Tyre Incidents – Have We Learned Nothing?

In the landscapes of Queensland's mining industry, where large haul trucks and heavy machinery dominate the horizon, tyre safety remains a critical yet stubbornly unchanging frontier. Despite numerous serious incidents and fatalities over the decades, the core recommendations for handling hot or overpressure tyres have barely evolved in that time. Park the truck in a safe area, establish an exclusion zone, wait 24-48 hours for cooling, and – if necessary – use safety cages or even spike the tyre to deflate it. These methods are rooted in caution and isolation. In an era of rapid technological advancement, why hasn't the industry embraced innovations like remote tyre deflators? And with a track record of tragedies, are we teetering on the edge of yet another preventable fatality? As the adage goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Queensland's mines might be testing that theory.

A History of Incidents That Should Have Sparked Change

Queensland's mining sector has a grim history with tyre-related accidents, many involving explosions from overpressure, heat buildup, or external triggers like lightning strikes. In 2015, a coal miner was killed and another seriously injured when a tyre exploded at Anglo American's Dawson coal mine in central Queensland. The incident led to a temporary suspension of operations, highlighting the sudden and devastating nature of these events. Just two years later, in 2017, a worker was fatally struck in the face by an exploding wheel and tyre during an attempted weld – a stark reminder of the dangers of working near pressurized equipment.

These aren't isolated cases. Back in 2010, a 53-year-old worker at Foxleigh mine, died from injuries sustained in a tyre explosion while changing a trailer tyre. Earlier still, a 1996 incident at a Western Australian mine (though outside Queensland, reflective of broader Australian mining risks) saw a man killed by a crane tyre explosion. More recently, safety alerts from Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ) have detailed tyre explosions following lightning strikes, with fragments projected into surrounding areas and posing risks to nearby workers and roads.

Over the past 50 years, Queensland's mining safety standards have seen incremental reforms, often spurred by tragedies like the Mount Mulligan disaster in 1921 or the Moura explosions in the 1970s and 1980s. These events led to broader changes, such as mandatory risk management plans and a shift toward proactive safety. Yet, when it comes to tyre handling, the evolution has been minimal. Early guidelines focused on basic inspections and isolation, much like today's protocols, emphasizing maintenance and operations but sticking to traditional methods. Even as autonomous mining and remote controls have gained traction in Australia – with Queensland leading in adoption for overall safety – tyre-specific innovations lag behind.

Current Standards: A Reliance on Time-Honoured Caution

Queensland's Recognised Standard 13 (RS13) on Tyre, Wheel, and Rim Management, updated as recently as June 2024, outlines the state's approach to tyre safety. For hot tyres – often caused by overload, poor roads, or tread separation – the protocol is clear: redirect the equipment to slower cycles, park it in a safe area away from traffic, and allow it to cool naturally or with water assistance. Pressure adjustments are prohibited until the tyre has cooled, to avoid risks like underinflation or explosion.

Overpressure tyres follow a similar script: investigate, park, and cool. Deflation procedures emphasize safety, recommending remote inflation/deflation stations (RIDS) to keep workers out of air blast zones. However, for tyres that won't deflate easily, the standard allows probing or, as a last resort, spiking after a risk assessment. In cases of suspected internal fires, electrification, or lightning strikes, a 24-hour quarantine is mandated, with exclusion zones based on tyre size and pressure. Safety cages are referenced for containment during inflation, and tools like Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) and thermal imaging are encouraged for monitoring.

These guidelines are thorough, but they echo practices from decades ago. The emphasis on waiting periods and physical barriers hasn't fundamentally changed since the 1970s, when mining safety reforms began accelerating post-Moura. RS13 acknowledges modern tech like wireless TPMS, but it doesn't mandate cutting-edge solutions for deflation. Instead, it provides flexibility, allowing mines to adopt systems that fit their operations – a double-edged sword that may perpetuate outdated habits.

The Innovation Waiting in the Wings: Dengus Remote Tyre Deflator

Enter the Dengus Remote Tyre Deflator (RDU1), a Australian-designed technology poised to disrupt this status quo. Distributed and supported by Disruptive Mining Technologies, this Australian made and owned system allows operators to deflate tyres remotely from up to 800 meters away using a handheld controller. Valves mounted on each wheel enable selective or simultaneous deflation, compatible with common mining setups like super large bore valves, TPMS systems (e.g., RIMEX Tyresense, Michelin MEMS), and even autonomous fleets from EPIROC and CAT.

The benefits are compelling: immediate pressure relief in emergencies, without exposing workers to explosion risks. In hazardous conditions, such as hot tyres or overpressure from heat buildup, the deflator eliminates the need for personnel to approach the equipment. It also boosts efficiency, reducing downtime and allowing quicker returns to operation. Designed with RS13 in mind – particularly for operations in risky scenarios without shutdowns – it's already deployed in surface mining operations across Australia and overseas, proving its value in real-world settings.

Isn't this safer than the traditional approach? Absolutely. Parking a truck for 24-48 hours ties up valuable assets and delays production, while spiking a tyre requires close proximity, heightening explosion risks. The remote deflator mitigates both, enabling safe, immediate deflation from a distance. As one industry analysis notes, innovation in tyre servicing hasn't kept pace with mounting safety challenges, making tools like this essential.

Barriers to Adoption: Why the Slow Uptake in Queensland?

Despite its promise, the Dengus system hasn't seen widespread adoption in Queensland. Why? Several factors likely contribute. First, cost and implementation: Retrofitting fleets with remote valves requires upfront investment, and in a cost-sensitive industry, mines may prioritize short-term savings over long-term safety gains.

Regulatory inertia plays a role too. While RS13 encourages remote systems like the remote tyre deflator, it doesn't explicitly require adopting such innovations, allowing mines to stick with familiar methods. Queensland's safety framework has evolved into modern risk-based approaches – but tyre protocols remain conservative. Industry culture, often resistant to change, favours proven (if outdated) practices, especially when incidents are sporadic enough to foster complacency.

Awareness and proof-of-concept may also lag. Although the remote tyre deflator boasts case studies and compatibility with Queensland's standards, broader trials or endorsements from major local players could accelerate uptake. Meanwhile, innovations in related areas – like recycling mining tyres for highways or AI-driven maintenance – show the industry can adapt, but tyre deflation remains a niche.

Time for a Wake-Up Call? 

Fifty years of essentially the same tyre-handling advice begs the question: Have we learned nothing from the fatalities and near-misses? With incidents continuing – including recent lightning-induced explosions – the risk persists. Relying on exclusion zones and waiting periods is prudent, but it's not progressive. Technologies like the Dengus Remote Tyre Deflator offer a safer, more efficient alternative, reducing human exposure and potentially preventing the next tragedy.

If we keep doing the same thing, expecting different outcomes, we might indeed be due for another tyre-related fatality soon. Queensland's mines have led in autonomous tech and safety reforms; it's time to extend that leadership to the more mundane but likely higher exposure Material Unwanted Events (MUEs) such as tyre explosions and the innovation that stares us in the face. Now it's about adoption before the next explosion reminds us why change is overdue.