess of four metres, weigh more than eight tonnes, have an internal pressure greater than 100psi enabling them to carry more than 100 tonnes each all whilst travelling up to 50 kilometres per hour.

“Ensuring that tyres remain in safe working condition at all times is critical.”

Improperly installed assemblies or failed lock rings can release immense force, turning components into deadly projectiles. Add to that the threat of tyre fires and the risks associated with electrification – such as contact with overhead lines or lightning – and you begin to understand the magnitude of the challenge.

With autonomy becoming more commonplace on Australian mine sites, new challenges are arising for tyre service technicians.

“When autonomous haulage first started, one of the initial challenges was that there were no longer truck operators who could ‘smell’ a hot tyre, which is a key indicator that there may potentially be a structural problem with the tyre,” Rigney said.

Autonomous tyre inspection technologies are now beginning to shift this paradigm. These systems can scan tyres on-the-move, detecting anomalies and flagging them for intervention without requiring technicians to enter hazardous zones.

“Technology in recent times is catching up, Kal Tire’s TireSight is a great example of how these risks are now being identified and controlled in a practical way,” Rigney said.

TireSight integrates Pitcrew AI’s thermal imaging camera along with its artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly identify and react to tyre-related issues that could go unnoticed.

“This data is then run through Kal Tire’s TOMS (Tire & Operations Management System) where the agreed business rules are applied to the data before undergoing a final verification by our 24–7 condition monitoring team,” Rigney said.

“From there, work orders are prioritised and raised in TOMS for our on-site teams to execute.

“This is a great example of how significantly enhanced tyre inspection outcomes, via the collation of multiple data sets, require little human intervention.”

To remain on the cutting edge, Kal Tire continues to evolve its TireSight technology as well as other tyre maintenance technologies in its suite.

“Our KalPRO WheelJaws are another good example of eliminating the hazard of a tyre technician standing between the tyre and wheel assembly when either removing or installing the wheel fasteners,” Rigney said.

“With the use of the WheelJaws, the tyre technician is now removed from this area.”

Another engineering solution making tyre maintenance safer is the KalPRO GATR (Gravity Assist Tooling Rig), which reduces the physical burden on workers by supporting the weight of heavy tools, lowering the risk of strain and injury.

“While we haven’t been able to eliminate the torquing of wheel fasteners on large mining equipment, the engineering control that our GATR delivers means that this task can now be safely completed without the need of manually handling heavy (more than 30kg) torque tools,” Rigney said.

Rigney said it’s time for the industry to rethink its approach to safety altogether.

Rather than relying solely on rules and personal protective equipment (PPE), he said mining companies must focus on eliminating hazards at their source. This means reengineering the way tyre servicing is performed, investing in smart tooling, and automating where possible.

“This year marks a decade that we have been investing in our Innovation Centre (IC) in Canada,” Rigney said.

“Through our dedicated innovation portal, our team members working in all countries can send our IC team problems they are facing when carrying out their tyre service work.

“Our IC team then take these problems and sets about developing solutions where none currently exist.”

Innovation does not happen in isolation. It thrives in a culture of collaboration – where feedback from frontline workers informs design, where service data feeds into planning, and where safety is built into every step of the maintenance process.

Kal Tire’s GATR is a clear example of this approach, with the innovations coming out of the IC having real-world impacts on tyre maintenance safety.

As the mining sector embraces automation and sustainability, it must also champion safety innovation. This is especially true for tyre service work, where the risks are high and the margin for error is slim.

“Given the substantial growth in tyre and mine haulage data over the last five years, we can expect this trend to continue for the next five to 10 years,” Rigney said.

“The challenge lies in managing this expanding dataset to generate ways where we are solving real problems, and Kal Tire is rising to meet that challenge.”