Innovation boosts safety on Pacific Highway section upgrade
Wheel nut indicators (WNIs) have proven such a safety boon to Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) that the department is to insist on their use on all its projects.
Their application by the Pacific Complete consortium during its work building the final section of the Pacific Highway upgrade – the $4.95 billion Woolgoolga to Ballina (W2B) section – is said to have made the effort safer and more cost effective.
“The Pacific Complete team instigated the compulsory use of wheel nut indicators in September last year, after three vehicles lost wheels on site in as many weeks,” TfNSW director North Region Anna Zycki says of the consortium comprising Laing O’Rourke and Parsons Brinckerhoff.
“This was obviously a safety issue first and foremost, but also represented significant costs to the project in terms of repairs and time lost.
“Pacific Complete suspended all heavy vehicle movements across the project and carried out wheel nut inspections before mandating the use of the indicators to help prevent further incidents.”
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WINs are brightly coloured, made of plastic, and are attached to wheel nuts on heavy vehicles to provide an easy method of determining if they have moved or loosened during operation.
They may also help prevent the wheel nuts from falling off and can also indicate if a wheel is overheating by having specific melting points.
While prices vary depending on size and style, a typical pack of 25 standard size WNIs costs about $40 and they are easy to fit and use, a substantial saving on the costs involved in losing a wheel from one of these vehicles
“Many contractors were already using WNIs on the project but making them compulsory across the Pacific Complete supply chain has proved to be a positive move, with no further loss of wheels on the project,” Zycki says.
“It’s been such a success, Transport for NSW is now investigating amending the G22 Heavy Vehicle specification to make them compulsory on all projects.”
The Pacific Highway upgrade, which is funded on an 80:20 basis by the federal and NSW governments, is on track for completion later this year.
Laing O’Rourke this year became the first company to an enforceable undertaking with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR)